Thirty-nine, calabaza

  Xun Daozi sat in meditation for a hundred years, and the method of refining his spiritual power and the method of refining his divine soul 'Yu Qing Lian Shen Jue' interfered with each other and could not run at the same time. He was excited and unknowingly let out a clear whistle, startling the three old men. The three heard the uncontrollable joy in his whistling, knowing that what he had gained from his hundred years of meditation was not trivial, so they just smiled and ignored his whistling, each going about their own business.

  Xun Daozi sat on the cloud bed, but he couldn't calm down for a long time. This time, solving the problem was like creating a new set of unique techniques that could merge his refined body, magical powers, and divine soul into one entity. Although it was just the beginning, the framework had already been established, waiting to be gradually perfected and eventually become a mature technique. This was Xun Daozi's first time creating a technique with his own power, how could he not be delighted, how could he not be excited?

  Xun Daozi spent decades studying, but couldn't reconcile the 'Yu Qing Lian Shen Jue' and the law of refining his powers. He could only practice them separately. However, Xun Daozi was reluctant to give up the 'Yu Qing Lian Shen Jue', which allowed him to refine his spiritual soul at all times. He also wanted to refine his powers, making them more pure and increasing his strength. Yet, he felt that practicing separately would take too much time, and with his weak strength, the Hong Huang Jie was unpredictable, giving him a sense of urgency. Unintentionally, his consciousness sank into the steady and self-sustaining Zhou Tian Gong. This modified Zhou Tian Gong combined the refinement of spiritual energy, the refinement of the flesh, and the nourishment of the refined spiritual soul as one entity. Although its effect on refining the spiritual soul was not as pronounced as the 'Yu Qing Lian Shen Jue', it was indeed happening every moment, but why?

  Xun Daozi started running the Zhou Tian Gong according to the method remembered by later generations, but somehow this method deviated from its original path and became a true Zhou Tian operation that could run on its own, covering all the meridians in Xun Daozi's body without any omissions. Xun Daozi didn't feel anything unusual, so he ignored it and continued his usual practice, forgetting about its existence. The Zhou Tian Gong didn't affect the operation of his cultivation method, and over time, Xun Daozi seemed to have forgotten that he even had a physical body, yet this method was still running on its own.

  This time, studying the method of refining the law, unintentionally sank into the running of the heavenly cycle, and gained some understanding of the operation of the heavenly cycle. I also found some inspiration. Xun Daozi also uses consciousness to influence the operation of the heavenly cycle, but no matter how Xun Daozi struggles, the heavenly cycle still operates steadily along its fixed path, unmoved, leaving Xun Daozi helpless.

  But Zhou Tian Gong's operation gave Xun Dao Zi a great inspiration, letting Xun Dao Zi turn back to study the method of combining 'Yu Qing Lian Shen Jue' and the refining method of Fa Li.

  Here is the translation:

  It's not bad to say that this time, he really found a way out and continued to study hard. After several decades, Xun Daozi finally made some small achievements and created his own set of exercises, which borrowed from the "Yu Qing Lian Shen Jue" and the Yuan Shi transmission of the law of refining power. The two sets of laws were combined into one, but the requirements for operation were higher. When this set of laws is operated, it brings in the spiritual energy between heaven and earth, absorbs it into the body, and refines it multiple times to become a more refined power. This power will be further purified by the soul's strength, becoming an extremely pure power, which will then be compressed by the soul's strength and brought into the operation of the Zhou Tian Gong. These extremely pure powers will be compressed and liquefied, and with the operation of the Zhou Tian Gong, they will temper and nourish the body and soul, running to the Dan Tian, where some will merge with the black and white gas vortex and the five-color gas vortex in the Dan Tian. Due to the refined power being extremely pure after refinement, it contains a huge amount of energy, and its effect on the body and soul is very obvious. However, this pure liquefied power is extremely difficult to obtain, and accumulating it is not easy at all. Even if one practices for a month without stopping, they may only get a single drop. Xun Daozi spent over a decade before he could form a thread of this power in the operation of the Zhou Tian Gong. However, this already made Xun Daozi extremely excited, and as long as he can perfect this set of exercises and make it run automatically, it will definitely be much faster than now, even if the refined power is still not much more than before. Xun Daozi also relied on his strong soul to split off a thread of his soul to run with the exercise, hoping that eventually, he could refine this set of exercises into a bodily instinct.

  After a hundred years of meditation, I have achieved such results, and as a seeker of the Way, I am very satisfied. It's time for me to go out and be active now.

  Xun Daozi walked out of the thatched cottage and came to the empty space in front of the house, seeing that the doors of Laozi's three houses were still closed, and he didn't know whether they had gone out or were cultivating inside.

  Xun Daozi didn't care, and started to move on his own, after sitting for so long, he was really feeling tired, needed to move around a bit, otherwise he would be afraid of getting stiff. Of course, this was just Xun Daozi's feeling.

  Xun Daozi practiced Taiji boxing on the empty ground, neither fast nor slow, and soon became immersed in the realm of Taiji. He repeated his movements over and over again, and after two hours, he finally stopped and savored the lingering effects of his practice. Then, he took out the "Protect Heart Sword" to practice the "Upper Clear Sword Technique" passed down by Tongtian.

  After that, Xun Daozi lived a regular life. Every morning, he practiced Tai Chi for an hour, then practiced swordplay for more than an hour. In the afternoon, he studied the Thunder Method taught by the three founders of the Primordial Sect, or ran wildly in the mountains to practice the technique of shrinking his body to the size of an inch. Occasionally, he would study Laozi's "Taicheng Lian Dan Jue", Yuanshi's "Yuqing Lian Qi Jue" and Tongtian's "Formation Method". At night, he would cultivate his own set of skills and try to improve them.

  The days are extremely fulfilling, and occasionally he would go to explore the surrounding mountains, chasing away the spiritual beasts and birds in the dense forest. There is also an ancient tea tree in the mountain, which he found and brewed a pot during his free time, accompanied by a full plate of pine nuts, lying on his self-made recliner, watching the clouds rise and fall in the mountains, and the radiant light flickering.

  Decades passed in the blink of an eye, and Xun Daozi still hadn't seen Laozi and his two companions leave their house, nor did he know what they were doing. Xun Daozi didn't go to disturb them either, and continued to cultivate himself as usual.

  One day, Xun Daozi was practicing swordplay when he saw the three doors of his house, which had never been opened before, all open at once. Laozi, Yuanshi and Tongtian walked out of their respective rooms.

  Yuanshi saw Xunzi practicing sword in an empty field and beckoned him over.

  Xun Daozi hastily walked over and arrived in front of the three Yuanshi, respectfully calling out: "Master, Master's elder brother, Master's younger brother!" Then he hung his head and stood to one side.

  Tongtian looked at Xun Daozi and said, "Progress is pretty good."

  Laozi nodded slightly.

  Yuanshi then said to Xunzi's disciple, Daozi: "You go with your master and his brothers for a trip."

  Xun Daozi nodded his head and responded with a "Yes!"

  Laozi immediately walked out first, followed by Yuanshi and Tongtian. Daozi hurriedly followed behind them.

  It was like passing through foam, Xun Daozi followed Yuanshi and the other two as if they had changed their environment and left the place where they were before. Suddenly, a colorful cloud rose under the feet of Laozi and the other two, bringing Xun Daozi with them, flying into the sky, and then rushing towards a mountain peak.

  Before long, everyone landed on a towering mountain with its peak hidden in the clouds.

  Xun Daozi looked around, didn't see anything unusual, and was puzzled as to why the three of them had come here. Just then, Tongtian waved his sleeve, and in front of Xun Daozi and the others, a ripple suddenly appeared on the water, and immediately burst like a bubble with a "pop".

  The look on Zǐ's face changed instantly.

  A high cliff over ten zhangs tall suddenly appeared in front of me, and at this moment, there was something extremely dazzling on the cliff. A gourd vine clung to the cliff, its leaves like jade carvings, shining brightly. But what was most dazzling were the seven gourds hanging from the vine, each a different color: red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, and purple. The colors were so bright they seemed to snatch at my eyes.

  The old man stroked his snow-white beard and said, "I didn't expect the spiritual root to be hidden here. If it weren't for today's gourd ripening, we wouldn't have known either. Looking at this situation, in another hour, the gourd will be fully ripe. Let's wait here first."

  Yuanshi nodded in agreement with Tongtian.

  Xun Daozi curiously looked at the calabaza vine under the cliff, muttering to himself: "This is indeed the pre-heavenly spiritual root calabaza vine, it's really extraordinary. Legend has it that this calabaza vine has great merit, Nüwa used it to dip mud and create humans, gaining a lot of merit. Today I'll dig it up and see if I can get some benefits. This calabaza is mature, it won't escape the eyes of a great divine being, perhaps someone will come, I don't know if I can also get one."

  Xun Daozi was muttering to himself when he heard a loud noise in the air, and suddenly someone fell from the sky. The newcomer had red hair, even his beard was red, and he wore a large red Taoist robe, smiling as he walked towards the crowd.

  The red-haired Taoist came before the three Laozi and bowed: "Greetings, three Kunlun Taoist friends!"

  The old man and his three companions also returned the courtesy: "We have met Red Cloud Daoist!"

  Xun Daozi heard that this person was the legendary Hong Huang Ruan Haoren Red Cloud and couldn't help but curiously size him up.

  Just as he was sizing him up, Yuan Shi suddenly called out: "Xun Daozi, come over and pay your respects to Hong Yun the Taoist!"

  Xun Daozi hastily stepped forward and paid his respects: "Xun Daozi has seen Master Dao!"

  Hongyun smiled and pulled up Xun Daozi, took out two fire jujubes and handed them to Xun Daozi: "I don't have any treasures either, just try these two fire jujubes for freshness."

  Xun Daozi looked at Yuan Shi and said: "Don't you still need to thank Hong Yun Daozhang?"

  Xun Daozi hastily took over the fire dates, thanked Hongyun, and stood beside Yuan Shi.

  The crowd fell silent again, standing quietly and waiting.

  Before long, another sonic boom was heard, and another person fell from the sky.

  Xun Daozi raised his eyes and saw a beautiful woman walking towards him. The woman gave people a feeling of elegance and nobility at first glance, her figure was captivating, her face was delicate and beautiful, her eyes were sparkling, and she walked towards the crowd with a warm aura.

  The girl came before everyone and bowed her head saying: "Nüwa has seen all of you Taoist friends!"

  The four old men returned the courtesy and said: "We have met the friend of Nüwa!"

  Xun Daozi hid behind Yuan Shi's body and also followed with a bow, but in his heart he was thinking: This is the future mother of the human race, a virtuous and sacred person.

  Yuanshi pulled him forward and said: "Xun Daozi, have you seen Nüwa Daozhang?"

  Xun Daozi hastily came over to pay his respects: "Xun Daozi has seen Master Dao!"

  Nüwa returned a courtesy and said: "I have seen Xun Daozi, a fellow Taoist!"

  Xun Daozi hastily stepped aside and stood behind Yuan Shi's body.

  The crowd stood silently waiting once again.

  Not long after, another figure fell from the sky. The newcomer wore a bright yellow robe and held a gleaming brass bell in his hand. His expression was haughty and his eyes were piercingly sharp. Upon seeing Laozi, Yuanshi, and Tongtian, a hint of surprise flashed across his face, but he didn't reveal anything else. He walked to the front of the crowd, nodded slightly, and stood alone without saying a word.

  On this side, the old man smiled lightly and didn't say a word. Yuanshi's eyebrows furrowed slightly, also not speaking. Tongtian let out a "humph!" and turned his head to one side. Hongyun chuckled and bowed her head, while Nüwa stepped forward and bowed, saying: "Greetings, Ta Yi Daoist friend!"

  The proud man nodded slightly towards Nüwa, as a return courtesy, but didn't say anything. Nüwa also ignored him and retreated back to the crowd, standing silently among them.

  Xun Daozi hid behind Yuan Shi's body, seeing that Yuan Shi didn't give any orders, he obediently stayed behind Yuan Shi, not making a move. In his heart, however, he was thinking: This is the future Eastern Emperor of the Demon Realm - Taiyi, and what's in his hand is the famous Eastern Emperor Bell! How come he's holding it like Li Tianwang, isn't he showing off that he has a treasure? Who would have thought that Taiyi is such a show-off?! Now there are already seven people, if another powerful deity comes, I'm afraid this gourd of mine won't be able to make a move!