Chapter 235: Chapter 235: The Sole Survivor of Little Emerald Peak, Dong Dongqiang’s Breakthrough
Ye Feng arrived.
He stood on the ground, sizing up Wang Ping An and noticed the fair-skinned youth was very nervous.
“Don’t panic, the others won’t eat you up.”
Ye Feng’s tone was gentle, like a big brother-next-door, and he added, “I am the Sect Leader of the Misty Sect, Ye Feng.”
At these words, Wang Ping An shrank his neck and timidly lifted his head to look at Ye Feng, realizing that this young man was handsome and had a kind face, but he was far different from the Sect Master Ye that Wang Ping An had envisioned.
In Wang Ping An’s mind, Ye Feng should have been an old man with the bearing of an immortal, fond of drinking, and a bit lecherous.
Um! Just like the master who had passed away.
With this thought, Wang Ping An weakly asked, “Are… are you really Sect Master Ye Feng?”
“Yes, it’s me,” Ye Feng nodded.
The fact that Wang Ping An could walk through the Misty Area indicated he met the recruitment criteria of the Misty Sect.
Ye Feng always cherished disciples that were hard to come by, even if Wang Ping An’s cultivation level was not high, only at the third layer of Qi Refinement, he still wanted to take him in.
“Please allow me to join the Misty Sect, Sect Master Ye!”
Wang Ping An knelt down sincerely on the ground, placing the big wok before him, and kowtowed to Ye Feng, his forehead colliding with the bottom of the wok, making a “dong dong dong” sound.
The crowd was all stunned.
Others would “kowtow to the ground,” but when it came to Wang Ping An, it turned into “kowtowing to the wok,” getting his forehead smudged with black.
Ye Feng opened his mouth, coughed to mask his surprise, and said, “You better stand up and talk.”
“Yes, Sect Leader,” Wang Ping An quickly got up, holding the black wok, wiping his forehead with his hand, and soon his face was covered in black smudges, his smile revealing very white teeth.
Ye Feng’s mouth twitched.
There is a big difference between “Sect Master Ye” and “Sect Leader.”
Calling the former indicated that both parties were not from the same sect.
If one called the latter, it meant Ye Feng had become Wang Ping An’s sect leader, and it was uncertain whether Wang Ping An was doing so deliberately or had mistakenly said the wrong title.
After pondering for a moment, Ye Feng took Wang Ping An to the Sect Leader’s Great Hall, brought out the Book of Names, and asked:
“Your name is Wang Ping An, right? Give a brief introduction of yourself, such as where you are from, to which power you belonged, your experiences, and any special skills.”
Holding the wok behind him, Wang Ping An said softly, “My name is Wang Ping An, from the Little Emerald Peak over a hundred miles away. I used to learn alchemy from our senior ancestor, the Alchemist of Danxia.”
“Later, I studied alchemy with the Second Ancestor. Then, I learned alchemy with the Third Ancestor… After sending off my master, I came down from the mountain.”
“I heard that Sect Master Ye of the Misty Sect is the most formidable immortal nearby, so I planned to come over to apprentice… As for my special skill, it’s alchemy.”
Everyone listened to Wang Ping An’s personal history, all wearing puzzled expressions.
What does “sending off one’s master” mean?
And why study alchemy with each of the ancestors such as Senior Ancestor, Second Ancestor, Third Ancestor, could it be that Wang Ping An had inherited the legacies of several individuals?
Ye Feng had such doubts too.
Thus, they voiced their concerns.
“The founding master of Little Emerald Peak, the Venerable Danxia Hermit, was our sect’s founder, and the second master was his only disciple. The third master was the second master’s only disciple… My master was the fifth master’s only disciple. Including myself, there were originally seven people at Little Emerald Peak. The founder said that I had a ‘King of Elixir’ physique, so he personally taught me alchemy.”
“But somehow, after imparting all his knowledge to me, the old master suddenly passed away.”
“Next, it was the second master’s turn to teach me, and then, he died as well.”
“Lastly, just after my own master finished teaching me how to make elixirs, for reasons unknown, he also lost his breath… I buried them all on the hill behind our peak. As I didn’t know how to wash clothes or cook, I got too hungry, so I had no choice but to venture down the mountain…”
Wang Ping’an gave a detailed explanation.
He spoke haltingly, hesitantly, sometimes almost going word by word, which is why it took him rather long.
Everyone who heard that Wang Ping’an had consecutively “sent off” six masters couldn’t help but gasp and turned to look at Ye Feng.
Smack!
The brush in Ye Feng’s hand fell onto the table.
“Damn it, this disciple can’t be accepted! He might have a supreme ‘Master-Destroyer’ physique! Whoever becomes his master will be out of luck!”
That’s what Ye Feng thought, so frightened that he couldn’t even hold his brush steady.
Wang Ping’an saw the brush that had fallen onto the table, picked it up, and handed it to Ye Feng with a sincere face, “Sect Leader, I am skilled in alchemy. Please take me as your disciple. I will definitely learn how to do laundry and cook, and I will make the best elixirs for the sect.”
“There’s no need to talk about accepting you as a disciple!”
As soon as he heard that he was sought as a master, Ye Feng got so scared that he stood on his chair, ready to send Wang Ping’an away.
“Don’t, Sect Leader, don’t drive me away, Master… I’m kneeling for you!” Wang Ping’an immediately put down the wok and was about to kowtow to Ye Feng.
“Damn it!”
Ye Feng dodged at the speed of light, not giving him a chance to kneel.
“Master, I can refine elixirs. Just keep me! Although I don’t know how to do laundry and cook, I’m willing to learn…”
Wang Ping’an was pushed out by Ye Feng, and as he was about to enter the Misty Area, he became so anxious that he spoke more fluently.
The other disciples had weird expressions on their faces.
To be honest, they were quite happy to have more disciples in the Misty Sect, especially since this one knew how to make elixirs.
However, remembering that Wang Ping’an might possess a “Master-Destroyer” talent and had successively “sent off” six masters, the disciples suddenly felt a tingling sensation on their scalps.
At the end of the mountain path.
Ye Feng, looking at Wang Ping’an who was kneeling on the ground and weeping bitterly, remembered that this young man seemed to know alchemy, and to pass the Star-Level Sect assessment, it was essential to have someone who knew how to refine elixirs.
“You said you know alchemy?” Ye Feng asked.
Wang Ping’an quickly hugged the iron pot and nodded seriously, “Yes! Although I have ‘sent off’ six masters, I have also learned the unique alchemy techniques of Little Emerald Peak. I can make very high-quality elixirs, such as Cultivation Qi Pills, Blood Qi Pills, Healing Qi Pills…”
“Stop, stop, stop!”
Ye Feng interrupted Wang Ping’an, “You say you can make Cultivation Qi Pills, then fine, I’ll give you a chance. Make at least one Cultivation Qi Pill today, whether it be Lower Grade, Middle Grade, or Upper Grade, as long as the quality is decent, I will keep you here.”
“You’ll accept me as your disciple?” Wang Ping’an asked excitedly.
“Forget discipleship, but you can be kept as a member of the sect,” Ye Feng felt like kicking him.
“`
“Alright, I’ll start alchemy now.”
Wang Ping An set up a black cauldron on the ground, took out a vat of water, dozens of fragrant herbs, a small stone mill, and a scale from his storage ring.
In addition, there were some odd and bizarre things.
“Is this cooking or alchemy?” Ye Feng muttered, looking at the items on the ground.
The disciples also gathered around, curiously watching.
Wang Ping An began the alchemy.
At this moment, his young face was serious. Under the astonished gazes of everyone, he first used water to scrub the cauldron, then added half a cauldron of water, ignited a piece of strange black stone with a spell, and heated the large black cauldron from below.
Wang Ping An selected more than ten types of spiritual medicine, weighed the precise amounts with a scale, then put them all in the stone mill with some water, ground them into pulp, and poured everything into the black cauldron.
After that, he just kept boiling it.
Seeing such an unorthodox method of alchemy, Ye Feng and the many disciples were all speechless, really wanting to ask whether this was about making soup or alchemy.
However, they didn’t interrupt.
Everyone watched earnestly.
Although they thought Wang Ping An was unreliable, in the end, he was seriously practicing alchemy, and every person working hard deserves patience and encouragement.
The water in the cauldron boiled.
The water level started to drop gradually.
Soon, the liquid in the cauldron turned into residue, and then, as there was no extinguishing of the fire, it continued to be roasted, starting to emit a burnt smell.
“Are you sure you shouldn’t put out the fire?” Li Jiaojiao muttered.
Wang Ping An answered seriously, “The critical moment is now, I cannot stop!”
While speaking, he maintained the gentle fire, continuously stirring the gradually blackening medicinal residue until the black ash in the cauldron was sublimated by the high temperature and scattered with the wind.
The residue in the cauldron became less and less.
But just at that moment, an astonishing phenomenon occurred!
The surface of the black cauldron suddenly formed a layer of shiny substance, emitting a fresh fragrance. Wang Ping An extinguished the fire, immediately rinsed the cauldron with water, and washed out all the shiny substance, pouring it into a jar for filtering and settling.
“Quite interesting!” Mo Ying whispered.
Ye Feng also nodded secretly.
During their time at Yunhua Sect, everyone had witnessed alchemists performing alchemy. Though the process was entirely different from Wang Ping An’s, in the end, they obtained that kind of medicinal essence full of the fragrance of medicine.
The settling continued for fifteen minutes.
Wang Ping An heated the cauldron again, poured out the washing water from the cauldron after settling it, leaving only the semi-dry medicinal essence. He poured it back into the cauldron, stirred it a few times, then placed it into a special wooden box, shaking it continuously.
Then, nine light blue elixir pills appeared!
“Is it a success?” The crowd was astonished.
Wang Ping An stretched out his hand, placed the nine elixir pills above his palm, ran a spell, used his own spiritual fire to temper them, causing a spiritual glow to appear on the surface of the elixir pills, and the last of the impurities were driven away.
A rich medicinal fragrance began to spread.
Finally, after an hour of effort, Wang Ping An placed nine pure and flawless elixir pills on a tray, presenting them to Ye Feng.
“Master, they are finished, nine Lower Grade Cultivation Qi Pills.”
Wang Ping An said cheerily.
Upon hearing the word “Master,” Ye Feng quickly tactically leaned back and took out a white bone sword.
“Mo Ying, check the quality of these elixir pills.” Ye Feng gestured to Mo Ying with his mouth.
Mo Ying extended her snow-white slender hand, picked up a Lower Grade Cultivation Qi Pill, her spiritual sense entered it, and her gaze changed slightly, saying, “Indeed, it’s a Lower Grade Cultivation Qi Pill, and its purity is at a full ten out of ten, a master-level technique.”
“Really?” Ye Feng’s breath hitched.
Finding a disciple who could perform alchemy was truly delightful!
However, Wang Ping An had the “Ancestor-Ending” physique, staying in the Misty Sect was no problem, but he couldn’t be acknowledged as the disciple of anybody, or else, that would be sending the person straight to heaven!
Considering this, Ye Feng coughed and said, “The quality of the elixir pills is quite good. From today on, you are the fourteenth disciple of our Misty Sect, for the time being, among the Registered Disciples. Once you complete the assessment task, you will be able to advance to the outer disciples.”
“Thank you, Master… Sect Leader!”
Wang Ping An was overjoyed and hurriedly knelt down. Seeing Ye Feng raise the white bone sword, he quickly corrected himself from “Master” to “Sect Leader.”
“From today on, this sect leader establishes the first sect rule, that is, no one is allowed to call me ‘Master’!” Ye Feng held up the white bone sword high, ready to chop down anyone who dared call him Master.
The disciples all looked towards Wang Ping An.
Wang Ping An shrank his neck and said, “Master… Sect Leader, I won’t say it again in the future.”
Snap!
Hearing him say that, Ye Feng felt gratified, quickly registered Wang Ping An’s personal information, and stamped it with the Sect Leader’s Seal.
“Ding, Registered Disciple ‘Wang Ping An’ received, Lower Grade root bone, Qi Refinement third stage, naturally born King of Pills, proficient in alchemy.”
The System sounded a prompt.
King of Pills?
He had stumbled upon a treasure!
Ye Feng’s breath hitched, then he became extremely happy.
…
Demon City.
Dong Dongqiang sat cross-legged in an underground cavern.
Boom!
A terrifying surge burst forth from his body, shattering the surrounding rocks into powder, his eyes suddenly snapped open, his aura instantly skyrocketing tenfold, as he officially stepped into the Element Gathering Realm first layer.
“Hehehe… Finally, I’ve broken through to the Element Gathering Realm. I’ll keep a low profile, not engage in major battles, run from enemies I can’t defeat, and always stick to a ‘steady’ approach. It won’t take many years before I return to my peak!”
Dong Dongqiang brushed off the dust from his body, used the “Earth Escape Technique”, and quietly left Demon City.