Returning to Huixian Observatory.

    Throughout the journey, Xie Ziran didn't say a word.

    Chen Yun wasn't very familiar with the other party, so it wasn't appropriate to ask questions.

    Xie Ziran suddenly spoke, "That's good."

    Upon receiving the praise, Chen Yun did not become elated but instead humbly sought guidance, saying, "Teacher, what are my shortcomings, and I would greatly appreciate your further instruction."

    Xie Ziran stepped over the threshold, her pure white long dress fluttering in the wind. "The power application is still somewhat lacking, but her physical fitness is quite strong. If some imperfections can be addressed, she will definitely achieve something in the future."

    This evaluation is extremely high.

    Why so say that?

    If someone else said that, perhaps Chen Yun really does lack some things.

    However, Xie Ziran is an immortal who has refined her body and achieved the pinnacle of power application.

    When she said that Chen Yun still lacks in the application of power, it was not referring to Chen Yun's current level of cultivation, but rather an analysis from the perspective of an immortal who has achieved enlightenment and deification.

    To be acknowledged by Xie Ziran's words, Chen Yun felt like she had scored a perfect score in an exam, full of joy.

    Just as I was about to speak, the white ape screeched and charged forward, with tears rolling down its cheeks as it hugged Chen Yun's ankles, seemingly saying not to abandon it.

    Chen Yun was left laughing and crying, and quickly took out a pear from her storage ring and handed it to him.

    Xie Ziran glanced at the white monkey and said, "The long-armed white monkey is a naturally intelligent creature. Its intelligence is comparable to that of a human. If you can carefully nurture it, it might be able to become an immortal in the future."

    Chen Yun said, "I have no suitable cultivation techniques to impart to it."

    Xie Ziran didn't speak, but instead reached out and gently patted the white monkey on the top of its head, then said, "Come with me."

    This sentence is unsure whether it's addressed to the white monkey or to oneself.

    However, upon seeing the white monkey's eyes brighten and run off, Chen Yun assumed it was said to him, so he quickly followed.

    As they walked, Xie Ziran said, "Just now, the spiritual essence within you was about to manifest. Do you know why I suddenly stopped?"

    This question had been lingering in his mind throughout the journey. Now that he heard Xie Ziran say that, Chen Yun immediately realized the intention behind her actions. He shook his head and said, "I don't know, but I believe that teachers have their reasons."

    Xie Ziran said, "I have once seen someone's Dao Qi manifesting. Although I do not know whether it is correct or not, according to my observation and judgment, the strength of the body that manifests Dao Qi is usually related to how strong the flesh is. Your physical strength is indeed very robust, but it has not yet reached my expectations. Therefore, I hope you can make your physique even more robust so that the Dao Qi manifestation can be better. Of course, the decision is up to you. You can also choose to ignore my advice, because this guess itself is not certain whether it's right or wrong."

    Oh, so that's why the battle was stopped.

    Chen Yun finally understood. Although Xie Ziran said that her guess was not necessarily accurate, he still decided to listen to her advice and try to make his physical body stronger, so that the Dao Qi could manifest into a Dao body.

    If Xie Ziran's guess is accurate, then by the time the Dao Qi manifests, Chen Yun will be able to gain a more powerful Dao body.

    As for the possibility of the guess being incorrect, it seems there's no real loss; it's just a matter of when the Dao Qi will manifest.

    …

    Chen Yun followed Xie Ziran back to the cool and serene main hall.

    Inside, Xie Ziran was as usual lazy. After sitting on the bed, she removed her embroidered slippers and exposed her two white, tender little feet. Then she gradually lay down sideways.

    A beautiful scene of a beautiful woman lying on the bed suddenly caught Chen Yun's eye.

    The only drawback to this beautiful scene was that there was no decoration on the bed, making it look rather plain and monotonous.

    After thinking for a moment, Chen Yun tentatively opened his mouth and said, "Teacher, could I buy some bedding for you when I go down the mountain?"

    "No." Xie Ziran directly refused in a straightforward manner, as if she was confiding in Chen Yun, she slowly spoke: "When I was seven years old, I encountered two nuns. I followed them around the world for three years and learned some refining soul methods."

    Chen Yun didn't understand why the other person suddenly brought up her childhood, but he knew that Xie Ziran was not confiding in him, so he stood there and quietly listened.

    Xie Ziran continued speaking: "I originally thought that Buddhist refining soul methods were very profound. But when I was ten years old, I came to the Jinshuanshan Laojun Temple and encountered my teacher. She passed on the Daoist great method, and I discovered that it was far superior to Buddhist methods. Therefore, I embarked on my journey of cultivation. After four years of cultivation, I began to not eat grain and only drink some clear water and eat some spiritual leaves to maintain my vitality."

    Four years of cultivation and he was already close to achieving a state of fasting?

    Chen Yun listened with a look of admiration, realizing then just how talented Xie Ziran was.

    Xie Ziran was still slowly speaking, "At the age of twenty, I stopped eating spiritual leaves and only drank water. But at the age of twenty-two, I stopped drinking even that water. Then, in the year I was twenty-seven, I successfully flew up to the immortal realm. Can you tell anything from this?"

    What can you hear from this?

    Chen Yun hesitated for a moment, thinking to himself that he had only heard something that didn't conform to common sense.

    He has encountered three different cultivation methods: refining inner core, cultivating the spiritual realm, and refining the body.

    Any cultivation method relies on "energy" support.

    For example, the cultivation of inner core is not empty-created. True Qi doesn't just appear out of thin air.

    It needs to use the refined essence obtained from alchemy, hence the term "refine essence into qi."

    Where does the Qi and essence come from?

    Natural Qi and essence are not created out of thin air. Instead, they rely on the refined essence obtained from the foods that are consumed, so they can transform into Qi and essence.

    Overall, regardless of which cultivation method produces spiritual power or achieves a certain effect, it requires energy "injection".

    Xie Ziran's self-introduction to her cultivation process, especially after the age of twenty-two, seemed to involve no energy intake at all. How did she achieve deification without any energy intake?

    Chen Yun pondered for a moment and seriously asked, "Teacher, after you completely fasted, how did you enhance your own strength?"

    Xie Ziran was pleased with his answer of posing a question as a response, nodding slightly and saying, "Inner core refining technique is about refining essence, qi, and spirit within oneself as a furnace to refine the inner core and transcend to the realm of immortality. My great method is somewhat similar to inner core refining technique, but there are also many differences."

    Chen Yun knew that the other party was about to pass on cultivation techniques, and listened attentively.

    Xie Ziran suddenly extended her jade arm, "Feel my arm."

    "Ah?"

    Chen Yun was taken aback.

    Xie Ziran continued speaking by herself, "Feel the muscles, skin, and bones on my arm. See if there are any differences."

    Oh, it turns out that's how it is.

    Chen Yun was really confused just now and almost drifted into daydreams.

    He quickly cleared his mind and said, "Alright, Teacher, my apologies."

    Saying this, Chen Yun came to the side of the bed and gently grasped Xie Ziran's wrist, which was as white as snow.

    A warm sensation was transmitted from the palm, and then he realized it was smooth and tender.

    That warmth was different from normal body temperature, giving the feeling of being under the warm sunlight.

    Furthermore, Chen Yun felt that although the skin of Xie Ziran's was incredibly smooth and tender to the touch, it also seemed to have a flexibility mixed with rigidity, as if no divine weapon or sharp tool could pierce through it.

    "Pinch it, feel my bones," Xie Ziran said quite naturally.

    At this moment, Chen Yun's mind was free of distractions, and he was simply feeling the difference between the muscles, skin, and bones on Xie Ziran's arm compared to a normal person.

    After answering, Chen Yun gently pinched the other person's wrist.

    It might be an illusion, but when he pinched down and touched the bones, he felt that Xie Ziran's bones seemed very "soft," soft as if there was nothing at all. But at the same time, he also felt that immense power was contained within the bones.

    The sensation of the power being full and abundant was not only evident in the bones but also seemed to be the case with the muscles, skin, and membranes.

    Chen Yun was taken aback for a moment, tightly gripping Xie Ziran's wrist to contemplate deeply.

    He had an illusion that the wrist he was holding now, although still had the tactile sensation of a physical body, was as if it was an energy body.

    Yes, that feeling is very strange.

    Strange enough that Chen Yun couldn't tell whether it was an arm or an energy body that could be freely controlled.

    Xie Ziran did not withdraw her hand either. Instead, she just let Chen Yun quietly feel it, and asked in a soft voice, "Have you felt anything?"

    Perhaps because they were too close, when she spoke, a faint fragrance immediately drifted towards him.

    Chen Yun, who was still in deep thought, was immediately caused to heart palpitations by this faint fragrance.

    He dared not hold Xie Ziran's wrist anymore, fearing that he might have overstepped his bounds.

    Chen Yun took a step back, "Reporting to Teacher, I feel that your body is not like that of an ordinary person."

    Xie Ziran hummed and then continued the topic from earlier, "My cultivation method is to take the heavens and earth as the furnace, and myself as the 'Big Medicine', using the power of heaven and earth to forge my flesh body so that it can be transformed into the universe. Every drop of blood within my body, if taken by an ordinary person, can extend their lifespan by a thousand years. If someone eats a piece of my flesh, they can live up to their maximum life span, which is ten thousand eight hundred years. Every inch of my body, even my saliva in my mouth, is nurtured by the essence of heavenly qi. Do you understand this?"

    Chen Yun was greatly shocked by this.

    Xie Ziran's words imply that she has refined her body into a "divine being".

    This "god" shares some similarities with the "yangshen", but there are also significant differences.

    The similarities are that Xie Ziran's body is the "godly" form, which can possess all the functions of the "gods" cultivated by cultivators, such as the "yangshen" (supernatural spirit) and "yuanshen" (original spirit).

    The main difference still lies in the physical body.

    If one must find an accurate word to describe Xie Ziran's body, it is that every cell in her body, as well as the structure they compose, has been cultivated into an energy body.

    Or, more advanced life forms.

    Common cultivators' ultimate goal is to achieve "gods" mastery and then strive for true integration with the Dao.

    For example, those who practice inner core refining, once they cultivate out the yangshen, their bodies become almost irrelevant because the "god" has transcended.

    This is not something Chen Yun made up; it can be seen from the fact that many sacred cultivators, after cultivating the yangshen or other types of yuan Shen, their physical bodies gradually decay.

    Before obtaining enlightenment and becoming an immortal, each cultivator highly values the body, as it contains the Three Treasures of Qi, Jing, and Shen. It enables one to cultivate incredible powers and even achieve the cultivation of "gods".

    However, Chen Yun has been in this world for so long, and besides Xie Ziran, he hasn't seen any sacred beings pay particular attention to their bodies.

    For example, Zhao Gongming's method of accumulating essence to become a spirit, the cultivation of the body is merely to enable the spirit to transcend.

    Again, for example, the Erya Shen's Baodao Xuanheng, which essentially cultivates the spiritual realm, the physical body is just a tool for the spiritual realm. Therefore, damage to the physical body doesn't matter as long as the spiritual realm can be reconstituted. There is no true limit in terms of what can be achieved through developing the physical body.

    Xie Ziran's cultivation method is quite different from what I mentioned.

    It treats the physical body as a "god" to be cultivated, and when cultivated to perfection, the physical body becomes the "god" itself!

    That's why she became the first person in Chinese history to be recorded as flying up into the sky in broad daylight.

    Indeed, throughout history, only Xie Ziran was officially recorded as having achieved the realm of form and spirit fusion, immortality of the body, and ascending to become an immortal. She is the only one!

    How do the other cultivators ascend to immortality?

    Either they achieve immortality through corpse dissection, or they transform into a bird and ascend to heaven.

    Or they could cultivate the Yang God, the Essence Soul, and achieve immortality of the body, but have their Yang God or Essence Soul ascend to the realm of immortals.

    Even if the physical body can travel to the immortal realm, it is only protected by the power of the Yang God and the Essence Soul, not actually ascending to the immortal realm itself.

    For example, like Chen Yun, whose physical body has also been to the Jingjing Palace, he was not a sage who achieved immortality, but was protected by his teacher's power, allowing him to travel to the immortal realm with his physical body.

    Chen Yun took a deep breath, with sincere admiration and genuine admiration, he said, "The teacher's great law is profound and mysterious. I am deeply impressed."

    Xie Ziran looked at him with particular seriousness, "My profound method may have many conflicts with the practice of internal elixirs. You... are you still determined to study it?"

    Without hesitation, Chen Yun answered, "Although there may be many differences, I will still try to integrate and comprehend them."

    Xie Ziran showed great happiness for the first time, smiling on her face, "Alright, I will pass on my law to you. I hope that one day you can surpass me and open up a new path!"

    She added meaningfully, "Originally, I only wanted to guide you in the cultivation of your physical body, not intending to pass on this profound method to you. However, your performance today has shown me that there is hope for you to surpass me and excel. That's why I decided to teach you this profound method."

    As she spoke, she silently added in her heart: "My Dao is not lonely, and there will be a suitable person to inherit it in the end."

    Chen Yun was unaware of her inner thoughts and spoke with full energy, "Thank you, Master Xie, for passing on your profound method to me. I will certainly not disappoint your generous love and support!"

    He was extremely excited in his heart, finally having learned the true great law of Master Xie!

    (This chapter is completed.)