Lanke Chess Edge -
Chapter 192: Modern Methods, Ancient Methods
The four individuals surrounding Qin Zizhou’s ghost body felt the effects the most strongly during the transformation process. Qin Zizhou himself did not feel it quite so deeply. He just sensed the coldness turn to warmth, and at the same time his whole body felt a lot fresher.
Because the Old Dragon had personally taken action, the two river gods only needed to continue waving their arms during the whole process and pass on the incense power and power of faith, without being distracted by having to maintain the Yin Essence Spring.
After Ji Yuan used the sound of the edict to guide Qin Zizhou’s body to its transformation, he paused slightly, then continued the decree.
“Burn not in the light of day, be not stilled in the cold of the Yin; let your primary form transform, and let your true body emerge; the earth cannot bind you, the heavens cannot limit you; conceive your own spiritual path, illuminate your own divine way!”1
With every word uttered, a mysterious yellow energy appeared and gathered into characters, glowing with golden light above Qin Zizhou’s head, then penetrating into Qin Zizhou’s body one by one.
The Old Dragon was a little shocked. This mysterious yellow aura actually somewhat resembled the aura of merit. In truth, apart from Bai Qi, who had experienced this energy once personally, the Old Dragon was the only one who could determine its characteristics purely by looking at it. The other ghosts and gods simply thought that this was just a kind of Dharma light that Ji Yuan used to display his supernatural powers.
‘There truly exists someone who can share their accumulated power of merit and virtue? Is it only a True Immortal who can do such a thing? Or…’
The Old Dragon was shocked and terrified as Bai Qi had been initially. He was using this mysterious yellow power to participate in the creation of natural fate and fortune.2 This ability, like the Wandering God, only existed in legends.
He remembered that after his birthday banquet, Bai Qi had left happily after receiving a message from Ji Yuan. At that time, the white flood dragon’s words were vague, but now he understood them a little. No wonder Ji Yuan could entice Bai Qi to participate in such a great event with but one sentence, despite it being detrimental to his divine practice.
At this thought, the Old Dragon looked at Qin Zizhou in front of him. He couldn’t help but narrow his eyes and let his thoughts wander.‘The Realm-Wandering God…’
On the other side, after having issued so many words of mysterious yellow energy with his Edict in a single breath, Ji Yuan simply stood there. Even though he tried his best to circulate the energy of the five elements in his body to alleviate the dizziness caused by the spiritual energy consumption, he was still exhausted.
Fortunately, his cultivation was much better now than it had been before, and he had made rapid progress, so at least he didn’t make a fool of himself. If he had attempted this a few years ago, he would have collapsed on the spot.
The others failed to notice, but the Old Dragon on the opposite side of the room still had enough energy to be distracted. Just cultivating a person who could walk this path had made Ji Yuan so exhausted he could barely conceal it. This was the first time he had seen Ji Yuan in such a state.
About a stick of incense’s worth of time had passed, and the light in the entire Punishment Division’s prison was gradually dimming. To be more precise, it was slowly being absorbed into Qin Zizhou’s body. Qin Zizhou was now no longer a ghost; with the absorption of all the haloes of light, his body slowly began to shine brightly as a sign of the process of turning Yin into Yang, and his illusory body into a real body.
In the end, the entire prison of the Punishment Division returned to its previous gloomy and cold state. Only Qin Zizhou’s body was glowing, as if his whole body, including his hair, was emitting a gentle light.
The two righteous river gods still sat cross-legged beside him, regulating their breathing to calm their divine auras. They had just consumed too much energy, and their divine roots had been affected. Fortunately, neither of these two gods were reliant on the divine path, so it was not enough to harm the foundation of their practice.
The eyes of everyone present, ghosts and gods alike, focused on Qin Zizhou, watching the glow of his body gradually weaken until he returned to his ordinary appearance.
“Is this a golden body?”
“Not quite!”
“Could it be a physical body? Is he alive again?”
“It doesn’t seem like that…”
“Has the body of the Ream-Wandering God been completed?”
“It can’t have been that fast, didn’t Immortal Ji say that it needs to be built from scratch?”
“His appearance has also changed a bit!”
At this moment, it looked as if a spell had been cast. The ghosts and gods outside were whispering, but they could not figure out what was going on inside. Just now, when Qin Zizhou was glowing, he looked as if he was emanating divine light, but now he looked completely like an ordinary living person. If the City God hadn’t seen this scene with his own eyes, he would have thought a living person had entered the underworld.
The man’s hair had originally been gray, with a short, thin beard and a sallow face; but now his hair and beard were fully white, and reached down to his chest. His complexion was rosy and full, and a pair of long eyebrows extended to the corners of his eyes.
Qin Zizhou didn’t feel any pain throughout the whole process. At most, he just felt a change in temperature. But he could tell that he felt different, and his body’s perception was no longer as dull as his ghost body after death. He could feel the chill of the prison, the humidity of the air around him, and the faint divine light. Although these changes were subtle, the truth of his being shone through every little detail.
Qin Zizhou stood up and looked at himself. He reached out a hand to take the temperature of the skin on his arm. He even used his doctor’s instincts to directly feel his own pulse.
Ji Yuan regulated his breathing and his spirit gradually recovered. Seeing Qin Zizhou’s curious, excited, and slightly dazed expression, he bowed to him with cupped hands.
“Congratulations, Fellow Taoist Qin, your spiritual body has been completed!”
The Old Dragon walked to the side and bowed, a rare action from him.
“Congratulations, Fellow Taoist Qin!”
Although Qin Zizhou had basically no foundation in Taoism, it was rare to see a Wandering God. Even Qin Zizhou, who was about to begin his cultivation from scratch, could make the Old Dragon respect him.
Qin Zizhou hurriedly bowed with cupped hands to the two of them.
“Thank you, Lord Immortal! Thank you, Dragon Lord!”
Qin Zizhou then bowed in gratitude to Bai Qi and Ying Ruoli, who had finished calming their spiritual energy and regulating their breathing.
“Thank you, Lord River God, and Lord River Goddess!”
After thanking the two of them, Qin Zizhou turned around again to face the assembled ghosts and gods.
“Thank you, Lord City God; thank you, Lords of all Divisions; thank you, Lord Land God, and thank you to all the ghost messengers!”
“Oh, oh, I don’t deserve your thanks!”
“Mr. Qin, there’s no need to be so polite!”
“We didn’t help at all!”
“Congratulations, Lord Qin!”
“Congratulations, Mr. Qin!”
…
Many ghosts and gods in the underworld returned the acknowledgement. With this, Qin Zizhou was no longer a ghost in the underworld.
. . .
On Qin Zizhou’s seventh day after death, his return home was different from that of other ghosts. There were no ghost messengers accompanying him; Qin Zizhou returned home alone.
Although he had not officially embarked on his path of cultivation, Qin Zizhou had some innate spiritual powers after his rebirth. Like other beings following the divine path, he was invisible to mortals. This was just the basics, and he could apply it without needing to learn it.
That night, the Qin family prepared a sumptuous table of food for Qin Zizhou, but all the family members slept in their own beds. Even those who couldn’t sleep would lie on the bed and cover themselves with blankets.
In truth, according to local customs, only a specific people needed to avoid the dining area. This did not mean that they couldn’t stay, but rather that the ghosts of the deceased were not allowed to see their relatives crying, otherwise they would be reluctant to leave. The Qin family was afraid that they could not stifle their tears, so they simply followed the example of some other families and left out the offerings and the food, and whole family went to bed.
At midnight, Qin Zizhou walked into the house through the main entrance without any hesitation, just like he had done in life. He crossed the courtyard and slowly walked into the hall.
Several shaded oil lamps illuminated the hall.
A sumptuous meal was arranged on an eight-person table, consisting of fish, meat, non-vegetarian food, and vegetarian dishes. These were not only meant for Qin Zizhou, but also for the ghost messengers who escorted the ghosts home.
According to local folklore, if the ghost messengers were well fed, they would not trouble the deceased, and thus give out less punishment.
Four or five plates of Qin Zizhou’s favorite dishes were placed in the center of the table.
“Oh, how thoughtful!”
Qin Zizhou immediately saw a special dish at first glance: stinky tofu with moldy amaranth stalks.3
This was Qin Zizhou’s favorite dish in life. It was not a very presentable dish in terms of aesthetics, but he loved to eat it. It was already autumn, and the amaranth in Ji Province was growing old. Not many people were still growing amaranth, let along making moldy amaranth. At the very least, there were no such people in Deyuan County. The family must have put a lot of effort into this simple dish.
He couldn’t help but pick up the chopsticks on the table and carefully bring some tofu to his mouth. The fresh taste that melted in his mouth was still intoxicating to Qin Zizhou.
He was neither human nor ghost, nor an ordinary spirit or god, but he has a real body and could eat the grains.
“Tsk tsk… delicious. Could it be that my sense of taste has improved now that I’m in this state?”
Qin Zizhou laughed in silene. He stopped after eating a certain amount, as was his habit. Then he walked to the side room to see his child. In his current state, there were no messengers to stop him, nor would he decide to linger like a new ghost.
His wife had long since passed away. When he was in the underworld, he knew that her lifespan had long since come to an end. Her soul had returned to heaven and dissipated into the sky. The only things he cared about in the world now were his children and his disciples.
However, Qin Zizhou didn’t intend to look in no them one by one. He went straight to his second son’s room.
His second son was already asleep in a separate bed from his wife. He was sound asleep in a bed in the corner of the room. When he came to his son’s bed, he heard rhythmic snoring.
“Ah, this child has a congested airway and poor blood circulation because he doesn’t exercise enough. He keeps ignoring my advice, just like when he was a child!”
Qin Zizhou murmured as he put his hand over his son’s forehead…
Qin Yan was dreaming while he slept. In his dream, he was once again very young. Everyone around him was so tall, and his own hands were so small.
He was in the outer hall of the Anren Pharmacy. Qin Yan was grinding medicinal herbs alongside several of the assistants. These assistants resembled the assistants in the pharmacy in the current day. They had not become any younger, and did not look like their childhood selves. However, in his dream, Qin Yan didn’t feel that there was anything out of place. Qin Zizhou was sitting at the counter.
Suddenly, something blocked the light over Qin Yan. He looked up to find his father approaching.
“Dad?”
“Yan’er, your eldest brother died young, and now the family depends on you. I know you don’t like to listen to what your father says, but I hope that the Qin family’s Anren Pharmacy can continue to be passed on for as long as possible. If no one in the family is willing to study medicine in the future, then so be it…”
Qin Yan looked at his father, whose form seemed a little blurry because of the backlight, and said, “Oh.”
Beside Qin Yan’s bed, Qin Zizhou nodded, stood up, walked out the door, leaving the Qin family residence.
Ji Yuan and the Old Dragon were waiting outside.
“Mr. Qin, do you not want to take another look?”
Ji Yuan asked with a smile, and the Old Dragon also laughed.
“As the saying goes, ‘if one man succeeds, the whole family will benefit.’ No one will protest if you care for him a little more.”
Qin Zizhou waved his hand.
“No, no, I’m not one to linger. My children and grandchildren will have their own children and grandchildren, their own blessings. I can’t stay here and be the head of this family forever!”
The old dragon clicked his tongue and then turned to face Ji Yuan.
“Mr. Ji, now that Fellow Taoist Qin’s mortal affairs are settled, you should at least tell me about what you plan to do next, right?”4
The Old Dragon had asked about this matter repeatedly over the past few days. Ji Yuan just wanted to be a little facetious, so he didn’t say anything and kept it mysterious.
At the Old Dragon’s words, Qin Zizhou also turned to look at Ji Yuan with curiosity and anticipation. Everyone said that the Wandering God was a wonderful being, but he currently didn’t even have the ability to practice spiritual techniques, only the ordinary aspects of the divine path.
The clumsy conjecture found in “A Historical Account from Outside the Tao” was just speculation on a possibility for a Yang God’s spiritual body to become a Wandering God. There was no mention of any methods of cultivating it.
Ji Yuan still did not answer immediately at this time. Instead, he looked up at the stars in the sky, and spoke after a long time.
“There is a place we need to go to, in the Yun Mountains in Bing Province…”
The Old Dragon followed Ji Yuan’s gaze towards the stars in the sky, and his heartbeat quickened.
“Cloud Mountain Temple? The Star Chart?”
“Exactly!”
Ji Yuan and the Old Dragon seemed as though they were merely exchanging witticisms, but they understood each other’s thoughts.
“Although there are no true methods I can pass down to cultivate a Realm-Wandering God, the true path has a beginning and an end. A ‘beginning’ may stem from ancient times, but not be impossible to create today!”5
The Old Dragon’s eyes lit up. He looked to Ji Yuan with a half-smile.
“Interesting, interesting, but… what you mentioned, Mr. Ji, is it truly not an ancient method?”6
Ji Yuan withdrew his gaze from the starry sky and looked at the Old Dragon in confusion.
“Hahaha… I’m just kidding, it was just a joke!”
The Old Dragon laughed, then turned to look at Qin Zizhou, who was even more confused.
T/n: if even the translator with all the context is confused about their conversation, there’s no hope for QZZ hahaha TT_TT
Dragon: So JY what was it like living in Ancient Times
JY: …?
Dragon: Ah I see, yes of course you want to keep it secret
JY: …???
Dragon: Don’t worry, I’m a good sport about it
JY: …
QZZ: WTF
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- Rote/rhythmic chanting of poetry here, 4 couplets with 4 characters each line (total of 8 lines)
- There are a couple different ways to interpret this: 造化 (zàohuà): Nature/the Creator, or 造化 (zàohua): good luck. It could refer to an act of Creation as a godly act, or an act of creating fortune/fate, or an act of creating new Natural Laws. I chose a mix of them
- A traditional Chinese dish where tofu is fermented in a brine that includes moldy amaranth stalks, resulting in a strong, pungent odor and a unique flavor. There are a LOT of different culinary variations for growing edible mold on tofu or fermenting the soy in the tofu.
- T/n: LOL the whole family has FOMO
- T/n: At this point I feel like they’re both intentionally being obscure in their language. Poor Qin. From what I understood, the roots of the Wandering God cultivation method stem from “ancient knowledge,” which refers to the Star Chart in Cloud Mountain Temple, which was around long before the ghosts and gods system of the current day. Despite it being ancient knowledge, JY says, it could still help formulate a new cultivation method.
- i.e. what he’s saying is “JY are you sure you’re not just hiding the fact that you lived in ancient times and trying to get Qin to figure it out himself”
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