Chapter 147: The Evil Zen Reincarnation Scripture and the Heavenly Ruins Mountain Range

"Elder Song, do you and Zhihua wish to enter the Eastern Region with us?"

"No need, I do not plan to go to the Eastern Region."

"Grandfather!"

Between the grandfather and granddaughter, Song Zhihua clearly wanted to tag along, but for some reason, Song Xuanguan seemed reluctant to step into the Eastern Region.

A profound sense of repulsion lingered heavily within him.

Cao Chengyu did not press the matter further. If they refused to go, so be it.

"Kid Cao, Zhihua mentioned that you had something you wanted to ask me."

"Indeed."

"It's like this: half a year ago during the incident at Feihong Immortal Fair, what exactly was the scroll that the Che and Pang families were after?"

Elder Song hesitated for a moment before replying.

"You saved the lives of my granddaughter and me. It is only fitting that I let you take a look, but this object carries an uncanny and malevolent aura. Are you certain you wish to see it?"

"..."

Seeing that his expression was dead serious, Cao Chengyu instructed the two women to stand back, then produced six copper coins to cast a divination.

The result was still overwhelmingly crimson and purple, though the purple leaned slightly darker, and the red took on the hue of fresh blood.

A mixed omen of fortune and misfortune...

After a brief moment of hesitation, Cao Chengyu figured that since he had already slain the owners of the object, it would be a waste not to look.

"Let me see it!"

"Very well."

Elder Song slid his hand into his sleeve, fumbling with his robes for a good while before finally handing Cao Chengyu a thin, cicada-wing-like piece of gold leaf paper.

"Wrap your fingers in spiritual power; make sure not to make direct contact."

"Understood."

Taking the gold leaf, Cao Chengyu began to read.

[Reincarnation Scripture of Evil Zen (Volume One)]. Reading it alone did not cause Cao Chengyu any immediate discomfort.

This was a cultivation manual, specifically a Buddhist one, which was exceptionally rare in the Barren Region. The entire text expounded its philosophy through Buddhist scriptures, with cultivation routes and effects deeply veiled within the esoteric prose, making it rather obscure to read.

"The divine soul escapes the mortal shell to enter Lingshan; the physical body dwells in the Buddha-sea to suppress the prison of men."

"Refine the wicked fiend into the Buddha's bone; transform oneself into the unhindered body of a Heavenly Demon."

After reading a few lines, Cao Chengyu gained a rough understanding. The so-called Reincarnation Scripture of Evil Zen was, broadly speaking, a technique centered on refining malevolent entities by operating directly upon one's own divine soul.

Using the power of demons, one would fortify their divine soul to forge the True Soul Guarded by the Heavenly Demon. This Heavenly Demon was not the formless phantom typically understood by cultivators.

Instead, it was the demon residing within the human heart! Or rather, a materialized manifestation of demonic calamity.

It sounded decent enough, but once cultivated, the divine soul would be enveloped by demonic nature, carrying the constant risk of straying from the righteous path and falling into demonhood. The divine soul would suffer incessant corruption from demonic forces at every moment, making it terrifyingly perilous.

Yet, it aligned rather well with the traditional Buddhist ethos of enduring suffering.

No wonder it was called "Evil Zen." One misstep and the practitioner would go utterly mad—what kind of Zen could one possibly comprehend then?

Reading through the entire text, Cao Chengyu found only the characters for "Evil Zen," while not a single word was mentioned regarding "Reincarnation." When he asked Elder Song about it, the old man simply shook his head and said,

"This cultivation manual has a second volume that details the reincarnation method. I suspect it is some advanced soul-seizing technique, and it should be in the possession of that Thunder-Hand expert."

"The materials of both volumes are quite special, being the original manuscripts. Because they share an inherent malevolent resonance, they accidentally detected my presence."

"I see."

***

Cao Chengyu closed his eyes to sense his surroundings for a moment and soon detected an anomaly within his 42nd storage pouch.

With a surge of his spiritual consciousness, he found that the gold leaf of the second volume of the Reincarnation Scripture of Evil Zen had actually been concealed inside a hairpin by the Thunder-Hand expert, rolled into a very fine golden scroll and inserted into the accessory.

No wonder he hadn't noticed it before.

The moment Volume One and Volume Two met, they fused into a single, larger sheet of gold leaf paper. Moreover, it revealed an image of a bald, naked monk whose body was densely covered with annotations of acupoints and meridians.

There were also illustrations of the Heavenly Demon required for carving the True Soul Guarded by the Heavenly Demon—exceedingly wicked in nature.

Seeing him fuse them directly, Elder Song didn't say anything. Since he had taken it out, he had essentially given it to Cao Chengyu as a gift, though he still offered a word of caution.

"Kid Cao, have you ever heard of the Tathagata Scripture?"

"Tathagata?"

"That's right. Legend has it that Buddhism possesses a supreme scripture divided into six volumes, bound as three tomes: the Past Dipamkara Scripture, the Present Tathagata Scripture, and the Future Maitreya Scripture."

"Those three Buddhas respectively represent the leaders of Buddhism during different eras. As for the Reincarnation Scripture of Evil Zen, it was a creation by a mighty cultivator who imitated those three scriptures. Although its power differs, it represents the very antithesis of Buddha-nature—Demonic nature!"

"The Pre-mortal Scripture of the Evil Buddha, the Present-world Scripture of the Demonic Monk, and the Reincarnation Scripture of Evil Zen!"

"The demonic natures of the three eras, integrated into one. Unless one possesses immense resolve, practicing this will inevitably turn them into a fiend."

As Cao Chengyu listened, he snapped back to his senses. This damn thing sounded ominous...

The Buddhism here seemed to align once again with his past life.

A headache began to form.

Glancing at the scripture once more, Cao Chengyu put it away. Until he could find a definitive solution, he had no intention of practicing this cultivation method.

Besides, he hadn't felt the lack of soul cultivation manuals before, but now he had two unusable ones in his possession. Aside from this Evil Zen volume, he also had the *Hundred-World Red Dust Method of the Floating Slaughter*.

Cao Chengyu always had a hunch that this particular item was the complete version of the *Floating World-Viewing Method* he had acquired earliest on.

However, compared to these two uncertain and potentially hazardous manuals, the *Undying Chapter of the Human Soul* obtained from the ranking list was much safer. Though it still possessed a hint of malevolence, it was unquestionably secure.

By comparison, the gap between them was glaring.

As for the Che and Pang families prying into this method, it was undoubtedly because the Reincarnation Scripture of Evil Zen was a divine soul technique, and the discourse on reincarnation in the second volume was particularly suited to the philosophy of the puppet master faction's reformist branch.

Abandoning their physical bodies to specialize in the divine soul, apart from overcoming the flaw that physical flesh eventually decays, they were also probing the possibility of eternal life for the divine soul.

The Reincarnation Scripture of Evil Zen seemed to touch upon a sliver of the secret to soul eternity. Cao Chengyu couldn't fully comprehend it; he even struggled to grasp certain concepts within the profound mysteries of Buddhism.

To truly understand it all, he would need to read more Buddhist scriptures in the future.

Learning knew no bounds, and what one mastered was forever less than what one needed.

With a sigh of reflection and seeing that Cao Chengyu had finished his inquiries, Elder Song and Song Zhihua took their leave that very afternoon. The young girl wore a look of reluctance; she also wanted to travel to the Eastern Region to see the sights, but alas, Elder Song was strict, and the outside world was far too perilous.

Song Zhihua was only at the mid-stage of Spirit Refining, and she had no blood ties or deep relations with Cao Chengyu. If trouble truly arose while traveling with her, Cao Chengyu certainly wouldn't risk his life to save her.

Elder Song saw this reality very clearly. He also knew that Cao Chengyu had helped them earlier primarily because he had taken an interest in the mysterious figure behind him, though unfortunately, even Elder Song himself didn't know who that person was.

Thus, the two parties parted ways amicably.

On the massive spirit boat, aside from nearly fifty puppets, only Cao Chengyu and Lin Yunjiao remained.

After traveling along the established route for merely three hours, the Tianxu Mountain Range came into view!

Looking out into the distance, the mountains undulated continuously for tens of millions of years, reaching up to touch the heavens and plunging down into the netherworld. Furthermore, the peaks stood shoulder to shoulder with almost no gaps, leaving not even a major path leading into the mountains.

Outside the mountain range sat a colossal purple mountain, floating low in the air nearly fifty miles off the ground.

Traveling cultivators all stopped to rest here.

This mountain was known as Tianxu Mountain, an advance stronghold controlled by the Tianxu Sect.

That's right, a frontline battle bastion!

Within the Tianxu Mountain Range dwelt a vast number of ancient demon tribes and an overwhelming multitude of ferocious beast clans.

Whether human cultivators were traveling to and from the Eastern Region or seeking spiritual herbs, mineral ores, and other treasures, this massive transverse mountain range—formed by the collision of continents—was always the primary choice.

With the Giant Domain, the Purple Moon Domain, and the Spirit Domain bordering the Tianxu Mountain Range, the Tianxu Sect was a behemoth built upon the foundation of these three domains and the seemingly endless resources within the mountains.

Every frontline of the human domains bordered by the Tianxu Sect featured a Tianxu Mountain.

Each Tianxu Mountain housed a Nascent Soul True Monarch; this place served simultaneously as the human-demon frontline and as a True Monarch's Dao domain.

Calculated this way, including the Tianxu Sect's headquarters, there were at least four Nascent Soul Lords, alongside a massive multitude of Golden Core cultivators. It was truly a place where Purple Mansion experts walked like dirt and Golden Core cultivators were as common as stray dogs.

And this was merely the convergence zone between the Barren Region and the Eastern Region.

Cao Chengyu found it rather peculiar. While the highest known realm currently was the Deity Transformation Lord, why did Nascent Soul figures already exist in the Barren Region?

It would be normal for the Eastern Region to have Deity Transformation cultivators, given its superior environment.

What kind of spectacle, then, was the Central Region, renowned as the sacred land of immortal cultivation? He couldn't imagine it at all. As the saying went, one's horizon dictated one's vision; until one reached that realm, it was exceedingly difficult to fathom the power of that level.

The further one traveled toward the Eastern Region, the more prosperous the locales became.

The spirit boat docking platform was one of the most commonly used facilities among cultivators. Back in the Dayue Dynasty, Cao Chengyu hadn't even laid eyes on a spirit boat, but now he had grown quite a bit.

As far as the eye could see, nearly all cultivators used spirit boats as their primary mode of transportation. With the limited spiritual power within a cultivator's body, flying entirely under one's own power not only limited the number of passengers one could carry, but also posed grave risks.

Should they encounter demonic beasts and engage in battle, running out of spiritual power was a constant danger. A flying spirit boat, however, served as an exceptionally useful mobile stronghold.

The vast majority of spirit boats here were of the third-rank Purple Mansion level, with quite a few fourth-rank vessels, and even a colossal spirit boat spanning ten thousand meters—the personal flagship of the Nascent Soul True Monarch of Tianxu Mountain, a fifth-rank super spirit boat!

This thing was no different from a luxury supercar; any cultivator passing by couldn't help but feel a pang of envy.

After briefly sizing up the surroundings, Cao Chengyu piloted his spirit boat for nearly another hour before finally arriving.

"To see a mountain is to run a horse to death"—truly, truer words were never spoken.

The mechanism of the docking platform was identical everywhere. Finding an open "helipad" among the clouds, Cao Chengyu landed and directly rented a space for a month.

It cost a single superior-grade spirit stone—an exorbitant price. Converted to the commonly used inferior-grade spirit stones, it amounted to ten thousand per month.

Disembarking with Lin Yunjiao, the two strolled around Tianxu Mountain. This time, Cao Chengyu retained his true appearance.

After all, his true identity had never committed any grave offenses; he only needed to be slightly cautious not to offend anyone powerful.

Right, upon arriving in a new place, Cao Chengyu instinctively opened his Cao Cao Radar for a quick check.

[Character Ranking List] — Tianxu Mountain.

No. 1: "Gong Danling"
Description: 1,281 years old, early-stage Nascent Soul cultivator, also known as the Heavenly Void Sovereigness. She is the sole female Nascent Soul True Monarch of the Tianxu Sect, sharing a dao-companion relationship with the Seven-Kill True Monarch. Hailed as an immortal match made in heaven, her celestial beauty is peerless.
She is overwhelmingly fond of combat, a thorough battle maniac whose preferred fighting style involves tearing enemies apart with her bare hands, deeply relishing the sensation of warm blood splattering across her body.

No. 2: "Xing Yechang"
Description: 621 years old, peak Golden Core cultivator, head alchemist of the Heavenly Void Sovereigness's Dao domain, possessing tens of thousands of medicinal pill formulas.
Every decade, she hosts a pill-refining Dharma assembly for Tianxu Mountain. The top ten participants earn the opportunity to join the Dao domain's Pill-Refining Palace and receive personal guidance from Xing Yechang.
She shares a dao-companion relationship with the head of the Artifact-Refining Palace.

No. 3: "Chen Yueru"
Description: 792 years old, peak Golden Core cultivator, the most renowned female cultivator among rogue cultivators, styled as the Myriad-Methods True Person. She enjoys trading esoteric techniques with other cultivators; regardless of rank, any technique she lacks can be exchanged for corresponding benefits.
Currently unattached.

"..." Cao Chengyu.