The Great Way to Truth, Starting from Jiazi Laodao

Chapter 267 Joining Forces to Refine Treasures, Seven True Men Enlightenment Amidst the Fire
Flying Fire Hall, inside the quiet room.

The fire blazed fiercely, and the heatwave was intense.

Xuanming waved his sleeve and first threw in a piece of demon king skin.

During his travels, he once killed a wicked pangolin. This demon had been cultivating for two thousand years and was treacherous and cunning, hiding its head and tail. Xuanming had to go through a lot of trouble to kill this demon.

Today, the power of the Samadhi True Fire has reached an unbelievable level. Even the Demon King's hard scales and hide melt into liquid in just half an hour.

For a day and a night, the liquid was refined forty-nine times until it contained no impurities, at which point Xuanming added another substance.

It is a water-attribute spiritual object of the Earth Rank: Mermaid Silk.

It was woven by the leader of the East Sea Merfolk over a hundred years. It was a private gift from a guest of Jianhu Palace during the promotion ceremony of Qiuzhen Temple. It was one of the gifts of gratitude for rescuing Yan Jiu, the Supreme Elder of Jianhu Palace.

After another day and night, the mermaid silk melted away.

Xuanming then took out earth-grade spiritual objects of the wood, metal, and fire elements in turn, and spent three days and three nights melting them into liquid.

He immediately unleashed countless profound incantations, focusing on the element of earth and following the principle of the five elements' mutual generation: earth generates metal, metal generates water...

The five spiritual liquids were combined.

After this step was completed, the seven True Immortals, including Xuanxu, who had been observing Xuanming's weapon-refining process, finally made their move.

They acted simultaneously with Xuanming, each drawing a rune corresponding to a Bagua direction, activating the Bagua Furnace's Bagua Laws. Under Xuanming's direction, they guided the laws, injecting the Bagua array into the spiritual liquid.

It converges from all directions and is surrounded by eight kinds of energy.

The Eight Trigrams gradually circulated within the spiritual liquid.

Xuanming could complete this step himself, though it would take quite a bit of time. But his purpose in refining the treasure was not to show off, but to help Xuanxu and the others comprehend the Dao, so he naturally wanted them to participate.

Doing things personally makes memories deeper, easier to trigger, and more likely to generate insights.

---

The Bagua formation operates, and the Bagua principles are applied.

Xuanming waved his whisk, unleashing his newly comprehended Bagua principles, the new principles complementing the old ones.

The power of the Bagua formation has increased exponentially, its operation has become increasingly mysterious, and its trajectory has become increasingly subtle, thus revealing the truth of the Bagua in the universe.

Xuanming waved his whisk again, and the Five Elements Laws circulated, flowing into the spiritual liquid, which then became the Yin-Yang Laws.

The eight Taoist priests were divided into two groups, one group guided by the law of Yang and the other group guided by the law of Yin.

As time passed, the immortals' magical powers were exhausted, and their faces gradually turned pale, but each of them wore a smile.

Inside the Eight Trigrams Furnace, as the framework of Yin and Yang, the Five Elements, and the Eight Trigrams took shape, the spiritual liquid changed at a speed visible to the naked eye, transforming into a phantom blank scroll.

They completed the first crucial step.

Once the blank scroll had stabilized, the eight third-generation Taoists stopped, exchanged smiles, closed their eyes, swallowed elixirs, sat in meditation to regulate their breathing, restore their magical power, and replenish their essence and spirit.

Three days later, the seven immortals were fully recovered.

Xuanming woke up just in time on the cloud bed.

When he opened the furnace again, he first put the grass, trees, bamboo, stones, water, rice and other things he had collected during his travels into the Bagua furnace one by one.

Everything is significant.

The flowing water represents a river, the rice paddies represent a village, the grass represents a grassland, the bamboo represents a forest, the pebbles represent a road, and the sand represents the Gobi Desert.

During his travels, he followed his usual practice of collecting something wherever he went.

Little by little, it adds up to a considerable amount.

What he seemingly invested in was something commonplace and ordinary, but in reality, it was a vast and boundless landscape.

To cast spells and draw upon the Samadhi Fire to melt these ordinary materials requires unparalleled fire control skills and a profound understanding of the principles of fire; otherwise, these mortal objects would be reduced to ashes in an instant.

Not to mention, the seven immortals, including Xuanxu, also infused their spiritual senses into these materials, trying to perceive the changes in every blade of grass, every speck of dust, every stone, every brick, every tile, every flower and every leaf during the refining process, and to comprehend the mysteries within.

It must be effective without harming its senses; one must carefully weigh the pros and cons and firmly control the order of things. It cannot be too heavy, too light, too fast, or too slow.

Looking around, only Xuanming in the entire Northern Territory of Daxuan possessed such abilities, yet he dared not be careless.

With utmost care and meticulous attention, the seven True Immortals, including Xuanxu, closed their eyes, their expressions pained, white smoke rising from their heads, their bodies glowing fiery red. They endured the scorching heat of the true fire, experiencing the agony of the material's transformation and merging into the illusory illustrations.

No one shouted or yelled, no one chose to quit; they all gritted their teeth and persevered.

The path to enlightenment is arduous, as difficult as an ant climbing to heaven.

Their potential is limited, and they are unlikely to achieve much through normal cultivation. Becoming a Golden Core cultivator may be their limit.

Xuanxu and others wanted to go further and higher.

I want to accompany Senior Brother Xuanming for a longer time.

They wanted to forge a new path for their sect's disciples and themselves, and since there was little hope, they absolutely could not give up.

Not even death!

Xuanxu's face was contorted, Xuanyang's nostrils were flaring, Xuankong was rapidly losing weight, Xuantong's mind was muddled, Xuanyu felt nauseous, Xuanyin's fingers were broken, and Xuansu's black hair turned white.

This is the price to pay, and also the backlash.

Even though Xuanming intervened and reduced the threat to the minimum, it still existed, though it no longer posed a threat to life.

---

Time flows like water, slowly.

As all the materials transformed into flowing water and merged into the painting, Xuanming lightly waved his sleeve, and Xuanxu and other spiritual beings turned around.

They were all drenched in sweat.

Without Xuanming's instruction, he immediately swallowed spiritual pills, fruits, wines, and food, refining and absorbing them to recover as quickly as possible.

Looking around at the various paths, Xuanming nodded.

He was pleased that Xuanxu and the others had such perseverance and determination. Even if he wanted to help them, they had to stand up on their own. If they were hopeless, he wouldn't waste his energy.

Although the burning of real fire is painful, a fine sword is forged through tempering. If they want to achieve something, hardship is indispensable.

Moreover, there are many benefits to doing so.

Even if they ultimately fail to comprehend the Dao of the Earth Immortals, their spiritual perception will become more resilient and solid, and their Dao heart and will will have undergone a tempering process, so it's not a complete loss.

Suppressing his thoughts, Xuanming closed his eyes and circulated the "Primordial Qi Technique," thus restoring his state.

Three days later, the Seven Immortals awoke.

Starting with Xuanxu, he took out a large number of ordinary items, all of which were local specialties. The quantity was enormous, as he and his lineage of Taoists had collected these items during their travels and visits to mountains and rivers.

Immersed in the process, Xuanming manipulated the true fire, while the seven immortals focused their spiritual awareness, repeating the previous steps.

Three days and three days again.

The Seven Immortals repeatedly engaged in spiritual awareness, only to wake up pale and exhausted each time.

They seek the Way amidst suffering, in the flames, and among the grass, trees, bamboo, and rocks, while introspecting, examining their own path, and constantly reflecting and adjusting.

Both energy and mental strength are being rapidly depleted.

Even with the replenishment of rare and precious materials and the assistance of Xuanming, they are already close to reaching their limit.

Thankfully, it's finally coming to an end.

Once all the mortal materials were integrated into the illusory scroll, Xuanming closed his eyes to regulate his breathing. Xuanxu and the other seven True Immortals all had the illusion of surviving a calamity. Looking at each other's disheveled appearance, they smiled bitterly.

This second crucial step is finally complete.

They were so exhausted that they didn't want to talk at all. They each swallowed the spiritual items and seized the time to recover and rest.

Senior Brother Xuanming explained the process.

They still have a tough battle ahead of them.

Nine days and nine nights later, Xuanming opened his eyes, opened his Primordial Dao Domain, and pulled the entire quiet room into it.

(End of this chapter)