Shushan Earthly Immortal

Chapter 319 Samadhi True Fire, Sleepy Immortal Insect (5K+, please vote for me at the end of the month~)

Kanli Mountain, Guanxuan Temple.

Cheng Xinzhan flipped his hand, summoning the Azure Flame he had just refined. The azure flames danced in his palm and also in his eyes.

The heavenly fire, born from the eternal blue sky within the tree heart and born from the tribulation lightning, is locked within the tree bark. Isn't this the fire within the wood?

Cheng Xinzhan thought about it more and more and felt that it was true.

The Samadhi True Fire is a celestial fire, a legend dating back to ancient times. It is said to be formed by the combined fire of three wondrous elements: fire from the sky, fire from stone, and fire from wood. Today, let alone the Samadhi True Fire itself, even the elements that make it up—sky, stone, and wood—are extremely rare. Furthermore, the exact nature of what kind of fire can be described as sky, stone, and wood remains a subject of much debate and no definitive conclusion.

The Sun Fire, refined by drawing sunlight from the void, is undoubtedly a fire from the sky. However, while sunlight is common, those who can extract Sun Fire from it are extremely rare. Nowadays, Sun Fire has become Cheng Xinzhan's signature skill.

As the name suggests, "fire in stone" is fire inside a stone. When Cheng Xinzhan underwent the second Golden Core Tribulation, the Heartless Heavenly Candle Fire that descended with the tribulation lightning was fire in stone. This strange fire from a meteorite is also the mainstream explanation for fire in stone, but very few people have seen it or possess it.

Because the Heartless Heavenly Candle Flame is so rare, some people believe that the magma burning in the underground rocks is the Fire Within Stone. However, it's clear that Cheng Xinzhan has seen many earth fires, and none can compare to the power of the Heartless Heavenly Candle Flame. The Heartless Heavenly Candle Flame clearly counters earth and wood elements, and its unique fire nature, burning from the inside out, is more in line with the essence of Fire Within Stone.

Fire within wood is even rarer than the two types mentioned above, because in the Five Elements theory, wood generates and fuels fire. If fire is hidden within wood, it will definitely be burned through. It's more accurate to say that it's fire on wood or fire outside wood.

Therefore, there is really no consensus in the world as to what kind of fire qualifies as "fire within wood".

"Heavenly Fire Azure Fiend" is an extremely rare fiend, one that most people have never heard of, let alone imagined as fire within wood. While the world knows of the Seventy-Two Earthly Fiends, some are common, some are rare, some are newly born, some are dead, and some have never appeared in the world at all. Therefore, not everyone has a detailed list of the specific names of the Earthly Fiends. Unless one is from a renowned immortal sect, most people only know about a dozen or so that are widely known in the present day.

Cheng Xinzhan was also the Master of Ten Thousand Laws of Sanqing Mountain and the chief guest lecturer of Juqu Mountain and Sanyuan Mountain. He had seen all the secret treasures. Otherwise, with his decades of experience, how could he have recognized them?

Now that he knows the origin of this evil spirit and has refined it to comprehend the magic contained within it, he is even more convinced that this evil spirit is fire within wood, or at least a type of fire within wood.

Now that we have all three fires, we can try to refine the legendary Samadhi True Fire together!

Samadhi True Fire is a celestial fire, and it is a tremendous help in dealing with the Five Poison Heavenly Kings of the Four Realms. It is better to refine it sooner rather than later, and there is no better time than the day.

Cheng Xinzhan gently tossed his hand, and the Azure Fiend Fire hung in the air. He then summoned the red Heartless Heavenly Candle Fire and the golden Sun Fire, which were placed horizontally in the air together.

He had never read any relevant records in the classics about how to refine the Samadhi True Fire, nor had anyone taught him; he had to figure it out on his own.

However, he knew that refining the Samadhi True Fire was definitely not about forcibly mixing three different flames together. Flames are inherently violent forces, and forcibly mixing three flames with completely different origins and magical properties would be extremely dangerous and problematic. Moreover, if refining were that simple, then during a battle, one could simply throw the three flames at one person and burn them; why go through all that trouble?
There must be a method to this.

The manipulation of Yin and Yang and the control of the fire are things that internal alchemy practitioners are good at, and they should also be subject to the principles of Yin and Yang and the Five Elements.

He gazed at the three flames, held a whisk in his hand, and pondered deeply, resting his chin on his hand.

If we consider it from the perspective of the Five Elements and Eight Trigrams, fire in the sky belongs to the fire element and is located in Qian and Li; fire in stone is between earth and metal and is located in Gen and Dui; fire in wood belongs to wood but is also influenced by thunder, which is outside the Five Elements and is located in Xun and Zhen. This makes it somewhat complicated and confusing, and difficult to sort out.

Cheng Xinzhan shook his head.

What if we look at it from the perspective of Yin and Yang in the universe?

Upon careful consideration of the origins of the three strange fires, the fire in the sky comes from the sun, the fire in the stone comes from meteorites from outer space, and the fire in the wood comes from tribulation lightning. From this perspective, the root of all three fires is celestial fire, which provides a basis for their combined refining.

Because they are all heavenly fire, they should be refined using neither a golden furnace nor a human furnace, but rather using the void as the furnace.

Furthermore, fire in the air is pure yang fire, fire in stone is yang containing yin, and fire in wood is yin generating yang. This is clear and obvious. Therefore, the combined refining should start from yin and yang.

However, there must be a specific order to the refining process. Among the three types of fire, the fire in the air is empty and intangible, unable to take root; the fire in the stone is internal and belongs to earth and metal, making it unsuitable as a base for true fire. Only the fire in the wood, being solid, can take root and generate and intensify the fire, so the fire in the wood should be the seed.

Fire within wood is the seed, representing yang within yin. It should be supplemented by fire within stone to fill the void in the wood's core and connect yin and yang, with yang giving rise to yin. At this point, fire in the air is then incorporated, using pure yang to regulate extreme yin. With yin and yang in harmony, the true meaning of samadhi can be realized!
Cheng Xinzhan had an idea in mind. After thinking it over and over again, he felt that it should be feasible, so he began to work on the combined refining.

Use the void as a furnace, the strange fire as medicine, yin and yang as firewood, and intention as wind.

He first separated a tiny flame from the fire in the wood, then drew out a wisp of fire from the fire in the stone, like a red thread, and slowly wrapped the thread around the flame.

"call!"

In the blink of an eye, the fire in the stone was burned to ashes by the fire in the wood.

Cheng Xinzhan didn't take it seriously, and pulled out another strand to try again.

"Bah!"

The fire in the stone extinguished the fire in the wood.

Try again.

……

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

A month later, during the Lesser Cold season.

Heavy snow fell in Xikang.

Lions love the cold and snow, and are especially prone to sleeping during this season. Covered in wind and snow, they are so comfortable that they don't even want to lift their eyelids.

"Hahaha--"

Suddenly, a loud laugh rang out, startling the lion, who opened his eyes. His golden eyes swept across the room and he discovered that the source of the laughter was the master of the temple. He couldn't help but feel curious, as he remembered the master as someone who rarely showed his emotions and rarely laughed like this.

However, the lion's curiosity didn't last long. Too lazy to think or ask, it yawned widely, closed its eyes again, and continued to doze off.

Watch.

Cheng Xinzhan looked at the pure white flame in his palm and couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Samadhi Fire, complete!
He felt that refining this true fire was even more difficult than refining elixirs. He failed countless times, and by the end, he almost thought that there was something wrong with his theory of Yin and Yang. But fortunately, he finally succeeded.

Moreover, he forged the Samadhi True Fire from nothing, creating only a seed of fire, and thus comprehended the true meaning of Dharma fire. From now on, he can plant the seed in his heart and transform it into Samadhi True Fire using ordinary fire-based magic power, without needing to refine it again.

Having the celestial fire grants far more than just the fire itself; its uses extend far beyond burning opponents in battle. More importantly, it provides the means to refine elixirs and forge celestial artifacts!

That is why, even with Cheng Xinzhan's current composure and temperament, he couldn't help but burst into laughter.

After calming himself down, Cheng Xinzhan took out the amber that Wan Gaoming had taken from Pan Tianzhuo.

The sleep-inducing insect sealed in the amber was a divine insect, its life or death unknown. Pan Tianzhuo dared not dissolve it; if it were alive, it might fall onto him and instantly put him to sleep, perhaps even sleeping until the end of his lifespan. Therefore, he dared not take the risk and used it only as a treasure to calm his mind and spirit.

However, now that Cheng Xinzhan possesses the Immortal Fire, he has the courage to melt the amber. Even if the immortal insects inside are alive, he is confident that they will not be able to escape or get close to him.

At this moment, the insect's appearance can be clearly seen through the amber. It is very small, about the size of a mung bean, and looks somewhat like a firefly. It has two long antennae, a pair of large, dark eyes, and its body is somewhat transparent and hazy white, as if it were formed from condensed smoke.

It is unknown how this insect was sealed in amber and has been preserved to this day.

At first, fearing that real fire would melt the amber and harm the insects, he used ordinary fire, but to his surprise, the amber didn't react at all. He then tried the Purple Fiend Earth Fire, but the amber still didn't respond.

Cheng Xinzhan became curious. Indeed, anything capable of sealing immortal insects must be extraordinary.

He then tried using fire from wood, fire from stone, and fire from the air in turn, all of which could melt the amber, but the process was extremely slow. Therefore, Cheng Xinzhan directly used the Samadhi True Fire that he had just refined.

Now the amber melted much faster.

The amber melted into crystalline yellow oil droplets, emitting a rich, exotic fragrance. Cheng Xinzhan didn't know if it was pine resin or something else, but he didn't waste it and caught it in a medicine bottle. This was something that ordinary magical fire couldn't melt, and it could seal immortal insects. It was also of unknown age. Once he found out more, it would surely be a top-grade ingredient for refining pills and medicines.

As the amber slowly dripped and thinned, the insect's antennae were the first to emerge. Just then, the celestial insect seemed to sense the outside world; its antennae twitched. Although the rest of the insect was still encased in amber, in an instant, the entire insect transformed into a wisp of smoke, seeping out from where its antennae touched the void and rapidly fleeing outwards.

It's a live worm!

Cheng Xinzhan was pleasantly surprised, and having been prepared, he flicked his finger, and the Samadhi True Fire transformed into a net of fire, instantly enveloping the cloud of smoke.

"嘤——"

The smoke was scorched by the flames, making a barely audible sound. Then, the smoke condensed and transformed into a small insect.

Cheng Xinzhan marveled at it; it seemed to be a magical creature somewhere between smoke and insects.

He finished refining the remaining amber, put it away in a medicine bottle, and then looked at the insects in the fire net.

"Can it talk?"

Cheng Xinzhan sent over a thought: If someone has achieved success in cultivation, awakened their intelligence, and formed their primordial spirit, then they can communicate using their primordial spirit and are no longer bound by human or animal language.

"Ying ying."

The insect cried out.

Cheng Xinzhan understood; the insect's desire to return indicated that it could speak.

"Where did you come from, you insect? What's your name? How old are you? How long have you been trapped in the amber? And why were you trapped in the amber?"

Cheng Xinzhan asked several questions in a row.

The fairy insect, having just been unsealed from the amber, seemed to still be feeling unwell, and after a while, it began to chirp softly.

Cheng Xinzhan listened attentively, a look of surprise flashing in his eyes from time to time. The insect was saying that it was not yet a hundred years old, that it was the youngest son in its family, and that the whole family lived in the Peach Garden in the Immortal Realm.

One day, a group of fairy maidens came to the peach garden. The fairy maidens carried palace lanterns in their hands. The lamp oil smelled very good, so they greedily tried to steal some. As a result, they lost their footing and fell into the lamp oil and couldn't climb out.

Afterwards, the fairy left the Peach Garden and, on her way back to her mansion, found herself trapped inside the lamp oil. She then poured out the oil. The lamp oil fell to the mortal realm and, in the process of falling, turned into amber, sealing her inside and preventing her from escaping.

As for when that was, and how much time has passed since then, the insect has no idea and doesn't remember. After trying many times and finding that it couldn't get out, the insect deliberately fell into a deep sleep to prolong its lifespan.

"correct."

The insect seemed to remember something and said in a childish voice,

"But Xiao Bao remembers that the official in charge of the Peach Garden changed that year. That official was very kind and didn't drive us away. He let us eat peaches to our hearts' content. Xiao Bao only started stealing lamp oil because he got tired of eating peaches."

Cheng Xinzhan scratched his head as he listened. Tired of eating peaches of immortality? He couldn't imagine what they tasted like. As for who the celestial official in charge of the peach orchard was back then, Cheng Xinzhan had even less of a clue. He figured it must have been a very magnanimous person.

"Sir, could you please send Xiaobao to the Immortal Realm? Xiaobao's parents will repay you."

"That's what the insect said."

Cheng Xinzhan smiled and shook his head.
"I haven't become an immortal yet, so I can't go to the immortal realm."

The fairy insect was puzzled.

"Master, you're not an immortal, so why do you possess immortal fire? And such powerful immortal fire at that?"

Cheng Xinzhan then answered,

"This is a fire I forged myself."

The insect rolled its eyes and then said,

"Sir, you can even refine immortal fire, so you must be close to becoming an immortal. When you become an immortal, could you take me with you to heaven?"

Cheng Xinzhan pondered for a moment, then instead of answering, asked,

"Xiao Bao, what's your name?"

"We'll call him Xiaobao. That's what my parents, brothers, and sisters have called me since I was born."

"Oh, Xiao Bao, when you were in the celestial realm, was the Jade Emperor still on the throne?"

The insect was taken aback for a moment upon hearing this, then replied,
"Of course he's here. How could the Jade Emperor not be here?"

Cheng Xinzhan nodded. "Then this insect must have descended to the mortal realm before the Later Tang Dynasty," he said.
"Xiao Bao, you don't know, there is no Jade Emperor in the Immortal Realm now, and I heard that it is not peaceful now. Moreover, it has been four or five thousand years since you descended to the mortal realm."

The insect stared wide-eyed, unable to comprehend what it meant that there was no Jade Emperor, what it meant that things were not peaceful, or what four or five thousand years meant.

Cheng Xinzhan sighed and then said,

"Here's what we'll do. Xiao Bao, you stay by my side for now. Once things are stable in the Immortal Realm, I'll have someone send you up there."

The insect nodded blankly, clearly still unable to process what Cheng Xinzhan had just said. Fortunately, the insect was small; if it couldn't figure something out, it would just stop thinking about it for now. It said...

"Then I'll follow you, sir. Sir, could you please put out the fire? I'm a little scared. Also, I'm hungry."

Cheng Xinzhan smiled gently. Although it was a celestial insect, it was still a simple and young one. His guard had been lowered, so he withdrew his true fire and asked again.
"What do you like to eat?"

"The misty clouds and hazy air, the sweet fruits and juices, all of which Xiaobao loves to eat."

Cheng Xinzhan nodded, then released some peach miasma, saying,

"Then take a look, is this edible?"

The insect's eyes lit up, and it opened its mouth to inhale, sucking in the pink miasma.

"Sweet! Delicious!"

The little insect greedily sucked at the food, feasting heartily.

"No rush, there's plenty more."

Cheng Xinzhan released some more peach blossom miasma to feed the insects, while asking them a question.
"Xiao Bao is a celestial insect; can it put celestials to sleep?"

The insect shook its head.
"That's not possible. Even Xiao Bao's parents can only lull the immortal children and servants to sleep, but they can't lull the real immortals to sleep, nor do they dare to."

Cheng Xinzhan nodded, somewhat disappointed, but also as expected. Then he asked,
"So how does Xiao Bao charm people?"

The insect then answered,

"I'll just turn into mist and go into his nose."

"Oh, so that's it."

Cheng Xinzhan nodded, then glanced at the lion sleeping soundly on the mountaintop. An idea immediately came to him, and he sent a telepathic message to the fool.
"Come to the temple."

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

At the mountaintop, the lion reluctantly opened its eyes, feeling utterly exhausted. It wondered what was wrong with its master, who was usually so quiet, but today was laughing and calling out to people. Such fine snow and weather, yet he was disturbing its sleep.

However, although the lion had a plan in mind, it dared not delay and immediately shrunk its size to arrive at the temple.

As the lion stepped into the temple, it immediately smelled a strange fragrance. The fragrance was faint and somewhat sweet. After taking a breath, the lion felt its eyelids drooping, as if they were heavier than mountains and could not be opened. Moreover, its feet became extremely heavy and it could not take a step.

What's wrong with me today? Why am I so sleepy?

Oh no, the master is definitely going to scold me.

These were the lion's last two thoughts, and then he collapsed to the ground, never to rise again.

Cheng Xinzhan watched in amazement as the lion collapsed after taking only two steps. Though somewhat clumsy, the lion was, after all, a mountain king of the Fourth Washing Realm, yet it fell in the blink of an eye. Admittedly, the lion entered the temple without warning and was caught off guard, but this alone was enough to demonstrate the extraordinary nature of the immortal insect.

I wonder if the Four Realms can withstand it?

Cheng Xinzhan's eyes flickered.

At this moment, the fairy insect crawled out of the lion's nostril, and even shivered.

"This big lion is so cold."

The insect spoke as it flew to Cheng Xinzhan's shoulder.

"Master, we're still not full."

Cheng Xinzhan smiled, then rolled the peach miasma into a small pill, which the insects then ate.

Then he began to wait and see how long it would take for the lion to wake up.

While waiting, he picked up the jade bell again and asked about Feng Jihu's situation. He had been asking about it every few days for the past month, and through this, he learned that since the Xuanmen had exerted its efforts, the epidemic was gradually improving.

A moment later, Feng Jihu's voice came from the bell.

"Things have improved a lot since winter began. The cold weather is a good thing. The Xuanmen sect used their magic to bring the wind and snow from the west into Sichuan, effectively killing the plague insects. Moreover, I have also developed a medicine to kill the plague insects in humans. Now, even if people are infected with the plague, they are not in danger of losing their lives."

"However, the medicine to suppress the symptoms and cure the underlying injuries has not yet been developed, and it will probably take some time."

Cheng Xinzhan nodded. No wonder the westerly winds had been blowing in Xikang all this time; it was to bring the cold snow into Sichuan. He replied,
"That's good. Be careful and don't be too hasty."

"Okay, I know, I'm not going to talk to you anymore."

"it is good."

Cheng Xinzhan put away the bell and breathed a sigh of relief.

About 15 minutes later, the lion slowly woke up, feeling that he had slept very deeply and sweetly, without any dreams or nightmares, and felt comfortable all over. He just didn't know how long he had slept.

As soon as Lion opened his eyes, he saw Cheng Xinzhan staring straight at him. Lion's heart skipped a beat. He suddenly remembered that he was sleeping on the mountain and was woken up by the master and called to the temple. How come he fell asleep without saying a word and was sleeping so soundly?
The lion assumed he was just too tired, mainly because he didn't know how long he had slept. Feeling incredibly guilty, he quickly got up, ran to Cheng Xinzhan, and shoved his head on the ground, saying...

"I was too sleepy and made a mistake. I am willing to accept your punishment, sir."

The lion rested its head on the ground, its eyes secretly glancing upwards. It saw that its master wasn't truly angry; he had merely smiled, tapped itself, and then said…
"I think you've been sleeping too long and your bones have loosened. Come on, let's go down the mountain and exorcise the demon."

"Roar--"

Seeing that he would not be punished, the lion immediately perked up and felt that he had slept enough and should stretch his muscles. So he shook his mane, got up and leaped outside the temple, transforming into the size of a white elephant, waiting for Cheng Xinzhan to possess him.

　Requesting monthly votes and recommendations! Comments and messages are welcome!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)