Of course, knowing the meaning of 'looking quietly' and knowing how to carry it out are two completely different things.
Fang Zhengzhi knew what Chi Guyan and the white-dressed lady were trying to tell him. Next, he would naturally contemplate about it as to be able to use it in practical situations.
Looking quietly…..
It was a clear mental and spiritual condition.
It was easy to understand this point, and it meant that his mind needed to be completely clear, just like the mental state he would be in amidst the lucid waters and lush mountains.
However, understanding it was the easy part, the difficulty would be trying to attain it.
Empty!
How does he empty it!
Fang Zhengzhi knew that he would not be able to calm himself down immediately. Afterall, he was numb with excruciating pain, thus it was impossible for his mental state to be that of calmness.
Difficult, too difficult!
If one were able to enter such a mental state, then he would be able to understand the two flames surrounding him, and he would no longer have to bear such pain.
Wait!
Lucid waters, lush mountains!
He was not able to imagine these, but he seemed to be able to see them.
The Heaven Dao Sage Tablet was really a good product to possess. There's everything inside, from rivers to mountains, and not lacking of anything at all.
Furthermore, more importantly, Fang Zhengzhi had plentiful of them. At Cang Ling mountain he had get hold of one, and thereafter Yun Qingwu had given him thirteen of them, and adding on to the nine pieces that he had received at the Ninth Heaven, he would have a grand total of 23 pieces of the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet.
Yes, the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet contained many differents 'Daos'. He was able to witness this phenomenon at the Ninth Heaven of the Divine Rain Pond.
During that occurrence, Fang Zhengzhi had thought of taking all the Heaven Dao Sage Tablets out to properly observe and scrutinize them.
However, he had left the Heaven Dao Pavilion in a hurry, and had caused many troubles before that, resulting in the hindrance of such a deed.
But now…..
Since he was unable to get out, he would try to gain some insights from them. Furthermore, by looking at the Heaven Dao Sage Tablets, he would be able to get into a clear and peaceful mental state.
Fang Zhengzhi's eyes lit up. Looking quietly, and gaining Dao insights - these would be two things that he would do.
There would no longer be any hindrances.
Fang Zhengzhi was not a person who tend to hesitate. Furthermore, he was being tortured and was in excruciating pain. If there were any plans to escape his situation, he would do it instantly without any hesitation.
The black metal box containing the Heaven Dao Sage Tablets flew out from The Vast World swiftly, landing onto the heart of his palm.
While his limbs were still tied up, he had no difficulty opening the box. With just a bit of fiddling, the box was opened.
Instantly, Fang Zhengzhi felt as though his surroundings had changed. There was a lucious river flowing in front of him, the sky was serene, and the water was peaceful. It felt as though he had jumped out of the Middle Stream Cauldron.
Observing, observing…..
Now he had to calm himself down to observe them!
Fang Zhengzhi tried his best to turn his attention to the rivers and mountains in front of him, as he gazed at the luscious mountains, the flowing rivers as well as the blue sky.
Heart!
Peace!
Fang Zhengzhi's mind continuously repeated these two words, but after trying for a full minute, he realised that he was unable to do so.
Even while such a scenic view was in front of him, he was unable to completely calm his heart down. The two ball of flames in the Middle Stream Cauldron was far too stubborn and intense, the excruciating pain constantly penetrated his energy and his body, and he was unable to calm down to think at all.
No way!
He could not continue to endure such a state!
He has to think of another idea to ease his condition, albeit only temporarily.
Yes!
Since these two flames were for refining pills, was there a way for him to use the potential from them? He should not put the special abilities of the two flames to waste.
However, Fang Zhengzhi did not know much about refining pills and alchemy.
He had understood a little about them, as afterall, he had once been mentored by the Heavenly Oasis Saint for more than a year. Surely he had seen a bit.
As such, he knew a little about the prescriptions or herbs and medicines.
Talking about herbal plants.
Fang Zhengzhi had plenty of them, It was enough to fill ten acres of land in Yin Yang Hall. It was a ridiculous amount, even for the entire Holy Region.
"Let you burn!" Fang Zhengzhi proclaimed, as chunks of herbal plants flew out instantly from The Vast World, and into the two burning flames.
"Hu!" The two flames seemed to have a new "target", and the herbal plants were incinerated completely. The flames were suppressed.
Of course, Fang Zhengzhi knew that such methods of control were only temporary. Just like how when papers were thrown into the fire, it seemed as though they were able to suppress the fire temporarily. But after the flame had incinerated the papers, the initially small fire would grow into a fiery one.
However, Fang Zhengzhi no longer cared about all these. He only needed a short period of time to calm himself down, so as to enter the appropriate state of mind.
Since the flames were suppressed, his pain was also considerably reduced. He was able to relax for a while, and under such a mental state, he continued to look at the surrounding mountains and waters…..
It felt completely different!
Fang Zhengzhi's eyes grew brighter, as he looked at the 23 Heaven Dao Sage Tablets in front of him. He seemed to see golden symbols floating around in mid air.
Yes, the golden symbols, they were Dao!
Fang Zhengzhi began to unwind, as symbols after symbols started appearing in his eyes, before slowly integrating into his body.
It was a very relaxing feeling, and it felt as though his body was being cleansed by warm water.
"Hu!" The surrounding flames started ascending once again, and it seemed to be even more exuberant than before. It looked as though they were about to devour the entire Middle Stream Cauldron.
However, Fang Zhengzhi no longer felt the heat from the flames, as the golden symbols circulating in his body had helped to resist them.
Or rather, "engulfing" was a more appropriate word to use.
Because, the flames seemed to be interacting with the golden symbols, and each golden symbol seemed to take one ball of blaze along with it.
It was very comfortable, almost too comfortable for Fang Zhengzhi to forget that he needed to understand the two flames.
Time slowly passed by….
Fang Zhengzhi felt that the two ball of flames had weakened after a while, and it seemed as though they were about to be extinguished.
About to die off?
Just when Fang Zhengzhi was thinking about this, Sixth Elder, who was outside the Middle Stream Cauldron, widened his eyes in disbelief, as he looked at the Middle Stream Cauldron, which was about to turn dark. Sixth Elder looked bewildered.
It was night time, and they had started refining the herb in the morning. However, this did not meant that the alchemy process was about to end.
According to experience, it was usually only after the seventh day that they were required to reinforce the fire. However, currently, not a day has passed, and the fire in the Middle Stream Cauldron had started showing signs of being quenched.
"What's happening? Is it because of the Middle Stream Cauldron? Or is it because the Thousand Years Fire Herb in Fang Zhengzhi's body is far too strong?" Sixth Elder frowned his eyes as he did not understand the situation. However, his bewilderment quickly disappeared
Afterall, the fire dying out was not considered to be a major problem. Furthermore, it was the first time they were using the Middle Stream Cauldron to refine a person into a herb.
Hence, it was easy to solve the problem.
SInce the fire was about to be extinguished, they would just add fire to it directly.
"Quickly invite Great Elder Ying to come over!"
"Yes!" One of the disciples guarding the cauldron acknowledged Sixth Elder, before sprinting towards a black stone house.
Moments after, Great Elder Ying Yu, who was clothed in a long black robe, hurried over. His expression showed signs of bewilderment too.
"Sixth Elder request to meet me at this time, what was the matter?" Great Elder Ying Yu asked.
"Hm, the fire within the cauldron seems to be dying soon. I guess it's related to the intensity of the Thousand Years Fire Herb in Fang Zhengzhi's body, so I invite Great Elder Ying over to help me to add fire to it!" Sixth Elder pointed to the almost-black Middle Stream Cauldron, and proceed to voice out his opinion.
"I see." Great Elder nodded his head. While he had his suspicions, he did not express it as afterall, the person hosting the alchemy process was Sixth Elder.
Furthermore, as what Sixth Elder had said, it was normal to experience problems since they were using the Middle Stream Cauldron to refine herbs.
He did not over analyse the situation, since it was just the addition of fire.
He moved his hands, and the silver flame ascended once again. Next, it entered the Middle Stream Cauldron, and at this time, Sixth Elder extended his hand too, and the purple flame followed behind the silver flame.
The initially disappearing balls of flame lit up instantly, their monstrosity as ferocious as ever.
"Great Elder Ying great job!"
"Sixth Elder great job!"
After the both of them gave each other a bow, they waited outside the cauldron for a while. Upon realising that the intensity reverted back to normal, Great Elder took his leave.
Everything had seemed to be normal once again.
However, this did not continue for long. By the next afternoon, the flames in the Middle Stream Cauldron showed signs of dying off once again.
It was not a major problem, and Great Elder Ying Yu was invited over again, adding on to the fire…..
…..
Seven days quickly passed by, and within these seven days, Great Elder had went back to the cauldron multiple times, each time adding on to the fire without suspicion.
"Sixth Elder, according to your experience, is this normal?" Great Elder Ying Yu did not doubt Sixth Elder's alchemy skills, as Yin Yang Hall's refinement of pills were the best in the Holy Region. However, it was impossible to admit that there was not a tinge of suspicion in this matter.
"It is indeed abnormal!" Sixth Elder nodded his head lightly, while he looked at the Middle Stream Cauldron, frowning his eyebrows. "But if I were to open the cauldron now, I'm afraid our efforts will be wasted….."
"Yeah, Sixth Elder makes sense." Great Elder nodded his head upon hearing those words, as he looked towards the cauldron. "Did Sixth Elder hear any movement inside the cauldron during those few days?"
"No, everything is normal, there were no sounds." Sixth Elder shook his head, because the fact was that there were no movements at all.
"Since everything is normal, there is no need to open the cauldron. We'll just continue to add on to the fire. Just like what Sixth Elder had guessed, the intensity of the Thousand Years Fire Herb is too strong. This should be normal!" Great Elder Ying Yu responded.
"Yes, since the Thousand Years Fire Herb was made of fire element too, naturally it would absorb the fire, Great Elder Ying's analysis is logical!" Sixth Elder's eyes lit up, and he nodded his head in agreement.
"Then I need to thank Sixth Elder for continuing to observe the process!"
"Thank you Great Elder Ying too!"
"I'll take my leave."
"Great Elder Ying please do."
After their discussion, they had no intention other than the adding of fire.
Of course, it was because Great Elder Ying Yu had to contemplate about another urgent matter.
The night before, in the Holy Region, at the border between the Heaven Dao Pavilion and Yin Yang Hall, one of the mountains' height increased by three times overnight.
That was an extremely mysterious phenomenon, and what was more mysterious was that the peak of the mountain actually exhibited a ray of red glow from the sun.
Half of the horizon was stained in red, and it made the gigantic mountain seem as though it was soaked in the red light.
As the saying goes, a red glow in the sky represents an auspicious happening. This occurrence had naturally attracted the attention of the Five sects in the Holy Region. Everyone was guessing if such an occurrence meant that a powerful treasure was about to appear.
"How are things now?" Great Elder Ying Yu asked a nearby disciple after leaving the Middle Stream Cauldron.
"Yin Yang Hall has responded, they invited Nine Pinnacles Mountain to join them." The disciple replied.
"Ok, I can't go there temporarily, help me send a message to inform Third Elder and Fourth Elder to bring a hundred disciples with them, and set out immediately!" Great Elder Ying Yu nodded his head.,
"Yes!" The disciple acknowledged, before sprinting to afar.
And Great Elder looked at the horizon, seemingly contemplating about something. Not long after, he retracted his vision, before giving out a sigh. "A red glow in the sky, is this a fortune or not?"
It was a rhetorical question that he had asked himself, since there was nobody surrounding him. As such, naturally there was nobody who could answer his question.
Of course, Great Elder Ying Yu did not need to answer that.
Because, it was probable that he would be the next Nine Pinnacles Mountain Leader. As such, it was a quality that he needed to exhibit.