"This chick must have had a sudden change of heart today, or maybe the Beauty-Preserving Pill I refined is just too potent. To think she actually has the patience to wait here—tsk tsk. If she dialed back that overbearing and hot-tempered attitude of hers on normal days, she wouldn't be quite so annoying." Mo Yang couldn't help muttering to himself.
After that, he deliberately coughed a few times. Su Feier was jolted awake. The moment she opened her eyes and saw Mo Yang standing right in front of her, she gave a huge start and blurted out angrily, "Mo Yang, you scoundrel, what are you trying to do?"
"Uh..." Mo Yang froze, a wave of relief washing over him in his heart. This chick was finally normal again.
Before he could even speak, however, Su Feier seemed to wake up completely. She hurriedly stood up, straightened her long dress, and raised a hand to tuck back her stray locks before speaking. "When did you get back? Here... these are the medicinal herbs you wanted!"
As she spoke, she retrieved a storage ring from inside her robes and handed it to Mo Yang.
Mo Yang froze all over again. He reached up to rub his forehead, then pinched his own cheek. This was no illusion! Only a few moments had passed, yet this chick was acting like a completely different person. She hadn't flown into a rage, and her tone didn't even sound like it came from the same human being.
"Do you... have anything else? If not, I'll head back first!"
Mo Yang reached out and took the storage ring, staring dumbfounded at Su Feier's slightly flustered appearance. He was utterly bewildered.
After standing frozen for a moment, Mo Yang finally snapped back to his senses. "Nothing else. You go on back first!"
Until he watched Su Feier walk out of the small courtyard, Mo Yang still couldn't quite wrap his head around it. But at this moment, he hardly had the leisure to ponder such things.
The herbs were in hand; he would go refine them first!
Over the next half month, Mo Yang spent almost all his time hiding on the second floor of the stone pagoda refining pills. On the few occasions he left the pagoda and caught a glimpse of himself in the bronze mirror, he almost didn't recognize the disheveled, unkempt beggar staring back.
Yet his harvest over these past half months was by no means small. Through trial after trial, his alchemy skills grew steadily more proficient, and only occasional carelessness resulted in failed pills. The herbs in the storage ring had all been transformed into bottles upon bottles of medicinal pills.
Just the Marrow-Cleansing Pills alone numbered in the dozens of bottles, alongside Beauty-Preserving Pills, Spirit-Origin Pills, and Bone-Mending Pills!
Spirit-Origin Pills and Bone-Mending Pills were also among the easier pills to refine. Spirit-Origin Pills contained spiritual energy and could usually be used as an aid in cultivation, or consumed when true qi was exhausted to recover it in a short span of time.
Meanwhile, Bone-Mending Pills were among the most basic healing pills recorded in the ancient scrolls of the Divine Alchemy Dao.
For Mo Yang at this moment, all he cared about was whether the refinement succeeded or failed. He had personally sampled every single type of pill he produced, and they genuinely possessed wonderful efficacy. In Mo Yang's view, that meant he had succeeded.
Aside from his steadily improving alchemy skills, Mo Yang's cultivation was also growing at a steady pace, climbing from the early Level 3 Earth Profound Realm gradually toward the middle stage.
The true qi in his dantian had been exhausted time and again during alchemy and recovered each time. Now, not only had it grown considerably larger, but it had also become increasingly pure and condensed. Furthermore, that mysterious imprint which had appeared in his dantian ever since he began cultivating the Star Emperor Scripture had grown remarkably clear, looking much like a sealed doorway.
Chapter 12: Caught Red-Handed
Late in the afternoon on this day, Mo Yang took some wine and food and left Wood Peak, heading toward the back mountain of the Lingxu Sect.
A graveyard stood in this area, and deeper within the cemetery was a newly mounded cenotaph. Weeds had already sprouted across the burial mound. As a gentle evening breeze swept past, the vegetation throughout the graveyard rustled, filling the air with a desolate atmosphere.
Mo Yang walked straight up to the cenotaph, set the wine and food down one by one in front of the grave, kowtowed a few times toward the mound, and then silently sat down cross-legged.
"Master, I've come to see you!"
"Don't blame your disciple for not visiting these past few days. I've been busy with cultivation all this time. I want to grow strong as quickly as possible and avenge you sooner, Master!"
"My cultivation is no longer weak—stronger than any disciple within the sect. Look, I've already cultivated to the mid-Level 3 Earth Profound Realm..."
"Master, I've also learned alchemy, and I'm getting better at it now. I can already refine several kinds of pills..."
"..."
The setting sun sank below the mountains. Mo Yang sat alone before the Fourth Elder's cenotaph, speaking in a low murmur as his voice gradually choked with emotion.
Sometimes he would laugh foolishly like a child, talking endlessly to the grave, rambling from the Star Emperor Scripture to the Creation Furnace, even pulling out medicinal pills to gesture with them before the mound, jumping from cultivation to the trivial everyday details of life.
Night gradually swallowed the earth. It was only when stars filled the sky that Mo Yang left the back mountain.
Upon returning to Wood Peak and stepping through the courtyard gate, he caught sight of the Supreme Elder peering out toward the entrance, seemingly waiting for his return. Standing right beside him was another figure: Su Feier.
An ominous premonition instantly rose in Mo Yang's heart, but without hesitation, he walked straight into the courtyard.
"Hmph, black-hearted scoundrel of a brat, where have you been?" The moment he saw Mo Yang, the Supreme Elder let out a cold snort first, then barked out a demand.
Mo Yang frowned, glanced at Su Feier, and then turned to the Supreme Elder. "Old man, spit it out if you have something to say, or get lost if you don't. Don't disturb my cultivation!"
"Hmph, cultivation? I'd like to see just how far your cultivation has progressed, considering you had Feier fetch so many herbs from the treasury!" The Supreme Elder let out a cold snort, then raised his hand in a tyrant fist strike.
Under the cloak of night, blinding true qi illuminated the entire courtyard. The moment the fist lashed out, it sent a sharp sonic boom through the air. Mo Yang recognized at a glance that this was the fifth tier of the Tyrant Fist.
In truth, the moment he heard the word "treasury," he had vaguely understood. The matter had undoubtedly come to light—no wonder this old fellow was in such a fiery rage.
Yet he had no time for words now. Violently mobilizing the true qi within his dantian, he executed the Tyrant Fist and punched forward. Golden true qi burst through his skin, wrapping around his fist and looking almost tangible at a glance.
"Boom..."
In the blink of an eye, their fists collided, producing a trembling sound akin to striking metal. The entire courtyard shook from the impact.
Mo Yang's body was forced back a few steps, and he felt a secret jolt of shock. The Supreme Elder possessed profound cultivation; although he had struck casually, that force was still terrifyingly formidable.
Yet even more shocked was the Supreme Elder. The moment his punch landed, an exclamation slipped past his lips: "Brat, you've actually cultivated this to the fifth tier as well!"
"No, it's not just the fifth tier of the Tyrant Fist, your cultivation..."
Before Mo Yang could steady his stance, the Supreme Elder flashed right up to him, grabbed one of his wrists to sense his condition, and then blurted out in utter disbelief, "Level 3 mid-stage? Brat, you..."
Before striking, he had known Mo Yang's cultivation must have grown, but he never dreamed that Mo Yang had already reached the mid-Level 3 Earth Profound Realm.
Moreover, Mo Yang's physical strength was incomparably fierce, actually making his own arm tingle faintly. Such strength didn't resemble a Level 3 Earth Profound Realm cultivator at all; it was much more like a powerhouse who had reached the Heaven Profound Realm.
Standing to the side, Su Feier was equally astonished, her small mouth hanging wide open as she stood frozen in place.
The Supreme Elder was somewhat dazed as well. He remembered very clearly: when Mo Yang first displayed his cultivation, he was only at the early Level 1 Earth Profound Realm; the second time was when he fought Qi Heng, at which point Mo Yang had reached the second tier; and now, he had actually climbed all the way to the third tier, mid-stage.
Once could be called good luck, but Mo Yang's progress was simply abnormal!
"Old man, the Lingxu Sect has such a massive treasury. I merely took a few herbs, do you have to make such a fuss?"
Mo Yang shook off the Supreme Elder's hand and retreated to the side.
Hearing this, the Supreme Elder instantly flew into a rage, his face darkening on the spot. He sneered, "Brat, a few herbs? Every single precious spiritual medicine in the treasury is gone without a trace, and more than half of the other herbs have vanished, and you call that a few herbs?"
"Do you have any idea how many years it took to accumulate those herbs..." The Supreme Elder said, glancing at Feier, intending to scold her a bit, but opened his mouth and held it back.
"Old fellow, get your facts straight. I did use some ordinary herbs, but when did I take that many? And as for any spiritual medicines, your junior here hasn't used a single one." The herbs Mo Yang had previously asked Su Feier to get were all ordinary ones, and the pills he refined didn't require spiritual medicines at all.
The Supreme Elder glared at Mo Yang, directly tossed a storage ring over, and sneered, "Brat, human witnesses and physical evidence are all here, and you still want to quibble? Take a good look at what this is!"
Mo Yang took the storage ring suspiciously. He hadn't even asked Su Feier to fetch more herbs yet—what kind of ring was this?
He quietly scanned its contents, and then he froze as well, looking up at Su Feier.
"Hmph, why aren't you arguing now?" the Supreme Elder sneered.
"Uh, this..." Mo Yang didn't even know what to say at this point. The storage ring was stuffed completely full of various medicinal herbs in quite a considerable quantity, alongside more than a dozen jade boxes. A quick sweep of his gaze confirmed those truly were spiritual medicines, items rarely seen on ordinary days.
By now, he understood the whole picture completely. Su Feier must have gone to the treasury herself, and for some unknown reason, the chick had stuffed over thirty kinds of ordinary herbs inside, along with the spiritual medicines to boot. The crux of the matter was that she seemed to have been caught red-handed right on the spot by this old codger.
Mo Yang felt like crying without tears. At this point, he couldn't wash himself clean even if he jumped into the Yellow River, yet Su Feier didn't look like she had deliberately framed him either.
"Uh, old man, look... since the herbs have all been brought here, how about you just put them back?" Mo Yang dryly coughed as he spoke.
"Hmph, brat, I couldn't be bothered to ask what you're doing with those herbs anyway. Today, I'll make the executive decision to grant these herbs to you. But you'd better keep this straight: this is half of the sect's entire wealth. There are some matters you need to get done for me as soon as possible!"
"Uh, what matters?" Mo Yang asked, baffled.
"Brat, don't think I don't know what little schemes you're up to. Half a month ago, I saw with my own eyes Feier sneaking out of your courtyard in the middle of the night. Things have already gone this far, and you still want to deny responsibility?" The Supreme Elder glared at him on the spot.
Chapter 13: Senior Sister Xu Visits
Mo Yang stared blankly at the Supreme Elder, black lines crawling all over his forehead while speechlessness reached its absolute peak in his heart. So this old codger had been keeping surveillance on him in secret the whole time.
At the same time, a cold shock ran through him because he hadn't detected any anomaly whatsoever. If the other party had been an enemy, the consequences would have been unimaginable.
"Old thing, you've been spying on me in secret?" Mo Yang glared at the Supreme Elder.
"Brat, you lured Feier up to Wood Peak in the middle of the night, am I not allowed to come check on things?" The Supreme Elder glared right back.
He then let out a cold snort. "You scoundrel, don't think you can pull the wool over my eyes just by putting on an innocent act on the surface. Every time you eat your fill you wipe your mouth and refuse to take responsibility. If I didn't pay closer attention, who knows when you'd sell her off without her even knowing!"
Standing to the side, Su Feier glared at the Supreme Elder with a face full of shame and anger, then turned directly and bolted out of the courtyard.
Seeing Su Feier run off, the Supreme Elder's expression shifted instantly. Lowering his voice, he said, "Brat, did you see that? In the past, she would have torn off half of my beard before letting it go, but look at her now. Have you ever seen her look this bashful? Feier must have taken a liking to you."
"Although Feier's temperament is a bit headstrong, her heart is kind and pure..."
"You brat, you're just a block of wood. Who leaves fat meat sitting by their mouth and doesn't eat it!"
"Good grief... old man, you're a ruthless piece of work!" Mo Yang didn't know what else to say. He now realized that this old fellow was utterly shameless.
"Brat, I'm doing this for your own good. You'll miss the boat if you let this village pass!" The Supreme Elder coughed dryly, though his face remained entirely unblushing and his heart rate steady.
Mo Yang just stood there watching in silence. He knew very well what this old swindler wanted—his ultimate purpose was simply to make Mo Yang stay peacefully within the Lingxu Sect.
Nice try, still wanting to tempt me with a beauty? Am I that kind of person?
"Brat, ask your conscience: do you really not want a bite at all?" Seeing Mo Yang's detached, outsider expression, the old man dropped all subtlety and laid his cards on the table.
"Don't want it!" Mo Yang shook his head.
"You... you unperceptive wretch, you'll be the death of me!" Furious, the Supreme Elder gnashed his teeth and spun around to stride out of the courtyard.
After a moment of silent contemplation, Mo Yang spoke up. "Old man, keeping me here by force is useless. The location of the Lingxu Sect is mere drop in the ocean across the Xuantian Continent. The continent is boundless, and one day I will step out into it; I cannot stay here forever!"
"However, you can rest assured: I, Mo Yang, am not an ungrateful wretch. Master taught me from childhood to know gratitude and repay it—that is the true guidance of my heart!"
The Supreme Elder stood silently at the courtyard gate without turning back. A trace of a smile flickered at the corner of his mouth, though he still seemed thoroughly displeased. With another cold snort, he walked straight out of the courtyard.
Only then did Mo Yang eagerly inspect the storage ring in his hand, feeling excited enough to nearly let out a shout.
Many of the herbs were meant for refining other pills, and the most precious ones were naturally those few spiritual medicines.
"Tsk tsk, this little girl isn't half bad. Knowing big brother ran out of herbs, she actually knew to prepare them in advance... A piece of jade that can be carved... If I don't reward you properly, big brother's conscience won't rest easy..." Mo Yang muttered to himself while smacking his lips, pondering that another day, he would simply have to give this lass a few extra little medicinal pellets.
...
Over the following period, Mo Yang alternated between alchemy and comprehending those ancient runes.
In the blink of an eye, half a month passed. Inside the second floor of the Star Emperor Pagoda, the rack of shelves Mo Yang had specially moved in was packed full of bottles upon bottles of pills, their rich medicinal aroma palpable even through the stoppers.
Aside from the four types of pills he had refined previously, Mo Yang had successfully brewed the Energy-Gathering Pill.
The Energy-Gathering Pill was a medicinal pill consumed during breakthroughs. It could condense the true qi within the body to the maximum degree, raise the success rate of a breakthrough, and furthermore possessed a considerable amount of stored energy within the pill itself.
However, the difficulty of refining this was far greater than the previous pills, requiring five different types of herbs. But as Mo Yang's alchemy skills grew increasingly proficient, brewing Energy-Gathering Pills was no longer all that difficult.
Beyond that, Mo Yang's comprehension of the ancient divine runes had also made some progress. Though he could still only barely copy and trace them, this was already exceedingly rare. Furthermore, Mo Yang discovered that the rune he had comprehended actually possessed the ability to isolate auras; if he could completely trace it and carry it with him, it would be akin to practicing a technique that concealed one's cultivation level.
"I wonder what kind of power the other runes hold... These patterns embody the profound truths of the Dao and are far too abstruse. To finish tracing them still requires sufficient time for comprehension!"
Mo Yang searched around the walls of the pagoda. His cultivation was already nearing the Heaven Profound Realm, yet the second-tier mental cultivation method of the Star Emperor Scripture still hadn't appeared.
"That mysterious imprint in my dantian is growing clearer and clearer. What on earth is that thing? Could it be the Heavenly Dao Inheritance spoken of by that mysterious powerhouse? And what exactly is the Heavenly Dao Inheritance?"
Mo Yang had never quite figured out the layers of seals and the Heavenly Dao Inheritance mentioned by the mysterious powerhouse he first encountered in the stone pagoda.
Lately, after taking the Marrow-Cleansing Pills, earth-shaking changes had occurred throughout his entire body, and his six senses had grown sharper than ever. He had checked his body thoroughly more than once, yet there was no sealing power to be found whatsoever—nor had he discovered the heaven-defying power or the Heavenly Dao Inheritance mentioned by that powerhouse.
The only abnormality in his body after cultivating the Star Emperor Scripture was the emergence of that mysterious imprint.
At noon, Mo Yang was sitting cross-legged in the courtyard to regulate his breath. Barely a moment had passed before he sensed two auras approaching the courtyard one after the other.
"Could it be that old codger again? No, wait... this is..."
Mo Yang furrowed his brow. Although Su Feier was there, the other person wasn't the Supreme Elder, and furthermore carried a murderous intent.
Before he could finish his breathing exercise and stand up, a sharp aura directly surged into the courtyard.
"Mo Yang, get out here, I want to challenge you!" The words were laced with anger as the sharp aura stormed into the courtyard.
Mo Yang opened his eyes to see two figures entering. One was naturally Su Feier, while the other was also a young woman holding a sword. Seeing him sitting cross-legged in the courtyard, she immediately leveled her sword straight at him.
Mo Yang naturally recognized this person: Xu Xin, whose reputation and cultivation on the main peak were second only to Qi Heng—Senior Sister Xu in the eyes of all the disciples!
In the past, Mo Yang had only caught glimpses of her from afar. Over the years, they hadn't even crossed paths directly, let alone had any interactions.
However, given the precedent with Qi Heng, Mo Yang guessed the other party's intent and reason right away.
He slowly stood up, looked calmly at Xu Xin, and asked, "Senior Sister is looking for me? Whatever for?"
"You still have the nerve to ask?" Xu Xin's brows knitted slightly, the anger in her words entirely unmasked, and her tone carried the weight of an interrogation.
Mo Yang quietly gazed at the young woman before him and replied calmly, "If Senior Sister is here as a guest, I naturally welcome you. But if you're here to give me trouble, you are no match for me!"
Chapter 14: Better a Fiend than a Prude
Mo Yang's tone was very calm. Toward this Senior Sister Xu, they had always minded their own business, and Mo Yang didn't want any unpleasantness to arise between them either.
Xu Xin was sizing Mo Yang up intently as well, but because Mo Yang had deliberately suppressed his aura, it was hard to directly sense his specific cultivation realm.
Hearing those words from Mo Yang, she let out a cold snort. "Stop putting on an act. I've heard all about your business, and I've heard that Senior Brother Qi was defeated by you. But he may have lost to you, yet I might not!"
"As a disciple of the sect, you actually dare to mess around with a junior sister, stirring up endless gossip and corrupting the sect's ethos. The elders cherish your talent and refuse to expel you, but I will never tolerate it!"
Standing to the side, Su Feier kept casting glances toward Mo Yang, her expression somewhat awkward yet tinged with helplessness as she tugged repeatedly on Xu Xin, trying to persuade her in a low voice.
Others might not know, but she was acutely aware that half a month ago, Mo Yang's cultivation had already reached the mid-Level 3 Earth Profound Realm. Leave aside Xu Xin alone; even if she teamed up with Qi Heng, they were simply no match for Mo Yang.
She still vividly remembered the miserable state Qi Heng had been in during his fight with Mo Yang. Given Mo Yang's personality, if Xu Xin kept this up, a clash would probably be unavoidable, and heaven knew what would happen then.
Mo Yang remained completely calm, his expression devoid of emotion. Sweeping his gaze across Xu Xin, he said, "Be on your way. I don't want to hit a woman, nor do I want to earn a reputation for showing no respect to my seniors."
Those very words instantly infuriated Xu Xin.
"You look down on me? Today, I'll rid the sect of a pest like you!" Xu Xin's face chilled instantly, killing intent seemingly shimmering within her eyes.
Without a second thought, she violently shook off Su Feier and lunged toward Mo Yang with her sword.
Mo Yang wore a look of utter helplessness. He couldn't even be bothered to dodge, nor did he channel his true qi; he simply raised a hand and clamped it directly onto the piercing, razor-sharp blade.
Xu Xin's expression shifted slightly. With a cold snort, she exerted force again to thrust forward.
Yet no matter how hard she pushed, the sword didn't budge an inch, the blade trapped as firmly as if caught in a vice of dark iron.
Su Feier anxiously cried out, "Mo Yang, calm down..."