At this moment, not far from Tianxiang Mountain, Zhang Tianshi was flying through the sky. Suddenly, a streak of light shot towards him, blocking his path. Upon closer inspection, it was Wu Fan. "Traitor!" Zhang Tianshi was furious, and coldly said, "Move aside!" He bypassed Wu Fan and was about to continue forward when he felt something grab his leg. Looking down, he saw Wu Fan lying on the clouds, holding onto one of his legs with both hands, and said with a feigned pout, "Senior Brother, don't go!"
Zhang Tianshi felt a chill run down his spine. He tried to shake his leg free, but it wouldn't budge. He angrily said, "What do you want? You old shameless man, you're hundreds of years old, and you have no shame. I still have mine!"
Hundreds of years ago, when they were young, Wu Fan would always act spoiled like this towards his senior brother whenever Zhang Tianshi was about to go out for training.
But now, they were both old men with graying temples. If they were ordinary mortals, they would already be bones. Yet, he was still acting like this? Didn't he feel ashamed?
Wu Fan persisted, "Senior Brother, if you're willing to listen to me for a moment, I'll let you go."
"Speak, I'm listening."
"No, not here. Let's find a place to talk over drinks. Senior Brother, we haven't gotten drunk together in hundreds of years."
"Who wants to drink with you, you traitor."
A moment later, the two were drinking face to face in a secluded pavilion.
"Traitor, didn't you have something to tell me? Speak." Perhaps it had been hundreds of years since Zhang Tianshi had drunk alcohol, as he was already slightly tipsy after just two cups.
"Senior Brother, no rush. Look, we brothers haven't drunk together in hundreds of years. We've met quite a few times, but every time we meet, it's always about official business, and in recent decades, you've even misunderstood me."
"Misunderstood? You traitor, how have I misunderstood you?"
"Alas, Senior Brother, when I left, I underwent the trial of the Yin-Yang Eight Trigrams Furnace. I left openly and honorably."
"But you established your own sect. To the Divine Sword Sect, that is disloyalty."
"Senior Brother, do you still remember the tenets of the Divine Sword Sect: cultivate immortality and seek eternal life? The tenets of our Lingxiao Sect are to uphold justice and protect all living beings in the world. This is why I left and started anew."
"Ridiculous, you? Protect all living beings? With just your few followers?" Zhang Tianshi laughed, spitting out a mouthful of wine.
"I believe that as long as one has a loyal heart and is willing to protect all living beings, one person is enough!" Wu Fan suddenly became spirited, his eyes shining brightly. "For example, Mo Qi from my sect is such a person. Therefore, I hope Senior Brother will be magnanimous and spare him. If you show mercy today, you will surely see him save the world and turn the tide in the future."
Zhang Tianshi's gaze also shifted from its previous daze, his eyes suddenly sharp and radiant. "I naturally know your purpose in coming to find me today. However, regarding this person Mo Qi, if you say he will achieve great cultivation and shine brightly in the future, I admit it's possible. But how do you know for sure that he will save the world and turn the tide?"
"Back then, on Mount Shura, he was surrounded and on the verge of death, yet he disregarded his own safety and fought desperately as bait to give his fellow disciples a chance to build their foundations. This is a minor righteousness. When Asura realm monsters invaded the human world and threatened world peace, he immediately put aside sect differences and fought alongside disciples from other sects to eliminate the monsters. This is great righteousness. This kid has a devilish aura in small matters and a righteous aura in big matters. How could I not see it?" Wu Fan said in one breath.
What he said sounded as if he had witnessed it personally. In reality, he had learned some information through a sound transmission spirit stone at the time and later combined it with the firsthand accounts of Bai Cheng and others to grasp the entire sequence of events.
"How come I didn't know about the invasion of Asura realm monsters?" Zhang Tianshi suddenly asked, his eyes showing a hint of fear.
"What's wrong, Senior Brother?" Wu Fan seemed to sense Zhang Tianshi's nervousness and immediately asked.
"This leakage of spiritual energy from the Asura realm is already unusual. I suspected from the beginning that someone in the Asura realm wanted to break the seal. It seems that is indeed the case. But why did no one from our sect report it to me?"
"It's over, it has been eliminated," Wu Fan said, taking a sip of wine.
Zhang Tianshi remained somewhat uneasy. "It's not that simple. I always feel as if things are not over yet."
Wu Fan was also made nervous by him. He then said, "When the cart reaches the mountain, it will naturally find its way. I don't think Senior Brother needs to worry so much. Look at me, I face the danger of being encroached upon and destroyed by your major sects every day, yet I still live quite freely, don't I?"
Wu Fan paused, then cursed with a laugh, "Are you tired of living? Do you want me to go back and lead people to destroy your sect right now?"
"I was joking," Wu Fan said, waving his hands repeatedly. "Senior Brother, please don't take it seriously. I'm drunk."
Zhang Tianshi stared intently at Wu Fan. "I think you're very clear-headed. Don't think I don't know what you're planning. You're blocking me here while secretly going to negotiate with the three major sects. Let me warn you first, in the future, regarding alchemy cooperation, if my Divine Sword Sect doesn't get a share, don't blame me for being impolite."
Wu Fan immediately put on a smiling face. "Of course, there will definitely be a place for Senior Brother."
The Divine Pill Sect's Nine Yin Mountain had nine peaks, each soaring into the clouds and enveloped in ethereal mist. Eight of them were covered with lush vegetation and verdant greenery year-round, but one was perpetually covered in snow, a vast expanse of white.
Strangely, Mo Qi encountered no obstruction along the way. Not only was no one blocking him, but he didn't even encounter any restrictions, proceeding directly to the mountain gate.
Even more miraculously, as if it knew he was coming, the mountain gate creaked open on its own. Mo Qi strode in with his head held high.
At this moment, two disciples approached him. One had thick eyebrows and large eyes, and was slightly plump. The other was shorter, thinner, and appeared somewhat immature, like a newly admitted disciple.
The disciple with thick eyebrows and large eyes said to Mo Qi, "May I ask if you are Senior Brother Mo of the Lingxiao Sect?"
Mo Qi replied, "That is indeed me!"
The disciple with thick eyebrows and large eyes said, "Please follow us." He then turned around with the thin disciple and walked in a certain direction. Mo Qi, who had been calm as still water, couldn't help but feel nervous.
What were they up to? They weren't speaking, nor were they shouting threats. What did they want?
The two Divine Pill Sect disciples wasted no words, leading Mo Qi forward. They turned left and right, went uphill and downhill. As they passed a plaza, Mo Qi was struck with awe by a statue in front of him.
The statue depicted two figures: an old man with white hair and a white beard, and a little girl standing before him. The little girl held a medicinal herb in her hand, while the old man carried a bamboo basket on his back. It was a simple scene, yet Mo Qi, as if in a trance, saw much more. It was as if the old man and the little girl were moving. The little girl ran ahead, occasionally picking herbs from the ground and telling the old man, "Master, this is Clear Heart Grass." The old man smiled kindly, nodding continuously.
Suddenly, the little girl's gaze turned towards him, her pupils dilating infinitely, instantly engulfing Mo Qi's entire body. In an instant, Mo Qi entered a pitch-black space. Shocked, just as he was trying to escape the darkness, a strange phenomenon appeared above him, as if stars were rising from the deep night sky.
Looking up, he saw patterns in the sky, some like flying dragons and dancing phoenixes, others as still as mountains. They all quietly emanated an ancient and heavy aura. It was the light from the lines of those patterns that shone down, like the twinkling of stars.
As soon as Mo Qi saw those patterns, he was captivated. As if in a trance, the patterns seemed to rotate and move. As they moved, they appeared to be displaying ancient alchemy methods and some never-before-seen alchemy secret recipes.
Mo Qi couldn't help but marvel. These alchemy techniques were unheard of and unseen by him. Yet, these methods and secret techniques, while seemingly incomprehensible, upon careful consideration, gave him a sudden sense of clarity, as if emerging from a fog. He was instantly enlightened and exclaimed with delight, feeling a sense of recognition. The difficulties and confusions he had encountered in his previous alchemy processes were all resolved at that moment. These things had never appeared in any alchemy books before; they seemed to come from another world, yet they could resonate with the alchemists of this world.
However, some of these things were profound. Although they seemed within reach, when he tried to grasp them, they vanished like smoke. Although he couldn't capture them at the moment, he could clearly feel their brilliance and mystery. He still persistently wanted to capture them, causing him to become lost in them, unable to extricate himself.
In reality, Mo Qi was still in the plaza. The two Divine Pill Sect disciples beside him felt as if they had been repelled by something. When they turned back and tried to approach Mo Qi again, they were repelled time and time again, as if an invisible barrier had appeared around him.
And within that barrier space, Mo Qi would sometimes laugh heartily, sometimes ponder deeply, sometimes sit on the ground and draw something with his finger, and sometimes stand up and spin in circles, appearing utterly deranged.
As the two disciples stood there, at a loss, the deep voice of Sect Master Lai Yaoshi reached their ears: "You two go ahead and leave. Go about your own business, no need to mind him." The two disciples received the order and departed.
Lai Yaoshi, however, was not idle. He immediately gave further instructions to dismantle the Seven Absolute Divine Light Array that had been meticulously set up. This array was originally meant to deal with Mo Qi. If he had walked a few more steps, crossed the plaza, and entered the Seven Absolute Divine Light Array, the formation would have been triggered immediately, and heavenly lightning, earthly fire, wind, snow, rain, and frost would have all descended upon him, instantly turning him into dust.
However, at this moment, he realized that Mo Qi had inherited the legacy of the Divine Pill Sect's ancestor, which meant he had a deep connection with the Divine Pill Sect. Even the ancestor who had ascended to immortality thousands of years ago favored him. How could he dare to do anything to him?
Afterward, Lai Yaoshi issued another order: anyone passing through the plaza who saw a "madman" should ignore him and not gather around. They should go their own way and mind their own business.
Then, he urgently summoned all the elders and peak masters to discuss countermeasures.
The disciples of the Divine Pill Sect heard these inexplicable orders and were all curious. Many of them deliberately passed through the plaza to "pay their respects" to the madman. Seeing that he was indeed quite mad, they dared not gather around, so they took a few quick glances, smiled, and left.
Snow Girl also happened to pass by the plaza. Upon seeing the madman, she immediately recognized him as Mo Qi. Instinctively, she took a few steps back. However, Mo Qi was now gesticulating wildly, muttering to himself, and his eyes showed a look of foolishness. He truly appeared to have gone completely mad!
She also sensed the flow of barrier spiritual energy around Mo Qi, and surmised that several powerful elders of the sect had used their great divine powers to trap him there, preventing him from leaving, which had driven him mad.
Snow Girl couldn't help but sigh, "Alas, why did you walk into a trap?" Suddenly, she felt a sense of dread. How could she have such a thought? He was an enemy! Had she just felt pity for him? How could that be possible? Snow Girl hurriedly fled.
Mo Qi, as if famished and intoxicated, became engrossed in those wondrous alchemy secret methods. He would awaken at times and be lost at others. Time quietly slipped away. The sun rose in the east and set in the west, and then set in the west and rose in the east. But in his world, time seemed to have stopped. Only the marvelous symbols in the sky and those peculiar secret methods were flowing and vibrant.
In particular, one secret method, which involved refining pills using the human body as a furnace, greatly captured his attention. He carefully reasoned through it. The annotations of the diagrams clearly explained how to start the fire, how to circulate the qi, how to guide it with spiritual power, how to expel impurities, how to eliminate the conflict between human and medicine, how to form the pill, and finally, how to cool it and achieve the unity of human and pill.
Mo Qi read with great satisfaction, marveling at the wonders of creation and the wisdom of his predecessors.