Chapter 24: The Three Supreme Secrets

In the following days, Ji Feichen and Tushan worked together, traveling through the villages at the foot of Chenghuang Mountain and occasionally joining other rainmaking cultivators to summon rain. The Daoist Virtue Sect had divided the disaster-stricken region of Chenghuang Mountain into several zones, for as long as the true culprit remained at large, the scorched aura could not be dispelled, and daily efforts to bring rain were needed to cleanse the land of its burning poison.

Ji Feichen was constantly busy, gaining deeper insight into the art of invoking rain, and his technique faintly echoed the dragon clan’s divine abilities. Over these days, there was no sign of Jing Xuan.

“He must be working with others to find a way to eliminate the culprit,” Ji Feichen surmised. During this time, he became acquainted with the others, relying on the concealment pills given to him by the Celestial Fox, and discussed the Supreme Mystical Arts with Li Jingxun and several like-minded cultivators.

Compared to a “rogue cultivator” like himself who had taken up the path mid-way, these orthodox disciples of the Mystical Schools had unique perspectives on the Supreme methods, from which Ji Feichen benefited greatly. Yet, regarding the origins of the “True Explanation of the Supreme Cloud-Forming Dragon Vein and Jade Splendor,” even they could offer no clear answer. Of the Supreme’s three thousand methods, the present sects only preserved a small portion; many arts had long been lost to time.

One day, Ji Feichen was meditating and practicing, contemplating the “Yin-Yang Dragon Whisker” technique. Many present were heirs of the Supreme tradition. Upon hearing about Ji Feichen’s technique, Li Jingxun smiled and advised, “The Supreme Patriarch holds the Yin-Yang Dragon Whisk Fan, said to distinguish yin and yang and stabilize the world’s duality. If you cultivate this art, you must not only start with strength but also embrace softness; balance both, and let yin and yang coexist. I see you follow the ancient methods of refining qi, making no distinction between pure and impure. Why not, at midnight and noon, gather the essence of both moon and sun, blending pure and turbid qi to forge your divine power?”

At midnight, yang is born, and when gathering moonlight, a trace of lesser yang is present. At noon, yin is born, and when gathering sunlight, a trace of lesser yin rises.

Under Li Jingxun’s guidance, Ji Feichen fused the essence of sun and moon into the dragon whiskers, and above his head formed the diagram of yin and yang. Two yin-yang fish symbolized the essence of sun and moon, the eye of the lunar fish exhaling lesser yang, the eye of the solar fish emitting lesser yin.

Sun, lesser yang, moon, and lesser yin thus formed the path of the four images.

“Primordial chaos gives birth to the Supreme Pole, duality and the four images follow—this is the true meaning of the Supreme in creating heaven and earth.” Enlightenment struck Ji Feichen, and the image of the old Lord dissipated in his mind; the celestial phenomena within his spiritual palace returned to chaos.

In the vast and boundless realm of primordial chaos, a streak of Supreme divine light, embodying the mingling of yin and yang, split the chaos apart.

In an instant, the Supreme Pole emerged and the old Lord appeared.

The primordial chaos transformed into heaven and earth, the old Lord holding the divine light, which became a treasured fan. This fan was woven from dragon whiskers, sometimes transforming into a wish-granting scepter, sometimes into an immortal sword, sometimes into a staff. These outward forms—fan, scepter, sword, staff—were all but appearances; their essence was a thread of innate yin-yang truth.

The old Lord’s divine form was wondrous beyond measure, born at the opening of chaos, standing on auspicious clouds, cloaked in radiant light, wielding the Yin-Yang Dragon Whisk Fan to break open the Supreme Pole, while the intertwining of yin and yang brought forth the dual qi. The divine light split in two, forming a yin dragon and a yang serpent. The yang dragon soared to the heavens to absorb pure qi, the yin serpent descended to take in turbid qi.

With the beginning of pure and turbid, heaven and earth were divided, duality transformed, and the four images emerged.

At last, dragon and serpent danced, driving the changes of the four images within heaven and earth before transforming into dragon whiskers that flew into the dragon soul of the old Lord. The divine dragon soared between heaven and earth, its two whiskers shining brilliantly, symbolizing the principle of yin and yang, each whisker inscribed with thirty-six innate talismanic runes—the very shape of the Dao.

When yin and yang reverse, they form the Supreme Pole; when they follow their course, the four images take shape.

As the scene of the four images unfolded within his spiritual palace, Ji Feichen suddenly understood: “So that’s why the True Explanation records the Yin-Yang Dragon Whisker technique, but gives no detailed account of the Supreme Pole and Four Images methods. These two arts are meant to be comprehended from within the Dragon Whisker itself.”

The Supreme Pole method should represent the dragon pearl of the dragon soul—one and whole. The Four Images method derives from the progression of solar and lunar, lesser yin and lesser yang, within the dragon whiskers, manifesting as another technique. Both methods are to be realized through the practice of the Yin-Yang Dragon Whisker.

For a divine dragon, the whiskers are of utmost significance. Like the whiskers of cats or rodents, they are special organs for sensing and discerning the world. The Yin-Yang Dragon Whisker is the entry-level, yet most crucial, technique in the “True Explanation of the Supreme Cloud-Forming Dragon Vein and Jade Splendor.” Only by perceiving the transformations of the Supreme Pole and the derivation of the four images through the Yin-Yang Dragon Whisker can one be said to have truly attained the Dao.

Ji Feichen did not bother himself with the enigmatic “Supreme Pole” and “Four Images” techniques, but focused his mind entirely on the secret art of the “Yin-Yang Dragon Whisker.”

Daoist arts are a cultivator’s means of wielding the world’s qi, but when such arts are refined to a certain level, they become divine powers. With divine powers granted by heaven, there is no longer need for chanting spells or drawing talismans—every gesture becomes a manifestation of the world’s might.

Ji Feichen’s Yin-Yang Dragon Whisker closely resembled such divine power. As he visualized the whiskers, he engraved the corresponding talismanic runes within them. With a single thought, he could easily perform the associated arts.

“The ‘True Explanation of the Supreme Cloud-Forming Dragon Vein and Jade Splendor’ must be a direct transmission from the Supreme himself, which explains why its techniques are so close to the realm of divine power. If I can master the three arts—the Supreme Pole, Yin-Yang, and Four Images—I’ll be able to refine the True Explanation and achieve the Daoist fruit of the human immortal.”

But how did someone from the Radiant Sun Demon Sect acquire this True Explanation? A doubt arose in Ji Feichen’s heart: what if the rightful owner comes looking for it?

As he finished his meditation and contemplation, a commotion arose not far away.

“They’re back, they’ve returned!”

Many cultivators stood up and surrounded Zhang Yuanchu and the others, who had just returned from scouting.

Zhang Yuanchu and Jing Xuan came back side by side, both looking rather bedraggled along with a few companions.

Once everyone was seated, Li Jingxun asked, “Senior Brother, what’s the situation?”

“It’s not looking good.” Zhang Yuanchu pulled out a map and described what he and Jing Xuan had discovered.

Ji Feichen glanced at Jing Xuan inquiringly.

Jing Xuan held up three fingers. “The third kind.”

The cultivators drew a sharp breath. Ji Feichen frowned deeply. “So it’s really the remnants of the Heavenly Corpse Sect?”

“We can’t be certain, but it is indeed a demon cultivating the Drought Fiend’s true body. From a distance, we saw crimson clouds covering the mountain and black mists swallowing the light, already rivaling a human immortal demon. There’s no way we could stand against him with just a handful of us.”

Zhang Yuanchu redrew the map, pointing to the terrain of Chenghuang Mountain. “In the past, we only scouted the mountain’s periphery, but this time, we ventured further. Look here…”

He traced eight red circles at the mountain’s outermost ridges. Ji Feichen’s heart stirred. “These are the eight directions?” The four images and eight trigrams were the most commonly used structures among cultivators.

Seeing the red circles aligned with the eight directions, Master Xu asked in puzzlement, “What’s the problem, then? Is he gathering energy?”

“Look again.” Zhang Yuanchu drew eight rectangles along the ridges beside each circle, as if…

“Coffins?” Li Jingxun murmured. Several of the coffin shapes didn’t even have four true sides.

“On the way back, we saw groups of zombies wandering everywhere, many of them wantonly destroying villages and leaving ruin in their wake. There were also many landslides blocking the roads—these weren’t on our original map, so we hadn’t noticed before. Just now, Jing Xuan joked, ‘If we’re not careful when summoning rain, we might end up forming a lake in a coffin mouth…’ That’s when we realized.”

Jing Xuan continued, “Since this is a demon cultivating the Drought Fiend, his intelligence is no less than ours. He drives the zombies outward with a purpose. Look: the collapsed mountain roads and natural ridges form eight coffins aligned with the eight directions. More importantly, each coffin is bordered by mountains and riverbeds, and each contains a village.”

“A blood sacrifice! He wants to sacrifice all the people within the eight coffins to further his demonic cultivation?”

“That’s not all. We discovered something else.” Zhang Yuanchu pointed to the very center of the eight coffins on the map, which marked a secluded valley in the heart of Chenghuang Mountain.

“This valley has all nine apertures sealed, its walls unbroken—a place of absolute death. The demon himself is cultivating there. From our observation, his true strength is not great—he’s only recently entered the rank of human immortal. But by forging the eight coffins to gather energy, he intends to create a land of ninefold death. If his demonic art succeeds, the eight coffins will simultaneously unleash a deadly yin aura, instantly turning a thousand miles into a realm of death.”

When the Drought Fiend emerges, a thousand miles become scorched earth. This is no exaggeration—if he succeeds, his power will rival that of an earth immortal.

It was a clever stratagem, using the terrain to form coffins and making the entire region his final tomb, allowing a newly ascended human-immortal Drought Fiend to achieve the Dao on the spot and perfect his demonic body.

“This fiend wants to use this chance to fulfill his ambition, refining his body into the true form of the Drought Fiend. By then, only earth immortals would be able to subdue him,” Master Xu finished, seeing the others fall silent.

Ji Feichen played with the Azure Tide Pearl, the light of merit on his body flickering. He racked his brain for what he recalled of the Heavenly Corpse Sect’s arts and vaguely remembered something: “Eight gates open, the wheel of life and death turns—could it be that the eight coffins can shift their positions at will?”

Zhang Yuanchu’s eyes lit up at this and he regarded Ji Feichen more highly. “Junior Brother Ji is correct. With the eight coffins arrayed, aside from the central main coffin, the other eight can serve as escape routes. Even if we slay his main body, if we do not suppress each coffin, he could still escape and attain his Dao.”

Zhang Yuanchu continued, “Our sect has two human-immortal elders here; they will enter the death valley to slay the Drought Fiend. But should the fiend escape, we’ll need to intercept him at the eight coffins.”

Zhang Yuanchu looked at the assembled cultivators with hope. Many of them looked troubled; they had come to aid in rescuing people and alleviating disaster, but when it came to risking their lives at the front lines, that was asking too much.

“Everyone, the lives of all within a thousand miles hang in the balance. I beg you to act in accordance with heaven’s will and join the Daoist Virtue Sect in resisting this demon.” As he spoke, Zhang Yuanchu bowed deeply.

The others quickly stood up. Zhenzi of the Chongxu Sect said, “Brother Zhang, it’s not that we’re unwilling, but the Drought Fiend rivals a human immortal. We can handle minor undead, but against the true fiend, how could our means be effective?”

Seeing that no one was willing, Ji Feichen himself was reluctant. If disaster struck, the orthodox sects would bear the brunt—why should a demon cultivator like him step forward? Gaining merit by summoning rain and saving a few lives was already going above and beyond.

Thus, Ji Feichen declined politely: “As the saying goes, water and fire oppose and subdue each other. All my cultivation is invested in the Azure Tide Pearl, and I cannot withstand the Drought Fiend’s toxic flames. I fear I would be of little help.”

“That’s right, fire subdues metal—I’m not suited either,” another cultivator quickly added.

Master Xu, too, shrank back. “Years ago, a sage told me I was fated to clash with corpse demons. I escaped the Drought Fiend twice before, but this time, I fear I may not survive.”

With everyone unwilling to step forward, the situation reached an impasse.