The attribute template in his mind changed suddenly, and his cultivation skyrocketed:
Cultivation: 99%
Divine Skills: None
Survival Time: 2 minutes (Not enough to convert into cultivation)
"So the longer I survive, the stronger I become?"
Although Li Ping'an had only now understood the role of the golden finger, it was already too late because the golden finger's requirements were completely at odds with his current predicament.
The golden finger required him to live, but the Human-Headed Dog Demon wanted him dead, and was about to kill him.
Seeing death was imminent, he, who was so weak, had neither the ability nor the time to earn survival value!
Indeed, his situation within the game world could be considered doomed; once dead in the game, he would also perish in reality!
"Cultivation? Divine Skills? These seem like Taoist terms. Perhaps the methods to enhance cultivation can be found in Taoist scriptures!"
A spark of inspiration flashed through Li Ping'an's mind:
Enhancing cultivation could make him stronger, becoming stronger could enable him to kill the Human-Headed Dog Demon, and only by killing the Human-Headed Dog Demon could he survive in both the world of "Black Myth: The Fated One" and the real world!
Caught in a desperate situation in the "Black Myth: The Fated One" world, he could only seek a way to live in the real world!
"Save game!"
Everything came to an abrupt halt, Li Ping'an blinked, and his whole being returned to the quiet and peaceful dormitory, yet the fear of death still lingered, and the threat of death still existed.
Anxious, Li Ping'an immediately turned on his computer and began to look up information related to cultivation and Divine Skills. But, before he started his search, something strange occurred to him, something bizarre.
"King Huang Feng Bodhisattva? Who exactly is that? And who is the Dharma Protector Deity Shi Gandang of Little Mount Sumeru?"
So he first searched online for information about King Huang Feng Bodhisattva and the Dharma Protector Deity Shi Gandang of Little Mount Sumeru:
King Huang Feng is not a bodhisattva from the Three Realms but a Demon King from "Journey to the West."
Originally a yellow-furred marten that attained the Dao at the foot of Spirit Mountain, he fled in fear of punishment by the vajras and Tathagata after stealing the clear oil from a glazed glass lamp. Tathagata, not willing to punish him with death, had Bodhisattva Lingji grant his escape back to the mountains to live in seclusion.
Wielding a Three-Pronged Steel Trident, the Yellow Wind's Monster possessed high martial skill, vast Divine Skills, and limitless mana. With a single breath, he could whip up an invincible yellow wind that wreaked havoc across the Three Realms.
After stealing the lamp from Spirit Mountain, he carried off Monk Tang to Yellow Wind Ridge but was eventually subdued by Bodhisattva Lingji with the Flying Dragon Staff.
As for Little Mount Sumeru, it is Bodhisattva Lingji's place of cultivation, with the Shi Gandang beast as his mount and the Fire Powered Vajra as his Dharma Protector Deity.
Bodhisattva Lingji has two Magical Treasures: the Wind-Calming Pearl and the Flying Dragon Zen Staff.
The Wind-Calming Pearl, which was his personal treasure, was highly effective against wind-based spells: it could counter the Yellow Wind's Monster's Samadhi Divine Wind and Princess Iron Fan's Banana Leaf Fan; during the events at Flame Mountain, he handed it to Sun Wukong.
And the Flying Dragon Zen Staff, a gift from Tathagata Buddha, was taken by Tathagata after subduing the Yellow Wind's Monster.
That was all the information available online about King Huang Feng and the Dharma Protector Deity Shi Gandang of Little Mount Sumeru.
"That's not right! According to the information, Shi Gandang beast was Bodhisattva Lingji's mount, and the Fire Powered Vajra was his Dharma Protector Deity. How did Shi Gandang become the Dharma Protector Deity of Little Mount Sumeru in the game?"
"Wasn't the Flying Dragon Staff taken back by Tathagata Buddha? How come it's in King Huang Feng's possession?"
"Most baffling of all, how did King Huang Feng become a Bodhisattva? How did Bodhisattva Lingji's head end up in King Huang Feng's hands?"
A series of questions bloomed in Li Ping'an's mind, leading to an extremely bold conjecture:
After Bodhisattva Lingji spared King Huang Feng, the latter went to Spirit Mountain, and for some reason took the Flying Dragon Staff and fled. In collusion with his mount, Shi Gandang beast, they attacked while Bodhisattva Lingji was resting with closed eyes, beheaded him without the Wind-Calming Pearl, and killed the Fire Powered Vajra.
King Huang Feng Bodhisattva returned to Yellow Wind Ridge and appointed Shi Gandang as the Dharma Protector Deity. Not only did they cause misfortune in the Human Realm, but they also impersonated Bodhisattvas to enjoy the incense offerings from the living.
"It's impossible!"
Li Ping'an immediately let out a silly laugh:
"If King Huang Feng wants to get the Flying Dragon Staff, he first has to get past Tathagata Buddha. Don't tell me Tathagata is also gone? Hahaha! This idea is too dark!"
The more Li Ping'an thought about it, the more he considered it absurd and hilarious. Since it currently had no impact on him, he stopped paying attention to this matter and continued to look up information about Divine Skills and Cultivation Levels.
The first thing he found was about various Taoist systems. There were hundreds of them currently in existence, each divided into many categories.
Alchemy Cauldrons, Talismans, Qingcheng, Mao Mountain, Wen Shizu's Origin Beginning Sect, Liezi's Empty Void Sect, Wang Xuanfu's Lesser Yang Sect, Great Peace, Kunlun, Om, Primordial, Pure, and others.
Each of these systems varied according to its classification, and each held different theories. Combined with each individual's unique circumstances, their Cultivation Techniques were endlessly varied.
After all this, Li Ping'an was quite distressed. Just when he was about to give up, a piece of information caught his eye:
"The Yellow Court Classic is a main scripture of the Supreme Purity School of Taoism and can serve as an introductory book for Cultivators. Not only can it absorb Spiritual Essence and channel qi into the sea, resonate the heart with the lute in triple layers, and have the five qi facing the Yuan, it can also refine the character, increase longevity, and lead to becoming an immortal or a saint."
"However, during the practice, one must sever the Seven Emotions and Six Desires, and one must thoroughly experience them before cutting them off, especially the most difficult desires for mortals to sever: lust and love."
"This is good; I happen to be a virgin, and I haven't experienced love either!"
Thus, Li Ping'an found the full content of the Yellow Court Classic and, armed with a glossary of classical Chinese terms, prepared to painstakingly digest it word by word.
The Yellow Court Classic begins with:
In front of Supreme Purity's Zixia, the Supreme Jade Dawn Lord sat,
During leisure, he composed in seven-word lines and scattered his five forms to transform into myriad divine beings.
This prefaced the Yellow Court as the Inner Chapters, where the heart played thrice upon the lute, and the fetal immortals danced...
With Li Ping'an's current level of comprehension, it was definitely impossible for him to understand the Yellow Court Classic in one go.
As his head began to ache from trying to understand, he flipped through other Taoist scriptures to see if he could grasp any in one reading, but the results were the same.
He realized that this was the nature of both Taoist and Buddhist scriptures: they seemed petrified that someone could understand them, always using obscure language to describe everything, various Buddhist concepts like the 'Six Dusts,' 'Maha,' 'Asankhya kalpas,' and Taoist concepts like 'the dragon and tiger,' 'lead and mercury,' 'the beautiful goddess'...
Who the hell could understand such things!
Moreover, the same Taoist term could have different meanings in different Taoist texts!
All in all, the more Taoist scriptures he read, the more confused he became.
Damn it all!
Frustrated and having gained nothing, Li Ping'an wished he could travel back in time and give a good thrashing to the monks and Cultivators who wrote these books. Taoist and Buddhist scriptures are meant to be read, not to show off with. Was it necessary to write them so cryptically?
However, the attribute template lurking in his mind subtly changed:
Cultivation Level: Qi Gathering Realm 1%
Divine Skills: Communicate with Spirits, Expel Spirits
Time alive: 2 minutes
Strength: 5, Mana: 0, Defense: 5, Charm: 5, Luck: 5 (Ordinary Attributes)