Time passed by.
Winter was coming. The city was frequented by cold winds.
It was already over a month since Tianlong had returned to the clan.
As the end of the year crept in, the youngsters of the clan were more excited than ever.
It was the annual martial arts tournament of the clan where all the youngsters of the clan participated to show off their combat prowess.
Most of the participants were in the Qi Condensation realm with a few of them being in the Yin Yang Cleansing realm.
The top three were given cultivation resources by the clan while the winner would be taught exclusively by the elders. It was a way to stimulate a competitive nature among the clansmen.
However, this year, most of the participants were at least on the 4th level of Qi Condensation. The sudden appearance of Spirit Water had increased everyone's cultivation base.
There was no way Long Clan would not get the news and procure some for their clansmen.
While others were busy cultivating and practising their divine abilities, Tianlong himself was busy with his treatment and research.
Most of the time he spent studying the cultivators his father had captured for him and executed the different methods of surgery he had devised for his mother.
Once he was sure that he could extract the black patches of tissues without causing any serious harm, he would stimulate the lotus vine in his heart and absorb the tissues.
Subsequently, he would spend refining them and infusing his own will inside of it. So far, except for some small mistakes, the operations had gone smoothly. If things went like this, she would cured in six months at most.
All he needed now was time.
As his research progressed, he felt the need for a medical art of his own. The prestigious medical practitioners all had unique divine arts. With a wave of their hands, they could find a person's ailments and cure them instantaneously.
However, this kind of skill was difficult to pass on. It was something that he had to create himself.
Thankfully, he had received the compendium of poisons from Jiang Ye Zi.
Tianlong had studied medical theories from rank 5 and rank 6 medical sects before but none of them contained as much detailed knowledge as her diary. In some sense, she had left her legacy to him.
Her notes not only dealt with poisons but also the human body. Sadly, some of these concepts delved too much into alchemy rather than physiology. As a result, he needed to consult an alchemist.
And besides Qingxue, there was the only person whom he consulted on such matters – Ji Cangyue.
The mid-stage Yin Yang Cleanser and second revolution alchemist who was barely above 30 years old. A mature beauty who was a cultivating and alchemy genius.
"I'm sorry to say this but I don't know the answers myself." She said in a helpless voice while looking at the pile of questions in front of her.
"This…" He was feeling slightly helpless.
Ever since he came back, he had been regularly visiting her every few days for help. On this trip, he had accumulated a lot of knowledge through his cruel experiments.
While at first, she was able to clear his doubts, his subsequent questions made her unable to answer.
Instead of teaching wrong and maintaining her image of a senior, it was better to just say that she didn't know.
"That paper you gave me on 'Equilibrium of five elements between the five viscera and six bowels' was an eye-opener for me. I have never read something like that in any of clan's documents…"
She looked at him with an apologetic gaze and continued,
"We alchemists practise external refinement. Even medical treatments are done by identifying the ailment and concocting a corresponding medicine to it.
"Your study is more focused on the internal alchemy of a cultivator. It is something that has long been discarded due to the nature of experimentation and the small scope of improvement. Unless I reach a greater level in alchemy, I can't help you."
Even before she said it, Tianlong was already aware of it. He just didn't know that he would stop receiving her guidance so early on.
The two highest-ranked Alchemist in their clan were Long Ling'er and Long Fang who were both peak 3rd revolution alchemist. However, by his mother's evaluation, Ji Cangyue was as talented as them if not more.
If she couldn't help him, then no one could. After all, the main difference between the 2nd and 3rd revolution alchemists was their spiritual strength. Compared to the two 3rd revolution alchemists, she was just lacking in cultivation base.
"Our paths have already diverged. I can only rely on myself from now on." He inwardly thought.
His study in medicine had just started. After all, he had only fused with the lotus. He wasn't naïve enough to let something like that grow inside of him without his control.
As he was lost in thoughts, Ji Cangyue kept aside the papers and looked at him thoughtfully. "Qingxue has told me that your strength has increased tremendously in these six months. Instead of dwelling on alchemy, you should start preparing for the clan's annual competition. If you can get the first position, you'll have a high chance of joining the Grand Xia's Imperial Academy."
The so-called Grand Xia was an ancient country that had a history spanning over 50,000 years. In the past, the Xia monarch was a Spiritual Fusion old monster who elevated the status of the country to rank 6.
However, like everything else in the world, it couldn't last the winds of time and slowly fell into decay. Numerous wars and lack of talent among royalty caused them to fall into decline.
Even so, the country managed to keep itself as a rank 5 country with at least one Soul Transformation old monster.
To people of Rank 3 regions like Brightmoon country, this power was something they couldn't even dream of obtaining.
Even Tianlong would only have a vague understanding of this power if his father hadn't taken him out to visit Hundred Poison valley.
Although he still respected that power, he believed that one day he too would possess it. This was a difference in mentality.
"Say, if you were given the chance to join Xia Imperial Academy, would you join them?" He had caught the awe and respect in her voice when she spoke of that place.
Tianlong's sudden question surprised her.
"Absolutely!" She didn't even hesitate for a moment to answer. However, her mood became downcast the next instant.
"However, the qualifications needed to join the academy as an Alchemist are even stricter than a martial cultivator. We'll need an Alchemy level that almost exceeds our cultivation base …it's impossible."
"Lack of resources?"
She stayed silent for a moment then shook her head. "It's not just a lack of resources but also recipes. I just don't have enough 3rd revolution alchemical recipes to practise on." Ji Cangyue sighed and didn't speak further.
Tianlong went silent for a moment as he considered her words.
He would be lying if he said that he didn't feel a sense of loss. She had been teaching him principles of alchemy for quite a few years. The attraction he had felt towards her while he was young had turned into a sort of respect for a master from his pupil.
Part of him wanted to keep learning from her while seeing her break the records of the clan and become a 4th revolution alchemist.
Then there was also his relationship with Qingxue.
The next instant, he came to a decision.
"These are all the questions that I've accumulated in the past few months. You don't need to check them now, but when you have free time do read them."
He took out a bunch of books and handed them over to her.
"Alright. I'll see them."
Tianlong bowed towards her and excused himself.
"He's grown up." She sighed while looking at his departing figure. "I could feel a dangerous feeling coming from him when we were close. Qingxue really didn't lie when she said he's even stronger than her. It's just that I never thought he would even give me a feeling of constriction…"
While Ji Cangyue was thinking about his growth, Tianlong strolled the clan at a leisurely pace.
Due to his fast increase in cultivation, Tianlong wasn't cultivating for the time being. His entire attention was focused on experiments and finding out ways to retrieve the roots from his mother.
It was like he was solving a puzzle where the roots were the puzzle pieces stuck between the vital organs, meridians and tissues. A slight mistake and both of them would die.
Due to his mental fatigue, he had even less reason to cultivate. Whenever he was too tired, he would take a walk outside. Something that he rarely did before.
Coincidentally, his stroll had bought him very near to the border of mortals and cultivators in the clan.
It had a different atmosphere than the place where he lived in. There was more hustle and bustle.
He saw many exhausted men going back home after a hard day of work. Their children rushed out to hug them while some had their wives waiting outside.
Walking forward, he saw lots of children playing with each other. Some of them were flying kites, a few were playing Catch ball while some were playing with a drum.
He saw a pair of siblings who were playing with mud. Their mother scolded them while twisting their ears.
This kind of scene which may seem normal to mortals was extremely uncommon for cultivators who spent all of their time in seclusion.
He could feel a strange sense of harmony while looking at the scene.
"As a cultivation clan, we sure do have a lot of mortals…