Chapter Sixteen: Seclusion

  Yun Zhongzi brought Zhong Ling back to the Jade Void Palace, saw Tong Tian Jiao Zhu after and then taught Zhong Ling the way, finally settled Zhong Ling in a room and then began his own closed-door meditation.

  After a thousand years of seclusion, having digested all the insights gained from wandering the desolate expanse, his cultivation had made some progress, although not much.

  After waking up, Yun Zhongzi didn't go out, but instead continued to sit on the cloud bed, his divine sense probing into the gourd and discovering that more than half of the bloody aura from the Twelve Products of Destruction Black Lotus and the Regicide Gun had disappeared.

  And this is still the result of Yun Zhongzi's non-dominance, with only yuanqi and blood stench devouring each other. However, the consumption of yuanqi is also enormous.

  Because he himself was going to retreat and didn't know when he would wake up, Yun Zhongzi simply filled the yellow gourd with the yuanqi liquid from another gourd. As a result, the yellow gourd was filled to the brim, but now the entire yellow gourd's yuanqi liquid had been depleted. This kind of consumption made Yun Zhongzi secretly sigh in dismay, terrifying, too terrifying.

  Of course, the bloody aura of the two treasures has dissipated by more than half, and the bitter bamboo has even grown a bit taller, which also secretly delighted Yun Zhongzi.

  Then, the yuanqi liquid in the green calabaza and the remaining small amount of yuanqi liquid in the brown calabaza were all poured into the yellow calabaza. Under the dominance of the divine consciousness, the bloody energy was consumed.

  Another 500 years passed, and the two treasures finally completely lost their bloody aura. Yun Zhongzi's excited expression overflowed on his face, and he chuckled to himself. He didn't take out the Twelve Tribulations' Extinction Black Lotus and the God-slaying Spear first, but instead started refining them within the Yellow Gourd.

  Fortunately, the original owner of these two treasures, Luo Rou, is dead and has not left any marks on the two treasures. Otherwise, relying on Yun Zhongzi's current Daluo Jinxian initial cultivation, it would be a bit difficult to destroy Luo Rou's mark, and only temporary suppression can be done for the time being.

  But even now without any marks, Yun Zhongzi spent a full 500 years to successfully refine these two artifacts that were equivalent to pre-heavenly treasures.

  "Haha......"

  When the two pieces of magic treasure were refined, Yun Zhongzi couldn't help but burst out laughing.

  Two innate treasures, one attacking and one defending, complement each other perfectly. Although Yun Zhongzi's cultivation is not high, his overall strength is incredibly powerful.

  Yun Zhongzi speculated that with his current cultivation as a Tai Luo Golden Immortal, combined with the two pre-heavenly treasures in his possession, even a peak Tai Luo Golden Immortal would not be his match, and some quasi-saints might also be no match for him.

  Of course, all of this is just Yun Zhongzi's speculation, because since he arrived in the vast wilderness, for over ten thousand years, apart from his one battle with Luo Hou, he has never clashed with anyone else and does not understand the difference between a Mahayana Golden Immortal and a Quasi-Saint. Everything he knows is limited to legend.

  However, when looking at the empty gourds, Yun Zhongzi couldn't help but feel a pang of heartache. The yuanqi liquid in all three gourds had been completely consumed, what a waste!

  Yun Zhongzi's palm opened, and the Twelve Tribulations' Black Lotus appeared in his hand. These twelve Tribulations' Black Lotus were not simple, but rather the transformation of the Primordial Chaos Green Lotus that nurtured Pangu.

  At that time, the chaotic Qinglian divided into four directions of lotus platforms, which are:

  The twelve meritorious virtues of the golden lotus were obtained by Hongjun. After the third sermon, they were bestowed upon the people who had been guided to the path.

  The Twelve Products of Industry Fire Red Lotus have not been heard to be obtained by anyone until now, but according to Yun Zhongzi's own knowledge, they should have been obtained by Minghe Old Ancestor.

  The twelve Jieqing World Green Lotus was obtained by Hong Jun, who later transformed one into three and gave them separately to Laozi (Bian Gu), Yuanshi Tianzun (Yu Ruyi) and Tongtian Jiaozhu (Qingping Sword).

  Another is Yun Zhongzi's Twelve Tribulations Black Lotus in his hand, and for these four lotus platforms, there is a common evaluation: "Sitting on the lotus platform, nothing can be broken."

  It can be imagined that the four-sided lotus platform is strong in defense. With this lotus platform in hand, Yun Zhongzi naturally has no fear of ordinary quasi-saints.

  Then Yun Zhongzi's left hand opened again, and the Gun of God-slaying appeared in his hand instantly. This Gun of God-slaying was quite different from those ancient long guns that Yun Zhongzi knew.

  The body of the gun was pitch black, four feet nine inches long, with many textures on it. Yun Zhongzi couldn't understand them, but they looked exceptionally mysterious.

  The gun tip is a little crimson, and the aura is cold and eerie. As the saying goes, "killing gods and killing gods", it can be imagined that this little crimson is used to kill people's souls, and the attack power of the gun is self-evident. Although it is not as good as Pangu Fan, a pre-heavenly treasure, it is stronger than Qingping Sword in the hands of Tongtian Jiao.

  Yun Zhongzi weighed the twelve品灭世黑莲 in his hand and said in a low voice, "This lotus platform can absorb the aura of brutal destruction and dissolve it. But Luo Yu is the ancestor of demons, and he actually turned two treasures into murderous objects. Now that they are in my hands, it's time for them to return to their original form."

  Yun Zhongzi put away the two treasures, then stood up straight and calculated with his fingers, "Two thousand years, time really flies, coming to Honghuang, unknowingly more than 18,000 years have passed."

  Yun Zhongzi came directly to the great hall after leaving the pass. At this moment, the master of Tongtian was preaching in the great hall. Four people were sitting cross-legged inside the great hall, one of whom was Duobao, and the other three were women.

  Yun Zhongzi guessed, "These three should be Jinling Shengmu, Wudang Shengmu and Guiling Shengmu, right?"

  It turned out that the three people, Jinling Shengmu and others, were actually the three disciples collected by Tongtian Jiaozhu over the past few thousand years. After Yun Zhongzi returned from Mount Buzhou last time, he only saw Tongtian Jiaozhu once, and didn't even see Duobao, so he hastily closed his door to cultivate and hadn't seen these three sisters either.

  Immediately afterwards, without disturbing him, he sat in the great hall and quietly listened to Tongtian Jiao's lecture.

  After several years passed, Tongtian Jiaozhu finished his lecture and the crowd was awakened by Tongtian Jiaozhu, letting everyone return to their own rooms to comprehend what they had gained.

  Duobao and Jīn Líng Shèng Mǔ and others have all seen Yún Zhōng Zǐ, "Greetings, Master."

  Among them, the three Golden Spirit Mothers couldn't help but size up Yun Zhongzi in secret. For this legendary senior brother who had only been heard of in stories, the three still held some admiration. After traveling the world for thousands of years without returning, he went back to the Jade Void Palace and then closed himself off from the world. This one period of seclusion lasted two thousand years; in the hearts of the three, Yun Zhongzi was a cultivation madman.

  Yun Zhongzi simply nodded at the four people, his face without any expression, this was Yun Zhongzi's intention.

  Actually, Yun Zhongzi was very entangled in his heart. In the war of sealing gods, Jie Jiao would be destroyed, and Yun Zhongzi did not want to get too close to the many disciples of Jie Jiao. He feared that he might lose control and rescue everyone, which would be a heaven-defying move, punishable by heavenly punishment. Not only would he suffer, but the entire Jie Jiao would also be doomed. Therefore, Yun Zhongzi now simply nodded slightly at a few people, without speaking, even putting on a stern face.

  Jin Lingsheng's mother was shocked in her heart, and secretly thought that this senior brother was indeed extraordinary. After a deep bow, she retreated from the grand hall.

  It turned out to be Duobao, who looked at Yun Zhongzi with suspicion and couldn't understand why his senior brother had changed so much.

  Duobao and others left, Yun Zhongzi quickly walked to the front of Tongtian Jiao Zong, bowed and said, "Disciple Yun Zhongzi pays respects to Master, wishing Master a long and sacred life."

  The Heavenly Master looked at Yun Zhongzi, his expression somewhat dazed, and secretly thought, "This disciple of mine is getting more and more unpredictable, actually able to obtain the 12th-grade Extinction Black Lotus and the God-slaying Spear, truly a profound blessing."

  If Yun Zhongzi knew that his master had already known about his acquisition of the treasure, he would be extremely shocked. He thought this matter was very secretive, but didn't think that Tongtian Sect Master had already found out. In fact, Tongtian Sect Master only discovered it not long ago, just when the bloody aura on the two treasures completely disappeared.

  Of course, Yun Zhongzi did not intend to deceive Tian Tianjiao, after all he would definitely use these two treasures in the future.

  The Master of Tongtian nodded and said, "Mm, what brings you to find me?"

  Yun Zhongzi said, "The disciple wants to ask the teacher to refine an object for the disciple." As he spoke, Yun Zhongzi took out the bitter bamboo from the gourd and handed it over to Tongtian Jiao.

  The Tian Gong Sect Master was not surprised, apparently having already known that Yun Zhongzi had this object in his hand. The Tian Gong Sect Master took the bitter bamboo and said, "You go back first, after a hundred years when I lecture on the Tao, I will give it to you again."

  Yun Zhongzi nodded and left the grand hall. He cast a final glance around, only to find that Zhong Ling was not in his own room, but had instead run off to the mountains behind the Yu Xu Palace's medicine garden, frolicking with the beasts. Yun Zhongzi couldn't help but be speechless - this little guy was truly fond of playing pranks.

  Yun Zhongzi had no choice but to summon the little guy back, and then told him the way again. More than a decade passed, and the little guy's innate talent was extremely high. These two thousand years were also a great leap in cultivation, reaching the realm of Tianxian, but still some distance from transforming into a human form.

  Yun Zhongzi still took good care of Zhong Ling. In their past life on Earth, giant pandas were first-class protected animals in the country, especially with their chubby bodies, which were simply adorable.

  Even Yun Zhongzi had never seen a giant panda with his own eyes in his previous life, and this time he was able to meet one, and even took it as his mount, Yun Zhongzi was also very delighted.

  Yun Zhongzi went into seclusion again after telling the story to Zhong Ling, and only came out once more a hundred years later to listen to it one more time, taking back the bitter bamboo along the way.

  At this time, the bitter bamboo had already been refined into six roots of clear bamboo by Tongtian Sect Master. It was actually the same as the six roots of clear bamboo in Zhunti's hand in later generations' rumors. Yunzhongzi didn't know if it was a coincidence or fate that the bitter bamboo was refined into six roots of clear bamboo in both people's hands, so after taking over the six roots of clear bamboo, he couldn't help but smile silently.

  After taking the six pure bamboo, Yun Zhongzi closed himself again. He knew that the war between witches and demons was near, and soon after, when Nüwa created humans, he had to come out of his seclusion, and then rescue Hongyun and others. He knew that there were a series of things waiting for him to do later, and now all he needed to do was to improve his cultivation.

  Yun Zhongzi's closed-door meditation lasted for thousands of years!