Transcending two realms to become an earth immortal

Chapter 74 The Only True Method Exists in This World

A large crowd gathered in front of the main hall of the temple.

The newly recruited mortals, the selected disciples, and the remaining elders and followers gathered in a large group of over a hundred, whispering amongst themselves, their faces a mixture of excitement and trepidation.

"I've heard that Senior Brother Fang personally taught me the Daoist arts..."

"Is this the true Dharma transmitted by the Dao Master?"

"Silence! To have even one skill to rely on is already an immense blessing..."

Suddenly, all was silent.

Fang Chen walked slowly out of the hall, wearing a plain Taoist robe, his figure upright.

His gaze swept calmly across the room, without any imposing pressure, yet possessing a composed demeanor that instantly silenced all the noisy whispers.

Hundreds of gazes converged, everyone holding their breath, even unconsciously slowing their breathing. Whether they were naive young disciples or seasoned elders of the sect, they all stood solemnly at this moment.

Fang Chen walked to the high platform in the center of the arena and stood there calmly.

Looking at the hundreds of disciples below the stage, whose future paths and current lives were all in his hands, he could decide their rise and fall with a single thought and their survival with a single word... This kind of power was indeed hard to calm the mind.

No wonder Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang, upon witnessing the majesty of the First Emperor, exclaimed, "A true man should be like this!" This power in the world is truly captivating…

Fang Chen chuckled to himself, looked up at the crowd, and spoke clearly to everyone:

"My cultivation is shallow and my attainments are limited. The Great Dao is profound and mysterious, and I dare not speak presumptuously. Creating a new method and spreading the Dao is also beyond my current capabilities."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the faces, some expectant, some bewildered:

"Therefore, I have summoned you all here today not to expound the supreme Daoist teachings, nor to impart secrets that are not to be passed on. What I can offer you is merely a preliminary exploration of a... unorthodox and heretical method based on my limited understanding."

The tone was steady, and the language was simple and easy to understand.

"There are countless methods of cultivation in this world, as vast as the ocean. If you want to discuss the profound and mysterious principles within them, I am powerless. Even the unorthodox and heretical methods alone cannot be fully explained in a short time."

"However, after thoroughly studying the Daoist canon and delving into the traditions of both the righteous and demonic paths, as well as the human and demon races, I discovered that although these myriad methods appear vastly different, they are fundamentally interconnected. The most crucial points can be summarized into two categories."

He paused briefly:

"First, one needs a foundation capable of bearing magical power and operating the soul. Second, one needs to find an energy source to absorb and refine in order to strengthen one's own external power."

"For example, the Daoist path of the Celestial Immortal involves opening the dantian within the body to preserve the nascent soul. The path of the Ghost Immortal involves opening the sea of ​​consciousness between the eyebrows to settle the soul. The path of the Earth Immortal involves condensing the core in the spiritual platform to connect with the earth's veins."

"For example, unorthodox sects may use the Ten Thousand Souls Banner as their power source, or rely on strange treasures, or even use demonic corpse puppets as containers... They have many names, such as acupoints, spiritual pivots, or altars."

"However, the essence remains the same. Ultimately, we need to find a place where you can gather, store, and freely mobilize your extraordinary magical power. You can call this place your dantian, your spiritual platform, your sea of ​​consciousness... In the end, it is the foundation for cultivating all methods!"

"Only by establishing this foundation can cultivators gather purple qi in the morning and drink moonlight at night, truly stepping into the gate of immortality and opening the path of cultivation. Otherwise, they will be like rootless duckweed, even with supernatural powers, it is like a castle in the air, difficult to maintain for long, let alone climb upwards."

"With the foundation established, the next step is to fill and strengthen it with external forces so that it can operate continuously and rise step by step. These external forces may include gathering the essence of the sun and moon, absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, refining the blood of demonic beasts, or seizing the incense offerings of living beings... all kinds of external forces."

"How to build a foundation for cultivation, and how to absorb and refine the external forces needed... These two are the most basic and fundamental framework of the vast majority of cultivation methods throughout history."

"The countless Taoist scriptures and myriad wondrous methods circulating in the world, whether righteous or evil, immortal or demonic, are all largely derived from, evolved, and sublimated from this basic framework..."

Many young Taoist novices and disciples in the audience looked bewildered, feeling completely lost and unable to understand what was going on.

Among the crowd, a boy at the front whispered:

"Wasn't the lesson supposed to be about teaching powerful spells? Why is my martial uncle talking about this all the time..."

Before he could finish speaking, the elder beside him flicked his finger on the forehead!

The boy covered his head and looked at him with a wronged expression. The elder glared at him and scolded in a low voice:

"Ignorant child! You spend your days reciting fancy spells, yet you know nothing of the foundation of the Great Dao! What Senior Brother Fang is saying now is the most crucial and fundamental secret on the path of cultivation!"

The elder sighed inwardly.

This senior brother Fang's few words, though seemingly simple, are nothing short of a savior to the many wandering cultivators who have nowhere to seek the Dao, are stuck at a bottleneck, and have no way to progress, yet do not know where they went wrong. They are like clearing away the clouds and seeing the sun, pointing directly to the key points on the path of the Dao!

For example, the key to cultivation lies in the foundation. So, regardless of whether it is righteous or demonic, or unorthodox or heretical, the method of cultivation, whether it is to retrieve the moon from the water, burn thatch to build a cauldron, or swallow the sun and moon, or eat the clouds and absorb the qi, all need to find a foundation to support the power of the method and nurture the soul and spirit.

Otherwise, even with a thousand wonderful techniques, each use would consume one's own essence, blood, and lifespan. Even if one's supernatural powers were astonishing for a time, it would ultimately be like a flower in a mirror or the moon in the water, making it difficult to achieve immortality.

For example, if one understands the importance of a solid foundation, one will know that at the beginning of cultivation, the form, quality, and symbolism of that foundation have already subtly determined the distance of one's future path.

This is because the Dao itself is the vessel that holds the Great Dao—a vast vessel signifies a grand Dao; a sturdy vessel signifies a stable Dao; a turbid vessel signifies arduous cultivation…

Similarly, since it is clear that cultivation requires drawing upon external forces, regardless of the method practiced—whether one is human, demon, immortal, or devil—one should choose a path to study diligently and ensure the purity of the external force.

For example, when cultivating qi, immortal cultivators should absorb pure and spiritual qi and avoid yin and evil. When refining blood food, one should choose creatures with abundant qi and blood and few impurities, and not use a lot of food as a substitute... Focusing on one path, the more refined and condensed one's magical power becomes, the fewer obstacles there will be on the path to enlightenment, and the further one can go.

This is called the material for refining oneself. If the material is good, the elixir will be formed; if the material is mixed, the effort will be wasted.

Only by understanding the essence of the foundation can one know that the foundation is related to the future. Only by understanding the principles of external forces can one know that the purity or impurity of external forces is related to one's realm of existence.

Fang Chen himself, with his Qi transforming into Heavenly Seal, the Netherworld forging Earthly Seal, and his human body creating Human Seal, embodies the three elements of Heaven, Earth, and Man, with grand aspirations and rare external forces, thus enabling him to glimpse a sliver of the Great Dao opportunity in the future.

Therefore, regardless of the five immortal paths of Heaven, Earth, Man, God, Ghost, or Immortal, there is a saying about building a foundation and a realm of condensing the foundation of the Dao. The root lies in this.

This principle may seem simple to those with discerning eyes, yet countless cultivators in the world are trapped by sectarianism and misled by the appearance of supernatural powers, spending their entire lives without ever grasping this truth.

Just like human relationships and social customs, everyone claims to understand them, but how many people in the world truly understand the nuances and subtleties involved?

These fundamental secrets of cultivation are often passed down orally from master to disciple, generation after generation. As for Taoist scriptures, they are often shrouded in mystery and never explicitly stated, preventing outsiders from understanding them.

Therefore, an ancient saying in Taoism goes—

"The true Dharma is the only one in the world, which is not recorded in countless Taoist scriptures!"

Upon hearing this, the elder understood.

However, as his gaze swept over the bewildered young disciples below the stage, he couldn't help but sigh. This principle, though seemingly ordinary, is the key to cultivation.

That's just how people are. In their youth, they are oblivious to the preciousness of time and the fleeting nature of opportunities, always feeling that there's plenty of time ahead. As they grow older and come to understand these truths, youth is gone, fate is hard to change, and all they can do is sink deeper and deeper into oblivion.

Life is like that. When we are young, we don't know how precious time is, we feel that life is infinite and the future is vast, and we often neglect the present.

But by the time one has experienced all the vicissitudes of life and realized the preciousness of youth, it is already too late. Thus, one can only sink deeper and deeper into the mundane world.

Youth fades quickly, learning is hard to achieve; every moment is precious. Before one realizes the spring grass by the pond has faded, the autumn leaves on the steps already whisper. Learning is difficult to attain, life is fleeting; nothing is more so than this.

Fang Chen, unaware of the thoughts of the audience below, finished his preface and then spoke loudly:

"Therefore, the unorthodox method I am transmitting today is—"

"The Way of Talismans and External Alchemy!"