Chapter 24

As the dragon merchant star tripod was scorched by fierce flames, Zhang Yan, sitting on a mat, added several more logs to the fire beneath the tripod.

After the Lady of Lin Ya County presented the Five Elements Divine Sand, he went to Ai Zhongwen and exchanged for a large amount of medicinal herbs. A few days later, Luo Xiao immediately opened the tripod to refine the medicine. In just over ten days, he had refined more than a thousand pills, which he then handed over to Zhang Yan all at once.

Luo Xiao sorted through the remaining herbs and threw them into the precious tripod. He then leaped into the tripod himself and instructed Zhang Yan to cover the tripod lid, using a gentle fire to simmer it daily. Every seven days, the tripod should be opened once, a method he called the "Medicine Refinement Method."

Luo Xiao was originally hesitant to try this method, but the dragon merchant star tripod was a rare find. As long as the method was sound, relying on the tripod's fire to simmer the herbs would directly attack the internal organs, enveloping the primordial energy and cleansing impurities, removing decay and invigorating life.

Following Luo Xiao's instructions, Zhang Yan initially simmered the herbs with a gentle fire each day. Every seven days, he would open the tripod and replace the herbs. Each time, a layer of dead skin would peel off Luo Xiao's body, and a whole tripod of blackened residue would be discarded. After each simmering, Luo Xiao's vital energy would grow stronger, which greatly broadened Zhang Yan's horizons.

Now, it had been three weeks since the process began. According to Luo Xiao, during this period, a fierce fire should be used continuously. However, the time to open the tripod was approaching, and there was still no sign of movement inside. The faint vital energy that was once detectable was now completely gone. Zhang Yan was unsure whether the simmering had gone too far or if the process was not yet complete.

Without Luo Xiao's instructions, Zhang Yan did not dare to open the tripod rashly and focused on his own meditation and cultivation.

Over the past month, he had practiced qi cultivation day and night, repeatedly consuming a large amount of pills. In recent days, the number of pills he consumed daily was equivalent to the total he had taken in the past.

Through diligent cultivation, the primordial true qi in his body became increasingly refined. The once lively and agile vital energy was now as tame as a resting ox, as steady as a black turtle, peacefully lying in the dantian. The realm of "Yuan Cheng Ru Zhen" gradually stabilized, and he felt he could now proceed to the next level of cultivation.

Holding the *Xuan Yuan Nei Can Miao Lu* in his hand, although he had read it many times, he still carefully read it again. Then, he reached into his sleeve and grasped the fragment of jade, his consciousness sinking into the avatar within.

As his cultivation improved, the jade seemed to have changed. Originally, the jade was a misty, indistinct space with no sense of direction. The avatar moved within it, but its movements were unstable. Now, he felt as if he was in a vast space with a clear sense of up and down.

Looking up, he saw a faint, clear qi above, while his feet felt solid and heavy. If the process of creation were to be described, the jade was initially "chaotic like an egg, with the avatar inside," but now it could be described as "clear qi rising, turbid qi descending, yin and yang separated, heaven and earth established."

Originally, when his consciousness entered the jade, he could still sense that the avatar was a false body. Now, as his consciousness took over, every thought and feeling was as clear and real as his true self, making it impossible to distinguish between the two.

Zhang Yan realized that the changes in the jade were due to his improved cultivation, making the avatar more real.

As he pondered, he walked continuously within the jade. The space was vast, seemingly endless.

He thought to himself that the secrets of this fragment of jade were far more than what he had seen so far, but the only way to uncover them was to improve his cultivation.

At this moment, he had no intention of delving deeper. The avatar sat down, assuming a posture with five points facing the sky, and began to silently practice the techniques described in the *Miao Lu*.

According to the technique, the practitioner needed to raise a vital energy, then divide it into two, and then into four, each entering a different meridian. Each of these four vital energies required different techniques, and there could be no deviation.

Although Zhang Yan was prepared, the difficulty far exceeded his expectations. He managed to control the first step, but at the second step, a momentary lapse in concentration caused the vital energy to go wild, rushing to different parts of the body.

He was startled, and his consciousness returned to his true self. Upon checking, he found that the avatar had been severely injured by the reverse flow of vital energy. If it had been his true self, he would have been seriously harmed.

He shook his head, took a deep breath, and his consciousness returned to the jade. As his consciousness changed, the avatar, which had been severely injured, stood up again.

After some thought, he realized that he had not mastered the control of the vital energy. He decided to reset the avatar's state to the moment before he began the practice.

He started over, paying special attention to the control of the vital energy. However, according to the technique, he needed to raise four more vital energies. Not only did the first four need to circulate through the meridians, but the last four could not be relaxed. After about half an hour, he could no longer control them, and the avatar suddenly spat blood and died.

Zhang Yan's eyebrows twitched, and he calmed his mind, discarding all distracting thoughts. He made the avatar sit up again.

He carefully controlled the eight vital energies, but soon the avatar fell again.

However, he did not know that this was just the beginning of the training.

On the fourth attempt, the vital energy was completely under his control, but it suddenly lost control, causing him to die from a misalignment of qi.

On the fifth attempt, two vital energies did not converge at the same time, causing him to die from a split chest.

On the sixth attempt, the vital energy was too turbid, causing him to die from a broken lung.

On the seventh attempt...

He repeatedly failed and tried again.

Zhang Yan was increasingly shocked. No wonder Shi Shoujing said that this book had many pitfalls. The complexity of the vital energy moving through the meridians far exceeded his imagination. The primordial true qi could stay, move, penetrate, or pause, sometimes rotating upward, sometimes descending slowly. Almost every one of the 365 major acupoints in the body was involved.

The most frustrating part was that even though he knew how the vital energy should move through the meridians, he could not control it. Especially in the later stages, he had to control 108 vital energies moving through the meridians. Any deviation would result in failure, and the avatar's death became increasingly gruesome.

Most cultivation techniques in the mystic arts emphasized the cultivation of the mind and spirit rather than control, but this book pushed the control of the meridians to the extreme, as if it wanted to integrate all the methods of moving qi into one.

Just practicing the first technique, he had experienced over 150 different ways of dying from damaged meridians, reversed true qi, and attacks on the internal organs. This technique was truly perverse.

Zhang Yan shook his head. There was no shortcut to this kind of divided attention; it could only be achieved through repeated practice and increasing proficiency.

Moreover, since each death was a real experience, he could not help but mock himself, thinking that by the time he finished this book, he would be a master of going astray in cultivation.

He believed that if other cultivators who had never seen this book tried it without a teacher's guidance, they would likely die on the spot.

No wonder Luo Xiao said that this book was prone to attracting heavenly jealousy. If anyone could cultivate this book without any external help, relying solely on their talent and insight, not only would heaven not let them off, but Zhang Yan would also want to throw a lightning bolt at them.

He spent over a month refining his control of the vital energy, which was equivalent to the avatar spending ten months in the jade. By then, he had barely mastered the entire process of controlling the vital energy.

By this point, he did not know how many times his avatar had died.

Fortunately, he had a strong will. If it were someone else, they might have gone mad from the tedious control of the vital energy.

However, looking at it from another perspective, Zhang Yan was not without gains from this cultivation. This book almost encompassed all the methods and techniques of moving qi in current cultivation. He believed that at this moment, there were few cultivators who could match his level of control over vital energy.

However, during this month, Luo Xiao in the tripod showed no signs of movement. Could he have really died?

Zhang Yan stood up, about to go and check, when he suddenly heard a voice, "Is Zhang Yan there? Come out and speak."

He was startled and took two steps out of his cave, where he saw a handsome, white-robed cultivator standing on the栈道.

Ning Chongxuan!

Zhang Yan calmly saluted, "Senior Brother Ning."

He quickly thought about why Ning Chongxuan had come to find him. Could it be that he had discovered Luo Xiao's affair?

It was impossible; if that were the case, he would have already rushed in.

Ning Chongxuan looked at him, suddenly stepped forward, and placed a hand on his shoulder, "It's inconvenient to speak here. Follow me."

Zhang Yan felt a blur before his eyes. When he regained his focus, he found himself on the top of a solitary peak, with a ten-thousand-foot abyss below. He adjusted his body, regaining his balance.

Ning Chongxuan nodded, praising, "Very good. A cultivator should discard all external things and focus on the true self. Remember, all illusions arise from the mind. If the mind is not stable, the spirit will not be born."

His expression was different from the day he left, with a hint of appreciation in his eyes. Zhang Yan did not understand what he was up to.

"I have searched the mountains for two months but have not found the snake demon. It must either be dead from severe injuries or hiding somewhere. I will soon return to the mountain gate and will not have time to deal with this. Since you are the only cultivator on this peak, it might come out and harm you after I leave. Therefore, I will give you something to ensure your safety."

Ning Chongxuan pointed, and a point of jade light flew into Zhang Yan's sleeve. In the haste, he did not see what it was.

"Go. Remember to uphold your true self. If we meet again, I will introduce you to a master."

Ning Chongxuan pushed him, and Zhang Yan's body swayed slightly. When he looked up, he found himself back at the foot of Wangxing Peak.

However, he did not know that shortly after he was taken away by Ning Chongxuan, a figure cautiously approached his cave, peered inside, and then, with a look of joy, darted in.

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