Except for the one-hour lecture every morning, the rest of the time was up to Jiang Xuan to arrange as he wished.
Back in his quarters, Jiang Xuan waved his hand, and dozens of bottles of herbal elixir were neatly arranged on the table.
As a peerless genius of Lingxu Dongtian and the newly appointed instructor for the disciples, Jiang Xuan had the authority to access some cultivation resources. Moreover, Lingxu Dongtian granted him unlimited supplies of the herbal elixir.
His cultivation plan was twofold: first, to consume the herbal elixir daily for cultivation; second, to forge the divine rune within his bitter sea into a furnace.
Jiang Xuan sat cross-legged, clearing his mind as his consciousness sank into the Eight Trigrams Furnace imprint within the Hongmeng Treasure Mirror. He was forging the divine rune inside his body according to the patterns of the Eight Trigrams Furnace.
It was an incredibly complex process. Every vein in the imprint of the Eight Trigrams Furnace within the Hongmeng Treasure Mirror was like a vast cosmic sea, filled with countless dense and intricate Dao runes. Jiang Xuan neither had the ability nor the understanding to replicate it fully. Even copying it was nearly impossible without a deep comprehension of the Dao.
Fortunately, he only needed to forge the divine rune into the shape of the Eight Trigrams Furnace. The more profound levels of forging could be gradually aligned with the imprint's pattern as his cultivation advanced.
Step by step, he refined the divine rune within, gradually building the structure of the Eight Trigrams Furnace. The divine rune, initially like iron chains, slowly took the outline of the furnace, perfecting the shape.
Jiang Xuan focused his mind on two things at once: forging the divine rune and immersing himself in the profound principles of the Eight Trigrams Furnace imprint. The mysteries of the furnace sharpened his clarity of thought.
It was a mystical sensation, as if the forging could succeed in one fell swoop.
His consciousness deeply merged with the furnace's pattern, crafting the detailed veins of the divine rune inside his body to perfectly match the furnace's shape.
Time flowed slowly. From morning till night, then from night till the next morning, Jiang Xuan continued his forging.
Finally, his eyes slowly opened, and an Eight Trigrams Furnace burst forth from his bitter sea.
The furnace had three legs and two handles. Its body was arranged with the eight trigrams — Qian, Kan, Gen, Zhen, Xun, Li, Kun, Dui — intricately positioned, resembling a gourd.
Jiang Xuan's mood was elated. The divine rune had successfully transformed into a furnace, and controlling two furnaces would make him even more adept.
With a thought, both furnaces surged out from the bitter sea, floating beside the divine rune Eight Trigrams Furnace.
Suddenly, the divine rune furnace radiated dazzling light and boundless flames. Within it were endless mysteries, as if it could refine the myriad worlds of the heavens, containing the essences of wind, thunder, water, fire, mountains, and marshes. It was like an infinitely large pocket that could hold all things in the universe.
The brilliance was almost overwhelming, capable of melting anything, and the flames could burn mountains and seas.
Yet, whether it was the light or the fire, Jiang Xuan felt them as warm and gentle.
"What a magnificent Eight Trigrams Furnace!"
With a shift of his will, the divine rune furnace merged into the Eight Trigrams Furnace he had obtained from the Great Thunder Sound Temple. That furnace burst with boundless radiance, its all-consuming aura even more intense.
When the divine rune merged into the Xuanyu Furnace, it too shone brilliantly, its aura swelling sharply, though not as fierce and domineering as when merged with the Eight Trigrams Furnace.
Reflecting on this, Jiang Xuan suddenly understood.
The divine rune naturally matched the Eight Trigrams Furnace more perfectly. Although the Xuanyu Furnace was also a treasure, it was not as compatible.
A smile appeared on Jiang Xuan's face.
With the divine rune controlling the Eight Trigrams Furnace, he was confident he could fight beyond his level—this would be his trump card.
The Eight Trigrams Furnace was capable of both offense and defense. Jiang Xuan's next task was to continuously expand his bitter sea and raise his cultivation level.
He retracted the two furnaces into his bitter sea and began contemplating his next steps in cultivation.
The small realms within the Lunhai (Cycle Sea) stage had little difference in cultivation methods. They all involved refining the essence of heaven and earth and awakening life's potential. The only difference was that each small realm had a barrier to overcome—awakening the bitter sea, opening the divine spring, and crossing the divine bridge to reach the other shore.
Before and after crossing these barriers, the cultivation work was largely the same: to keep refining the essence of heaven and earth. Cultivators with strong backgrounds could rely on endless divine materials and treasures to assist their cultivation. Those with unique physiques cultivated quickly and could often fight beyond their level.
Others might also have their own artifact weapons, sometimes custom-made by sects or families, and often even better than Jiang Xuan's.
Suddenly, Jiang Xuan felt his Eight Trigrams Furnace was no longer so precious.
"The big waves sift the sand. I am but a mortal body. Amidst the tides of this era, how can I break through the deadlock?"
He did not underestimate himself. With the immense opportunity of the Hongmeng Treasure Mirror, as long as he could maximize this chance and turn it into strength, then all those so-called divine or holy bodies, and sects or great families would merely be pretenders.
"Wan Yu Hong Lu Jing (Ten Thousand Prison Smelting Furnace Scripture)?"
Jiang Xuan pondered long and hard, ultimately immersing his consciousness in the long-dormant Wan Yu Hong Lu Jing.
According to the scripture, mastering this technique would bring him to the threshold of the Immortal realm, forging boundless divine power and an invincible physical body.
The Wan Yu Hong Lu Jing was divided into two parts. The upper scroll described devouring treasures and melting them into the flesh. The lower scroll explained how to refine those treasures, absorb their essence and laws, convert it into the power of the Ten Thousand Prison Smelting Furnace technique, and ultimately transform oneself into a furnace that could refine heaven and earth.
Yes, transform into a furnace.
The Wan Yu Hong Lu Jing (Ten Thousand Prison Smelting Furnace Scripture) was originally created by a Demon Emperor who betrayed his disciples in order to forge treasures. When this scripture reaches its completion, one loses their divine soul and consciousness, and their physical body becomes a furnace.
The literal meaning is: the physical body becomes the furnace.
"Eight Trigrams Furnace, Ten Thousand Prison Smelting Furnace…"
"Phoenix-wing gilded barrel, primordial spirit unites with the Dao weapon, losing all wisdom…"
"Divine rune of the bitter sea, the tool to prove the Dao…"
"Heaven and Earth as the furnace, creation as the craftsman, Yin and Yang as the charcoal, all things as the copper."
Jiang Xuan focused his mind on two things at once, his consciousness delving deeply into the true meaning of the Wan Yu Hong Lu Jing scripture. Sometimes his brows furrowed tightly, sometimes he muttered softly to himself. At the same time, his mind sensed the Eight Trigrams Furnace divine rune within the bitter sea—sometimes appearing on his forehead, sometimes on the surface of his skin, sometimes deep within his viscera, only to finally return to the bitter sea.
Eventually, Jiang Xuan's consciousness fully immersed itself within the Hongmeng Treasure Mirror, sensing countless rules and principles of divine treasures and weapons within. The infinite Dao runes, countless as the sands of the Ganges, flooded his mind. Jiang Xuan absorbed these principles eagerly, as if starving.
Meanwhile, the countless divine weapon imprints within the Hongmeng Treasure Mirror rolled and swirled, gradually converging until—astonishingly—they formed a single… humanoid imprint.
Jiang Xuan's eyes grew ever brighter. At the same time, the Hongmeng Treasure Mirror burst forth with dazzling radiance, and a wisp of primordial chaotic light enveloped his entire body.
"My Dao is complete!"
Using the Zhe Tian technique as his foundation and the Wan Yu Hong Lu Jing as his method, Jiang Xuan realized a new path of cultivation:
Refining treasures to cultivate the body—refining treasures is cultivation, and cultivation is refining treasures.
This realization was partly Jiang Xuan's own insight, but more so the blessing of the Hongmeng Treasure Mirror.
The Hongmeng Treasure Mirror, named for treasures, resonated with Jiang Xuan's creation of this treasure-refining cultivation method. As treasures possessed spirits, it accelerated this process by countless times.
The divine rune Eight Trigrams Furnace within Jiang Xuan's bitter sea surged out, then quickly merged back into his body. He integrated the divine rune into his stomach.
He intended to refine his stomach into an Eight Trigrams Furnace.
The treasure-refining cultivation method first forges divine runes into the shapes of corresponding treasures. Then, depending on the treasure's properties, they are integrated into parts of the body—whether the internal organs, limbs, or eventually even down to the acupoints and particles—ultimately forging a supreme treasure body.
With a wave of both hands, the Eight Trigrams Furnace he had obtained from the Great Thunder Sound Temple appeared in his palms.
Jiang Xuan circulated profound methods and slowly fused the furnace into his body.
He immersed himself deeply in the cultivation of refining treasures.
One day, two days, ten days passed. Finally, the Eight Trigrams Furnace was completely integrated with his stomach.
Hoo!
Endless flames surged skyward. With each breath, domineering fire burst forth from Jiang Xuan's mouth and nose.
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