Seeing the female Taoist priest's face full of embarrassment and anger, Xu Qing felt inexplicable.
This Senior Sister of his was usually neither aggressive nor passive, truly possessing the serene charm of a person from the Taoist sect who cultivates one's character and embodies the path of nature.
But why did she lose her composure today just because of his casual remark?
Xu Qing pondered for a moment and could only attribute it to the influence of the Visualization Map.
The cultivation way of the Fox Race seems to be related to emotions and desires; if they remain always unperturbed, it would not be the correct path.
After calming her emotions, Yizhen Daoist indeed concealed nothing, revealing without reservation all the nine divine techniques of the Nine-tailed Fox Race, which they regard as their lifeline.
The fox, with nine tails as its honor, appears like a common fox but with nine separate tails. A wise member of the fox family grows one tail every one hundred and fifty years; when a tail is complete, divine techniques manifest. Once all nine tails are present, it can control wind and thunder, communicate with the yin and yang, transform into human shape, and understand heavenly mandate...
If categorized in detail, there are nine types of divine techniques.
The first is a single tail, which governs enchantment. It often uses the charm of foxes to confuse human minds, disturb one's wisdom, and hypnotize others.
The second is dual tails, capable of enlightenment. It can open three types of recognition: Eye Recognition, Ear Recognition, and Extensive Knowledge Recognition.
Upon hearing this, Xu Qing was secretly amazed. Despite achieving perfection in Undying Bone, he had only expanded from the original four types of recognition—eyes, ears, nose, tongue—to six recognitions, adding Body Recognition and Mind Recognition.
Body refers to Strong Body Recognition, which enables wall climbing, traversing mountains, feeling the earth, unimpeded, and at advanced levels, dividing the form to infinite variations, extending to the extreme limits, and shrinking to the smallest points.
Xu Qing had achieved the return of two hundred and six bones to their true form, with the sky pillar bone penetrating the deep veins of the earth, perfectly corresponding to the ability to traverse mountains; as for advanced techniques, he also comprehended the method of dismemberment.
And as for consciousness...
Mind signifies Spiritual Recognition, which opens all dharma completely, neither welcoming external demons nor nurturing internal ones, leaving everything pure and empty.
This recognition came to Xu Qing thanks to the White Bone Visualization Map bestowed by the Demon Exorcism True Monarch. After mastering the White Bone Radiance visualization, he naturally comprehended Spiritual Recognition.
Currently, Xu Qing still has not unlocked Subtle Mouth Recognition, Last Seen Recognition, and Hidden and Bright Consciousness. The latter two require both fate and method, which Xu Qing does not forcibly seek. As for Subtle Mouth Recognition...
To cultivate this recognition, one must first silence oneself, hiding breath and cultivating inner calmness. Xu Qing has a forbidden spell for practicing silent meditation.
To practice this technique, one must reduce verbal karma, avoiding the four sins of 'false speech, divisive speech, harsh speech, and frivolous talk,' and must also accumulate a mouthful of repressed resentment without expression.
If capable of encountering all the world's injustices in silence, that would be the day of simultaneous perfection in silent meditation and Subtle Mouth Recognition!
Once achieved, releasing that pent-up breath would be like unleashing the hard work of millions of years in one moment, its power immeasurable.
However, Xu Qing cannot practice this technique. He is a Funeral Master, a Sect Leader, and a victim of the gossip culture of the Jin Sect, relying on his mouth to work and find amusement. If he had to keep silent, the cultivation gained from one year of silent meditation could match ten years of others!
Therefore, Xu Qing's Subtle Mouth Recognition has never been cultivated.
He can only hope to find another cultivation technique different from silent meditation in the future.
From personal experience, Xu Qing can fully understand the difficulty of unlocking each recognition, while a nine-tailed fox only needs to grow a second tail to open three recognitions at once...
According to Senior Sister Yizhen, after the second tail, while comprehending new innate divine techniques, each tail can open another recognition.
Xu Qing roughly calculated, doesn't this mean that an eight-tailed spirit fox could unlock all recognitions?
It even doesn't require specifically seeking the method corresponding to each recognition!
Xu Qing was truly envious; having a heritage and lacking one is truly as different as heaven and earth.
Without a heritage, it's like a wild child without a mother, like roadside weeds...
Beside him, Yizhen Daoist continued to disclose the peculiarities of the remaining seven tails.
The third tail, Transformation.
Can transform appearances, change forms endlessly.
The fourth tail, Petition.
Can use wish-fulfillment techniques to petition to heaven and earth, enhancing luck, augmenting one's or another's blessing, but not beyond one's petitioning limits, or it will surely damage one's spiritual practice and invite karmic disasters like dog calamity, human calamity, etc.
The fifth tail, Calamity Avoidance.
Can mitigate one's own or others' disasters to a certain extent, serving primarily as a technique for disaster resolution.
The sixth tail, Void Insight.
As the name suggests, it allows the practitioner to see through illusions, perceiving everything.
The seventh tail, Creation.
Controlling the vitality of nature, revitalize withered wood, make barren land green, or consume essence blood and a century of cultivation as a cost to extend the life of a dying person by twelve years. Similarly, such heaven-defying methods to alter fate will also bring about divine retribution.
The eighth tail, Heavenly Wisdom.
Attaining the wonder of effortless mastery, understanding the door of adaptability, peering into the secrets of heaven to reverse fate, using the heart as a mirror to see the future, this is a divine technique of foresight.
The ninth tail, Heavenly Auspice.
Knowing the rise and fall of a millennium, purifying a region from disasters and filth, can only be activated when favored by destiny and heaven's blessing, otherwise, one will instead be consumed by the energy of calamity, burned by blazing karmic fire, and if not resolved with merit, the soul will disperse in an instant.
Upon hearing the abilities of the ninth tail divine technique, Xu Qing suddenly recalled Bai Qiuyu, who was once taken as a disciple by an unnamed old woman.
Bai Qiuyu is a fox from Qingqiu, also possessing the bloodline of the Nine-tailed Fox. That old woman was always dedicated to resolving calamities, and the Nine-tailed Fairy Fox who awakened the Heavenly Auspice ability happened to have the power to sacrifice herself and purify the heavens and earth...
Xu Qing furrowed his brows. If analyzed this way, the Master Jingxu, who always wanted to open the Heaven-Reaching Road and ascend, might have had the same purpose in accepting a disciple?
But Xu Qing quickly overturned this hypothesis; everything must have a cause and effect. The mother of Daoist Yizhen, Zichen, was originally a Daoist of the Five Elders Temple. If Hu Baosong had not abducted Zichen, Daoist Yizhen could not have been born.
Ultimately, the Master Jingxu accepted the daughter of Zichen as a disciple, which is the cause and effect of this master-disciple bond, not to deal with the great calamity by accepting a disciple.
Moreover, given Xu Qing's observation of the master and disciple's relationship, even if Daoist Yizhen wanted to sacrifice herself, the old lady wouldn't agree.
"Junior Brother Xu..."
Once all the legacy was accepted, Daoist Yizhen suddenly looked at Xu Qing, about to speak but then stopped.
Xu Qing smiled freely and said, "Senior Sister, there's no need for thanks, we aren't outsiders, so no need for formalities."
Daoist Yizhen pursed her lips, finally taking out an array disk from the cosmic sleeve, and said:
"Senior Sister heard from Xuan Yu earlier about Junior Brother's mortal feud with the Fox Demon of White Cloud Cave, so she put in some effort, requesting both the Master and Daoist Bai to refine this array disk together."
Daoist Yizhen, usually kind to others, now revealed a faint, extremely dangerous smile.
"In terms of understanding the Fox Demon, no one can surpass Senior Sister, and no one can surpass Daoist Bai. With this array disk, Junior Brother, while it cannot guarantee the elimination of the Fox Demon, it can at least diminish its capabilities, allowing you to preserve your life."
"..."
Xu Qing received the array disk containing illusions, golden light array, Nine Luminaries Demon Suppressing Array... and over a dozen different arrays, momentarily at a loss for words.
No wonder when he first met Master Jingxu, the latter had said those seemingly ambiguous words, turns out it was because of this matter.
He had been in the Yin River for many years, and during that time, Daoist Yizhen had worried about his affairs for years.
Thankfully, he did not forget the entrusted daughter of old friends and brought back the legacy of the Earth Mountain clan.
Otherwise, it would indeed be difficult to repay this sentiment.
"Isn't Bai Qiuyu in the shop?"
Understanding the use of the array disk, Xu Qing suddenly asked.
Daoist Yizhen smiled and said, "Daoist Bai, working to repay the funeral debt owed to Junior Brother, sets up a stall divining for people every day."
"But Daoist Bai only divines three fortunes a day, each only for a few coins, looking at this situation, perhaps he will be back soon..."
It is said that the Jin Sect has some sayings, the moment Bai Qiuyu, the white fox from Qingqiu, was mentioned, it returned to the coffin shop.
"What are you two doing at the door? How peculiar, in broad daylight, why is there an array set up in the side room, could it be Daoist Yizhen is fiddling with her array disk again inside?"
"Hey hey! Why are you pulling me, peach tree, hmm hmm hmm... you crazy girl, why cover my mouth? Phew phew phew, all I taste is pollen!"
Creak, the door opened, Xu Qing tidied his collar a bit, and stepped out.
"..."
Bai Qiuyu, who was bantering with Tao Sanmei, immediately quieted down.
The two of them fixed their gaze on Xu Qing, who walked out from inside the room.
The Master Jingxu narrowed her eyes slightly, also looking at Xu Qing.
The latter, as if nothing was amiss, cheerfully cupped his hands and greeted Daoist Bai, hoping he was well.
However, Bai Qiuyu's gaze at this moment passed over Xu Qing, looking at the female priest who walked out of the room just behind him.
There's a sign! The Divination Master's instincts told her that today there's definitely a sign, and it must be a major one!