The Great Way to Truth, Starting from Jiazi Laodao

Chapter 134: Vermilion Bird and Black Turtle, Please Give Me Grace
Floating Cloud Mountain, Qiuzhen Temple, Liehuo Peak, and the Bagua Furnace are all burning with flames and the temperature is rising rapidly.

The fire in the furnace had already been injected with some of Xuanming's Samadhi True Fire, which merged with the earth fire, making it even more violent and domineering.

But under his delicate and meticulous operation, the unruly flame was at Xuanming's mercy, and he could do whatever he wanted with it.

When the true fire burned to a certain temperature, he raised his hand and threw in numerous natural treasures, all of which were fire-attributed treasures, which melted into liquid and eventually formed into the shape of a treasure flag.

A few days later, a magical weapon was produced.

Xuanming adjusted his breathing and recovered. After a day and a night, he raised his hand to refine the treasure again. This time the flame temperature of the Bagua furnace was higher and the spiritual materials used were of better quality. Thirty-six days later, a spiritual weapon in the shape of a flag was born.

Seeing this, he smiled slightly, reviewed the details, summed up the experience, learned lessons, and found and filled in the gaps.

After these things were transformed into his own nourishment and his state was adjusted, Xuanming raised his hand and continued to refine the treasure.

The spiritual materials invested this time are more precious, and there is also a skeleton of a firebird. This bird is the Vermilion Bird, and has a trace of Vermilion Bird bloodline. It was a golden elixir monster when it was alive, and liked to eat the tender flesh of young women. It often sneaked around and hid in big cities of the human race, changing its appearance, and buying young women in the pretext of taking concubines and purchasing slaves.

The disguise was seen through by the real person of the Rising Sun Sect when he was out, and he was killed with the magical power of the sunrise in the east. After the death of the monster, its corpse was hidden in the treasury of the Rising Sun Sect. Its blood, flesh and organs were successively used and refined into various treasures. Only the skeleton remained, which became one of the thank-you gifts given to Xuanming by the Rising Sun Sect.

This gift touched his heart.

Of the four treasures, Xuanming only refined a dragon mirror, and there was no trace of the remaining three treasures. Now that he has gathered all the materials, he will naturally start refining the treasures and practice in another way.

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The real fire was blazing, burning the void. The air around the Bagua furnace was distorted, and waves of fire were rolling.

Xuanming's ability to control fire has reached perfection. The strong fire and the gentle fire burned successively, melting the skeleton. Large pieces of bone fluid flowed like water, and he easily pinched them into the shape of a flag.

The fingers were flying, and the fire magic formulas and fire runes were integrated into the flag, shining brightly, forming a mysterious magic circle and then disappearing into the invisible.

In the morning he drew in purple air, in the evening he collected moonlight, and used the Yin-Yang spiritual energy to refine the flag. During this time, the true fire continued and the Xuanming hand seals continued. The furnace was not extinguished until 49 days had passed. However, he did not collect the spiritual weapon immediately, but recovered first. He waited until his mind was clear and his energy was sufficient before opening the furnace to collect the treasure.

The Bagua furnace opened, and a bright red spiritual flag came into view, with spiritual light flickering and fire gleaming. Behind the spiritual flag, a phantom of a red bird appeared, spreading its wings and flying high, singing loudly.

After the strange phenomenon disappeared, Xuanming raised his hand, and the spiritual flag shrank and fell into his hand. After looking at it for a moment, he put the Vermillion Bird Flag into his pocket with satisfaction, then started the furnace and continued to refine the weapon.

Since he wanted to refine a weapon, he couldn't just refine one. The Vermillion Bird Flag was just one of them. This time Xuanming planned to refine two Four Symbols Spiritual Weapons.

He put in the spiritual materials and began to refine the seal.

Just like before, after refining a seal magic tool and a seal spiritual tool and accumulating experience, Xuan Ming officially started to control the true fire and invest in spiritual materials. This time it was a tortoise shell, which was also one of the thank-you gifts from the Rising Sun Sect and belonged to a golden elixir tortoise monster.

The tortoise shell was hard, and it took several days of burning by the Samadhi True Fire to completely melt it. Then several spiritual materials were added. After they were all melted into liquid and molded into the shape of a seal, Xuanming changed the magic formula, turning the strong fire into the gentle fire, and slowly refined the seal, removing the dross and retaining the essence. At the same time, all kinds of water runes were emitted to form a mysterious water magic array.

When the 49th day was up, a late spring cold snap came, with the last heavy snow falling. Yellow clouds covered the sky for thousands of miles, and the sun was dim. The north wind blew the snow and geese fell. Xuanming waved his hand, opened the skylight in the fire room, and drew the water vapor and snow in the sky into the Bagua furnace, condensing it into a ball of water crystal, which was injected into the seal together with the moonlight.

The Bagua furnace vibrated, and the seal gained spirituality, completely transformed. The furnace lid opened, and the seal spirit flew up and stood suspended in the air. Inside the fire room, inspiration surged and condensed into a phantom of a black tortoise. Although it was only a few feet tall, it could walk on the waves and control the water. Its tortoise shell was thick, revealing a feeling of carrying the mountains on its back and traveling around the world.

The strange vision was fleeting and contained in the seal. Xuanming held the treasure in his palm and looked at the Black Turtle Seal in front of him carefully. Feeling the vigorous spirituality in it that was not inferior to that of the Vermillion Bird Flag, he put away the treasure, practiced the "Hunyuan Yiqi Jue", circulated it around his body, and restored his energy.

———A few days later, the door of the fire room that had been closed for a winter opened. Xuanming stepped out and walked to the front of the Feihuo Palace. He stood with his hands behind his back, gazing at the mountains where the ice and snow had melted and all things were reviving, and at the people who were plowing in the fields outside the mountains. He felt at ease.

This time of refining the weapon, not only did he successfully complete his goal, he also gained some insights into the principles of water, fire, yin and yang, and so on. Although he could not make any further progress in his cultivation for the time being, he could achieve great things horizontally. His foundation was deeper, and he could see the principles of heaven and earth from more perspectives and in a more comprehensive way.

Up to now, three of the Four Symbols Magical Weapons have been obtained, and only the White Tiger Order is left. A skilled cook cannot cook without rice. Xuanming cannot conjure up suitable materials out of thin air. This weapon can only be postponed temporarily. He is not anxious about this matter. It will appear when it is time.

Hearing the sound of spring thunder coming from deep in the earth, Xuanming bowed and worshipped the mountains and rivers thousands of miles away, and his clear voice was transmitted to the plants and trees:

"I, Xuanming, have something to ask for now. I respectfully request the spirits of the plants and trees in all directions to help me with a little bit of their original inspiration. Give me a wooden peach, and I will repay you with a jade pendant. Your help today will surely be rewarded generously. I will not force it. Those who are willing to take the bait, please grant me grace."

As soon as he finished speaking, Xuanming raised his hand, and his palm glowed. The aura of early spring plants flowed into his palm, including green pines and cypresses, bamboos, maples and locust trees, flowers and herbs, rice and wheat fields...

From small buds to large spiritual roots of heaven and earth like the Endless Tree, most plants are willing to offer a trace of their original energy. However, Xuanming knows his limits and does not harm the roots of the plants. This prayer will only make them weak for a few days but will not affect their growth.

A trickle of water makes a river, and the essences of countless plants and trees gather together in considerable quantity. He stores these essences in his liver organ, circulates his magic power to nourish them, and accumulates them into a large amount, and begins to prepare for the condensation of the Five Elders.

In early spring, with the rumbling of spring thunder and everything looking new, the energy of plants and trees at this time is suitable for condensing the wood god: the Eastern Green Emperor Qing Ling Shi Lao Jiu Qi Tian Jun.

When the wood energy and the liver organ were initially in harmony, Xuanming waved the whisk in his hand and whispered, "Come on, wind!"

The wind blows from heaven and earth, and the spring breeze is warm.

"Here comes the rain!"

Clouds appeared in the sky and sweet rain began to fall.

Xuanming mobilized the magic power in his body and attracted the light of stars in the acupoints, gathering the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, converging it into a special energy and injecting it into sweet rain.

This special spring rain nourishes the plants and trees, nourishing their essence. Although you may not see anything in the short term, changes are quietly taking place inside. In the future, they will grow more luxuriantly, their vitality will be stronger, their flowers will bloom more brightly, and their fruits will be more abundant. If some plants are willing to work hard, they may even seize the opportunity, leap over the dragon gate, be reborn, and be promoted to spiritual creatures.

This is Xuanming’s thank you gift.

All things have spirits and live by spirits. We cannot ignore the feelings of plants, trees, bamboo and stones just because they cannot speak.

On the Liehuo Peak, with his white hair fluttering and his Taoist robe flowing, Xuanming bathed in the sweet rain and walked down the mountain with slow steps, feeling relaxed and comfortable.

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Go up to Zangdao Peak and enter the Daoist temple.

Xuanming sat cross-legged in the thatched cottage, closed his eyes and reviewed what he had gained from refining the weapon, reviewing the old and learning the new. He then practiced hard, taking Xuan-level spiritual fruits, collecting energy from heaven and earth, increasing his magic power, tempering his Taoist body, and practicing both magic and body, making progress at the same time.

Half a month later, the gate opened.

Xuanming rode a deer out of the mountains again. This time he brought Changfengzi with him, and the deer's cries echoed through the mountains and forests.

The morning glow dyed the sky red. A young Taoist priest was leading a deer in front, and a white-haired old Taoist priest was riding a deer behind. They were moving forward seemingly slowly but actually quickly.

(End of this chapter)