Chapter 122: Countering the Five Elements

[Page 1 of 3]

It dissolved upon contact with water.

Water could nourish all things, yet it could also dissolve all things. He had overlooked that before.

What, then, could not be dissolved by water?

His thoughts raced.

Fire? It was extinguished the moment it met water.

Earth? Once earth encountered water, it became mud.

Wood? Had he not seen rotten logs decaying in the mud of rivers?

Metal? It was merely that ordinary water could not dissolve metal. As far as Cheng Xinzhan knew, alchemists and refiners possessed countless kinds of water capable of dissolving gold and jade.

Water! Of course—only water could not be dissolved by water!

Cheng Xinzhan formed a hand seal. Dark radiance appeared in his palm: the spell-light of Lunar Gui Water.

He slowly extended his hand into the black-radiance domain. The black light wound around the spell-light of Lunar Gui Water as though it had encountered its own kind, and did not continue seeping into Cheng Xinzhan’s body.

Yet it soon became apparent that this black-radiance domain was not so simple. Although his Lunar Gui Water was not dissolved by the black light, it was slowly merging into it. Before long, the Lunar Gui Water clinging to his hand had vanished without a trace, and he hurriedly withdrew it.

After thinking for a moment, he made another attempt.

Once again, he wrapped his palm in Lunar Gui Water and reached into the black-radiance domain.

At the same time, within the small inner world of his Inner Landscape, there was a palace in the Water Palace—the very palace known as the Moon Palace. Within it sat the Lunar Sovereign in meditation.

With a movement of his mind, the deity of his Inner Landscape immediately sensed his intent. The Lunar Sovereign’s form radiated a dim, ethereal light, projecting itself from the inner world into the outer realm. When that mysterious radiance shone into the black-radiance domain, wisps of spiritual energy were stripped from the black light and transformed into pure power of Lunar Netherwater, which was drawn into the Water Palace.

It worked!

Even the Lunar Sovereign’s manifestation in his Inner Landscape could refine Lunar Netherwater!

Cheng Xinzhan therefore summoned the Lunar Netherwater refined within the Water Palace and transformed it into a protective spell-light that covered his body. Then, with unhurried composure, he walked inside.

The White Rat, watching from afar, widened its eyes. How could he have entered so quickly?

It had taken the creature decades to uncover the secret, followed by another several decades of painstaking effort to accumulate dozens of Boundary Talismans of Celestial Water Curtain, refined from starlit dew and moon-sap, before it had dared to enter.

How had Cheng Xinzhan simply walked in?

Where had he obtained such profound magical power?

The Northern Sea says: “One cannot speak of the sea to a frog in a well, for it is confined by the limits of its dwelling. One cannot speak of ice to a summer insect, for it is bound by the season of its life. One cannot speak of the Way to a narrow-minded scholar, for he is shackled by his teachings.”

The White Rat did not know that Cheng Xinzhan could walk through the black-radiance domain while refining Netherwater at the same time. It had never known that the Daoist tradition possessed such a wondrous art as the Inner Landscape of the Yellow Court, much less that Cheng Xinzhan had visualized the Lunar Sovereign, an ancient celestial god who controlled every waterway beneath Heaven.

Cheng Xinzhan reached the edge of the black domain. Before him lay the white domain.

Within the white domain, an endless wind seemed to be blowing. The wind was silver-white, so fine that it could not be seen without close inspection. But with his alchemical eyes activated, Cheng Xinzhan could see that the wind was formed from countless blades whirling through the air.

The White Rat had said that this was Golden Light of the Fallen Soul—the gold referred to its nature, not its color.

He still reached out and tested it.

He felt no pain, and his fingers suffered no visible injury.

But in the next instant, streaks of silver-white light blades followed the acupoints and meridians in his fingers and slashed directly into his Inner Landscape!

He hurriedly withdrew his hand. Only then did the white light cease entering.

[Page 2 of 3]

The white light that had already entered the small inner world surged straight toward the Violet Palace, transforming into several flying knives. Ignoring the Three Souls, they flew directly at the Seven Po.

The instant the Golden Light of the Fallen Soul entered the small inner world, the Corpse Hound among the Seven Po had already become alert. The Corpse Hound barked, and the other six souls awoke as well.

The Purifier of Filth, Stinking Lung, Sparrow Yin, Non-Poison, and Hidden Arrow saw the flying knives descending upon them and all curled into trembling balls. Only the Swallower of Thieves transformed into Lu Wu and charged to meet the blades.

Cheng Xinzhan deliberately watched with cold detachment, observing the Swallower of Thieves face its enemy.

If his soul ever left his body, the Swallower of Thieves would bear responsibility for guarding his physical form.

The incoming Golden Light of the Fallen Soul transformed into seven flying knives, which slashed toward the Seven Po. The Swallower of Thieves leaped into the air and blocked them all. It sprang and wheeled, claws dancing, but in the end it managed to shatter only five of the knives.

The Swallower of Thieves then fell, covered in wounds and utterly exhausted.

The remaining two flying knives shot straight toward it, now powerless to defend itself.

At that very moment, Peach Capital moved within the Hall of Yang. It charged directly into the Violet Palace and shattered both remaining knives.

“What a marvelous thing,” Cheng Xinzhan thought.

Whether used against enemies, to guard the physical body, or to temper the Seven Po, it was an exquisite method. He wondered beneath which earth-vein the fruit pit had captured the Golden Light of the Fallen Soul. He had never even heard of such a thing before.

After pondering this, he reached into the golden domain once more. The Golden Light of the Fallen Soul again surged into his body. But this time, when it invaded his Inner Landscape, he immediately activated the deity of the Metal Palace.

The Golden Kirin let out a long roar, and dazzling radiance burst from its body.

The roar of the Golden Kirin resounded throughout the Inner Landscape. Hearing it, the white Golden Light of the Fallen Soul seemed to receive a command. The light, which had been surging toward the Violet Palace, abruptly changed direction and streamed toward the Metal Palace instead.

Once it entered the Metal Palace, the Golden Light of the Fallen Soul transformed beside the qilin into a forest of blades.

It truly worked.

The Golden Kirin could subdue the Golden Light of the Fallen Soul. It seemed that, wondrous though this light was, it still fell under the dominion of the Golden Kirin’s kind.

Thus, beneath the White Rat’s stunned gaze, Cheng Xinzhan continued onward.

He crossed the white-gold domain.

Beyond it lay the yellow earth domain.

It was said to absorb all who encountered earth.

What sort of scene would await him?

He extended his hand and slowly reached inside.

But a sudden transformation occurred. The ocher domain possessed an enormous suction force. The instant his palm touched the yellow light, it seemed that someone had seized it. A tremendous force yanked him inward, and his entire body was pulled into the domain.

Once inside, however, his earth-burrowing art seemed to lose its effect. It could no longer sustain his form. He plummeted rapidly through the domain, as though he were not falling through earth at all, but tumbling from the edge of a precipice.

His thoughts raced through countless possibilities as he considered how to respond. In the first two trials, he had countered water with water and metal with metal. Here, naturally, he thought of countering earth with earth.

Within the Earth Palace, Prince Brilliant Spirit formed a hand seal and chanted:

“Hear my command! Let the mountains and lakes be reversed; let the lake’s vapors become stone. By decree!”

Boom!

After falling for a long while, Cheng Xinzhan’s feet finally touched solid ground.

The mud beneath him, as insubstantial as vapor and as fluid as a marsh, had been transformed into mountain stone.

What followed was simple. He turned lake vapors into stone, making one step after another, climbing higher and higher until he returned to his original position.

He did not know what kind of earth it was that made it impossible to stand firmly, but he collected some and stored it in the Earth Palace, slowly comprehending the meaning of its law.

[Page 3 of 3]

He continued onward. Wherever he passed, the earth beneath his feet solidified into stone. In this manner, he crossed the yellow earth domain.

After that, a crimson domain of fire blocked his path.

It scorched whatever encountered it.

This trial was actually the simplest for Cheng Xinzhan. Water could not dissolve water, and fire naturally could not scorch fire itself.

He summoned Solar Bing Fire, covered his hand with it, and reached into the fire domain to test it.

Solar Bing Fire came into contact with the flames within the domain, and dazzling spell-light erupted at once. The fire within the domain could not suppress the Solar Bing Fire, yet the leaping Solar Bing Fire was likewise unable to force open the flames of the domain.

This greatly surprised Cheng Xinzhan. Given the dominance of Solar Bing Fire, he had never expected another flame to rival it.

He observed carefully. The flames within the domain were a reddish violet. They burned quietly and steadily, neither dancing nor making a sound. They did not resemble real flames. They looked as though they had been painted—or perhaps sculpted.

A name appeared in Cheng Xinzhan’s mind, but he still found it difficult to believe.

“Could it be the Six Ding Divine Fire?”

It was the refined, gentle alchemical flame dreamed of by alchemists and refiners.

The more Cheng Xinzhan looked, the more convinced he became. He activated the deity of his Inner Landscape and subdued the spell-flame, storing it within the Heart Palace for careful study in the future.

If this truly was the Six Ding Divine Fire, then his future mastery of fire arts would unite yin and yang, allowing him to cultivate both Bing Fire and Ding Fire together.

Using fire to ward off fire proved effective. Cheng Xinzhan summoned Solar Fire, draped it over his body, and crossed the crimson fire domain.

He then arrived at the final layer: the green wood domain.

It withered whatever encountered it.

This was the layer over which he had the least confidence.

He had not yet opened his Wood Palace.

Moreover, what exactly would wither upon encountering wood? His physical body—or his lifespan?

For the sake of safety, he brought forth his bamboo body and entered the wood domain under the control of his soul.

He immediately noticed that what withered was the physical body. He could feel the vigorous life force within the bamboo body ebbing away bit by bit.

The bamboo body raced through the Wood Palace. He had no means of countering the wood domain and could only withstand it by force.

Fortunately, Cheng Xinzhan did not sense that the bamboo body had suffered any unacceptable loss. It seemed that the life force contained within this bamboo staff, which had inherited the legacy of Bright Governance Mountain through four generations, was even greater than he had imagined.

The bamboo body hurried onward and finally reached the fruit pit. It seized the pit in one hand.

The five-colored domains began to flicker simultaneously. Taking the fruit pit as their center, they contracted inward until they transformed into nothing more than a membrane-like substance that protected the pit within.

As the bamboo body held the fruit pit, a surging vitality flowed from it into the bamboo body. In an instant, it restored all the losses caused by passing through the wood domain.

In the distance, the White Rat watched Cheng Xinzhan sweep through the layers of domains with irresistible momentum and actually obtain the ginseng fruit pit. It was so shocked that it could not speak. One sentence echoed repeatedly in its mind:

“He really got it!”

Cheng Xinzhan’s physical body took the fruit pit from the bamboo body and tried storing it inside the Earth Palace. As expected, divine objects were indeed divine objects; it could be placed within an acupoint.

Afterward, he put away the bamboo body as well and turned to look at the White Rat.

“Lay Buddhist Bai, you have regained your freedom. But if this junior invited you to return with me to Three Pure Ones Mountain, where you could enjoy your remaining years in peace and no longer hide from place to place, fearing that one day you might end up in someone else’s belly, would you agree?”