A soft sigh rang in my ears, as loud as a thunderclap.
Hong Yi exclaimed "Ah!" again, his hair disheveled, as he pushed open the door to the main hall. Looking at Jiang Liu sitting upright, he asked in horror, "Sir, last night... was it really not a dream?"
Jiang Liu closed his eyes, sat cross-legged, and said, "The world is muddy, but I am clear; everyone is drunk, but I am sober! Even a journey of ten thousand miles is but a dream..."
"Please teach me, sir!" Hong Yi suddenly knelt on the ground and kowtowed three times.
Jiang Liu slightly raised his eyelids, looked at Hong Yi in front of him, and said, "It is not impossible for you to join my sect. However, my sect follows the principle that the master leads you in, but the cultivation is up to you. I will lead you into the sect, and from now on, your cultivation is entirely up to you."
"Student Hong Yi greets Master!"
A glint flashed in Jiang Liu's eyes, and he lifted him up with a burst of energy, laughing, "Good, my sect is called the Hidden Dragon Temple. If you achieve success in your cultivation, you should carry on its glory. I will first teach you the Bull Demon Mighty Strength Technique..."
In the blink of an eye, winter passed and spring arrived. Hong Yi truly lived up to his reputation as the chosen one of the plane, possessing great fortune and talent. His martial arts cultivation was approaching the "Bone Refining" level of a martial artist, and his soul had even reached the realm of controlling objects.
During this period, Consort Yuan of Fragrant Fox also visited several times and exchanged some Taoist techniques with Jiang Liu. Jiang Liu also learned a lot about her Ice Soul Dao supernatural powers, but she kept the fundamental Taoist technique "Human Fragrance Scroll" a secret.
The Fragrance Scroll is a supernatural power of the Scent Cult. It refers to the floral fragrance that Jiang Liu smelled earlier, which is most capable of captivating the mind and spirit.
“Master, I checked the historical records of the previous dynasty and found that the Fragrance Sect was the largest force at the end of the Great Xin Dynasty.”
Hong Yi took out a history book, pointed to a page, and said, "Before the Great Qian Dynasty was the Great Zhou Dynasty, and before the Great Zhou Dynasty was the Great Xin Dynasty. Three hundred years ago, in the final years of the Great Xin Dynasty, heroes rose up all over the world, and the most powerful of them was the Fragrance Sect. However, the Fragrance Sect was destroyed by the Great Zhou Emperor. This history book records the Taoist technique of the Fragrance Sect's Holy Maiden, called 'Fragrance Soul in Dreams.' Once it is used, people in their dreams are filled with fragrance, and they worship the Holy Maiden wholeheartedly, willing to serve her like dogs and horses. Countless heroes and even ghost immortals who have transcended reincarnation have been subdued by the Fragrance Sect. Half of the world has become the Fragrance Sect's territory. If it weren't for the Great Zhou Emperor's sudden appearance, the history of the world might have been different. Could it be that Consort Yuan cultivated such a supernatural power?"
Jiang Liu slowly closed the history book and said calmly, "Everyone has secrets. Since she doesn't want to talk about them, there's no need to pry and ruin our relationship. You've already achieved success in your cultivation, and the imperial examination is imminent, while I may also be traveling far away. You're in a dangerous place, and Consort Yuan can protect you to some extent. However, one must be strong oneself to succeed. I have a method that can trap you in a deep hell. If you can escape, you will naturally comprehend various profound and mysterious abilities. Do you dare to try?"
Hong Yi smiled faintly and said, "Since Master has made this arrangement, I have no reason not to try!"
"Alright, now leave your body!"
As he spoke, he grabbed Hong Yi's soul and stirred up the various Dharma images behind the "Past Amitabha Sutra" with his primordial spirit, revealing the Asura Purgatory.
At this moment, in Hong Yi's perception, countless white bones lay scattered across the wilderness before him, teeming with evil spirits, asuras, yakshas, and demons, surrounding him on all sides, ready to devour him alive.
It felt as if I had fallen into a hellish abyss, with all sorts of shrill cries echoing in my ears.
Even more alluring women whispered softly in his ear, pure celestial maidens and seductive enchantresses, stirring his mind and soul.
Hong Yi recited the words of sages and pointed to the heavens and shouted at the earth, so these temptations naturally could not sway him.
"Beauty and the skeletal remains cannot disturb my mind. Mere demons cannot hinder my path!" In an instant, all illusions shattered and vanished.
Then he looked at the five great demon gods in the void. Hong Yi calmed his mind, his heart clenching. These five great demon gods were: the Yaksha King, the Rakshasa King, the Asura King, the Vajra King, and the Vidyaraja!
It cannot be subdued without great perseverance, wisdom, and supernatural powers.
But as long as one can subdue one of them, one can reach the realm of "manifestation".
Evil thoughts are the Yaksha King, murderous thoughts are the Rakshasa King, fierce thoughts are the Asura King, the desire to fight is the Vajra King, and the wrathful desire to destroy the world is the Destruction King.
The five great demon gods are the five thoughts of man. Obtaining them grants great supernatural powers, allowing one to fight beyond one's level.
Jiang Liu directly visualized Amitabha Buddha, naturally looking down on these demons and monsters. Amitabha Buddha is the Buddha of Infinite Light, destined to attain the form of Vairocana Buddha.
The Yaksha King, wielding a steel fork, has a ferocious face, stands three zhang tall, and has a head full of red magic.
The Rakshasa King, wielding a saw wheel, had three heads and six arms, blood-red eyes, fangs, and white hair. His blood-red eyes stared at Hong Yi, sending a chill down Hong Yi's spine at first glance.
The Asura King is entirely black, with three heads and six arms. He wields a skull staff, a wolf-tooth sword, a serrated knife, and a snake-head bow, while his other two hands are empty. He is extremely ferocious.
Vajra King, a golden-bodied Arhat, with boundless fighting spirit.
The Destruction King, with eight arms and four faces, a golden body, and a vertical eye between its eyebrows, instantly evoked in Hong Yi an endless rage that threatened to destroy the entire world.
In an instant, the five demon gods flew towards him. With his cultivation level, he naturally could not stop them, and they crashed into his soul.
"ah……"
With a long, mournful roar, Hong Yi lost consciousness!
When he woke up groggily the next day, the sun was already high in the sky. The place where Jiang Liu used to sit cross-legged was now empty.
A voice suddenly appeared in Hong Yi's mind: "Who awakens first from the great dream? I know myself best. I have already implanted the Dharma forms of the five great demon gods into your soul. How much you can comprehend depends on your destiny. I have left you a pot of medicinal wine and a bottle of spiritual oil to aid your cultivation. We will meet again if fate allows..."
...
At dawn, Jiang Liu left Qiuyue Temple and went to Yujingcheng Sanhua Tower.
"Sanhualou" is located in the east of Yujing City and is the number one brothel in Yujing. It is decorated with carved railings and jade steps, and has five-story buildings. Of course, the girls inside sell their art but not their bodies.
At dawn, in the dead of winter, the girls were naturally still asleep.
In a secluded room in a five-story building to the east of Sanhua Tower, Jiang Liu leaned against a carved bed, gazing at the beauty on it.
"In the north there is a beautiful woman, peerless and independent."
One glance could topple a city, a second glance could topple a nation.
"How could one not know the power of a beauty to topple a city or a nation? Such a beauty is hard to find again."
Jiang Liu recited the poem slowly, while the woman on the bed, with her unparalleled beauty and ethereal grace, watched him quietly. In fact, she had already woken up the moment Jiang Liu leaned against the bed, her heart filled with alarm. But she calmed down after he finished reciting the poem.
"With my current cultivation level, I only noticed him when he was three feet in front of me. The sect leader's strength is nothing more than this!"
The beauty gazed at Jiang Liu, scrutinizing him from head to toe, yet she found him even more enigmatic. He resembled a spirited young man, yet harbored a hint of world-weariness between his brows; he was like a warrior willing to risk his life, yet possessed an ethereal quality; he was like a Buddha…
"Buddha?! It really looks like him..."
The pink gauze curtains were as smooth and warm as jade. The young master and the beauty looked at each other, yet their silence was suffocating.
"Su Mu!"
Jiang Liu broke the silence with his voice.
“Young master, barging into my boudoir is not the behavior of a gentleman!” Suddenly, Su Mu, the top courtesan of Sanhua Tower, smiled and spoke. Her voice was like a silver bell or a clear spring, but Jiang Liu could not sense any joy, anger, sorrow or emotional fluctuations.
Jiang Liu smiled slightly and said, "You are the Holy Maiden of the Supreme Dao, no need to pretend!"
Su Mu's eyes flashed as he stared directly at Jiang Liu. Their gazes clashed again, and a powerful killing intent erupted between them. In an instant, a gentle breeze blew from between Su Mu's brows, transforming in the blink of an eye into a large bell shimmering with azure light!
"What a magnificent bell! The evening drum and the morning bell, at the break of dawn, are a true warning to the world!"
Jiang Liu gazed at the large bell he had visualized, still reclining at an angle, but he extended a finger and flicked it, striking the bell. The bell was incredibly ancient, seemingly cast in bronze, possessing a weighty, imposing, and solid quality that seemed to transcend time!
This is the deity visualized within Su Mu's divine soul! The methods of visualization within the "Yang God," the cultivation of thought, and the cultivation of the divine soul differ greatly, yet they all cannot escape the rules of heaven and earth. Dao Venerables, gods and demons, Buddhas—all things in heaven and earth can enter the Dao!
This giant bell is the embodiment of the rules of time!
If it were to be named, it could be a single character, "宙" (Zhou). Therefore, this supernatural power is also called "The Bell of the End of the Universe"!
Jiang Liu flicked his finger, and a wave of power that shook the soul spread out from the bell. Ordinary people could not hear this sound, but those who had cultivated their souls could hear it clearly.
Like a thunderclap, it shook the very soul! Those with slightly weaker strength were directly knocked unconscious and fell into a deep sleep.
"This sound must have startled many people from their dreams!" Jiang Liu tapped the bell formed by his divine sense with his finger, then gently stroked it, a hint of curiosity and confusion in his eyes.
The rules of time! This was something Jiang Liu had never encountered before. He had already achieved some mastery of the Five Elements, especially his control over fire, which had reached a transcendent level. He visualized Amitabha Buddha, condensing the image of the Great Sun Tathagata, and emanating a ray of immeasurable light. His understanding of fire had reached the level of light itself.
"It's truly mesmerizing!" Jiang Liu's fingers lightly stroked the large bell, but the Supreme Saintess felt as if his fingers were brushing against her skin, giving her goosebumps.
"Who exactly are you? I am the Holy Maiden of the Supreme Dao. How dare you be so disrespectful! Aren't you afraid that the Sect Master of the Supreme Dao will destroy you?" Su Mu said through gritted teeth. In her perception, an incomparably heavy force was pressing down on her, making it difficult to retaliate.
Jiang Liu glanced sideways at Saintess Su Mu and laughed, "Meng Shenji? He can barely protect himself right now, being hunted down in the ocean. How can he care about you and me!"
Chapter 193 From a Drop of Water, One Can Know the Vast Ocean
"Hmm!" Jiang Liu uttered a long word, then looked at the void in front of Su Mu and frowned.
Suddenly, a crack appeared in the void, as dark as an abyss. Before Jiang Liu could even sense it, a long sword flew out from the crack.
This longsword is square in shape, with an ancient-looking hilt and star patterns adorning its blade. Upon closer inspection, it appears as if countless black holes are flowing within it.
"That was time, this is space. The Supreme Dao truly lives up to its reputation as the foremost Daoist sect in the world!"
Su Mu looked at the young man before her, who remained unmoved, his expression still calm and composed, before her face hardened. She knew she had encountered a true powerhouse this time—a master of the Divine Soul Tribulation realm. However, although she wasn't entirely confident of victory, she wasn't afraid. As the Holy Maiden of the Supreme Dao, she possessed few life-saving treasures or supernatural abilities.
This sword is one of her trump cards, called the "Heavenly Dao Demon-Sealing Sword"!
As soon as the sword appeared out of the void, a sword aura suddenly burst forth, its light as deep as sapphire blue, or like a sky washed clean by water.
"Huh! The immense power I gathered was actually broken... no, it was devoured by this sword! Interesting, very interesting..." In Jiang Liu's perception, this azure sword energy wasn't powerful, or rather, the sword's ability wasn't offensive, but defensive. The blue light of that sword energy seemed like an endless abyss, like a black hole capable of swallowing everything.
"Little beauty, you'd better watch out."
Jiang Liu's goal wasn't to kill the beautiful woman who cultivated the ruthless path; he wanted the cultivation method of the Supreme Dao. He gave a reminder, then flicked out a flame—pure white, seemingly devoid of heat to others, yet brimming with boundless heat—which shot straight forth.
The pressure that had been weighing on her was absorbed by the Heavenly Dao Demon-Sealing Sword, and the pressure vanished instantly. Su Mu immediately sprang up, her two large breasts swaying beneath her pure white strapless top. Ignoring all else, she swung the Heavenly Dao Demon-Sealing Sword in her hand, and the flames Jiang Liu had flicked away were once again swallowed up.
“Interesting! This sword can actually cleave space... Eh! It can even twist thoughts…” Jiang Liu stretched and stood up, looking at Su Mu standing in the distance and said with a smile, “What a beautiful view! Being naked would be less attractive; this kind of hazy scenery is the best.”
"You scoundrel!" Su Mu gritted his teeth and said, then shook his longsword. The blue sword energy suddenly changed and turned into a fiery sword energy, which slashed back towards Jiang Liu!
Jiang Liu let out a soft "Eh," and with a flick of his finger, the fiery sword energy coiled around his fingertip. It was pure white, and it was none other than his Heaven-Burning Blazing Sun Fire.
"An eye for an eye! Your spatial magic is truly impressive! What's the name of this sword?"
Su Mu stared coldly at Jiang Liu, her brows furrowed, and without a word, turned and fled. The space seemed to tremble slightly, as if she were about to traverse the void.
But as soon as she tried to escape, a figure suddenly appeared, holding an ancient bronze mirror that emitted a strong white light, freezing her in place.
Before her astonished eyes, a figure flashed and blocked her retreat. The face was identical to Jiang Liu's, without any difference.
"Mahavairocana!" The figure uttered four words softly, and a gentle white light emanated from his body.
The white light shone directly on Su Mu, as vast as the Milky Way, outshining even the rising sun.
"I possess boundless light; let's see how you devour it!"
Su Mu flicked his longsword and coldly snorted, "My Heavenly Dao Demon-Sealing Sword has endless void; how could it not devour it!"
This Heavenly Dao Demon-Sealing Sword is a supreme treasure of the Supreme Dao, possessing the ability to solidify space. Jiang Liu's description of it as "using their own methods against them" is entirely accurate. This sword can devour any Dao technique; if one has not survived the tribulation of lightning and their attack lacks any pure Yang intent, it can even reverse the attack, deflecting it back to harm the user!
"Hmph!" Seeing Jiang Liu approach step by step, Su Mu seemed to be about to grind her teeth to dust. Suddenly, a thought rose from between her brows. The "Clock of the Universe" that Jiang Liu was playing with immediately collapsed, transforming back into a nine-story pagoda in front of her!
This nine-story pagoda is square in shape. When it appears, it seems to cover the four directions of heaven and earth, filling everything infinitely.
Instantly, Jiang Liu felt as if he were trapped in a quagmire. The air around him seemed to freeze, or rather, the space was imprisoned under the suppression of this pagoda!
"The Bell of the Universe couldn't hold your soul, so I had no choice but to use the Tower of the Universe to imprison you."
"Really?" Jiang Liu raised his eyelids and suddenly threw a punch, causing the space to tremble. In an instant, the confined space shattered like glass, with countless cracks appearing before collapsing with a "crash."
This shockwave spread all the way to the "Tower of the Universe" before it was suppressed!
"You are the mysterious person who exchanged a punch with Hong Xuanji that day!"