Chapter 281 – Eat A Bowl, Eat A Pot
Meng Wu Ya and Xiao Fu Sheng quarreled for most of the day, but eventually seemed to have reached some kind of agreement, so the both old guys walked out with big grins on their faces.
Xiao Fu Sheng immediately began preparing to open the Myriad Drug Pond for Xia Ning Chang so she could study the Pill Saint’s Statue and gain insight into the Alchemic Way.
Opening the Myriad Drug Pond was quite expensive because every time it was opened, many pills would need to be used as an offering to the Pill Saint’s Statue so that it would reveal its profound mysteries and allow those who gazed upon it to gain enlightenment.
The number of pills required each time was no less than a hundred, and the more that were offered and they higher their quality, the longer the Pill Saint’s Statue would remain active.
Because of this material cost, even Medicine King’s Valley would not necessarily be able to open it more than a few times a year, and every time it was, it was either for an Elder that needed enlightenment or for an Elite Disciple as a supreme reward for their achievements.
In addition to those who belonged to Medicine King’s Valley, the only way outside Alchemists were able to see the Pill Saint’s portrait was for them to participate in the Alchemist Summit.
These Alchemist Summits were held once every five years, and each time they were, numerous Alchemists from all over the world would rush to attend.
During this summit, the pills these foreign Alchemists refined, regardless of the quantity or quality, would all be put into the Myriad Drug Pond in order to open this forbidden area; then the top 50 Alchemists from the summit would be allowed to patronize the Pill Saint’s Statue.
Over the course of thousands of years, it was not known just how many pills the Myriad Drug Pond had consumed.
Hence how it received the name Myriad Drug Pond!
The Myriad Drug Pond and the Pill Saint’s Statue shared a mysterious link, and although Medicine King’s Valley had many times tried to explore this link, they had never managed to discover anything.
Over time, this place had become the holy ground of this world’s Alchemists! The Pill Saint’s portrait becoming the treasure that all Alchemists dreamed of. Many people worked their whole life just so that they could gain a moment of time sitting before the Pill Saint’s Satue.
After learning that the Myriad Drug Pond would be opened for Xia Ning Chang, Yang Kai’s mind began to race.
Although he could not personally go with Xia Ning Chang to the Myriad Drug Pond, he could still send Old Demon to check out the situation.
Yang Kai’s preparations for this could be said to be foolproof, passing control of the Soul Breaker Awl and Old Demon to Xia Ning Chang and even borrowing Dong Qing Yan’s aura concealing ancient jade.
If not for this piece of jade, with Old Demon’s innate Demonic Qi, an Immortal Ascension Boundary master would certainly discover him.
Two days later, once everything was arranged, Xiao Fu Sheng personally brought Xia Ning Chang to Pill Saint’s Peak and to the Myriad Drug Pond.
Thick skinned Meng Wu Ya also said he wanted to tag along but Xiao Fu Sheng ruthlessly refused.
Even Meng Wu Ya was not allowed to approach; it was clear just how much Medicine King’s Valley valued this forbidden area.
On the day Xia Ning Chang went to the Myriad Drug Pond, Meng Wu Ya, suddenly bored, took the opportunity to come to find Yang Kai and have a man to man talk.
During their conversation, Treasurer Meng kept talking to Yang Kai about how thin Su Yan had become while he was gone, how haggard she had become, how much she had missed him, how annoyed she was that Xie Hong Chen was stalking her, chasing her around like a fool, all the while secretly observing Yang Kai’s reaction.
Patiently listening, Yang Kai eventually chuckled, “Treasurer Meng, let us not speak in riddles, you are worried about me trying to start something with Little Senior Sister, yes?”
Meng Wu Ya suddenly glared, apparently not anticipating that Yang Kai’s skin would be so thick to say things so directly. Grinning fiercely, “Little Yang Kai, this old master has watched you as you’ve grown up, so I know you will not be such an insatiable beast, right? Chang’er is not old, and is very innocent, so she is easily deceived… haa… of course, I’m not talking about you specifically, I just don’t want her to find herself in a situation where she will be hurt. That Su Yan girl is a beloved daughter of Heaven, receiving even a little of her favour is something that all men dream of, yet the only one she thinks of is you! You already had a full bowl so you won’t be so greedy to go looking for another bowl, right?
This was the first time Meng Wu Ya had so openly talked with Yang Kai about Xia Ning Chang’s situation, so naturally he was quite frank.
However, Yang Kai simply laughed, “Treasurer Meng, I just have one question for you.”
“En.”
“Do you wish Little Senior Sister to be married and have children in the future, or do you want her to be alone for the rest of her life?”
“How could I bear for her to be lonely?” Meng Wu Ya narrowed his eyes, “She is my treasured apprentice, I naturally hope that she will life a happy and fulfilling life.”
“In that case, Treasurer Meng, who in this world do you believe to be worthy of Little Senior Sister?”
Meng Wu Ya unhesitantly shook his head, his face filled with pride, “No one is worthy! This old master’s apprentice is akin to a pure jade pearl, someone worthy of her has not yet been born.”
“What about Su Yan? How does she compare with Little Senior Sister?” Yang Kai asked with a smile.
Meng Wu Ya spoke frankly, “Little Su Yan is really extraordinary, but this old master is not boasting, she is still not on my Chang’er’s level!”
“What about… if she received the Heaven’s Cave inheritance, what then?” Yang Kai’s lowered his tone.
Meng Wu Ya expression quickly changed, “She really got it?”
Yang Kai simply nodded.
Meng Wu Ya’s brow wrinkled slightly, recalling the dragon and phoenix vision from that day, “If that’s true, then her future success is limitless, on par with Chang’er!”
“Heh heh!” Yang Kai laughed meaningfully.
Meng Wu Ya looked at him suspiciously, suddenly understanding why he was seemingly talking in circles.
He just admitted that Su Yan and Xia Ning Chang had equal potential, and since Su Yan was willing to be with him, why should Xia Ning Chang not?
“Hmph, after eating from a bowl, how could I simply let it go? As a man, I must be bold with love and hatred, if I am hesitant, that will only hurt Little Senior Sister’s heart.” Yang Kai firmly declared.
Meng Wu Ya’s jaw dropped, unable to refute, angrily standing up and cursing, “You damn little brat, since long ago I knew you were a conniving rogue bastard! Damn it, out of everywhere in this world, this old master had to settle in High Heaven Pavilion and encounter this calamity!”
But regretting now was useless, his own treasured apprentice’s heart already belonged to Yang Kai, and this little rascal also refused to give him face and back down, so there was nothing he could do.
Grinding his teeth, Meng Wu Ya cursed, “Bastard little brat, if you dare make my Chang’er sad, Old Master… Old Master will slaughter your whole Yang Family!”
Finished, he turned around and stormed off.
Yang Kai rubbed his nose but didn’t pay him much mind.
With Meng Wu Ya’s supernatural methods, knowing his real identity was not surprising, he should have heard about it from the Sect Master. However, since Ling Tai Xu had dared tell him, he must be certain it would not leak.
So there was no need for him to concern himself over being exposed.
After a day, Xia Ning Chang and Xiao Fu Sheng returned.
Secretly handing the Soul Breaker Awl and the piece of ancient jade to Yang Kai, this Little Senior Sister of his then quickly entered secluded retreat.
Having spent an entire day studying the Pill Saint’s Statue, she had reaped a great harvest and needed some time to consolidate the knowledge she had gained.
After taking the Soul Breaker Awl back into his body, Yang Kai immediately asked.
“How was it?”
“The defence is extremely tight, in addition to four Immortal Ascension Boundary masters stationed within a three hundred meter radius of the Myriad Drug Pond, there are also more than a dozen guards at the True Element Boundary patrolling the perimeter.” Old Demon hurriedly responded.
“Did you manage to learn anything else?”
“Old Servant could only cautiously investigate the Myriad Drug Pond, but there was not much to be discovered; just, at its bottom, there seems to be a very well hidden and mysterious Spirit Array, one I cannot open.”
“What kind of Spirit Array?”
Old Demon quickly linked his Divine Sense with Yang Kai’s, allowing him to see what he had seen. The image was very vague, but true to Old Demon’s words, there were some faint traces of a Spirit Array; if someone else had examined the pond’s bottom, it was highly unlikely they would have found any clues.
“This Spirit Array…” After staring at it for a while, Yang Kai suddenly realized, this Spirit Array and the one on the fifth page of the wordless Black Book were quite similar.
Clearly there was some kind of connection between the two, and after studying the two for a long time, he concluded that the Spirit Array drawn on the wordless Black Book’s fifth page should be the key to opening this mysterious Spirit Array.
[Looks like I’ll have to go there myself! But with such an impenetrable defense, how can I get in?]
“Young Master, while Old Servant was inside I overheard a few of the guards whispering amongst themselves that once the Alchemist Summit began, the defence around there would become lax. Because Medicine King’s Valley does not have many people, and since the Alchemist Summit is always a bustling time, a lot of the guards from the Pill Saint’s Peak are required to descend the mountain in order to maintain order. When that time comes, only two Immortal Ascension masters will remain; it should be your best chance!” Old Demon suggested.
“Two Immortal Ascension Boundary masters…” Yang Kai frowned.
Two Immortal Ascension cultivators were still two Immortal Ascension cultivators, even if he used the ancient jade to conceal his aura and True Qi fluctuations, there was no way he could also escape their eyes and ears.
And aside from these two masters, there would certainly be others around as well.
He might have a chance if someone could serve as a decoy and lead them away.
Old Demon should be able to do this! As long as he moved fast enough he could return to Hidden Cloud Peak and hide with Little Senior Sister; then, once Yang Kai had finished his business, he would simply need to pick him up again.
The problem was that he certainly couldn’t lead all the guards away, at least one more helper was required; this all caused Yang Kai to furrow his brow.
The Alchemist Summit soon arrived as scheduled; all the world’s most prominent Alchemist gathered in Medicine King’s Valley, ready to show off their skills, win a good ranking, and improve their reputations.
However, on Hidden Cloud Peak, no one seemed to concern themselves with the Summit, only Dong Qing Yan wanted to go join in the excitement, which of course Xiao Fu Sheng did not forbid, often allowing her to walk around and observe.
Xia Ning Chang and Meng Wu Ya were also present on Hidden Cloud Peak, working together with Dong Qing Yan and Old Xiao to study the Alchemic Way.
After these Alchemy discussions, Xia Ning Chang would often accompany Yang Kai, sometimes chatting, sometimes just sitting together silently. Every day was filled with joy. If their future days were to be spent in a similar way, he would be satisfied.
The Alchemist Summit was held for a full ten days, and tomorrow was the finale; after the general assembly, the top fifty Alchemists would be brought to the summit of the Pill Saint’s Peak, and then, using all the pills refined during the conference to open it, these fifty would be allowed to visit the Myriad Drug Pond and gaze upon the Pill Saint’s Statue.
This was a once in five years event; garnering attention from around the entire world!
That night, Yang Kai silently left his room.
With tomorrow being the final day of the Summit, tonight should be Medicine King’s Valley’s busiest moment, so after so many days of careful planning and preparation, it was finally time to act.
Clenching the borrowed ancient jade in his palm, Yang Kai continuously poured his True Qi into it in order to conceal his aura.
In the thin moonlight, Yang Kai moved as swiftly as the wind across the mountains straight toward the Pill Saint’s Peak.
After less than half an hour, Yang Kai had once again come to within three thousand meters of the Pill Saint’s Peak, any further and he would be encroaching upon forbidden ground.
Listening patiently for a long time, Yang Kai silently continued to move closer.
But as soon as he made it to within a thousand meters, he suddenly stopped.
Gazing up towards the Heavens, he slowly waited.