by Shian Jeen
Following that, the Ascending Moon Old Man took out the necessary ingredients from his spatial ring one by one. Every time he took one out, he would explain to Huwang Xiao the medicinal properties and its related effects.
When the three hundred plus ingredients were all prepared, the Ascending Moon Old Man began refining the Rising Tide Ascending Moon Divine Pellet, continuing his explanation to Huwang Xiao as his hands moved. He explained which ingredient must be added into the pill furnace first, when to place the ingredients, which ingredients should be added to together, and the ones that required initial refinement before they could be added into the pill furnace together with the rest.
The Ascending Moon Old Man’s explanation was very detailed, even reminding Huwang Xiao when to pay attention to the flame control
Huwang Xiao listened attentively, and at the same time, he inwardly admired the Ascending Moon Old Man’s pill refining skill, even as the old man explained every step to him. Someone who didn't possess top skills and experience wouldn't be able to do this, the number probably didn't exceed three people in all four galaxies.
Some time later, the Ascending Moon Old Man finished refining the pill successfully.
The Rising Tide Ascending Moon Divine Pellets exuded a glossy shine, emitting an alluring fragrance that could be smelled from several li away. They were the finest quality among divine grade medicinal pellets.
Another great wave of admiration emerged in Huwang Xiao’s heart. The Ascending Moon Old Man used a common hand technique to refine this batch of ingredients while explaining each step in detail to him. Yet, under such circumstances, the old man was still able to refine top grade pellets. One could only feel admiration for the old man.
, under the Ascending Moon Old Man’s observation, Huwang Xiao took out another set of ingredients and began refining the Rising Tide Ascending Moon Divine Pellet.
The Ascending Moon Old Man continued to be astonished observing Huwang Xiao. The brat’s control over the flames was extremely skillful, not to mention the fact that his refining speed was on the faster side. Not taking long, Huwang Xiao was finished, successfully refining the pills! Looking at the round Rising Tide Ascending Moon Divine Pellets emitting a soft glow, the old man’s heart was shaking inside.
In his lifetime, he had seen more than his fair share of lauded monstrous geniuses, yet he had never seen someone succeeding on their first attempt at refining a divine pellet, moreover, producing top grade ones on the first try. On top of that, Huwang Xiao copied what he did, using a common hand technique.
Once the Ascending moon Old Man’s astonishment subsided, elation set in. Patting Huwang Xiao’s shoulder with exaggerated force he said, “Good brat, your Big Master, I, indeed was not mistaken in taking you as disciple! Fudge, the responsibility of expanding our Thousand World Sect’s glory is up to you in the future!”
“Old man, can you not hit so hard? If you hit anymore, my bones are going to break.” Huwang Xiao grimaced.
The Ascending Moon Old Man retrieved his hand, the laughter on his face not diminishing in the slightest, “At first, I was worried that you wouldn't be able to compete in the coming Alchemist Grandmaster Competition, but now, this old man can rest assured. At that time, you must definitely win back the first place for our Thousand Worlds Sect!”
“Alchemist Grandmaster Competition?” Huwang Xiao was confused.
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The Ascending Moon Old Man nodded, saying, “That’s right, the Alchemist Grandmaster Competition. This competition is jointly held by the four galaxies’ super forces, a grand event for the four galaxies that is held once every three thousand years.”
But Huwang Xiao shook his head, “I’m not interested in this so-called Alchemist Grandmaster Competition.”
It was the truth, Huwang Xiao’s interest in alchemy had always been tepid. To the current him, increasing his strength was the most important matter in order to prepare for the next Highgod Advancement Tournament. Winning the first place in the Highgod Advancement Tournament was Huwang Xiao’s goal.
The Ascending Moon Old Man didn’t expect Huwang Xiao to directly say he wasn’t interested, the old man was stunned for a moment before flaring up in anger, “What did you say? All you know is fart! What do you mean not interested? It is already worth a lifetime’s honor being able to participate in the Alchemist Grandmaster Competition, not to mention winning the first place! That’s an Alchemist Grandmaster’s most glorious moment! Glory, do you understand? Do you understand at all?!” The Ascending Moon Old Man was staring at Huwang Xiao like a clump of iron that couldn’t turn into steel [1].
For someone obsessed with alchemy like the Ascending Moon Old Man, someone who spent most of his life on refining pills, an alchemy competition organized jointly by the four galaxies was extremely important. Winning the first place in a competition of this scale was an alchemist’s highest honor and glory!
Yet, Huwang Xiao actually said that he had no interest, one could imagine how angry the Ascending Moon Old Man was.
Huwang Xiao did not expect the Ascending Moon Old Man to have such a big reaction. He was feeling a little helpless, however, he had learned not to interject when the old man was in this mode, it was best let the old man vent. Otherwise, once Huwang Xiao spoke, it would trigger the old man even more.
Close to a quarter of an hour later, the Ascending Moon Old Man finally stopped. Staring at Huwang Xiao, who appeared like an old monk in deep meditation, the old man’s face suddenly split into a wide grin, “Brat, I’ll have you know that the reward for each term’s Alchemist Grandmaster Competition is extremely attractive; the first place winner will receive three thousand Exalted Divinity Pellets. This is the current number one sacred grade divine pill in all four galaxies, and other than three thousand Exalted Divinity Pellets, there is also a sacred grade divine furnace, three thousand top sacred grade spirit stones, and three thousand kinds of herbs and elixirs aged one million and above!”
Huwang Xiao was stunned. The first place winner of this Alchemist Grandmaster Competition would actually receive three thousand Exalted Divinity Pellets!
Wasn’t this amount a bit too shocking?
It was said that consuming one Exalted Divinity Pellet could significantly increase one’s strength, remold their physical body, as well as purify their soul. According to rumors, if there was a sufficient amount of Exalted Divinity Pellets, it could even greatly increases a Tenth Order God Realm master’s possibility of advancing to the Highgod Realm.
This was also the reason why the Exalted Divinity Pellet was ranked first among the other sacred grade divine pellets in the four galaxies.
Other than three thousand Exalted Divinity Pellets, there was also sacred grade divine furnace, three thousand top sacred grade spirit stones, and those three thousand herbs surpassing a million years in age!
Each reward item was astounding on its own.
Incorporating the Five-colored Divine Banner into the Golden Dragon Peak required Huwang Xiao to supply it with one hundred sacred grade spirit stones every ten years. In fifty years, Huwang Xiao’s supply of sacred grade spirit stones would have deteriorated to nothing, therefore, those three thousand sacred grade spirit stones were quite important to Huwang Xiao as well.
Noticing the slight changes in Huwang Xiao’s expression, the Ascending Moon Old Man knew that his little disciple was tempted. Laughingly, he added, “How is it, brat, are you interested now? I also heard that, other than the rewards I mentioned, this term’s competition rewards may even include a godhead!”
“What? A godhead?!” Huwang Xiao was shocked.
Were the people behind this Alchemist Grandmaster Competition mad? Actually taking out a godhead as a reward! Although these rewards couldn't compare to the rewards of the Highgod Advancement Tournament, it was still shocking.
Huwang Xiao clearly understood how precious a godhead was.
The Ascending Moon Old Man was very satisfied with Huwang Xiao’s shocked reaction at th
is moment, “There’s no mistake, a godhead. Moreover, it is most likely a rank six godhead, just a tiny bit better than the one I gave you.”
Huwang Xiao sucked in a breath of cold air; it was actually a rank six godhead!
The Ascending Moon Old Man continued, “In this world, do you know what people are the richest? Let me tell you, it’s none other than Alchemist Grandmasters! That is the reason why the rewards for the competition are so generous, it’s actually very common. Every term competition’s rewards are prepared by the Alchemist Grandmaster Association.”
“Alchemist Grandmaster Association?” Huwang Xiao repeated the name. Due to his lack of interest toward alchemy, he rarely paid any attention to matters related to it. This was the first time he heard about the Alchemist Grandmaster Association.
When the Ascending Moon Old Man heard that Huwang Xiao had never heard of the Alchemist Grandmaster Association, his anger erupted, roaring at the top of his lungs, “You have never heard of the Alchemist Grandmaster Association?! How can Feng Yang, that boy, become someone’s Master? In the future, never tell anyone that you are my, this Ascending Moon Old Man’s disciple!”
Huwang Xiao’s lips flattened; it was you, old man, who wanted to take me as your personal disciple no matter what.
Then again, after worshipping the Black Warrior Institute Principal Feng Yang as Master, he didn’t really teach Huwang Xiao much. But Huwang Xiao knew that it wasn’t because Feng Yang was unwilling to teach, it was he himself that chose to cultivate according to his own method, and in fact, Huwang Xiao’s method of cultivation helped increase his strength faster.
‘It seems like I need to make more trips to Master’s place in the future.’ Huwang Xiao thought to himself.
Initially, agreeing to worship Feng Yang as his Master was because Huwang Xiao wanted to borrow Feng Yang’s reputation as a layer of protection, he had never thought of wanting Feng Yang to guide his cultivation.
After the Ascending Moon Old Man vented his anger, he began explaining matters related to the Alchemist Grandmaster Association to Huwang Xiao, as well as the alchemy competition. Only now did Huwang Xiao learn something about the Alchemist Grandmaster Association.
Within the galaxy, anyone that could refine a sacred grade divine pellet was qualified to join the Alchemist Grandmaster Association, but the alchemists within the association were divided by ranks.
The lowest being Novice Alchemist, Intermediary Alchemist, followed by Alchemist Master, then Alchemist Grandmaster, and above that were the Special Rank Alchemist Grandmasters.
What Huwang Xiao did not expect was the fact that this Ascending Moon Old Man was actually the Alchemist Grandmaster Association’s only Special Rank Alchemist Grandmaster!
Special Rank!
Mentioning his own Special Rank Alchemist Grandmaster status, the Ascending Moon Old Man was akin to a proud peacock spreading its feathers, “See, your Big Master is powerful, right? Haha, it’s not that this old man is trying to brag, but when it comes to alchemy, in the four galaxies, if this old man said he’s second, no one would dare to claim they’re number one!”
Huwang Xiao curled his lips.
“Old man, if you participate, you can definitely win the first place, why don’t you compete?” Huwang Xiao asked.
The Ascending Moon Old Man fumed, “You think I don’t want to participate? But, sixty thousand years ago, I participated for one term and won the first place. The Alchemist Grandmaster Association has a rule, those who have participated and won any of the top three spots are not allowed to participate in future competitions.”
Huwang Xiao finally understood, but then again, it made sense. If the Ascending Moon Old Man participated in every term, wouldn’t every term’s winner be only him?
Subsequently, Huwang Xiao asked about the deadline for the Alchemist Grandmaster Competition. Knowing it was twenty-five years later, Huwang Xiao breathed out in relief.
Having twenty-five years’ time to prepare and the Ascending Moon Old Man’s guidance, Huwang Xiao still had some confidence of winning the first place.
By the time he returned to his own yard from the Ascending Moon Old Man’s place, it was already deep into the night. Huwang Xiao entered the Godly Mt. Xumi and took out the godhead that the old man gave him, feeling excited. With this rank five godhead, before taking part in the Alchemist Grandmaster Competition, he should be able to breakthrough to Seventh Order God Realm.
Sitting cross-legged at the center of the Xumi Temple, he began circulating the Asura Tactics to refine the godforce and God’s Law contained inside the godhead.
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Almost immediately, Huwang Xiao felt a vast, pure, yet gentle high-quality source of energy enter his body, from his Qi Sea to his meridians, moving on to his soul sea and other parts of his flesh.
‘Is this godforce?!’ A comfortable feeling spread to every part of Huwang Xiao’s body. The Treasure Dragon Protective Shield Art circulated, while droplets of energy derived from godforce were devoured at a frightening speed by Huwang Xiao.
Huwang Xiao noticed that his True Dragon Physique, being tempered by godforce, was becoming stronger at a rate visible to the naked eye. Whether it was strength or defense, both were improving at rapid speed.
Simultaneously, both the god battle qi within his Qi Sea, as well as his soul sea were experiencing great changes; his god battle qi became increasingly purer, while his soul sea expanded, emitting a brilliant golden glow.
The time and space law threads within Huwang Xiao’s soul sea slowly integrated with the God’s Law flowing out from the rank five godhead, transforming, evolving, becoming denser and thicker. Their surface seemed to be coated with a layer of golden light, emitting a penetrating radiance that increased the force of Huwang Xiao’s attacks.
Moreover, after integrating with the God’s Law, when Huwang Xiao would be attempting to break through to Highgod Realm in the future, the transformation process of his time and space law into God’s Law would be much easier and smoother.
The space inside a godhead was akin to an independent small world that held an ocean of abundant godforce, stretching as far as the eye could see.
In one night, Huwang Xiao had absorbed and refined more than one thousand drops of godforce!
Watching Huwang Xiao’s cultivation speed, even Dragon Emperor Ao Taiyi’s jaw dropped to the floor in wonder. This speed was truly horrifying, for not even a Highgod Realm master could refine one thousand drops of godforce in a single night!
Which meant that Huwang Xiao’s current cultivation speed was even faster than an average Highgod Realm master! For any other Sixth Order God Realm cultivator, refining one drop of godforce would take them ten days to half a month.
Soon, two months passed.
In these two months, during the day, the Ascending Moon Old Man would teach Huwang Xiao pill concoction, whereas, at night, Huwang Xiao would cultivate, absorbing godforce as well as God’s Law from the godhead.
After two months of guidance under the Special Rank Alchemist Grandmaster, the Ascending Moon Old Man, Huwang Xiao’s alchemy skill improved by leaps and bounds to the point where even a Special Rank Alchemist Grandmaster like the Ascending Moon Old Man couldn’t resist praising him once or twice.
On top of that, absorbing godforce and God’s Law every night helped enhance Huwang Xiao’s cultivation and strength at a shocking speed.
Also, in these two months, the Black Warrior Institute Principal Feng Yang made frequent visits to the Golden Dragon Peak, guiding Huwang Xiao together with the Ascending Moon Old Man. With Feng Yang’s strength, traveling from his place to the Golden Dragon Peak was a matter of a few seconds with a simple Greater Space Shift.
On this day, Huwang Xiao had just exited the old man’s courtyard and was on his way back to his own residence when he passed by Xie Puti’s yard. His feet stopped briefly before making his way inside.
Xie Puti was sitting in the yard, f
inding solace in wine. He was so lost in thought by something troublesome that he didn’t even notice Huwang Xiao’s presence.
“What are you thinking about?” Huwang Xiao spoke, a faint warm smile on his face.
Only then did Xie Puti recover from his thoughts. Seeing Huwang Xiao, a rarely seen smile spread over his face: “You’re here.”
Huwang Xiao took a seat as Xie Puti filled a cup for him.
Huwang Xiao smiled, “This cup is too small, not even enough for a mouthful; we’ll use something bigger.” He took out two jugs of good wine from his spatial ring as he said that.
Without another word, the two men each grabbed one of the jugs and gulped down a large mouthful.
“It has been a long time since I’ve actually enjoyed a drink.” Xie Puti let out a laugh.
“Right, it has been some time.” Huwang Xiao lamented in agreement. When they were still in the Martial Spirit World, this was how they drank whenever they met.
Huwang Xiao could still remember the time when the both of them drank Sapidity Wine during their stay in the Duanren Institute, the Sapidity Wine House sold a limited number of wine jugs daily. Once, they brought all the remaining Sapidity Wine for the day, creating a conflict with the Guo brothers.
Huwang Xiao and Xie Puti weren’t brothers by blood, but their relationship was no different than that of real brothers.
After a few rounds, Huwang Xiao solemnly said, “I’m sorry.”
Xie Puti was dazed for a moment before realizing that Huwang Xiao was referring to his Xie Ancestor. Shaking his head, Xie Puti said, “It is me that should be apologizing. When my Ancestor and the rest were killed by the All Dragons League, it created trouble for you. Also, without you, who knows when I would have broken through to Saint realm!”