Chapter 84: Sun, Moon, and Stars Shine in Unison; The Lotus Blooms to Encompass Heaven and Earth (A Grand Chapter of Four Thousand Words)

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There is a saying in the Mystical Order: “Within the sleeve lies a vast universe; within the jug, the sun and moon endure.” The lotus and lunar root in this jade vessel were left by an Earthly Immortal. Though disciples of the Order are not forbidden from retrieving them, a prohibition remains: a hidden magical art resides within, wherein the Three Radiances Divine Water simulates the heavens and earth. One who can break through this art may take the lotus; failing to do so means fate denies them.

Yang Fei and Ji Feichen, having fallen into the vessel’s inner realm, found themselves as turtles in a jar—caught in a life-or-death predicament.

Within the water, the sun and moon shone eternally, stars blazed overhead, their brilliance so intense that it could not be gazed upon directly.

“In the past, I used the Azure Tide Pearl to blind others,” Ji Feichen mused, his mind dizzy as the viscous starlight dragged him downward. “Today, the tables are turned.”

The divine light of sun and moon dazzled in the depths, impossible to behold with mortal eyes. Fortunately, it was the Three Radiances Divine Water; within it, Ji Feichen fared better than Yang Fei.

Yang Fei hailed from the Glorious Sun Demon Sect, devoted to the Golden Crow of the Great Sun. All his arts involved fire—Samadhi True Flame, Five Smiths’ Divine Fire, Great Sun Demon Flame. Yet, in the Three Radiances Divine Water, any fire would be instantly quenched, if not for his extraordinary luck.

His face blue and pale, Yang Fei struggled desperately, trying to escape the water’s grip.

“Don’t bother,” said Ji Feichen, dragon scales emerging on his body. The inky dragon scale at his chest allowed him to breathe underwater. Compared to the peril Yang Fei faced, Ji Feichen was far more fortunate. The dark dragon scale absorbed the divine water, replenishing his power with pure dragon essence.

Forcing a dragon seal, Ji Feichen transformed, becoming a black dragon rolling beneath the waves—but the dense starlight impeded his movement. Each undulation met with starlight spears, leaving the black dragon battered and wounded.

“No point in hiding anything now,” he thought, converting his vital force and standing in the water as a disciple of the Mystical Order. Twenty-four treasure pearls sparkled around him, while another expanse of azure water separated him from the divine water, easing the pressure for the moment.

Surveilling this submerged world, he saw deep within the shimmering divine light of sun and moon: brilliant sun, luminous moon, both illuminating the space. Scattered about, extinct starlight transformed into lines of annihilation.

Sun, moon, and stars—the three treasures of heaven, expressing the Three Powers’ path. This realm was ever-changing; what appeared as a mere pool was, in truth, boundless within.

“Here, we’re but plankton in the water—safety is uncertain.” Though the Three Radiances Divine Water was not as corrosive as the Weak Water, it was nonetheless a formidable treasure. Prolonged immersion would dissolve even Ji Feichen.

“But however vast this realm, it exists within the jade vessel. The only hope lies in the lotus!”

This test was meant for disciples of the Order. Even if cast into the divine water, a thread of survival remained; only by finding a path connecting to the surface could one escape. The lotus, rooted in divine water, its blossom emerging from the vessel, was the sole way out.

Yang Fei, holding his breath, seemed to realize something as well. The lotus, a sacred object, rises unstained from the mire—pure, transcendent, lauded by the Immortal Orders. Even in the Path of Origin, many secret arts involve the lotus.

“The lotus is a treasure of creation—the source of life!” Yang Fei detonated his magic treasures, using the blast to propel himself toward the lunar root.

In the water, the lotus root arched like a crescent boat, facing the illusory stars conjured by the divine water.

“The moon formed by the water is full, but the one formed by the lotus root is crescent. A perfect moon holds no life, but a crescent, with its imperfection, grants me a glimmer of hope.” Ji Feichen’s black dragon form was the first to reach the lotus root. To the root, he was but a tiny water worm. Hiding within one of its pores, he found even a single opening too vast to reach its top.

“The lotus root hasn’t grown; rather, I have shrunk.” Such manipulation of space—this was the Order’s supreme art.

Crawling through the root, the black dragon ascended, striving toward the solar lotus. Yet, within the hollow pores lay hidden trials to test the spirit and probe the foundation of the path, forcing Ji Feichen to spend great effort. After half a day, he finally reached the lotus blossom.

The root had nine chambers, matching the number of the sun. The flower opened with eighty-one petals—the ultimate of nines. Escaping the world within the water, Ji Feichen felt his spirit renewed, his heart elevated.

Glancing around, he saw Yang Fei had just sought refuge in the lunar root, still some way from escape.

“If I leap from the lotus, I can claim the treasure first.” Thus resolved, Ji Feichen prepared to jump, but each time his black dragon form soared, he was pulled back into the lotus. Again and again, he failed to leave, as if some immense force held him fast.

“How strange…” Ji Feichen’s expression changed; the solar lotus clearly held deeper mysteries.

If seen from outside the jade vessel, one would spot a tiny black worm struggling atop the lotus’s seed pod. The blossom radiated multicolored light, but no matter how he struggled, he could not escape.

The black dragon coiled atop the flower, silently pondering his predicament. Before his eyes, vibrant visions appeared—towering skyscrapers, arched bridges, bustling traffic—all reminiscent of his previous life on Earth.

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“As the flower opens, I see myself; as I see others, the lotus reflects my heart’s image. The lotus mirrors my thoughts, manifesting illusions as my mind desires.”

As Ji Feichen’s thoughts shifted, the chaotic traffic transformed into ethereal music. Golden and purple clouds coalesced, celestial beings and sage immortals appeared, encircling the black dragon, their lips uttering profound truths.

With another change of heart, the scene became an underworld—raging dark rivers, ghosts in pursuit, the City of Shadows opening, the Lord of the Dead ascending his throne.

“The solar lotus is like another world. To leave is to leap beyond this world—a kind of ‘ascension.’ Thus, the power of this world resists, making it as difficult as a true Earthly Immortal’s departure. Only by comprehending the Celestial Dao can I truly leave.”

Of course, “Celestial” here was only relative to the lotus world; even the Earthly Immortal who created it had not reached that height. How could Ji Feichen?

Yet, by understanding the lotus’s laws or transcending his own obsessions, reaching this world’s ultimate boundary, he could naturally depart.

One flower, one world; one pore, one paradise. If the lotus root could manifest a paradise, then the lotus blossom could open a world as well.

Thus, Ji Feichen devoted himself to studying this world, gradually entering a wondrous state and healing his Dao-fruit’s wounds.

“Vital energy is formless, nameless, soundless—the primal unity from which all things arise. Out of vast chaos, heaven and earth are born.” Entering deep meditation, Ji Feichen’s dragon form emitted Three Yin Weak Water, drawing forth several drops of seven-colored dew from the lotus to merge with his body.

Just as the Three Yin Water originated from a drop of Netherworld Weak Water, so too did the Three Radiances Divine Water possess unique qualities. The jade vessel had accumulated its spirit water for centuries, equating it to the Three Yin Water. The lotus absorbed the divine water, and the nectar in its heart was even purer, perfectly complementing the Netherworld Water within Ji Feichen.

Ji Feichen, as a black dragon, had a dragon pearl shaped from netherworld water.

The dark pearl rested between his horns. With the divine water entering his body, the pearl’s nature gradually changed. The baleful energy of the netherworld was purified, merging with the clarity of celestial light and slowly turning to glass.

At the same time, his brow’s ancestral aperture—the Mud Pill Palace—underwent a complete transformation. His primordial spirit became a divine dragon roaming the heavens, swallowing the primal breath and giving birth to the Taiji, enacting the duality of Yin and Yang. His two dragon whiskers, drifting above and below, each transformed into a current.

A white current rose to become the Heavenly River, adorned with three-colored light like a rainbow arching across the sky. A black current sank to form the Nether River, devouring brilliance and flowing in the earth’s depths, subtle and profound.

Suddenly, a thunderous dragon’s roar echoed in the Mud Pill Palace. The nether river below flowed with Three Yin Water, while the heavenly river above was vast as clouds, dividing sun, moon, and stars.

The divine dragon shed its whiskers, transforming into a human form between the two rivers—dragon tail below, dragon head above, one hand pointing heavenward, the other to earth. Above him, the heavenly river of divine water; below, the nether river of underworld water. These two rivers were Ji Feichen’s dragon-whisker arts.

“Yin and Yang unite, returning to the Primordial.” As he contemplated, a Taiji energy formed between his hands, drawn from the two rivers. The energies fused, condensing into a dragon pearl, which his human form with dragon tail held aloft.

This was the second divine art of the “Supreme Cloud-Forming Jade Dragon’s True Explanation”—the Primordial Dragon Pearl. The pearl, formed of Taiji energy, was the Dao-fruit of the Celestial Order.

If the Yin-Yang Dragon Whiskers could dissect duality and sever dichotomies, the Primordial Dragon Pearl returned all to unity—indistinguishable as in the chaos before creation.

As the pearl coalesced, the great path manifested, and Ji Feichen gained profound insight into his cultivation.

“After forming my Dao-fruit, I could never grasp the Order’s divine arts—because of my energy’s nature.” The Dao-fruit of the Nether River was extremely Yin and soft, making it impossible to realize the Primordial Dragon Pearl. But the divine water, entering his body, purified his nether pearl, blending the essence of sun, moon, and stars. The Three Radiances were Yang, the Nine Netherworlds Yin; from Yin and Yang, Taiji emerged, culminating in the true Primordial Dragon Pearl.

With the pearl’s transformation, Ji Feichen’s Dao-fruit was no longer merely a mysterious dragon, but a miniature world.

The divine dragon’s path, dragon whiskers as heaven and earth’s rivers, the dragon god transforming into a sacred human with dragon tail, holding the pearl amid heaven and earth. Around him cycled twenty-four energies, signifying the eternal cycle of the One.

“The heavenly river gives birth, the nether river takes death. In the center, a divine figure dwells in the Palace of the Yellow Court, the twenty-four energies harmonized. This divinity is the Supreme Emperor.”

Among the Order’s schools, the primordial spirit takes many forms: in some, the Mud Pill Palace is the Yellow Court, and the spirit is the Old Lord; in others, the Heavenly Valley, and the spirit the Valley God…

Each school has its secret names and arts.

Ji Feichen cultivated his Mud Pill Palace into the Yellow Court, where his Supreme Emperor—his primordial spirit—resided. The palace, reflecting his innermost nature, was the Order’s celebrated internal vision.

The spirit resides within, the heart’s image united—thus the “inner realm.”

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But Ji Feichen’s divine form was not that of the Old Lord; he had leaped beyond the path of meditating on the Supreme and formed a new divinity, unique to himself. Born of the primordial unity, creator of heaven and earth, enthroned at the center, with a human body, dragon tail, and dragon horns—thus named the Supreme Emperor.

Around the Supreme Emperor appeared eight gates, corresponding to the Eight Trigrams, and the twenty-four energies. Each energy became a scroll of celestial diagrams, embodying the mysteries of heaven and earth—the eight scenes and twenty-four charts of the universal order.

With the path achieved, Ji Feichen’s cultivation surged. The first scroll unfolded—heavenly river radiant, stars like pearls, shining circles, mysterious jade light. The sun became a palace of jade, the moon, a hall of crystal; auspicious light blazed, the energy of the Dao abounded.

“This is the Celestial Capital Chart.” As insight dawned, one of his twenty-four Azure Tide Pearls merged into the chart and vanished into the Mud Pill Palace.

At that moment, Ji Feichen’s black dragon form grew, returning to human shape, seated in meditation atop the lotus.

“I establish my path upon the twenty-four energies. These correspond to the twenty-four solar terms of heaven and earth, the twenty-four transformations of vital energy, and the twenty-four stages of the human body. They are also the twenty-four charts of my great Dao.”

At last, Ji Feichen broke free of the limitations of both the Supreme Order and the Nether Sect.

The worldview of the Celestial Order refines Yin and Yang, deducing Taiji and expressing the Four Images. But this was not Ji Feichen’s great path. His own Dao unfolded in the twenty-four celestial charts, the twenty-four energies revolving through the heavens.

Similarly, the Demon Dragon Sutra of the Nether Sect seeks “transformation into a demon dragon, the Dao fulfilled in the Nether River.” But Ji Feichen had other ambitions: transforming the Nether River into a river of Yin and Yang, making it part of his Dao-fruit, matching the heavenly river of divine water.

Only now could he say he had truly found his Dao-fruit.

Unified in primordial oneness, the wounds left by the Blood Sea Earth Immortal were healed. The Dao-fruit’s radiant glow returned to the great path; a celestial chart shifted unpredictably, absorbing the light of sun, moon, and stars, enhancing Ji Feichen’s power.

“If I am to become an Earth Immortal, I must begin with the twenty-four energies. When the matter of the Celestial Mansion is settled, I will enter the world, teaching and gathering disciples in the path of the twenty-four energies.”

With these thoughts, above his head the Three Radiances Divine Water and Three Yin Weak Water intertwined, forming two mighty rivers like dragon whiskers.

“One for heaven, one for earth; one for life, one for death. In my hands, this art is twice as powerful as before.” With a casual wave, the dual dragons of Yin and Yang danced, and in the distance the frozen jade trees shattered as the twin dragons severed them completely.

With this single art, Ji Feichen was confident he could suppress even Zheng Qiong and his peers.

The celestial chart unfolded, the primordial Dao achieved. Ji Feichen took a single step and naturally left the solar lotus.

Returning from the lotus world to the Celestial Mansion felt like a true ascension—light as a feather, as if destiny and the great Dao were in his grasp.

“To ascend to the highest heavens—no wonder it is the supreme pursuit of the Order. The allure is undeniable.”

Glancing back into the vessel, he saw a faint flame flickering within the lunar root.

“Yang Fei still hasn’t escaped the lunar root?” Calculating with his fingers, Ji Feichen suddenly understood.

The lunar root and solar lotus were a trial set by an Earth Immortal—only those who realized their Dao-fruit, reached the divine image, and severed their inner demons could step forth. For disciples of the Order, future enlightenment was assured. But for those of the demonic path, the trial was harsher. Without rescue, Yang Fei could not survive the lunar root. Entering the solar lotus, when the flower withered and the world collapsed, pure yang fire would destroy the demon utterly, leaving no chance of life. Such was the Earth Immortal’s design—a method of mutual destruction.

“Thus, rescue must come from without.”

Ji Feichen collected the Three Radiances Divine Water with a jade bottle, then with a gentle tug drew the lunar root and solar lotus into his hand. In so doing, the flame that was Yang Fei fell to the ground, reverting to human shape.

Pale-faced, Yang Fei had barely survived the ordeal within the lunar root.

Seeing Ji Feichen holding the sacred lotus, smiling serenely at him, Yang Fei’s complexion shifted from blue to white. He cupped his hands, “Your kindness today I will remember. When you see Xiao Qi, tell her the debt she owed me now falls on you. We are even—let her repay it herself!”

She? That girl? Suddenly, Ji Feichen realized that his and Yang Fei’s impressions of Tu Shan were completely different. As he was about to ask more, Yang Fei turned into a rainbow and vanished, wary that Ji Feichen might strike while his guard was down.

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