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Translator: Silavin & Tia
Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun
Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys
The talented Heaven Grade Alchemist Yang Kai whose aptitude surpassed all his peers had advanced too quickly in his cultivation and built up an unstable foundation as a result. Consequently, he experienced a dissonance in his cultivation during his advancement into the Spirit Realm and underwent a drastic change in personality. Thankfully, the Sect Master and the Elders did not give up on him. They went to great lengths to save him, and their efforts paid off. They succeeded in turning the situation around! What joyous news!
That was the news that quickly spread throughout Profound Pill Sect in a very short time.
The battle that took place yesterday caused a huge uproar in the Sect, so it was only natural for everyone to be aware of the incident. Nevertheless, not many people actually knew what happened to cause such a commotion. Only those cultivators who participated in the battle understood some of the truth, but even they did not know much either.
In any case, this explanation did not make many people suspicious of the truth when combined with Yang Kai’s violent and murderous aura at the time. Yang Kai’s actions had indeed made him seem as though he was experiencing cultivation dissonance.
After the war subsided, the work of rebuilding was yet another troublesome matter. The explanation given to the public was only to stabilise the hearts and minds of those inside and outside Profound Pill Sect. Besides, the cultivators who were injured by Yang Kai needed time to heal and recuperate.
On the other hand, the most troublesome matter besieging the higher-ups of Profound Pill Sect at this moment was Yang Kai’s final request to reflect on his mistakes in the Restricted Area for ten years.
All the higher-ups of Profound Pill Sect had gathered in the Reception Hall for a meeting. Those in attendance ranged from the Sect Master down to the Elders, Protectors, and Deacons. Even though so many talented people crowded around inside the Main Hall, the atmosphere was absolutely dismal and gloomy.
The topic of discussion for the day was none other than the matter involving Yang Kai’s request for self-reflection for a period of ten years. It would have been fine if he had requested for any other area in the Sect, but the key point was that the Restricted Area was where the Medicine King Furnace was currently placed. Profound Pill Sect had no choice but to handle this matter with great caution.
Before learning the details of his background, they had allowed him to freely access the Restricted Area, come into contact with the Medicine King Furnace, and comprehend the Grand Dao Divine Tone. Now that they knew that he had ulterior motives, how could they dare to let him come into contact with the Medicine King Furnace? Unfortunately, nobody could come up with an acceptable solution on how to handle this matter.
Staring at the silent crowd below, Baili Yun Sang rapped his knuckles on the armrest of his chair, “Stop pretending to be mute. Let’s exchange some ideas about how we should handle this matter. Great Elder, what is your opinion?”
Being called upon by the Sect Master directly, Wu Feng Hua had no choice but to express his opinion. He was silent for a moment before he said, “That boy knows the importance of the Medicine King Furnace to Profound Pill Sect. Seeing as he dares to make such a request with that knowledge in mind, it can be seen that he is definitely scheming something. I’m afraid that he won’t give up unless we agree to his request. What’s more, judging by the strength that he has displayed so far, Profound Pill Sect wouldn’t be able to stop him even if he wanted to barge into the Restricted Area forcefully.”
That was right. In his opinion, Yang Kai’s final request was not a self-inflicted punishment but a request. It was a request for reconciliation with Profound Pill Sect! Agreeing with the request was the only method to gain some possibility of reconciliation between both parties. If they refused to meet his request, there was no doubt that another battle would break out between them. How the situation would turn out after that remained unknown.
In any case, there was no denying that Profound Pill Sect had taken all the people of Void Spirit Sword Sect captive in Profound Pill City. Even if not a single person from Void Spirit Sword Sect had been harmed, Profound Pill Sect was at fault in that sense.
Baili Yun Sang frowned, “Great Elder, are you saying that we should agree to his request?”
Wu Feng Hua shook his head, “This Elder has no such intentions. It’s just that… this Elder is of the opinion that Little Junior Brother should not have accepted the fabricated Master-Disciple relationship in the first place. If not for that Master-Disciple relationship, we would not be facing this issue now.”
Before Dan Cheng Zi could speak, Lan Yin glared furiously, “Great Elder, have you even thought about what the consequences would be if Little Junior Brother had not done that?”
Wu Feng Hua said, “Judging by the situation at the time, it would not have been difficult to stop that brat even if Little Junior Brother had not done that. It was proven that he retained a shred of his consciousness from the beginning to the end.”
Lan Yin looked like she was about to argue further, but Dan Cheng Zi raised his hand to stop her from speaking and looked up at Wu Feng Hua, “You’re right. He retained a shred of consciousness from beginning to end. That’s why he did not kill anybody in Profound Pill Sect. That’s also the reason why Profound Pill Sect only recorded countless wounded but not a single casualty in the battle yesterday. With that in mind, how should we have dealt with the incident even if we did manage to stop him? That brat is so strong that nobody in Profound Pill Sect can stop him. Do we just let him go? He has been comprehending the mysteries of the Medicine King Furnace for several years now. Not to mention that he also turned over many pill recipes and Alchemy techniques. Will you feel at ease if we let him go free just like that, Great Elder?”
Wu Feng Hua considered the question carefully before he slowly shook his head in response.
It was just as Dan Cheng Zi had mentioned. Yang Kai had comprehended so many mysteries of the Medicine King Furnace. Who could allow him to leave so easily?
“We can neither keep him here nor let him leave. In that case, we can only use this Master-Disciple relationship to tie him down. It doesn’t matter whether it is real or fake. As long as he calls me ‘Honoured Master’, even the fake relationship will become real.”
Baili Yun Sang looked pensive, “Little Junior Brother, did you recognise the Master-Disciple relationship yesterday with this consideration in mind?”
Dan Cheng Zi cupped his fist, “Things were too urgent at the time, so I had no time to discuss this matter with you, Sect Master.”
Baili Yun Sang waved his hand dismissively, “You have always been quick-witted. None of us can compare to you in this regard. You did the right thing. With this Master-Disciple relationship to bind him, that boy will be forced to act with more consideration in the future. Regrettably… that does not solve the problem at hand.”
Dan Cheng Zi said, “What the Sect Master and the others are worried about is simply whether he has any other intentions towards Profound Pill Sect or whether he is a spy sent by another Sect to spy on the secrets of the Medicine King Furnace!”
“That’s right,” Baili Yun Sang nodded.
Dan Cheng Zi slowly shook his head, “In my opinion, these are not problems at all.”
Everybody looked towards him and he continued, “It has not been long since I returned to Profound Pill Sect, and the understanding I have of my ‘Disciple’ is also based only on what you’ve told me. But, it’s precisely for this reason that I can look at the problem from an outside perspective, unfettered by certain constraints. Let me ask you this, Sect Master, has he ever done anything malicious to the Sect in all the years since he entered the Sect?”
“Never.”
“Have you ever seen him in close contact with any other Sects?”
“Aside from Void Spirit Sword Sect, we have never noticed anything of the sort. But, Void Spirit Sword Sect is where he was born, so it is understandable that he has frequent contact with them.
“He has comprehended various pill recipes from the Medicine King Furnace. There have been over a dozen so far. If he had any malicious intentions towards the Sect, he could have selected only a few to contribute to the Sect and kept more of them secret; however, I don’t believe he did that.”
Baili Yun Sang nodded lightly. There had been more than a dozen brand-new pill recipes over the years, which was a huge contribution to the Sect.
“Another point is the battle yesterday. There were no casualties in the Sect, only countless wounded. It can be seen that he cares for the Sect. Besides, if he was a spy sent by another Sect, would they allow him to attack this place all on his own? Wouldn’t they be afraid that an unforeseen accident might occur?”
Baili Yun Sang pondered for a moment and asked, “Junior Brother, are you saying that he was not instructed by a third party to join Profound Pill Sect?”
Dan Cheng Zi shook his head, “He joined Profound Pill Sect completely by accident.”
“What do you mean by that?” Everybody looked at him in curiosity.
He asked in return, “Do you remember how he joined Profound Pill Sect?”
Yu Bo Yang considered the question, “Little Gao encountered him in Heavenly Martial City during a trip there, and they ended up competing with each other in Alchemy. The result was that he refined a Ten Revolutions Clear Heart Pill using our Profound Pill Sect’s recipe. That’s why Little Gao suspected that he obtained the pill recipe from here. After making some inquiries, Little Gao determined that you were the one who taught him in the past, Little Junior Brother. If you had not returned to the Sect without warning the other day, we probably would never have known that it was all a lie.”
Dan Cheng Zi gave a wry smile, “I’ve always considered my talents to be above all others in the Alchemic Dao, with few who are qualified to be my equal; however, after a brief chat with the brat last night, I finally discovered what it means for there to always be mountains beyond mountains.”
Everybody looked at Dan Cheng Zi in astonishment. His arrogance was well-known. If not for that, he would not have left the Sect in anger over the Sect Master’s position back then. Therefore, it was their first time hearing him say something so humbling.
Baili Yun Sang asked, “Little Junior Brother, what did you talk about last night?”
“We talked about how he joined Profound Pill Sect!” Dan Cheng Zi breathed out a long breath, “He is now my Disciple, so it’s only natural for me to show concern for him as his Honoured Master.”
Pausing for a moment, he finally explained himself, “Little Gao was correct. The pill recipe that brat used to refine the Ten Revolutions Clear Heart Pill back then did indeed belong to Profound Pill Sect. I’m sure you all verified that fact yourselves when he first joined Profound Pill Sect, Senior Brothers.”
Wu Feng Hua nodded, “That’s right. We verified that the pill recipe he used does indeed belong to Profound Pill Sect. It’s precisely because of this that we had no doubts about his origins; after all, there’s no way for him to fake the pill recipe. We were convinced that you took in a Disciple while travelling abroad.”
“There is nothing wrong with the pill recipe. What Little Gao misunderstood was that he learned the pill recipe from me. On the contrary, the pill recipe was taught to him by Little Gao himself.”
The crowd was absolutely dumbfounded by Dan Cheng Zi’s words!
Dan Cheng Zi said, “Little Gao is outside right now. Go ahead and summon him to tell us about what happened back then. I’m sure you’ll understand soon.”
While saying so, Dan Cheng Zi clapped his hands lightly. Gao Xin Peng walked in a short while later and bowed to the people in the room before he stood there obediently with his back straight.
Dan Cheng Zi said, “Little Gao, tell us about the details of your Alchemy competition with Yang Kai back then. Don’t skip over even the smallest of details.
Gao Xin Peng did not understand the reason behind Dan Cheng Zi’s order, but he still answered earnestly. The incident might have taken place several years before, but the memory remained fresh in his mind. Under his narration, the scene at the time seemed to be re-enacted before everyone’s eyes.
During this period, Dan Cheng Zi would also ask some key questions from time to time.
A short while later, Gao Xin Peng left in confusion; meanwhile, the entire Main Hall was so silent that one could have heard the sound of a pin dropping.
After a long time, Yu Bo Yang finally gulped nervously before positing, “Little Gao claimed that Yang Kai was always one step slower than him during their competition, from the first step of organizing the herbs to the final step of condensing the pills. Could it be that… that boy was learning on the spot?”
A series of gasps filled the air and everyone’s eyes contained a light of disbelief.
Alchemy was an extremely sophisticated process. From condensing medicinal liquids to the timing of adding herbs, to the control of the Alchemy Flame, each step required extensive experience and long-term accumulation. Even with a pill recipe, an Alchemist might not be able to successfully refine a pill in such a short time. They would often experience countless failures just to accumulate enough experience before they succeeded. Learning a recipe on the spot was simply impossible, much less succeeding in the refinement!
Dan Cheng Zi said, “I didn’t believe it either, but it is the truth. I deliberately used a pill recipe I created myself to test him last night, and the result was similar to the time when Little Gao competed with him. He would always be one step behind me throughout the entire process, but he succeeded in the refinement nonetheless!”
All of the higher-ups in Profound Pill Sect were shocked to their core!
25th Bam
“This kid is out of this world! No, I mean he’s OUT of This World!”
Yo