Under One Person: The Seeker of the Dao in the Lü Family

Chapter 179, Nine-Sequence Heart Sutra, Deducing the Threefold Reversal of Life

Fujian, Sanyi Gate

Zuo Ruotong drifted back to the mountain gate like a wisp of smoke, his face serious, completely unlike his previous casual and humble demeanor.

"Changqing, summon the disciples to the Ancestral Hall for a meeting."

As Zuo Ruotong passed the doorway, he strode across the threshold and gave instructions to the disciple standing to the side.

"yes!"

Seeing his master hurrying towards the ancestral hall, Changqing could only suppress his doubts and go to inform the Sanyi disciples.

……

The Sanyi Sect was originally just a middling sect, and because the Reverse Life Triple Cultivation was extremely dangerous, only a handful of people were trained in each generation.

It wasn't until Zuo Ruotong, the Great Ying Immortal, appeared out of nowhere that this remote, middle-class sect was elevated to a level that was beyond its own reach.

At Changqing's call, the group could only head toward the Ancestral Hall with some confusion. But when they stepped into the courtyard, they could only see Zuo Ruotong sitting cross-legged on the ground in the center of the courtyard.

In front of him lay a set of white robes, the same style as the robes of the Sanyi Sect, but slightly old and worn.

"Senior brother, what important matter do you wish to discuss with us by summoning your disciples here?"

Si Chong emerged from the crowd with a puzzled look. "Could it be that our trip to Qin didn't yield any magical opportunities?"

"No, although I did not obtain the destiny of immortality, I did obtain the destiny belonging to the Sanyi Sect."

Zuo Ruotong slowly opened his eyes. He picked up the white robe in front of him, stood up, and walked to Si Chong. "Junior brother, do you still recognize this robe?"

Si Chong took the clothes from Zuo Ruotong with a puzzled look, frowned and looked at them for a while, then suddenly asked Zuo Ruotong excitedly.

"This is Master's Taoist robe, Senior Brother. Have you managed to track him down?"

After Zuo Ruotong succeeded to the position of sect leader, their master went down the mountain to travel and search for a way to break through the three levels. There has been no news of him for decades.

"Yes, we obtained it, but it's not good news. Master failed to attain enlightenment and has dispersed from the path."

Zuo Ruotong closed his eyes and handed the letter Lü Qian had given him to Si Chong from his bosom. "Junior brother, after you finish reading it, you will understand what your senior brother is going to do today."

Si Chong was initially grief-stricken, then took the letter with confusion. But when he saw it for the first time, his pupils trembled, and he gripped it tightly, wanting to tear it up.

"Impossible! This is definitely not Master's last letter!"

"boom!"

"You unfilial child, are you going to betray your master and ancestors?"

A large hand emanating white energy snatched the letter, then reversed its back and struck Si Chong in the chest, shoving him violently against the courtyard wall.

Zuo Ruotong looked at his junior brother, with whom he had spent every day, in disbelief. He never expected that Si Chong could deceive himself to such an extent.

This junior brother would rather destroy his master's last letter than expose the secret of the Reverse Rebirth Triple Technique.

He originally planned to persuade Si Chong first, and then the two of them would announce to the disciples that the Reverse Rebirth Triple Cycle was a scam.

But Zuo Ruotong never expected that Si Chong would dare to do something so deceitful to stop him.

The other members of the Sanyi Sect present looked at the two in shock and confusion, somewhat bewildered as to how the situation had developed to this point.

Si Chong was slammed against the wall by Zuo Ruotong's backhand. He staggered a few steps, his body surging with white energy, and his broken bones and internal organs slowly repaired.

He looked at Zuo Ruotong, his eyes filled with sorrow, "Cough... Senior brother, this is fake, you can't believe it!"

"Thump!"

After saying that, he suddenly knelt down in the direction of Zuo Ruotong, and roared wildly.

"Senior brother, the Left Sect Master, the Great Ying Immortal, and the Reverse Rebirth Triple Realm are not wrong; the one who is wrong is the thief who wrote this letter!"

Seeing Si Chong's self-deceiving behavior, Zuo Ruotong's previously wavering resolve hardened completely. He turned to look at his disciples below with a solemn expression.

"Everyone, today I, Zuo Ruotong, in my capacity as the head of the Sanyi Sect, announce to the world that the Triple Rebirth... is a hoax!"

"Master, what are you saying? How could the Reverse Rebirth Triple Stage be a scam? Have you lost your composure because you haven't found your destiny in immortality?"

Below, Chengzhen, the eldest disciple, stepped out from among the disciples and used his loud questioning to cover up their panic.

"Chengzhen, have you also become hopelessly addicted to empty fame?"

Zuo Ruotong looked at Chengzhen, who was his heir. Chengzhen glanced at him and dared not meet his eyes, but the ruthlessness and hypocrisy in that instant truly surprised him.

"Very well, very well. Our Trinity Sect upholds integrity as its foundation and takes integrity as its guiding principle. We even use honesty as a test for entry selection. I never expected that two dishonest thieves would emerge from here!"

He looked at the two of them with disappointment, recalling Li Muxuan, whom he had criticized as dishonest and sent down the mountain two years ago.

"Alright, let me, as the sect leader, explain the deception of the Triple Rebirth Technique to you all."

Zuo Ruotong reached out and silenced the crowd's doubts, then sat back down in the center of the courtyard, just as she usually did when preaching.

The disciples and followers present also stopped their panic and sat down attentively to listen to Zuo Ruotong explain the Threefold Path of Reversal of Life.

Ultimately, no matter how much Si Chong and Cheng Zhen quarrel, the Great Ying Immortal Zuo Ruotong is the golden signboard and the pillar of the San Yi Sect.

As long as Zuo Ruotong remains the same rejuvenated and highly skilled Great Ying Immortal, the Sanyi Sect will never descend into chaos.

Looking at the calmed crowd below, Zuo Ruotong felt a little comforted and slowly spoke in a deep voice.

"Following the trend allows one to avoid calamities, while going against the tide allows one to achieve great merit. This is the philosophy of the Three Ones Sect, and also the general principle of the Threefold Reversal of Life."

"When a person is born, the primordial energy follows the natural order, one begets two, two begets three, three begets all things... thus evolving into the limbs, bones, organs, and meridians."

"If one goes with the flow, one can enjoy happiness, longevity, and good health, but one will inevitably die; if one goes against the flow, there is a glimmer of hope."

"The Threefold Reversal of Life aims to re-cultivate a person back to the state of primordial Qi, thereby pursuing ascension to heaven, but in reality, even the Threefold Reversal cannot lead to heaven."

Zuo Ruotong shook his head and pointed to the white robe that was his keepsake. "This is your master's keepsake. He may have had one foot in the third level, but in the end, he dissipated into a wisp of scattered energy."

"The first level of Reverse Rebirth is when true qi is abundant and transforms into skin and flesh. Once mastered, every movement will possess the power of a dragon and a tiger."

"This level corresponds to the balanced refining of the three treasures of the human body—essence, qi, and spirit—transforming [all things] into [three].

"The second level of Reverse Rebirth is the transformation of Qi into muscles, bones, and internal organs. After mastering this, one is immune to water and fire, and cannot be harmed by knives or axes. If one masters it to a high level, one can be immune to all evils, free from all diseases, and even regenerate severed limbs."

"This level corresponds to reducing the Three Treasures to the two aspects of life and nature, attempting to transform 'three' into 'two'."

"But from this point onward, the Triple Rebirth has gone down the wrong path!"

As he spoke, Zuo Ruotong activated the Reverse Life Triple Realm, his body enveloped in white aura, resembling an immortal being descended from the clouds.

"From this point onward, Ni Sheng began to excessively pursue the so-called Qi transformation, losing its function of tempering life."

"The inner cultivation method of the sect, the Nine Sequences Heart Sutra, records that this step requires guiding the Qi from the [Gen Back] point, allowing the Qi to flow along the Du Meridian, rushing to the Lingtai point, refining the primordial spirit, and increasing sexual power."

"According to the Bagua (Eight Trigrams) of the human body, the back belongs to the Gen trigram, which is Yin. The circulation of Qi and blood originates from here, so its effect on strengthening life force is naturally negligible."

"After passing through the Lingtai point, this Qi of the universe no longer circulates through the five internal organs, but instead rushes directly to the limbs and bones, and its ability to strengthen life force is negligible."

As Zuo Ruotong pointed to various parts of her body, she carefully explained to the crowd below.

"From then on, the balance between life and death gradually became unbalanced. Reversing the flow of life achieved a transformation of Qi that defied the heavens, but it abandoned the path of preserving both life and death!"

"After the second stage, there is a dead end. If you want to continue, you can only seek external forces to constantly break the state of reverse life and let the ability of Qi transformation autonomously increase your life force."

"Because each breakage will lead to a more solidified transformation of Qi, which symbolizes the continuous improvement of one's own life force."

He shook his head. "As for the third level, the sect has passed down this knowledge for a long time, but there is no record of anyone explicitly reaching this level."

"Even I am currently only at the second level of the Reverse Life Realm, not yet at the third level, so I cannot explain too much to you at this time."

"As for what I just said, it was deduced by my master after combining the alchemy techniques of the Ziyang School, and I also verified it myself, so it is indeed credible."

"If one continues down the path of the Reverse Rebirth Triple, one will either turn into a wisp of smoke and vanish into nothingness between heaven and earth."

"Either you continuously reconstruct yourself from the ashes, constantly balance your life and cultivation, and finally return from the two to the one, embracing yourself, but this state is far from being called ascension."

"This state, while representing a reversal of fortune reaching a new level, has completely led to a dead end!"