Ch108 – Dual Paths: Alchemy and Demonic
Translated by: DMlations/Zryuu
Edited by: Butter
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Third Elder was so shocked he couldn’t think about anything else.
Those five, thick, light green lines were undoubtedly bright and clear — this person was already a Refining Qi Stage fifth layer cultivator, also, it was very likely for him to become an alchemist!
You must know, an alchemist’s status may not be on par with craftsmen in the Five Continents’ mainlands, but it was still a notch above the rest. The Lin family only has one alchemist, and it was a Madam who had married into the family from the outside!
Silence.
The whole place fell dead silent.
Yan Tianhen had truly shocked the world with his unexpected results here.
“How could it be?” Lin Yangzhi cried out involuntarily.
Lin Yaer was covering her mouth as well. She stared in disbelief at the Yan Tianhen who had already reached the fifth layer of his Refining Qi stage. Her impoverished powers of imagination would have never led her to predict that Yan Tianhen, who was still obviously a good-for-nothing just awhile ago, would turn into a Refining Qi stage fifth layer cultivator in just a few days. Moreover, he had the potential to become an alchemist!
Lin Zezhi’s face turned green. He gritted his teeth in silence.
Dual elements, wood and fire, alchemist, how could this be?
Yet Lin Xuanzhi asked in his consciousness, “Can you sense the demonic Qi?”
“Hehe.” Soul Bead laughed indifferently, “That kid really is clever. He might not have been able to deceive Benzun, but it’s more than enough to trick those cultivators who haven’t even reached the earth level and that testing stone.”
“So….”
“He did cultivate the devil’s path.” Soul Bead came to this conclusion.
Slight sorrow arose in Lin Xuanzhi’s heart. Was it that no matter how hard he tried to change someone’s destiny, he would still be unable to refute heaven’s will?
He looked at Yan Tianhen, who stood atop the high platform with an obstinate look on his face, and uttered an almost imperceptible sigh.
“However, you don’t need to be so dejected.” Soul Bead said, “First of all, let’s just put aside how demonic or elemental cultivation is merely a method of entering Dao, and only people within the Five Continents who haven’t seen seen much of the world would impose such a distinction; let’s just talk about that kid — he is also an alchemist! The alchemist path has never been categorised as being either righteous or demonic. With this cover, unless he meets an earth-level cultivator, he won’t be seen through at a glance.”
Lin Xuanzhi closed his eyes and nodded slightly, “Every cloud has a silver lining.”
Yan Tianhen turned around and looked downwards, “So? I’m a Refining Qi Stage fifth layer cultivator. Do you guys have anything to say about my Dage giving the entry permit to me?”
Even…even if they were dissatisfied, it would be useless now.
After all, Yan Tianhen had already reached the fifth layer of his Refining Qi Stage, so he was absolutely eligible for the competition.
“What else do you guys have to say?” Yan Tianhen appeared very proud and self-satisfied. He looked really cocky as he puffed his chest out and stood ramrod straight.
“That’s right, you don’t need to take another place ma!”
Yan Tianhen uttered a hng, then jumped off the platform and walked over to Lin Xuanzhi’s side. He rolled his eyes, “My surname isn’t Lin, and I’m not part of the Lin family. Even if I’m qualified, I would still need the entry permit to join the Hundred Families Gathering as someone from the Lin family. It’s not like you guys don’t know this.”
“You’re too reserved! Your food, clothing, accommodations and travels are all taken care of by the Lin family, and your father treats you just like he would his own son, so how could you not be a member of the Lin family?”
“That’s right. Tianhen, you’re already considered part of the Lin family. We’re extremely supportive of you joining the Hundred Families Gathering as a member of the Lin family.”
“Yeah, Uncle Lin Zhan said a long time ago that you’re his son, so you’ve always been part of the Lin family.”
When he listened to all these people overturn their words so quickly, a huge grin broke out on Yan Tianhen’s face, “I’m not recorded in the Lin family’s family tree. I’m just my Dage’s younger brother, and my Dad’s son. Other than that, there is nothing else, and even if you want me to write my name down in the family tree now, I wouldn’t~”
All of them who hadn’t wanted him to have any sort of relationship to the Lin family at all now truly wished that he would just get on the family tree straight away just so that he could give up a place for them. How ridiculous.
Yan Tianhen was in the middle of immersing himself in his satisfaction, but his heart was still thumping wildly with apprehension.
Lin Xuanzhi looked at Yan Tianhen with an apathetic expression.
Yan Tianhen rubbed his nose out of guilty and thought, it’ll probably be tough to get through today.
Lin Xuanzhi cast a glance at him as he remained expressionless, then turned around and left.
“Dage, wait for me!” Yan Tianhen called out.
However, Lin Xuanzhi had already walked far away with quick steps.
“Ai!” Yan Tianhen sighed with a gloomy face.
“What are you sighing for? Don’t you know how cool and amazing you were just now?” Lin Yan slapped Yan Tianhen’s shoulder and sighed, “Looks like the rumours going around about how you don’t have a good relationship with your big brother are completely wrong.”
“What do you know.” Yan Tianhen said with a face full of sorrow, “Soon enough, our relationship won’t be good anymore.”
Lin Yan was a bit surprised. He blinked, “That can’t be ba. Lin Xuanzhi doesn’t seem like the type who can’t stand seeing other people succeed. Don’t tell me my intuition was off?”
Yan Tianhen shook his head, and he looked even sadder than before, “You won’t understand the world of adults.”
Lin Yan, “….”
The corners of Lin Yan’s mouth twitched, “However, when your Dage passed the entry permit to you, he didn’t already know that you were a Refining Qi Stage fifth layer cultivator ba?”
Yan Tianhen looked at him and nodded.
“Don’t tell me the two of you really do have a phony brotherly relationship?” Lin Yan stroked his chin and said with a sudden realisation, “He gave that place to you in the first place because he knew that your level wasn’t high enough, so he wanted you to die with just one hit in the competition. But now that he knows that it’s impossible for you to die with just one hit, he’s unhappy?”
Yan Tianhen, “…….”
Yan Tianhen looked at Lin Yan with a profound gaze, “Xiao Yan, it’s a huge waste of your talents if you don’t become a scriptwriter.”
Lin Yan’s eyes lit up, “You think I have a talent for scriptwriting too?”
Yan Tianhen nodded, “No one else is more talented than you.”
Lin Yan immediately rubbed his hands together and said excitedly, “Since even you are able to see my talent, I’m much more confident now.”
Yan Tianhen patted Lin Yan’s shoulder and looked at him, “Don’t worry. In the future, you’ll definitely turn into a scriptwriter so famous that you’ll be able to shake the world. But the problem is, what did you mean by ‘even you are able to see my talent’?”
Yan Tianhen always felt like Lin Yan was looking down on him.
After Yan Tianhen finished listening to Second Elder’s praises and revealed enough of his face in front of the Lin family pupils of his generation, he slowly walked back to the yard he shared with Lin Xuanzhi. After all, he was a little vain ma.
Lin Yan was called away by the Fifth Elder who suddenly reappeared. He said that he wanted to give Lin Yan some first meeting gifts.
Lin Yan had attracted a handful of people who hated him, and had yielded to the gunfire of quite a few people that had shifted their attention from Yan Tianhen and Lin Xuanzhi onto him.
Yan Tianhen arrived at their small yard. He looked at Lin Xuanzhi’s door that was shut tight and rubbed his nose, feeling apprehensive.
If Lin Xuanzhi wasn’t angry, he’d write his name backwards.
Yan Tianhen was prepared to turn around and return to his own room first, then come out after Lin Xuanzhi felt like seeing him.
But he didn’t expect that right after he turned around, he would see Lin Xuanzhi’s door being pushed open.
“Just now, did anyone make things difficult for you after I left?” This was Lin Xuanzhi’s first question after he opened the door.
Yan Tianhen didn’t hear the tone of interrogation that he had expected, so his brain didn’t come around for a moment. He was stunned into silence for a while before he shook his head and said, “No, they just wanted my name to be recorded on the family tree so that I’d give up the entry permit, but I rejected them. Dad instructed me before that my involvement with the Lin family could only be to such a degree, and it can not go any deeper than that.”
Lin Xuanzhi nodded, “It’s good as long as no one tried to make things difficult for you.”
“Dage…” Yan Tianhen couldn’t help himself from calling out.
“Un.” Lin Xuanzhi responded.
Yan Tianhen sniffed, “Fifth Elder said that all the Lin family pupils who passed the test today can go to the family’s Cultivation Method Pavillion tomorrow to select a suitable cultivation method for them.”
“Do you think that you can pick a suitable cultivation method in the family’s Cultivation Method Pavillion?”
Yan Tianhen rubbed his hands and nodded apprehensively, “I can.”
Lin Xuanzhi raised his eyebrow, “You can?”
Yan Tianhen blinked, “Dage, I’m actually an alchemist.”
Lin Xuanzhi gazed at Yan Tianhen furtively, while Yan Tianhen blinked like his life depended on it.
After a short moment, Lin Xuanzhi said, “Are you sure, that you’re just an alchemist?”
If Lin Xuanzhi had asked, “Are you sure that you’re an alchemist?”, then Yan Tianhen would have nodded without a single worry. However, after he added the word ‘just’ to his question, his answer would be completely different.
Yan Tianhen closed his mouth. He bit his lower lip and hung his head down.
Lin Xuanzhi looked at him indifferently, “Think it through before telling me ba.”
As he looked at Lin Xuanzhi’s back, Yan Tianhen’s heart suddenly felt sour.
He knew that Lin Xuanzhi had discovered something, but he couldn’t be certain if he knew that aside from being an alchemist, Yan Tianhen was also a demonic cultivator.
As the saying goes, the righteous and devil paths can’t be walked on at the same time, but in reality, they were only different with regards to the systems of their cultivation methods, as well as the necessary opportunities and steps for advancement.
Aside from elemental cultivators, the other auxiliary cultivators such as alchemists, talisman cultivators, array cultivators and equipment cultivators etc. were not constrained by either the righteous or devil’s path during their cultivation. Their ways of cultivating immortality are similar, but the materials they require and the effects of the medicinal pills they create do have some fundamental differences, which are thus used to differentiate between the ‘good’ and the ‘bad’.
Yan Tianhen was indeed an alchemist who can refine pills, but, he just never had any breakthroughs or shown much progress in this aspect.
However, after he used the cultivation methods of a demonic cultivator to advance to the Refining Qi Stage’s fifth layer, his dual elemental wood and fire alchemist realm would also show itself to be a fifth layer.
Yan Tianhen had not made the necessary preparations for accounting to Lin Xuanzhi about this.
Yan Tianhen looked at the door that was shut tight and stood rooted to the spot for awhile before deciding to go check on his corpse.
It was almost noon when Yan Tianhen trotted all the way to the dilapidated courtyard that he and Lin Xuanzhi lived in before.
In the pavillion, Lin Zezhi abruptly swept across the table and smashed all the tableware that was on it.
When Madam Bai opened the door and walked in, she saw the mess on the ground. She asked gently, “Zezhi, why are you so angry?”
As soon as Lin Zezhi saw Madam Bai, he collapsed onto a chair and stared at his feeble hands with a face full of disappointment, “Originally, I thought that just one Lin Xuanzhi was already too much for me to stand. But now, even a Lin Yangzhi and Lin Yaer had popped out. Not only that, even the good-for-nothing Yan Tianhen that I never regarded highly actually turned into a Refining Qi Stage fifth layer cultivator today, and is even highly likely to become an alchemist in the future! What the hell can I even consider to be? It’s absolutely impossible for me to make my mark in the Lin family, absolutely impossible!”
His pride and self-confidence had been utterly shattered in today’s test.
Madam Bai’s face sank before immediately resuming its previous gentleness. She walked over to Lin Zezhi’s side and said, “That’s all, isn’t it? Don’t tell me you’re going to give up just because of that? Lin Yangzhi and Lin Yaer might have obtained some kind of fated opportunity, so we won’t talk about them for the time being. But Lin Xuanzhi’s level is the same as yours right now, and that Yan Tianhen is even much lower than that, so what’s there to get all despondent about?”
“Mother, others might not know, but shouldn’t you be clear about it?” Lin Zezhi looked at Madam Bai, “I relied on the primary-level Breakthrough Qi pill that Third Elder bought with a lot of money to advance to the seventh layer. That was the only reason I was able to advance, but they…”
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