Chapter 450: Chapter 449 ‘Notes on Shaping Dharma Body

Li Er’s personality was clear to Ao Chengcheng. Add to that the magical gourd, the thought of the man and the gourd together didn’t settle well with Ao Chengcheng.

However, the temporary space channel had disappeared, leaving her powerless to do anything.

“Human Emperor, would you like to visit the Western Sea?” The Western Sea Dragon King invited warmly, only to be gracefully declined by Jiang Li.

The Western Sea Dragon King took Ao Chengcheng back to the Western Sea.

“Uncle Jiang, would you like me to guide you around the Body-incorporating Sect?”

“Sure.”

…

The Body-incorporating Sect is located in the southwest of the Jiuzhou continent, adjoining the West Sea and the South Sea. Li Nian’er once told that her parents met each other in the shallows of the West Sea.

“You are aware of our Body-incorporating Sect’s philosophy, Uncle Jiang. We view all things as the original prototype of our own bodies, imitating and eventually surpassing them.”

“Here is the martial arts field.”

On the field, two disciples of the Body-incorporating Sect were fighting, their bodies lingered with unreal shadows. Both were at the stage of exploring their potential bodies.

“One of them is mimicking the golden rat, and the other is mimicking the Nine-tailed Spirit Cat.”

“Squeak——”

“Meow——”

“Squeak——”

“Meow——”

Both students were making noises like animals, creating quite a lively scene.

Li Nian’er held her forehead, then went up and tapped the forehead of each disciple.

“Sister…” they said with a disappointed look, not understanding why she would do such a thing.

“You’re supposed to imitate the spirit of the fairy beasts, not their sounds. You don’t need to eat metal just because you’re mimicking a golden rat…”

One of the disciples pulled out a piece of metal and was about to bite into it.

Li Nian’er quickly snatched the metal away.

The other student suddenly fell to his knees with a thud.

“What’s the matter with you now?”

“Without a tail, it’s hard to maintain balance.”

Li Nian’er shook the disciple’s shoulders: “Wake up! You are a human, not a cat, you don’t need a tail!”

Li Nian’er explained to Jiang Li: “This happens quite often. Disciples who are just exploring their potential bodies often confuse themselves with the beings they’re trying to mimic.”

“It’s not a big deal, with growing cultivation and comprehension, they will not make such conceptual mistakes.”

“But there were also a few chaos caused by such misunderstandings among the disciples of our Body-incorporating Sect.”

“A few years ago, a male disciple tried to project the body of a historical female practitioner onto himself, and began thinking he was a woman. He would often go into the women’s bathhouse.”

“What’s his situation now?”

“He was found out to be faking it and was expelled from the sect.”

Jiang Li: “…”

“There was another disciple who took a Pill Furnace as his pursuit. He would often eat medicinal herbs raw.”

“What happened to him?”

“He has come to accept himself, left the Body-incorporating Sect, and now seeks guidance at the Alchemy Peak of the Dao Sect.”

“I’m worrying about the two disciples who’re mimicking the fairy beasts.”

Jiang Li was curious, “What kind of problem could that possibly be? With their cultivation level, swallowing metal wouldn’t pose any danger.”

Li Nian’er looked grave: “In the past, quite a few disciples have taken fairy beasts as their body integration projections and began to think they were demons, therefore, they…”

“Therefore, what?”

“They married into the White Marsh Dynasty.”

“There were also those with lighter symptoms. They knew they were humans but might have some lingering effects.”

“What is it?”

“They started to fall in love with beasts.”

“…”

Jiang Li didn’t know what to say for a moment.

“When I was forming my body projection, I also referred to several fairy beasts. However, as I am of mixed human-dragon blood, I didn’t run into such situations.”

Li Nian’er continued to guide Jiang Li: “Here is the Sutra Collection Pavilion, where predecessors’ understandings towards body integration are stored.”

“Ordinary disciples are only allowed to read books on the first three floors. Elders can access books on the fourth through the sixth floors.”

“But since you are the Human Emperor, Uncle Jiang, you can go to any floor you want.”

When Jiang Li came to the Sutra Collection Pavilion, he saw quite a few disciples reading there. They’d occasionally look up, only to stop reading and gaze at Jiang Li instead with fervent eyes.

When the living Human Emperor is present, who would continue to read?

Jiang Li had experienced this kind of scene many times before and was well seasoned. He ignored those gazing eyes and randomly flipped through the books.

“Cultivation Technique Crafting Precautions.”

Li Nian’er explained: “This book is a compulsory course for new disciples. It details the situations I have just mentioned. Although they pay attention to it, they would still make the same mistakes in combat.”

Jiang Li found this book very valuable as it recorded the failures of the predecessors of the Body-incorporating Sect.

For instance, there was a warning from one predecessor, saying that it was great to create a projection that looks exactly like yourself, but it was not advisable to observe oneself with a bronze mirror.

“We cultivators should have unyielding bravery and strong belief, confirming to ourselves that we are the strongest.”

“In order to create a projection exactly like myself, I observe myself day and night with a bronze mirror. I can say every tiny detail about me is imprinted in my mind.”

“However, there was unforeseen factor. When I gathered the projection, what formed was not myself but the bronze mirror. Alas.”

“I was relieved a bit as my bronze mirror projection could duplicate my enemy’s cultivation and abilities.”

“Warning to those who come later: Don’t mimic me.”

After reading one person’s failure, Jiang Li went on to another one:

“Warning to those who come later: When creating your own body projection, remember to incorporate clothes into it, or maybe let the projection gleam golden light so no one can see it clearly. In short, do not run around naked like me.”

It was a short passage on failure, but it was enough to imagine what kind of embarrassing situations the predecessor must have experienced.

“It’s better to use beasts that exist in the Jiuzhou world as models. Do not trust the images of fairy beasts in the books completely, there are pirated copies, the quality is awful.”

Jiang Li could easily guess what this predecessor had gone through.

“Strongly resist the regular Cuju games held by the Body-incorporating Sect. Also, do not use the universe as a model. When I was building my universe projection, I watched the sky at night, remembering the position of each star. In this way, when I integrated my projection, the energy of the universe would project onto me.”

“But when I successfully formed my projection, the sect held a Cuju game in which the Body Integration Realm elders participated, causing chaos in the star positions. My projection did not align with the real universe, leading to a sharp reduction in the power of my projection.”

Jiang Li felt that the predecessors of the Body-incorporating Sect had a hard time. There were so many traps in the supposedly simple formation of a projection.

Jiang Li went up to the fourth floor and found a volume of “Body Integration Sutra” there, which detailed the principles of body integration.

“Uncle Jiang, do you need this book?” Being an exemplary disciple of the Body-incorporating Sect, Li Nian’er could also access the fourth through the sixth floors.

“The Body Integration Sutra” is the secret of the Body-incorporating Sect, only available to elders or disciples who have made remarkable contributions.

However, if it’s Jiang Li who wants it, the sect would be delighted to give it to him.

The secret art depends on who it is passed on to.

Jiang Li remembered that one of the rewards for his current mission was half of the “Body Incorporating Sutra”, and the system was docking it.

The stingy system was lagging behind the generosity of the Body-incorporating Sect.

“I don’t need it. Sect Master Li Er has given me the complete “Body Incorporating Sutra.”

When Jiang Li attained the Mahayana Realm, Li Er’s congratulatory gift to him was this very “Body Incorporating Sutra.” He quickly formed his projection following the cultivation technique described in the book.

However, as he grew from a one-year-old Mahayana practitioner to a three-hundred-year-old practitioner, his projection became a tool for him to show off his skills. Now, his projection doesn’t increase his combat power.