Not long after the human and the demon departed, a faint red glow began to emanate from Qiao San’s chest, where he had been pierced through the heart. This glow was clearly twice as strong as the last time it had appeared.
He stirred. Qiao San’s hands and feet began to tremble slightly, and the gaping wound across his chest began to miraculously heal at an astonishing speed!
Struck through the heart by an arrow—truly a sign of immense fortune!
Bei Gongzheng’s killing intent was sufficient. Although his magical powers were not yet strong enough, with the divine power of the Demon-Annihilating Bow, the Ten-Sun Body smoothly entered its second death tribulation!
Moreover, another unexpected benefit awaited Qiao San, making him deeply grateful for this heart-piercing arrow.
The immortal and indestructible Ten-Sun Body did not awaken immediately. As the blood from his chest seeped into the “broken book” in his arms, a line of strange characters floated out from the pages.
—”To learn the Ghost Sutra, one must endure a blade through the heart; to cast off the mortal shell and enter my Ghost Gate!”
“Servant greets Master!” A glowing aura suddenly appeared within Qiao San’s spiritual realm. As always, the spirit of the book spoke in a stiff, monotonous tone: “Master, you may now begin cultivating the Ghost Sutra!”
“Huh…” Before Qiao San’s stunned soul could react, streams of strange characters flew out from the glowing orb, swirling like countless dancing silver snakes, filling the illusory world. Then, with a swift whoosh, they surged into his soul’s crown like a thousand rivers flowing into one sea.
“Agh! Spirit of the book, what have you done to me?” His soul swelled tenfold, as if it were about to burst. The pain made his mischievous soul leap about in agony.
Reporting to Master, I have merely inscribed the words of the Ghost Sutra into the mark of your life. Now, you possess the first layer of the Ghost Sutra’s power. As for the subsequent techniques, I will explain them in detail when the time arrives.
At this point, the book spirit, now faintly assuming a humanoid shape, actually displayed a trace of emotion, softly sighing: “Unfortunately, Master’s body is unique and cannot completely discard its physical form, which hinders further progress. Fortunately, you can still勉强cultivate the Supreme Ghost Dao. Master, I am exhausted now. I will take my leave.”
—The key has arrived! The key to unlocking the treasure that is the Ten-Sun Body has finally descended from the heavens!
Miracles continue, and wonders never cease.
At the exact moment Qiao San’s chest wound vanished entirely, the glowing Ghost Sutra flowed like water and seeped into his heart.
“Ugh!” A lingering groan of shock escaped his lips. As the strange dream faded, Qiao San slowly opened his eyes. This time, the dreamlike visions did not vanish. Even the previous “dreams” broke through their barriers, clearly reflected in his still-dazed consciousness.
“What? How could this be?! Could it be that Shier really is…”
Countless doubts surged into his mind, entangling his heart in confusion. Yet, furrowing his brows, Qiao San did not halt his steps. His brother’s wife was his only concern—saving the woman he loved came first.
As his hand reached for the rope of the grappling hook, a strange tremor passed through his heart. Once again, the strange dream flooded his mind, no matter how hard he tried to erase it.
Damn! Could these dreams actually be real?!
Trying it out on a whim, Qiao San silently recited the incantation he had learned in his dream. Finally, filled with curiosity and doubt, he softly uttered, “Ghost Cloud—”
The words had barely left his mouth when Qiao San felt a sudden jolt beneath his feet. A force lifted him upward. Unprepared, he stumbled forward and fell—onto a grayish cloud.
Heh, heh… Indeed, it was the sneaky “Ghost Cloud,” rising not from the sky but from the earth itself, startling Qiao San, who had been expecting to ascend, his face turning pale.
Looking down at the shrinking land beneath him, Qiao San couldn’t help but burst into laughter, “Ha! Ha! I can fly! I can fly!”
So the strange dream was real! The Ghost Sutra truly exists!
The rogue, with no respect at all for the celestial scripture, was overjoyed. His heart leapt with excitement, and after experiencing the joy of flight, he tried reciting another incantation, then, suppressing his excitement, commanded firmly: “…Ascend!”
With a dull thud, the mountainside trembled. Qiao San crashed headfirst into the cliff. Sprawled out, stars danced before his eyes as he fell heavily to the ground along with bits of rubble.
“Damn it! I must’ve recited the wrong incantation!” After a while, bruised and battered, Qiao San groaned in regret, then thought carefully before once again lying atop the ghost cloud.
“Ghost Cloud, rise! Bang!” Carefully this time—he slammed into the cliff again for the second time!
“Damn it, could this thing have a problem with direction?!” Qiao San eyed the ghost cloud suspiciously, circling it several times before suddenly having a brilliant idea.
If every time he said “rise,” it veered left, then he would just have to adjust accordingly. Heh heh…
“Left! Boom!” This time, the ghost cloud obeyed perfectly, carrying its new master for the third time straight into the cliffside.
Like a gecko, Qiao San clung to the cliff for a few seconds before crashing down. After three attempts, the hard stone finally bore Qiao San’s unique mark—a human-shaped indentation!
“Wah! I’m not playing anymore!” As the ghost cloud tried to rise beneath him again, the so-called “bold” master panicked and frantically dodged the eerie cloud.
“Ah! Master, you haven’t performed blood-binding yet. How could the Ghost Cloud obey you?”
At that moment, Qiao San heard the book spirit’s weak voice echo in his mind. The magical spirit had appeared in the physical world for the first time, speaking with exasperation and a hint of human-like complaint: “Master, I told you to study the Daoist texts diligently, but you refused. Look, now you can’t even control the simplest—”
“Stop!” Pocky San shouted into the air. He had experienced the book spirit’s verbosity before and quickly tried to appease it with a smile: “Good spirit, quickly tell me how to control this thing!”
“Master, you’re too slow-witted! Sigh…”
After a moment of lament, the book spirit still explained in detail: “Circulate your magical energy… yes, force out a drop of heart’s blood, then… hmm, merge the blood into the cloud. There! From now on, this Ghost Cloud belongs to you alone!”
After finishing the explanation, the ever-pedantic book spirit couldn’t help but lecture again: “Master, your magical power already exceeds that of an ordinary loose immortal, but you don’t know how to use it. Without proper cultivation and attainment of immortality, you won’t be able to defeat even a minor opponent! Sigh… why can’t you study diligently? Just to save me some trouble…”
“Stop!” Qiao San smiled bitterly. For a brief moment, he felt as if he had returned to ten years ago, when his mother used to scold him like this. But now, he no longer enjoyed such feelings, especially not from a spirit giving him that sensation.
“Book spirit, please go back now! We’ll meet again later!”
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