Zhang Liusun began to reminisce about the past. Although his face bore the youthful appearance of a child, traces of nostalgia and emotion still surfaced.
Zhang Liusun, speaking of the past, despite his youthful face, couldn’t help but reveal a sense of nostalgia.
“Back then, I was practicing the Great Cave True Scripture of the Heavenly Master Sect. The orthodox teachings of the sect were actually the annotations by the Heavenly Master himself, but since I wasn’t of the direct lineage, I naturally had no chance to see them. It wasn’t until later, when I broke through the Shenxiao Sect and obtained their secret techniques, that I realized all the talismans, elixirs, and cauldrons were just nonsense, mere embellishments by later generations out of ignorance!”
At this point, Zhang Liusun looked at Mei Qing and said, “I don’t know what insights you’ve gained from the Shenxiao Thunder Method. Since I entered the path through the Heavenly Master Sect, I naturally focused on refining Qi. I practiced Qi absorption daily, refining my essence. Later, I also studied the methods of alchemy, focusing on internal cultivation without external interference. But whether it’s external Qi absorption or internal alchemy, what we’re really cultivating is the inner realm and the meridians within the body. Qi and elixirs are external matters; how could they become the foundation of cultivation?”
Seeing that Mei Qing was somewhat confused, Zhang Liusun explained, “If someone engages in a fight and exhausts their true essence, they can recover after a few breaths. The true essence is like the charcoal in a furnace or the water in a pot—once it’s burned, it’s gone. But if the furnace is large enough to hold more charcoal, it can keep the fire burning strong. Selecting good charcoal is necessary, but it’s not as important as the furnace itself.”
“Nowadays, people practice the opposite way, endlessly refining and circulating the true essence within their bodies, but they rarely temper their meridians and physical form. They don’t realize that once the body is sufficiently tempered, the true essence within will naturally become abundant, inexhaustible, and that is the correct path.”
“The alchemy and cauldron lineage is even more laughable. Ancient immortals also formed internal elixirs, but the condensation of the golden elixir should happen naturally, like water flowing into a channel. Who would have thought that later generations would invert cause and effect, treating the golden elixir as the ultimate path, abandoning all external methods and focusing solely on internal cultivation? They fail to realize that although the human body is a universe in itself, the amount of spiritual energy it can generate is limited. This kind of cultivation may be solid, but the quantity is pitifully small, even inferior to the Qi refining methods.”
Mei Qing, hearing this, felt a sense of understanding but also some doubt. “I’ve occasionally thought about this, but I wasn’t so sure. Talismans, elixirs, and cauldrons have been passed down for thousands of years. If they are truly a wrong path, why haven’t the ancient cultivation methods been passed down, while talismans and elixirs have flourished?”
Zhang Liusun nodded and sighed. “I’ve thought about this before too, and I wasn’t entirely clear either. It wasn’t until I discovered this place that I understood some of the reasons.”
Zhang Liusun’s eyes seemed to gaze into the distance as he said, “Standing east of Jieshi, overlooking the vast sea. Who would have thought that the sacred mountain Jieshi would sink into the sea?”
“What?” Mei Qing exclaimed in surprise. “This place is actually… under the sea?”
“Exactly,” Zhang Liuson said. “Since the Qin and Han dynasties, people have been puzzled when discussing Jieshi, and no one could pinpoint its location. Since you’ve seen the inscription on Jieshi, you know that where we are now is the sacred mountain of old. But this place is actually located beneath the Minghai, which formed after Jieshi sank into the sea.”
Mei Qing was bewildered, never imagining that he had actually come to the bottom of the sea. He thought about the immortal’s cave dwelling, which indeed had extraordinary aspects, which explained the dense spiritual energy here.
Zhang Liuson continued, “Jieshi has always been a sacred place for immortals. Back then, Emperor Qin, for the prosperity of his nation, performed the Feng and Shan sacrifices and inscribed stones. Naturally, he had the guidance of high-level practitioners. But Emperor Qin still felt it wasn’t enough. He listened to advice and gathered all the gold and bronze in the world in Xianyang, casting twelve bronze statues to suppress the nation’s fortune, to forever cease warfare, and to ensure the Qin dynasty’s longevity for ten thousand years.”
At this point, Zhang Liuson’s mouth curled into a sneer. “But Emperor Qin was just an ordinary man, deceived by high-level practitioners until his death! He wasn’t really casting bronze statues to be sent to Xianyang; that was just a small part of the world’s metal weapons. The real purpose was to transport the refined metal to his own cave dwelling, intending to cast nine cauldrons for his own benefit!”
Mei Qing, hearing this, exclaimed in surprise, “Could it be that Jieshi was the place where the cauldrons were cast?”
Zhang Liuson shook his head. “It was, but not within this dwelling. It was outside, in a separate foundry. The place where you first entered here was the site where the cauldrons were cast. Back then, a thousand gold pieces were gathered here, and they were smelted day and night, hence it was called the Thousand Gold Foundry.”
Mei Qing, hearing this name, was startled and murmured, “Thousand Gold Foundry? So it was the Thousand Gold Foundry!”
Back then, when Yang Jin was dying, he had uttered the words “Thousand Gold Master,” and no one understood what he meant. When they arrived in Yongping, they inquired everywhere, but no one knew who this “Thousand Gold Master” was. Only now, hearing Zhang Liuson’s explanation, did Mei Qing realize that the so-called “Thousand Gold Master” was actually a mispronunciation of “Thousand Gold Foundry.”
Originally, the three characters “Thousand Gold Foundry” were clearly inscribed on the stone outside. But at that time, Mei Qing had closed off his five senses, so he naturally didn’t know. Only now did he understand from Zhang Liuson’s words.
“Since this place is the ancient site of the Thousand Gold Foundry, why has it become a place for the Fragrance Sect?” Mei Qing wondered. But since this matter was unrelated to Zhang Liuson’s story about the Qin dynasty’s cauldron casting, he didn’t ask.
“But the vicissitudes of life are not something that can be changed by mere methods. Emperor Qin was unparalleled in his cruelty, and his dynasty ended in the second generation. It’s laughable that the person who cast the cauldrons didn’t benefit from it but instead got entangled in it. Only one cauldron was cast before it couldn’t withstand the backlash of the killing and resentment, ending in a dream.” Zhang Liuson, speaking of this, seemed to recall something, and his tone carried a sense of the passage of time.
“Oh? Who was the cauldron caster? Could it be…” Mei Qing’s heart stirred, suddenly thinking of a possibility.
“Exactly, it was Xu Fu. Hehe, who would have thought that the thousand boys and girls he took with him, supposedly to seek the immortal mountains in the sea, were actually to hide here and secretly cast cauldrons? It’s lamentable that those thousand boys and girls, thinking they were following him in search of immortality, ended up being sacrificed for the cauldron casting, their bodies dead and souls destroyed!…”
Hearing this, Mei Qing couldn’t help but shiver. No wonder Xu Fu suffered backlash; such a mad act of defying heaven, once it lost the suppression of the Qin dynasty’s fortune, relying solely on human power, how could it not fail?
“In my younger years, I was very interested in the whereabouts of Jieshi. But I was too busy with worldly affairs to pay much attention. It wasn’t until I obtained the Shenxiao Thunder Method and made some progress in my cultivation that I felt the heavenly tribulation was near. That’s when I decided to find a blessed land, both to advance my cultivation and to resist the heavenly tribulation. After some searching, I finally found some clues in this place and secluded myself here, not leaving. Unexpectedly, within Jieshi, I discovered many remnants of the ancient cauldron casting, especially when I abandoned my physical body and prepared to re-cultivate. I had the fortune to see some ancient remnants, which gave me a deeper understanding of the path of cultivation.” As Zhang Liuson spoke of this, his eyes sparkled.
Mei Qing, hearing this, also fell silent. Thinking of Zhang Liuson’s path, unifying the Taoist sects of the world with his own strength, it was a path that no one else had ever taken. Now, listening to him recount his past, one couldn’t help but feel a sense of awe.
Originally, Zhang Liuson intended to undergo corpse liberation and then seek a path of reincarnation and re-cultivation. But after his primordial spirit left his physical body, he discovered the unfinished cauldron and some secret manuals left by Xu Fu. This made him reconsider and seek a new path.
Zhang Liuson was truly a genius of his time, and the path he thought of was beyond imagination. In his view, reincarnation and re-cultivation were convenient, but the reincarnated person would inevitably depend on luck. No one knew what kind of body they would be born into, whether it would be suitable for cultivation. Before they could return to the path of cultivation, they might encounter disasters and be wiped out. In short, the path of reincarnation was essentially a gamble.
After studying the ancient secret methods left by Xu Fu and combining them with the various supernatural powers he had learned before, Zhang Liuson came up with a completely new path. He forcibly split a part of his divine consciousness and implanted it into a magical instrument. Then, he lured a child who happened to pass by into this place and imprinted his commands and some cultivation methods into the child’s consciousness. He then let the child take the cauldron out to find suitable men and women to be the parents of his new physical body.
“This was actually quite difficult. Not only did the man and woman’s destinies have to match, but they also had to practice a secret dual cultivation method. Then, the primordial spirit in the cauldron would be transferred into the fetus’s brain. When the child grew up, not only would they have an excellent physique, but they would also directly possess my divine consciousness and return here to merge with me. Hehe, that’s why we meet today.” Zhang Liuson, speaking of this, was quite proud.
Mei Qing, hearing this, became very suspicious and interrupted Zhang Liuson, “What you’re saying doesn’t add up. According to you, naturally, I am the avatar you designed. But in my mind, there’s nothing like the half of your divine consciousness you mentioned. Clearly, what you’re saying has nothing to do with me.”
Zhang Liuson laughed, “What you say might make sense, but you don’t know that the divine consciousness, when submerged in the mind, is like the memories of reincarnation; it doesn’t awaken immediately. If you don’t believe me, when the memories merge later, you’ll naturally recall everything.”
Mei Qing, hearing this, became very alert. But he knew that the other party seemed to have a way to guess his thoughts, so he forcefully suppressed his thoughts, not thinking too much, and just continued the conversation, “There’s another thing. You said that someone took the magical instrument and was tasked with completing this. But since I was young, I’ve never seen such a person. How did you know it was me who came?”
Zhang Liuson laughed heartily, “What’s so hard to understand? It’s not strange if the cauldron slave later met with some mishap. But first, you practice the Shenxiao Thunder Method, which I had the cauldron slave carry out at the time. Second, do you know what the magical instrument is? It’s a sub-cauldron cast by the ancient methods of this place, and now it’s in your dantian. How could there be any mistake?”
Zhang Liusun spoke of the past, his youthful face betraying a hint of nostalgia.
“Back then, I was practicing the Great Cave True Scripture of the Celestial Master Sect. The orthodox teachings of the sect were based on the annotations by the Celestial Master himself, but since I wasn’t part of the direct lineage, I naturally had no chance to see them. It wasn’t until later, when I broke through the Shenxiao Sect and obtained their secret methods, that I realized all the talismans, elixirs, and cauldrons were just nonsense, mere embellishments added by ignorant later generations!”
At this point, Zhang Liusun looked at Mei Qing and said, “I don’t know what insights you’ve gained from the Shenxiao Thunder Method. Since I entered the path through the Celestial Master Sect, my practice has always been centered on refining Qi. I would gather Qi daily, refining my essence. Later, I also studied the methods of alchemy, focusing on internal cultivation without external distractions. But whether it’s gathering external Qi or refining internal elixirs, what we’re really cultivating is the state of our mind and the meridians within our body. Qi and elixirs are external; how could they become the foundation of cultivation?”
Seeing that Mei Qing was somewhat confused, Zhang Liusun explained, “If someone engages in a fight and exhausts their true essence, they can recover after a few breaths. True essence is like the charcoal in a furnace or the water in a pot—once it’s used up, it’s gone. But if the furnace is large enough to hold more charcoal, the fire can burn brighter. Selecting good charcoal is important, but it’s not as crucial as the furnace itself.”
“Nowadays, people practice the opposite way, endlessly refining and circulating the true essence within their bodies, but they rarely temper their meridians and physical form. They don’t realize that once the body is properly tempered, the true essence within will naturally become abundant, inexhaustible. That’s the true path.”
“The alchemy and cauldron methods are even more laughable. Ancient immortals also formed internal elixirs, but the condensation of the golden elixir should happen naturally, like water flowing into a channel. Later generations, however, turned cause into effect, treating the golden elixir as the ultimate goal, abandoning all external cultivation and focusing solely on internal refinement. They fail to realize that although the human body is a universe in itself, the spiritual energy it can generate is limited. This kind of practice may result in solidity, but the quantity is pitifully small, far inferior to the method of refining Qi.”
Mei Qing listened and felt that it made sense, but he still had some doubts. “I’ve occasionally thought about this, but I wasn’t sure. The talismans, elixirs, and cauldrons have been passed down for thousands of years. If they’re truly misguided, why didn’t the ancient cultivation methods survive, while these methods flourished?”
Zhang Liusun nodded and sighed. “I’ve thought about that too, and I wasn’t sure either. It wasn’t until I discovered this place that I began to understand the reasons.”
Zhang Liusun’s eyes grew distant, as if he were looking far into the distance. “East of Jieshi, overlooking the vast sea. Who would have thought that the sacred mountain Jieshi would sink beneath the sea?”
“What?” Mei Qing exclaimed. “This place is… under the sea?”
“Exactly,” Zhang Liusun said. “Since the Qin and Han dynasties, people have been puzzled by Jieshi, unable to pinpoint its location. Since you’ve seen the inscription on Jieshi, you know that we are now standing on the sacred mountain. But this place is actually beneath the Ming Sea, a depression formed after Jieshi sank.”
Mei Qing was stunned. He never imagined that he had come to the bottom of the sea. He thought about the immortal’s cave dwellings and realized that they were indeed extraordinary. No wonder the spiritual energy here was so dense.
Zhang Liusun continued, “Jieshi has always been a sacred place for immortals. Back then, Emperor Qin Shihuang, seeking to ensure the prosperity of his empire, performed the Feng and Shan sacrifices and inscribed stones. Naturally, he had the guidance of experts. But even that wasn’t enough for him. He listened to others and gathered all the gold and bronze in the world in Xianyang, casting twelve bronze statues to suppress the nation’s fortune, hoping to end wars and ensure the eternal reign of the Qin dynasty.”
At this point, Zhang Liusun’s lips curled into a sneer. “But Emperor Qin was just a mortal, deceived by cultivation experts until his death! He wasn’t really casting bronze statues to be sent to Xianyang. Only a small part of the world’s weapons were used for that. The real purpose was to transport the finest gold to his own cave dwelling, intending to cast nine cauldrons for his own benefit!”
Mei Qing was shocked. “So Jieshi was the place where the cauldrons were cast?”
Zhang Liusun shook his head. “Yes and no. It wasn’t inside this cave dwelling but outside, in a separate foundry. The place where you first entered was the site of the cauldron casting. Back then, a thousand pieces of gold were gathered there, and the casting went on day and night. That’s why it was called the Thousand Gold Foundry.”
Mei Qing was startled. “Thousand Gold Foundry? So that’s what it was!”
When Yang Jin was dying, he had muttered the words “Thousand Gold Master,” and no one had understood what he meant. Later, in Yongping, they had inquired everywhere, but no one knew who the Thousand Gold Master was. Now, hearing Zhang Liusun’s explanation, Mei Qing finally understood that “Thousand Gold Master” was a mispronunciation of “Thousand Gold Foundry.”
The words “Thousand Gold Foundry” were clearly inscribed on the stone outside, but Mei Qing had been in a state of sensory deprivation at the time and hadn’t noticed. Now, he finally understood the meaning from Zhang Liusun’s words.
“If this place is the ancient site of the Thousand Gold Foundry, why did it become a place for the Incense Burning Sect?” Mei Qing wondered, but since this question was unrelated to Zhang Liusun’s story about the Qin dynasty’s cauldron casting, he didn’t ask.
“But the vicissitudes of life can’t be changed by mere tricks. Emperor Qin’s unparalleled tyranny led to the collapse of his dynasty after just two generations. It’s ironic that the person who cast the cauldrons didn’t benefit from it but was instead implicated. Only one cauldron was completed before the backlash of the killing and resentment became too much to bear, leading to a tragic end.” Zhang Liusun’s voice carried a hint of melancholy as he spoke.
“Oh? Who was the cauldron caster? Could it be…” Mei Qing’s mind raced, suddenly thinking of a possibility.
“Exactly, it was Xu Fu. Who would have thought that the thousand boys and girls he took with him, supposedly to seek the immortal mountains in the sea, were actually brought here to secretly cast the cauldrons? Those poor children thought they were following him in search of immortality, but instead, they became sacrifices for the cauldron casting, their lives and souls destroyed!”
Mei Qing shuddered. No wonder Xu Fu suffered such a backlash. Such a mad, heaven-defying act, without the support of the Qin dynasty’s fortune, was bound to fail.
“In my younger days, I was very interested in the whereabouts of Jieshi. But I was too busy with worldly affairs to investigate. It wasn’t until I mastered the Shenxiao Thunder Method and felt that the heavenly tribulation was approaching that I decided to find a blessed land to further my cultivation and resist the tribulation. After much searching, I finally found some clues here and decided to seclude myself in this place. Little did I know that within Jieshi, I would discover many remnants of the ancient cauldron casting, especially when I abandoned my physical body and prepared to re-cultivate. I had the fortune to witness some ancient relics, which gave me a deeper understanding of the path of cultivation.” Zhang Liusun’s eyes sparkled as he spoke.
Mei Qing listened in silence. He thought about how Zhang Liusun had unified the Taoist sects of the world, a feat unparalleled in history. Listening to him recount his past, Mei Qing couldn’t help but feel a sense of awe.
Originally, Zhang Liusun had intended to undergo corpse liberation and seek reincarnation for a new cultivation path. But after his infant spirit left his body, he discovered the unfinished cauldron and some secret manuals left by Xu Fu. This led him to reconsider and seek a new path.
Zhang Liusun was truly a genius, and his ideas were extraordinary. He believed that reincarnation was convenient, but the reincarnated person’s fate was uncertain. There was no guarantee what kind of body they would be born into, whether it would be suitable for cultivation, or whether they would encounter disasters before they could resume their cultivation path. In short, reincarnation was a gamble.
After studying the ancient methods left by Xu Fu and combining them with the various supernatural powers he had learned before, Zhang Liusun came up with a completely new path. He split a part of his divine consciousness and implanted it into a magical artifact. Then, he lured a child who happened to pass by into the cave and imprinted his commands and some cultivation methods into the child’s consciousness. He then sent the child out with the cauldron to find suitable parents for his new body.
“This was quite a challenge. Not only did the parents’ destinies have to align, but they also had to practice a secret dual cultivation method to transfer the cauldron’s spirit into the fetus’s mind. When the child grew up, not only would they have an exceptional physique, but they would also directly possess my divine consciousness and return here to merge with me. And that’s how we meet today.” Zhang Liusun spoke with evident pride.
Mei Qing was deeply skeptical and interrupted, “What you’re saying doesn’t add up. According to you, I should be the one you designed as your avatar. But I don’t have any trace of your divine consciousness in my mind. Clearly, what you’re saying has nothing to do with me.”
Zhang Liusun smiled. “You might have a point, but you don’t understand that divine consciousness, like memories of past lives, doesn’t awaken immediately. If you don’t believe me, when the memories merge, you’ll naturally recall everything.”
Mei Qing was on guard. He knew that Zhang Liusun seemed to have a way of sensing his thoughts, so he suppressed his doubts and changed the subject. “There’s another thing. You said someone was supposed to carry the artifact and complete this task. But I’ve never seen such a person in my life. How did you know it was me?”
Zhang Liusun laughed. “Isn’t it obvious? The cauldron servant might have met with some misfortune, which isn’t surprising. But first, you practice the Shenxiao Thunder Method, which I had the cauldron servant carry out. Second, do you know what the artifact is? It’s a sub-cauldron cast with ancient methods from this place, and it’s now in your dantian. How could I be wrong?”
Seeing that Mei Qing seemed somewhat puzzled, Zhang Liusun explained further, “Imagine someone who, after a battle, depletes all their true essence. All they need do is rest and recover their breath, and they’ll return to their former state. True essence is like charcoal in a stove or water in a pot—once the fire is out, it’s all gone. But if the stove is large enough to hold ample charcoal, then the fire can burn brightly. Selecting quality charcoal is certainly necessary, but it’s never more important than the stove itself.”
“Nowadays, cultivators do the opposite. They focus endlessly on refining and transforming the little true essence within their bodies, rotating it again and again, while neglecting to strengthen their physical forms and meridians. They fail to realize that once the body is properly cultivated, the true essence within will naturally flourish—limitless and inexhaustible. That is the correct path.”
Zhang Liusun, speaking of the past, despite his youthful face, couldn’t help but reveal a touch of nostalgia.
“Back then, I was cultivating the Great Cave True Scripture of the Celestial Master Sect. The orthodox method of the sect was actually the Celestial Master’s Xiang’er Commentary, but since I wasn’t part of the main lineage, I naturally had no chance to see it. It wasn’t until later, when I broke through the Shenxiao Sect and obtained the various secret methods of Shenxiao, that I realized all the talismans, elixirs, and cauldrons were nothing but nonsense, merely the embellishments of later generations’ ignorance!”
At this point, Zhang Liusun looked at Mei Qing and said, “I don’t know what insights you’ve gained from the Shenxiao Thunder Method. Since I entered the path through the Celestial Master Sect, I naturally focused on refining Qi. I diligently gathered Qi every day, refining my essence. Later, I also studied the methods of alchemy, focusing on internal cultivation without involving external affairs. Whether it’s gathering external Qi or refining internal elixirs, in the end, what we’re really cultivating is the state of our mind and the meridians within our body. What is Qi? What is an elixir? They are all external matters. How did they become the foundation of cultivation?”
Seeing that Mei Qing was somewhat confused, Zhang Liuson explained, “If someone engages in a fight and exhausts their true essence, they only need to regulate their breath a few times to return to their original state. That true essence is like the charcoal in a furnace or the water in a pot—once it’s burned, it’s gone. But if the furnace is large enough to hold more charcoal, it can keep the fire burning strong. Selecting good charcoal is necessary, but it’s not as important as the furnace itself.”
“Nowadays, people practice cultivation in the opposite way. They refine and circulate the little true essence within their bodies over and over again, but they rarely temper their meridians and physical form. They don’t realize that once the body is sufficiently tempered, the true essence within will naturally become abundant, inexhaustible, and that is the true path.”
“The alchemy and cauldron lineage is even more ridiculous. Ancient immortals also formed internal elixirs, but the condensation of the golden elixir should be a natural process, like water flowing into a channel. Who would have thought that later generations would invert cause and effect, treating the golden elixir as the ultimate path, abandoning all external cultivation and focusing solely on internal refinement. They fail to consider that although the human body is a universe in itself, how much spiritual energy can it generate on its own? This kind of cultivation may result in solidity, but the quantity is pitifully small, far inferior to the method of refining Qi.”
Mei Qing listened and felt that it made sense, but he still had some doubts. “This point, I have occasionally thought about, but I never dared to be so certain. The talismans, elixirs, and cauldrons have been passed down for a thousand years. If they are truly a wrong path, why didn’t the ancient cultivation methods survive, while the talismans, elixirs, and cauldrons flourished?”
Zhang Liusun nodded and sighed deeply. “What you said, I have also thought about before, and I was equally puzzled. It wasn’t until I discovered this place that I began to understand the reasons.”
Zhang Liusun’s eyes grew distant, as if looking far into the distance. “East of Jieshi, overlooking the vast sea. Who would have thought that the sacred mountain Jieshi would sink to the bottom of the ocean!”
“What?” Mei Qing exclaimed in shock. “This place is… under the sea?”
“Exactly,” Zhang Liusun said. “Since the Qin and Han dynasties, people have been puzzled when discussing Jieshi, and no one could pinpoint the location of this mountain. Since you have personally seen the inscription of Jieshi, you know that where we are now is the sacred mountain of old. But this place is actually located beneath the Minghai, which is the depression formed after Jieshi sank into the sea.”
Mei Qing’s mind was in turmoil. He never imagined that he had actually come to the bottom of the sea. He also thought about the immortal’s cave dwelling, which indeed had extraordinary features. No wonder the spiritual energy here was so dense.
Zhang Liusun continued, “Jieshi has always been a sacred place for immortals. Back then, Emperor Qin, for the prosperity of his nation, performed the Feng and Shan sacrifices and inscribed stones. Naturally, he had the guidance of high-level practitioners. But Emperor Qin still felt it wasn’t enough. He listened to others and gathered all the gold and bronze in the world in Xianyang, casting twelve bronze statues to suppress the nation’s fortune, to forever end warfare, and to ensure the Qin dynasty would last for ten thousand years.”
At this point, Zhang Liusun’s lips curled into a sneer. “But Emperor Qin was just an ordinary man, deceived by high-level practitioners until his death! He wasn’t really casting bronze statues to be transported to Xianyang. Only a small part of the world’s metal was used for that. The real purpose was to transport the refined metal to his own cave dwelling, intending to cast nine cauldrons for his own benefit!”
Mei Qing was shocked. “Could it be that Jieshi was the place where the cauldrons were cast back then?”
Zhang Liusun shook his head. “It was, but not in this cave dwelling. It was outside, in a separate foundry. The place where you first entered is where the cauldrons were cast. Back then, a thousand pieces of gold were gathered here, smelted day and night, hence it was called the Thousand Gold Foundry.”
When Mei Qing heard this name, he was startled and murmured, “Thousand Gold Foundry? So it was the Thousand Gold Foundry!”
Back then, when Yang Jin was dying, he had uttered the words “Thousand Gold Master,” and no one understood what he meant. When they arrived in Yongping, they inquired everywhere, but no one knew who this Thousand Gold Master was. Only now, after hearing Zhang Liusun’s explanation, did Mei Qing realize that the so-called “Thousand Gold Master” was actually a mispronunciation of “Thousand Gold Foundry.”
Originally, the words “Thousand Gold Foundry” were clearly inscribed on the stone outside. But at that time, Mei Qing had closed off his five senses, so he naturally didn’t know. Now, through Zhang Liusun’s words, he understood.
“Since this place is the ancient site of the Thousand Gold Foundry, why did it become a place for the Incense Sect?” Mei Qing’s mind was filled with questions. But since this matter was unrelated to Zhang Liusun’s story about the Qin dynasty’s cauldron casting, he didn’t ask.
“But the vicissitudes of life are not something that can be easily reversed. Emperor Qin was unparalleled in his cruelty, and his dynasty fell in the second generation. It’s laughable that the person who cast the cauldrons didn’t benefit from it but instead got caught up in the backlash. Only one cauldron was cast before it couldn’t withstand the killing and resentment, ending in a dream.” As Zhang Liusun spoke, his words carried a sense of the passage of time.
“Oh? Who was the person who cast the cauldrons? Could it be…” Mei Qing’s heart stirred, suddenly thinking of a possibility.
“Exactly, it was Xu Fu. Who would have thought that the thousand boys and girls he took with him, supposedly to seek the immortal mountains in the sea, were actually brought here to secretly cast cauldrons? It’s tragic that those thousand boys and girls, thinking they were following him in search of immortality, ended up being sacrificed for the cauldron casting, their bodies and souls destroyed!…”
Mei Qing couldn’t help but shiver when he heard this. No wonder Xu Fu suffered backlash. Such a mad, heaven-defying act, once it lost the suppression of the Qin dynasty’s fortune, how could it not fail with mere human effort?
“In my early years, I was very interested in the whereabouts of Jieshi. But I was too busy with worldly affairs to pay much attention. It wasn’t until I obtained the Shenxiao Thunder Method and made some progress in my cultivation that I felt the heavenly tribulation was near. That’s when I decided to find a cave dwelling, both to advance my cultivation and to resist the tribulation. After some searching, I finally found some clues in this place and went into seclusion here. I never expected to discover many remnants of the cauldron casting within Jieshi, especially when I abandoned my physical body and prepared to re-cultivate. I had the fortune to see some ancient remnants, which gave me a deeper understanding of the path of cultivation.” As Zhang Liusun spoke, his eyes sparkled.
Mei Qing listened and fell silent. Thinking about how Zhang Liusun, with his own strength, unified the Taoist sects of the world, his path was truly unparalleled throughout history. Listening to him recount his past, one couldn’t help but feel a sense of awe.
Originally, Zhang Liusun intended to undergo corpse liberation and then seek a path of reincarnation and re-cultivation. But after his primordial spirit left his physical body, he discovered the unfinished cauldron and some secret manuals left by Xu Fu. This made him reconsider and seek a new path.
It must be said that Zhang Liusun was indeed a genius of his time, and the path he devised was beyond imagination. In his view, reincarnation and re-cultivation were convenient, but the reincarnated person would inevitably depend on luck. No one knew what kind of body they would be born into, whether it would be suitable for cultivation. Before they could return to the path of cultivation, they might encounter various disasters and be wiped out. In short, the path of reincarnation was essentially a gamble.
After studying the ancient secret methods left by Xu Fu and combining them with the various supernatural abilities he had learned before, Zhang Liusun came up with a completely new path. He forcibly split a part of his divine consciousness and implanted it into a magical artifact. Then, he lured a child who happened to pass by into this place and imprinted his commands and some cultivation methods into the child’s consciousness. He then let the child take the cauldron out to find suitable men and women to be the parents of his new physical body.
“This process was actually quite difficult. Not only did the man and woman’s destinies have to match, but they also had to practice a secret method of dual cultivation. Then, the primordial spirit in the cauldron had to be transferred into the fetus’s brain. When the child grew up, not only would they have an excellent physique, but they would also directly possess my divine consciousness and return here to merge with me. Heh, that’s why we’re meeting today.” Zhang Liusun spoke with great pride.
Mei Qing, hearing this, grew increasingly suspicious and interrupted Zhang Liusun, “What you’re saying doesn’t add up. According to your explanation, I should be the avatar you designed. But in my mind, there’s nothing like the half of your divine consciousness you mentioned. Clearly, what you’re saying has nothing to do with me.”
Zhang Liusun laughed, “What you say may have some truth, but you don’t understand that divine consciousness, once embedded in the mind, is like the memories of reincarnation—it doesn’t awaken immediately. If you don’t believe me, when the memories merge later, you’ll naturally recall everything.”
Mei Qing, hearing this, became highly alert. But he knew that the other party seemed to have a way of guessing his thoughts, so he forcefully suppressed his mind, not thinking too much, and just continued the conversation, “There’s another thing. You said someone was tasked with carrying the magical artifact to complete this task. But since I was young, I’ve never seen such a person. How did you know it was me who came?”
Zhang Liusun laughed heartily, “Isn’t it obvious? The cauldron slave might have encountered some mishap later, which isn’t surprising. But first, you practice the Shenxiao Thunder Method, which was what I instructed the cauldron slave to carry out. Second, do you know what that magical artifact is? It’s a sub-cauldron cast with ancient methods from this place, and it’s now in your dantian. How could there be any mistake?”
Zhang Liusun spoke of the past, his youthful face betraying a hint of nostalgia.
“Back then, I was cultivating the Great Cave True Scripture of the Celestial Master Sect. The orthodox teachings of the sect were the annotations by the Celestial Master himself, but since I wasn’t part of the direct lineage, I naturally had no chance to see them. It wasn’t until later, when I broke into the Shenxiao Sect and obtained their secret techniques, that I realized all the talismans, elixirs, and cauldrons were nothing but nonsense, mere embellishments by ignorant later generations!”
At this point, Zhang Liusun turned his gaze to Mei Qing and said, “I don’t know what insights you’ve gained from the Shenxiao Thunder Method. Since I entered the path through the Celestial Master Sect, my focus has always been on refining qi. I diligently gathered qi every day, refining my primal essence. Later, I also studied the methods of alchemy, focusing inward without involving external matters. But whether it’s gathering external qi or refining internal elixirs, what we’re truly cultivating is the realm of the mind and the meridians within the body. Qi and elixirs are external matters; how could they become the foundation of cultivation?”
Seeing that Mei Qing was somewhat confused, Zhang Liusun explained, “If someone engages in a fight and exhausts their true essence, they can recover after a few breaths of meditation. True essence is like the charcoal in a furnace or the water in a pot—once it’s burned, it’s gone. But if the furnace is large enough to hold more charcoal, it can keep the fire burning strong. Selecting good charcoal is necessary, but it’s not as important as the furnace itself.”
“Nowadays, people cultivate in the opposite way, endlessly refining and circulating the true essence within their bodies, but rarely tempering their meridians and physical forms. They don’t realize that once the body is sufficiently tempered, the true essence within will naturally become abundant, inexhaustible and endlessly usable. That is the true path.”
“The alchemical cauldron lineage is even more laughable. Ancient immortals also formed internal elixirs, but the condensation of the golden elixir must follow the natural course, like water flowing into a channel. Who would have thought that later generations would invert cause and effect, treating the golden elixir as the ultimate path, abandoning all external gathering and focusing solely on internal extraction. They fail to consider that although the human body is a universe in itself, how much spiritual energy can it truly generate? Such cultivation may result in solidity, but the quantity is pitifully small, far inferior to the method of refining qi.”
Mei Qing listened and felt that it resonated with his own thoughts, but he still had some doubts. “This point, I’ve occasionally thought about it myself, but I never dared to be so certain. The talismans, elixirs, and cauldrons have been passed down for a thousand years. If they are truly a wrong path, why didn’t the ancient cultivation methods survive, while the talismans, elixirs, and cauldrons flourished?”
Zhang Liusun nodded and sighed deeply. “What you said, I’ve also thought about before, and I was equally puzzled. It wasn’t until I discovered this place that I began to understand the reasons.”
Zhang Liusun’s eyes seemed to gaze into the distance as he said, “Facing the east, I gaze at the vast sea. Who would have thought that the sacred mountain Jieshi would sink to the bottom of the ocean!”
“What?” Mei Qing exclaimed in shock. “This place is… at the bottom of the sea?”
“Exactly,” Zhang Liusun replied. “Since the Qin and Han dynasties, people have been puzzled about the location of Jieshi, with no one able to pinpoint where the mountain is. Since you’ve personally seen the inscription on Jieshi, you know that where we are now is the sacred mountain of old. But this place is located beneath the Minghai, which was formed after Jieshi sank into the sea.”
Mei Qing was bewildered, never imagining that he had actually come to the bottom of the sea. He also thought about the immortal’s cave dwellings, which indeed had extraordinary aspects. No wonder the spiritual energy here was so dense.
Zhang Liusun continued, “Jieshi has always been a sacred place for immortals. Back then, Emperor Qin, seeking the prosperity of his nation, performed the Feng and Shan rituals and inscribed stones, undoubtedly with the guidance of great masters. But Emperor Qin still felt it wasn’t enough. He listened to advice and gathered all the gold and bronze in the world in Xianyang, casting twelve bronze statues to suppress the nation’s fortune, to forever end warfare, and to ensure the eternal reign of the Qin dynasty.”
At this point, Zhang Liusun’s lips curled into a sneer. “But Emperor Qin was just a mortal, deceived by the great masters of cultivation until his death! He wasn’t really casting bronze statues to be sent to Xianyang—only a small part of the world’s weapons were used for that. The true purpose was to transport the refined gold to his own cave dwelling, intending to cast nine cauldrons for his own benefit!”
Mei Qing was shocked. “Could it be that Jieshi was the place where the cauldrons were cast?”
Zhang Liusun shook his head. “It was, but not within this dwelling. It was outside, in a separate foundry. The place where you first entered is where the cauldrons were cast. Back then, a thousand pieces of gold were gathered here, smelted day and night, hence it was called the Thousand Gold Foundry.”
Upon hearing this name, Mei Qing was startled and murmured, “Thousand Gold Foundry? So that’s what it was!”
Back then, when Yang Jin was on the verge of death, he had uttered the words “Thousand Gold Master,” and no one had understood what he meant. In Yongping, they had inquired everywhere, but no one knew who this “Thousand Gold Master” was. Only now, after hearing Zhang Liusun’s explanation, did Mei Qing realize that the so-called “Thousand Gold Master” was actually a mispronunciation of “Thousand Gold Foundry.”
The words “Thousand Gold Foundry” were clearly inscribed on the stone outside, but at the time, Mei Qing had closed off his five senses, so he naturally hadn’t noticed. It was only now, through Zhang Liusun’s words, that he understood.
“If this place is the ancient site of the Thousand Gold Foundry, why did it become a place for the Incense Burning Sect?” Mei Qing wondered, but since this matter was unrelated to Zhang Liusun’s account of the Qin dynasty’s cauldron casting, he didn’t voice his question.
“But the vicissitudes of the world are not something that can be easily reversed. Emperor Qin’s unparalleled tyranny led to the fall of his dynasty after only two generations. It’s laughable that the person who cast the cauldrons didn’t benefit from it but instead got entangled in it. Only one cauldron was cast before it couldn’t withstand the backlash of the killing and resentment, ending in a dreamlike failure.” As Zhang Liusun spoke, his tone carried a hint of the passage of time.
“Oh? Who was the person who cast the cauldrons? Could it be…” Mei Qing’s heart stirred, suddenly thinking of a possibility.
“Exactly, it was Xu Fu. Hehe, who would have thought that the thousand boys and girls he took with him, supposedly to seek the immortal mountains in the sea, were actually brought here to secretly cast the cauldrons? It’s tragic that those thousand boys and girls, thinking they were following him in search of immortality, ended up being sacrificed for the cauldron casting, their bodies and souls destroyed!…”
Hearing this, Mei Qing couldn’t help but shiver. No wonder Xu Fu suffered a backlash—such a mad, heaven-defying act, once deprived of the Qin dynasty’s fortune to suppress it, could only fail by human effort.
“In my younger years, I was very interested in the whereabouts of Jieshi. But I was too busy with worldly affairs to pay much attention. It wasn’t until I mastered the Shenxiao Thunder Method and made some progress in my cultivation that I felt the heavenly tribulation was near. That’s when I decided to find a blessed land, both to advance my cultivation and to resist the tribulation. After much searching, I finally found some clues here and went into seclusion. Unexpectedly, within Jieshi, I discovered many remnants of the ancient cauldron casting, especially when I abandoned my physical body and prepared to re-cultivate. I had the fortune to see some ancient relics, which gave me a deeper understanding of the path of cultivation.” As Zhang Liusun spoke, his eyes sparkled.
Mei Qing listened in silence. Thinking about how Zhang Liusun, with his own strength, unified the Taoist sects of the world, his path was truly unparalleled in history. Now, hearing him recount his past, one couldn’t help but feel a sense of awe.
Originally, Zhang Liusun had intended to undergo corpse liberation and then seek reincarnation for re-cultivation. But after his primordial spirit left his body, he discovered the unfinished cauldron and some secret manuals left by Xu Fu. This led him to reconsider and seek a new path.
It must be said that Zhang Liusun was indeed a genius of his time, and the path he devised was extraordinary. In his view, reincarnation was convenient, but the reincarnated person would inevitably depend on luck—no one knew what kind of body they would be born into, whether it would be suitable for cultivation. Before they could resume their cultivation, they might encounter various disasters and be wiped out. In short, reincarnation was essentially a gamble.
After studying the ancient secret methods left by Xu Fu and combining them with the various supernatural abilities he had learned before, Zhang Liusun came up with a completely new path. He forcibly split a part of his divine consciousness and implanted it into a magical artifact. Then, he lured a child who happened to pass by into this place and imprinted his commands and some cultivation methods into the child’s consciousness. He then sent the child out with the cauldron to find suitable parents for his new body.
“This was actually quite difficult. Not only did the parents’ destinies have to match, but they also had to practice a secret dual cultivation method to transfer the primordial spirit from the cauldron into the fetus’s brain. When the child grew up, not only would they have an excellent physique, but they would also directly possess my divine consciousness and return here to merge with me. Hehe, that’s why we meet today.” Zhang Liusun spoke with a sense of pride.
Hearing this, Mei Qing became highly suspicious and interrupted Zhang Liusun, “What you’re saying doesn’t add up. According to you, I should be the avatar you designed. But I don’t have any of the so-called half of your divine consciousness in my mind. Clearly, what you’re saying has nothing to do with me.”
Zhang Liusun smiled, “What you say may have some truth, but you don’t understand that divine consciousness, when submerged in the mind, is like the memories of reincarnation—it doesn’t awaken immediately. If you don’t believe me, when the memories merge later, you’ll naturally recall everything.”
Mei Qing listened, feeling highly alert. But he knew that the other party seemed to have a way of guessing his thoughts, so he forcefully suppressed his mind, not thinking too much, and instead changed the subject, “There’s another thing. You said someone was tasked with carrying the artifact to complete this task. But I’ve never seen such a person since I was a child. How did you know it was me who came?”
Zhang Liusun laughed heartily, “What’s so hard to understand? It’s not strange if the cauldron servant later met with some mishap. But first, you cultivate the Shenxiao Thunder Method, which I had the cauldron servant carry out at the time. Second, do you know what the artifact is? It’s an ancient sub-cauldron from this place, and it’s now in your dantian. How could there be any mistake?”
Zhang Liusun nodded, then sighed deeply. “What you say, I once considered as well, and I was equally uncertain. It wasn’t until I discovered this place that I began to understand the truth.”
Zhang Liusun’s eyes turned distant, as if gazing far into the distance. “Facing the Jieshi cliffs to observe the boundless sea. Hmph, who could have imagined that this sacred mountain Jieshi would sink beneath the ocean?”
“What?” Mei Qing exclaimed in shock. “This place is actually beneath the sea?”
“Indeed,” Zhang Liusun replied. “Since the Qin and Han dynasties, people have often been puzzled about the location of Jieshi Mountain, unable to determine where it lies. Since you’ve personally seen the inscriptions on Jieshi, you must know that where we stand now was once the sacred mountain. However, this place lies precisely beneath the Mihai—the depression formed after Jieshi Mountain sank beneath the sea.”
Mei Qing’s mind reeled. He had never imagined that he was now beneath the ocean. Reflecting further on the immortal’s cave dwelling, he realized it was indeed extraordinary. No wonder the spiritual energy here was so dense.
Zhang Liusun continued, “Jieshi has always been a sacred site for immortals. In ancient times, Emperor Qin sought to ensure the prosperity of his nation by performing mountain-sealing rituals, naturally guided by cultivation experts. Yet even this was not enough for him. He further heeded advice to collect all the gold and copper weapons from across the land and transport them to Xianyang, casting twelve bronze giants to suppress the nation’s fate, eliminate warfare, and ensure the eternal reign of the Qin dynasty.”
At this point, Zhang Liusun’s lips curled slightly with mockery. “But Emperor Qin was merely an ordinary man, deceived by high-level cultivators until his dying day without realizing it! What he thought was the transportation of gold weapons to Xianyang was actually only a small portion of the metal collected. The real purpose was to transport the refined gold to the cultivator’s cave dwelling to cast the Nine Tripods for his own ambitions!”
Mei Qing exclaimed in surprise, “Could it be that Jieshi was the site where the Nine Tripods were cast?”
Zhang Liusun, with his youthful face, couldn’t help but show a trace of nostalgia as he spoke of the past.
“Back then, I was practicing the Great Cave True Scripture of the Celestial Master Sect. The orthodox teachings of the sect were the annotations by the Celestial Master himself, but since I wasn’t of the direct lineage, I naturally had no chance to see them. It wasn’t until later, when I broke through the Shenxiao Sect and obtained their secret methods, that I realized all the talismans, elixirs, and cauldrons were nonsense, merely embellishments added by ignorant later generations!”
At this point, Zhang Liusun looked at Mei Qing and said, “I don’t know what insights you have into the Shenxiao Thunder Method. Since I entered the path through the Celestial Master Sect, I naturally focused on refining qi. I would gather qi daily, refining my essence; later, I also studied the methods of alchemy, drawing from within myself without involving external affairs. But whether it’s gathering external qi or refining internal elixirs, what we’re truly cultivating is the realm of the mind and the meridians within the body. What is qi? What is an elixir? They are all external matters. How could they become the foundation of cultivation?”
Seeing that Mei Qing was somewhat confused, Zhang Liusun explained, “If someone engages in a fight and exhausts their true essence, they only need to regulate their breath a few times, and they will naturally return to their original state. The true essence is like the charcoal in a furnace or the water in a pot—once it’s burned, it’s gone. But if the furnace is large enough to hold more charcoal, it can keep the fire burning brightly. Selecting good charcoal is necessary, but it’s not as important as the furnace itself.”
“Nowadays, people practice the opposite way. They refine and circulate the true essence within their bodies over and over, but they rarely temper their meridians and physical form. They don’t realize that once the body is sufficiently refined, the true essence within will naturally become abundant, inexhaustible, and that is the true path.”
“The alchemy and cauldron lineage is even more laughable. Ancient immortals also formed internal elixirs, but the condensation of the golden elixir should happen naturally, like water flowing into a channel. Who would have thought that later generations would mistake the cause for the effect? They took the golden elixir as the ultimate path, abandoning all external methods and focusing solely on internal cultivation. But they failed to consider that while the human body is a universe in itself, how much spiritual energy can it generate on its own? Such cultivation may solidify the essence, but the quantity is pitifully small, far inferior to the method of refining qi.”
Mei Qing listened and felt that it made sense, but he still had some doubts. “I’ve occasionally thought about this point, but I never dared to be so certain. The talismans, elixirs, and cauldrons have been passed down for a thousand years. If they are truly a wrong path, why haven’t the ancient cultivation methods been passed down, while the talismans, elixirs, and cauldrons have flourished?”
Zhang Liusun nodded and sighed. “I’ve thought about what you said before, and I wasn’t entirely clear either. It wasn’t until I discovered this place that I began to understand the reasons.”
Zhang Liusun’s eyes grew distant, as if looking far into the distance. “Facing east to the Jieshi Mountain, overlooking the vast sea. Who would have thought that the sacred Jieshi Mountain would sink to the bottom of the sea?”
“What?” Mei Qing exclaimed in surprise. “This place is… under the sea?”
“Exactly,” Zhang Liusun said. “Since the Qin and Han dynasties, people have been puzzled when discussing Jieshi Mountain, and no one could pinpoint its location. Since you’ve personally seen the inscription on Jieshi Mountain, you know that where we are now is the site of the sacred mountain. But this place is actually located beneath the Ming Sea, which formed after Jieshi Mountain sank.”
Mei Qing was bewildered. He never imagined that he had actually come to the bottom of the sea. He also thought about the immortal’s cave dwelling, which indeed had extraordinary features. No wonder the spiritual energy here was so dense.
Zhang Liusun continued, “Jieshi Mountain has always been a sacred place for immortals. Back then, Emperor Qin, for the prosperity of his nation, performed the Feng and Shan sacrifices and inscribed stones. Naturally, he had the guidance of experts. But Emperor Qin still felt it wasn’t enough. He listened to others and gathered all the gold and bronze in the world in Xianyang, casting twelve bronze statues to suppress the nation’s fortune, to end wars forever, and to ensure the Qin dynasty would last for ten thousand years.”
At this point, Zhang Liusun’s lips curled into a sneer. “But Emperor Qin was just an ordinary man, deceived by cultivation experts until his death! He wasn’t really casting bronze statues to be sent to Xianyang. Only a small part of the world’s weapons were used for that. The real purpose was to transport the finest gold to his own cave dwelling, intending to cast nine cauldrons for his own benefit!”
Mei Qing was shocked. “Could it be that Jieshi Mountain was the place where the cauldrons were cast?”
Zhang Liusun shook his head. “It was, but not in this cave. It was outside, in a separate foundry. The place where you first entered is where the cauldrons were cast. Back then, a thousand pieces of gold were gathered here, and they were smelted day and night. That’s why it was called the Thousand Gold Foundry.”
When Mei Qing heard this name, he was startled and murmured, “Thousand Gold Foundry? So it was the Thousand Gold Foundry!”
Back then, when Yang Jin was dying, he had uttered the words “Thousand Gold Lord,” and no one understood what he meant. When they arrived in Yongping, they inquired everywhere, but no one knew who this Thousand Gold Lord was. Now, hearing Zhang Liusun’s explanation, Mei Qing finally understood that the so-called “Thousand Gold Lord” was actually a mispronunciation of “Thousand Gold Foundry.”
Originally, the words “Thousand Gold Foundry” were clearly inscribed on the stone outside. But at that time, Mei Qing had closed off his five senses, so he naturally didn’t know. Now, he finally understood from Zhang Liuson’s explanation.
“Since this place is the ancient site of the Thousand Gold Foundry, why has it become a place for the Incense Sect?” Mei Qing wondered. But this matter was unrelated to Zhang Liuson’s story about the Qin dynasty’s cauldron casting, so he didn’t ask.
“But the vicissitudes of the world are not something that can be easily reversed. Emperor Qin was unparalleled in his cruelty, and his dynasty ended in the second generation. It’s laughable that the person who cast the cauldrons didn’t benefit from it but instead got entangled in it. Only one cauldron was cast before it couldn’t withstand the backlash of the killing and resentment, resulting in a complete failure.” Zhang Liuson’s voice carried a hint of melancholy as he spoke.
“Oh? Who was the cauldron caster? Could it be…” Mei Qing’s heart stirred, suddenly thinking of a possibility.
“That’s right, it was Xu Fu. Hehe, who would have thought that the thousand boys and girls he took with him, supposedly to seek the immortal mountains in the sea, were actually to hide here and secretly cast the cauldrons? It’s a pity that those thousand boys and girls, thinking they were following him to seek immortality, ended up being sacrificed for the cauldron casting, their bodies and souls destroyed!…”
Mei Qing couldn’t help but shiver when he heard this. No wonder Xu Fu suffered backlash. Such a mad, heaven-defying act, once it lost the suppression of the Qin dynasty’s fortune, was bound to fail with mere human effort.
“In my younger years, I was very interested in the whereabouts of Jieshi Mountain. But I was too busy with worldly affairs to pay much attention. It wasn’t until I obtained the Shenxiao Thunder Method and made some progress in my cultivation that I felt the heavenly tribulation was near. That’s when I decided to find a cave paradise, both to improve my cultivation and to resist the tribulation. After some searching, I finally found some clues here and secluded myself in this place, never leaving. Unexpectedly, within Jieshi Mountain, I discovered many remnants of the ancient cauldron casting, especially when I abandoned my physical body and prepared to re-cultivate. I had the fortune to see some ancient relics, which gave me a deeper understanding of the path of cultivation.” Zhang Liuson’s eyes sparkled as he spoke.
Mei Qing listened and fell silent. Thinking about how Zhang Liuson had unified the Taoist sects of the world with his own strength, his path was truly unique throughout history. Now, hearing him recount his past, one couldn’t help but feel a sense of awe.
Originally, Zhang Liuson intended to undergo corpse liberation and then seek a path of reincarnation and re-cultivation. But after his primordial spirit left his body, he discovered the unfinished cauldron and some secret manuals left by Xu Fu. This made him reconsider and seek a new path.
It must be said that Zhang Liuson was indeed a genius of his time, and the path he came up with was beyond imagination. In his view, reincarnation and re-cultivation were convenient, but the reincarnated person would inevitably depend on luck. No one knew what kind of body they would be born into, whether it would be suitable for cultivation. Before they could resume their cultivation path, they might encounter disasters and be wiped out. In short, the path of reincarnation was essentially a gamble.
After studying the ancient secret methods left by Xu Fu and combining them with the various supernatural powers he had learned before, Zhang Liuson came up with a completely new path. He forcibly split a part of his divine consciousness and implanted it into a magical artifact. Then, he lured a child who happened to pass by into this place and imprinted his commands and some cultivation methods into the child’s consciousness. He then let the child take the cauldron out to find suitable men and women to serve as parents for his new body.
“This process was actually quite difficult. Not only did the man and woman’s destinies have to align, but they also had to practice a secret dual cultivation method. Then, the primordial spirit in the cauldron would be transferred into the fetus’s mind. When the child grew up, not only would they have an excellent physique, but they would also directly possess my divine consciousness and return here to merge with me. Hehe, that’s why we meet today.” Zhang Liuson spoke with great pride.
Mei Qing, hearing this, became highly suspicious and interrupted Zhang Liuson, “What you’re saying doesn’t quite add up. According to your words, I must be the avatar you designed. But in my mind, there’s nothing like the half of your divine consciousness you mentioned. Clearly, what you’re saying has nothing to do with me.”
Zhang Liuson laughed, “What you say may have some truth, but you don’t know that the divine consciousness, once submerged in the mind, is like the memories of reincarnation—it doesn’t awaken immediately. If you don’t believe me, when the memories merge later, you’ll naturally recall everything.”
Mei Qing, upon hearing this, became highly alert. But he knew that the other party seemed to have a way of guessing his thoughts, so he forcefully suppressed his mind, not thinking too much, and just continued the conversation, “There’s another thing. You said someone was tasked with carrying the magical artifact to complete this task. But since I was young, I’ve never seen such a person. How did you know it was me who came?”
Zhang Liuson laughed heartily, “Isn’t it obvious? The cauldron servant might have met with some misfortune later, which isn’t surprising. But first, you practice the Shenxiao Thunder Method, which I had the cauldron servant carry out at that time. Second, do you know what the magical artifact is? It’s a sub-cauldron cast with ancient methods from this place, and it’s now in your Purple Mansion. How could there be any mistake?”
Zhang Liusun spoke of the past, and though his face still bore a youthful appearance, it couldn’t hide the traces of nostalgia that surfaced.
“Back then, I was practicing the Great Cave True Scripture of the Celestial Master Sect. The orthodox teachings of the sect were the annotations of the Celestial Master himself, but since I wasn’t a direct disciple, I naturally had no chance to see them. It wasn’t until later, when I broke through the Shenxiao Sect and obtained their secret methods, that I realized all the talismans, elixirs, and cauldrons were nothing but nonsense, mere embellishments added by ignorant descendants!”
At this point, Zhang Liusun turned his gaze to Mei Qing and said, “I don’t know what insights you’ve gained from the Shenxiao Thunder Method. Since I entered the path through the Celestial Master Sect, my foundation has always been in refining qi. I would gather qi daily, refining my primal essence. Later, I also studied the methods of alchemy, focusing on internal cultivation without external interference. But whether it’s gathering external qi or refining internal elixirs, in the end, what we’re truly cultivating is the state of our mind and the meridians within our body. What are qi and elixirs but external matters? How could they become the foundation of cultivation?”
Seeing that Mei Qing was somewhat confused, Zhang Liusun explained, “If someone exhausts their true essence in a fight, they only need to regulate their breath a few times, and they’ll return to their original state. The true essence is like the charcoal in a furnace or the water in a pot—once it’s burned, it’s gone. But if the furnace is large enough to hold more charcoal, it can keep the fire burning brightly. Selecting good charcoal is necessary, but it’s never as important as the furnace itself.”
“Nowadays, people practice the opposite way. They refine and circulate the little true essence within their bodies over and over, but they rarely temper their meridians and physical form. They don’t realize that once the body is properly tempered, the true essence within will naturally become abundant, inexhaustible, and that is the true path.”
“The alchemy and cauldron methods are even more laughable. Ancient immortals also formed internal elixirs, but the condensation of the golden elixir should happen naturally, like water flowing into a channel. Who would have thought that later generations would invert cause and effect, treating the golden elixir as the ultimate goal, abandoning all external cultivation and focusing solely on internal refinement. They fail to realize that while the human body is a universe in itself, how much spiritual energy can it generate on its own? Such cultivation may be solid, but the quantity is pitifully small, far inferior to the method of refining qi.”
Mei Qing listened and felt that it resonated with his own thoughts, but he still had doubts. “This point, I’ve occasionally thought about it myself, but I never dared to be so certain. The talismans, elixirs, and cauldrons have been passed down for thousands of years. If they are truly a wrong path, why haven’t the ancient cultivation methods been passed down instead, allowing these methods to flourish?”
Zhang Liusun nodded and sighed deeply. “What you said, I’ve also thought about before, and I was equally puzzled. It wasn’t until I discovered this place that I began to understand the reasons.”
Zhang Liusun’s eyes grew distant, as if he were gazing far into the distance. “East of Jieshi, overlooking the vast sea. Who would have thought that the sacred mountain Jieshi would sink to the bottom of the ocean!”
“What?” Mei Qing exclaimed in shock. “This place… is actually underwater?”
“Exactly,” Zhang Liusun said. “Since the Qin and Han dynasties, people have talked about Jieshi, but no one could pinpoint its exact location. Since you’ve personally seen the inscription on Jieshi, you know that where we are now is the site of the sacred mountain. But this place is located beneath the Ming Sea, which formed after Jieshi sank into the ocean.”
Mei Qing’s mind was in turmoil. He never imagined that he had actually come to the bottom of the sea. He also thought about the immortal’s cave dwelling, which indeed had extraordinary features. No wonder the spiritual energy here was so dense.
Zhang Liusun continued, “Jieshi has always been a sacred place for immortals. Back then, Emperor Qin, in order to ensure the prosperity of his nation, performed the Feng and Shan sacrifices and inscribed stones. Naturally, he had the guidance of high-level experts. But Emperor Qin still felt it wasn’t enough. He listened to others and gathered all the gold and bronze in the world in Xianyang, casting twelve bronze statues to suppress the nation’s fate, to end all wars, and to ensure the eternal reign of the Qin dynasty.”
At this point, Zhang Liusun’s lips curled into a mocking smile. “But Emperor Qin was just an ordinary man, deceived by the cultivation experts until his death! He wasn’t really casting bronze statues to be sent to Xianyang. Only a small part of the world’s weapons were used for that. The real purpose was to transport the finest gold to his own cave dwelling, intending to cast nine cauldrons for his own benefit!”
Mei Qing was shocked. “Could it be that Jieshi was the place where the cauldrons were cast?”
Zhang Liusun shook his head. “It was, but not within this dwelling. It was outside, in a separate foundry. The place where you first entered is where the cauldrons were cast. Back then, a thousand jin of gold were gathered here, and they were smelted day and night. That’s why it’s called the Thousand Jin Foundry.”
When Mei Qing heard this name, he was startled and murmured, “Thousand Jin Foundry? So that’s what it was!”
Back then, when Yang Jin was dying, he had uttered the words “Thousand Jin Ye,” and no one understood what he meant. When they arrived in Yongping, they inquired everywhere, but no one knew who this “Thousand Jin Ye” was. Only now, after hearing Zhang Liusun’s explanation, did Mei Qing realize that “Thousand Jin Ye” was actually a mispronunciation of “Thousand Jin Foundry.”
Originally, the words “Thousand Jin Foundry” were clearly inscribed on the stone outside. But at that time, Mei Qing had closed off his five senses, so he naturally didn’t know. It was only now, through Zhang Liusun’s words, that he understood.
“If this place is the ancient site of the Thousand Jin Foundry, why did it become the territory of the Fragrance Sect?” Mei Qing’s mind was filled with questions. But since this matter was unrelated to Zhang Liusun’s story about the Qin dynasty’s cauldron casting, he didn’t voice his doubts.
“But the vicissitudes of life are not something that can be easily reversed. Emperor Qin was unparalleled in his cruelty, and his dynasty fell in the second generation. It’s laughable that the person who cast the cauldrons didn’t benefit from it but was instead implicated. Only one cauldron was cast before it couldn’t withstand the backlash of the killing and resentment, and it all ended in a dream.” As Zhang Liusun spoke, his tone carried a sense of the passage of time.
“Oh? Who was the cauldron caster? Could it be…” Mei Qing’s heart stirred, and he suddenly thought of a possibility.
“Exactly, it was Xu Fu. Hehe, who would have thought that the thousand boys and girls he took with him, supposedly to seek the immortal mountains in the sea, were actually brought here to secretly cast the cauldrons? It’s tragic that those thousand boys and girls, thinking they were following him in search of immortality, ended up being sacrificed for the cauldrons, their bodies and souls destroyed!…”
Mei Qing couldn’t help but shiver when he heard this. No wonder Xu Fu suffered a backlash. Such a mad, heaven-defying act, once it lost the suppression of the Qin dynasty’s fate, was bound to fail.
“In my younger years, I was very interested in the whereabouts of Jieshi. But I was too busy with worldly affairs to pay much attention. It wasn’t until I obtained the Shenxiao Thunder Method and made some progress in my cultivation that I felt the heavenly tribulation was approaching. That’s when I decided to find a blessed land, both to improve my cultivation and to resist the tribulation. After some searching, I finally found some clues here and decided to live in seclusion. I never expected that within Jieshi, I would discover many remnants of the cauldron casting from back then. Especially when I abandoned my physical body and prepared to re-cultivate, I had the fortune to see some ancient remnants, which gave me a deeper understanding of the path of cultivation.” As Zhang Liusun spoke, his eyes sparkled.
Mei Qing listened in silence. He thought about how Zhang Liusun, with his own strength, had unified the Taoist sects of the world. The path he took was unparalleled throughout history. Now, hearing him recount his past in such detail, Mei Qing couldn’t help but feel a sense of awe.
Originally, Zhang Liusun had intended to undergo corpse liberation and then seek a path of reincarnation and re-cultivation. But after his infant spirit left his body, he discovered the unfinished cauldron and some secret manuals left by Xu Fu. This made him reconsider and seek a new path.
It must be said that Zhang Liusun was truly a genius of his time, and the path he devised was beyond imagination. In his view, reincarnation and re-cultivation were convenient, but there were too many uncertainties. The reincarnated person would have to rely on luck, and no one knew what kind of body they would end up with, whether it would be suitable for cultivation. Before they could resume their cultivation path, they might encounter disasters and be wiped out. In short, reincarnation was essentially a gamble.
After studying the ancient secret methods left by Xu Fu and combining them with the various divine abilities he had learned before, Zhang Liusun came up with a completely new path. He forcibly split a part of his divine consciousness and implanted it into a magical artifact. Then, he lured a child who happened to pass by into this place and imprinted his commands and some cultivation methods into the child’s consciousness. He then let the child take the cauldron out to find suitable parents for his new body.
“This process was actually quite difficult. Not only did the parents’ destinies have to match, but they also had to practice a secret dual cultivation method. Then, the infant spirit in the cauldron would be transferred into the fetus’s brain. When the child grew up, not only would they have an excellent physique, but they would also directly possess my divine consciousness and return here to merge with me. Hehe, that’s why we’re meeting today.” Zhang Liusun spoke with great pride.
Mei Qing, hearing this, grew increasingly suspicious and interrupted Zhang Liuson, “What you’re saying doesn’t quite add up. According to your explanation, I must be the vessel you designed. Yet, I have no recollection of any shared consciousness or the like. Clearly, what you’re describing has nothing to do with me.”
Zhang Liuson chuckled, “Your skepticism is understandable, but you must realize that such consciousness, once embedded in the mind, is akin to memories of past lives—it doesn’t awaken immediately. If you don’t believe me, when the time comes for the memories to merge, you’ll naturally recall everything.”
Mei Qing felt a heightened sense of caution. Aware that his thoughts might be discerned by Zhang Liuson, he suppressed his curiosity and steered the conversation elsewhere, “There’s another matter. You mentioned someone was tasked with carrying out this mission using the artifact. Yet, I’ve never encountered such a person in my life. How then did you know it was me who arrived?”
Zhang Liuson laughed heartily, “Isn’t it obvious? The cauldron servant might have met with some misfortune, which isn’t surprising. Firstly, you practice the Shenxiao Thunder Method, which I had the servant carry out. Secondly, do you know what the artifact is? It’s an ancient sub-cauldron from this very place, now residing within your Purple Mansion. How could there be any mistake?”
Zhang Liusun, with his youthful face, couldn’t help but show a trace of nostalgia as he spoke of the past.
“Back then, I was practicing the Great Cave True Scripture of the Celestial Master Sect. The orthodox method of the sect was actually the Xiang’er Commentary by the Celestial Master himself, but since I wasn’t a direct disciple, I naturally had no chance to see it. It wasn’t until later, when I broke through the Shenxiao Sect and obtained the secret methods of Shenxiao, that I realized all the talismans, elixirs, and cauldrons were just nonsense, added by ignorant later generations!”
At this point, Zhang Liusun looked at Mei Qing and said, “I don’t know what insights you’ve gained from the Shenxiao Thunder Method. Since I entered the path through the Celestial Master Sect, I naturally focused on refining qi. I would gather qi daily, refining my essence. Later, I also studied the methods of alchemy, focusing on internal cultivation without external interference. But whether it’s gathering external qi or refining internal elixirs, what we’re really cultivating is the state of our mind and the meridians within our body. Qi and elixirs are external; how could they become the foundation of cultivation?”
Seeing that Mei Qing was somewhat confused, Zhang Liusun explained, “If someone exhausts their true essence in a fight, they only need to regulate their breath a few times to recover. The true essence is like the charcoal in a furnace or the water in a pot—it burns out after one use. But if the furnace is large enough to hold more charcoal, it can keep the fire burning brightly. Selecting good charcoal is necessary, but it’s not as important as the furnace itself.”
“Nowadays, people cultivate in the opposite way, refining and circulating their true essence over and over, but rarely tempering their meridians and body. They don’t realize that once the body is refined, the true essence within will naturally become abundant, inexhaustible, and that is the true path.”
“The alchemy and cauldron methods are even more laughable. Ancient immortals also formed internal elixirs, but the condensation of the golden elixir should happen naturally, like water flowing into a channel. Who would have thought later generations would reverse cause and effect, treating the golden elixir as the ultimate path, abandoning all external methods and focusing solely on internal cultivation. They fail to realize that while the human body is a universe in itself, the spiritual energy it can produce is limited. This kind of cultivation may be solid, but the quantity is pitifully small, even worse than the qi-refining methods.”
Mei Qing listened and felt that it made sense, but he still had doubts. “This point, I’ve occasionally thought about it myself, but I wasn’t so sure. The talismans, elixirs, and cauldrons have been passed down for a thousand years. If they are truly a wrong path, why didn’t the ancient cultivation methods survive, while the talismans and elixirs flourished?”
Zhang Liusun nodded and sighed. “I’ve thought about that too, and I wasn’t sure either. It wasn’t until I discovered this place that I understood the reason.”
Zhang Liuson’s eyes seemed to gaze into the distance as he said, “East of Jieshi, overlooking the vast sea. Who would have thought that the sacred mountain Jieshi would sink to the bottom of the sea!”
“What?” Mei Qing exclaimed. “This place is… under the sea?”
“Exactly,” Zhang Liusun said. “Since the Qin and Han dynasties, people have been puzzled by Jieshi, and no one could pinpoint its location. Since you’ve seen the inscription on Jieshi, you know that where we are now is the sacred mountain of old. But this place is actually beneath the Ming Sea, which formed after Jieshi sank.”
Mei Qing was stunned. He never imagined he was actually under the sea. He also thought about the immortal’s cave, which indeed had extraordinary features. No wonder the spiritual energy here was so dense.
Zhang Liusun continued, “Jieshi has always been a sacred place for immortals. Back then, Emperor Qin Shihuang, for the prosperity of his nation, performed the Feng and Shan sacrifices and inscribed stones. Naturally, he had the guidance of experts. But Emperor Qin still felt it wasn’t enough. He listened to advice and gathered all the gold and bronze in the world in Xianyang, casting twelve bronze statues to suppress the nation’s fortune, to end wars forever, and to ensure the Qin dynasty would last for ten thousand years.”
At this point, Zhang Liusun’s lips curled into a sneer. “But Emperor Qin was just a mortal, deceived by cultivation experts until his death! He wasn’t really casting bronze statues to be sent to Xianyang. Only a small part of the world’s weapons were used for that. The real purpose was to transport the finest gold to his own cave, intending to cast nine cauldrons for his own benefit!”
Mei Qing was shocked. “So Jieshi was the place where the cauldrons were cast?”
Zhang Liusun shook his head. “Yes and no. It wasn’t in this cave, but outside, in a separate foundry. The place where you first entered was the site of the cauldron casting. Back then, a thousand pieces of gold were gathered here, and they worked day and night, hence the name ‘Qianjin Ye’ (Thousand Gold Foundry).”
Mei Qing was startled. “Qianjin Ye? So that’s what it was!”
When Yang Jin was dying, he had muttered the words “Qianjin Ye,” and no one understood what he meant. In Yongping, they had inquired everywhere, but no one knew who or what “Qianjin Ye” was. Now, hearing Zhang Liusun’s explanation, Mei Qing finally understood. The so-called “Qianjin Ye” was actually a mispronunciation of “Qianjin Ye.”
The words “Qianjin Ye” were clearly inscribed on the stone outside, but Mei Qing had been in a state of sensory deprivation at the time, so he hadn’t noticed. Now, through Zhang Liusun’s words, he understood.
“If this place is the ancient site of Qianjin Ye, why did it become the territory of the Incense Sect?” Mei Qing wondered, but since this was unrelated to Zhang Liusun’s story about the Qin dynasty’s cauldron casting, he didn’t ask.
“But the vicissitudes of life are not something that can be easily reversed. Emperor Qin was unparalleled in his cruelty, and his dynasty fell in the second generation. It’s laughable that the person who cast the cauldrons didn’t benefit from it but was instead implicated. Only one cauldron was cast before the backlash of the killing and resentment became unbearable, and it all ended in a dream.” Zhang Liusun’s voice carried a trace of melancholy as he spoke.
“Oh? Who was the cauldron caster? Could it be…” Mei Qing’s heart stirred, suddenly thinking of a possibility.
“Exactly, it was Xu Fu. Who would have thought that the thousand boys and girls he took to sea in search of the immortal mountains were actually meant to hide here and secretly cast the cauldrons? It’s tragic that those boys and girls, thinking they were following him in search of immortality, ended up being sacrificed for the cauldrons, their bodies and souls destroyed!”
Mei Qing shivered at this. No wonder Xu Fu suffered a backlash. Such a mad, heaven-defying act, once deprived of the Qin dynasty’s fortune to suppress it, was bound to fail with mere human effort.
“In my younger days, I was very interested in the whereabouts of Jieshi. But I was too busy with worldly affairs to investigate. It wasn’t until I mastered the Shenxiao Thunder Method and felt the approach of the heavenly tribulation that I decided to find a blessed land to both advance my cultivation and resist the tribulation. After much searching, I finally found some clues here and secluded myself in this place, never leaving. Unexpectedly, within Jieshi, I discovered many remnants of the ancient cauldron casting, especially when I abandoned my physical body and prepared to re-cultivate. I had the fortune to see some ancient relics, which gave me a deeper understanding of the path of cultivation.” Zhang Liusun’s eyes sparkled as he spoke.
Mei Qing listened in silence. Thinking of Zhang Liusun’s unparalleled achievements in unifying the Taoist sects, there was no one like him in history. Hearing him recount his past, Mei Qing couldn’t help but feel moved.
Originally, Zhang Liusun had intended to undergo corpse liberation and seek reincarnation to re-cultivate. But after his primordial spirit left his body, he discovered the unfinished cauldron and some secret manuals left by Xu Fu. This made him reconsider and seek a new path.
Zhang Liusun was truly a genius, and the path he devised was extraordinary. He thought that reincarnation was convenient, but the reincarnated person would inevitably depend on luck—no one knew what kind of body they would get, whether it would be suitable for cultivation. Before they could resume their cultivation, they might encounter disasters and perish. In short, reincarnation was essentially a gamble.
After studying the ancient secret methods left by Xu Fu and combining them with the various supernatural powers he had learned before, Zhang Liusun came up with a completely new path. He forcibly split a part of his divine consciousness and implanted it into a magical artifact. Then, he lured a child who happened to pass by into this place and imprinted his commands and some cultivation methods into the child’s consciousness. He then let the child take the cauldron out to find suitable parents for his new body.
“This was actually quite difficult. Not only did the parents’ fates have to align, but they also had to practice a secret dual cultivation method to transfer the primordial spirit from the cauldron into the fetus’s mind. When the child grew up, not only would they have an excellent physique, but they would also directly possess my divine consciousness and return here to merge with me. And that’s how we meet today.” Zhang Liusun said this with great pride.
Mei Qing, hearing this, became highly suspicious and interrupted Zhang Liusun. “What you’re saying doesn’t add up. According to you, I must be the avatar you designed. But I don’t have any of the so-called half of your divine consciousness in my mind. Clearly, what you’re saying has nothing to do with me.”
Zhang Liusun laughed. “What you say might make sense, but you don’t understand that divine consciousness, when submerged in the mind, is like the memories of reincarnation—it doesn’t awaken immediately. If you don’t believe me, when the memories merge later, you’ll naturally recall everything.”
Mei Qing was on high alert. Knowing that the other party seemed to have a way to guess his thoughts, he suppressed his mind, not thinking too much, and instead changed the subject. “There’s another thing. You said someone was supposed to carry the artifact and complete this task. But I’ve never seen such a person since I was a child. How did you know it was me who came?”
Zhang Liusun laughed heartily. “Isn’t it obvious? The cauldron servant might have met with some misfortune later, which isn’t surprising. But first, you practice the Shenxiao Thunder Method, which I had the cauldron servant carry out. Second, do you know what the artifact is? It’s an ancient sub-cauldron cast here, and it’s now in your dantian. How could it be wrong?”
Zhang Liusun, with his youthful face, couldn’t help but reveal a touch of nostalgia as he spoke of the past.
“Back then, I was practicing the Great Cave True Scripture of the Heavenly Master Sect. The orthodox method of the sect was actually the Heavenly Master’s Xiang’er Commentary, but since I wasn’t of the direct lineage, I naturally had no chance to see it. It wasn’t until later, when I broke through the Shenxiao Sect and obtained the various secret methods of Shenxiao, that I realized all the talismans, elixirs, and cauldrons were nothing but nonsense, mere embellishments added by ignorant later generations!”
At this point, Zhang Liusun turned his gaze to Mei Qing and said, “I don’t know what insights you’ve gained from the Shenxiao Thunder Method. Since I entered the path through the Heavenly Master Sect, I naturally focused on refining qi. I diligently gathered qi every day, refining my original essence. Later, I also studied the methods of alchemy, drawing from within myself without involving external affairs. But whether it’s gathering external qi or refining internal elixirs, in the end, what we’re truly cultivating is the realm of the mind and the meridians within the body. What is qi? What is an elixir? They are all external matters. How could they become the foundation of cultivation?”
Seeing that Mei Qing was somewhat confused, Zhang Liuson explained, “If someone engages in a fight and exhausts their true essence, they only need to regulate their breath a few times, and they will naturally return to their original state. That true essence is like the charcoal in a furnace or the water in a pot—once it’s burned, it’s gone. But if the furnace is large enough to hold more charcoal, it can ensure that the fire burns brightly. Selecting good charcoal is necessary, but it’s never as important as the furnace itself.”
“Nowadays, people practice the opposite way. They refine and circulate the little true essence within their bodies over and over again, but they rarely temper their meridians and physical structure. They don’t realize that once the body is successfully refined, the true essence within will naturally become abundant, inexhaustible, and endlessly usable. That is the true path.”
“The alchemy and cauldron lineage is even more laughable. Ancient immortals also formed internal elixirs, but the condensation of the golden elixir must follow the natural course, like water flowing to its destination. Who would have thought that later generations would invert cause and effect, treating the golden elixir as the ultimate path, abandoning all external gathering and only drawing from within. They fail to consider that although the human body is a universe in itself, how much spiritual energy can it generate on its own? Such cultivation may be solid, but the quantity is pitifully small, even inferior to the method of refining qi.”
Mei Qing listened and felt that it resonated with his own thoughts, but he still had some doubts. “This point, I have occasionally thought about, but I never dared to be so certain. The talismans, elixirs, and cauldrons have been passed down for a thousand years. If they are truly a wrong path, why didn’t the ancient cultivation methods survive, while the talismans, elixirs, and cauldrons flourished?”
Zhang Liusun nodded and sighed deeply. “What you said, I have also thought about before, and I was equally puzzled. It wasn’t until I discovered this place that I began to understand the reasons.”
Zhang Liusun’s eyes grew distant, as if he were gazing far into the distance. “East of Jieshi, overlooking the vast sea. Who would have thought that the sacred mountain Jieshi would sink to the bottom of the sea!”
“What?” Mei Qing exclaimed in shock. “This place… is actually underwater?”
“Exactly,” Zhang Liusun said. “Since the Qin and Han dynasties, people have been puzzled when discussing Jieshi, and no one could pinpoint the location of this mountain. Since you have personally seen the inscription of Jieshi, you must know that where we are now is the site of the sacred mountain. But this place is located beneath the Ming Sea, which was formed after Jieshi sank into the sea.”
Mei Qing’s mind was in turmoil. He never imagined that he had actually come to the bottom of the sea. He also thought about the immortal’s cave dwelling, which indeed had extraordinary features. No wonder the spiritual energy here was so dense.
Zhang Liusun continued, “Jieshi was originally a sacred place for immortals. Back then, Emperor Qin, for the prosperity of his nation, performed the Fengshan ritual and inscribed stones. Naturally, he had the guidance of great masters behind him. But Emperor Qin still felt it wasn’t enough. He listened to others and gathered all the gold and bronze in the world in Xianyang, casting twelve bronze statues to suppress the nation’s fate, to forever end warfare, and to ensure the Qin dynasty would last for ten thousand years.”
At this point, Zhang Liusun’s lips curled into a sneer. “But Emperor Qin was just an ordinary man, deceived by the great masters of cultivation until his death! He wasn’t really casting bronze statues to be transported to Xianyang. Only a small part of the world’s weapons were used for that. The real purpose was to transport the finest gold to his own cave dwelling, intending to cast nine cauldrons for his own benefit!”
Mei Qing was shocked. “Could it be that Jieshi was the place where the cauldrons were cast?”
Zhang Liusun shook his head. “It was, but not within this dwelling. It was outside, in a separate foundry. The place where you first entered this area was the site where the cauldrons were cast. Back then, a thousand jin of gold were gathered here, and they were smelted day and night. That’s why it was called the Thousand Jin Foundry.”
When Mei Qing heard this name, he was startled and murmured, “Thousand Jin Foundry? So it was the Thousand Jin Foundry!”
Back then, when Yang Jin was on the verge of death, he had uttered the words “Thousand Jin Ye,” and no one had understood what he meant. When they arrived in Yongping, they inquired everywhere, but no one knew who this “Thousand Jin Ye” was. Only now, after hearing Zhang Liusun’s explanation, did Mei Qing realize that “Thousand Jin Ye” was actually a mispronunciation of “Thousand Jin Foundry.”
Originally, the three characters “Thousand Jin Foundry” were clearly inscribed on the stone outside. But at that time, Mei Qing had closed off his five senses, so he naturally didn’t know. It was only now, through Zhang Liusun’s words, that he understood.
“If this place is the ancient site of the Thousand Jin Foundry, why did it become the territory of the Wenxiang Sect?” Mei Qing’s mind was filled with questions. But since this matter was unrelated to Zhang Liusun’s story about the Qin dynasty’s cauldron casting, he didn’t bring it up.
“But the vicissitudes of the world are not something that can be easily reversed. Emperor Qin was unparalleled in his cruelty, and his dynasty fell in the second generation. It’s laughable that the person who cast the cauldrons didn’t benefit from it but instead got caught up in the backlash. Only one cauldron was cast before it couldn’t withstand the killing and resentment, and it all ended in a dream.” As Zhang Liusun spoke, his tone carried a hint of the passage of time.
“Oh? Who was the person who cast the cauldrons? Could it be…” Mei Qing’s heart stirred, and he suddenly thought of a possibility.
“Exactly, it was Xu Fu. Hehe, who would have thought that the thousand boys and girls he took with him, supposedly to seek the immortal mountains in the sea, were actually brought here to secretly cast the cauldrons? It’s tragic that those thousand boys and girls, thinking they were following him in search of immortality, ended up being sacrificed for the cauldrons, their bodies and souls destroyed!…”
Hearing this, Mei Qing couldn’t help but shiver. No wonder Xu Fu suffered such a backlash. Such a mad act of defying the heavens, once it lost the suppression of the Qin dynasty’s fate, was bound to fail with mere human effort.
“In my younger years, I was very interested in the whereabouts of Jieshi. But I was too busy with worldly affairs to pay much attention. It wasn’t until I obtained the Shenxiao Thunder Method and made some progress in my cultivation that I felt the heavenly tribulation was near. That’s when I decided to find a blessed land, both to advance my cultivation and to resist the tribulation. After much searching, I finally found some clues in this place and decided to seclude myself here, never leaving. Little did I know that within Jieshi, I would discover many remnants of the ancient cauldron casting. Especially when I abandoned my physical body and prepared to re-cultivate, I had the fortune to see some ancient relics, which gave me a deeper understanding of the path of cultivation.” As Zhang Liusun spoke, his eyes sparkled.
Mei Qing listened and fell silent. He thought about how Zhang Liusun, with his own strength, had unified the Taoist sects of the world. The path he had taken was unparalleled in history. Now, hearing him recount his past, Mei Qing couldn’t help but feel a sense of awe.
Originally, Zhang Liusun had intended to undergo corpse liberation and then seek a path of reincarnation and re-cultivation. But after his primordial spirit left his body, he discovered the unfinished cauldron and some secret manuals left by Xu Fu. This made him reconsider and seek a new path.
It must be said that Zhang Liusun was truly a genius of his time, and the path he came up with was beyond imagination. In his view, reincarnation and re-cultivation were convenient, but the reincarnated person would inevitably depend on luck. No one knew what kind of body they would be born into, or whether it would be suitable for cultivation. Before they could return to the path of cultivation, they might encounter various disasters and be wiped out. In short, the path of reincarnation was essentially a gamble.
After studying the ancient secret methods left by Xu Fu and combining them with the various supernatural abilities he had learned before, Zhang Liusun came up with a completely new path, different from anyone else’s. He forcibly split a part of his divine consciousness and implanted it into a magical artifact. Then, he lured a child who happened to pass by into this place and imprinted his commands and some cultivation methods into the child’s consciousness. He then let the child take the cauldron out to find suitable men and women to serve as parents for his new body.
“This was actually quite difficult. Not only did the man and woman’s destinies have to match, but they also had to practice a secret dual cultivation method. Then, the primordial spirit in the cauldron would be transferred into the fetus’s mind. When the child grew up, not only would they have an excellent physique, but they would also directly possess my divine consciousness and return here to merge with me. Hehe, that’s why we meet today.” As Zhang Liusun spoke, he seemed quite pleased with himself.
Hearing this, Mei Qing became deeply suspicious and interrupted Zhang Liusun, “What you’re saying doesn’t quite add up. According to your story, I must be the avatar you designed. But in my mind, there’s nothing like the half of your divine consciousness you mentioned. Clearly, what you’re saying has nothing to do with me.”
Zhang Liusun laughed, “What you say may have some truth to it, but you don’t understand that divine consciousness, when submerged in the mind, is like the memories of reincarnation—it doesn’t awaken immediately. If you don’t believe me, when the memories merge later, you’ll naturally recall everything.”
Mei Qing listened and became highly alert. But he knew that the other party seemed to have a way of guessing his thoughts, so he forcefully suppressed his mind, not thinking too much, and instead changed the subject, “There’s another thing. You said someone was supposed to carry the artifact and complete this task. But since I was a child, I’ve never seen such a person. How did you know it was me who came?”
Zhang Liusun laughed heartily, “What’s so hard to understand? The cauldron slave might have encountered some misfortune later, which isn’t surprising. But first, you practice the Shenxiao Thunder Method, which was what I ordered the cauldron slave to carry out. Second, do you know what the artifact is? It’s an ancient sub-cauldron from this place, and it’s now in your dantian. How could it be wrong?”
Zhang Liusun spoke of the past, and though his face still bore a youthful appearance, it couldn’t hide the traces of nostalgia that surfaced.
“Back then, I was practicing the Great Cave True Scripture of the Celestial Master Sect. The orthodox teachings of the sect were actually the annotations by the Celestial Master himself, but since I wasn’t part of the direct lineage, I naturally had no chance to see them. It wasn’t until later, when I broke through the Shenxiao Sect and obtained its secret methods, that I realized all the talismans, elixirs, and cauldrons were nothing but nonsense, mere embellishments added by ignorant descendants!”
At this point, Zhang Liusun turned his gaze to Mei Qing and said, “I don’t know what insights you’ve gained from the Shenxiao Thunder Method. Since I entered the path through the Celestial Master Sect, my practice has always been centered on refining Qi. I would gather Qi daily, refining my primordial essence. Later, I also studied the methods of alchemy, focusing on internal cultivation without external distractions. But whether it’s gathering external Qi or refining internal elixirs, what we’re truly cultivating is the state of our minds and the meridians within our bodies. Qi and elixirs are external matters—how could they become the foundation of cultivation?”
Seeing that Mei Qing was somewhat confused, Zhang Liusun explained, “If someone engages in a fight and exhausts their true essence, they can recover it with just a few breaths of meditation. True essence is like the charcoal in a furnace or the water in a pot—it burns out after one use. But if the furnace is large enough to hold more charcoal, it can keep the fire burning strong. Selecting good charcoal is necessary, but it’s never more important than the furnace itself.”
“Nowadays, people practice the opposite way. They refine and circulate the little true essence within their bodies over and over, but they rarely temper their meridians and physical forms. They don’t realize that once the body is sufficiently tempered, the true essence within will naturally become abundant, inexhaustible, and that is the true path.”
“The alchemy and cauldron methods are even more laughable. Ancient immortals also formed internal elixirs, but the condensation of the golden elixir should be a natural process, like water flowing into a channel. Who would have thought that later generations would mistake the cause for the effect? They treat the golden elixir as the ultimate path, abandoning all external cultivation and focusing solely on internal refinement. They fail to consider that although the human body is a universe in itself, how much spiritual energy can it generate on its own? This kind of practice may result in solidity, but the quantity is pitifully small, far inferior to the methods of refining Qi.”
Mei Qing listened and felt that it resonated with his own thoughts, but he still had some doubts. “This point, I’ve occasionally thought about as well, but I never dared to be so certain. The talismans, elixirs, and cauldrons have been passed down for a thousand years. If they are truly misguided, why haven’t the ancient cultivation methods been preserved, while the talisman and cauldron methods have flourished?”
Zhang Liusun nodded and sighed deeply. “What you said, I’ve also pondered before, and I couldn’t quite understand it either. It wasn’t until I discovered this place that I began to grasp the reasons.”
Zhang Liusun’s eyes grew distant, as if he were gazing far into the distance. “East of Jieshi, overlooking the vast sea. Who would have thought that the sacred mountain Jieshi would sink to the bottom of the ocean?”
“What?” Mei Qing exclaimed in shock. “This place… is actually underwater?”
“Exactly,” Zhang Liusun replied. “Since the Qin and Han dynasties, people have been puzzled when discussing Jieshi, and no one has been able to pinpoint its exact location. Since you’ve personally seen the inscription on Jieshi, you know that where we are now is the site of the sacred mountain. But this place is actually located beneath the Minghai, a depression formed after Jieshi sank into the sea.”
Mei Qing was overwhelmed with confusion. He never imagined that he had actually come to the bottom of the sea. He then thought about the immortal’s cave dwellings, which indeed had extraordinary qualities. No wonder the spiritual energy here was so dense.
Zhang Liusun continued, “Jieshi has always been a sacred place for immortals. Back then, Emperor Qin, in order to ensure the prosperity of his nation, performed the Feng and Shan rituals and inscribed stones. Naturally, he had the guidance of high-level practitioners. But even Emperor Qin felt it wasn’t enough. He listened to rumors and gathered all the gold and bronze in the world to Xianyang, casting twelve bronze statues to suppress the nation’s fate, to end wars forever, and to ensure the eternal prosperity of the Qin dynasty.”
At this point, Zhang Liusun’s lips curled into a sneer. “But Emperor Qin was just an ordinary man, deceived by the practitioners until his death! He wasn’t really casting bronze statues to be transported to Xianyang. Only a small portion of the world’s weapons were used for that. The real purpose was to transport the refined gold to his own cave dwelling, intending to cast nine cauldrons for his own benefit!”
Mei Qing was shocked. “Could it be that Jieshi was the place where the cauldrons were cast?”
Zhang Liusun shook his head. “It was, but not within this dwelling. It was outside, in a separate foundry. The place where you first entered was the site of the cauldron casting. Back then, a thousand gold pieces were gathered here, and the casting went on day and night. That’s why it was called the Thousand Gold Foundry.”
When Mei Qing heard this name, he was startled and murmured, “Thousand Gold Foundry? So that’s what it was!”
Back then, when Yang Jin was on the verge of death, he had uttered the words “Thousand Gold Lord,” and no one understood what he meant. When they arrived in Yongping and inquired around, no one knew who this “Thousand Gold Lord” was. Only now, after hearing Zhang Liusun’s explanation, did Mei Qing realize that the so-called “Thousand Gold Lord” was actually a mispronunciation of “Thousand Gold Foundry.”
Originally, the three characters “Thousand Gold Foundry” were clearly inscribed on the stone outside. But at the time, Mei Qing had closed off his five senses, so he naturally didn’t notice. It was only now, through Zhang Liusun’s words, that he understood.
“If this place is the ancient site of the Thousand Gold Foundry, why did it become the territory of the Fragrance Sect?” Mei Qing’s mind was filled with questions. But since this matter was unrelated to Zhang Liusun’s account of the Qin dynasty’s cauldron casting, he didn’t voice his doubts.
“But the vicissitudes of the world are not something that can be easily reversed. Emperor Qin was unparalleled in his cruelty, and his dynasty fell in the second generation. It’s laughable that the person who cast the cauldrons didn’t benefit from it but was instead implicated. Only one cauldron was cast before it couldn’t withstand the backlash of the killing and resentment, resulting in a complete failure.” As Zhang Liusun spoke, his tone carried a hint of the passage of time.
“Oh? Who was the person who cast the cauldrons? Could it be…” Mei Qing’s mind raced, and he suddenly thought of a possibility.
“Exactly, it was Xu Fu. Hehe, I’m afraid no one in the world would have guessed that the thousand boys and girls he took with him, supposedly to seek the immortal mountains in the sea, were actually meant to hide here and secretly cast the cauldrons. It’s tragic that those thousand boys and girls, thinking they were following him in search of immortality, ended up being sacrificed for the cauldron casting, their bodies and souls destroyed!…”
Hearing this, Mei Qing couldn’t help but shiver. No wonder Xu Fu suffered a backlash. Such a mad, heaven-defying act, once it lost the suppression of the Qin dynasty’s fate, was bound to fail with mere human effort.
“In my younger years, I was very interested in the whereabouts of Jieshi. But I was too busy with worldly affairs to pay much attention. It wasn’t until I obtained the Shenxiao Thunder Method and made some progress in my cultivation that I felt the heavenly tribulation was approaching. That’s when I decided to seek a cave dwelling, both to advance my cultivation and to resist the tribulation. After much searching, I finally found some clues in this place and went into seclusion here. Little did I know that within Jieshi, I would discover many remnants of the cauldron casting from back then. Especially when I abandoned my physical body and prepared to re-cultivate, I had the fortune to encounter some ancient relics, which gave me a deeper understanding of the path of cultivation.” As Zhang Liusun spoke, his eyes sparkled with excitement.
Mei Qing listened in silence. He thought about how Zhang Liusun, with his own strength, had unified the Taoist sects of the world. The path he had taken was unparalleled in history. Now, hearing him recount his past experiences, Mei Qing couldn’t help but feel a sense of awe.
Originally, Zhang Liusun had intended to undergo corpse liberation and then seek a path of reincarnation and re-cultivation. But after his primordial spirit left his body, he discovered the unfinished cauldron and some secret manuals left by Xu Fu. This made him reconsider and seek a new path.
It must be said that Zhang Liusun was truly a genius of his time, and the path he devised was beyond imagination. In his view, reincarnation and re-cultivation were convenient, but the reincarnated person would inevitably depend on luck. No one knew what kind of body they would be born into, or whether it would be suitable for cultivation. Before they could resume their cultivation, they might encounter disasters and be wiped out. In short, the path of reincarnation was essentially a gamble.
After studying the ancient secret methods left by Xu Fu and combining them with the various supernatural abilities he had learned before, Zhang Liusun came up with a completely new path. He forcibly split a part of his divine consciousness and implanted it into a magical artifact. Then, he lured a child who happened to pass by into this place and imprinted his commands and some cultivation methods into the child’s consciousness. He then let the child take the cauldron out to find suitable parents for his new physical body.
“This process was actually quite difficult. Not only did the parents’ destinies have to align, but they also had to practice a secret dual cultivation method. Then, the primordial spirit in the cauldron would be transferred into the fetus’s mind. When the child grew up, not only would they have an exceptional physique, but they would also directly possess my divine consciousness and return here to merge with me. Hehe, that’s why we’re meeting today.” Zhang Liusun spoke with a sense of pride.
Hearing this, Mei Qing became highly suspicious and interrupted Zhang Liusun, “What you’re saying doesn’t add up. According to your explanation, I must be the avatar you designed. But in my mind, there’s no trace of the so-called half of your divine consciousness. Clearly, what you’re saying has nothing to do with me.”
Zhang Liusun smiled. “What you say may have some truth to it, but you don’t understand that divine consciousness, when submerged in the mind, is like the memories of reincarnation—it doesn’t awaken immediately. If you don’t believe me, when the memories merge later, you’ll naturally recall everything.”
Mei Qing listened with great caution. He knew that the other party seemed to have a way of guessing his thoughts, so he forcefully suppressed his mind, not thinking too much, and simply changed the topic. “There’s another thing. You said someone was tasked with carrying the artifact to complete this mission. But since I was young, I’ve never seen such a person. How did you know it was me who came?”
Zhang Liusun laughed heartily. “Isn’t it obvious? The cauldron servant might have encountered some misfortune later, which isn’t surprising. But first, you practice the Shenxiao Thunder Method, which I had the cauldron servant carry out back then. Second, do you know what the artifact is? It’s a sub-cauldron cast using ancient methods from this place, and it’s now in your dantian. How could there be any mistake?”
“Yet how can worldly affairs be altered by mere schemes?” Zhang Liusun continued. “Emperor Qin was brutally oppressive, and his dynasty fell after only two generations. How ironic that the one who cast the tripod never truly benefited, but instead suffered the consequences. He managed to cast only one tripod before succumbing to the backlash of the resentment and violence contained within it, ending in naught but a dream.”
At this, Zhang Liusun’s tone carried a trace of melancholy, perhaps recalling something personal.
“Ah? Who was this tripod caster? Could it be…” A sudden realization struck Mei Qing.
“Indeed, it was Xu Fu. Hmph, who could have imagined that the thousand youths and maidens he led to sea in search of immortal lands were actually meant to hide here and secretly cast the tripod? Alas, those thousand youths and maidens believed they were following him in pursuit of immortality, never realizing they would become sacrificial offerings for the tripod, meeting their end in death and soul destruction!”
Upon hearing this, Mei Qing involuntarily shivered. No wonder Xu Fu suffered such backlash. With such a heinous act of defying heaven, once the Qin dynasty’s fate no longer suppressed the consequences, how could human effort alone possibly succeed?
“In my younger days, I was deeply fascinated by the mystery of Jieshi’s location. However, due to worldly duties, I had no time to pursue it. It wasn’t until I obtained the Divine Heaven Thunder Technique and made some progress in cultivation that I realized the Heavenly Tribulation was drawing near. That’s when I decided to seek out a blessed cave dwelling—both to advance my cultivation and to withstand the tribulation. After extensive searching, I finally discovered faint traces of this place and settled here in seclusion. I never expected to uncover many ancient tripod-casting ruins within Jieshi. Especially when I was preparing to abandon my physical form for rebirth, I had the fortune to encounter some ancient legacies, which deepened my understanding of cultivation.”
As Zhang Liusun spoke, his eyes gleamed with excitement.
Mei Qing listened in silence. Reflecting on how Zhang Liusun had single-handedly united all Daoist sects under heaven, a feat unmatched in history, he couldn’t help but feel profound admiration as he listened to Zhang recount his past.
Originally, Zhang Liusun had intended to undergo physical dissolution and seek rebirth in another life. However, after his Yuan Ying separated from his body, he unexpectedly discovered the unfinished tripod and some remaining scriptures left behind by Xu Fu. This discovery prompted him to chart a new path.
Indeed, Zhang Liusun was a genius beyond his time, devising a method that defied conventional wisdom. He reasoned that although rebirth might be convenient, it was ultimately a gamble. One could never predict the quality of the new body or whether it would be suitable for cultivation. Before regaining one’s cultivation path, one might encounter any number of disasters and perish prematurely. In short, the path of rebirth was essentially a gamble.
After studying the ancient techniques left by Xu Fu and integrating them with the various abilities he had previously learned, Zhang Liusun devised an entirely new approach. He forcibly split a portion of his consciousness and transferred it into a magical artifact. Then, he lured a passing child into his domain, imprinting his commands and part of his cultivation method into the child’s mind. He then released the child, along with the tripod, to seek out suitable parents for his new physical form.
“This task was extremely difficult,” he explained. “Not only did the male and female need compatible fates, but they also had to cultivate together using secret techniques. Then, the Yuan Ying within the tripod would be transferred into the fetus’s mind. When the child grew up, he would not only possess an exceptional physique but also carry my consciousness. Eventually, he would return here to reunite with me. And that’s how we meet today,” he said with a chuckle.
Mei Qing, deeply skeptical, interrupted Zhang Liusun, “What you’re saying doesn’t quite add up. According to your account, I should be your designed clone. Yet I have no trace of the so-called split consciousness you mentioned. Clearly, your story has nothing to do with me.”
Zhang Liusun laughed. “What you say may have merit, but you don’t realize that consciousness, like memories of past lives, lies dormant and doesn’t awaken immediately. If you don’t believe me, when the time comes for the memories to merge, you’ll naturally recall everything.”
Mei Qing grew wary but understood that Zhang might sense his thoughts. He suppressed his doubts and changed the subject. “Another thing—according to you, someone was supposed to carry the artifact and fulfill this mission. Yet I’ve never encountered such a person since childhood. How can you be sure it’s me?”
Zhang Liusun laughed heartily. “What’s there to misunderstand? The tripod servant might have encountered some misfortune—that’s not unusual. But first, you cultivate the Divine Heaven Thunder Technique, which was precisely what I ordered the tripod servant to carry out. Second, do you know what the artifact is? It’s a subsidiary tripod forged using ancient techniques from this very place. And now, it resides within your Purple Mansion. How could I possibly be wrong?”
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