Daoist Master, I'm really not an evil cultivator.

"In Buddhism, to form relics, one must first enter a state of tranquility, ignite oneself, and maintain a glimmer of spiritual light amidst the stillness. When essence, qi, and spirit converge and merge, they transform into a relic, which can also be called Bodhi..."

He tried desperately to think in his mind to distract himself from the excruciating pain that felt like it was burning his very soul.

"The Taoist method of forming the elixir uses the human body as a furnace, with essence, qi, and spirit as true lead, true mercury, and dragon and tiger. The elixir is refined in the furnace within the body through both gentle and fierce fires, allowing the medicinal properties to blend together. The lead and mercury return to the earthen vessel, and the body and mind become still and undisturbed. Finally, the elixir is formed, and the dragon and tiger appear."

Amidst the raging fire, Xu Changqing bit his lip tightly, but by now his lips had been burned down to just a layer of charred, dry skin, and no blood could flow from them anymore.

His flesh and blood were constantly melting away in the fire, and a sizzling sound came from beneath him, as if some kind of liquid, grease or something else, was flowing out of him.

His chest gradually shrank, his breath became faint, all the blood in his body had evaporated, and his once bright eyes had become dull and lifeless.

From a distance, he looked like a dried-up, black charcoal.

His trachea was already ruptured, and he couldn't utter a sound of pain. He could only watch helplessly as he slowly turned into ashes in the fire.

"Therefore, the Buddhist practice of forming relics is far more dangerous than the Taoist practice of forming the elixir of immortality. But as the saying goes, misfortune may be a blessing in disguise, and a blessing may be a misfortune in disguise."

"When you reach the seventh realm, which is called 'Nirvana' in Buddhism and 'tribulation' in Taoism, Nirvana is a process of seeking inwards, and you have already experienced the extinction of the Golden Core realm, so it is slightly easier than the tribulation in Taoism."

"Although I've experienced the feeling of being burned to death in those countless illusions, illusions can never replace reality—"

"It hurts, it's really killing me!"

Silent roars echoed continuously in his sea of ​​consciousness. Now that he was a cultivator, he could endure for longer than ordinary people, and his senses were much sharper.

The burning sensation of every inch of skin, the shattering of every bone, and the evaporation of every drop of bone marrow were magnified infinitely and clearly transmitted into the sea of ​​consciousness.

The dragon coiled around the tower seemed somewhat annoyed that the fire below was burning too slowly. It tilted its ferocious head, a hint of impatience flashing in its vertical pupils.

"hiss--"

It suddenly opened its blood-red maw and yanked fiercely at the blood moon in the sky!

"Rip~~~"

A tearing sound that made your teeth ache rang out. The blood moon in the sky was forcibly ripped in half by an inexplicable force! Incredibly thick primordial energy instantly poured down from the waning moon, transforming into a raging river that crashed down upon Black City!

"call--!"

The bonfire that was originally in the square suddenly swelled up, the pillar of fire shot into the sky, the heat wave swept in all directions, and even the air crackled as it burned.

Holy crap!

Before he could even curse, Xu Changqing was completely engulfed by the sudden burst of fire.

"Hiss~"

Feeling that he had accomplished something great, the dragon looked up at the waning moon, his ferocious and domineering face filled with smugness, and the tip of his tail swayed slightly.

The eccentric Taoist priests, bowing with each step, had already arrived in the square. They sat around the blazing fire, their faces fanatical, chanting incantations, rising and falling like a tide as they surged toward the flames.

"The Savior from Suffering, responding to cries for help. The Great One who saves from suffering, delivering countless beings..."

......

In a secluded underground palace, a blood moon is reflected on the rippling water, illuminating the endless palace complex below.

A hazy figure seemed to sense something, turned around, shook its head, and smiled.

"Ha, what a greedy kid."

The voice was deep and resonant, a mixture of laughter and sighs. He then lowered his head and continued to look at the water at his feet.

Within the palace complex, a twisted, indescribable monster seemed to be howling madly.

The hazy figure glanced at it indifferently, its tone carrying a hint of nonchalant disdain:

"As expected, he's hopeless."

......

The fire has been extinguished.

In the central square, only a pile of grayish-white gravel remained.

"call!"

Suddenly a gust of cold wind swept by, quietly stirring up the sand and gravel.

In the distance, Big Head, who didn't know why he wasn't dead, instinctively covered his mouth. His two newly restored eyeballs almost bulged out after seeing this scene.

"Holy crap, even the Taoist's ashes were scattered?"

Beside him, the little booted ghost also tightly covered his mouth, conveying his thoughts in his mind:

"Big head, big head, it seems the Taoist priest failed his breakthrough? What do we do now? Run?"

Big Head looked down at the handcuffs and leg irons growing out of the bricks and tiles, rolled his eyes speechlessly, and responded in his heart:

"Running away is futile. Your magic is completely sealed; do you think you can escape?"

Then, supporting its large head, it obediently squatted at the foot of the wall.

Just then—

"When the Great Supreme Deity who saves from suffering entered the Great Samadhi Gate, he observed that the five aggregates and five energies were all empty, and thus delivered all beings from suffering and distress."

Suddenly, a mysteriously loud chanting arose in the hall.

The sound seemed to come from the heavens above, or to surge from the depths of the earth; it was omnipresent and reached everywhere.

Big Head suddenly looked up and saw that a pitch-black stone had appeared somewhere where the cold wind had blown.

"This...this is successful?" Big Head wondered. "But why is this different from the Golden Core cultivators I've ever seen? After all, what good Taoist would burn himself to ashes when breaking through to the third realm? This isn't a breakthrough at all; it's courting death."

The Taoist priests sitting around the square suddenly began chanting in unison, echoing the inexplicably grand voice:

"The Golden Elixir! It is the return to one's original nature, the realization of the primordial truth, which is neither diminished in the mortal realm nor increased in the realm of the sage..."

"Knock knock knock..."

It seemed as if the sound of a fish drum was coming from the void, striking people's hearts one beat at a time.

"Ring ring ring..."

The ghost bell on the tower suddenly began to sway gently, its clear and eerie sound seeming to echo something.

"Clang... clang... clang..."

One hundred and eight deep, melodious chimes resounded throughout the space.

The sound of bells echoed between heaven and earth, causing the ruins of the entire Black City to tremble slightly.

"Big Head, Big Head, look! There's movement over there!"

Looking in the direction the little boot ghost pointed, they saw that the black stone had suddenly cracked open.

Then, an extremely dazzling golden light pierced through it, tearing through the entire night sky!

"Click-clack~"

This seemed to trigger a chain reaction, with spiderweb-like cracks spreading instantly along the golden light.

Six beams of light—red, blue, black, white, cyan, and transparent—shot straight into the sky.

As the waning moon receded, seven dazzling colors intertwined, illuminating the entire sky like a rainbow.

"hiss!"

Big Head suddenly stood up, his jaw dropping uncontrollably:

"Seven, seven, seven-colored golden pills? Oh my god, oh my god, oh my goodness!"

He instinctively pulled at his cheeks with both hands, staring at the scene before him with disbelief in his eyes.

Suddenly, the sand and gravel floating in the sky flew towards the seven-colored stone.

"Whoosh..."

The crisp sound of the clothes fluttering rang out. The sand and gravel transformed into a dusty gray Taoist robe.

"Swish...swish...swish..."

With a rustling of leaves, dust fell, revealing a dark Taoist robe inlaid with gold thread underneath.

As the golden threads flowed continuously, a black and white tree seemed to slowly emerge.

"The great fire refined the gold, revealing the true form of the Taoist's treasure!"

Big Head, resting his drooping chin on his hand, stared in astonishment at the Taoist robe that wrapped the seven-colored stones.