Chapter 407 Heading to the Temple of the Azure Sky
While Wu Dongxiao was trying to find ways to plunder resources, Zhong Cai and Wu Shaogan's lives remained peaceful.
As the top-ranked cultivator at the peak of the Palace Constructing realm, Wu Shaogan will "further his studies" at this level before seeking an opportunity to transform into a spirit.
Zhong Cai also adjusted his cultivation direction—he found that his realm improvement was a bit slow, and he should maintain a level no more than one major realm difference with his old man Wu in order to ensure that he could refine pills suitable for his old man Wu in time.
Therefore, he certainly cannot neglect alchemy, but he also needs to speed up the process of fusing with the primordial spirit.
Therefore, Zhong Cai rarely had the time to refine a variety of level-five pills suitable for him to improve his cultivation level.
He had always been taking pills, and now sometimes he would simply put two pills with mutually exclusive properties into his mouth at the same time and refine them together to increase his speed even more.
Zhong Cai is currently at the top of the Heavenly Rank and has been consistently tempering his body, so even with this accelerated pace, he can still withstand it.
However, Zhong Cai still felt it was too slow.
It was also his own fault. He had always devoted himself to alchemy, and the time he spent improving his strength was only enough to cultivate with his master, Wu.
Zhong Cai pondered and decided that it was time to make a trip to the Temple of the Azure Sky.
He looked at Wu Shaogan and said, "Old Wu, it's time to use the temple keys we've been saving up."
Wu Shao chuckled and nodded: "Then let's go take a trip."
As they spoke, the two of them took out all the things related to the Temple of the Azure Sky that they had accumulated over the decades and laid them out in front of them.
There were so many keys, piled up like small mountains in many places.
That's not surprising. They've never used this thing before, and it's something that comes every month, especially to the top of the leaderboard, so of course they've accumulated it.
Just do the math, even if it's only ten keys a month, over several decades it would amount to several thousand!
Moreover, there has never been a time when it was less than ten rounds!
Zhong Cai casually grabbed a key from Wu Shaogan and laughed, "This seems to be the key to open the small door of the Martial Arts Hall of the Azure Sky Temple. It can take you there for an hour." He took another key, "This one can take you for two hours. You got it when you were building your palace."
Each key has a time limit. For example, the key that Zhong Cai is holding now has a time limit of one hour at level five, and doubles that at level six.
Without exception.
However, if a different key is used to open the spring in the temple's back garden, level 5 keys last for six hours each, level 6 keys last for twelve hours each... Basically, the more precious the resource, the shorter the key's lifespan.
·
The two of them had only visited the Temple of the Azure Sky once in all these years.
Simply take any key and indicate that you want to go there, and you will be enveloped by an invisible energy and teleported there directly.
The place where the two appeared was a very peculiar space—probably because they were holding hands, so they went to the same space and were not separated.
It was as if there was a gray, glazed glass in front of them, or as if they were placed in an empty dome.
Almost simultaneously, both of them heard a vast, ancient voice—
[The person holding the key must select a key to activate it within half an hour; otherwise, they will be expelled.]
The couple understood.
Then, driven by instinct, they continued walking forward hand in hand.
As soon as they took a step, the two saw that the glass in front of them had been polished and a large complex of palaces of varying sizes suddenly appeared in front of them!
The two walked quickly forward and soon saw everything clearly.
The two largest palace complexes are the Martial Arts Branch Hall and the Alchemy Branch Hall.
Secondly, there are the three major miscellaneous schools of weaponry, array formation, and talismanic arts, which constitute a medium-sized palace complex.
Then there are many smaller palace complexes, containing elements that do not belong to the commonly used methods mentioned above, or that touch upon various methods but ultimately combine to form a new path...
The former includes things like the Way of Heaven and Earth, the Way of Righteousness, and so on.
The latter is similar to the art of puppetry. The puppets that can be crafted can theoretically be considered a special technique within the art of weapon crafting. However, the process of crafting puppets also incorporates elements of talismanic arts, array arts, and even other obscure disciplines... In addition, there is another art of puppetry that belongs to the category of martial arts. Therefore, it naturally needs to be separated into its own category.
The Zhong and Wu couple, of course, one went to the Martial Arts Hall and the other to the Alchemy Hall.
The two palace complexes are very close to each other, and although they cannot visit each other, it is fine for them to come to the same place.
Inside these palace complexes are gardens. Although from the outside, only a thin layer of light and mist can be seen above, a giant tree full of auspiciousness can still be vaguely seen.
It was slightly higher than the outer wall of the garden, and its canopy stretched out very wide, with countless silver-gray leaves spread out, surrounded by shimmering light.
That is the Enlightenment Tree.
The rewards offered by the Sky Ranking are all things that those who make the list need. Many cultivators with insufficient comprehension can obtain a token that grants them the opportunity to be enlightened if they rank in the top ten in combat power, alchemy, etc., in a certain month.
However, although Zhong Wufu ranked very high, he received very few Enlightenment Tokens.
Because they are both top-tier in their respective fields, they basically don't need the help of the light of enlightenment.
The reason they gave each other a few pieces later was probably because the two of them were experiencing a minor bottleneck at the time.
The tokens were given, but before they could even use them, they both overcame new bottlenecks.
The Enlightenment Token was thus preserved.
As they reach higher levels in the future, they will likely encounter more bottlenecks. Even with their exceptional comprehension, they will eventually face challenges.
It would have been good to use it back then.
·
That being said...
The couple went there once and came out without using any tokens.
At that time, the accumulated duration was not long enough. Zhong Cai was afraid that once she went, she would be thrown out before she could finish reading. If she had just finished reading a chapter of alchemy, that would be fine, but if she hadn't finished, wouldn't she have to wait anxiously for the next month's reward?
So after they left, the two of them knew what was going on and never went back.
But things are different now.
A few thousand tokens represent a few thousand hours, enough to last for one or two years!
At this stage, it's more than enough.
·
Zhong Cai and Wu Shaogan smiled at each other, holding hands just like the last time they went.
It was as if a strange force enveloped the two of them, and with a "whoosh," they soared into the air, as if they had passed through a giant pillar of light, directly piercing through the void and being teleported to the magical place where the Celestial Temple was located.
This time, it's still the same "glass dome," and everything is exactly the same as it was back then.
Zhong Cai turned to look at Wu Shaogan and said, "Old Wu, I'm going to look at the alchemical texts for a few days first."
Wu Shaogan smiled slightly: "I'll also go and look through some martial arts manuals."
After agreeing on the terms, the two each took out a key and infused it with their profound energy to activate it.
Immediately, the glass dome disappeared.
At the same time, a towering tree appeared on the open land ahead.
When the couple saw the tree, they received a message: if they wanted to wait for each other here, they could only do so under this tree. If they left the area around the tree and stayed for more than half an hour, they would be sent away.
Zhong Cai held Wu Shaogan's hand until they reached the outer edge of the palace complex before letting go of him.
Wu Shaogan subconsciously gripped Zhong Cai's hand tightly before letting go.
The two looked at each other and laughed.
Zhong Cai waved his hand and strode into the Dan Dao branch hall complex.
Wu Shaogan watched Zhong Cai until his figure was about to disappear into one of the palaces, and saw Zhong Cai turn back and give him a bright smile before finally lifting his foot and walking towards the Martial Arts Hall next door.
·
Zhong Cai selected the palace related to the sixth-level alchemy technique, used the key to open the small door, and stepped inside.
In an instant, a surge of fragrance filled the air, which then transformed into the aroma of books, a truly refreshing and delightful scent.
Ah, that familiar taste.
Zhong Cai liked the smell very much and immediately began to check the situation inside the hall.
From the outside, it looks like a palace, but once inside, you'll find that it's actually a closed room with ten tall bookshelves.
The bookshelves were arranged along the walls, and on them were various books, jade tablets, jade slips... and even stone tablets, stone books, photo stones, seashells, tortoise shells and other objects that could be used to record things.
Each shelf is also categorized, such as alchemy, poisons, separate introductions to medicinal herbs and their pharmacology, records of countless secrets related to alchemists over the years, and knowledge about alchemy furnaces, wood, fire, and other alchemical practices...
Zhong Cai casually flipped through the books, and everything he saw was incredibly detailed. Many of them were obscure, ancient, or extremely secret. He really didn't make any special selections; he just picked up a book at random and found five level-six ancient formulas that he didn't know. They also brought him a lot of new knowledge, enriching his understanding of the subject.
He then went to the area related to wood and fire and obtained a photographic stone that recorded the wondrous scene of ancient alchemists cultivating fire, a technique that has now been lost.
It is said that the wood and fire obtained in that way are the most suitable for alchemists, and can be controlled through various ingenious methods. Alchemists can also research many special wood and fire related to attributes, making it easier for them to refine pills. They can even use different wood and fire to refine each kind of pill.
Zhong Cai now uses many types of level-six wood and fire. He doesn't always use the same type of wood and fire when refining pills. However, the wood and fire he obtains are not cultivated by him personally, so they cannot be completely compatible. But for a talented alchemist like Zhong Cai, he can easily control any type of wood and fire. Cultivating it is just icing on the cake and doesn't have much impact on him.
At least at level six—and even up to level eight, it might not have much of an impact.
However, Zhong Cai still enthusiastically wrote down and studied the entire cultivation method carefully.
Because he will definitely aim to become a Pill Master in the future, and when he reaches the ninth level, the Wood and Fire elements will probably have an impact on his alchemy skills... He can start learning now and cultivate his skills gradually in the future! It's a way to prepare for the future.
·
In this way, Zhong Cai immersed himself in the endless knowledge of alchemy, absorbing its nourishment like a sponge and rapidly improving himself.
He had another idea in his mind—after he finished reading these six levels of classics, he would gradually move down from level five.
Although he considered himself to have already deeply immersed himself in the previous levels of alchemy, he could still supplement his knowledge further, which would also be a foundation.
After he reviews the previous levels again, he should be able to gain more insights when he returns to comprehend the sixth level.
·
After Wu Shaogan entered the Martial Arts Hall, what he saw was similar to what Zhong Cai had seen.
He went straight to the section on archery and started flipping through the pages one by one.
Even cultivators who engage in martial arts still need to "study."
·
Inside the secret cave.
Wu Dongxiao is experienced and has encountered many things, so he is not reckless. He is also very meticulous and acts very steadily.
After seeing the Purple Illusion Demon Flower, he quickly made several plans and picked various medicinal herbs, all because of his experience and quick reaction.
Things went smoothly afterwards.
Wu Dongxiao did indeed successfully restrain the Purple Demon Bees and harvested a large amount of honey. He even dared to pick a few Purple Illusion Demon Flowers—but carefully put them away, packed them in a box, and sealed them with layers of talismans—one of the gifts he planned to take back to give to his Uncle Zhong.
However, as we all know, when things go too smoothly, accidents can easily happen.
If ordinary cultivators are like this, what about Wu Dongxiao?
As soon as this bad luck struck, Wu Dongxiao tripped and fell the moment he finished collecting the honey.
He suddenly lost his footing and fell straight down!
Even more terrifying was that Wu Dongxiao, despite his swift and rapid attempts to escape using various movement techniques, was instead suppressed by an invisible restriction, rendering him completely unable to use any of his methods.
So we're doomed!
It fell straight down and hit the ground!
It can only be said that Wu Dongxiao had some protagonist luck amidst his bad luck. The ground wasn't too hard, and he managed to avoid falling to his death by using his physical body to gain leverage from the wall several times.
But he coughed up blood.
Then, a chorus of fluttering sounds erupted all around.
Wu Dongxiao couldn't even focus on healing. Frustrated, he quickly swallowed a pill and tossed out a luminous pearl to illuminate the surroundings—good heavens! What a huge swarm of bat-like beasts!
They pounced directly at Wu Dongxiao!
Wu Dongxiao simply swept his halberd across, which didn't cause any major problems.
After a fierce battle, black flames burned the ground, leaving behind a pile of bat wings, which were excellent materials for refining.
Wu Dongxiao quickly put them away one by one.
But as he collected more and more bat wings, the aura of the bat beast weakened, and soon insects crawled all over the ground, while highly poisonous bluish-purple moths flew in the air...
Wu Dongxiao could only kill insects and moths while continuing to pick up things.
The insects and moths also left behind some resources, which Wu Dongxiao carefully searched away.
Then, there was... and then... and then...
In short, Wu Dongxiao wasn't given a moment to rest. Even after he finally managed to break through the encirclement of numerous dangers and gradually discovered that this place was actually a dry cave in the mountains, he once again stepped on a peculiar pattern and was suddenly sucked in by an invisible force, only to be violently expelled again—
It was spat into the mouth of a giant beast.
Of course, Wu Dongxiao's original landing point was not in front of the beast's mouth; this area was originally a dense forest.
Unfortunately, Wu Dongxiao is unlucky!
Just then, the enormous tiger opened its mouth and yawned, and a tender young woman fell into its mouth.
What else can this savage tiger do?
Of course, it seized the opportunity to thank nature for its bounty!
Wu Dongxiao had no choice but to exhaust the little Xuan power left in his Dao Palace to fight against the savage tiger, which was as big as a small mountain.
After a perilous ordeal, they defeated the savage tiger.
Then a giant python appeared beside him and strangled him!
Then, naturally, he escaped from the python's jaws.
Furthermore, these pythons live in groups...
After fighting for countless days and killing countless waves of savage beasts, Wu Dongxiao was finally able to have a moment of peace.
He quickly collected all the resources he had obtained from defeating monsters and then ransacked the nearby land.
The ground posed no further danger to him, but birds began to descend from the sky.
Wu Dongxiao quickly bent down, brushing against the sharp claws, and felt a burning pain in his chest.
Then came the fierce battle with the birds.
Wu Dongxiao: "..."
Let's fight! What else can he do?
·
While Wu Dongxiao was going through a miserable time, the Zhong-Wu couple were peacefully cultivating in the Cangqiong Temple.
Zhong Cai spent a great deal of time studying classical texts, as did Wu Shaogan.
Perhaps it was a tacit understanding, but after each of them had been reading for a month, they coincidentally came to the big tree outside the palace complex, met each other, and informed each other of their next steps.
Zhong Cai planned to go to the garden to soak in the hot spring that could improve cultivation speed.
Wu Shaogan then decided to try out the body-refining treatment as well.
Both types of hot springs are located in the back garden of the Sky Temple. Because they are Daoist partners, they can see each other's presence in different pools.
The couple smiled at each other and each took out another key.
·
The two hot springs are conveniently located next to each other.
After Zhong Cai immersed himself in the pool, a gentle and calming energy surged into his body at an extremely fast speed.
At this moment, his soul, which had already been relieved of its pain by consuming a large number of Soul-Melting Pills, felt a warm sense of satisfaction, as if his soul was also soaking in a hot spring, which was very enjoyable.
Zhong Cai could sense that the fusion speed between the primordial spirit and the accompanying treasure had accelerated!
When he circulates his cultivation technique in the pool, he absorbs energy faster and the fusion process becomes even quicker!
Zhong Cai was secretly delighted.
What was even more gratifying was that he could sense that the hot spring was providing him with energy without affecting his foundation—or rather, as long as Zhong Cai could sense that he could still withstand it, it wouldn't affect him.
When Zhong Cai could no longer bear it, he could deduce which aspect he was lacking and then choose to immerse himself in another hot spring.
He had a large number of keys, enough to support his cultivation.
Zhong Cai now understands more and more why the Sky Martial Arts Ranking has requirements for martial arts cultivators' realm breakthroughs.
If a master alchemist can soak in this pool and receive such great assistance, how much more so would a martial arts cultivator, who prioritizes cultivation, receive even more support from the pool in this regard!
If this still doesn't lead to a faster breakthrough... it's only natural that the Sky Ranking will be dissatisfied.
·
As soon as Wu Shaogan immersed himself in the body-refining pool, he felt something different.
The energy in the pool... is extremely complex.
The mixed energy surged into his body on its own, rapidly refining everything from his skin to his organs.
In an instant, Wu Shaogan felt as if he were being burned by raging fire, stimulated by lightning, and tempered by various medicinal forces. All the sensations were mixed together, as if he were simultaneously enduring multiple body-refining methods.
It is very painful.
Wu Shaogan was not afraid of pain, but when he looked at Zhong Cai nearby and noticed that some fine sweat was involuntarily seeping from his forehead, he took out a pill that could reduce the pain and swallowed it.
This was made for him by his wife, A-Cai.
If A-Cai opens her eyes and sees his condition later, she will worry about him.
·
Because many forms of cultivation involve enduring extremely intense pain, often exceeding the limits of the human body, they are not true training but simply torture. Therefore, as alchemists cultivate, they naturally research elixirs with similar effects in order to alleviate the pain.
Even if such a pill is of the highest quality, it will not eliminate all pain—because sometimes, cultivators also need to judge the effectiveness of their cultivation based on their body's reactions.
Therefore, top-grade pills can usually reduce pain to only 10% or even 50%, making it much easier for cultivators and allowing them to be aware of any changes in their condition.
These types of pills usually do not conflict with other medications.
·
This applies to ordinary alchemists and martial arts cultivators alike, so Zhong Cai certainly wouldn't overlook his old man, Wu.
Therefore, when Zhong Cai decided to refine such an elixir, he carefully selected the one that was most effective and the most perfect overall from all the known formulas.
In order to provide as much assistance as possible to his husband, he even conducted extensive research and improvements in the simulation room.
Finally, it was successfully polished and meticulously crafted.
·
Wu Shaogan had a large quantity of such pills.
He also trusted Zhong Cai completely, so even though he was soaking in the hot spring provided by the Sky Temple, he believed that the pills Zhong Cai had refined for him would not conflict with the water in the pool.
Wu Shaogan took one pill directly.
As he expected, the pill instantly turned into a warm current upon entering his mouth, relieving most of his pain.
Now, the effects of those residual mixed energies are only half-full.
For Wu Shaogan, this pain was probably no different from the occasional stinging sensation of being pricked by pine needles.
Within the absolute tolerance range.
·
After soaking in the hot spring for three days, the two looked at each other, got up in tacit understanding, and once again entered the "hall of knowledge" to peruse various classics.
After that, every ten days or half a month, or even a month or two, the two of them would go to soak in the hot spring.
They don't necessarily meet every time, but they still have a tacit understanding, and they meet twice out of three times.
The two of them maintained a pleasant mood and immersed themselves in boundless cultivation and improvement.
·
During the first month of their cultivation, Wu Dongxiao participated in the Battle Royale and did not reunite with Xuan Bing.
While the couple was soaking in the hot spring, Wu Dongxiao picked a precious medicinal herb. He was then attacked by other cultivators, but he killed them all and escaped. He did not reunite with Xuan Bing.
The couple continued their cultivation, and Wu Dongxiao experienced several more dangers, but still did not reunite with Xuan Bing...
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