Chapter 728: Yin Fire and Karma

Chapter 728: Yin Fire and Cause and Effect

Zhao Changhe was about to ask: I’m in the middle of dual cultivation, you know? What are you doing here… How do you think it feels to be advancing while talking to you?

Thankfully, soul conversations only last an instant, or else I’d feel guilty toward Hongling…

And what’s with the “if you want clothes, you have clothes”? My physical body is clearly naked right now—aren’t you looking? Putting on fake clothes in the sea of consciousness is just fooling yourself, like closing your eyes to pretend.

Bringing this up deliberately to get her guidance was also a further test—what difference would there be between learning from the Heavenly Book and learning from her?

Reading the “book” myself, whether through VR scenes or text compilations, is like following a “video” or textbook—self-study without a teacher. Honestly, it’s not that I’m overly cautious about these things; a big reason I haven’t delved deeper is that concepts like cause and effect are different from normal martial arts. Without a teacher, self-study alone can’t really master them.

Earlier, I traced the Southern Bright Flame through the underground sky—there was already fire there, so finding its source was the simplest kind of tracing, the most superficial layer. Self-study from the Heavenly Book could handle that, but going deeper would be far too difficult.

Such ethereal things might be easier for Wanzhuang and the others to learn, but my talent doesn’t lie there. However, until I figure out the backdoor in the Heavenly Book, I can’t easily drag them into this pit. Natural elements are one thing, but cause and effect is too dangerous…

If a backdoor can be planted anywhere, then since the book spirit is right here, why bother with the roundabout method of using scenes or text? Why not teach face-to-face? Why not ask questions directly and get answers? That’s how you really learn.

But Blind had never intended to be Zhao Changhe’s teacher! Different goals aside, being his teacher or superior never ends well. Remember the forging teacher who fled in terror, only to be caught even after escaping across the sea?

Yet if she puts on an act of wanting him to study hard but won’t teach, doesn’t that clearly imply she has another purpose for him to study the Heavenly Book? He was already wary, and now he’ll treat it like toilet paper even more…

Seeing Zhao Changhe’s suspicious sidelong glance, Blind was silent for a long while before finally saying, “You’ve relied on yourself all the way since waking up. You could have always relied on yourself.”

“When did I ever need such a label? I have many teachers—Instructor Sun, Hongling, Wanzhuang, Qing’er, Turtle—they’ve all taught me at some point.”

“I suggest you remove Instructor Sun from that list, then say it again loudly.”

“…Old Cui taught me too, and the Thief Saint, even Lie counts.”

“In truth, you have no teacher. This is just accepting reasonable pointers, not someone leading you forward. You truly rely on yourself.” Blind couldn’t help a hint of admiration: “Say what you will, Zhao Changhe, you’re indeed impressive. I never expected you to reach this level back then.”

Zhao Changhe said helplessly, “So you’re putting a crown on my head to avoid teaching me?”

Blind was silent for a moment: “I told you long ago, I won’t show any bias. You have the Heavenly Book; whatever it naturally reveals, you can comprehend as much as you can. If I start teaching, the nature of it changes.”

Zhao Changhe laughed: “You’ve twisted the rules with your biased narratives so many times, even timing your announcements to manipulate things. You’re hardly an honest one… Clearly a seductress, yet you play the prim and proper.”

Blind’s heart suddenly skipped a beat, her face expressionless.

Zhao Changhe said leisurely, “From what I see, you could never be a servant content with fixed rules, doing only what you’re told. If you can’t even control the Heavenly Book and are bound by its rules, how are you any better than Longque? If you truly see yourself as an artifact spirit, then shouldn’t you find a master… How about considering me?”

Blind suddenly smiled, her eyes sightless yet her expression more alluring than ever: “You? …Ha… If you truly have the qualifications… then it’s not impossible, you know~”

Zhao Changhe had only been teasing as usual and never expected such a reply. He suddenly shuddered, and a galaxy poured forth, but this time it brought no shooting stars.

Yue Hongling gasped, clutching his neck: “A bit quick today?”

Zhao Changhe: “…”

“It’s fine, you’re already amazing.” Yue Hongling lay limply, holding him so he wouldn’t get up: “Don’t get up yet… I’m not used to being exposed under the stars… You seemed a bit distracted too?”

“Uh, uh… yeah, I’m not used to it either.” Zhao Changhe swallowed, turned his head, and saw that Blind had vanished from his dream, the surroundings empty—as if she had been a hallucination from the pleasure.

Yue Hongling said, “I thought dual cultivation with you was already the peak of effectiveness, but compared to that dead girl Sisi using gu tricks, it feels far inferior. You’re almost fine, but my bones still ache.”

Zhao Changhe snapped back to reality: “It takes a hundred days to heal bones and tendons. Dual cultivation isn’t as effective for external injuries as internal ones… My quick recovery is more due to the Blood Demon Indestructible Body. If you want your bone injuries to heal faster, you might try the spirit tribe’s shamanic methods—they could work wonders. But I don’t think we need to rush; there’s plenty to digest here. For instance, I want to rest a bit and then head to the grave mountain to take a look…”

Yue Hongling was puzzled: “In the dead of night? Why the grave mountain?”

“To feel the yin corpse energy—it’s strongest at midnight.”

Yue Hongling knew he was preparing for the next step, so she let go of their intimacy and got dressed: “Let’s go, I’ll come with you. I gained some insights from fighting the Black Miao King; maybe they’ll be useful for reference.”

The female knight didn’t even notice she’d been subtly cuckolded, and Zhao Changhe dared not mention it…

Blind hovered behind, arms crossed, watching the two walk hand in hand back to the grave mountain, a faintly mocking smile on her lips.

Tsk, still dutifully studying the yin corpse power, aren’t you?

As for whether to teach him about cause and effect… Blind frowned slightly, a little conflicted.

Really now, Xia Longyuan had even less education, so how did he manage to train on his own? You, a college graduate, with nothing but muscles and Longque on your mind—have some shame…

Want to be my master?

Go die first!

…

“The steel-like and giant-strength nature of corpse puppets has always puzzled me.”

Under the moonlight, the young couple strolled through the grave mountain, surveying the scattered bones as they discussed in low voices.

During the day, many spirit tribe members had been reburying the skeletons, but they hadn’t finished. Now, in the deep night, even the boldest spirit tribesman dared not continue the work, so they stopped. The grave mountain looked even more horrifying than usual—pockmarked with pits, the soil not yet tamped down, revealing bones beneath, some even lying openly on the slopes, a ghastly sight under the moonlight.

Even with their high skills and lack of superstition, the scene made their scalps tingle.

But it was precisely this scene that was most sinister—the peak of yin corpse energy. If another expert in corpse puppetry were here, it might spark another undead calamity.

Hearing Yue Hongling’s attempt to lighten the mood, Zhao Changhe said, “Don’t you think the strangest thing is that people long dead, clearly and utterly dead, can still have a spark of spiritual light revive? That’s different from ancient gods and demons who weren’t truly dead. These bones are truly dead.”

Yue Hongling said, “If I’m right, this is the power of yin corpse energy—using this yin qi to summon the lingering soul fire around the bones. The stronger the person, the more soul fire remains, allowing some thought; ordinary skeletons only have instinctive actions, which matches what we’ve seen. The Black Miao King’s soul fire can exist anywhere in his body, not just the spiritual platform, meaning the spiritual platform has lost its original meaning—placing it anywhere has the same effect.”

Zhao Changhe’s mind was in the Heavenly Book, studying Yin Kui’s skills while comparing them to Yue Hongling’s words: “So this isn’t martial arts at all.”

Yue Hongling smiled: “Martial arts are just a path to the profound; why get hung up on it?”

Zhao Changhe nodded, stopped beside a skeleton, and crouched to examine it.

In fact, what Yue Hongling called “lingering soul fire” was the phosphorescent light visible around the bones—modern people know it as will-o’-the-wisp, unrelated to the soul. But her conclusion based on this wrong premise might not be wrong, because the yin corpse energy does exist. The strong, before death, have lingering obsessions buried underground, solidifying into soul fire.

To learn this corpse puppet method, one must first control this yin corpse energy, then find the obsessions belonging to that corpse to form soul fire, and finally imprint one’s own mark… It’s completely different from what they’ve learned. Mastering it now is impossible, but they can certainly find the principles behind the Nine Nether’s abilities, know the enemy and themselves, and not be caught off guard.

Blind’s urgent intrusion into his dream was probably mainly to urge this point—it seems the Nine Nether’s power has even Blind nervous…

Come to think of it, no wonder the Nine Nether was beaten by the Night Emperor. Death, yin corpses, and fire—these belong to Vermilion Bird in the Night Emperor’s system. Before leaving the capital, Vermilion Bird was already researching this area. They clearly have a conflict of divine duties. Even without mentioning “divine duties,” there can only be one ruler of all things in the world. Ye Wuzong wanted to compete with Feng Yin over wind control, and he himself was competing with Lie over blood evil. How could the Night Emperor tolerate the Nine Nether?

Of course, they overlap in some areas and diverge in others, like nirvana and chaos. But no matter what, when facing the Nine Nether in the future, Vermilion Bird might be more specialized than him. He should go back and call for reinforcements.

“How is it? Any gains?” Yue Hongling crouched beside him and asked.

Zhao Changhe felt a warmth in his heart. This grave mountain was eerie, and he could tell Yue Hongling was a bit creeped out, yet she still accompanied him for courage and discussion. He reached out and took her slightly cold hand: “Combined with the Heavenly Book’s analysis, your judgment is spot on. Now we need to understand this yin energy—at least be able to see it, so we can prepare in the future…”

Yue Hongling said, “The yin energy is icy cold, yet what we see is fire; and the fire underground draws snow from the sky—truly mysterious. Is this fire considered one of the five elements?”

Zhao Changhe’s mind probed into the natural elements page of the Heavenly Book, and his heart stirred: “It does belong to the five elements’ fire—yin fire. And there’s something else related here, answering your earlier question.”

Yue Hongling was taken aback. Earlier question… “You mean the steel-like and giant-strength?”

“Yes. That’s not entirely the effect of the corpse puppet technique, but the result of absorbing metal energy underground over long years to become steel, and earth energy to become heavy and strong. Their corpse puppet technique just solidifies it, like pouring into a mold. That’s why Yin Kui could awaken countless skeletons and zombies without much effort—most of it wasn’t his doing.”

Yue Hongling hesitated, as if to speak.

Zhao Changhe turned to look at her, seeing her slightly conflicted expression, and smiled: “You thought this strengthening method might be worth studying to enhance your sword body? But then you felt it was for the dead and couldn’t stomach it?”

Yue Hongling shook her head: “What does my sword body have to do with this? I thought it might suit you… Your body training has always lacked defense, and you get hurt all the time…”

Zhao Changhe stared at her, speechless for a long time.

“Don’t be so moved.” Yue Hongling snorted: “It’s for the dead, I, I…”

Zhao Changhe smiled brightly: “Then we won’t use it.”

Yue Hongling had indeed felt a bit uneasy, but seeing Zhao Changhe so decisive, her heart softened. She thought to herself that letting Zhao Changhe remain defenseless over such a trivial matter would be putting the cart before the horse.

Zhao Changhe had already set his upgrade direction: to break through defenses, he must first enhance the Blood Asura Body; and the next step for the Blood Asura Body would inevitably require addressing this defense deficiency. This was crucial—how could he stop over such a small issue?

To give Zhao Changhe a reason to learn, Yue Hongling’s mind raced and quickly found an argument: “Drawing the five elements’ energy into the body—that can’t be exclusive to the dead, can it? Hmm… There should be many schools in the world that do this. I think the Buddhist Golden Bell and the Divine Firmament Sect’s body training might both use such methods. You have the Heavenly Book; maybe you can create a new technique!”

Zhao Changhe was about to say forget it, when his heart suddenly stirred, and he rose in great joy: "Sister Yue, you really are my lucky star."

Yue Hongling was inexplicably pulled to her feet by him and hugged tightly in his arms as he spun her around.

Yue Hongling had no idea what he was so happy about, but his joy infected her and made her laugh: "Alright, alright, always acting like a child. What have you thought of? Tell me."

Zhao Changhe smiled without answering: "We've basically got a handle on the Corpse Qi and the Metal-Earth Qi, so there's no need to stay here any longer—it's creepy as hell. Let's go back and rest. Your bone injury isn't healed yet, so you should take good care of yourself."

Yue Hongling had been practicing Wind Riding all day until midnight, and her bone injury was indeed starting to ache again, so she didn't stand on ceremony. She wrapped her arms around Zhao Changhe's neck and hopped up: "Carry me."

Zhao Changhe readily bent down and hoisted her onto his back. The young couple laughed and chatted as they descended the mountain.

The Blind Man curled his lip, watching the backs of the two, who acted like a pair of lovebirds despite being an old married couple. A malicious thought suddenly crossed his mind: *After what they did earlier, they didn't even clean up. Is his crotch sticky or not?*

*Forget it, better not ask. If I do, heaven knows what he'd use to clean up.*

...

But there was something to ask:

"Have you mastered the Corpse Qi, or have you found a way to complete your Blood Asura Body? You're grinning like a fool for no reason, and you didn't even look at the grave."

In the secluded cottage, a warm fire crackled in the brazier. Yue Hongling was already asleep in bed. Zhao Changhe sat alone by the window, warming wine over the fire, seemingly enjoying himself, when the Blind Man's voice suddenly reached his ears.

Zhao Changhe looked up and saw the Blind Man standing before him with arms crossed. He asked curiously: "Say, when you usually show up, am I the only one who can see you?"

The Blind Man said flatly: "I let whoever I want see me. When I don't want to be seen, no one can."

"Tsk, no need to be so stiff..." Zhao Changhe poured a cup of hot wine and handed it over: "So, as a spirit body, can you drink?"

The Blind Man was taken aback: "What are you doing?"

"Just chatting." Zhao Changhe laughed. "After all, hot wine can be broken down into energy. I think you can drink it. Here."

With that, he casually tossed the wine cup, which floated steadily in front of the Blind Man.

The Blind Man caught it reflexively, thought for a moment, then sat down in the chair opposite him. A small tea table separated them, and both leaned back lazily, sipping their wine.

Zhao Changhe finished his own sip and turned to watch the Blind Man drink. A strange feeling stirred within him.

The Blind Man exhaled a long breath and suddenly laughed: "It's been quite a while since I last drank. Interesting."

Zhao Changhe smiled faintly: "Good. At least now, you and I are two acquaintances of over two years, drinking and talking as friends, instead of some lofty being playing riddles and acting superior all day."

The Blind Man snorted: "And who's the one playing riddles now, if not you?"

"The Corpse Qi can't be fully understood in a single moment, but now that I have a foundation, a few more days of contemplation should yield results. At least one of the tasks you set me is nearing completion. Not everything can be achieved overnight—it has to be taken step by step..."

"Hmph..." The Blind Man sipped his wine without replying.

Zhao Changhe took a leisurely drink himself and continued: "As for the Blood Asura Body, I actually have an idea now."

The Blind Man said: "Your so-called idea—is it to dual-cultivate more with the current generation White Tiger, so you can master Metal?"

"That's a thought, but not now. Chichi has only recently obtained the Eastern Pole Dao Fruit, so her understanding of Azure Dragon laws far surpasses the others. She hasn't kept up with White Tiger... Even if I wanted to borrow her insights, it wouldn't be enough."

"Then what are you so happy about?"

"The reason I'm strong on offense but weak on defense is partly due to my combat style, and partly because the muscle structure formed by my body training has a certain bias. My bias leans toward power and attack, while the Shenhuang Sect leans more toward endurance. Once the composition of muscle and blood is set, even Turtle finds it hard to teach me defensive methods." Zhao Changhe laughed. "Since drawing Metal and Earth into the body can change its composition, why not think differently and draw in something else?"

The Blind Man's expression shifted slightly.

"We're in the Spirit Clan's territory. Lie came from the Spirit Clan, and his body training definitely doesn't focus on the Five Elements... If he needed to draw something into his body to temporarily change his muscle composition, shifting from offense to defense, what would he draw?" Zhao Changhe smiled. "Only beasts, only Gu. I'm in Lie's ancestral land—why search elsewhere? The key to perfecting the Blood Asura Body lies right here!"

The Blind Man fell silent, lowering his head to sip his wine, tacitly acknowledging that he was right. If he followed Lie's body training method, this was the correct path.

He had to admit, the guy was indeed clever—too bad he was only clever when it came to muscles.

Zhao Changhe squinted at the Blind Man's jade-like profile and suddenly said: "Speaking of Chichi's Metal mastery... She's stuck on White Tiger's mysteries herself. Should she make a journey west at the right time?"

The Blind Man said casually: "The White Tiger is in the West. Do you even need to ask?"

Zhao Changhe said: "When I was looking at the Netherfire earlier, I thought of finding the Vermilion Bird to deal with the Netherworld here. Now I'm thinking of finding the White Tiger to come here too. So 'Vermilion Bird and White Tiger converge in the southwestern wilds'—it's all connected like this... Could it be that this prophecy isn't necessarily about time, but actually represents people related to the Four Symbols and Five Elements?"

The Blind Man said: "Just because you thought of the Vermilion Bird and White Tiger coming here from different angles, that proves the prophecy is related to this? Where did you learn your logic—from the gatekeeper? Where's the chain of reasoning?"

"I used to solve cases this way—starting from a presumed result and working backward to verify it."

"Your case-solving was mostly luck anyway, and this deduction is even more far-fetched. It's called imagination, not verification."

"Then if I insist on tracing back from this sentence to its cause, how do I verify it? Do I need to find other related clues—like why Yin Kui knows the Spirit Clan's secrets, proving that the Netherworld side should have a thread about this? Once all similar clues are pieced together, the truth will emerge?"

"You understand it well enough..." The Blind Man felt like he was stating the obvious and said casually: "There must always be a thread connecting cause and effect; they don't arise from nothing. As long as you grasp that thread, whether you want to go from cause to effect, trace effect back to cause, or even invert cause and effect, or sever it—the key lies there."

"So this thread, in reality, is a logical chain. In cultivation, it becomes something tangible, visible, and controllable." Zhao Changhe suddenly rose from his seat, bowed slightly, and said: "Thank you for teaching me the Way of Cause and Effect."

"Pfft—" The Blind Man spat out a mouthful of wine, stunned into silence.

This was... though said simply, it had truly laid out the fundamental essence.

He had genuinely, truly taught him the cultivation of cause and effect!

Why the hell did I come here to drink and ask such nonsense?

Looking at Zhao Changhe's smiling face, the Blind Man's expression turned blank. After a long while, he said: "The reason you were so happy earlier—was it because you found a way to trick me?"

"Because you want me to improve, you fell into this trap. That is cause and effect." Zhao Changhe turned serious. "Thank you."

The Blind Man opened his mouth, then closed it.

*What kind of cause and effect is this? I don't give a damn whether you improve or not!*