Chen Jiaxi took a deep breath and composed himself. “Grandmaster Fang, you startled me,” he said, staring dead at Meng Hao. “However, it doesn’t matter whether you are talking about the sun and moon, the sky, or the forge of Heaven and Earth. All exist on the path of alchemy. All types of plants and vegetation can be concocted into medicinal pills. All spirits and souls can concoct the spirit of the pill! What I disagreed with just now was Grandmaster Zhou’s assertion that the self is unchanging, but that pill formulas contain countless variations. I said nothing about the transformations of the sun and moon of which you speak.
“In my opinion, alchemists must embrace transformation of the self. Only by embracing transformation can countless variations be produced. Only in this way can you speak of endless pill formulas, or concoct the endless varieties of medicinal pills that have existed since ancient times.”
“Your excellency did mention a person being able to produce countless variations,” said Meng Hao coolly. Once again he spoke slowly and calmly. As he stood on the dais, the breeze lifted his long hair, blowing it across his face, partially obscuring the stellar glow in his eyes. “Countless variations? The wind and clouds, the thunder and lightning, these are all Heavenly changes. The quaking of the earth, the rise of mountains, the flow of great rivers, these are Earthly changes. Are you responsible for these great changes of Heaven and Earth? Is the rain which falls from the sky birthed by the will of Grandmaster Chen? Grandmaster Chen, is it your will which causes the rise and fall of mountains?