The Fire of Taiyin

By the time Zhao Fengnian escorted the镖局 (escort agency) members back to Jinhua City, it was already completely dark. The city gate guards recognized the Zhenyuan镖局's (escort agency's) badge and saw that Chief Escort Zhou was covered in blood. Without saying a word, they let them pass and even ran to notify the镖局 to come and meet them.

Zhou, the head镖师 (bodyguard), insisted on taking Zhao Fengnian to a restaurant for drinks. Zhao Fengnian couldn't refuse and went with him to Zuixianlou in the east of the city.

The escort agency booked the entire second floor, and tables were laden with food and wine. Chief Escort Zhou stood up, raised his wine glass, and said that if it weren't for the Taoist priest of Sanyi Temple, Zhenyuan Escort Agency would have perished at the foot of Black Mountain.

Everyone raised their glasses to toast Zhao Fengnian, but Zhao Fengnian, holding a cup of tea, responded to the toasts in lieu of wine, his smile gradually shifting from polite to genuinely embarrassed.

Someone asked if they should invite the abbot to come along, but Zhao Fengnian waved his hand and said that his elder brother didn't like such occasions, and that he should just prepare some good food for him to take back.

Chief Escort Zhou readily agreed and instructed the kitchen to prepare one of each of Zuixianlou's signature dishes and pack them up. He also added two jars of aged Shaoxing wine to the food box, saying that he didn't know the flavors, so he prepared both sweet and spicy ones.

Zhao Fengnian didn't stand on ceremony. He took his leave with the heavy food box in his hand. Chief镖头 Zhou said that he would personally visit the镖局 (escort agency) the next day after he had finished repairing the matter. Zhao Fengnian nodded and said okay, then turned and left the restaurant.

He emerged from the north gate of Jinhua City under the moonlight, walking alone on the official road. The cool autumn night breeze rustled the reeds by the roadside.

The moonlight was exceptionally bright, its silvery rays shining unhindered through the mountains and forests, making the pebbles on the official road look like scattered silver.

As he walked, he suddenly realized something was wrong. The moon was too bright. Even on a full moon night, the moonlight would normally spread out softly and evenly, but tonight the moonlight seemed to be attracted by something, concentrating and pouring in a certain direction.

He looked up and followed the direction of the slanting moonlight; that direction led to the Sanyi Temple.

Zhao Fengnian quickened his pace and ran back up the mountain. When he pushed open the courtyard gate, he froze at the entrance.

Liu Jin sat cross-legged on the stone slab in the center of the courtyard, his eyes slightly closed, his hands forming a mudra. The Reverse Life Triple was fully activated, and his translucent Qi-transformed body shone with a pale golden luster under the moonlight. He looked like a glass statue cast from light and fire.

The dark blue flame mark between his brows was brighter than ever before, but it wasn't burning; it was breathing, its light and shadow mirroring the rhythm of the moon in the sky.

A fist-sized halo hung in the void three feet above his head. The halo was moon-white with a faint silver-blue tinge at the edges, like a moon shrunk countless times, quietly floating and slowly rotating.

The moonlight pouring down from the sky was continuously absorbed by this halo, then split into countless extremely fine silver threads, slowly seeping into his body along the pathways of his Qi-transformed meridians.

The night mist in the pine forest outside the courtyard was tinged with pale blue by the moonlight, making the entire Sanyi Temple seem to be shrouded in a layer of faint silver gauze.

Zhao Fengnian carefully placed the food box on the stone table, not daring to breathe loudly.

He saw Liu Jin's Qi overflow from all parts of his body, forming a semi-transparent tree around him. The tree's roots were planted in his dantian, its trunk grew upwards along his spine, and its branches spread out in all directions from his shoulders and the top of his head. Each branch's tip held a ball of flame of a different color.

The deep blue Samadhi Fire, the pale yellow Lingzhi Demon Fire, and a few newly formed, light-colored flames.

The Qi Tree swayed gently in the moonlight, and the flames among its branches flickered, as if it were taking some kind of slow and mysterious breath.

Liu Jin opened his eyes.

The moon-white halo above his head slowly descended, hovering between his hands. Then it began to compress, the halo of moonlight shrinking from the size of a fist to the size of a walnut, then from the size of a walnut to the size of a soybean, finally condensing into a tiny, silvery-white flame at his fingertips.

The fire of the moon, the essence of the moon, is extremely yin and gentle. It has no temperature, no burning sensation, but burns quietly. The light it emits is cold, and when it shines on the skin, it feels cool, like a breeze blowing across a lotus pond on a summer night.

Liu Jin held the silvery-white flame between his fingertips, examined it for a moment, and then a slight smile appeared on his lips.

Zhao Fengnian had known Liu Jin for several days and had seen him smile coldly, faintly, and helplessly, but this was the first time he had seen him truly smile.

It was a pure, heartfelt laugh, like a craftsman finally firing a satisfactory piece of porcelain. That tiny flame of Yin energy was only the size of a needle tip, easily extinguished by a gust of wind, but Liu Jin laughed even more joyfully than when he broke through to the third level in the martial arts arena.

"Big brother, what is this?"

"The Fire of Yin. These past few days, I've been pondering the remains of the Tree Granny and have gained some insights. These demons and spirits all love the moonlight. I've figured out a way to use the essence of the moonlight to condense this seed. Creating something from nothing is the most precious thing. With this seed, we can slowly cultivate it later."

Liu Jin flicked the seed of the Taiyin Fire gently. Instead of being absorbed into his inner vision, the seed transformed into a thin, silvery-white film of light, like a transparent veil draped over his body.

The intense, scorching heat of the Samadhi True Fire was completely contained by this layer of light, no longer leaking out, but replaced by a different kind of aura.

A cold, silvery light slowly flowed across his body, the surrounding temperature plummeted, a thin layer of frost condensed on the edge of the stone table, and tiny dewdrops formed on the leaves of the wildflowers in the yard, sparkling in the moonlight.

......

"I was wondering why Liu Jin hadn't made a move; it turns out he was researching this."

"The moon is truly a synonym for beauty. The lunar fire looks so beautiful, and the moonlight before was also beautiful."

"After all, according to legend, that's the palace of the most beautiful woman in the Three Realms."

"But Liu Jin used to be too straight-laced, always playing with fire. Now he's got ribbons and Yin Fire... He should probably find a girlfriend soon."

"My God, you're worrying about this? Someone with his looks and skills isn't someone you can just find anywhere!"

"Actually, this concern is valid. His essence isn't exactly a ball of fire anymore; he's probably practically devoid of cells, so it'll be really hard for him to find a girlfriend. And even if he does, he won't be able to have kids..."

"Hiss. I think I suddenly don't really want to cultivate immortality anymore."

......

Zhao Fengnian rubbed his arms and shivered. But this cold was not a chilling cold, not the eerie aura of tree spirits and female ghosts, but rather a clean and crisp coolness like standing under the moon on a clear winter night.

It was cold, but not unbearable; on the contrary, it made people clear-headed and invigorated them.

"It's only treating the symptoms, not the root cause." Liu Jin looked down at the silver-white gauze robe he was wearing, his tone carrying a hint of dissatisfaction and helplessness. "It can block the Samadhi True Fire from leaking out, but it can't stop the Taiyin Fire from leaking out on its own."

Previously, ghosts that approached would be burned to death; now, they'll be frozen solid. But being cold is better than being burned; at least frozen ghosts can be revived.