From Under One Person: Sincere Journey Through the Heavens

That is, the refining process is missing.

In any practice involving spiritual cultivation, one must first supplement one's innate constitution with acquired constitution, and then use the innate constitution to guide the circulation of Qi throughout the body, thus forming a complete system.

The methods of the corpse-driving lineage are similar. They basically discovered the corpse gu, a type of gu insect that can make corpses move, and then explored and studied it to create corresponding corpse-driving techniques.

But these "jellyfish" are different. Without human intervention, they can naturally manipulate the brain of a corpse through their tentacles on the bottom, thus bringing the corpse back to "life".

That's right!

It means to come back to life!

The corpse that can be controlled by the "jellyfish" must have just died! Only a corpse that has just died can be manipulated by the jellyfish through its tentacles to control the brain that has not yet completely lost its activity, thereby obtaining a complete, active body that can help them move quickly on land and capture prey on land.

But precisely because there is no human intervention, the jellyfish doesn't know how to preserve its body, nor does it know that the human body will be damaged in excessively cold areas. It simply instinctively tries to survive by eating, which leads to its body becoming increasingly obese.

of course.

It is likely also because the body was submerged in water for a long time.

Humans cannot survive underwater, but it is also a possibility that after consciousness dissipates, the soul perishes, and the brain is controlled by "jellyfish," the body can be submerged in water, with "jellyfish" responsible for breathing and supplying oxygen to the body, ensuring its long-term survival.

But it is still a human body, so it will swell up and gain weight.

Once the body becomes overweight, it means that a completely new body is needed... According to Jiang Liu, the "oldest" of these corpses only lasted for three years.

Rather than being called "Snow Maitreya," they are more like a group of rather peculiar zombies that descend from the mountains every winter and spring, probably not only to hunt but also to replace their bodies.

The village chief once said that if a person is bitten by Snow Maitreya, they will disappear, probably becoming a completely new Snow Maitreya, rather than being melted away by Snow Maitreya's poison without leaving any trace.

"Where did the original Snow Maitreya come from?"

Hua Ling asked, "Since Snow Maitreya needs a human body to move, did someone accidentally fall into the crevice in the first place, resulting in the birth of the first Snow Maitreya?"

"It's not that simple."

Jiang Liu denied this guess, "This is not the result of deliberate human interference. If just one person fell in, they would probably just be eaten by these 'jellyfish'."

Unless people fall into it year after year, and each time quite a few people fall into it!

Only then is there a chance that the jellyfish, over a long period of time, could gradually develop the ability to combine with the brain of a corpse and control the human body to move.

The silver-eyed nun was also puzzled, not understanding why such a strange creature as "Snow Maitreya," which had never been seen in Buddhist scriptures, would appear here.

"Perhaps we caused the appearance of Snow Maitreya..."

# Chapter 1008 Burial Methods in Tibet

It was the fifteenth who spoke, and he told everyone a story from the past.

Hundreds of years ago, residents of Qinghai, Xinjiang, and Tibet witnessed a phoenix rising from the ashes and giving birth to a roc and a peacock on one side of the Kunlun Mountains.

In their quest to uncover the mysteries of Kunlun Dragon Peak, soldiers from the three regions clashed violently, resulting in widespread devastation and rivers of blood.

"According to the village elders, after that war, the bodies were left on the mountain to be eaten by the beasts of Kunlun... Later, people would take the bodies of the dead to the mountain, either in the open for birds and beasts to eat, or put them in the water for fish and shrimp to enjoy."

Tibetans are mostly influenced by Tibetan Buddhism, and after death they often adopt sky burial, which means dismembering the body and putting it into the mountains and forests for birds and animals to eat, thus creating a cycle.

In addition to these, there are burial, water burial, cremation, and pagoda burial.

Burial is common in Han areas, but in Tibet it is the lowest form of burial, reserved only for criminals or those suffering from serious illnesses.

Water burial is mostly used for orphaned children and the poor.

Cremation was reserved for high-ranking officials, nobles, and eminent monks.

Tower burial is the highest-level form of burial, in which the body is specially treated and placed in a jeweled stupa for worship.

Only the highest-ranking Living Buddha and his protectors can use this method.

It is said that only by being buried in this way can a Living Buddha truly be successfully reincarnated.

at the moment.

The appearance of Snow Maitreya is most likely related to the corpses from that war and the local water burial custom!

If the body were placed in an open river, it wouldn't attract the appearance of Snow Maitreya.

However, many people, for the sake of convenience, will throw the body directly into lakes or underground rivers in mountain crevices!

“Xue Maitreya appeared a hundred years ago. Before that, most people here used water burial, which meant throwing the bodies of their relatives into those four cracks.”

Fifteen tells a fact.

Although sky burial is the most common funeral, the matter of dismembering a body... they don't have any dismemberment specialists in their small town!

They were to dismember their own loved ones—

They can't overcome either the physical or psychological hurdles!

You should know that only by throwing the corpse directly into the mountains and forests can it be eaten up by birds and beasts in the mountains in a short time, leaving no trace.

If the body cannot be disposed of properly and is simply placed in the mountains and forests, then even after half a year, as long as no one deliberately disturbs it, the body will still exist, but it will decompose even more!

At that time, how could the acquaintances who were still alive bear to see it?

Therefore.

Water burial has become the most common practice among locals.

After the appearance of Snow Maitreya, the people in this area no longer dared to throw the bodies of their relatives into the mountain crevices. They could only choose to bury them in the ground or walk seventy or eighty miles away to throw the bodies into the river.

Fifteen never expected that the Snow Maitreya was actually "nurtured" into form by the ancestors of the people in this area, and that the corpses of the Snow Maitreya in front of them were actually the young and strong corpses of their village and the surrounding villages!

"As an outsider, I should respect your customs, but I would still advise you to cremate in the future."

Jiang Liu sighed and offered another word of advice.

Burial carries risks such as the spread of disease and the theft and resurrection of the body.

Water burial... Even without mentioning the appearance of the Maitreya Buddha, the mere act of burying a body in water directly pollutes the water source. Furthermore, since the local Tibetans have not yet developed the habit of drinking hot water, this greatly increases the probability of contracting diseases.

“That won’t do. We’re not lamas, nor are we nobles. We can’t be cremated.” Fifteen kept shaking his head.

"is it?"

Seeing this, Jiang Liu stopped trying to persuade them and simply flicked his sleeve, causing all the corpses to disappear.

"A Living Buddha!"

This kind of skill, which is almost like a secret realm hidden in a sleeve, made Fifteen exclaim in surprise.

Jiang Liu simply smiled and beckoned everyone to descend the mountain.

After returning to the village.

The village chief came forward and asked, "Have you seen Snow Maitreya?"

"Village Chief, Snow Maitreya has come out! But he has already been dealt with by the Living Buddha and these two living bodhisattvas!" Fifteen excitedly explained the whole story.

But the village chief didn't believe it.

The other able-bodied men in the village gathered around and listened as Fifteen recounted the whole story, but they too remained skeptical.

With so few people, how could they possibly take down so many Snow Maitreyas?

With a flick of his sleeve, Jiang Liu revealed the plump, overweight corpses to the crowd.

"A true living Buddha!"

The village chief was startled and went forward to check. He confirmed that the corpses were not fake, but real Xue Maitreya. Coupled with Xue Maitreya's skill of concealing his power within his sleeve, he believed Shiwu's words and knelt down with a thud.

The able-bodied men of the village also knelt down one after another.

"Get up! You don't need to kneel!"

Jiang Liu helped the old village chief up, saying, "We are just practitioners, not gods or Buddhas, so why should we kneel and worship? Just invite us to have a hot meal."

"Go to my house!"

"No! Come to my house for dinner!"

"My wife is the best cook!"

"..."

Young and able-bodied men volunteered their services.

finally.

Despite the objections of the villagers, the village chief invited Jiang Liu and his group to his home, where he ordered people to slaughter sheep and cattle, knead dough, and cook vegetables, creating quite a lively scene.

Waiting for the food to be served—

Cold yak tongue salad, braised pork with cordyceps, Tibetan buns, stuffed lungs, stuffed sausage, rice with milk, roasted lamb chops, ginseng and lamb tendons, and tsampa with ghee.

Because this place is located at the junction of Qinghai, Xinjiang and Tibet, the cuisine is diverse and inclusive, which allowed everyone to enjoy a satisfying meal.

In no time, everyone drank quite a bit of barley wine.

Seeing Jiang Liu, Lu Jin, and Zhang Zhiwei eating meat and drinking wine with gusto, not at all like cultivators, the silver-eyed nun's lips curled into a mocking smile. She thought to herself, "They don't seem like the kind of people who really came here to subdue demons and accumulate merit. They're probably here to find treasure... Perfect, these kinds of people are easy to manipulate!"

Thinking this, she put a piece of lamb chop in her mouth, took a bite, and made a "crunch" sound—she had lost a tooth.

Seeing this, the silver-eyed nun's eyes darkened, and she muttered, "Her body is too old..." Then she said to Jiang Liu and the others, "I'm going to rest now, and we'll set off again tomorrow."

Afterwards, the five lamas dared not stay any longer and hurriedly helped the silver-eyed nun to the guest rooms to rest with the village chief's children.

"Brother Zhiwei, your forthright manner really doesn't seem like that of a Taoist priest."

Jiang Liu glanced at the back of the silver-eyed nun, then turned his attention to Zhang Zhiwei, who was gnawing on a roasted beef leg. He laughed loudly, "You've broken all the four forbidden foods and five pungent and four spicy foods of the Zhengyi school, haven't you?"

"I'm not just a Taoist of the Zhengyi sect, but also a member of the Gongpai sect. How can I have the strength to fight if I don't eat meat?"

Zhang Zhiwei spoke with great conviction, "But you, what are you doing, playing tricks and bringing those corpses back? I thought you'd turned them all to ashes like you did with the muskrats!"

“Hey, those corpses are naturally useful.”

"What's it for?"

Zhang Zhiwei swallowed a large piece of beef and asked in confusion, "Used in medicine? You have a rather strong palate!"

After all, those were all human corpses!

"Of course not!"