'Alchemy: Basic Stage (Mastery)'
As the handwriting changed, a flood of memories rushed into Zhang Rongfang's mind.
He closed his eyes and vaguely saw himself refining all sorts of basic pills over the past three years.
The pills he refined were all basic formulas that he had seen and learned in recent times.
Pot after pot, stove after stove.
At first, his failure rate was extremely high, but as the number of attempts increased, the time also increased.
His success rate gradually began to increase and rise.
'As expected, it worked!' Zhang Rongfang thought with delight.
This completely confirms that the Attribute Panel is not only focused on martial arts skills, but also on other skills.
'The reason my trap didn't offer any options was likely because I had only learned one trap-making technique and didn't understand the underlying principles; my understanding wasn't comprehensive enough.'
Having determined that Attribute Points have a wider range of uses, Zhang Rongfang's eyes deepened.
'This way, traps, medical skills, mechanisms, and so on can all be acquired, just in case.'
***Late at night.
Between Yangshuo City and Heavenly Treasure Palace lies a large Woodland.
First Squad bandits from Floating Pagoda Mountain, under the orders of Red Cliff Monk, disguised themselves as ordinary people and gathered together, carrying stacks of identity information copied at a Hua Qian.
There were sixteen people in the group.
The leader was named Zheng Jiaquan, who had been following the Red Cliff Monk for a long time.
"Is everything ready?!" Zheng Jiaquan was carrying a bunch of bags and burlap sacks, all filled with notes and slips of paper that had been copied down beforehand.
"Boss, are we really going to go up there and spray all over the place?" Jade Hand Scholar Zhang Huisheng, asked in a low voice, his face showing some worry.
"Of course it's true. Just rush up, throw it away, and leave. What's there to be afraid of?" Zheng Jiaquan said impatiently.
First, expose Zhang Ying's identity so that she can no longer hide and is expelled by the Great Dao Sect.
If that fails, an inside agent will then induce them to leave.
This is the entire plan for Floating Pagoda Mountain.
If it's not successful within a month, we'll withdraw.
"Let's go, let's go, what are you afraid of! The reward will be doubled for those who go!" Zheng Jiaquan shouted.
After a long while of urging, the group quietly made their way along the mountainside toward the Heavenly Treasure Palace.
Some people took out notices that they planned to post on the tree trunks along the Official Road near the Heavenly Treasure Palace.
"Who goes there!?"
Before they had even gotten within a hundred meters, First Squad skilled Daoist Daoist Robe in armor, carrying lanterns, quickly approached.
"Hurry, hurry, hurry!!"
Zheng Jiaquan kept urging him on.
The five men immediately sped up, taking the calligraphy templates and sticking them on the tree trunks by the roadside.
Call!!
Suddenly a sharp shriek rang out.
With a thud, a rapidly spinning machete struck a bandit who was pasting calligraphy on his back.
The blood pressure spiked very high.
The bandit let out a miserable howl and turned to run away, but it was too late.
He hadn't run more than a few steps when he collapsed to the ground, unable to move.
Soon, several more spinning machetes flew over and slashed the remaining bandits.
Zheng Jiaquan stared in disbelief at the scene before him, which was so exaggerated that he could hardly believe it.
They just came to put up a few sheets of paper, is it really necessary to make such a fuss?
Zheng Jiaquan couldn't understand it at all.
"Kill these Heaven Lock Sect bastards!" roared the leader of the opposing group. "They've come twice, and they dare to come a third time? They're asking for death!!"
One by one, the bandits fell to the ground; they were all wiped out in a single encounter.
Completely powerless to resist.
The notices in their hands were also stained red with blood, making the words illegible.
Zheng Jiaquan immediately disregarded everything else and turned to run after him. He didn't even care about the stickers and notes on his body, dropping them as he fled.
After the group finished running...
The skilled pursuers quickly returned to their original spot, picked up all the scattered notes and posters, gathered them together, and burned them.
The leader had a ponytail, with long brown hair hanging down his back, and was incredibly burly.
He picked up a piece of paper and looked at it.
' Zhang Ying's true identity is actually the Spirit Envoy of the Golden Wing Tower the Eastern Sect Great Dao Sect. His goal is to infiltrate the Great Dao Sect and drag the entire Heavenly Treasure Palace into the conflict between the Eastern Sect and Western Sect!'
"Hmm, the content is well written. It's a pity we can't handle those experts from the Western Sect, but we can easily deal with your lackeys." He shook his head and waved his hand.
"Brothers, let's retreat."
The group responded, quickly cleaned up the mess, and hurried away from the Woodland.
From beginning to end, no one knew their true identities or why they were pretending to be members of the Great Dao Sect.
A little while later, several figures were attracted by the noise and rushed to the Woodland, but apart from a large number of corpses and bloodstains, they could not find anything else.
"Is it another battle between the Eastern Sect Western Sect?" someone asked in a low voice.
"Probably, but this time it's mostly lower-class people, there's not much to see," the other person replied.
"Then we don't need to worry about it. Our position is neutral and impartial. As long as it doesn't affect us, we don't care about anything else."
"Understood!"
*** Great Capital.
Inside a hidden, undiscovered basement.
"I never expected that the little guy would actually reach the Golden Core Stage."
A woman with a stiff face, dressed in plain white with a gold belt around her waist, admired the miniature wooden model of the entire Great Capital in front of her with her hands behind her back.
The model depicts pavilions and towers, crisscrossing each other, some areas magnificent and prosperous, others poor and simple.
Apart from the Imperial Palace area being mostly empty, the rest of the place was quite well-preserved.
Opposite the woman, a smaller woman with a similarly stiff expression looked up and let out a sigh.
He lied to me.
"What are you trying to lie to me about?" the woman with the gold belt asked, puzzled.
"He lied to me and said he was nineteen," the petite woman replied.
"Isn't he twenty-six?" the woman with the gold belt asked in surprise.
"The information just changed it to thirty-five," the petite woman continued.
"."
"."
"So how old is this kid?!" The woman with the gold belt was speechless.
"He's Ninth Grade martial artist and Golden Core Civilian Skill, but he's not a core member of a major sect's concentrated resources for training experts. He's probably thirty-five years old. His other identities are likely fake," the petite woman replied.
"That's quite impressive. I can't even tell the difference by palpating his bones," the woman with the gold belt sighed. "No wonder you value him so much and even arranged for a safe escape route with a Sensing Gate."
She paused. "However, based on this alone, a thirty-five-year-old Golden Core is not enough to secure the protection of the Great Dao Sect. Ninth Grade or something like that is meaningless to that sect."
"It's alright, I've arranged for someone to handle it. Once this period is over, everything will be fine."
"And if I don't settle down by the time I reach the Extreme Realm, I'll forget all of this," the petite woman said softly.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Extreme Realm are a road of no return.
Especially that type of the Extreme Realm, once you enter it, you'll only remember one goal.
"Tong Zhang, why... why won't you bow your head?" the woman with the gold belt suddenly asked in a deep voice.
Heavenly Maiden Tong Zhang crossed her hands in front of her, gently rubbing her fingers together.
There are many reasons.
She smiled.
"Some are mine, and some are others'."
"Actually, even those at the Extreme Realm are not as strong as imagined. They are still made of flesh and blood, and are still powerless," the woman with the gold belt said softly.
Tong Zhang didn't speak again. He lowered his head, stretched out his hand, and gently traced the streets of Great Capital with his index finger.
In this world, there are always some people who don't want to be dogs, who don't want to bow their heads forever.
She was like that, and so was he.
Everyone believed that it was impossible for humans to defeat them with their flesh and blood.
But she didn't believe it.
Some things, if you don't try, you'll never see hope.
*** Heavenly Treasure Palace.
Within the Minghe Inner Palace of the Great Way Palaces.
Fang Zhiyun in front of many worshippers and disciples, wearing a magnificent Daoist robe, holding a stone scripture book, and constantly reciting passages of the Floating Life Fortune-Transfer Scripture.
This scripture is mainly used to reverse one's fortune and make one luckier.
The duration is claimed to be within two days.
Of course, the boasting was just that—boasting. Whether it actually has any effect on changing one's luck is another matter.
Anyway, as the Palace Master, Fang Zhiyun himself didn't know whether it had been turned or not; he just read it aloud.
Throughout the entire Minghe Inner Palace, there were over a hundred people sitting cross-legged and chanting scriptures.
The dozen or so people sitting in the center were all Spirit Noble from the Great Capital and important representatives of various forces.
Everyone came here hoping for a change of luck.
Many people who were under immense psychological pressure gradually calmed down under the influence of the chanting of scriptures.
As time went by, slowly, more than ten minutes passed, and the recitation of the scriptures was completed.
The surrounding Daoist boys also began to tidy up the miscellaneous tasks of the ceremony.
Palace Master Fang Zhiyun finished up the ceremony, picked up his whisk, and bid farewell to each of the distinguished guests who had risen.
As each worshipper departed, the incense box on the right was filled once more.
Soon, one by one, the pilgrims left.
In the end, only one long-haired woman wearing pale yellow long sleeves and trousers remained, accompanied by a maid, quietly waiting for the others to leave.
Fang Zhiyun tell that the other party had something to say, so he immediately gestured for the other party to wait a moment.
After changing his clothes and washing up, he returned to the main hall.
"Is there something Layman, layman?"
Of the three Palace Masters of the Heavenly Treasure Palace, Fang Zhiyun is the one with the gentlest temperament, but he is also the one most valued and trusted by the True Person Grand Master, Master Yue Dewen.
The woman in pale yellow smiled and said, "My master sent me to ask the Palace Master a question. Does the favor we showed at the Parting Sorrow Hall still count?"
Fang Zhiyun's kind smile vanished Fang Zhiyun. He paused for a moment, somewhat taken aback, before giving a wry smile.
"Of course it counts. Please tell me."
"It seems the Palace Master anticipated our arrival?" the woman in yellow said with a smile.
"It would be strange if you didn't come at such a crucial time." Fang Zhiyun shook his head. "Speak, I will do my best."
"This person," the woman in yellow gently handed over a Paper Scroll, "My master hopes you will protect him and prevent him from leaving Heavenly Treasure Palace and getting caught up in this vortex."
Fang Zhiyun looked around, and the Daoist priests guarding the area immediately turned their heads away, their backs to him.
He then reached out and took the Paper Scroll, slowly unrolling it.
On the Paper Scroll, a line of text was clearly written: Zhang Ying, thirty-five years old, Civilian Skill at the Golden Core Stage, martial skill at the Ninth Grade, Wushan Spirit Envoy in the Golden Wing Tower. Following this was a series of related experiences, martial arts techniques, etc.
Fang Zhiyun initially frowned, but then he saw in the martial arts section that even though he was Spirit Envoy of the Golden Wing Tower, all of his skills were from the Great Dao Sect.
His eyes suddenly turned strange.
"Where is his Golden Roc Secret Record?"
"He hasn't practiced." The woman in yellow was speechless. "Alright, I've delivered the message. Your sect may have some objections to him, but I'd appreciate it if the Palace Master could make the final decision."
"With such qualifications, rest assured, I will voice my support." Fang Zhiyun.
At thirty-five years old, Golden Core Stage. Although he was past thirty, his aptitude was already quite good. He occupied a somewhat awkward position among the younger generation within the Heavenly Treasure Palace.
Fang Zhiyun well that this person was indeed very talented.
But it's not to the point where we should offend the Western Sect and other forces for his sake.
If Zhang Ying's true identity is revealed, then some people in the palace will surely think that he has provoked terrifying forces such as the Western Sect and the Sensing Gate simply because of Zhang Ying.
It's not worth it.
However, since the Heavenly Maiden has used the favor from back then as collateral, he has no choice but to do his best.