Chapter Fifty: Divine Talisman Flame
Question: What is the wondrous origin of nature?
Answer: It transcends form and name, its mystery beyond comprehension. Heaven and earth, all things are born from existence; existence springs from nonexistence, all arising according to the law of the Dao. The wondrous origin ultimately has no origin!
...
After Chen Heng had finished refining the golden cicada according to the methods described in the "Supreme Jade Body," he felt as though he had become much more attuned to the void and the heavens. Every movement carried an elusive resonance of the Dao, a sense of "returning to simplicity and purity, reverting to the wondrous origin."
But with it came a nameless, indescribable hunger—not only in his stomach, but throughout his entire body, from the organs to the skin, all sending a clear message to his mind.
Hungry!
Hungry!!
Hungry!!!
Chen Heng took out a talisman coin, and in just a few breaths, the spiritual energy within was completely drained, while his body imperceptibly produced a faint thread of jade radiance that slowly nourished his flesh.
Were it not for his spiritual perception, even at close range, it would be impossible to discern with the naked eye.
"This method is rather like the head of a glutton, quite adept at consuming," Chen Heng chuckled, assuming the five-hearted pose, and began to absorb the ambient spiritual energy from the void.
But after the time it takes for a stick of incense to burn, as expected, Chen Heng shook his head.
The scarcity of spiritual energy in the Southern Region was already a settled matter; even the mountain gates of the sects suffered from it, let alone the mundane world. Though the "Primordial True Dao" could gather the fundamental spiritual energy, the quantity was fixed—only a few wisps, no matter the effort, it was in vain.
"It seems I can only rely on talisman coins for cultivation. Though extravagant, I cannot afford to worry now," Chen Heng thought to himself, his gaze sharp.
In a few months, he would enter the Abyss, and whether he could come out alive from that desolate, shadowed place was entirely uncertain.
When life is at stake.
Any increase in strength is a blessing; how could he care for wealth?
Moreover, he intended to collect as many spiritual herbs and great medicines as possible in the Abyss... To attend the Flower God's Banquet required considerable expense.
Many itinerant cultivators had sold wives and daughters, but still failed to gather enough, left only to sigh and lament.
With his resolve set, he did not hesitate further.
Chen Heng poured out all the talisman coins from his spatial pouches, and instead of grasping them, he wrapped them in his breath, beginning to absorb and refine them.
In the blink of an eye, seven days passed swiftly.
During Chen Heng’s secluded cultivation, outside the boundless void of the starry sea, the ancient Longhua Bell still rang with thunderous sound. The awakened Longbo giant pleaded softly for days, but the bell refused to cease, stubborn and unmoved.
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At last, the Longbo giant grew angry, leaping up to seize the ancient bell and pounding it with a hundred fists. The bell's spirit, aggrieved and sorrowful, finally quieted down.
...
Another day passed.
As dawn slowly edged across the heavens, Chen Heng brushed his sleeve, a smile on his lips, and rose from the meditation mat.
He exhaled gently, and immediately wild winds swept through the quiet chamber, shaking the bookshelves with a rattling roar. Had he not stopped at once, even the tiles of the roof might have been blown away, letting the brilliant daylight flood inside.
And this was merely a single breath, not some wind-summoning Daoist art.
Yet, driven by Chen Heng’s refined physique, it possessed power comparable to ordinary lower-tier Daoist techniques!
The Daoist texts say: the body is the treasure raft for cultivation, the spirit is the sail and oar; only when both unite can one cross the boundless sea of calamity and suffering, reaching the shores of immortality.
In some treatises on the cultivation of the Golden Elixir, there is another saying:
If the body is damaged or incomplete, it is difficult to realize the full spiritual fruits, and the path to the Golden Elixir is hindered; the highest grade is but a distant hope.
Among the thirteen great medicines required to achieve the Golden Elixir, one is known as the "Divine Talisman Fire."
This medicine can only be refined by those whose physical vitality boils over; at its peak, it can reach nine feet nine inches in height, flickering like stars.
True energy comes in nine levels and thirty-six grades—the lowest is the first-level inferior, the highest is ninth-level superior.
But the grades of the Golden Elixir are reversed.
The ninth-grade yellow-white elixir is the lowest, the first-grade dragon-tiger elixir is the highest.
To forge a first-grade elixir, even among the Eight Sects and Six Orders, one is a true heir, with hope of achieving the spirit, even returning to the void, pure yang, or lofty Dao Lord.
To achieve a first-grade elixir, all thirteen medicines are indispensable.
"Divine Talisman Fire"—one of the thirteen!
With the Supreme Jade Body in hand,
Chen Heng was confident that refining "Divine Talisman Fire" would not be difficult; even reaching the ultimate nine feet nine inches was eighty percent likely.
"In this, perhaps I have caught a glimpse of the chance for longevity..." Chen Heng sighed, his eyes shining as he glanced around.
Without concealment, his body now, like Tong Gaolu’s, was covered inside and out with a faint layer of jade radiance, as if cloaked in a not particularly brilliant rainbow garment.
His form was lithe as a dragon, neither bulky nor excessive, like a piece of beautiful jade or colored stone sculpted, naturally elegant.
Simply by sight, he could see in the darkness without hindrance, clearly observing birds flying dozens of feet overhead, each feather visible in detail.
Likewise, his hearing had further transformed.
---
The dozens of servants in the Tong mansion—their voices, footsteps, and the rustle of their garments—he could distinguish almost entirely. With concentration, he could even hear heartbeats and the flow of blood, though this was much fainter.
Such a state was truly beyond human.
Over these days, he had spent all his talisman coins cultivating the Supreme Jade Body, finally advancing it to the third level of the Profound Realm.
The Supreme Jade Body is divided into three major realms: Profound, Origin, and Beginning, each with nine levels.
The Daoist of Yangshan should be at the first level of Profound Realm—his body still had vulnerabilities, barely at the threshold.
Tong Gaolu was stronger, yet only around the third or fourth level.
This shows how much spiritual energy is needed for the Supreme Jade Body...
The two had possessed the Supreme Jade Body for at least ten years, but limited by the lack of spiritual energy, their progress remained shallow.
Chen Heng, in contrast, advanced to the third level in only a few days, thanks to the resources from the spatial pouches of Tong Xuantao, Tong Gaolu, and Zhou Chuyu.
Especially Zhou Chuyu.
No one knew what fortune she had encountered; she had eight or nine spatial pouches, with more than six thousand talisman coins inside.
Because he spared no expense, his progress was possible.
But further cultivation remained troublesome; whether in refining energy or the Supreme Jade Body, every layer required several times more spiritual energy than the last.
Thus, joining a sect with a spiritual vein became Chen Heng’s urgent priority.
...
After feeling the changes brought by the Supreme Jade Body, Chen Heng gently exhaled and sat down again, shaking out the contents of his spatial pouches.
After another five days, he gathered his energy, turned his breath inward, and several talismans burst into light, circling around him like a school of fish, dazzling to behold.
Seeing this, Chen Heng smiled slightly, then used a contract to summon Tu Shan Ge.
Not long after, the fox pushed the door open and entered.
Seeing Chen Heng, he paused, then his face brightened with joy, stepping forward to salute:
"Congratulations, Master, on your advancement!"
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