Chapter 153: Sister-in-Law, I Really Didn't Teach Him That...

"Master... Little Demon... is so scared..."

Xu Boqing listened blankly to its murmuring, watching the purple lightning brewing in the dark clouds as it was about to strike, seemingly carrying the wrath of the heavens.

For no reason at all, he felt a surge of anger!

He had already reviewed all the means at his disposal, but without a physical body as a foundation, he could do nothing.

Without a physical body...

Suddenly, he inexplicably thought of "The Treatise on Qi" and "The Dialectical Treatise" written by Zhang Taixu!

He thought of the profound truth described in the books: "The great void is merely qi, and qi transforms all things"; he thought of "Every entity contains a duality, and motion always has its mechanism"; he thought of the theory that all things are composed of qi; he thought of the description that one qi transforms into yin and yang, and yin and yang generate all things!

Yin and yang generate all things...

Among his three golden fingers, the ones he had always relied upon for survival were the "Celestial Eye's" observation of the qi phases of all things, and the furnace of the "Pure Yang Body."

But what about the "Technique of the Revolving Wheel"?

Aside from its external reputation of growing roots, the "Technique of the Revolving Wheel" should also possess an internal function of regulating yin and yang, where they promote and sustain each other!

Where is my mutual generation and sustenance of yin and yang!?

Where is it!

??

Inside the restaurant, a ghostly projection of a light wheel suddenly appeared behind the true body of Xu Boqing. The two qi of yin and yang, black and white, within the light wheel were like two swimming fish biting each other's tails, interdependent, promoting and sustaining one another...

Miaojing stared in astonishment, her eyes wide as she blankly gazed at the light wheel manifesting behind her master...

The black and white qi of yin and yang within that light wheel began to spin like a rolling chariot, the two colors of black and white gradually shifting into a state where black contained white, and white contained black...

Immediately following that, the black and white colors in the light wheel slowly vanished, leaving behind only a primordial chaos...

A faint flash of enlightenment stirred within Xu Boqing's heart. His true body slowly closed its eyes, and the miraculous phenomenon of the light wheel behind him gradually dimmed and disappeared...

One qi transforms into yin and yang, and yin and yang can generate all things.

Since there is no physical body as a foundation, I shall...

Forge a body of my own!

...........

At the edge of the precipice of the Two Realms Abyss...

Ao Lan looked at the imminent purple heavenly tribulation gathering in the dark clouds. With a slight frown, she manifested her form, just about to intervene and stop the tribulation to save the snake demon when she suddenly heard a sigh!

Immediately afterward, winds and clouds surged within the Two Realms Abyss!

She paused slightly, and then she saw a ghostly figure stepping out from the void, dressed in a moon-white robe and looking remarkably familiar!!

That ghostly figure suddenly appeared beside the snake demon and gave a casual wave of his hand. The surrounding mist instantly converged, condensing into the phantom of a furnace!

The furnace hung suspended above the snake demon, with formless flames seemingly churning inside, scattering specks of fluorescent light that landed upon the nearly charred body of the snake demon.

She could feel that the snake demon's original life force had dissipated to the point of a burnt-down candlewick, as if it would vanish with a single puff of wind...

Yet after that fluorescent light rained down...

The snake demon's life force miraculously stabilized its fading state and even began to grow continuously!

Just as she stood there in shock and suspicion, the purple heavenly tribulation brewed in the dark clouds fell with the fury of heaven's wrath...

Yet she saw the phantom figure in the moon-white robe act as if casting a spell; its form expanded, suddenly surging upward like a giant standing between heaven and earth!

This...

Xu Boqing's phantom was originally composed of various kinds of qi. Unrestrained by a physical body of flesh and blood, he pushed the "Muscle-Tendon Changing and Bone-Forging Technique"—which integrated the strengths of a hundred schools—to its absolute limit!

Seeing the purple lightning descend, he immediately waved his hand, gathering all the mist surrounding the Two Realms Abyss into his hand to form a sword of clouds and mist...

He knew clearly that his manifestation through karma was far too crude and far too forced...

He had only one chance to strike!

Sword in hand, Xu Boqing thought of Duan Hongyuan, of that sword fanatic who had driven himself into a dead end, and of all his insights gained from entering the Dao through the sword and then abandoning the sword to comprehend the Dao...

He was confident that this sword strike of his would surpass the "intent" that Duan Hongyuan had comprehended after abandoning his sword!

Then...

He raised his sword toward the heavens!

Above the Two Realms Abyss, a streak of breathtaking brilliance rose from the depths of the abyss, slicing through the descending purple heavenly tribulation. The brilliance swept up through the air and pierced directly into the dark clouds in the sky!

The dark clouds gathered across the sky abruptly split in half amidst that streak of brilliance...

One could even see sunlight streaming down through the parted dark clouds, casting light into the Two Realms Abyss...

The tribulation clouds gradually grew faint, but the wrath of heaven seemed provoked. The thunder brewing within the two halves of the dark clouds intensified manifold!

Countless serpents of lightning danced across the sky, and thousands of thunderbolts poured down all at once from the edge of the clouds. However, their target was not the snake demon at the bottom of the Two Realms Abyss, but rather the giant sword-wielding phantom standing between heaven and earth!

"I was wondering how to make up for the deficiency, thank you very much..."

The towering phantom suddenly shrank. Just as the thousands of thunderbolts descended completely, the furnace at the bottom of the abyss spun and flew upward to meet them.

As it flew out of the Two Realms Abyss, the furnace also expanded countless times, just like the phantom before it...

The four legs of the furnace seemed to stand firmly on the two opposite cliffs of the Two Realms Abyss, its top furnace mouth wide open, swallowing all the falling thunderbolts into its belly.

Inside the furnace, thunder and fire intertwined, causing the color of the furnace to shift...

Above the Two Realms Abyss, muffled thunders rolled as if someone were roaring in anger, and then the split tribulation clouds dissipated, along with the wrath of heaven...

Seeing the lightning serpents flashing within the furnace, Xu Boqing gave a casual wave of his hand. The giant furnace phantom shrank back into a single cluster and abruptly darted into his own ghostly figure...

"Tsk tsk, looks like this grudge is firmly set~"

He clicked his tongue inwardly. Lightning serpents wreaked havoc within his phantom, dyeing the projection in several different colors...

He could sense that his journey here was coming to an end. With a flick of his finger, a speck of fluorescent light drilled into the snake demon's body.

Only then did he raise his head to look at the figure standing at the edge of the Two Realms Abyss cliff. Cupping his hands together, he teased with a bantering tone: "It has been many days, how have you been, sister-in-law?"

"Boqing is well?"

"Hahaha, thank you for your concern, sister-in-law..."

Ao Lan, standing at the cliff's edge, merely smiled with pursed lips upon seeing this. She immediately rode the clouds and mist to land not far from him, smiling as she said, "Boqing's manifestation of such techniques has truly opened my eyes..."

"You flatter me, sister-in-law..."

Xu Boqing sighed and said with a bitter smile, "My true body is not here, but my little disciple encountered danger and I had to save it. Therefore, I racked my brains and used every means possible to help it weather this tribulation. It makes me rather ashamed before you."

"Boqing, do not be overly modest. A manifestation technique such as yours is beyond the reach of this sister-in-law..."

Ao Lan smiled faintly, assuming he was just being modest. She then pointed toward the snake demon nearby and asked pointedly, "Is this little snake your disciple?"

"It is..."

Xu Boqing nodded slightly, sighing as he said, "It shares a certain affinity with me, so we established the karma of master and disciple."

His voice paused, and he clicked his tongue, saying, "If I had known that sister-in-law was standing by to lend a hand, perhaps I wouldn't have had to put in so much effort."

Ao Lan was somewhat moved upon hearing this.

The saying that immortals and demons are distinct is no empty talk, and the master-disciple relationship is a major karmic tie second only to that between father and son...

Especially among cultivators, karmic ties concerning inheritance appeared all the more weighty!

"To think Boqing would actually take a snake demon as a disciple..."

"To me, there is no fundamental difference between humans and demons; both are simply members of all living beings."

Xu Boqing shook his head and said, "As long as it could fancy me and I could fancy it, it was willing to apprentice and I was willing to accept, this bond of karma was thus established..."

"Boqing teaches without discrimination, making this sister-in-law feel rather humbled..."

Ao Lan nodded thoughtfully, then sighed with emotion, "If the world could have a few more worldly immortals untethered like Boqing, why worry about sectarian prejudices?"

"..."

A somewhat awkward expression crossed Xu Boqing's face.

If anyone else had said these words, he would have accepted the praise, but the person speaking was not only his sister-in-law, but also a true dragon!

Such high praise made him rather embarrassed, and he didn't even know how to respond to this remark...

Seeing his bashful expression, Ao Lan playfully teased, "I was just wondering earlier where this little snake obtained such good fortune. Turns out it's a case of a prestigious teacher producing a brilliant pupil..."

"This..."

Xu Boqing felt his toes curling slightly inside, and he awkwardly said, "Its good fortune has nothing to do with me; it is entirely the result of its own comprehension and cultivation."

"Being overly modest again, aren't you?"

"I really am not..."

"Alright, alright, I know it cultivated on its own and it has nothing to do with you as its master, happy now?"

Seeing his somewhat distressed expression, Ao Lan curved her lips into a smile and changed the subject, saying, "Your manifested body seems to be about to dissipate."

"Mm-hmm..."

Xu Boqing looked at his soon-to-be-dissipated form and said earnestly, "My true body is not here, so I must ask sister-in-law to help look after it."

"It is only right..."

Ao Lan nodded slightly. Seeing his ghostly figure growing increasingly dim, she smiled and said, "If Boqing has free time, you are welcome to visit my Dragon Palace as a guest. Fine wine will be in endless supply..."

"If I go, I won't be going as a guest..."

Xu Boqing smiled faintly, teasing in a playful tone, "To drop by sister-in-law's home, that would be visiting... as... family..."

Just as his voice finished, his ghostly figure dissipated along with it...

"..."

Ao Lan was momentarily dazed watching his manifested body fade away, and then, recalling the phrase "visiting as family" that he had uttered right before it vanished, she couldn't help but smile...