Chapter 570: What Exactly Is Natal True Essence?

What exactly was “Natal True Essence”? Indeed, who knew? Perhaps only the legendary Foundation Establishment cultivators knew. In any case, Zhang Xiaohua, who had only just reached the middle stage of Qi Refining, was completely baffled!

However, although he did not know how to spit out Natal True Essence, he could still control the vast majority of the incantation formulas before that point. Zhang Xiaohua did not want to give up this opportunity to refine the artifact. As for the final step, he could simply skip the “spitting” part, could he not?

Thinking this, Zhang Xiaohua closed his eyes and carefully reviewed it for a while. The artifact-refining formula was not complicated. After memorizing it briefly, he was already familiar with it. He then practiced it slightly with his hands, took a deep breath, directed his True Qi to his fingertips, and began forming the hand seals with meticulous care. Afterward, he sent the completed incantation into the pill furnace.

As the incantation entered it, the enormous pill furnace gradually changed from complete stillness to a faint reaction. In the end, it actually began to hum, as though a giant were awakening.

Seeing the furnace emit five-colored radiance, Zhang Xiaohua, who was forming the seals, gradually broke into a sweat, yet his face was filled with excitement. Although he had previously controlled the small pill furnace in a similar manner, that feeling was utterly incomparable to what he was experiencing now.

It was like a child playing with mud. At first, the humming of the furnace seemed to come from far away, then it moved to beside his ears, then before his eyes, and finally seemed to enter his very heart. By the time the True Qi within Zhang Xiaohua was nearly exhausted, the hand seals had also reached their final stage. The humming had reached its peak, and the radiance had become even more dazzling.

At this moment, Zhang Xiaohua felt as though he had established a faint connection with the pill furnace. Yet the connection was vague and indistinct, impossible to grasp with certainty. Just as it seemed to require only a final push to pierce through that last layer of window paper, Zhang Xiaohua stopped.

That was because the next step required him to “spit” it out.

And Zhang Xiaohua simply did not know how.

As Zhang Xiaohua ceased forming the seals, the humming of the pill furnace gradually died away, and the five-colored radiance slowly faded. Yet the humming alternately grew stronger and weaker, while the radiance alternately brightened and dimmed, as though it had not quite reached its “climax” and was left unsatisfied.

Zhang Xiaohua sighed, shrugged his shoulders, and said, “Pill furnace, oh pill furnace, my apologies. I really don’t know how to ‘spit’ it out. Let’s just leave it at that. At least you’re usable now, so you should be satisfied.”

Having said that, he paid no further attention to the state of the pill furnace. Sitting down cross-legged, he took out a Yuan Stone and began absorbing the Yuan Qi within it.

Let us leave Zhang Xiaohua in the cave dealing with the Eight Trigrams Purple-Gold Furnace for the moment and instead speak of Bai Huan. After watering the medicinal fields and tidying things up a little, he descended from the summit and headed straight for Chen Fengxiao’s residence.

Chen Fengxiao was in the main hall discussing matters with several Arhats and other managers. When he saw Bai Huan arrive, he found it rather strange. Waving his hand for the others to leave, he smiled and said, “Junior Brother Bai, you’ve worked hard. Normally, you’re quite idle here, but from now on you’ll have to suffer hardships up on the mountaintop.”

When Bai Huan heard this, he quickly bowed and said, “It’s nothing. Being able to work for Boss Chen is this little brother’s honor. Moreover, Boss Chen has not treated this little brother unfairly.”

“Mm, that’s good. However, you only went up the mountain yesterday, yet you’ve already come to see me today. Has something inappropriate happened with Junior Brother Ren?”

“Well…” Bai Huan did not know how to begin. “Boss Chen, it isn’t really anything inappropriate. This Junior Brother Ren is just like the medicine boys previously sent from Spring Rebirth Valley. He is indeed quite skilled at cultivating medicinal fields, it’s just that…”

“Oh? Just what?” Chen Fengxiao was also curious. He had assigned Bai Huan to keep an eye on Zhang Xiaohua because he wanted to see whether there was anything unusual about him. Could it be that after only a single day, he had already revealed a flaw?

So Bai Huan recounted how Zhang Xiaohua absolutely refused to share a hut with him and insisted on living alone in a cave.

“What?” Chen Fengxiao was also taken aback. “There are actually people like that? He won’t stay in a perfectly good house and insists on living in a cave?”

Chen Fengxiao was puzzled and frowned. “Could this Ren Xiaoyao be a woman?”

“Pfft.” Bai Huan laughed. “Boss Chen’s insight is truly remarkable. When has Spring Rebirth Valley ever sent female medicine boys? Besides, do you think a woman could knock Cheng Shi down? And furthermore, although Junior Brother Ren has only just arrived, we’ve already spent several days together. No matter how you look at it, he’s not a woman.”

Chen Fengxiao glared at Bai Huan, and Bai Huan immediately swallowed back his laughter. Then Chen Fengxiao secretly laughed at his own oversensitivity. “He’s originally the son-in-law of Spring Rebirth Valley. How could he be a woman?”

“Then why exactly does he insist on living by himself? Could it be that he has some secret?”

“And what secret could that be?”

Chen Fengxiao truly could not make sense of it. He then had Bai Huan recount everything once more in complete detail, including what had happened after they had left the previous day.

Yet he remained completely stumped. Rubbing his temples with his hand, Chen Fengxiao thought to himself: “There’s no need to say it—this Ren Xiaoyao definitely has some secret. But alone atop the lofty Tianmu Peak, living by himself in a cave that nobody has ever paid attention to, and with that shabby cave being only that little bit of space, what could he possibly be doing? Cultivating inner energy? Yes, that’s probably it—cultivating inner energy.”

A knowing smile appeared on Chen Fengxiao’s face. Indeed, he himself had practiced inner energy before, so he naturally understood the importance of one’s surroundings when cultivating it. Nighttime was precisely the crucial period for nurturing inner strength and cultivating internal energy, and disturbances were especially to be avoided. Since Zhang Xiaohua’s martial arts were not weak, and his Qinggong was excellent, his inner energy must also have reached a certain level. He surely needed to practice at night, which was why he had no choice but to live in the cave and cultivate in solitude, avoiding disturbances from Bai Huan.

It had to be said that Chen Fengxiao’s speculation was infinitely close to the truth.

“If he’s cultivating inner energy, then he simply wants to increase his own strength so that he can pass the Outer Sect examination and become an Outer Sect disciple in the future. That is exactly the same as what he said before. Mm, as long as he doesn’t interfere in Tianmu Peak’s affairs and doesn’t mingle with the disciples of the Herb Division or Pill Division, why should I bother with him? The harder he works, the stronger his martial arts will become. Then, in future wagers between my Herb Division and the Pill Division, I’ll have more confidence. Why wouldn’t I be happy about that?”

Having made up his mind, Chen Fengxiao walked over to Bai Huan, patted him on the shoulder, and said, “You’ve worked hard, Junior Brother Bai. Just let Junior Brother Ren do as he pleases. Whatever he wants to do is fine; you only need to keep an eye on him. In fact, there’s no need to report to me so often. If you notice anything unusual in the future, you can tell me then. If you come here too frequently, it might attract Junior Brother Ren’s attention. Oh, of course, we don’t have any ill intentions. He’s only just arrived, so it’s only proper for us to show some concern for him. If Junior Brother Ren misunderstood such good intentions, that would be unfortunate, wouldn’t you agree?”

“That’s right, that’s right. Boss Chen’s warmth and kindness bless all the brothers of Tianmu Peak.” Bai Huan’s flattery flowed without end.

“Very good, Junior Brother Bai. You should head back now and work hard. Your future is boundless. I have high hopes for you.”

“Many thanks for Boss Chen’s guidance and cultivation. This little brother understands.”

After speaking, Bai Huan saluted and left.

Watching Bai Huan’s gradually disappearing figure, Chen Fengxiao stroked his chin and muttered to himself, “This little junior brother is quite interesting. He seems to be someone with ideas of his own, yet he’s so low-key. Is he really only focused on martial arts? Martial arts can indeed help one stand out within the Incense-Spreading Sect, but can he compare to the Inner Sect disciples? Can he compare to Lu Lihong? Oh, right, this fellow also exchanged for quite a lot of medicinal herbs and has made quite a few good connections. He’s already built up considerable prestige among the disciples. Could it be that exchanging for medicinal herbs really was, as he claimed, something he had no choice but to do, and not part of some other plan? I really can’t see through him. Mm, I should still go ask Wu Dalang about him. If this interesting junior brother can truly refine pills, then he could become a secret trump card of my Herb Division…”

Thinking of this, Chen Fengxiao’s heart burned with excitement. Although he was the strongest martial artist on Tianmu Peak, considerably stronger than Wu Zhouxu, his actual authority was far less than Wu Zhouxu’s. The fundamental reason was that Wu Zhouxu controlled the Pill Division.

The Pill Division was, after all, the place where pills were refined. All hard currency—pills—passed through the Pill Division. As mentioned before, although Tuodan Hall had strict regulations controlling the circulation of pills, there was always the saying, “For every policy from above, there is a countermeasure below.” Wu Zhouxu held a considerable amount of the Pill Division’s resources in his hands.

“If I could get control of some pills, then Tianmu Peak ought to become mine, shouldn’t it?” A trace of greed flashed through Chen Fengxiao’s eyes. Unable to remain seated any longer, he immediately stood up and strode out.

Meanwhile, inside the pill room, Zhang Xiaohua sat with his eyes closed, cultivating. The Yuan Qi of Heaven and Earth within the Yuan Stone flowed endlessly into his meridians, at a speed actually two parts faster than before. As the Yuan Qi replenished him, his exhausted meridians gradually filled once more with True Qi.

Not far away, the Eight Trigrams Purple-Gold Furnace, which had just undergone artifact refinement, also gradually regained its luster amidst alternating dimness and brightness. As this True Qi was replenished, it too seemed to slowly gain vitality. After an unknown amount of time, Zhang Xiaohua opened his eyes and examined himself inwardly.

To his delight, he discovered that his cultivation, which had already reached the peak of the sixth layer of Qi Refining while he was in Spring Rebirth Valley, had now taken another half-step forward. The barrier leading to the seventh layer of Qi Refining had loosened slightly.

Zhang Xiaohua was overjoyed. Ever since reaching the sixth layer of Qi Refining, he had never interrupted his cultivation of the Carefree Heart Sutra, yet his daily progress had been minimal. Later, repairing the formation flags had brought a bit of improvement, and today, refining the pill furnace had unexpectedly allowed him to take another crucial half-step forward. Truly, cultivation was found within the activities of everyday life.

Smiling with pursed lips, Zhang Xiaohua stood up and reached out to tap one side of the Eight Trigrams Purple-Gold Furnace. The tightly sealed furnace opening rotated slightly, revealing the dark space within. Then Zhang Xiaohua formed a hand seal and flicked his finger. The seal landed on the platform beneath the furnace. With a soft boom, a wisp of flame emerged from the platform, immediately igniting the entire surface. Azure flames began roasting the bottom of the pill furnace.

When the temperature of the furnace became appropriate, Zhang Xiaohua sent out several more incantation seals, this time striking the furnace opening he had just opened.

Another boom sounded.

A small flame sprang up inside the furnace near the opening. This pale-red flame contained even finer traces of violet within it. It flickered and danced as though alive.

Zhang Xiaohua muttered:

“So this is the legendary Samadhi True Fire?”