The area of the inner treasury where Daoist books were stored was lit with refreshing incense, not knowing if it was offered by the Imperial Hospital or some Daoist, capable of clearing the mind and improving attention.
Upon arrival, Li Changzhou had the female official in charge snuff out all the incense.
It is hard to transition from luxury to austerity, and he didn't want to develop the habit of 'relying on external objects to sharpen his focus and enter "Concentration".'
The Daoist books in the Imperial Palace's inner treasury—all in terms of hierarchy—are far superior to those in the Heavenly Palace's library.
"Great Sun Tathagata Mantra" had half of it, "Earthly Fiend's Seventy-Two Transformations" had twenty-four transformations, "Thirty-Six Heavenly Gang Skills" had eight.
Others included "Divine Soar Thunder Baptism Alchemy Pact," "One Qi to Three Pure Ones, Buddhist Three-Life Body General Theory," "Ancient Sixty-Four Codex of Escape Skills" (compiled by later generations, containing individual escape skills), "The Bones of Immortals among Immortals," "Eight Diagram Finger Secrets," "Cave Heaven Blessed Land Suction of Spiritual Opportunity Treasure Manual," and so on.
It was like seeing a table full of favorite delicacies, momentarily unsure of which to eat first.
After hesitating a bit, Li Changzhou still picked up the most famous "Thirty-Six Heavenly Gang Skills," which only detailed the cultivation methods for eight skills, the rest either fragmented and not fit for practice or simply bearing a name.
The eight skills were: Patching the Sky and Bathing in the Sun, Mediation Creation, Returning to Heaven and Returning to Sun, Reverse Knowledge of the Future, Resurrection, Body-Levitation, Transmuting Rocks into Gold, Insight Through Walls.
Patching the Sky and Bathing in the Sun—magical power so strong that it could patch the sky and bathe in the sun, activating this Heavenly Gang Skill would enhance the quantity and intensity of magical power tenfold without any upper limit;
Mediation Creation—Nuwa created humans using this Heavenly Gang Skill, intervening in the birth and death of cosmic matter;
Returning to Heaven and Returning to Sun—a Heavenly Gang Skill that allows one to return to the past, with a note cautioning that time might set off alarms and apprehend one (Li Changzhou's translation), prohibiting reckless returns to the past or travel to the future;
Many deities could travel to the future, so while Returning to Heaven and Returning to Sun was miraculous, Li Changzhou didn't find it particularly strange.
The remaining five Heavenly Gang Skills were just as formidable, and after memorizing their cultivation methods, Li Changzhou put aside the "Thirty-Six Heavenly Gang Skills"—even the entry requirements for Insight Through Walls, the lowest among them, needed the magical power of a Human Immortal Position.
Mediation Creation and Transmuting Rocks into Gold both required the magical power of a Heavenly Immortal; these two Heavenly Gang Skills, one fundamentally birthed and extinguished matter, the other fundamentally changed matter.
He then looked at "Earthly Fiend's Seventy-Two," which had lower requirements, but some still needed the magical power of a Human Immortal.
After memorizing it, Li Changzhou, lacking a particular interest, casually picked up a book titled "Supreme Path of the Human Body's Heavenly Eye."
This spell stated that the sky too had eyes, seeing all, endowed with limitless might, and that one could open an eye on the body to draw upon the Heavenly Eye.
The effects of the Human Body's Heavenly Eye differed in strength, each with its own miraculous aspects.
The spell also contained a message from its creator, suggesting that since one could borrow the Heavenly Eye, the same should be true for the Heavenly Ear, Nose, Hand, Foot, and all other parts of the body, hoping that future practitioners would continue to innovate based on the Heavenly Eye, until one day, the whole body would be replaced by the "Heaven."
"If my whole body were replaced by 'heaven,' would I still be myself?"
As someone exceedingly confident and fond of his own appearance, Li Changzhou would not even consider using magic to alter his features, much less allow some heaven to reside within his body.
But it wasn't useless; at least, it provided some ideas.
He didn't like the idea of heaven residing in his body, but he could inhabit others, to protect Li Qianxia, Yang Qinglan, or to monitor and control other people.
Li Changzhou set this spell to the side.
Even if he wanted to study it, it was not the time.
He reached out for "One Qi to Three Pure Ones, Buddhist Three-Life Body General Theory," but as he unfolded the spell, he suddenly furrowed his brows and lifted his head.
The female official, who had led him in and was instructed not to disturb him, stood at the entrance of the treasury's book area.
"What is it?" Li Changzhou lowered his head, continuing to peruse the spell in his hands, guessing that the Jiajing Emperor was looking for him—otherwise, why would a female official disregard his order?
There was one possibility: the official thought he was too handsome and came to seduce him. In the words of Nie Xiaoqian, it would be like saying, "unable to sleep on a moonlit night, wishing for a relationship with a swan."
From the "neck" of the black mist, faint thin wisps of smoke reformed into the shape of a head.
['Ghost Head Removal' replication successful, detected 'Player's' Skill maxed out, please choose a Skill to replace...]
Li Changzhou lifted his head and saw the female official behind the black mist holding her own head.
Player?
It must be a player!
Who else but a player could carry out such bizarre deeds within the Forbidden City?
Glancing at the skill introduction, he found it useless.
[Do not replace]
Out of a copper basin by his feet, a flame grew from the burning charcoal, whooshed out, and burned a hole through the forehead and abdomen of the female official's head held in her hands, connecting front to back.
The female official fell to the ground with a thud, her head rolling out and stopping against a cabinet.
No Identity Card.
Based on the description of 'Ghost Head Removal' in his mind, this female official was also infected by the Skill.
Li Changzhou waved his sleeve and a gust of wind issued forth, sweeping flames from the basin, incinerating the female official into ash.
He continued reading "One Qi to Three Pure Ones, Buddhist Three-Life Body General Theory."
The Three Pure Ones: Taiching, Shangqing, Yuqing;
The Three-Life Bodies: past life, present life, future life;
The book stated: the names of the Buddhist and Daoist methods differed, but they all concerned the transformations and applications of the body's "essence, qi, and spirit"...