Senior Brother, yes you're right! - Chapter 3: Flawless True Body

Dilapidated buildings, strange statues, medicine racks filled with organs and skulls, and this furnace that looked like a steamer, along with his master’s current sombre expression.

Song Yin’s gaze was deep as he said calmly, “Master, I wanted to mention earlier that this place doesn’t seem righteous.”

Jin Guang’s impatient heart sank to the bottom.

Damn!

He had forgotten about the medicine rack.

Usually, he would tidy up the items on the medicine rack, but the scene of him killing Zhao Yuanhua was so shocking that it made him forget about it.

“Yin’er, listen to your master explain!” [T/N: Yin’er= endearing way to call song yin]

Jin Guang said in a fluster, forming a hand seal with his hand.
Jin Guang said in a flustered voice while formed a seal with his hans.

“No need to explain, Master, I already understand clearly,” Song Yin said in a deep voice.

To fail at the last moment, ah his heart felt like it was bleeding!

A fierce expression suddenly appeared in Jin Guang’s eyes, and he was about to cast the spell.

“Master!” Song Yin took a step forward, his eyes looked like it could see through everything. When Jin Guang saw him, his body trembled inexplicably, and he couldn’t even hold the seal.

“Give it to me.”

“You…”

Jin Guang bit his tongue, forcibly regaining his composure, raised his arm, and cast the spell.

“I know, Master is not concerned with small matters, but some things still need to be done. This building needs to be renovated, and the statues need to be restored. How can we attract disciples with such a dilapidated place? When those disciples see this scene, they’ll either think this place is evil or that it’s not competent. We need to maintain appearances.”

“And those senior brothers, their courage is too weak. When they encounter evil, they don’t even have the courage to resist, they just stand there in a daze. Lack of courage is a disgrace to a righteous sect like ours.”
“The items on this medicine rack are also unsightly. I’m not a pedantic person; I know that those remains and bones are obtained legitimately, since we are a sect of alchemy, and some unusual ingredients are normal. But others might not see it that way and misunderstand. It’s better to put them away.”

Song Yin said a string of words and then cupped his fists, and said, “Master, I speak my mind and say what I want to say. I hope you will forgive me.”

“No need to apologize, no need.”

Jin Guang’s hand, which had just been raised, trembled and retracted. He wiped the sweat off his face.

All this really affects one’s state of mind.
But it was Jin Guang’s state of mind this time..

After adjusting his mindset, Jin Guang smiled again, “Disciple, you make valid points. Your Master has taken them to heart. So, first, let’s refine some pills and let you join the sect.”

“Yes, Master. What should I do?” Song Yin asked.

Jin Guang waved his large sleeve, and the door of the side hall behind him closed automatically with a ‘creak’ sound. A green wind drifted out of his sleeve, sealing the door.

Then, he waved his sleeve again, and the pagoda above the furnace flew open automatically. The interior of the pagoda was hollow, and the edge of the furnace platform rose up, making it look not only like a steamer but also like a large barrel.

“Go.”

A large stream of water flowed out from Jin Guang’s sleeve, quickly filling up the furnace.

“Disciple, enter inside,” he tried to make his tone sound as gentle and harmless as he could.

“Yes, Master.”

Song Yin’s footsteps struck the ground, sending a ring of dust into the air as he jumped into the furnace platform, splashing up a spray of water.

“Disciple, do not be afraid. I didn’t want to tell you before because I was afraid you would think too much. This entering the furnace is—huh? You went in already?”

Jin Guang spoke smoothly, but halfway through, he realized something was wrong and stared blankly at Song Yin, who seemed to be bathing inside.

“What’s wrong, Master?” Song Yin asked curiously.

“Nothing, nothing.”

In the past, when Jin Guang lured people into the furnace, he had to use various tricks, almost forming a set of persuasive tactics, but the results were not always ideal. After all, convincing a living person to enter a furnace was no easy task. But with Song Yin, the most troublesome step was unexpectedly skipped.

“Disciple, our Golden Immortal Sect is a sect of alchemy. Joining the sect is a bit different from other sects and requires some special methods. Don’t be too alarmed,” Jin Guang said in a very gentle tone as he walked to the medicine rack and began to take out some materials.

“Mercury, saltpeter, alum, vitriol, and salt.”

“Cuscuta, bupleurum, licorice, peony, saposhnikovia, stephania, papaya, polygala, teasel, and astragalus.”

“Flying lizard bones, tiger bones, deer antlers, ox knee, and colored glaze.”

He threw the materials into the water as if they cost nothing, immediately turning the clear water murky. He also saw some pepper-like things that made his nose sting.

“Ginseng.”

Jin Guang was about to continue when he suddenly paused, glanced at Song Yin, and gritted his teeth. “Disciple, wait a moment!”

He walked over to the medicine rack, made a hand seal, and saw the wall at the medicine rack ripple like water. The wall disappeared, revealing a large, broken hole.

Jin Guang entered the hole and, after a while, came out carrying a bag decorated with silver ornaments. He then saw Song Yin staring intently over at him.

“Master, is that an illusion?” Song Yin excitedly pointed at the hole.

“Ah, yes,” Jin Guang nodded.

“What other spells are there? Wall-passing techniques? Creating soldiers from beans? Riding clouds and mist? Transforming into three pure ones?” Song Yin’s eyes were shining brightly.

To cultivate immortality, spells are definitely necessary!

Song Yin had read mythological texts!

“Ah, yes, there are. You first need to join the sect, and then your master will teach you slowly.”

Jin Guang was somewhat absent-minded, as he only responded perfunctorily. His eyes were fixed on the bag in his hand, and a look of pained reluctance flashed across his face.

“Ah, never mind. Disciple, you have extraordinary talent; these herbs should be used for you!”

He took out a glowing object from the bag. The light was dazzling when it emerged but quickly dimmed.

It was a ginseng plant with dense and thick roots, and there was a faint human face on the ginseng.

“A 900-year-old ginseng. In another hundred years, it would become a spirit. I was planning to use it after it became a spirit…”

Jin Guang looked reluctantly at the ginseng and then threw it into the water.

“It’s all for you, my disciple!”

Jin Guang gritted his teeth and took out one glowing object after another from the bag, throwing them all into the water.

“Three-hundred-year-old Zhuguo peel, five-hundred-year-old He Shou Wu, eight-hundred-year-old Lingzhi.” [T/N: Names of Chinese herbs.]

The lights varied in intensity, and as they were thrown in, the water became even murkier, even emitting a fragrant aroma.

In the previous life, one might feel that drinking a sip could be incredibly restorative.

“Master, that’s enough. I can’t use so much,” Song Yin said, looking at Jin Guang’s pained expression, feeling a bit sympathetic.

“No, once it’s in, it all has to go in. This way, the effect will be the best!”

“Master,” Song Yin was moved.

Such precious herbs, and he used them without hesitation. Master truly treated him well.

He must not let the Golden Immortal Sect down!

Only when there was nothing left in the bag did Jin Guang throw it aside. When he looked at the furnace again after taking a deep breath, his face was full of eagerness.

“Disciple, let me explain. The entry into our Golden Immortal Sect is different from other sects. It requires special methods to refine a person like a pill in this furnace to form a flawless true body that directly leads to the Golden Core path. Only then can one store qi in the body and cultivate true qi.”

“Yes, Master!”

“Good! Now I will teach you the incantation. The cultivation method of our Golden Immortal Sect is the ‘Golden Immortal Great Medicine Pill Formula,’ a righteous sect method that directly points to the Golden Core path. When your master is refining, you must firmly remember the incantation and maintain unity of mind and spirit. The ‘Golden Immortal Great Medicine Pill Formula’ begins with: ‘The human body has a great elixir, which can achieve the great path…'”

The intricate incantation flowed from Jin Guang’s mouth, seemingly unconcerned if Song Yin could remember it. Song Yin listened and nodded with a solemn expression.

“…This is the change of heavenly mysteries, and the pill becomes one. Good, let’s begin.”

After finishing the last segment, Jin Guang wasted no time. He brought his two fingers together, and the hollow pagoda on the ground floated up, directly covering Song Yin.

“Ignite!”

With another gesture, the furnace ignited without any external fire, burning with a fierce flame.

Jin Guang formed a hand seal, making the fire in the furnace blaze even more intensely. Before long, wisps of green smoke came out from the furnace.

Shortly after, Song Yin’s voice came from inside the furnace: “Master, it’s stuffy in here.”

Jin Guang suppressed his excitement, “It will get even hotter later. To cultivate qi, you must endure the cost. You have prepared for two months; I have high expectations for you. You must not fail at the final moment!”

“Yes, Master, I won’t complain anymore.”

Indeed, there was no more sound from inside the furnace, only the crackling of the fire and the increasingly thick green smoke.

As the fire in the cauldron burned more and more vigorously, Jin Guang’s face became more and more strange.

It was quiet.

Jin Guang cautiously asked, “Disciple, are you still alive?”

“Yes, Master… I’m alive,” came the intermittent voice from inside the furnace.

Jin Guang’s face relaxed, and he kept the seal, sat cross-legged, and smiled, “It’s truly remarkable. I’ve seen many who couldn’t endure in the furnace. After practicing to this point, they all cried for their parents. After all, the pain of a mortal body being refined by fire is hard to bear. You are the first not to scream, truly a top-grade pill among top-grade pills!”!”

“Master… I can’t hear you clearly.”

The voice coming from the furnace made Jin Guang smile even wider: “Of course, you can’t hear clearly. Skin charring, self-ignition, bone burning—it is fast at first and then slow. You should now be at the self-ignition to bone-burning stage. Your skin and flesh should be mostly burned away. The fact that you can still hear and speak already amazes me.”

Jin Guang’s smile grew more brazen: “‘The human body has a great medicine that can lead to the Great Dao!”‘ I did not deceive you; this is true law. But here you are the pill, and I achieve the great path. Hahaha, hahahaha!”

He was very excited and his heart was trembling.

How many years had it been since he obtained this method? He had continuously deceived mortals into becoming the human pills that he could consume. Now, finally, he could leave the refining stage, complete the foundation establishment, and become a land immortal!

Jin Guang changed the hand seal, and the flames inside the furnace suddenly flared up, spiraling around the furnace.

“What a pity, such a pity.”

He suddenly sighed, “If I had waited to refine you until after I established my foundation, the effect would be even greater. But I can’t wait any longer.”

Once he established his foundation, he would no longer need to concern himself with the human pill mindset.

Those top-quality herbs were all prepared for his foundation establishment. Now, in order to ensure that the pill was effective enough, he threw them all in.

There are many talented people in the world. Not to mention the speed and time of Song Yin’s absorption of the great medicine pill, just judging by Song Yin’s performance in the furnace, he was indeed worthy of such high-quality herbs. Thinking of this, those medicinal materials were not considered to be wasted.

Jin Guang shook his head and closed his eyes, maintaining the hand seal.

An hour later, Jin Guang opened his eyes and asked the furnace, “Disciple, can you still speak?”

He chuckled to himself.

The bones should be burning by now. How could there still be speech?

Sure enough, there was no more sound from inside the furnace, only the crackling flames surrounding it.

Another hour passed. The flames inside the furnace turned from red to milky white, gradually shrinking inward, and the intensity of the fire began to diminish.

Rumble.

The furnace began to tremble, and the green brick floor of the side hall shook, kicking up clouds of dust.

This was a sign that the pill was forming.

Seeing this, Jin Guang’s face twisted into a sinister smile. He stood up, performed a spell, and gathered the hand seal, “Almost there. Once this fire burns out, the top-quality pill will be complete. Thank you, Heavenly Kings, for gifting this boy to me!”

Rumble.

The furnace trembled even more violently, while the internal white flame turned into a flickering small flame, like a candle in the wind.

Jin Guang formed a ‘Yin’ hand seal and shouted, “Rise!”

Boom!!

Like the sound of a great bell ringing, the pagoda above the furnace exploded, sending a wave of energy and dust outward. The fragments of the pagoda burst out and penetrated into the walls of the side hall, and even cut off Jin Guang’s robe and hair, which made him open his eyes wide.

The furnace exploded?!

How could the pill-forming process cause an explosion?

Amid the dust, a bright white light suddenly appeared, like a peerless treasure, capturing Jin Guang’s attention.

“What a brilliant pill light. Excellent! Excellent!!” Jin Guang couldn’t help but exclaim.

This was indeed the light of a pill. Though it was a bit large, it was still pill light. His top-quality pill was complete!

Jin Guang’s joy was visible as he took two steps forward. Before he could reach out, a voice came from within the white light.

“Thank you, Master.”

The sound made Jin Guang freeze as if struck by a spell.

A voice?

How could there still be a voice?

When the flame turns into milky white, it means the fire is dying down after burning the bones. By now, the person should be dead at this stage and transform into the pill formation stage. Once the fire completely extinguished, the pill should be complete.

How could there be a voice if the person was gone?!

Before Jin Guang could think about it, he saw that the white light shrank and gradually formed a human figure.

That human shape had no skin, with muscles red and exposed as if peeled, and veins and arteries clearly visible. But soon, a layer of jade like skin gradually grew out of the flesh and instantly covered the human body.

Who else could it be but Song Yin!

The white flames inside the furnace continued to shrink, like nutrients. As they shrank, Song Yin’s skin regenerated, and then fine hairs began to grow from his scalp and eyebrows, becoming thicker and darker.

“My pill, my pill! No, you must become the pill!!”

Jin Guang’s body was trembling .He stomped his foot on the ground, and three flames appeared above his head and on his shoulders. He formed a hand seal, and the fire turned into a green flame and rushed straight to the person on the cauldron.

As the flames were released, Jin Guang’s body became more withered and wrinkled. He no longer looked like an immortal.

This was the Three Corpses Transformation Fire, his ultimate technique, which could condense the yang energy of people into flames, and even burn the soul.

At this moment, the white flames inside the furnace had also burned out.

Boom!

Dense white vapor, like flames, spiraled around Song Yin’s body. The moment the ghostly flames touched the white vapor, they melted away like ice under the sun.

Zing!

A clear sound like a sword coming out of its sheath sounded beside Jin Guang’s ears, and he saw that the eyes on the furnace suddenly opened, and two bright lights like the sun flashed.

With just a look from those eyes, Jin Guang felt as if he had been struck. His vision went black, and he nearly collapsed.

“The human body has a great medicine that can lead to the Great Dao!”

Song Yin raised his hands and clenched his fists, smiling brilliantly, “Master I’ve successfully attained the flawless true body!”

“Pu!”

Triggered by these words, Jin Guang couldn’t hold on any longer. He felt a sweetness in his throat and spat out a mouthful of blood, collapsing to the ground.

—