Chapter 141: Six Years (Bonus Chapter)

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There are no fixed calendars in the mountains, and without feeling the winter pass, years slip away unnoticed.
Ever since the Immortal of Remaining World appointed Cheng Xinzhan as the White Tiger Envoy, six years had passed in the blink of an eye.
Cheng Xinzhan's life within the sect had grown peaceful, but his reputation among the disciples was rising steadily day by day.
There were three main reasons for this.
The first reason was that on the very day he assumed office as the White Tiger Envoy, he interrogated the head of the official bureau for abuse of power, which led to a thorough restructuring of the Disciplinary Court. By executing the chicken to scare the monkeys, the atmosphere across all administrative bureaus improved significantly.
The second reason was that half a month after he took up the post of White Tiger Envoy, the sect established the "Bureau of Artisans." This was a governing body composed entirely of first- and second-realm disciples on duty. Its inaugural director, when first appointed, was even a obscure first-realm disciple who had entered the mountains for less than two years. Yet, a disciple of such low realm was granted the privilege of having audience with the various masters at any time.
Furthermore, the first director of the bureau revealed that the "Bureau of Artisans" was conceived and implemented by the White Tiger Envoy.
After these two events, the lives of all disciples holding concurrent administrative posts in the mountains became much easier, and deep down, they all held a sense of gratitude toward Cheng Xinzhan.
The third reason was that concurrently with the announcement of the establishment of the "Bureau of Artisans," the sect also constructed the "Supporting Pine Tower."
The "Supporting Pine Tower" recycled talismans, elixirs, spiritual grains, and magical treasures produced by the lower-realm disciples within the sect. In exchange for these items, the disciples could acquire various precious materials, gold, and silver.
It was said that the establishment of the "Supporting Pine Tower" was also related to the White Tiger Envoy.
Consequently, all the lower-realm disciples held Cheng Xinzhan in the highest esteem.
However, after becoming the White Tiger Envoy, he did not coddle these lower-realm disciples blindly. In the beginning, almost every single day, he would catch a few who were slack in their cultivation, or those who indulged in auxiliary paths such as alchemy, swordsmanship, talismans, and artifacts while neglecting the cultivation of the inner elixir.
Toward such individuals, he was never soft-hearted, especially the registered disciples still cultivating in Lesser Wan Mountain. He would delve deep into their quarters in Lesser Wan Mountain, drag them out, and sharply interrogate them.
He did not want to witness another old temple master who spent his twilight years consumed by regret.
Perhaps owing to the major achievements mentioned earlier, or perhaps because Cheng Xinzhan possessed a thorough understanding of auxiliary paths like alchemy, swordsmanship, talismans, and artifacts, not a single person interrogated by him could ever win an argument against him. In the end, these lower-realm disciples were at least convinced in their hearts, and under Cheng Xinzhan's persistent and earnest admonitions, they corrected their ways.
After correcting their ways, these individuals did not feel the benefits immediately. Often, it was only after two or three years that they realized Cheng Xinzhan's earnest words back then were pearls of hard-earned truth. Only then were they truly convinced in their hearts and held an even deeper reverence for the White Tiger Envoy.
When these people came to understand this and sought out Cheng Xinzhan to express their gratitude in person, Cheng Xinzhan would merely reply that this was his duty. If they truly wished to thank him, they should ensure that whenever they encountered others trapped in such mental mazes in the future, they must likewise awaken them and provide continuous follow-up and supervision, refusing to let anyone waste their potential.
These individuals acted accordingly and, at the same time, spread Cheng Xinzhan's words far and wide.
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Consequently, under this prevailing trend, whereas previously within Mount Sanqing Cheng Xinzhan's name was known only to a few high-level cultivators at the very top, now there was no one who did not know of him.
Therefore, following Cheng Yifu, Cheng Nandou, and Cheng Du'e, he acquired yet another moniker: Cheng the Merciful Tiger.
While fulfilling his role as a merciful tiger, he did not slacken in his cultivation of either the external alchemy path or the internal elixir path.
Over these past six years, he once again practiced cultivation through the method of avatar projection.
The *Shuangling* and *Youjing* souls drove the bamboo body to cultivate the external alchemy path, while the *Taijiuang* soul resided within the physical body to cultivate the internal elixir path.
It is worth mentioning that through the continuous cultivation of the *Secret Edict of the Longevity Fetal Origin Manifesting Spirit* and the *Zhiyuan of Supreme One Golden Flower*, the spirituality of the *Taijiuang* soul had grown exceedingly potent. Even after the *Shuangling* and *Youjing* souls left the physical body, it could still coordinate the seven somatic souls and other internal scenery deities to continue opening up other physical acupoints and comprehending divine abilities.
Over these past six years, he had newly opened twelve acupoints, all located along the *Qi* circulation route leading from the Yin and Yang Palaces to the Yellow Court.
Over these past six years, he had newly comprehended four divine abilities.
Over these past six years, his remaining four magical swords had all been successfully forged.
Following the completion of the fire sword, Jiang Weishan forged the water sword in less than a year. Subsequently, he ignited three furnaces simultaneously, crafting the wood, earth, and metal swords all at once.
Once the five magical swords were successfully forged, Jiang Weishan ushered in his fifth pill-washing tribulation and successfully crossed it.
Presently, the five magical swords were nourished separately within his five viscera palaces, continuously refined day and night by five internal scenery deities wielding dharma power, who also carved talismanic patterns onto the swords.
This was a mutually reinforcing process: the sword qi of the five magical swords grew increasingly fierce, and the five internal scenery deities grew ever more adept at wielding the five-element dharma power.
Over these past six years, Cheng Xinzhan's decoction skills had also grown increasingly refined. Nursed by a continuous stream of yang-supplementing tonics, Green Chi's deficiency of yin and throat impediment syndromes had been largely cured. He was now able to speak, though he still retained a slight stutter.
As for Third Sister, her eyes had completely healed. However, the reason for the recovery of Third Sister's eyes was neither eating sea fish nor drinking medicinal potions.
It was a path Cheng Xinzhan had never imagined before.
As early as six years ago, when he first began studying alchemy, he noticed that every time he returned from Mount Danxia, Third Sister loved to sniff around his body.
Thus, during a casual chat with Ren Wushi by the warm stove one day, he mentioned this matter, joking that his pet cat actually enjoyed the fragrance of alchemy.
Upon hearing this, however, Ren Wushi asked Cheng Xinzhan to bring the cat over for him to examine the next day.
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When Cheng Xinzhan brought Third Sister to Mount Danxia, she was overwhelmingly excited. She leaped directly onto the alchemy furnace, sniffing here and there, and even tried to jump into the smoke flue. This broke Cheng Xinzhan out in a cold sweat, and he hurriedly pulled Third Sister down—the other end of that smoke flue was a bottomless abyss!
Upon seeing this, Ren Wushi laughed heartily and declared that this cat possessed the bloodline of the dragon offspring, the *Suanmi*, and a very potent one at that. The white film over her eyes was clear proof of this.
This white film was congenital; the thicker the white film, the stronger the bloodline intensity. To remove it, one must use smoke and fire to fumigate it away; no other method would work. Moreover, the process of fumigation with smoke and fire was precisely the process of awakening the *Suanmi* bloodline dormant within the cat's body.
For an alchemist, possessing a spiritual pet imbued with the *Suanmi* bloodline was an extremely auspicious omen because *Suanmi* were fond of smoke and fire. Ancient alchemists believed that if a *Suanmi* crouched atop an alchemy furnace, it could bring good fortune to the alchemist.
Of course, a cat with a white film did not necessarily indicate a concentrated *Suanmi* bloodline; more often than not, it was simply a common eye disease. However, seeing how Third Sister was so enamored with the scent of smoke and fire, it could be basically concluded that this was no ordinary eye disease of a common cat.
Ren Wushi remarked that Cheng Xinzhan had struck extreme good fortune; to find such a cat was not even adequately described as "one in ten thousand" in terms of scarcity. As for the matter of the cat's white film and the smoke-fumigation method, Ren Wushi had accidentally come across it in an ancient book recounting alchemical anecdotes, and very few people knew of it.
Cheng Xinzhan was also quite surprised. Back when he exchanged orchid grass for Third Sister, the stall owner had indeed claimed that Third Sister possessed the bloodline of the *Suanmi*. At the time, however, he had not taken it seriously at all, because all cats in the world were either descendants of the *Suanmi* or descendants of the White Tiger. To say Third Sister had *Suanmi* bloodline was possible, but to say it was concentrated was something Cheng Xinzhan simply did not believe.
Yet, he truly never expected that, through a blind cat running into a dead mouse, Third Sister genuinely possessed a considerable remnant of the *Suanmi* bloodline.
Ever since then, Cheng Xinzhan would always bring Third Sister along whenever he practiced alchemy. Every time he refined pills, Third Sister would crouch atop the alchemy furnace, fearing neither the heat of the fire nor the smoke of the fumigation, and she most loved to inhale the alchemical vapors rising from the furnace just before the pills reached completion.
Thus, after three or four years of this, the white film on Third Sister's eyes completely faded away, revealing golden pupils and vermillion eye-whites. Upon seeing this, Green Chi stuttered out his observation to Cheng Xinzhan, confirming that this was indeed the bloodline of the dragon offspring, the *Suanmi*.
At that time, hearing this, Cheng Xinzhan smiled and praised Green Chi for having such a sharp eye.
Over these past six years, under Old Bai's tutelage, Denggeer had made rapid progress. Earth-escape and wind-treading had become second nature to him, and recently he had been preparing to refine his transverse throat bone.
During this period, he twice dispatched Denggeer back to the Miao village carrying door-god New Year paintings. Judging by Denggeer's gestures and the old village chief's letter, everything in the Miao village was well, and the old village chief looked as though he could live for another ten years.
As for Old Bai, who initially claimed his allotted lifespan was nearly exhausted, upon arriving at Mount Sanqing he grew increasingly spirited day by day. His fur grew more lustrous than ever, and it remained completely unclear how many years of life he actually had left.
Six years had passed, and Cheng Xinzhan felt his very bones itching. His long-dormant restlessness for movement had stirred once more.
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