The Third Aspect, Twin Dragons Bathe the Buddha, was modeled after a mythical vision said to have occurred at the birth of the Buddha.
According to legend, when the Buddha was born, he took seven steps upon the earth. At each step, a lotus bloomed beneath his foot.
One hand pointed to the sky, the other to the earth, and he declared: "In heaven and on earth, I alone am honored." Two dragons appeared and, from their mouths, released water to bathe the newborn Buddha.
Thus, this form was named Twin Dragons Bathe the Buddha.
Chen Kuang had used this technique to sever Li Hongling's spine, so he very well understood its overwhelming force.
When unleashed, it permitted nothing else in the world.
This technique emphasized mental momentum, a kind of inner force not unlike the formations used by military units.
If one harbored the belief of invincibility in the heart, then the technique would manifest with invincible force.
However, without sufficient Spiritual Energy, all the will in the world was as insubstantial as floating duckweed.
Even if one managed to execute the move, it would drain one's mental strength, spirit, and life force in an instant, leading to immediate death.
Back then, Chen Kuang had possessed a Divine Mountain Borrowing Jade that provided an immense reserve of Spiritual Energy, allowing him to use the form without fear.
Combined with the unwavering will to kill Li Hongling, he had managed to perform the technique flawlessly.
Now, however, he was just a cultivator with nine opened acupoints. With no enemy in front of him, he couldn't properly unleash the form again.
He was simply recalling the sensations of that moment, trying to comprehend its intent and prepare himself to enter that state again when needed.
Fortunately, his passive ability, Martial Prodigy, was exceptionally effective.
He seamlessly transitioned from Descent from Tusita Heaven, to White Lotus Rebirth, and then into Twin Dragons Bathe the Buddha.
A white lotus mark flickered between his brows. His aura surged and pulsed, one hand pointing to the heavens, the other to the earth.
The power within him split, light and pure above, heavy and murky below, gradually merging into one.
When he reached the Fourth Layer of Force Weaving, his awareness seemed to float above his crown, transporting him back to that battlefield.
In a flash, the image of Li Hongling's giant halberd swinging toward him appeared vividly before his eyes. His heart clenched, muscles tensed and blood surged.
His inner force reached the Fifth Layer.
Chen Kuang's eyes snapped open just as his hands were about to form a seal. The force within his body pressed against the floorboards, which began to groan under the pressure. Furniture around him rattled.
"Huh..."
He took a deep breath, forcibly stopping himself at that moment. The opposing forces on his hands ground against one another, gradually dissipating, like a millstone, refining the unleashed Spiritual Energy to its purest form.
"Huu.."
The refined Spiritual Energy gathered around him. His sleeves billowed, becoming like a misty, translucent veil.
Over his white robe, the veil gradually took shape,like a monk's kasaya.
The Fourth Aspect: Moon-Clad Kasaya.
A smile tugged at the corner of Chen Kuang's lips.
It worked!
Where Twin Dragons Bathe the Buddha was about explosive force, Moon-Clad Kasaya was about containment. It refined the body repeatedly using Spiritual Energy, and then reversed the process, letting the tempered body refine the Spiritual Energy outwardly to form a protective kasaya-like barrier.
Strictly speaking, this was not something a Qi Opening Realm cultivator should be capable of.
It required one to reach the Innate Realm, where the body underwent true purification and transformation.
But Chen Kuang had a bold idea: since Twin Dragons Bathe the Buddha merged opposing forces to form its invincible power, what if he used the moment before its completion, when the two forces were still in opposition, to refine his Spiritual Energy?
As it turned out, it worked.
But it was a clever workaround, not a legitimate path.
It was useful for emergencies, but not sustainable in the long term.
After all, the goal of the Mud-Forged Gold Body Technique was to temper the body. All other methods were just tools, they could not replace the essence of its cultivation.
He repeated the sequence several times, practicing until the moon hung high in the night sky.
"Hah..."
Chen Kuang let out a long breath and slowly brought his aura to rest. The billowing of his sleeves quieted and the white lotus between his brows faded.
His Fifth Layer of Force Weaving was still a bit unstable, he lacked enough Spiritual Energy to sustain it.
The Fourth Layer, however, had become second nature.
He roughly estimated that, with a full-power Twin Dragons Bathe the Buddha, he could kill someone at the Innate Realm, and perhaps even land a blow on someone at the Tower Ascension Realm.
Though... only the ground floor of that tower. Anything higher was pure suicide.
The passive 'Invincible Before the Divine' had its limitations. It only activated in the presence of enemies much stronger than him.
But how many such high-level enemies would he encounter on a daily basis?
Chen Kuang shook his head, flicked his sleeves, and collapsed onto the bed, completely exhausted.
...
The Next Morning
The first thing Chen Kuang did upon waking was check his status panel.
[You have reunited with long-lost family members. You have gained the passive ability: "Wind Leans on the Tree." The more kin you have, the stronger your physical body becomes.]
Chen Kuang: "..."
He rubbed his chin in thought.
Then he walked over to the table, raised his left hand, and plucked the strings of Dragon Gums with his right.
Zheng-schhh!
A deep gash split open on his left hand, blood immediately welling up, but when he circulated his Spiritual Energy, it began to close and heal in seconds.
"Hiss..."
Chen Kuang's eyes widened.
With Dragon Gums' sharpness, that strike should have sliced his hand off.
But now, it had left only a flesh wound!
He had only reunited with four family members, and already his physical resilience had nearly doubled.
If I had seventy or eighty descendants... wouldn't I be invincible?
The temptation was real. But he quickly pushed that thought away.
Setting aside the time it would take to produce that many heirs... where was he going to find enough women willing to bear them?
Besides, going down that road would practically make him a demonic cultivator.
"Sigh..."
Chen Kuang looked at the name of the new passive and murmured thoughtfully:
"The wind leans on the tree... The tree desires stillness, but the wind does not stop; the child wishes to provide for the parent, but they are no longer there."
"The effect of this passive is like having family standing guard beside you.. But for me... It's better to cut the cord quickly."
Elixir of Immortality, Flesh Reishi, his path led toward isolation, toward the arduous search for the Dao.
Still, if this passive was going to be useful for longer, he might as well explore ways to prolong his family members' lives.
Reversing fate was not easy. Even someone like Chen An might not reach the Tower Ascension Realm in his lifetime.
Chen Kuang already had someone in mind to ask.
The most orthodox and disciplined cultivator around: the Dao Child of the Mysterious Divine Path Sect, who just so happened to be right next door.
He grabbed Dragon Gums and headed for the guest room, just in time to run into Shen Meinan, who was about to knock.
Chen Kuang paused as Shen Meinan suddenly handed him her Longevity Lock.
"My sister has something to tell you. Take this."
Chen Kuang raised an eyebrow, accepting it. "Has the immortal sister gotten a lead from her master?"
The longevity lock trembled slightly. Shen Xingzhu's voice came through:
"That sword... is called Wujian."
"Thirteen years ago, it was forged at the shore of the Eastern Court Lake by a traitor from the Sword Furnace Pavilion, Jie Kun. The sword's birth required a blood sacrifice of one hundred thousand lives."
Chen Kuang's pupils shrank sharply.
Thirteen years ago, at the Eastern Court Lake, the drought that had changed his fate, that was the time when one hundred thousand people had died.