Chapter 133: Sweeping Elixirs
Chapter 133: Sweeping Elixirs
The grotto-heaven within the Primordial Chaos Golden Chalice was mostly wild and desolate. The vast wilderness stretched as far as the eye could see, the sky a pure, clear blue. Mu Yuan and Lin Fangjing also stepped out of the hall to gaze out into the endless expanse, feeling their chests open up!
“Who is that person? How is he so immensely powerful? He even knows secrets like the Heaven Demon Soul-Snatching Great Method!” Lin Fangjing recalled the scene moments ago; her heart still held lingering fear.
If that person hadn’t held back, she might have ended up like those three Kunlun disciples—her memories scraped away, left in a blank-minded stupor!
Mu Yuan weighed his words but ultimately decided not to explain fully. He just said, “That person is the source of the Southern Barbarian demon beast uprisings. I only know he’s called ‘Monster Saint.’ I don’t know anything else!”
“It was really him!” Lin Fangjing was astonished.
Recalling the scene before, Mu Yuan felt both shock and envy. The Monster Saint had effortlessly extracted such powerful techniques! Methods like the “Great Purity Natural True Embryo Great Method” and the “Elixir Cauldron Fermented Beverage Technique” were long-renowned cultivation arts in the cultivation world. Using oneself as a cauldron to forge a true embryo—arts of longevity!
Any single one was not inferior to the foundational heart techniques of sects like the Longevity Palace. In many smaller sects, they could be passed down as core legacies!
Yet all of them had been dug out by the Monster Saint in an instant. How could one not feel envy!
The Primordial Chaos Golden Chalice traversed the void; it was impossible for anyone to discover. Though Kunlun boasted countless lofty figures, they were utterly helpless against such undetected maneuvering!
The Monster Saint himself had vanished. Yet, Mu Yuan and Lin Fangjing could still observe the changes in the outside world from within the grotto-heaven!
It turned out that the Golden Chalice was following the Kunlun disciple who practiced the “Great Purity Natural True Embryo Great Method” among those three!
Of the three, this disciple had the highest cultivation level. Perhaps the Monster Saint’s interest lay precisely with him!
They watched as the disciple moved agilely as usual, but his actions still carried a hint of sneaky caution!
Mu Yuan remembered that the Heavenly Demon Parasitic Art had two primary functions! One could absorb an opponent’s magical power, and the other could directly refine an opponent into an avatar puppet. Obviously, the Monster Saint was using the latter now!
Coupled with the ability of the “Heaven Demon Divine Search Great Method” to plunder memories, it was a perfect match! No one would ever detect anything amiss!
This disciple of the Xuanpu Hall was the previous Senior Brother Wei, named Wei Wufa. Released from the Primordial Chaos Golden Chalice by the Monster Saint, he quietly returned to the Xuanpu Hall!
Though the name ‘Xuanpu Hall’ included the word ‘Hall,’ it was actually a vast mountain region, rich in wondrous herbs and radiant spirit stones.
Legend had it that this technique was created by Kunlun’s founding patriarch when he comprehended the elixir Dao of another great being, Tai Shang the True Person. It existed solely for alchemy and herb gathering.
Kunlun’s elixirs, such as Spirit Origin Divine Pills, Harmony Fermented Pills, Golden Tribulation Crossing Pills… were all refined by the Xuanpu Hall and were widely famous. Even the Medicine God Valley bowed to Kunlun’s superiority in alchemy!
No sooner had Wei Wufa entered than he encountered several fellow disciples who teased him, “Senior Brother Wei, weren’t you supposed to be exploring the Langgan Forest with Senior Brother Feng and Senior Brother Hua? Why are you back so early?”
Wei Wufa responded with smiles and banter, completely in character, showing no cracks in his facade. He casually inquired, “Did any fellow disciples from the Kunlun Palace come to collect pills today?”
Among those teasing him, a tall, handsome young man laughed, “Of course! Senior Brother Feng of the Kunlun Palace just arrived. He’s over at South Mountain now, asking Master Uncle Xu for some Spirit Origin Pills. Those Kunlun Palace folks are always arrogant, constantly demanding pills and elixirs from us. But we never see them offering any of their own techniques in return!”
The group chuckled and moved on.
There were many people in the Xuanpu Hall. Within a short time, Wei Wufa encountered more than a dozen, including yellow-robed fire-tending Daoists and herb-gathering youths of lower status, besides the white-robed disciples.
Wei Wufa held fairly decent status within the Xuanpu Hall. Above yellow robes were blue robes, and above blue robes were white robes!
Only white-robed disciples could cultivate the true Xuanpu Hall Cauldron Arts. Yellow-robed disciples tended fires and watched cauldrons, gathered herbs, and collected stones. Blue-robed disciples mostly concocted pills for others, knowing some pill formulas. If they performed well, they might be promoted to white robes and learn the sect’s secret techniques!
Above white robes were black robes, and above black robes were the highest-ranking purple robes.
Kunlun’s sect rules were strict and more complex compared to the Longevity Palace. However, the Xuanpu Hall lineage alone had more members than the entire Longevity Palace, which left Mu Yuan speechless!
In Mu Yuan’s estimation, the few white-robed disciples he saw all had cultivation at least at the Void Refining Realm, with a very few at the Elixir Formation stage. Wei Wufa, among the white-robed disciples, was relatively high-level and held some standing within the Xuanpu Hall.
But forget purple robes; even black-robed disciples were rarely seen!
Wei Wufa traveled several mountain paths. Finally, approaching a mountain hollow filled with pavilions and halls, he became cautious. His figure shimmered, merging with the surrounding space like ripples, silently infiltrating without leaving a trace!
“Such superb invisibility!” Mu Yuan silently praised. The technique Wei Wufa used to vanish and conceal himself was far more advanced than anything Mu Yuan knew!
The best concealment method Mu Yuan knew was water evasion from the Tidal Flow. That merely hid him within water vapor. But this person almost seamlessly fused with the void, becoming one with heaven and earth! His mastery far exceeded Mu Yuan’s own!
Just as Mu Yuan was tsking in wonder, a flash of light appeared beside him. The Monster Saint re-emerged. Seeming to know Mu Yuan’s thoughts, he showed clear disdain. “Do you think that’s Kunlun’s art? Kunlun excels in attack and breaking defenses; those are truly top-tier methods. But arts for cultivating true embryos and seeking the Great Dao? A step down! Concealment techniques? Barely passable! This is my ‘Heaven Demon Concealment Technique.’ It’s far superior to the evasion arts of Kunlun, and indeed of every Daoist sect under heaven!”
Mu Yuan fell silent inwardly. He dared say nothing about the Monster Saint’s towering pride. But then another thought struck him. “Can this person still use your techniques?”
The Monster Saint sighed deeply. “This is the Heavenly Demon Palace’s ‘Heavenly Demon Parasitic Art’—truly a first-class divine ability! It’s a shame those fellows from the Heavenly Demon Palace themselves didn’t master it fully. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have overrun them, and they wouldn’t have lost even their sect lineage!”
Mu Yuan pondered for a moment before whispering, “Dare I ask, Senior, how many sects did you vanquish in the Southern Barbarian Mountains, and how many techniques did you seize?”
The Monster Saint replied with a smile, “No need for envy. I nearly wiped out all cultivation sects in the Southern Barbarian Mountains and seized many heart techniques and arts! But you must understand—deep cultivation is about focus, not the number of techniques! Look at me now, with these countless divine abilities and spells, endlessly adaptable and clever!” He shook his head. “But that’s only useful for bullying those weaker. Against those of similar cultivation, those old tricks polished for millennia still work best!”
Mu Yuan was rather unconvinced inwardly. He asked again, “Then why did you, Senior, spare me several times and even helped me cross tribulations and escape dangers?”
At this, the Monster Saint turned his head. “Listen, kid. We demons operate differently than your kind. We don’t argue right and wrong, distinguish black from white, or judge correctness. We only talk about affinity. I took a liking to you—that’s reason enough. If you insist on a reason,” he shrugged, “that’s irrational. You won’t get a rational answer from me.”
“Rational? Irrational? What is that?” Mu Yuan was bewildered.
The Monster Saint laughed heartily. “Something I picked up during my spirit travels through the Great Void. Who knows from which star? That place is unlike here. They have no Cultivators refining qi. Most people are fond of techniques like forging metals and crafting—indulging in pleasures. Utterly chaotic and unreasonable. But their way of speech is fascinatingly convoluted. Go see for yourself when you have the time, then you’ll understand.”
“Ah!” The Monster Saint suddenly exclaimed in surprise. “We’ve reached a great place!”
Mu Yuan looked outside. Without noticing when, Wei Wufa had entered a cluster of low, single-story buildings nestled in rolling terrain.
These buildings were all constructed from the tall, sturdy Kunlun Timber Grain. Unique to the Kunlun Mountains, this wood naturally only grows to about four zhang (approx. 13 meters) tall. It won’t grow taller, no matter how long it stands. Its texture is incredibly tough, resistant to blades and swords. Ordinary flying swords of Qi Refining Cultivators can’t even leave a scratch on it!
This complex of buildings seemed to be where Xuanpu Hall stored its elixirs. A few patrolling disciples guarded it, but none had broken through to the Nascent Soul Level. The highest was the Seventh Layer of Qi Refining, the Dao Fruit achievement realm! How could they possibly detect Wei Wufa!
“Spirit Origin Pills, Fire Origin Pills, Fierce Sun Pills, Seven-Orifice Linglong Pills…”
The Monster Saint directly activated the Primordial Chaos Golden Chalice, sweeping all the elixirs Wei Wufa saw into a large sandalwood storage building within the grotto-heaven. In no time at all, it was piled high!
Though stored in jade bottles and porcelain jars, a massive concentration of medicinal energy and potent fragrance burst forth. It coiled into an illusory, smoke-like image of a True Dragon, soaring into the sky, claws bared and teeth gnashing!
“Huh? A True Dragon Purple Qi Pill as well!”
Seeing this illusory smoke, the Monster Saint’s interest stirred. He made a grasping motion with his hands, plucking a small purple jade vial from the mountain of containers. Unstoppering it, he merely sniffed the contents at the bottle’s neck and instantly identified it.
“Not bad! To have such a pill… does Kunlun Mountain also have cultivators refining Immortal Demon Bodies?”
While the Monster Saint busied himself, Mu Yuan and Lin Fangjing watched, stunned. It wasn’t just the mountains of pills—they were shocked by his audacious actions!
“This is practically a direct provocation! He’s trying to cripple Kunlun, emptying out the painstakingly refined pills! If the Kunlun Elders discover this—unpardonable sins! We wouldn’t even be able to explain ourselves—we’d be stone dead for sure!”
“Pity. Just common pills. No peerless divine elixirs. Does Kunlun only have this much?” The Monster Saint rummaged a while longer. Besides the one True Dragon Purple Qi Pill which somewhat satisfied him, nothing else met his standards. Noticing Mu Yuan and Lin Fangjing nearby, he casually tossed over several jade bottles.
“Here, Seven-Orifice Linglong Pills. Decent effects. Good at clearing illusions and delusions. Made mostly from herbs that open the mind and enhance wisdom. Treat them like beans—eating lots won’t hurt you, unlike other pills!”
Inside the Golden Chalice, chaos reigned. Outside, Wei Wufa encountered a problem.