Good Things Came One After Another!

Hu Wenhai's matter did indeed cause quite a stir in the sect.

Because no one has ever seen such a bizarre talisman master.

Despite the sensation it caused, no one seemed to think there was anything wrong with it.

After all, Hu Wenhai was a prodigy personally discovered by Senior Brother Xinghe.

Do you think any of the people Senior Brother Xinghe discovered weren't prodigies?

Is there even one that isn't weird?

Look at how the Ouyang Lineage first arrived! They didn't even get anything done; what they did was utterly inhuman!

Although the Ouyang Lineage isn't exactly behaving themselves these days, they still claim to be the best in the weapon-refining world, and who would dare to object?

Don't be fooled by the fact that the Ouyang Lineage spends their days lounging in the Dark Moon Palace waiting to devour demonic beasts; when it comes to weapon crafting skills, Ouyang Ming is truly at the pinnacle.

Have you ever seen someone use a sacred artifact to Demon-Slaying Soul as a boning knife?

What? You're saying Hu Wenhai wasted resources?

While Hu Wenhai is terrifying when it comes to wasting resources, can he compare to the Ouyang Lineage?

The number of furnaces that the Ouyang Lineage has destroyed, if laid end to end, could circle our Vast Heaven Sect three times.

So Hu Wenhai was just waiting for an opportunity, an opportunity to rise to prominence.

Meanwhile, disciples from all palaces of the Vast Heaven Sect began to speculate: when exactly would Hu Wenhao be able to reveal his extraordinary abilities?

Chu Xinghe didn't know when Hu Wenhai would reveal his extraordinary side; all Chu Xinghe knew was that these past few days had been the happiest he had experienced all year.

Look at these past few days, the elective courses you created are rapidly consuming sect resources thanks to the efforts of the disciples from all palaces.

And then there's the newly arrived Rushing Thunder Hand Brother Ben, the Thunder Hand—he truly lives up to his Rushing Thunder Hand!

The resource consumption is unparalleled.

With resources being allocated in batches, Hu Wenhai was constantly consuming them, at a rate almost catching up with the Ouyang Lineage at its peak.

With this two-pronged approach, the Misfortune Compass began to slowly turn.

Looking at the spinning Misfortune Compass, Chu Xinghe really wanted to shout, "God bless me, Chu Xinghe!"

In the midst of such a pleasant time, Chu Xinghe was even considering whether to arrange for the Dark Moon Clan to launch another bombing raid.

But after thinking it over, Chu Xinghe felt that one shouldn't be too arrogant.

The Misfortune Compass has finally given me a chance to weaken the sect; I should be content with this opportunity.

As the saying goes, greed knows no bounds; a slow and steady approach to depletion and improvement is already quite satisfying, isn't it?

Although the Dark Moon Clan enormous resources, who knows what bizarre things might be unearthed if they were to actually launch an explosion?

Besides, even if they don't manage to blast anything bizarre, there's nowhere for the Dark Moon Clan to blast things indiscriminately.

Although I really wanted to send the Dark Moon Clan to bomb the Cloud Firmament Sect, it would be somewhat morally inappropriate.

Therefore, Chu Xinghe temporarily suppressed the matter of having the Dark Moon Clan take action, choosing instead to quietly enjoy this hard-won, pleasant life.

It's been a year... and the Misfortune Compass has finally done something worthwhile.

Every morning, I have very light braised pork for breakfast... Afterwards, I head to the Dark Moon Palace to check if there are any oversights...

After confirming that everyone's elective courses were making no progress, he went to visit his junior brother Ben with satisfaction, but this time Chu Xinghe had learned his lesson.

Observe from a distance, never offer unsolicited advice.

I've learned from this experience many times. Every time something goes wrong, it's because I inadvertently sparked all sorts of bizarre ideas for them.

Therefore, this time I will only observe from afar and will not utter a single word.

Moreover, not only would Chu Xinghe avoid getting close to Hu Wenhai, but he had also meticulously arranged for Ma Liang, Ouyang Ming, and a whole host of other backstabbing dogs to be dealt with.

Under the pretext that Hu Wenhai needed to go into seclusion to cultivate talismans, they were determined not to allow the backstabbing dogs any opportunity to get close to Hu Wenhai and assimilate Hu Wenhai.

This approach emphasizes a safe and reliable strategy.

After visiting the Dark Moon Palace, he went to the Technique Repository Tower to relax in the afternoon. If it weren't for the fact that he had to go to the Spirit Crane Palace to learn alchemy every evening, then in Chu Xinghe's eyes, this would have been a perfect day.

It wasn't that Chu Xinghe wanted to refine medicine, it was mainly the Grand Elder...

The Grand Elder was deeply dissatisfied that he, the successor of the Medicine Saint, had not even reached the level of Ninth Rank alchemy master after so long.

The Grand Elder said, "Xinghe... you're supposed to be the successor of the Medicine Saint, right? Look how much time has passed, and you're still just an Eighth Rank alchemist. You haven't even reached the Ninth Rank. Aren't you ashamed?"

Chu Xinghe's eyes welled up with tears at the words of the Grand Elder...

Um... Elder, listen to what you're saying, is that even human language?

What's wrong with the Medicine Saint Inheritance? I've only had Medicine Saint Inheritance for a little over a year... and in that time I'm already Eighth Rank alchemist... Do you know what that means?

It took the Medicine Saint a full five years to go from an apprentice alchemist to the Eighth Rank.

Upon hearing Chu Xinghe's explanation, the Grand Elder slammed his fist on the table and declared, "What is the Medicine Saint? Can he compare to you, Xinghe?"

Chu Xinghe: "..."

Thus, Chu Xinghe could only spare time each evening to learn various aspects of alchemy from the Grand Elder.

However, it must be said that the things in the Medicine Saint Inheritance are truly ruthless.

Chu Xinghe hadn't paid much attention to the Medicine Saint Inheritance before, but now, after some research, he discovered that the Medicine Saint Inheritance not only contained things related to alchemy, but also many strange and unusual things.

For example, Voodoo Art...

Although Voodoo Art is called poison magic, it is not simply about Voodoo Art.

As the saying goes, every medicine has some degree of toxicity, Voodoo Art was actually the most powerful alchemy technique in ancient times.

Voodoo Art has been passed down from ancient times, but it has gradually been lost over the course of history. Today, only the art of alchemy remains, and Voodoo Art can only be found in some ancient texts.

However, the Medicine Saint was also a ruthless person. He somehow obtained some records of Voodoo Art and even studied them. Therefore, there is a part of the Voodoo Art tradition in the Medicine Saint Inheritance.

Voodoo Art is different from ordinary alchemy; alchemy is, frankly speaking, just a branch of the Voodoo Art.

If it were true Voodoo Art, then almost nothing in the world could not be made into medicine; poisonous insects, poisonous herbs, poisonous flowers—all could be used to make medicine.

Unfortunately, even within the Medicine Saint Inheritance, the knowledge of Voodoo Art was only a small part, so Chu Xinghe didn't dare to actually try it; at most, he could only learn about it.

Chu Xinghe also specifically inquired about the matter of Voodoo Art from the Grand Elder.

The Grand Elder took Xinghe's first initiative to ask him about alchemy very seriously.

However, despite his emphasis on it, the Grand Elder's understanding of Voodoo Art was actually quite limited. He only knew that in ancient times, it was said that the last witchcraft master sealed all his life's knowledge into a divine object called the Azure Wood Dragon Cauldron.

However, there are not many records about what exactly the Azure Wood Dragon Cauldron is, and the Voodoo Art was lost at that time. The alchemy techniques that followed were just incomplete versions of Voodoo Art techniques derived by generations of alchemists based on some records of the Voodoo Art of that time.

What? You're asking why not study other aspects of Voodoo Art?

It's not that I don't want to study it, but that I can't... because the "poison" in Voodoo Art is about fighting poison with poison. It's not that no alchemist has tried it, but the result is that the poison doesn't fight the poison and instead kills the patient...

Therefore, the complete Voodoo Art can only remain a legend.

Countless people have searched for the whereabouts of the Azure Wood Dragon Cauldron the years, but unfortunately, it has never appeared in the world...

At the same time, the Grand Elder also instructed Xinghe not to use the Voodoo Art in the Medicine Saint Inheritance indiscriminately, because even the Medicine Saint was only a novice in the study of Voodoo Art.

If you actually use it, who knows what strange reactions might occur? So, to be on the safe side, the Elder's advice is that Xinghe, you should just learn about it and that's enough. As for actually using it, you absolutely mustn't...

This time, Chu Xinghe agreed with the Grand Elder's words.

After all, Voodoo Art can kill someone if you're not careful, so it really shouldn't be used recklessly.

The pleasant days went by one by one.

That day, Chu Xinghe had finally endured the Grand Elder's lecture and was preparing to go back to rest when the Grand Elder spoke up.

"Xinghe... you don't need to come to learn alchemy from me tomorrow. You should prepare yourself; the once-every-five-years ranking of the Ten Great Sects is coming up soon."

Upon hearing the elder's words, Chu Xinghe, who had been feeling drowsy from the alchemy technique, immediately felt wide awake.

Chu Xinghe has been listening to Elder He, who is known for his vast knowledge of various fields, talk a lot about the ranking of the Ten Great Sects these past two days.

The so-called ranking of the Ten Great Sects is actually very simple. Every five years, the Ten Great Sects the world will be ranked again based on three criteria.

The so-called three items are quite simple: first, high-end combat power; second, disciple inheritance; and third, sect resources.

These three criteria will be used to assess where the Ten Great Sects should be ranked.

The judges were none other than Wu Yang, the patriarch of the Wu Family, renowned throughout the land for his unparalleled fairness.

This Old Master Wuyang, is quite remarkable.

Although the old man's cultivation level might not even rank in the top ten in the world, he has lived long enough.

Even Gu Mingchao, the current Vast Heaven Sect Gu Mingchao Haotian Sect, would address him as "Ancestor" because of his seniority.

Therefore, the evaluation of the Ten Great Sects in the world every five years is led by Old Master Wuyang, who uses three criteria to determine the rightful place of the Ten Great Sects.

What? You're saying what if someone disagrees with the results of the evaluation?

This problem is very easy to solve... Anyone who is dissatisfied can challenge other sects. If you win, your ranking can definitely be improved. The ranking of the Ten Great Sects isn't unchangeable...

However, over the years, Old Master Wuyang has indeed proven himself to be quite capable. Almost every ranking he has produced has been recognized by all sides, and very few people have dared to challenge him.

In this ranking of the Ten Great Sects in the world, Chu Xinghe knew that the ranking of his Vast Heaven Sect was difficult to shake... but if they couldn't change the ranking, couldn't they at least make some changes to other things?

After all, this competition is a major event that the whole world is watching, and it's led by the famously upright and impartial Old Master Wuyang.

The evaluations of each sect will be made public. No matter how hard our Vast Heaven Sect tries, we can't shake off the infamous reputation of being the number one sect in the world. But if I, Chu Xinghe, make a mess of things during the evaluation period, when Old Master Wuyang announces the Vast Heaven Sect's affairs, you can imagine how embarrassing that will be!

Thinking of this, Chu Xinghe's eyes welled up with tears; good things just kept happening one after another...