Compendium of Nine Springs

In the afternoon, the people of the Cangling Tribe staying at Zaomei Manor bustled about, packing their gear and preparing to depart. In the battle at Immortal Burial Town, nearly a thousand of their clansmen had been killed or wounded, and countless otherworld coffins had been lost. Although the Fodu Bandits had withdrawn, the affair was rife with strange and abnormal circumstances. With so much at stake, Cang Li had to hurry back to the tribe as quickly as possible to report the full sequence of events to the elders, while also worrying that further unexpected turns might arise. Because of his supposed "congenital language impairment," Gao Huan had not spoken to anyone and had boarded the carriage early. He had a great gift for languages and was fluent in four foreign tongues, so he was not in the least concerned about the language barrier he would face on his own. He was confident he could master this world's tongue in a short time. Cang Li walked out of the manor accompanied by a group of tribal masters. Walking alongside him were two tall, veiled, mysterious women. One of them was actually a Pure Immortal Physique. Her skin was as translucent as fine jade, and her disposition was aloof and cold; ever since they had met in the Mist Domain of Departed Spirits, Cang Li had not heard her utter a single word. The other woman wore a bright red dress, with a white-bone wind chime tied at her waist. She was cheerful and exceptionally talkative. They were "waylost" who had mistakenly blundered into the mist domain, named Cai Yutong and Qi Shanshan respectively. It was Cang Li who had rescued them. It was not as though Cang Li had never seen stunning beauties blessed with a Pure Immortal Physique, but even among women of that constitution, there were differences in grace. He could never forget the breathtaking sight of Cai Yutong when he had first laid eyes on her. To be granted the chance to play the hero and save such a beauty—though this coffin retrieval had been fraught with peril, how was it not a blessing in disguise? "My sister and I plan to head to Jiuli City first. If it is not on your way, we would not want to impose upon you, Young Clan Leader..." Before Qi Shanshan could finish, Cang Li smiled and said, "What a fortunate coincidence! Once I return to the Cangling Tribe, I must immediately set out for Jiuli City as well. More importantly, going to Jiuli City naturally requires passing through our tribe's lands. When the time comes, you two ladies can first visit as our guests." "Not only does the Young Clan Leader possess an extraordinary and noble bearing, but you also have the righteous heart to help those in distress, not to mention your warm hospitality and sincere nature. It is truly the first time this humble woman has met such an exceptional man." Qi Shanshan curtsied gracefully, then took Cai Yutong by the hand and boarded the largest and most luxurious carriage at the very front of the convoy. By the time Gao Huan parted the carriage curtain and peered toward the head of the convoy, the two women were already aboard. Cang Li stood straight beside the carriage, straightening his robes and cap. A nervousness he had not even felt when confronting the supreme masters of the Fodu Bandits now showed on him. "We are about to set off immediately. Where did that girl Li Ling run off to?" he asked. Behind him, an elderly Dharma-Martial cultivator replied, "Fourth Young Miss said she had unexpected business and told us not to wait for her." "Business? What business could she possibly have in Yaoguan?" Cang Li knew his younger sister's cultivation and attainments, and he also knew she had always been fiercely independent, so he questioned it no further. Doing his best to adopt an elegant, gentle demeanor, he stepped up into the carriage. *** Li Weiyi drove his carriage alone, cracking his whip as he sped along the firm dirt road by the river. The Shouli Tribe retrieved coffins several times a year, using land routes far more often than waterways. Consequently, this dirt road had been built exceptionally wide, flanked by thousand-year-old willows and hundred-year-old mulberry trees. Through the gaps between the rapidly retreating tree trunks, one could see massive war galleys sailing across the broad waters of the Sui River. The vessels were laden with otherworld coffins, and Cangling tribal warriors armed with blades and spears patrolled the decks in tight formation. Evidently, Cang Li was leading a small detachment by land to convey formal courtesies and gratitude to the Shouli Tribe, which was why he was traveling ahead. The main force of the Cangling Tribe, along with the otherworld coffins, was following behind by water. A horse carriage was naturally somewhat slower. By the time Li Weiyi could see Immortal Burial Town in the distance, the sky had already grown dark. The sun had dipped beneath the horizon, leaving only fiery-red twilight clouds on the edge of the sky. *Old Zhao said the wilderness at night is terribly unsettled, with departed spirits and fiendish demons turning exceptionally active, and one might even encounter ferocious insects and cursed beasts. There are still at least two to three hundred li to the Blood Sea. I might as well spend the night in Immortal Burial Town first.* Li Weiyi knew nothing of the strange legends surrounding Immortal Burial Town, so he felt no reverence or dread toward it. It was merely that so many people had died here yesterday, leaving a slight lingering discomfort in his heart. Yet having already weathered bloody slaughter and witnessed that terrifying Soul Sea, he felt no fear, even though the surroundings of the market town were stained with blood everywhere. All the corpses had been cleared away. Only a few small animals of species he had never seen before scurried through the grass, lapping at the blood soaked into the soil. Upon arriving at Immortal Burial Town, Li Weiyi climbed down from the carriage and led the sturdy horse forward by its reins. The sky grew even darker, the twilight glow fading into cold, somber hues. A faint mist drifted slowly out from the mountains and welled up from the roaring waterfall of Dragon-Slaying Pass, rendering Li Weiyi's vision increasingly hazy. Li Weiyi looked back warily, constantly sensing that something was tailing him. *Am I jumping at shadows? This place certainly doesn't feel peaceful. Let's just hope no white-boned demon or camel bell specter comes popping out again.* Beside the dirt road at the entrance to the town stood numerous giant stone statues, stretching continuously for several kilometers. Their heads were enormous, some weighing tens of thousands of jin, others hundreds of thousands, all gazing in the exact same direction. Li Weiyi thought they bore some resemblance to the giant stone statues on Earth's Easter Island. He stopped in his tracks and peered along the direction of their gaze. Far in the distance rose a towering mountain peak shaped like a pyramid. Flocks of birds circled above it beneath low-hanging clouds, appearing exceptionally magnificent and imposing against the dark-cyan night sky. Not only were they lined up beside the dirt road, but countless giant stone statues also stood along the distant banks of the Sui River. "Immortal Burial Town... It couldn't truly have an immortal buried here, could it?" Li Weiyi chuckled to himself, muttering as he led the carriage into the desolate market, which had been washed a dark crimson by fresh blood. Without venturing deep inside, he found a courtyard with relatively intact buildings and walked straight in. Before long, a fire was lit in the courtyard. Amid the night shrouded by surrounding mountains, it stood out like a solitary, jarring lamp. Li Weiyi moved bags of food from the carriage into the space inside the evil camel bell. Ever since he had opened his third spring orifice, he had been able to enlarge the evil camel bell even further. *I wonder if I can summon that camel three to four meters tall. It felt as though it could carry physical cargo. For all I know, a whole caravan might be packed inside this bell...* *Better wait until my cultivation realm is higher before trying that.* After moving all the provisions inside, Li Weiyi picked up the evil camel bell and found that its weight had not noticeably changed, making him realize all the more how extraordinary this object was. To have commanded such a treasure, one could imagine that Yu Tuonan must have been a formidable figure when he was alive. But why was he not as renowned as Chanhai Guanwu? Sitting beside the fire, Li Weiyi took out a jar of Golden Crow blood and drank a mouthful. Suddenly, it dawned on him that his ability to break through so rapidly was very likely entirely due to the Golden Crow blood. A Golden Crow was no ordinary bird; how precious must its blood be? In this world, a Dharma-Martial cultivator of superior talent could open only four springs after a whole decade of bitter cultivation. Even if Zhao Zhizhuo had exaggerated the difficulty, it would not be too far off the mark. He was merely an ordinary mortal, neither a mutant nor a Pure Immortal Physique. On what basis had his cultivation speed been so fast? It was likely all because of the Golden Crow blood! Li Weiyi finally pieced it all together and resolved to bring back even more Golden Crow blood when he returned to the Bronze Ship this time. It would be best to try carving off several dozen jin of Golden Crow meat and Black Flood Dragon meat as well. He took out the cultivation manual Cang Li had given him, the *Compendium of Nine Springs*, and perused it carefully. Cultivation methods for the Yongquan Realm were not particularly rare; as long as one had the coin, they could be purchased in many places. However, the true value of the *Compendium of Nine Springs* lay in the unique understandings and personal insights recorded by multiple Dharma-Martial masters of the Jiuli Clan. Studying it thoroughly would make it far easier for a young cultivator to open their spring orifices. Cang Li naturally understood that a mere copy of the *Compendium of Nine Springs* could never repay such an immense favor, and he had promised to provide Li Weiyi with cultivation methods beyond the Yongquan Realm should he ever need them in the future. The *Compendium of Nine Springs* was merely a gift between friends, carrying no expectation of settling debts of gratitude or human sentiment. *"Dharma—internally born as dharmic power, departing the body to transform into qi."* *"The Dao, fruition, and nirvana are dharma, omnipresent, suffusing the cosmos."* ... Li Weiyi read while pondering the words. He quickly grasped that "dharma" was the energy of heaven and earth, suffusing all things throughout the universe, yet cultivators of lower realms could neither see nor touch it. Dharma was like moisture within the soil. By employing a breathing method, a cultivator could draw dharma to their side, then open spring orifices within their body, allowing dharma to pour into them through those orifices to transform their physical body and become power they could wield. The stronger the breathing method, the more dharma it could draw to one's side within the same realm. Under severe exertion, one's endurance would be far greater, allowing one to battle an entire day without exhausting their dharmic power. The more spring orifices one opened, the tougher their body could be refined, and naturally, the more dharmic power they could mobilize. *The Yuxu Breathing Method must be exceptionally strong. Even on the night I was hunted by the Thousand-Headed Dragon Vine, my physical stamina was spent, yet my dharma never ran dry.* Thinking this, Li Weiyi skipped the breathing method recorded in the *Compendium of Nine Springs* and looked directly at the trace vein guide diagrams that followed. On the diagram pages, the left depicted a man and the right a woman. Both portraits were covered in dense, interwoven fine lines—white, red, silver, and gold—extending outward from nine major acupoints of the human body as roots. "Are the colors and numbers of trace veins within everyone's body different?" Li Weiyi felt that he had little need for any trace vein guide diagrams. Every time he opened a spring orifice, a bit of casual fumbling would cause a dozen or so silver trace veins to sprout naturally on their own. Why make it so complicated? He was far more intrigued by the nine spring orifices mentioned in the *Compendium of Nine Springs*, eager to know where they were located and how to open them. The three spring orifices he had opened so far had all succeeded through stumbling blindly, completely devoid of structured method. Had it not been for the aid of a miraculous medicine like Golden Crow blood, then with his mediocre mortal talent, being able to open even a single spring by now would have been a stroke of sheer fortune.