Thirty-Sixth Stratagem: Ambush from the Middle of Chaos

  That day, Xun Daozi was shocked to hear Yuan Shi's detailed account of the secrets of Hong Huang in the valley. At the same time, he felt the care and love from his master, Master Bo, and Master Shu, which moved him deeply. Later, he received new divine techniques from Yuan Shi and Tong Tian, and was urged to practice diligently, reporting his progress every day, and occasionally receiving inspections from Tong Tian. In fact, it was just an excuse for Tong Tian to grab him and beat him up, either leaving him with a swollen face or cutting him with sword energy until he was covered in blood, or being struck by lightning until he was charred before he could escape Tong Tian's clutches.

  It was also being brutally abused by Tongtian, Xun Daozi's various combat skills were making rapid progress. Although he was being abused badly, with Tongtian as his training partner, he didn't have to worry about accidentally hurting him or worrying about his own life. He could let loose and fully display his skills, whether it was sword, stick, fist, foot, or thunder magic, all of which could be unleashed on Tongtian's body without any concern. Although it couldn't cause Tongtian any trouble, it had an immeasurable impact on Xun Daozi's mastery of these techniques. Of course, in the end, he would still be brutally abused by Tongtian, but Xun Daozi's combat strength was also making rapid progress under these circumstances. Moreover, Xun Daozi's abnormal recovery ability was also one of the reasons why Tongtian enjoyed abusing him so much. Every time he was abused to the point of being unbearable, he would recover to his peak state by the next day. With nothing better to do in the valley, Tongtian treated him like a plaything, abusing him once every day, under the guise of "guiding his martial arts training". And Yuanshi also allowed Tongtian to abuse Xun Daozi at will.

  These days of abuse and being abused will end when Laozi finishes refining his elixir.

  Seven years later, Laozi successfully refined a furnace of Seven-Turn Golden Elixir and came out of the quiet room of Wudao Cave Mansion. Behind him was a snow-white robe, a pair of white hands holding a jade box with a pure heart.

  When Laozi came out, Yuanshi and Tongtian went forward to welcome him. Xun Daozi also hurriedly followed behind to welcome him. When they met, Yuanshi and Tongtian congratulated Laozi in unison for successfully refining the 7-turn golden elixir. Xun Daozi also hastily joined in the congratulations, and Laozi smiled and expressed his joy repeatedly.

  Xun Daozi was truly delighted at this moment. Laozi had finished refining the elixir, and Tongtian would not temporarily come to inspect his cultivation progress again, giving him a feeling of escaping hell and seeing the world. Although his strength had made rapid progress over the past seven years, with a daily increase of a thousand miles, his sword techniques and thunder methods were no longer comparable to what they were before. The sword techniques and thunder methods he displayed even shocked himself, and his thunder method had reached the point where it could be released as soon as he thought about it, without any stagnation. But being tortured every day was not a good thing! Thank you, Master Bo!

  Everyone returned to the bamboo pavilion and sat down. The old man said, "This time, fortunately, with the help of the Hunyuan Furnace, I was able to successfully refine the 7-turn Golden Elixir, and the Hunyuan Furnace also received nourishment from the Golden Elixir's medicinal energy. Xun Daozi can now rest assured and focus on his cultivation. Once he has cultivated it, he will be able to bring out the full effect of the Hunyuan Furnace."

  Xun Daozi hastily said: "Disciple will follow Master's instructions, and soon offer sacrifices to the Hunyuan Furnace, not disappointing Master's kindness."

  Laozi asked Su Xin to put the jade box on the tree stump tea table and let her open the box.

  Su Xin opened the jade box according to her words and retreated to one side.

  Everyone's gaze shifted to the jade box, and inside, they saw a perfectly round dan medicine that shone brightly, with an aura of auspiciousness rising from it and precious light swirling around. As they looked, they felt an inexplicable divine charm, and as they gazed, they saw mysterious and profound marks of the Tao. Everyone was utterly astonished, unable to contain themselves.

  After a long time, everyone finally shifted their gaze away from the golden elixir.

  Laozi let Su Xin close the jade box and said, "Now that we can refine this elixir, it's truly a fortunate event, and I've gained a lot from it. So I want to leave this elixir in Xun Dao Mountain Wudao Cave as a cave guardian."

  Xun Daozi was overjoyed when he heard that Laozi was willing to leave the 7-turn Golden Elixir for himself as a treasure to guard the cave. It was like a pie falling from the sky! Although it wasn't the legendary 9-turn Golden Elixir, this was still an elixir that Laozi could only refine after becoming a saint. What he had obtained now was a real and solid 7-turn Golden Elixir, which was the first one Laozi had ever refined. It was more than enough to serve as a treasure to guard the cave. Xun Daozi immediately thanked Laozi: "Disciple thanks Master for bestowing this precious elixir."

  Laozi smiled slightly and said, "You can get up now, but the elixir I gave you has conditions attached. In the future, when Shibo refines the elixir, he will have to find the medicinal materials himself, don't try to shirk your responsibilities!"

  The seeker of the Way is hesitant to continue on the path.

  Yuanshi whispered to the side, passing on a message that would inform Xun Daozi of a secret matter. Laozi nodded and also passed on a message: "Xun Daozi has great fortune, it's only right that he should know this. This will make his cultivation clearer and more effective. It will also benefit our gathering of fortune. We must pay attention to protecting him, lest he be harmed by other cultivators."

  Yuanshi also nodded in agreement.

  The old man said, "In the mountains of Xun Dao, there is a precious tea tree called 'Wu Dao Cha Shu' that can bring enlightenment. We cannot stay here for long, so we must set up a large array to protect this mountain. If not, once we leave, the boundary of Xun Dao will be unable to protect the 'Wu Dao Cha Shu' and the 'Nine Dragon Snow Jade Pine'. If something goes wrong, it will be too late to regret. I want to work with you two brothers to set up an array according to what we discussed earlier in the valley. We will use the 'Nine Dragon Snow Jade Pine' as the base of the 'Pre-Heaven Nine Palace Defensive Array', and the 'Wu Dao Cha Shu' as the base of the 'Pre-Heaven Seven Star Seven Kill Sword Array'. Then, we will combine these two arrays to form the 'Pre-Heaven Yin-Yang Array', which will merge with the 'Pre-Heaven Misty Array' of Xun Dao Mountain to become the 'Pre-Heaven Three Talents Array'. This will create a Pre-Heaven Linked Array to protect Xun Dao Mountain. What do you think, brothers?" The old man was willing to go to great lengths to set up an array for Xun Dao because he had promised to do so earlier in the valley. On the other hand, he had calculated multiple times that Xun Dao held a crucial key to their fate as three brothers, although he couldn't quite figure out why. Therefore, he attached great importance to protecting Xun Dao Mountain.

  Yuanshi, Tongtian saw Laozi attach great importance to Xundao Mountain and went to great lengths to set up a protective array. Yuanshi was delighted that his disciple was setting up a protective array for himself and strongly approved. Tongtian also felt that Xundaozi was not bad and was willing to set up a protective array for him. Therefore, when Laozi suggested setting up an array, both Yuanshi and Tongtian said: "Good!"

  Then Laozi said to Xun Daozi, "Xun Daozi, you go and refine the Hunyuan furnace first. I will prepare with your master and uncle to set up an array for this mountain valley."

  Xun Daozi immediately retreated and returned to the quiet room of the Wudang Palace, where Yuan Shi transmitted the "Yu Qing Lian Qi Jue" method for refining the Hunyuan Furnace. Xun Daozi decided to use the divine soul refinement method to refine the furnace, which would allow him to connect with the Hunyuan Furnace more closely and better suppress his own qi. He extracted a thread of his divine soul and merged it with the Hunyuan Furnace.

  At this time, Xun Daozi had the "Yu Qing Lian Shen Jue" and the Variable Week Sky Cultivation Method, which constantly tempered and nourished his divine soul. His divine soul was far superior to that of cultivators in the same realm, unlike when he refined the "Ti Xin Fu Chen" and "Hu Xin Jian" in the past.

  Although the pain of splitting his divine soul was unbearable, Xun Daozi had a firm conviction that allowed him to endure it. Unlike before, when he had lost vital energy and his divine soul was not as strong, and his heart had not undergone various trials. Now, Xun Daozi's will and divine soul were much stronger than before, making them incomparable.

  Therefore, Xun Daozi used the divine soul refinement method to refine the Hunyuan Furnace because he had a strong conviction and a powerful divine soul as backing. This time, Xun Daozi not only split his own divine soul but also endured the endless pain and merged the split thread of his divine soul with the Hunyuan Furnace, completing the initial refinement.

  He was able to incorporate the Hunyuan Furnace into his body for nourishment and slowly complete the entire refinement process.

  At this time, Xun Daozi was sitting upright on the cloud bed in the Wudao Cave Mansion, using the power of the cloud bed to recover his somewhat weakened divine soul due to the split.

  Xun Daozi sat cross-legged on the cloud bed, with "Yu Qing Lian Shen Jue" and "Zhou Tian Gong" running automatically. In his lower abdomen, a grayish-golden mysterious light-emitting furnace floated up and down in the Taiji diagram-like vortex, with flashes of white or black electric lights occasionally entering the furnace. The dense spiritual energy in the Wudao Cave enveloped Xun Daozi, seeping into his body through the acupoints and pores on his skin. As Zhou Tian Gong rotated, it flowed through the meridians, being refined into Fa Li, with some parts tempering his physical body, some repairing his split soul through Zhou Tian Gong and "Yu Qing Lian Shen Jue", and others slowly merging into the Taiji diagram-like vortex in his lower abdomen or the five-colored vortex in his Dan Tian.

  Seeking the Dao in the Wudao Cave Temple, sitting and practicing qigong to restore the fragmented spirit and soul, nourishing the primordial stove in the dantian.

  In the Bamboo Pavilion, the three old men were discussing how to arrange their troops. Su Xin was cleverly preparing various spiritual fruits for the three old men and presenting them with freshly brewed spiritual tea.

  Laozi, Yuanshi, and Tongtian had a discussion and divided the work: Laozi used 'Nine Dragon Snow Jade Pine' as the base of the array, drawing on the earth's veins to set up the 'Pre-Heaven Nine Palace Defensive Array'; Tongtian used 'Enlightenment Tea Tree' as the base of the array, drawing on the power of the surrounding stars to refine the Seven Dao Sword Energy and set up the 'Pre-Heaven Seven Star Seven Kill Sword Array'. Yuanshi was in charge of coordinating and responding, first assisting Laozi in drawing on the earth's veins, then assisting Tongtian in drawing on the power of the surrounding stars. Finally, he joined forces with Laozi and Tongtian to merge the 'Pre-Heaven Nine Palace Defensive Array' and the 'Pre-Heaven Seven Star Seven Kill Sword Array' into one, transforming it into the 'Pre-Heaven Yin-Yang Array', which then merged with Xundao Mountain's 'Pre-Heaven Misty Array' to form the 'Pre-Heaven Three Talents Array'. Ultimately, this became Xundao Mountain's Pre-Heaven Interlocking Protective Array.

  Laozi, Yuanshi, Tongtian set up a large array on Xundao Mountain to protect the mountain, which is an unprecedented treatment that even their residence in Kunlun Mountain did not enjoy. This shows how much the three of them valued Xundaozi.

  The three of them finished their discussion and each went their separate ways, but Su Xin had not received any instructions and did not dare to wander off, so she could only stay in the bamboo pavilion and sit quietly.

  The old man arrived at the 'Nine Dragon Snow Jade Pine' and carefully examined the location of each branch. After careful calculation, he found nine points on the nine branches and drew a mysterious mark. Then, after further calculation, he found another nine points on the nine branches and entered nine mysterious marks.

  The old man calculated while drawing mysterious and profound Tao marks in the void, striking out line after line of inexplicable formulas.

  Tongtian is also at work on the other side of Wudao Chashu.

  It's been a year, Xun Daozi has already repaired his divine soul, ran out of Wudao Cave, and met Su Xin in the bamboo pavilion. He knew that Laozi, Yuanshi, and Tongtian had gone to set up an array earlier. So Xun Daozi pulled Su Xin to go watch the three masters setting up the array, he didn't care if he hadn't gotten permission.

  Xun Daozi pulled Su Xin to Lao Zi's side and asked if there was anything they could help with. Lao Zi said, "Your strength is not enough, you can't help, just watch from the side."

  After watching for half a day, they still couldn't figure out what was going on. Xun Daozi pulled Su Xin to run to Tong Tian and ask if there's anything they can help with. Tong Tian glanced at him and said: "Go, go, don't make trouble here! You're too early to think about helping!"

  Xun Daozi could only stand aside and watch with a gloomy face, but he was equally perplexed. Feeling bored, he wanted to go find his master to ask him, but after turning around for half a day, he still didn't see Yuanshi.

  Until two years later, Xun Daozi saw Yuan Shi flying from low altitude in the valley, drawing mysterious trajectories with both hands while flying and inserting them into the ground.

  When Yuan Shi arrived at the location of 'Jiulong Xueyu Song', Lao Zi had already finished various calculations and saw Yuan Shi coming, so he went forward to welcome him. With both hands moving, he drew out a mysterious trajectory that matched Yuan Shi's trajectory. Then, Yuan Shi flew out again and quickly landed on the ground at 'Jiulong Xueyu Song' with another set of techniques, drawing out a trajectory that matched Lao Zi's trajectory. This was repeated several times, nine times in total, arriving at 'Jiulong Xueyu Song' from different directions and matching trajectories with Lao Zi each time.

  After the ninth reunion with Laozi, the two rose into mid-air together, moving their hands in tandem to draw mysterious and profound Taoist marks, various inexplicable trajectories, and various profound Taoist marks. The mystical trajectories converged and disappeared into the earth and void surrounding the 'Nine Dragon Snow Jade Pine'.

  For a moment, the earth shook violently, and the void churned up waves of inexplicable ripples.

  Half empty, Laozi, Yuanshi's hands moved faster and faster, later only seeing the shadow of his hands waving, mysterious Taoist marks in the air, mysterious tracks overlapping each other, constantly disappearing into the ground and void around 'Jiulong Xueyu Song'.

  The earth began to rumble and shake, and the ripples in the void were like waves rippling through water.

  Half empty, Laozi, Yuanshi's face is stern, his hands fluttering, his spells pouring out like rain, the mysterious aura of the void, the divine trajectory appearing and disappearing.

  The earth rose like a dragon, and around the "Nine Dragon Snow Jade Pine" in nine directions, there were nine air swirls rushing towards the "Nine Dragon Snow Jade Pine" like a land dragon. The earth rumbled like thunder bursting forth. In the sky, it was already like a hurricane howling, with giant waves crashing against the air. This was the result of Yuanshi spending three years using his great divine power to unblock and redirect the earth's meridians from hundreds of millions of miles around Xun Dao Mountain to this mountain, placing them under the roots of the "Nine Dragon Snow Jade Pine" and merging them with the original earth's meridians to form the "Pre-Heaven Nine Palace Defense Great Array".

  Nine paths of earth dragon's swirling vortex rushed to the front of 'Jiulong Snow Jade Pine' as if encountering a whirlpool, suddenly sank into the ground and disappeared. Immediately, with 'Jiulong Snow Jade Pine' as the center, a light shield with a hint of yellow soil rose and spread in all directions, completely covering the entire range of Xun Dao Mountain's Wudao Cave Mansion's 'Pre-Heaven Mystery Fog Great Array'. The light flashed and hid into the void. The earth was calm, the air was gentle and sunny, Laozi and Yuanshi stood smiling in mid-air.

  Xun Daozi and Su Xin, who were hiding on the side, were shocked and stunned. Now they have calmed down, but they don't know if this 'Pre-Heaven Nine Palaces Defense Formation' has been set up properly or not.

  In the air, Yuanshi looked at Xun Daozi and Su Xin's location and said: "You can come out now, this 'Pre-Heaven Nine Palace Defense Formation' is set up. Next, your Shibo will set up the formation eye of the 'Pre-Heaven Yin-Yang Formation', you can follow me to see your Shu Bo setting up the 'Pre-Heaven Seven Stars and Seven Kills Sword Formation'." After finishing speaking, Yuanshi turned around and flew towards the "Wu Dao Tea Tree".

  Xun Daozi also displayed his shrinking technique, reducing his body to the size of an inch, and hurried over with a clear heart.