He was now an entry-level disciple. Although his treatnt differed from those of noble family disciples, his status was clearly established. He could even maintain his own servants—one word from him, and those Daoist boys would not dare to disobey.
Not only that, but they even fought tooth and nail for the chance to gain Zhang Yan's favor. In the minds of the Daoist boys, if they could be accepted under his tutelage, they might soday wield power and influence like Bian Qiao and others.
Within less than an hour, Zhang Yan's cave mansion was piled high with the firewood needed for half a month. So Daoist boys, trying to ingratiate themselves, even captured wild ga to bring to him. Zhang Yan did not refuse—he accepted everything, then drove them all out and sealed the entrance stone firmly.
He divided the firewood into fifteen piles, corresponding to the half-month's duration, to prepare for steaming and burning with the copper tripod. Luckily, the cave mansion was spacious enough, leaving him room to move around.
He had not gathered so much firewood to cook food. Instead, he intended to utilize the tripod's capabilities, using its fire to attack, expel Primordial Qi from his Dan Acupoint, and quench it!
He moved the copper tripod over one pile of firewood, and with a bamboo pipe, redirected the spring water trickling down the stone wall to fill the tripod halfway. Then, he lit the firewood beneath it.
Soon, the water inside the tripod began to boil. Stripping off his clothes, Zhang Yan leaped into the tripod.
During his previous battle with Wang Lie, Zhang Yan had discovered that under extre external stimuli or monts of life and death, the Dan Acupoint could spontaneously open, causing Primordial Qi to overflow. Yet, such thods were too dangerous, and without sufficient elixir pills to support them, mistakes were almost inevitable. It was an exceedingly extre approach.
Thinking back, Zhang Yan pondered: If Chen Feng had indeed used this thod to quench Primordial Qi, there might have been bitter circumstances forcing him to take such risks.
From Zhang Yan's reasoning, leaving aside other approaches, the elder masters of the sect should have been able to assist their juniors in safely quenching Primordial Qi—a safer and more stable thod less prone to errors.
Indeed, his thoughts aligned closely with reality. For Xuann family disciples, upon reaching the stage of Quenching Yuan, it was customary for their elders to assist in opening the Dan Acupoint, guiding Primordial Qi, and gradually refining it over ti. The process was not instantaneous; elders expended Essence Qi, and the duration depended on the individual's cultivation level.
Generally, a disciple would practice cultivation for one to two hours daily, before ditating to replenish Qi. Within roughly half a month, they could achieve full mastery.
Thus, this stage posed little difficulty for disciples with inherited spell techniques.
But for Zhang Yan, without guidance from elder masters, everything was reliant on his own efforts.
The heat inside the tripod beca increasingly intense, forcing Zhang Yan to begin circulating his Inner Qi to resist.
At this mont, he perceived the mystical nature of the tripod. Despite the firewood burning for so long, the cave mansion was void of smoke or fire vapors, and even the walls of the tripod remained cool to the touch. The heat did not rise like ordinary heat but seeped relentlessly into his muscles and bones.
He understood this was no ordinary heat—it was akin to the internal fire of a master, far more skilled than himself, persistently forcing him forward.
Feeling faint discomfort deep in his organs, Zhang Yan swiftly swallowed a True Origin Elixir and exerted his utmost to circulate Inner Qi to withstand the heat's assault. Yet, the waves of heat ca endlessly, granting him no respite.
Gradually, as his Inner Qi depleted further and further, Zhang Yan strained to squeeze out every last bit from his nearly exhausted ridians. He knew this was the critical juncture. His face flushed red, as if he had been boiled alive, yet he gritted his teeth and persevered.
After roughly one quarter-hour, his Inner Qi was completely exhausted. Suddenly, with a resounding "boom" in his ears, the tightly closed door of his Dan Acupoint burst open once again. This ti, however, due to the continuous infusion of external fire, the Dan Acupoint did not close back up and ceaselessly emitted Primordial Qi to clash repeatedly with the external fire.
The Primordial Qi was consud continually, while the turbid Qi was refined away by the tripod's intense heat, transforming into threads of the purest True Essence. Black impurities seeped from Zhang Yan's skin, emitting an unbearable stench, but he had no ti to concern himself with such trivialities.
Whenever he felt his body nearing its limits, he swallowed another elixir pill to nourish his ridians and organ structures, guiding his Qi with unwavering determination, resolved to extract every ounce of Primordial Qi hidden within his Primordial Acupoint.
When each pile of firewood burned through, Zhang Yan moved the tripod to another pile, ensuring the fire remained uninterrupted.
Three days and nights passed. Zhang Yan remained sealed off, tirelessly quenching Primordial Qi in the tripod.
Having consud no fewer than twenty-six True Origin Elixirs, most of his body's Primordial Qi was refined. However, he encountered a considerable obstacle—a final wisp of Primordial Qi within his Primordial Acupoint stalled stubbornly, refusing to be expelled despite his utmost efforts.
As impatience began to cloud his focus, a sudden stroke of inspiration dawned on him, and a mantra from the "One Qi Cleansing Scripture" echoed in his mind:
"Let the mind die and the spirit thrive; the Qi will naturally adapt."
Clarity returned abruptly to his consciousness. By forcing too hard at this stage of quenching, he had abandoned the fundantal principle of allowing Dao Nature to flow effortlessly, disrupting the Qi chanism and causing the Qi to shrink inward, halting his progress.
This predicant resembled the challenges he had faced during his Foundation Building stage.
Reflecting back, Zhang Yan's Spirit Platform beca tranquil and lucid. He swallowed the remainder of the elixirs in one go, no longer paying attention to the Qi's movents. He simply guarded the Dan Acupoint, as though his body were void of all distractions.
Already teetering on the brink, Zhang Yan was but one step away from complete success. At this mont of epiphany, he grasped the true aning of Dao Nature—his mind stilled, all distractions vanished. In a state resembling half-awake, half-asleep, that final wisp of Primordial Qi slowly rose from the acupoint while the turbid Qi sank, Yin and Yang separated, and rged with the earlier refined pure Primordial Qi. It circulated through his ridians thirty-six tis before returning to the Dan Acupoint, settling peacefully.
The fire beneath the tripod was extinguished. Zhang Yan opened his eyes, and a brilliant spark of light glead in his gaze. Though the cave mansion remained dimly lit, everything was as clear as daylight to him.
At this juncture, his cultivation had reached perfection. He had successfully crossed the "Quenching Yuan and Expelling Impurities" stage and stepped into the realm of "Yuan Cheng Ruzhen." All of his Inner Qi had transford into Primordial True Qi; his Qi power tripled, his arms capable of lifting three thousand pounds, and his eyes could observe the heavenly stars above and the hidden depths below—a far cry from an ordinary mortal.
Now, he needed only to dedicate ti to increase his Primordial True Qi and consolidate his realm before advancing to Opening ridians and Ascension!
Recalling the "Xuan Yuan Inner Secrets" manuscript, Zhang Yan mused, "Is this not a gift from Heaven?"
Though the manuscript's complexities might be as daunting as a Heavenly Chasm to others, with the Broken Jade in his hands, he was able to repeatedly attempt without fear of failure. Once he achieved Opening ridians, he wondered what expressions those masters and entry-level disciples would have then!
He glanced at the cumberso Refining Muddling Tripod beneath him. It seed as though others had grown impatient with his slow cultivation progress and had co to lend a helping hand. At this thought, he burst out laughing and recited aloud, "Others use the tripod to quell disputes; I wield the tripod to quench True Essence. Empty sches unravel before the Heavenly Dao; a ga of calculations laid bare in vain!"
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