Chapter 1144: Zhuyou Art
“The fundamental principle of curse arts lies in using karmic spells to influence the target’s fortune, essence, qi, and mind, causing mental disorientation and disrupting the balance of yin, yang, and the five elements within the body.
“The Mistress should have already explained the concept of karma to you. Anything that can be seen or felt can establish a karmic connection. Recording orbs fulfill the condition of ‘can be seen’ for that karmic link.”
Inside the ancestral temple, Qing He expounded at length on the fundamentals of curse arts to Lu Yang and Yun Mengmeng. Ao Ling and the others already had some understanding of curse arts. In fact, when Ao Ling and Jiang Lianyi had been rivals, they had used each other’s strands of hair as mediums to cast curses upon each other.
“Following State Pillar Lu’s line of thought, upon closer consideration, curse arts can influence one’s fortune, essence, qi, and mind through karmic spells, so they could be positive or negative.
“If applied in a positive manner, it would have the effect of strengthening the body and dispelling ailments.”
The Everlasting Immortal Fairy hadn’t planned on sitting through the lesson. She had been half-asleep in the mental space, but drifted out upon hearing these words.
“Strengthening the body and dispelling ailments?”
“Is there anything wrong with that, Immortal Fairy?” Lu Yang noticed her abnormal reaction.
The Everlasting Immortal Fairy tilted her head, trying very hard to recall something. “Now that Little He puts it that way, isn’t that just the long-lost Zhuyou[1] Art?”
“What’s the Zhuyou Art?” Everyone turned to the Everlasting Immortal Fairy simultaneously. Even Qing He, Ao Ling, and the others had never heard of this technique.
“Hmm? None of you knows? The Nine-Layers Immortal told me about it when he was researching history.”
“The Nine-Layers Immortal was the first to become an immortal. To prove that he was the first, he often studied ancient texts and legends, demonstrating that no being beyond the Transcendent Tribulation Stage had ever appeared in earlier times.
“He said that in ages so distant that no one knows how far back it goes, when the cultivation system had yet to be perfected, there already existed a healing method. It did not focus on targeted remedies. Instead, it employed unknown techniques for treatment, healing both the body and the spirit.
“This healing method was called Zhuyou Art, and only cultivators known as ‘witch doctors’ knew this technique.
“As for who created the Zhuyou Art, what its principles were, and how it was lost, no one knows. The Nine-Layers Immortal combed through every ancient text but couldn’t uncover further information.
“Don’t you all think that the curse art used in reverse is precisely the Zhuyou Art?”
“It does sound like something similar. We’ll know once we try it,” Lu Yang replied. The Immortal Fairy’s intuition has always been accurate. I trust her intuition.
~~~
Jin’an City, slums.
Zhong Cai lay on his bed, burning up. He had woken up feeling unwell. When he tried to stand and get some water, his mind grew hazy. He swayed twice, and before he could find his footing, he sank back down, unable to muster any strength.
“Is it because I’m too exhausted from yesterday’s labor?” Zhong Cai’s forehead was beaded with sweat. He felt uncomfortable and was gripped by an ominous feeling. He felt like he had come down with a wind-heat cold.[2]
His vision blurred, and he drifted back into sleep.
In his drowsy state, he seemed to see a white-robed figure standing by his bedside. The figure’s face was shrouded in a soft, gentle radiance that made the features indistinguishable.
Is this a legendary Buddha or Bodhisattva?
The lotus emblem on the white-robed figure flickered, and Zhong Cai lost consciousness.
“Yawn—what a good sleep.” Zhong Cai stretched languorously. He had no idea how long he had slept, but he now felt completely refreshed. His mind was clearer and sharper than before.
~~~
“It does work.” Lu Yang used his garment to bring everyone back to the ancestral temple.
He had limited himself to only Zhong Cai; he had treated over a dozen people in Jin’an City, each suffering from different ailments: wind-heat cold, heatstroke, summer cold, and more. Without requiring medication, Qing He’s curse art had cured them all.
“Does this mean that curse arts and the lost Zhuyou Art are actually the same thing?” Lu Yang knitted his brow. He couldn’t help but feel that something was wrong. “Immortal Fairy, do you know when curse arts first appeared?”
Although karmic spells are difficult to learn and perfect, if curse arts and the Zhuyou Art are the same thing, why have curse arts been passed down while the Zhuyou Art has been lost?
Logically, even if curse arts had been lost, the Zhuyou Art shouldn’t have been lost.
The Everlasting Immortal Fairy shook her head. “No idea.”
Ao Ling offered her perspective. “Many spells and techniques were created during the era when the cultivation system was being established. In that period, the forebears of humanity tirelessly experimented with cultivation methods. Spells and techniques were merely byproducts of that process.
“Curse arts most likely emerged during that period when the cultivation system was taking shape. But that period is far too distant, at least three hundred thousand years in the past, and few ancient texts have survived. Much of what we know from that time has been passed down through oral tradition, and many things can no longer be verified.”
“I agree with Sister Ling’s view,” Qing He said. “When I studied curse arts, I tried to trace their origins. Although I never found the true source, I can be certain that curse arts have existed for at least two hundred thousand years.”
“Fair enough.” Lu Yang could understand where they were coming from. After all, the cultivation system had been created by humans, and in those days, mere survival was already a struggle. There simply wasn’t much written material to be passed down.
For those in the present age, the ancient era belonged to the legends. Likewise, for those in the ancient era, the age when the cultivation system was established also belonged to the legends.
“Speaking of the Nine-Layers Immortal, I have another question,” Lu Yang suddenly said.
“What is it?”
“Immortal Fairy, since the concept of Dao Fruits was created by you, and it was also your idea to define the realm beyond the Transcendent Tribulation Stage as ‘Immortal...’”
“Yes. Is there a problem?”
“Then where did the concept of ‘immortal physique’ come from?"
Before the Everlasting Immortal Fairy could answer, Lu Yang stroked his chin and muttered to himself. “Of course, at the very beginning, humanity simply used ‘immortal physique’ as an exaggerated term for special constitutions. They then made it into a set and called it the Nine Great Immortal Physiques.
“Do you all think there could be another possibility? Could the cultivation realms passed down from the past be incomplete? What if there was originally an ‘Immortal’ realm above the Transcendent Tribulation Stage, and that's how the term ‘immortal physique’ came about?”
~~~
“Little Ancestor, you don’t understand. The quality of our recording orbs is too good. Not only do they have large storage capacity and affordable prices, but they’re also sturdy and durable. They won’t break even after ten or twenty years of use. Sales of our recording orb in Jin’an City have already started to decline!
“In fact, we were planning to film a Dreamlike Bubble Mirage that looked genuinely terrifying. The movements Miao’er and the others performed in the recording orbs were all scenes I intended to shoot. It was a perfect opportunity to test the audience’s reactions.”
Tears streamed down Lord Shi’s face. As the person in charge of Jin’an City, the pressure on him was immense, and he had been trying every possible approach.
“But that doesn’t mean you should use methods like this!” Jin Caiwei ground her teeth, wishing she could pretend this entire incident had never occurred. “You’ve even turned this into a supernatural legend!”
“I definitely won’t dare to do it again!” Lord Shi declared with conviction. How could I have ever imagined that things would blow up to such an extent?
1. Zhuyoushu has its origins in Chinese witchcraft or shamanism. It developed over years of Chinese history, and it’s roughly a combination of incantations, talismans, rituals, psychotherapy, suggestion therapy, hypnotism, herbs, and even acupuncture. Although it may have largely been dismissed as superstition, some view it as one of the earliest forms of psychotherapy, making use of concepts like the placebo effect. It’s also said that a large part of it has been lost to history, since it was already somewhat of a “legend” when mentioned in the Huangdi Neijing, a classic text in Traditional Chinese Medicine. ☜
2. Without going into too many details about TCM, “wind-heat” refers to the pathogenic energy that triggers the illness. Depending on whether it’s “wind-cold” or “wind-heat,” the symptoms can differ, and so can the treatment. ☜
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