Journey to the West: I have Nine Golden Crows Inside Me
Chapter 1171 - 823 Celestial Ancestor

Chapter 1171: 823 Celestial Ancestor

None of the gathered ghosts were fools, and after understanding Jiang Chen’s intent, they knelt down without hesitation, begging Jiang Chen to expound on the Ghost Dao.

"Rise," he commanded.

With a wave of his hand, Jiang Chen had the ghosts rise, then he began to lecture them on the Ghost Dao.

"Ghosts return, people die and become ghosts, speaking of their return. The energy of Pure Yang is called spirit, and the energy of Pure Yin is called ghost..."

"When people die, they become ghosts, the spirits return, their essence returns to Heaven, and their bodies return to Earth. The soul returns to Heaven, and the form returns to Earth..."

As Jiang Chen lectured, Heaven and Earth sensed his words, and suddenly, golden flowers appeared in the sky, falling like rain, while springs gushed from the ground, producing golden lotuses.

Such is the way when a learned person lectures—golden lotuses sprout from the earth, and blossoms fall chaotically from the sky.

Since the ghosts’ cultivation levels were too low, Jiang Chen did not delve into anything profound. He started from the basics, such as how to gather Yin energy, starlight, and spiritual energy to condense and refine the soul, causing it to transform, first into a Yin Spirit, then from the extreme of Yin to generate Yang, transforming into a Yang God. Ultimately, they would achieve Heaven and Earth, melding with the elemental energy and refining into a Primordial Spirit.

In Jiang Chen’s view, there were two paths for Ghost Dao. The first was the path of generating Yang from the extreme of Yin, continuously condensing the Yin soul until it reached its limit, then nurturing Yang energy to transform abruptly into a Yang God.

At this point, there was no difference between a cultivator of the Ghost Dao and an ordinary cultivator.

The so-called Yang God involves condensing the soul into Pure Yang energy, attaining a state where concentration forms the body and dispersal turns into energy.

Though a Yang God represents a synthesis of spirit and ancestral energy, and is more refined than all acquired materials, it still has the character of energy, confined within the realm of ancestral energy and incapable of entering the realm of nothingness. Further efforts in returning to nothingness are needed to merge with the Tao.

Therefore, the realm where the Yang God resides represents the complete stage of refining the spirit and transforming into nothingness. Progressing further, one reaches the realm where the spirit merges with Heaven and Earth and returns to the Tao.

At this returned-to-nothingness stage, the Yang God also transforms into a Primordial Spirit. The so-called Primordial Spirit is the innate ancestral energy, naturally aligned with Heaven and Earth, thus enabling a genuine union with the Tao.

At this realm, with just a thought, one can reshape the physical body; considered a Ghost Immortal, it is not much different from a Heavenly Immortal.

This path leads to the Great Dao of the Heavenly Immortal, primarily teaching how to achieve Heavenly Immortality with a ghostly body.

Of course, even though ghosts possess a soul without a body, ultimately it is flawed. Although one can become a Heavenly Immortal, it is extremely difficult; each step forward meets with the challenge of Thunder Tribulation. Amid the thunder, all Yin energy is shed, culminating in a Yang God-like body.

Becoming a Heavenly Immortal from a ghostly body is considered an alternative return to Yang. Dying and being reborn is ultimately defying Heaven, and a great price must be paid. Hence, this path entails risk and must be approached with caution.

The other path is the true path of the Ghost Immortal. Disregarding the conversion of extreme Yin into Yang, it follows the Pure Yin Dao unwaveringly into darkness, focusing entirely on fortifying the soul.

Compared to the way of the Heavenly Immortal, this is the true method of Ghost Cultivation. Those who achieve the Immortal Dao through this method can be called Ghost Immortals.

This Ghost Immortal Dao, based on Pure Yin, focuses on strengthening the soul. Though it may not be strong at the early stages, at later stages it can, like a Heavenly Demon, become formless and capable of annihilating others’ Primordial Spirits in unpredictable ways.

Of course, being a Ghost Immortal without a physical body is both a strength and a weakness. It makes one a target and, when achieving Immortality, the tribulations faced are far greater than those of others.

Ultimately, achieving the Dao with a ghostly form makes one an anomaly, and becoming an Immortal as an anomaly entails facing more severe challenges than those in human form.

...

...

This time, Jiang Chen lectured on these two methods of achieving immortality, limiting the discourse to the Heavenly Immortal Realm. He did not touch upon higher scriptures.

Currently, the lineage of Ghost Cultivation is still too weak to require the inheritance beyond the Heavenly Immortal level. Thus, Jiang Chen did not pass down higher teachings, instead planning to wait until he became the Emperor of Fengdu and the lineage of Ghost Cultivation had grown stronger to pass down this part of the heritage relating to the Immortal Dao Level.

Otherwise, had he explained everything in this lecture, what would he discuss in the future?

Regarding lecturing only half, what if someone else were to speak out the other half? That’s simple—kill whoever dares to do so, then turn them into one’s avatar, so isn’t it still oneself who lectures?

By lecturing on the Ghost Dao, Jiang Chen was also declaring to this region of Heaven and Earth, as well as to all the powerful beings, that this Ghost Dao was now his, warning others not to entertain notions about the Ghost Dao.

At this time, those who were wise naturally wouldn’t contend with Jiang Chen, while those who were foolish enough to speak the half that Jiang Chen left unspoken were clearly indicating their intention to challenge him for the Dao.

The conflict over the Great Dao is relentless until death. Thus, without entering the fray, one remains uninvolved, but once one does, it signifies a mortal struggle with Jiang Chen.

Previously, when Jiang Chen’s strength was insignificant, he naturally did not dare to vie for the Dao with others, keeping his thoughts to himself for fear of attracting the attention of powerful figures.

But now, Jiang Chen himself was a powerful figure, naturally unafraid of others vying with him for the Dao.

Before his declaration to Heaven and Earth, any contention was trivial. But after his declaration, anyone who dared to contest the Ghost Dao with him was truly engaging in a fight to the death.

Even if a saint intervened, they could not hope to stop the fight. The conflict over the Dao concerned neither right nor wrong but life and death. The struggle over the Dao does not end until one party is completely extinguished.

With Jiang Chen’s current strength, unless a saint personally came down to fight him over the Dao, even if a Great Divine Transcendent came, he was not without the means to battle him. With such capability, what did he have to fear?