Flood: I, the Nine Turns of the Golden Pillar, all want to eat me!
Chapter 26 - The Law of Mending Heaven, Old Man Beheading Corpse

Chapter 26: The Law of Mending Heaven, Old Man Beheading Corpse

“I see… fewer transitions, but also one less complication. Not bad, not bad…”

Xuan Qing laughed softly, his mood easing a little.

While pleased, he also sensed changes in his flesh.

“Hehe, my flesh!” he muttered.

Zi Yun suddenly said, “Master, you used your physical body to evolve materials to refine a Spirit of Essence Dan. That naturally caused some damage. Though this can be repaired with a bit of cultivation, as you progress, the higher the quality of the Essence of God Pill you refine, the more strain it places on your body. The damage will accelerate. The master must take caution.”

Xuan Qing’s expression shifted slightly, but he reflected on his own master’s teachings.

“I understand. Master had anticipated this and devised a method to compensate for physical deterioration. With innate items fused into the body, one cultivates through them rather than directly with the flesh, thereby refining the Essence of God Dan. As the innate item is refined alongside the pill, it replenishes itself. In this way, the body is warmed and one’s aptitude and foundation are elevated.”

“Indeed. Your master’s creation, the Taiyi Scroll, contains the Law of Mending Heaven—a profound method. Cultivating through innate objects rather than the flesh allows one to draw upon the object’s essence to improve one’s foundation and innate quality. But be warned: not all innate objects are suitable. If the object is incompatible, it could do more harm than good.”

“I understand. When Master created this technique for me, he intended for any suitable innate objects to be used. Judging from today’s results, the higher the quality and compatibility of the innate item, the greater the improvement to my qualifications.”

Xuan Qing fell silent, deep in thought.

…

Xuan Qing had long anticipated changes to his physical form. He had studied the Supreme Dan Sutra left by Laozi in depth.

The Taiqing Dan Jing consists of three volumes:

• • • • The Volume of Immortalityuses spiritual qi and countless resources to refine the Pill of Qi.

• • • • The Taiyi Volumeuses bodily essence to refine the Pill of Essence.

• • • • The Da Luo Volumeuses the Yuan Shen to refine the Pill of Spirit.

In each realm, the cultivator refines pills through their own body. This inevitably causes great loss—whether to flesh or spirit. Even at this initial stage of refining the Essence of God Pill, the damage to Xuan Qing’s body was already considerable. The higher the elixir’s grade, the more severe the toll.

Xuan Qing understood this well—and so did Laozi, Yuanshi Tianzun, and Tongtian. When the Three Purities devised this path for Xuan Qing, they tailored it for themselves and their disciples—beings born of the innate heavens, with boundless divine origin. Their bodies could endure cultivation without degradation.

Compared to them, Xuan Qing was but a newly formed being in the Great Desolation. His qualifications and foundation were far inferior. All beings born in the later Flood era faced the same decline. Fewer and fewer were born with the innate aptitude of the Three Pure Ones.

To counter this, Laozi and the others devised a method: the Way of Heaven mends what is lacking by taking from what is abundant. Thus was born the Law of Mending Heaven—a way to supplement innate deficiencies.

By fusing innate matter into the body, and transforming it into part of oneself, one could then cultivate the Taiyi Scroll, digest the innate essence, and grow stronger. Over time, this method allowed even acquired beings to transform into innate beings. The human race of the future might also rely on this to evolve from the acquired to the innate.

But again—the selection of the innate object was critical. An ill-suited or inferior item could poison the body rather than strengthen it.

Xuan Qing was now lost in thought, weighing which innate item might best fuse with his body…

…

As he pondered, a wave of Dao sound stirred him from his thoughts.

“Master?” Xuan Qing felt the Dao resonance, interwoven with yin and yang, and immediately knew it came from his own master.

He stepped out of his cultivation chamber. In the distant sky, Dao sounds surged and resonated like immortal music—ethereal, yet thunderous.

Laozi, seated in the Kunlun Blessed Land, was surrounded by torrents of spiritual qi. The Dao rhythms condensed and spiraled into a vast Taiji pattern.

He was either attaining enlightenment—or undergoing a profound transformation.

This change lasted hundreds of years.

Eventually, Laozi whispered,

“Chop…”

In that instant, a shadow took shape—radiating a unique Dao breath, steeped in a special rhythm. That energy merged with Laozi’s Dao intent and took form.

A Daoist appeared—clad in black robes, with a faintly murderous aura and a trace of ferocity. His appearance somewhat resembled Tongtian, and he bore a youthful countenance.

Then, this Daoist merged back into Laozi’s body.

Xuan Qing stood stunned, heart pounding.

“Chopping Three Corpses? Could this be the method of severing the Three Corpses? But… Master Hongjun has never formally taught that method. Unless… he taught it in secret beforehand?”

Questions swirled in his mind. Laozi and the others had long since followed Hongjun—perhaps they were taught privately. But then, why did they only now sever their corpses?

He was still contemplating when Laozi opened his eyes and looked at him with warmth.

“Disciple…”

“Master, just now… what divine technique did you cultivate? A Daoist appeared all of a sudden!” Xuan Qing asked, half-genuinely, half-testing.

Laozi chuckled, his expression kind.

“That was the Secret Method of Beheading Three Corpses. It was passed down by your Master Ancestor. With this method, the road to Mixed Yuan becomes relatively easier.”

“Relatively easier?” Xuan Qing frowned. He knew well how difficult it was to attain the Mixed Yuan realm.

“Was this not the method to cultivate the Mixed Yuan?” he asked.