This calamity was peacefully overco, much as Shi Feiyang had predicted in advance.
Xiong Xue’er had just been assaulted by the demonic consciousness of the Heavenly Demon. He was not yet twenty years old and had not yet awakened the mories of his past lives. Subjected to the frenzied bombardnt of many millennia-old demonic consciousnesses, he had already deeply fallen into the Demon Realm, until Shi Feiyang used Pure Yang True Qi to inject into his Primordial Spirit and awakened him.
At this point, he suddenly possessed many mories of the Heavenly Demons, all of them extrely terrifying scenes and images. Fortunately, he usually followed and learned diligently from Cang Lingzi, and his Daoist heart was still firm, which allowed him to barely maintain clarity.
It was like a child who had watched a horror movie, his mind deeply shadowed by what he had seen. Although the event had passed, terrifying images still surfaced incessantly in his mind.
A child might watch one or two horror films and get scared enough to avoid going out at night for years, but the terror embedded in Xiong Xue’er’s mories equated to billions of such films.
Moreover, these demonic mories continually generated Heavenly Demon Illusions, making it difficult for him to distinguish between what was real and what was not.
His eyes began to see hallucinations, catching fleeting glimpses everywhere, as though various demons were trying to grab and gnaw at him;
His ears too started to hear phantom sounds, cries of agony, curses, sobs, whispers...
His body intermittently felt waves of heat and cold, and he sweated profusely.
After he had finished applying dicine to Shi Longgu, he found his legs growing weak as he walked, his face pallid, and his speech trembled. The feelings were worse than the tis he visited ho every year and spent days and nights continuously with his beloved wife, incredibly uncomfortable and weak. He couldn’t sleep even when he closed his eyes; as soon as he did, his mind would be instantly filled with various imageries of Heavenly Demons, as if plunging into a deep-nightmarish abyss, fearing he might never awaken again.
Shi Feiyang directly took out a millennium-aged Sun ginseng, which grew on the Outer Heaven Divine Mountain, a place of perpetual daylight with no night and abundant sunlight. Ginseng is known to greatly replenish Primordial Qi, and having absorbed a thousand years of solar energy, its dicinal effects had reached their peak: strengthening the heart, replenishing Qi, restoring pulse, and solidly arresting vitality — perfectly treating restlessness, insomnia, multiple dreams, palpitations, and forgetfulness...
He had Xiong Xue’er chew the ginseng directly, then tore his clothes open and drew three demon-suppressing Talisman on his chest and back to stabilize the mind and calm the spirit, and also taught him Guang Chengzi’s Nine-character True Words.
Whether practicing Buddhism or Daoism, the main purpose of reciting nurous mantras is to focus and calm the mind, gathering the consciousness is essentially suppressing demons.
Usually, during cultivation, one recites long mantras that require highly focused attention, reciting phrase by phrase repeatedly until the mind is recollected and becos tranquil, allowing for concentration.
However, when one is in extre physical discomfort, or even nearing death, whether in pain, itch, burning in the stomach, twisting in the intestines, or feeling as if being pricked in the heart and liver...
At such tis, it’s hard to concentrate, and cognitive abilities drastically decline, and it’s impossible to recite long mantras; in fact, shorter mantras are preferable.
In Buddhism, the highest level mantra is just the four words "Amitabha Buddha," repeated endlessly until familiar. Whether encountering danger, fear in the heart, arising troubles, or anger, this mantra instantly extinguishes them all, and even in the most physically uncomfortable monts, one can still chant it. If one were to recite the Great Compassionate Mantra or the Lengyan Mantra instead, it would mostly be impossible to continue.
Previously, Shi Feiyang had taught Xiong Xue’er a ntal thod, but now that Xiong Xue’er was in physical discomfort and his Divine Sense had fallen into the Infinite Heavenly Demon Illusion, he could no longer continue his cultivation or calm his spirit, so he taught him the Nine-character True Words instead.
Daoist cultivation of both life and nature is unlike Buddhism, which only acts on the mind. Each character resonates with the body’s energy system.
In China, not only are the characters ideographically functional, but the language also serves this efficacy, like "lips, teeth, throat, tongue" and "thread, line, rope," where the articulation and breath used are closely tied to the anings, similar to how in Chinese dicine, the sounds "shu, he, xi, chui, xi, hu" correlate with exercises for nurturing life targeting organs and ridians.
Guang Chengzi’s Nine-character True Words encapsulate this perfectly, each character internally connecting with the five organs and externally resonating with heaven and Earth. Repeatedly chanting these nine characters restores the disrupted ridians to harmony, reconsolidates the scattered Primordial Qi back to the organs, and the boiling Essence Energy begins to settle back into tranquility. As one connects with nature, achieving Unity of Heaven and Man, the energy responses lead the entire being towards a state of ethereal clarity, and the spirit begins to beco clear...
After Xiong Xue’er chanted for the ti it takes to drink a cup of tea, his circulation was no longer chaotic, and he began to enter quietness.
Shi Feiyang then attended to Shi Longgu.
Although Shi Longgu had just given birth to nine Demon Infants and was primarily targeted by the massive onslaught of demonic mories, her condition was now better than Xiong Xue’er’s, not in terms of her body but her spirit. Surprisingly, she was neither disordered nor had she fallen into the Heavenly Demon Illusion. She lay in bed, already soundly asleep.
Shi Feiyang touched her forehead, took her pulse, extracted eight types of Spiritual dicine, took them to another cave, boiled a whole large jar full of them, and then served it to her in a bowl to drink.
Shi Longgu had undergone a caesarean section to give birth to nine Demon Infants, and her body was severely depleted. She opened her eyes, drank the dicinal soup, and re-entered deep sleep.
While Shi Feiyang took care of the two, he conscientiously trained the nine Demon Infants.
"Co over, stand in a line."
The nine Little Demon Infants stood side by side. As the saying goes, appearance stems from the heart. They all had bizarre appearances, so with six eyes, so with four legs, others with sharp protruding teeth, and so with a single horn on their head.
They were all very hungry, continually conveying this feeling through their thoughts to Shi Feiyang. Shi Feiyang hadn’t experienced hunger for many years, and now he was reacquainted with that gnawing sensation of stomach acids churning.
Having been taught the virtue of "filial piety," they no longer thought about devouring Xiong Xue’er and Shi Longgu, rather they wanted to go out and find food themselves.
Naturally, Shi Feiyang wouldn’t permit them to seek food outside. Gripping the Jade Ruler, he forcefully taught the nine demons the technique of "avoiding grains." He administered an Immortal Pill to each of them, followed by their ingestion of the morning mists and airs.
The nine demons had never consud blood before. At this mont, by refining the Immortal Pills and absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, they laid the foundation first so that even if they later consud at, they would still be controllable.
The demon infants swallowed the Immortal Pills and, using the thod passed down by Shi Feiyang, they continuously gathered the spiritual energy of heaven and earth into their bellies, gradually alleviating their hunger. After several iterations, they began to master the technique.
Xiong Xue’er and Shi Longgu had been recuperating for several days, slowly healing both physically and ntally.
Shi Feiyang said to Xiong Xue’er, "You can now dissolve into the soldier’s solution and reincarnate, pursuing the grand path of a Heavenly Immortal in your next life, or choose not to reincarnate, cultivating as an Earth Immortal in this life, achieving immortality and eternal residence in this world."
Xiong Xue’er was undecided and prepared to go back to consult his master, so Shi Feiyang allowed him to bid farewell to Shi Longgu.
At that mont, both of them ca to so understanding, fearing that this parting might indeed sever their marital bond for good.
Shi Longgu’s state of mind was already entirely different from before. Her gaze towards Xiong Xue’er had changed as well. She didn’t cling desperately anymore. Instead, she tidied his clothes one last ti and admonished him, "The spiritual provisions we have accumulated together are too scant; whichever path you take will be fraught with endless difficulties. I am even worse off than you. The mountains high and paths long, from now on take care of yourself, and do not act recklessly anymore to ruin your future prospects."
Xiong Xue’er also felt quite sentintal. Finally, he embraced Shi Longgu, then bade farewell to Shi Feiyang as well, turned around, and controlled his sword to fly back to Chaidamu to see Cang Lingzi.
Cang Lingzi, upon seeing him later, scrutinized him several tis, joyfully said, "Through this ordeal, your temperant has surpassed many genuine practitioners of the Mysterious Sect! Since you are opting for soldier’s dissolution, I am planning to move to Yunnan by the Peacock River and establish a new sect. It would be perfect to take you along; reincarnate there."
Following his master’s advice, Xiong Xue’er used his Flying Sword for soldier’s dissolution, and Cang Lingzi had his eldest disciple Shi Wengong collect the Primordial Spirit, bringing it along to Yunnan to establish a new path.
Regarding Shi Longgu, Shi Feiyang also laid out two paths for her, "You can also dissolve and reincarnate. Even though the prospects of obtaining a Heavenly Immortal position in your next life are slim, as long as you diligently cultivate, becoming an Earth Immortal is definitely achievable. If you choose not to reincarnate, reaching higher levels in this life will only yield the status of an Independent Immortal, and eventually, you must face the forty-nine severe tribulations."
With tears, Shi Longgu knelt down and kowtowed to Shi Feiyang, choking up as she spoke, "I don’t want to reincarnate or leave this place. I’ve just awakened from a big dream and now realize the painstaking good intentions my mother had for all those years. I want to continue cultivating here, just like when my mother was still alive, and faithfully practice her Daoist Technique."
Respecting her decision, Shi Feiyang handed her a bottle of Elixir, "This dicine will nourish the marrow and benefit the Primordial Qi, having the effect of rebirth. Take one pill every ten days; within three years, it will solidify your marrow, toughen your bones, concentrate your spirit, and gather your energy, surpassing your forr self."
Shi Longgu accepted the Elixir with both hands and then begged Shi Feiyang to explain the teachings of the Golden Needle Saint Mother contained in the secret manual.
Back when the Golden Needle Saint Mother was alive, she had also given her two paths to choose from. The first was to face a wall in solitary contemplation for a year, during which she could not entertain any stray thoughts. If successful, she could cultivate the Golden Needle Saint Mother’s Daoist Technique, and the Saint Mother would teach her all she had learned, empowering her to continue her solitary cultivation.
However, Shi Longgu’s mind grew restless by the third day, filled with thoughts of handso n—first the proper ones, then the improper, and finally outright aberrant ones... She beca like Jia Rui, who gawked at romantic mirrors, lost in fantasy, her True Qi leaking out, and in less than half a month, she beca gaunt, nearly running out of life’s oil.
When her mother asked her about it, she was still stubbornly defensive, but when the Golden Needle Saint Mother recounted all her fantastical imaginings, she was left speechless.
Since that path was impassable, the Golden Needle Saint Mother then sought out Cang Lingzi, arranging a marriage with Xiong Xue’er, providing her a powerful support so she could proceed with a sense of security.
Now, Shi Longgu mustered the courage to attempt the first path again. But her mother was no longer there, the secret manual remained, yet she couldn’t understand much of it and implored Shi Feiyang to teach her.
Shi Feiyang asked her to fetch the secret manual, which in total consisted of three volus, two of which were the Cultivation Techniques that the Golden Needle Saint Mother and her husband practiced—both being minor downstream pathways. Shi Feiyang perused them and found them quite formidable.
Additionally, there was a Needle Formula, obtained by the Golden Needle Saint Mother’s husband after a Heavenly Tribulation from another source, which included various thods for Sacrificial Refinent of Flying Needles.
Shi Feiyang then started with the first Chapter of the scriptures, explaining every word and phrase to her.
Shi Longgu listened intently, more seriously than she ever had when her mother had been alive. She did her utmost to engrave every word spoken by Shi Feiyang into her mory.
Shi Feiyang spoke for seven days and nights, finishing explaining all three Daoist books. So content was unsuitable for Shi Longgu’s cultivation, and so, though powerful, could be harmful. He modified them according to Shi Longgu’s current circumstances.
Deeply grateful, Shi Longgu kowtowed to Shi Feiyang again.
Shi Feiyang said, "Having endured this ordeal, although it has eroded the negative roots in your heart, your foundation is still weak, and you will still face many difficulties in the future. Let teach you sothing more!"
He taught her all about the Demon-suppressing Talismans from one Chapter of the He Sha Book, passed down their usage thods, and then, accompanied by the nine demons, he ethereally departed.
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