Chapter 56 : Heavenly Cauldron (2)
Currently, Li Qi Ye, with one sentence, had revealed his situation – how could he not be frightened? When he was at the Purified Rebirth rank, with a heart that rushed for success, defects were left behind. This was something he had never told a stranger, he didn’t think that Li Qi Ye could find out by just examining his Dao foundation. This was such a precise pair of eyes.
This type of vision, this type of knowledge; it was not something a thirteen or fourteen year old boy could have. Even as an elder, Elder Sun’s eyes were not as clear and perceptive. At the same cultivation level as a Named Hero, he wouldn’t be able to judge the Life Wheel and Fate Palace of his opponent and know their hidden depths!
This type of vision and knowledge required an accumulation through time, and a high cultivation to gather! However, the boy in front of him was not this type of person.
While Elder Sun was stunned. Li Qi Ye looked at him, and he said:
“Your cultivation is the Scarlet Refined Physique, also known as the Scarlet Refined Serpent Physique, and You want to turn your Scarlet Refined Physique into the Scarlet Dragon Physique.”
Having heard Li Qi Ye’s words, Elder Sun’s face became red, and he embarrassingly coughed. Then he said:
“I do want to attempt it once or twice.”
Elder Sun was a natural Houtian Physique, a natural Scarlet Refined Serpent Physique; however, he wants to change his physique into its highest form… the Scarlet Dragon Physique!
“The issue is in your Heavenly Cauldron.”
Li Qi Ye said, it was as if he had already known.
“My Heavenly Cauldron?”
After he heard Li Qi Ye’s words in this situation, Elder Sun immediately shook his head, dening:
“That is impossible, my Heavenly Cauldron has followed me for hundreds of years. I had this Heavenly Cauldron since I was at the Yun Physique rank, and I still am using it now. It has accompanied countless pill creations, and there had never been any problems.”
“Your physique, the fire affinity flourishes, and sometimes when you absorb Yin energy; your blood does not travel unhindered through your vessel – correct?”
Li Qi Ye nonchalantly said:
“If you don’t believe me, take out your Heavenly Cauldron so I could judge.”
Li Qi Ye’s words shocked Elder Sun because he said he didn’t have any problems; however, Li Qi Ye spewed out words contrary to his belief. How could he not be scared?
While anxious and doubtful, Elder Sun finally took out his Heavenly Cauldron. His Heavenly Cauldron was as small as a fist and had three serpents intersect at the mouth of the cauldron.
“Three Serpents Fire Cauldron, I have seen quite a few of these Heavenly Cauldrons.”
After he made contact with Elder Sun’s Heavenly Cauldron, Li Qi Ye smilingly said.
A Heavenly Cauldron was essential to all alchemy masters. Even if one wasn’t an alchemy master, the majority of cultivators would still try to find a personal Heavenly Cauldron.
The Heavenly Cauldron, to put it simply, was a cauldron to refine pills. However, when mortals refined pills, they would use metal and stone to forge the cauldron. A cultivator’s pills had their own spiritual nature, and could not be made by metal and stone cauldrons.
Cultivators must use Heavenly Cauldrons to refine pills. In reality, these Heavenly Cauldrons were nature’s cauldrons; these cauldrons had their own spirits, and even their own life. This was why only the cauldrons of cultivators could be called Heavenly Cauldrons.
Regarding the true origin of Heavenly Cauldrons, there were many different beliefs. One belief dictated that during the long lost legendary past, Heavenly Cauldrons were used by Immortals for their alchemy.
Of course, this belief couldn’t be trusted. Many more people believed in a different legend: where the Heavenly Cauldron was a metal plant born from the heaven and earth. Because it was bathed in natural world energy, it gained its own spirit. After it suffered from Heavenly Tribulations, it finally gained the fire origin. Thus, it turned into a treasure cauldron, and it became the Heavenly Cauldron that was known by cultivators.
Therefore, each Heavenly Cauldron was a treasure cauldron with the essence of the heaven and earth, as well as the Origin Flame. After refinement by cultivators or alchemy masters that used spirit medicines and treasure plants, the Heavenly Cauldron gained its medicinal property; the Origin Flame was used to create Physique pastes, Life medicines, and Fate pills!
Li Qi Ye carefully observed the Three Serpents Fire Cauldron of Elder Sun once! In the end, both of his hands were placed on the top of the cauldron, and he shouted:
“Open!”
The word just came out, and the Three Serpents Fire Cauldron appeared.
Once it fell to the floor, it wasn’t just as big as a fist, but a huge cauldron appeared in the room. This was a cauldron as big as a desk; the top of the cauldron contained the natural world energy in the shape of revolving spirit serpents. Even though they weren’t real serpents, they still felt very much alive.
Three serpents opened their big mouths and placed them on top of the cauldron. At this time, the cauldron’s mouth gushed out a burst of heat, and the three serpent’s mouths also released a medicinal aroma.
The Three Serpents Fire Cauldron, this was the Heavenly Cauldron of Elder Sun. One did not know how many countless Physique pastes, Life medicines, and Fate Pills were refined in this cauldron.
The mouth of the cauldron continuously released waves of heat; this was the Origin Flame emitted from the body of the Heavenly Cauldron. This was an essential process of pill refining. The medicinal aroma was the Medicinal Treasure hidden within the cauldron’s body, the quality of the pill refinement was heavily dependent on this Medicinal Treasure.
Li Qi Ye looked around the cauldron, then said afterwards:
“This cauldron of Elder, its natural disposition is a Yan flame; this flame is a commonly seen Origin Flame.”
Here, Li Qi Ye’s eyes moved, and continued to observe.
“This Heavenly Cauldron usually absorbed the Earth Flame, to strengthen its original flame. You also usually throw in miscellaneous spirit medicines to grow the Medicinal Treasure. From my observation, the most common medicine that you have fed to it is the Yin Yan Hawk Plant, am I correct so far?”[1]
“How did you know?”
After Li Qi Ye had finished speaking, Elder Sun’s body couldn’t help but tremble!
“It was only the picking of my fingers to calculate it.”
Li Qi Ye coldly said. He continued to look inside the cauldron, and then he spoke:
“However, it is clear, Elder Sun recently didn’t throw in the Yin Yan Hawk Plant. If my conjecture is not wrong, Elder Sun recently had fed the cauldron with exactly the Fire Dragon Plant, am I correct, Elder Sun?”
“You… You, how could you know this?”
Elder Sun was stunned, and his words couldn’t come out clearly. Because he recently wanted to improve his Physique with a big leap forward in order to cultivate the Scarlet Dragon Physique as the foundation, he had paid a great price to buy the Fire Dragon Plant; fed it to the cauldron in order to greatly strengthen the Medicinal Treasure!
Many cultivators who weren’t considered to be alchemy masters would personally carry a Heavenly Cauldron because, inside the Heavenly Cauldron, there was a natural Origin Flame. After little fire sparks were fed to it, the origin fire would continue to grow. At the same time, the Heavenly Cauldron would require a great amount of spirit plants in order to refine the hidden Medicinal Treasure inside.
A suitable Heavenly Cauldron was very useful to a cultivator. For example, some natural Heavenly Cauldrons had the Extreme Tai Yang Origin Flame. Then, if the cultivator had a natural born Young Yang Physique – one of the twenty-four Emperor Physiques, they could borrow the Extreme Tai Yang Origin Flame of the Heavenly Cauldron to refine their Physique.
At the same time, the Medicinal Treasure inside the body of the Heavenly Cauldron could also grow the Physique, replenish the blood energy and even restore wounds and cure illnesses.
Because there were so many uses for a Heavenly Cauldron, even if one was not an alchemy master, they would still bring a Heavenly Cauldron along.
As for Elder Sun, one did not need to say more. He was not only an alchemy master, but he was also one of the two grand alchemy masters of the Cleansing Incense Ancient Sect; he was even more likely to have a Heavenly Cauldron with him.
For an alchemy master, the spirit medicines they usually fed their Heavenly Cauldron normally would not be easily revealed to others.
However, currently, Li Qi Ye only needed one glance to know what his Heavenly Cauldron had eaten; how could Elder Sun not be alarmed? This was such knowledge of medicinal properties, this was such knowledge of Heavenly Cauldron refinement!
Li Qi Ye didn’t answer Elder Sun, he only said:
“The issue lies in this matter. Correct – if you want to cultivate the Scarlet Dragon Physique, a Fire Dragon Plant truly has an appropriate advantage. However, Elder Sun, your Heavenly Cauldron had always eaten Yin Yan Hawk Plants for hundreds of years. The Medicinal Treasure of your Heavenly Cauldron had accumulated a large amount of Yin Yan medicinal properties, and the essence inside the Medicinal Treasure is the Yan Flame energy, but the Fire Dragon Plant belongs to the powerful Yang energy…”
“… Like this, you suddenly fed it with the Fire Dragon Plant. The powerful Yang energy of the Fire Dragon Plant directly impacted your Heavenly Cauldron’s Medicinal Treasure. If the situation was serious, then it would damage your Heavenly Cauldron, and later it would greatly impact the quality of pill refinement! Even more importantly, your Physique had always been refined by using this treasure cauldron, and it was use to the Yan Flame energy. However, now, the cauldron suddenly exuded powerful Yang energy to refine your Physique, this immediately suppressed your Yan Fire Physique, stopping your blood flow!
Li Qi Ye spoke without breaks like he had it memorized like the palm of his hand – it was as if he was a grand master on this subject. This not only made Protector Mo become wide-mouthed with a foolish face, but even Elder Sun was the same.
Eventually, Li Qi Ye casually determined:
“Elder Sun, you are considered one of the two grand alchemy masters of the Cleansing Incense Ancient Sect. You must be aware, an alchemy master shouldn’t only focus on the power of your medicines, but, to one’s Heavenly Cauldron, one should be very protective. Natural, a Heavenly Cauldron with its Origin Flame and flame sparks, you need to feed it, this is a deep area of Dao study. At the same time, once the Medicinal Treasure is formed; whatever spirit plants you feed it afterward, this and the medicinal properties of the Medicinal Treasure are directly related…”
“… The quality of the Fate Pills and Physique pastes aren’t determined by only the skills of the alchemy master, but it is also whether the Heavenly Cauldron is good or bad. The other important thing is the affinity of the Origin Flame, the essence of the Medicinal Treasure, and the future medicinal materials; whether they conflict with each other or not is essential.”
“Medicinal materials and a Heavenly Cauldron’s planning, this is a profound area of study; this requires time to accumulate. As long as you consider the Heavenly Cauldron as a second life, then you would be a qualified alchemy master.”
Li Qi Ye, all at once, preached about the Heavenly Cauldron, up to the point where Elder Sun’s mouth was twisted and eyes turned crazy. At this moment, this disciple in front of him didn’t look like a thirteen to fourteen year old disciple that had just joined the sect, but, instead, a grand alchemy master. His preaching regarding the Heavenly Cauldron, it was definitely not crazy and nonsensical words.
“Well, then… what should I do to correct it?”
It was unknown when Elder Sun was convinced by Li Qi Ye. Inadvertently, he was an elder, but he still couldn’t help but to respectfully ask for Li Qi Ye’s advice.
Li Qi Ye smiled, and he said:
“Elder Sun’s problem is not serious, and it is easy to fix. Elder Sun has to stop feeding it the Fire Dragon Plant. If Elder Sun truly wants to obtain the Scarlet Dragon Physique, I recommend Elder Sun to use the Amiable River Fire Plant. The medicinal property of the Amiable River Fire Plant is very similar to the Yin Yan Hawk Plant. Plus, it is also one rank higher; however, the most important thing is that the Amiable River Fire Plant is very familiar with the Scarlet Dragon Physique!”
[1] The Yan here is not a typo of Yang. Yan here is a description of the Flame, meaning “inflammation”