Chapter 78

“Stars visible in daylight… stars visible!” Cui Dan stared, dumbfounded, at the scene of sun and stars side by side in the sky. Even Wu Bo, usually composed and calm, was speechless when returning to report to his young master—this external phenomenon surpassed his imagination. Wu Bo pondered: had his lord ever displayed such an omen upon forming his Golden Core?

The answer was… how could there possibly be? If my lord had formed his Golden Core with such an omen, the Sima family’s suppression would have come openly and covertly long ago!

Look at Wang Yan, the True Person known as “One Generation’s Dragon Gate,” leader of pure conversation and debate, and the man behind the twenty-eight-character verse, Wang Longxiang—Wang family, with heirs to carry on.

Look at the Xie family, who act with quiet restraint yet are still paired with the Wangs as “Wang and Xie.”

How many Sima family Golden Core cultivators have died in Langya Commandery? And why do the young talents of the Wang and Xie families never go to the capital until they’ve reached Golden Core?

Wei Le, head of the Wei family, gazed from afar at the small pavilion, his expression utterly calm, chest unmoving as if he’d forgotten to breathe.

At Bai Lu Gate, Sun True Person looked toward Jiaobu Town, his face filled with shock and uncertainty.

On Jiuzhen Lake, the martial artists vying for dragon hides and snake scales all stared at the sudden appearance of the Silver River and Celestial Market in the sky, their expressions bewildered, even forgetting the objects they were fighting over. The old True Person of Yuxu Palace frowned and shook his head: “The Three Palaces of the Starry Heaven… those merit clerks and spirit officials are getting worse!”

Amid countless gazes from near Jiuzhen to distant corners, the stars in the sky gradually faded, and the sun’s radiance reclaimed dominion over the earth.

Inside the pavilion, still dazed, Qian Chen saw the spirit herbs within the cauldron, nourished by stellar essence, now fully refined. Hundreds of spirit pills burst from the cauldron through its seven apertures and eight orifices; the Golden and Silver Children rushed forward, gathered them on banana leaves, and offered them to Qian Chen. He picked a few and tossed them to them; the Ear Spirit hurried up again, eyes pleading.

“You’re fast when food’s involved!” Qian Chen scolded it, yet still gave it several pills—this little thing had spent days outside gathering news, and had somehow learned on its own to relay idle chatter from locals within a hundred li, even conversations between Sun True Person and his two disciples.

“You neglect gathering intelligence and only learn gossip and flattery… little one. Your path is narrowing!” Qian Chen said, yet the number of spirit pills given to it didn’t diminish.

The Golden and Silver Children diligently packed the piled spirit pills into a red-skinned gourd, then shrank their banana leaf fan to the size of a thumb, covering the gourd’s mouth.

They worked earnestly, even seeming to enjoy it.

As the three cauldrons opened, the external phenomenon responded to heaven and earth: fine threads of water rose from Jiuzhen Marsh’s surface, ascending into the sky—as if the lake’s water were falling upward.

External Phenomenon—Rainflow Reversed

Fishermen and martial artists on the lake reached out from their boats, catching rain falling upward, and burst into exclamations. Cui Dan and his old servant were now utterly composed; having witnessed the stars in daylight, ordinary marvels no longer startled them.

After three more ke, the phenomenon vanished. The emerald cauldron formed from spirit qi before Qian Chen suddenly dissolved, returning to qi. In the primordial qi’s giant hand, nearly a hundred beams of light darted—some becoming fire crows, others suns and stars, still others rare flowers and exotic herbs—spectacles unfolding. Qian Chen released five spirit pills. Then he seized the remaining qi-formed pills and stuffed them back into the red-skinned gourd.

The Golden and Silver Children transformed into a golden ring at the gourd’s mouth and a silver pendant on the banana fan, both attached to the gourd as Qian Chen tied it to his waist.

Finally, the primordial qi hand dissolved into a single primordial pill, returning to Qian Chen’s nape.

After the qi cauldron dispersed, Qian Chen released five spirit pills from the furnace; one became an extreme-yin spirit pill, transforming into pure yin qi and manifesting as a jade toad that flew upward above the marsh. Instantly, the pure qi of the nine heavens was stirred—thunderbolts rained down, the marsh churned with thunderous waves, and lightning streaked with traces of heavenly gang qi struck the jade toad.

The thunder shattered the spirit pill back into yin qi, driving it into a supreme yin location beneath.

Yin qi entwined with thunderous corruption, nurtured by the earth, began gestating the Nine Void Thunder Corruption Qi…

One spirit pill fell into the marsh’s toxic mists, taking the form of a green spirit scorpion that inhaled and exhaled zhang qi, gathering poison and corruption, beginning to gestate the Five Poisons Divine Corruption Qi.

Another spirit pill had barely left the pavilion when it was snatched away by a lingering soul clinging to the fallen dragon’s corpse.

The dragon’s corpse itself received a spirit pill shaped like a tiny black dragon, sinking into the lake, drawing earth qi through its blood and remains to gestate True Dragon Corruption Qi.

The final spirit pill, as Cui Dan hesitated to seize it, fled into the marsh and was captured by a nine-winged monstrous centipede, its front claws gripping it. Wei Chenghuang and Cui Dan realized they’d missed their chance, sighing helplessly. Each of them—man, spirit, and insect—was tied to the local qi, each with some affinity to this pill; if absorbed, it would naturally generate fortune and aid their advancement… yet the marsh’s qi outweighed Jiaobu Town’s, so the pill fell to the Heavenly Centipede.

External Phenomenon—Corruption Qi Naturally Formed

Qian Chen silently memorized the destinations of these five spirit pills. A thousand years hence, if any disciple sought to cultivate corruption qi methods, they could come here to find them.

As long as earth qi nurtured them for a thousand years, the corruption qi spawned by these pills would rival the Supreme Yin True Corruption he had gathered.

Every sip and bite carries cosmic design.

Finally, the qi orifice in Qian Chen’s Xuanguan stirred—a crystalline, ice-cold divine light shot across the room, instantly chilling the entire pavilion. Qian Chen felt the bone-deep chill and revealed a smile of delight. After nearly a year of effort, he had finally refined this external qi primordial pill.

This pill equaled the primordial pill formed by a second-rank Golden Core cultivator. With this pill in hand, Qian Chen could finally challenge Miao Kong.

As the primordial pill emerged, the chamber rang with divine music—Qian Chen’s true body, the Supreme Dao Dust Pearl, stirred faintly. The surrounding heavens and earth resonated with this Dao sound: “The Dao that can be spoken is not the eternal Dao. The name that can be named is not the eternal name!”

“Non-being is the origin of heaven and earth. Being is the mother of all things…”

External Phenomenon—True Words of the Dao

The sound flowed gently, rich with natural rhythm and cosmic principle. Any cultivator who grasped even a fraction would benefit immensely. Cui Dan, half-dazed, seemed to see an old white-haired man leading a green ox slowly walking out of the pavilion’s alchemy chamber. His knees buckled—he nearly collapsed to the ground. The Chenghuang was worse, unable to maintain his divine dignity, bowing his head to the alchemy chamber and crying: “Supreme Dao Ancestor!”

“Supreme Dao Words, Marvelous Dao Sound!” Cui Dan groaned inwardly: “Who dares say Master Qian has no connection to the Supreme Dao? I’ll eat my shoe!”

Even the tiny figure in his pupils fell silent.

Only within five hundred meters of the pavilion did the Dao sound echo. Wu Bo, Cui Dan, the Chenghuang, and the two minor spirits behind him—the Dayou and Nightyou ghosts—all sank into reverie, entranced. This was a faint projection recorded by the Dao Dust Pearl during the Supreme Dao’s teaching—though passed through three hands, it still held boundless profundity.

When the five-thousand-character Daodejing was fully recited, the Dao sound faded slowly. Cui Dan, lost in thought, suddenly perceived a thread of spiritual insight. His barely repaired second-rank Dao foundation, without his noticing, had been refined and purified by the Dao sound, now elevated to first rank, forging a Pure Dao Body.

The two little ghosts wept bitterly. The Dayou Ghost whispered: “Nightyou, did you understand? Why are you crying?”

“I didn’t understand—that’s why I’m crying!” sobbed the Nightyou Ghost.

Cui Dan came to his senses and saw the old man leading the ox had transformed into Qian Chen’s likeness, nodding and smiling at him.

Qian Chen had received the most from the Supreme Dao sound. Now he faintly grasped the subtlety of the Taiqing Qi Divine Seal, with a glimpse of how to cultivate such magic power. But after this, he sensed deep within: for the Dao Dust Pearl to stir again, he must first truly form his Golden Core!

Wu Bo rose with sword in hand, slashing a blade of light ten zhang wide. As he sheathed it, he bowed to Cui Dan: “Young master, this opportunity has allowed me to form my Golden Core!”

He then kowtowed to Qian Chen: “Thanks to the high immortal’s gift, your humble servant may glimpse the threshold of a middle-rank Golden Core in this lifetime. Your grace is immense…”

Cui Dan exclaimed in delight: “Wu Bo, you’re finally forming your Golden Core?” He turned to Qian Chen: “Thank you, Elder, for your great favor…”

Qian Chen smiled: “I once promised that whoever helped me find suitable corruption qi would benefit. Here.” He waved, sending two spirit pills: “You’re a scion of a noble house—you’ll marry eventually. This True Yang Pill will solidify your primordial yang. Even if you wed and sire children, you’ll preserve your pure yang essence, aiding your future Golden Core formation.”

Cui Dan beamed: “The True Yang Pill that lets one enjoy all pleasures without leaking essence?”

Qian Chen shook his head: “It only stabilizes your primordial yang—it won’t cure your lustful nature. If you indulge your desires, even the True Yang Pill won’t save your foundation.”

Cui Dan bowed quickly: “It was only a momentary lapse. Your humble disciple would never be so reckless!”

Qian Chen turned to Wu Bo, who stood helplessly holding a spirit pill shaped like a fruit with leaves and fruit: “This Golden Core Fruit is a spirit herb I crafted imitating the primordial pill’s mechanism. It should aid your formation. Since you and your master are one, I bestow it upon you both.”

Wu Bo hurriedly refused: “This is your young master’s opportunity—how could your humble servant seize it? Please, True Person, revoke your command.”

Cui Dan said urgently: “Wu Bo is like family to me. If he forms his Golden Core, I’ll be overjoyed. Helping him is better than me receiving this opportunity.”

Wu Bo wept uncontrollably. Qian Chen said: “You helped find the corruption qi too. Do you think I’m blind?” Wu Bo finally accepted the Golden Core Fruit, carefully placing it in his robe. Though Cui Dan lost this opportunity, his good fortune with Qian Chen remained—losing one blessing, he gained another, ultimately reaping benefit.

The Wei Chenghuang watched, envious. He knew he could never match Cui Dan’s prior connection—having heard the Supreme Dao sound was already more than enough. He prepared to congratulate Qian Chen and withdraw.

But Qian Chen called out: “Wait—you get a share too.”

“When you sent your ghost emissaries to inform me, I said I’d remember your favor. Now I repay it. This is the Rebirth Pill. When your spirit path ends and you wish to be reborn as a human, with your accumulated yin virtue and merit, plus this pill, your next life will have an excellent foundation and greater prospects.”

The Wei Chenghuang said: “Your humble spirit fears to claim merit!”

“Just take it!” Qian Chen bestowed the pill, shaped like a tiny fetus. The Wei Chenghuang accepted it, trembling.

“I’ve wandered a hundred days seeking corruption qi; in my furnace, white snow and yellow teeth. Now the primordial pill swallowed, I’ll draw my sword and ask my enemies!” Qian Chen summoned a blade of light—the ethereal, clear crane—vanishing instantly into the clear void, leaving no trace.

Behind him, the few remaining figures stared at the immortal’s distant trail, hearts filled with complex emotions and profound admiration…