Shouyang Mountain, Eight Sceneries Palace.
Inside a pill-making room, Xuandu was intently gazing at the Eight Trigrams Purple Gold Furnace before him.
Xuandu, dressed in a gray Daoist robe, had a calm and composed expression. He formed hand seals and cast profound incantations into the alchemy furnace.
The furnace vibrated slightly, emitting a low hum.
"Water flows downwards from Kan (☵), fire rises upwards from Huo Yan), thunder roars from Zhen (☳), and wind blows subtly from Xun (☴)..."
Xuandu silently recited the incantation, his body surging with magical power.
After a while, the fire in the stove gradually died down.
Xuandu took a deep breath, clasped his hands together abruptly, and shouted, "The pill is complete!"
The Eight Trigrams Purple Gold Furnace trembled violently, its lid opened by itself, and three beams of seven-colored light shot into the sky!
The entire alchemy room was illuminated with dazzling light, and a rich medicinal fragrance permeated the air. Just one whiff of it made one feel refreshed and invigorated, and one's magical power seemed to subtly increase.
The rosy light faded and fell into the jade bottle that Xuandu had prepared beforehand.
Inside the bottle, three pills, each the size of a longan, lay quietly. The pills were perfectly round and flawless, with iridescent light swirling around their surfaces.
The Yin Yang energy within the elixir could be faintly seen swirling like swimming fish.
" The Seven Revolutions Golden Pill... is finally complete."
Xuandu looked at the jade bottle, a smile appearing on his face.
"Good."
A calm voice rang out at the entrance of the alchemy room.
Xuandu quickly turned around, bowed, and said, "Master."
Lord Taishang was already standing outside the door at some unknown time.
The Taishang entered the alchemy room, nodding slightly. "The seven-colored halo flows ceaselessly, and the yin and yang within the Yin Yang cycle naturally. Xuandu, you have already mastered seven-tenths of the true essence of alchemy."
"It's all thanks to Master's meticulous guidance," Xuandu said respectfully. "Without Master's guidance over the years, this disciple would never have been able to refine a Seven Revolutions Golden Pill."
The Taishang waved his hand, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.
He took out a palm-sized blue gourd from his sleeve and handed it to Xuandu: "Inside are some pills that I have refined. Please go to Kunlun Mountain for me and give them to your Yuanshi."
The cyan gourd was obtained by Taishang his travels in the Primordial Wilderness. Although it cannot compare to the seven gourds on the Innate Gourd Vine, it is still an Innate Spiritual Treasure and is more than enough to hold some pills.
Xuandu accepted the gourd with both hands.
"Yes, Master."
"This disciple will depart immediately."
He knew that this was an agreement between his master and his Yuanshi master, Yuanshi, made once every 100,000 years.
Every 100,000 years, the Taishang would refine a batch of elixirs for the Chan Sect to aid its Chan Sect Disciple in their cultivation.
It must be said that Yuanshi treated his disciples extremely well.
Since that Three Teachings Conference, he sought out his master and specially obtained elixirs to help the Chan Sect Disciple cultivate.
The Taishang seemed to remember something and added, "That disciple you took in on a nominal basis in Heavenly Court sent a message a while ago saying that he had caused some trouble."
Xuandu's expression remained unchanged. "This disciple already knows. However, what he does is none of my business. I only need him as our informant to help us understand the Heavenly Court's movements."
Taishang nodded. "That's good. It can't hurt to know more."
Xuandu wholeheartedly agreed.
Although he had lived in the Eight Sceneries Palace for a long time, he was not completely ignorant of the situation in the Primordial Wilderness.
"Disciple understands," Xuandu replied.
The Taishang said no more, turned and slowly walked away.
Xuandu tidied up the alchemy room, carefully put away the Seven Revolutions Golden Pill, and placed the cyan gourd in his bosom before leaving the alchemy room.
Stepping out of the Eight Sceneries Palace, outside the mountain gate, a Green Ox was fast asleep on the grass, snoring loudly, with drool dripping all over the ground.
Xuandu curled his lip slightly. "This lazy ox, all it does is sleep all day."
He shook his head, ignoring it, and with clouds rising beneath his feet, he soared into the sky and flew towards the Kunlun Mountain.
A short while later, the Green Ox woke up, looked around in confusion, shook its head, and went back to sleep.
Before long, the Kunlun Mountain came into view.
Xuandu landed in front of the Jade Void Palace.
The White Crane Boy was already waiting there. Upon seeing him arrive, he quickly stepped forward and bowed, saying, " Xuandu, the Master is already waiting inside the hall."
"Thank you for your trouble, young boy." Xuandu smiled and returned the greeting.
Following the White Crane Boy into the Jade Void Palace, one sees the Yuanshi Tianzun sitting on a high platform, surrounded by golden light, his Saintly Might as vast as the sea.
"Disciple Xuandu greets Yuanshi."
Xuandu stepped forward and bowed respectfully.
Yuanshi Tianzun opened his eyes, his gaze falling on Xuandu, and nodded slightly. "Get up. Did your master send you?"
"Indeed." Xuandu took out the cyan gourd and presented it with both hands. "My master ordered me to deliver this pill for my master's inspection."
The Yuanshi Tianzun reached out and grasped, and the blue gourd flew into his hand.
He opened the gourd, and a rich medicinal fragrance immediately filled the entire hall.
Yuanshi Tianzun nodded in satisfaction, "On my behalf, I thank your master."
He returned the blue gourd to Xuandu.
Suddenly his gaze fell on Xuandu, and Yuanshi Tianzun was taken aback.
Peak mid-stage Quasi-Saint!
The heart of the Yuanshi Tianzun was stirred.
How could a mere human reach such a level, even surpassing the vast majority of disciples of the Chan Sect!
Back when the Three Teachings were in Kunlun Mountain, Xuandu wasn't even worthy of his attention.
"Could it be that humans... truly possess some unique peculiarity?"
The Yuanshi Tianzun couldn't help but think to himself.
With a thought, he merged his primordial spirit with the Heavenly Dao, attempting to deduce the future fortune of the human race.
But as soon as he touched upon the relevant secrets of heaven, he felt a Chaos, as if he were isolated by an invisible barrier. No matter how much he activated the power of a sage, he could not glimpse even a fraction of it.
The Yuanshi Tianzun felt a chill run down his spine, withdrew his primordial spirit, and remained outwardly calm, but inwardly he already understood.
" Dao Venerable Lin Tian... his methods are indeed Tongtian." He sighed inwardly, "Even I, a sage, cannot deduce the secrets of the human race. Such concealment methods are truly remarkable."
Seeing that Yuanshi Tianzun remained silent, Xuandu assumed he was busy and bowed, saying, "Uncle-Master, if there are no other instructions, this disciple will take his leave."
Yuanshi Tianzun regained his senses, nodded, and said, "Go. Give my regards to your master."
"Disciple obeys." Xuandu bowed again, then turned and left the main hall.
After Xuandu left, Yuanshi Tianzun summoned Nanji: "Distribute these pills to all the disciples. With these pills, they will be able to break through."
The Immortal Official Nanji accepted the gifts with both hands, hesitated for a moment, and asked, "Master, what about Chiting...?"
Yuanshi Tianzun's face darkened, and he coldly snorted, "He is not worthy."
He paused, then added, "If I hadn't publicly accepted him as my disciple back then, I would have expelled him from the Chan Sect long ago! With the body of a demon beast, his aptitude is inferior, a complete waste of my efforts!"
Nanji asked no more questions and withdrew, accepting his orders.
He naturally understood his master's meaning.
After leaving the main hall, the Immortal Official Nanji looked at the pills in his hand, shook his head, and sighed softly.
At that moment, the figure of Randeng arrived beside Nanji.
Upon seeing the arrival of the Randeng, the Nanji immediately bowed in greeting.
"Greetings, Vice Sect Master Randeng "
Randeng smiled slightly, "Don't be so formal. We're all members of the Chan Sect, no need to stand on ceremony."
"These pills..."
Nanji quickly explained, "This was given to me by my master to distribute to the other junior brothers to help them with their cultivation."
Do I have one?
Ran Deng's eyes Randeng, his gaze burning as he stared intently at the elixir in Nanji's hand.
Nanji shook his head, indicating that his master hadn't said anything.
Randeng's face darkened instantly, then returned to normal. "In that case, you should go quickly; it wouldn't be good to delay the sect leader's affairs."
Nanji is gone, but Randeng's expression is grave again.
" Yuanshi, Yuanshi, since I joined your Chan Sect, you haven't given me anything. All the elixirs and Spiritual Treasure have been given to your disciples. What's the point of me joining the Chan Sect?"
Of course, these words could only be thought in one's heart; they could not be spoken aloud.
Randeng clenched his fists, a strange glint flashing in his eyes.
Over the years, his cultivation had progressed slowly, and Yuanshi had not given him any help, always just going through the motions.
"It seems I need to find another way out."
His gaze unconsciously drifted westward.