Kunlun Palace holds the Violet Gold Pill,
Unworthy of immortal materials, it cannot be observed.
Those who partake shall have their lifespan extended,
Naturally free from craving, hunger, and cold.
Ji Xiang naturally knew what a Violet Gold Pill was, but he never expected that the Golden Core he had formed would take on the appearance of a Violet Gold Pill.
This item had always been associated with the Outer Elixir Dao, but the Golden Core Great Dao was the Inner Elixir Dao. It did not rely on external elixirs and was not a path to immortality through external elixirs.
Outer elixirs and inner elixirs were essentially about seeking external power. For instance, consuming a Nine Revolutions Immortal Elixir could lead to immediate ascension to immortality. Inner elixirs, on the other hand, involved self-cultivation, progressing through the Golden Core and Nascent Soul stages to achieve immortality and eternal life from mortal status.
"I refined the Violet Gold Pill using intertwined divine fires. Could this be because I myself possess the cultivation of the Ascension Realm, making me half an immortal, thus leading to this anomaly?"
"Oh no, I've become Tang Sanzang! Wait, but this might not be a bad thing."
Although he had turned into a "longevity elixir" similar to Tang Sanzang's, Ji Xiang felt that if this news spread, it might attract many demons to seek him out, which would be quite convenient, saving him the trouble of seeking out dungeons.
I am a male instructor who is proficient in understanding the nature of demons and excels at making them rush towards me in a frenzy.
The great demons of the mortal world are pawns of cultivators. Moreover, demons usually make a grand entrance, bringing along all sorts of insignificant lesser demons to showcase their might, creating a vast, swarming spectacle. In actual combat, it would be like Sun Wukong sharpening his Ruyi Jingu Bang; a single strike from a mountain peak could crush forty-five thousand lesser demons, making the Little Drill Wind exclaim his familiarity with the situation.
They were completely there to offer up heads and good deeds.
You are mature dungeons; you should learn to come and let me farm you.
"Let me circulate this elixir and see what marvels it holds?"
The Golden Core was merely a characteristic of entering the Golden Core Great Dao. The act of the divine fire burning the Golden Core did not cease.
Indeed, the Golden Core, as an object, the longer it is burned, the more wondrous its transformation. Gold, when plunged into fire, withstands a hundred refinements without melting and is imperishable until the end of time.
The Golden Core dissolves to form the Nascent Soul. Only then can one "roam the heavens and earth." Following this are twelve years of the Yellow Court and Innate stages, three years for the pearl to fall into the Yellow Court, and nine years for the Innate transformation. No matter how high one's talent, to quickly pass through these twelve years, one must rely on rare heavenly treasures like the Seven Treasures Yellow Lotus.
As the Violet Gold Pill was circulated, the heavens and earth, which had momentarily calmed above the temple, began to stir once more!
The Violet Gold Pill seemed to have become an acupoint. As it circulated, it felt as if it had vanished from within his body. Ji Xiang could no longer sense its presence, yet when he immersed his spirit into the inner landscape, he could clearly see it there.
The divine tablet in his inner landscape even reacted:
"The Great Dao is easily attained, but a single acupoint is difficult to find!"
This inexplicable sentence made Ji Xiang feel surprised. He then tried to continue urging the Violet Gold Pill, circulating his breath, adjusting his bodily state, and drawing all the wind and thunder energies into his body. This caused the statue of Zhenwu to shake repeatedly, and the wind and clouds in the heavens and earth to change color.
As expected, under Ji Xiang's subtle manipulation, the divine tablet in his inner landscape displayed a note resembling a "cultivation method":
"Violet Gold Pill: In the pre-Qin era, ancient alchemists referred to it as an item capable of achieving immediate ascension to immortality!"
"Upon reaching the Golden Core realm, one obtains the Qi of the Supreme Purity, which nurtures the power of ascension within. Thus, the cultivation realm feeds back into the physical body, and with the aid of Yanfutan gold, this Violet Gold Pill is born, serving as a celestial acupoint for the human body. Consequently, the movements of celestial deities, the opening and closing of Yin and Yang, all occur within this pill."
"The holder of the Violet Gold Pill, as a Lord of Incense, is immune to evil energies below the Ascension Realm and karma below the Pure Yang Realm. Your negative emotions such as greed, attachment, ignorance, and foolishness will be reduced by thirty percent. Your cultivation speed will increase by two times. Your endurance, willpower, and focus will increase by thirty percent. Your courage and diligence will increase by twenty percent, along with a ten percent increase in the compassionate and unwavering heart (the catalyst for ascension)."
The compassionate and unwavering heart requires thirteen hundred good deeds to achieve enlightenment. Although Ji Xiang had used various secret methods to "cheat" and experience the state of twelve hundred good deeds beforehand, he hadn't felt any significant change.
"So, to truly master this heart of ascension, aside from feeling it when making grand vows, one needs to undergo long tempering in the mortal world. I am still far from it, but unfortunately, the compassionate and unwavering heart was not a mandatory condition in the first place. One only needs to experience it once and maintain this state of mind to ascend to immortality."
Very few people could fully master the compassionate and unwavering heart. Even among the legends of Celestial Venerables in the Daoist school, there was only one who was truly willing to help the world without compensation and was available on call: the Celestial Venerable of Great Mercy and Salvation.
Ji Xiang continued to read.
"With the emergence of the Violet Gold Pill, the holder can use 'Golden Escape' and 'Pill Sword'!"
"Golden Escape (circulation of Metal Element): One of the thirteen great escapes, it is the lowest-ranked among the five elemental escape techniques. It requires touching a metal object to be activated. Upon touching a metal object, one's form can be concealed, covering several miles in an instant. With advanced cultivation, one can travel to places where metal objects are gathered, and can also displace and transport metal-element objects within short distances, as well as transmute stone into gold."
"Pill Sword (gathering Qi to form shape): Ancient sword immortals were divided into five sects, with Pill Sword being one of them. It externalizes the inner elixir method into sword immortal techniques. A white light is spat out from the mouth, and breath can injure people, with breath transforming into a sword."
"The second divine ability of the Ascension Realm, the divine sword takes form. With the aid of the Violet Gold Pill, it can be used more quickly."
"Your mastery of the wind and thunder forces in the heavens and earth has become more proficient. When using the Violet Gold Pill, your use of metal-element implements becomes more skillful. You will inflict fatal damage on cultivators with a wood nature. You will be attracted to cultivators with water and earth natures, and you will be restrained by cultivators with fire natures (immune to this due to possessing Six Ding Divine Fire and Samadhi True Fire; when cultivators with fire natures attack, it will help you cultivate faster)."
"With the help of the Violet Gold Pill, you can maximize the divine abilities and spells that surpass your own level! For example, an Earth Immortal can at most perform minor Mahayana spells of the Celestial Immortal level. If aided by the Violet Gold Pill, you can perform major Mahayana level spells of the Celestial Immortal level."
"One who possesses the Violet Gold Pill must not engage in excessive killing, otherwise, a killing intent will arise. Gold represents killing and conquest, and Violet Gold is the most noble among metals. If the killing intent becomes too strong, the outer layer of the Violet Gold Pill will appear faintly white. As the killing intent intensifies, the white color will become more pronounced. At this point, you can comprehend the Way of life and death, and the beings killed by the killing intent state will have their wishes completely shattered, preventing them from being resurrected by any soul-recalling incantations!"
"Since the Violet Gold Pill is an elixir of immortals, one who cultivates it is bound to have the qualification for ascension. Therefore, when the killing intent is too heavy, it will agitate the gods in the heavens, and the Great Emperor of Heavenly Slaughter will descend in form and spirit to slay the holder of the Violet Gold Pill!"
After reading about the power of the Violet Gold Pill, Ji Xiang summarized that in the long run, the most useful was that trace of compassionate and unwavering heart. As for Golden Escape and Pill Sword, their effectiveness depended on one's physical cultivation. The stronger the essence, qi, and spirit, the higher the proficiency, and the greater the power of these two techniques. The advantage of the Pill Sword lineage was its ability to inflict damage from a distance, eliminating the need for weapons in hand.
However, the Violet Gold Pill was something only those with immortal potential could manifest. Therefore, it was destined that it could not tolerate excessive killing. After all, before ascension, the focus was on doing good deeds and accumulating merit, not on committing evil everywhere. Thus, even when killing demons, one had to adhere to the principle of "Heaven has benevolent virtue for all life" and not kill too many.
As for the Great Emperor of Heavenly Slaughter, this name was relatively unfamiliar. Ji Xiang pondered through some ancient texts and seemed to have a faint impression, but it was not deep. In any case, judging by the name, one could understand his duties. He might be an avatar of a Celestial Venerable, like the General of Ghost Extermination, an avatar of the Primordial Celestial Venerable. Any deity called "Great Emperor" was definitely not of low rank.
He was certainly above the Four Marshals of the Heavenly Peng. Although Ji Xiang possessed the art of driving away gods and could even summon the Primordial Celestial Venerable, if the other party actively brought down tribulations, the art of driving away gods might not be useful.
As for other benefits, they each had their strengths, such as being able to perform divine abilities and spells that surpassed one's own level with the help of the Violet Gold Pill, as well as the improvement in cultivation speed and various mental states that could better resist tribulations of vexation, curses, and poisons.
"I've profited, a great profit!"
...
The wind and thunder shook, and the heavens and earth gradually darkened. Only the temple flickered with bursts of light. After waiting for a while, the situation in the temple stabilized. However, the magistrate of Qiantang County and his entourage did not intend to return to the temple just yet.
After all, the recent events suggested Zhenwu's anger. The magistrate of Qiantang County then reprimanded the white-robed monk:
"Master, it's not that I blame you, but look at the current commotion! I don't know how I'm going to explain this to our deity when she returns to the temple."
"I think you've caused a great disturbance this time. You should hurry back to Lingyin Temple to lie low."
Although Buddhist followers were not afraid of the condemnation of Daoist deities, as they were not of the same system, the commotion this time was indeed too great. The white-robed monk also showed a look of surprise. He still wanted to enter the temple to check the situation, but now, not only the magistrate of Qiantang County but also the merchants from the Longyou Merchant Guild stopped him.
"You can't go in! We can't handle another incident like this!"
"Exactly. We've been offering incense for so many years, and nothing happened. Lord Zhenwu protected us and kept us safe. But you, Master, you almost made Lord Zhenwu descend personally!"
The wealthy merchants winked and then mocked the magistrate of Qiantang County:
"Magistrate, this master was brought by you. Now that things have turned out like this, it's much worse than the damage we caused when we were fighting, isn't it!"
"Yes, Magistrate. We each spent several thousand taels. Since you brought this master and it ended up like this, don't you have to spend several thousand taels as well!"
The wealthy merchants naturally would not miss this opportunity to extort the magistrate and felt quite triumphant. However, the magistrate of Qiantang County was not an ordinary person and immediately said:
"That's fine too. If you return all the money you gave me, I can personally contribute over ten thousand taels."
The wealthy merchants immediately became anxious: "How can that be? That's our money. You're using our money as your own and then using it to repair the temple?"
Magistrate of Qiantang County: "Isn't that money in my hands?"
Wealthy merchants: "Yes."
Magistrate of Qiantang County: "Then it's my money, isn't it? Isn't that right? You don't think that my thousand taels don't include my money, do you? Gathering a crowd to cause trouble, according to the Great Ming Laws..."
The wealthy merchants were stunned, but some were still defiant and said sternly: "Then you've also accepted bribes! According to the Great Ming Laws, anyone accepting over five hundred guan of money will be beaten with a hundred strokes and sentenced to three years of imprisonment! Aren't you afraid of losing your official position?"
The magistrate of Qiantang County clapped his hands and then spread them open: "You say I've accepted bribes, but my money has already been used to repair the temple. I have clean sleeves. If you say I've been greedy, can you find even one tael of silver on me?"
"Let alone five hundred guan, you won't find even a single copper coin."
The wealthy merchants were dumbfounded, while the magistrate of Qiantang County declared that he was a pure and upright official, as Heaven could bear witness!
"Don't be unconvinced. If you want to call upon the Longyou Merchant Guild to help you vent your anger, then go ahead. I've only ever heard of peasants rebelling, never of merchants stirring up any trouble!"
"Go ahead!"
The wealthy merchants were naturally unconvinced, their faces looking grim. They left in anger. At this moment, they were no longer opponents fighting each other. When it came to friction with the government, they naturally had to present a united front!
Even though we fought, setting aside the facts, isn't the government also at fault!
"Magistrate, mountains don't turn, but rivers do. We'll meet again sooner or later!"
The wealthy merchants left, going to gather reinforcements. The magistrate of Qiantang County snorted: "These merchants, they don't engage in production all day and only think about making money. If I don't extort them, they won't know to restrain themselves."
The white-robed monk then chanted a Buddhist phrase: "Sir, greed is a desire. I hope you do not become too greedy."
"It will not end well."
The magistrate of Qiantang County gave him a sideways glance: "Master, aren't you also very greedy? If you weren't greedy, how could such a thing have happened today?"
The white-robed monk repeatedly confessed his sins: "This humble monk is already repenting."
The magistrate of Qiantang County then said: "Master, some things cannot be judged by their surface. Look at these merchants. They offer incense to Lord Zhenwu every day, hoping not to be killed by demons and monsters, and wishing for Zhenwu to protect them so they can accumulate more wealth, eventually emptying this Great Ming Dynasty."
The white-robed monk asked doubtfully: "How can mere merchants stir up any waves?"
The magistrate of Qiantang County: "Hmph! I just said that peasants can indeed rebel, but merchants pose a very serious threat to the nation!"
"Does anyone in this world not know what the Longyou Merchant Guild is doing in secret? They disregard the imperial decrees and sell large quantities of high-quality steel to the Portuguese, even going so far as to break the imperial decrees and forge high-quality steel into cooking pots to export them under the guise of kitchenware."
"You say, can this merchant guild become so large and have such a great reputation in the Jiangnan region without possessing cannons purchased from the Portuguese? Are there cultivators behind them who wish to subvert the court and claim mountains as their own?"
The white-robed monk opened his mouth, only to be utterly astonished, speechless.
"Furthermore, it is said that these merchants are looking for something good. Once they have that item, all the wealth in the world will converge into their hands. Not only these merchants, but also the Eight Imperial Merchants, the Huizhou Merchants... the news of these merchant guilds is interconnected, and they are all looking for..."
The magistrate of Qiantang County narrowed his eyes: "Master, have you ever heard of the Treasure Gathering Basin?"