The Ancestor of All Demons

Green Spirit Immortal Grass, wholly verdant, as though carved from jade, unlike any living creature, stood about a foot tall, with leaves resembling orchids, and at its heart, a floral arrow with a grass pearl the size of a longan fruit on top.

Deeply rooted in the rocks, the grass not only lacked sandy soil beneath but also bore not a single speck of dust on its leaves, as if it had just been washed by water. It gently swayed in the night breeze, releasing wafts of a subtle and delicate fragrance.

Aside from the grass pearl—which represented the essence of the Green Spirit Grass—the entire plant possessed remarkable medicinal properties. Shi Feiyang cleanly severed the grass, taking it with him at ground level, leaving the remaining roots to grow deep into the marrow of the stones. Thirty years later, it would grow anew, blooming and bearing seeds once more.

Returning to the lakebed, Shi Feiyang first used his Dan Qi to restrain Sikong Xuan, then lay down on the Lying Stone and swallowed a grass pearl.

The medicinal nature of Green Spirit Grass Medicine was extremely cold, giving birth to a trace of True Yang Qi amidst the extreme cold, the yang within yin is the True Yang.

His Black Dragon body, born at the bottom of the water, should correspond to the Kan Trigram, matured in the Nine Heavens, associated with the Qian Trigram.

In "The Book of Changes," the dragon is used to demonstrate the Qian Trigram: from 'The hidden dragon should not act,' born within the purely yin Kun Trigram, with the gradual increase of yang energy progressing through 'the dragon seen in the field,' 'possibly leaping into the abyss,' 'the dragon flying in heaven,' to 'the remorse of the overreaching dragon,' achieving the Qiantian Pure Yang—vigorous and brave, endlessly lively.

The growth and cultivation of the Black Dragon perfectly matched the medicinal properties of Green Spirit Grass!

As soon as the grass pearl was dissolved by stomach acid, an intense chill immediately spread throughout his body. If humans were to take it, they would only feel bursts of coolness because humans are warm-blooded animals, but dragons are cold-blooded. Filled with this cold air, his entire body instantly froze stiff as if he had fallen into an ice cellar!

Shi Feiyang's body, over ten Zhang long, coiled on the Lying Stone, motionless, like a carved dragon statue.

Now he needed to guide the medicinal power to refine his inner elixir, and he faced a choice, for he had two inner cores:

One was the True Water Inner Core, which the Black Dragon had instinctively refined from the Spirit Energy in the Kan Palace beneath the water since he was able to remember. It was the fundamental essence of his existence. If he lost this inner core, death would not be far behind; hence, it was also called the Lifebound Primordial Pill.

The other was the Divine Fire Inner Core, which the Black Dragon had refined every time he shed his skin and basked in the sun, gathering the True Sun Fire using his wisdom and Mana. It was the crystallization of his three thousand years of cultivation. If this inner core was damaged, he would lose his Dao Level and regress to a worm-like state, never to evolve into a True Dragon again; therefore, it was named the True Life Primordial Pill.

Introducing medicinal power into different inner cores would result in different consequences. As to what those consequences might be, whether good or bad, he had to judge for himself.

Shi Feiyang's knowledge of cultivation mainly came from the Black Dragon's memory, which, being an abnormal creature, was mostly instinctual cultivation, lacking systematic cultivation knowledge. Additionally, there was the Twenty-Eight True Scripture he had heard from Sikong Xuan during the day. Shi Feiyang felt Sikong Xuan had misinterpreted the scripture, with many explanations not matching the text, and even contradictions appearing. Whether he was purposely distorting it or if Sikong Hu had misunderstood it from the start, there was no time to differentiate just yet.

At this moment, he felt that the Yi Shu he had learned in the past was more reliable.

The Divine Fire should correspond to the Li Trigram, where emptiness prevails in Li, and yang gives birth to yin within it; True Water should relate to the Kan Trigram, which is full in Kan, and yin gives birth to yang within it.

According to the Black Dragon's memory, during his hundredth shedding, he needed to harmonize the two Primordial Pills in accordance with Kan and Li to make Water and Fire balanced. Only then could he refine a Dragon Ball and transform his body, in order to cultivate into a True Dragon Body. If the Dragon Ball could not be refined, after shedding, he would not be able to transform into a Dragon Body. Instead, he would turn into a monstrous creature resembling but not truly a dragon, gradually becoming irascible and maniacal, even uncontrollable, leading to his own destruction.

Based on Yi Jing Technique, the so-called harmonization of Kan and Li, achieving Water and Fire balance, involves Li Fire obtaining the True Yang in the water to birth True Yin, and Kan Water obtaining the True Yin in the fire to birth True Yang. These two need to attract each other and activate simultaneously; yet, water and fire are traditionally incompatible, mutually damaging upon contact.

The Black Dragon had tried countless times to force its two inner cores to collide and merge, but not only did it fail to succeed, it also severely injured its Primordial Qi.

This last time, as the Black Dragon sensed its doom approaching, it forcibly channeled the fiery energy from the Divine Fire Inner Core into the True Water Inner Core, causing the Water Pill to nearly burst. Since it was the Lifebound Primordial Pill, damage to it consequently injured the Essence Qi and Primordial Spirit as well.

Unaware of the danger, the Black Dragon foolishly persisted, continually drawing fire into water until the very last moment when the combined energies of water and fire went out of control, surging backward and attacking the brain, ultimately burning away the Primordial Spirit. Only then did Shi Feiyang's transmigration and possession take place.

Shi Feiyang first clarified the Gua Xiang, drawing all of the Green Spirit Pearl's medicinal power into the True Water Primordial Pill. Naturally cold, the Water Pill, nourished by the medicine, immediately turned into Water Ice, swiftly sweeping the chilling energy through every corner of the body like a Cold Wave.

Had it been the original Black Dragon, it would have countered with the Divine Fire Primordial Pill or at least used fire to warm the organs. In doing so, however, most of the medicinal effect would have been wasted—eight or nine parts out of ten—and the Fire Pill's Primordial Qi would also have been damaged.

Shi Feiyang kept the Divine Fire Primordial Pill hidden in the recesses of his heart, closely guarding his mind, concentrating all consciousness within, ignoring everything else. The fire energy was held internally, without any leakage, leaving only the True Water Primordial Pill in the Dantian absorbing the medicinal power.

With each absorption of the power by the True Water Primordial Pill, it rotated once, unleashing a Cold Wave. As more and more medicinal power was absorbed, the Dan Qi grew stronger and stronger, and the released Cold Wave became increasingly intense, truly freezing to the marrow—each second an agonizing torment.

Shi Feiyang endured forcefully, never once kindling Heart Fire to warm himself, instead concentrating his heart-mind in the Li Palace, treating this Dragon Body as if it were not his own.

Every time he felt he couldn't hold on any longer, he told himself: just a little longer, just a little longer... only resort to Heart Fire when absolutely necessary, I can still bear it, it's not yet time to freeze to death... Once the fire is kindled, all previous efforts would be abandoned, and Primordial Qi severely damaged… If I can't endure this bit of hardship, later on, I will be chopped to pieces by Wei Fengniang…

After enduring the suffering for three days, while he was in a dazed and profound stupor, a hint of True Yang Qi finally emerged within the True Water Primordial Pill! Though weak, it was domineering and powerful. It shot out from within the Dantian, traversing the channels throughout the body. The previously frozen body thawed extensively, as if the spring breeze was brushing across the land, or boiling water was being splashed over ice, causing all the frozen areas to crumble and disintegrate.

Finally, this True Yang Qi made its way to the chest and burrowed into the Divine Fire Primordial Pill!

The Li Palace was enlivened by this burst of True Yang Qi, immediately shaking the consciousness to alertness, feeling the Primordial Spirit clear and revitalized—spiritually refreshed!

Realizing he had succeeded in his Cultivation, Shi Feiyang was overjoyed. This method was not a memory from the Black Dragon, nor was it from the Twenty-Eight True Scripture, but rather a summation of his own based on past learnings. Although it was theoretically sound, there had never been much certainty in practice. Looking inward, he saw True Yang emerging from the Kan Palace, entering the Li Palace—perfectly matching the Gua Xiang of harmonizing Kan and Li, signifying that Water and Fire are in balance!

As the saying goes: "To learn and from time to time practice, is that not delightful?"

To use what one has learned to solve real-world problems and achieve success brings a joy that is truly genuine and fulfilling.

He moved his head and found his whole body, inside and out, felt as if pricked by millions of needles. He stimulated the Divine Fire Primordial Pill, which began to rotate, issuing streams of heat that swiftly spread warmth throughout his entire body, extinguishing all pain in moments.

The Fire Pill settled back down to the Dantian, side by side with the Water Pill, entwined and rotating around each other. Originally incompatible as water and fire, repelling one another, they now seemed to harbor a faint sense of attraction, as if intimately connected.

This success bolstered Shi Feiyang's confidence, making him believe he had truly embarked on the path of Cultivation, proceeding to refine the remaining four Green Spirit Pearls in turn.

With the Water Pill nourished by the medicine, five strands of True Yang Qi were cultivated and entered the Fire Pill.

Although the overall energy contained in the two inner cores did not increase, there was a change in quality, especially the Divine Fire Primordial Pill. Originally, the Dan Fire it produced was orange-red and quite muddled. Now, it had become much clearer, the color somewhat faded, yet the temperature significantly higher.