Chapter 128

Ye Qin had a premonition; right now the monk hasn't moved, just lingering around him, but perhaps it's only because of some restraint, waiting for an opportunity.

If after ten thousand days the restraint disappears and the monk has no more taboos, then if he really starts to act, it would be even more troublesome.

Ye Qin dare not gamble on that possibility, nor let himself fall into such a passive situation, so it's better to strike first.

"The urgent task is to condense a golden elixir as soon as possible, but how should the breakthrough be done?"

Ye Qin felt a bit headache, after all a great enemy was before him, leaving him little time; his snake tail nervously beat the ground, and the bright red snake tongue flicked more frequently.

The more critical the moment, the more he needed to stay calm; his deep snake eyes again became tranquil, like a pool of unfathomable depth, seeming that no matter how the outside world changed, it could not shake him.

Monster elixir equals golden elixir.

And what is a golden elixir?

"Gold" means a firm, eternal, indestructible thing; "elixir" means a round, pure, flawless thing.

Between qi elixir and golden elixir, there seems to be some kind of connection.

They share similarities but also differences; qi elixir relies on external force, refining elixirs aided by heavenly-earthly qi, so golden elixir surely uses a similar method.

All things are interconnected; understanding one leads to understanding many.

Ye Qin recalled the situation when he previously formed his qi elixir; by refining elixir, he increased the qi clusters within his body, and a qualitative change brought about a quantitative change.

Can it be understood that the qi elixir is refined externally, while the golden elixir is refined internally?

Therefore, the golden elixir is also referred to as internal elixir? There is a distinction between external and internal refinement.

The "Wuzhen Pian" has a verse: "Set up the furnace and cauldron according to the law of Qian and Kun, temper the essence to form the corporeal and spiritual souls. Gathering and dispersing, the yin-yang mist transforms; thus the profound mysteries are discussed casually."

Thus it can be seen that the best furnace and cauldron for refining the golden elixir is oneself; refining water and fire, refining yin and yang, to balance yin and yang, harmonize water and fire, and stabilize the viscera.

Regarding the notion of the body as furnace and cauldron, some believe the whole body is the furnace and cauldron, some believe it must be the dantian, and others believe its position is not fixed and must be comprehended in emptiness and stillness.

When the body is taken as the furnace and cauldron, regardless of its location, one must cultivate the Vital Essence to transform the body's yin quality into yang qi; thereafter yin and yang qi mutually transform, endlessly, thus forming the internal elixir, i. e., the commonly called golden elixir.

The foundation of the golden elixir lies in the changes of yin and yang, the mutual generation and restriction of the five phases, the unity of heaven and humanity, and therein the combination of refining essence into qi, refining qi into spirit, and refining spirit back to void, etc.

"Therefore, to refine a golden elixir, one must take oneself as the furnace and cauldron, take essence, qi, and spirit as the objects, master their modes of movement, and through refinement and nurturing cause them to condense into an elixir within the body."

Since ancient times there has been the Dao giving birth to One, One giving birth to Two, Two giving birth to Three, and Three again giving rise to all things; this is the forward process whereby there is life and death, endless generation—the Way of Creation.

The golden elixir proceeds in reverse: it causes all things to unite into Three, Three again transforms into Two, Two returns to One, forming the golden elixir and returning to the origin.

The "Xici Shang" of the Zhouyi says: "Essence and qi constitute things; wandering souls constitute changes; therefore one can know the condition of ghosts and spirits."

That is to say, refined qi condenses into material form, while the wandering qi-soul disperses and causes change; by observing the changes in material form, one can discern the true state of "ghosts and spirits."

Obviously, the saying in the Zhouyi is rather abstruse.

However, in ancient thought, besides the concept of "essence and qi," there is also the concept of "spirit."

In the Zhuangzi, Lie Yukou chapter, when describing the state of life of the sage, the term "spirit" is used; in the Zhuangzi, "spirit" refers to a person's "will and intention."

Obviously, in the Zhuangzi's discourse, it is relatively plain and easy to understand.

Moreover, besides these, there are medical theories, the Yellow Emperor's teachings, and the Suwen, each offering its own unique perspective on the three entities of Vital Essence.

Likewise, as the Daoists say, the most important among them are refining essence into qi, refining qi into spirit, and refining spirit back to void; these are indispensable steps.

Thus, the choice of which theory to follow concerns the application of Vital Essence.

After Ye Qin's deliberation, he ultimately chose the Daoist school based on his own cultivation circumstances, and then combined his own cultivation insights, adding some of his own understanding.

"Ye Qin's View": Essence is the foundation, qi is the motive force, spirit is the sovereign.

Using his own mental power, he transforms essence into qi; the qi then returns from the huiyin and weilu, tracing the jiaji upward to reach the upper dantian, then descends again to the dantian, circulating repeatedly, gently nurturing, eliminating yin quality, accumulating pure yang, whereby the golden elixir is thereby completed.

"The Great Dao of the golden elixir has ancient records, but what I cultivate is an elixir of monsters; I must forge my own path, may draw on the ancients but cannot learn indiscriminately—how could one who merely imitates others survive?"

"I should take myself as the furnace and cauldron, refine and transform the three great medicines of Vital Essence, and forge an elixir of monsters!"

Ye Qin's line of thought in his mind gradually became clear, just as ordinary elixir refining is; except this time the tool is himself, and the so-called medicinal herbs are Vital Essence.

Thus he refines a pellet of elixir within his body; this pellet is the golden elixir. He must gather the strength of his whole body, concentrate it at the dantian, return to simplicity and truth, and condense it into an elixir.

Thus, the monster elixir is accomplished!

Thus it can be known that here the Vital Essence must be closely related to himself; essence is not difficult to understand—if it is the foundation, then it should be his object of contemplation.

After all, this is a thing of the spiritual level; it ought to be suitable.

As for qi, it is motive force; it can be substituted with the qi of heaven and earth, and there is nothing better.

As for spirit—

Ye Qin could not think of anything on his person that could substitute for it, at least for the moment; what seemed usable has already been used.

A flash of inspiration crossed his mind; his eyes fell on the Mountain Base, where the Mountain God's temple stood; this also owed to that deserted temple and the monk who gave him inspiration.

"The incense of the Mountain God's temple gathers the thought-power of all beings; as the Suwen says, is this not the finest 'spirit'?"

The Mountain God's temple is closely related to him; the villagers' piety and awe, together with the flourishing incense, make this collective intention even stronger; if it could be integrated into the golden elixir, the result is easy to imagine.

Thus this is Ye Qin's understanding of Vital Essence after referring to the ancients!

And thus, with these three great medicines entering the furnace and cauldron, the monster elixir will surely be accomplished!

"Although this expedition has brought trouble, it also gave me a breakthrough idea."

All preparations are complete; with a clear idea, Ye Qin can begin refining the golden elixir at any time.

But the ghostly monk follows him like a shadow, occasionally appearing to disturb him, preventing him from achieving complete tranquility.

"We must think of a way to block him."

Looking at the figure not far away, Ye Qin's pupil color gradually deepened; his heart had already made a decision.

Mountains overlapped, lush and verdant; sunlight fell upon the green, luxuriant forest; the light spots it cast climbed up the neighboring stone wall, and under nature's reflection they appeared variegated, colors interweaving.

Ye Qin arrived at the place where he had previously set up the formation; the terrain here is special, and after continual modification and enhancement, the formation's power is also constantly evolving; the only regret is that it has not yet given rise to lethal means.

Originally it was intended to block the intrusion of those people from below the mountain; now Ye Qin decides to use it to resist the monk.

Since the monk cannot be eliminated for the time being, he shifts his thinking, seeking a way to trap him.

Ye Qin's body bore dark-green scales that emitted a mysterious luster, as an endless stream of heaven-and-earth qi poured into them.

Points of light sprang up in the eight directions around him, the innate formation began to operate, faintly forming a huge Taiji Bagua diagram.

Ye Qin stood at the center of the diagram, merging himself into the entire formation, equivalent to being the formation's eye.

Soon a hazy vapor rose all around, the surrounding scenery grew misty, clouds billowing and mist surging without cease.

Both Ye Qin's figure and his breath were concealed by the formation.

He faintly saw a dark yellowish shadow standing not far away, spying on his every move.

It's that monk again!

But now, that exaggerated, weird smile gradually became blurred.

Although he didn't know whether the formation could withstand the monk, it at least added a layer of protection to Ye Qin's safety, giving him a slight psychological comfort.

As the mist thickened, the feeling of being watched seemed to diminish considerably.

"It really works."

Ye Qin felt somewhat excited, but he didn't know how long the formation would last, nor when the monk would break in; he had to seize this time and break through as quickly as possible.

The sense of urgency and danger weighed on Ye Qin's mind like a great mountain, keeping his spirit constantly tense.

But now he was finally able to dispel all distracting thoughts, slowly close his eyes, and instantly enter that profound, mysterious feeling.

Where there is pressure, there is motivation; unlike before, Ye Qin now faces a threat from strange creatures.

Perhaps by the time the monk takes precautions next time, the formation will lose its effect, leaving Ye Qin little time.

He must, within this time, quickly refine a Golden Core.

Heaven and Earth Qi surged wildly toward him, Ye Qin's serpentine body continually expanded, frantically gulping the surrounding gas, accepting all that came.

Refining an Inner Elixir requires great power, so he must absorb as much Heaven and Earth Qi as possible to prepare for the later refinement.

The tiny Qi Pellet within him buzzed incessantly, and under rapid rotation it began to expand at a visible speed.

His previous accumulation was nearly complete; one could say everything was ready, lacking only the east wind, just a hair's breadth from breakthrough.

But that wisp of east wind never came, and instead it attracted some unknown creature.

Ye Qin had originally intended to proceed step by step, but under the monk's threat he could only create the east wind himself.

He absorbed and exhaled too much Heaven and Earth Qi, far exceeding the original Qi Pellet's capacity, and Ye Qin could feel a swelling sensation in his meridians.

Those energies kept wandering through his body, making him feel like a balloon filled with power, even his blood boiling and scorching hot.

Though snakes are cold-blooded, Ye Qin's icy serpentine body became scorching hot, his dark green scales seeming to burn red, emitting a faint red glow.

Absorbing too much power caused this; Ye Qin felt his insides constantly being torn apart, the intense pain making him writhe.

Dust flew everywhere, the surroundings turned chaotic, his serpent tail smashing against a nearby large tree, a half‑person‑thick giant trunk actually snapped at the waist, showing how great Ye Qin's strength now is.

The ground was entirely scored with marks from his serpent tail, the gullies looking shocking to behold.

After who knows how long, the violently rolling great serpent finally calmed down.

He held aloft the White Bone Origin emanating from Shangqing Temple, and at the same time a hint of silver moon hung not far away, looking like a miniature bright moon.

Purple lightning sparked in the air, winding around the White Bone, and the silver moon shed water‑like light.

A river extended from within Shangqing Temple, faintly hearing the sound of flowing water, appearing especially vast and remote, with the moon's reflection floating upon it.

At this moment, these imagined objects seemed to receive some summons, following the surge of Heaven and Earth Qi, all merging into the White Bone.

In an instant, all the imagined objects vanished—whether moon, lightning, Shangqing Temple, or river—leaving only an eternal White Bone standing between heaven and earth.

Unify the whole, refine essence to transform Qi.

The hazy mist slowly rose, all scenery turning blurry, as if an unseen pair of great hands wiped away their existence.

The White Bone gazed toward Ye Qin's position, sending forth a continuous stream of essence and Qi, providing ample power and foundation.

The two steps of refining essence to transform Qi and refining Qi to transform spirit have been nearly completed by Ye Qin; what remains most important is refining spirit to return to void.

The first two are fine—one is Heaven and Earth Qi, the other is his own imagined objects, both things Ye Qin is fairly familiar with.

They can be readily taken to make medicine and refine pills.

But as for incense and sentient beings' thought power, Ye Qin had never encountered them before.

If it weren't for the ghost monk, he would truly not know these things.

Immediately, he extended his mental power outward, continuously stretching toward the Mountain Foot, and soon he sensed the existence of the Mountain God Temple.

Although he had come to the Mountain God Temple only a few times, Ye Qin was not unfamiliar with this place, and even felt somewhat acquainted.

The moment his mental power touched the temple, it was like a fish entering the sea, completely at ease.

The whole process can be said to have gone extremely smoothly, without any hindrance, after all this is Ye Qin's own god‑temple; coming here naturally feels like returning home.

Ye Qin carefully sensed it, and indeed the temple interior surged with energy fluctuations—those were the incense and thought power.

But compared to what he felt in the wild temple, this energy is not strong.

It can roughly be divided into two strands, one supported by incense, the other by the villagers' thought power.

It is still far from reaching the point of forming 'all beings' intention'.

Ye Qin guessed that perhaps the temple had been established too briefly, insufficient to meet the conditions for formation, with incense and thought power far too lacking.

Moreover, 'all beings' intention' is itself a most special existence; forming it is not easy, just like fragmented mottled years, requiring unknown and specific conditions.

But even without all beings' intention, this incense and thought power should be enough, after all it is merely to use as a substitute deity's medicinal ingredient, refining a demonic elixir only.

"The final medicinal ingredient!"

Ye Qin tried using his mental power to gather the incense and thought power together, guiding them all upward toward the mountain.

Villagers coming and going in the Mountain God Temple, with people irregularly arriving to offer incense each day, quickly noticed something amiss.

"This incense smoke is so strange—why does it all drift outward?"

At this moment, the temple's windows are all tightly shut, only the gate open, with no wind blowing, yet these incense curls seem to follow a rule, gathering and not dispersing, twining upward as they drift toward the outside world.

Moreover, not only the incense in the burner, but even the freshly lit incense sticks held by the villagers are in the same state.

"It's truly miraculous."

Many villagers came to offer incense, but they had never encountered such a strange thing before.

They hurried out of the Mountain God temple, only to see these fireworks condense in midair into a thin river flowing toward the mountain, like mist and illusion, utterly holy.

……

For a moment, the villagers were so shocked they couldn't speak, instinctively looking at the statue inside the temple.

In the curling blue smoke, the statue gave a feeling of coming alive, increasingly miraculous, exuding an inexplicable dignity.

"Could it be that the Mountain God has manifested his power?!"

"Besides the Mountain God, who else could cause such a scene?"

For a moment, the villagers present all knelt and kowtowed, their expressions full of awe.

These incense smokes twisted into a river, also mixed with the villagers' mental power that is hard to perceive with eyes or spirit, drifting under the blue sky and white clouds, soon arriving beside Ye Qin.

"Hiss—"

The air was filled with a unique incense scent, different from the scent previously transmitted by the monk, giving Ye Qin an extremely comfortable feeling, making one's spirit shudder.

"Come, enter the cauldron to forge the golden pill!"

Ye Qin silently spoke; the river of incense gathering toward him immediately swirled around his body, then he slowly absorbed it, taking it into his internal cauldron, becoming that final ingredient of the great human medicine!

It's getting late; I was busy with work during the day, I'm very sorry.

There is still a chapter at dawn!

(End of chapter)