The bustling courtyard of Four Treasures Peak had once again returned to its usual quiet after Chen Shizhi left.
A few disciples curiously sized up Beichen Ying, who had arrived via Sword Flight, not understanding why this seemingly skilled, plump old man had come to Four Treasures Peak, or why he would stand up for their master. Their master didn't seem to know such a skilled person, did he?
"How should I address this senior?" Cao Zhen, having seen off Chen Shizhi, returned to the courtyard and greeted Beichen Ying with a cupped-fist salute, "What brings you to our Four Treasures Peak?"
Seizing the moment Cao Zhen was seeing off the guest, Beichen Ying took a good look around the residence of Four Treasures Peak and couldn't help feeling secretly pleased. This place was indeed just like what I had heard, the Hundred Peaks Sect's last ranked peak! If this Peak Master really is an Alchemy Master, then it means this Peak Master doesn't know his own value!
Look at this residence! The nearby Spirit Gathering Array is too rudimentary... It's not even as suffused with spiritual energy as the foot of Tian Du Peak where I used to reside! Could it be that he's so obsessed with the Alchemy Dao he doesn't understand anything else? So obsessed that the outside world doesn't even know there is an Alchemy Master here!
"This old man is Beichen Ying, and I've practiced alchemy at Precious Cauldron Pavilion," Beichen Ying swiftly introduced himself.
As Beichen Ying revealed his identity, the expected shock or admiration from the other party did not materialize. Whether it was Ling Xi, Yan Yourong, or Bei Yan in the courtyard, all had faces filled with confusion.
A great Guardian from Hundred Peaks Sect's secondary Immortal Palace, and this is the reaction I get? Beichen Ying couldn't accept this. Even if the Hundred Peaks Sect was indeed vast and populous, we're talking about the name of a secondary seat-holder in the Guardian Immortal Palace!
In the meantime, Cao Zhen, picking up on the medicinal scent that lingered on Beichen Ying after the explosion, suddenly realized and asked, "Dark Fire Frenzied Pill?"
Beichen Ying didn't care that the disciples of Four Treasures Peak didn't know his name, and quickly raised his hand to stroke his beard in affirmation, "Exactly! It was I! Did you know that the pill furnace would explode?"
"Senior, there are problems with your pill prescription," Cao Zhen understood the other party's purpose and didn't hide anything, wanting to quickly send him away so he could discuss the matter of the disciples being mortgaged to the pawnshop with them.
"There are problems with my pill prescription?" Beichen Ying stared at Cao Zhen in disbelief, "Do you know where I got this pill prescription from?"
"Wherever it's from, it's problematic," Cao Zhen said disdainfully, "If someone gave it to you, I guess it's an enemy who wants to kill you with an explosion. That pill prescription is truly powerful; even if you entered the Earthly Immortal Secret Realm's Ten Thousand Life Stage, you'd still be killed by the explosion. To my knowledge, not many in the entire Hundred Peaks Sect have entered the Earthly Immortal Secret Realm. You can still be alive now because you threw a 300-year-old Snow Peak Grass into the pill furnace before the explosion, didn't you?"
Beichen Ying was astonished. If it weren't for the reputation of Precious Cauldron Pavilion, he would really suspect that he was secretly watched while practicing alchemy! In the final moment before the furnace exploded, he tried to use the Snow Peak Grass to suppress and remove some of the medicinal properties to save that batch of pills... in the end, it only weakened the explosion, but the pills were not saved.
"How did you know I added Snow Peak Grass? And 300 years old at that?" Beichen Ying couldn't hold back his curiosity.
"You smell like Snow Peak Grass," Cao Zhen eagerly tried to get rid of Beichen Ying, "Snow Peak Grass has an extreme, yet stable, cold medicinal property. It is indeed suitable for ensuring the completion of Dark Fire Frenzied Pills. If saved, it would only result in a thirty percent loss of efficacy of the pills. It would yield fewer pills, and while they wouldn't reach supreme quality, they could barely maintain a mid-grade status."
"You understand how to refine Dark Fire Frenzied Pills?" Beichen Ying stopped wasting time with Cao Zhen; he had always felt uncomfortable being kept in the second-seated position for so many years. Finally having obtained a Dark Fire Frenzied Pill prescription, he planned to refine a batch to challenge the first seat. But, with each attempt at alchemy, the furnace would explode, and he couldn't find the source of the problem.
"A little," Cao Zhen suddenly realized that the other party seemed to really need Dark Fire Frenzied Pills, and as this person was also a skilled practitioner, that usually meant... wealth! Wasn't this a business opportunity knocking at his door? And at this moment, he was so desperately in need of money that he was about to pawn off his disciples.
"Then refine a furnace for me. I will provide the materials," Beichen Ying declared while he took a seat unceremoniously at the stone table next to them, grabbing the only pot of tea Cao Zhen had and started drinking.
"Alright!" Cao Zhen agreed readily, sitting on a stone stool, waiting for the other party to name a price for his services.
However, he found that after Beichen Ying finished drinking, there was no sign of him mentioning a fee, which made Cao Zhen unable to hold back. He asked, "How much is the fee for refining this batch of pills?"
Pay up? Beichen Ying's hand, holding the teacup aloft, froze mid-air. He had it all thought out before coming here; even if the other party was an Alchemy Master, it's been said that their cultivation base isn't great, right? That clearly meant they didn't know their own value!
Before coming, Beichen Ying had the perfect plan in his mind. He thought, as he announced his name, the other party would instantly value him, and then he could offer to give some guidance on their cultivation, helping them take fewer detours.
Once these people heard that a second-seated Guardian of the Immortal Palace was going to personally instruct them, wouldn't every person on Four Treasures Peak be grinning from ear to ear? When he further mentioned the idea of Hundred Peaks welcoming branches, suggesting frequent visits to offer guidance, it wouldn't be impossible, even to teach him to concoct pills in return for refining a batch of Dark Fire Frenzied Pills for him.
"Seeing you and your disciples' talents, they're not bad," Beichen Ying looked around at everyone and then continued, "But your cultivation bases are not strong, right? I can offer you some tips..."
"Freeloading?" Cao Zhen stood up, interrupting Beichen Ying's talk, reached out to snatch the teapot, which still had half a pot of tea, away from him, and said, "Senior, we at Four Treasures Peak have a meeting to conduct, so we won't keep you for lunch."
Beichen Ying was stunned. Isn't this a person of old-fashioned strictness? Generally, aren't those of an old-fashioned strictness immediately falling over themselves to help their sect without asking for remuneration? Why was he asking for payment?
"I am the Vice Chief of the Protectorate Immortal Palace," Beichen Ying decided to reintroduce himself, to let the other party be aware of his significance, and thus realize how valuable his guidance would be.
The three disciples behind Cao Zhen simultaneously gasped in astonishment, and Ling Xi, the senior sister, really wanted to persuade her own master to immediately agree to alchemize for this man! Even just a casual piece of advice! Master, you might truly have a chance to defeat Starshine Peak! At the very least, he could save face by having Starshine Peak call off this competition!
"So..." Cao Zhen asked doubtfully, "you think I should do it for free? Isn't this a favor you're asking of me? Shouldn't I get paid for my work?"
Beichen Ying reassessed Cao Zhen, unable to help but laugh and say, "You're even more pedantic and rigid than the rumors say! Kid! I! The Vice Chief of the Protectorate Immortal Palace! Instead of giving you Spirit Stones, just casually giving you a few pointers on your cultivation would make you gain even more, wouldn't it?"
Bei Yan, Ling Xi, and Yan Yourong, standing behind Cao Zhen, all nodded their heads in unison.
Seeing the longing faces of Cao Zhen's three disciples, Beichen Ying revealed a pleased smile and said, "Your disciples seem to have a clear understanding of the situation. Why don't you... ask your disciples what they think?"
"Master!" Ling Xi quickly spoke up, "The timing of our competition with Starshine Peak is approaching. If you got some advice from Elder Beichen, perhaps we might have a chance to win against Starshine Peak..."
"Starshine Peak? I know about them," Beichen Ying smiled and said, "Their Peak ranks significantly higher than yours. If you compete with them, you likely have no chance to win, do you? Of course, if this old man were to give you a pointer or two, it's not certain that you have no chance."
"Ling Xi, don't be hasty," Cao Zhen said, patting Ling Xi on the lower back as she stepped forward wanting to interject again, "As for that competition with Starshine Peak, your master can certainly win."
Win? Win from where? How to win? Ling Xi wanted to speak again, but suddenly remembered that in the presence of outsiders, as a disciple, she should not be doing this—it was disrespectful to her master!
The next second, Ling Xi retreated, kneeling down with an exaggerated motion and burying her head into the ground, saying, "Master, your disciple is in the wrong!"
"My goodness... not this again..."
Cao Zhen was busy thinking about how to squeeze some benefits from this Vice Chief of the Protectorate Immortal Palace when he inattentively forgot about his senior disciple's habitual melodramatic reactions.
Now, Cao Zhen's cultivation base was much higher than his senior disciple's, and it should have been easy to stop her, but the disciple's action was way too polished! So proficient that she could challenge beyond her level! Coupled with his distraction, he let his disciple complete the kowtow once again.
"You Rong, quickly pull her up," Cao Zhen said, rubbing his temples; what kind of disciples did he have... Whenever Yan Yourong encountered a problem, she would always discuss with him whether or not to kill someone and find a place to bury the body; the senior disciple would melodramatically kowtow at any chance; the youngest disciple always held a book with a silly smile, sometimes blurting out things like 'I'm the protagonist'.
Beichen Ying too was baffled by this sudden kowtow, thinking, does Four Treasures Peak have a single normal person? The Peak Master of the Hundredth Peak is so confident he can defeat the Ninety-Fifth Peak? Where does this confidence come from? What is this kid's cultivation base?
"Kid, no offense," Beichen Ying's eyes quickly arranged a series of complex characters, sizing up Cao Zhen rapidly.
The next moment, Beichen Ying was completely stunned, then raised his hand in disbelief to rub his eyes.
A Perfect Dao Foundation with ten Tao Platforms! Moreover, the aura of dragons and tigers atop each Tao Platform was rarely seen!
Besides the ten dragon-and-tiger Tao Platforms hidden within the dantian, there were also five Immortal Bridges! The bridges embodied the essence of dragon's bodies, and atop the drum-shaped stones at the head of each bridge, sat a large tiger.
A Perfect Tao Platform? An extraordinary Immortal Bridge? And five of them!
Beichen Ying really wanted to go to the Celestial Ladder Hall of the Hundred Peaks Sect to ask, are you guys blind? Does the Hundred Peaks Sect feed you lot for nothing? With such a foundation and cultivation base, ranked at the Hundredth Peak in the Hundred Peaks Sect? Are the other ninety-nine Peaks all top-tier geniuses?
Although ten Tao Platforms plus five Immortal Bridges wouldn't rank highly in the Hundred Peaks Sect in terms of combat strength, in terms of foundational potential? That's an entirely different concept!
Beichen Ying realized he had been too presumptuous! The Peak Master in front of him, rumored to be pedantic by the outside world, was not pedantic at all! This kid was pretending to be a pig to eat a tiger! That competition with Starshine Peak, he probably staged it himself, right? This ranking of the Hundredth, that was also intentional, right?
Having a Perfect Tao Platform is not unheard of in the Hundred Peaks Sect! Immortal Bridge with extraordinary traits, the sect also has such talents!
But to have a Perfect Tao Platform and simultaneously extraordinary Immortal Bridges and still be so low-profile, unknown to others in the Hundred Peaks Sect... Beichen Ying suspected there might be only this one in front of him!
"You little rascal..." Beichen Ying forgot his recent pretentious fail and squinted his eyes into two curved crescents, saying, "You're not honest... but I like it!"