Red Destiny [Destiny of the Artisan God]

The alchemy quarter lay in a valley ringed by several mountain peaks, with medicinal fields all around, their herbal fragrance thick in the air.

At its center stood several pill-refining chambers arranged according to the Eight Trigrams.

Heat billowed within each alchemy chamber, and the furnace fires burned year-round without extinguishing. Dedicated fire-tending acolytes and fan-wielding acolytes were often assigned to keep the flames alive. The requirements for acolytes permitted to work here were exceedingly strict. For instance, a fire-tending acolyte had to possess a fire fate and fire constitution; a wood fate and wood constitution would barely do. If one's birth characters did not match, one was forbidden from entering the alchemy quarter.

Outside the alchemy quarter, before one of the medicinal fields, a rather tall young Daoist acolyte was inspecting the growth of the herbs. Beyond the herb garden, Mao Hong stood at a distance, his face full of smiles as he said,

"Senior Brother An, our woodcarvings have been selling quite well. The first batch of a dozen or so all sold out as soon as word got out. It's just a pity the price was a little low!"

Hearing this, the young Daoist acolyte smiled.

"It doesn't matter if the price is a little lower!"

"This is only the first batch, after all. For the second batch, I plan to make a hundred and put them out in large quantities. The price can be even lower. As long as they sell, it will be enough to make up for the losses caused by the price difference!"

After a slight pause, his gaze fell upon Mao Hong again, his eyes filled with deep appreciation.

"Of course, I won't have Junior Brother Mao running errands for nothing. You'll get your share of benefits when the time comes!"

Mao Hong's eyes lit up, but he said modestly,

"I haven't done anything for Senior Brother An, yet I have received your gifts. I am ashamed to accept them!"

An Sheng merely smiled faintly.

He cast a distant glance at another, separate alchemy chamber.

At that moment, a Daoist acolyte of around ten emerged from it. The many acolytes outside immediately saluted upon seeing Daokongzi.

Following his gaze to Daokongzi, Mao Hong naturally lowered his head and pretended not to see anything.

Then he heard An Sheng say softly,

"One day, I too will be able to enter and leave these core alchemy chambers at will! I will be able to attend upon the True Masters and listen to their teachings!"

Mao Hong hastily said,

"Senior Brother An's Dao arts are profound, and you are also a favorite before Eldest Senior Brother. There will surely be a place for you in the alchemy quarter in the future!"

An Sheng's expression did not change at those words. He merely felt that this was only right. He was already imagining the day when he seized the Daoist temple's woodcarving trade, advanced in his Dao practice, and rose in status within the alchemy quarter.

But suddenly, his expression shifted. A Daoist acolyte dressed in moon-white robes came hurrying over from afar.

"Senior Brother An, this is bad! Several senior brothers from Hundred Beasts Cave are looking for you!"

"What do they want with me?"

Looking at the anxious acolyte, An Sheng suddenly felt a sense of foreboding rise from the depths of his heart.

The acolyte hesitated, seeming to want to speak but unable to.

An Sheng's face immediately darkened with rage as he shouted,

"Speak!"

Not daring to offend this inner disciple of the alchemy quarter, the acolyte could only say,

"They want to return the goods?"

An Sheng's expression immediately turned cold, and he snapped,

"Return the goods? Who told them they could return them?"

After a brief pause, he asked again,

"Why do they want to return them?"

The acolyte lowered his head as he replied,

"I heard that the one from Slaughter Hall has produced a new kind of Cloud-Pattern Wood Carving. They say it uses a composite technique and contains several kinds of Human King Dao resonance. It can even help uncles of the Heavenly Man rank suppress their inner demons, and it is extremely effective at restraining evil spirits. Many senior brothers in the Daoist temple are fighting to buy them now!"

"What?"

An Sheng felt as though he had been struck by lightning.

The acolyte added,

"And the single-pattern Human King Woodcarvings have also dropped in price. One thousand-year spirit fruit is enough to buy one, though metal-attributed spirit fruits are preferred, with other attributes coming second!"

At those words, An Sheng felt as if he could vomit three pints of blood.

"Is he leaving me no way to survive at all?"

Sweat broke out all over him in his panic. He knew perfectly well that there was still a considerable gap between his own woodcarvings and the other party's.

Although he had comprehended the alchemy quarter's inherited Fire Chronicle Heavenly Heart Diagram, his woodcarving skills were truly only at a beginner's level.

Compared to the other party's exquisite, natural craftsmanship, his work fell far short.

Not to mention that his comprehension of the Fire Chronicle Heavenly Heart Diagram seemed inferior to Slaughter Hall's Suiren Spirit Form Visualization Method. The other party had released more than a dozen types of Cloud-Pattern Wood Carvings in barely a month—proof enough of that.

In his anxiety, he was utterly at a loss.

Watching this, the moon-white-robed acolyte could not help asking,

"Senior Brother An, then are we accepting the returns or not?"

An Sheng immediately shot him an irritated glare.

"Accept what returns? I've already refined those spirit fruits and spirit herbs. Where am I supposed to get anything to return?"

The acolyte was somewhat aggrieved as well, and said in a low voice,

"But those senior brothers said that if we do not accept the returns, they will make sure our alchemy quarter never knows peace again. They also said that they will never sell any benefits to Senior Brother Bai again!"

An Sheng's face became exceptionally ugly.

"They dare threaten me?"

Yet he had no choice but to consider Senior Brother Bai's feelings. If he truly ruined Eldest Senior Brother's business over this, how could he possibly remain in the alchemy quarter?

"Damn it! It's all that bastard's fault!"

He could only shift the hatred filling his heart onto Qingli.

He had completely forgotten that it was he who had ambitiously sought to replace the other party and monopolize the Daoist temple's woodcarving trade.

By then, Mao Hong had become like a quail, keeping his head lowered and saying nothing, terrified that An Sheng might set his sights on him.

But An Sheng was in over his head and had no time to deal with him.

Those dozen or so woodcarvings represented a dozen or so thousand-year spirit fruits and spirit herbs. What could he use to compensate them?

He could not afford it at all!

The entrance to the dining hall had become unusually lively.

Many Daoist acolytes gathered outside the dining hall to watch, and quite a few Daoists from within the temple rushed over after hearing the commotion.

Someone inside was shouting,

"Multi-layer composite sacred icons! First come, first served! Only three thousand-year spirit fruits each, with metal-attributed spirit fruits preferred!

"Or two fifteen-hundred-year spirit fruits, or one two-thousand-year metal-attributed spirit fruit! Water and wood attributes come next, with all other attributes after that!"

"Quantities are limited! Senior brothers and martial uncles, buy quickly, or there won't be any left!"

"The ordinary single-pattern woodcarvings are temporarily discounted too. Once this batch is sold out, they won't be available at this price again, so don't miss out!"

At the entrance to the dining hall, a Daoist acolyte dressed in coarse linen clothes was calling out. At his feet stood several exceptionally exquisite Cloud-Pattern Wood Carvings. Looking closely, they seemed like the Holy King Sui Ren descending into the world, each one a sacred icon of light amid darkness, illuminating the path ahead and filling people with boundless confidence and hope.

At a single glance, many accomplished Daoists were moved, unable to resist praising the craftsmanship.

"Such woodcarvings can already be called ritual artifacts, yet they cost only three thousand-year spirit fruits. They are truly excellent goods for a modest price!"

Many Daoists were tempted and stepped past the acolytes to inspect them directly.

At that moment, Yang Huai and Feng Ying stood side by side nearby. Seeing the scene, Feng Ying could not help clicking his tongue. He looked at Yang Huai sourly and said,

"I never expected you to have such a trick up your sleeve, enough to turn the tide when the walls were crumbling. I had thought you might take things to extremes, but now it seems the ones heading for extremes are everyone else..."

Yang Huai merely smiled faintly.

Yet joy flickered in his eyes, along with a lingering sense of good fortune in his heart.

His ability to create this composite woodcarving was both a change brought about by his Suiren Spirit Form Visualization Method reaching minor attainment and the result of a transformation in his primary destiny.

Ever since that strange thread of azure qi from the unseen world had entered his body a month ago, his destiny was no longer the ordinary white [Unique Craftsmanship], but a red [Craftsman God Destiny] with a trace of lingering azure qi.

The changes were beyond all reason.

It seemed that whenever he did any carpentry work, he received divine aid. Countless strange and ingenious ideas filled his mind, and the woodcarvings he created seemed almost to come alive, possessing incomparably wondrous bearing.

The Suiren Wood Carvings he produced seemed as though the divine might of Sui Ren had descended, as if they only needed one final step to draw the attention of Lord Sui King's thought of light.

Such changes naturally drew droves of Daoists who knew quality when they saw it.

Outside the dining hall, several fire-working Daoists looked at one another in astonishment.