Chapter 130: Formless

Although the process had its share of hiccups, Fang Cun indeed gained considerable Merit through those Rogue Cultivators controlled by his Life-Death Sigil. Initially, it was meager—only three to five at a time. But later, this Merit piled up more and more: three hundred, five hundred, one thousand, two thousand… Within a single month, Fang Cun realized in surprise that his total Merit had surged by nearly twenty thousand…

Calculating, this almost matched the combined totals of his earlier arduous efforts to eliminate the Demon threat and suppress banditry.

Indeed, the process had also cost him many white hairs. Though irritated, Fang Cun held no resentment in his heart.

Where Merit flowed, Sin was bound to follow. This was expected. Later, upon careful reflection, he realized the source of those white hairs wasn’t the Celestial Merit Record forcibly assigning him Sin, but rather inevitable Karma.

For instance, one man practicing demonic arts had infiltrated a lady’s chamber to harm her, driven by a hidden motive: to transfer the Gu Insects within him into her body using dark magic. While he ultimately failed, his very intent stemmed directly from Fang Cun’s influence. Fang Cun’s own words had even hinted to them to try any means to lift their Gu curse…

Of course, those who deserved killing still got killed.

Damn! Using the “Soul Captivation Art” on a virtuous lady? How’s that any better than forcing her?

Just having that kind of twisted thinking warrants his head!

“The plan to gain Merit via the Jianghu… has achieved an initial success. The real difficulties lie ahead!”

Confirming this, Fang Cun pondered: “So long as my Life-Death Sigil remains on these Jianghu people, and they’re under my influence each day, do both their good deeds and their wicked acts become linked to me?

“Or… once they become accustomed to this behavior, does the Merit I gain diminish, and the Sin becomes separate?”

He vaguely sensed it might not be as simple as he hoped.

This Celestial Merit Record’s way of granting Merit had never strictly followed set rules.

Consider how, back when he regularly beat Shen Shiming: each beating initially earned him one hundred Merit, but later, this gradually decreased.

Following this pattern of the Celestial Merit Record, these Jianghu folk might initially contribute Merit to him through good deeds – but later, it would surely dwindle. Especially when they became truly habituated to doing good, perhaps even realizing the value of accumulating virtuous deeds themselves, their Merit would no longer be credited to him. Though he might net a large lump sum of “enlightenment” Merit.

Was it akin to shifting from commission to a buyout?

The second difficulty was this: “These people and I are becoming increasingly linked, our Karma ever more tangled. Might a point come where for every Sin they committed, that Sin would simultaneously accumulate on me?”

At this early stage, he was altering the brutal habits of those thugs.

For example, if their past wickedness scored ten points on the Sin scale, under his influence, they now committed Sin worth only seven or eight points.

The missing two points became his Merit.

But when their mutual Karma grew vast, a different scenario was highly possible. The Celestial Merit Record might cease calculating the Merit gained from reduced wickedness and measure instead the absolute wickedness they performed. Then, he wouldn’t be gaining two points of Merit… but simultaneously sharing the Sin for the full seven or eight points they carried out…

These were Fang Cun’s speculations.

But based on the Celestial Merit Record’s temperament, such a scenario seemed entirely plausible.

He had to consider it early to avoid being caught unprepared later.

Being good was always more tiring!

Still, the current situation actually pleased Fang Cun quite a bit.

Especially now that the Merit needed for his cultivation of the “Formless Treasure Body Scripture” was gradually nearing completion…

In the first month, Fang Cun earned close to twenty thousand Merit – a tidy sum.

He was less than fifty thousand Merit away from completing the first step in cultivating the Formless Treasure Body Scripture.

In the second month, his acquired Merit unexpectedly increased further – surpassing twenty thousand and approaching thirty thousand.

Likely, those Jianghu people realized hope was lost for lifting their Gu earlier, pinning their sole remaining hope on reaching his promised three-month period. Thus, that month saw them desperately spending resources to rack up vast amounts of Merit, aiming to exchange it for the “Little Red Flowers” he’d promised.

By the third month, the Merit decreased a bit, falling just short of twenty thousand.

Those Jianghu folks must have discovered tricks: they could complete their tasks perfectly without paying such a high price anymore.

Damn! Did they genuinely start helping grannies cross the street?

Fang Cun felt Xiao Qingliu might need to investigate this later.

But right now, cultivating the Formless Treasure Body Scripture took priority!

Fang Cun had already started practicing the Formless Treasure Body Scripture.

And the path he followed was the foundational method Master Lan Shuang once taught him, laying groundwork early to save half a step ahead.

Only three days after receiving the scripture, Fang Cun began comprehending its methods. After initial familiarity, he accelerated his conversion of Merit into Innate Qi. Using this Innate Qi, he began refining his body’s one hundred and eight major meridians.

He quickly realized he had a daily limit for Merit conversion and refinement.

In regular training, he aimed to convert around two hundred Merit a day. More was possible, but exceeding this meant the surplus Innate Qi placed excessive strain on his physique. Past a critical point, this surplus Qi would dissipate, preventing smooth refinement and causing waste.

He’d discovered his absolute limit was approximately eight hundred Merit daily.

However, once he fully forged his “Treasure Body” and his physical strength increased, his daily capacity for Merit conversion should significantly rise.

“Only seven major meridians left now… Refine them all in one go.”

Time was pressing, so Fang Cun geared up for the final sprint. His Celestial Merit Record currently held over eighteen thousand Merit – ample refining these seven meridians. He informed everyone: his father, mother, the steward and servants, and especially Elder Qu and others. He made it clear to the Academy’s Young Master He – anyone coming was to be turned away.

“This Young Master is going into closed-door cultivation! No visitors until I emerge!”

With everything arranged, Fang Cun entered his underground chamber. Calming his spirit, he focused exclusively on refining the final seven meridians.

Converting eight hundred Merit daily meant one major meridian could be refined in just a little over a day. His task was to maintain intense focus, clearing his mind of all distractions. He guided each strand of internal breath with painstaking precision – the delicate effort akin to a maiden embroidering or an artisan crafting fine workmanship.

One day after another passed. By the ninth day, Fang Cun had refined the one hundred and seventh meridian.

By now, unusual transformations suffused him. He sat cross-legged on the broad stone platform in the chamber, surrounded by silken wisps of divine light. Like living ribbons, they crisscrossed the air, shimmering faintly as they drifted.

Each ribbon of light corresponded to one of his major meridians.

One hundred and seven ribbons now shone densely, filling the entire cavern.

“The Formless Treasure Body… holds no form, knows no shape… offers endless transformations, penetrates all… Circulating all breaths, converges on one thought…”

“Lead Yin and Yang on their heavenly path, fathom the genesis and decay of all creation…”

“…”

The final meridian was now primed for refinement. The nascent form of the one hundred and eighth light ribbon shimmered, intertwining with the other one hundred and seven. Simultaneously, a profound and mysterious awareness arose unbidden in Fang Cun’s mind.

The scripture verses of the Formless Treasure Body Scripture surfaced in his mind with crystal clarity.

Within this flow of scripture, it felt like he pierced time itself, witnessing a scene:

A handsome man, dressed in humble, dusty white robes with a cloth bundle on his back and a sword in hand, walked… He passed through famine-wasted farmland… traversed eerie mountains silently watched by Demons… crossed a sunless Desolate Wasteland dark as eternal night… strode through the opulent decadence of a Zhaoge celestial feast… and trod upon the sacred, frosty plazas of the Immortal Palace…

“Why did I compose this scripture?”

He saw this man sitting at a sturdy, worn writing desk as if answering someone.

“Because this scripture is simply the only remedy for mankind!”

He declared: “Your paths… are all wrong!”

“I see each of you striving, racking your brains, lost on the way forward.”

“My advice? Think more upon where you came from…”

As he spoke, his smile was pure and luminous, utterly untainted, as his brush laid down stark, powerful strokes:

Formless!

“Hah…”

Precisely at this moment, Fang Cun’s final major meridian refined successfully!

His entire body’s one hundred and eight major meridians suddenly became transparent within him. Magical Power, previously forcibly sealed within these meridians like stagnant reservoirs, suddenly surged wildly the instant the final channel completed. As if a crucial blockage vanished, his Magical Power came vividly alive, flowing through his meridian network with startling vitality.

Concurrently, the one hundred and eight divine lights encircling him, each corresponding to a meridian, instantly whirled into the air. Interweaving, morphing, linking, and forming connections, they sketched shapes mirroring heaven’s profound principles – unfurling into ancient, inexpressibly solemn tableaus!

Fang Cun’s physical body at this moment took on a jade-like appearance.

It was as if his skin and clothes had turned translucent, revealing the intricate map of his one hundred and eight major meridians within.

Above, they connected to the vault of heaven; below, they resonated with earth’s arteries!

On the cavern wall, a naturally formed stone dragon head seemed to awaken, its gaze fixing silently upon him.

Outside, the two stone lion statues tilted their heads, grinning as if amused, or perhaps sighing with knowing.

In the manor gardens, every butterfly resting on blossoms was startled aloft, fluttering skyward.

Elder Qu, dozing in his little courtyard, was suddenly jolted by inexplicable elation. Instinctively he looked toward his Alchemy Cauldron – to discover an elixir he’d struggled with for so long… had inexplicably succeeded!

… Everything seemed changed. Yet nothing seemed different.

Inside the cavern, Fang Cun remained silent for a long, long time. Finally, his voice low, he murmured:

“Brother… You’re truly remarkable…”