Life Seed Art
Zheng Que’s face instantly paled. He stiffly turned his head and saw a blood-red figure standing rigidly at the foot of his bed.
The figure resembled a human but had no skin at all. Writhing flesh, blood vessels, bones, all exposed, emitting a thick, bloody stench.
This was unmistakably a living corpse without skin!
How had it found him?
Zheng Que froze in terror. But at that moment the living corpse right before him suddenly imitated his movements and stepped down from the bed.
“Disciple! You’ve finally come out!”
“Hahahaha! Hahahahaha!!”
“Disciple, your master will devour you now!”
That familiar voice suddenly rang out again.
The next moment.
Crunch!
The living corpse that had just stepped off the bed instantly had half its head bitten off by something.
A grayish-white brain, along with murky blood, immediately flowed down the remaining skull, dripping onto the floor. The living corpse felt no pain and continued walking outward.
Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.
Accompanied by crisp chewing sounds, bite marks of all kinds rapidly appeared all over the living corpse’s body.
The living corpse showed no reaction, walking faster and faster. Just as it was about to reach the door it had already lost nearly half its body, with multiple bones broken. Losing its balance it fell to the ground, struggling to crawl out with its remaining limbs.
Creak!
Finally the living corpse opened the door and staggered out.
Outside, the muffled sound of flesh scraping against the stone path faded into the distance, and the footsteps that had been circling the bed also grew fainter.
The lingering chill in the room seemed to vanish in an instant.
Witnessing this, Zheng Que was momentarily stunned but quickly realized: the living corpse had just saved his life!
That living corpse might have been sent by his true master!
Thinking this, he dared not waste any time and immediately rolled off the bed.
The room was in disarray, scattered and shattered furniture and utensils everywhere, but Zheng Que had no time to tidy up. After hastily adjusting his outer robe he hurried out the door.
Outside, under the gradually brightening sky, the neighboring houses were eerily quiet. There was almost no cooking smoke in the distance, only the faint crowing of roosters and barking of dogs drifting from behind heavy courtyard walls somewhere unseen.
Not far away, on an open patch of ground, the children he had seen the previous evening were still gathered there, chatting animatedly about something.
Zheng Que cautiously skirted around the children and quickened his pace, heading toward the dilapidated temple.
A short while later he arrived once again before the dilapidated temple. At this hour the shadow of the withered tree inside the wall did not fall upon the threshold of the courtyard gate.
Zheng Que carefully observed, confirming that the gate and its surroundings showed no signs of abnormality, before stepping inside. He crossed the desolate courtyard and entered the temple.
The place looked no different from when he had left yesterday. The old man in gray robes sat cross-legged on a cushion before the shrine, eyes slightly closed, expression indifferent.
A dark, heavy coffin lay in the corner, emanating a cold, sinister aura.
Zheng Que hurried forward and bowed deeply. “Disciple Zheng Que pays respects to Master!”
Hearing this, Daoist Qu slowly opened his eyes, glanced at him and spoke. “Every mortal who enters the Dao faces a life-or-death trial.”
“Last night’s Calling Ghost was your fate calamity.”
“It is also your tribulation for entering the Dao.”
“Just now, your master used a corpse puppet to lure away that Calling Ghost for you.”
“However, that is only temporary.”
“Each person’s fate calamity must be overcome by themselves.”
At this point he raised his hand and lightly pointed toward Zheng Que.
The next moment a concentrated beam of purple light flashed by, instantly disappearing into Zheng Que’s brow.
Zheng Que immediately felt a buzzing in his head followed by a wave of intense pain. At the same time a large amount of unfamiliar text appeared out of nowhere in his mind.
The Great Dao is fifty, but Heaven only manifests forty-nine.
“From now on, your master can only remain here for forty-nine hours. During this time, how much you can learn depends on your own talent.”
“This is the 【Life Seed Art】, a rapid cultivation method.”
“You can begin cultivating this method now.”
“If you wish to survive, you must enter the Dao before nightfall tonight.”
“The Calling Ghost will come looking for you again tonight.”
“Although we are master and disciple, the karma between us is only enough for your master to help you once. There will not be a second time!”
Daoist Qu’s indifferent voice reached Zheng Que’s ears.
As he listened, Zheng Que quickly calmed down.
That living corpse that had appeared earlier was indeed sent by his master to save him.
From his master’s words, that thing that wanted his life was called a Calling Ghost, and it would come for him again tonight.
Only by entering the Dao before sunset did he have any chance of survival.
Thinking this, Zheng Que immediately bowed to Daoist Qu once more and said solemnly, “Thank you, Master, for bestowing this method!”
Daoist Qu nodded slightly.
Zheng Que immediately began studying the cultivation method that had appeared in his mind.
The first step of the 【Life Seed Art】 was to sense the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi, thereby drawing Qi into the body, opening the Qi Sea, and storing a wisp of Primordial Spiritual Breath within the Qi Sea. Once achieved, one could become a cultivator at the Qi Refining Stage.
According to the method’s introduction, the cultivation realms of this world, from low to high, were divided into the Qi Refining Stage, Foundation Establishment Stage, Core Formation Stage, Nascent Soul Stage.
Among these, the Qi Refining Stage was further divided into nine minor realms, from the first to the ninth layer.
Realms after the Foundation Establishment Stage were divided into three minor realms: early stage, middle stage, and late stage.
The 【Life Seed Art】 could allow mortals to enter the Dao, cultivating from the Qi Refining Stage all the way through to the Foundation Establishment Stage.
While reviewing the method, Zheng Que asked a few questions related to cultivation, all of which Daoist Qu patiently answered one by one.
Soon Zheng Que had a basic understanding of how to cultivate. He retreated to an open space nearby, sat down cross-legged, closed his eyes, silently recited the method’s incantations and began focusing entirely on sensing the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi described in the method.
Gradually he felt the temperature around him drop rapidly. The shrine, the temple, the courtyard, including his master, all seemed to fade away. He felt as if he were suspended in a void, hazy grayish energy stretching in every direction, clear and lively, seemingly drawn toward him.
Yet within that hazy grayish energy there were also threads of coldness: streams of frigid air drifting unpredictably like plankton in water, filling the heavens and earth.
According to his master’s earlier explanation, these cold streams were one form of Spiritual Qi.
However, in this world the cycle of reincarnation did not exist. The souls of the deceased lingered in the mortal realm, and the Yin Qi in the world was dense. Therefore within the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi there was also a rich mixture of Yin Qi.
Spiritual Qi could enhance one’s cultivation and strength, while Yin Qi affected the mind and lifespan.
Due to the corruption of Heaven and Earth, Spiritual Qi and Yin Qi had merged into one. As a result the cultivators of this world could only absorb both together during cultivation.
Thus the more profound a cultivator’s cultivation, the more Yin Qi accumulated within their body, often leading to an increasingly twisted Heart-Nature.
Lost in thought, Zheng Que immediately recited an incantation and from the Spiritual Qi he sensed extracted a thread-like stream of energy, guiding it into his own body.