Chapter 108: Cultivating Both Body and Spirit: The Most Important Thing in Life Is Knowing the Right Measure!

Boom!!!

A torrential surge of lightning crashed into the sea, detonating massive plumes of water upon impact. The intense heat evaporated the water instantly, creating a dense, white fog that spiraled straight into the heavens.

Immediately after, a thousand shrill, wretched screams echoed from beneath the surface.

Although this "Five-Thunder Strike" had not been empowered by an imperial edict from the Lord of State, relying solely on the unique arts of the Shenxiao Sect was enough to deal a devastating blow to the great evil spirit.

Its neck had been severed halfway through, three deep puncture wounds marred its body, and three spear-swords were driven deep into its flesh, leaving half of its torso charred and blackened.

No longer daring to pursue the *Concepción*, it turned, attempting to drag its mangled body into the deep sea.

"Where do you think you’re going? Taste my blade!"

Before the mist over the sea could dissipate—

*Clang!*

A heaven-shaking sword hum exploded. A sharp, peerless streak of bright purple electricity, channeled through the Jianghai Ao, sliced across the surface of the sea and instantly caught up to the great evil spirit.

Like a rearing dragon, the light circled gently around the creature’s already half-severed neck, and a massive, grotesque head tumbled into the ocean.

High-Grade Dharma Technique: [Hundred-Pace Flying Sword · Shenxiao Five-Thunder Sword]!

As the purple light faded, Lu Yunchen stepped out from the waves. Despite his sickly appearance, his posture was upright and his aura was violent and imposing, much like a majestic celestial official from the Thunder Ministry.

Activating the "Walking the Sea" spirit response of the Water-Dividing General, he gestured with his hand, and the rolling currents lifted the great evil spirit's carcass toward the shore.

The giant serpent possessed terrifying vitality; even as a floating corpse, the mouths all over its body continued to open and close, chanting scriptures:

"...The Purple Chamber is no illusion, but a palace where the blood sea ebbs and flows. The Heart Lord is no deity, but an abyss where the Red Dragon coils.

To breathe is not to inhale pure *qi*, but to steal the essence and blood of heaven and earth to nourish the primal embryo within my body.

The embryo stirs like a drum, the blood boils like the tide; neither pain nor itch, it is the first sign of the budding Life Arts. Enter my gate, and you must use the thirty-six types of Immortal Elixirs as your guide..."

As they drew closer, Wang Cheng finally heard the content of the scriptures clearly, and his heart filled with suspicion:

"It actually seems to be teaching a method for cultivating Life Arts, and it even includes instructions on how to consume the Immortal Elixirs. Does this mean that besides the 'Nature Arts' of the Divine Dao officials, there truly exists an additional 'Life Art' that allows for dual cultivation of nature and life? And it can only be practiced by using these Immortal Elixirs?"

When he had first awakened his past memories and prepared to step onto the path of the Divine Dao, theories like "dual cultivation of nature and life" and "cultivating nature without life, the ten-thousand-calamity yin spirit struggles to become a saint" had flashed through his mind.

However, neither the heritage of the Water-Gathering Wang family nor the God of Wealth Shen family contained any such records, leaving him little room to dwell on it.

Today, this great evil spirit from beyond the wall was offering a free lesson on a certain path of Life Art cultivation. Could one achieve the state of "flesh as a cinnabar cauldron, nature and life as furnace smoke"—the realm of the Immortal—by relying on this?

Gods enjoy sacrifices after death.
Immortals ascend in broad daylight!

Any practice aimed at eternal life in the world belongs to the Dao of Immortals. Could it be that besides the real ghosts and gods, there truly are immortals in this world? Does a legendary overseas immortal mountain drift in the depths of the vast ocean?

If dual cultivation of nature and life is so powerful, why are there no traces of them left in the Central Plains?

With this thought, he looked at the corpse of the great evil spirit, and its appraisal changed:

"[Rare Item: Immortal Dregs. Neither living nor dead, belonging to no Six Paths, entering no netherworld.]"

This string of descriptions sounded far from auspicious. The filter of "immortal aura," which had painted a picture of morning clouds and evening mists, shattered instantly. It filled Wang Cheng with deep suspicion and caution regarding the so-called "Immortal Elixirs," "dual cultivation of nature and life," and even the concept of "Immortals" themselves.

"Can the Immortal Elixir, which everyone seeks so desperately, truly grant one eternal life and a permanent existence in this world? I find that hard to believe.

Mountains represent Yang, and water represents Yin. The vast ocean producing both Immortal Elixirs and endless evil spirits, along with these 'Immortal Dregs,' seems deeply ominous. I have a feeling that in the distant past, some momentous event occurred in this world, leading to the current, twisted situation."

People as clear-headed and rational as Wang Cheng were few and far between. Holding the powerful treasure [Four Seas Tongbao], he had the confidence to reach the pinnacle step by step.

Most people around them were filled with intense curiosity and a desire to explore the world beyond the wall, and they began to silently memorize the scriptures spread by the "Immortal Dregs."

One must have dreams, after all—what if one were to obtain an Immortal Elixir and master the "Immortal Art"? Even Lu Yunchen, who already held three official positions, was no exception.

Lu Yi, however, felt a twinge of regret for gathering so many people the moment the evil spirit was discovered; in the rush, the situation was impossible to control.

Using the [Xiezhi Dharma Eye] to scan the body of the Immortal Dregs, he found no sign of an Immortal Elixir. He waved his hand, scattering seven black talismans marked with the Xiezhi, sealing the body.

Only after the chanting had completely ceased did he pack the entire thing into a leather bag containing a pocket dimension, intending to bring it back to Yujing City to submit to the Imperial Observatory.

The others were disappointed, but none dared to voice objections to a Vice Commander of the White Scale Guard.

Just then, Lu Yi looked back out at the sea. He noticed that the large Frankish galleon, which had not shown a single soul from start to finish, was slowly turning its bow toward the open sea after escaping disaster.

"Why would a great evil spirit chase an empty ship? There must be something fishy! You, too, shall remain with this official."

The uncle and nephew of the Lu family, both of the middle-three ranks, ignored the reactions of others and took flight, turning into two streaks of light that sprinted across the waves, boarding the *Concepción* in a few leaps.

The moment their feet touched the deck:

"Sois demasiado fuertes, no os doy la bienvenida, Rodad de mí."

Dozens of voices merged into an angry chorus that rolled across the ship. Simultaneously, the ship's rigging twisted like venomous snakes, lunging at the two men from all directions, only to be easily sliced into fragments by the brilliant sword light in their hands.

Lu Yi saw the immense value of the ship at a glance; regardless of whether there was something suspicious, he was unwilling to use the violent methods he had used on the "Immortal Dregs."

"The Jianghai Ao is public property and must be returned to the treasury after the mission. Yunchen is about to head out to suppress the Japanese pirates and accumulate merit. If he could seize this living treasure-ship, his safety would be guaranteed, and building a career would be a simple matter. However..."

The uncle and nephew exchanged glances.

"What is it shrieking about?"

In this day and age, being well-learned did not include foreign languages; learning such things would surely be mocked by the scholar-officials. Thus, the two Dazhao men were completely incompatible with the foreign "operating system." They couldn't understand the meaning, and even if they wanted to subdue the ship, they didn't know where to start.

They quickly shouted toward the shore:

"Who among you knows the Frankish language? Come over here. If we find treasure, everyone gets a share. Even if there's no treasure, the Lu family will provide compensation."

Wang Cheng had been feeling regretful that the two big shots were ahead and he had no chance to intervene, but as soon as he heard this, his spirits lifted. He was about to follow but hesitated, then pulled Yun Xiao along.

"Sister."
"I know."

It wasn't for anything else, but simply to guard against the standard ritual of treasure hunting—killing off teammates to reduce the number of shares! He wouldn't leave an opportunity to test human nature from the start.

The two darted onto the sailship like flickers of light; as the first generation of Sea God believers with specialized skills, their speed was not inferior to the Lu uncle and nephew.

"Eh, Fugui? Not only did you pass the Dazhao scholarly exam, but you also understand the Frankish language of the West?"

"I know a little. I know a bit of Japanese, Yunmeng, Dutch, Britannian, East and West Frankish, and the Nanyang language families."

Under the awestruck gaze of the Lu uncle and nephew, Wang Cheng translated instantly:

"It says: 'You are too strong, I do not welcome you, get off me.'"

The Lu uncle and nephew looked at each other, reading the same thought in each other's eyes:

"A talent! What is most lacking in this world? Talent! Especially a rare talent like Wang Fugui who speaks eight languages—he must be recruited."

At that moment, Wang Cheng slashed a line of cold light with his "Azure Dragon in the Sleeve," cutting the ropes blocking their path into writhing fragments, and charged toward the captain's cabin.

"Sister Xiao, two Master Lus, please guard me. Let's take a look at the captain's 'Logbook'; that should explain everything."

The other three readily followed the advice of the professional.

A group of middle-three-rank experts swarmed in; clearly, this ghost ship could not withstand them. They quickly found a logbook, and Wang Cheng translated as he read.

The content was not much different from what Young Master Pu had written in his letter, except for one missing line:

"Each of the five ships in the fleet carries a treasure. We have placed all our harvests in the 'Garden of Abundance' in the hold. Go and take them; this is a gift bestowed upon all humanity by the gods."

The four descended the stairs along the hatch. The surrounding wooden planks folded like scales, but could not intimidate them, and the furious cannons on the lower deck were easily dodged.

When they saw the [Garden of Abundance] in the hold, they finally understood why the ship didn't welcome them.

Hidden here was a small world about the size of an orchard, filled with plants, flowers, fruit, cattle, sheep, chickens, and ducks, along with murmuring streams. In the center of the garden grew a small tree bearing three flowers.

Two were just tiny buds, their petals curled together like two beating hearts. The third remained only as a plucked stem, proving that one had already matured, though it was unknown who had taken it.

At the foot of the tree knelt a circle of corpses. Each had voluntarily dug open their chests and pulled out their hearts, offering them to the tree. The dense roots at its base had sucked their hearts and every shred of flesh dry, leaving only a layer of black-yellow skin and withered bones.

As the four smelled the fragrance of the flowers, they were all overcome by an impulse to offer everything to it. Wang Cheng, being of the lowest rank, felt the urge most strongly, but his hand was grabbed by Yun Xiao, a sensation of coolness spreading from her palm. The others, having cultivated their nature to a certain degree, did not act like the poor souls before them.

Wang Cheng’s [Rare Item Appraisal] quickly perceived the essence of the small tree.

"An Immortal Elixir, one of the thirty-six types from beyond the wall! Its name is the same as the highest realm of the middle-three ranks of Divine Dao officials: the Five Temples Divine Treasury Flower. By feeding the plant with the five human organs—heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys—one can produce five-colored flowers corresponding to the five elements. Using one alone results in side effects and an imbalance of the five elements. Only by using all five flowers as medicine can one achieve the 'Monarch, Minister, Assistant, and Envoy' balance, refining it into the life-extending Immortal Elixir—the Five Viscera Return-to-Truth Pill."

The description of using human beings as raw materials to nurture treasures corresponding to the five viscera made him subconsciously think of a famous saying: "The most important thing in being a person is the 'fire control'!"

And this was [Cinnabar Cauldron Daoist] level fire control, far more difficult than the fire control of a [Chef].

He suddenly felt a bit nauseous.

Behind him, Lu Yi’s gaze burned intensely. Through his Xiezhi Dharma Eye and the secret intelligence he possessed, he had also identified the treasure’s nature instantly.

"The matter is clear. This Five Temples Divine Treasury Flower has the power to bewitch the mind; it attracts humans to transplant and worship it, blooming only after it has gorged itself on the life force of sentient beings. The flower that was taken must have been plucked during a struggle, spilling most of its juice onto the ship, inadvertently animating it. This ghost ship likely views the tree as its 'mother' and has begun to actively spread news, attracting others to seek them out. It leaves a few alive to continue spreading the word, while turning the majority of those who board into fertilizer for the 'Immortal Elixir.' If the red-haired devils on the ship were all controlled by the medicine... it is highly likely that every ship hides a Five Temples Divine Treasury Flower. If one collects them all, they can refine the true Immortal Elixir!"

The Vice Commander of the White Scale Guard cast a terrifying, piercing gaze around the room, suddenly realizing that there were... perhaps a few too many people in this cabin who had seen the "Immortal Elixir."