Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Fang Lin’s 36 meridians were completely opened while he also managed to open up one of the 72 meridians. The result came as a double surprise and joy to him.
Even though it was only one of the 72 meridians, it was extremely important to him as it allowed him to be in the lead compared to the ordinary martial arts cultivators during the initial phase.
Fang Lin was excited, so he began to cultivate instantly after his meridians opened. After all, his realm was so weak that it was very difficult for him to refine elixirs. Moreover, one would need to have an adequate realm in order to do anything related to cultivation.
Fang Lin cultivated the Alchemy Saint Palace Technique that was known as the Divine Nine Cauldrons Passage. It was the first cultivation technique of the Alchemy Saint Palace and only the best and most important disciples were authorized to cultivate this technique.
Moreover, the Divine Nine Cauldrons Passage was divided into three parts. There were only three people with the adequate qualifications to cultivate all three parts in the entire Alchemy Saint Palace, and Fang Lin was one of them.
Even though the Purple Glow Sect had provided its cultivation techniques to the disciples, Fang Lin was cynical in regards to those cultivation techniques. After all, he had cultivated using the Divine Nine Cauldrons Passage in the past, thus it was absolutely impossible for him to cultivate these low-grade cultivation techniques anymore.
However, albeit the Divine Nine Cauldrons Passage being a magnificent cultivation technique, the requirements for the cultivation were also exceedingly strict. The most important condition was for the cultivator to swallow the best quality alchemy cauldrons.
In his past life, Fang Lin had swallowed eight of the best quality alchemy cauldrons and managed to cultivate the eighth level of Divine Nine Cauldrons Passage. He was reputed to be the first man of the Alchemy Saint Palace to do so.
On the other hand, a person could transform himself into an alchemy cauldron after cultivating to the ninth level of the Divine Nine Cauldrons Passage. By then, the person would be able to refine anything that existed in heaven and on earth. He would be able to refine every single possible elixir with just a flip of the hand. It was amazing beyond comparison.
However, Fang Lin did not manage to cultivate to the ninth level of Divine Nine Cauldrons Passage despite the Alchemy Saint Palace’s resources. This was because the requirement for the final alchemy cauldron was too high.
In this life, he had to start from the beginning once again. In fact, even he did not know if he had the capability to return to the height of his past life.
Fang Lin walked out of his room for the first time after engaging in closed-door cultivation for ten consecutive days. He was still in the level-2 primordial man realm, but his essence, energy, and spirit felt different.
“Junior Brother Disciple Fang, you’re finally out! It’s the junior alchemy disciples’ alchemy altar lesson tomorrow. Don’t miss it,” Xu Shangao reminded when he saw Fang Lin was walking out of the house while he was trimming the herbs in his courtyard.
Fang Lin answered by making his way to the front and plucking a few herbs without awaiting Xu Shangao’s permission or reaction.
“What are you doing, Junior Brother Disciple Fang?” Xu Shangao asked.
Fang Lin did not even bother to turn around. He walked back into the alchemy room while saying, “I’m going to refine some elixirs.” Upon saying that, he closed the door to the alchemy room.
Xu Shangao was frustrated. Hey, this is my alchemy room! Why aren’t you showing me any courtesy?
However, he did not mind either. After experiencing Fang Lin’s unusual capabilities, he did not attempt to stop him from refining elixirs anymore.
Fang Lin was planning to refine some Energy-refining Pills this time. It would allow him to elevate his cultivation speed so that he could enter the level-3 primordial man realm quickly.
Earlier, Kang Lu had also offered a bottle of Energizing Pills to Fang Lin during his lobbying attempt. However, he did not take it. For one, he refused to be bound to Kang Lu’s favor. On the other hand, he also looked down upon the elixirs that others refined. Since he was going to consume elixirs, he wanted to refine the best for himself.
The Energizing Pill was not the best quality elixir available and it was categorized as an unorthodox product as well. However, it was considered a higher class elixir among the unorthodox elixirs.
With the experience from his past life, it was still extremely easy for Fang Lin to refine this elixir despite his current condition being far weaker than that from his past life.
Two hours later, Fang Lin walked out of the alchemy room with a jade bottle in his hand. There were seven Energizing Pills in the bottle.
“Senior Brother Disciple Xu, I have seven Energizing Pills. Here, I’ll give you three,” Fang Lin offered.
Xu Shangao had a shocked expression on his face when he heard Fang Lin’s comment. He gasped. “You’ve managed to refine the Energizing Pills?”
Fang Lin nodded and passed three green pills to Xu Shangao who received the pills cautiously. He took a closer look and discovered that these three Energizing Pills were actually of high-grade quality.
“These are high-grade Energizing Pills that can elevate one’s cultivation speed by three to four times. This is extremely precious!” Xu Shangao exclaimed in excitement.
Generally, an Energizing Pill was used to elevate cultivation speed by one to two times while medium-grade quality pills could certainly increase one’s cultivation speed by two times. On the other hand, the high-grade quality pills could elevate cultivation speed by three to four times. Its value was way higher than medium-grade Energizing Pills.
Martial arts disciples would fight for these few Energizing Pills wildly if they were ever offered. After all, the martial arts disciples valued cultivation speed the most and high-grade quality Energizing Pills were incredibly rare.
“Junior Brother Disciple Fang, why are the pills you refine of such impressive quality?” Xu Shangao could not refrain from asking.
Fang Lin smiled ever so slightly and answered, “I’ve been doing this for a long time, so the quality of my elixirs are naturally good.”
Upon listening to his words, Xu Shangao looked at Fang Lin strangely. He thought to himself, ‘You look like you’re just over ten years old. Just how many elixirs have you refined before?’
Fang Lin did not use the Energizing Pills to elevate his realm at once. After all, he needed a few days to engage in closed-door cultivation after consuming the pills just to elevate his realm. On the other hand, he had no choice but to attend the alchemy altar lesson tomorrow.
As a result, he planned to consume the Energizing Pills the next day after the lesson in order to break through his realm.
The alchemy altar lesson was held twice a month. It was compulsory for all junior alchemy disciples to attend the lessons. Even the junior alchemy disciples that were tagged to official disciples for six months such as Fang Lin and Lu Xiaoqing had to attend the lesson too.
On the second day, Fang Lin headed to the alchemy altar early in the morning. He did not wish to arrive late just to draw mockery from the others. Even though he did not mind the taunting from the junior alchemy disciples, it was a bore to listen to them anyhow.
Lu Xiaoqing and the rest of the newly-initiated disciples arrived in succession. When she noticed that Fang Lin had already arrived, Lu Xiaoqing had a joyous expression on her face. She made her way to his side.
“I hope you are well, little Junior Disciple Sister Xiaoqing. It feels like absence makes the heart grow fonder,” Fang Lin greeted her while smiling.
Lu Xiaoqing rolled her eyes at Fang Lin and said in an unpleasant tone, “It’s only been half a month. Do you miss me that much?”
He chuckled. “Of course. You’re the closest friend I have in the alchemy sect. How can I not miss you?”
She scoffed softly upon listening to his words. She said, “That’s better.”
In the distance, Sun Hao noticed Fang Lin and Lu Xiaoqing being very close. There was a dash of jealousy in his gaze.
Kang Lu behaved just as he did in the past. He arrived accompanied by a retinue of junior alchemy disciples and took a seat in his old place.
The entire alchemy altar quieted down as soon as Kang Lu arrived. Some junior alchemy disciples were peeking at Fang Lin with a flash of pity and schadenfreude in their eyes.
Lu Xiaoqing leaned by Fang Lin’s side and whispered into his ear, “I heard from the others that the elder who is lecturing today is close to Kang Lu. I heard that he is going to deliberately create trouble for you during the lesson. Be careful.” Her breath smelled sweet while her voice was as soft as silk.
Fang Lin was not paying attention to Lu Xiaoqing’s words because his mind was thinking about something else. He asked subconsciously, “What did you say again?”
Infuriated, she smacked Fang Lin softly, but she was worried that Fang Lin would be at a disadvantage, so she got even closer to him. She was so near him that her lips were almost touching his ear.
“I was saying that the elder who is lecturing today has a close relationship with Kang Lu. I heard that he’s going to deliberately create trouble for you during the lesson. Be careful. Don’t blame me for not reminding you then. Can you hear me clearly now?” Lu Xiaoqing repeated in an irritated tone.
Fang Lin nodded. Then, he placed an Energizing Pill into Lu Xiaoqing’s palm. She lowered her head and took a look. Then, she looked at Fang Lin once again with a tinge of delight in her heart.
‘Sigh, I still have three more pills. I wonder if it’s enough,’ lamented Fang Lin in his heart, ‘I need more of these pills.’
Kang Lu sat in front of the alchemy altar. He turned around and cast a gloomy glance at Fang Lin.
“Senior Brother Disciple Kang, let’s wait and watch him embarrass himself,” someone said from the side.
Kang Lu nodded but did not speak. He found that he was feeling rather eager about the event that was about to take place soon.
It was late in the morning when the sun was high in the sky. A skinny old man dressed in gray robes walked to the stone platform slowly.
“I’m Zhao Dengming. It will be my turn to give today’s lecture.” The skinny old man Zhao Dengming’s eyes were burning like a torch as his gaze swept across the faces of all the junior alchemy disciples under the platform.
Fang Lin discovered that Zhao Dengming’s gaze held still for a moment when he noticed him. This made him realize that this old man was most probably going to make things difficult for himself today.
After worshipping the four statues, the lecture began. Zhao Dengming’s voice sounded slightly hoarse while his tone was stern and hurried. Only his voice was heard echoing through the entire alchemy altar, so the three thousand disciples under the platform dared not breathe too loudly.
Fang Lin did not fall asleep during the lesson this time. Lu Xiaoqing was very concerned at first. She was fearful that he would fall asleep just like the previous lesson, so she kept her eye on him.
In reality, there was a reason why Fang Lin had fallen asleep during the previous lesson. His body was weak and his spirit was very fragile, so he got tired very easily. On the other hand, Fang Lin’s meridians were fully opened now. He was full of vitality, so he would not fall asleep as long as he stayed focused.
All of a sudden, Zhao Dengming’s voice paused for a moment from the stone altar. Soon afterward, he continued to speak, “Alright, I’m about to begin asking questions next. The questions are directly related to my lecture earlier. If anyone fails to answer the questions, that means the person hasn’t been paying attention, and in turn, I shall punish him or her!”
Fang Lin squinted as he said to himself in secret, ‘Here it comes.’ On the other hand, Lu Xiaoqing was looking at him in concern.
Kang Lu sneered in his heart. He had already waited a long time for this moment.
As expected, the old Zhao Dengming immediately looked at Fang Lin in the crowd of people. He said, “You, stand up.”
Upon listening to him, Fang Lin stood up obediently. His expression was calm and composed without the slightest anxiety.
Zhao Dengming paused for a moment and asked, “What’s your name?”
Fang Lin answered, “I’m called Fang Lin. It’s an honor to meet you, Elder Zhao.”
Zhao Dengming nodded. There was utterly no way one could tell that he was targeting Fang Lin. “Here’s my question. There is a species of herb that’s all yellow in color and can be found in the Herb Garden. It has a pungent scent and feels warm to the touch. It blooms during the dawn and wilts by dusk, repeating the cycle every day until it matures in ten years. What is it?” he asked.
As soon as the question was posed, the numerous junior alchemy disciples began racking their brains for ideas under the stone platform. Even Kang Lu was frowning because he could not think of the answer at once.
Lu Xiaoqing had an anxious expression. The question was rather difficult. She had no idea what the answer was at all despite her frequent visits to the Herb Garden to learn more about herbology.
Elder Zhao has gone too far. There are countless medicinal herbs in the Herb Garden. How can one possibly know what that is when the description is so ambiguous? Lu Xiaoqing complained in her heart while she felt anxious on Fang Lin’s behalf.
Many junior alchemy disciples were shaking their heads in secret. Zhao Dengming’s intention to make things difficult for Fang Lin was too obvious. Fang Lin was likely going to end up being punished this time.