Chapter Forty-Five: Experimental Subject No. 004—The Lord of Mount Tai

Page 1 of 3

Early the next morning, after breakfast, Xiao Zizai once again took Chen Duo to sit beside the waterfall. He began reciting Buddhist scriptures, expounding on their teachings and explaining their meaning, his chanting echoing through the mountains.

Xia He, Tu Junfang, and Xue Fan also seemed rather interested. They had to complete their morning lessons and cultivation anyway, while Xue Fan in particular needed guidance in his practice, so they simply sat down together.

Seeing this, Xia Ye smiled and returned directly to the clinic, slipping into the treatment room. He had set up numerous monitoring talismans around both the clinic and the new house. He would naturally know whenever an outsider approached.

Sitting down at the desk, he took out his computer and skillfully opened the “Experimental Subject Files.” Since two new members had joined them, the document had to be updated before he began preparing the medicines.

[Experimental Subject Files:]

[Experimental Subject No. 004—Lord of Mount Tai]

[Subject: Xue Fan]

[Sex: Male]

[Age: Twenty-three]

[Experimental Stage: Not Yet Initiated]

…

[Experimental Subject Files:]

[Experimental Subject No. 005—Yin Spirit Ghost Immortal]

[Subject: Tu Junfang]

[Sex: Male]

[Age: Thirty-five]

[Experimental Stage: Not Yet Initiated]

…

That was right. After speaking with Tu Junfang, Xia Ye had settled on his designation. Since he intended to follow the path of the “Ghost Immortal” and, unlike Xue Fan, was not connected to the souls of all the dead beneath heaven, a title such as “Great Emperor of Fengdu” would have been ill-fitting and unnecessary.

Tu Junfang was a “researcher” who preferred solitary cultivation and walking his own path. In the traditional sense, he was also a relatively pure “seeker of the Dao.” The title “Yin Spirit Ghost Immortal” suited him perfectly.

The Collection of Teachings Transmitted by Zhongli and Lü stated:

“A ghost immortal is the lowest among the five kinds of immortals. Transcending within yin, its divine form remains obscure. The gates of the dead know no surname, and the Three Mountains know no name. Though it does not enter the cycle of reincarnation, neither can it return to Penglai. In the end, it has nowhere to go, and can do nothing but await rebirth and take up a new vessel.”

It also said:

“Those who cultivate without comprehending the Great Dao, yet seek swift success, become like withered wood in form and ashes in heart. Their spiritual consciousness turns inward, guarding a single thought without dispersing. In meditation, they produce a yin spirit—the pure and ethereal soul of a ghost, not an immortal of pure yang. Because that single thought of yin spirit does not disperse, it is called a ghost immortal.”

Although these passages described the various shortcomings of ghost immortals—such as being limited to rebirth and seeking rapid success without understanding the Great Dao—they were ultimately only accounts preserved in ancient texts and legends. In cultivation, one’s own body remained the foundation, and the outcome depended entirely on the individual.

There was no need to take every word literally.

What Xia Ye and Tu Junfang sought was precisely that “transcendence within yin” and freedom from the cycle of reincarnation. They hoped that, through a “clear and lucid ghost body,” they might glimpse the Great Dao and, by means of forming a yin spirit, achieve the state of a true “ghost immortal.”

“If it can truly be accomplished, perhaps it will open another path for cultivators throughout the world…”

After typing the final words, Xia Ye murmured to himself and put away the computer.

Next came the determination of the prescription and the preparation of the pills. Since the souls collected by Xue Fan’s innate ability were “clear and lucid ghosts,” which would aid Tu Junfang’s experiment, it would be more beneficial to begin with Xue Fan.

Page 1 of 3

Page 2 of 3

After thinking for a moment, Xia Ye stood up, opened the medicine cabinet, and began searching through it…

…

…

Half a month later.

“Old Xue, come here.”

After breakfast, Xue Fan had intended to continue seeking guidance from Tu Junfang and the others when Xia Ye suddenly beckoned to him. Xue Fan blinked in surprise.

“Is it… my turn?”

He was instantly delighted.

Over the past few days, he had heard Xiao Zizai and Xia He describe more than once how drastically their lives had changed after meeting Xia Ye. The difference was truly like heaven and earth, and it had filled him with anticipation.

“…”

Tu Junfang, standing nearby, could not help glancing at him. Xue Fan was itching to begin, but how could Tu Junfang himself be any different? Xia Ye had already explained the risks and implications to him, however, so he had restrained himself and was in no hurry.

Xue Fan then followed Xia Ye toward the clinic, while the others began their morning lessons. Some recited scriptures, some refined their qi, and each pursued his own cultivation.

Before long…

“Sit on the treatment bed and adjust your inner breath. Calm both body and mind.”

Upon entering the treatment room, Xia Ye gave the instruction before walking over to the medicine cabinet and beginning to search through it.

“Oh… all right.”

Xue Fan nodded obediently. He sat cross-legged on the bed. After receiving guidance from Tu Junfang and the others over the past few days, he had learned the basics of refining qi and entering meditation. Soon, he closed his eyes.

“Hiss… exhale…”

After a while, his breathing gradually became even, and his thoughts settled into stillness. Xia Ye took out a medicine bottle and placed a pill in his palm.

“Do not open your eyes. Maintain this state and swallow the pill directly.”

The instruction sounded in his mind the next moment.

“Mm…”

Following Xia Ye’s words, Xue Fan swallowed the pill in one gulp. He immediately felt a cool current slide down his throat before splitting into countless streams that began to flow through every limb and bone.

“Hmm?!”

A soft groan escaped him. His right hand instinctively closed around the Soul-Summoning Banner beside him. The true qi within his body surged uncontrollably out through his skin and connected with the banner.

Whoosh—

It was plain to see that Xue Fan’s Soul-Summoning Banner had become entirely different from before. Its pole was like black jade, its banner cloth like satin. In material, mystical significance, and the efficiency with which true qi flowed through it, the difference was as vast as heaven and earth.

This was naturally Xia Ye’s work. After two weeks of research, he had discovered that Xue Fan’s abilities could be amplified through the Soul-Summoning Banner in his hand, allowing him to unleash far greater power. He had therefore upgraded it, incorporating mystical elements and materials used in artifact refinement to forge it into a magical treasure.

On the surface, its appearance had not changed much. Yet with the aid of such forces as Spirit Restraint and Command, Yin Spirit Nourishment, and Divine-Status Faith, it had become a powerful treasure capable of gathering countless spirits. It had also fused completely with Xue Fan, becoming as much an extension of his body as one of his own limbs.

Page 2 of 3

Page 3 of 3

At that moment, when Xue Fan gripped the banner, the medicinal power within his body naturally resonated with the mystical energy in the Soul-Summoning Banner. Two forces, different in origin yet similar in effect, acted upon Xue Fan’s body at the same time, transforming him.

“Excellent…”

Everything was unfolding exactly as Xia Ye had expected. As he stared at Xue Fan, a gleam flashed through his eyes. His gaze pierced through the young man completely, allowing him to see the two forces moving within his body.

Xue Fan’s body, already inclined toward cold yin energy, began transforming toward the extreme of yin. Yet a trace of jade-colored radiance also emerged across his flesh. Yin energy spilled from within him, and a lustrous jade light gleamed beneath his skin. His entire body seemed to be turning into a piece of cold jade.

This was one detail to which Xia Ye had paid particular attention. After all, the human body required a balance between yin and yang. Even when cultivating a yin-based art, one could not abandon yang altogether and allow yin to stand alone. To do so would inevitably bring disaster.

Jade energy was warm and gentle. By using it to contain yin energy, one could achieve moderation and balance. Precious jade also possessed the ability to nurture the true spirit, while strengthening the physical body at the same time.

Very soon, Xue Fan’s entire body had transformed into jade, including the meridians within him. Surrounded by a faint glow, streams of pitch-black, frigid true qi coursed through his body, merging with the mystical energy and medicinal power.

At the same time, an imposing aura, as majestic as a mountain, suddenly appeared and plunged into the center of Xue Fan’s brow. His eyelids twitched, and an image of a towering mountain condensed within his mind.

“As the Lord of Mount Tai, you must possess the will of the mountains and the heart to guard them. You must possess the grand bearing that can settle heaven and earth while your own body remains unmoving, and the great perseverance to walk alone even when standing at the edge of the ghostly abyss. Only then may you set foot upon the summit of the immortal mountain!”

The words Xia Ye had spoken two days earlier rose automatically within Xue Fan’s mind, drawing his spirit into the image of the mountain.

Before long, a thought stirred within him. A figure resembling himself, no larger than a firefly, appeared at the foot of the mountain. He raised his head and gazed at the towering peak before beginning to climb toward its summit.

“Oh?”

Even Xia Ye narrowed his eyes in surprise at the sight. In his original expectations, this step had not been part of the process at all. It had emerged entirely from Xue Fan’s own understanding and the truth within his heart.

Xia Ye could not help looking forward to what awaited him at the summit. He settled his mind and watched intently, a smile appearing on his face.

Thus, after roughly half an hour…

Boom!

Within the Muddy Pellet Palace, in the depths of his mind, the radiant figure representing Xue Fan planted one foot firmly upon the mountaintop. He lowered his head and looked down at everything below, his presence vast and majestic as a mountain, his gaze filled with disdain.

Then, in the very next moment, he withdrew his eyes and lifted his head once more. A will that reached the heavens condensed in an instant and pierced straight into the sky, stirring the clouds and setting the winds of the summit in motion.

“This fellow… has quite some ambition!”

Seeing this, Xia Ye could not help praising him inwardly. He had never expected that this seemingly plain and honest man would possess such lofty aspirations, or that his resolve to reach the heavens would be so unshakable.

Then he thought about it and found it only natural. Those with pure hearts were inherently closer to the Dao. Once they entered the path of cultivation, they were like fish and dragons entering the sea or a great roc rising into the heavens. Xue Fan’s cultivation journey might well surpass all expectations. His future was promising indeed.

Whoosh!

In the next instant, as winds and clouds surged within Xue Fan’s mind and his thoughts gathered into a single point, he opened his eyes. The hand gripping the Soul-Summoning Banner tightened abruptly, and a mass of black vapor instantly rose and condensed into a human form.

It was none other than Old Master Wang.

Immediately afterward, drawn by the flow of his aura, Xue Fan raised his hand. He pressed two fingers together and touched them to the old man’s brow.

Whoosh—

A frigid and mysterious force rippled outward, and the black vapor surrounding Old Master Wang vanished in an instant, revealing his true appearance.