The astonishment Li Yundong felt upon hearing Ziyuan speak was beyond measure. In his eyes, Ziyuan had always been an ethereal fairy, detached from worldly strife, elegant, and humble. Yet, this sudden utterance was tantamount to goading him into snatching the Medicine King Cauldron—a white-hot, immensely troublesome artifact. Whether he could even seize it was one matter, but even if he succeeded, he was certain to immediately incur the enmity of every external martial sect under heaven!

Li Yundong stared at Ziyuan, his expression alight with surprise. "Didn't you advise me against forming deep grudges, lest I find myself unable to move freely in the future?"

Ziyuan’s expression was unexpectedly serious. "Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures," she stated. "I have a deep premonition that momentous events are brewing in the cultivation world. Amidst such vast upheaval and change, if our cultivation and strength are insufficient, the outcome could well be utter annihilation of both body and spirit!"

Ziyuan fixed her gaze intently upon Li Yundong, then sighed softly. "Since the battle at Tianlong Mountain, I’ve watched you immerse yourself daily in secular affairs, leaving barely any time for dedicated practice. Though your foundational power remains formidable, we both know your cultivation has stagnated. Otherwise, given your true strength, you should have long since reached the advanced stage of the Sixth Heaven, capable of refining the Yin Spirit into the Yang Spirit!"

Since becoming famous after the Tianlong Mountain battle and defeating Ziyuan, she had ceased offering guidance on his cultivation. Hearing her words now brought an immediate flush of shame to Li Yundong's face.

Ziyuan continued, "I understand that as the head of a sect, you must worry about the livelihoods of so many people, trapping you in the mundane world and hindering your path. That is precisely why I suggest an alternative route. At your current pace, it would take you a century just to reach the Nascent Soul realm."

This single statement ignited the pride within Li Yundong. He thought to himself: You reached Nascent Soul at the tender age of twenty; are you suggesting I won't manage it even by one hundred and twenty? Preposterous! There must be a limit to how much one can look down on another! Tonight, I shall reach the Nascent Soul realm just to show you!

Li Yundong had indeed lost some of the sharp edge he possessed during his Heavenly Tribulation due to his preoccupation with livelihood matters recently. Now, provoked by Ziyuan, he made a firm resolution; his entire demeanor and aura shifted instantaneously.

Li Yundong had no intention of uttering any grand pronouncements to Ziyuan. His plan was simply to return to his chambers immediately and begin cultivating, letting his actions prove his capabilities to her.

Ziyuan, ever perceptive, naturally noticed the transformation in Li Yundong. A faint smile touched her heart, but her expression remained unchanged. "I have said all that needs to be said. Whether you attend the Lotus Gathering or not, whether you attempt to seize the Medicine King Cauldron—these are decisions you must make for yourself. I shall retire to my room now."

He watched her leave, then sat alone in the room, pondering deeply. Not long after, Zhou Qin returned, carrying the newly approved business licenses. Li Yundong called her in, inquired briefly about the licensing process, and then instructed her to tell Su Chan and the others not to disturb him for the rest of the day, as he needed to enter deep meditative cultivation.

Once Zhou Qin departed, Li Yundong sat cross-legged upon the **. Soon, the True Essence within his body began to flow slowly from his two kidneys, coursing through him like a warm current, quickly plunging him into a profound state of meditation where he manifested his primordial divine spirit within his personal Minor Thousand World.

Li Yundong piloted this three-headed, six-armed divine spirit within his Minor Thousand World, moving freely above the heavens and beneath the earth, capable of transforming it into anything he desired—truly achieving the great liberation of 'divine manifestation, change at will.'

After manipulating it for a while, a sudden thought struck Li Yundong: Why can't I also shape my Yin Spirit into a three-headed, six-armed form?

With that thought, Li Yundong quickly condensed all his True Essence onto the Inner Elixir situated in the lower Dantian below his abdomen. Before long, his Yin Spirit sprang forth.

However, upon exiting, Li Yundong examined himself and realized there was absolutely no change whatsoever. Not only had the Yin Spirit failed to grow stronger, but it even showed faint signs of regression.

A cold realization struck Li Yundong. He attempted to use his will to command the appearance of his Yin Spirit, but after trying for a while, he found that the Yin Spirit remained utterly unyielding to transformation.

Li Yundong fell into contemplation: Why can the spirit in my Minor Thousand World change according to my will, yet my own Yin Spirit cannot be altered at will?

Li Yundong recalled the various Buddhist and Taoist scriptures he had perused. He suddenly remembered the verses from the Eighth Turn of the Nine Revolutions Golden Elixir Art he had read: "The Eighth Turn returns to the origin, the earth suspends its thread; Circulating breath nourishes the infant spirit. Sometimes fire erupts, searing the elixir cavern; Deeply descend to the cold spring to play with the crimson tortoise."

As this came to mind, a spark ignited within Li Yundong. He mused: When I cultivated the Nine Revolutions Golden Elixir Art to the Eighth Turn, I naturally awoke without completing it fully. Why not attempt to bring the Eighth Turn to full completion today?

With this decision, Li Yundong withdrew his Yin Spirit. He considered further: Previously, when my Yin Spirit left my body, it was generated by the vital energy of the Five Viscera driving the True Essence, which in turn mobilized the Yin Spirit. This means the energy of my Yin Spirit originates from my heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys. In reality, this contradicts the core tenets of the Nine Revolutions Golden Elixir Art.

The art begins with refining the Gall Bladder Qi, stimulating the Kidneys through the Gall, and then using the Yin and Yang energies of the two Kidneys to ignite the Heart Fire, ultimately causing the Heart Fire and Kidney Water to intermingle and merge, forming the Inner Elixir!

Li Yundong thought: Why don't I try to catalyze the True Essence using purely the power of Heart Fire and Kidney Water?

No sooner had the thought formed than Li Yundong acted. His internal organs were already cultivated to an astonishing degree; he could not only control his heartbeat but also arbitrarily adjust the function of his Six Entrails.

He willed his Gall Bladder to secrete copious amounts of Gall Qi. This Qi was cyan in color, and instantly, his face turned a shade of pale green. Following this, Li Yundong felt the energies of his two Kidneys being stirred by the Gall Qi, becoming restless and slowly emerging from their confines.

The Five Viscera and Six Entrails of the human body are interconnected. To activate one while keeping the others dormant is easy to say but infinitely harder to accomplish, requiring unparalleled concentration and profound wisdom.

Li Yundong’s previous immersion in worldly affairs and mental agitation naturally prevented him from reaching this stage. But now, provoked by Ziyuan, his entire being settled, and he accomplished this step with ease.

Li Yundong perceived a light energy slowly ascending from his chest, rising to the location of the Heart in the Middle Dantian, where it gradually grew hot, like a blazing flame. Simultaneously, another stream of turbid energy slowly descended, resembling a vast, deep ocean.

Li Yundong knew this was the harbinger of Heavenly Fire and Earthly Water!

Immediately, the energy in his Middle Dantian grew increasingly scorching. This heat flowed downward, gradually moving towards the Right Kidney. Li Yundong understood that the Right Kidney governs Yang, while the Left Kidney governs Yin.

Upon merging with the Heavenly Fire, his Right Kidney instantly transformed into a fiercely burning flame, reminiscent of a cave used for refining elixirs. Next, Li Yundong attempted to guide this intense energy from his Right Kidney slowly toward his Left Kidney, initiating the Yin-Yang combination.

At this moment, the Kidney Qi of his Right Kidney slowly extended outward, resembling a colossal Black Tortoise tentatively emerging its head, inching its way towards Li Yundong's Left Kidney.

In stark contrast to his Right Kidney, his Left Kidney was icy cold, like a massive ice storage or a deep, frigid pool. As this blazing Yang energy was infused into it, the energies immediately surged and churned—Yin and Yang clashed violently!

This was precisely the scene described: "Sometimes fire erupts, searing the elixir cavern; Deeply descend to the cold spring to play with the crimson tortoise!"

In the next instant, the Yin and Yang energies of both Kidneys merged into one, surging directly toward the Heart in the Middle Dantian. Thus, Earthly Water and Heavenly Fire combined, Water and Fire in harmony, Heaven and Earth aligned!

Li Yundong felt as if an atomic bomb had detonated inside him. The convergence of Heart and Kidney energies triggered a violent nuclear fission!

His Minor Thousand World instantly exploded, and Li Yundong suddenly noticed that his divine spirit within that world had changed its appearance once more.

Previously, although it possessed three heads and six arms, its complexion was relatively fair. Disregarding the abnormality of the extra limbs, it otherwise resembled a normal person. But now, this divine spirit was truly rendered an iron-blue black; furthermore, two distinct streams of colored energy continuously jetted from its nostrils. The left nostril expelled a dense black vapor—his Kidney Qi—while the right nostril jetted a vibrant red stream—his Heart Qi.

These two energies remained concentrated and did not dissipate, coiling around the surrounding primordial divine spirit, like a red-and-black Kasaya draped over it, or perhaps two-colored auspicious clouds gently supporting the Dharma body.

Li Yundong was overjoyed. He knew that the ultimate manifestation of the Eighth Turn of the Nine Revolutions Golden Elixir Art was the expulsion of crimson and black air from the nostrils. He had cultivated to the highest stage of the Eighth Turn: Nurturing Fire!

With a thought, Li Yundong mobilized the True Essence born from the catalysis of Gall Qi, then submerged his Inner Elixir into the Kidney Water, and subsequently summoned his Yin Spirit using True Essence.

Suddenly, Li Yundong felt his body lighten, and a figure leaped out from within him. He