Chapter 240: Three Hun and Seven Po

The suite was completely empty, yet the floor was spotless.

Shui Miao sat cross-legged in the middle of the living room, while the entrances to the small living room and bedroom were filled with ghosts from the six major families. They stood silently watching Shui Miao, their faces expressionless.

It was extremely difficult to calm one’s mind under the gaze of so many ghosts.

Shui Miao couldn’t help but wonder if, once his soul left his body, all these ghosts would rush to possess him.

“Am I really that attractive?”

Frowning coldly, Shui Miao spoke out, scanning the ghosts with a gaze that seemed to exude a killing intent.

The ghosts reacted instantly, vanishing in a flash, leaving not a trace behind.

The ghosts hadn’t been staring at him on purpose; they were simply waiting for Shui Miao to ask for their birth dates so they could register at the City God Temple.

Shui Miao shook his head in frustration, thinking that the ghosts were there to protect him. In his mind’s eye, he had five stone tablets of immense power, making it impossible for anyone to forcefully extract his soul. Therefore, he didn’t need any protection. However, he only knew one method of soul projection—exiting through the Heaven’s Gate in his mind’s eye, going to the Immortal Realm first, and then returning to the mortal world. But the middle-aged scholar had warned him not to return to the Immortal Realm for ten years, so he had to abandon this idea.

Besides this method, he didn’t know any other ways to project his soul.

Suddenly, Shui Miao thought of Bai Feng.

Bai Feng had been following him from afar. If his soul projection hadn’t been obstructed, he might have forgotten all about her.

Shui Miao used his mind to summon Bai Feng.

Bai Feng was a female ghost with five hundred years of cultivation. As soon as she appeared, she intimidated all the other ghosts.

“Zhang Ling, did you call me?”

“Yeah, Bai Jie, do you know how to project your soul? I tried several times just now, but maybe my method was wrong, and I failed each time.”

“That’s easy. I know several methods. Let me teach you one right now.”

“Great! Thank you, Bai Jie.”

“You’re still so polite with me?”

“Hehe…”

“Well, now I’ll explain what the soul is and how soul projection works. First, the human spirit can be divided into Hun and Po. The ‘Three Hun’ refer to Tian Hun (Heavenly Soul), Di Hun (Earthly Soul, or Conscious Soul), and Ren Hun (Human Soul), also known in ancient times as Tai Guang, Shuang Ling, and You Jing, or Yuan Shen, Yang Shen, and Yin Shen. The ‘Seven Po’ refer to Tian Chong, Ling Hui, Qi, Li, Zhong Shu, Jing, and Ying.”

“Among the Three Hun and Seven Po, there is also a division of Yin and Yang. Among the Three Hun, Tian Hun is Yang, Di Hun is Yin, and Ming Hun (Life Soul) is again Yang. Among the Seven Po, Tian Chong and Ling Hui are Yin, known as Tian Po (Heavenly Soul), Qi Po, Li Po, and Zhong Shu Po are Yang, known as Ren Po (Human Soul), and Jing Po and Ying Po are Yang, known as Di Po (Earthly Soul). Hun is Yin, and Po is Yang.”

“Among the Three Hun, Tian Hun and Di Hun are usually outside, while only Ming Hun resides within the body. The three Hun—Tian, Di, and Ming—are rarely together. Among the Seven Po, the two Tian Po and two Di Po, along with the three Ren Po, correspond to each other in Yin and Yang and never separate, always attaching to the human body.”

In fact, the Seven Po of humans correspond to the seven chakras along the central channel stretching from the crown of the head down to the Huiyin point located beneath the genitals in Tibetan esotericism. Tian Chong Po resides in the crown chakra, Ling Hui Po in the third eye chakra, Qi Po in the throat chakra, and Li Po in the heart chakra, which is simultaneously connected to the palms of the hands and soles of the feet. Zhong Shu Po resides in the navel chakra, Jing Po in the reproductive chakra, and Ying Po in the root chakra. All of the Seven Po are governed by the Ming Hun. Ming Hun is also referred to as Ren Hun or Se Hun. Human life originates when the Ming Hun enters the fetus. After entering the fetus, the Ming Hun distributes energy to the seven chakras along the central channel, thereby forming the Seven Po. The Po is unique to the physical body and disperses upon death, while the Ming Hun departs, signifying the end of life. The Ming Hun governs thought and wisdom through Tian Chong Po and Ling Hui Po, controls action through Qi Po, Li Po, and Zhong Shu Po, and manages the body and strength through Jing Po and Ying Po. Among these, Zhong Shu Po serves as the center of the Seven Po. The Ming Hun relies on the seven chakras, with the closest connection being between the Ming Hun and Zhong Shu Po; hence Zhong Shu Po is also known as Ming Po. Within the body, the Yin of the two Tian Po—Tian Chong and Ling Hui—combines with the Yang of the two Di Po—Jing and Ying—to generate the tangible Qi and strength of the Ren Po. The Ming Hun is the root of the Seven Po, while the Seven Po are the branches and leaves of the Ming Hun. Po cannot exist without Ming, and Ming cannot flourish without Po. The Ming Hun is the primary soul of the human body. The union of Tian Hun and Di Hun gives rise to the Ming Hun, which initiates life. When the Ming Hun ends, it separates into Yin and Yang and returns to heaven and earth. Tian Hun governs light, while Di Hun is the shadow formed when Tian Hun’s light shines upon the Ming Hun. Therefore, Di Hun is also called Ying Hun. Without light, there is no shadow; without shadow, there is no form. If a practitioner can integrate the Ming Hun, the light of Tian Hun and the form of Di Hun can combine with the Se Hun of the physical body. Only then can the Ling Hui Po in the third eye of the human body display the images of Tian Hun and Di Hun. Thus, everything perceived by Tian Hun and Di Hun—usually external to the body—can be reflected within the brain and celestial eye of the individual. Since Tian Hun and Di Hun can manifest all phenomena while attached to the physical body and can also exist freely outside of it, they are also referred to as the external manifestations or化身.

“Now, regarding soul projection, the soul usually exits through the Baihui point on the crown of the head. In normal people, the Baihui is closed, locking the soul inside the body. To project the soul, one must rely on external forces, such as talismans, incantations, or other methods, which are mostly similar in purpose—to extract the soul from the body. Logically, with your level of cultivation, your Tian Men should already be open, making soul projection very easy. I suggest you try the method of projecting through willpower—concentrating your mind to guide your soul out of your body, rather than thinking about yourself leaving. Try this method.” Bai Feng had already figured out that Shui Miao was a cultivator without a master. If he had a master, with his current level of spiritual power, he would already be able to perform many mysterious techniques.

“Guiding it out, rather than thinking about leaving?”

Shui Miao blinked, pondered for a moment, then closed his eyes and prepared to project his soul.

Seeing this, Bai Feng quickly waved her hand, “No need to close your eyes. With your level of cultivation, you don’t need to. Closing your eyes will easily turn your perception into mere imagination instead of control. So, keep your eyes open now, slowly find your soul, and then try to control it…”

“Find the soul?”

Shui Miao was taken aback, feeling a bit confused by her words.

Bai Feng smiled slightly, “I see now. This is exactly where your problem lies. You only know how to cultivate and feel your physical body, never noticing the existence of your soul. But it’s understandable—you’re still alive and have never died, so you’re not familiar with the soul body. For you, this will be more difficult. Now you must train to find and control your soul. Stand up now, go to the corner, put your head down and stand upside down, then concentrate all your thoughts on standing up, but don’t let your body react at all. When you think about it, try to forget the existence of your body. As soon as you feel movement, stand up boldly.”

“…”

This method was indeed very new.

Shui Miao leaned against the wall and slowly turned upside down. His first sensation was heaviness, pressure on his head, and the need to exert force to stay balanced, or else his body would tilt.

Seeing this, Bai Feng instructed, “Forget gravity. Ignore your physical body. Think about standing up, flying…”

“…”

Shui Miao felt a bit speechless inside. This was too difficult. How could he forget gravity while standing upside down?

At first, Shui Miao couldn’t accept this idea.

But after some time, after several attempts at concentrating his mind, he clearly felt gravity fading into his subconscious. As he further calmed his mind, his body was controlled subconsciously, gradually completely ignoring gravity. At this point, Shui Miao began to concentrate on imagining himself flying up, flying up, flying up… After a few minutes, Shui Miao gradually felt his body swaying, as if struggling to fly up, but in reality, his physical body hadn’t moved. This sensation made Shui Miao ecstatic, and he eagerly tried again and again, imagining himself flying up!

With a soft “thud,” Shui Miao fell down.

“Don’t move!”

Suddenly, Bai Feng shouted.

Startled, Shui Miao quickly looked at Bai Feng.

Bai Feng beckoned to him and slowly said, “Come here, crawl over, crawl over…”

Without thinking much, Shui Miao knew Bai Feng was helping him, so he crawled toward her as instructed.

“Now slowly get up, slowly turn your head, control your emotions, and no matter what you see, keep your mind as calm as water…”

“…”

Following Bai Feng’s instructions, Shui Miao turned his head and saw his physical body still upside down in the corner!

“I succeeded!”

Shui Miao felt a bit excited. Looking at himself now, different from when he flew to the Immortal Realm, his soul now looked almost real, with clothes and sensations, everything intact.

Bai Feng seemed to guess Shui Miao’s thoughts. She nodded and said, “Among the Three Hun, when your soul flew to the Immortal Realm, it was the Tian Hun. Now in the mortal world, the soul that has projected is the Di Hun, so the appearance you see is different, because Tian Hun is light, while Di Hun is heavy.”

“I see!”

Shui Miao suddenly understood. Today had truly been an enlightening experience.

“Hehe!”

Seeing Shui Miao’s naive expression, Bai Feng couldn’t help but smile, “There are still some differences you might not know yet. Both Tian Hun and Di Hun are particularly sensitive to sound and light, as well as various spiritual energies. But there are also benefits—your soul is very light, doesn’t need to breathe, and is basically unharmed by worldly things unless attacked by special spiritual artifacts. But with your level of cultivation, you don’t have to worry about that at all, unless it’s a powerful ghost or deity. Of course, you can also use your spiritual power. As long as you don’t harm others, they’ll be thanking heaven and earth, hehe…”

Hearing this, Shui Miao’s mind stirred slightly, and a wisp of dark flame shot out from his palm!

Seeing the dark flame, Bai Feng was taken aback. She knew she couldn’t handle such dark spiritual fire from Shui Miao.

Fortunately, Shui Miao quickly retracted the flame.

Observing this, Bai Feng said, “By the way, Zhang Ling, you don’t seem very skilled in using techniques. How about I teach you properly later?”

“Great! I’d be delighted!!” Shui Miao was both surprised and pleased. This was truly great news. However, after a pause, Shui Miao awkwardly scratched his head and said, “Unfortunately, I can’t learn now. I still have something to do. I promised to help them settle their homes, but I’m not familiar with the way to the underworld. Bai Jie, could you help me again?”

“What’s so difficult about that?”

Bai Feng gave him a disapproving look, “Didn’t I tell you not to be polite with me? You already call me sister. If my little brother has something to do, how can I, as the older sister, not help? Alright, no more politeness from now on. Just speak up directly when you need something. Now, let me explain this house settling matter. Well, since you don’t understand anything, I’ll be as detailed and specific as possible…”

“Great!”

Shui Miao indeed knew nothing about the underworld, except for having seen a few ghosts, some yin officials, and a city god. Other than that, he truly knew nothing.

Bai Feng nodded and began explaining slowly and patiently…