Chapter One: Youth Blooms It

was past eleven in the evening, known in ancient times as the Zi hour.

In the west bedroom on the second floor of his self-built small house in his rural hometown,

Fang Yi sat in a chair, his computer desk in front of him. He had just composed himself and was clearing his mind of all distractions.

"Ever since I stumbled upon Mr. Chen Pu's manuscript, 'Mr. Chen's Secret of Inner Alchemy,' three years ago, I've diligently practiced, yet I still haven't been able to complete the process of lowering the elixir. Could it be that cultivating immortality was truly an ancient invention?"

Fang Yi's mind was stirred again, unable to calm down.

Since ancient times, immortality has been the ultimate human ideal,

a dream shared by even royalty and nobles. Fang Yi was no exception. Having read countless cultivation novels in his early school days, he had always harbored a dream of immortality.

Time flew by.

Over twenty years had passed, and he was still just another ordinary person. Though

his edges had been smoothed by society, his dream of immortality had never been abandoned.

Especially three years ago, during a trip to Qingcheng Mountain, Fang Yi stumbled upon a secret manual titled "Mr. Chen's Secret of Inner Alchemy." This led him to believe that his piety had moved the heavens, granting him the opportunity for immortality.

However, after three years of diligent practice, he still couldn't complete the first stage of the technique, "Descent of the Alchemy." Frustrated,

Fang Yi began to question himself, "Is it just me who lacks talent?"

Or...

what went wrong?

He had been feeling restless tonight, unable to clear his mind and enter a state of cultivation.

Fang Yi had a premonition that something major was about to happen.

"I'll practice this one last time. If it still doesn't work, then... I'll give up this illusory dream of immortality!"

After three years of no progress, Fang Yi's patience was almost exhausted.

Perhaps it was letting go of his obsession, his body felt light, his thoughts cleared, and he began to recall the technique.

"First, practice at the beginning of the local midnight each day. Eat a small amount to avoid overeating or starving. Wash, calm your mind, and clear your thoughts. I've completed all these preparations,"

Fang Yi recalled, unconsciously sitting cross-legged.

He had repeated these movements countless times over the past three years, becoming as adept as eating or drinking.

Then, Fang Yi closed his eyes and concentrated, regulating his breathing to a steady rhythm. He then rolled his tongue back to hold the two orifices

at the base of his tongue , the submandibular ducts.

Holding the tongue at these orifices was necessary to hold the breath. In the past, he couldn't proceed beyond this point.

The technique explained that after holding the breath, one would gradually feel two streams of qi rising from the base of the teeth, passing through the two Taiyang acupoints, and then entering the crown. One could feel the two energies merge, marking a small cycle of the technique.

If Fang Yi couldn't even sense the qi, how could he continue practicing?

He wondered if tonight, because he had let go of his obsession,

he actually felt two streams of qi emerging from the left and right Taiyang meridians.

Normally, he would have been ecstatic.

But Fang Yi was completely absorbed, his mind solely focused on cultivation, leaving no room for any other thoughts.

The two streams of qi surged from the base of the teeth, reached the Taiyang acupoints, and slowly spread toward the crown.

"The four orifices beneath the tongue, two connect to the heart, two connect to the fluids. With one movement, the power is like a precious pearl, and the mountains, rivers, and universe permeate the soul."

Fang Yi recited the incantation of the technique in his mind.

Gradually, he felt the two streams of energy merge.

Fang Yi slowly opened his eyes. According to the technique, this was a small cycle, and he would have to repeat it twice more.

After a short rest, he resumed his previous movements, stopping each time when the energy reached the Niwan Palace.

Finally, three cycles were complete.

He should have rested at this point and continued practicing the next day.

However, during the third cycle, Fang Yi suddenly felt a cool sensation pouring into his head.

Immediately, the energy flowed from the Niwan Palace into his brain, along his throat, through the Jiaji, and finally to the coccyx.

"Huh? Shouldn't this be possible after the first successful cycle? How come I've achieved it now?"

A flicker of doubt crossed Fang Yi's mind. At this critical juncture in his practice, he didn't have time to dwell on it, simply controlling his energy according to the techniques described in "Mr. Chen's Secret of Inner Alchemy."

When this energy reached the coccyx, a series of changes occurred.

Then, another cool sensation spread from above the head, and this energy moved forward to the gallbladder navel.

Fang Yi felt a warmth and comfort in his chest.

According to the instructions for the practice, this was a sign of the descent of true qi.

But that wasn't the end. The energy flowed up through the lower abdomen to the heart.

He felt a gentle warmth and flutter in his heart, as if his heart had come alive.

This warm energy then moved upward from the heart, passing through the twelve layers of the building, and settled under the tongue.

Fang Yi felt a slight bitterness in his mouth.

He thought to himself, "This is a sign of the rise of gallbladder qi, the harmony of yin and yang, and the imminent descent of the inner elixir."

He became cautious, for this was the most dangerous moment.

Practitioners of this practice generally avoid being disturbed by people or animals, as this can cause sudden qi movement, a sensation of growing larger, mental excitement, or even hallucinations of houses, people, mountains, and rivers within their bodies.

This is one reason why practice is chosen during the quiet hours of the night.

...

Meanwhile, a miraculous event was also unfolding outside.

Darkness enveloped the darkness, leaving the view impossible. A harsh, piercing autumn wind shattered the stillness.

There was no moon, no stars.

The lights of countless houses gradually faded at midnight, their vibrant brilliance blending seamlessly into the night.

A mysterious glow appeared in the sky above an old building, flickering with the rhythm of a human breath, yet faint as a candle in the wind, ready to go out at any moment.

Suddenly, a piercing rainbow shot forth from a small temple on the banks of the Grand Canal, three or four hundred meters to the south.

This long, straight, rainbow-like streak of multicolored light was a marvel. Though barely the thickness of a thumb,

it pierced the heavens and earth, seemingly supporting them even with the strongest winds. The rainbow was dim, difficult to discern at first.

But after a few breaths, its radiance intensified, nearly overwhelming the entire sky, like a mighty wave crashing towards the flames.

Before it even subsided, the rainbow light suddenly transformed, spreading and merging with the white clouds in the sky, transforming them into a rainbow!

The sky was instantly obscured!

A dazzling array of clouds rolled over the old building.

The terrifying scene, as if the sky were about to collapse, was terrifying.

The clouds rolled wildly! The

waves raged!

The entire sky within a mile of the small building seemed to be engulfed by this rolling rainbow.

In an instant, the flames were about to go out.

At this moment, the clouds gradually parted, and a rainbow light suddenly spread from the center.

The previously obscured starlight converged.

When the starlight overflowed, it poured down like the Milky Way, rolling towards the flames.

Wherever the starlight reached, it enveloped the small building from top to bottom, all the way to the depths of the earth.

All around was a vast, boundless expanse of starlight.

The flames, as if fueled, burned fiercely, growing ever brighter.

Finally, a faint glow blazed across half the sky.

A distant observer would have seen the blaze of exquisite beauty, resembling a Taoist sitting cross-legged. A brilliant ball of fire burned from the left chest of this enormous fiery figure. Its radiance was dazzling. Suddenly, it rose up, transforming into a crimson sun.

Then, as if pulled by an immense force, the sun plummeted downwards. 

With a crashing sound, the sun plunged into the abyss. 

Water and fire merged, yin and yang harmonized. 

The crimson sun gradually faded, transforming into a pure, flawless radiance, quietly hovering within the flaming figure. 

As the radiance returned to its original place, countless streams of brilliant light inexplicably emanated, permeating every part of the flaming figure. 

The flaming figure "opened its eyes." 

The starlight faded, and if it weren't for the rainbow still lingering between heaven and earth, it would have seemed as if nothing had happened. 

Fang Yi was experiencing a miracle. 

He felt as if his "consciousness" had transcended his physical body, inexplicably emerging into the void. 

The feeling was profoundly strange. 

He could clearly "see" his own body sitting cross-legged in a chair in the bedroom on the second floor of a small building not far away. 

Everything in the room was clearly visible. 

The wardrobe, the computer desk, the curtains, even the crawling of a few unknown insects under the bed. 

Fang Yi's "sight" seemed to possess the power of clairvoyance, capable of penetrating thick walls. 

Looking around, the night was exceptionally dark. With the naked eye, he would have been unable to discern anything more than two meters in front of him. 

Yet Fang Yi could see it all with remarkable clarity. 

Two sparrows nestled in a bird's nest nestled between two Metasequoia trees, a middle-aged couple on the second floor of a building across the river laughing... 

even... the wind, the river water, and the particles that make up all matter! 

What astonished Fang Yi most was that he could see these particles forming "threads," interwoven like tiny spiderwebs forming a vast web that stretched to the horizon and even into the depths of the endless starry sky. 

It was as if he had grasped the very essence of matter. 

It was magnificent, majestic, and grand. 

Fang Yi marveled. 

At the same time, endless questions arose within him. 

Suddenly, he felt a bright light sinking into his lower Dantian like the sun, a manifestation of the descent of the inner elixir. 

The first chapter of "Mr. Chen's Secret of Inner Alchemy" describes the descent of the elixir as having the effect of curing all ailments and increasing physical strength. 

In ancient times, achieving this level of cultivation was considered the beginning of the Golden Elixir, and one could be called a Golden Elixir True Person. 

Just now, after three years of arduous cultivation, Fang Yi finally reached this point, allowing his mind to transcend his physical body and emerge into the void. This, referred to in Mr. Chen's Inner Alchemy Secrets as "Shenhun Leaving the Body," is a supernatural ability attained only after reaching a certain level in the Dao of Alchemy. 

There was no doubt about this. 

What was puzzling was that tonight was no different from the past three years. He simply made no progress in his meditation practice. Just as he was about to conclude his practice, he suddenly felt as if a powerful force infused his entire body with energy, forcibly condensing a golden elixir. 

"What the hell?" 

Fang Yi puzzled. 

But before he could fully comprehend it, a blazing rainbow light enveloped the golden elixir, the dewdrop-like shape he had painstakingly cultivated for three years, and swept it back out. It plummeted towards the southern riverbank, and then disappeared. 

Fang Yi was stunned. His newly cultivated golden elixir had been taken away? 

He was instantly filled with shock and anger. He no longer cared about the details. With a single thought, he followed closely, appearing near the red light in an instant. 

Looking down, he saw the village's only temple below, dedicated to none other than Wong Tai Sin. 

"Could there be cultivators within the temple, seizing my golden elixir?" 

Fang Yi frantically pondered, his mind racing again, attempting to break into the temple. 

Suddenly, a resounding boom erupted deep within his soul! 

The sound was like thunder, yet with a difference, more like the roar of an animal. 

What frightened Fang Yi was the destructive power of the roar. Just from that roar, his "mind" nearly collapsed, scattering in all directions. 

"What a terrifying roar!" 

Fang Yi dared not even attempt to enter the temple. His thoughts retreated like a tide, back toward his physical body. 

The next moment, he suddenly opened his eyes in his bedroom. A mysterious flash of light flashed through the pitch-black darkness before fading. 

"What was that roar just now? It was so terrifying?" 

Fang Yi was a little surprised and confused. Suddenly, he remembered that the "Mr. Chen's Inner Alchemy Secret" mentioned the dragon's roar like thunder. "Could it be... that was a dragon's roar just now?" 

As soon as this thought came to his mind, he felt a little ridiculous. 

Where did the dragon come from in the world? 

But then Fang Yi said to himself in confusion: "Could it really be a dragon?" 

Since according to "Mr. Chen's Inner Alchemy Secret", he is a real person with a golden elixir, and he can even leave his body, what's so strange about the dragons in the world? 

"The temple is not far from my home, on the south bank of the river. Now I will get up and go see who took my golden elixir."