The Transmission Elder who taught the arts in the Flamefire Hall was already white-haired and had not descended the mountain in nearly twenty years. Looking at Ding Songyan, he said thoughtfully:
"Ghost king grass grows in places of utmost yin, yet blooms with flowers of pure yang. Blood sand is supremely yang and fierce, yet cold yin water forms within it. They should meet your requirements."
The Transmission Elder did not know why Ding Songyan was being allowed to consult the aperture-creation chapters of the Celestial Stars Scripture and the Illuminating the Long Night Scripture entrusted to their care. Nor did he understand why the sect master had ordered him to cooperate fully with Ding Songyan without asking for the specific reasons. He knew only that, since all three Martial Grandmasters present in the sect had agreed, it conformed to the sect's rules.
"Thank you, Granduncle." Ding Songyan bowed sincerely.
This Transmission Elder, Hu Chengzong, belonged to the same generation as Wang Zhou and was the junior martial brother of Tao Wenshu's master. But he had remained stuck at the perfected Dayan Realm, unable to become a Martial Grandmaster. In his seventies, he was already showing clear signs of age.
Before long, Hu Chengzong brought out two wooden boxes and led Ding Songyan into a quiet chamber beside the main hall.
"Which Aperture Creation Method will you use?" the old man asked his junior as he opened the boxes.
Judging by the materials requested, Hu Chengzong concluded that the aperture Ding Songyan intended to create was not any of the unusual apertures recorded in the Celestial Stars Scripture or the Illuminating the Long Night Scripture.
Some of those unusual apertures required ghost king grass, and others required blood sand, but none required both.
By the oil lamp's light, Ding Songyan