Chapter 307: Subduing Others with Virtue, the Thick Virtue Seal; Re-refining the Nine Dragon Fragments into a Cauldron【Apologies, I f

【Apologies, I fell asleep while writing on my way back from a business trip last night. Sorry about that, this is to make up for yesterday.】

Zhengyang Hall.

This is where the fire room of Jade Pillar Cave is located.

One could see the glazed tiles on the hall roof, shimmering with various auspicious colors; illuminated by the daylight, they were clear and radiant.

Shadows fell beneath the eaves, mottled and marked.

The pine breeze blew inside, the curtains rolled up sparsely, and the fragrance was natural.

Stepping inside, the most prominent feature that immediately caught the eye was nine large coiling-dragon pillars.

These nine coiling-dragon pillars were forged entirely from Shoushan Yang Copper, glowing with a deep bronze hue; they were archaic and heavy, looking extraordinary at a glance.

Each coiling-dragon pillar was engraved with nine divine dragon statues, their heads vivid, either rearing upwards or baring fangs and brandishing claws downwards.

Their postures were varied, and there were many more besides.

These nine coiling-dragon pillars were arranged in a formation, continuously drawing in various divine fires from the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, gathering them in one place to produce mysterious flames that floated in the air, illuminating the surroundings.

"Nine Dragon Divine Fire Pillar?"

Following Juque Tongzi into the hall, Fang Longye sensed the surroundings and confirmed in his heart: "It really is the Nine Dragon Divine Fire Pillar~"

Good heavens, the Nine Dragon Divine Fire Pillar, which once shone brilliantly during the Conferring of the Gods Tribulation, had actually become a tool for refining pills and treasures here.

That is truly something~ "Three Holy Mother, Dragon Lord, this is where the fire room is!" Juque Tongzi led the two into Zhengyang Hall and smiled lightly.

After the two had looked around, he bowed slightly and said: "There are various cauldrons and furnaces in the inner chambers—pill furnaces, treasure furnaces, and casting furnaces, all are available. This little attendant will not disturb the two of you in your treasure refining~"

Immediately, he stepped back lightly and carefully.

Regardless of what Yang Chan was doing, Fang Longye walked into a chamber dedicated to treasure refining. Inside, fire clouds surged like tides, and red, rosy treasure light rose up.

In the center of the small chamber stood a Yin Yang Eight Trigrams Furnace, its handles shaped like qilin, lifelike and stepping on fire as if on clouds.

The furnace fire was drawn from the divine fire gathered by the Nine Dragon Divine Fire Pillar, burning fiercely with a clear, red flame.

Directly in front was a meditation cushion. Fang Longye swept his gaze across the room, then walked to the cushion and sat down cross-legged.

"I had thought that 'a workman must sharpen his tools if he is to do his work well'~ I didn't expect there to be such excellent treasure-refining furnaces here."

Fang Longye stroked the Qingyang Cauldron in his hand and smiled, saying: "That is fine, it just so happens I can temper my own skills first, so as not to get rusty."

He immediately set the Qingyang Cauldron aside and took out the Qingshan Seal, which was clearly somewhat outdated now.

This treasure seal was obtained at the very beginning.

From the perspective of his current Taiyi Loose Immortal realm, its twenty-seven Post-Heaven Divine Prohibitions were naturally unable to keep up with his own cultivation.

However, the foundation was still good; with Mount Buzhou stone as the base, and by supplementing it with other materials, he could still refine it into a Superior Spiritual Treasure.

He flipped his palm and took out several items: a few pitch-black stones, a bowl of clear divine water, a phantom light cluster shaped like a divine mountain,... and several other precious divine materials and spiritual objects.

Among these, the most important were those pitch-black stones and the mountain-shaped phantom light cluster.

"Whoa~ this is truly not light. It is worthy of being a fragment of Mount Buzhou!" Fang Longye picked up a pitch-black stone and raised his eyebrows.

These pitch-black stones were, in fact, fragments of Mount Buzhou.

Among them, one piece was obtained when he dismantled the 'Zhu Yan Military Command' earlier, while the rest had been scavenged or traded for over the years.

Do not be fooled by their fist-sized appearance; this was their shrunken state. If their restrictions were truly released, they would be ten thousand zhang in size.

If left on the earth, they would be enough to evolve into a divine mountain that brushes the heavens.

"It is a pity that the largest piece of that Mount Zhou, or rather Mount Buzhou, was taken by Yuanshi Tianzun to be refined into the 'Fantian Seal'."

Fang Longye said with no small amount of regret.

After sighing, he immediately threw these Mount Buzhou fragments into the furnace fire.

Afterwards, he threw in the other divine materials and spiritual objects, using the furnace fire to calcine them.

As for that mountain-shaped phantom, it was a Mountain Soul.

It was obtained from the various gifts the Great Emperor of the East Mountain had given him previously; it was only after absorbing the terrestrial energy of countless mountains and rivers that it could be refined.

Refining it was delicate work; simply throwing it into the furnace fire would not do. The Mountain Soul was a spiritual object, what if it burned out~

He stimulated his own heart fire to refine the Mountain Soul. With everything prepared, Fang Longye began his treasure refining.

First, he completely erased the Post-Heaven Divine Prohibitions on the Qingshan Seal, leaving only its purest essence.

Then, he melted the Mount Buzhou fragments and the divine materials and spiritual objects into it bit by bit.

Finally, he added the Mountain Soul, which he had refined several times in his hands, into the mix.

Boom! For a moment, treasure light swirled, dazzling and eye-catching.

Of course, it was not over yet. He hadn't even placed the restrictions on it! The refining of a Spirit Treasure was only halfway done.

However, there was no need to rush.

At this moment, these divine materials and spiritual objects had just melted together and still required a certain amount of time to be calcined.

Fang Longye let this cluster of brilliant treasure light float and sink in the furnace fire while he began to conceive the restrictions for the Spirit Treasure.

The restrictions had to match the attributes of the Spirit Treasure and be layered and interconnected; he spent over half a month deducing before he designed a set of restrictions he was satisfied with.

In total, there were thirty-six Post-Heaven Divine Prohibitions.

With his current cultivation and skill, this was the best he could do.

Of course, this set of restrictions was the ideal design. Even if he did not reach thirty-six Post-Heaven Divine Prohibitions in the end, it would not affect the completion of the Spirit Treasure.

After conceiving the restrictions, Fang Longye immediately shot a divine light into the furnace fire to shape what was being refined inside.

A large coiling-dragon seal was formed with a boom.

However, at this time it was only a treasure embryo; it still needed to be imprinted with Post-Heaven Divine Prohibitions.

One could see his ten fingers flying, forming several hand seals like butterflies flitting through flowers.

Countless seal characters condensed, flowing freely to form the first divine restriction, 'Size Manipulation', which was struck onto the large seal.

This seal was refined from Mount Buzhou fragments; once each fragment was fully released, it would be as large as a mountain.

Only with Size Manipulation can it be retracted and deployed at will; small, it can be held and toyed with in the hand, while large, it can cover the sky and block the sun.

Next, he struck in the second divine prohibition—'Light and Heavy Follows Heart'.

The fragment of Mount Buzhou is of exceptionally high mass, inherently capable of altering the gravity in its vicinity, making objects several times heavier.

Coupled with this Restriction, this ability can be boosted by hundreds or thousands of times; a sudden eruption would absolutely catch an opponent off guard.

Of course, this is also for the convenience of toying with it himself. Otherwise, Fang Longye would not be able to hold the weight of this seal in his hand for long.

The third divine prohibition: 'Mount Tai Pressing Top'.

When pressing down from above like this, it can significantly enhance the force.

With its own weight, plus the reinforcement of the Restriction, even a Taiyi Golden Immortal would be unable to withstand it if caught unprepared.

The fourth divine prohibition is 'Locking Qi Mechanism'; this is something every offensive Dharma Treasure possesses. Once it locks onto an enemy's Aura, it can automatically track them.

The fifth divine prohibition is 'Sealing Heaven and Earth'; this divine prohibition is used to seal space-time, preventing the opponent from escaping.

Combined with 'Light and Heavy Follows Heart', even a Taiyi Golden Immortal would be affected, their speed greatly reduced while fleeing, making it highly likely they would be struck by the seal.

……

Each divine prohibition was something he had conceived for a long time, carefully selected from the thousands of Restrictions listed in the classics.

Every one of them was perfectly suited to the characteristics of the seal's material.

As the Restrictions were struck in one by one, the seal within the furnace gradually exuded a powerful and heavy Aura, truly resembling Mount Buzhou.

"Boom, boom, boom..."

Finally, this Spirit Treasure was formed with a roar.

The moment it appeared in the world, it emitted a tyrannical rhythm, like a beating heart, and ripples oscillated outward, causing the treasure-refining furnace to bang and clatter.

It was constantly expanding. It seemed as if in the next moment, this treasure-refining furnace would be stretched until it fell apart.

"Come!"

With a thought from Fang Longye, the seal immediately stopped expanding, shrank to the size of a fist, and turned into a streak of rainbow light, exiting the treasure-refining furnace.

It hovered in mid-air, emitting a brilliant and dazzling divine radiance, with heavy Xuanhuang airflow cascading down, pressing the void until it twisted.

"Sure enough, trying to refine a Spirit Treasure with thirty-six Post-Heaven Divine Prohibitions is still a bit too much for me at the moment," Fang Longye remarked to himself as he took the seal and toyed with it in his hand.

Even with the blessing of Heavenly Luck, he had only managed to refine thirty-five Post-Heaven Divine Prohibitions into this seal.

The thirty-sixth Post-Heaven Divine Prohibition had only been half-struck when it ran out of momentum and collapsed with a bang.

He had no choice but to end it there.

"Fortunately, I can slowly make up for it in the future."

He held the dark cyan stone seal, weighing and turning it over, and muttered: "Since it's now a Superior Spiritual Treasure, it's time to change its name~"

What would be a good name? Thinking of this coiled-dragon seal, when it came down to it, the most important material was the fragment of Mount Buzhou.

How about calling it the Mount Buzhou Seal! Just as he was about to blurt it out, a sense of alarm arose in his heart, and even the previously arrogant seal began to tremble in his hand.

Fine, it seems the name is too grand!

This precious seal cannot bear it.

After Fang Longye realized this, he could only shrug his shoulders, expressing his helplessness.

"Hmm, let's call you the 'Houde Seal'!"

The main material of this seal belongs to the Mount Buzhou fragment, and the Aura it exudes is also very heavy. When activated, it is like Mount Buzhou pressing down.

And Mount Buzhou,

can certainly be considered as 'carrying things with great virtue'~ Calling it the Houde Seal is a name that fits the reality.

Of course, there is another implication that Fang Longye finds inconvenient to speak aloud, so he keeps it hidden in his heart.

That is, having a thick face and a black heart, and subduing people with virtue.

When it comes down to it, isn't this seal-type Spirit Treasure just the equivalent of a brick from his past life? And it is most adept at launching sneak attacks.

Think of that first disciple of the Chan Sect; back in the Conferring of the Gods Tribulation, wasn't it by relying on this trick of a thick face and black heart that he won the title of "Mother of All Killers"?

Houde Seal, Houde Seal; Fang Longye is reminding himself to learn from his predecessors—a thick face and a black heart is the true path.

What? You say I won unfairly, that I'm a rat?

Do you see this large character 'De' (Virtue)? Houde Seal—the virtue is the seal, and the seal is the virtue.

Do you know now,

what it means to subdue people with virtue?

……

Hum! As soon as the words fell, the coiled-dragon seal in his hand let out a chirping sound of joy~

On the face of the seal, four large raised characters immediately appeared—

Great virtue carries all things.

Fang Longye shook his head and laughed.

After admiring and toying with it for a while, he put the Houde Seal into his celebration clouds to nourish it, then flipped his palm to take out a tattered fragment of a bronze tripod.

Mottled with verdigris, layered with reflections.

If not for the dragon-patterned tripod ear, one would hardly be able to tell that this was a fragment from a tripod furnace.

"The big shot is truly generous~"

Fang Longye held the bronze tripod fragment in his hand, and after sensing it for a moment, a look of surprise appeared in his eyes, and he beamed with joy.

Before leaving, he had cheekily asked the big shot for some divine materials for refining treasures.

As it turned out, the big shot was not stingy and tossed him quite a few divine materials and spiritual objects; things like Shoushan Yang Copper, Nine Heavens Divine Gold,... he recognized them all.

Only this fragment, he did not know what it was, and could not tell its origin at a glance.

Now, after some sensing, he had finally discovered the true face of this fragment and learned its origin.

It truly is a divine object that conceals its own brilliance.

This copper-green mottled fragment actually comes from the once Innate Spiritual Treasure, the Nine Dragon Cauldron—the Innate Spiritual Treasure Nine Dragon Cauldron was a precious treasure of the Dragon Clan in the past; the cauldron body had nine dragon head sculptures, which could release the images of nine Innate Divine Dragons.

It could be said to be both offensive and defensive.

Moreover, tossing treasures into the cauldron to refine them allows the treasures to be imbued with Innate dragon might, greatly increasing their power.

Of course, this only applied to the Dragon Clan.

Any Spirit Treasure that went through the Nine Dragon Cauldron could only be used by the Dragon Clan.

When other races took it, no matter how they refined it, they could no longer unleash the original power of the Spirit Treasure, making it no different from a fire poker.

Even the original owner of this treasure would have no way to change the ownership of the treasure.

However, this Innate Spiritual Treasure had long since been torn apart during the Dragon Phoenix Great Tribulation and no longer existed.

The fragments were scattered all over Honghuang.

As an avatar of the great Hongyun, it is not surprising that Yunzhongzi could have such a fragment.

"If only this were the dragon head sculpture from the Nine Dragon Cauldron! That is one of the most important components of this Innate Spiritual Treasure."

The name Nine Dragon Cauldron is derived from this.

Fang Longye began to covet Shu.

However, that was just talk. He naturally knew that he was just indulging in wishful thinking.

According to records, most of the fragments of the Nine Dragon Cauldron, including the nine dragon head sculptures on the cauldron body, had long since become divine materials and were smelted into the Human Nine Cauldrons refined by Dayu in the past.

The copper-green fragment in his hand right now is very likely the only remaining fragment of the Nine Dragon Cauldron in this world.

"It is time to re-refine the Qingyang Cauldron!"

Hopefully, this time it can be done in one go, achieving thirty-six Post-Heaven Divine Prohibitions.

Fang Longye thought to himself.

Some might ask, since he clearly has a Merit heavy treasure like the Yu Emperor Cauldron in his hand, why must he be obsessed with re-refining the Qingyang Cauldron.

The reason is simple.

Every trade has its master.

As a Supreme Merit Spiritual Treasure, the Yu Emperor Cauldron indeed has an exceptionally high grade, but its purpose is not in refining treasures.

From the moment the Yu Emperor Cauldron was refined, it was meant to assist Dayu in subduing Demons and suppressing monsters.

It can refine groups of Demons, it can suppress groups of monsters, and it can even be used as an offensive treasure to face enemies, but it is not adept at refining pills or treasures.

No, "not adept" cannot describe it. It should be said that it simply lacks the function of refining pills or treasures.

After making up his mind, Fang Longye took out a series of Yang-fire attribute divine metals, including Shoushan Yang Copper, Red Refined Origin Copper, Sun Gold Essence,... and so on.

He threw them all into the furnace fire in front of him.

Likewise, the Nine Dragon Cauldron fragment in his hand naturally fell into this treasure-refining furnace.

Following the same method, he first conceived a set of Post-Heaven Divine Prohibitions, then carefully peeled the Restrictions off the Qingyang Cauldron.

He could not afford to be anything but careful.

Nowadays, inside this precious cauldron, there is more than just Sun True Fire.

Over these years, he has successively thrown every divine fire he could get his hands on into the Qingyang Cauldron.

Fortunately, he is now a Taiyi Loose Immortal, so as long as he is careful, he does not have to worry about the peeling of the Qingyang Cauldron's Restrictions causing the furnace fire to go out of control.

Thus, after spending some effort to peel off all the Restrictions, the various divine materials in the furnace fire had long since turned into liquid metal.

With a flick of his finger, the juices formed by the calcination of various divine metals immediately poured into the Qingyang Cauldron like a spring, striking with a clear and pleasant clanging sound.

He stirred up his Dharma power to thoroughly fuse the two. Then, he began to carve layers of talisman Restrictions onto the cauldron body.

Ang—following a dragon roar, the great cauldron was formed with a boom, bursting forth with brilliant radiance, and a dragon-patterned precious cauldron landed in Fang Longye's hand.

A full thirty-six Post-Heaven Divine Prohibitions snaked and arranged themselves within the precious cauldron, shining brightly.

The refining of this precious cauldron did not live down to his previous expectations; it was a success, reaching the perfection of the high grade!

(End of chapter)