With virtue

The elixir is the essence of the Nine Yangs, which descends upon the Twenty-Four True Ones, true water and true fire, encompassing both the inside and outside, containing and transforming the Five Spirits, the Five Spirits circulate their energy, accumulating into sand, and accumulating sand to form the elixir.

Water vapor and fire vapor intermingle, like dragons and tigers, yet still peaceful.

The fluid then transforms, the blood is formed, and the acquired returns to the innate.

Qi then returns to the spirit, the spirit then returns to emptiness, emptiness then unites with the Dao, the Dao then fulfills the will, the will then be satisfied, true qi is born, and the yellow sprout emerging from the soil is the true medicine.

Huandan is also a genuine medicine, a so-called "great medicine," and Huandan belongs to one of its categories.

Therefore, even in the short second stage, one has already completed the great path of cultivation.

What is the Elixir of Rejuvenation? It means returning to one's original essence. After refining the medicine into an elixir, it is then used in a wonderful way to return it to its original state, just like turning cooked rice into raw rice, or cooked meat into raw meat.

In the context of cultivation, isn't this like allowing cultivators to reverse their current state through a process similar to the elixir of immortality, returning them from the acquired state to the innate state?

At birth, I explore its source; at death, I return to its origin. Without the acquired, there is no way to return to the innate.

As the medicinal power circulates, when the time is right, the wondrous principle will naturally manifest; once the medicine is produced, the fire will then emerge.

Therefore, the time for gathering herbs is called the union of Kan and Li, and the time when fire emerges is called the interaction of Qian and Kun.

When the Kan and Li trigrams combine, all things gather within the elixir cauldron, emanating profound mysteries. It is as if the inside of the elixir is not a lifeless mass, but rather a life-giving entity that has returned to life, transforming into a small embryo with its own life, breathing slowly within its belly. By observing this elixir, one can perceive the secrets of cultivation.

He only observed the medicinal power for a moment, and he saw the principles of inner cultivation from it!

How the heart fire generates fluids, how the kidney water generates qi, how water and fire harmonize, how the five elements converge, how the acquired returns to the innate, and other profound methods are all revealed in how the inner landscape changes after the elixir is ingested!

The more he looked at it, the more engrossed he became. He felt that this pill was not only powerful, but also enlightening for cultivation. It was as if the alchemist had condensed all the skills of cultivation, timing, five colors, five flavors, five elements, metal in water, wood in fire, yin within yang, yang within yin, black within white, and male within female into this tiny pill.

Zhao Yunshu was secretly amazed. This Rejuvenating Pill... truly embodies cultivation in every aspect. The alchemist who refined this Rejuvenating Pill must have already achieved the realm of reversing one's innate nature.

Taking this pill will not only heal his injuries, but will also greatly benefit his future cultivation! His cultivation speed will increase significantly because of what he saw today!

After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the medicine had spread and absorption would still take time, but the most crucial life-saving part had been taken care of.

Zhao Yunshu's complexion finally recovered somewhat. The many sequelae that would have left her with, or even lifelong hidden injuries, were all saved by a single pill.

He slowly opened his eyes, his gaze clearing somewhat, his complexion much better. His legs were still a little weak, but he was no longer in a state where he was about to collapse at any moment.

After opening his eyes, he looked to the side.

But then they saw that the white ape had gotten up at some point and was standing alone on the edge of the cliff, hands behind his back, still with that same imposing air.

"Oh, what an imposing figure." Zhao Yunshu had recovered somewhat, so he asked, "Mr. Yuan, who is that Taoist priest? With such cultivation, he must hold a high position even among famous temples and monasteries, right?"

"And another thing... he doesn't seem to be dead. Did he take my master's seven souls with him again?"

"Why is Mr. Yuan here?"

"Please tell me the truth, Mr. Yuan. I thank you in advance."

Upon hearing Zhao Yunshu's words, Yuan Zhisheng turned around, took two steps, and said to Zhao Yunshu, "That sorcerer's reputation last night was indeed quite formidable. If you want to know, I can tell you."

"This person's Buddhist name is Anhe, and his secular name should be Xue. He was probably a wandering sorcerer at first. It is unknown where he learned his master or what scriptures he practiced in his early years. Anyway, he was already in his forties when he made a name for himself. By then, he had already mastered some skills and joined the Lushan Sect."

"You are a Taoist priest, so you should know what the Lushan Sect is. This sect has the most complicated lineages, and there are no special requirements for accepting disciples. Therefore, it is a mixed bag. It doesn't care which path you originally came from. As long as you have the ability and are willing to work hard, you will be given a certificate of ordination and a seniority. If you work hard, you can also receive the true teachings."

"He has been in Lushan for about fifty or sixty years. Relying on his ability to control the soul, he has earned a senior position in the Lushan Sect. He has been cultivating for at least 110 years now."

Zhao Yunshu listened to the white ape's account and frowned slightly: "Since it's the Lushan Sect, it seems to have some true Daoist lineage. This demeanor... is it a black-headed one?"

Yuan Zhisheng nodded, acknowledging Zhao Yunshu's guess: "That's right, he is indeed a black-headed mage."

The "blackheads" they mentioned are a classification within the Lushan School, serving as a simple categorization of the complex Lushan School.

The first update is on suduɡu.cc, with no typos. If you don't see the ".cc" suffix in the address, you'll be taken to the first update site. The Lushan Sect is a mixed bag due to its own origins, but it can generally be divided into red-headed mages and black-headed mages.

Red-headed sorcerers only perform rituals in the mortal realm, and the services they undertake are mostly for exorcising evil spirits, eliminating disasters and difficulties, praying for sunshine and rain, suppressing evil influences and seeking blessings, and protecting homes. They mostly perform auspicious deeds.

The black-headed sorcerer deals exclusively with the underworld, performing rituals such as delivering the souls of the dead, transporting corpses to redeem souls, and exorcising ghosts to guard tombs. He mainly handles funerals.

This Taoist priest, Anhe, was a black-haired sorcerer. He usually dealt with matters of the underworld, which explained why he could so easily manipulate corpses, control the souls of the dead, summon spirits, command evil ghosts, and control the spirits of the dead.

Yuan Zhisheng nodded and continued, "The Lushan Sect is not just a branch of your Taoist sect, nor is its lineage limited to yours alone. Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism, and shamanism are all involved and have their own lineages within it. Southerners are fond of ghosts and shamans, and even more so, they fear them. Therefore, they worship wild gods in a lot of unorthodox ways. Shamans and diviners incite them, and even Ximen Bao is helpless against them. It is impossible for Lushan masters to travel and inherit their lineages without using some local methods. Therefore, they can do anything from instigating funerals, summoning deities, breaking through cities, granting pardons, performing rituals, summoning the dead, and engaging in other forms of rituals."

"You've never been to the South, so you probably don't know what it's like there. In those places, you could say every village has an altar and every household has a shrine. The Lushan Taoist practice originated in such places, which shows how complex its origins are."

"Na Anhe was born in Lingnan. Before joining Lushan, he spent his time in the place where witchcraft was most prevalent, learning the skills of manipulating spirits and ghosts. Later, he joined Lushan and became a black-headed sorcerer. He received the true teachings of Luoyin Temple and integrated them into his practice. He was like a fish in water and made great progress in his cultivation."

"Therefore, his methods have both the shell of Lushan Taoist magic and the substance of Southern sorcery, making them extremely insidious. The curse spells he used around Dingzhou City this time are the old tricks passed down from the Lushan Black Heads. He must have been recruited by someone behind the scenes to use curse spells to suppress the souls of refugees, preventing them from being reborn after death, so that he can activate them one day to cause chaos in the city, with walking corpses running rampant and ghosts roaming freely. The mass graves outside the city and the abandoned brick kilns that you and I dealt with, the curse items buried inside, should all be his arrangements."

"You and I were removing the curse spells outside the city, which is how we found this evil sorcerer. This was something my young master had agreed to do with the higher-ups in Dingzhou City. Now that the evil sorcerer has been eliminated, although he is not dead, it should be impossible for him to continue causing trouble. My mission can be considered complete," the white ape said.

Zhao Yunshu stroked his chin thoughtfully and said, "The Lushan Sect is complex internally, and the division between the Red and Black factions is only a rough one. So it's not surprising that Lushan sorcerers all have some influence from the Witchcraft Sect."

At this point, the young Taoist gritted his teeth and slammed his fist on the tree beside him: "An He's ability to control the soul and create walking corpses from straw figures is not accidental. It must be a side path he comprehended from witchcraft. His skills include Yin spirits, soul control, and the Falling Yin Temple. It's true that he is an elder of Lushan, but those methods are no longer orthodox Taoist practices. He deserves to die here today, and in the future... I will definitely not let him go."

He tried to refine his master's soul, wanted to kill the young Taoist priest, and committed so many evil deeds... Moreover, although his master's seven spirits have dispersed, his three souls might still be... We must find him. Even if the spirit is gone, the young Taoist priest will definitely chase after him!

The white ape glanced at the young Taoist priest and continued, "Red-headed sorcerers are in charge of auspicious matters, while black-headed sorcerers are in charge of inauspicious matters. Anhe was originally one of the best black-headed sorcerers. Although he is not in the position of a sect leader, he is still among the top ten in the Lushan Sect. To invite him, it is impossible to just hire him privately. It must involve the Lushan Sect itself."

"A black-headed sorcerer like him, who has mastered the art of the Yin-Yang Cultivation, can observe ghosts, travel to the underworld, see the netherworld, capture ghosts for his own use, travel by the wind of darkness, and perform rituals with the power of yin energy. Tonight, he will be taking ghosts back with him, and there will likely be many black-headed sorcerers from the Lushan Sect around him to help him."

The young Taoist priest did not reply, but remained silent.

Anhe, the Taoist priest, fled in a gust of yin wind. How could mortals outrun a weightless soul? If he returned to his base camp and hid in some yin and evil place, it would probably turn Dingzhou upside down if they really wanted to find him.

Moreover, there will definitely be many black-headed monks from the Lushan Sect around him... or even more.

The more Zhao Yunshu thought about it, the more troublesome it seemed.

He recalled that when Jiu Yan kowtowed to him and told him those things, she also mentioned that Bao Yu Jun and Nan Ke Tai Shou wanted to take action against Dingzhou. He guessed that behind them was some Jiedushi who wanted to carve out a region, who had united many forces and brought demons and monsters to attack Dingzhou.

Now, with the addition of a renowned sorcerer like Anhe Daoren using witchcraft to set up a trap, it's clear that Dingzhou is being attacked from both sides.

War and demons plague the mortal realm, while ghosts and zombies roam the underworld; chaos will erupt both inside and outside the city...

However, I cannot leave.

Before today, I could leave Dingzhou without any burden. But now, even if you drag him away with an ox, he won't leave.

Yuan Zhisheng sheathed his sword, straightened his clothes, and said to Zhao Yunshu, "Little Taoist, tonight I was originally looking for the source of the curse, which is how I found Anhe. But without your help to restrain him, I would have had no chance to hurt him on my own, and I might have died here myself. For that, I have to thank you."

"But whether it was luck or something else, we won tonight. In the battles of the martial world, strength doesn't matter, only victory or defeat. Let me ask you one question: now that you've won, what are your plans?"

"I must capture him," Zhao Yunshu said. "I will release the seven souls he imprisoned, and I will also obtain the clues about my master's three souls and remains from him."

Yuan Zhisheng stared at him for a while.

There was no attempt to dissuade or mock, only a nod and a statement: "In that case, come back to Dingzhou City with me. I'm here on someone's behalf to investigate. If you're interested, the person behind me... I can introduce you."

"Besides, with your injuries, you won't be able to catch up with that Taoist priest, let alone encounter any minor demons, unless you rest for three to five days. Let's make arrangements when we get back to the city."

After saying that, it turned around and was about to jump down the mountain, using the vines to quickly descend.

But after a moment's hesitation, he turned back: "Never mind, let's just keep going."

Zhao Yun smiled with relief, then bent down and cleaned up Anhe Daoren's corpse, giving it a thorough search, before following the white ape, dragging his tired body, to Xiashan District.

The white ape ignored him, probably because it didn't think much of him.

After all, he was a wealthy monkey. Once the young Taoist priest had finished packing, the man and the monkey set off on their return journey.

They walked in silence. The white ape remained as aloof as ever, leading the young Taoist priest through Dingzhou City, entering from the south gate, passing through the main street, and entering a group of alleys.

After passing through several more alleys, we came to an inconspicuous house gate and stopped.

The gate of the house doesn't look very big, but it's covered with ivy vines, their branches and leaves forming a canopy that completely obscures the lintel.

The door was a small wooden door, somewhat dilapidated, without even being painted, so it had many wormholes. There was no plaque, nor any stone lions or elaborate items like brass rings at the entrance.

If someone hadn't led the way, people passing by would probably have just assumed it was the back door of some wealthy landowner.

The white ape pushed open the door and went inside, and Zhao Yunshu followed without hesitation.

Now that we've come this far, there's no need to dwell on it anymore.

Upon entering, Zhao Yunshu looked around and discovered that the surroundings were surprisingly spacious and secluded.

The courtyard wasn't large, but it was very elegantly arranged. The courtyard was paved with stone bricks, and some flowers and plants were planted around it. Most of them had withered, and the flowering season hadn't arrived yet. Many withered branches were left hanging on the walls, so it wasn't exactly desolate, but it added a touch of tranquility.

The interior furnishings were not extravagant. There was a square table and four chairs, all of which were slightly worn, with rounded and shiny edges, but the wood was of excellent quality and the workmanship was exquisite.

This was clearly a small courtyard owned by a wealthy family. It wasn't hard to tell that the things inside weren't particularly luxurious; they were mostly secondhand, but the taste was good, and the materials were of high quality—the kind of taste one would expect from a wealthy household. The white ape walked ahead, gesturing for Zhao Yunshu to sit down, while he himself went outside.

The young Taoist priest sat down and opened the yellow book.

There's an extra page in the book now, and Yuan Zhisheng's page is also much more detailed.

The extra page was particularly bothering him.

Li Han.

That's my master's name.