[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-dao-dust-pearl":3,"chapter-the-dao-dust-pearl-the-dao-dust-pearl-chapter-62":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","The Dao Dust Pearl",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2359563,4614,"Chapter 62","the-dao-dust-pearl-chapter-62",62,"\u003Cp>Shi Fang Yuan is part of the Wei family’s garden, nestled beside the Jiuzhen Lake, where this stretch of shore is lined with weeping willows, broad and tranquil, one of the finest spots to admire the lake, and thus incorporated into the family’s private grounds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By the lakeside stands a motionless stone boat, carved from Qingstone pulled from the lake by skilled artisans—a three-story, dozens-zhang-wide green stone pleasure barge, resembling a small island floating upon the water.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This stone boat, also called Bu Xi Zhou, the Qingstone Boat… is one of the Wei family’s famed sights, well-known throughout the entire Jiuzhen Commandery.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cui Dan could not tear his eyes away from this unique stone boat… he sighed in envy: “Gazing afar, the boundless Jiuzhen Lake gleams like a mirror… to dwell upon it feels as if drifting upon the water, yet the boat remains still while the lake’s light moves. A stationary vessel, yet moving through the lake. The name ‘Bu Xi Zhou,’ the Qingstone Boat, is truly no empty boast.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“To invite a few close friends, with beauties in tow, reciting poetry and composing couplets, engaging in refined conversation and music… would that not be exquisite?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Why does my Cui family lack such a wonder?” Cui Dan lamented.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old servant Wu Bo whispered beside him: “Even if we had such a plaything, the Lady would find out your desires and send someone to smash it! I imagine generations of our ancestors had many virtuous wives like her, so all the family’s pleasure spots were destroyed long ago!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cui Dan’s smile froze; he shook his head and sighed: “Wu Bo, don’t speak such dreary words in such a beautiful place! The elder is aboard—let us enter.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Leaders of local aristocratic clans and martial sects had already arrived aboard the boat. At the center of the Qingstone Boat stood an eight-dragon-supported, cloud-dragon-patterned, purple-copper incense furnace, its entire body a deep purplish-red, with eight strange beast statues cast upon its body and two copper-cast fire crows peering into the furnace from its handles.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cui Dan spotted the mechanism and chuckled: “The Wei family is putting on airs—hiding two fire crows inside the furnace handles, making them spit fire during alchemy… then it appears as if the furnace spontaneously generates flame, self-sustaining! When the fire weakens, they must replace the crows—each alchemical session consumes at least a dozen of these feathered laborers…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Only here beside the Jiuzhen Great Marsh, where dragons and snakes abound, do fire crows lack no food, allowing them to raise so many feathered beasts… if it were my family…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cui Dan stopped mid-sentence, thought for a moment, then grimaced: “My mother loves quietness—fire crows are noisy birds; if kept at home, she’d have driven them out long ago!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Our family possesses superior alchemical furnaces, such as the Four Divine Beasts Guarding the Sea, Cloud-Patterned Qianyuan True Fire Furnace held by the Lady—its flame, Qianyuan True Fire, burns day and night without ceasing, controllable by magic power to regulate intensity. It is a true alchemical instrument… far superior to this half-refined furnace that still relies on crows for fire.” Wu Bo spoke with quiet pride.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cui Dan asked only: “Then why does no one in our family produce the kind of miraculous elixirs the elder makes?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Even elixirs for breakthroughs in Sensing must I beg for from the Dao Academy?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Bo’s face darkened; he sighed: “Furnaces are easy to obtain; alchemists are hard to find. Our clan produced a few great alchemists dozens of generations ago, leaving behind several fine furnaces. These aren’t protective artifacts, easily damaged in combat—so most sects and clans keep a few fine furnaces in their alchemy chambers.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But outside the sects of the Supreme Dao, who dares claim their lineage has always produced skilled alchemists?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Our clans aren’t like sects that open their doors widely and need vast quantities of elixirs to train disciples. Clan heirs are selected from the finest; they barely have time to master the true Dao—who dares divert attention to alchemy?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cui Dan sneered: “‘Selected from the finest’? In my experience, aside from my brother and a few others, what great figures are there in these clans? It’s just that the clan heirs won’t endure the hard labor of stoking fires and refining elixirs!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Then, Master, would you be the pillar to carry our Cui family’s alchemy?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Stoking fires is too crude and exhausting… not something befitting my Master!\" Cui Dan turned his head away, as if utterly forgetting his own earlier words…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By now, the alchemical gathering had filled the stone boat. Two attendants stepped forward, opening the furnace’s beast-shaped knobs—inside, faint flames glowed, already warming the furnace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cui Dan exclaimed in surprise: “Did I guess wrong? This furnace doesn’t use fire crows—then why don’t I hear any cawing?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If they cried out, wouldn’t that embarrass the Wei family? What use would hiding them behind beast handles be?” Wu Bo, experienced and certain, said: “They’ve surely had their tongues cut—so they can’t make a sound…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cui Dan paled: “Birds singing is their nature—why go so far?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Bo found his Master’s compassion somewhat naive but explained: \"To tame demonic beasts for use, you must do this. If you let them follow their nature, they’ll become uncontrollable—how could you ever harness them?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Cui Dan and his servant chatted, a black-robed Daoist arrived before the furnace. Cui Dan assumed it was a Wei family alchemist warming the furnace for the elder, and paid no mind—until he noticed the entire hall gradually falling silent, voices dying away, and he sensed something odd. Then he saw the black-robed Daoist assume a grand posture: first washing his eyes with spirit-spring willow leaves, then two lines of boy and girl attendants wiping the scorching furnace with fire-rat hide cloths.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone else knew Zhen Daoist was the true master; seeing him rinse his mouth with spirit-spring and begin evaluating the alchemical herbs, all could not help but anticipate the miraculous alchemy to follow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Bo recognized the herbs, musing: “This seems to be an elixir for transforming the furnace, expelling internal evils, and prolonging life—though still wondrous… yet…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cui Dan knew what Wu Bo left unsaid—that such an elixir seemed unworthy of the elder’s stature.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They had witnessed the elder refine Qi-elixirs using Gang-Sha energy—the moment the elixir emerged, its aura burst forth in dazzling forms, each more wondrous than the last… even the most basic Yuanqi elixir contained zero impurities, let alone poison! There were supreme elixirs capable of repairing Dao foundations and altering one’s core; even mid-tier elixirs that enhanced magical power and cultivation base reduced side effects to near-zero—had it not been for the harm to one’s nature, they might as well have been flawless…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before the elixir emerged, it drew all the spirits of the city… even manifesting the external spectacle of spirit mushrooms sprouting from the elixir—the Red Essence Mushroom, a top-tier herb, far more precious than any herb here.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cui Dan later recommended to the Dao Academy the mushroom chamber formed by disciples who had cultivated after witnessing the elder’s alchemical spectacle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Dao Academy’s senior overseer nearly went mad with joy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When he learned the Daoist he’d introduced to Cui Dan was such a high adept capable of external manifestations from elixir formation, he regretted it bitterly, pounding his chest and stomping his feet, nearly fainting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the elixir to be refined now? Merely a plant-based elixir, and the formula far from supreme. To Cui Dan’s eye, it was merely an ordinary elixir for expelling external evils, slightly purifying body and mind, beneficial for Foundation Establishment. Of course, even this was difficult for the Cui family’s own alchemists.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet could the high adept who once produced elixirs with external manifestations really be refining such a mundane elixir?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cui Dan felt disappointed—and worse, his carefully prepared flattery now felt impossible to utter!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“With so many precious herbs, surely they mean to refine an elixir?” Just as Cui Dan felt faintly disappointed, a sudden clamor rose from beneath the alchemical dais: “We gather precious herbs, either refining them for sale or turning them into powdered mixtures—burning them in furnaces into various powders, then rolling them into pills with beeswax and elixir wax.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“They say true elixirs emerge naturally formed—perfectly round, embodying the secret of Core Formation—only true alchemists can produce them!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Master Zhen is truly a true immortal! I heard recently a Daoist came with fake elixirs to deceive people, but Master Zhen exposed him effortlessly—he fled in shame! Now I see—he is truly extraordinary. I heard he says… this elixir prolongs lifespan?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Expelling all parasites, purifying the body’s orifices—naturally it extends life! A supreme elixir indeed!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The head of the Jiuzhen Merchants’ Alliance gazed at Zhen Daoist’s furnace with gleaming eyes, shamelessly praising him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The leader of the Tuolong Gang even spread his five fingers: “I offer five thousand gold pieces for this elixir!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing the blush-inducing flattery beside him, Cui Dan hesitated: “Could this elixir truly have hidden value we don’t understand? Are we just too ignorant?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Bo shook his head: \"Master, this is not the elder refining elixirs—it’s the Wei family’s alchemist warming the furnace, stoking the atmosphere. I heard the Wei patriarch is a master of worldly affairs, nicknamed the Vulture. Clearly he understands human nature—he has his own alchemist refine a batch of elixirs first to stir excitement, making the elder’s later alchemy seem even more extraordinary.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"These remote frontier folk have shallow vision—how could they distinguish supreme elixirs? Without this prelude, the elder’s alchemical skill wouldn’t stand out… Master, think: if their vision is limited to ten, then a hundred-point skill appears to them as only a ten-point wonder.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If you don’t show them nine points first, so they understand what tenfold wonder is, even the Taiyin Pearl before them they’d mistake for a Moon Essence Pearl!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cui Dan nodded: “Wu Bo speaks wisely… let us first watch how this Wei family alchemist performs.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhen Daoist detected none of Qian Chen’s manipulations of the herbs. Earlier, when he had “evaluated” the Yi Qi Chun Yang Elixir, he had already exposed his own perception level to Qian Chen. Qian Chen’s adjustments to his Qi sensitivity were naturally undetectable. After assessing the herbs’ properties, he naturally determined the quantities…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then he pulled from his sleeve a crimson powder, sprinkling it into the furnace—immediately, the fire crows’ demonic flames shifted, turning a faint bluish-green.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The real Wei family alchemist, an old man with white hair, gasped beside him: “Is that… the fire-inducing herb? The legendary alchemical secret that turns ordinary fire into spirit flames with unique properties?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhen Daoist ignored the others’ astonishment, his gaze fixed on the furnace. Occasionally he waved his hand, tossing one or two herbs into the furnace, then observing the flame’s hue with his eyes, judging the internal temperature, and slowly roasting the herbs according to the formula and his experience, coaxing out the herbs’ essence within the furnace’s divine chamber.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Most useless properties were burned to ash, falling into the furnace’s lower chamber; a small portion became impurities, mixing with the essence. Even the useful properties lost much in the process…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only about a quarter of the herbs were effectively utilized, still mixed with ten to twenty percent impurities.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhen Daoist followed the furnace temperature required for extracting each herb’s essence, adding them methodically.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Meanwhile, dozens of li away, Qian Chen began his own “alchemy.”\u003C\u002Fp>",1906,"2026-06-21T05:39:58.326Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","a0bb0337cce620e6f578702b4dd89948a9f3d4e6fb7cdd9ad8dd37a95fedd1da","the-dao-dust-pearl-chapter-63","the-dao-dust-pearl-chapter-61",1000,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-dao-dust-pearl-cover.jpg"]