Chapter 77 Important Item of Ancient China
Manager Liu and his group of people were all angrily beaten up, looking like dead dogs as they lay in the small town’s street. The actions they had committed in the past were far too overbearing, and there had long since been a buildup of resentment. If it wasn’t for the words of some of the older people, these people probably would have been beaten to death. But in the end, the older people prevailed and these people who were beaten senseless were all thrown back to their respective households. This affair could be considered to have been resolved to everyone’s satisfaction.
The little restaurant was extremely cheerful during lunch. Little Tingting’s smile was exceptionally bright, no longer anxious or afraid. Uncle Jiang’s suppressed anger had also been released, and quite a few of the wrinkles upon his face disappeared. He cooked up many dishes: roasted rabbit, soup with rabbit meatballs, sweet and sour “pork-chop style” rabbit, chicken wrapped in leaves, spicy chicken, etc. There were also some vegetable dishes and wild fruits.
This meal lasted for a long time and laughter and talk would ring out every now and then. This kind of harmonious atmosphere gave Ye Fan the illusion that he had returned back to his home.
---
After lunch, Ye Fan went directly into the deep mountains. He wanted to begin controlling his Divine Symbols, as this was crucial and important to his later cultivation.
Each Divine Symbol was like a divine iron chain, lingering above his golden Sea of Bitterness. This was the initial shape that Life Qi would condense into.
Cultivators could take this initial form of the Divine Symbols and turn them into all kinds of different shapes, such as a dagger, a flying knife, etc. They could then be shot out of the body to kill enemies, possessing a greater effect than iron chain Divine Symbols. These were called Divine Vessels. Many people would use much of their time and effort to turn the initial Divine Symbols into flying swords, small shields, divine halberds and the like. It would then be easier to control them, and such a person’s battle prowess was markedly stronger.
Some people who weren’t afraid of it being too complicated or profound even repeatedly refined their Divine Symbols into cauldrons, bells, pagodas, etc. These could display all kinds of mysterious abilities.
In some legends, top cultivators could refine their Divine Symbols into Vessels that were extremely powerful, capable of unexpected powers, even possessing Dao Lines within them that had unimaginable might.
Of course, such a probability was extremely low. Only those extremely talented and powerful cultivators could have the luck to form such powerful Vessels.
From his previous experience, the more complicated and profound the Vessel was, the greater its might. Cauldrons, bells, pagodas, and the like had a comparatively larger chance to form Dao Lines within them than others, giving them much greater strength.
Of course, the more complicated a Vessel was, the more difficult it was to refine, and it would require endless effort and time. It was possible to not even be able to refine out a rough outline in the end, wasting years of one’s time.
And even if one was to successfully bitterly refine one, the gains might not be worth it. The chance to form Dao Lines within one was extremely remote. For many cultivators, forming Dao Lines within a Vessel was something from the legends. Only those extremely gifted talents would be able to do so.
Refining the initial Divine Symbols into Vessels was extremely important to a cultivator, and each person would work seriously at it, as it was with them that they could control items during battle.
As for Han Feiyu’s Green Wood Seal, Elder Han’s twelve green wooden swords, or the shameless Daoist’s many spiritual weapons, they had previously refined their Divine Symbols into Vessels, allowing the Vessels to control their various spiritual weapons.
The absolute majority of people would refine Vessels from their Divine Symbols and then pick a spiritual treasure of a similar shape. Only when the Vessel and the weapon matched could their full power be released.
Of course, if the shapes didn’t match, it was still possible to use the weapons. Its power would simply be somewhat lower.
There were also some cultivators who continuously condensed their Divine Symbols, and after forming their Vessels, they would no longer need to use other weapons. Their refined Vessels would be their spiritual treasures.
According to the Wheel Sea Volume of the Dao Scripture, a Vessel could be refined during each of the four great realms of the Sea of Bitterness, the Spring of Life, the Divine Bridge, and Paramita.
Since Ye Fan was already at the Sea of Bitterness realm, he could refine his first Vessel. He was considering what shape to make it very seriously, as this was extremely important. Once the Vessel’s shape had been refined, it was very difficult to change it later.
Moreover, the first Vessel was the foundation. It was much more important than the Vessels refined at later realms.
Since he had decided to walk down the immortal path, everything had to be considered in terms of the long-term. Ye Fan immediately rejected refining a flying sword, shield, lances, or the other ordinary weapons.
Despite knowing the chances were slim, he still wished that his Vessel would be able to form Dao Lines in the future. Thus, he was picking from the more complicated and profound Vessels.
“What should I pick…?” Ye Fan seriously and carefully considered it for a long time, before his expression finally brightened.
In the end, he decided on refining his Divine Symbols into a cauldron.
This wasn’t some random impulse, but was decided from Ye Fan’s careful deliberation. Not only did he like cauldrons, the more important thing was that cauldrons were the most mysterious items from ancient China.
The cauldron had existed throughout all of China’s ancient history. When the land fractured and was born anew, when dynasties fell and rose, when ruler after ruler was born and died, when ancient China finally became unified…cauldrons were never far from these events. It was ancient China’s divine vessel, the nation’s sacred object.
Ask of the cauldron the way to seize power; throughout springs and autumns, the cauldron flourishes…countless Chinese expressions were about cauldrons and their grandly majestic air. The cauldron’s history in ancient China stretched back incredibly far. It was the most mysterious vessel of the country, so much so that it could be said that the cauldron could represent ancient China.
How far back ancient China’s history stretched back was difficult to say. Some things were not recorded and passed on. Ye Fan thought of these many reasons, and thus he decided on the cauldron.
Pre-Qin, before China was unified, many sacred and ancient emperors had gone to Mt. Tai in order to undergo the Heaven Bestowal ritual. This included Fuxi, Shennong, the Yellow Emperor, and seventy-two ancient kings. When the current Ye Fan thought about this, he realized there were simply too many mysteries. Based on his own experiences, it wasn’t difficult to realize that China’s ancient history was enshrouded with endless fog.
There seemed to be an extremely mysterious era in ancient China. That era had been completely exterminated from the flow of history. From some clues and hints, it was possible to realize that the ancient people possessed a power far out of the ordinary.
As for the cauldron, it was considered that era’s most mysterious item. Naturally, it was regarded as particularly attractive to Ye Fan. Thus, this most important sacred item of ancient China was selected by him to be the form of his first Vessel.
Ye Fan was very confident in this choice. This was the crystallization of ancient China, the most suitable for his first Vessel and his future foundation.
However, there were also many different shapes of cauldrons. The most famous ones were the three-foot circular cauldron and the four-foot square cauldron. Ye Fan had to once more carefully think about which one.
“The three-foot two-handle circular cauldron appeared earlier…” He gradually came to a decision.
Other than the reason that it came first, with his current identity as a cultivator, he seemed to sense that the three-foot circular cauldron seemed to embody some indescribable Dao.
The three-foot cauldron was more stable than the four-foot. It was the most stable shape. And the circular cauldron seemed to possess a deeper Dao and meaning to it.
Three-foot: stable, firm, fixed, solid!
Its circular shape represented heaven and earth, the stars of the cosmos. Legend said that when Pangu split open Heaven and Earth, it was a sphere that was shattered. That spherical space was the primal chaos’s initial starting point before it evolved. Thus, the circle represented the origin.
“Yes, I’ll pick the three-foot circular cauldron!” Ye Fan finally came to this important decision after much serious and careful consideration.
Refining the initial Divine Symbols into a Vessel was not simple. It was an arduous and long process that could not possibly be completed in one go.
First, the shape of the Vessel had to be fixed and branded within one’s heart. That shape would be used as a reference during the refinement, and not a single flaw could be made.
Holding the Bodhi seed, Ye Fan immersed himself into an empty state. He carved a picture within his mind. Using his divine sense, he attempted to stimulate his nineteen Divine Symbols, trying to refine them after first fixing them in his heart.
Through his untiring efforts, the nineteen Divine Symbols melted and condensed into a small pea-sized golden cauldron. It was dazzlingly bright, appearing extremely perfect.
However, Ye Fan wasn’t satisfied. He seemed to feel as if it was lacking something. Although its shape seemed perfect, it lacked a certain Dao charm.
“Right, it’s still lacking the cauldron handles.”
Ye Fan once more started to refine it, and slowly refined handles onto the small golden cauldron.
The instant the small golden cauldron’s shape formed within his heart, Ye Fan felt a kind of natural charm. He was now satisfied, unable to stop himself from muttering, “One cauldron, two handles, three feet. Right! The Dao gives birth to one, one gives birth to two, two gives birth to three, and three gives birth to all living things, carrying Yin and holding Yang, combining into Qi…”
The more Ye Fan looked at it the more pleased he became. The small golden cauldron became even more profound within his eyes, filling up his entire heart. It became simple, imposing, and natural.
“Right, this is it!”
Ye Fan finalized its shape. The three-foot circular cauldron was forever engraved within his heart. Now he could begin to refine the true cauldron within his Sea of Bitterness.
“The most mysterious object whose existence stretches throughout of all China’s ancient history…” Ye Fan’s heart was full of expectation.