Chapter 130: Going with the Flow
Chapter 130: Going with the Flow
Mu Yuan had never examined the pearl he obtained from Zhishan the monk. He casually put it into his gourd after getting it from the Immortal’s Abode. Later, he practiced the Great Sun Divine Fire Art, refined righteous energy, and fought with demon beasts. He forgot about it for a while and only remembered it now!
Using his spiritual sense to inspect it, he found a trace of Zhishan’s remaining mark inside the fire pearl. This surprised Mu Yuan!
Although Zhishan was powerful, he had not reached the state of undying eternal life.
In the Buddhist Sect, there were mainly two ways to achieve eternal life. One was similar to the Daoist Primordial Spirit, which involved cultivating a Buddha Relic. The other, resembling the Demonic Path’s Undying Body, was the Golden Body method!
At that time, Zhishan had neither cultivated a Golden Body nor realized a Buddha Relic. Just like how Daoists refine magical artifacts, when a Primordial Spirit expert dies, marks and spiritual sense remain in their artifacts. But those who haven’t achieved Primordial Spirit, once dead, their artifacts immediately become ownerless. All their previous refinement efforts vanished like smoke!
Yet, after Zhishan died, a trace of his mark remained in this fire pearl. One had to admit his high level of cultivation!
“Master, rest well! Life and death are fated, wealth is determined by heaven. Since you have passed away, please forgive this junior for being disrespectful!”
After a brief prayer, Mu Yuan connected his spiritual sense with the Soul Pearl. He immediately absorbed this trace of mark. A flood of memory fragments rushed in. What remained were the memories of Zhishan refining this fire pearl!
It turned out this pearl was called the Nine Dragons Blazing Fire Pearl. Zhishan won it as a bet after defeating a Daoist in a fight. It was incredibly profound.
The original form of the Nine Dragons Blazing Fire Pearl came from an ancient fire dragon after its death!
Ancient divine beasts often had special innate gifts. Dragons formed Dragon Pearls, Qilins had Inner Pills, phoenixes had magnificent feathers, and divine turtles left their shells. These were the essence of these divine beasts. Even after death, these things endured for years!
This Nine Dragons Blazing Fire Pearl came from nine ancient fire dragons after they died. A master artifact refiner accidentally obtained them, merged nine into one, and refined it into a magical artifact. It contained pure fire energy and abundant fire essence, which went without saying!
Zhishan practiced the Great Sun Divine Fire Art. After refining this pearl, he abandoned his previous magical artifacts and focused solely on cultivating it. Even within the Great Sun Divine Sect, it was a rare, top-grade magical artifact!
“So many treasures exist in the world. How fortunate I am to have encountered so many magical artifacts!”
Mu Yuan murmured to himself. As his spiritual sense wandered inside the Nine Dragons Blazing Fire Pearl, a surge of rich fire essence rushed back into his body. The Great Sun True Fire inside him was further tempered, becoming purer and more vigorous!
Feeling the changes in himself, Mu Yuan grew even more delighted. He rubbed the Nine Dragons Blazing Fire Pearl with his fingers. After some thought, he took out the Great Sun Fire Curse.
The Three-legged Golden Crow, transformed by the Great Sun Fire Curse, was very excited to see the Nine Dragons Blazing Fire Pearl. It flapped its black feathers, stretched its sharp beak, and swallowed the pearl!
The surging fire essence oscillated back and forth within the curse. The Golden Crow cawed continuously, its voice clear and melodious like a jade chime. Red flames ignited on its black feathers, swirling and rising continuously!
After swallowing the fire pearl, the Three-legged Golden Crow was extremely happy. It flew around Mu Yuan, its power rising step by step. Finally, it surpassed the Earth Guardian Kirin Curse!
Among the Five Great Curses, the earliest and most powerful was originally the Purple Lightning Dragon Curse. Later, the Earth Guardian Kirin Curse, though formed later, became the most vigorous after swallowing the thirteen Yellow Sand Crystal Pillars!
The Great Sun Fire Curse was the last to form. Now, after devouring the Nine Dragons Blazing Fire Pearl, it surpassed the Earth Guardian Kirin Curse and the Longevity Curse, becoming the most magically powerful among the five!
After the Earth Guardian Kirin Curse swallowed the Yellow Sand Crystal Pillars, Mu Yuan discovered a trick. These curses were like his External Incarnations. Not only could they wield the divine abilities of their respective Zhenqi types, but they could also control the magical artifacts they devoured!
The Longevity Curse devoured the Green Wood Thunderblade. The Earth Guardian Kirin Curse swallowed the Yellow Sand Crystal Pillars. The Great Sun Fire Curse digested the Nine Dragons Blazing Fire Pearl. Only the Northern Dark Water Curse and the Purple Lightning Dragon Curse remained solitary and alone!
Although Mu Yuan felt it was a pity, there was nothing he could do. The only water-based magical artifact he had was the Black Water Gourd, but he couldn’t bear to let the Northern Dark Water Curse consume it. As for the Purple Lightning Dragon Curse, the most compatible item was the Longevity Sword, which Mu Yuan was even more reluctant to part with!
When the Great Sun Fire Curse finished its joyful flying, Mu Yuan clearly felt a wave of happiness emanating from it. He smiled inwardly and withdrew the curse.
Although the magical artifact was devoured by the curse, the benefits outweighed the disadvantages!
Mu Yuan himself possessed many magical artifacts and flying swords. For a cultivator, having more artifacts wasn’t necessarily better. It could actually divide one’s focus. As he was now, he still had two peerless flying swords, a set of Sword Pills, and a half-refined Black Water Gourd. Compared to many others, he was already quite wealthy!
During battles, it was impossible to control too many artifacts at once. Too many artifacts would scatter his energy. If facing opponents weaker than himself, he could dazzle and intimidate them. But against equals, his control would be less agile!
Mu Yuan certainly understood this principle. Moreover, artifacts devoured by the Brilliant Salvation Curse weren’t truly lost. These Five Great Curses, like External Incarnations, though useless for cultivation, were extremely powerful in combat!
Furthermore, if these Five Great Curses could be cultivated to the Immortal Demon Body state, and if Mu Yuan failed to achieve Primordial Spirit, he could still perform a secret method to seize a body and be reborn, turning from the Dao to the Demonic Path, yet still achieving eternal life!
When the Five Great Curses wielded magical artifacts, it was just like him doing it himself!
After putting away the Great Sun Fire Curse, Mu Yuan wasn’t in a hurry to leave. Although the Southern Abyss of Kunlun wasn’t Kunlun’s main cultivation site, it was still within Kunlun’s territory. Like gardens and herb fields, it had disciples guarding it. Only the bottom of the Southern Abyss, where the Immortal Divine Tree grew, was a place even Kunlun insiders couldn’t easily enter!
But if Mu Yuan wanted to leave, he would inevitably pass through Kunlun and risk being discovered. Then it would be hard to explain!
“Just escaped a deadly calamity, now trapped alive!” Mu Yuan sat down under the Immortal Divine Tree, gazing at the blue sky and white clouds, and sighed.
The Longevity Patriarch, however, was like a fish in water here. All the Spirit Beasts and countless rare trees paid homage to him. The poisonous insects and demon beasts lurking in the Langgan Forest didn’t dare approach this place. He came and went as he pleased, carefree and unrestrained!
By now, Lin Fangjing had also finished gathering her energy. The pure Thunderbolt Power contained in the Great Thunder Divine Tree thoroughly washed her entire body. This Thunder Divine Tree seemed to have developed spiritual awareness and its own sentience. It was very friendly toward Lin Fangjing and even gave her a branch segment. It turned into a purple Liuguang, circling around her endlessly.
Hearing Mu Yuan’s sigh, Lin Fangjing didn’t mind. “Since that’s the case, cultivating here is the same. The scenery of Kunlun is boundless, and the spiritual energy is incredibly abundant. It’s much better than our Divine Thunder Sect! Besides, there are countless spiritual herbs and rare plants here, many types of precious and exotic trees. It’s truly a land of divine beauty, very beneficial for cultivation!”
Mu Yuan had his own considerations. To achieve the Five Elements Elixir Formation, he still lacked a Metal-element heart technique. He also didn’t have any suitable magical artifacts to refine into External Incarnations. One could say, if he couldn’t leave this place, the Five Elements Elixir Formation would be nothing but an illusion, a fleeting dream!
“The Mountain Elf is also an essence of metal and stone. If refined into pure metal energy, couldn’t it serve as a substitute?” This thought couldn’t help but surface in Mu Yuan’s mind.
But as soon as the thought arose, Mu Yuan dismissed it. “The Mountain Elf has already developed spiritual awareness; it’s a living being! It hasn’t caused me any trouble either. How could I have such a thought? Is that something a cultivator should do?”
He racked his brains but couldn’t come up with any plan. Never mind Kunlun; even in any other established sect, if Mu Yuan found himself in such a situation, he couldn’t hope to escape!
He had only been cultivating for over ten years. Any sect that could survive the sands of time certainly wasn’t weak. If someone who hadn’t even formed a Golden Core could escape, such a sect might as well close down!
Time passed swiftly, half a year went by unnoticed. Mu Yuan was still trapped at the bottom of the abyss. He had tried flying up the mountain several times but nearly got caught by patrolling Kunlun disciples. With no way to heaven and no door to earth, he was truly stuck here!
At first, he was extremely anxious. But later, seeing Lin Fangjing able to remain content and cultivate diligently without rest, his heart was greatly moved!
“This is actually an opportunity to temper my Dao Heart. When heaven assigns a great task to someone, it first tests their will, exhausts their body. How can I complain like this? It’s better to follow heaven’s way. If heaven grants my wish, opportunities will come naturally.”
After realizing this, Mu Yuan gave up thoughts of escape. At the bottom of the Southern Abyss, he cultivated assiduously, continuously regulating the various types of Zhenqi in his body, accumulating strength in preparation for Elixir Formation.
From the Elixir Formation method he obtained from Cang Qing Zi, Mu Yuan knew that to achieve Elixir Formation, besides tempering the Dao Heart and achieving clarity without obstruction, the required Primordial Qi was even more immense!
Originally, ethereal Zhenqi condensed into liquid like mercury, flowing between the meridians like blood. That was already a qualitative leap. To achieve Elixir Formation, he needed to compress this liquid-like Zhenqi into a pill as solid as metal or stone!
The spiritual sense imprints contained within all the Zhenqi merged into one, forming a single Golden Core. This was the union of spiritual sense and Zhenqi. Using it, one could seize a physical body!
Of course, something like the “Seven Kill Primordial Spirit” that Mu Yuan had seen was a different, eerie secret method, not the orthodox path. That was another matter. Although useful, its drawbacks were also significant.
The Seven Kill Primordial Spirit could only extend lifespan. In terms of personal cultivation, one could never hope to achieve Primordial Spirit!
The Dao Heart was like a clear mirror, calm as lake water, without ripples, without distracting thoughts!
Mu Yuan’s state of mind was like the white clouds in the sky, moving with the wind, stopping with the wind. Although the thought of leaving still existed, he no longer desperately pursued it.
Just as the Confucians said, life should have persistence, but living should involve going with the flow!
Escaping the Southern Abyss, gathering Metal-element techniques, and achieving the Five Elements Elixir Formation were Mu Yuan’s persistence! But being in the Southern Abyss with no means of escape, yet able to calm his Dao Heart, was Mu Yuan’s heart of going with the flow!
No distracting thoughts arose in the Void realm. A restless heart was cleansed, awaiting Elixir Formation!