At this moment, everything felt incredibly thrilling.
Shui Miao could hardly believe his eyes—had the elven beauty truly used the energies of Yin and Yang and the Five Elements to help him conceive a child?
Was life really being born like this?
It was just too amazing!
“Huh?”
Suddenly, Shui Miao noticed something strange—the tiny hands of the newborns moved for a while, then stopped altogether.
Moments later, some of the elven beauties cried out in despair…
“How could this happen?”
“The child is dying! Why? Why is this happening?”
“No! Master, please save them!”
Shui Miao quickly moved closer, pried open the rocks, and discovered that the children inside were turning black, their bodies slowly rotting away while their spiritual energy dissipated rapidly.
“How could this happen?”
Shui Miao’s mind raced. He immediately withdrew from the meditative state and sent a mental message to Bufa.
Bufa reacted instantly, teleporting Shui Miao out of the protective talisman. After hearing what had occurred, he glanced sideways, his eyes gleaming with excitement as he muttered to himself, “So it really is like that. The world of one’s inner realm exists between reality and illusion—it doesn’t belong to any of the Three Realms. Precisely because of this, new life cannot be born.”
“Senior, what exactly do you mean?”
Shui Miao was confused.
This moment is truly exhilarating.
Shui Miao could hardly believe his eyes. Did the elven beauty really use the energy of Yin, Yang, and the Five Elements to help him conceive a child?
Was life born just like that?
This is simply too miraculous!
“Huh?”
Suddenly, Shui Miao noticed that those little hands, which had been moving, gradually stopped.
Immediately after, some of the elven beauties began to cry out in despair…
“How could this happen?”
“The child is going to die! Why? Why is this happening?”
“No! Master, please save them!”
“…”
Shui Miao hurried over, pried open the stone, and discovered that the child inside had begun to turn black, slowly rotting away as spiritual energy continuously dissipated.
“How could this be?”
Shui Miao’s mind raced. He quickly withdrew from the mental realm and sent a mental message to Bufa.
Bufa’s heart stirred, and he teleported Shui Miao out of the protective magic pearl. After hearing the situation, Bufa’s eyes lit up with excitement as he muttered to himself, “Just as I thought. The mental realm exists between reality and illusion, not within the Three Realms. That’s precisely why new life cannot be born there.”
“Senior, what does that mean?”
Shui Miao was confused.
Bufa quickly explained, “It’s like this: throughout the Three Realms, wandering souls are everywhere. When life is conceived, some of these wandering souls enter the infant’s body and gradually evolve into the Three Souls and Seven Spirits. Only then can the child possess life and survive. However, your mental realm has no wandering souls at all. So, the children are merely condensations of spiritual energy—they lack the Three Souls and Seven Spirits, meaning they cannot truly begin life. Even if they seemed alive at first, that was only due to a trace of Yang spirit you bestowed upon them.”
“…”
Now Shui Miao understood. So, that’s how the Three Souls and Seven Spirits came to be.
Worried that Shui Miao still hadn’t fully grasped it, Bufa went on to give an example: “For instance, when a mortal becomes pregnant, the underworld officials under the local City God register the event and notify the ancestral spirits of the family, allowing them to purchase a soul for reincarnation. If the family’s ancestral spirits are wealthy, they might buy a soul with exceptional talent and virtue to be reborn. Once the child is born, if the Three Souls and Seven Spirits merge well, the child’s destiny will be strong. They will grow up capable, intelligent, and highly virtuous. Of course, before that, the soul drinks Meng Po’s Soup and forgets all past memories.”
Even a fool could understand after such an explanation.
Shui Miao waved his hand in frustration. “But Senior, why can those treants live? Aren’t they living beings too?”
“Wrong!”
Bufa smiled faintly. “You’re still too young. Those plants are lower forms of life. They are virtual beings conceived from the Yin-Yang and Five Elements spiritual energy you absorbed from the outside world. For them, spiritual energy alone is enough to survive. So, under the influence of your will and immortal power, they multiply automatically. The elven beauties turned them from trees into treants because they carry elven vitality.”
So that was it. After Bufa’s explanation, Shui Miao finally understood the process of life conception. After a moment of silence, he calmed himself and asked, “Senior, then how were you able to father so many descendants?”
“Mine are magical artifacts. I captured many souls inside them, and they were nurtured into life. Actually, you could try it too—capture some souls and nurture life within your realm. But it’s best to capture pure, virtuous souls. Poor-quality souls are truly troublesome—better none than bad ones! Also, you should gather some fetal energy; otherwise, the children might die young.”
“Fetal energy? Isn’t fetal energy innate? How do I obtain it? And why would they die young?”
Shui Miao knew nothing about this. Fortunately, he had met Bufa, who was patient and willing to explain.
Bufa couldn’t help but sigh, thinking to himself that he had brought this upon himself. Nurturing such a clueless human indeed required extra effort.
As they soared slowly over the vast Rakshasa Marsh, Bufa explained, “Fetal energy is a special type of energy produced during the union of Yin and Yang. This energy is incredibly profound. Your essence contains Yang energy, but you directly gave your essence to the elven beauties for them to absorb. If you hadn’t later infused some immortal power, those children wouldn’t have been conceived at all. In other words, you should have directly merged with them face-to-face to generate fetal energy. That would have saved you the effort of expending immortal power.”
“Uh…”
Shui Miao was speechless. Bufa’s meaning was clear—he was suggesting that Shui Miao should have intimate relations with the elven beauties!
This topic was clearly not suitable for discussion with a senior of such stature.
Shui Miao wisely changed the subject, asking where Buxiang had gone.
Bufa told him that he had sent Buxiang to invite their eldest senior brother out of seclusion. If the eldest senior brother could take action, their chances of breaking the ancient tomb’s formation would greatly increase.
Shui Miao also discovered that Bufa’s eldest senior brother was named Buyi, the foremost master of the Dwarf race, now aged 5,506 years! Buyi had lived through two major immortal realm wars. In his efforts to safeguard the interests of the Dwarf race, he had once slain several Immortal尊 (Zūn) experts who attempted to plunder the Dwarves’ wealth, an act that sent shockwaves throughout the entire immortal realm.
After that, he had been in seclusion ever since.
However, before entering seclusion, Buyi had specifically instructed Bufa to seek out and nurture talented clansmen. Buxiang had done so, but the Dwarf race was inherently simple and content, with very few suitable for cultivation.
Bufa, impressed by Shui Miao’s straightforward character, clear sense of justice, and loyalty, had taken a liking to him. He had even specifically sent Buxiang to invite the eldest senior brother to help nurture Shui Miao. Of course, Bufa hadn’t originally intended to disturb the eldest senior brother, but due to the peculiarities of Shui Miao’s mental realm, he had no choice.
In Bufa’s memory, the vast majority of immortals he had encountered cultivated only one or two types of spiritual energy.
The more types one cultivated, the harder it was to advance in realm.
Of course, he had also met cultivators who practiced all five elements of Yin-Yang spiritual energy, but eventually, they all gave up on cultivating some of them. Without sufficient Five Elements spirit stones, having one’s cultivation stagnate was an extremely painful experience.
However, Bufa wasn’t worried about this.
The wealth of the Dwarf race was enough to nurture ten Shui Miaos into super experts.
“Senior, how much farther?”
Having asked all he needed to ask and learned all he needed to know, Shui Miao grew impatient seeing the Rakshasa world still stretching endlessly before them. How long would this flight take?
“Almost there. Beyond this marsh, within those hundred thousand mountains, lies the ancient tomb.”
As Bufa spoke, he suddenly increased their flying speed.
After what felt like most of the day, the two finally left the marsh behind and saw a plain. On the plain stood many black structures, including even massive, imposing cities. Countless ghosts and monsters moved about busily on the ground.
Further ahead, as they reached the mountains, many ghosts also roamed the slopes.
The deeper they flew into the mountains, the more strange, terrifying, and ferocious monsters they encountered. For instance, many skeletal birds of bizarre shapes appeared in the air, some of them enormous, like giant airplanes. But what shocked Shui Miao the most were the giant skeletal dragons wrapped in black energy, rolling and twisting within the layers of dark clouds.
“Shui Miao, we’re almost at the most prosperous area of the Rakshasa Kingdom. Here, human immortals are extremely rare treasures. To them, you are a highly sought-after tonic, just like the Tang Monk’s meat in your human tales. You must be careful.” Just as Bufa finished speaking, a skeletal dragon suddenly shot out from the cloud layer, opening its massive mouth and charging straight at them. Bufa’s eyebrows twitched, and a large bell appeared in his hand. With a series of “ding-ding-dang-dang” rings, the skeletal dragon instantly froze as if under a immobilization spell.
“Senior, what kind of magical artifact is that bell? Why can it immobilize the dragon?”
Shui Miao was very curious and quickly asked.
Bufa, seemingly accustomed to explaining things to Shui Miao, said, “This is called the Soul-Confusing Bell. The creatures of the Rakshasa realm are all soul entities. They fear spiritual attacks the most, and the best method for spiritual attacks is sound-based attacks. Among sounds, bell tones are the clearest and most pleasant. Once they hear the bell, they become enchanted by it. To them, the bell’s sound is music that intoxicates them.”
“…”
Shui Miao gained new insight—so music was the ultimate treasure in the Rakshasa realm!
Seeing Shui Miao silent, Bufa elaborated, “Actually, it’s the same with ghosts in the mortal world. They are also spiritual entities and are particularly sensitive to sound. For example, Taoist priests who control corpses use bells to attract and guide the corpses. Wind chimes used for summoning souls operate on the same principle. Then there are those folk masters who exorcise evil spirits—they often use copper cymbals, clapping them forcefully to produce sharp sounds that startle and drive away demons and monsters.”
This principle wasn’t hard for Shui Miao to understand.
Musical instruments, cymbals—Shui Miao made a mental note of these.
He felt that such things could definitely also affect immortals. If he ever encountered such magical artifacts in the future, he must keep them.
“We’re almost there. Do you see that tallest mountain?”
Bufa pointed toward a dark area in the distance.
It was an extremely tall and dark mountain, shrouded in rolling black energy, looking very eerie and sinister to the extreme.
“Halt!”
“Mount Wuyin has been sealed off by our Rakshasa Three Saints Sect! Outsiders are forbidden to enter!”
“Huh? There’s actually an immortal here!?”
“Men! Stop them! Don’t let them escape!”
Suddenly, Bufa halted mid-air.
Dozens of monstrous humanoid creatures with fierce auras and bizarre appearances, armed with various weapons, surrounded Bufa and Shui Miao menacingly. They all seemed eager to make a move, poised for action at any moment…
Shui Miao now understood. This was how the Three Hun and Seven Po were formed.
Wanting to ensure Shui Miao fully grasped the concept, Bufa continued with an example: “Take a human pregnancy, for instance. The local city gods and their subordinates will register the pregnancy and notify the family’s ancestral spirits. The ancestors can then purchase wandering souls to reincarnate into the fetus. If the family’s ancestors have enough wealth, they might buy a soul of exceptional talent and virtue for the unborn child. Once the child is born and the Three Hun and Seven Po integrate well, the child will have a strong birth chart and grow up to be capable, intelligent, and virtuous. Of course, before reincarnation, these souls drink Mengpo’s soup and forget their past lives.”
With such a clear explanation, even a fool could understand.
Shui Miao shook his head in confusion, “But Senior, why can those treants live? Aren’t they also living beings?”
“You’re mistaken!”
This moment is truly exhilarating.
Shui Miao could hardly believe his eyes. Did the elven beauty really use the energy of Yin, Yang, and the Five Elements to help him conceive a child?
Has life just been born like this?
This is simply too miraculous!
“Huh?”
Suddenly, Shui Miao noticed that those little hands, after moving for a while, stopped again.
Immediately after, some of the elven beauties began to cry out in despair…
“How could this happen?”
“The child is going to die! Why? Why is this happening?”
“No! Master, please save them!”
“…”
Shui Miao quickly moved closer, pried open the stone, and discovered that the child inside had begun to turn black, slowly rotting away as spiritual energy continuously dissipated.
“How could this be?”
Shui Miao’s mind raced. He quickly withdrew from the mental realm and sent a mental message to Bu Fa.
Bu Fa’s heart stirred, and he transported Shui Miao out of the protective magic pearl. After hearing the situation, Bu Fa’s eyes lit up with excitement as he muttered to himself, “Just as I thought. The mental realm exists between reality and illusion, not within the Three Realms. That’s precisely why new life cannot be born there.”
“Senior, what does that mean?”
Shui Miao was confused.
Bu Fa quickly explained, “It’s like this: throughout the Three Realms, wandering souls are everywhere. When life is conceived, some of these wandering souls enter the infant’s body and gradually evolve into the Three Souls and Seven Spirits. Only then can the child possess life and survive. However, your mental realm has no wandering souls at all. So, the children are merely condensations of spiritual energy—they lack the Three Souls and Seven Spirits, meaning they cannot truly begin life. Even if they seemed alive at first, that was only due to a trace of Yang spirit you bestowed upon them.”
“…”
Now Shui Miao understood. So, this is how the Three Souls and Seven Spirits come to be.
Worried that Shui Miao still hadn’t fully grasped it, Bu Fa went on to give an example: “For instance, when a mortal becomes pregnant, the ghost officials under the local City God register the event and notify the ancestral spirits of the family. Those spirits then spend money to purchase a soul for reincarnation. If the family’s ancestral spirits are wealthy, they might buy a soul with exceptional talent, intelligence, and virtue. Once the child is born, if the Three Souls and Seven Spirits merge well, the child’s destiny will be strong. They will grow up capable, intelligent, and highly virtuous. Of course, before all this, the soul drinks Meng Po’s Soup and forgets all past memories.”
Even a fool could understand such an explanation.
Frustrated, Shui Miao waved his hand. “But Senior, why can the treants live? Aren’t they life forms too?”
“Wrong!”
Bu Fa smiled faintly. “You’re still too young. Those plants are lower life forms. They are virtual life nurtured by the Yin, Yang, and Five Elements spiritual energy you absorbed from the outside world. For them, spiritual energy alone is enough to survive. So, under the influence of your will and immortal power, they multiply automatically. The elven beauties turned them from trees into treants because they carry elven vitality.”
So that was it. With Bu Fa’s explanation, Shui Miao finally understood the process of life conception. After a pause, he calmed himself and asked, “Senior, then how were you able to have so many descendants?”
“Mine are magical artifacts. I captured many souls and nurtured them into life inside. Actually, you could try it too—capture some souls and nurture life. But it’s best to capture pure, virtuous souls. Poor-quality souls are nothing but trouble—better none than bad ones! Also, you should gather some fetal energy; otherwise, they might die young.”
“Fetal energy? Isn’t fetal energy innate? How do I obtain it? And why would they die young?”
Shui Miao knew nothing about this. Fortunately, he had met Bu Fa, who was patient and willing to explain.
Bu Fa couldn’t help but sigh, thinking he had brought this upon himself. Nurturing such a clueless human indeed required extra effort.
As they soared slowly over the vast Rakshasa Marsh, Bu Fa explained, “Fetal energy is a special vitality produced when Yin and Yang combine. It’s very mystical. Your essence contains Yang energy, but you directly gave your essence to the elven beauties for absorption. If you hadn’t later infused some immortal power, those children wouldn’t have been conceived at all. In other words, you should merge with them face-to-face directly. That way, fetal energy is generated, and you save yourself the effort of expending immortal power.”
“Uh…”
Shui Miao was speechless. Bu Fa’s meaning was clear: he wanted him to mate with the elven beauties!
This topic was clearly not suitable for discussion with a senior of such stature.
Shui Miao wisely changed the subject, asking where Bu Xiang had gone.
Bu Fa informed him that he had dispatched Bu Xiang to summon their eldest senior brother from his seclusion. If the eldest senior brother were to intervene, their likelihood of dismantling the ancient tomb’s formation would significantly improve.
Shui Miao also discovered that Bu Fa’s eldest senior brother was named Bu Yi, the foremost expert of the Dwarf race, now 5,506 years old! Bu Yi had lived through two great immortal world wars. In order to protect the interests of the Dwarf race, he had once slain several Immortal Venerables who attempted to plunder the Dwarves’ wealth, an act that sent shockwaves throughout the entire immortal world.
After that, he had been in seclusion ever since.
However, before entering seclusion, Bu Yi specifically instructed Bu Fa to seek out and nurture talented clansmen. Bu Xiang had done so, but the Dwarves were inherently simple and content, with very few suited for cultivation.
Bu Fa, captivated by Shui Miao’s candid demeanor, strong moral compass, and unwavering loyalty, had grown fond of him. He had even gone out of his way to dispatch Bu Xiang to invite the eldest senior brother to assist in mentoring Shui Miao. Initially, Bu Fa had no intention of troubling the eldest senior brother, but Shui Miao’s profound mental state made it imperative.
In Bu Fa’s memory, most immortals he had encountered cultivated only one or two types of spiritual energy.
The more varied the cultivation, the harder it was to advance.
Of course, he had also met cultivators who practiced all five elements of Yin and Yang spiritual energy, but eventually, they all gave up on some. Without sufficient Five Element spirit stones, being stuck at the same cultivation level was extremely frustrating.
However, Bu Fa wasn’t worried about this.
The wealth of the Dwarf race was enough to nurture ten Shui Miaos into super experts.
“Senior, how much farther?”
Having asked all he needed and learned all he wanted, Shui Miao grew impatient seeing the Rakshasa world still stretching endlessly before them. How long would this flight take?
“Almost there. Beyond this marsh, within those hundred thousand mountains, lies the ancient tomb.”
As Bu Fa spoke, he suddenly increased their flight speed.
After what seemed like half a day, the two finally emerged from the marsh and laid eyes on a vast plain. Scattered across the plain were numerous black structures, including grand and imposing cities. The ground was teeming with countless ghosts and monsters, bustling about in a flurry of activity.
Further ahead, as they reached the mountains, many ghosts also roamed the slopes.
The deeper they flew into the mountains, the more strange, terrifying, and monstrous creatures appeared. For instance, many skeletal birds of bizarre shapes emerged in the sky, some enormous in size, resembling giant airplanes. But what shocked Shui Miao the most were the giant bone dragons wrapped in black mist, rolling through the layers of dark clouds.
“Shui Miao, we’re almost at the most prosperous area of the Rakshasa Kingdom. Here, human immortals are extremely rare treasures. To them, you are the ultimate tonic they dream of obtaining—just like what you humans call ‘Tang Seng’s meat.’ You must be careful.” Just as Bu Fa said this, a bone dragon suddenly shot out from the clouds, charging at them with its massive jaws wide open. Bu Fa’s eyebrows twitched, and a large bell appeared in his hand. With a series of “ding-ding-dang-dang” rings, the bone dragon instantly froze as if under a immobilization spell.
“Senior, what kind of magical artifact is that bell? Why can it immobilize the dragon?”
Extremely curious, Shui Miao quickly asked.
Bu Fa, seemingly accustomed to explaining things to Shui Miao, said, “This is a Soul-Confounding Bell. Creatures in the Rakshasa realm are all soul entities. They fear spiritual attacks the most, and the best method for spiritual attacks is sound-based attacks. Among sounds, bell tones are the clearest and most pleasant. Once they hear the bell, they become enchanted by it. To them, the bell’s sound is music that intoxicates them.”
“…”
Shui Miao gained new insight: so, music is the ultimate treasure in the Rakshasa realm!
Seeing Shui Miao silent, Bu Fa elaborated, “Actually, ghosts in the mortal world are the same. They are also spiritual entities and particularly sensitive to sound. For example, Taoist priests who corpse-drive use bells to attract corpses and make them walk. Wind chimes used for summoning souls work on the same principle. Also, folk masters who exorcise evil often use copper cymbals, clapping them hard to produce sharp sounds that startle and scare away demons and monsters.”
This principle wasn’t hard for Shui Miao to understand.
Musical instruments, cymbals—Shui Miao made a mental note.
He felt that these things could definitely affect immortals too. If he ever encountered such magical artifacts in the future, he must keep them.
“We’re almost there. Do you see that tallest mountain?”
Bu Fa pointed toward a dark area in the distance.
It was an immensely tall and gloomy mountain, shrouded in rolling black mist, appearing extremely eerie and sinister.
“Halt!”
“Mount Wuyin has been sealed off by our Rakshasa Three Saints Sect! Outsiders are forbidden to trespass!”
“Huh? There’s actually an immortal here!?”
“Come on! Surround them! Don’t let them escape!”
Suddenly, Bu Fa halted mid-air.
Dozens of ferocious, bizarrely dressed humanoid monsters brandishing various weapons menacingly surrounded Bu Fa and Shui Miao, all poised to attack at any moment…
Now everything made sense. After a pause, Shui Miao calmed his mind and asked, “Senior, then how come you can have so many descendants?”
This moment is truly exhilarating.
Shui Miao could hardly believe his eyes. Did the elven beauty really use the energy of Yin, Yang, and the Five Elements to help him conceive a child?
Was life born just like that?
This is too miraculous!
“Huh?”
Suddenly, Shui Miao noticed that those little hands, after moving for a while, stopped again.
Immediately after, some of the elven beauties let out desperate cries…
“How could this happen?”
“The child is going to die! Why? Why is this happening?”
“No! Master, please save them!”
“…”
Shui Miao hurried over, pried open the stone, and discovered that the child inside had begun to turn black, slowly rotting away, while spiritual energy continuously dissipated.
“How could this be?”
Shui Miao’s mind raced. He quickly withdrew from the mental realm and sent a mental message to Bufa.
Bufa’s heart stirred, and he teleported Shui Miao out of the protective bead. After hearing the situation, Bufa’s eyes lit up with excitement as he muttered to himself, “Just as I thought. The mental realm exists between reality and illusion. It doesn’t belong to the Three Realms, which is why new life cannot be born there.”
“Senior, what does that mean?”
Shui Miao was confused.
Bufa quickly explained, “It’s like this: throughout the Three Realms, wandering souls are everywhere. When life is conceived, some of these wandering souls enter the infant’s body and gradually evolve into the Three Souls and Seven Spirits. Only then can the child possess life and survive. However, your mental realm has no wandering souls at all. So, the children are merely condensations of spiritual energy. They lack the Three Souls and Seven Spirits, meaning they cannot truly begin life. Even if they seemed alive at first, that was only due to a trace of Yang spirit you bestowed upon them.”
“…”
Now Shui Miao understood. So, this is how the Three Souls and Seven Spirits come to be.
Worried that Shui Miao might still not fully grasp it, Bufa gave an example: “For instance, when a mortal becomes pregnant, the underworld officials under the local City God register the event and notify the ancestral spirits of the family. Those spirits then spend money to purchase a soul for reincarnation. If the family’s ancestral spirits are wealthy, they might buy a soul that is talented, intelligent, and virtuous. Once the child is born, if the Three Souls and Seven Spirits merge well, the child’s destiny will be strong. They will grow up capable, intelligent, and highly virtuous. Of course, before all this, the souls drink Meng Po’s Soup, so they remember nothing of their past lives.”
With this explanation, even a fool would understand.
Shui Miao waved his hand in frustration. “But Senior, why can the treants live? Aren’t they living beings too?”
“Wrong!”
Bufa smiled faintly. “You’re still too young. Those plants are lower forms of life. They are virtual beings conceived from the Yin, Yang, and Five Elements spiritual energy you absorbed from the outside world. For them, spiritual energy alone is enough to survive. So, under the influence of your will and immortal power, they multiply automatically. The elven beauties turned them from trees into treants because the elves carry elven vitality.”
So that’s how it is. With Bufa’s explanation, Shui Miao finally understood the process of life conception. After a pause, he calmed himself and asked, “Senior, then how were you able to father so many descendants?”
“Mine are magical artifacts. I captured many souls inside them, and they were nurtured into life. Actually, you could try it too—capture some ghosts and nurture life. But it’s best to capture pure, virtuous souls. Poor-quality souls are truly troublesome. Better to have none than to settle for less. Also, you should gather some fetal energy; otherwise, they might die young.”
“Fetal energy? Isn’t fetal energy innate? How do I obtain it? Why would they die young?”
Shui Miao knew nothing about this. Fortunately, he had met Bufa, who was patient and willing to explain.
Bufa couldn’t help but sigh. He realized he had brought this upon himself—training such a clueless human indeed required extra effort.
As they soared over the vast Raksasi Swamp, Bufa explained, “Fetal energy is a special vitality produced when Yin and Yang combine. This energy is very mysterious. Your essence contains Yang energy, but you directly gave your essence to the elven beauties for absorption. If you hadn’t later infused some immortal power, those children wouldn’t have been conceived at all. In other words, you should have directly merged with them face-to-face. That would have produced fetal energy and saved you the effort of expending immortal power.”
“Uh…”
Shui Miao was speechless. Bufa was suggesting that he should have intercourse with the elven beauties!
This topic was clearly not suitable for discussion with a senior of such stature.
Shui Miao wisely changed the subject, asking where Buxiang had gone.
Bufa told him that he had sent Buxiang to invite their eldest brother out of seclusion. If their eldest brother could help, their chances of breaking the ancient tomb’s formation would greatly increase.
Shui Miao also learned that Bufa’s eldest brother was named Buyi, the foremost expert of the dwarf race, now 5,506 years old! Buyi had experienced two great immortal wars. To protect the interests of the dwarf race, he had once killed several immortal lords who tried to plunder the dwarves’ wealth, shocking the entire immortal world.
After that, he had been in seclusion ever since.
However, before entering seclusion, Buyi specifically instructed Bufa to seek out and train talented clansmen. Buxiang had done so, but dwarves were inherently simple and content, with very few suited for cultivation.
Bufa saw that Shui Miao was straightforward, clear about gratitude and grudges, and full of loyalty and righteousness, so he took a liking to him. He even specifically asked Buxiang to invite their eldest brother to help train Shui Miao. Of course, Bufa hadn’t originally intended to disturb his eldest brother, but because of Shui Miao’s mental realm, he had no choice.
In Bufa’s memory, most immortals he had encountered cultivated only one or two types of spiritual energy.
The more varied the cultivation, the harder it was to advance.
Of course, he had also met cultivators who practiced all five elements of Yin and Yang, but eventually, they all gave up on some. Without sufficient five-element spirit stones, being stuck at the same cultivation level was extremely frustrating.
However, Bufa wasn’t worried about this.
The wealth of the dwarf race was enough to train ten Shui Miaos into super experts.
“Senior, how much farther?”
Having asked all he needed and learned all he could, Shui Miao grew impatient seeing the endless expanse of the Raksasi world. How long would they have to keep flying?
“Almost there. Beyond this swamp, within those hundred thousand mountains, lies the ancient tomb.”
As Bufa spoke, he suddenly increased their flying speed.
After about half a day, the two finally left the swamp behind and saw a plain. On the plain stood many black structures, including imposing and massive cities. Countless ghosts and monsters moved about busily on the ground.
Further ahead, in the mountains, many ghosts also roamed.
The deeper they flew into the mountains, the more strange and terrifying monsters appeared. For instance, many skeletal birds of bizarre shapes emerged in the sky, some of them enormous, like giant airplanes. But what shocked Shui Miao the most were the giant skeletal dragons wrapped in black energy, rolling through the layers of dark clouds.
“Shui Miao, we’re almost at the most prosperous area of the Raksasi Kingdom. Human immortals are extremely rare treasures here. To them, you’re a highly sought-after tonic, just like the Tang Monk’s meat in your human tales. You must be careful.” As Bufa spoke, a skeletal dragon suddenly shot out from the clouds, opening its massive mouth to charge at them. Bufa’s eyebrows twitched, and a large bell appeared in his hand. With a series of “ding-ding-dang-dang” sounds, the skeletal dragon instantly froze as if under a immobilization spell.
“Senior, what kind of magical artifact is that bell? Why can it immobilize the dragon?”
Shui Miao was very curious and quickly asked.
Bufa seemed accustomed to explaining things to Shui Miao. “This is the Soul-Confusing Bell. Creatures in the Raksasi realm are all soul entities. They fear mental attacks the most, and the best method for mental attacks is sound-based attacks. Among sounds, bell tones are the clearest and most pleasant. When they hear the bell, they become enchanted by it. To them, the bell’s sound is music that intoxicates them.”
“…”
Shui Miao gained new insight. So, music is the ultimate treasure in the Raksasi realm!
Seeing Shui Miao silent, Bufa elaborated, “Actually, ghosts in the mortal world are the same. They are also spiritual entities and are particularly sensitive to sound. For example, Taoist priests who guide corpses use bells to attract the corpses and make them move. Wind chimes used for summoning souls work on the same principle. Also, folk masters who exorcise evil spirits often use copper cymbals, clapping them hard to produce sharp sounds that startle and drive away demons and monsters.”
This principle wasn’t hard for Shui Miao to understand.
He mentally noted the importance of musical instruments and cymbals.
Shui Miao felt that these things could probably also affect immortals. If he ever encountered such magical artifacts in the future, he should definitely keep them.
“We’re almost there. Do you see that tallest mountain?”
Bufa pointed toward a dark area in the distance.
It was an extremely tall and gloomy mountain, shrouded in rolling black energy, looking very eerie and sinister to the extreme.
“Halt!”
“Mount Wuyin has been sealed off by our Raksasi Three Saints Sect! Outsiders are not allowed to trespass!”
“Huh? There’s actually an immortal here!?”
“Come on! Surround them! Don’t let them escape!”
Suddenly, Bufa halted mid-air.
Dozens of ferocious, bizarrely dressed humanoid monsters wielding various weapons menacingly surrounded Bufa and Shui Miao. They all looked eager to attack, poised to strike at any moment…
“Fetal energy? Isn’t that naturally present? How do you get it? Why would they die without it?”
Shui Miao was clueless, but lucky to have a senior like Bufa who was willing to explain.
Bufa sighed inwardly, thinking he had brought this upon himself—training someone so inexperienced would indeed require a lot of explanation.
This moment is truly exhilarating.
Shui Miao could hardly believe his eyes. Did the elven beauty really use the energy of Yin, Yang, and the Five Elements to help him conceive a child?
Has life just been born?
This is simply miraculous!
“Huh?”
Suddenly, Shui Miao noticed that those little hands, which had been moving moments ago, had now stopped.
Immediately after, some of the elven beauties began to cry out in despair…
“How could this happen?”
“The child is going to die! Why, why is this happening?”
“No! Master, please save them!”
“…”
Shui Miao hurried over, pried open the stone, and discovered that the child inside had begun to turn black, slowly rotting away as spiritual energy continuously dissipated.
“How could this be?”
Shui Miao’s mind raced. He quickly withdrew from the mental realm and sent a telepathic message to Bu Fa.
Bu Fa’s heart stirred, and he transported Shui Miao out of the protective magic pearl. After hearing the situation, Bu Fa’s eyes lit up with excitement as he muttered to himself, “Just as I thought. The mental realm exists between reality and illusion, not within the Three Realms. That’s precisely why new life cannot be born there.”
“Senior, what does that mean?”
Shui Miao was confused.
Bu Fa quickly explained, “It’s like this: throughout the Three Realms, wandering souls are everywhere. When life is conceived, some of these wandering souls enter the infant’s body and gradually evolve into the Three Souls and Seven Spirits. Only then can the child possess life and survive. However, your mental realm has no wandering souls at all. So, the children are merely condensations of spiritual energy—they lack the Three Souls and Seven Spirits, meaning they cannot truly begin life. Even if they seemed alive at first, that was just a trace of Yang spirit you bestowed upon them.”
“…”
Now Shui Miao understood. So, that’s how the Three Souls and Seven Spirits come to be.
Worried that Shui Miao still might not fully grasp it, Bu Fa continued with an example: “For instance, when a mortal becomes pregnant, the underworld officials under the local City God register the event and notify the ancestral spirits of the family. These spirits then spend money to purchase a soul for reincarnation. If the family’s ancestral spirits are wealthy, they might buy a soul with exceptional talent and virtue. Once the child is born, if the Three Souls and Seven Spirits integrate well, the child’s destiny will be strong. They will grow up capable, intelligent, and highly virtuous. Of course, before all this, the souls drink Meng Po’s Soup, so they remember nothing of their past lives.”
With this explanation, even a fool would understand.
Shui Miao waved his hand in frustration. “But Senior, why can the treants live? Aren’t they living beings too?”
“Wrong!”
Bu Fa smiled faintly. “You’re still too young. Those plants are lower forms of life. They are virtual beings conceived from the Yin, Yang, and Five Elements spiritual energy you absorbed from the outside world. For them, spiritual energy alone is enough to survive. So, under the influence of your will and immortal power, they multiply automatically. The elven beauties turned them from trees into treants because they carry elven vitality.”
So that was it. With Bu Fa’s explanation, Shui Miao finally understood the process of life conception. After a pause, he calmed himself and asked, “Senior, then how were you able to father so many descendants?”
“Mine are magical artifacts. I captured many souls and nurtured them into life inside. Actually, you could try it too—capture some souls and nurture life. But it’s best to capture pure, virtuous souls. Poor-quality souls are nothing but trouble—better none than bad ones! Also, you should gather some fetal energy; otherwise, they might die young.”
“Fetal energy? Isn’t fetal energy innate? How do I obtain it? And why would they die young?”
Shui Miao knew nothing about this. Fortunately, he had met Bu Fa, who was patient and willing to explain.
Bu Fa sighed inwardly, thinking he had brought this upon himself. Training such a clueless human indeed required extra effort.
As they soared over the vast Raksasha Swamp, Bu Fa explained, “Fetal energy is a special vitality produced during the union of Yin and Yang. It’s quite mystical. Your essence contains Yang energy, but you directly gave your essence to the elven beauties for absorption. If you hadn’t later infused some immortal power, those children wouldn’t have been conceived at all. In other words, you should have directly merged with them face-to-face to generate fetal energy. That would have saved you the effort of expending immortal power.”
“Uh…”
Shui Miao was speechless. Bu Fa was suggesting that he should have coupled with the elven beauties!
This topic clearly wasn’t suitable for discussion with a senior of such stature.
Shui Miao wisely changed the subject, asking where Bu Xiang had gone.
Bu Fa told him that he had sent Bu Xiang to invite their eldest senior brother out of seclusion. If the eldest senior brother could intervene, their chances of breaking the ancient tomb’s formation would greatly increase.
Shui Miao also discovered that Bu Fa’s eldest senior brother was named Bu Yi, the most formidable expert of the Dwarf race, now aged 5,506 years old! Bu Yi had survived two great immortal wars. In his efforts to safeguard the interests of the Dwarf race, he had once slain several Immortal Venerables who attempted to plunder their wealth, sending shockwaves throughout the entire immortal realm.
After that, he had been in seclusion ever since.
However, before entering seclusion, Bu Yi had specifically instructed Bu Fa to seek out and train talented clansmen. Bu Xiang had followed this directive, but the Dwarf race was inherently simple and content, with very few suitable for cultivation.
Bu Fa, impressed by Shui Miao’s straightforward nature, clear sense of justice, and loyalty, had taken a liking to him. He had even specifically sent Bu Xiang to invite the eldest senior brother to help train Shui Miao. Of course, Bu Fa hadn’t originally intended to disturb the eldest senior brother, but Shui Miao’s mental realm made it necessary.
In Bu Fa’s memory, most immortals he had encountered cultivated only one or two types of spiritual energy.
The more varied the cultivation, the harder it was to advance.
Of course, he had also met cultivators who practiced all five elements of Yin and Yang, but eventually, they all gave up on some. Without sufficient Five Element spirit stones, being stuck at the same cultivation level was extremely frustrating.
However, Bu Fa wasn’t worried about this.
The wealth of the Dwarf race was enough to train ten Shui Miaos into super experts.
“Senior, how much farther?”
Having asked all he needed and learned all he could, Shui Miao grew impatient seeing the endless expanse of the Raksasha world. How long would they have to keep flying?
“Almost there. Beyond this swamp, within those hundred thousand mountains, lies the ancient tomb.”
As Bu Fa spoke, he suddenly increased their flying speed.
After what felt like most of the day, they finally left the swamp behind and saw a plain. On the plain stood many black structures, even massive, imposing cities. Countless ghosts and monsters moved about busily on the ground.
Further ahead, as they reached the mountains, many more ghosts appeared on the slopes.
The deeper they flew into the mountains, the more strange, terrifying, and monstrous creatures they encountered. For instance, many skeletal birds of bizarre shapes appeared in the sky, some enormous in size, resembling giant airplanes. But what shocked Shui Miao the most were the giant bone dragons wrapped in black mist, rolling through the layers of dark clouds.
“Shui Miao, we’re almost at the most prosperous area of the Raksasha Kingdom. Here, human immortals are extremely rare treasures. To them, you’re like the ultimate tonic they dream of obtaining—just like what you humans call ‘Tang Seng’s meat.’ You must be careful.” As Bu Fa spoke, a bone dragon suddenly shot out from the clouds, opening its massive mouth to charge at them. Bu Fa’s eyebrows twitched, and a large bell appeared in his hand. With a series of “ding-ding-dang-dang” sounds, the bone dragon instantly froze as if petrified.
“Senior, what kind of magical artifact is that bell? Why can it immobilize the dragon?”
Shui Miao was very curious and quickly asked.
Bu Fa seemed accustomed to explaining things to Shui Miao. “This is the Soul-Confounding Bell. The creatures of the Raksasha world are all soul entities. They fear spiritual attacks the most, and the best method for spiritual attacks is sound-based attacks. Among sounds, bell tones are the clearest and most pleasant. Once they hear the bell, they become entranced by it. To them, the bell’s sound is music that intoxicates them.”
“…”
Shui Miao gained new insight: so, music was the ultimate treasure in the Raksasha world!
Seeing Shui Miao silent, Bu Fa elaborated, “Actually, it’s the same with ghosts in the mortal world. They are also spiritual entities and particularly sensitive to sound. For example, Taoist priests who control corpses use bells to attract and guide the corpses. Wind chimes used for summoning spirits work on the same principle. Then there are those folk masters who exorcise evil—they like to clash brass cymbals vigorously, producing sharp sounds to startle and drive away demons and monsters.”
This principle wasn’t hard for Shui Miao to understand.
Musical instruments, cymbals—Shui Miao made a mental note.
He felt that these things could probably also affect immortals. If he ever encountered such magical artifacts in the future, he should definitely keep them.
“We’re almost there. Do you see that tallest mountain?”
Bu Fa pointed toward a dark area in the distance.
It was an extremely tall and gloomy mountain, shrouded in rolling black mist, looking very eerie and sinister to the extreme.
“Halt!”
“Mount Wuyin has been sealed off by our Three Saints Sect of Raksasha! Outsiders are forbidden to enter!”
“Huh? There’s actually an immortal here!?”
“Men! Stop them! Don’t let them escape!”
Suddenly, Bu Fa halted mid-air.
Dozens of ferocious, bizarrely dressed humanoid monsters brandishing various weapons surrounded Bu Fa and Shui Miao menacingly, all poised to attack at any moment…
“Uh…”
Shui Miao was speechless. Bufa’s suggestion was essentially for him to mate with the elven beauties!
Such a topic was clearly not suitable to discuss with a senior cultivator.
Shui Miao wisely changed the subject and asked where Bushang had gone.
Bufa explained that he had sent Bushang to summon the eldest senior, Master Bu Yi. If Bu Yi could intervene, their chances of breaking the ancient tomb formation would increase significantly.
Shui Miao learned that Bu Yi, the eldest senior of the Dwarven Clan, was the greatest expert among dwarves, already five thousand, five hundred, and six years old! He had participated in two Heavenly Wars and once single-handedly defeated several Heaven Lords who sought to plunder the dwarves’ wealth, shaking the entire Celestial Realm.
Since then, he had remained in seclusion.
Before retreating into isolation, however, Bu Yi had specially instructed Bufa to seek out and cultivate promising dwarves. Bushang had followed these orders, but dwarves were naturally simple and content, with very few possessing the talent suitable for cultivation.
Bufa had taken a liking to Shui Miao for his straightforward nature, clear sense of right and wrong, and deep sense of loyalty and righteousness. Thus, he had specially sent Bushang to summon Bu Yi to help train Shui Miao. Originally, he hadn’t wanted to disturb Bu Yi, but due to Shui Miao’s unique inner realm, he had no choice.
In Bufa’s memory, most cultivators he had encountered had trained in only one or two types of spiritual energies.
The more chaotic one’s cultivation, the harder it was to advance.
There were exceptions—some cultivators had trained in all the Yin-Yang and Five Elements energies, but eventually abandoned some of them. Without sufficient Five Elements crystals, one’s cultivation would stagnate, which was an extremely frustrating situation.
However, Bufa was not worried about this.
The dwarves’ wealth was more than enough to cultivate ten Shui Miaos into supreme experts.
“Senior, how much longer?”
Shui Miao had asked all his questions and learned all he could. Yet, seeing that the Rakshasa World still stretched endlessly before them, he grew impatient—how much longer would they have to fly?
“Almost there. Beyond this swamp, deep within the Ten Thousand Mountains, lies the ancient tomb.”
As Bufa spoke, he suddenly accelerated.
After about half a day, they finally left the swamp behind and saw a vast plain. Upon it stood countless black structures, even a massive and majestic city. Innumerable ghosts and monsters bustled about on the ground.
Further ahead, in the mountains, many ghosts roamed the hills.
The deeper they flew into the mountains, the more bizarre and terrifying creatures appeared—skeletal birds with exposed bones, some as large as airplanes. But what startled Shui Miao the most were the enormous bone dragons coiled in the dark clouds, shrouded in black mist.
“Shui Miao, we’re nearing the most prosperous region of the Rakshasa Kingdom. Human immortals are extremely rare treasures here. To them, you’re like the legendary Tang Monk’s flesh—a priceless medicinal ingredient. Be careful,” Bufa warned.
As he spoke, a bone dragon suddenly lunged from the clouds, its massive jaws opening wide. But with a flick of his wrist, Bufa produced a large bell. With a few ringing notes—”Ding Ding Dang Dang”—the bone dragon froze mid-air, as if struck by a paralysis spell.
“Senior, what kind of treasure is that bell? Why can it stop it?”
Shui Miao was curious.
Bufa, now accustomed to explaining things, replied, “This is the Soul Confusion Bell. All beings in the Rakshasa Realm are souls—spiritual entities. They are most vulnerable to spiritual attacks. Among all sound-based attacks, the clearest and most melodious is the sound of a bell. When they hear it, they become entranced, as if listening to heavenly music.”
Shui Miao was amazed—so music was the ultimate treasure in the Rakshasa Realm!
Seeing Shui Miao’s silence, Bufa elaborated, “Even in the human world, wandering ghosts are spiritual beings, sensitive to sound. For example, Taoist corpse-herders use bells to guide the dead. Spirit-summoning wind chimes work on the same principle. And exorcists often use brass cymbals to create sharp sounds that repel evil spirits.”
Shui Miao found this easy to understand.
He mentally noted down the importance of musical instruments and cymbals.
He felt these items could also affect immortals. If he encountered similar treasures in the future, he should keep them.
“We’re almost there. Do you see that tallest mountain over there?”
Bufa pointed toward a dark and ominous location.
It was an extremely tall and shadowy mountain, surrounded by rolling black mist, looking eerie and sinister beyond words.
“Halt!”
“The Five Yin Mountain has been sealed by the Three Holy Sects of Rakshasa! No outsiders are allowed!”
“Huh? There’s actually an immortal here!”
“Quickly! Stop them! Don’t let them escape!”
Suddenly, Bufa halted mid-air.
Dozens of bizarre, grotesque humanoid monsters, exuding thick demonic energy, surrounded them. Armed with various weapons, they looked ready to attack at any moment…
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