Chapter 337: Chapter 335: Alchemy (Congratulations to the Satan Lord under the Moonlight!) _1
In the sky, two streaks of Escape Light trailed one behind the other, winding their way forward, reaching a majestic and exquisite mountain peak in a blink of an eye.
"Sir, please look—there is Wanhua Mountain, the location of the ’Pill Energy Conference’. The entrance to the Transformation Secret Realm lies at the foot of this mountain..."
Hua Feiye introduced Fang Xi, "As for us, Masters and Yushis, there’s no need to enter the Secret Realm. We can simply oversee from the ’Wanhua God Palace’ at the mountain’s summit..."
The two bypassed the mountain foot and midsection... they made their way directly to the top.
Atop the mountain, there stood a golden palace.
Fang Xi’s Divine Consciousness swept over the area, and was first drawn to a blood-red tree in front of the palace, resembling a giant piece of coral.
If he was not mistaken, this giant tree should be a type of Heaven and Earth Spirit Root, exuding an eerie and malevolent aura.
Flanking the giant tree were eight enormous white marble walls.
Around the giant tree and the walls, a dozen or so Masters and Yushis were either sitting or lying around, appearing carefree and lax—some were indulging in fine wines, some were playing with beauties, and others were fast asleep...
A Master wearing a golden crown and tapping bronze wine cups with jade chopsticks, upon seeing the two streaks of Escape Light descend, couldn’t help but laugh, "Master Hua arrives so late..."
He then noticed Fang Xi, taken aback, "This Sir... is indeed a new face to me."
"We encountered a malevolent being on the way... which caused some delay," Hua Feiye answered expressionlessly.
"Even Master Hua’s formidable Divine Skills were thus challenged; the creature must have been exceptionally troublesome..."
The golden-crowned Master seemed to be well aware of Hua Feiye’s strength.
"It was nothing but a ’Seven-eyed Flower’... the pistil is beneficial to my cultivation practice, so it wasn’t a waste of effort..."
Hua Feiye showed not the slightest trace of joy on his face.
"Ah, such an evil spirit is indeed rare to see," the man with the golden crown turned his gaze to Fang Xi, "This humble Daoist is Huo Xinzi from the Five Viscera Temple. I have the pleasure of meeting you, Sir..."
"This humble Daoist is Qing Muzi. I’m truly overjoyed to meet a high cultivator of the Five Viscera Temple today..."
Fang Xi exchanged pleasantries.
"Though you and Master Hua arrived a tad late, it is still the perfect timing. The show has just begun... and it won’t interfere with the subsequent enjoyment of the ’Earth Origin Pill’..."
Huo Xinzi enthusiastically invited Fang Xi and Hua Feiye to take their seats.
The seating arrangement here had quite an ancient flair, with each person sitting on the ground; some Masters were even lying down with eyes closed, seemingly indifferent to the arrival of Fang Xi and Hua Feiye.
"My friends... although this ’Pill Energy Conference’ is hosted by our three temples, we don’t restrict any fellow Daoist from attending the banquet. We can all enjoy fine wines, delicacies, and superior pills together. Isn’t that delightful?"
Huo Xinzi offered Fang Xi and Hua Feiye a drink first, "This ’Green Jade Brew’ has just been brought out of storage, now paired with green plums, the taste is excellent. Wouldn’t it be delightful for us to sip wine while admiring the performances of the disciples within the Secret Realm?"
"Indeed it should..."
Fang Xi discreetly checked and, finding no issue with the drink, took a sip. The taste was indescribably exquisite, truly marvelous.
The ’Green Jade Brew’ was a bluish-green color, emitting a mesmerizing fragrance, truly evoking a sense of ecstasy.
Even for a Master Golden Core, a few cups might lead to a bit of drunkenness.
Bearing in mind that the cultivators of the Red Sun World tend to be quite emotional, the presence of so many uninhibited individuals was not surprising.
"What use is there in talking any more? Bring out the big pills... bring out the big medicines..."
Another Master banged his chopsticks against his plate, shouting loudly.
"Ha ha... it seems Master Yuan Tuzi is getting impatient. The big pills will indeed need to wait a bit longer; why not start with some blood dishes..."
Huo Xinzi clapped his hands, and immediately a few Taoists drove a herd of cattle and sheep forward.
The animals were all groomed immaculately and even emitted a light fragrance of meat, as if they had been specially bred.
Yuan Tuzi cackled strangely, and suddenly, a black claw shot out, plunging into the body of a white cow.
It didn’t take long before he pulled out a fresh, blood-red cow heart and took a bite, savoring it with juices dripping down: "Not bad at all... this fresh organ is best eaten hot."
"For those who enjoy blood dishes, feel free to help yourselves... these are the ’Medicinal Cows’ and ’Medicinal Sheep’ raised by our temple, constantly fed with spiritual herbs, truly plump and tasty, with a rich and delicious flavor..."
After a few words from Huo Xinzi, several other Masters started to partake.
Fang Xi showed no interest in this, focusing instead on that crimson giant tree and the marble walls.
With a sweep of his Divine Consciousness, he soon figured out how to use the walls, and with a flick of his sleeve...
A magic power fell upon one of the walls, instantly projecting a light screen displaying a thick forest.
Inside, two Taoists were engaged in a fierce life and death battle.
After watching for a while, Fang Xi adjusted the view and saw a female Taoist practicing sublime celestial magic, sucking the life out of another Taoist until only a dry corpse remained.
While sipping the wine, he watched several interesting fights, his gaze eventually settling on a particular scene...
...Transformation Secret Realm.
A lake.
The water was so clear that you could see the bottom, with the occasional rustle of underwater plants.
Astonishingly, there were bright red... mushrooms growing on the surface of the lake?
These mushrooms were as tall as an adult, shivering... as if sensing something.
Yu Hua hid by the lake, looking at the mushrooms and twitching the corners of his mouth, before cursing with rural slang:
"I knew that damn Taoist had set me up... What ’safe’ Red Mushroom Lake... With all these vile spirits here, how is this safe?!"
Thinking of the Five Organs Pill he had spent, Yu Hua couldn’t help but feel more heartache.
Just then, he felt an itch on his skin, and with a light scratch, he saw that on his cheek, a gray mushroom had sprouted without his notice.
"Damn it... has it noticed me?"
"But if I want to get to the ’Transformative Jade Wall,’ I must pass through this Red Mushroom Lake..."
"Only through the Transformative Jade Wall can I learn the ’Blood Skin Skills’... and I have hopes for a Golden Core in the future!"
As for the thought of fighting his way to the end and picking an ’Earth Origin Pill,’ Yu Hua didn’t even consider it.
He knew very well his own abilities; compared to the geniuses cultivated by the Taoist Temples, he was still lacking in experience.
Rip!
Upon realizing he was targeted by a vile spirit, Yu Hua shivered all over. A red line split open from his brow, and his skin peeled away, revealing a young man leaping out from within.
By shedding his skin, he had successfully thwarted a curse from the vile spirit.
Far from relaxing, Yu Hua took out a jade bottle and began to mutter incantations incessantly.
Humming!
Shadows flew out from the jade bottle, swiftly expanding in the wind and turning into man-sized pitch-black behemoths that flew towards the mushroom spirits in the lake.
Strangely, these terrifying humanoid mushrooms let out humanoid screams when stung by the black giant bees and immediately shriveled up before falling back into the lake.
Seeing this, Yu Hua’s eyebrows shot up in joy, and he quickly crossed the lake to hurry on to his next destination...
...
"That person... Isn’t that Yu Hua?"
"It seems he’s done well for himself since we parted ways, even picking up a bit of worm magic."
Fang Xi watched this scene unfold with considerable interest.
Indeed, this person was fated to cross paths with him.
"Here it comes!"
At that moment, Yuan Tuzi, who ate ox hearts raw, looked at the Blood Coral Giant Tree and suddenly laughed loudly, green light shining in his eyes as if salivating: "This batch of disciples isn’t bad, the Transformative Divine Wood is stirring..."
Fang Xi was taken aback upon hearing this and turned to look at the crimson tree.
He saw fruits condensing at the treetop, quickly taking shape.
The fruits themselves looked extremely peculiar, somehow both chaotic and pill-like in their form, although inside, they were still hazy, resembling human faces as well as children stretching their bodies...
"My fellow Taoists... if you wish to savor this grand pill, you must make some effort."
Huo Xinzi smiled slightly and sent forth a red magic power, astonishingly infusing Core Formation-level spiritual power into the tree.
The many Masters and Yushi present burst into laughter and took action, with their multicolored magic power continuously falling upon the ’Transformative Divine Wood’ and being absorbed by its roots.
And hanging from the branches, the faces on the medicinal fruits became even more lifelike, looking as if they were about to ripen and fall off.
Fang Xi recognized several faces among these fruits as being those he had seen dead by the Jade Wall earlier on.
He also symbolically cast out a streak of black magic power, realizing the truth in his heart: "So that’s how it is..."
"This Secret Realm, this Transformative Divine Wood... it’s all a giant alchemy array... transforming the dead Taoists within the Secret Realm into nourishment, and then congealing them into pills..."
"Using the essence, energy, and spirit of cultivators as primer for the pills... then with us Core Formation cultivators nourishing them with our magic power... formulating the fruit of Divine Skill."
"If a well-founded Taoist consumes fruit that matches their cultivation skills, they indeed could easily take the step toward forming a Golden Core."
"No wonder the Xiao family tried everything to escape... Being sent into this Secret Realm, how is it different from being thrown into an alchemy furnace?"
"Except for the few, most will die! Not only will they die, but all their lifelong accumulations will serve as wedding dresses for others..."
...
Just then, the Transformative Divine Wood thundered and an ’Earth Origin Pill’ fell, being accurately gathered into a jade tray.
Fang Xi concentrated and looked; upon the Jade Wall, at the core of the Transformation Secret Realm, there stood an identical ’Transformative Divine Wood,’ with fruits condensing on its branches, slightly smaller in size.
He could immediately tell that this ’Earth Origin Pill’ was not only smaller but also a residue. It had more impurities and was far from the genuine Earth Origin Pills that the Masters were salivating over.
Below the ’Transformative Divine Wood,’ there were several ancient jade platforms where several Taoists were now sitting cross-legged.
From their attire, they must be from the major temples like Five Viscera, White Bone, and Yellow Springs.
They looked at the slightly smaller ’Earth Origin Fruits’ with eyes full of longing greed.
"Haha... Dao is achieved! Dao is achieved!"
"Just wait for the grand pill to drop, and we can step into true mastery in one go!!"
"How could these minor temple Taoists have the advantages we do? This Secret Realm... is designed to advance us by using the flesh of many cultivators!"
Among the many Taoists, one sat up straight on the jade platform, unyielding and unmoving.
But beneath the cover of his clothing, a red line seemed to be hidden.
Yu Hua, wearing the skin of a Taoist from White Bone Temple, felt an indescribable excitement: ’I never expected... there’d be such an opportunity for Core Formation...’