After breaking up with my girlfriend, I became a Great Sage of the Demon Clan.

"Xiao Yan?"

"Ok?"

"Have you... already thought of a solution?"

Zhou Yan laughed.

"Hmm, I've thought of something, but it's not that great. I'm afraid there might be some problems using it. So, Brother Yan, if you have a solution, why don't you tell me and let me try it out? I'd be happy to help..."

Zhou Yan's facial muscles twitched, as if he were having a facial spasm.

Zhou Yan was trying his best to suppress his desire to have fun.

Little Yama shook his head.

"No, I can't think of a way to stop it. Xiao Yan, if you have a solution, you can try."

After a few seconds of calm, Little Yama became curious as he watched Zhou Yan's face contort in pain.

"Xiao Yan, do you have any ideas, Zhong?" qn: 萋〈￥√∑¨＋玖聆々叭錂？

The fact that even the white-haired monster couldn't help but suppress a laugh made Little Yama truly curious about what method Zhou Yan had come up with to deal with the current situation.

Zhou Yan said with difficulty.

“My method is actually very subtle… What I’m thinking about isn’t how to solve the problem of this world being inserted into; what I’m thinking about is Mara.”

If it were a normal god, like the Four Heavenly Kings, Nezha, or Erlang Shen, Zhou Yan wouldn't say a word and would just offer up his own amusement. But now...

Zhou Yan was genuinely afraid of dealing with Mara. He had completely offended Mara, and he wondered how Mara would deal with him.

I can't possibly become the next Zhang Ye, can I?

Why don't you go and ask the Goddess Nuwa to be your backup plan, so that when Mara comes looking for trouble, the Goddess Nuwa can protect you?

Little Yama tilted his head in confusion. "Solve it, Mara?"

It's not that Little Yama looks down on Zhou Yan. Back then, Mara dared to go to the Heavenly Palace alone to see Buddha. Even though Buddha said that Mara couldn't defeat the Heavenly Emperor in the Heavenly Court, what about outside the Heavenly Court?

No matter how incompetent Bo Xun is, he shouldn't be someone that Bai Ze, or even all of these gods combined, can fight.

He's a legitimate, top-tier Heavenly Emperor.

Zhou Yan looked at the wall behind him and said meaningfully.

"Bai Zi'an 8: Wu Liushan [Er u:, is a girl..."

"Marsh, you seem to have a strong attachment to the money your mother and daughter gave to Buddha back then... you seem to..."

……

Inside the courtyard.

Bai Zi'an, who was about to begin his cultivation, sneezed and then rubbed his arm.

For some reason, a chilling aura crept up my spine, as if I were being watched by something terrifying and hopeless.

Make up:

Chapter 670, Chapter Forty: Conspiracy

It took Zhao Anting two whole days to collect all the ingredients for the pill formula given by Zhou Yan. When the last package arrived, Zhao Anting went to his alchemy room.

Out of curiosity, Bai Zian followed his master into his alchemy room and saw a custom-made small pottery kiln.

Zhao Anting skillfully opened the pottery kiln and added charcoal and other materials. Bai Zi'an, who was watching all this from the outside, was stunned.

"Doesn't alchemy require a special alchemy furnace?"

Zhao Anting, who was heating up his own pottery kiln, explained without turning his head.

"In this day and age, Zian, you should see beyond the surface to the essence. Take alchemy, for example. Why did ancient alchemists use alchemy furnaces? Because alchemy furnaces are small, making it easier to control the temperature and check the condition of the pills inside. In addition, alchemists themselves also need to cultivate fire-based magic, which makes temperature control even better."

Zhao Anting patted his own pottery kiln.

"So, the most important thing in alchemy is controlling the temperature. In ancient times, besides using magic to sense the flames, people would throw a few pieces of ceramic into the furnace to check the temperature. If the ceramic broke, it meant that the temperature had been reached. Nowadays, if you need it, you can use an infrared thermometer to control the temperature change to 0.1 degrees."

"Although it's painful to say this."

Zhao Anting said sadly.

"But the current 7th generation of technology has already made a lot of experience seem...less important." 7 (△ba♂≠＞)

Zhao Anting has a friend who is a chef. The chef profession is very particular about the heat when cooking, especially for some fried and steamed dishes. If the heat is too low, the food will not be cooked through; if the heat is too high, it will become tough. Therefore, most chefs need to accumulate experience and practice to master the heat control.

Now, all you need is a handheld infrared thermometer to observe all the temperature control your master talks about, making it easier to learn and master the temperature control, and even for some fried foods, it's much simpler to check the oil temperature.

It cannot be said that this new era of technology can completely replace human experience and technology, but Zhao Anting believes that as a modern person living in the modern world and enjoying technology, it is perfectly normal to take shortcuts using modern technology.

Those who cling to outdated and antiquated techniques and insist on craftsmanship will eventually be abandoned by the times.

For example, Zhao Anting abandoned his alchemy furnace and instead used a thermometer and monitor to check the progress of his alchemy process.

Bai Zian stammered.

"But didn't the senior say that we need to use a special alchemy furnace?"

Zhao Anting glanced at his disciple and said casually.

"I've seen the alchemy furnace your senior mentioned. It seems to be a furnace with better temperature control, but even if it's better at controlling the temperature, is it as good as my pottery kiln with an infrared thermometer?"

"But……"

Bai Zian was somewhat unwilling.

Zhao Anting interrupted.

"I've already said we need to see through appearances to the essence. We're all living in this era now, so let's not treat some low-level alchemy and artifact crafting as some high-end skills."

Zhao Anting was somewhat troubled. His disciples seemed to regard the words of certain predecessors as gospel, unwilling to think about anything beyond those gospels. The best scholars in the world are those who can apply what they've learned to other situations, rather than clinging to a few words as absolute truth and refusing to change.

Zhao Anting spewed his cultivated true fire into his pottery kiln.

The temperature in the pottery kiln, which was originally cold, suddenly rose considerably.

Zhao Anting waited for the kiln to reach the right temperature before throwing in the medicinal herbs one by one according to the prescription provided by Zhou Yan.

The temperature enveloped the medicinal herbs, and Zhao Anting kept an eye on the temperature display outside the pottery kiln, controlling the temperature changes below one degree Celsius with the constant stream of real fire.

Normally, controlling extreme temperatures requires decades, or even hundreds of years, of alchemy experience. But now, all you need is a thermometer to transfer that experience from alchemy masters to the minds of alchemy apprentices.

At least Zhao Anting, relying on modern technology, only spent three hours refining the elixir from the formula given by Zhou Yan.

He cooled the pottery, opened the kiln, and then used his magic to take the refined elixir out of the kiln. The old Taoist priest, Zhao Anting, smiled and took the elixir out.

Outside the alchemy room, honest Bai Zi'an brought a small mongrel dog that he had prepared long ago and bought at the market that morning.

Zhao Anting fed the freshly prepared medicine into the mouth of the dog.

Bai Zi'an felt somewhat uneasy.

"Master... these pills were fired in a pottery kiln..."

Although Bai Zian couldn't find anything wrong with what Zhao Anting had done, in Bai Zian's mind, alchemy should be a very high-level skill, requiring a lot of effort, experience, and harmony between man and nature to refine, something that is priceless. But Zhao Anting just casually fired it in a pottery kiln.

Bai Zi'an felt he could understand it after watching it once, since it was just about controlling the heat with a thermometer.

Zhao Anting glanced at his disciple.

"In the past, there was a saying that iron was forged through repeated hammering, which means that iron blocks need to be hammered repeatedly to be turned into steel. Because of this characteristic, many literati have been moved by their own words, saying that people are like iron, and they cannot become talented without setbacks. Only through repeated hammering can the soul be forged. Every piece of steel forged through repeated hammering is the embodiment of the blacksmith's soul. The spirit of craftsmanship lies in this unyielding hammering."

"Then in modern times, scientists discovered that so-called 'hundred-times-refined steel' is just carbon iron. Repeated hammering is just the surface. The truth is that iron and carbon react repeatedly to form steel. Following this logic, industrial experts have designed various iron-carbon mixed steelmaking furnaces."

Zhao Anting had heard his master say that when Gan Jiang and Mo Xie drew their swords, it was reasonable for the two great sword masters to sacrifice themselves to the swords, because the human body contains carbon.

So there's no such thing as the sword gaining a soul, flesh, blood, or the will of the forger after the sword is consecrated; rather, it's carbon that transforms iron into steel.

The purpose of this story is to tell Zhao Anting not to fantasize that he can move heaven and earth and then suddenly achieve enlightenment, become an immortal, and ascend to heaven in broad daylight.

Spiritual practice also requires taking one step at a time, perceiving the simple and unadorned logic within all things, and then improving oneself.

Zhao Anting was overjoyed.

"So, the steel that those literati spoke of as having a soul, the steel that was imbued with the soul and life of the blacksmiths, could suddenly be mass-produced, and of even better quality."

Zhao Anting asked with a smile.

"Zi'an, tell me, are you that kind of scholar?"

Bai Zian: "..."

Ling Zhao Anting reassured him.

"Don't think so much. Small workshops have been defeated by industrial assembly lines for hundreds of years. Anyone who blindly believes in the spirit of craftsmanship is a fool. As a practitioner, if you don't think about how to combine your family's old crafts with modern technology and innovate, but only think about preserving the original flavor, your vision will be trapped in one corner."

Zhao Anting waited for a day and a night, and the little dog showed no problems; in fact, it seemed even more energetic.

Ling exclaimed, "Master?!"

Bai Zi'an, who had been observing Zhao Anting since yesterday, was quite excited about the fight he had just had today.

Zhao Anting shook his head.

"Let's wait and let your teacher have a taste first."

Zhao Anting is old, so it doesn't matter if something happens to him. He's lived long enough anyway. Bai Zi'an is still young and has the responsibility of revitalizing his sect. Zhao Anting feels that he can use his life to pave the way for his disciple.

Bai Zi'an wanted to say something, but in the end she kept quiet, as she always respected her master's ideas.

Zhao Anting took one of the refined pills, swallowed it, and then went to his meditation room to slowly meditate and digest it.

Bai Zian waited quietly outside the meditation room.

Because it involved himself and his master, looking at his master's tightly closed door, Bai Zian felt a mix of emotions and thoughts, causing him to experience waves of palpitations.

None of the pills in Zhou Yan's prescription were poisonous, but who knows what the result would be from mixing different medicinal herbs?

What if my master is poisoned to death?

Could that seemingly serious and kind white-haired divine beast be a demon in disguise?

Is he going to have to avenge his master in the future?

But what if the pill formula given by that white-haired divine beast is real?

Is that white-haired mythical beast a good person?

Various chaotic thoughts swirled in Bai Zi'an's mind. The sky went from dawn to dusk, and when evening came, Zhao Anting's meditation room opened, and the old Taoist priest came out from behind the door.

Bai Zian was surprised to find that his master's hair had turned quite a bit black.

Zhao Anting said excitedly.

"No problem, this pill is fine. My cultivation has increased quite a bit!"

Bai Zian opened his mouth wide in excitement.

After living for so long, have we finally seen hope for the revitalization of human cultivators?

That white-furred mythical beast really is a good person!

……

Three days later, Bai Zi'an, whose cultivation had improved considerably, returned to his meditation room. Zhao Anting, as his protector, came to his disciple's side and placed another incense stick to guide the soul.

"Okay."

Zhao Anting sat cross-legged in front of his disciple.

The disciple nodded to his master and then closed his eyes.

Bai Zi'an visualized a nine-story pagoda. He walked into the pagoda from the outside and then climbed up the floors one by one. With each floor he climbed, the connection between his body and mind weakened, and Bai Zi'an's pace quickened.

Upon reaching the last level, Bai Zi'an practically flew to the top of the pagoda, and then flew out from there.

The primordial spirit leaves the body.

Bai Zian looked down at the pagoda that symbolized his physical body, held his breath, and flew out.

The prescription for the white-haired divine beast was correct, and the cultivation method for the "Purple Heaven Divine Thunder" given to them was also correct, as confirmed by their teacher.

Although Bai Zian firmly believed that one should not have the heart to harm others, but one should not be without the heart to guard against others, at this moment Bai Zian still had an indescribable expectation for that white-haired divine beast.

Therefore, Bai Zian wanted to go find that white-haired divine beast again to see if he could get any more benefits.

Bai Zi'an still remembered the way to Vanga Mandala, but it was a long way. It took him quite a while before he saw the fearless goddess sitting cross-legged on the ground amidst the blooming flowers, covered by auspicious light and clouds.

Before this enormous, perfect, and inhumanly fearless celestial maiden, a white-haired giant beast lay on the ground with its eyes closed. As if sensing Bai Zi'an's arrival, the white-haired giant beast slightly opened its eyes.