Mount Sumeru covered a vast area. Beyond its main peak, there were many side peaks and secluded valleys.
Zhunti led the two of them through a pine forest and around a ridge. Suddenly, the view opened up before them.
It was a secluded valley.
A clear spring flowed through the valley, ancient trees towered overhead, and spiritual herbs carpeted the ground.
Most remarkable of all, the Spiritual Energy in the valley was so dense it seemed almost tangible. Even a deep breath made him feel spiritual power flowing through his meridians.
"This place is called Spirit Spring Valley."
Zhunti explained, "My senior brother and I discovered it many years ago. Several Spiritual Veins converge beneath the ground, making the Spiritual Energy here the richest on Mount Sumeru.
"It's just a little out of the way, which makes it perfect for you to seclude yourself here and refine the treasures."
Jieyin looked around and nodded.
"This place is indeed suitable.
"My junior brother and I can set up a ward at the entrance to seal it off from the outside. You can refine the treasures in peace without worrying about disturbances."
Xuande sensed the Spiritual Energy in the valley as well and was pleased.
He turned to Jieyin and Zhunti. "I'm grateful for your help, fellow Daoists."
Jieyin waved a hand.
"Please wait here, fellow Daoist. My junior brother and I will go set up the ward."
With that, the two rose into the air and landed on either side of the valley entrance.
Jieyin brought out a string of prayer beads, while Zhunti fashioned a branch from the Seven Treasures Wonderful Tree. The two formed hand seals at the same time and sent one incantation after another into the air.
Xuande stood in the valley, watching them work.
Golden rays streamed from the prayer beads, while streaks of green light scattered from the branch of the Seven Treasures Wonderful Tree, weaving together.
Gradually, a faint, almost imperceptible curtain of light formed, enveloping the entire entrance to the valley.
Sanskrit characters seemed to flow across the curtain, radiating a solemn, pure aura.
About half an hour later, the ward was complete.
Jieyin and Zhunti descended from the clouds and returned to Xuande.
"Fellow Daoist, the ward is ready," Jieyin said. "It can seal off the auras inside and out, and withstand outside interference as well.
"Just focus on refining the treasures. If anything unusual happens, the two of us will know at once."
Zhunti added, "Don't worry, fellow Daoist. With my senior brother and me keeping watch, not even a fly will get in."
Xuande bowed solemnly to them.
"Many thanks, fellow Daoists.
"I don't know how long it will take to refine them completely. You don't have to wait here the whole time. You can return to your caves to cultivate, and if anything happens, I'll send word."
Jieyin shook his head.
"You're mistaken, fellow Daoist.
"How could we neglect our duty to protect you? My junior brother and I will meditate right here at the valley entrance. Just focus on your task without worry."
Zhunti nodded. "Exactly. Go on, fellow Daoist. Don't delay."
Seeing how determined they were, Xuande said no more. He bowed again, then turned and walked deeper into the valley.
He found a flat rock and sat down cross-legged.
Spiritual Energy wreathed the area, and a clear spring burbled nearby. It was indeed a rare, tranquil place.
Xuande closed his eyes and let his mind sink into the Primordial Spirit in his Purple Mansion.
In his Primordial Spirit space, two treasures floated quietly.
The Twelve-Petal Destruction Black Lotus was pitch-black all over, its petals edged with a dark, faintly shimmering light. Yet no demonic energy leaked from it anymore.
The God-Slaying Spear's dark-red shaft was ancient and imposing. A cold glint shone at its tip, radiating a killing aura that made the heart tremble.
Xuande did not rush to refine both treasures at once.
He knew that biting off more than he could chew would only get him into trouble.
He decided to completely refine the Twelve-Petal Destruction Black Lotus first.
After all, it shared the closest Origin Essence with his Merit Golden Lotus, so refining it might go more smoothly.
And if he could fully control the black lotus, that would help him refine the God-Slaying Spear afterward.
First, he shielded himself layer by layer with Merit Golden Light.
When completely refining a supreme treasure with such destructive properties, the slightest carelessness could let its aura erode his Dao heart.
Merit Golden Light was the perfect shield. It could keep his mind clear and undisturbed.
Once the protective golden light was in place, Xuande raised his right hand. The Twelve-Petal Destruction Black Lotus flew out from between his brows and hovered before him.
The black lotus was different now from when he had seen it in the Abyss of Demonic Energy.
Back then, demonic energy had coiled around it. It was cold and lifeless, and its very presence inspired dread.
Now, that demonic energy had been completely purified.
All that remained was the pure Destruction Law itself.
Cold, but not evil. An end, but not something defiled.
Xuande looked at the lotus, which shared his Origin Essence yet possessed the opposite nature, and felt a complex emotion well up inside him.
Light and darkness, life and death, creation and ending.
They seemed opposed, but were really two sides of the same coin.
When the Chaos Green Lotus broke apart, its seeds scattered across the Primordial Wilderness. Some turned toward the light, others toward the darkness, but all came from the same mother plant.
"You and I share the same Origin Essence."
Xuande spoke slowly, his voice calm.
"Today, I will completely refine you and make you my own.
"From this day on, your destruction will be my destruction, and your ending will be my ending.
"But I will be the one to control all of it—to decide when and how to use it."
When he finished speaking, he closed his eyes and let his mind sink into the Primordial Spirit imprint he had planted long ago.
When he had first refined the lotus, he had merely imprinted his mark upon its core.
Now, he would take control of every Law within it.
Following that imprint, Xuande's mind slowly entered the black lotus.
In an instant, it felt as if he had plunged into an endless, dark void.
There was no light, no sound, and no direction.
Only the pure, cold, vast Destruction Law, surging toward him like countless blades.
This was the black lotus's Origin Essence: the Great Dao it had accumulated over countless ages since the Chaos Green Lotus broke apart.
Xuande's mind did not retreat.
Merit Golden Light formed a gentle barrier around his Primordial Spirit, keeping the Destruction Laws at bay.
But it did not block them completely. He had to touch them and understand them before he could ultimately control them.
He "stood" in that dark void, quietly sensing them.
Destruction.
It was not ruin, slaughter, or hatred.
Those were only the outward appearances of destruction—the emotions and colors living beings had ascribed to it.
True destruction was pure, neutral, and inevitable.
All things that were born must die; all things that began must end.
Destruction was not evil. It was part of the Heavenly Dao's workings, the end of reincarnation and the beginning of new life.
A glimmer of understanding arose in Xuande's heart.
He had always thought that his cultivation was about merit, purity, and bearing responsibility.
But where did the burden of merit ultimately lead? Was it about letting all things exist forever?
No. That was impossible.
The Heavenly Dao had its own order. It did not preserve a world for Yao, nor end one for Jie.
All things lived and died according to their own laws.
True merit was not about preventing destruction. It was about allowing all things to reach fulfillment before destruction arrived.
And after destruction, it was about allowing new life to take root.
Merit and destruction had never been enemies. They were two sides of the same Great Dao.
This realization was like a bolt of lightning, illuminating the dark void.
Xuande's mind no longer resisted the surging Destruction Laws.
Instead, it met them willingly, using the gentle power of Merit Golden Light
to wrap around those cold forces, understanding, accepting, and merging with them bit by bit.
This was no conquest. It was a conversation.
Time lost all meaning in that void.
Xuande immersed himself in his understanding of the Destruction Law, at times clearheaded, at times lost in chaos.
The Laws were simply too vast. Even with his cultivation at the late stage of the Grand Unity Golden Immortal realm, he could not fully comprehend them.
But he did not need to understand them completely. He only needed to bring them fully under his control.
Using the Primordial Spirit imprint he had planted during the initial refinement as his foundation,
he took his own Dao as his guide.
Bit by bit, he infused his will into every petal, every vein, and every Law within the black lotus.
The process was slow and arduous.
In Spirit Spring Valley, Xuande sat with his eyes shut, his expression at times calm, at times slightly contorted.
Merit Golden Light and the black lotus's dark glow intertwined around him, sometimes bright, sometimes dim, forming a strange balance.
He drew in the Spiritual Energy of the valley at a frantic pace, then released it again as he refined the lotus, creating faint ripples of spiritual power again and again.
At the valley entrance, Jieyin and Zhunti sat cross-legged, their expressions calm, their spiritual senses always covering the entire valley.
They could sense the ripples from within and feel the destructive aura clash and mingle with the aura of merit. Yet they did not interrupt him; they simply kept watch in silence.
Who knew how much more time passed?
In the valley, Xuande suddenly opened his eyes.
The Twelve-Petal Destruction Black Lotus floated quietly before him, still pitch-black, but no longer so cold and distant. It seemed calmer, more at ease.
It rotated slowly. The dark light along its petals was no longer eerie and dreadful, but instead carried a deep, pure beauty.
Xuande raised his hand, and the black lotus drifted gently down onto his palm. It shrank to the size of a walnut and rested there obediently.
He closed his eyes and sensed the bond deep within his Primordial Spirit, now completely fused with the black lotus.
He could call upon its Destruction Law at any time.
He could control its power as he pleased, making it bloom or fall silent.
The Twelve-Petal Destruction Black Lotus had been completely refined.
Xuande let out a long breath, his face breaking into a weary but relieved smile.
He stored the black lotus in his Primordial Spirit space, then closed his eyes and regulated his breathing.
Completely refining the black lotus had taken a great deal of mental energy.
He needed to recover before beginning to refine the other treasure, the God-Slaying Spear.
That supreme weapon of slaughter was even more dangerous than the black lotus.
The black lotus's destruction was a Law, a part of the Great Dao, and comparatively pure.
But the God-Slaying Spear's slaughter had been stained by countless drops of blood and resentment. It was more violent and far harder to tame.
Still, after completely refining the black lotus, Xuande felt more confident about completely refining the God-Slaying Spear.
He drew a deep breath, circulated his cultivation technique, and absorbed the valley's abundant Spiritual Energy, slowly restoring his depleted mental energy and magical power.
The spring burbled through the valley, and the spiritual herbs filled the air with their fragrance.
Xuande sat quietly among them, his aura gradually settling.
Once he had fully recovered, he would take out that dark-red spear and begin refining it.