Five Immortal Sects

Chapter 26: Where Is The Immortal Technique?

Li Yan didn’t know that he and Dong Fuyi had appeared in the Sea of Consciousness, exchanging thoughts through their minds. It seemed like a long conversation, but in reality, it only took a very short time. If Dong Fuyi hadn’t used his magical powers to heal Li Yan’s injuries, which took up a significant amount of time, their exchange would have been completed in just a few dozen breaths.

Just as Li Yan was still in a daze, he suddenly felt a strange sensation, as if something like an eye had disappeared from his body.

Military Advisor Ji withdrew his divine sense, stabilized his mind, and smiled at Li Yan. “Li Yan, you’ve completed the first step of our sect’s secret technique, the ‘Wood Shadow Technique.’ You’ve officially entered the first stage. Your performance has pleased your master, so take a rest first. After lunch, come find me, and I’ll teach you the oral formula for the first stage of the ‘Wood Shadow Technique.'”

Li Yan’s expression changed from surprise to joy, and he quickly got up from the ground, bowed to Military Advisor Ji, and said, “Thank you, Master. I’ll go change my clothes now!”

With a hint of gratitude in his eyes, Li Yan turned around and walked towards his stone hut. Military Advisor Ji watched Li Yan’s back disappear into the distance, then slowly turned around and walked back to his own room.

As Li Yan walked towards his stone hut, he felt that invisible eye watching him again, but it disappeared after a moment. However, he still walked into the hut with a smile on his face.

After entering the hut, Li Yan closed the door and his expression turned gloomy. He realized that even the stone door and walls couldn’t block Military Advisor Ji’s divine sense. But he still felt a sense of relief after entering the hut, and he was certain that the divine sense had been withdrawn.

Looking at his soaked clothes, Li Yan thought back to when he first opened his eyes and heard Military Advisor Ji’s warm voice and smile. He couldn’t help but feel a chill in his heart, and a cold laugh escaped his lips.

“Do you really care about me? Or are you just afraid that this ‘pig’ will die too early and become worthless? Otherwise, why would you let a weak and injured person lie on the ground for half an hour, soaked to the bone, in the middle of autumn?”

“Hmph! Are you afraid that the fire poison in my body won’t be suppressed, so you used cold water to keep it under control?”

“That’s why you pretended to be a kind and gentle master, teaching me the ‘Wood Shadow Gate’ and explaining the various sects and martial arts levels in the martial arts world. But in reality, you’re just trying to deceive me, and the ‘Wood Shadow Technique’ is just a secret manual. You’re really meticulous, even paying attention to these small details to make it seem so real. You’re trying to deceive me to death!”

However, even the most perfect deception will have flaws. Li Yan remembered when he first joined Military Advisor Ji’s sect, and how he was asked to learn the “Breathing Guidance Technique” immediately after kowtowing. It had left him stunned.

Even in a private academy, the teacher would explain the rules and regulations of the school when you first enter. How could it be that Military Advisor Ji didn’t explain the sect’s rules and regulations when Li Yan joined the sect? Instead, he seemed to be in a hurry to teach Li Yan the “Breathing Guidance Technique” right away.

Now, thinking back, Li Yan realized that Military Advisor Ji was full of tricks, but he had still revealed some flaws. However, Li Yan only realized this now.

Looking at his soaked clothes, Li Yan smelled a disgusting odor. Upon closer inspection, he saw that there was a black, sticky substance stuck to his clothes, like a layer of black oil. He didn’t know that this was because he had reached the Qi Condensation stage, and his body was expelling impurities and waste through his pores. He thought that Dong Fuyi had helped him remove some toxins.

These impurities were extremely sticky and uncomfortable. Li Yan opened the door again, smiling, and fetched some hot water to clean himself. After a simple wash, he felt refreshed and light.

After changing into clean clothes, Li Yan sat cross-legged on the wooden bed, closed his eyes, and seemed to be stabilizing his cultivation. However, he wasn’t actually cultivating.

He now had a much more sensitive sense of perception than before, and he could feel the “inner energy” in his body had increased greatly. He knew that this was due to his spiritual energy.

Previously, when he was practicing the “Breathing Guidance Technique,” he had felt his body become lighter and his senses more acute. But now, he felt an unprecedented clarity and connection to the world around him.

His body felt extremely comfortable, as if every drop of blood was jumping with joy. He couldn’t see inside his body, but he could sense its condition.

He remembered Dong Fuyi’s words, that the fire poison was still in his body, and he shouldn’t practice the “Wood Shadow Technique” again. Instead, he should practice the “Dark Night Azure Curtain Arts” to avoid triggering the fire poison again.

Li Yan’s thoughts stirred, and he carefully started to circulate the “Dark Night Azure Curtain Arts” technique. Suddenly, his face changed greatly.

Originally, he just wanted to confirm whether Dong Fuyi’s words were true, and his curiosity as a young man led him to try out the “Dark Night Azure Curtain Arts” to see if he could drive the spiritual energy in his body. But who knew that as soon as he started to circulate the technique, a surge of hot energy erupted from the corner of his Dantian.

The next moment, it was as if a ferocious beast had been stirred, and the spiritual energy in Li Yan’s body began to surge and churn, as if it wanted to burst out of his body. Li Yan was frightened and immediately dispersed the technique.

Even so, it took a long time for the spiritual energy in Li Yan’s Dantian to slowly calm down, and the hot energy in the corner of his Dantian gradually dissipated until he could no longer sense it.

Only then did Li Yan let out a long sigh of relief.

“I see, so what Dong Fuyi said was true. The fire poison in my body is indeed being suppressed in my Dantian. That means what he said about the ‘Water True Scripture’ in my Sea of Consciousness is also true. But how do I enter my Sea of Consciousness?”

This was a complete mystery to Li Yan, who had no foundation in cultivation.

“Is it by circulating spiritual energy to the Baihui acupoint? No, that would use up spiritual energy. And the only technique I know to stimulate spiritual energy is the ‘Dark Night Azure Curtain Arts’, which would be suicidal. Is it through meditation or some other method?”

After a moment, Li Yan shook his head and laughed at himself.

“Master Dong Fuyi had said that the immortal technique is stored in the Sea of Consciousness, and he knew about my current situation. So, it’s definitely not about using spiritual energy to open up the Sea of Consciousness. What am I missing?”

Moreover, Dong Fuyi had explicitly stated that the Sea of Consciousness is a mental space composed of consciousness, so it should be opened with one’s thoughts. The Sea of Consciousness must be located in the brain, probably in the forehead, forehead center, or brain stem.

Li Yan stopped thinking and took a deep breath, calming his mind and focusing his thoughts on the Baihui acupoint at the top of his head. After a while, he saw no reaction, so he tried moving his thoughts to the Shenting acupoint on his forehead.

After another while, there was still no reaction, so he moved his thoughts to the Yintang acupoint between his eyebrows.

But when his thoughts reached the middle of his forehead, before reaching the Yintang acupoint, he felt a sudden dizziness, and a series of images flashed before his eyes.

Before Li Yan could react, the images stopped, and he was left stunned.

Because he had returned to the space where he had met Dong Fuyi, with the black lake beneath his feet and the dark sky above.

The lake was still calm and peaceful, as if he had never left, and Li Yan was still floating on the surface of the lake.

He quickly realized where he was, and Dong Fuyi had said that this was his Sea of Consciousness. Where else could it be? Could he have multiple Seas of Consciousness?

Li Yan looked around, but there was nothing in sight, no objects or books. He didn’t believe that Dong Fuyi would go to such great lengths to deceive him, but he knew that he just hadn’t found what he was looking for yet.

As he thought about going further, his body suddenly flew forward, scaring him so much that his heart skipped a beat. His body shook in mid-air before stabilizing.

He had tried to move his body in this spiritual realm before, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t take a step or move his body.

Now, with just a thought, he flew forward, which left him in shock.

After the initial shock, he slowly calmed down and focused his mind. He then drove his thoughts forward again, and his body floated forward once more. As he thought about accelerating, his flying speed began to increase gradually.

This discovery made him extremely happy, and he soon found himself flying around with ease, moving left and right, up and down, feeling carefree and joyful.

After a while, Li Yan hovered in mid-air, slowly calming down his excitement. He thought to himself, “Flying is amazing, and it’s so fast! It’s a pity this is just an illusion. If only I could really fly, that would be great.”

As he thought about this, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of longing. He loved this feeling of freedom and liberation.

Everyone dreams of flying freely like a bird, but it’s just a fantasy.

Li Yan stood still for a moment, and then his eyes lit up. Immortals, immortals can fly! After achieving immortality, not only can they fly, but they can also ascend to heaven and descend to earth with ease. At this moment, Li Yan felt an intense desire to cultivate immortality.

If Dong Fuyi knew about this, he would definitely scold him, saying that he had previously said that cultivating immortality was just to live a long life, but now he wanted to become an immortal just because he discovered the joy of flying.

Li Yan quickly pushed these thoughts aside, focusing on the most important task at hand: finding the cultivation method of the Water Immortal Gate.

Half a cup of tea later, Li Yan stopped in mid-air. This space was not very large, about 500-600 feet in diameter, shaped like a hemisphere. Except for a small lake in the center, the rest of the area was gray and misty.

The ground was a bluish-gray color, and the sky was gloomy. When he flew to the edge of the area, it was as if there was an invisible force that prevented him from getting closer.

He searched around, occasionally landing and searching, but time passed, and he didn’t find anything.

“I’ve searched every inch of this several hundred feet radius, but I haven’t found anything suspicious. Where is that immortal cultivation manual?”

A moment later, he slapped his forehead, exclaiming, “Idiot!”

The most obvious thing in this space was the small lake in the center. He had overlooked something obvious. He thought about this and flew towards the center of the lake.

After a while, he reached the lake and looked down. The lake’s surface was calm and peaceful, with black water that seemed to have endless depths.

“Could it be that I need to dive into the lake? If so, that would be too boring!”

Li Yan reluctantly descended into the lake, hoping it wasn’t too deep.

However, when he reached the water’s surface, his feet were stopped by an invisible force, and he couldn’t go any further. The lake’s surface was like a smooth black mirror, and he could only stand on the water’s surface, unable to sink even a little.

Li Yan felt frustrated and disappointed, thinking that this place was likely to be where the book was hidden, but he still couldn’t get down. Was he only able to stare at the mirror-like lake surface?

“A mirror-like lake surface…”

Li Yan’s mind suddenly flashed with an idea, and he looked down at the lake’s surface again, but unfortunately, there was nothing. The black water was as dark as Li Yan’s face.

Li Yan stood still for a moment, then suddenly flew up into the air. After reaching the top of the small lake, he narrowed his eyes and focused his consciousness to probe the lake’s surface below.

As soon as his consciousness touched the lake’s surface, the black water suddenly shimmered with a golden light, and numerous characters began to appear on the surface.

Li Yan was overjoyed, and before he could even read the characters clearly, his scattered consciousness suddenly dispersed, and the golden characters disappeared without a trace.

Li Yan stood in mid-air, letting out a long sigh of relief. He had finally found it.

He calmed himself, then focused his consciousness again to probe the lake’s surface. As a result, the dense golden characters reappeared before his eyes. Near the lake’s edge, to the right, three shining golden characters read “Water True Scripture”.

To the left of it, there were smaller golden characters lined up vertically. Li Yan knew his consciousness was too weak, and he didn’t dare to delay. He began to read carefully.