Chapter 942: Pill Feast
By the Spiritual Vitality Lake, green waves rippled gently.
Ou Yangming had used the Heavenly Phoenix fire to change his Qi momentum. Even his temperament had changed and became more ordinary. At this moment, even if he was thrown into the crowd, no one would notice him.
People emphasized the continuous flow of Qi momentum while sects emphasized the abundance of Qi.
Qi momentum was an extremely mysterious Qi field. It would fluctuate, but the fluctuation would not be large.
People like Ou Yangming who could directly change the external form of Qi were very rare. In fact, even a Venerable One could not do this. After all, in the entire Spiritual Realm, only the young fellow had the Heavenly Phoenix Fire.
The man in green next to Ou Yangming glanced at him, and a hint of doubt appeared in his eyes. He muttered to himself, ‘What’s going on? Why does he suddenly look so ordinary? Was I mistaken this time?’
Without any hesitation, he left Ou Yangming.
The Spiritual Realm was also very realistic and bony. Everything was also about one’s strength.
Ou Yangming knew the reason, but his expression did not change at all. He gently threw his hook out.
Not long after, he lifted the hook, and a fat spiritual fish was in his hand. This spiritual fish was very strong. A mature man who had not cultivated before would probably not be able to match the 1-kilogram fish in terms of strength.
Of course, this bit of force would not be able to do anything in front of Ou Yangming, who had become an Advanced Spiritualist.
He placed the spiritual fish in a bamboo basket and continued fishing. His heart was like the Spiritual Vitality Lake in front of him—incredibly calm.
Beside the Spiritual Vitality Lake, there was a huge square that was about 33 kilometers long. There were numerous rare herbs laid out there, and they emitted colorful lights. A platform had been built in the middle of the square, and the ceremony could be observed from all four directions.
Ou Yangming stood up straight after 2 hours and shook his shoulders. He glanced at the square and slowly walked toward the Ultimate Sword Peak.
After 3 days, at the break of dawn.
“Dong, dong, dong…”
Deafening rings from a bell sounded on the 7 main peaks at the same time. The sound waves swept in all directions, and they spread tens of kilometers away.
As a result, the sound waves enveloped the thousands of peaks in the Seven Stars Sect. A flying serpent tens of meters long rose from the lotus pond at the top of the Ultimate Sword Peak. The scales on its body were pitch-black, and they flickered with a cold light. Its eyes were red as if they contained a blood-red world. The aura on its body was forceful, and it had reached the level of a top-grade spirit beast. With a long howl, all the spirit beasts on the mountain prostrated themselves.
The 7 main peaks of the Seven Stars Sect were the Ultimate Sword Peak, Return Saber Peak, Sudden Realization Peak, Limit-searching Peak, Smithing Peak, Pill Peak…
On each peak, a top-grade spirit beast roared at the sky and flew toward the square beside the Spiritual Vitality Lake. Their auras stirred the void and when the 7 top-grade spirit beasts stood together, the shock they brought was unimaginable.
These 7 spirit beasts were the guardian spirit beasts of the respective main peaks. This alone was enough to show how formidable the Seven Stars Sect was.
Immediately after, countless cultivators from the 7 main peaks zoomed toward the square like streams of light. The entire sect was filled with an indescribable joy. This was Pill Feast, and this was a carnival in Zhangzhou.
Right at this moment, when the first ray of morning light rose from the mountains, 13 Intermediate Spiritualists exchanged glances.
Circulating the spiritual Qis in their dantians, they leaped and struck out with their palms in the air. The world rumbled and exploded. Their spiritual Qis burst out and released many 7-colored lights. Due to the illumination from the morning light, the Qi flow at the Seven Stars Sect’s Daoist shrine was undoubtedly revealed.
Ai Hongli’s voice happened to be heard at this time. He chuckled and said, “Brother Li, Brother Wang, please!” As he spoke, he made an inviting gesture. The 3 of them did not circulate any spiritual Qi and only relied on their physical bodies to fly. This was how Venerable Ones were like.
Wang Xiran said in a low voice, “Brother AI, it has been decades since we last met. The scale of the Pill Feast is getting larger!”
Li Xuanji nodded in agreement, “Yes, the Seven Stars sect is indeed the greatest sect in Zhangzhou!”
The 3 of them turned into light streams and flew out. They were not fast, but they made other people feel dazzled. Soon, they landed on the platform.
Ai Hongli laughed heartily and said, “Come, come, take a seat, take a seat!”
“Brother Ai, you’re too polite!” Li Xuanji and Wang Xiran responded at the same time.
Li Xuanji was the pavilion master of the Beyond Heaven Pavilion in Zhangzhou. His cultivation had reached the middle stage of a Venerable One realm but due to his special status, even a top-grade Venerable One would treat him with respect. Wang Xiran was the Venerable One that led the team from Reborn in Paradise. As for Luo Xiaoyu, who was Guan Yue’s master, she was only an Advanced Spiritualist, so she had brought the young lady into the square as her level was not high enough.
Ou Yangming stopped his meditation due to the loud bell sounds.
“The Pill Feast’s grand ceremony…” He muttered to himself, and a bright light flashed in his eyes. He thought, ‘This time, I want to see how these alchemy experts refine pills.’
At this moment, Ling Yue gently knocked on the door, and his voice was heard coming from outside.
“Brother Yu, the Pill Feast’s grand ceremony has begun. Do you want to participate in it?” He sounded like he was in a hurry, and his eyes were burning. He had been looking forward to this day for a long time.
“Okay, let’s go!” Ou Yangming opened the wooden door with a creak and walked out.
The Bluestone Square was bustling with people, and the atmosphere was warm.
Ou Yangming found a less conspicuous spot and looked around. He even took out a hat from his interspatial bag and wore it on his head. The young fellow lowered the brim of his hat. His outfit was very common in the square, and it was not eye-catching.
Not long after, a loud noise was heard.
“Master Qu is here!” Someone exclaimed,
Qu Zhengde walked in under the escort of a large group of people. He was wearing a white robe and looked aloof.
Ou Yangming did not raise his head. He still remembered the time when he met Qu Zhengde by the lake. If people knew who he really was, it would probably cause unnecessary trouble.
Of course, due to his identity as the Phoenixes’ messenger, the Seven Stars Sect would surely not have the guts to openly make things difficult for him. Despite that, this was Zhangzhou, which was Li Xin’s lair, so he had to be careful.
Ling Yue stood next to him. With a face full of admiration, he expressed, “Master Qu has gone on a trip, and his cultivation base has improved again. This time, his smithing skills must’ve improved too. Besides, the entertainment program this time will be Master Qu smithing pieces of equipment for people. It’d be great if he picks me.”
Ou Yangming cleared his throat but did not say anything. Having said that, he was secretly amused.
Just as Ling Yue was speaking, an old man with a white beard and hair slowly walked onto the stage.
He cupped his hands and bowed, “Fellow friends, I’m Liao Qingsong, a great elder from the Seven Stars Sect’s inner sect, and I’ll be hosting this Pill Feast. Alright, let’s not talk too much. Next, for our entertainment program, let’s invite Master Qu up to the stage.” He deliberately blinked with a mysterious expression and added, “Master Qu will also draw 3 lucky ones and refine a piece of equipment for each of them. The materials will be provided by the Seven Stars Sect.”
As his voice spread, the atmosphere below the stage reached its greatest height. Many cultivators revealed excited and pleasantly surprised expressions.
It was Master Qu, after all, who was the greatest blacksmith below Venerable Blacksmiths in Zhangzhou.
Qu Zhengde leaped onto the high platform and cupped his hands. “I’m Qu Zhengde. Thank you for coming, fellow friends.”
Before he finished, he pointed his finger, causing 3 Blood Ores to fly in all directions. At the same time, he explained, “Whoever picks up those 3 Blood Ores are fated with me. In a while, I’ll personally smith a piece of equipment for each of those people.”
He paused and changed the topic. “Whoever picks it up will get it. If someone dares to take one by force, I won’t let him or her off.” He was not loud, but his voice exploded in everyone’s hearts like thunder in the clear sky. After all, given his current status, he was not inferior to Venerable Ones.
The tens of thousands of cultivators in the Bluestone Square looked at the 3 Blood Ores eagerly, hoping that they would land in front of them.
“Mine, this is mine!” A middle-aged man with disheveled hair grabbed a Blood Ore and roared loudly, his eyes full of arrogance.
‘Don’t come to me. I don’t want it, I don’t want it…’
Ou Yangming yelled internally, but the Blood Ore seemed to have eyes. It passed through all the obstacles and headed toward him.
‘I don’t want it…’ Ou Yangming felt very bitter. If he used his spiritual power to push the Blood Ore away in public, he would certainly be noticed by the Seven Stars Sect. As such, he could only pretend to be a little crazy and pounce forward with Ling Yue at the same time. In secret, the young fellow used incredibly subtle mental power to guide the Blood Ore into Ling Yue’s hand.
With a vaguely bitter expression on his face, he cupped his hands and expressed, “Brother Ling, congratulations. Your wish can finally come true.”
Ling Yue was at a loss, and his body began to tremble.
He and Qu Zhengde were both members of the Seven Stars Sect but in terms of status, they were far apart. He forcefully suppressed the excitement in his heart, took the Blood Ore, and jumped onto the high platform.
Qu Zhengde exhaled a breath of cold air. The light in his eyes condensed, and he entered a state of mind that was as calm as an ancient well. A light lit up in his palm and many precious materials quickly melted. An aura of the natural path technique spread out.
Li Xuanji stroked his beard, nodded lightly, and commented, “Brother Ai, Master Qu’s smithing technique has improved quite a bit!”
Ai Hongli’s eyes were filled with emotion. He replied to him, “During the last Smithing Competition between Danzhou and Zhangzhou, Zhengde was slightly inferior. After returning to Zhangzhou, he chose to travel around the world. After all, one who travels far knows more. His state of mind was suddenly enlightened, and he also broke through to become an Intermediate Spiritualist. Naturally, his smithing skills improved too.” He did not deliberately lower his voice so in the blink of an eye, it swept in all directions.
Almost 90% of the cultivators in the Bluestone Square were surprised.
They thought, ‘How’s that possible? Given Master Qu’s cultivation base in smithing art, how could he lose? How strong was his opponent?’
They looked around and how surprised everyone was.
Even Li Xuanji from the Beyond Heaven Pavilion was surprised. He smiled and said, “Brother Ai, you are really open-minded. I admire you for saying such words on such an occasion.”
Ai Hongli waved his grey sleeves and said in a calm voice, “Truth will come to light sooner or later. Besides, with Zhengde’s current smithing skills, if they were to compete again, nobody can tell who’s stronger or weaker.” He looked at Qu Zhengde with full confidence in his eyes. After all, Qu Zhengde was the greatest smithing master below Venerable Blacksmiths in Zhangzhou—the great blacksmith who could suppress his peers of this generation.