Chapter 218

Tianquan Island.

Welcome Immortals Teahouse.

“The Pill Origin Grand Assembly has begun. Quite a few third-rank grand alchemy masters have shown themselves. That Qingdan True Personage from the Azure Pill Chamber of Commerce personally refined an entire pool of third-rank pills at Yuanyi Spring.”

The cultivators around the teahouse were deep in lively discussion.

“When it comes to pill refinement, Pill Essence knows no distinction between water or fire. If a few more grand fire-method alchemy masters were to show up, with water and fire clashing against each other, that would be a spectacle worth watching.”

One cultivator laughed, clearly delighted at the prospect of chaos.

“When it comes to alchemy, water-method is naturally supreme. Water nourishes and sustains. Pills refined through water methods possess gentler medicinal properties and far less pill toxin.”

An alchemist carrying the scent of medicinal herbs slowly took a sip of tea. Judging from his demeanor, he was clearly a water-method alchemist.

“Hmph. Your water-method alchemy takes far too long and often delays your own cultivation. What use are gentle medicinal properties? Severe ailments require fierce medicine! When breaking through major cultivation bottlenecks, it is fire-method pills, with their explosive medicinal force, that are truly best suited for smashing through bottlenecks.”

Another alchemist in crimson robes immediately retorted.

The two water-and-fire alchemists quickly fell into a heated argument. Had this not been a marketplace where combat was strictly forbidden, a full-blown brawl might already have erupted.

The surrounding cultivators, however, showed no intention of leaving. Instead, they all wore expressions of eager amusement.

Clearly, this sort of thing had happened more than once in recent days.

Fang Qing sat nearby, thoroughly enjoying the show.

He wore a green robe, his features calm and scholarly. A faint medicinal fragrance clung to his person, and a medicine pouch hung at his waist, making him appear every bit the wandering alchemist.

Of course, Fang Qing had already dissolved his true Core Formation cultivation. He was only drawing upon that portion of his Qi Ingestion Dao essence, transforming it into the Dao Foundation [Feng Seeks Huang].

To outsiders, he appeared to be a fire-method alchemist.

‘In truth, while I am more skilled in water-method alchemy, I’ve read enough fire-method alchemy manuals and understand medicinal theory thoroughly. Refining some second-rank fire pills would be effortless enough.’

‘And if I were to use the third-rank true flame [Ignorance Illuminating Ashes], combined with the [Feng Seeks Huang] Dao Foundation. I could probably even attempt third-rank fire-method pills.’

[Feng Seeks Huang] was the Dao Foundation formed from cultivating the Azure Luan True Flame Scripture, a divine ability passed down through the direct lineage of Descending Phoenix Mountain, a Golden Core power.

Naturally, its abilities were extraordinary.

The so-called ability to hear the voices of others’ hearts was merely one insignificant subtle function.

Its true strength lay in commanding all flames and amplifying their power.

‘The phoenix is the essence of fire, inheriting the virtue of luminous departure. It rises from the eastern horizon, soaring across the four seas, its radiance illuminating the eight extremes. Its nature ascends in flame, shining upon all things. Fire grows fiercer in its presence, flames burn ever brighter upon encountering it. It contains the essence of the Flame Emperor and walks amidst the breath of radiance itself. Thus when the phoenix arrives, fire flourishes. When fire flourishes, virtue is revealed. Among the Five Elements, fire is the proper yang, and the phoenix is sovereign among fire-born birds. Thus it commands all flames.’

Before him sat a pot of spirit tea and several plates of pastries as he silently contemplated the fire-virtue Dao comprehension granted by [Feng Seeks Huang].

Since his divination had predicted the arrival of an old acquaintance, and that acquaintance had appeared under the official ghost line in the hexagram, naturally he had prepared this Dao Foundation specifically for eavesdropping on thoughts.

‘Still, I’ve changed my face, and I’m not even using my Core Formation cultivation. No matter what fortuitous encounters Zhan Hongxiu may have experienced, unless she has reached Nascent Soul, she should not be able to recognize me.’

Just as Fang Qing was lost in thought, Zhan Hongxiu entered the teahouse, her long sleeves fluttering gracefully. Beside her walked another Foundation Establishment cultivator dressed like a traveling merchant.

“Haha, Fellow Daoist Zhan, you must understand, for us itinerant merchants, the most important thing when earning spirit stones is having access to information!”

Wan An wore a somewhat ingratiating expression.

“This teahouse sees visitors coming and going all day. It is one of the finest places for gathering information. More importantly, sitting here all day only costs a single pot of spirit tea. Quite affordable.”

“So that is how it is…”

Zhan Hongxiu had originally found this man rather tiresome, but for the sake of the Scenic Wind Pearl, her attitude had changed dramatically.

She sat with Wan An, even asking him a few questions about the tricks of itinerant trade, appearing genuinely interested in that line of work.

‘Senior Turtle… how do we seize the Scenic Wind Pearl from this man?’

Even as she conversed, she questioned inwardly.

‘What is the rush? A natal treasure belonging to a Nascent Soul great cultivator. Do you think such a thing is easily stolen? Let this old man devise a foolproof plan first.’

The turtle spirit replied.

‘Opportunities of this magnitude always carry karma attached. Ideally, you take the benefits while this fellow continues bearing the consequences.’

This…

Zhan Hongxiu had always thought she herself was already fairly unscrupulous.

Yet unexpectedly, Senior Turtle… no, this Myriad Longevity Turtle had never been human to begin with!

‘Oh? A Nascent Soul great cultivator’s dharma treasure? Scenic Wind Pearl?’

Unbeknownst to them, another shameless schemer nearby had pricked up his ears and was listening intently.

Fang Qing took a sip of spirit tea, inwardly amused.

‘As expected of a daughter of destiny, she can stumble into treasures just by walking outside.’

‘Though… why is it another pearl?’

‘By the way, Senior Turtle… if you say that Master Jingfeng was once hailed as the number one Nascent Soul in the Eastern Sea, unmatched so long as no Soul Transformation cultivator appeared… then how exactly did he fall?’

Zhan Hongxiu was somewhat curious.

“So what exactly happened?”

“Naturally, he offended a Divine Lord of our Zhoutian Star Palace. The Divine Lord personally took action, so you need not worry about remnants of a lingering soul or anything of the sort. When a Soul Transformation cultivator personally makes a move, how could a Nascent Soul cultivator possibly escape with even a single strand of residual soul?”

Old Turtle sighed.

“So the ‘old acquaintance’ you mentioned back then was that kind of acquaintance?”

Zhan Hongxiu was completely dumbfounded.

By this point, Wan An had already begun skillfully mingling, striking up conversations with several cultivators inside the teahouse.

In particular, the two water and fire-method alchemists gradually stopped arguing. Perhaps they found it meaningless to continue, and simply drank their tea in silence, each thinking:

‘In the end, for us alchemists, what truly matters is actual alchemy skill.’

At that moment, Fang Qing exchanged a few words with Wan An. Wan An’s face immediately lit up with delight.

“Brother Du Huo, you’re actually a fire-method alchemist?”

“Indeed. Though I am hardly exceptional, I am already a second-rank high-grade alchemist.”

Fang Qing smiled faintly and naturally took a seat at the same table as Zhan Hongxiu.

“You’re actually a second-rank high-grade alchemist? My apologies, my apologies… This table is on me, little brother.”

Wan An quickly said.

A second-rank high-grade alchemist held a status nearly equal to that of a late Foundation Establishment cultivator.

What was more, this ‘Du Huo’ possessed unfathomably deep Foundation Establishment mana, blazing and overbearing, clearly stronger than Wan An himself.

“Many thanks. I have immersed myself in the Dao of alchemy for many years. Since I happened to encounter this Pill Origin Grand Assembly, I naturally came to take a look.”

A trace of pride appeared on Fang Qing’s face.

‘This kid has already reached Foundation Establishment perfection, and the scent of medicinal pills around him is incredibly dense. His alchemy skills are clearly not low, Little Hong, you should learn a trick or two from him. Otherwise, you might not even be able to enter the main venue of the Pill Origin Grand Assembly, much less obtain that Hundred-Fold Pill Qi.’

Within Zhan Hongxiu’s sea of consciousness, Old Turtle began issuing commands again.

‘We’ve only met by chance. How could I possibly ask someone to teach me alchemy?’

Zhan Hongxiu shook her head inwardly.

‘Still, I’ll do my best… By the way, Old Turtle, you said the Profound Center Sect intends to carry out an “alchemy ritual.” What kind of earth-shaking pill are they trying to refine?’

‘At this point, what other top-rank pills could there be? Nothing more than one of the precious fourth-rank pills.’

Old Turtle sounded dismissive.

‘This alchemy ritual poses no real harm to cultivators. At worst, for some time afterward, anyone affected will be especially unlucky when refining pills. Exploding furnaces, inferior products, much higher failure rates, that sort of thing… But since you do not refine pills anyway, it doesn’t matter.’

‘Damn it!’

Fang Qing lifted his teacup, sighing inwardly.

‘The culture of the Qi Refining path has truly been corrupted by the Eastern Sea side. I knew the Profound Center Sect couldn’t possibly be holding some Pill Origin Grand Assembly out of pure goodwill, especially while offering such generous rewards. There had to be something fishy behind it all. I just didn’t expect them to be this shameless!’

‘Zhan Hongxiu isn’t an alchemist, so she doesn’t care… but I am!’

‘And what exactly does “for some time” mean? If it lasts for decades, I’d be sick to death.’

‘Forget it. I’m not participating in this assembly.’

‘As for that Scenic Wind Pearl, it seems to have some… hm?’

He silently circulated the Plum Blossom Divination Art. Several plum blossom petals drifted down, arranging themselves into a hexagram.

‘Forget it. It’s only a damaged dharma treasure. I already have Purple Mansion-grade dharma treasures, so this thing doesn’t interest me. No need to steal Zhan Hongxiu’s opportunity.’

‘As for the pill the Profound Centre Sect intends to use everyone as kindling to refine. I think I already have a few clues.’

The Qi Refining world naturally possessed much clearer heavenly secrets, making divination easier to begin with.

And Fang Qing now had the added support of the Duzi divine status.

Calculating karma had become far easier.

This matter involved a Nascent Soul old monster, so there had initially been quite a bit of obscuring fog.

But with Old Turtle having filled in several critical pieces of information, Fang Qing had already managed to cut through much of the haze and point straight at the truth.

‘The pill Profound Center Sect seeks to refine is the Nascent Soul Condensation Pill! This pill helps a Core Formation perfection cultivator shatter their golden core and form a Nascent Soul. One of its primary ingredients is the Heavenly Infant Fruit.’

‘This is a fourth-rank pill of extreme rarity. Even for the Profound Center Sect, wasting a single batch would be painful for decades, perhaps even a century. That’s why they’re hosting this Pill Origin Grand Assembly, to gather alchemical fortune and increase the pill’s success rate.’

‘Since they’re using a ritual, the alchemy site cannot be too far from Tianquan Island. And if they’ve hired a fourth-rank water-method alchemist, then they must be using the island’s only fourth-rank spirit spring!’

‘And the timing of the alchemy process coincides exactly with the Pill Origin Grand Assembly…’

The Profound Center Sect had no idea that merely a tiny leak of information had already left all their secrets laid bare before Fang Qing.

‘A Nascent Soul Condensation Pill. This is an opportunity even greater than the Resentful Infant Fruit. Enough to move Nascent Soul old monsters into action, enough to make Core Formation perfection cultivators risk their lives without hesitation.’

Fang Qing slowly turned the teacup in his hand.

‘Should I try to take a share of this? But with a Nascent Soul old monster overseeing things, there’s definitely some risk.’

‘Though there’s no need to leak the news myself. A matter as huge as refining a Nascent Soul Condensation Pill can hardly remain secret forever, especially with such a massive alchemy ritual involved. The larger the power, the more likely they already know everything.’

‘When the time comes, perhaps some demonic-path Nascent Soul cultivator will directly move to seize it?’

‘In the chaos, I might just have a small chance…’

‘Wait…’

Fang Qing looked toward Zhan Hongxiu, a trace of astonishment appearing in his eyes.

‘Could it be that Zhan Hongxiu’s trip to Tianquan Island isn’t merely for the Scenic Wind Pearl and the Hundred-Fold Pill Qi, but also for a Nascent Soul opportunity?’

‘Can a child of destiny actually evolve?’

As a daughter of destiny, Zhan Hongxiu’s fate naturally rose and fell in waves, with peaks and troughs alike.

But there was no question that after entering the Zhoutian Star Palace secret realm and obtaining Old Turtle’s possession, her fate had immediately risen by an entire level.

Perhaps she really did have a chance of obtaining a Nascent Soul spiritual object!

‘In that case, I don’t even need to scheme anything. I just need to stay close to this woman… and ride a little of her destiny.’