Chapter 127 - 86: Secrets of the Ghost Immortal, Theory of the Dharma Aspect

Chapter 127: Chapter 86: Secrets of the Ghost Immortal, Theory of the Dharma Aspect

"It is a pity that it already had an owner."

Li Yinsheng immediately reacted, "Could it be that the Ghost Immortal had been hiding within that Quasi-Spirit Treasure all along?"

"Correct," she nodded gently. "Furthermore, that Quasi-Spirit Treasure was never some Orthodox Dao Spirit Treasure corrupted by Demonic Qi.

"On the contrary, the Pure Qi within that Quasi-Spirit Treasure should have been the handiwork of an Orthodox Dao Immortal, sealing the Ghost Immortal within his own Quasi-Spirit Treasure.

"Our insight was shallow. We got the mechanics entirely backwards and rashly brought it back to the temple, intending to refine away the Demonic Qi.

"But the Demonic Qi was inherently self-generated; after several years of Refinement, it didn’t diminish in the slightest.

"Instead, the Pure Qi—being water without a source and a tree without roots—became like a candle in the wind over those few years.

"By the time we realized what was happening, the Ghost Immortal had already broken the seal..."

Jiang Ningzhi closed her eyes gently at this point.

"Although the Mystic Light Stele is powerful, how could it suppress a Ghost Immortal? That person went on a massacre. Everyone in the temple at the time, from the Daoists to the ordinary disciples, was practically wiped out.

"My Cultivation was near the Dharma Aspect at the time. I fought him to the death. Even at the cost of all my meridians and my foundation, there was no chance of victory; I merely managed to hold him off for a few hours.

"Later, the Supreme Elder of the Dharma Vein sensed the Ghost Immortal’s presence, so the culprit fled, taking the Mystic Light Stele with him.

"Though I was lucky enough to survive, Xuanzhen Temple was devastated by that battle. Only a few disciples who were away from the temple at the time survived. After that... well, you know the rest."

After hearing Junior Martial Uncle Jiang recount all this, Li Yinsheng fell silent.

He finally understood why Junior Martial Uncle Jiang had never brought this up to him before. Besides her reasoning that mentioning it too early would do him no good, he suspected it was also because the matter was quite disgraceful.

Ultimately, Xuanzhen Temple’s great tribulation originated from that Quasi-Spirit Treasure, which was brought back by his Martial Uncle’s group. While the true blame lay with the Ghost Immortal, Xuanzhen Temple still ultimately perished at the hands of his Martial Uncle’s generation of Daoists.

"The identity of that Ghost Immortal... does Martial Uncle have any clues?" Li Yinsheng asked.

Jiang Ningzhi shook her head gently. "That person left too quickly, leaving behind very few clues. The Dharma Vein investigated it later. Although they suspected that he was a Supreme Elder of the Celestial Demon Hall, they couldn’t be absolutely certain."

Shangguan Ling’Er also shook her head. "As for which Supreme Elder it was exactly, there is simply no way to know.

"The Celestial Demon Hall has one Human Immortal and six Ghost Immortals. Who knows which of those six Ghost Immortals it was?

"It is even possible that he wasn’t from the Celestial Demon Hall at all, but rather from another Demon Dao faction."

Li Yinsheng remained silent. If that person was from the Celestial Demon Hall, things would be easier to handle. Anyway, he already planned to take a trip to the Thousand Insects Valley in the future if his Cultivation proved successful.

The Celestial Demon Hall and the Thousand Insects Valley were roughly on par. When the day came that he had the capability to pay a visit to the Thousand Insects Valley, he would naturally be able to visit the Celestial Demon Hall as well. But if it wasn’t the Celestial Demon Hall... The Hundred Thousand Mountains were vast and boundless. Who knew where that person could have run off to by now?

Just as he was feeling a headache coming on, Junior Martial Uncle Jiang spoke up softly.

"Yin Sheng, even though I have told you about this matter, it is ultimately the fault of me and my senior martial brothers and sisters. It has nothing to do with you.

"If there ever comes a day when my Cultivation is restored, I will naturally condense a Dharma Aspect, become a Human Immortal, and seek that person out myself to avenge the entire Xuanzhen Temple.

"Your aptitude is far above mine. When this happened, you weren’t even born yet. Not a single shred of responsibility should fall upon your shoulders."

She grasped Li Yinsheng’s hand and said earnestly, "Only I can personally avenge this grudge. You just need to focus on your Cultivation. Do not concern yourself with this."

Li Yinsheng hesitated for only a moment before nodding in agreement. "I understand, Martial Uncle."

As it seemed now, this matter had become a knot in his Martial Uncle’s heart. If there was a possibility for her to seek revenge personally, it would naturally be best for her to do it herself. Only if it truly became impossible for his Martial Uncle to take revenge would he need to step in and do it on her behalf.

"It really is a pity," Shangguan Ling’Er sighed. "Although the Cultivation Technique your Martial Uncle practiced was merely average, the Dharma Aspect she wanted to condense was incredible.

"An Upper Grade Dustless Sword Spirit Dharma Aspect! If Ningzhi had truly succeeded in cultivating it, she might not have been inferior to my master. The possibility of her becoming an Immortal would have been at least thirty percent."

"An Upper Grade Dharma Aspect?" Li Yinsheng immediately asked. "Could it be that Dharma Aspects are also divided into higher and lower grades, and that this relates to breaking through to become an Immortal?"

"Correct. Dharma Aspects are separated into different tiers. Furthermore, that step to become a Soul Immortal relies entirely on the power of the Dharma Aspect to break through."

Shangguan Ling’Er explained, "The inherent strength of the Dharma Aspect is naturally closely related to the difficulty of becoming an Immortal.

"You have already entered Divine Travel. Even if you hadn’t asked, I was going to tell you about this anyway." She patted Li Yinsheng’s shoulder. "It was fine that you cultivated in a muddle-headed manner before; it wasn’t a big issue.

"But for the future step of condensing your Dharma Aspect, you absolutely must not be careless!"

"What Ling’Er says is true," Jiang Ningzhi said. "It was my negligence before. I didn’t expect you to progress so quickly, so I never explained it to you in detail.

"Once a Cultivator reaches the Divine Travel stage, unless they feel that future advancement is hopeless and plan to focus purely on continuing their Dao Lineage, they must carefully deliberate over condensing their Dharma Aspect if they still wish to take another step forward."

"Martial Uncle, Shangguan, please explain in detail," Li Yinsheng said hastily.

"The so-called Dharma Aspect is the resulting fruit born after a Cultivator merges their own Essence, Qi, and Spirit into one."

Shangguan Ling’Er said seriously, "A long time ago, in the system of the Ancient Cultivators, this step was also called the Three Flowers Gathering at the Top. However, there was no distinction in grade between different instances of the Three Flowers Gathering at the Top.

"Compared to the Ancient Cultivators who simply harmonized their Essence, Qi, and Spirit perfectly, the current Dharma Realm possesses many more Divine Powers and can help a Cultivator break through to become an Immortal.

"Correspondingly, however, condensing a Dharma Aspect is much more complex than the Three Flowers Gathering at the Top. These additional functions are exactly what separate Dharma Aspects into different tiers."