Chapter 94: True Fire and Edict

Late at night, the local Earth God had long since returned to his small temple to ponder profound techniques, while Ji Yuan, too, was back in the annex of Zhao Dongliang’s home.

Instead of immediately going to sleep, Ji Yuan sat quietly at the table in his room. The Azure Vine Sword rested on the tabletop as he closed his eyes slightly, his mind entering a semi-conscious state. In this state, he focused his contemplation on the immense alchemical furnace within his spiritual realm.

The alchemical furnace within his spiritual realm now displayed the five elemental colors—gold, water, wood, fire, and earth—on its surface, shifting between illusory and tangible states. At its core, yin and yang energies had reformed, interweaving with the true fire that was originally there. As they gradually merged, the fire emitted a strangely subdued glow, its simmering intensity blended with hues transforming from gray to brown, and then to the distinct colors of yin and yang.

According to the *Tongming Stratagem*, the original true fire within the spiritual alchemical furnace was the fire of divine will. The black and white energies transformed into yin fire and yang fire, respectively. When these three merged, they produced an inexhaustible, unified flame.

Ji Yuan experienced this as a direct sensation, even vaguely perceiving that the 'illusory' true fire of his spiritual alchemical furnace had now forged a tangible connection.

Drawing on memories from his past life, this transformation excited Ji Yuan. He couldn't help but wonder if this was the legendary 'True Samadhi Fire'.

While he hadn't researched 'True Samadhi Fire' in his previous life, in this life, he had read descriptions of similar 'latent fires' in the *Tongming Stratagem*. It detailed four such fires generated within the human body: the 'upper latent heart fire,' the 'middle latent kidney fire,' the 'lower latent qi-sea fire,' and finally, the 'Profound Latent Divine Fire,' which was described as the true fire of the internal furnace.

However, while the *Tongming Stratagem* described these latent fires, it made no mention of 'True Samadhi Fire.' The four latent fires were also presented as distinct. Furthermore, the term 'true fire' itself held immense significance; besides the divine fire of one's alchemical furnace – vital to every immortal cultivator's life and destiny – very little was known of other 'true fires.'

"Still, in my case, wouldn't it be fitting to call it 'True Samadhi Fire'?" Ji Yuan muttered, quite pleased with himself. Here, 'latent' implied something profound and hidden. The 'yin latent true fire' and 'yang latent true fire,' formed from the black and white energies, were the two additional 'latent' categories Ji Yuan had personally defined.

After all, he possessed something unique. Wasn't it perfectly reasonable to define it based on its fiery characteristics? Well, perhaps that was a bit arbitrary. Rephrased, it was certainly something 99.9% of immortal cultivators definitely would not have.

Then there was the lingering influence of the '敕' (chì) character. Within the spiritual landscape of his mind, Ji Yuan's faint echo resonated persistently, as if reminding him that the character still existed.

Whenever the character's sound became clear, Ji Yuan could faintly perceive a thin layer of Xuanhuang Qi—a mysterious yellow energy—enveloping the spiritual alchemical furnace.

'Could Xuanhuang Qi truly be merit?'

Ji Yuan realized that this single character represented a crucial opportunity for him tonight. He had intuitively grasped its profound essence simply by hearing its sound. To confirm his understanding, a suitable opportunity to test it now presented itself.

With this thought, Ji Yuan opened his eyes and gazed at the sword on the table, pressing his sword-finger onto its tip.

As if thought were directly manifesting into action, Ji Yuan swept his sword-finger across the Azure Vine Sword. A surge of greenish energy flashed, accompanied by circulating yin and yang colors. Simultaneously, a small wisp of Xuanhuang Qi emerged from his spiritual alchemical furnace and gathered at his fingertip.

"By command, become a spirit!"

The soft command had barely left his lips.

A hum resonated.

Instantly, the rust on the sword scattered. The three-foot-long blade lifted itself two inches above the tabletop, humming softly and continuously, its cold light shimmering.

The spiritual essence born within the Azure Vine Sword directly manifested into a sword spirit. To call it an 'immortal sword' would be entirely fitting. Though Ji Yuan felt a slight dizziness, his face was alight with undeniable surprise and joy.

While certainly far from a true imperial conferment, the sensation strongly resembled one. At least, in his moment of self-indulgence, Ji Yuan was more than willing to entertain such a thought.

A 'drip' sound drew Ji Yuan's gaze downward. He spotted a drop of blood on the table, then felt a slight itch around his eyes and nose.

What was happening?

Ji Yuan reached up to touch the area beneath his nose and near the corner of his eye, realizing he was indeed bleeding. Fortunately, it was only a few drops, which had already ceased.

'It seems this command truly can't be used casually,' he thought, 'but this time, it was absolutely worth it!'

With a flick of his hand, the few drops of blood were drawn directly into the lamp oil on the table. Ji Yuan, like a child with a new toy, gently caressed the Azure Vine Sword, causing it to occasionally dart left and right, and at times vibrate with a sharp hum. A faint image of yin and yang appeared upon its surface, and it even began to spontaneously absorb wisps of spiritual energy.

To ordinary people, anything used by cultivators—'immortals'—was an 'immortal artifact.' Yet, in Ji Yuan's eyes, and as stated in the *Tongming Stratagem*, the word 'immortal' held immense weight. Despite the Azure Vine Sword being made of common iron, Ji Yuan felt entirely justified in calling it an immortal sword.

"Heh heh, tonight truly is my night of destiny!"

Carrying this persistent, subtle excitement, Ji Yuan finally lay down on the bed and fell into a deep sleep. The Azure Vine Sword rested quietly on the table, no longer flying or vibrating, appearing exactly as before except for the complete absence of rust.

...

Morning dawned with the collective crowing of roosters across the village. Zhaojiazhuang was tranquil and harmonious, still imbued with the joyous spirit of the recent wedding.

Ji Yuan rose a little later today. By the time he was fully awake, the sounds of villagers already at work outside were clearly audible.

With a 'creak,' Ji Yuan opened his door. Zhao Dongliang, seemingly having waited, quickly greeted him.

"Good morning, Mr. Ji! We've cooked white rice porridge, and it's still hot!"

"That's kind of you, thank you. Aren't you helping in the fields, Young Zhao?"

"Haha, I've already returned after weeding the fields."

As he spoke, Zhao Dongliang had already retrieved a large bowl from the kitchen. He ladled out some porridge for Ji Yuan, added a spoonful of pickled vegetables, and brought it out to him.

Ji Yuan accepted it without ceremony and began to eat. Though he had woken a bit late, the weather was warm now, and the porridge, still steaming, was perfectly hot without being scalding.

Ji Yuan then found it a little awkward, even for him, to be watched by Zhao Dongliang while eating his porridge, especially with him seated on a small stool and Zhao Dongliang squatting.

"Young Zhao, do you know anything about the Earth God of Zhaojiazhuang?"

Zhao Dongliang's eyes lit up, delighted to finally have a topic that could help him bond with Mr. Ji.

"I know about that. When I was a child, I heard the village elders say that our Zhaojiazhuang Earth God has a proper name. I wouldn't dare speak it, but in short, he was an ancestor of our village. That ancestor lived to be exactly one hundred years old and was a renowned centenarian in the county; even the magistrate came to visit. There's still a plaque dedicated to him in the village's ancestral temple. Over time, his descendants began to commemorate him, and eventually, he came to be worshipped as the Earth God."

"Ah, I see!"

It wasn't a dramatic tale, but it certainly made sense.

Though not far from the small Earth God temple, Ji Yuan felt no need to avoid the topic, as he certainly wasn't speaking ill of anyone.

After chatting with Zhao Dongliang for a while, Ji Yuan did his best to satisfy the young man's curiosity about the outside world. For a villager like him, barring unforeseen circumstances, his life would likely entail marrying, having children, and living peacefully within Zhaojiazhuang, which was not a bad life at all.

After finishing his porridge and resting for a while, Ji Yuan bid farewell to the Zhao family. Zhao Dongliang eagerly volunteered to carry Ji Yuan's umbrella and luggage to the village entrance. It was only then that he realized how heavy the wooden box, which Mr. Ji had previously carried with apparent ease, truly was.

As he was leaving, Ji Yuan actually wished to give Zhao Dongliang a gift, but there was genuinely nothing suitable. Giving money felt common and could be misconstrued regardless of the amount. Bestowing martial arts manuals was utterly inappropriate and could even invite misfortune.

In the end, he could only stop after walking a short distance from the village, turning back to offer a slight bow towards the small temple at the village entrance.

"Please, Earth God, continue to watch over them!"

Zhao Dongliang, still at the village entrance, watched as Ji Yuan, who had been walking away, suddenly turned back and bowed, seemingly muttering something. Thinking it was directed at him, Zhao Dongliang hastily returned an awkward bow.

But then he felt the direction of Mr. Ji's bow wasn't quite right. He instinctively turned his head and glimpsed an old man smiling at him from the direction of the Earth God temple. He rubbed his eyes and looked again, but the temple remained, and the figure had vanished.

"Oh, dear me! In broad daylight...!"

With a shiver, Zhao Dongliang quickly hurried back home.