Chapter Six: The Black Flame Dragon in the Right Hand

The Supreme One, the boundless Great Dao, stands above all, unrivaled and exalted. The Supreme Daoist Sovereign is the progenitor of the Mystic Sect, known as the "Supreme Sovereign of Profound Virtue, Primal Duality, Originator of the Dao, Celestial Form of the Sacred Spirit."

Ji Feichen’s visualization took this very form. In the ancestral orifice at his brow, within the Palace of the Mud Pill, he stilled his spirit and visualized the Supreme Sovereign.

“In stillness, guard the One; in movement, preserve the spirit.” Ji Feichen recited the incantation; his mind became veiled and dim, until suddenly a ray of spiritual light burst forth, like the first radiance of creation, illuminating the Mud Pill Palace.

The Mud Pill Palace marks the divergence between the Profound and Primal Paths. The demonic sects of the Primal Gate worship ancient demon gods, refining their own bodies into vessels of these deities, mirroring the heavens and earth. They emphasize the physical body, cultivating the turbid earthly qi, beginning with the lower dantian, three inches below the navel.

Humans possess three dantians; in martial practice, the “dantian” usually refers to the lower one. All ten paths of the Primal Gate begin here, using it as the source of essence, ultimately striving to forge the true body of a demon god. The so-called primordial spirit, to them, is but a spiritual form that eventually fuses with the body, achieving immortality and rebirth from a single drop of blood.

In contrast, the Daoists of the Mystic Sect excel in cultivating the upper dantian, located between the brows at the Hall of Light. Here, they open the ancestral orifice, establishing the Mud Pill Palace, forging a spiritual deity to guard the central axis. This palace is variously called the “Yellow Court,” the “Purple Mansion,” the “Heavenly Valley,” or the “Mystic Court.” Its lord is known as the Elder of the Yellow Court, the God of the Valley of Mystery, the Primordial Spirit of the Purple Mansion, and so forth.

At this moment, Ji Feichen was opening his own Mud Pill Palace, clearing the ancestral orifice and visualizing the Supreme Sovereign.

The demons of the Primal Gate do not cultivate the ancestral orifice; thus, Ji Feichen’s “White Bone Visualization” had not opened his spiritual platform. Yet, the "Supreme Sovereign’s Subtle Jade Revelation of Dragon Manifestation" contained specific methods for this.

“The Elder Sovereign’s form is spontaneous, existing before ultimate nothingness, infinite and without bounds, born before heaven and earth.” Ji Feichen recited the mantra, emptying his mind of thought and desire, allowing only a hazy ray of spiritual light to transform into a divine figure.

This divine figure was the image of the Elder Sovereign, regarding the ancestral orifice as chaos and enacting the way of creation.

Arising without cause, traversing heaven and earth, the mysteries of the Dao are inexhaustible, reaching the boundless infinite.

Within the ancestral orifice, the divine figure was born, holding a scepter, cloaked in rosy clouds, treading upon wheels of cloud, uttering true words.

With a thunderous roar, the ancestral orifice split open as if heaven and earth were sundered, chaos divided. The once-blocked orifice now released the dual qi of yin and yang, forming a spiritual world.

The Supreme One revolves with the Great Dao, takes root for heaven and earth, disperses qi to the ten directions, embraces the utmost purity of virtue—vast and grand, beyond description. Conceiving the Supreme Ultimate, dividing into Yin and Yang, then generating all things. Finally, the Elder Sovereign transformed into a divine dragon, rushing downward from the ancestral orifice and Mud Pill Palace.

The "Supreme Sovereign’s Subtle Jade Revelation of Dragon Manifestation" likens the Elder Sovereign to a dragon—the dragon is the image of the Great Dao, able to expand or contract, to vanish or soar. The Elder Sovereign becomes a divine dragon descending through the twelvefold tower, passing the mansions of the Five Emperors, ultimately entering the lower dantian.

The twelvefold tower refers to the human throat; the mansions of the Five Emperors are the five internal organs.

From the upper dantian’s ancestral orifice, it surged straight to the lower dantian, as though a dragon’s path connected two realms. As the true dragon entered the lower dantian, all the mana and dragon qi diffused throughout Ji Feichen’s limbs and bones gathered there.

The realm of Refining Essence into Qi is divided into three main steps. The first is transforming acquired internal force into celestial or demonic mana. The second is turning that mana into a liquid elixir. The third is forming the elixir, corresponding to the early, middle, and late stages of the Mortal Shedding realm.

While cultivating at the Nether Yin Sect, Ji Feichen had already achieved the first step, transforming his internal energy into mana, which, at this point, appeared as black mist—so-called “Mysterious Fiend.” This is the early stage of Mortal Shedding. Only by refining this mana into liquid can one truly break into the middle stage.

Ji Feichen was now at this step. Having absorbed the essence of the turtle-dragon, whose body concealed dragon qi, this clashed with his own cultivated mana and triggered the ink dragon scale in his hand. This scale, from a high-ranking divine dragon, emitted a single ray of black light, instantly purifying all foreign dragon qi within him. The pitch-black dragon qi coursed through his body and eventually merged with the image of the Elder Sovereign's dragon in his lower dantian, forming a viscous mass, nearly the consistency of egg yolk.

Transforming mana into liquid marks the middle stage of Mortal Shedding. The next step is to condense this liquid mana into a single point, fusing it with the insight of the Great Dao, thus forming a Golden Core—or, as the "Scripture of the Mysterious Fiend Demon Dragon" calls it, a Dragon Pearl.

The inspiration of the Dao is a sliver of heaven and earth’s spiritual mechanism captured during meditation, serving as the root of cultivation. Ji Feichen had just visualized the Supreme Sovereign; the dragon soul formed from the Elder Sovereign was a true meaning of the Dao—an embodiment of creation and transformation, the true dragon nature of the Great Dao. If the bottleneck from early to middle stage is the tempering of mana, then the bottleneck from middle to late stage is this thread of true meaning. Only with it can one attempt to form the core; without this insight, no matter how abundant the mana, immortality is impossible.

With the nature of the Dao shifting, black dragon qi swirled around Ji Feichen, terrifying those imprisoned nearby.

“Daoic Dragon Nature—this is the crucial requirement of the 'Scripture of the Mysterious Fiend Demon Dragon,'” Sima Kang’s eyelid twitched. Though captured by Ji Feichen, he hadn’t regarded Ji’s cultivation as a threat. Merely an early-stage Mortal Shedding—if not for the advantage of the cave dwelling, Ji would not have been his match.

But now...

“Once the Daoic Dragon Nature is achieved, the Dragon Pearl can be formed, and the Dao fruition attained in one stroke.” Fear crept over Zhang Ya’s face. Ji Feichen was already troublesome; if he reached Human Immortal level, would they have any hope of escape? By then, even their usefulness might vanish.

“Do you think he’s a fool?” A hoarse voice suddenly came from another cage. “Forming the Dragon Pearl now would be courting death! Do you think the tribulation of attaining the Dao is easy to overcome?”

Zhang Ya’s eyes lit up—indeed! To attain the Dao is to challenge the heavens, and calamity must follow. That would be their chance to escape. Moreover...

“The greatest danger in the 'Scripture of the Mysterious Fiend Demon Dragon' lies in the dragon transformation. A single misstep, a loss of consciousness, and you become a dragon egg yourself—by then, it’ll be too late to regret.” Sima Kang’s eyes shifted slyly, secretly hoping Ji Feichen would rush into the transformation and give them a chance for revenge.

“Have you all forgotten?” Ji Feichen suddenly opened his eyes, sweeping his gaze over their hopeful faces. “If I lose control and succumb to madness, who will restrain the Blood-patterned Golden Wood? You’ll all die with me!”

The Blood-patterned Golden Wood was no easy adversary. If not for Ji Feichen’s suppression, those in the dungeon would have long since become its fertilizer.

Ji Feichen rose. “You live only because I live. If I die, you’ll all be buried with me!” As he spoke, he lifted his right hand; dragon scales emerged across his entire arm, forming a dragon claw. The densely packed scales could withstand blades, the claw itself was razor-sharp, and a mass of black dragon flame ignited in his palm.

“This is the mid-stage dragon arm,” Ji Feichen murmured. Then, black dragon flames wreathed his body, forming a complete set of deep blue armor.

The "Scripture of the Mysterious Fiend Demon Dragon" delineates three markers for the Refining Essence into Qi realm. In the early stage, one can manifest a few dragon scales anywhere on the body for protection. By the middle stage, one can fully transform a limb or the head. In the late stage, a suit of dragon armor can cover the entire body, making one appear from afar as a humanoid demon dragon.

“It’s the late stage!” Sima Kang’s heart sank. Advancing straight from the early to the late stage—was Dao attainment now within reach?

The others’ faces were equally grim, but Ji Feichen remained calm, quietly withdrawing his power. He was less optimistic than the others; the step to Dao attainment was like crossing an abyss. Ji Feichen deliberately ceased cultivation, refining his mana further and stabilizing himself at the peak of the Refining Essence into Qi realm.

“Though I could attempt to condense the Dragon Pearl now, it’s too risky and the rewards are scant.” Recalling Liang Chuming’s cultivation notes, Ji Feichen, though eager to form his core, was in no rush for immediate results. If he did so now, his foundation would be too shallow; the resulting Dragon Pearl would be small and lack further potential. Moreover, after more than a decade of cultivation, his mana was still too meager—just condensing the dragon armor had consumed thirty percent of his reserves, leaving him unable to sustain prolonged combat.

“It would be better to cultivate more mana, then let things take their course. Also, I can take this time to study Liang Chuming’s Ninefold Diagram.”

Liang Chuming’s diagram could double the amplification of mana, making it something Ji Feichen valued highly.

He withdrew his power, stowed away his spoils of Celestial Dew, and, leaving the Blood-patterned Golden Wood to guard the dungeon, departed with a flourish.

Returning to Moonlit Sun Courtyard, he changed into clean clothes. He embedded the twenty-four Azure Tide Pearls into his body, using the technique “Azure Sea Cloud Veil” to conceal his cultivation.

There are twenty-four solar terms in heaven and earth; likewise, the human body contains twenty-four channels of qi. Ji Feichen hid the twenty-four pearls within himself, transforming his body into an azure sea and vast sky, masking his true strength and revealing only the early stage of Mortal Shedding.

“In the Nether Yin Sect, keeping a trump card means more security.” As he thought of returning to his sect, Ji Feichen sighed softly.

Then, in the guise of a demonic disciple, he set off for the Nether Yin Sect.