Chapter 11

In the midst of cherry blossoms dancing in the wind, Misaki opened the old diary and read the words of promise written there.

Zhu Hong knelt amidst the black smoke, bowing his head repeatedly: "Senior Brother! Please spare me! No matter how much you hate me, you can't use me to refine this Six-Six True Essence Gourd! If Master were still alive, he would never agree! Senior Brother, I beg you to spare me! I am willing to give you the Heavenly Book..."

Before he could finish speaking, he was sucked into the gourd. When he reappeared as a soul from the gourd, Zhu Hong had completely lost the courage to resist Yue Qing. The small figure, barely over a foot tall, knelt on a black cloud: "Senior Brother, have mercy! Have mercy! I am willing to tell you everything I know, just please don't torture me with various methods. It would be best if you could let me go, but if not, even if I am reduced to soul fragments, I will answer all your questions truthfully!"

Now reduced to a soul and transformed into a Yin Spirit within the Six-Six True Essence Gourd, Zhu Hong's life and death were entirely in Yue Qing's hands. Moreover, this gourd was refined by him, and he knew there were thirty-six methods of soul refinement inside, each more terrifying than the others.

The scenes of the twelve Yin Spirits being refined still vividly lingered in his mind. They were originally powerful sword immortals, but after their souls were taken and refined, all their memories and thoughts were erased by endless fire and lightning, leaving them in a dazed state, becoming mindless Yin Demons who only obeyed orders. He knew that if he fell to such a state, it would be a thousand times more tragic than being reduced to soul fragments, as terrifying as the legendary Avici Hell.

Without waiting for him to finish, Yue Qing manipulated the spiritual seals, and countless lightning bolts appeared in the black cloud where Zhu Hong was, tearing him apart into a cloud of black smoke. In the next moment, he immediately reformed. Before he could speak, the lightning struck again, tearing him apart.

This cycle of life and death repeated dozens of times, leaving Zhu Hong only able to scream and wail. Yue Qing then asked, "What about that lamp?"

"That lamp was stolen from the Taiyi Palace along with the Daoist book. I once heard Master say it was a supreme treasure recorded in the upper volume of our sect's Daoist book."

"The upper volume of the Hunyuan Scripture? Do you know where it is?" Yue Qing asked coldly.

"I don't know! I don't know!" Zhu Hong quickly denied, "The upper volume of the Heavenly Book was only cultivated by Master. Even Sima Kong, Xu Feinang, and Duan Duan, the senior disciples, only knew part of it. Senior Brother Fayuan might know one or two spells. I begged Master countless times and only obtained the Eight Scenic Spirit Separation Spell. Over the years, I have relied on this spell to evade the pursuit and revenge of my fellow disciples. I am willing to tell you the complete spell, just please have mercy and don't torture me anymore." He then sobbed.

Yue Qing immediately made him recite the incantation of the Eight Scenic Spirit Separation Spell word for word. The more he listened, the more puzzled he became, as this spell was vastly different from the Wutai Sect's Daoist methods, yet it was profound and truly orthodox. Zhu Hong, lacking a solid foundation, had practiced it in a haphazard manner, using it mainly to disrupt the heavenly order and evade his enemies, but it was still quite effective.

According to Yue Qing's knowledge, the Taiyi Hunyuan Ancestor attained enlightenment during the late Tang and early Song dynasties. Initially, he practiced the Daoist methods of the Demon Sect and was a key leader of the Northern Demon Sect, contemporaneous with the Eastern Demon Sect's Venerable Wuxing and the Western Demon Sect's Master Chali.

Later, while refining a treasure with the Fire Ancestor on Mount Hua, he coincidentally obtained a fragment of the Heavenly Book left by the Ancestor Chentuan, named "The Taiyi True Explanation." It contained the secrets and techniques of the Ancestor Chentuan's calculations of the River Map and Luo Book, as well as the Taiji and Bagua. Thus, he began to practice both Daoism and Demonism, and later, with his junior brother Sima Kong, left the Northern Demon Sect to found the Wutai Sect.

Due to their departure, the Northern Demon Sect rapidly declined, while the Wutai Sect began to grow and develop, gradually rivaling sects like Kunlun and Wudang. In the late Song dynasty, they obtained another Heavenly Book from the depths of the northern desert, which was said to explain the great principles of the universe. The Taiyi Hunyuan Ancestor attained sudden enlightenment, and his magical powers soared. The Wutai Sect also began to grow and develop, becoming the leading Daoist sect in the world.

The Taiyi Hunyuan Ancestor compiled all his life's knowledge into a book called "The Hunyuan Secret Record," also known as "The Taiyi Hunyuan Scripture." The most profound and mysterious part, obtained last, was designated as the upper volume, said to be the essence of the entire scripture, enabling one to achieve the rank of a Golden Immortal. Unfortunately, no one except himself had seen the entire book.

The "Ten Demon Scripture" he practiced in the Demon Sect was designated as the middle volume, and the "Taiyi True Explanation" obtained on Mount Hua as the lower volume. He also gathered his disciples to compile their knowledge of refining treasures and elixirs into the lower volume, thus forming a complete "Hunyuan Secret Record." If Yue Qing wanted to revitalize the Wutai Sect, he had to find the upper volume and inherit the complete Daoist tradition. Otherwise, without the tradition of Golden Immortals, no matter how many disciples or powerful treasures they had, the sect would remain a second or even third-rate one.

In the Daoist world, only those with a complete method to cultivate into Celestial Immortals and eventually ascend to the immortal realm could be considered a first-rate sect. To become a leading orthodox sect, one must have a tradition of directly ascending in the flesh to achieve the rank of a Golden Immortal!

Yue Qing had practiced both the middle and lower volumes, making him a practitioner of both Daoism and Demonism. Most of the Wutai Sect's disciples practiced in this way, but some, like the Seven-Handed Night Fork Long Fei, who had defected to the White Bone Spirit Lord, focused on rapid progress through the Demon path, while others, like the Golden Body Arhat Fayuan, who still guarded Wutai Mountain, focused on the Daoist path.

After a moment of contemplation, Yue Qing put Zhu Hong back into the gourd and took out the newly acquired secondary volume of the scripture to read. It contained various methods for refining treasures and elixirs, some accompanied by detailed illustrations: the Heavenly Demon Extermination Sword, the Hundred Spirits Immortal Extermination Sword, the Five Poison Sword, the Nine Mother Yin Soul Sword, the Divine Infant Sword, the Xuan Du Yu Jing Sword, the Taiyi Yin-Yang Sword, the Taiyi Five Smoke Net, the Taiyi Sixteen Divine Banners, the Taiyi Nine Palace Flag Array... the Ten Demon Hell Wheel, the Twelve All-Heavenly Spirits, the Six-Six True Essence Gourd... In addition to treasures and elixirs, there were various thunder techniques, such as the Five Elements Divine Thunder, the Taiyi Divine Thunder, the Hunyuan One-Qi Heavenly Thunder, and the Great and Small Secret Demon Yin Thunder.

Yue Qing tightly clutched the book. If all the treasures listed in it were refined, how could the Hunyuan Ancestor have been killed by the Three Immortals and Two Elders, and how could the Wutai Sect have been utterly defeated! However, the materials required for these treasures were extremely rare, many of which were unheard of and unseen. With his three hundred years of cultivation experience, he could only勉强 recognize half of them, and he couldn't help but sigh as he stroked the book.

Yue Qing settled into Zhu Hong's cave, as the Four Gates Mountain was secluded and desolate, rarely visited by immortals or mortals. He could focus on studying the newly acquired Daoist book and organizing his chaotic memories and thoughts, planning his future path.

Yue Qing let Sima Ping stay in the sleeping cave, and every day he prepared a fragrant, milky white broth from yellow essence, polygonum, dried fruits, and wild vegetables in a medicine cauldron for Sima Ping to drink. The child was very well-behaved, never mischievous, and diligently practiced the incantations and qi cultivation techniques Yue Qing taught him. In his free time, he could play with a few pieces of wood or a basin of water for hours.

Yue Qing took out the Six-Six True Essence Gourd and refined it according to the methods described in the scripture. The gourd was incredibly powerful, and if truly refined, it could even contend with the Three Immortals and Two Elders. However, the refinement process was extremely cruel, requiring thirty-six root-endowed boys and girls to be refined, their souls captured and subjected to repeated tortures within the gourd to transform them into formless Yin Demons. The methods were extremely cruel.

Moreover, the thirty-six boys and girls had strict birth requirements, from the Rat to the Pig, and the months and hours of their births had to be precise. The refinement process allowed no room for error, making it extremely difficult to succeed.

Zhu Hong, having stolen the book and treasures, leading to the death of the Taiyi Hunyuan Ancestor, knew that the sword immortals of the Emei and Wutai sects would not tolerate him. Unwilling to hide in the desolate Four Gates Mountain forever, he was determined to refine this treasure to use against his former enemies and fellow disciples who came to capture him.

He had already completed the external refinement of the gourd, with all seventy-two arrays inside finished, and the Earthly Spirits talismans for the array eyes properly placed. The Yin Demons inside were one-third refined, with four main and eight secondary, totaling twelve. He recalled that if he hadn't preemptively obtained the Taiyi Five Smoke Net, he would have had to flee in a panic when facing these vicious Yin Demons.

Although the Six-Six True Essence Gourd was powerful, Yue Qing had no intention of completing its refinement. The process was troublesome and went against the natural order. His three failed attempts at refining the Divine Infant Sword had given him a deeper understanding of the mysterious and intangible Heavenly Dao and the importance of good deeds.