Chapter 402: The Three Essentials of Forming the Elixir

To attain a superior realm in the orthodox Daoist path of Jin Dan cultivation, one must seek out the Thirteen Great Elixirs, comprising six External Elixirs and seven Internal Elixirs, thereby causing spirit and breath to rely upon each other, with every exhalation and inhalation returning to the root.

Finally, one awaits the formation of the single Life Stem.

Only then can one naturally seize the creative power of Heaven and Earth and embody the enduring nature of the void!

In short, the more complete the collection of Great Elixirs, and the more perfectly polished one's own Dao practice becomes without any gaps,

the deeper the cultivator's skill, and the higher the grade of the Elixir achieved!

Among these thirteen categories of Great Elixirs, the Internal Elixir known as "Serene Zhanran Zhanran Xu Jing Qi" is the most difficult to accomplish.

Throughout history, countless talents of overflowing genius have fallen at this critical barrier, failing just short of success.

Even when a cultivator is blessed with sudden enlightenment and comprehends the method, most still fail due to mistiming the fire, causing the refined "Serene Zhanran Zhanran Xu Jing Qi" to lack completeness in its true nature, ultimately preventing the Elixir from Achieving First Grade.

During this period of borrowing land for cultivation at the Great Talisman Palace, spiritual energy was abundant, and no one dared to disturb him rashly.

In just over a year, Chen Heng had already condensed two types of Internal Elixirs: Righteous Thought Edge and Sage Earth.

Only the final "Serene Zhanran Zhanran Xu Jing Qi," despite having the true method recorded in a volume for him to study at any time, still consumed a full six years before he finally saw results...

At this moment, Chen Heng extended a finger to point, and from his fingertip rose a hazy, formless, and substanceless qi fluctuation.

Without seeing how it moved, it seemed merely to leap upward once, soaring high into the sky.

Suddenly, above his head rang a clear, resonant sound, like striking a golden bell or hitting a jade chime; its tone was bright and clear, neither fast nor slow, extraordinarily mysterious—

Hearing this sound, Chen Heng involuntarily closed his eyes, a smile touching the corners of his lips.

His sleeves trembled slightly, as if wrapped in a warm breeze, and his mind instantly became perfect and complete.

The slight fatigue accumulated over a long period slowly faded away, replaced by a feeling of great freedom and great purity that nearly overflowed his heart.

Countless thoughts rose and fell in his mind, inspirations born and perished; within a single breath or the snap of a finger, within one thought or an instant, dense streams of contemplation surged forth, revealing themselves before him.

Their complexity and intricacy resembled boundless tidal waves swaying in the void, appearing and disappearing, making them difficult to grasp.

Yet all the various bottlenecks and unsolved mysteries encountered during ordinary Dao cultivation, in this instant, seemed vaguely to gain new insights, swarming toward him, making one intoxicated as if drinking fine wine, unable to extricate oneself.

However, before Chen Heng could suppress this strange realization,

everything suddenly fell silent again, leaving only absolute stillness in ten thousand ways.

It was as if a moonlit pool soaked in color, empty yet unattached...

"Seven years of cultivation, and I have finally reached this stage; producing the sound of He He Lizhi, revealing the scenery within stillness, witnessing all manner of strangeness... According to the words in that secret booklet, such 'Serene Zhanran Zhanran Xu Jing Qi' is undoubtedly of the highest superior grade.

With this, it is sufficient to aid my divine thought in pointing the way to transform the Jin Dan!"

After a long while, Chen Heng opened his eyes and silently spoke these words.

He reached out and grasped, and that "Serene Zhanran Zhanran Xu Jing Qi" hovering above his head silently fell back into the spiritual aperture within his body, without sound or trace.

At this time, he turned his divine intent inward, feeling that every large and small acupoint within his body was filled with Dao qi, glowing with deep light, as if revered earth deities were seated within each one.

He perceived the true qi as seemingly void yet substantial, gracefully rising, leisurely like a fish departing the water, ethereal and bright, already gradually displaying a hint of the Primordial atmosphere.

Chen Heng chuckled lightly, his gaze sweeping over the cave dwelling where he had stayed for seven years, a flash of sharp light appearing in his eyes.

Without further hesitation, he simply concentrated his power and circulated it; instantly, his bones and tendons hummed and trembled, and a ball of Shen Fu Huo broke free from his body, flying out to a spot about ten feet above his head.

Boom! A loud sound erupted!

The entire cave dwelling could not help but shake!

Looking up, he saw the released fire standing nine feet and nine inches high, its flame light colorless, its form transparent, appearing extremely thin.

Although it looked as though a single breath could extinguish it, in reality, its form was incredibly stable, possessing the mighty and profound atmosphere of being unmoved by the eight winds.

One of the Seven Internal Elixirs—Shen Fu Huo!

After Shen Fu Huo manifested, an indescribable scorching heat slowly spread out, rolling toward all directions.

Not only did Chen Heng's physical shell feel a slight stinging pain, but even the spiritual energy of Heaven and Earth that filled the void and circulated eternally was forced apart by this formless flame, scattering in clusters.

"To condense this ultimate Shen Fu Huo of nine feet and nine inches using the power of Tai Su Yu Shen is not actually a difficult task."

Chen Heng raised his finger to form a seal; as his intention arose, two types of External Elixirs, Qiming Jiuguang Zhi and Minghe Sand, were thrown out from his sleeves, quietly hovering above the crown of his head.

It must be known that condensing the Jin Dan is a matter of balancing Yin and Yang, extremely critical; neither External Elixirs nor Internal Elixirs can be lacking.

The first step is called Casting the Elixir Embryo; one must first throw Minghe Sand into Shen Fu Huo to roast it, refining within the fire an Elixir Embryo to serve as the vessel material for blending natures.

During this process, Qiming Jiuguang Zhi serves the function of removing the dross and preserving the essence.

Once the Elixir Embryo is refined, one must rely on it to scour the impurities from the Elixir Embryo, striving for nothing less than "purity."

This is merely the first step of condensing the elixir.

Although it sounds easy,

putting it into practice brings about an entirely different situation and is not easy at all.

Some cultivators whose Rou Shen Jing Zhi Jie is not up to standard, and whose Mei Mei Gongxing regarding Shen Fu Huo is insufficient, naturally find it difficult to refine Minghe Sand to perfection, making this gate hard to pass.

Furthermore, if the Minghe Sand sought by a cultivator is of poor quality, lacking complete mysterious properties,

even if there are no obstacles at the Shen Fu Huo stage, it will still be difficult to refine a perfect Elixir Embryo, always falling short by a margin.

As for the subsequent step of using Qiming Jiuguang Zhi to scour the Elixir Embryo, that too holds its own intricacies and cannot be treated carelessly...

As the saying goes, one wrong step leads to every step being wrong.

If a cultivator wishes for the Elixir to Achieve High-Grade, they must perform every step perfectly, without the slightest error.

Even the tiniest mistake or omission cannot be carelessly ignored; one must exert full effort to remedy it.

Otherwise, once the Dao power is incomplete, it will be too late for regret.

The so-called "a difference of a hair's breadth leads to an error of a thousand li" is exactly this...

At this moment, as Chen Heng offered the Minghe Sand to the Shen Fu Huo, several "Sizzle!" sounds rang out, and instantly, thunderous light and qi shot forth in the air, followed by an overwhelming fragrance that drifted from top to bottom, settling down like layers of gauze curtains.

This roasting lasted for a full three double-hours, which quietly flew by.

Chen Heng observed that the Minghe Sand, originally the size of a chicken egg, had now shrunk by more than a circle, and its previous appearance of flowing brilliance and dazzling, bewildering colors had dimmed slightly.

It inexplicably gave people a feeling of being utterly ordinary, possessing no divine peculiarity.

Yet Chen Heng keenly perceived that a golden-purple qi had gradually begun to emerge upon the surface of the Minghe Sand.

The essence of water and fire within the sand seemed to have formed an auspicious vision of a dragon and tiger, rising and sinking along with the golden-purple qi, appearing and disappearing.

Seeing this scene, Chen Heng clenched his fist; the Shen Fu Huo seemed to relax its grip, exerting its full power, while an unusual fragrance in the air grew stronger, wafting towards his nose in waves.

Finally, another half-hour passed.

By the time the entire grain of Minghe Sand had shrunk considerably and its essence had condensed into unity,

he suddenly flicked his sleeve, withdrawing the Shen Fu Huo from the air; subsequently, the Qiming Jiuguang Zhi was refined into a thick paste, divided into twelve portions, three of which were immediately poured over the pill embryo formed from the Minghe Sand.

In an instant, it was as if heavenly thunder had ignited earthly fire; a colossal force burst forth, striking the surrounding cave walls until they rumbled loudly!

Amidst the booming waves of sound, a thick, turbid mist instantly arose, swirling and rolling in all directions, leaving nothing before his eyes but a vast expanse of white.

The fourth portion.

The fifth portion.

The sixth portion...

Whenever the mist showed signs of dissipating, Chen Heng would timely add another portion of the Qiming Jiuguang Zhi, seizing the precise moment.

This eliminated impurities from the pill embryo without damaging the embryo itself.

Gradually, once all twelve portions of the Qiming Jiuguang paste were exhausted, a single beam of five-colored light suddenly surged forth from the air, straight as a sword, emitting dazzling rays that resembled the fierce sun!

It suddenly shook its form and vanished from the spot.

Chen Heng had long been prepared; he pointed out a strand of True Qi, which surprisingly arrived before the light despite being launched later, intercepting the five-colored qi and capturing it in his hand.

With a thought, he dispersed the light qi, revealing only a round, simple, and ancient pill embryo resting in his palm.

This object was ringed on the left by crimson clouds and spread with brilliant rosy mist on the right, while above and below, two hazy spirits, a dragon and a tiger, chased and played with each other.

Though only the size of a pigeon's egg, it carried a momentum as profound as an abyss and as heavy as a mountain peak, constantly struggling and trembling within Chen Heng's heart, as if at any moment it would break through the sky and fly straight up to the high firmament.

"What a fine pill embryo!"

Chen Heng praised aloud, raising his sleeve as the Inner Medicine Saintly Earth swept across like a dark light.

In just a few breaths, the pill embryo ceased its restless state, its qi mechanism settling into silence as it hung quietly in his palm.

"Among the three essentials for forming a pill, casting the pill embryo is complete; next comes swallowing gold and consuming qi, followed by internal observation and circulating the technique."

Chen Heng slowly exhaled a long breath, his expression becoming several degrees more solemn.

A shock of spiritual light struck his crown, releasing the remaining four Outer Medicines: Yunhua Dragon Paste, Tianyou Mud, Xuanshi Water, and Laoxian Beard.

Simultaneously, a cluster of green fire ignited in the depths of his pupils, brilliant and bright, exceedingly magnificent, causing his entire qi mechanism to rise step by step, climbing to an inexplicably high level.

It seemed that merely within the span of a breath, he could accomplish inconceivable feats such as seizing the void and lifting spiritual mechanisms, profound and mysterious beyond measure!

This enabled the union of inner and outer, illuminating body and mind, reversely swallowing the spiritual nature of heaven and earth to refine it into his own harmonious self.

Thus, this was the Jin Dan Inner Medicine—

the Three Wonders Flame!

At the same time, within Yangrang Mountain of the Talisman Palace.

Daoist Daojun Fu Yu, who had been sitting with eyes closed, suddenly sensed something; he opened his eyes to glance toward Chen Heng's secluded cultivation spot, then slowly withdrew his gaze.

"What is it? Is his Mei Mei Gongxing going awry?"

Fuchan Fuchan Laozu, squatting on Daoist Daojun Fu Yu's shoulder, frowned; disregarding his drowsiness, he hurriedly stood up to ask.

"It is not going awry; he is about to form his pill."

Daoist Daojun Fu Yu cast a glance at the little old man on his shoulder and said.

No sooner had his voice fallen than the celestial phenomena above the peak where Chen Heng was in seclusion suddenly changed.

In an instant, wind and clouds shook, and qi shadows intertwined!

Wreaths of mist and flowing rosy clouds slowly emerged, surging like the waves of the Dajiang, forming a canopy like an umbrella, resembling a coiling dragon, transforming into various strange visions.

Meanwhile, clear sounds drifted faintly from the clouds, as if feathered guests were chanting in unison, causing the mountain's immortal cranes to spread their wings and cry clearly, colorful butterflies to dance wildly in circles, and strange beasts to neigh loudly, creating quite a lively scene.

Such commotion was naturally difficult to conceal.

From time to time, great cultivators within Yangrang Mountain opened their residence gates, casting curious glances with interest and gathering in groups of three or five to converse.

Due to the circumstances of the sect's inheritance, the Talisman Palace had never been populous.

In recent years, the only new disciple to join, Yu Tan, had not even cultivated to the Purple Mansion, still bitterly polishing his Emperor Taishi Yuanzhen and familiarizing himself with the sect's talismanic texts to facilitate future study of the Shangqing Talisman Registers.

Therefore, the current celestial phenomenon of pill formation was, for these various truths of the Talisman Palace, a rare spectacle indeed, one they had not seen for a very long time.

"Forming a pill? After seven years of bitter cultivation, he has finally reached this step; it is somewhat earlier than I, this old man, anticipated..."

Fuchan Fuchan Laozu muttered.

His gaze swept over Chen Chen Xiangxian, who was likewise standing afar among the clouds to watch, then he shook his head again and looked at Daoist Daojun Fu Yu, asking:

"In your opinion, what grade will his pill achieve this time?"

"This youth is a formidable figure; even looking across the vast Ruodaba Sect and the Bapailiu Sect, he is a hero fully deserving of the title; achieving a High-Grade Elixir is not difficult for him, but whether it will be First Grade, Second Grade, or that San Pin..."

Daoist Daojun Fu Yu shook his head and said no more.

In the cultivation of the Immortal Dao, the ranks are clear.

The quality of True Qi is divided into nine stages and Thirty-Six Grades, while the strange visions of the Purple Mansion have Upper, Middle, and Lower three vehicles.

The Jin Dan is likewise.

The so-called difference of nine grades means that the distinction between upper and lower at every layer is strict.

Those capable of Cheng Shang San Pin are fully outstanding talents within the Bapailiu Sect and Liu Sect, destined to become the backbone of the sect in the future.

And as for Elixir Achieves First Grade.

He is the most formidable candidate for the position of Dao Son!

If fortune favors him, it is not impossible that he will one day wield supreme power, overlook an entire continent, and achieve longevity and eternal vision!

Since the future prospects are so vast, the difficulty of forming the elixir naturally becomes even greater.

No matter which step one takes, extreme caution and care are required.

Throughout Daoist Fu Yu's life, he has witnessed many cultivators who, despite their overflowing talent, helplessly suffered Zhe Ji before the barrier of the Jin Dan, failing to obtain a Dan Pin that satisfied them and forced to settle for second best.

In truth, the path of the Jin Dan is ninety-nine percent human effort, plus a sliver of heavenly endowment.

Even if all thirteen internal and external medicines are complete and refined to perfection, one has only attained the human effort.

As for that final sliver of heavenly endowment, it remains elusive...

Words from others cannot offer guidance; the cultivator must realize and comprehend it themselves.

Even with the status of Fuchan Fuchan Laozu, Fu Yu cannot easily make a definitive judgment on whether Chen Heng can achieve Elixir Achieves First Grade and truly cultivate the Dragon-Tiger Jin Dan of the Yu Yuchen Sect...

"In this great era of contention, where calamitous waves gradually surge, it is precisely the time for heroes to prove their worth... Chen Heng, let us see if you can seize this fortune!"

Daoist Fu Yu gazed calmly ahead, speaking in his heart.

Meanwhile, within Yangrang Mountain, the celestial phenomena were becoming increasingly intense.

Besides the clear sounds of mist and breeze, there were also crashing peals of thunder, rising and falling, deafening to the ear.

It was as if a divine general of the Dao Court were striking a drum with all his might, the sound waves echoing endlessly across the wilds, one boom following another!

The various true ones of the Talisman Talisman Palace watched with great interest, beginning to discuss in low voices.

As for Chen Chen Xiangxian, seeing this scene, he merely focused his spirit without speaking, his mind filled with contemplation:

"After swallowing gold and consuming qi, the next step is internal observation and circulating energy. However, when the great medicine is nearly complete, the phenomenon of 'Jin Jin Guang Yang Yan and the Six Roots Trembling' will occur.

And after ensuring the Six Roots do not leak, how to then utilize the Zhan Ran Zhanran Xu Jing Qi is the crucial matter..."

(End of Chapter)

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