Water Margin: The Tale of Li Erlang of Guankou

Chapter 136 Obtaining the wondrous Great Celestial Immortal Technique, and being bestowed with three

It must be said that the Qingyuan Miaodao Zhenjun's greatest skill was the "Eight-Nine Profound Technique," but he did not teach this technique to Li Hanxiao. Instead, he gave Li Hanxiao the Great Celestial Immortal Technique.

It is important to know that the Eight-Nine Arcane Arts is not only a method for cultivating immortality, but also includes various supernatural powers and techniques such as "Heavenly Eye," "Immobilization Technique," "Heavenly Vessel Technique," "Wind Control Technique," "Fire Avoidance Technique," "Water Avoidance Technique," "Invisibility Technique," "Five Thunder Technique," "Samadhi True Fire," "Astral Projection," "Seventy-Two Transformations," "Reverse Prediction of the Future," "Size and Size at Will," "Five Elements Great Escape," and "Cloud Riding." If one can master this art through nine cycles, one can strip away all acquired Yin and reveal innate Yang, thus cultivating a "Pure Yang Body." Jade Cauldron Immortal once commented, "Having mastered the wonders of the Eight-Nine Arcane Arts, one can roam freely in the world."

The Eight-Nine Arcane Arts have an extremely high ceiling, but this set of techniques is a secret method of the Jade Void Palace and cannot be easily passed on. To put it bluntly, Erlang Shen Zhenjun cannot pass it on casually unless Jade Cauldron Zhenren gives his approval.

Furthermore, the "Eight-Nine Arcane Arts" is also a high-level Taoist practice, and there are certain requirements for its cultivation.

The requirement is that one must have a "pure yang body" to cultivate...

As for what exactly constitutes a "pure yang body," that goes without saying...

If it were a few days earlier, Li Hanxiao could still practice it, but he can't now. This "Eight-Nine Arcane Skill" doesn't matter if you're no longer a practitioner after you finish practicing it, because once you reach mastery, you can return to your original state and become a "Pure Yang Body".

However, if you weren't like that before you started training, you definitely won't be able to train...

After all, Taoism in later generations was divided into two main sects: Quanzhen Taoism and Zhengyi Taoism. Quanzhen Taoists were required to grow their hair long, eat vegetarian food, and abstain from sex; Zhengyi Taoists were allowed to marry, eat meat, and abstain from sex.

Do you think you can practice an advanced technique like the "Eight-Nine Arcane Arts" without paying some kind of price?

However, in comparison, the "Great Celestial Immortal Technique" does not have the very strict restriction of the "Eight-Nine Arcane Arts". Anyone, regardless of whether they have a "pure yang body", can cultivate it. Moreover, when cultivated to the end, it is also extremely powerful. Sun Wukong, the Great Sage, did not know the Eight-Nine Arcane Arts, but practiced the Great Celestial Immortal Technique. Moreover, he was born tens of millions of years later than Erlang Shen, yet his abilities were comparable.

Just as Li Hanxiao led his group out of the valley, he saw a man who looked like a cultivator standing outside the valley, bowing to him.

"Chief Li, I have been waiting for you for a long time!"

Upon seeing this person, Li Hanxiao couldn't help but snort coldly. Normally, Li Hanxiao would naturally treat this person as a great sage, but seeing him now, he felt inexplicably angry.

After all, he hadn't forgotten what he had just experienced in the Xuanzhen Illusionary Realm so quickly; right now, "Thunderclap" Ling Zhen was still half-dead, lying on his horse's back.

This guy was the one who started it all!

"Mr. Xu, you've caused us so much suffering!"

However, Li Hanxiao still held back his emotions and only said this in a sarcastic tone.

This man was Xu Guanzhong. Xu Guanzhong looked ashamed and smiled at Li Han, saying, "I have made a fool of myself. I am ashamed. I still have something to offer, Chief Li."

After Xu Guanzhong finished speaking, he reached into his sleeves to take something out.

"What is that? It's not dangerous, is it?"

Li Hanxiao gripped the three-pointed double-edged sword tightly, fearing that Xu Guanzhong might produce something else.

"This time it won't be like that. It's just that Chief Li will see things from the past and future..."

As Xu Guanzhong spoke, he took out seventy-two yellow talismans from his sleeve, selected them in the air, and arranged them into the Zhou Tian Xing Dou Grand Array. Then, two patterns appeared in the void.

Li Hanxiao seemed to have seen these two patterns somewhere before, and asked Xu Guanzhong, "If I'm not mistaken, could this be..."

Xu Guanzhong nodded and said, "It is indeed the Hetu and Luoshu, the writings of heaven and earth!"

Legend has it that during the time of the ancient Fuxi, a dragon-horse emerged from the Yellow River in Mengjin County, northeast of Luoyang, carrying the "Hetu" (River Map) on its back, and presented it to Fuxi. Fuxi then used this map to develop the Eight Trigrams, which later became the source of the "I Ching" (Book of Changes).

According to another legend, during the time of Yu the Great, a divine tortoise emerged from the Luo River in Luoning County, west of Luoyang, carrying the "Luoshu" (Luo River Book) on its back and presented it to Yu the Great. Yu the Great successfully controlled the floods using this book, and then divided the world into nine provinces. He also established the Nine Chapters of Law based on this book to govern society. This law was passed down and included in the Book of Documents, known as the "Hong Fan" (Great Plan).

The two patterns before us are the very origins of Chinese civilization: the "Hetu" and the "Luoshu".

The arrangement of the "Hetu" and "Luoshu" was constantly changing, gradually forming a series of images.

At this moment, Li Hanxiao felt as if he and Xu Guanzhong had become part of the scene.

Li Hanxiao felt as if he were in the Golden Palace, with a dragon throne floating in front of him, the back of which was carved with the four characters "Received the Mandate of Heaven".

"Please, Chieftain, take your seat."

Xu Guanzhong stood aside, his tone chilling. As Li Hanxiao stepped closer to the dragon throne, various illusions suddenly appeared around him.

The officials, both civil and military, knelt beside him, shouting "Long live the Emperor!" like a thunderous roar, while outside the palace came the cries of the common people: "The Yellow River has breached its banks!"

When Li Hanxiao tried to get a closer look, he discovered that the person sitting on the throne in the Golden Palace was not him, but a young man he had never seen before, whose dragon robe was in the style of the Song Dynasty...

"Who is he?"

Li Hanxiao turned around, about to ask Xu Guanzhong, but saw Xu Guanzhong wave his sleeve, and the illusion on the Hetu Luoshu changed again, and the place where the two were also changed.

Li Hanxiao found himself amidst the flames of war in the northern frontier, suddenly witnessing Jin soldiers driving the people of the Song Dynasty north and south of the Yellow River into slavery, and then suddenly seeing a fleet of tribute ships ramming and sinking fishing boats in the water towns of Jiangnan.

Finally, a Taiji diagram appeared within the Hetu and Luoshu, with Emperor Huizong and Li Hanxiao seated at the yin and yang eyes respectively. Then, the Taiji diagram began to rotate continuously, becoming increasingly joyful. Subsequently, the person in Emperor Huizong's seat changed, first to two young Song Dynasty emperors, then to a strong man from beyond the Great Wall, and finally to a blurry figure riding a fine horse...

"To follow the will of Heaven and the will of the people is to sit facing south, while to defy Heaven is to face utter ruin!"

Xu Guanzhong couldn't help but sigh. Before he finished speaking, the Big Dipper in the Hetu Luoshu suddenly fell and transformed into a sharp sword, hanging above Li Hanxiao's head.

"Chief Li, what will you choose?"

Li Hanxiao swiftly grabbed the sword, and now the dragon throne had transformed back into the sword before him.

Li Han smiled, glancing at the sword and then at the dragon throne. "In my life, I've only ever thought about one thing: to fulfill my duties in this life. I don't care about what will be said after I'm gone!"

Having said that, Li Han smiled and shattered the dragon throne with his sword, letting out a long roar: "The emperor guards the nation's gates, the monarch dies for the state! If I, Li, achieve my ambitions, I will personally lead my men to defend the borders, so that farmers may cultivate their fields in peace, and merchants may prosper in the markets!"

Li Hanxiao raised his sword, its tip pointing directly at the Purple Star, which attracted a bolt of lightning that struck the platform.

"Good! The will of Heaven has indeed been decided upon for you, Chief Li!"

Xu Guanzhong waved his sleeve again, and the Heluo Map immediately began to rotate. When Li Hanxiao opened it, a series of future scenes appeared on the map: Li Hanxiao saw himself leading his troops in a fierce battle against the Jin army at Huanglongfu, Lu Zhishen holding up the thousand-pound gate and lifting the gate of Youzhou, and Wen Huanzhang leading his army to break through the Jin Kingdom's three rivers, six kingdoms, nine ravines, and eighteen strongholds...

The final scene freezes on the imperial city of Bianjing, where troops are demolishing palace walls that were converted from civilian houses...

When Xu Guanzhong arrived, he waved his sleeves again and put away the image of the Hetu Luoshu. At this moment, the east was already white, and the clear cry of cranes echoed in the mountains.

Xu Guanzhong took out three volumes of celestial books from his sleeve and solemnly said, "These are three volumes of celestial books bestowed upon me by the Nine Heavens Mysterious Maiden. I now entrust them to you, my lord. In the future, when we conquer Liao and Jin, we will surely be able to break the shamanic magic!"

"The three volumes of the Heavenly Book are given to me?"

Li Hanxiao couldn't help but wonder, in the original novel, the three volumes of the Heavenly Book were given to Song Jiang by the Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden in Huandao Village, so how did they end up in his hands?

"The Goddess Xuan Nu knows that Chief Li is the one who can break the deadlock. The fate of the Chinese nation rests on Chief Li. These three volumes of the Heavenly Book are divided into three volumes: Heaven, Earth, and Man. The Heavenly Book discusses military strategy and ingenious tactics, the Earthly Book discusses the geography of the four continents, and the Man Book discusses the various schools of thought. I will now help Chief Li to make the three volumes of the Heavenly Book recognize him as his master!"

These three volumes of the Heavenly Book actually contain no magic spells. Looking at it this way, it's actually a great book for building a kingdom and conquering the world!

"Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden..."

Li Hanxiao didn't know much about the Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden. He only knew that, according to folklore, she was a goddess with boundless magical power. Because of her merits in eliminating evil and bringing peace to the people, the Jade Emperor bestowed upon her the titles of Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden and Nine Heavens Holy Mother.

She is also a goddess of justice, often appearing in classical novels as a divinely ordained fairy who helps heroes eliminate evil and violence.

Legend has it that the Yellow Emperor and Chi You fought a fierce battle at Zhuolu. Chi You used his magic to create a thick fog that lasted for three days and three nights, trapping the Yellow Emperor's army. The Yellow Emperor looked up to the sky and sighed. The heavens sent the Mysterious Woman to give the Yellow Emperor a divine talisman for military strategy, as well as teaching him the Three Palaces and Five Meanings, the Yin-Yang Strategy, and the Taiyi Dunjia technique. With her assistance, the Yellow Emperor finally defeated Chi You.

Furthermore, legend has it that she once answered the Yellow Emperor's questions about the principles of male and female movement, indicating that she was also proficient in the art of health preservation. During the Spring and Autumn Period's Wu-Yue War, there is a legend that the Mysterious Woman descended to earth to train six thousand divine soldiers for the Yue Kingdom; Zhuge Liang's Eight Trigrams Formation during the Three Kingdoms period is also believed to be related to the Mysterious Woman's "Qimen Dunjia" technique.

The Hetu and Luoshu unfolded in Xu Guanzhong's hands. Xu Guanzhong unleashed his lightning magic, using pure and concentrated power, and the Hetu and Luoshu gradually transformed.

Suddenly, a strange phenomenon appeared in the sky: the Big Dipper hung upside down, and the Purple Star was as large as a cartwheel.

Xu Guanzhong shouted loudly, and the Hetu Luoshu transformed into a dragon throne.

Nine thick chains were wrapped around the dragon throne.

"Please, Chieftain, break the lock, ascend the throne, and the three volumes of the Heavenly Book will grant you mastery!"

Where Xu Guanzhong pointed, Li Hanxiao saw eight characters appear on the chain: loyalty, filial piety, benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, trustworthiness, and courage.

What does this mean?

Li Han asked with a smile.

"This is a contract. If you cut these nine iron chains, you must obey the words written on them. If you disobey, may you be struck down by heaven and earth!"

After Xu Guanzhong explained it this way, Li Hanxiao finally understood. It turned out that this thing was like a contract. If Li Hanxiao wanted to sign the contract, he had to abide by it, otherwise the price would be unprecedented.

"I see, good!"

Upon hearing this, Li Hanxiao swung his sword to sever the chain bearing the character "Loyalty," but the chain suddenly spoke: "The one who sits in this position must be loyal to the emperor and love his country!"

At that moment, the blade in Li Hanxiao's hand suddenly felt as heavy as a thousand pounds, and he inexplicably could not strike.

Seeing this, Li Hanxiao discarded his sword and declared loudly: "Loyalty is of paramount importance, but my loyalty lies only in loyalty to all the people under heaven, not in loyalty to any one family or clan!"

As Li Han finished his joke, unexpectedly, the "loyalty" chain broke on its own!

As the "Loyalty" chain shattered, the remaining chains seemed to sense the danger and began to speak as well.

"How can one be worthy of being called benevolent if one does not govern with benevolence?"

"To disregard etiquette is to vainly speak of upholding it!"

……

Li Hanxiao didn't care about the sound of the chains at all. He took out his golden bow and silver arrows and fired them in quick succession, breaking the seven chains with seven arrows!

The final arrow was aimed at the dragon throne. Li Han laughed and roared, "I, Li, hereby swear that in this life I will teach the barbarian horses not to cross the Yellow River! To establish a heart for Heaven and Earth, to establish a destiny for the people, to continue the lost learning of the sages, and to usher in an era of peace for all generations!"

As soon as Li Han finished his joke, golden flames suddenly burst forth from the dragon throne, and seventy-two black birds flew out of the flames and disappeared into the direction of Liangshan.

Xu Guanzhong prostrated himself and said, "The birth of God is a blessing to our land!"

Having said that, he presented the three volumes of the heavenly book with both hands.

Li Hanxiao had just taken the three volumes of the Heavenly Book into his hands when they transformed into a wisp of pure energy that entered his body, flowing through his limbs and bones, and penetrating his eight extraordinary meridians.

"Uh-huh!"

Li Hanxiao felt his veins being opened and his acupoints being stimulated. Although he felt some pain at first, he experienced endless benefits afterward!

The Eight Extraordinary Meridians are the Governing Vessel, Conception Vessel, Penetrating Vessel, Belt Vessel, Yang Wei Vessel, Yin Wei Vessel, Yin Qiao Vessel, and Yang Qiao Vessel.

The eight extra meridians are different from the twelve regular meridians. They are neither directly related to the internal organs nor have any exterior-interior coordination relationship. They are called "extraordinary meridians" because they take "different paths".

Historically, the Eight Extraordinary Meridians have been closely related to martial arts and cultivation. At this moment, Li Hanxiao's Eight Extraordinary Meridians were opened by the pure energy transformed from the three volumes of the Heavenly Book. These three volumes of the Heavenly Book became Li Hanxiao's protective pure energy, instantly achieving another marrow cleansing and bone-refining process. It directly forced out the impurities in Li Hanxiao's body, forming a state of being covered in mud all over his body.

Li Hanxiao was unaware that although he hadn't even glanced at the contents of the three volumes of the Heavenly Book, they had already merged into his body, yet the benefits he received were immeasurable.

Because this is the highest level of recognition of the three volumes of the Heavenly Book. This pure energy can not only protect his body, but also make it easy to exorcise evil and avoid trouble. Moreover, no matter what kind of injury he suffers, as long as he still has a breath left, this innate pure energy can repair his injury. It can be said to be able to bring the dead back to life and heal the wounded!

Seeing the three volumes of the Heavenly Book enter his body, Li Han smiled and couldn't help but ask Xu Guanzhong, "Mr. Xu, is this... a blessing or a curse!"

Xu Guanzhong had never seen such a scene before. To be honest, he had only received the three volumes of the Heavenly Book a few days ago. It was given to him in a dream by the Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden, and he didn't know what was going on. Even if he wanted to ask, he couldn't.