Chapter Twenty-Three: Cultivation and Anomalies

For the next two days, Chen Jin remained in the mountain cave, following Ge Hong to learn the art of alchemy. Ge Hong practiced the tradition of external alchemy. This path was not merely about consuming medicinal pills, but rather about contemplating the way of heaven through the process of refining elixirs—observing the great cycle of heaven and earth to refine one's own small inner cycle. Ultimately, one forged the Nine-turn Golden Elixir, achieving the primordial spirit of a true immortal; by ingesting the Nine-turn Golden Elixir, one attained the body of a true immortal, and thus the completion of one’s own Dao, becoming a celestial immortal.

Ge Hong’s tradition was considered, in modern times, the origin of the current methods, and the members of the chat group all agreed on this point. However, at this time, Ge Hong’s way still belonged to the ancient methods, producing external golden elixirs, whereas the current methods focused on internal golden elixirs, so there were many differences. Unfortunately, Chen Jin had not collected any actual techniques of the current methods in modern times; he had only heard fragments of theory, making it difficult to compare or understand the transformation from ancient to modern practice.

The scripture that Xin Yang had studied, "The True Return to Origin Divine Mind Sutra," was not part of Ge Hong’s external alchemy, but a pure ancient method: contemplation, gathering qi to give birth to the Yin Spirit; the Yin Spirit transforms into the Yang Spirit, and with the Yang Spirit one is considered an immortal. The Yin Spirit forms at the stage of gathering the soul, and then one can traverse a hundred miles in the blink of an eye, living for three hundred years—already regarded by ordinary people as a supernatural being. The Yang Spirit is born when pure Yang arises from extreme Yin during the union of Yang, increasing one’s lifespan to five hundred years.

Originally, Xin Yang had already formed his Yin Spirit, but now, with Chen Jin occupying his body, the Yin Spirit had vanished; perhaps it had merged into Chen Jin’s current cultivation, or had been directly dispersed by the black leather book. The reason for this was unclear to Chen Jin.

Ge Hong, being a figure akin to a deity, easily saw that Chen Jin's Yin Spirit was gone. He furrowed his brows and said, "Xin Yang, your Yin Spirit seems unstable!"

Hearing this, Chen Jin grew nervous, afraid Ge Hong would discover he was not Xin Yang. But Ge Hong’s next words eased his mind.

"Since your Yang Spirit is not yet formed, it is normal for the Yin Spirit to dissipate when wielding the Sword of Dispersing Soul and Primordial Spirit. Rest well these next few days; I will give you a bottle of Spirit-nourishing Liquid. Each night, place a drop on your brow during meditation—it will greatly help you reform your Yin Spirit." As Ge Hong spoke, he lightly gestured, and a thumb-sized porcelain bottle flew from the wooden rack that held bamboo slips and silk manuscripts.

On that rack were not only bamboo slips and manuscripts, but also some finished elixirs—though these were only a portion of the elixirs Ge Hong had recently refined. Many more were stored in another cave.

That cave was newly opened by Ge Hong, right next to the current one.

Chen Jin took the Spirit-nourishing Liquid, knowing from Xin Yang’s memories that it would greatly enhance his spiritual power at this stage.

"Thank you, Uncle Ge," Chen Jin said sincerely.

"No need. Cultivate well; the more you recover your powers, the more you will be able to help with the impending disaster of the plague demons. These days, I have been restless, feeling the plague demons will soon arrive. My divine sense covers Wenma County and even Jin’an Prefecture, but I can find no sign of the plague's approach. Alas, could this calamity truly be a natural disaster?" Ge Hong’s face was full of sorrow as he spoke with compassion for all.

"A natural disaster?" In the historical records, there was no mention of any epidemic in this region during this period. The county annals only recorded Ge Hong’s alchemy and healing of the people’s illnesses—there were no outbreaks of plague.

"Could it be that Uncle Ge and the others dispelled it at the outset?" Chen Jin speculated.

As this part of history was unrecorded, Chen Jin could not guess further. Seeing Ge Hong’s anxious demeanor, he resolved to be more vigilant, though he knew it was of little use. Ge Hong’s divine sense enveloped the whole region, and since he had found nothing, how could Chen Jin, a novice who could only rely on his mortal eyes, discover more than Ge Hong?

Thus, Chen Jin focused on his cultivation, striving to break through to the Qi-fixing stage. Otherwise, when Xin Yang's cultivation was exhausted, he would not even be able to cast a small fireball, and would have no way to explain why he had regressed to only the Contemplation stage. At least now he could still conceal his true realm behind the facade of the Spirit-fixing stage.

...

That night, Chen Jin sat cross-legged atop a mountain rock, not cultivating, but gazing at the vast starry sky. The ancient night sky was truly beautiful—even when a dark cloud passed over, its beauty remained, so poignant and precious. Comparing it to the modern sky, Chen Jin felt the stark difference; without comparison, there would be no pain.

According to the theories discussed in the chat group, the modern sky would eventually return to the ancient appearance—the era of declining Dharma would gradually end, the vitality of heaven and earth would recover, and the pollution on Earth would be dissolved by the restored energies of the world. Thus, the night sky Chen Jin now saw would one day be restored.

"I should focus on cultivation," Chen Jin thought.

He took out the Spirit-nourishing Liquid given by Ge Hong, and placed a drop on his brow.

When the Spirit-nourishing Liquid touched his brow, it did not immediately absorb into his skin, but clung there like syrup. Chen Jin found this strange, but concentrated and began to silently recite the Metal Qi Formula of Geng and Xin.

As he chanted, the cool drop on his brow began to grow warm, a sensation spreading throughout his body.

This full-body perception, combined with his thoughts and memories, formed his soul—so the Spirit-nourishing Liquid was already beginning to take effect.

Chen Jin now felt as though he were soaking in a bath, one with a massage function and filled with warm milk. That silky, soothing feeling made him feel as if he were floating on air, his mind invigorated—each blink seemed like stepping onto soft cotton candy...

He was immersed in this state for about an hour, and felt his spirit increase dramatically. If there were a mirror, he would surely marvel at his radiant appearance.

Once his spirit was restored, Chen Jin tried to absorb the energy of heaven and earth. The vital energies rushed into his mouth and nose, but he did not retain all of them—only a portion infused into his body.

This was mainly because his realm had not yet reached the Qi-fixing stage.

Still, Chen Jin felt no disappointment; now, in this time of clarity, his tolerance and patience for many things were high.

After finishing his cultivation, Chen Jin remained seated on the rock, gazing out over Wenma County at the foot of Gaoping Mountain.

At this hour, Wenma County was shrouded in darkness, but under Chen Jin’s keen gaze, he noticed a faint yellow glow hidden within the blackness—something he had not seen on previous nights.

...