Shennong Sequence

However, on the path of seeking the truth, how can one retreat because of fear of making mistakes or feeling pain?
Moreover, having such an opportunity to change one's foundation, enduring a little pain is merely a minor price to pay, a very small aftereffect.

In the end, it's still better than some unlucky people!

Some cultivators stray too far from the right path and cannot turn back. Even after several reincarnations, the traces of their unrepentant path cannot be completely erased, which is the despair of a lifetime.

Therefore, Xin Ruyin forced herself to calm down and silently endured the impact and burning of Zhao Yun's Yin-Yang Fire.

As the foundation of her water and fire elements within her body gradually eroded, it was as if a building had lost its supporting pillars; her upper realm began to crumble.
With a deep and serious look in his eyes, Zhao Yun used his Yin-Yang Fire as a temporary substitute for Xin Ruyin's Water and Fire Harmony Dao Foundation, shakily supporting Xin Ruyin's upper cultivation that was about to collapse, allowing her to remain stable for a moment.

Then, a wisp of pure yin-yang firelight separated out and fell directly into the yin-yang charcoal that Xin Ruyin had accumulated beforehand, which was black with a hint of gold and white with a hint of silver, and ignited with a roar!
Taking advantage of this brief moment, Xin Ruyin immediately mobilized the power of creation within her inner world, pouring it into the burning yin-yang charcoal fire, using the power of creation to refine the essence of the charcoal fire.

Finally, when she re-condensed the new Yin-Yang Fire Seed, her physical body also underwent a complete tempering.

Only then did her precarious foundation regain stability.

Zhao Yun also lost a lot of Yin-Yang Fire, and quietly withdrew from the state of Yin-Yang Harmony Secret Technique, returning to his original body.

In addition, Zhao Yun's cultivation today went smoothly and he has reached the required level. Next, he should start the third stage of Foundation Establishment, 'Gathering Lead and Mercury'.

There are also special accounts regarding the extraction of lead and mercury.

The *Sutra of the Return of All Spirits to One Heaven* specifically notes:

The marrow of red lead is called true mercury, and the essence of black mercury is pure lead. Do not seek creation in the kidneys, but rather seek the innate within the heart.

Mercury is not quicksilver, and cinnabar is not red, which is too deceptive. Who can recognize such true substances? Those who do will ride a phoenix and escape the dust of the world.

Three true forms, one rare, their union forming a mystical phenomenon known to few. Do not say that dragon and tiger originate from the same source; this is the foundation laid by immortals.

The general meaning is:

Lead is life, mercury is nature; they are the root of life and nature.

Lead is the innate essence and vital energy of the human body, while mercury is the innate spirit of the human body.

The combination of lead and mercury is often used metaphorically to represent yin and yang, or the Azure Dragon and White Tiger.

Therefore, the collection of true lead: This true lead is a metaphor for the innate primordial energy and innate essence in the human kidneys, which is the original driving force of human life activities. It is stored in the kidney water and is also called innate intention, ancestral energy, white tiger, gold in water, lead in the water village, and gold master. It is the parent of heaven and earth and the origin of yin and yang.

When the essence is full and overflows, phenomena such as "lead meeting water" will occur. At this time, if you obtain the true method, you can feel a warm flow from your lower body in a daze or when you are asleep. Press the perineum acupoint to block this primordial essence in the life and death orifice. This primordial essence is the true lead.

When the primordial essence exits through the perineum, it is considered to be in accordance with the natural order, and if it does, death will occur; if it flows upward through the Du meridian from this point, it transforms into sweet dew, and if it does, one will become an immortal!
The collection of true mercury: Mercury is metaphorically referred to as the maiden, the middle maiden, the wood fluid, and the cinnabar mercury, etc. It is the yin energy of the center of the body and is the innate primordial spirit.

However, mercury is highly volatile and can rise rapidly with the help of fire. Therefore, it is necessary to use true lead to subdue it and to use primordial essence to lock the primordial spirit! At this point, lead and mercury are combined and tempered by yin and yang fire or water and fire in harmony, forming the great medicine Yellow Sprout!

The alchemical texts also say, "When lead and mercury are combined, the yellow sprout will emerge."

Therefore, the true extraction of mercury and lead actually involves extracting the innate medicinal properties of the human body, causing the Kan water to flow backward, using true intention to capture true lead into the central palace, and then using lead to subdue mercury, so that the Yin and Yang energies naturally devour each other, like a husband and wife tenderly loving each other, forming the great medicine Huangya.

In essence, it is about taking the Kan (water) energy to fill the Li (fire) energy, extracting the true Yang energy from the lead to fill the emptiness in the Li (fire) energy, until the lead is exhausted and the mercury is dried up, thus cultivating true nature!
Therefore, the cultivation of the third stage of Foundation Establishment, 'collecting lead and mercury', can be described as both tedious and troublesome.

If one is not careful and makes even the slightest mistake in cultivation, it may lead to depletion of kidney essence or even damage to one's innate primordial spirit.
However, once the innate essence and innate spirit are depleted, the subsequent mental state will be weak, and it will take a long time to recuperate before one can return to cultivating this realm.

Therefore, the cultivation of the entire Foundation Establishment realm requires a slow pace, emphasizing "understanding the principles and laws, and seeking progress steadily," rather than simply pursuing speed and acting recklessly without regard for one's own condition.

Furthermore, such a haphazard approach to cultivation, let alone reaching the Golden Core realm, would likely lead to the collapse of one's Dao foundation and death in no time.

Afterwards, Zhao Yun and Xin Ruyin walked out of the secret room together, just as the morning sun shone down on them like scattered gold.

Zhao Yun's path of cultivation will be relatively smoother from now on, as the Yin-Yang Fire has been solidified and stabilized.

However, Xin Ruyin's cultivation needs to be temporarily suspended.

Although the process of replacing the old foundation of water and fire with yin-yang fire seemed perfect, it ultimately forcibly interrupted and reshaped the original step-by-step cultivation process.

This is like a tall building with one of its supporting layers removed; even if Zhao Yun's Yin-Yang Fire temporarily replaces the foundation and supports the 'building' from collapsing, subtle tremors and instability will always exist.

Therefore, Xin Ruyin cannot continue to push forward in her cultivation level for the foreseeable future. She needs to pause and start from the Yin-Yang Fire realm of the second level of Foundation Establishment, 'Dragon and Tiger Intercourse,' to readjust her aura and foundation. She needs to gradually work her way up, making her overall cultivation state smooth and harmonious again, and completely calming down the turmoil left by the replacement of her foundation.

Only when these upheavals completely dissipate and her foundation becomes as solid as a rock again can she continue her rapid advancement and reach even higher realms.

Otherwise, if one continues to push forward to improve one's cultivation level while carrying these hidden dangers in one's foundation, it will still sow the seeds of great disaster for future cultivation.

This is why, despite the fact that the Wanling Yudao Sect produces a hundred or so Foundation Establishment cultivators every year, it still can't produce a single Golden Core cultivator in seven or eight years.

The key lies in the fact that the cultivation of the Foundation Establishment stage has extremely high requirements for 'coherence' and 'perfection'. Even the slightest mistake or neglect of the groundwork for the future path will leave irreparable hidden dangers, and may even lead to the loss of cultivation and the waste of decades of time.

Therefore, the difficulty of this path of cultivation is ever-present. Every step must be taken on a solid foundation, leaving no room for luck.

Furthermore, on their way back to their residence, as the two stepped onto the cobblestone streets of the Imperial Immortal City, watching the spiritual light flowing through the shops on both sides and the figures of cultivators coming and going, Xin Ruyin slowed her pace and explained to Zhao Yun the key points of cultivation in the 'Lead and Mercury Gathering' realm, which differed from those described in the immortal scriptures:

"The total amount of innate primordial essence, innate primordial energy, and innate primordial spirit within each of us cultivators is constant from the moment of birth; it is an innate amount that cannot be increased or changed!"

"Life is only consumed by the continuous activity of life until it is exhausted, at which point life ends!" (End of Chapter)