"Pure Treasure, Pure Treasure..."
Song Yin chewed on the words as he walked out of the grand hall, then turned to look at a corner of the square and said, "Junior Brother, you're not sleeping either?"
"Ah..."
Zhang Fei Xuan emerged from the darkness, a trace of awkwardness in his eyes, but he quickly adjusted his demeanor, clasped his hands in an embarrassed smile, and said, "I also wanted to see Master, that's why I didn't sleep."
"We both are so eager to think of Master." Song Yin's eyes twinkled: "I just saw him and talked about the Resentful Poison Elixir."
"Ah... Is he still alive?" Zhang Fei Xuan unconsciously asked.
"What kind of question is that..."
Song Yin frowned and looked deeply at Zhang Fei Xuan. "Master is kind-hearted and has a good temperament, but that does not mean you can slander him. Junior Brother, I don't know what your past interactions with Master were like, but I hope that in the future you will show the proper respect to Master."
"Yes, Senior Brother." Zhang Fei Xuan hurriedly clasped his hands and bowed deeply.
Song Yin nodded and said, "Master had a sudden inspiration and told me to leave, probably because he had some breakthrough in his research on the Demonic Path. He seemed quite anxious."
He shook his head and a hint of a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth: "That's how Master is, he really cares about matters pertaining to the Great Path, so he's less concerned about sect affairs. But, a disciple should endure hard work, after all. Junior Brother, you'll have to put in more effort for the sect in the future."
"Of course, of course..."
Zhang Fei Xuan agreed with a strange expression on his face.
"Junior Brother, what do you think this Pure Treasure Heavenly Venerable should look like?"
Song Yin turned his head to look at the statue in the hall that was missing everything above the chest, his eyes filled with a probing intent: "We believe in Hun Yuan, but Master says this statue represents Pure Treasure; indeed, I thought the same. This place must be where Master settled and established the sect after finding it."
"Senior Brother's insight is as brilliant as a torch. Indeed, this place is a ruin that Master discovered."
When he followed Jin Guang in cultivation, there was no sect then, only Zhao Yuanhua and the two of them. It was only when more people joined that they settled in the Xumi Vein.
"As for this Pure Treasure Heavenly Venerable..."
Zhang Fei Xuan gazed at the statue, also somewhat unsure at the moment.
The Pure Treasure Heavenly Venerable, known for his divine skills and endless Dao transformations, had no fixed appearance. All the objects of worship he had seen from those who believed in Pure Treasure were different.
"Senior Brother, Pure Treasure Heavenly Venerable is also known as the Lord of Myriad Image, with endless transformations. The most common images are either a bird, a cloud, or simply representing the sky; it's really hard to determine his true form."
"Oh?"
Song Yin considered this for a moment, then nodded thoughtfully: "I see. It's late, rest well now."
"Yes..."
Zhang Fei Xuan respectfully took his leave.
What else could he do if he didn't take his leave? Jin Guang seemed to have fallen silent, whether he was truly in seclusion or feigning it, today there was definitely no chance of seeing him.
He would have to look for another opportunity later...
Then he found no chance at all.
Several days passed, and the houses at the foot of the mountain were completed by mortals, yet there was still no movement in the Elixir Room. Zhang Fei Xuan waited several nights, but he never saw Jin Guang come out of the Elixir Room.
He even mustered the courage to knock on the walls of the Elixir Room, but there was no response; using force to break in was useless too, for he couldn't break it open...
The prohibitions Master set were too strong; his Dao was too shallow to deal with these prohibitions.
As for Senior Brother...
"What's there to worry about with Master's seclusion? Seclusion is normal for those on the path of cultivation. Master himself is at the Ninth Stage of Qi Refining; he might reach Foundation Establishment when he emerges. Then, our Jinxian Sect will ascend to a higher level!"
Seclusion for such a long time does not exist in the Qi Refining Realm, Senior Brother!
"Are you pretending to be dumb after secretly killing Jin Guang?"
But he didn't dare to ask, and he truly didn't have the time.
After meditating during the day, he would descend the mountain to teach those mortals, then collect resources with them. At night, he had to endure Song Yin's torment. Over the past few days, his tolerance for the Great Path Aura had improved a lot.
Probably from half a cup of tea's time in the day to nearly a full cup, and at night, from sixty breaths to one hundred and twenty.
As his senior brother put it, he had gone from enduring five minutes to seven minutes during the day, and from one minute to two minutes at night. Although it was unclear what measuring unit a minute was from, the time indeed had increased.
The time he needed to recover his strength had lengthened, and the time he spent in a daze thinking of his grandmother had also increased. Just today, his grandmother had chatted with him…
Where did he have the time to pay attention to Jin Guang? He couldn't even keep up with himself.
If it wasn't for keeping in mind his master's Human Elixir Technique, and the fact that Song Yin's teachings were indeed fruitful, even with the Superior Grade Pills blessed by Hunyuan True Spirit he was taking every day, he would have run away long ago.
…
In the woods, a figure leaped continuously from tree trunk to tree trunk, moving like a shadow, extremely fast.
After leaping forward from a tree, he landed on the ground, pressing the surrounding grass outward in all directions.
The man was covered in fur similar to that of a monkey, with very long arms that hung down to his shins, and huge hands. Yet he wasn't an ape monkey, for he had a pair of hooves suitable for running on his feet.
Upon landing, his body immediately transformed with a series of cracking sounds as the fur retracted to reveal human skin. His arms shortened to a normal length, and his hooves turned into human feet in the process.
This man was over two meters tall, extraordinarily burly, with bulging muscles. His face was piled with horizontal flesh, and he had no eyebrows, making him look ferocious.
He bent down, took out boots from his waist, put them on, then stood up and looked around at the plain ground, clicking his tongue with a rough voice:
"Damn it, Laozi thought there were trees here! How did it turn into a flat land?"
But before he could take a closer look, he froze because not far ahead, a youth with a wicker basket on his back squatted on the ground, holding a strange tuber, staring eye to eye with him.
"Mortal?"
"Demon, demon, demon!"
The youth abruptly stood up, running backwards in fright, "There's a demon! A demon has come!"
But he had only taken a few steps when he felt his collar lighten, and he was suddenly lifted up.
Behind him, the burly man lifted the youth, cursing under his breath, "Laozi should bugger you! Have you ever seen a demon as amiable as me? If I were a demon, you'd be long gone, kid! How did you end up here in the Xumi Vein..."
As he spoke, his eyes shifted, and suddenly he smiled, "Running away from trouble? How many people are in your family? I'm the third disciple from Jinxian Sect. Seeing that you have the potential for cultivation, how about coming with me up the mountain to cultivate?"
The youth, who was being lifted and struggling in fear, suddenly paused, looked at the fierce man, "Jinxian Sect?"
"Yes, Jinxian Sect!"
The burly man put the youth down and said, "It's the sect on Mount Pingding nearby that the Demonic Path daren't invade—the Righteous, righteous, name, name... what's it again? Damn it, Laozi really can't remember!"
He scowled, cursing as he looked even fiercer.
But the youth was no longer afraid. Curious, he glanced at the burly man, "Do you mean 'illustrious Righteous Path'?"
"Right, right, right! Illustrious Righteous Path!" The burly man nodded rapidly.
However, the youth shook his head, "You're wrong, Lord Song said we are the Righteous Path, but not yet illustrious, and I also don't have the potential to seek the Dao, I'm just a mortal."
Nonsense!
Of course, you don't have the potential to seek the Dao, Laozi was tricking you, otherwise, how would you follow me up the mountain!
The burly man thought sarcastically, then suddenly paused, "You know Jinxian Sect?"
The youth chuckled, puffing out his chest, "Of course, we live right at the foot of Mount Pingding, protected by the Jinxian Sect; we're already members of the Jinxian Sect!"