Inside Baofeng Temple, Zhang Yan sat cross-legged on a cloud couch. His eyes were half-closed, holding Yuan Yi in his heart, his breathing long and delicate, letting go of self and surroundings in quiet oblivion.
Gradually, a strand of cloud energy emerged from the top of his Heavenly Spirit, rising like smoke, charging straight to the beam above, eventually condensing into a mass. Within the cloud energy, sparks of flame flickered and crackled like thunder striking a copper pillar. Golden flowers scattered into the air, drifting lightly before falling gently to the ground.
The golden flowers formed by the light settled on the cloud couch without dissipating, each petal glowing with brilliance, resembling stars embraced by the heavens, and candles reflecting in mirrors, illuminating the surroundings with radiant splendor.
Zhang Yan remained motionless with his eyes closed. His expression was serene, with a slight smile at the corners of his mouth, embodying a sense of blessed longevity, joyfully detached from worldly concerns.
After an unknown length of time, he slowly opened his eyes and murmured, "Drink," at which the radiant petals of flying flowers on the couch flew toward the dozens of extinguished lamps before him. Each flower of golden fire flew accurately into its respective lamp holder. Instantly, the flames surged upward, and in a blink of an eye, the temple was ablaze with light, as if thousands of torches were illuminating the night.
Witnessing this scene, Zhang Yan smiled faintly, rose from the couch with a sweeping motion of his robe sleeves, and recited, "Fireflies take flight and dance lightly, the Star River leaves the quiet heart. Flames illuminate the night across the river, the lanterns brighten a thousand miles of the Netherworld."
After ten years of continuous refinement, his cultivation had finally advanced naturally to the "Xuan Guang Third Realm," achieving the "Xuan Guang Penetrating Objects" state!
Reaching this milestone, it lacked the grand spectacle seen when breaking through the previous two realms. This was because Zhang Yan had now returned to a state of elemental simplicity. The Xuan Guang emanating from him had condensed into unity so forcefully that if handed to a Ming Qi Cultivator, it could serve as a Qi Sword—flexible yet firm, effortlessly transitioning between hardness and softness.
Moreover, within the community of cultivators, there was an expression for this realm known as "Jiazi No Loss."
It was said that a scholar once sought shelter from the rain in the mountains and encountered a Taoist. The two, having spare time, played a few rounds of chess. The Taoist lost three rounds consecutively and ultimately gifted the scholar a wooden box, claiming it could suppress evil and was universally effective.
The scholar, being a disciple of a sage, paid no mind to this matter and casually stored the box in his collection room, occasionally bringing it up conversationally as an anecdote.
It wasn’t until the wedding of his great-grandson that an evil wind arose, preventing anyone—be it guests or servants—from lighting the lamps or candles. Suddenly remembering the wooden box, he hastily retrieved it and opened it, releasing a beam of profound light that instantly illuminated the hall inside and out, vividly and thoroughly, as if bathing in the radiance of the midday sun.
By then, a full Jiazi had passed since the Taoist had gifted the box, yet the Xuan Guang stored within remained utterly intact.
Zhang Yan knew that at this stage, any further cultivation would involve slow accumulation, steady refinement, and eventually condensing a True Fire from Xuan Guang.
This fire, known as "Light Flame," also referred to as "Inner Acupoint Yang," arose from the perfected essence Qi of all Xuan Guang within oneself, evolving into an exceedingly pure Yang energy.
The first emergence of Yang energy was the most refined, flawless, and untainted.
When cultivators refined their Golden Core, they relied on this fire to temper and purify the core. It served as the essential firewood for solidifying the pill. The fire had to be cautiously stored and vigilantly protected, lest it extinguish and disappear.
This explained why Golden Core cultivators, upon refining their core for the second time, found its quality inferior to the first. They needed to recondense the fire, but the essence Qi was no longer pure.
Having reached this level, Zhang Yan felt the robust essence Qi surging within his body, swelling and pressing outward. He realized this Qi must not be released under any circumstances, as doing so would compromise the purity of the Yang Fire he would later cultivate. So he took a step forward, left Baofeng Temple, and ascended into the clouds.
High atop the clouds, he sat calmly and quietly circulated his cultivation technique, soothing his heart and spirit’s fiery turbulence. Before long, his thoughts regained peace, his restless energy subsided.
Unconsciously, two hours passed. Suddenly, he awoke to find the sky faintly lit with the breaking dawn. Feeling refreshed and airy across his body, he laughed heartily, descended from the clouds, and returned to the temple.
As soon as he stepped back into the hall, he saw Zhang Pan already waiting there. Zhang Pan stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Master."
Zhang Yan nodded slightly and asked, "Zhang Pan, have you arranged everything properly?"
Zhang Pan replied promptly, "Rest assured, Master. I have settled the Chen Family mother and child properly."
Zhang Yan had not expected Chen Jishi to be taken on as a disciple; though he did not know who the master was, this matter served as a reminder.
This newborn child certainly had many enemies from his past life. Now that he was still in a mortal form, even if he had prepared for his reincarnation, he couldn’t completely guard against those proficient in Xuan Number giving up their cultivation to deduce his secrets. There were still risks and uncertainties.