Chapter 1629 Secrets (First Update)

Facing Zhou Qing’s inquiry, Gui Cang clasped his hands together and bowed slightly, his expression becoming more solemn than before.

“Before we proceed, I have a question to ask—does the inscription-level divine technique mastered by the great elder include the ‘Daluo Demon Sealing Seal’?”

Zhou Qing subtly glanced at the dim golden character “” above Gui Cang’s head.

After a moment, he slowly nodded without hiding anything: “Yes.”

Upon hearing Zhou Qing’s confirmation, Gui Cang visibly relaxed, his tense shoulders slightly drooping, a trace of barely noticeable delight flashing in his eyes.

Then he spoke, “I once heard from an ancient Buddha in our temple, that hundreds of years ago, an Inspector with unfathomable strength from the Cultivation Alliance discovered a young talent in a cultivation academy in Taiyin State.”

“That young man had already successfully condensed the ‘Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown.’ The Inspector, seeing his exceptional aptitude, selected him as his Angel Envoy.”

“Not only did he teach him the cultivation method of the ‘Daluo Demon Sealing Seal,’ but he also gifted him the original scroll of the divine technique.”

“Unfortunately, when that young man later attempted to break through to the Supreme Realm, he was ambushed by an unknown assailant at the critical moment of Crossing the Venerable Tribulation, resulting in severe injury and his demise, with the Supreme Tribulation ending in failure.”

“With his death, both the original scroll and the cultivation method for the ‘Daluo Demon Sealing Seal’ disappeared from the world, leaving no trace.”

Gui Cang paused here, his tone becoming more serious.

“And now, the ‘Three-Flower Corpse’ that appeared in the Desolate Forbidden Land, based on the residual flower colors and characteristics of its body, several ancient Buddhas in the temple speculate that he should be that fallen Three Flowers Gathered at the Top from back then.”

Zhou Qing’s heart trembled; he had originally thought the person merely failed in the tribulation crossing, not expecting such hidden circumstances.

He looked up at Gui Cang, seeing the other person’s candid expression without any apparent abnormality in his eyes, and thus chose not to conceal anything, speaking in a calm tone.

“Hmm, you’re right. During my exploration in the Desolate Forbidden, I indeed found the remains of that Three Flowers Gathered at the Top cultivator ahead of others, and retrieved the original scroll of the ‘Daluo Demon Sealing Seal’ from within.”

At this point, Zhou Qing paused slightly, changing his tone as he added, “But it can be said the luck was half good, half bad.”

“The cultivation opportunity contained within that scroll was down to its last chance; after I completed my cultivation, the scroll itself became an unusable dead object, without a trace of Spiritual Power left.”

Upon hearing Zhou Qing’s words, Gui Cang’s expression noticeably dimmed, a trace of undisguisable disappointment crossing his face.

But he quickly composed himself, clasping his hands together, his tone remaining gentle: “That is indeed regrettable. But thinking about it, a seal of inscription-level divine technique always has only ten cultivation opportunities in total.”

“Since that Inspector was willing to gift the original scroll to the young man back then, I suppose the divine technique’s cultivation chances were already running low, so it’s normal for them to be depleted now.”

Gui Cang shifted the conversation, refocusing his gaze on Zhou Qing with more determination in his eyes, “However, that’s not an issue; as long as the great elder has mastered this divine technique, it’s enough.”

Zhou Qing gazed into his eyes, a trace of contemplation flickering in his gaze, and slowly spoke: “It seems that the favor you want me to do is to use it to suppress something?”

In fact, it’s apparent that the ‘Daluo Demon Sealing Seal’ still has cultivation opportunities remaining, at least from his current perception, the scroll can still be unrolled smoothly.

Moreover, this original scroll has been seen by both the second elder and Han Yi, and he himself is on the verge of mastering the second seal.

The answer becomes evident as the other is still so persistent.

What the other seeks is not the cultivation method of this divine technique, but its suppressive power.

After all, below the Golden Seal of the first seal ‘Demon Suppression,’ a large “” character is engraven, suppression is, indeed, its core power.

“Great elder, you guessed correctly.” Gui Cang nodded with his hands clasped, his voice steady, “Before I was born, the great elder often interacted with my mother and even helped her out of danger several times.”

“Since I entered Jiyuan Temple, and with guidance from several ancient Buddhas, I formally embarked on the path of cultivation. Over the years, I have often traveled the world, resolving karmic burdens and accumulating merit.”

Zhou Qing remained silent, but images of that time when Jue Ming, with the young monk Kongchan, repeatedly chanting sutras to transcend souls in places littered with corpses and filled with resentment, resolving the wrath of lost spirits to accumulate merits, emerged in his mind.

This, in itself, is a return of the same destination in different ways of cultivation.

Gui Cang’s voice continued, tinged with a few notes of compassion: “Yet strife in this world is endless; suffering and reincarnation are unceasing.”

“Especially in the places where Spirit Severing Realm and Supreme Realm cultivators have fallen, the residual obsessions and negative emotions have long formed tangible substances.”

“If mortals accidentally venture in, they can be swallowed by the resentment in an instant, lose their minds, and become zombies guarding the dead grounds.”

“My Buddha is compassionate and cannot bear to see all beings subject to such torment.” Gui Cang’s tone firmed, “Our Jiyuan Temple ancestors once obtained a supreme scripture.”

“This scripture can dissolve the obsessions in the places where Spirit Severing Realm cultivators have fallen and condense them into Resentment Crystals. These crystals can then be sent to Jiyuan Temple, where monks will chant sutras day and night to transcend and resolve them.”

Zhou Qing, hearing this, showed a flash of surprise in his eyes.

He had never known that the harsh environment of the fallen Spirit Severing Realm could be restored to normal through human intervention, besides the natural erosion of time.

And from the process, it seemed somewhat reminiscent of the ‘Hundred Tribulations Blood Curtain’ he practiced, able to condense it into a substantial crystal.

Gui Cang continued, turning his right palm upward, a faint golden Buddha Light spilling from between his fingertips, with dozens of grayish crystals floating out.

Those crystals were about the size of a thumb, with their surfaces crisscrossed with web-like black patterns, as if solidified resentment was circulating within.

Upon closer inspection, faint distorted illusions could be seen inside the crystals, seemingly thrashing obsessions of the fallen cultivators.

Each tiny tremor emitted a bone-chilling coldness and an unsettling negative aura, as if the surrounding air was shrouded in a layer of gloom.

Gui Cang pinched his fingers gently, holding the crystal suspended in mid-air, speaking in a deep tone, “These are the Resentment Crystals I condensed from the residual obsessions at the sites of the Xiao and Shen families’ Fifth Tail annihilation, after spending half a month chanting sutras to transcend them.”

“I heard that the Liu family of the Sixth Tail also suffered annihilation not long ago, losing three Supremes and several Spirit Severing Realm cultivators. I intended to go and resolve it, but—”

His words halted, and Gui Cang slowly opened the robe on his chest.

On his chest, a palm-sized area of skin was dark brown with decay.

The edges of the decay were entwined with tendrils of black mist, writhing like living things, trying to spread outward.

In the center of the decayed area, a golden “” character about the size of a copper coin was clearly branded.

The “” character emitted gentle Buddha Light, suppressing the spread of the black mist like a dam.

Zhou Qing and Shen Yunzhou watched this scene, their brows furrowing tightly.