Рай — это берег праха смертных

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"You know about 'entering a meditative state'?" the old woman asked doubtfully.

“I need to enter a state of tranquility every day, and I only get up when I need to urinate,” Shen Caihua explained.

"When you urinate?" The old woman was even more puzzled.

“Otherwise, I would wet the bed,” Shen Caihua replied earnestly.

"Haha, it's for sleeping..." the old woman suddenly realized and laughed heartily.

Shen Caihua chuckled foolishly, then asked, "What is 'possessing a demon'?"

"'Entering the demonic realm' is a form of Qimen meditation, where things that are normally difficult to see appear in your mind, such as ghosts, walking corpses, plum trees, peach trees, and so on. Oh, and you can even smell some peculiar fragrances," the old woman explained.

"Isn't that just a dream?" Shen Caicai realized.

The Hakka woman was stunned. Oh no, this child is probably a bit dim-witted…

Chen Caihua squatted down to look at the sucker and found that its wounds were gradually healing, but its body still seemed weak and powerless, and its grayish-white abdomen was swollen high.

"It has drained the corpse toad dry, so it can't digest all that poison in a short time. You should take your friend back to the house to rest. Master needs to prepare to treat this old beggar," the Hakka nanny said, waving her hand to urge him on.

Shen Caihua hesitated to go back, but obediently picked up the corpse toad skin and handed it to the Hakka nanny.

“Alright, it’s good that you’ve learned more,” the old woman sighed, pointing to the purplish-red fleshy bumps around the old beggar’s neck. “This old beggar has extremely heavy Yin energy in his body. I don’t know what grudge he has with the Karma Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism. Someone used pure Yang energy to lock his left, middle and right meridians, preventing the flow of Yin energy through his body, which has caused him to go blind and his face to become distorted like this.”

"Are those the fleshy lumps?" Shen Caihua really couldn't understand.

The Hakka woman explained, "This is not the way of the Central Plains, but the supreme magic of Tantric Buddhism. Unless there is a deep-seated hatred, why would they make someone suffer like this, neither alive nor dead?"

"Has he gone mad?" Shen Caihua recalled the journey south, where the old beggar was like a wooden doll, needing someone to take care of him in every aspect of his life, from eating and drinking to defecating and sleeping.

"Well, if the restriction can be lifted, his mind might not be very sharp anymore, you could say he'll be a bit dim-witted." The old woman said, glancing at Chen Caihua.

Chapter 41, Part 3

When the old beggar Huang Jianguo was buried in the ancient tomb, his body was first drained of the eight-style incantation energy of the bald old woman, the earth water of the sweating corpse Li, the ghost tomb, and other various corpse energies by Guo Pu's decaying corpse. Then, it was used to nourish his "Intermediate Yin Corpse Absorption Technique." However, because the time was not yet 49 days (one intermediate Yin cycle), the "Intermediate Yin Corpse Absorption Technique" was only 70% complete. Before the other impurities could be returned to his body, he was blasted out of the ground by the ninja's fire and lightning bombs. If the technique had been fully completed, even the string of Buddhist beads in Han Sheng's hand would probably not have been able to subdue this peerless Yin master.

Later, Huang Jianguo drained the "Eighteen Styles of Zhuyou" true energy from the ghost infant in Nanshan Village, and Shen Caihua was transformed from a ghost infant into a normal child.

A few days ago, the two met again unexpectedly in an underground cave at the bottom of Poyang Lake. Shen Cai sensed the Zhu You True Qi that Huang Jianguo had stolen from his body. The Zhu You Relic in his head then emitted a powerful magnetic field, which brought back all the True Qi. Therefore, Huang Jianguo currently only has 70% of the "Intermediate Yin Corpse Absorption Technique" remaining in his body, and nothing else.

Huang Jianguo was originally a handsome young man, but now he has become an old and ugly beggar. Not only did Shen Caicai not recognize him, but even a seasoned Hakka woman like the Hakka old lady did not notice anything amiss.

"Should we cut open those fleshy lumps with a knife to release the pus and blood?" Shen Caihua asked, recalling the scene of Han Sheng performing surgery on people.

“No, the pure yang energy has already merged with his meridians and flesh, cutting it open will not help,” the Hakka nanny pondered.

"Master, what should we do? You must have a way, right?" Shen Caihua had a sweet tongue.

“Hmm,” the Hakka woman nodded. This child was actually a bit more astute than He Wuxing. “Master is going to use the fifth move of the Zhuyou Divine Skill, ‘Substituting Plum for Peach,’ to treat him.”

"Substituting a plum for a peach?" Shen Caihua vaguely felt that this term seemed very familiar, but he couldn't remember where he had heard it before. In fact, Shen Caihua had used the "substituting a plum for a peach" technique several times during his ghost infant period, but with the loss and recovery of his Zhuyou True Qi, his past memories were only just beginning to return.

The Hakka woman patiently explained to her apprentice: "The fifth move of the Zhuyou Divine Skill, 'Substituting Plum for Peach,' is an extremely profound witchcraft in our sect. Apart from the hand seals, the incantations alone are very difficult to pronounce. Master used this move to transfer the pure Yang energy in the old beggar's body to someone else's body. At the same time, with the external application of the corpse toad skin, it should have some effect. As for whether it will actually work, I have no idea."

"Then whose body should I put it into?" Shen Caihua wondered. His body was so small that his master would definitely not use it, but there was no one else in the cave.

“He,” the Hakka woman said, pointing to the corpse lying cross-legged to the side, “put the Pure Yang True Qi Lock into the body of this corpse.”

Shen Caihua was relieved to hear this.

Chapter 42, Part 1

Cool moonlight streamed down from the large hole in the dome, illuminating the stone platform. The old beggar and the obese, sweaty corpse sat facing each other, their Laogong acupoints on their palms intersecting with the Yongquan acupoints on the soles of each other's feet. Their posture was clumsy and awkward. Their naked bodies were covered in a mottled bluish hue, and the air was thick with the stench of body odor, creating an eerie atmosphere.

“‘Water rises to the bottom of the spring, fire descends to the Laogong point,’” the Hakka grandmother explained as she manipulated their limbs. “Yongquan is the first of the thirteen divine acupoints in the human body, and Laogong is the last of the thirteen ghost acupoints. When these two divine and ghostly points interact, water and fire are in harmony. The sixty-third hexagram of the I Ching is ‘Water and Fire in Harmony.’ Between heaven and earth, water and fire are incompatible, and there are also water and fire phenomena in the human body. The kidneys are associated with water, which should rise; while the heart is associated with fire, which should descend. The heart fire descends to warm and nourish the kidney water, and the kidney water ascends to extinguish the heart fire. When the heart and kidneys interact, yin and yang are in harmony.”

As Shen Caihua examined his palms, he memorized the words his nanny had spoken.

"The pure yang energy of Tantric Buddhism is like a raging fire, strangling his neck and blocking the upward flow of yin energy. This waxing and waning, the fierce struggle, is the manifestation of the last hexagram of the I Ching, 'Water and Fire Not Yet in Harmony.' Although Master cannot break the profound 'pure yang energy lock' of Tantric Buddhism, he can use the Zhuyou Divine Skill to move the lock into the body of the old beggar, allowing his yin energy to circulate throughout his body, achieving the result of 'Water and Fire in Harmony.'" The old woman explained further.

"Oh, so the purplish-red lump on the old beggar's neck is the result of the pure yang energy of Tantric Buddhism fighting against the yin energy in his body, which is like fire and water..." Shen Caihua realized.

"Not bad, this child is teachable." The Hakka nanny nodded in satisfaction.

"'Substituting a Plum for a Peach' is simply using our 'Lard Kung Fu' to secretly transfer pure Yang Fire to the body of the corpse. Anyway, this fat man is also a dead man. If the great monk of the Tantric sect knew that his master was so clever, he would definitely be so angry that he couldn't eat," Shen Caihua said with great interest.

This child doesn't seem to lack common sense... the Hakka nanny thought with satisfaction.

"Come, my good disciple, let's start pasting the 'corpse toad skin' on the old beggar," the Hakka nanny instructed.

A flash of inspiration struck Shen Caihua, bringing to mind the scene when the ghost infant used the "substitution technique" to remove the "Heavenly Qi Plug" from the sucker's body in the small town of western Yunnan. So he quickly said, "Master, we haven't used the medicinal catalyst yet."

"Medicinal guide?" The Hakka nanny thought for a moment and said, "I've heard that external medicinal guides usually use sesame oil and aged vinegar, but where can we find them in a short time?"

“I have one,” Shen Caihua chuckled, then unbuckled his belt, revealing his penis, and stepped forward to pour it over the old beggar’s head.

"Boy's urine?" The Hakka woman smiled and nodded.

The old beggar opened his mouth and licked up all the urine that dripped to his lips with a smacking sound.

Chapter 42, Part 2

Under the hazy moonlight, a thin mist rose from the spring. A Hakka woman, her red striped apron swaying, lifted her single-piece skirt adorned with a black front shawl, and circled the old beggar and the corpse. She drew yin-yang symbols in the air with her elbows bent, chanting a shamanic incantation: "Tail-shaped...tail ...

Shen Caihua listened from the side and found the incantation very familiar. He silently recited it in his mind, thinking, "I know this incantation too."

The old beggar and the sweat corpse's bodies first jolted, then began to tremble slightly... especially the sweat corpse, whose fat kept rolling up and down, its body slippery, and the smell of sweat growing stronger.

The old beggar was completely different. His skin was turning increasingly bluish-black, while his head was swollen and red, as if he were drunk. Wisps of white mist, like water vapor, began to emerge from his ears, nose, and mouth.

The Hakka woman's body moved incessantly, sweat pouring down her face. Her long-sleeved, button-down short jacket was completely soaked. She repeated the incantation over and over again, faster and faster, until the notes were no longer discernible.

Shen Cai, who was outside the circle, felt the incantation of the Zhuyou witchcraft surging through his body like ocean waves. He felt extremely comfortable and couldn't help but dance around.

At this moment, within the old beggar's body, the "exorcism spell" of the Second Karmapa of the Black Hat lineage, Karma Pakshi, seven hundred years ago, is fiercely clashing with the Central Plains' most evil technique, the "Intermediate State Corpse Absorption Technique." Meanwhile, the Hakka matron's incantation magic, "Substituting a Plum for a Peach," is creating illusions, as if another "true form" has appeared, causing the Pure Yang Curse Lock to look left and right, unable to distinguish which one is the target it needs to restrict...

"Pfft... Splash..." The old beggar lost control of his bladder and bowels, and the air was instantly filled with the smell of excrement and urine.

Shen Cai was shocked and quickly looked down. He discovered that the old beggar's testicles were very peculiar, about the same size as the testicles of the large boar in Old Jiang's house in Nanshan Village. It was really strange...

At the same time, within the old beggar's body, the esoteric Buddhist exorcism mantra "Om Ah Hum..." and the Zhu You witchcraft incantation "Tail Xi Tu ...

The swollen red on the old beggar's head gradually faded, and the fleshy bumps around his neck gradually shrank. The pure yang energy began to gradually withdraw from Huang Jianguo's body and transfer into the "true body" illusion—the sweat corpse...

The Hakka woman was panting heavily, almost collapsing from exhaustion.

At this critical moment, the sound of hurried footsteps wading through water and the clanging of metal objects suddenly came from inside the cave...

"Haha... Granny Mi Nang, I'm here to lend you a hand..." Old Man Ao's hoarse voice rang out from beside the bluestone platform.

Chapter 42, Part 3

The Hakka woman was shocked upon hearing this. She had long known that Old Man Ao was extremely cunning and, despite his seemingly humble demeanor, harbored ulterior motives. His sudden appearance in this secluded stone cave in the Western Hills meant he had been watching her for a while and had ill intentions… However, she was now completely exhausted of her inner energy, and would surely suffer losses if she fought back. In her panic, she mispronounced several incantations, misreading “…屡屣屈屇尸” as “…阇羯奣奣叵”, which is the first incantation of the Zhuyou technique, “Ghost Wall.”

The illusion shattered. Most of the pure Yang energy of the Karmapa had entered the body of the corpse, forming a ring of flesh around its neck. The remaining small portion was blocked by the "ghost wall"...

The Hakka woman was so shocked by this that she coughed up a mouthful of blood, collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath and unable to speak for a moment.

Under the moonlight, the old beggar slowly stood up. With a shudder, the gaudy, colorful "corpse toad skin" fluttered off, and the fleshy bumps around his neck faded away, leaving only a swollen lump below his throat, its color returning to normal flesh. His once hideous and distorted face was being repaired; the wrinkles were diminishing. Although the regeneration of his hair and teeth would take time, he already looked noticeably younger, but still quite different from Huang Jianguo's original appearance.

Shen Caihua stood blankly on the stone platform, staring in astonishment at the old beggar who was undergoing a transformation, especially his bright white eyes, which had turned milky white, as if a thin film had been covering the pupils.

A peerless master of Yin has been resurrected...

Overjoyed, Old Ao jumped forward excitedly, grabbed the naked, excrement-reeking old beggar, shook his shoulders, and exclaimed, "Comrade, you're finally awake..."

"Father..." The old beggar brought his eyes close to Ao Lao's nose, looked at him carefully, and said with a wronged expression.

A dozen or so People's Army soldiers with guns on their hands stood guard around the stone platform. Upon hearing this, they couldn't help but chuckle to themselves.

Old Ao was stunned and stared at the old beggar, repeatedly saying, "What, what did you say?"

"Dad... why have your hair, eyebrows, and beard all turned white?" the old beggar chuckled foolishly.

Old Man Ao shoved the old beggar aside, turned around and said seriously to the Hakka woman, "Grandma Mi Nang, what exactly happened? This person has turned into a fool?"

The Hakka woman caught her breath and weakly explained, "You rushed in before the lock that was binding his pure Yang energy was fully released, causing the energy to reverse and his mind to become confused."

Upon hearing this, Old Man Ao was filled with remorse and hurriedly said, "Grandma, please try again. Otherwise, what use is a fool to the revolutionary cause?"

“It’s impossible. The remaining true energy has already dispersed into the eight extraordinary meridians and can no longer be completely expelled,” the Hakka old woman shook her head with difficulty and said, “Elder Ao, how did you know about this stone cave?”

Old Man Ao gave a lewd smile and said, "I noticed that you often went to the top of West Mountain alone at night, and I was curious, so I went up there to take a look and found this cave and this fat male corpse. Granny Minang, you are a hermit, so your behavior is naturally strange. I can understand that."

“This person was brought by you. The old woman has done her best to treat him. You can take him away now. Give him more traditional Chinese medicine to dispel wind and open his mind. Perhaps his mind can slowly recover,” the Hakka old woman said.

After pondering for a while, Elder Ao finally pointed at Chen Caihua and said, "Alright, thank you for your help, Mother-in-law. I'll take this child with me as well."

“Grandma Ao, the child has already become your apprentice, you can’t take him away,” the Hakka woman replied firmly.

After thinking it over, Old Man Ao realized that he might need Granny Mi Nang's help in the future, so it was inconvenient to turn against her now. He decided to do her a favor and said, "Alright, I'll take my leave now."

The old beggar's soldiers picked up the clothes that had been thrown in the corner, dressed him, and then left the cave together.

"Master, why don't you ask the White-Haired Monster for Dudu back?" Shen Caihua asked, pouting.

The Hakka woman smiled faintly and said, "It's not too late to go find Master after he has recovered his strength."

Chapter 43, Part 1

It was early morning inside the stilted bamboo house.

The old beggar was wolfing down his food, rice grains stuck to his mouth, and soup splattered all over the table.

"Comrade, take your time eating. What's your name?" Old Ao asked tentatively from the chair next to him.

"What...what's my name?" The old beggar stopped chewing, deep in thought.

Old Master Ao looked at him anxiously, hoping that this strange man could regain his senses as soon as possible.

"Dad, you don't know my name?" The old beggar shook his head and chuckled foolishly, seemingly disbelieving.

"Then what's your surname? Zhao, Qian, Sun, Li, Zhou, Wu, Zheng, Wang..." Although Old Man Ao looked quite dejected, he still patiently coaxed him.

“‘The Hundred Family Surnames’? Keep reading…” The old beggar was completely focused and gently put down his bowl and chopsticks.

There's a chance... Old Ao became interested and read on word by word: "Feng Chen Chu Wei, Jiang Chen Han Yang, Zhu Qin You Xu, He Lü Shi Zhang... Wu Yu Yuan Bu, Gu Meng Ping Huang..."