Chapter 38 The Secret Mission Agreement That Lasted for Ten Thousand Years
"I don't know what got into him growing up, but he started worshipping the Ancestral Master endlessly. Later, he inexplicably became at odds with his friend Xin Huailiang, and he's been fixated on the fact that the Ancestral Master successfully ascended to immortality. If he finds out that the Ancestral Master didn't ascend and is still alive, wouldn't that be like stirring up a hornet's nest? He'd definitely spread the secret to everyone outside Danque Peak. He might even delegate the heavy task to his Daoist partner, Wen Zhiling, and ask her to help him find the person." The venerable and sage-like Grandmaster Lou rattled off a whole string of complaints.
Song Yin felt embarrassed. Her grandmaster had a lot of opinions about her master. "Grandmaster, aren't you afraid that I'll spread the news?"
The grandmaster's eyes locked onto Song Yin instantly, and Song Yin's hair stood on end.
Grandmaster Lou: "I don't need to worry, because everyone who accepts the mission will swear an oath to the heavens that they will never pass on the secret to anyone other than the direct disciples of Danque Peak."
So why are you still worried that Master will reveal the secret? I think you're afraid that this news will hit Master so hard that he'll never recover! What a doting master you are!
Master Lou felt that if he didn't explain, his reputation would be in jeopardy.
“Your master, Qi Zibo, is obsessed with alchemy. He is skilled in alchemy but lacks martial arts skills. I don’t trust the task of finding the patriarch to be carried out by an alchemy fanatic.”
Grandmaster Lou continued, “Although you have joined Danque Peak, you are not obsessed with alchemy. Instead, like me, you are willing to learn anything and cultivate both alchemy and swordsmanship. Your future strength will definitely be remarkable. You and I chose the path of alchemy. Qi Zibo is different; he was born to be chosen by the path of alchemy.”
Master Lou recalled how young Qi Zibo spent his days tending the alchemy furnace, never venturing out, and for a time had no friends, keeping only the furnace for company. As he grew older, he gradually began to interact with others and stopped spending all his time guarding a broken furnace.
Before accepting the task, Song Yin raised her hand and asked, "I've only seen the back view of the portrait of the patriarch hanging there. Are there any surviving front view portraits? A photo would be even better!"
Upon hearing this, Master Lou gritted his teeth and stared at the portrait with eyes blazing like fire, as if he wanted to pierce through the porcelain.
"If he had left a portrait of his face, the later peak masters wouldn't have searched for him for thousands of years without finding it."
Song Yin silently retreated to avoid being hurt by her master's anger.
She finally understood that none of these powerful cultivators were normal people; they all had a hidden side.
On her first visit to the forbidden area, Song Yin received two precious gifts. On her second visit, she learned a shocking secret and accepted a secret mission that had remained unfinished for millennia.
As expected, a place called a forbidden area is no ordinary place. Song Yin accepted the mission, but Master Lou ultimately did not make Song Yin swear an oath to the Heavenly Dao, but instead sent Song Yin back.
Before leaving, Song Yin turned back and looked at the soul lamp one last time.
Even today, after ten thousand years, the ancestral master's spirit lamp still shines brightly.
...
Danque Peak.
"Where did you go? I've looked everywhere for you, but you're nowhere to be found." Qi Zibo squatted in front of the alchemy room.
Song Yin: "Master, you're back? I went to the outer sect." She didn't mention a word about searching for the patriarch.
Qi Zibo: "It's good that you're back. I have something to tell you."
Song Yin walked over and sat opposite Qi Zibo.
Qi Zibo: "Now that you have reached the Foundation Establishment stage, refining second-grade pills is not difficult for you. In the next few years, you need to master the refining of various second-grade pills. If you have enough strength, you can try to challenge yourself with third-grade pills."
"The Alchemist Conference, which is held once every twenty years, will be held in a few years. I used to attend it, but this time you will participate in the competition."
"No way?" Song Yin immediately refused. "I'm only at the Foundation Establishment stage, and at most I can refine second-grade pills. The Alchemist Conference—just from the name, I know that alchemists at all cultivation levels will participate. Do I even have a chance of winning against them?"
Qi Zibo: "You don't need to worry about that. The Alchemist Tournament is a group competition based on cultivation level. You can participate in the Foundation Establishment group."
Song Yin: "This is alright, I can participate."
Qi Zibo was waiting for these words: "Xin Huailiang's third disciple, Shao Yangtian, is still in the Foundation Establishment stage. I've observed that his cultivation hasn't broken through to the Golden Core stage in the past few years. However, Shao Yangtian will also participate in the Foundation Establishment group competition. The glory of our Danque Peak is entrusted to you. Whether you get first place or not doesn't matter, the main thing is that you must beat Shao Yangtian!"
Despite this, the disciple's talent is undeniable, and Shao Yangtian would definitely lose if he met his own disciple.
Song Yin was speechless: "..." So that's why I wanted to compete; it turns out it was to beat Lingdan Peak.
Qi Zibo smugly imagined the scene of surpassing Xin Huailiang in the future, "When my apprentice entered the sect, Shao Yangtian was in the Foundation Establishment stage, and now my apprentice is in the Foundation Establishment stage while Shao Yangtian is still in the Foundation Establishment stage. Tsk tsk tsk, I can already imagine Xin Huailiang's sour face after Shao Yangtian loses the competition."
The same scene also occurred at Lingdan Peak.
At Lingdan Peak, Elder Xin said to his third disciple, Shao Yangtian, "Song Yin will also participate in the Alchemist Conference a few years from now. You absolutely cannot lose, you understand? The Dao of Alchemy requires time to accumulate and gain some insights. Song Yin is only fast in cultivation, but she is definitely not as good as you in the Dao of Alchemy. Your master believes in you, and you must not lose to Danque Peak!"
Shao Yangtian smiled, skillfully letting his master's words go in one ear and out the other.
Master is good in every way, except he loves to compete with Danque Peak. It was alright before, Master himself competed with Elder Qi; but things are different now, Master and Elder Qi have started competing over whose disciple is more powerful, and they insist that all the disciples must win.
They're all over a thousand years old, yet they're still so childish.
Shao Yangtian: "Good, good, good. My senior brothers and sisters and I will work hard and make sure that Danque Peak doesn't surpass us."
Elder Xin patted Shao Yangtian on the shoulder, "You are indeed my good disciple."
Shao Yangtian: Haha, you want to become a traitor.
In order to win against Lingdan Peak, Qi Zibo stopped refining pills himself and taught Song Yin every day, trying to help Song Yin master the refining of various second-grade pills, and ideally, let Song Yin challenge herself to make a third-grade pill.
Song Yin spent day and night studying alchemy at Danque Peak, even reducing her sword practice time.
Shi Heming hadn't seen Song Yin for some time, so he sent her messages by paper crane, but he didn't receive a response to most of the ten messages.
Shi Heming started to panic. This had never happened before when they lived in the bamboo hut. Could it be that since they weren't living together, Song Yin was planning to ignore him?
The more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed. Shi Heming scared himself so much that he went straight up Danque Peak and captured Song Yin in the alchemy room.
"You're here? Find somewhere to sit, I'll finish refining this batch of pills first," Song Yin said without looking up.
She was attempting to refine the simplest grade three pill. If she could successfully refine it, she wouldn't have to worry about losing the later Alchemist Tournament. As far as she knew, Shao Yangtian had also been attempting to refine grade three pills, but he hadn't succeeded in all these years.
I remember when we were delivering spirit herbs at Spirit Herb Peak, Shao Yangtian was refining a third-grade pill. In the end, it was Elder Xin who intervened and prevented the batch of pills from being destroyed.
Shi Heming stepped aside, and so as not to disturb Song Yin's alchemy, he asked, "Have you been refining pills all this time?"
Song Yin continued with her own tasks, "Yes, preparing for the Alchemist Conference."
"The Alchemist Conference..." Shi Heming knew about the Alchemist Conference because they, as talisman cultivators, also had a Talisman Master Conference, and he would attend it in the future.
Shi Heming: "When?"
Song Yin: "Master didn't say a specific time, but it's something that happened in the last few years."
Shi Heming wanted to say something more, but then he saw black smoke billowing from the alchemy furnace.
Song Yin opened the alchemy furnace and sighed, "Failed again, but at least it didn't explode." After cleaning the dregs from the furnace, she turned to Shi Heming and asked, "What brings you here today?"
Shi Heming said resentfully, "I haven't received a reply to most of the letters I sent you."
Song Yin: "Oh, I've been quite busy with alchemy lately." She raised her hand and pushed Shi Heming out of the alchemy room, and the two sat in the courtyard.
Shi Heming sat down, then took out the snacks he had bought at the dining hall from his storage bag and pushed them in front of Song Yin.
Shi Heming: "We must balance work and rest."
Song Yin picked up a pastry and took a big bite. While eating, she said, "Actually, I do take breaks, but now that I'm cultivating both alchemy and swordsmanship, I always have to squeeze out time to double my cultivation."
Shi Heming asked the question that had been bothering him: "Among cultivators of the same age, our cultivation level is already among the top, but I feel that you have been running all the time without ever stopping to rest."
Song Yin swallowed her snack and looked at Shi Heming.
Shi Heming has grown up considerably, and in the generally good-looking world of cultivation, his appearance is exceptionally striking. His cultivation has also imbued him with an increasingly ethereal and otherworldly aura.
"You've already embarked on the path to immortality, why aren't you cultivating properly and wasting your time?"
She picked up another pastry and handed it to Shi Heming. "Besides, in the entire cultivation world, Foundation Establishment stage cultivation is nothing. We can live peacefully entirely thanks to the protection of our sects. The longer you live in the cultivation world, the easier it is to see who has the bigger fist."
"I started practicing alchemy because I became an apprentice of a master. Later, I chose to practice swordsmanship to enhance my combat power. Besides, I've set an ultimate goal for myself, so of course I have to work even harder to cultivate."
Shi Heming chuckled softly, "I actually forgot that you're the kind of person who does things your way. If you don't want to, no one can force you. But what is your ultimate goal?"
Song Yin calmly uttered two words, "Ascension."
Shi Heming was completely stunned.
Song Yin happily ate her snacks while watching his dazed expression.
But it's good, at least I'm not as sad every day as I was when I was a child, whether I'm slow or normal.
Thinking of this, Song Yin suddenly said, "A Foundation Establishment cultivator can leave the sect for a long time. Do you want to go back to the mortal realm?" She still remembered that Shi Heming said he wanted to avenge his parents.
Shi Heming snapped out of his reverie: "We must go back. I still need to take revenge. Shall we go back to the mortal realm together?" Now, when this matter is brought up, Shi Heming will no longer secretly shed tears, but he will always remember the matter of revenge.
Song Yin shook her head and refused: "I won't leave the sect before the Alchemist Tournament. I need to work hard to refine a Grade 3 pill and win the Foundation Establishment group competition, otherwise my master will keep nagging me. If you want to go back to the mortal world together, you'll have to wait until I finish the competition."
Shi Heming: "Then wait until your competition is over before you return to the mortal realm."
Song Yin: "Okay."
The two agreed on a time to return to the mortal realm.
Whether she returns to the mortal realm or not is irrelevant, but her friend wants to find a companion to go home with, so it's not impossible for her to go with him.
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Author's Note: Song Yin's ambition is boundless: My ultimate goal is ascension! Any obstacle hindering my cultivation will be eliminated! [Go for it!]
After the initial shock, Shi Heming exclaimed: "Great! I support you! [Go for it!]"
Shi Heming's reaction: Good heavens, how could she treat emotions as an obstacle to cultivation? [crying emoji]
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