Chapter Twenty-Seven: The Secret Art of the Three Corpses

“Please, young friends, stay your hands.” The old immortal arrived, gasping for breath, and cast a veil of watery light to halt Li Jingxun’s spell.

Azure waters stretched to the horizon, sweeping away the silver thunder orb near Li Jingxun. She paused, put away the Golden Book of Virtue, and politely asked, “Elder, you’ve traveled far. Is there something you wish to advise?”

Seeing the drought demon still alive, the old immortal relaxed and smiled, “This one is destined to be my tribulation. He must not perish at this moment. A thousand years hence, during the great celestial and demonic slaughter, might you allow me to deal the final blow?”

With these words, Ji Feichen and his companions immediately understood.

Whenever the celestial and demonic slaughter occurs, one must kill those adversaries deeply entwined with their own fate to escape the tribulation. The drought demon absorbs baleful energy, and the corresponding celestial aura is gathered by the old immortal; thus, their karmas are inextricably linked. If Li Jingxun killed the drought demon now, it would not benefit her, and the old immortal would be forced to seek another demonic adversary for his tribulation after the baleful energy dissipated.

Li Jingxun, after pondering, said to the old immortal, “Slaying the drought demon is a command of my sect. I dare not decide alone. If you wish mercy, you must consult with Uncles Yu and Lu.”

As she spoke, Yu Tianyang and Lu Xuanji arrived at the eastern coffin.

Upon seeing the old immortal, they saluted, “From whence do you come, fellow Daoist? Where is your immortal abode?”

“A mere wanderer among mountains and rivers, I have no immortal mansion or blessed land,” the old immortal replied with a laugh. “Others call me ‘Old Man Three Sections,’ my mundane family name is Peng. Call me Peng Three Sections.”

Despite his humble words, Yu Tianyang and Lu Xuanji sensed the elder’s immense power, far beyond their own, and dared not show disrespect.

Lu Xuanji cautiously inquired, “Elder Peng, what guidance do you bring?”

The immortal pointed at the drought demon within the Thousand Thunder Coffin. “This fiend and I share a tangled karma of purity and filth. Might I keep him for now, and in the future, deal with him myself?”

Many within the mystical sects do just this: suppressing a demon without killing, so that when the celestial and demonic slaughter comes, they may sacrifice them to escape tribulation.

Thus, one often sees mystical cultivators plotting with great care: which demon to kill, when, and where, all meticulously arranged.

The last celestial and demonic slaughter was centuries ago, and many have long been preparing for the next. When the tribulation comes, they swiftly slay three demons to be freed.

Yu Tianyang was about to agree, but Lu Xuanji stopped him. “If this demon matches Elder Peng’s fate, then we can show mercy and imprison him in the Demon Suppressing Tower for a thousand years. Afterwards, Elder may retrieve him there.”

The Demon Suppressing Tower is the place where the mystical sects confine demons, executing them during the celestial and demonic slaughter to aid the immortals.

The old immortal looked troubled. “A single demon may have many karmic ties. Aside from me, others might also be entangled with the drought demon, leading to disputes and discord among our peers. Moreover, during the celestial and demonic slaughter, the demonic sects will surely try to rescue their own from the tower, which complicates matters further. If this demon escapes, your sect gains another foe. It is best I keep him under my care.”

“But Elder, alone you may be vulnerable. If anything happens in these thousand years, if the drought demon breaks free, would it not be our fault? Moreover, he wrought havoc upon Chenghuang Mountain; if he does not undergo punishment in the Demon Suppressing Tower, how can we answer to the million souls of this land?”

“That is easily solved!” Elder Peng clapped his hands and laughed. “This fiend used the eight-coffin technique to gather his fortune and achieve his Dao. I shall establish an immortal abode here and suppress him with the power of eight directions. So long as the eight coffins remain unbroken, he shall never escape. This is his karmic retribution. As for the souls here, I will teach the way of virtue and take on this burden, granting them a share of good fortune.”

Seeing the elder so readily agree, Lu Xuanji smiled with relief. Killing is easy; restoring order is hard. The land had been scorched by poisonous fire, and for decades, crops would struggle to grow.

But if a human immortal could harmonize the seasons here, the people would have no worries.

“In that case, I entrust all matters here to the great immortal,” Lu Xuanji said decisively, handing the Thousand Thunder Coffin to Elder Peng.

Afterwards, Lu Xuanji summoned everyone nearby. The newly advanced Master Xu, Zhang Yuanchu, Jing Xuan, and others hurried over.

Lu Xuanji said to Master Xu, “You have just broken through, and your foundation may be unstable. If you wish, you may come to my Virtuous Dao Sect to steady your roots.”

Master Xu indeed felt the profundity of the human immortal realm. Having just entered, he knew little of its mysteries and feared being caught off guard.

“With the Virtuous Dao Sect gathering immortals, I shall gladly accept your hospitality,” Master Xu replied, seeking their protection.

Lu Xuanji then addressed the other sect members, “You have acted with virtue and done good here, and when the heavens turn, you will receive your reward. Jing Xuan, your merit in this battle is sufficient. Return home and enter seclusion. May you break through soon.”

With that, celestial music arose and auspicious clouds ascended. Yu Tianyang, Lu Xuanji, the Virtuous Dao Sect, and Master Xu departed.

The other sects also returned to their mountains. Jing Xuan said to Ji Feichen, “Brother, I must return for now. What will you do next?”

“I promised Little Brother Tu Mountain that we would travel together, seeking opportunities to break through,” replied Ji Feichen. Their next journey would take them to the Immortal Lock Tower, so he was glad to see Jing Xuan leave.

Once everyone had gone, Ji Feichen and Tu Mountain bid Elder Peng farewell and departed as well.

With everyone gone, the Thousand Thunder Coffin shattered. The drought demon, about to escape, saw Elder Peng and paled, “Why are you here!”

“If I hadn’t come, you’d achieve your Dao first, and I’d lose my chance.” Elder Peng acted again, casting a spray of watery light to extinguish the drought demon’s poisonous flames, and a shadow separated from his back.

The shadow became a slightly effeminate Daoist. “Drought demon, fate is as it is. We are one. Why not return and study the Three Corpses together?” The watery light suppressed the demon once more.

Elder Peng stepped out, descending over the Dead Valley. Gazing at the baleful energy lurking over a thousand miles, he mused, “Your sins weigh heavily, affecting my chance at immortality.” He summoned the waters of three rivers and five lakes to cleanse the land.

On the way, Ji Feichen asked Tu Mountain, “Did you notice anything about that old immortal?”

“The flavor of his watery Dao technique is much like yours,” Tu Mountain mused. “It appears mystical, but is actually born from demonic methods—baleful energy, in fact.”

Suddenly, Tu Mountain’s eyes gleamed, and both he and Ji Feichen had a realization. “Let’s go back!” they said.

The two rode their precious orbs and flying clouds back to Chenghuang Mountain, and from afar saw the jade immortal light above, summoning wind and rain, restoring life to a thousand miles of scorched earth.

“What a mighty human immortal! Far superior to those of the Virtuous Dao Sect,” they observed from a distance. Suddenly, another immortal light turned.

Li Jingxun, on her way back, grew increasingly uneasy, spoke to her two uncles, and returned as well. The three gathered at the eastern coffin where they had set up their formation. The old immortal in the Dead Valley sensed their arrival.

“These little ones,” he sighed, a wave of his sleeve sweeping the three before him. “Why have you returned?”

Li Jingxun blinked, saw the watery incarnation at the old immortal’s side, and bowed. “I seek the secret of the Three Corpses from you, elder.”

“The Three Corpses secret?” Tu Mountain and Ji Feichen were startled, then suddenly understood: the drought demon was one of the old immortal’s external Three Corpse spirits!

Exposed by Li Jingxun, the old immortal was not angered. His white brows trembled as he silently calculated the karmic threads.

“This girl is indeed a worthy heir of the Supreme Virtue lineage. And…” He saw the crimson light soaring above Li Jingxun’s head, but when he calculated her karma, nothing was revealed. The same was true for Tu Mountain and Ji Feichen; their karmas were concealed.

Li Jingxun’s sect was extraordinary, Tu Mountain possessed the celestial fox legacy, and Ji Feichen hid his karma with dragon scales—he could not discern their origins.

“Clearly, each of you has guidance from masters. Your arrival is no coincidence,” Elder Peng mused. “No matter, you three are fated. I am about to ascend to the rank of Earth Immortal. You may witness the ceremony and perhaps gain insight.”

With that, the elder sat upon a meditation cushion, closed his eyes, and began his refinement.

A beam of light shot from his ancestral spirit center, forming a faint auspicious cloud above his head. Within the cloud, jade light shone, like a pool of blue water holding three budding lotus flowers. The Waterlight Immortal grabbed the drought demon and leapt onto the cloud.

The drought demon shrieked, revealing his true form within the auspicious cloud, wrestling with the Waterlight Daoist. At that moment, the Waterlight Daoist transformed into a demonic deity, resembling the Bone Demon God of the Nether Sect.

Ji Feichen’s expression changed slightly; the elder’s manifestation bore uncanny resemblance to Nether Sect methods.

The auspicious cloud above was the crystallization of the elder’s Dao. Li Jingxun gazed at the three flowers, visibly intrigued.

The Three Corpses method is an esoteric secret of the mystical Dao. It teaches that within the human body reside three demonic worms: the upper, called “Peng Ju,” in the brain; the middle, “Peng Zhi,” at the center; the lower, “Peng Jiao,” hidden below. These demons disturb the mind, hindering the path to enlightenment. To become immortal, one must first sever the three corpse worms. Even Li Jingxun, though of noble lineage, had only heard of the method, not its workings.

Elder Peng was a true inheritor of the Three Corpses Dao, and Li Jingxun watched intently, seeking its mysteries.

The drought demon, conscious and unwilling to merge into the lotus, was pointed at by Elder Peng. Above his head appeared myriad golden rays, supporting a golden disk. The disk bore eighty thousand true inscriptions, expounding the Three Corpses’ principles and their intricate mysteries. Rays of gold fell, gradually suppressing the demonic nature within the drought demon, and soon his form transformed into a red-robed Daoist resembling Elder Peng, sitting within a lotus.

Once settled, Elder Peng’s spiritual light flashed, and strands of mysterious energy descended into the auspicious cloud. The cloud expanded, covering a thousand miles, and all living beings could see the celestial jade clouds above.

Two of the three lotuses bloomed, each with twelve petals; the central lotus remained closed, but a phantom figure could be glimpsed within.

The phantom emerged from the ancestral spirit center, attempting to escape the cloud, but was ultimately captured and suppressed within the lotus heart by Elder Peng’s golden disk.

The old immortal opened his eyes, smiling. “You cannot leave now. If you tried, I could not catch you.”

He then asked Ji Feichen and his companions, “Did you understand?”

Ji Feichen was utterly bewildered. Though cunning, the elder’s arts were too profound to discern. Yet now the elder’s aura shone like a pillar, his presence ethereal and elusive. Ji Feichen asked, “Elder, have you attained the Earth Immortal fruit?”

“My cultivation is complete, but my power and body still need tempering with primordial energy,” Elder Peng replied, delighted at his achievement, and proceeded to explain the mysteries of the Three Corpses to the three.