The two boys took their leave and went together into the room. One carried a golden mallet, and the other a cinnabar tray, with a silk handkerchief placed under the tray. They went to the ginseng garden. Qingfeng climbed the tree and used the golden mallet to knock down the fruit. Mingyue waited below with the cinnabar tray to catch it. After a while, two fruits were knocked down and placed on the tray. They went straight to the front hall and offered them, saying, "Elder Tang, our Wuzhuang Temple is a remote and desolate place, and we have nothing to offer. We have only these two simple fruits as a token of our respect, to quench your thirst."
"What is this? Why does it look like a three-day-old child?"
Mingyue stepped forward and said, "Elder, this thing is called ginseng fruit, and it actually grows on trees."
"Oh, such a wondrous thing exists in the world! My disciple is still down the mountain. I have obtained such a wondrous thing, and I cannot keep it to myself. I wonder if I can take it with me and share it with my disciple!"
Qingfeng immediately shook his head and said, "Elder, you should eat now! So we can explain to our master."
Mingyue, however, tugged at Qingfeng's sleeve and whispered, "Qingfeng, it's alright if he takes him away. We'll close the mountain gate and activate the great formation after he leaves. Master told us to send two fruits to Elder Tang. As for how he eats them, we don't care. Even if he doesn't eat them, that's not our fault!"
"Elder, please go down the mountain. It's no trouble!" Mingyue said with a smile.
"Then thank you very much, young Taoist priests. It's getting late, and this humble monk cannot stay any longer..."
Jiang Liu carried the two ginseng fruits and walked slowly and unhurriedly. As soon as he stepped out of the long mountain path, the temple behind him became hazy and disappeared without a trace, obviously covered by a great formation.
"Phew, this came so easily! You guys gave it to me, so even if Zhen Yuanzi finds out in the end, he can't do anything to me. Besides, the Third Holy Mother is here, so I'm not afraid!" Jiang Liu was overjoyed, and his steps became lighter.
He couldn't help but be delighted. The moment his palm touched the ginseng fruit, he knew how precious it was. To be honest, he would have been heartbroken to give one of the two ginseng fruits to the Third Holy Mother, Yang Chan.
"Eating this fruit, regardless of how much it will extend my lifespan, will definitely elevate my immortal body to another level..."
Chapter 441 Ever-Changing
Looking at the baby-sized ginseng fruit before her, the Third Holy Mother Yang Chan's breathing quickened. She had originally thought that Jiang Liu would be driven out directly, or beaten up and thrown down the mountain, so that she could appear and resolve the farce. But now, with the ginseng fruit in her hand, how could she not be surprised, how could her heart not race? This was a spiritual fruit far more precious than the peaches of immortality!
The Heavenly Court has a total of 3,600 peach trees, and even the best 1,200 trees only ripen once every 9,000 years. This is nothing compared to the ginseng fruit, which ripens once every 10,000 years and produces only 30 fruits per ripening.
Although it differs somewhat from the rumor that eating one would grant a lifespan of 47,000 years, it would still allow one to live a fraction of that lifespan. It all depends on how much power one can draw from it, and varies from person to person.
If one's physical strength is too weak, one can absorb less energy, and naturally, one's lifespan will also increase less.
"Take a deep breath... It's just a ginseng fruit, nothing serious... Taking a deep breath almost made my Dao heart unstable. Speaking of which, this Bodhi seed really has miraculous effects; holding it in my hand even dispelled distracting thoughts..."
Yang Chan looked up at the direction of Wuzhuang Temple. The temple, which was faintly visible, had disappeared into the great formation without leaving a trace, and no one came out. Then she said, "How did you get the ginseng fruit? Is there really no consequence from eating it?"
"Eat without worry! I didn't steal or rob. I earned this fruit through my own efforts, so you can eat it with peace of mind!" How could you not eat the fruit that Qingfeng and Mingyue personally gave you?
"But why am I so restless! Never mind..."
Just as Yang Chan was about to swallow, Jiang Liu reached out to stop her, saying, "You only cultivate the Dao, you haven't trained your physical body, have you?"
"Physical body? My brother knows the Eight-Nine Arcane Arts, but I've never practiced it."
"It's too wasteful to eat it directly like that. I'll teach you a physical exercise. After you learn it, the ginseng fruit will be even more effective!"
As Jiang Liu spoke, he explained the martial arts of the human immortals in the "Yang Shen" world. Naturally, he couldn't help but point out acupoints, which caused a few ripples to stir in Jiang Liu's iron-willed heart.
Yang Chan didn't care and devoted herself wholeheartedly to the Dao of Acupoints. She was able to comprehend the Dao Fruit of the Celestial Immortal, so her talent was naturally not bad. Moreover, she was half-human and half-immortal, with half of her bloodline being human. There was no obstacle to cultivating the Dao of Acupoints. Furthermore, she had consumed countless spiritual pills and immortal fruits. Even without systematic cultivation, her physical body was comparable to that of an early-stage human immortal.
Yang Chan hadn't paid much attention to this cultivation at first, but as she delved deeper, she felt the profound depth of the acupoint system. After a long while, she said, "I've seen you cultivate the Eight-Nine Arcane Technique. This technique seems to be comparable to the physical training method of the Eight-Nine Arcane Technique. Jiang Liu, I've obtained the Ginseng Fruit, and if I also acquire this cultivation method, I'll owe you a great debt of karma, which I'm afraid I can't repay..."
"You've already boarded my pirate ship, and you still want to get off halfway... Hehe!" Jiang Liu chuckled inwardly, but of course he didn't dare say it aloud. Instead, he waved his hand and said, "It's just a small favor. I still need your help to retrieve the remains of the Nine Provinces Cauldron!"
...
The two found a secluded place, set up a small cave, and prepared to eat the ginseng fruit.
If one were to swallow it whole, it would be simple, but ultimately it would be difficult to fully absorb the energy, resulting in considerable waste. Only someone like Jiang Liu, who has developed his physical body to an extremely high level, and who has prepared carefully, can fully absorb it.
Even in the Journey to the West, where gods and demons are as numerous as dogs, the realm of physical bodies derived from flesh and blood is extremely rare. Sun Wukong, a powerful demon born with deep roots and natural advantages, naturally possessed a perfected physical body, but this was still only equivalent to the realm of physical bodies derived from flesh and blood. Only after cultivating the Eight-Nine Arcane Arts and the Seventy-Two Earthly Transformations did he reach the realm of countless transformations.
Moreover, his ability to transform in countless ways is not due to a breakthrough in his physical body to a higher level, but rather it is obtained through the cultivation of Daoist techniques, and is not purely a matter of physical cultivation.
Yang Jian is the same. He cultivates the sect's guardian divine skill and is known as the God of War of the Three Realms. However, his physical strength is only derived from his flesh and blood.
Of course, Journey to the West is a cultivation system based on enlightenment, and it does not emphasize the physical body. Understanding the Great Dao is the fundamental goal.
However, neglecting it doesn't mean one's physical strength is weak. Proving the Dao through force is hailed as the strongest method, yet it's abandoned by all those with great supernatural powers because there's simply no chance of success. Since the beginning of time, only Pangu has succeeded.
There are three types of ways to attain sainthood and enlightenment. The first is to attain sainthood through force, like Pangu, whose magical power and spiritual cultivation are at their strongest after becoming a saint, and who is not bound by the laws of heaven.
The second method is to sever the three corpses to attain enlightenment. Similar to Hongjun and Laozi, the latter's magical power and cultivation are slightly inferior, and they are subject to the constraints of the Heavenly Dao.
The third way is to achieve sainthood through merit, which is the lowest level of cultivation, but also the easiest.
Even the easiest path to sainthood through merit is extremely rare, dating back to the beginning of time.
Inside the newly opened cave, the two sat cross-legged facing each other. Yang Chan was still comprehending her acupoints, occasionally taking small bites of ginseng fruit to absorb energy and refine her acupoints.
Jiang Liu swallowed it whole, and boundless energy spread from his stomach into all the acupoints in his body. Under the Bodhi tree in the "Battle Through the Heavens" world, Jiang Liu had already comprehended the secrets of flesh and blood evolution, and had understood all 1,197 acupoints in his body. What he lacked was the vast energy to refine them.
Originally, I planned to use the Qilin Divine Medicine in my inner world to break through, but it was not fully mature and its effect was poor. Moreover, since Ancestor Hongjun preached in the inner world, the Qilin Divine Medicine had actually taken human form and started cultivating, so it could no longer be treated as a divine medicine.
Now that we have the ginseng fruit, it couldn't be better.
As the baby-sized ginseng fruit entered his stomach, Jiang Liu couldn't help but let out a joyful whistle. Soon after, mist and clouds flowed around Jiang Liu's body, making him appear radiant and glowing, as if he were about to ascend to heaven. His blood and energy surged, and his vital energy, like a vast ocean, was surging.
Most remarkably, he sat there cross-legged, mysterious and unfathomable, like a deity, one with heaven and earth, guiding the Dao into his body.
Then, a map of Kyushu's mountains and rivers appeared behind him.
In the world of "Yang Shen," the ultimate goal of the path to becoming a human immortal is to comprehend the mysteries of the ninety-nine states of the vast world, corresponding to the ninety-nine acupoints of the human body. The 1,197 known acupoints of the human body, combined with the map of the ninety-nine states, constitute a mysterious, incalculable, and unpredictable supreme esoteric text that requires human comprehension.
The ultimate secret of the Immortal Martial Path lies in the ninety-nine acupoints, which require people to comprehend and study from the ninety-nine states. The extent to which one can comprehend depends on one's comprehension and opportunities.
Jiang Liu had naturally tried to comprehend it, but ultimately he was not a human from the "Yang Shen" world, and the unknown mysteries of the human body could not be matched. So he transferred it to the Nine Provinces of "Journey to the West".
To unravel the mysteries of the Nine Provinces and break through the final shackles.
Moreover, after the bronze tripod merged with the Yangzhou tripod and the Jingzhou tripod, the secrets of these two states were clearly revealed to Jiang Liu without any errors.
To observe the mysteries of heaven and earth and break through the physical body—this is the Dao.
All methods, though profound and mysterious, ultimately lead to the same destination. The way of the physical body is also the way of heaven and earth. Only Pangu, who created the world, could refine his body using the principles of heaven and earth.
...
Now that he has reached this level of physical and mental development, all his martial arts skills come naturally without any hindrance. The boundless spiritual energy of the ginseng fruit condenses and transforms into boundless vitality, flowing into all his acupoints and nourishing the space and time within them. His entire body's energy is so full that it overflows.
Buzzing, buzzing...
A sound emanated from Jiang Liu's body. After condensing 1,197 acupoints, his physical potential was unlocked once again. A buzzing sound, like that of bees, came from inside his body, as if there were a beehive inside him.
Boom!
The buzzing sound reached its peak, and suddenly, Jiang Liu's physical body completely decomposed into the smallest particles, which were invisible to the naked eye.
The physical body inexplicably disintegrated and slowly disappeared before their eyes. This scene truly stunned Yang Chan, who stared wide-eyed.
Transforming into billions of particles, Jiang Liu felt a strange sensation. Each particle carried all the information of his physical body and the essence of martial arts, seemingly able to combine into any shape at his will.
Of course, this transformation is not without cost. It requires consuming energy within the body and thoroughly understanding the information of the object being transformed; otherwise, it will only be a superficial resemblance!
Jiang Liu wasn't in a hurry. He carefully sensed the countless particles that his physical body had transformed into, finding it incredibly magical. For a moment, he wondered if he had cultivated his physical body to the point of "immortality."
He has been reduced to dust, and ordinary attacks are no longer effective against him.
This ability to change at will is a realm one level higher than "flesh and blood evolution" in the physical body realm—a realm of endless transformations!
Ever-changing!
A sudden inspiration struck him; he seemed to grasp the mystery of physical transformation, a supernatural power. All the particles suddenly recombine, not into a human form, but into a dragon.
Not only does it resemble a dragon in appearance, but it also possesses the spirit of a dragon. Yang Chan sensed it carefully, and even felt a divine light shining from between her eyebrows, which immediately made her look incredulous.
Although she didn't have Erlang Shen's vertical eye between his eyebrows, which could see through illusions and magic, she still couldn't see through Jiang Liu's changes even when she used the divine light of the Lotus Lantern to observe him.
In her perception, this was a real dragon, not an illusion or a supernatural transformation, but a real dragon.
Just as Yang Chan was in shock, the dragon that Jiang Liu had transformed into suddenly changed again. With a movement in the air, it transformed into a phoenix, spreading its wings and unleashing a sky-piercing flame, its unique divine power soaring into the heavens.
Yang Chan was stunned, watching the river flow constantly change, transforming into dragons, phoenixes, black tortoises, mountains, trees, and so on. He could use his physical body to transform into anything with a shape.
A thousand transformations, the ultimate state of the physical body.
Finally, what appeared in Yang Chan's eyes was herself, an exact replica of herself, with no difference in expression or temperament, a perfect imitation.
Chapter 442 The Seventy-Two Earthly Fiend Transformations
"Interesting, there isn't a single flaw. You've cultivated the Seventy-Two Earthly Fiend Transformations, or even the Thirty-Six Heavenly Dipper Transformations..."
Jiang Liu then roared and transformed into a large rock, which landed in front of Yang Chan. She tapped it and discovered that it was real, not fake.
She even knocked a piece of the stone off with her finger, crushed it into powder, and it turned out to be real.
"Huh, it's actually true! How did you do that? Even my brother used the Seventy-Two Transformations of Earthly Fiends, and even completely changed the essence of his soul, but he still didn't truly become a stone!"
The stone rumbled and transformed again, becoming a nine-aperture stone figure, and said, "Of course it's real. My physical body just transformed into stone, so it truly became stone. There's no falsehood in it. This is a transformation between matter and matter! Even a Golden Immortal couldn't tell the difference, because it's real."
Jiang Liu originally wanted to use science to explain the relationship between atoms, molecules, and the principles of change, but then thought better of it, as it would be too complicated to explain.
"Really? So your method of transformation has already reached a level that surpasses the Heavenly Dipper and Earthly Fiend Transformation?"
“I have not cultivated the Dao of Heavenly Dipper and Earthly Fiend Transformation, but I think that all transformations are ultimately based on one thing: the physical body and the soul. As long as these two can be transformed, one has mastered the Dao of Transformation.” Suddenly, the stone man transformed into billions of invisible particles, forming Jiang Liu’s body.
"I cultivate the Way of the Physical Body, and I've reached an extremely high realm—the Thousand Transformations! At this level, basically no ordinary attack can kill me, and very few people can see through my true form. Of course, my soul transformation still needs improvement; I'll still be exposed when facing a master. In my opinion, my Way of Transformation focuses on the physical body, while the Way of Heavenly Fiends and Earthly Fiends focuses on the soul. If the two are combined and cultivated to perfection, one can become whatever one wants..."
Yang Chan pondered for a moment and said, "What you said makes sense. Those who are proficient in the art of transformation are all people with strong physical bodies. My brother is proficient in the Seventy-Two Earthly Fiend Transformations, as is Sun Wukong, who wreaked havoc in the Heavenly Palace, and the Great Sage Equaling Heaven, the Mighty Bull Demon King. The Eight-Nine Arcane Arts have the ability to temper the body. Since my brother became a saint after the Investiture of the Gods, he has cultivated the Eight-Nine Arcane Arts to an extremely high level. However, in the battle with Sun Wukong five hundred years ago, his art of transformation was still inferior to his. It seems that the Spirit Stone Monkey was not born good at transformation, but because his physical body was too strong, he was superior in the art of transformation."
"With the method of body tempering through acupoints, you can also reach that level..." Jiang Liu laughed.
“That’s true. But since you gave me a cultivation technique, I’ll give you one in return! It should be very useful to you!” As she spoke, Yang Chan connected with him using her divine sense. Jiang Liu was immediately startled when he received the connection.
"This is one of the Seventy-Two Earthly Fiend Transformations?!"
"Yes, the Seventy-Two Earthly Fiend Transformations. How does it compare to your body-refining method? This divine power is not merely the transformation method you described. It is profound and contains various supernatural abilities, leading directly to the Great Dao. Of the three thousand Great Daos, seventy-two are among them. However, I have only cultivated some superficial fragments. The Eight-Nine Arcane Arts is the supreme protective divine art of the Chan Sect, which I cannot practice, and I cannot learn the transformation method. These Seventy-Two Earthly Fiend Transformations were passed down to me by the Goddess Nuwa. You need not worry about giving them to you!"
Since the human race was created by the goddess Nuwa, and she passed on a cultivation technique to her, Yang Chan wasn't worried that Nuwa would blame her.
Jiang Liu watched the "Seventy-Two Earthly Fiend Transformations" in his sea of consciousness and was momentarily captivated by them. He had originally thought that the seventy-two Earthly Fiend Transformations were merely supernatural abilities to change one's physical form.
However, after reading the information sent by Yang Chan, he immediately discovered that the seventy-two earthly transformations were not just simple transformations, but covered all aspects of cultivation.
The first method is called "Connecting to the Netherworld." This means being able to freely travel between hell and the mortal realm. Everyone knows that going to hell isn't difficult, but returning is. Mastering this method allows one to freely travel to hell. Sun Wukong was able to alter the Book of Life and Death at Yama's court using this technique.
Of course, the most basic technique is the astral projection of the primordial spirit, but when cultivated to a higher level, one can directly enter the underworld with one's physical body in the mortal world, which is truly the Great Dao of Yin and Yang.
Most of the other methods are also based on the principles of Yin and Yang and the Five Elements. For example, methods such as abstaining from water, borrowing wind, spreading fog, praying for clear skies, praying for rain, sitting in fire, entering water, controlling the wind, boiling stones, spitting flames, etc., are all very common methods.