The Bei Qishan Range is majestic, with its peaks extending as if a lying dragon.

    As soon as Chen Yunyi arrived, he was immediately led by the golden child to the temple.

    In the rear garden, Chen Yunyi encountered Lü Dongbin, who was admiring the autumn chrysanthemums.

    He stepped forward, bowed and said, "Chen Pu greets Master Lü."

    Lü Dongbin turned his head slightly and nodded, speaking with a hint of irony, "Our Chen brother is never one to show up without a good reason. What brings you here today?"

    Chen Yunyi felt not a shred of embarrassment and replied with a broad smile, "I have some doubts regarding my cultivation practices, so I've come to seek Master's guidance."

    Lü Dongbin reached out to stroke the autumn chrysanthemums, "Your spiritual aura is superficial, I assume you're here to ask for teachings on how to refine elixirs?"

    Chen Yunyi said, "Yes, my junior brother, because I have already cultivated a celestial body, I have been unable to achieve the two methods of refining spirit into gas and gas into spirit to successfully refine a golden elixir." Therefore, I wish to seek guidance from Master."

    Lü Dongbin casually waved his sleeve and turned around, saying, "You asked me about this matter last time. Did you forget?"

    How could Chen Yun forget? Of course, he remembered what Lü Dongbin had said: that as long as he had sufficient danqi (elixir qi), he would naturally be able to condense a golden elixir.

    Just that the danqi within himself was extremely abundant, having reached the late stage of the master.

    In this stage, ordinary people can try to condense golden elixirs.

    I haven't shown any signs at all, and I'm truly puzzled in my heart, which is why I came seeking help.

    He said, "I remember, but the danqi within me is still nonexistent, without any signs of condensing a golden elixir."

    Lü Dongbin looked up and down at him, and said indifferently, "Then it is not enough for the danqi to be abundant. If your danqi were as turbulent as the sea, naturally you would condense a cluster of it, thus coagulating a divine foetus golden elixir."

    Chen Yun hesitated, "I've reached the late stage of the master's cultivation. Isn't my danqi already sufficiently abundant?"

    Lü Dongbin countered, "Do you know why ordinary people, without the aid of particularly powerful talismans, can never match cultivators?"

    Chen Yun shook his head and said, "I don't know."

    Lü Dongbin spoke slowly, "A golden elixir cultivator, their number is countless, like the wind, formless and boundless, and their transformations are endless. They wear Kunlun on their heads, shoulder the sun and the moon, hold the emperor's bell in their hands, and step on the mythical qilin. They can appear small enough to enter a speck of dust or an eyelash. Their great power protects the true dharma and undergoes myriad transformations. This is the true might of a golden elixir cultivator. Can the power of a late master be compared to that?"

    What?

    The Golden Elixir True Sages are so formidable?

    Chen Yun carefully analyzed Lü Dongbin's words to understand just how formidable the Golden Elixir True Sages were.

    Firstly, there are billions of trillions. This is a numerical term and a very large one at that.

    It consists of multiple counting units, arranged from right to left as follows: individual, ten, hundred, thousand, ten thousand, hundred million, billion, trillion, and trillions.

    The "gai" is a very large counting unit, coming after "jing."

    Therefore, "hundreds of thousands and millions of gai" can be understood as followed by a "gai."

    Of course, Lü Dongbin used this term not to describe a number.

    Instead, he was indicating the immense power of the Golden Elixir True Sages, as vast and boundless as the concept of "hundreds of thousands and millions of gai."

    Secondly, the sentence "wearing Kunlun on the head, bearing the sun and moon on the shoulders, holding the emperor's bell in one's hands, and stepping on the mythical qilin" describes the attributes of a Golden Elixir True Sage.

    It implies that Golden Elixir True Sages can easily bear Kunlun Mountain and even carry the sun and moon on their shoulders.

    The "emperor's bell" in Taoism is known as the "Sanqing Bell."

    This sentence doesn't reveal much meaning.

    However, the phrase "stepping on the mythical qilin" is quite different.

    The "qilin" in ancient texts is described as a snake-like monster.

    It is said to resemble a cow, with a dark body and no horns, on one foot.

    It is believed that whenever the qilin moves through water, there will be storms, and its light is as bright as the sun and moon, its roar like thunder.

    Therefore, "stepping on the qilin" can be understood as being able to easily subdue such fierce beasts as the qilin.

    Chen Yun, after a moment's reflection, understood that Lü Dongbin meant that the power of Golden Elixir True Sages is as great as the sun and moon.

    If one has to make an analogy, then what was previously considered as planet-sized may be far from enough; it might have reached star-sized.

    Currently, I have reached the late stage of the master and have a faint ability to explode planets.

    It may seem very powerful, but it is far from stellar-level.

    A gap of thousands upon thousands of times, which cannot be bridged by sheer numbers.

    If what Lü Dongbin said is true.

    Chen Yun could figure it out.

    Even if a hundred thousand late-stage masters were to gather together, they would still not be a match for a Golden Elixir True Sage.

    Yes, the difference is that great.

    From this, it is evident that the amount of danqi within my body is indeed far from that of a Golden Elixir True Sage.

    Chen Yun couldn't help but furrow his brow; it seemed he had refined about half of the elixir qi left by the Thunder God Immortal.

    According to the Thunder God Immortal's will, as long as I can completely refine this ball of elixir qi, I should be able to successfully condense a golden elixir.

    However, Lü Dongbin's meaning is that even if I am ten thousand times stronger, I cannot condense a golden elixir.

    This seems to be a contradiction.

    Could it be that the Thunder God Immortal deceived himself?

    Chen Yun thought it was impossible.

    The Thunder God Immortal is at least a divine being.

    It is a remnant of his will after reincarnation and rebirth.

    It is unlikely that he would deceive me.

    Moreover, all sorts of demons and monsters come to compete for elixir qi, hoping to gain enlightenment and become immortals.

    Then, by common sense, refining the elixir qi left by the Thunder God Immortal should lead to enlightenment and immortality.

    For a moment, Chen Yun was confused and said, "Master Lü, you're saying that even if I cultivate for tens of thousands of years, it seems I'm still not enough to condense a golden elixir? The amount of danqi required is so vast that even with my entire life's efforts, I might not be able to achieve it."

    Lü Dongbin slightly pointed and said, "It takes accumulating small steps to reach great distances; it takes accumulating small streams to form great rivers and seas. When the number of something reaches a certain level, it will undergo a transformation from its original form into another. Just as when you were an ordinary practitioner, could you have dared to imagine the mighty and inconceivable power of a master?"

    Chen Yun's eyes widened slightly, "Quantity leads to a qualitative change?"

    Lü Dongbin laughed heartily, "A teachable child indeed."

    Chen Yun finally understood the meanings of both Lü Dongbin and the Thunder God Immortal's words.

    Indeed, the power of Golden Elixir True Sages is not an exaggeration of being a thousand times more powerful than the late-stage master.

    It seems that refining all the elixir qi left by the Thunder God Immortal is still far from enough.

    But in fact, it's not like that. Once I can refine the elixir qi left by the Thunder God Immortal,

    Then, once the number reaches a certain level, the danqi will undergo a qualitative change, thus gradually condensing into a golden elixir.

    Chen Yun asked, "If I cultivate according to the theory of qualitative change from quantitative change, how long will it take for me to condense a golden elixir?"

    Lü Dongbin looked like a beacon of light and said, "You have the elixir qi left by the Thunder God Immortal in your body, which should be able to reduce hundreds of years of hardships compared to ordinary people. In my opinion, another five hundred years of cultivation would be sufficient."

    Five hundred years is not a very long time.

    I'm not without perseverance.

    Chen Yun pondered and said, "I understand, master. I will accumulate more danqi when I return."

    Lü Dongbin abruptly changed the subject and said, "This method of achieving enlightenment through power is indeed formidable once accomplished, but it's not the only way for you to condense a golden elixir."

    Chen Yun eagerly asked, "What are the other methods to achieve enlightenment?"

    Lü Dongbin slowly said, "Most people who cultivate golden elixirs merge their spiritual energy, thus forming divine qi within their bodies. You have already cultivated a divine body, so the qi generated during your cultivation is inherently divine qi. However, these divine qi still need to be formed in a specific way by you. Unlike others who naturally generate divine qi through the merging of spiritual energy, if you really want to shorten the time it takes to achieve enlightenment, you only need to make the merging of spiritual energy happen."

    Chen Yun said helplessly, "I have tried to merge spiritual energy and qi, but……Ah, it's always ineffective."

    Lü Dongbin smiled and shook his head, "The normal method of refining a golden elixir is to first refine a 'Dānmǔ' (a dan mother), and then pass through three stages to make the dan mother merge with the spiritual energy. Do you know which three stages you have to pass?"

    Chen Yun knew this by heart and replied, "The three stages are: Weizhi (tail bone), Jiaji (the junction of the spine), and the 'Hewan' transportation from Yuzhen to Nihuan. Then, following the Renmeridian downward into the Dan Tian, this is called Xiaozhou Heaven. Its function is the mutual convergence of yin and yang, reaching a state of ultimate clarity."

    Lü Dongbin gently nodded his head and said, "Ordinary people let the dan mother ascend to merge with the spirit in the Nihuan. This method does not suit you because you already have a combination of spiritual qi and danqi within your body, and without a dan mother, it is naturally impossible for it to ascend to the Nihuan and merge with the spirit. However, why not let the spirit descend to the central palace and merge there?"

    Upon hearing this, Chen Yun suddenly woke up.

    He finally realized where he had gone wrong.

    He finally realized that his original creation, the "Chen Master's Elixir Canon," was a method for the descent of spiritual qi, which is vastly different from ordinary elixir cultivation techniques.

    Since you have said that, it seems that no matter whether or not you have cultivated a divine body, it should not be used with the method of passing through three stages.

    It should be like refining true qi, letting the spirit descend and refine the golden elixir.

    The accurate term for this should be "Jiandan," or "descending the elixir."

    That means that the first technique of "Chen Master's Elixir Canon" is actually the most perfect method for condensing a golden elixir.

    But he mistakenly believed that he needed to continuously increase the amount of danqi to not follow the "Jiandan" method.

    Lü Dongbin spoke slowly, "When you can achieve this, the golden elixir may not be as powerful in the central palace as one who has achieved enlightenment through power, but once the golden elixir returns to the Qi Hai (the Sea of Qi), it will possess limitless power. There are two steps to be done: the first is to 'descend the spirit and merge qi,' and the second is to let the golden elixir return to the Qi Hai. In fact, many people who have just refined a golden elixir cannot initially reach a level of billions or even trillions of gai (a unit of ancient Chinese weight). But as long as they can refine a golden elixir, their divine qi will increase with each passing day, and they can reach this level in a short time."

    As he spoke, he paused for a moment, "If you choose to follow the path of descending the spirit to condense a golden elixir, you may achieve enlightenment in a single stroke and become immortal, or it may take many years or even centuries. It depends on your spiritual nature."

    It could be said that the knowledge Lü Dongbin imparted to me today is something that even my master might not be willing to teach.

    This is not something to be taken lightly.

    Many things in cultivation are not taught by one's master to their disciples.

    For instance, things such as temperature control, the location of the ancestral seal, etc., these are not things that one's master will explain.

    Chen Yun knew that Lü Dongbin's extensive sharing of the core cultivation secrets today was very likely a form of guidance from his mentor Zhong Liqian.

    Many ancient cultivation programs were like this, where the master taught the senior disciple, and the senior disciple passed on the teachings to the junior disciple.

    Before, Chen Yun always stayed by Zhong Liqian's side, and occasionally he would also receive guidance from Zhen Wenshu and Wang Laozhi. In reality, it was Zhong Liqian's intention to give such instructions. Otherwise, the senior brothers and junior brothers would not be able to arbitrarily pass on qi refining techniques without the master's consent.

    Thinking of this, Chen Yun bowed with half the respect due to a teacher, "Thank you, Master Lü for your guidance. The disciple knows what to do now."

    Lü Dongbin hummed in response, "If that's the case, let's return to Luoyang. Don't delay me from continuing to enjoy the flowers."

    After saying that, he no longer paid any attention to others.

    Chen Yun knew that Lü Dongbin was hard-hearted but soft-hearted.

    If he really didn't want to bother with me.

    Today, he wouldn't have said so much.

    Again, he made a long bow in full respect and farewell.

    On his way back to Luoyang, Chen Yun was still pondering over the matter of refining a golden elixir.

    Today, Lü Dongbin's guidance has enlightened him on how to condense the elixir.

    Then, as long as I follow these two methods of cultivation, I will eventually be able to condense a golden elixir.

    (End of this chapter)