by Shian Jeen
They dared to risk Institute Principal Feng Yang’s anger, but they couldn't guarantee that they could survive the Ascending Moon Old Man’s wrath.
Night gradually came and the mesmerizing moon hung high in the velvet sky.
Beneath the silvery moonlight, the Golden Dragon Peak appeared ethereal, like a mirage in the desert.
Huwang Xiao stood in the yard with his hands behind his back. He knew that after today’s events spread out, those who had designs on his Hailstone Treasure would greatly reduce.
Then again, this wasn’t absolute. Strong lone masters had nothing holding them back.
There was still Wang Na, that old witch, she definitely wouldn’t stop here. In fact, what happened today only deepened her hatred and killing intent, even at this very moment she was probably wishing she could devour his flesh and drink his blood.
Thinking of his initial purpose of going to the Wintry North World, Huwang Xiao felt a little embarrassed. He had wanted to request pills from the Ascending Moon Old Man, instead it ended up being the old man wanting to receive him as a disciple.
After knowing the harsh requirement of the Thousand Worlds Sect in accepting disciples, Huwang Xiao understood why the old man was so adamant in the beginning. If the Ascending Moon Old Man missed this chance, who knows when he would be able to find another person that could refine sacred grade divine pellets below the Highgod Realm. There was a chance he never would, for the limit of a Highgod Realm master’s lifespan was three hundred thousand years. On average, it was no more than a hundred and fifty thousand years.
Although Huwang Xiao had no idea how long the Ascending Moon Old Man had lived until now, he guessed that it shouldn't be less than a hundred thousand years.
A while later, Huwang Xiao strode out from his courtyard, heading toward the courtyard arranged for the Ascending Moon Old Man.
Huwang Xiao’s purpose was none other than the Rising Tide Ascending Moon Divine Pellet. When Huwang Xiao saw the old man, he directly stated his purpose.
The Ascending Moon Old Man pointed a finger at Huwang Xiao, a big smile on his face, “You kid, I already guessed you didn’t come here to thank this old man.” The old man and Feng Yang were busy the entire day, laying out a new defense formation around the Golden Peak, his old set of bones was close to crumbling from exhaustion.
Huwang Xiao revealed an embarrassed smile knowing what the old man was talking about, “Thanking you after taking the Rising Tide Ascending Moon Divine Pellet is the same. I say, old man, don’t tell me you’re reluctant to part with a mere bottle of pills?”
Hearing Huwang Xiao calling him old man, the Ascending Moon Old Man fumed, his face became red and his eyes were bulging, “I say, kid, what are you saying? You must call me Big Master, do you understand? Do you know what respecting the elders and loving the young is? Do you even know the basic etiquette of being someone’s disciple?” Ascending Moon Old man went on with more than a dozen ‘do you know…’
Huwang Xiao was speechless.
Big Master? Following the order, Feng Yang should be his Big Master, whereas this Ascending Moon Old Man could only be considered Second Master. Strictly speaking, the Asura’s Gate’s Ren Wokuang was his first real Master, and this old man could only be ‘little three.’
Thinking of the term ‘little three’, the corner of Huwang Xiao’s mouth curved into a faint smile.
Seeing Huwang Xiao smiling instead of lowering his head and admitting his mistake, the Ascending Moon Old Man was riled into a new sequence of ‘do you know…’
In the end, the old man still gave Huwang Xiao a bottle of Rising Tide Ascending Moon Divine Pellets. After all, the matter of the apprenticeship was set, whether it was sooner or later, he still needed to give them. Just as he said before, the Chief position of the Thousand Worlds Sect would belong to Huwang Xiao in the end.
However, the Ascending Moon Old Man did not refine too many Rising Tide Ascending Moon Divine Pellets. In fact, he only had one bottle.
Thus, after taking the bottle of pills, Huwang Xiao decided to first let his parents and several others, including Xie Puti, consume them. He would later refine them for Fei Hou, Haotian, and the rest.
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What really surprised Huwang Xiao was the fact that the effect of the Rising Tide Ascending Moon Divine Pellet could truly be described as miraculous. After consuming and refining two of them, his parents and several others broke through to Saint realm on the same night!
Whereas his bro Xie Puti merely took one to successfully break through.
Initially, Huwang Xiao was still worried if one bottle was sufficient, he didn’t expect to have some leftover, which were given to Fei Hou, Haotian, and the Huwang Family guards that had been following loyally by his parents’ side for so many years.
Thus, those on the Golden Dragon Peak who were stuck in the Xiantian realm all advanced into the Saint realm.
Watching his parents and the others finally breaking through to Saint realm, his eyes were a little red from joy.
Breaking into the Saint realm meant that his parents’ lifespan would exceed a thousand years. At the very least, within a thousand years, Huwang Xiao needn’t feel anxious about the issue of his parents’ limited lifespan anymore.
The time Huwang Xiao spent with his parents wasn't much, as well as the time he spent accompanying them. What he could do was try his utmost to increase everyone’s cultivation so they could live longer.
The sun was shining gloriously the next day as it rose on the horizon. Bathed under the bright rays of the sun, the Golden Dragon Peak appeared illusive.
When the sky brightened entirely, the whole Golden Dragon Peak was a hive of activity. Despite the Ascending Moon Old Man saying he wanted to hold a simple apprenticeship ceremony, the people on the Golden Dragon Peak dared not do a careless and sloppy work.
The entire Nine Halls Palace was colorfully decorated, brimming with excitement and joy.
More than two hundred Saint realm subordinates worked together, from preparing the meat to picking spiritual fruits and serving wine.
Not many guests were invited, only the Black Warrior Institute’s Grand Elders and above, no more than sixty people. No doubt, Huwang Xiao’s Senior Apprentice-brothers, Liu Yun and Cheng Yang, and Third Apprentice-sister Qi Wen were present as well.
But Huwang Xiao didn’t expect that old witch Wang Na to come.
Huwang Xiao originally wanted to tell the old witch Wang Na to roll back where she came from, but his Master Feng Yang and the Ascending Moon Old Man assented to her presence. Thus he could only go along with both his Masters’ decision.
Upon arrival, most of the Black Warrior Institute Grand Elders were flashing beaming smiles at Huwang Xiao, enthusiastically congratulating him.
Huwang Xiao ordered his subordinates to receive the congratulatory gifts, but it goes without saying that half of these Grand Elders belonged to Wang Na’s faction. They were congratulating him on the surface, but who know what evil curses they were throwing at him in their hearts.
The apprenticeship ceremony began exactly at noon. It goes without saying that no one dared to raise the slightest ripple of trouble, hence the ceremony progressed smoothly.
The Ascending Moon Old Man was smiling from ear to ear the entire time, and on this rare occasion he actually put on a presentable brocade robe. Unfortunately, the robe was bright red in color, rendering Huwang Xiao speechless.
When Huwang Xiao respectfully offered the Ascending Moon Old Man a cup of tea, greeting him as Master, the Ascending Moon Old Man’s face split into a wide laugh, “Good! Good! Good disciple, Master has been waiting for this day for more than ten thousand years, it is finally here! Today, Master is happy, very happy, extremely happy!” The hall echoed with Ascending Moon Old Man’s exuberant laughter.
The present Black Warrior Institute Grand Elders all wore a smiling expression as they nodded enthusiastically in agreement, starting another wave of congratulations.
When the laughter subsided, the Ascending Moon Old Man solemnly took out a small wooden box, saying, “Master has nothing much to give you, but Master has kept this little treasure for sixty thousand years. Today, it is yours.” With that said, he passed the box to Huwang Xiao.
As for what was inside the little box, the Ascending Moon Old Man did not mention, neither did he open the box in front of everyone.
Watching this, the present Grand Elders’ eyes flickered with curiosity, secretly trying to guess what the little box contained, including Wang Na. However, the box had a layer of restrictions placed on it by the Ascending Moon Old Man, thus even using some secret method, none of them were able to probe the inside.
Huwang Xiao received the little box with both hands, thanking his Master and putting it away into his Asura Ring, deciding to see what was inside later that night.
With the rituals of the apprenticeship ceremony finished, the banquet began.
The Golden Dragon Peak was filled with cheers and laughter, wine cups clinked endlessly into the night, permeating the air with wine fragrance.
From the beginning, Wang Na had only shown calm composure, as if she had completely forgotten what took place yesterday. But Huwang Xiao knew that this old witch didn’t forget it at all, instead, it was carved deep into her bones.
The banquet lasted well into the night, then the Black Warrior Institute Grand Elders, Vice-Principals Su Haodong, Li Zhiqun, and old witch Wang Na took their leave accordingly. Later, his Master Feng Yang and Senior Apprentice-brothers and sister also left.
After a full day of bustle, the Golden Dragon Peak finally calmed down.
Back in his own courtyard, Huwang Xiao took out the little wooden box the Ascending Moon Old Man gave him during the day. Even he was extremely curious what was stored inside the box.
According to the method the Ascending Moon Old Man taught him, Huwang Xiao undid the restrictions around the wooden box and opened it.
Looking at the item inside, Huwang Xiao blanked for a second. Placed inside was a five-cornered stone, looking somewhat like a demonic beast core, yet it also looked like a gem at the same time, something that bore no energy fluctuations.
This old man couldn’t be giving him a piece of stone, right?
While Huwang Xiao was still in a blank, Dragon Emperor Ao Taiyi’s thrilled voice shook in his mind, “This… this is, a godhead?!”
“Godhead?!” Huwang Xiao was astounded, staring at the stone in his hands with disbelief. This thing was the legendary godhead?!
“There's no way I’m wrong, that’s definitely a godhead!” Dragon Emperor Ao Taiyi confirmed, still sounding very excited. “It absolutely is, no mistake about it! Kid, this is a peerless treasure ah! The Ascending Moon Old Man is really generous, giving you such a treasure!”
Huwang Xiao’s eyes also lit up, if this was really a godhead as Dragon Emperor Ao Taiyi said, then it really was a peerless treasure, far exceeding the True Dragon King’s demonic beast cores.
The True Dragon King’s demonic beast cores merely contained demonic essence energy, but this godhead was vastly different; it contained a Highgod Realm master’s godforce as well as their God’s Law!
Lately, Huwang Xiao had been racking his brain trying to figure out where to find another batch of Highgod Realm divine dragon beast cores to increase his strength. Who would have expected the Ascending Moon Old Man to be giving him a godhead!
Now, he was already a Sixth Order God Realm. With every small order he advanced, he needed to refine a large number of Highgod Realm divine dragon beast cores, but perhaps even after refining two hundred of them he still wouldn’t be able to step into Seventh Order God Realm. But now, with a godhead in his hand, Huwang Xiao did not doubt that he would be able to break through to Seventh Order God Realm!
Suppressing the excitement in his heart, Huwang Xiao asked, “Old Dragon, can you tell what rank this godhead is?”
Dragon Emperor Ao Taiyi too regained his composure slightly, releasing a strand of his spiritual sense to probe around the stone before replying solemnly, “This should be a rank five godhead. Before dying, the owner of this godhead was probably a late First Order Highgod.”
Huwang Xiao nodded.
Rank five? Then it was a mid-level godhead, slightly higher than Huwang Xiao’s expectation. At first, Huwang Xiao thought that it was a rank one, rank two, or rank three godhead.
Huwang Xiao returned the godhead into the wooden box with a heavy expression and exited his courtyard, heading toward Ascending Moon Old Man’s courtyard.
The moment he entered, the Ascending Moon Old Man was smiling sheepishly at him, “My little disciple, have you seen Master’s little treasure? Do you know what that thing is?” The expression on the old man face was overly triumphant.
Huwang Xiao felt a little speechless looking at the old man’s complacent expression. Initially, he came over to thank this Master, but now, looking at that face, he felt that this old man was asking for a beating.
Note:
Bright red clothes are normally worn at weddings or during Chinese New Year.
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But, it was as if the Ascending Moon Old Man did not notice the expression of ‘wanting to beat someone into a pulp’ on Huwang Xiao’s face. With a complacent smile still on his face, he said, “Forget it, better let this old man tell you. That is a godhead. An irreplaceable priceless treasure, a godhead! You know what a godhead is, right? This godhead is something I got through bitter effort, experiencing perilous dangers, and I have been reluctant to use it!”
Then Ascending Moon Old Man recounted the numerous hardships he went through in order to get this godhead. This recount of glorious feats lasted close to fifteen minutes. Even after that, the Ascending Moon Old Man looked like this wasn’t enough and started telling Huwang Xiao how precious and valuable the godhead was. This lasted for another fifteen minutes.
All in all, only after half an hour did the old man stop. Huwang Xiao sat quietly the entire time like an old monk in deep meditation, without the slightest movement, asleep yet awake.
After the Ascending Moon Old Man stopped, making sure he did not miss any important points, he finally cleared his throat and said, “Brat, didn’t you want the Rising Tide Ascending Moon Divine Pellet formula? Now, Master will pass it to you.”
Rising Tide Ascending Moon Divine Pellet formula!
Huwang Xiao, who sat like a pious old monk in meditation, shook slightly as his eyes brightened.
The Ascending Moon Old Man smiled, satisfied at Huwang Xiao’s reaction, “Brat, listen well, this old man will only recite it three times. If you cannot remember it, you only have yourself to blame.”
Then, the Ascending Moon Old Man began listing out more than three hundred ingredients needed for refining the Rising Tide Ascending Moon Divine Pellet, the age requirements of each material were also mentioned in detail.
At the same time, the old man emphasized the thirteen crucial main ingredients needed. If any one of these thirteen ingredients were missing, even if the refining was successful, it would be a useless pill.
Other than these thirteen main ingredients, the Ascending Moon Old Man also mentioned which ingredients could be substituted, what they could be substituted with, and how they would affect the efficiency of the Rising Tide Ascending Moon Divine Pellet.
This first lesson went on for three hours.
When the Ascending Moon Old Man finished, he picked up the cup of tea on the side table, taking a sip to moisten his throat. Then, he smiled at Huwang Xiao, “Now, recite the over three hundred ingredients in the Rising Tide Ascending Moon Divine Pellet formula, let me see how much you’ve managed to remember.”
Huwang Xiao began, neither hurried nor rushed, “Bright Spiritual Mushroom, Fragrant Whiteleaf Thistle, Soulstone Pit, Spirit-break Wood, Nine-nine Heart Connecting Leaf...” When Huwang Xiao listed over a hundred ingredients without a single error, the Ascending Moon Old Man’s leisurely demeanor gradually diminished, turnin
g from daze to shock.
A person’s memory capacity and comprehensive ability were congenital aspects that were difficult to alter. It definitely wasn't something that improved together with strength, which was why the Ascending Moon Old Man was shocked by Huwang Xiao’s memory capacity.
The Ascending Moon Old Man felt that his own memory was excellent, however, asking him to list over three hundred ingredients again after a single time hearing them was still something difficult.
While the Ascending Moon Old Man was still caught in his shock, Huwang Xiao’s voice did not stop reciting the ingredient list.
When Huwang Xiao had named nearly two hundred ingredients without any mistake, the Ascending Moon Old Man was shocked agape, and upon reaching three hundred ingredients, one could stuff a small apple into the old man’s mouth.
A long time after Huwang Xiao finished naming all the ingredients correctly, the Ascending Moon Old Man still did not react.
“Old man, I didn’t make a mistake, right?” Seeing this, Huwang Xiao made a loud dry cough, asking out loud.
Only then did the Ascending Moon Old Man recover from his daze, his eyes burning bright staring at Huwang Xiao, flashing his trademark sheepish grin, “No mistake, no mistake! Brat, I didn’t expect your memory to be so good, although it’s still slightly lacking compared to me, it’s still not bad!” His face split into a wide grin saying this.
Huwang Xiao rolled his eyes, but he already experienced how thick this old man’s face could be and decided not to be led astray. He then began reciting the thirteen main ingredients as well as the ingredients that could be substituted, their substitution, and their effects one by one.
By the time Huwang Xiao was done, the Ascending Moon Old Man was staring at Huwang Xiao with a feverish gaze, as if he was the ultimate treasure. If he didn’t know that the old man didn't have a ‘special’ hobby, he would have run out of the yard long ago.
A moment later, the Ascending Moon Old Man got serious, taking out a pill furnace, explaining to Huwang Xiao, “This is our Thousand Worlds Sect’s Thousand Worlds Furnace, placed second amongst the four galaxies’ top divine furnaces. Later, when I pass the Chief position to you, this Thousand Worlds Furnace will belong to you. Since you’ve already memorized the Rising Tide Ascending Moon Divine Pellet formula, I’m going to demonstrate the refining process to you once, and explain to you the steps and things you need to pay attention to.”