From Under One Person: Sincere Journey Through the Heavens

If it were true that humans and ghosts could unite and have children, I would have to seriously consider the "Xiaoqian" chapter of "Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio" to see if Ning Caichen actually left this ghostly realm.

Before that, I encountered two beings who were half-human and half-ghost, dressed similarly to the Black and White Impermanence, and wielded an ability similar to 'talismans'...

Upon hearing about the abilities and effects of "Black and White Impermanence," Zhang Zhiwei also noticed that they were indeed somewhat similar to "talismans."

But Chu Xuan's first reaction was to imagine the entire Black Mountain as a rather peculiar supercomputer...

# Chapter 370 Contacting Zhan Lan—Assemble!

"If you want to explore the south side, you can ask Zhan Lan directly. You should be able to contact them directly through the light spot, right?"

Chu Xuan explained that Zhan Lan, Zhang Jie, and Lu Renjia had gone to explore the area south of Daheishan Mountain.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Liu immediately contacted Zhan Lan and got straight to the point, asking, "Hey, Sister Lan, I heard you went to explore in the south. Did you find any clues? Our goals should be the same, both of us want to destroy Lanruo Temple, so let's share information."

Having received Jiang Liu's message, Zhan Lan, along with Zhang Jie and Lu Renjia, arrived outside Daheishan with the little girl. She was taken aback at first, but then recounted the entire experience of her team in the southern area.

"...I see!"

It is said that Zhan Lan, Zhang Jie, and Lu Renjia encountered Nie Xiaoqian at a house on the south side, and at Nie Xiaoqian's request, they brought Shaoyao's daughter to Daheishan to search for their two biological daughters.

and so!

The black-and-white woman is Nie Xiaoqian's two daughters?

However, the woman in black said her mother was dead...

Has Ning Caichen's concubine, the Peony Fairy, already passed away?

And that Underworld Emperor is the father the Black Lady mentioned... Is the Underworld Emperor Ning Caichen? How did he become like that?

With this thought in mind, Jiang Liu regained his composure and asked Zhan Lan, "Right now, there's a torrent of ghosts and spirits circling outside Daheishan Mountain. You can't get in, can you?"

No, we're already inside.

The dense horde of ghosts did indeed frighten Zhan Lan, but fortunately, the little girl possessed an ability to form three golden points of light in her palm, which allowed her to do many incredible things. One of these was to condense a ball of "ghostly energy" that could cover their bodies, thus making the ghosts recognize them as their own kind.

In this way, they safely crossed the torrent of ghosts and monsters and entered the Black Mountain.

"Alright, gather over here. You can locate my position using the light spot." Jiang Liu said, then ended the communication with Zhan Lan.

"You can establish direct mental connections with other people?" Zhang Zhiwei asked in surprise. "How do you do that? Is it like the ability to enter a dream?"

"Naturally, it's all thanks to a spark of pure and sincere inspiration."

Jiang Liu pressed his right index and middle fingers together on his brow, and gently pulled, pulling out a tiny speck of light. "How about I place one in your head too? It will help clear your mind and allow you to contact me at any time. But in return, I will be able to locate you wherever you go in the future."

"Don't you dare try to trick me!"

Zhang Zhiwei hurriedly refused.

It wasn't that he didn't trust Jiang Liu, but he was certain that this thing was so convenient that it might even be able to probe his memories or thoughts... It was better to keep a proper distance from it.

After all, there's an old Western saying that goes:

Distance makes the heart grow fonder!

What about trust between people?

Jiang Liu crushed the light spot, a playful smile on his lips. "You refused this yourself. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. If you want it back later, you'll have to pay!"

Zhang Zhiwei opened his mouth, but didn't say anything too definitive, yet he still complained, "You're really obsessed with money."

"There's nothing I can do, I'm not some 'god' from the mountains." After lightening the mood, Jiang Liu called to the two of them and headed towards the house where the black-and-white woman had been.

"This place..."

Upon arriving at their destination, seeing broken swords, solidified lava, fallen trees, shattered ground, and Arno's head, Zhang Zhiwei stared at Jiang Liu: "You did this?"

“It’s not me, it’s the White Lady…” Jiang Liu revealed the existence of the “Black and White Lady” and also told her all the information that Zhan Lan had gathered about the southern area.

"Holy crap! Nie Xiaoqian really exists? And she even bore Ning Caichen three daughters? Ning Caichen is the Emperor of the Underworld?"

Zhang Zhiwei looked surprised, even incredulous, but he also showed a slight aversion to matters between men and women, saying, "Indeed, Master is right!"

Women are tigers!

Even female ghosts are like that!

And look! A perfectly good family has come to such a tragic end because of the jealousy and selfishness of the Peony Ghost!

terrible!

That's truly terrifying!

At this point, Zhang Zhiwei thought of the fairy Luo Li who had been taken out of the Heavenly Palace in the Black Mountain by Zheng Zha. He stroked his chin thoughtfully and said, "The fairy Luo Li was originally a pure consciousness within the Heavenly Palace. After leaving the Heavenly Palace, influenced by the five poisons, six desires, and seven emotions that permeate the Ghost Realm, will she also fall to this state?"

"It should be fine in the short term, but if it goes on for too long—"

Journey to the West has already given us the answer: the fairies, attendants, mounts, and divine generals who yearn for the mortal world are mostly people who harm and eat others, living in a daze, their natures disordered, and their original spirits no longer clear...

"Tsk tsk, I suddenly realized that the author of 'Journey to the West' might have actually seen things like Heaven and Hell. What do you think?"

Jiang Liu speculates that "Journey to the West" is very likely a "record book" in his current reality.

Such peculiar ghost realms as Daheishan may have appeared in even more distant dynasties.

According to Jiang Liu's previous speculation, if this ghost realm were left unchecked, it could develop for another thousand or ten thousand years, or even reach the level of covering the entire earth, and might actually establish a legendary three-realm system such as "Heavenly Court" and "Underworld".

It's just a pity—

This "turbid descending, clear ascending" three-realm system is probably not applicable to reality because it disrupts the normal process of the cyclical repetition of primordial Qi within the natural world.

After a living being dies, its spirit does not disperse in nature, but instead gathers in strange spaces such as the Ghost Realm. Isn't this equivalent to stealing the primordial energy from the Earth?

Furthermore, this simple and crude way of discarding the impurities in the spirit body and leaving only a bit of pure consciousness to "ascend" to the heavenly palace to enjoy pleasure will also create a large number of confused ghosts and monsters, or even form a kind of strange "collective consciousness".

"I think you're overthinking it." Zhang Zhiwei thought Jiang Liu's idea of ​​treating "Journey to the West" as a guide to strange tales was absurd.

But a thoughtful look did appear in his eyes.

After all, there was the underworld outside Daheishan Mountain and the heavenly palace inside Daheishan Mountain. Although neither was perfect, and it would be an exaggeration to say that they were rudimentary, they did give him a sense of déjà vu.

However, Zhang Zhiwei immediately put aside his distracting thoughts and brought up the young woman, saying, "Do you think there might be something wrong with that young woman?"

"Be more confident, and drop the word 'maybe'."

Jiang Liu held up one finger, "The 'fairies' who descend to the mortal realm are initially clear-headed, but after staying in this ghostly realm for a long time, they will be corrupted by the five poisons, six desires, and seven emotions, thus becoming confused and turning into mentally deranged ghosts."

That black woman, half-human and half-ghost, was also not in a normal mental state.

Since the peony fairy might 'go mad'—

Why couldn't Nie Xiaoqian do that?

The young girl she raised must also possess an extraordinary mental state; I must test her... Perhaps our goals align with those of the young girl and Nie Xiaoqian, but I must be wary of the potential consequences of the turbulent energy flow at Daheishan Mountain, such as the emergence of extremely terrifying ghosts and spirits.

Chu Xuan shared Jiang Liu's thoughts and hoped to witness the so-called "light spot" ability firsthand...

# Chapter 371 Circulating the Small Heavenly Cycle

"coming!"

As they were discussing, Jiang Liu felt something and turned around. He saw Zhan Lan, Zhang Jie, Lu Renjia, and the young woman approaching, but he only glanced at the young woman and focused his attention on Lu Renjia.

At first, Jiang Liu only gave him Qi, but now, this guy has completely opened up his Ren and Du meridians!

However, there's a slight issue with the direction and order in which the Qi flows—

Whose Qi circulation sequence is from the Jade Pillow Gate to the Spine Gate, and then to the Tailbone Gate?

Go with the flow and you'll be ordinary; go against the flow and you'll become an immortal!

The flow of Qi through the Ren and Du meridians in a forward-moving manner...

Is it to completely exhaust one's innate Qi?

"This place... just saw a major battle?" Zhang Jie stared in disbelief at the chaotic scene and the shattered remains of the buildings.

"Let's leave that aside for now."

Jiang Liu walked up to Lu Renjia, examined him carefully, and further confirmed his progress in circulating the Small Heavenly Circuit. He found that Lu Renjia's muscles and bones had become much stronger.

This is normal!

In the theory of Qi cultivation, all things are evolved from the primordial Qi, and the human body is no exception!

The circulation of Qi in the Small Heavenly Circuit involves continuously consuming innate Qi to enhance the strength of muscles and bones. However, excessively strong bones and muscles can increase the pressure on the five internal organs.

The practice of cultivating Qi should ideally involve reversing the flow of Qi to activate the five internal organs and enhance bodily functions. However, Lu Renjia's approach is putting the cart before the horse.

However, Jiang Liu also noticed that Lu Renjia seemed to have developed a certain degree of adaptation to the aura of the Ghost Realm, to the point that a layer of cold, eerie energy had enveloped his nine orifices...

So, circulating the microcosmic orbit within the ghost realm is actually about cultivating oneself by treating oneself as a "ghost"?

"what happened?"

Seeing Jiang Liu staring intently at Lu Renjia, Zhang Zhiwei became suspicious. He stepped forward, took a closer look, and was shocked. He quickly placed his hand on Lu Renjia's chest and exclaimed, "Holy crap! Your Small Heavenly Circuit is in the correct order? You're still alive? Amazing!"

"Has something happened to Lu Renjia?"

Chu Xuan learned the Reversal of Eight Directions technique from Jiang Liu, but he also understood that the essence of Qi Refining lay in the circulation of Qi throughout the body. He stepped forward to examine Lu Renjia and nodded, saying, "It is indeed different from ours. From the side, we are moving in reverse, while he is moving in the forward direction... What will happen?"

"Humans are able to live because of their innate Qi. Cultivating Qi can lead to longevity, which is essentially about minimizing or locking in the leakage of innate Qi through Qi cultivation."

Zhang Zhiwei looked at Lu Renjia with great interest, "And for him to follow the natural cycle of life is simply because he thinks his lifespan is too long!"

However, in this ghostly realm, his following the proper path seems to be the 'right way'?

uncertain--

Jiang Liu, what do you think?

"If that underworld emperor is Ning Caichen, then circulating his qi in this unpredictable ghost realm might not kill him, but he would likely become a part of this ghost realm."

Jiang Liu said this.

"Huh? I'll become a ghost?" Lu Renjia exclaimed in surprise, and hurriedly pleaded with Jiang Liu, "Save me! I don't want to become a ghost! And what's this about going forward or backward? I don't know anything about that!"

"You do not know?"