Chapter 611: That Guy Looks Kind of Like Erniu
In the dome of heaven over the Moonrebel Congregation were nine majestic temples. One of them was now radiating the most dazzling of lights. Then, a tall, god-like figure emerged from it, pulsing with incredible glory. He was 3,000 meters tall, golden, with three heads and six arms. Within each arm he held a mountain of a different color, and behind him were numerous layers of shimmering projections. He shone with radiance like the sun, and clearly surpassed anything from the mortal world. His arrival shook the huge mountain below, sending the clouds scattering. And he emanated a mountain-toppling, sea-draining pressure that reached every corner of the Moonrebel Congregation. Everyone who felt that pressure shivered, bowed their heads, and clasped hands toward the canopy of heaven.
“Fourth Vice-Bishop!”
The nine paramount temples in the air above the Moonrebel Congregation were the highest existences in the congregation. Although only five of them were occupied, with four awaiting successors, those five commanded the ultimate authority in the Moonrebel Congregation. They were the ones in charge.
In recent years, the leadership of those five vice-bishops had led to the Moonrebel Congregation growing stronger, and constantly participating in secret resistance operations. Their true identities were secret, and they normally only made appearances to announce very important matters. Therefore, all of the statues below were very curious why Fourth Vice-Bishop had come, and were now waiting to see what announcement would be made.
Sitting down cross-legged, the 3,000-meter-tall statue spoke in a booming voice that echoed into the hearts and minds of everyone present. “I have not come here today to make any sort of announcement. Rather, Grandmaster Saintlowe invited me to attend the medicinal pill release ceremony. Carry on, ladies and gentlemen.”
Those words led to an even greater commotion among the statues in the Moonrebel Congregation. Grandmaster Saintlowe’s supporters got even more excited, while the supporters of Pill Nine felt their hearts starting to pound.
“Grandmaster Saintlowe is so famous and respected that Fourth Vice-Bishop personally came to attend!”
“Given all the people Grandmaster Saintlowe has shown grace toward over the years, and all the cultivators he’s saved, he’s definitely the only one who qualifies to invite a vice-bishop to attend!”
Conversation swelled in the Moonrebel Congregation, almost exclusively among those who supported Saintlowe. Those who supported Pill Nine remained silent. Even the burly neighbor and the six-eyed statue were shaken.
Meanwhile, at a location about halfway up the mountain of the Moonrebel Congregation, at a temple of pure jade that was surrounded by countless statues, the door slowly opened, allowing scintillating light to shine out along with the sound of ringing bells. The cauldron in front of the temple suddenly flared to life with burning incense, its smoke drifting up into the air.
A statue walked out. It resembled an angry vajra warrior with auspicious clouds beneath his feet. He had a third eye in the middle of his forehead, which emanated a glow that could capture souls. Above his head floated a rotating pill furnace, and he was surrounded by a medicinal aroma.
The moment that statue walked out, all of the other statues that had been waiting nearby broke out into excited cheering.
“It’s Grandmaster Saintlowe! I can’t believe the grandmaster is so punctual!”
“That’s just Grandmaster Saintlowe! Strict self-discipline is part of his personality. It always has been!”
As highly reverential talk like that spread, Grandmaster Saintlowe strode out of his temple and up into the air. All eyes in the Moonrebel Congregation were on him, and countless people bowed in greeting.
“Greetings, Grandmaster!”
As Grandmaster Saintlowe hovered in the air receiving all the adoration, he looked around feeling very pleased.
Nodding slightly, he said, “Ladies and gentlemen. Fellow Daoists. Sorry to keep you waiting.” Turning to Fourth Vice-Bishop, he clasped hands and bowed. “Fourth Vice-Bishop, many thanks to you for coming to attend the release of my new little pill.”
The vice-bishop smiled. “I’ve been eagerly awaiting your new pill for some time, Grandmaster.”
Saintlowe smiled in response, and was about to continue speaking when, at the base of the mountain, the door of a temple opened and a statue walked out of an old man with a bottle gourd on his back. It was none other than Xu Qing. There was no dazzling light that accompanied his arrival, nor did the incense in the cauldron flare to life. In fact, not many people even noticed his arrival.
However, his followers noticed the moment he arrived. They instantly got very excited.
“Grandmaster Pill Nine!”
“Greetings, Grandmaster!”
The burly neighbor rushed over excitedly. “You’re finally here, Grandmaster!”
The six-eyed statue followed close behind him, all six of his eyes brimming with tears of excitement. Looking extremely excited, the six-eyed statue said, “Grandmaster Pill Nine, your virtue reaches the highest heavens! Your pills can conquer ten oceans, forge a hundred worlds, last a thousand autumns, and survive ten thousand generations!”
The six-eyed statue’s words were very impressive, and surpassed anything that anyone else was saying. As a result, the other followers all started saying similar things.
As their voices spread, the cultivators who had been paying attention to Grandmaster Saintlowe turned their heads.
“That’s the ‘Pill Nine’ alchemist?”
“He seems pretty ordinary to me. Not very impressive.”
“I’m very interested to see what kind of pill he releases. If he’s really just showboating, then it’ll prove that all those cheap painquelling lozenges he sold are defective in some way!”
As all the statues looked at him, Xu Qing looked back in surprise.
Because he had been so focused on recovery, he hadn’t been back to the Moonrebel Congregation recently, and had no idea that Saintlowe had also announced he would release a pill on the same day. That said, he didn’t care. Looking at the vice-bishop high in the dome of heaven, he clasped hands and bowed.
Fourth Vice-Bishop looked down at Xu Qing. This was his first time laying eyes on the alchemist that had sparked so much excitement and debate recently. He gave Xu Qing a nod, but didn’t say anything.
Xu Qing looked away from the vice-bishop and scanned the crowd of statues around his temple. He had no intention of leaving his temple, as he was currently wrapped up in thoughts about the golden crow. His plan was just to take out the new medicinal pills and put them in the sphere of light like before. Then people could inspect them as they saw fit.
However, before he could take out his pill, the followers of Grandmaster Saintlowe started making derisive comments.
“So, you really decided to show your face, Pill Nine? We didn’t think you would dare to come.”
“How could you think that? Pill Nine is a grandmaster! There’s no way he would miss an opportunity to bask in the dazzling glory of others.”
“Grandmaster Saintlowe is the one truly working toward great aspirations. He doesn’t care about fame or fortune. Nor would he stoop to bickering with others. It’s honestly a shock that this Pill Nine would pick the very same day as Grandmaster Saintlowe to release a new pill. Even a random passerby could see how narrow-minded he is.”
Their words were quite vicious and offensive.
Xu Qing looked up and took note of what all of those statues looked like.
Meanwhile, Xu Qing’s followers were starting to get angry.
“That’s complete nonsense!” the burly neighbor said loudly.
Speaking in a piercing voice, the six-eyed statue said, “Why don’t you tell us how much dirty money you took from Saintlowe to distort the truth like that? You must have plenty of spirit stones to spare now. Mind giving me some?”
Both sides were saying some very biting things. Although Pill Nine obviously didn’t have as many supporters as Saintlowe, the six-eyed statue alone seemed capable of standing against a thousand enemies. His every single word was very crafty, and his arguments were very persuasive. In fact, he had already made a deep impression on the crowds of statues who were watching the interchange.
Xu Qing was actually a little irritated by all the commotion. He wasn’t interested in wasting time on pointless debates. Therefore, he turned around with the intention of returning to the Green Spirit Pharmacy and continuing his work with the golden crow.
However, before he could do that, Grandmaster Saintlowe calmly said, “Pipe down!”
The supporters of both grandmasters all went silent. Then Saintlowe turned his attention to Xu Qing.
“Pill Nine,” he said coolly, “you have walked down the wrong path!”
Xu Qing stopped in place and turned around to look at Grandmaster Saintlowe. “What do you mean?”
In the resulting silence, all eyes were focused on Xu Qing and Saintlowe. That included Fourth Vice-Bishop.
Grandmaster Saintlowe shook his head. “Someone brought one of your pills to me. At first, I was very pleased with what I saw. But in the end, I was disappointed. You think you’re pretty clever. Your pill uses the flesh of the white wind as an attractant. But it’s all a sham. A charade. People experimented with that method seven thousand years ago and realized it’s extremely harmful. Everyone who consumed pills like that ended up dying violently a few years later! You clearly have bad intentions, Pill Nine!”
Quite a few gasps could be heard during Grandmaster Saintlowe’s speech. That was especially true among cultivators who had consumed Xu Qing’s medicinal pills. All of them were visibly shaken.
Xu Qing looked at Saintlowe, then turned his attention to the burly neighbor. He beckoned him over.
The burly neighbor was also starting to feel a bit suspicious thanks to Saintlowe’s accusations, but he hurried over nonetheless.
“What happened over the past few days?” Xu Qing asked.
The burly neighbor was a bit nervous but he offered a very detailed explanation. After it was over, Xu Qing’s eyes glittered with cold light. At the same time, Ling’er’s charming voice echoed in his mind.
“Big Bro Xu Qing, they’ve obviously taken advantage of us during the time we’ve been away. This is some really ridiculous slander! They’re saying we have bad intentions? It seems to me that they’re the ones with the bad intentions!”
Xu Qing’s face was completely expressionless, but his eyes were cold. As of this moment, he had abandoned his plan to go back to the Green Spirit Pharmacy. Walking out of his temple, he floated up into the air.
His followers were clearly less confident than before, but they still stuck close to him. The burly neighbor remained on his left side, while a statue with six eyes rushed out to join him on the right.
Xu Qing stopped in place and looked left and right, taking special note of the six-eyed statue. The statue’s gaze seemed familiar. It was the same way the Captain looked at the Heir Apparent. As Xu Qing speculated what that could mean, Ling’er spoke again into his mind.
“Big Bro Xu Qing, this guy’s eyes seem familiar. He kind of reminds me of Elder Brother Erniu!”
Xu Qing didn’t respond. Pretending not to recognize the six-eyed statue, he continued upward until he was hovering right in front of Grandmaster Saintlowe.
“Want to have a little contest?” he asked calmly.