Anniversary

This day, Wei Yuan suddenly remembered that it had been a full year since he arrived at Taichu Palace. If not for his classes during the day, he would have had trouble distinguishing whether he was human or a jade toad, as he spent most of his time absorbing moonlight.

It was late, the bright moon had risen, and a hint of coolness was in the evening breeze. Tall trees cast dappled shadows in the lonely courtyard. It was a night of poignant beauty, but looking at the moon made Wei Yuan feel nauseous.

However, his first anniversary on the immortal path couldn't pass like any other day, could it?

Wei Yuan set out cups and saucers on the stone table in the courtyard, poured clear water into a teacup, and placed a Qi Nourishing Pill in the center of the plate. This was the anniversary feast he had prepared for himself. Speaking of which, the last time he had tasted mortal food was at Bao Yun's banquet. Since then, Wei Yuan had been eating plain rice for a full year.

This year had been incredibly arduous.

The pocket money given by True Person Fen Hai had long since run out, and Wei Yuan still owed Qisi Hall over two thousand taels. Furthermore, there were some expenses for his studies that couldn't be deferred. Wei Yuan had no choice but to borrow from the public fund established by Bao Yun, accumulating several thousand taels over the year. All in all, Wei Yuan was in debt by over ten thousand taels, which could be considered a minor accomplishment.

This year had been particularly lonely.

Since meeting True Person Fen Hai, Wei Yuan had only seen Zhang Sheng about ten times in total, less than half a day combined. Apart from classes, Wei Yuan spent almost all his time sitting on a giant rock, staring blankly at the full moon. Oh, right, for a jade toad, sitting and lying down were essentially the same posture.

Absorbing moonlight? Wei Yuan could absorb moonlight even in his sleep now.

This year, the pressure had been immense.

At this point, it didn't really matter whether he worked hard or not. After all, there were only twelve hours in a day, and one couldn't conjure an extra hour out of thin air.

Recalling the past year's events, it all flashed through his mind in an instant.

Wei Yuan sighed softly, sat down at the table, raised his cup to toast Wei Youcai, who was far away in Yongzhou, then to Zhang Sheng. He drank it all in one gulp, then picked up the Qi Nourishing Pill and, with a grand and heroic gesture, tilted his head back and swallowed it.

"What are you doing?" Zhang Sheng's voice suddenly rang out from behind him.

Wei Yuan was so startled that it was no small matter. The Qi Nourishing Pill got stuck in his throat, unable to go down or come up.

As Wei Yuan turned around, he saw Zhang Sheng's expressionless face. His own face immediately flushed, and he felt a surge of heat rush to his head, wishing he could dig a hole and bury himself.

Zhang Sheng just watched Wei Yuan, making his face turn from red to purple. Just as he was about to spit out a mouthful of blood, Zhang Sheng suddenly smiled.

Wei Yuan suddenly felt the mountain of pressure on his heart vanish without a trace, and joy surged within him. He couldn't remember how long it had been since he had seen his teacher smile.

Zhang Sheng glanced at the teacup and the neatly arranged empty bowls and plates on the table, and Wei Yuan's face turned red again instantly.

There were two pairs of chopsticks on the table.

Zhang Sheng couldn't hold back any longer and burst into laughter, laughing so hard that Wei Yuan wanted to bang his head against a wall.

Zhang Sheng laughed until his stomach hurt and he couldn't straighten up. He finally managed to curb his laughter and said seriously, "The Patriarch calculated the heavenly secrets and predicted that your cultivation would be complete today. He specifically sent me to take you to Azure Hall."

"Cultivation complete?!" Wei Yuan was overjoyed.

It had been a full year. Wei Yuan had been absorbing moonlight so much that he had almost forgotten he was human. Although the shadow in the full moon was the same as it was at the beginning, since the Patriarch said his cultivation was complete, it must be true.

What Zhang Sheng said was the Patriarch, not the Grand-Patriarch. The Patriarch in Azure Hall could only refer to True Monarch Xuan Yue.

Since the Patriarch had summoned him, he couldn't delay. Zhang Sheng released his flying sword and ascended into the sky with Wei Yuan. However, he couldn't help but chuckle from time to time, making the flying sword sway, rising and falling erratically.

Whenever Zhang Sheng laughed, Wei Yuan felt like jumping off the sword.

During the flight, Zhang Sheng suddenly said, "Today marks your first year in the Palace, a day worth remembering."

Wei Yuan was taken aback. Suddenly, his nose felt a little sore. He hadn't expected Zhang Sheng to remember. Over the past year, he had only seen Zhang Sheng once a month and had almost thought his master had abandoned him.

Wei Yuan had grown quite a bit taller this year, now surpassing Zhang Sheng's nose tip. Patting his head was no longer as convenient. Zhang Sheng patted Wei Yuan's shoulder and said gently, "Silly child, the immortal path is long. We, master and disciple, have a long way to go."

Wei Yuan's nose felt sore again, and his eyes became a little dry.

The flying sword flew as if drunk, but it still remembered the way and finally arrived at the main hall of Azure Hall.

The main hall of Azure Hall was eighty-eight zhang tall, much more magnificent than the side hall where True Person Fen Hai resided. Wei Yuan and Zhang Sheng stood in the hall and heard a gentle, deep voice from above: "You are Wei Yuan? Bring out your visualization diagram for me to see."

Wei Yuan sat down cross-legged. This cultivation technique was already ingrained in his bones. Before he could even enter meditation, the visualization diagram appeared, and the jade toad eagerly took a large gulp of moonlight!

At this moment, the visualization diagram not only appeared in Wei Yuan's sea of consciousness but also manifested in the center of Azure Hall at a proportional scale.

A giant rock appeared in the center of Azure Hall, with a terrifying jade toad nearly a hundred zhang long coiled on it. Its head touched the ceiling of the hall, and the full moon was simply outside the ceiling!

The vast Azure Hall couldn't even contain one visualization diagram?!

The hall fell silent.

Finally, True Monarch Xuan Yue's voice sounded again: "Wei Yuan, you have been practicing the Jade Toad Gazing at the Moon Diagram for three hundred and sixty-five days, but you cannot expand it further. I will teach you a method that will allow you to immediately enter Body Forging. Go to the side hall and cultivate first."

Wei Yuan got up as instructed and went to the side hall to cultivate. He was not surprised by the visualization diagram in the main hall at all. After all, he thought about toad life every day; there was really nothing new to see.

After Wei Yuan left, six figures appeared in the hall, including True Person Fen Hai. The several True Persons looked at the towering jade toad in silence.

The hall suddenly vanished, revealing the complete visualization diagram. Everyone seemed to be standing in the void. This was True Monarch Xuan Yue using his Spiritual Power to conceal the hall so that everyone could see the complete visualization diagram.

True Monarch Xuan Yue asked, "Zhang Sheng, you are his master. Do you know he has cultivated to this extent?"

Zhang Sheng replied, "Disciple was busy every day, only going to give guidance once a month. At first, I thought the visualization diagram was a bit large, but I got used to it after seeing it often. Besides, Wei Yuan's cultivation had no flaws, so I didn't interfere."

"Then what have you been busy with?" True Monarch Xuan Yue's tone held a hint of reproach.

Zhang Sheng seemed to glance inadvertently at True Person Fen Hai, but said, "Nothing."

True Monarch Xuan Yue did not probe further but said, "Although the fortune from beyond the heavens is still present, Wei Yuan has been absorbing it for three hundred and sixty-five days. As the saying goes, 'too much is as bad as not enough.' You cannot take any more."

In the giant full moon, the shadow appeared particularly clear. Those with shallow cultivation wouldn't notice anything, but the True Persons present all felt a sense of unease.

One True Person said, "The fortune from beyond the heavens is different from the fortune of our world, after all. If Wei Yuan transforms it into his own foundation, isn't that akin to theft?"

True Monarch Xuan Yue replied, "This is precisely what I am worried about, so I will personally seal the channel of fortune."

Another True Person suddenly said, "After being absorbed for 365 days with no change, this... isn't this heavenly fortune almost the same as the great fortune of heaven and earth?"

The other True Persons finally understood this point, and all gasped in shock.

A thin stream of moonlight descended from the sky; this was True Monarch Xuan Yue's signature Daoist technique. The moonlight fell upon the full moon in the visualized diagram, and the shadow within the moon became blurred, gradually dissipating.

As the shadow within the moon dissipated, all the True Persons felt an inexplicable sense of relief, as if they had escaped a deadly danger. However, just then, the shadow suddenly expanded at an extreme speed, directly overflowing from the full moon. Then, from the shadow, a bird's head with three eyes emerged!

As soon as it appeared, it surveyed the great hall, finally fixing its gaze on Zhang Sheng.