Chapter 41: The Flame of the World
Time flies, and Gan Ping has been serving in the Earth Fire Temple for nearly a month. During this month, Wu Yun Dao Ren did not arrange any tasks for him, but only let him study the Dan Jing secret books on the side. Gan Ping also knew the importance of laying a solid foundation, so he diligently studied the alchemy experiences left by his predecessors. However, he had not seen even one book about Dan Fang, which made him somewhat curious. When he mentioned it to Wu Yun Dao Ren, the old man smiled and said: "These alchemy experiences can be exchanged with each other, but the Dan Fang and alchemy techniques are all the unique secrets of each alchemist. How can they be easily revealed to others? These experiences are only circulated for exchange purposes. If one were to reveal their alchemy techniques, methods, and Dan Fang, that would be equivalent to passing on their legacy to another person, which is no small matter." Gan Ping felt that this made sense. The same kind of elixir, with different ingredients, firing times, earth fire quality, and alchemy methods, could affect the grade of the elixir. Except for a few low-grade elixir recipes that were widely known, all others were the unique secrets of each alchemist and would not be easily revealed to others.
On this clear morning, Gan Ping had just arrived at the Dan Fang when he saw Wu Yun Daozhang and paid his respects. Just as he was about to start his daily practice, he suddenly heard Wu Yun Daozhang say: "How is your cultivation of the Seven Methods of Controlling Fire going?" Gan Ping's heart leapt with joy upon hearing this, and he hastily replied: "I have already caught a glimpse of the entrance, and I can control the flames to flow slightly." Wu Yunzi looked at him in surprise, twirling his whiskers as he said: "Originally, I thought you should just be catching a glimpse of the entrance, but I didn't expect that you could already control the flow of fire. Well, from today on, you will assist me in refining elixirs every morning, and in the afternoons, you can take some time to read those books on spiritual experiences."
Gan Ping had been reading about alchemy for a month, but he hadn't actually tried it yet. He was eager to start, but felt embarrassed to mention it since he was just a beginner. The Kontrol Fire Heart Method was just an introductory cultivation method, and Gan Ping had already mastered the Dragon Clan's secret physical training method, the Bronze Fire Fusion Decision, to the point of melting gold. He had also gained insight into the Nine States Continent's secret Taiyi Pure Yang Heart Scripture, which complemented his physical training perfectly. His body had become extremely resilient, with all his meridians open and unobstructed. With his various extraordinary experiences, Gan Ping found that cultivating the Kontrol Fire Heart Method was incredibly fast, reaching the first layer of Flame Birth in just one night after obtaining the method.
This technique is indeed a fire-attribute method, and it's extremely easy to cultivate, like a fish in water. Compared to the two top-notch fire-attribute methods, Taìyī Pure Yang Heart Scripture and Yuán Duàn Body True Method, this Controlling Fire and Summoning Pulse Technique is simply child's play. It's just like someone who has seen the vastness of the world and then looks at the sky reflected in a well - they can't help but feel it's insignificant. During his cultivation, Gānpíng only discovered the wonders of these two methods, and he looked forward to their mighty power even more. He also became more diligent in cultivating the Heavenly Demon Blood God Knife in his lower abdomen, and as a result, he didn't have much time to cultivate this Controlling Fire and Summoning Pulse Technique, but he still managed to reach the first layer.
At this moment, Wu Yunzi brought it up with a hint of shyness. However, these days he hadn't been practicing the technique much. Unexpectedly, just by mentioning it, Wu Yunzi was already extremely surprised and thought to himself that this was indeed a rare talent. The "Controlling Fire and Qi" Seven Methods were actually the introductory mind method of the Miao Cheng Sect's Guan Xin Peak's Huo Dian lineage. Although it was only an introductory mind method, compared to the "Qi Guiding Decree", that rough and unrefined secret manual, it didn't know how many times stronger it was. Yet, this disciple in front of him had reached the first layer in just a short month, truly having exceptional talent. If Wu Yunzi knew that Gan Ping had reached such a state in just one night and hadn't diligently practiced for a whole month afterwards, he might be even more shocked, who knows what kind of expression he would have.
Wu Yunzi said, "You just watch from the side and see how I control that flame." Gan Ping hastily stepped aside to observe, his eyes fixed intently on Wu Yunzi's movements. "This flame is divided into inner fire and outer fire; the inner fire is of course the Three True Fires of a cultivator." Seeing Gan Ping listening attentively, Wu Yunzi explained in detail, apparently genuinely wanting to cultivate Gan Ping as his own disciple, otherwise he wouldn't be explaining so meticulously to an outer sect servant-disciple, but would have just let him ponder and correct any mistakes.
"This three-flavor true fire of the cultivator is formed by gathering the essence, energy and spirit with the whole body's magical power. Its power is extremely great, and it naturally requires a certain level of cultivation to practice." As he spoke, Wú Yún Zǐ stretched out his palm, and suddenly a pure and majestic flame appeared in the center of his palm. The red light was dazzling, and Gān Píng's mind was immediately attracted by this flame. His gaze was fixed on the flame in front of him, and he clearly felt that this flame contained terrifying power. Perhaps it was true that the more beautiful something is, the more dangerous it is. Gān Píng deeply believed that if this small flame in Wú Yún Zǐ's hand were to spread out, it would be extremely terrifying, and at least with his current abilities, he would definitely be unable to withstand it.
Jian Ping's face was shocked and admiring, Wu Yunzi smiled slightly, clapped his palms together, and the red flame that had been shining brightly disappeared in an instant. "To be honest, these three true fires cannot be practiced until they reach the realm of liquidization. However, if you want to refine the elixir, you must use this external fire." As he spoke, Wu Yunzi pointed to the bottom of the alchemy furnace, "This earth heart lung fire is the most basic kind. In the past, the great master Miao Cheng used his divine powers to capture the spiritual pulse and bring forth this earth heart lung fire as the sect's source of fire. This earth heart lung fire has been in use for nearly ten thousand years, truly benefiting later generations." As he spoke, Wu Yunzi seemed to be reminiscing about Master Miao Cheng, looking up with a distant gaze.
"This earth's heart fire is divided into two types: the orthodox fire and the toxic fire. The orthodox fire is used for refining, with a powerful and majestic yang energy that is unmatched. However, the toxic fire is a condensation of the polluted air in the earth's lungs, which is forbidden to cultivators as it can damage their bodies and instruments, causing irreparable harm.
Originally, the earth fire was mixed with both orthodox and toxic fires, making it difficult to refine elixirs or instruments. But each sect that uses earth fire has its own methods for removing the toxic fire.
Our Miao Cheng Ancestor took a different approach, drawing out the earth's heart fire and personally slaying two seven-footed spotted poisonous pythons. These pythons were ancient beasts with strength that reached the 17th level at the time, just one step away from shedding their seven scales and transforming into a dragon.
After slaying the pythons, Miao Cheng Ancestor refined them into puppets, using their ability to absorb toxic fire to place them outside the Earth Fire Temple. This absorbed the toxic fire mixed with the earth fire, making the flames pure and orthodox. Compared to other sects' secret techniques, this method is undoubtedly superior, which is why our sect's earth fire can rank among the best in the Purple Jade Immortal Mansion."
Upon hearing this, Gan Ping couldn't help but take a deep breath. It turned out that the Miao Cheng Ancestor of their sect had such boundless divine powers, and could even slay and refine into a guardian puppet a Hong Huang alien beast that had already reached the 17th rank. A 17th-rank demon beast was equivalent to a human cultivator who had passed the tribulation, not to mention the seven-legged spotted python, which was a rare species of the Hong Huang with innate great divine powers. The strength of this Miao Cheng Ancestor could be seen from this.
Without noticing Gan Ping's shocked expression, Wu Yunzi continued: "At present, these two puppets are still absorbing the toxic fire in the Earth Fire Temple day and night. With this toxic fire added to their bodies, the strength of these two puppets has become even more formidable. Not to mention these puppets, what our sect is currently using is precisely this refined earth fire."
Saying that, Wu Yunzi made a decisive move and struck out a stream of light that shot into the bottom of the alchemy furnace. Gan Ping hastily recorded the hand gesture of Wu Yunzi's previous move in his mind, silently recalling it. After this stream of light was released, a cluster of extremely pure flames rose up from the bottom of the alchemy furnace, which was the terrestrial fire that had been summoned. "This terrestrial fire is an essential item for every sect because its source is stable and its firepower is strong, so every sect has prepared such items. Apart from this terrestrial fire, there are several other rare and mysterious fires in the world, but they are extremely difficult to obtain. Even if one finds them, it's hard to collect them, and it's only possible to borrow their magical power to refine objects."
He said that if he encountered this strange fire in the future, he must not approach it casually, lest he suffer a disaster. Seeing his solemn expression, Gan Ping repeatedly nodded in agreement. "Apart from these, there are also some magical beasts among the monsters that can cultivate internal fire like humans, but they cannot be underestimated. There are also evil demonic cultivators who collect soul-scorching flames and add them to polluted air to refine that poisonous evil fire, which must also be guarded against." Gan Ping had heard so many secrets that he couldn't help but feel stunned - in this world, there were actually so many types of flames. This vast world was indeed full of wonders, but what kind of flame was the dragon-patterned fire he had cultivated?
