The Six Paths Ksitigarbha’s Demon Subduing Divine Seal was a move even Huo Ban didn’t know.
Huo Ban knew this move originated from Buddhism and could feel its immense power, but he didn’t know how to break it.
This move was not originally in the Luban Book. It was only recorded after Yan Shouxian’s grandfather, Yan Baixiang, “snatched” his grandmother, Wen Yuxian, from Mount Emei.
After all, Mount Emei was originally a sacred Buddhist mountain. Masters like Guan Yun and Ling Xiaoxiao were essentially nuns.
Yan Shouxian had once pondered if the Luban Book’s current richness was due to the sacrifices made by generations of Luban successors.
Perhaps, in many years to come, more techniques from the Lushan Sect would be updated in the Luban Book.
However, now was not the time to contemplate the future.
After Yan Shouxian unleashed the Demon Subduing Divine Seal, with the assistance of General Qing Jiang, he was sealed within the bronze coffin along with Huo Ban.
The feeling of being sealed was deeply unpleasant.
Darkness surrounded him, or rather, a void.
Yan Shouxian could feel his consciousness existing but couldn’t touch his body, nor could he sense the passage of time.
“Is this what being sealed feels like?” Yan Shouxian already felt a sense of regret. “A void, without even a concept of time. I don’t know how long I’ve been sealed.”
No one spoke, there was nothing to do, and the sealed world had no day or night.
In just a few thoughts, Yan Shouxian felt as if he had been sealed for years, or perhaps it had only been an instant.
If Huo Ban had been waiting in this environment for two thousand years, it was truly not easy. Yan Shouxian felt that if it were him, he would have gone mad.
Fortunately, he still had General Qing Jiang to talk to.
To break the silence, Yan Shouxian sought out General Qing Jiang in his consciousness: “General? Are you still there?”
There was no response.
“General?”
“General, don’t scare me. I figured we’d have a companion being sealed together!”
“Brother, I’ll call you brother, okay? Just don’t stay silent!”
In the void, it seemed Yan Shouxian was alone. General Qing Jiang no longer responded, and it was unclear whether he had fallen asleep or was isolated in another space by the seal.
Receiving no reply, Yan Shouxian’s heart sank.
It was over, he was truly sealed this time!
He didn’t know how long he would remain in the void of the sealed world, but the thought of facing this world devoid of space and time alone sent a shiver of fear through him.
Yes, Yan Shouxian wasn't without weaknesses; his greatest fear was solitude.
But Yan Shouxian possessed another quality: tenacious perseverance.
Having accepted the reality of his solitude, Yan Shouxian could only calm himself and choose to do something to pass the time.
The silence was so profound, as if he were in the endless deep sea. In such an environment, Yan Shouxian’s consciousness became exceptionally active.
“I seem to be able to ponder many issues.”
Yan Shouxian was astonished: “When I was outside, there were too many distractions and too many worries. I’ve never been able to think so calmly as I can now.”
This feeling wasn't like being sealed, but rather like being in a transcendent world.
In this world, precisely because there were no limitations of time and space, one could step outside the mundane and think in a purer way.
“I won’t think about meaningless things anymore. I’ve done what I needed to do; the rest is up to that brat.”
Yan Shouxian smiled slightly, and Lin Zitong’s beautiful and moving face seemed to flash in his consciousness. A feeling of happiness dispelled his fear of the void and loneliness.
Soon, he cast aside the杂质 in his heart, entered a state of self-forgetfulness, and began to ponder problems he hadn’t understood before, starting to—cultivate!
The word “cultivation” is rather broad for successors of folk sects.
Whether Daoists or monks, they needed to meditate and chant scriptures, or eat vegetarian and recite Buddhist texts, improving their spiritual cultivation through repeated states of self-forgetfulness.
For ghosts and monsters, it was even simpler; absorbing yang energy, consuming the flesh and blood of living humans, or even devouring their own kind, could enhance their spiritual cultivation.
As for successors of folk sects, after learning basic skills, they would enter the world and join the Jianghu.
Through various hardships, they would conquer themselves and gain experience.
Imperceptibly, their strength would increase step by step, to the point where they themselves had no concept of their own power.
Until one day, they would look back and realize they had already reached a certain peak.
Yan Shouxian could do nothing at this moment, so he followed the example of Daoists and monks and cultivated. As for what he cultivated—he cultivated his own heart.
Reflecting on his past mistakes.
Reflecting on whether he had missed anything.
Reflecting on whether the path he was taking was correct.
Reflecting…
Past memories surfaced in his mind with perfect clarity, appearing like a movie that could be paused at any moment.
Yan Shouxian quietly watched the scenes of the past.
His cultivation, too, was rising steadily.
If General Qing Jiang had witnessed Yan Shouxian’s current state, he would have been greatly astonished.
This was enlightenment!
Enlightenment, a state yearned for by countless people throughout history!
If cultivation were like pouring water into a bottle, when the bottle was full, it would reach a bottleneck. Water was continuously poured in, but it would never overflow the mouth, failing to reach a new realm.
But suddenly, enlightenment would appear, and everything would become natural progress; the stagnant cultivation would surge forward instantly!
Yan Shouxian remained in this state for an unknown duration, and simultaneously, he didn’t know how much his strength had increased.
Suddenly, Yan Shouxian seemed to recall something.
He halted his state of enlightenment and rapidly sifted through his memories, then stopped at a particular scene.
Following this, his consciousness emitted a roar of self-reproach, which, from Yan Shouxian’s perspective, lasted for a full half hour!
When he finally stopped roaring, he still couldn’t calm down.
“I… what did I miss!?”
“How could I have overlooked something so important?!”
“That brat clearly showed it so obviously…”
His voice in his consciousness trembled, as if he were rolling on the ground in shame. Amidst the self-recrimination, there was also an inexplicable surge of excitement and anticipation.