Twenty-Three, Hunyuan Furnace

  Laozi, Yuanshi and Tongtian were in Xundao Mountain Wudao Cave for hundreds of years. They all attained the great achievement of Da Luo Golden Immortal Fruition. After coming out from their closed-door meditation, they verified what they had obtained at the bamboo pavilion in front of Wudao Cave. Xundaozi and Su Xin were fortunate enough to be present on the side to listen and watch.

  In the Xundao Mountain, in front of the Wudao Cave, in a pavilion made of green bamboo, Laozi and Yuanshi were discussing the Tao with Zhongtian Zhengqin. To verify what they had obtained from their meditation, they opened their mouths, and the sound of the Tao filled the pavilion. With a snap of their fingers, mysterious and profound marks of the Tao appeared and disappeared in mid-air.

  Xun Daozi and Su Xin, although they were in a humble environment and couldn't hear or see clearly, could still immerse themselves in the Taoist sounds and traces, occasionally gaining something, and their hearts would be filled with great joy. In their daily lives, they would exhaustively cultivate and practice, quietly comprehending and sincerely contemplating the invisible Taoist traces. At this time, Laozi, Yuan Shi, and Tong Tian were all present in the void, manifesting and hiding. With the opportunity to meet, Xun Daozi and Su Xin were about to comprehend and gain recognition of the Taiyi Scattered Immortal Realm and the Heavenly Immortal Realm Taoist traces. The two of them then verified the Taiyi Scattered Immortal Realm fruit position and the Heavenly Immortal Realm fruit position in the midst of Yuan Shi's three-person discussion on the Tao. And as Yuan Shi continued to discuss the Tao, they solidified their realm and further touched upon the traces of the next realm, finding direction for completely comprehending the next realm's Taoist traces.

  During this time, the Halberd Dragon Beast hiding in the distance also quietly snuck over and crouched by the edge of the pond to listen and observe quietly. The three Yuan Shi did not notice it and let it be. This Halberd Dragon Beast was also very sensitive and obtained a great opportunity as well.

  Yuanshi three people this time discussed the Tao for three years before stopping, seeking the Dao child, Su Xin, Ji Longshou but the harvest was not shallow, even if at this time it is not understood, many deposits have been obtained, and later will gradually become real benefits.

  Yuanshi and three people stopped discussing the Tao, saw Xun Daozi and Su Xin still immersed in enlightenment, also ignored them, and sat back to savor the gains of three years of discussing the Tao.

  A few days later, Xunzi and Su Xin woke up one after another.

  The two people who woke up saw Yuan Shi and the other three sitting upright on the couch, their eyes lightly closed, and their spirits wandering outside. The two did not dare to disturb them, and Xun Daozi was still sitting quietly on the couch waiting, while Su Xin carefully exited the bamboo pavilion, went to make tea, and quietly replaced the teacups next to Yuan Shi and the others, then sat down quietly beside Xun Daozi, silently waiting.

  After a while, Yuan Shi opened his eyes and looked at Xun Daozi and the other person. A smile appeared on his face as he said, "You two are not bad either. Being able to attain enlightenment through this opportunity shows that you have been working hard in your daily lives."

  Tongtian beside him also opened his eyes and said, "Not bad, this is not a shame to our names."

  The old man also opened his eyes and nodded slightly.

  At this time, Yuanshi moved his gaze to the tree stump tea table and looked at that black, dull, grayish thing that resembled a cauldron or furnace. He asked Xunzi: "Where did you find this object?"

  Xun Daozi saw Yuan Shi and asked, hastily answering, he carefully told the story of his journey to find tea, including how he couldn't even get this black, murky, ash-like thing into the barbarian beast Ou Zhu's mouth. After finishing, he still looked hopeful and asked Yuan Shi and the others: "Master Bo, Master Fu, Master Shu, can you tell me what this thing is?"

  Tongtian burst out laughing and said, "You're really lucky to have found such a treasure while searching for a tea tree at Haofu Yuan!" As he spoke, Tongtian picked up the cup beside him and took a sip. "The tea you found is also a rare good tea, its flavor is not inferior to 'Wudaozi Tea'. Although it doesn't have the divine effect of 'Wudao Tea', it has a hint of clarity that can condense the soul. Its efficacy may not be obvious, but drinking it regularly can still have some benefits. However, the pine nuts are a bit lacking. Why didn't you bring out the 'Jiulong Xueyu Song' pine nuts? What a pity! But I'm seriously suspecting that you might be a treasure-seeking mouse in disguise!" He said with a playful smile, looking at Wudaozi.

  Laozi heard this and smiled slightly, looking at Xunzi with a hint of interest.

  Xun Daozi's face turned red with embarrassment, and he didn't say a word.

  After a while, the old man stretched out his hand and beckoned, and that thing like a cauldron or a furnace flew into the old man's hands. The old man held it with one hand and said, "Let Master see the true face of this thing." After finishing speaking, he threw the thing in his hand into the air, and his two hands made continuous strokes, and mysterious and profound trajectories appeared, quickly drilling into the cauldron-like thing in the air and disappearing. As the old man's two hands moved faster and faster, more and more mysterious and profound trajectories appeared in the air, also drilling into the cauldron-like thing in the air at an increasingly fast speed.

  Gradually, the thing in the air began to rotate, emitting a mysterious glow that grew brighter and brighter. Eventually, the entire bamboo pavilion was enveloped in it, and suddenly, there was a faint sound, the light disappeared instantly, and a furnace with three legs and two ears stood steadily on the ground in the center of the pavilion, its dark color revealed through the gray mist. The surface of the furnace was covered with mysterious and profound cloud patterns, and in the middle of the cloud patterns were three thick, ancient, and mystical characters that seemed to carry a mysterious flavor: "Hunyuan Furnace".

  Xun Daozi and Su Xin stared blankly, taking half a day to regain their senses. Just as they finally came back to themselves, they heard Laozi laugh and say: "This is indeed a good furnace, seeing this excellent furnace makes me want to refine a batch of elixir pills. Let's see if we can use the power of this furnace to refine a batch of Seven-Turn Golden Elixir."

  Yuanshi also said: "It's indeed a good furnace, and I too have the intention of using this furnace to refine two objects."

  Tongtian looked at the somewhat excited old man beside him, but Yuanshi didn't say a word.

  "A moment later, Yuan Shi turned his head to Xun Daozi and said: 'Disciple, you must take good care of this Hunyuan furnace. It is a rare and precious pre-heavenly treasure, one that even among other pre-heavenly treasures is extremely powerful. It can be used for both attack and defense; however, its greatest function lies in refining equipment and alchemy. Your Shibo excels at alchemy, and in the vast expanse of the Hongyuan, there are none who surpass her in this regard. As for me, I have some experience with refining equipment, and I dare say that my skills in this area are not inferior to others. Yet, neither your Shibo nor I have ever obtained a furnace that meets our expectations. Who would have thought that you, on a casual outing, would obtain a furnace of such exceptional quality? This pre-heavenly treasure itself contains a vast space; if you were to refine it, you could also store it within your body and nurture it.'"

  Xun Daozi listened to Yuan Shi finish speaking, then stood up and bowed in front of Yuan Shi, opening his mouth to say: "Master, disciple obtained this furnace by chance, but disciple doesn't know how to refine equipment or alchemy. If it's in my hands, it would be wasted. Master is skilled at refining equipment, and Master's wife is skilled at alchemy, they can make good use of this treasure. Disciple wants to offer this treasure to Master and Master's wife, only in their hands will it not be disgraced."

  When he first heard Xun Daozi's words, he was also quite moved in his heart and had no intention of taking the treasure. He was touched by Xun Daozi's sincerity and delighted by his filial piety in offering such a precious object to his master. Smiling, he said: "How could your masters want your treasure? You have your own destiny, and you were able to obtain this treasure because you had a predestined relationship with it. With the abilities of your masters, we will eventually have good furnaces; even if we don't have good furnaces for the time being, if your master wants to refine elixirs, she can borrow the Hunyuan Furnace from you for use, and you won't refuse, will you? If I were to open the furnace to refine instruments, would you decline to lend me the Hunyuan Furnace? Besides, you are my first disciple, and you will surely learn my method of refining instruments. Your acquisition of the Hunyuan Furnace seems to be the will of heaven that you should inherit my method of refining instruments. You may go ahead and sit down, don't say anything more."

  Xun Daozi heard what Yuan Shi said and was also moved by Yuan Shi's love for him. He stood up and sat down according to his words.

  Laozi smiled and said, "Xun Daozi, your master is right. We will need your things later. With the ability of your Shibo and master, we can definitely find a usable furnace soon. Your filial piety has been known to Shibo and your master. This Hunyuan Furnace, Shibo will give it to you along with the Wannian Furnace for you to use in future cultivation."

  The old man pointed with one hand, and the Hunyuan furnace rose into the air; immediately afterwards, the old man moved his hands again, a mysterious trajectory flashed, and in an instant it turned into a fiery red flame that pounced on the Hunyuan furnace, surrounding it entirely and burning fiercely. Xun Daozi suddenly felt a scorching sensation, but after careful consideration, he didn't feel the scorching sensation anymore. When he looked again, he saw the old man emitting a white light from one hand, wrapping the Hunyuan furnace and the fiery red flame inside, isolating all the heat without revealing a single thread. After a while, the old man pointed again, and a purple flame burst into the air, enveloping the entire Hunyuan furnace, with flames raging fiercely. Having waited for a while, the old man once more made a hand seal and shot out a green flame that pierced through the light screen, joining forces with the fiery red flame and the purple flame to burn the Hunyuan furnace fiercely.

  Laozi had previously heard Xun Daozi's words about offering the furnace, and his heart was moved like Yuan Shi. He wanted to take this opportunity to give some benefits to Xun Daozi, so that he could better refine the Hunyuan Furnace, clear away obstacles, and use his own cultivated Samadhi True Fire to nourish the furnace, and guide him in person.

  Like this, Laozi was burning the Hunyuan furnace with the true fire of Samadhi on one side, and on the other side, he was drawing mysterious and profound tracks into the Hunyuan furnace. In the white light cover, amidst the gray mist, the black Hunyuan furnace still couldn't reveal any changes.

  Two hours later, Laozi was still slowly and steadily casting the spell to activate the mysterious trajectory, which had entered the Hunyuan furnace. The red, purple, and green flames continued to envelop the Hunyuan furnace, burning fiercely.

  After that, another quarter of an hour passed, and Yuanshi suddenly spoke up: "Brother, I'll also warm up this Primordial Furnace." As he finished speaking, his hands moved in tandem, conjuring mysterious and profound Dao marks that transformed into five-colored flames entering the light shield, joining the three-colored flames Old Master had unleashed to scorch the still-motionless Primordial Furnace.

  Another two hours passed, and Yuan Shi once again drew out two mysterious trajectories. These two trajectories transformed into a white and black flame that drilled into the light shield and merged with the previous flames to fiercely scorch the Hunyuan Furnace.

  Two days later, Tongtian, who had been sitting still on the side, suddenly said: "It's almost done, I'll also do my part, otherwise it won't be good to ask Xun Daozi for tea in the future." As he spoke, he took out a small box from his body and opened it lightly. Inside the box, a small flame swayed gently.

  Xun Daozi's gaze fell upon the small flame in the box, and to his surprise, it was gray. In the instant he saw the gray flame, the faint misty whirlpool hidden within Xun Daozi's sea of consciousness stirred slightly, only to return to its usual stillness, unknown to anyone.

  Tongtian's left hand lifted the box, his right hand made a seal, and the small flame in the box floated towards the Hunyuan furnace, lightly passing through the white light screen, and then directly passing over the colorful flames surrounding the Hunyuan furnace, to the edge of the Hunyuan furnace. The transformation of the Hunyuan furnace suddenly opened up, like a mouth, swallowing the grayish small flame in one gulp.

  Suddenly, the firelight outside the Hunyuan Furnace burst into a frenzy, and the raging flames, even though blocked by the white light shield, still made people feel as if there was a shocking heat wave that could scorch the sky and boil the sea. The Hunyuan Furnace, which had not changed for a long time, finally underwent a change, emitting bursts of inexplicable light from its surface.

  Laozi, Yuanshi, and Tongtian also moved their hands in unison, and the mysterious aura of the Tao appeared out of thin air. Then, it directly entered the Hunyuan Furnace.

  ;