Chapter 57

Seeing Liu Quan enter, Fayuan hurriedly introduced him to Zhiti. Zhiti squinted his eyes and said, "What White Water True Person? I've never heard of him! I vaguely remember that under the old Buddha Chali, there was a child who seemed to have this name..."

"Zhiti, you... mustn't speak nonsense! Liu Shixiong is your Uncle Yue's disciple..."

"When did Uncle Yue have the ability to act on behalf of our Grandmaster? Just because he killed Zhu Hong and reclaimed the Taiyi Wuyan Luo?"

Zhiti considered himself the third-generation leader of the Wutai Sect and believed he should have full authority over all matters in the sect. In recent years, he had diligently built a foundation under the watchful eyes of the Emei Sect, believing his contributions were greater than anyone else's in the sect. He also had another motive: in the flying sword message sent by Yue Qing and the other two, it was stated that he had killed the traitor Zhu Hong and reclaimed the Taiyi Wuyan Luo and the secondary volume of the Hunyuan Immortal Scripture. He believed that these treasures and scriptures should be under his control, so he refused to recognize Liu Quan's identity and criticized Yue Qinbin's actions of teaching on behalf of the master.

Liu Quan was in an awkward position and didn't want to argue with Zhiti. As he hesitated, Xu Feiniang spoke up: "Your Uncle Yue's abilities are beyond your comprehension. Whether he has the right to take Liu Shixiong as a disciple is not something you, a junior, can criticize. This gathering is for our generation to discuss the revival of the Wutai Sect. It's not appropriate for your generation to participate. If it weren't for your achievements at Ciyun Temple, you wouldn't even have received the flying sword message."

Zhiti was furious: "You are just a sinner who has already left the Wutai Sect. What right do you have to speak like this?"

Xu Feiniang sneered: "When I met your Grandmaster, your great-grandfather was still in diapers! I have my reasons for what I did for your Grandmaster and the Wutai Sect!"

Zhiti cursed: "Wench! You are just a traitor like Zhu Hong! How dare you come back to the Wutai Sect and cause trouble?"

Xu Feiniang laughed: "You are just a hypocrite, pretending to be a monk. You can only deceive those foolish people and get some offerings. How dare you be rude to me? I only let you stand here out of respect for Master Tuotuo. If you keep spouting nonsense, be careful, I'll cut off your bald head!"

Liu Quan was quite surprised. In his impression, Xu Feiniang always greeted people with a smile and spoke in a way that made people feel comfortable. He had never seen her argue so sharply. What he didn't know was that Xu Feiniang had already planned out her strategy. She had seen that Yue Qing was determined to become the leader of the Wutai Sect and was indeed the designated successor by the Taiyi Hunyuan Ancestor, who held the most complete lineage of the Wutai Sect. She had decided to support Yue Qing, so she confronted Zhiti from the start.

Zhiti, hearing Xu Feiniang's threat, was so angry that his bald head turned red. He spat out his flying sword and was about to fight with Xu Feiniang.

He didn't know that Xu Feiniang had endured humiliation and hardship on Mount Huang for years, and her magical powers had greatly improved. Fayuan had seen her power while helping her repair the mountain protection array. She could now perform many arrays that once required several disciples to complete, and her Daoist powers and magical skills were far superior to his. Moreover, Liu Quan was not an easy opponent, and there was also the mysterious Yue Qing.

Fearing that Zhiti would be at a disadvantage, Fayuan quickly stopped him: "This is the Seven Star Hall where our Grandmaster once took disciples. No self-mutilation is allowed!"

He invoked the Taiyi Hunyuan Ancestor, and everyone hesitated to continue. However, Zhiti still didn't know when to stop. He jumped into the courtyard, released three sword beams of blue, red, and black, and shouted: "Wench! You are no longer a member of the Wutai Sect. How dare you speak so arrogantly here? Today, I won't let you get away with it! Come out and face your death!"

Xu Feiniang also became angry, slapped the table, and three of the seven Qinglong Nao Hai swords flew out, transforming into brilliant green light and shooting towards Zhiti. Zhiti hurriedly countered with his sword. Each time their flying swords collided, he felt a heavy weight on his sword, as if carrying a thousand pounds. After a short while, he was already exhausted, his true qi almost depleted, his arms weak, and sweat pouring down. He was forced to retreat, surrounded by the three green beams, and his monk's robe was even cut in half.

Fayuan, fearing that the two would fight to the death and become mortal enemies, repeatedly tried to stop Xu Feiniang in the hall. Xu Feiniang only coldly replied: "It's this scoundrel who is asking for death, not me being unreasonable!"

Fayuan had no choice but to release his own flying sword, and a dozen red beams flew into the courtyard, separating the six flying swords. He then scolded Zhiti: "Xu Shimei only said she would stay out of the conflict and not meddle in the disputes between the two sects, retreating to the mountains for cultivation. She never said she left the Wutai Sect. Whether she is still a disciple of the Wutai Sect will be decided by the senior masters when they arrive tomorrow. How can you openly draw your sword against a senior of the sect in front of the Seven Star Platform? Is this the respect for elders you always talk about?"

Zhiti, hearing this, suddenly realized: this woman's Daoist powers had greatly improved, and he was no match for her. Liu Quan, from their brief encounter, was also not an easy opponent. Moreover, there was the yet unseen Yue Qinbin. If he completely broke ties and caused a commotion, he would not come out well. Thinking of this, he put away his sword: "Uncle, you are right. I will wait until all the senior masters return, and then we will discuss the matter."

The Huanglong Palace was his old home, but he decided to stay in the Seven Star Palace, bringing his four disciples to live in the Tianquan Hall.

Yue Qing returned from the northern mountain the next afternoon. The Taiyi Tian Gong Furnace was a divine tool that could manipulate the forces of nature. The Taiyi Hunyuan Ancestor obtained the Heavenly Book and, after two hundred years of deep study, understood the true mysteries, abandoned evil, and entered the path of Dao. He gathered many high-ranking figures from both the righteous and evil sects and, using the Heavenly Book as a guide, built the furnace on the northern peak of Mount Wutai.

This furnace could only be used with the Wutai Sect's secret Hunyuan True Qi. Outsiders with shallow Daoist powers could not activate it, and those with deep Daoist powers who tried to force its use would cause the furnace's internal yin-yang and five elements to become unbalanced, triggering a volcanic eruption that would destroy everything within a hundred miles. Therefore, despite the Wutai Sect's decline, no one had ever tried to use the furnace.

In the world today, only three people had cultivated the Hunyuan True Qi. Among them, the Venerable Mahakala, Sikong Zhan, had incomplete knowledge of the Heavenly Book and found the cultivation of True Qi too arduous, so he focused on the path of evil, cultivating twelve major and minor demons that rivaled the leaders of the Northern Evil Sect. Xu Feiniang, with her slightly weaker powers, had not fully cultivated the Hunyuan True Qi, so neither of them could control the furnace.

The furnace was located inside the Yedou Peak of North Wutai Mountain, with the Beiji Immortal Palace at the summit, facing the Seven Star Platform on Central Wutai Mountain. Behind the Immortal Palace was a ten-thousand-year-old ice cellar, containing a block of ice from the Heavenly Emperor period, brought from the Long Night Island in the North Pole, used to suppress the furnace's fire and prevent it from causing disasters.

Inside the ten-thousand-year-old ice was the Hunyuan Hall, the highest peak in northern China, connecting to the sky and drawing in the pure qi of the nine heavens, and reaching down to the nine netherworlds, drawing in the impure qi of the five elements. The Hunyuan Ancestor often meditated here to cultivate the Hunyuan True Qi.

From the Hunyuan Hall, going down 240 miles underground was the Taiji Hall, which Yue Qing and his companions could not yet open. Forcing it would cause a mountain to collapse and trigger underground lava, turning a hundred miles into a sea of fire.

Yue Qing first went to the left and right Yin-Yang Halls. The Yinji Hall was made entirely of red copper from Mount Shouyang, with the main hall being the largest, about one acre in size. In the center was a large altar covered with Daoist talismans, surrounded by eight pure copper animals: turtles, toads, deer, bats, phoenixes, cranes, geese, and swans, all facing the altar.

The ceiling and floor had opposite Taiji symbols, representing the yin-yang fire points. The walls were covered with 3,600 fire eyes. This place, named the Yinji Hall, was the position where yin reaches its peak and yang begins to rise. Once the divine furnace was activated, it would immediately turn into a fire pit. Yue Qing took out the pre-prepared sword blanks and placed them on the altar, then recited a spell and sprayed three mouthfuls of Hunyuan True Qi onto the altar. The entire hall began to fill with heat, and the sword blanks slowly floated up, forming a circle on top of the altar.

The left and right side halls were smaller. Yue Qing placed the Antarctic Circle in the left hall and half of the Chiyang Ring in the right hall. He used the Hunyuan True Qi to heat the halls, serving as a warming furnace.

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