The Supreme Elder stroked his beard and said, "The four sects' annual martial arts tournament is fast approaching. If all our disciples can improve their cultivation, perhaps we won't embarrass ourselves quite as badly as before. For a full five years, our Lingxu Sect has consistently come in dead last. If we could take the championship this time, it would mean everything for our entire Lingxu Sect..."
The elders fell silent. Judging by the calendar, only a single month remained until the grand martial arts assembly of the four sects.
Whenever the martial arts assembly was mentioned, the elders found themselves unable to raise their heads. Over the past five years, the Lingxu Sect seemed cursed; the younger generation struggled to rise, leaving them at the very bottom at every single gathering.
"If Mo Yang participates, we might genuinely have a chance at the championship this year..." the Sect Master murmured after a moment of thought. By now, Mo Yang had become the disciple with the highest cultivation in the entire sect. Given his combat prowess, if he were to face the strongest disciples of the other three sects, the likelihood of victory was extremely high.
Of course, even the Supreme Elder did not yet know that Mo Yang had already stepped into the Heaven Profound Realm—a realm none of the other three sects had ever produced among their disciples in the past.
Up on Wood Peak, Mo Yang had already closed up shop. The medicinal ingredients he had traded for his medicinal pills were all moved into the Star Emperor Pagoda, where various herbs were piled directly into a small mountain. Mo Yang circled the pile several times, rubbing his hands in excitement as he felt he had made a thoroughly brilliant decision. He had even managed to gather quite a few ingredients for refining other types of pills.
At this rate, he would never have to worry about medicinal ingredients again.
Over the next few days, Wood Peak grew increasingly lively because those medicinal pills had been proven to possess miraculous effects.
Many disciples who had traded for pills had already consumed them; whether it was the Marrow Cleansing Pill or the Youth-Preserving Pill, their effects were extraordinary, leaving the users feeling as though they had shed their mortal frames and undergone a total rebirth.
Moreover, in the days that followed, quite a few sect disciples successfully broke through their realms with the aid of the Qi Gathering Pill, leaving the elders of the Lingxu Sect both shocked and overjoyed.
Even the Supreme Elder had not anticipated such a development. In the sect's cultivation chambers, batches of disciples went to make their breakthroughs, and the number of disciples at the second tier of the Spirit Awakening Realm surged by nearly ten overnight.
Eventually, even Qi Heng and Xu Xin could no longer sit still and couldn't help walking up to Wood Peak. After all, watching disciples who took the Marrow Cleansing Pill experience a direct surge of two minor realms in their cultivation held an irresistible attraction for them.
***
Chapter 20: Word of Travel
Five or six days passed in a flash. On the second floor of the Star Emperor Pagoda, the various medicinal ingredients were now piled as high as a mountain—the sheer quantity alone likely exceeded the treasury of the entire Lingxu Sect.
Through this continuous period of uninterrupted alchemy, Mo Yang's alchemy skills had advanced by leaps and bounds. Refining Marrow Cleansing Pills, Qi Gathering Pills, and Youth-Preserving Pills had now become second nature to him, with a single cauldron yielding five or six pills at a time.
Once he had sorted and categorized all the ingredients, he sat cross-legged and began to cultivate. He had been so busy with alchemy these past few days that a vast portion of his cultivation time had been occupied.
Before long, Mo Yang suddenly felt the entire Star Emperor Pagoda tremble. He hurriedly opened his eyes, followed by a surge of great joy in his heart.
After waiting for so long, this Stone Pagoda was finally changing! On the walls, which usually looked like ordinary stone, radiance rippled. Golden patterns slithered like dragons, slowly converging into ancient characters.
Mo Yang was no longer unfamiliar with this sort of spectacle; the mental cultivation method for the first layer of the Star Emperor Scripture had appeared in the exact same manner.
Mo Yang hastily steadied his mind to observe, and ancient characters slowly imprinted themselves into his brain.
"This..."
Yet Mo Yang was somewhat bewildered, because this was clearly not the mental cultivation method for the second layer of the Star Emperor Scripture.
Closing his eyes to concentrate and comprehend, his expression shifted slightly after a few breaths. This was actually a movement technique called the Word of Travel!
It was a secret movement technique, seemingly created specifically for the Star Emperor Scripture, for only by cultivating the Star Emperor Scripture could one ever hope to practice the Word of Travel.
After concentrating on comprehending it for a moment, profound shock washed over Mo Yang. This cultivation method was unfathomably profound; if it was truly as the manual described, once fully mastered, it could manifest the supreme speed of heaven and earth.
Any cultivator knew the importance of a movement technique. Not only could it seize the initiative in combat, but even if one were outmatched, it could be used to flee and preserve one's life—to a certain extent, it was equivalent to a cultivator's second life.
Yet secret movement techniques were exceedingly rare on the Xuantian Continent. Among the major powers, they were treated as core secrets and never imparted to outsiders.
"Tsk tsk, this Star Emperor Pagoda is truly a treasure!" Mo Yang couldn't help sighing in admiration.
Whether it was the Star Emperor Scripture, this Word of Travel, or the Creation Cauldron, none of these things were ordinary objects. By this point, Mo Yang even found himself wondering if the so-called Star Emperor might have been some perished ancient Great Emperor.
Yet Great Emperors were far too distant. Such peak-level powerhouses, standing at the very ends of heaven and earth, had been far too few since antiquity—just a handful of them, and everything known to the world was mere legend.
Mo Yang still remembered the look of heartfelt reverence in the Fourth Elder's eyes when the latter used to recount tales of the Great Emperors, as if he were holding awe for gods themselves.
Calming his mind, Mo Yang began to comprehend the technique. Once mastered, this kind of movement method would be just like gaining an extra means of preserving his life.
For the next several days, Mo Yang sat cross-legged inside the Star Emperor Pagoda, studying the Word of Travel.
Meanwhile, up on Wood Peak, numerous sect disciples had been waiting here all along. They had finally managed to gather the medicinal ingredients, but now Mo Yang had vanished somewhere and was nowhere to be seen for days on end.
Even the Second Elder and the First Elder could no longer hold back, coming over in secret several times. Though they felt somewhat guilty, for the sake of their cultivation, they had no choice but to bite the bullet and swallow their pride.
"This brat holds grudges. Now that we need something from him, will he take the opportunity to give us a hard time?" The Second Elder hid in the shadows, peering toward Mo Yang's small courtyard.
The First Elder's expression was somewhat unsightly. At this moment, he even felt a twinge of regret; had he known Mo Yang was capable of alchemy, he never would have gone out of his way to make things difficult for him.
"Feier and Mo Yang seem to have a pretty good relationship lately. How about we have Feier step forward..." the First Elder suggested after a brief moment of thought.
Mo Yang remained completely unaware of the situation outside; he had been entirely absorbed in comprehending the Word of Travel. Yet after several days had passed, he felt as though he could never quite grasp that elusive flash of inspiration.
The ancient characters in his mind flickered like afterimages; after all, the cultivation method was simply too profound, and his current cultivation was still too shallow to easily grasp it in such a short time.
With a soft sigh, Mo Yang felt he had been far too impatient.
He stopped his cultivation, stood up, and left the Stone Pagoda. The moment he pushed open the room's door, he froze in place.
The courtyard was practically overflowing with disciples of the Lingxu Sect; every inch of space was crammed full.
"Junior Brother Mo, you're finally back! Wait, where did you just come out from?" A disciple looked at Mo Yang with a face full of suspicion. They had been waiting in the courtyard the whole time—just when had Mo Yang managed to return to his room?
"Junior Brother Mo, I want to trade for two Youth-Preserving Pills!" A female disciple squeezed her way to the front, frantically shaking the pouch of medicinal ingredients in her hand, practically trying to shove them straight into Mo Yang's embrace.
"I want a Qi Gathering Pill..."
"I want two Marrow Cleansing Pills!"
...
Mo Yang stood there dazed, a massive headache blooming in his mind. "Come back at noon," he blurted out. "We're not trading right now!"
With that, he hurriedly retreated back inside the room and slammed the door shut.
The crowd fell into a speechless silence, all of them raising their heads to look at the setting red sun hanging on the horizon. *Damn it, it's practically nighttime! Which noon are you talking about?*
Yet the disciples could only leave in helpless frustration. The medicinal pills were in Mo Yang's hands, and whether he felt like trading depended entirely on his mood; it wasn't as if they could simply resort to robbery. The crucial point was that Mo Yang's cultivation level spoke for itself—even Qi Heng was no match for him. If they dared to try and rob him, their fate would undoubtedly be even more miserable than Qi Heng's initial downfall.
By evening, the Second Elder and the First Elder finally couldn't hold back any longer and invited Su Feier over.
Inside the room, the atmosphere was somewhat awkward, because Mo Yang was putting on a pretentious display of practicing calligraphy with a wolf-hair brush. He looked utterly focused, his gaze directed straight ahead without a single sideways glance.
The moment he saw Su Feier arrive alongside them, Mo Yang knew these two old fellows must have come seeking something from him. The fact that he could brew pills had already been exposed, and the First Elder and Second Elder were most likely hoping to commission some alchemy from him.
The Second Elder kept gesturing for Su Feier to speak, but because of what had happened previously, Su Feier felt completely unnatural just looking at Mo Yang and hesitated endlessly.
After a long while, Mo Yang finally laid down his brush, calmly picked up his teacup, took a sip, and only then looked toward the First Elder and Second Elder. "I wonder what brings the First Elder and Second Elder to see me? Surely you didn't drop by specially to watch me practice calligraphy."
The First Elder and Second Elder exchanged an awkward glance, then hastily looked at Su Feier, signaling her to speak.
They were terrified that if they brought it up themselves, Mo Yang would flat-out refuse, which would be far too humiliating.
"Brother Mo, the First Elder and Second Elder want to ask your help in refining two kinds of medicinal pills!" Su Feier said, her cheeks flushed as she spoke in a low voice.
Having previously been caught completely unawares while bathing right here by a returning Mo Yang, she hadn't dared set foot on Wood Peak for quite some time.
Mo Yang nodded, then leisurely picked up his teacup once more, took a gentle sip, and asked, "I wonder what kind of pills the two elders wish to have refined?"
The First Elder and Second Elder had been watching Mo Yang with tense expressions. Hearing him ask, they both hastily pulled two pill formulas from their robes and handed them over.
"This is a pill formula I accidentally stumbled upon more than ten years ago. I heard it can help Heaven Profound Realm experts clear their mysterious meridians..." the Second Elder said, casting an expectant look at Mo Yang.
When it came to alchemy, they were completely clueless. However, they knew that pill formulas were precious, so ever since acquiring this one by chance, they had treasured it deeply.
Mo Yang took the formula, glanced at it, and immediately shot the Second Elder a bizarre look. This formula was actually recorded in the ancient scrolls of the Divine Alchemy Dao, and it was called the Spring-Returning Pill!
***
Chapter 21: We're All Family Here
The pill formulas recorded in the ancient scrolls of the Divine Alchemy Dao had long since been memorized by Mo Yang. With just a single glance, he recognized that this was indeed the formula for the Spring-Returning Pill.
The purpose and efficacy of the Spring-Returning Pill were extremely singular. In the ancient scrolls of the Divine Alchemy Dao, it went by another name as well: the Yang-Reviving Pill. To put it simply, it was a pill formula custom-created specifically for men whose functions happened to be somewhat lacking in certain areas.
With a strange expression, Mo Yang raised his head to look at the Second Elder, instantly causing the latter's expression to tighten up. The Second Elder hastily asked, "Can the pills from this formula be refined?"
Su Feier and the First Elder were also watching Mo Yang. Then they heard Mo Yang say, "Refined? It can certainly be refined. But tell me, Second Elder, you've treasured this formula for over ten years—did you really have no idea what kind of pills this makes?"
The Second Elder shook his head blankly. When it came to alchemy, not understanding meant not understanding; having never dabbled in the Dao of Medicine, he could recognize the ingredients listed, but he had no way of deducing the purpose of the finished pill.
"Cough, cough!" Mo Yang suppressed his laughter, gave a few dry coughs, and said, "This is the Spring-Returning Pill. It has another name as well—the Yang-Reviving Pill!"
The Second Elder glanced at the First Elder, vaguely feeling that something wasn't quite right. Frowning, he asked, "Is it useful for Heaven Profound Realm cultivators?"
"Naturally. Never mind the Heaven Profound Realm; even Grandmasters above the Heaven Profound Realm, or Battle Kings even higher than that, will find it equally effective after taking it!"
Hearing Mo Yang say this, both the First Elder and the Second Elder wore looks of shock, while a flicker of joy simultaneously surfaced in their eyes. This pill formula was actually this extraordinary?
Su Feier was utterly baffled and couldn't help asking Mo Yang, "Brother Mo, what on earth is this Spring-Returning Pill for? Is it really that powerful?"
"Cough... It allows a man to stand tall once more. You tell me if that's powerful or not!" With the two elders present, Mo Yang couldn't very well go into detail.
However, the First Elder and Second Elder naturally understood the implication instantly. When they first heard the name of the pill, they had felt something was amiss; now that Mo Yang put it this way, how could the two of them fail to grasp it? The Second Elder's old face flushed crimson on the spot, though no look of disappointment crossed his features—instead, a sharp glint flashed in his eyes.
"Really?!" A piercing gleam flashed in his eyes as he hurried to question Mo Yang.
Mo Yang looked at the Second Elder with a half-smile, his gaze sweeping suggestively toward a certain region below. "It seems the Second Elder is truly getting up there in years..."
"Ahem... cough, cough!" The Second Elder instantly turned awkward, couldn't help dry-coughing a few times, and silently cursed himself for being too impatient.
Standing to the side, Su Feier looked completely lost. Mo Yang and the others were speaking as if in riddles; she truly didn't understand what Mo Yang meant by "standing tall once more." What was that supposed to mean?
"Feier, it's getting late, you should head back first. The First Elder, Second Elder, and I still have some things to discuss!" the First Elder spoke up. With Su Feier present, there were certain things they couldn't easily ask.
Su Feier looked at Mo Yang, then looked at the First Elder and Second Elder, and eventually backed out of the room with a head full of bewilderment, muttering under her breath, "If you guys won't tell me, I'll go ask Senior Sister Xu to make it clear!"
The faces of the two elders darkened instantly on the spot. The Second Elder hurried over and shut the room's door, then turned back to question Mo Yang: "Mo Yang, is what you said true?"
By now, even the First Elder was showing a hint of hopeful anticipation.
Mo Yang looked at the two pairs of faces before him, holding back his laughter as he assumed a deeply earnest and heartfelt tone. "Naturally it's true. But Second Elder, you are getting up there in years; you really ought to take better care of yourself. Why obsess over that sort of thing? Some matters are best left to nature—why force it?"
Before the Second Elder could reply, the First Elder chimed in, "As cultivators, walking the path of cultivation is going against the heavens. How can we just leave things to nature!"
Mo Yang shifted his gaze to the First Elder, treating him to a half-smile. The First Elder's face immediately flushed with awkwardness, and he hastily changed the subject. "What about my pill formula then? What kind of pill does that one refine?"
Mo Yang shook his head. "I took a look just now, and that formula is flawed. The properties of the herbs listed are completely in opposition to one another. I don't know where the First Elder got it from, but I'm afraid you've been swindled!"
Upon hearing this, the First Elder immediately cursed aloud, "Dammit! I knew that old bastard wouldn't be so kind-hearted as to sell me a pill formula for just twenty thousand silver notes!"
After muttering a few curses under his breath, he calmed down and asked Mo Yang, "Mo Yang, we did hold some prejudices against you in the past, and that was our fault. Please don't take it to heart!"
Beside him, the Second Elder also hastily chimed in with a nod.
Mo Yang sneered inwardly, though on the surface he maintained a very calm demeanor. "They say children speak without restraint, but they also say adults have a magnanimous heart. I still have at least that much capacity for tolerance. Don't worry, two elders, I won't hold a grudge!"
First Elder: "..."
Second Elder: "..."
The faces of the two men darkened by more than half in an instant. They knew Mo Yang was doing it on purpose and couldn't help cursing up a storm in their hearts, but right now they could only offer awkward nods—after all, they still had matters begging his help.
"First Elder, if you have something to say, just spit it out!" Mo Yang prompted.
"Well, you see, Mo Yang, since you've received the guidance of some expert and become an alchemist, do you happen to have any other medicinal pills that have miraculous effects on cultivation?"
"No pills, but I do have pill formulas. It's just that I happen to lack the corresponding medicinal ingredients, so I'm afraid the First Elder will have to be disappointed!" Mo Yang had been pondering all along how to squeeze some oil out of these elders, and lo and behold, the opportunity had presented itself.
Upon hearing this, the First Elder's expression lit up with joy, and he hastily declared, "That's not an issue at all! As long as it can be refined, leave the matter of the ingredients to me!"
Mo Yang had been waiting precisely for these words. He nodded and said, "If the ingredients can be found, leave the matter of alchemy to me!"
With that, he picked up the wolf-hair brush from the desk and began writing away in swift strokes. Within a few breaths, he stopped, handed the paper over to the First Elder, and said, "These are some of the ingredients required for the Universe Pill. The Universe Pill has the effect of reversing heaven and earth; once consumed, breaking through barriers in the Heaven Profound Realm is an absolute breeze. I happen to have some of the other ingredients here, so the First Elder needn't worry about those. As long as you can source these specific ingredients, leave the rest to me!"
The First Elder hastily took the list of ingredients and began to inspect it. As he read on, his expression gradually turned somewhat unsightly, and a layer of cold sweat inevitably oozed across his forehead.
What kind of divine pill was this, damn it? The *partial* list alone amounted to a full dozen-plus ingredients?
The crucial part was that the quantities required weren't small either.
Mo Yang had measured things out in his mind; the ingredients he had written down were all obtainable ones, though they certainly weren't ordinary.
"The Universe Pill is extremely difficult to refine. Given my current level of alchemical attainment, it's hard to succeed on the very first try, so the quantities are slightly larger. We're all in the same sect, and family doesn't speak of two different households—I'll take care of the rest of the ingredients!" Mo Yang said, his face neither red nor breathless.
The First Elder couldn't help wiping the cold sweat from his brow. This was going to bankrupt him!
However, knowing nothing about alchemy whatsoever and driven solely by his desire for cultivation, he gritted his teeth, feeling as though his heart was bleeding, and nodded. "Alright! I'll gather the ingredients as quickly as possible!"
Beside him, the Second Elder quickly chimed in, "If I also prepare a portion..."
Before he could finish, Mo Yang cut him off. "No problem! Finding ingredients isn't easy, but I keep that in mind. The two elders can rest easy!"
Mo Yang was already bursting with joy inside; this was precisely the effect he wanted.
Only then did the Second Elder lean over to look at the list of ingredients. The moment he glanced at it, his face darkened instantly, and he wiped the cold sweat from his forehead without stopping.
At that moment, Mo Yang looked at the formula for the Spring-Returning Pill in his hand and asked, "Are the two elders still planning to refine this pill?"
"This... We'll refine it. The ingredients... I'll go find them!" the Second Elder spoke up immediately, his tone resolute.
The First Elder also nodded hastily, then asked, "Counting my share as well, do I need to prepare an extra portion of ingredients too?"
Showing a look of difficulty, Mo Yang sighed softly and nodded. "Although this pill has decent efficacy, another kind of pill I know of has even better effects. Just a single pill is guaranteed to make the two elders satisfied—it's just that the ingredient types require two more varieties."
The two elders exchanged glances, sharp glints flashing in their eyes as they spoke almost simultaneously, "No matter! As long as it can be refined, everything else is a minor detail!"
Mo Yang nodded and immediately picked up his brush again to list two additional ingredients.
***
Chapter 22: Blame My Innate Kindness
Even as they walked out of the courtyard, the First Elder and Second Elder were still wiping the cold sweat from their foreheads. Yet both of them knew that their cultivation had stagnated for many years, and if they could achieve a breakthrough through this means, anything was worth it.
Watching the First Elder and Second Elder depart from the courtyard, Mo Yang finally couldn't help laughing out loud.
He felt as though he had finally vented some steam. While the Universe Pill truly did aid in cultivation, the ingredients required to refine it were nowhere near that numerous—there were only seven in total.
As for the two extra ingredients he had added to the Spring-Returning Pill, Mo Yang had included them on purpose; in truth, they weren't needed at all. He was simply taking the opportunity to stockpile a few more medicinal ingredients. After all, the path of alchemy was long and winding, and there would be plenty of places requiring ingredients in the future.
Furthermore, given Mo Yang's current level of alchemical mastery, whether it was the Universe Pill or the Spring-Returning Pill, he could easily refine them already. As long as he paid a little attention, wanting to fail would be difficult.
For the next several days, Mo Yang hid himself inside the Stone Pagoda to comprehend the Word of Travel. This movement technique meant that the earlier one grasped it, the earlier one gained an extra life-saving method.
Following days of comprehension, Mo Yang felt growing shock in his heart. This secret movement technique was truly incomparably profound; he had already gradually grasped the basics, and after sprinting wildly through the Stone Pagoda for a single night, his speed was already double what it had been when executing his Lingxu Steps.