Chapter 329: Primordial Divine Steel, the Heavenly Furnace Overturns

Xu Jia saw that this large bird had decent strength and had lived a long time; moreover, it had requests for him. Phoenix lineages were sparse under Heaven, especially in the Central Plains—why else would this Bi Fang have come all the way from overseas to seek a volcano?

As for volcanoes, the Central Plains had them too, such as in Dongbei, but those were Dragon Veins, not Phoenix Veins.

However, if there were a chance to return to the Central Plains, this Bi Fang would likely be quite willing; after all, what land could compare to the Central Plains in terms of civilization, morality, or the exposition of the Great Dao and the development of the Dharma Realm?

One must know that within the Divine Law, there is a punishment called "exile," which is to banish City Gods, Earth Deities, and such spirits who fail their assessments to barren lands, where they are basically left to fend for themselves.

Regardless of whether they are spirits, demons, or devils, they all like places with many people and a high degree of civilization.

Xu Jia then said, "This poor Daoist is naturally very willing to confer the title of True God, but this cannot be done just by word of mouth. A True God must have complete virtue, sufficient power, a sincere heart, and must make vows and oaths that cannot be broken; only then is there a foundation for conferment. Otherwise, based solely on your enjoyment of a thousand years of Blood Food sacrifices, it is absolutely impossible to become a True God according to the statutes."

"I see those two large snakes of yours were able to succeed, why can't I?" Bi Fang frowned upon hearing these rules and restrictions. "If I assist you in unifying the entire island, wouldn't that work? I can drive volcanoes to erupt, blocking the sky and sun; I can make all these islanders submit."

When Bi Fang spoke of these destructive matters, it was extremely excited. Beyond the growth of all things, Fire Virtue also encompasses war. Among the five stars, Mars is known as Yinghuo, and there is a specific term in the art of astrology: "Yinghuo Guards the Heart."

"Heart" refers to the Heart Mansion among the Twenty-Eight Mansions, which is also one of the Eastern Azure Dragon Seven Mansions. In the resonance between Heaven and the heart, this celestial phenomenon signifies disaster, Famine, and warfare.

Of course, after entering the modern era, it can also signify the development of the industrial sector.

Xu Jia valued Bi Fang's ability, not for anything else, but for industrial development.

In Immortal-Hero novels, refining artifacts and pills always requires a ground-fire chamber, which basically relies on volcanoes or underground fire veins, digging out a fire Well.

Volcano energy is extremely high, yet in modern industry, it is rare to see volcanoes utilized as an energy source.

But Xu Jia wanted to combine the two, and Bi Fang was the lubricant; it could control the fire of the volcano, which was more fitting than the Drought Demon Fire of Huo Tong Er Sheng Ying'er.

The Sheng Ying'er Drought Demon also brings negative effects like plagues and droughts, whereas Bi Fang's "warfare" is actually a positive buff for industry: a volcanic ground-fire military industrial artifact-refining factory.

This name sounds impressive, but in actual operation, I fear it won't be that easy; it will likely be a small workshop model at the start.

Therefore, this Bi Fang needs to be properly subdued and not treated too impatiently.

"Power is power, and virtue is virtue. You cultivate Phoenix Virtue; why did Phoenix Virtue decline?"

Bi Fang recalled, "The Zhou Dynasty Son of Heaven lost his deer, the feudal lords vied for hegemony, rites collapsed and music was ruined, and thus Phoenix Virtue declined."

Xu Jia nodded and guided it, "It was precisely because the power of the feudal lords increased that they no longer held rules and morality in their eyes; this ushered in the era of Dragon Virtue, where ten thousand scales vied to leap—who would master the rise and fall? Since you are of Phoenix descent, if you do not cultivate virtue, how are you different from an ordinary bird? How can you set off the nobility of the Phoenix?"

"Adhering to rites is virtue, following goodness is virtue." Xu Jia spoke off the cuff, "The Phoenix is draped in five patterns, all forming chapters. You cultivate Fire Virtue; have the feathers on your body formed fire chapters? Has the Great Dao been manifested? Are you getting closer to the Phoenix, or further away?" "So that's it, the decline of virtue is the key." Bi Fang followed Xu Jia's logic to recall and think, feeling it made much sense. It had been supported in a primitive tribal society for many years, and the degradation of civilization had caused its spiritual fire to degrade as well, but deep down, it still wanted to step into civilization.

"Then I am willing to follow what you say, to make vows and take oaths." Bi Fang said, "I wish to make a vow to preach civilization on this island, to establish etiquette, and to spread writing. I swear that if this place does not become a land of civilization, I will never be able to become a Fire Virtue Phoenix."

"The Phoenix of Fire Virtue is the Vermilion Bird. Speaking of which, the Vermilion Bird has a higher status than an ordinary Phoenix; it governs the South, governs brightness, and governs the Li Trigram. In the Eight Trigrams, Li represents the sun and governs flame." Xu Jia said, "The nature of flame is to ascend, yet you sleep in a volcano. Although the volcano's fire will erupt once in a while, it always carries Earth Pestilence Evil Qi and toxic fire miasma from the depths, like a festering sore. You cannot continue to slumber in the volcano; you need to take action."

Xu Jia revealed a smile, "Why don't you take me as your master? The name Marong doesn't sound good; how about I change it to Zhu Yan? The name implies the essence of flame and fire spirit."

Upon hearing this, Bi Fang immediately hid its head under its wing and stood on one leg; this was a sign of docility and submission.

Seeing this, Xu Jia sacrificed some Daoist Practice and condensed a Southern Vermilion Bird Divine Talisman, which combined the power of the three Body Gods—the heart, kidneys, and bladder—using the inner Samadhi to align with its outer Samadhi.

Once Zhu Yan obtained the Talisman, flames emerged from the gaps in its downy feathers, and its heart pounded; Samadhi means pure essence, and it immediately began to refine and burn away the lingering evils of blood sacrifices and resentful incense.

Although it was not Zhu Yan's active request for Blood Food, it was tribal conflict and the sacrifice of prisoners, which was popular during the Shang and Zhou dynasties—cooking in large cauldrons—but it had still become tainted with Cause and Effect, which Samadhi could not clean away.

This portion transformed into "Karma Fire." Karma Fire is internal, clinging to the soul and Primordial Spirit, while Samadhi only resides within the physical body and does not involve the Primordial Spirit.

Zhu Yan felt both light and painful, its brain feeling as if it were about to explode, and it could not help but cry out.

After all, it was a thousand-year tribal bond; for Zhu Yan to do this was equivalent to an emperor defecting and rebelling.

The evil karma turned into shackles, leaving Zhu Yan in a daze. Xu Jia had no choice but to scatter sweet dew. This Karma Fire was basically the same as the Three Realms Fire House he had seen in the Cloud Void; Xu Jia's sweet dew could only temporarily extinguish it.

After a while, Zhu Yan recovered, its form having changed into a feathered-garment Immortal maiden, though its face still retained a "bird-like" appearance.

She was somewhat desperate, "Can these evil karmas never be shaken off?"

Xu Jia said, "The grievances and karma of the Three Realms are repaid individually. It is certainly possible to shake them off. There is a saying: 'Turn major matters into minor ones, and minor matters into nothing.' You only need to lead this tribe toward prosperity and wash away barbarism with civilization, and you can achieve it."

Zhu Yan also felt this was the right principle. During the Zhou Dynasty, everyone performed blood sacrifices, so why was there no evil karma? The Zhou Rites were even missed by those people.

Xu Jia pointed at the meteorite and said, "Now, refine this object a little. You apply the fire, and this poor Daoist will perform the point-transformation to see what kind of treasure it actually is."

"It is Primordial Divine Steel." Zhu Yan said, "It fell from Shangjie, as if it were poured out of a furnace. I saw the strange phenomenon that day with my own eyes; I fear it was a divine being in Shangjie who accidentally blew up their furnace."

(End of chapter)