Chapter 793: The Immortal Elixir

Yan Shu formed a sword with two fingers, the blade born from his heart, possessing four faces—each forged from his courage, wisdom, integrity, and benevolence throughout his life.

With his fundamental obsession as the hilt and supreme sharpness as the edge, wisdom, courage, righteousness, and benevolence as its resonance, he raised it above the floating clouds and brought it down to sever demons.

This is the Heart Sword!

He pointed his sword-finger eastward and cried out.

"Eastern Azure Dragon, essence of Jiao and Kang, exhales clouds and dense qi, roars thunder and sounds, flies through the Eight Extremes, wanders the Four Nether Realms—your name is Meng Zhang, stand to my left!"

The old ox in the distance lowed, shaking its fan-like ears.

A thread of blue qi flew from the far east and settled upon the blue jade tablet.

Yan Shu pointed his sword-finger westward again and said: "Western Bai Hu, corresponding to Zi Mansion, noble and pure in essence, solemn and clear in voice, instilling dread in beasts, roaring through mountains and forests—your name is He Jian Bing, stand to my right!"

From the far west, a beam of white light soared upward, hovering slightly in the air as if inspecting the scene, carefully recognizing each face.

Only then did it descend into the white jade tiger.

"Southern Zhu Que, chief of all birds, born from Danxue, its song flows through azure skies, its wondrous hues of five colors, its divine form of six symbols—your name is Ling Guang, lead me forward!"

"Northern Dark Tortoise, born of Yin's transformation, Xū and Wēi reveal your form, turtle and snake united—wandering the Nine Earths, ruling all spirits—your name is Zhi Ming, follow behind me!"

A crimson qi from the south took the shape of a phoenix, circling twice around a withered, charred tree before reluctantly settling upon the red jade tablet.

The final black light descended from beside the Big Dipper, circling the North Star twice before decisively sinking into the black jade half-ring.

"The Four Spirits take their places—enter the jade offerings!"

Yan Shu cried out sharply, and beside him, the Hong Xuesheng Zangshan Laozu hastily threw a Lánggān jade tree into the furnace, chopping it into segments of white jade-like wood.

The Southern Bright Fire, aided by this, instantly turned pure gold, blazing like divine flame, scorching the five jade artifacts.

Clearly visible now, a creamy jade fluid surfaced upon the blue tablet, red tablet, white tiger, and black half-ring.

Gradually, the four jade artifacts melted, their blue, red, white, and black qi seeping into the living-like dantai, whereupon Yan Shu bowed deeply, kowtowing to offer the Huang Cong.

As if thunderous sounds rose from beneath the earth, thick earth-yellow light surged upward, merging into the jade cong—the earth, bearing all things with boundless virtue, giving selflessly to all beings; Yan Shu, with a heart of restraint, honored the earth's profound virtue.

The elixir embryo, spinning lazily within the golden divine flame, slowly settled into the Huang Cong.

As the elixir sank into the hollow jade cong, the yellow light enveloped the immortal elixir, the five qi revolving, an unfathomably subtle medicinal nature gestating within the earth, boundless vitality sprouting, a staggering transformation slowly hidden within.

Yan Shu lifted the Huang Cong from the divine flame and stepped one by one onto a small, lacquered black boat.

He raised the Xiao Xie Xuan Tree's Ji toward the heavens!

The starlight, as large as a winnowing basket, flew from his hand and instantly shot straight to the Ninth Heaven.

In that instant, the sun and moon lost their radiance; the entire starry sky appeared, the Xiao Xie Xuan Ji vanished into the Big Dipper, and the Big Dipper blazed with brilliant light—along with Yan Shu's sacrifice, the stirring energies from the four directions finally manifested, the stars of the heavens glittered, the Twenty-Eight Mansions each radiating dazzling light.

When the Dipper's handle pointed east, the eastern starlight linked like a dragon undulating.

When the handle pointed south, the Southern Zhu Que soared through the sky, its phoenix wings circling back; then it pointed northwest, the Western Bai Hu manifested, roaring aloud; the Northern Dark Tortoise coiled, turtle and snake forming yin and yang.

The Four Celestial Spirits manifested, each exhaling blue, white, red, and black qi, pouring down endless starlight.

As if the celestial dipper had shattered and the Tianhe had overturned, a pillar of light pierced heaven and earth, within which sunlight, moonlight, and starlight fell like water, drenching the back of the Gui Ao of the Return Void!

The small boat, carved from Shātáng wood, floated and sank amid the starlight, slowly ascending the Tianhe against its current.

This grand, unfathomable spectacle, in the eyes of countless reincarnators, resembled the reenactment of ancient myths.

Even Primordial Spirit Immortals, at this moment, could not help but be dazzled and entranced; all were utterly certain—this was the ritual for refining the Immortal Elixir.

Beyond this, no other sacrifice could rival the grandeur of an emperor offering to heaven!

Dan Chen reached toward the Tianhe, his hand sweeping through invisible starlight that rippled like water—yet his palm remained empty.

Dan Cheng would not let this transformation slip away; what followed was Heaven refining medicine—this lifetime, let alone the next, or the one after that, across all realms and worlds, few would ever witness such a marvel.

It contained the supreme truths of alchemy.

He hastily pulled out a piece of Shātáng wood, lay upon it, and followed the Tianhe upstream; beside him, the Hong Xuesheng Demon also pulled out a plank, and the two exchanged glances, silently cursing: "You secretly hoarded it—you're no true man!"

But others cursed even more bitterly.

Fine! You're refining the Immortal Elixir without us, are you?

One Primordial Spirit Immortal leapt upward with his spiritual treasure, only to be crushed back down by the overwhelming Four Celestial Spirits above—Heaven above, the Four Spirits manifested, no defiance allowed!

Others, seeing this, each displayed their own abilities: some quietly took a sliver of Shātáng wood, sliced it paper-thin, folded it into a paper boat, and followed the Tianhe.

Others simply glued together Shātáng leaves into a boat and rowed up as well.

Those who could not fly simply gritted their teeth, ran beneath the Immortal Tree, and began climbing upward—soon, all who could not ride the Tianhe were scaling the Immortal Tree.

Yan Shu steered his boat along the star river, before him an unparalleled brilliance of starlight, as if all realms and worlds had become stars drifting beside him; he heard a voice call: "Senior Brother Yan!"

He turned and saw Ning Ning Qingchen seated atop a blue ox, having crossed the river as well.

Yan Shu held the Huang Cong, the Immortal Elixir's nature borne by the earth, breathing starlight, bathed in the breath of all realms and worlds.

All subtle truths, all great Dao, manifested as if real—such an experience was an unimaginable wonder for any cultivator.

Yin and yang, the five elements, all realms and worlds, life and death, creation and transformation, the cosmos and primordial chaos—all rippled around him, nurturing an unimaginable miracle!

It nearly brought tears to one's eyes.

Dan Chen wept bitterly, bringing Ling Gong beside him to experience this once-in-myriads-of-aeons transformation; Ling Gong saw his master weeping and quietly shrank back toward the stern of the boat.

Yet Dan Chen spoke in a choked voice: "The Dao lies before me… To hear the Dao in the morning, I may die in the evening!"

The Shātáng boat sailed farther; midway, the boat made of Shātáng leaves first disintegrated.

Those aboard fell, some caught on tree branches, others crashed heavily to the ground, their flesh turning to blood-mud, their souls still wailing above their corpses.

Then came the paper-thin boats—but those were all Primordial Spirit True Persons; as they fell, they glided and clung to the nearby Immortal Tree, which was not difficult.

Finally, as Yan Shu neared the very peak of the Immortal Tree's crown—the leaf-like altar—Hong Xuesheng and Dan Chen both pressed their boats to a halt, respectfully stepping down.

Even Ning Ning Qingchen, having accompanied Yan Shu all the way atop the blue ox, halted beside the star river, watching from afar as Yan Shu ascended the altar.

The Four Symbols manifested in the four directions, the star-sea lay beneath his feet.

Above, vast and boundless, indescribable in color, indefinable in existence, resembling emptiness yet containing something formless within—that ineffable presence was—

Heaven!

Yan Shu offered the Cong with both hands, kowtowing in the highest reverence.

"Disciple Yan Shu humbly beseeches Heaven's grace!"

He set down the Cong, filled a golden goblet with wine brewed from the Five Grains of Mùhé.

Brewed from the Greedy Spring, this wine gathered the vastness of Heaven's Five Elements, the essence of Earth's Five Grains, and the human heart's courage, wisdom, integrity, benevolence, and greed—triggering an unspeakable ritual to sacrifice to Heaven!

The formless presence above suddenly condensed, becoming a gray, chaotic haze that manifested.

The cup of Greedy Spring Five-Grain Elixir gradually vanished—Heaven's Dao finally manifested!

The immense, all-encompassing qi filled heaven and earth; all bowed deeply in reverence—a single trace of Heaven's qi appeared, like the Dao itself, stretching before them; no immortal or deity dared raise even a whisper of defiance.

Xu Fu gazed from afar, yet did not kneel—only cast a long, deep look.

His expression was half-sob, half-laugh.

He whispered three sobs, then laughed aloud three times: "Emperor Qin! Your servant has failed to bring back the Immortal Elixir—I am ashamed before Your Majesty!"

"Ying Zheng! You cannot defy Heaven and alter fate… you cannot!"

"Hahahaha… Heaven has cut the Emperor's lifespan by forty-nine—he who fails to become a Heavenly Emperor, no matter how invincible, will still die. Shouldering the state, bearing the lives of all, this overwhelming fortune returns to cut your lifespan—what good is the Immortal Elixir even if you obtain it?"

"Merely another lifetime!"

"Only the true Immortal Elixir can save you!"

"The Qin Dynasty will perish in its second generation…"

Xu Fu swept his sleeve and headed toward the Immortal Tree.

"Your Majesty, let me seize this Immortal Elixir and offer it before your tomb!"

…………

Yan Shu gazed at the gray, chaotic Heaven, plucked a leaf from the Green Tree.

The leaf, like jade, was crisp and pleasing; yet below, a blackbird shaped like a swallow flew far off, uttering a childish cry of accusation.

He raised the leaf and rubbed it against the gray chaos.

As the leaf passed, a hue emerged—like the sky after rain, washed clean, vivid and moving; the primordial Heaven, after this wiping, revealed color and vitality—as if a divine personality, endowed with spirit and emotion, had surfaced within the Dao.

Sun En gazed at this Heaven, a hint of hostility rising in his eyes.

Gradually, as Yan Shu wiped the Heaven, he also wiped his Heart Sword within.

As the last gray was erased, the Green Tree leaf had fully turned to gray mist; Yan Shu carefully stored it away, gazing at the azure sky—the final jade light of the Yao Jade essence ascended.

Jade essence spread… Heaven coalesced.

A perfect, hollowed disk of dark azure jade covered the heavens—clearly Heaven itself.

Within its hollow, something inexplicable, like the Dao itself; upon the jade disk, countless tooth-like nail patterns manifested, each exquisitely mysterious—the jade's patterns included twisted ropes, twin cords like strings, revealing mysterious script, the ultimate truth sought by the Xiao Xie Xuan School.

Also present: woven patterns, grain patterns, vortex patterns, linked thunder patterns, and cloud patterns—all unfathomably mysterious; to comprehend one pattern could lead to immortality; to pluck one was to obtain the supreme Dao seed.

The cultivators below strained their eyes, desperate to see the patterns and comprehend the Dao within.

Yan Shu, however, merely used his Sword Heart to sever all these mysterious rhythms, polishing his life-essence Heart Sword bit by bit; gradually, he swung his sword toward the demonic nature within his heart—and slashed away half of it, leaving only a root.

Finally, he raised the Huang Cong, witnessed by the Four Celestial Spirits, and bowed once more, beseeching Heaven to grant him mandate!

The azure jade and yellow cong instantly merged.

Within Heaven's azure and Earth's yellow, transformation was complete.

The Immortal Elixir's nature within the Immortal Tree was now borne by Heaven and Earth, as if the Dao itself had reached out to nurture and refine that one essence.

Having completed this entire Heaven-sacrifice ritual—the steps, gestures, incantations, the sacred rites of the spiritual treasures, the Confucian rituals fully enacted—Yan Shu nearly collapsed to the ground.

He forced his body upright, gazing at the slowly receding Heaven before him, at the fused Bi and Cong, now resembling a tiny jade tripod.

Within it, the Immortal Elixir was gestating!

The once glorious, radiant aura of the Immortal Tree had grown somewhat withered—as if its accumulated ten-thousand-year essence had been entirely siphoned into that single essence of transformation; yet no demonic tribulation dared descend upon this ultimate elixir's emergence.

Can Heaven refining medicine have tribulation?

But Yan Shu knew that the Nascent Soul True Immortals below would likely go mad.

Even those who did not know the mysteries of the Immortal Herb would, upon seeing this ritual and the divine herb forged by the manifest heavens and nurtured by the thick earth,

still feel covetous intent.

Dan Dan Chengzi stared at him with wide, blinking eyes, his aged face forcing out a hint of cuteness; the Hong Xuesheng Old Devil stared with bulging eyes, watching the multitude of Nascent Souls below with predatory intent while also blinking at him.

Yan Shu felt a chill run down his spine.

He glanced at the Jade Cauldron; within it, the primordial creation still slowly settled, steady and calm.

He raised three fingers toward the below, signaling that the elixir would be ready in three days!

"Only three Immortal Herbs…" The Hong Xuesheng Zangshan Laozu, seeing Yan Shu's gesture, declared firmly.