Chapter Twenty-Eight: The Immortal Elder Unable to Find an Heir

“Gu Yun, the Three Corpses Technique is a method for achieving immortality. My own Great Dao of the Three Corpses corresponds to the three fundamental forces of heaven, earth, and man. Severing one corpse allows you to attain the fruit of the Human Immortal; severing two, the fruit of the Earth Immortal; if you sever all three, your Dao body becomes pure and clear, transcending into a Heavenly Immortal, soaring above the nine heavens.”

The “Esoteric Scripture of the Purple Palace’s Three Corpses Transformation” that Master Peng had learned was a legacy he had stumbled upon by chance. To this day, he had never taken on disciples. Upon meeting Ji Feichen and his companions, he felt reluctant to let such talent go to waste and decided to impart the secret of the Three Corpses to them.

In essence, his method was directed at the demonic worms within the body, known as the Three Corpses. By severing the Pengjiao demon worm in the lower body, one could refine it into an external incarnation, thus attaining the fruit of the Human Immortal. No need to cultivate golden cores or demonic souls; simply severing the three corpse worms was the path to enlightenment.

“The Three Corpse Demon Worms are neither demons of purity and turbidity nor of life and death; they are born from stray thoughts and evil desires of the heart. The three worms roam outside oneself, taking pleasure in betraying their master. If a Daoist dies and their Dao dissipates, the three corpse worms transform into demons and escape to the outer realms, becoming true demons of the sky.”

These three corpse worms were, in fact, the true arch-enemies of cultivators.

Ji Feichen pondered silently, “To refine the three corpse worms into an external incarnation—this is indeed an excellent method.”

“Senior, your three corpse gods transformed into drought demons; what was the reason behind this?” Li Jingxun inquired. If not for Master Peng’s three corpse gods escaping and turning into corpse demons, this calamity would never have befallen this place. No wonder he was so readily willing to make amends; the evil karma wrought by his three corpse gods naturally counted as his own.

“When cultivating the Three Corpses technique, after severing one corpse and condensing the Human Immortal fruit, the central corpse god becomes restless—this is a tribulation of cultivation. I was careless and allowed the corpse god to escape and commit evil as a demon outside. Compared to other Daoist methods, this should be regarded as a unique type of Dao fruit vow.”

Indeed, the Three Corpses technique led to rapid progress. If you could sever all three, you could ascend to immortality on the spot. But the corpses were hard to sever, and there was always the danger of the corpse god escaping. Had it not been for the help of Li Jingxun and his companions this time, the drought demon might have escaped and turned on its master in the future. This was the greatest flaw of the Three Corpses technique.

Master Peng smiled and asked Li Jingxun, “You orthodox Daoists face the tribulation of slaying immortals and demons, needing to sever three demons to survive. Do you know the origin of this method?”

Li Jingxun’s heart skipped a beat: “Three demons, three corpses—could our method of surviving tribulation be related to the three corpse worms?”

“Indeed,” the old immortal clapped his hands. “It is because you have not severed the three corpses, and thus karma remains within you, leading to this tribulation. The so-called slaying of three demons is actually a blood sacrifice of the three demons to the three corpses, seeking to keep the three corpse gods dormant for fifteen hundred years, granting a period of Daoist purity.”

“You see, I too follow a path of pure and clear immortality, but my three corpse gods are all spirits of baleful energy. I extract immortal spirit from a wisp of primordial energy, and naturally, baleful energy is invested into the external incarnation. I alone correspond to three corpse demon gods; there is no need for external tribulations—simply severing the three corpses brings me peace.”

This was another method devised by Daoists after the decline of ancient Qi-refining techniques to avoid calamity.

Ji Feichen’s mind suddenly lit up: “If purity and turbidity are opposites, then if a demon cultivator obtains the Three Corpses technique, could he not condense three pure corpse gods to counteract his own baleful energy?”

“Of course he could. But the turbid energies of the earth are filthy, nowhere near as clear and pure as immortal qi,” Master Peng said with evident disdain for the demonic path. “Just look at our Daoist immortal light—clear, bright, and full of Daoist aura. Now look at the protective demonic aura of the demon sects—utterly filthy and rampant with evil. Do you think such muddied beings could cultivate my Three Corpses technique?”

Heavenly clarity nourishes the primordial spirit, while earthly turbidity tempers the flesh. To cultivate the soul with turbid energy risks being overwhelmed by desires, leading to confusion, lowered intelligence, and indulgence in evil.

Ji Feichen had seen many of his fellow disciples in the Underworld Sect indulge in debauchery and slaughter, all because the turbid qi had clouded their minds. Only after venting their desires and purging their urges could they regain clarity of thought.

This was another distinction between immortals and demons: one repressed desire, the other indulged it.

That was why Sima Kang sought the “Supreme Jade Flower Revelation of the Cloud-Formed Dragon”—he hoped that by using this method to refine spirit and cultivate the mind, he could quell the stray thoughts within himself.

After this, Master Peng went on to explain the methods for suppressing the three corpses and using external elixirs to sever them. By the time he had finished imparting his secrets, a whole day had passed.

“Well then, fate has run its course. The three of you had best be on your way,” Master Peng said, holding back some of his knowledge and watching for the right moment, then ushered the three down the mountain.

Once they had left, Master Peng sat alone in the chasm, waiting expectantly. Yet none of them returned, and he wondered to himself, “These three aren’t fools. If they had the sense to come back and ask for the Three Corpses technique, why has not one of them grasped my meaning?”

By sending them away, he was hinting that they were not yet his disciples, and thus he could not teach them true immortal arts. Only when they came back to formally become his disciples could he pass on the true method.

“Li Jingxun is a disciple of a great sect, that’s fine. But why hasn’t that rogue cultivator Qinghong returned? Hmph, I might not think much of spirit beasts, but that heavenly fox’s foundation is quite good. I could at least make him a registered disciple. If he sincerely begged me, I could even take him as a true disciple.”

The old immortal had established his Daoist school on Mount Chenghuang and needed capable disciples to manage affairs. He had meant to set them a trial, but after receiving the Three Corpses technique, all three left directly.

He waited and waited, but no one returned. Master Peng grew impatient: “If only someone would come to the mountain to become my disciple right now, I’d immediately take them as a personal student!”

At the foot of the mountain, Li Jingxun said to the others, “The Three Corpses technique is vast and profound. Since we are not the old immortal’s disciples, we must discuss and exchange insights among ourselves in the future.” The three exchanged contact methods, and Li Jingxun returned to the Daoist Sect. As for Ji Feichen and Tushan, they hurriedly left the area of Mount Chenghuang. None of them looked back.

“That old immortal wanted to take disciples—why didn’t you go?” Tushan couldn’t help but ask on the road. “It’s nothing for me and Li Jingxun, but this was your perfect chance to leave the demon sect.”

“I don’t believe he can break the blood locust curse of our Underworld Sect,” Ji Feichen replied grimly. “Besides, his attitude towards demon cultivators is hardly welcoming.”

Ji Feichen had indeed considered apprenticing himself to the immortal after seeing him ascend as an Earth Immortal, but since their interactions were so brief, he dared not entrust his secrets lightly. Otherwise, he would be like a fish at the mercy of the knife—his life and death at another’s whim. It was not a wise move.

“I’ll focus first on cultivating Qi-refining techniques—the rest can wait.”

He did have the idea of sneaking into the Immortal-Sealing Tower to rescue someone, but for now, the priority was to capture the Dragon Prince and use him to further his own demonic cultivation.

…

As for the Dragon Prince, after he escaped with his tail severed that day, he was chanced upon by people from the Dongyang clan nearby. The Dongyang clan had been founded by a disciple of a prominent Daoist sect; unable to achieve immortality, he had later descended the mountain to assist a wise ruler in founding the Grand Hong Empire, gaining a fief for his family to inhabit.

Dongyang County was their home. The old ancestor had spread his lineage here, passing down Daoist arts and forming a modest family of cultivators.

Of course, “family of cultivators” was a bit of a stretch; in reality, it was just a small clique of two or three dozen people, mostly low-level cultivators and a handful of family elites.

The blood tie provided unity, which was stronger than a sect, but it also limited their ability to recruit talent. To this day, the Dongyang clan had only one old Human Immortal on the brink of death. If he were to die, the family would collapse and likely be taken over by outsiders.

This was the great crisis facing the Dongyang clan. The family scoured the mountains for treasures, hoping to prolong the old ancestor’s life.

At this time, the Dragon Prince wandered into Dongyang County and immediately caught their eye. Dragons were divine beasts, their entire bodies precious and immensely nourishing. So the Dongyang clan captured the Dragon Prince, intending to refine him into an elixir of longevity for their ailing ancestor.

The Dongyang clan was the overlord of the county, having held sway for centuries. In addition to their influence over mundane affairs, the nearby Yanyang Mountain was their family’s cultivation ground.

As a family of cultivators, they ignored all taboos, beyond the reach of imperial authority. Thus, the Dongyang clan shrouded the mountain with formations and built magnificent palaces as places for cultivation and pleasure.

Yanyang Mountain was beautiful and lush, with ancient trees looming and clear streams winding through the hills. Birds sang in the dense forest. Though not as wondrous as the blessed lands of the Daoist sects, it was the fruit of centuries of the Dongyang clan’s efforts.

Amid the mountain’s shadows stood clusters of splendid palaces. The Dragon Prince was currently confined in the Fuzhi Hall. The hall was resplendent, with a great bronze cauldron in the center. The fire within blazed, sending forth waves of fragrant mist that filled the hall, dazzling and bright. Rows of jade cups and medicine bottles lined the sides, alongside many medicinal ingredients in various stages of preparation.

The side hall was where the Dragon Prince was imprisoned.

The prince had been forced back into his dragon form, coiled in a jade pool three zhang square. The water itself was nothing special, but with a golden dragon resting within, it was filled with spirit. Yet the dragon was bound with chains inscribed with talismanic runes, all his magic power sealed by the Dongyang clan. His horns were broken, his whiskers plucked, his scales and flesh cut away for alchemical use.

Barely alive, the prince lay in the pool, recuperating. “Damn these human cultivators—if I ever get out, I’ll make them pay!”

He was consumed with hatred. For days now, the Dongyang clan had been steadily harvesting parts from him. For a prince of the dragon palace to end up like this—if the dragon clan found out, they would surely come in force and annihilate the Dongyang clan.

Suddenly, a pebble was thrown through the window, splashing into the pool.

“Who’s there!” The boy dozing nearby started awake, jumping up to check the surroundings. The golden dragon was still confined in the jade pool, its breathing the only sound, sending ripples across the water’s surface.

“Tch, disobedient eel,” the boy muttered and slumped against a pillar to sleep again. He was supposed to guard the dragon, but the dragon was so wounded—was there even any need to watch him?

“In two more days, we’ll gouge out his dragon eyes and carve out his dragon heart—then there’ll be no need for such vigilance…” Yawning, the boy soon drifted off once more.

The prince suppressed his murderous intent and fixed his gaze on the water’s surface, where the ripples slowly formed a line of words.

“In one hour, the outer hall’s formation will be damaged. Find your own way to escape.”

The message was formed from water, not from the medicinal fluid in the jade pool, but from ordinary well water. This water would not immediately mix with the pool’s contents, making the message visible to the prince. Different waters have different densities. Using knowledge from his previous life, Ji Feichen had gathered well water, frozen it into ice, and tossed it into the jade pool; as it melted, the message appeared. Only the prince could read it—the boy, with his mortal eyes, could not distinguish the two types of water.

“Someone’s coming to rescue me?” The prince was bewildered, but this was his only hope of escape. “I have to take the chance! If I wait two more days, I’ll be dead for sure.”

Closing his eyes, the prince conserved his strength, preparing to break the seal in an hour.