Chen Shi landed and grabbed the spear in his hand.
Wuwang Mansion Lord stepped forward with a smile and said, "What is called ’sacrificial refinent’ requires incense; without incense, it cannot be called a sacrifice. Refining a weapon with one’s own qi-blood and talismans is known as quenching, which differs from sacrificial refinent. If a treasure is refined with incense over ti, it will beco spiritually aware, capable of transforming according to one’s own will, and only then can it be considered a Magical Treasure. True King, take this spear with you, burn three sticks of incense each morning and three sticks each evening, and do not neglect it."
Chen Shi replied with a smile, "This journey relates to both our lives; how can I possibly treat it unfairly?"
He stood up to take his leave.
The Mansion Lord courteously saw him out, and as Chen Shi exited the mansion, he saw Nannan asleep on the back of Black Pot. Chen Shi picked her up and placed her in the wooden cart.
When he returned to Huangpo Village, it was not yet light.
Nannan had played all night and was utterly exhausted, sleeping the entire journey.
Chen Shi brought her back to her room to rest; Hu Feifei was still sleeping, lying in her bed in a daze. Upon seeing him carrying Nannan inside, she woke up but didn’t get up, instead just lifted the quilt.
Chen Shi placed Nannan in the bed, and Hu Feifei covered her with the quilt, sat up from beneath it, and whispered, "I waited for you to co back last night but got too sleepy and went to bed first. Have you eaten? If not, I’ll get up and cook for you."
Chen Shi said, "There’s still so ti before dawn; keep sleeping, we’ll talk at sunrise."
Hu Feifei slid back under the quilt, only her head poking out, and giggled, "It’s not light out yet; don’t you want to do sothing with soone?"
Chen Shi thought for a mont, then said, "I’m going to practice my cultivation."
He left the room, and Hu Feifei got up and peered through the gap in the window lattice. Chen Shi was indeed practicing the Eight Extres Golden Palace Divine Chapter in the courtyard. She thought to herself, "I’m a fox spirit and he’s a scholar, can’t we develop sothing? That’s what the books all say, it seems the books are deceiving ..."
She yawned and lay back down.
At sunrise, Hu Feifei heard the sound of Chen Shi’s surprised and delighted voice, "Tianqing has sent a letter!"
Hu Feifei got out of bed, bleary-eyed, and opened the door. Chen Shi held a letter in his hand, looking very excited, and said with a smile, "Feifei, Tianqing has sent a letter!"
Hu Feifei rubbed her eyes and asked, "Which fox spirit is Tianqing?"
"Li Tianqing, my friend, you’ve t him!"
Chen Shi shook the letter and laughed, "He says in the letter that he has confird our hypothesis!"
Hu Feifei read the letter, which recounted how Li Tianqing found an ancient temple, sealed off its doors, windows, and walls completely, prepared various life-saving herbs and dicines, as well as water and food, and then destroyed his Golden Core.
He nearly lost his life and took a month to recover.
"He destroyed his Golden Core?"
Hu Feifei was shocked – wasn’t that extre?
Chen Shi, visibly excited, paced back and forth and said, "Keep reading!"
Continuing to read, Li Tianqing wrote that he began to cultivate anew in the temple. At first, there were no abnormalities, but on the tenth day, suddenly a ray of sunlight fell into the temple.
Now, after a month of secluded cultivation, he had restored his Golden Core and found that his lifespan had reached two hundred years and surmised that as his cultivation increased, his lifespan would continue to grow.
Chen Shi, overwheld with excitent, laughed and said, "Now, I can confirm that neither the Cultivation Technique nor the Divine Embryo is faulty; it is the sunlight and moonlight that are to bla!"
He looked up at the sky where two suns shone upon the land, belonging to the Outer Heaven True God – his eyes, the sunlight bestowing warmth to all, containing infinite energy.
"The light from the sun and moon allows Cultivators to elevate their realm but not their lifespan!"
Chen Shi clenched his fist and struck his palm, laughing, "Tianqing’s actions are of significant rit and will benefit future generations for an eternity! Truly worthy of being my close friend!"
Hu Feifei saw the brightness in his eyes and thought to herself, "Is this a man’s aspiration?"
She did not quite understand such aspirations.
Yet she felt that a man with firm aspirations held a certain captivating charm.
Chen Shi, full of excitent, rushed to grind ink and wrote a reply to Li Tianqing. He was dissatisfied after writing it once, crumpled up the letter, and threw it aside – then wrote another, still unsatisfied.
After over ten attempts, he was finally content and let Hu Feifei read it first.
As Hu Feifei read, the letter was brimming with enthusiasm, praising Li Tianqing’s heroic deed in passionate words. She felt the surging emotions between the lines and laughed, "It’s beautifully written."
Chen Shi rushed out excitedly and said, "I’m off to the provincial town to send a letter!"
Hu Feifei hurriedly said, "Co back! Leave after breakfast!"
Chen Shi had to stop, but even during his al, he was sowhat impatient, gobbling up his food and then dashing out imdiately.
Hu Feifei shook her head.
By the afternoon, when Chen Shi returned from sending the letter, he was still a bit thrilled and couldn’t help but tell Hu Feifei about Li Tianqing discarding his Golden Core to start over, what imnse courage that was, what a trendous feat.
The following day, as night fell, the village wet nurse Sangyu notified Chen Shi, saying, "There’s a little ghost outside looking for you."
Chen Shi said, "Let him in; that will do."
So, Wet Nurse Sangyu let the little ghost in, and when it arrived at the Chen family ho, Chen Shi initially thought it was a child from another village, but upon closer inspection indeed found it to be a little ghost.
It was a tea servant from the side of the Wuwang Mansion master, green-skinned, with a ghastly face and fangs.
A Lantern Ghost accompanied it, presumably in charge of providing light.
The little ghost said, "My master has sent to inquire when will you be departing?"
Chen Shi was in a splendid mood, laughed, and said, "You go back and tell your master that I keep my word; I will leave in a few days."
The little ghost and the Lantern Ghost left.
Chen Shi continued with his cultivation, offering incense to the Wuwang Spear every morning and evening.
After another two or three days, the little ghost ca back to Huangpo Village with the Lantern Ghost; Wet Nurse Sangyu allowed him in, and the little ghost sought an audience with Chen Shi, saying, "My master has sent to inquire when will you set out?"
Chen Shi said, "Wait two more days. Tell your master I haven’t pocketed his spear deceitfully; it’s just that I am not yet fully confident.
The little ghost went back.
Chen Shi offered incense for another two days, manipulating the Wuwang Spear to his heart’s content, controlling it with a single-minded focus.
That evening as he was practicing the Eight Extres Golden Palace Divine Chapter, suddenly a great fire surged from within his Dantian. The Golden Core floated within the flas, motionless and unturned, still as if his Qi-Blood had entered ditation.
Chen Shi’s ears heard nothing, his eyes saw no color, his heart held no thoughts, and he lost all five senses, falling into utter silence.
The sea of fire was like fields, with the Golden Core as its seed, amidst the profound silence, a thread of life hid within the pill.
This mont was of utmost importance.
Two days passed like this, the little ghost sought out Chen Shi with the Lantern Ghost, wishing to enter the Chen house, but all they could see was a vast sea of flas in the void, preventing them from getting close.
This fire was invisible to ordinary people, but visible to ghosts and deities, blocking their path.
The little ghost stood at the edge of the sea of fire, peering forward and saw that it stretched boundlessly, possibly for tens of thousands of miles, vast and impenetrable, with no way to cross it.
After a long wait, the sea of fire began to contract, gradually shrinking to a few yards in radius, within it, an adult’s silhouette could be faintly seen, sitting cross-legged in the void, with the sea of fire the size of a few yards in his belly.
Suddenly, within the fire, a Yellow Bud began to grow, radiating golden light. With a burst, the Yellow Bud sprouted two leaves, like a person growing arms, which slowly stretched out and raised upwards, as if a person was lifting their head.
The Yellow Bud took root, like a person’s feet, and gradually beca more human-like, drawing in the fire sea as if inhaling a rainbow.
In a flash, the Yellow Bud leaped from the fire, transforming into a Nascent Soul the size of a bean sprout, soaring skyward, as if ascending into the Nine Heavens Azure Darkness!
The little ghost looked up and saw that the Nascent Soul was fully ford, its faint outline mirroring that of Chen Shi.
This scene was exactly what a sage from the Huaxia Divine Continent nad Bai Yuchan once described.
"In the ninth revolution of the Golden Pill, it is called return to nine. Like dung beetles that die, their faecal pellets split, and their cicadas fly, form and spirit both exquisite." (Excerpt from Bai Yuchan’s "Sea Qiong Transmissions")
Suddenly, all the phantoms before the little ghost’s eyes disappeared, and the adult’s silhouette beca clearer and clearer, organs slowly erging, followed by bones and ridians cleaning up, and finally the skin and clothes appearing.
When the visions fully dissipated, only Chen Shi was left, sitting in the courtyard.
The little ghost steadied himself and walked forward with the Lantern Ghost, bowing and saying, "My master has sent to inquire when will you leave?"
Chen Shi stood up, smiled, and said, "Now that I have cultivated the Nascent Soul, my chances are even higher. You tell your master that as soon as it’s light, I shall set out!"
User Comments
0 comments from readers