With a streak of azure light behind him, Lin Xiao rushed into Pill Qi Lingxiao Hall. The hall was filled with Great Luo Pill Dao elders in purple and light-purple robes. Disciples dressed in apricot-yellow Daoist robes like Lin Xiao were limited to the two disciples in charge of the bell and chime within the hall, and even they were senior disciples who had formed Golden Cores after reaching a hundred years of age. Lin Xiao stumbled anxiously into the great hall, immediately drawing several astonished gazes.
Within the spacious Pill Qi Lingxiao Hall, Daoist Danling sat in the central seat. Beside him sat an old Daoist with crane-white hair and a childlike face, two yellowing brows hanging straight to his chest. The old Daoist wore a white Daoist robe of coarse hemp cloth, with a tiny jade whisk tucked into his collar. A white horsetail tassel hung down behind his head, tangled together with his somewhat disheveled long hair. He was barefoot, and his pair of feet, each over a foot and a half long, were smooth as grease and lustrous as jade, looking exceptionally uncanny. Yet what astonished Lin Xiao most was the vertical eye between the old Daoist's brows.
The vertical eye between the old Daoist's brows was two inches long, stretching from the center of his forehead all the way to his hairline. A violet-gold pupil spun wildly within it, with strands of golden lightning flowing inside, its might pressing down upon all around it. The old Daoist merely glanced at Lin Xiao, yet Lin Xiao felt as though his face had been struck heavily by a heavenly thunderbolt. Unable to keep his footing, he had barely rushed into the hall before staggering back more than ten steps.
Five young men stood waiting behind the old Daoist. They were dressed respectively as a scholar, a Daoist, a monk, a merchant, and a farmer. Each was brimming with vigor, brilliant light flashing from their eyes as they stared at Lin Xiao in utter astonishment. Their cultivation far surpassed Lin Xiao's, so naturally they could tell at a glance that he had already formed a Golden Core. But Lin Xiao's age was simply too young.
The old Daoist gave a soft cough and smiled at Daoist Danling. "Sect Master Danling, may I ask who this young friend is?"
Daoist Danling smiled faintly and nodded at the old Daoist with great restraint. "Senior Jiang, this is Lin Xiao, disciple of my junior brother Dan Fusheng. As you can see, he has only just turned eighteen this year, yet he has already formed a Golden Core. This is also a great joy for Great Luo Pill Dao, though we have not yet had time to announce it to fellow cultivators everywhere."
Eighteen years old, and already a Golden Core cultivator!
In the cultivation world of several thousand years ago, quite a few extraordinarily gifted geniuses could accomplish such a feat. But in today's cultivation world, Spiritual Energy was scarce. Being able to form a Golden Core by the age of one hundred was already a blessing granted by Heaven. Those with good aptitude, good fortune, and sects willing to spare no effort in nurturing them could form a Golden Core at sixty, and that would already be an astonishing achievement. For Lin Xiao to form a Golden Core at eighteen was something unseen for several thousand years! Old Daoist Jiang stared at Lin Xiao in shock, and a streak of golden light shot from his vertical eye toward him.
The golden light was exceedingly fast and struck Lin Xiao squarely. With a thought from Lin Xiao, the Scattering Light Scarf flew from his storage bracelet and transformed into a cloud of seven-colored mist that shielded his entire body. When the golden light collided with the mist, crisp popping sounds immediately rang out. The seven-colored clouds formed by the Scattering Light Scarf were suppressed by the golden light, shrinking into an extremely thin halo that clung to Lin Xiao's body. The halo trembled violently, looking as though it might be shattered by that golden light at any moment. Lin Xiao instinctively shouted, pouring a mouthful of true essence into the Scattering Light Scarf. The mist immediately rose again, and lively, agile seven-colored radiance surged up more than a yard thick, forcing the golden light back three feet.
"Enough! I, Demon Subduing True Man Jiang Zizai, actually suffered a loss at the hands of a junior!" Old Daoist Jiang chuckled several times, casting Lin Xiao an astonished glance before nodding. "Good child, truly a good child. For this old Daoist to bully a junior is already unsightly enough, much less suffer a loss to one. This Black Tortoise Ring is also a protective treasure, and its quality is several grades above that handkerchief. Here, little one, take it and play with it!"
The old Daoist casually tossed it, and a streak of black light flew into Lin Xiao's hand. Lin Xiao felt his palm sink. The black ring thrown by the old Daoist, no thicker than the mouth of a teacup, weighed over a hundred pounds. It was clearly an extraordinary magic treasure. Lin Xiao gave the black ring a cursory inspection. Its surface was black and glossy, engraved in relief with a Black Tortoise divine beast. The Black Tortoise's long neck stretched outward as it assumed a posture of roaring toward the heavens. The ring was neither metal nor jade, and Lin Xiao had no idea what material it had been refined from. Its interior was unfathomably deep, with a faintly moist watery vapor seeping from it.
Before Lin Xiao could discern the mysteries of the Black Tortoise Ring, Daoist Danling was already shouting with a beaming smile, "Xiao'er, why are you not quickly thanking Senior Jiang?"
Lin Xiao hurried forward and kowtowed to Old Daoist Jiang. "This junior, Lin Xiao, thanks Senior Jiang."
Old Daoist Jiang waved his hand carelessly and laughed. "This is the prize you won, so there is no need to thank this old Daoist. Shameful, shameful. This old Daoist's Golden Light Thunder Divine Eye has suffered a small setback for the first time today, and it lost to a child who has only just reached the Golden Core Stage. Hahaha! If I do not give away some little trinket to cover my embarrassment, this old Daoist might as well stop walking the cultivation world."
Daoist Danling hurriedly laughed. "This is Xiao'er's good fortune, as well as Senior's generous favor. Who in the world does not know of the might of Senior's Golden Light Thunder Divine Eye? Who has not heard of it?"
Old Daoist Jiang proudly stroked his long brows and chuckled, his laughter brimming with delight.
Only Dan Fusheng, standing to one side of the hall, tilted his head and glared sidelong at Daoist Danling, his face full of displeasure. Daoist Danling's intimate way of calling Lin Xiao "Xiao'er" made Dan Fusheng a little jealous. Lin Xiao was clearly Dan Fusheng's disciple. Lin Xiao forming a Golden Core was a matter of pride for Dan Fusheng. Even if Daoist Danling wished to address Lin Xiao, calling him "martial nephew" would have been enough, yet he insisted on calling him "Xiao'er"! Could it be that Daoist Danling harbored some improper intentions toward Lin Xiao? Dan Fusheng's guard immediately rose.
Daoist Danling seemed to sense the little calculations in Dan Fusheng's heart. He turned his head, bared his teeth in a grin at Dan Fusheng, then swiftly turned back and asked Old Daoist Jiang, "May I ask why Senior Jiang has honored us with your presence this time?"
Lin Xiao had long since gotten back up and obediently stood behind Dan Fusheng. Old Daoist Jiang's five disciples continued studying Lin Xiao. Clearly, they were greatly puzzled by how Lin Xiao had formed a Golden Core at eighteen. Compared with Old Daoist Jiang's unchanging expression, his five disciples were obviously far inferior in the refinement of their composure.
Dan Fusheng, meanwhile, transmitted his voice to Lin Xiao and explained Old Daoist Jiang's background.
Demon Subduing True Man Jiang Zizai was a master of Daoist Danling's grandmaster's generation. His immensely powerful Golden Light Thunder Divine Eye had slain who knew how many demons, devils, ghosts, and monsters. He was one of the three most famous independent cultivators in the cultivation world. Jiang Zizai was exceptionally bold and generous, warmhearted and righteous enough to make the clouds pale—every beautiful phrase could be bestowed upon him. Everything he did was open and aboveboard, fair and strict. Even the friends and relatives of the demons and devils he had killed had no choice but to admit that those slain by him had deserved their punishment.
It was precisely because Jiang Zizai had arrived that Daoist Danling ordered the golden bell and jade chime rung, gathering every member of Spring Return Valley whose cultivation was at the Golden Core Stage or above, to show respect for Jiang Zizai. Naturally, the elders of Great Luo Pill Dao's Qi, Lingxiao, and Xiao generations who had already secluded themselves in hidden cultivation would not appear. They had long entered death-seclusion in secret residences, with no interest in outside affairs whatsoever.
Only then did Lin Xiao understand the mystery behind it. Jiang Zizai's status was sufficient to make all Great Luo Pill Dao members of the Dan generation come out together to welcome him. After all, his seniority was there for all to see! Since the elders of his own sect were too lazy to appear and receive guests, the juniors could only make up for quality with numbers, demonstrating their respect and importance toward Jiang Zizai.
As Daoist Danling asked Jiang Zizai why he had come to Spring Return Valley, Jiang Zizai merely sat there with a smile, stroking his long brows. Only after a long while did he slowly nod. "Your sect has managed to nurture a disciple who formed a Golden Core at eighteen. It seems Great Luo Pill Dao's path of pill refinement has made tremendous progress indeed. This old Daoist came to the right place today."
Daoist Danling straightened his back. The moment he opened his mouth, he launched into a torrent of boasting, attributing all the credit for Lin Xiao's Golden Core formation to Great Luo Pill Dao's pills. From laying foundations, drawing in energy, condensing energy, opening the meridians throughout the body, attracting the spiritual marrow of heaven and earth to form a Golden Core, to using pills to expel heart demons, replenish vitality, stabilize one's foundation, and so on and so forth. Daoist Danling's spittle flew everywhere as he boasted, as though Great Luo Pill Dao had completely mastered the method of artificially producing Golden Core cultivators in a short time.
Old Daoist Jiang was left dumbfounded, while his five disciples behind him stared wide-eyed at one another, speechless for a long while. Forming a Golden Core was such a difficult matter in today's cultivation world, so how had it become so effortless in Daoist Danling's mouth? As though one merely drank a sip of water and a Golden Core was formed?
Daoist Danling bragged for quite a while before finally concluding, "In short, no matter what Senior Jiang requires, you cannot go wrong by coming to Great Luo Pill Dao. Great Luo Pill Dao's pills are absolutely the finest in the entire cultivation world. If you claim another sect's refined pills can rival those of Great Luo Pill Dao, then may I ask—does their sect have a Golden Core disciple who is eighteen years old?"
Old Daoist Jiang's face twitched, and he hurriedly waved his hand. "No, no, absolutely not. Great Luo Pill Dao's pills are naturally the cream of the crop in the cultivation world. Otherwise, this old Daoist would not have come to visit today." After pondering for a moment, Old Daoist Jiang smiled at Daoist Danling. "That is precisely the matter for which I came today. Disciples, take out the medicinal ingredients we prepared."
Old Daoist Jiang's five disciples immediately moved. They walked to the center of Pill Qi Lingxiao Hall and took out an enormous quantity of rare medicinal ingredients from their storage rings. Thousand-year fire lotus flowers, snow lotuses, fleeceflowers, ginseng, Purple Ganoderma, and the like were merely ordinary items. There were even as many as seven ten-thousand-year spiritual herbs and medicines! Ten-thousand-year medicinal herbs! In an age where Spiritual Energy was so scarce, ordinary medicinal herbs could not receive enough Spiritual Energy to nourish them; reaching three to five hundred years of age was already extraordinary. Yet there were actually seven ten-thousand-year medicinal herbs here!
Ten-thousand-year medicinal herbs! Even several thousand years ago, when Spiritual Energy filled the cultivation world and masters flew through the skies, they had been exceedingly rare and precious things! Much less now!
Daoist Danling's eyes went straight. He glared fiercely at the medicinal ingredients piled into a small mountain more than a yard high, panting heavily.
The dozens of Great Luo Pill Dao elders in the hall emitted green light from their eyes. Their gazes swayed back and forth between the pile of medicinal ingredients and Old Daoist Jiang's master-and-disciples. Lin Xiao actually had an absurd impression: were these old Daoists planning to murder and rob them, keeping all six of Old Daoist Jiang's group in Spring Return Valley so they could monopolize this batch of medicinal ingredients?
Only after the time it took for an incense stick to burn did Daoist Danling finally recover from the mountain of rare medicinal ingredients. He coughed somewhat awkwardly and cupped his hands toward Old Daoist Jiang. "Senior Jiang, these medicinal ingredients—what do you intend to do with them?"
Old Daoist Jiang had long seen the strange expressions on the faces of Great Luo Pill Dao's Dan-generation elders. Stroking his long brows, he smiled faintly and said calmly, "This old Daoist plans to establish a sect in the Hanging Sea and accept disciples on a wide scale. Thus, I require a great quantity of pills for reserve, so I must trouble all of you, fellow Daoists. Please refine ample quantities of every basic pill required for establishing a sect. As for all kinds of precious high-grade pills, whatever can be refined, please also make several pills of each for this old Daoist to keep in reserve!"
"This is an exceedingly simple matter." Daoist Danling answered casually, only to suddenly come to his senses. "What? You wish to establish a sect?"
With a whoosh, every Daoist in the hall turned to look at Old Daoist Jiang at once. Demon Subduing True Man Jiang Zizai was going to establish a sect? This Demon Subduing True Man, one of the three famous independent cultivators, was going to establish a sect? The Hanging Sea was only two interstellar teleportation arrays away from the planet where Great Luo Pill Dao was located. They could be considered close neighbors! But had the Hanging Sea not been occupied by the evil-path giant, Black Bone Monk? How could Old Daoist Jiang establish a sect there?
"Could it be that Black Bone Monk has already been...?" Daoist Danling looked at Old Daoist Jiang in utter horror.
"Indeed. Black Bone Monk has already been executed beneath this old Daoist's sword!" Old Daoist Jiang laughed proudly. The golden pupil between his brows spun rapidly, threads of lightning shooting more than a foot outward with startling force.
Daoist Danling and the other Great Luo Pill Dao Daoists simultaneously rose solemnly and cupped their hands toward Old Daoist Jiang. "Senior has once again performed boundless merit. Congratulations, congratulations!"
Old Daoist Jiang smiled faintly and nodded. "Shared joy, shared joy. A devil of the evil path like that should never have existed in this world to begin with. This time, this old Daoist acquired an ancient exotic treasure and broke through the natural Profound Yin Water Fiend restriction beyond the Hanging Sea. Only then was I able to rush into Black Bone Monk's lair and kill him. These ten-thousand-year medicinal herbs were discovered in the sea eye at the deepest part of the Hanging Sea."
Before Daoist Danling and the others could offer more pleasantries, Old Daoist Jiang waved his hand. "Help me refine the pills. This old Daoist intends to accept no fewer than a thousand disciples in the first batch, and the Spiritual Energy of the Hanging Sea can barely provide for a thousand people. As for what pills must be refined, you are the experts, so handle it as you see fit! Half the medicinal herbs on the ground will serve as payment!"
Half of such an enormous quantity of medicinal herbs would be given as payment?
Heavens! A colossal pie had fallen from the sky, smashing Daoist Danling, Daoist Danyu, Dan Fusheng, and the others until they were dizzy and dazed!
Daoist Danling stared blankly at one branch of Thousand-Leaf Orchid Ganoderma among the seven ten-thousand-year medicinal herbs, his heart trembling. "Ten-thousand-year Thousand-Leaf Orchid Ganoderma! It can be refined into Three Lights Nascent God Pills. Such a large plant should produce around seven pills! Our sect will gain seven more Nascent Soul Stage masters!"
Daoist Danyu drooled as he stared at a blood-red ten-thousand-year blood lotus root among them. His body tightened and trembled in waves as he thought, What pill should this segment of blood lotus root be used to refine? The Calamity Dispelling Pill that can heal Nascent Souls? The Tribulation Transformation Pill that can restore the primordial spirit? Or the Nine-Nine Form Casting Powder that can treat incomplete Dharma bodies?
Dan Fusheng also wanted to let his imagination run wild, but Danxia reached out, seized a piece of tender flesh at his side, and viciously twisted it. The agonizing pain made him open his mouth in a silent roar, leaving him with no mind to imagine what extraordinary pills those ten-thousand-year medicinal herbs could produce!
Danxia stared with shining eyes at a Purple Tassel Herb among the seven ten-thousand-year medicinal herbs, saliva nearly dripping from the corner of her mouth.
"Year Solidifying Pills, Year Solidifying Pills! Year Solidifying Pills that grant eternal youth and never-aging beauty once consumed!" Danxia's fingers exerted more and more strength. Dan Fusheng's face gradually turned pale, then green, and even the corners of his mouth began twitching.
Seeing Dan Fusheng in such misery, Lin Xiao hurriedly took a careful step back.
Suddenly, alarm bells rang wildly throughout Spring Return Valley, and countless disciples cried out in panic. "Bad news, bad news! The back mountain is on fire! Hurry and put it out!"
"Heavens, more than ten peaks in the back mountain are burning at once! Hurry and send people to put out the fire!"
"Master, Master, the back mountain is on fire!"
"Sect Master Martial Uncle, the entire back mountain is burning!"
The back mountain of Spring Return Valley was on fire?
The Daoists in the hall looked at one another, not knowing what had happened.
Danxia instinctively turned to look at Lin Xiao. Suddenly seeing the empty sword sheath on his back, she asked in shock, "Xiao'er, where is your Crimson Dragon Sword?"
Lin Xiao instinctively answered, "Senior Sister Yao'er took it to the back mountain... to catch mountain chickens!" Cold sweat suddenly drenched the clothes on Lin Xiao's back.
"What?"
The Great Luo Pill Dao elders cried out together, "Yao'er took the Crimson Dragon Sword to the back mountain? Quick, hurry and put out the fire!"
Amid a rush of whistling air, the Great Luo Pill Dao elders in the hall fled without leaving a trace. Only Lin Xiao remained standing there foolishly, staring wide-eyed at Jiang Zizai and his disciples.
With a rumble, thunder suddenly sounded above Spring Return Valley. Daoists had already begun casting spells to summon rain, hoping to extinguish the mountain fire.
Slowly, torrential rain began to pour down.
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