Chapter 155: Chapter 154: Nine Yang Divine Fire Mirror
The Nine Yang Divine Fire Mirror, forged from Taiyi True Gold and shaped like a bronze mirror, was a Supreme Treasure of the Celestial Principle Sect.
’The Celestial Principle Sect again?’
This was not the first time Bai Zichen had seen this Sect’s name. The corpse he had found in the abandoned cave was also a disciple of the Celestial Principle Sect.
The Jade Scroll had clearly stated that the disciple came to the Black Mountain Range to carry out a Sect mission.
And judging from the Nine Yang Divine Fire Mirror, its owner’s Cultivation had surely far surpassed Meng Zhaode’s. He must have also come to Black Mountain much earlier.
’The Celestial Principle Sect is a Nascent Soul Major Sect, countless miles away, yet they keep sending people to Black Mountain, one wave after another... Could there be something hidden in the Black Mountain Range that’s vital to them?’
Bai Zichen’s mind raced. Anything that a Nascent Soul Major Sect remained so fixated on couldn’t possibly be an ordinary Treasure.
He continued reading and discovered that the Nine Yang Divine Fire Mirror had originally been a Top-Grade Magical Treasure, just one step away from having its spirit enlightened and transforming into a Spiritual Treasure.
No wonder it was called a Supreme Treasure of the Celestial Principle Sect.
The Nine Yang Divine Fire Mirror possessed two great Divine Techniques. The first was its ability to release the Nine Yang True Flame, the bane of all things yin and cold.
’Unfortunately, the Nine Yang True Flame has been completely extinguished. No amount of Refinement can restore it... unless I can find a naturally occurring Innate Nine Yang True Flame and infuse it into the Magical Treasure to reignite the flame.’
Bai Zichen discovered that this Magical Treasure was not sealed at all.
The so-called "seal" that required a Foundation Establishment Cultivator a year of Refinement to break was a misconception. In truth, it would take a Foundation Establishment Cultivator at least a year of continuous refinement with their Magical Power just to complete the initial process.
The Divine Capturing Treasure Mirror!
The name sounded strange and frightening, as if it were an attack targeting the Spiritual Soul, but in reality, it had nothing to do with that.
It wasn’t even used for offensive Combat.
By taking a single drop of a person’s Essence Blood and then shining the mirror on them, it could project an image of their entire body, down to every hair and every drop of blood.
In addition to their external appearance, the mirror would faithfully display their entire internal structure, the pathways of their Cultivation Technique, the abundance of their Magical Power, and everything else.
The Nine Yang Divine Fire Mirror had always been held by the Preaching Elders of the Celestial Principle Sect.
In addition to being an ultimate offensive Magical Treasure, it also served in the transmission of techniques. It was precisely by relying on the Divine Capturing Treasure Mirror that every Preaching Elder of the Celestial Principle Sect earned the reputation of possessing a "discerning eye" and the "Midas touch."
With such detailed information on the subject, the Preaching Elder could offer advice from an objective standpoint. Using the foresight of their Core Formation Realm, every suggestion they made would be perfectly tailored to the individual, genuinely solving their cultivation problems.
Given the Nine Yang Divine Fire Mirror’s original Tier as a Top-Grade Magical Treasure, it could render anyone below the Core Formation Realm in perfect, minute detail.
Furthermore, the Nine Yang Divine Fire Mirror would automatically suggest micro-adjustments to a Cultivator’s technique pathways on its surface, making the technique even more suitable for that individual.
This was because, for countless generations, the Preaching Elders of the Celestial Principle Sect had used the Nine Yang Divine Fire Mirror to guide their disciples. Over an unknown number of years, it had been infused with the immense knowledge of every Preaching Elder, and their collective efforts had caused it to develop a faint hint of its own Spiritual nature.
That was why the Celestial Principle Sect regarded the Nine Yang Divine Fire Mirror, among its few Top-Grade Magical Treasures, as the one with the best chance of becoming a Spiritual Treasure.
’Its Tier has dropped, but once I finish the Refinement, it should at least retain the power of a Low-Grade Magical Treasure. The Divine Capturing Treasure Mirror’s technique should still be functional.’
Although the Nine Yang True Flame was gone, Bai Zichen still immediately thought of a use for this Magical Treasure.
’When the time comes, I’ll use the Divine Capturing Treasure Mirror to analyze myself. I’ll see if it can figure out what kind of Spirit Body I have... It probably can’t, but at the very least, it should be able to help me fine-tune my Cultivation Technique, increasing my efficiency at Refining Spiritual Qi.’
Tailoring a Cultivation Technique by making micro-adjustments to its fine details based on a disciple’s cultivation habits, physical constitution, and other factors, thereby allowing them to reach a Perfect Realm of cultivation effectiveness.
This was basically within the scope of a Nascent Soul True Monarch’s abilities.
Only a Nascent Soul True Monarch, who had already touched the Great Dao and begun to utilize it, could accomplish such a feat.
For the Nine Yang Divine Fire Mirror, a mere Magical Treasure, to achieve a similar effect was nothing short of miraculous.
Bai Zichen estimated that at his current rate of refining the Nine Yang Divine Fire Mirror, it would indeed take him close to a year to completely refine the Magical Treasure.
But in reality, the Nine Yang True Flame was already useless; the only usable function was the Divine Capturing Treasure Mirror.
Therefore, he only needed to refine the Nine Yang Divine Fire Mirror halfway to basically activate this Divine Technique.
’Six months isn’t that long...’
Bai Zichen considered it for a moment and decided to use this precious half-year to refine the Nine Yang Divine Fire Mirror.
As long as he could activate the Divine Capturing Treasure Mirror, it would be worth it. Even if it couldn’t make further micro-adjustments to his Fire Dragon Returning Essence Scripture, just being able to perfectly simulate his body, inside and out, would allow him to make huge strides in self-understanding.
If it could truly increase his efficiency in cultivating the Fire Dragon Returning Essence Scripture by even a fraction, the difference over time would be immense.
He could easily make back the time he spent.
Before entering seclusion, Bai Zichen first went to visit Genggeng, who was bouncing around in the bamboo house he had just built for it.
The bamboo house was built against the White Jade Tower, and inside was piled with all kinds of Spirit Fruits and Spiritual Bamboo.
When Genggeng saw its master, it ran toward him excitedly. It didn’t make it two steps before its feet got tangled, and it tripped and fell flat on its face.
It landed hard on the bamboo floor, then simply gave up and rolled three times, tumbling right to Bai Zichen’s feet.
"Eat well. I hope by the time I come out of seclusion, you’ll have grown a bit."
Bai Zichen fed Genggeng a tender bamboo shoot with one hand while vigorously ruffling its poofy fur with the other.
Having a Companion Spirit Beast really could alleviate the loneliness brought on by tedious daily Cultivation.
Bai Zichen held the Nine Yang Divine Fire Mirror, made up his mind, and resolved not to emerge from seclusion until he had refined half of it.
...
A stretch of tidal flats on the eastern corner of Feiyue Lake became known as Turtle Nest Beach, as it was the spawning ground for countless turtle-type Demon Beasts.
The disciples living here didn’t mind, though. After the eggs hatched, a few of the small turtles would always refuse to leave, which was a boon for some of the servant disciples, who gained their own Companion Spirit Beasts.
Further up, outside the White Jade Tower, a large bamboo forest had been planted.
When the mountain wind blew, the bamboo leaves would RUSTLE.
Although its scale was nowhere near that of the groves at the foot of the Bai Family’s mountain, the transplant had been a success, and new shoots were already sprouting.
Two young men were in the bamboo forest, casting Magic. A green light spread from their hands, watering several stalks of Spiritual Bamboo and ensuring each one was evenly coated.
Wherever the green light shone, the plants were invigorated, and the bamboo stalks seemed to grow a little taller.
"Phew, I’m exhausted!"
Bai Ji’s dark skin shone with sweat. Even as he grew older, he retained his sharp, somewhat weaselly features, giving him a crafty air.
"Qi Guang, how many times have you cast the Wood God Skill today?"
"Twenty-seven times."
Bai Qiguang was very tall. As he replied, he meticulously cast the Wood God Skill for the twenty-eighth time, making the Spiritual Bamboo in front of him even more robust and full of life.
"We’ve been at the Qingfeng Sect for almost half a year, and Junior Martial Uncle Bai hasn’t met with us even once... All we do all day is cast the Wood God Skill. Did he bring us here just to be Spirit Plant Masters and tend to his Spiritual Bamboo?"
Bai Ji glanced at the hundreds of Spiritual Bamboo stalks behind him that still needed the spell cast on them. He already felt exhausted and wanted to give up.
"Don’t talk nonsense! Do you have any idea how many people in the clan would kill to be disciples of the Qingfeng Sect? If Junior Martial Uncle Bai hadn’t shown us the favor of teaching us before, and if Bai Ying hadn’t been interested in joining the Sect, how would a wonderful opportunity like this have ever fallen to us?"
Bai Qiguang’s face stiffened as he spoke with stern sincerity.
"I know that, of course. I was just joking..." Bai Ji quickly explained, insisting he wasn’t actually complaining. "The Spiritual Qi here is as good as the Clan Leader’s Cave Mansion. And if you put your mind to it, you can learn High-Tier Cultivation Techniques and Profound Mysterious Magic every month that you’d never find back in the clan. Why would I complain?"
"But Junior Martial Uncle Bai is really good to that Tai Chi Bear, transplanting over a thousand Spiritual Bamboos from the Bai Family in one go. He nearly dug up all the Spiritual Bamboo at the base of Hanxiu Peak."
"Just get back to work. I heard that the newly formed Spirit Field Hall is extremely short on people. You can get in as long as you pass a few basic assessments."
Comparatively, Bai Qiguang was the more level-headed of the two.
"Everything at Feiyue Lake is waiting to be rebuilt, especially the Spirit Fields. Elders are posting recruitment notices for Spirit Plant Masters everywhere. Since we both know the Wood God Skill, the path of the Spirit Plant Master is our most advantageous route."
"But I still want to learn the sword... I followed Junior Martial Uncle Bai here, only to end up as a Spirit Plant Master. I haven’t even seen a single Flying Sword. People wouldn’t believe me if I told them!"
Bai Ji’s grand ambitions were only skin-deep, and they were soon drowned out by the relentless, unchanging daily task of watering the bamboo forest.
"Junior Brothers of the Bai Family, come with me quickly! Junior Martial Uncle Bai has come out of seclusion and wants to see you!"
Cai Heng stood outside the bamboo forest and shouted.
"Our chance has come! I knew Junior Martial Uncle Bai wouldn’t forget about us!"
Bai Ji and Bai Qiguang changed into fresh clothes and hurried to the front of the White Jade Tower. They steadied their nerves before going to pay their respects to the legendary figure of their Bai Family.
After a round of tedious formalities, Bai Zichen finally recalled their names.
"So it’s you two..."
After reaching the Foundation Establishment Stage, Bai Zichen felt his memory had become several times sharper than before.
He could now easily dredge up useless memories like this, even of unimportant people.
’This is a good chance for an experiment. Let’s see if the Nine Yang Divine Fire Mirror can really reveal every detail about these two, just as the description said.’
Bai Zichen told them directly that he had recently mastered a new Divine Technique. He explained that it could help people identify and correct flaws in their Cultivation, and he needed their cooperation.
Regardless of the outcome, he would give them a bottle of Qi Replenishing Pills as a reward.
Bai Qiguang agreed instantly, without a second thought.
Bai Ji was a beat slower, but he also agreed eagerly.
Bai Qiguang cut his finger, and a drop of Essence Blood floated toward Bai Zichen. The Nine Yang Divine Fire Mirror flashed in his palm for an instant and was gone.
After swallowing the drop of Essence Blood, it lazily returned to his Qi Sea, carefully settling down in the corner farthest from the Ziwei Dazzling Thunder Sword Embryo.
When the Refinement was first completed and it entered Bai Zichen’s Dantian Qi Sea, the Nine Yang Divine Fire Mirror, puffed up with its status as a veteran Magical Treasure, had arrogantly tried to shove the Ziwei Dazzling Thunder Sword Embryo out of the center position.
But after being zapped by a bolt of lightning, it had learned its lesson and obediently settled in a remote corner of the Qi Sea.
