Chapter 192: Chapter 192: Conspiracy
For the next few days, at Yun Loxi’s request, Qin Ya remained on Luoyun Island. During this time, the Vast Sea Divine Palace continuously sent people over with all sorts of rare medicinal herbs. Qin Ya accepted them all and refined them one by one as requested.
Over these past few days, Treasure Pills were continuously created on Luoyun Island. The disciples of Luoyun Island had gone from initial amazement and curiosity to it becoming a common sight.
Pill Fragrance permeated the air as Pill Clouds condensed!
This peculiar worldly phenomenon symbolized the birth of yet another Treasure Pill. Everyone looked toward the center of the island, their expressions placid. They circulated their True Essence, doing their utmost to absorb the diffusing Pill Qi. They had lost count of how many times this had happened.
At first, they thought Yun Loxi was the one performing Alchemy. Later, they heard that the Vast Sea Divine Palace had a new Honored Guest Elder and that all the elixirs from the past few days had been refined by him.
This naturally made them extremely curious.
’Just who could be so capable?’
The unusual phenomena on Luoyun Island gradually attracted the attention of the other islands. Many of the Island Masters who had met Qin Ya immediately had their suspicions. "It seems the Palace Master and Master Qin have reached some sort of agreement. Haha, this is wonderful!"
"Having such an Alchemist stationed at the Vast Sea Divine Palace is of immense benefit to us, too. This won’t do. I have to go gather some medicinal herbs and find Master Qin."
...
"Our Luoyun Island has really been in the spotlight these past few days."
"Indeed. After being nourished by the Pill Qi for several days, my cultivation has improved again."
...
On a certain island, Lan Qijin was radiating a baleful Evil Qi, his eyes glinting with cold light. ’Damn that Qin Ya! His skill in the Alchemy Dao is actually that high. With Yun Loxi, Shangguan Feiying, and the others protecting him, there’s nothing I can do.’
"Heh heh, to think the Human Race still has such a prodigy," a mass of purple-black mist rasped, floating before Lan Qijin. The voice was ancient and bizarre. "Have you considered my request?"
Gazing at the black mist before him, a flicker of indecision crossed Lan Qijin’s eyes. But the moment he thought of the blood feud over his son’s death, his expression twisted into a ferocious mask. He growled in a low voice, "You were merciless first, so don’t blame me for being ruthless..."
"I’ll cooperate with you, but I have one condition."
"Name it."
"My current position makes it inconvenient for me to act. You will kill Qin Ya for me."
An ancient face materialized within the purple-black mist. "According to you, that Qin Ya has a Pseudo-Spiritual Artifact protecting him. Killing him won’t be easy. Besides, this is the Vast Sea Divine Palace. If I make a move..."
"Stop making excuses," Lan Qijin snapped. "Your skills... do you think I’m unaware of them? Unless a Supreme Elder personally intervenes, no one in the entire Vast Sea Divine Palace can stop you."
A flash of cold anger crossed the ancient face, but remembering he needed Lan Qijin’s help, he suppressed his indignation. "I can help you kill Qin Ya, but this is the Vast Sea Divine Palace’s Thirty-Six Islands. The moment I make a move, those old codgers will surely discover me. Then I won’t be able to kill him even if I want to."
"Don’t worry about that. In three months, the Supreme Elders will be coming out of seclusion. All the Island Masters will go to Sea King Hall for an audience. That will be your time to strike," Lan Qijin stated coldly.
"Then it’s a deal," the ancient face said. "After Qin Ya is dead, you must fulfill your end of the bargain. Otherwise..."
"We’ll take each other down with us!"
"Hmph."
...
On Luoyun Island, atop a mountain peak.
Qin Ya sat cross-legged on the peak, his body glowing with a brilliant golden light. The surrounding Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi surged into his body like a great river flowing into the sea, where it was converted into pure True Essence that filled his Qi Sea. Suddenly, Qin Ya’s eyes snapped open.
A brilliant light flashed in his eyes as his aura shot toward the heavens!
He clenched his fist, and the air boomed. A smile touched Qin Ya’s lips. "Having resources really makes all the difference. After three days and nights of nonstop Alchemy and consuming elixirs, my cultivation has finally broken through to Celestial Essence Perfection!"
Qin Ya was only seventeen years old. To break through to Celestial Essence Realm Perfection at such an age made him undoubtedly one of the greatest prodigies in the Azure Sky Realm. ’Next, I need to start preparing to advance to the Extraordinary Realm. That’s a tough hurdle to clear.’
The Extraordinary and those beneath it represented two completely different tiers of life.
It was a major evolution for a Martial Artist.
’The Extraordinary Realm is divided into five stages: Sky-Controlling, Celestial Human, King, Venerable, and Saint. The first stage, Sky-Controlling, involves commanding the Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi, which requires constructing a channel within the body to communicate with it...’
This step is also known as the Heaven-Reaching Pass!
Once the Celestial Gate is opened, one enters the Extraordinary Realm. At that point, one can gather Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi with a wave of the hand. Its power is simply incomparable to that of the Celestial Essence Realm. After all, Martial Artists below the Extraordinary Realm can only use their own limited True Essence, while those in the Extraordinary Realm command the endless Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi. The disparity is simply too vast.
’To reach the Extraordinary Realm, one relies not only on their own accumulation but also on external forces—that is, resources. As a Pill Venerable, I don’t have to worry about that. For now, I just need to focus on building up my foundation.’
With enough time and accumulation, the Celestial Gate would eventually manifest on its own!
’Besides opening the Heaven-Reaching Pass, another technique of an Extraordinary Strong Person is to control the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth. A Mystery is far stronger than a Realm. During this period of accumulation, I also need to elevate my Great Trends to the level of a Mystery as quickly as possible.’
Qin Ya had currently mastered four Great Trends: Frost, Wind, Swiftness, and Flame. Among them, his comprehension of the Wind’s Great Trend was the highest, having already reached the Perfection stage, while the others were all hovering on the brink of Perfection.
’It’s settled. In my future cultivation, aside from accumulating True Essence, I’ll focus on comprehending the Great Trends and bringing them all to Perfection as quickly as possible. Also, integrating the Great Trends provides a massive boost to combat strength, so I can’t neglect that either.’
Having made up his mind, Qin Ya’s cultivation fell into a routine. He would occasionally take an elixir to build his foundation, but for the rest of the time, he wandered through the perilous areas of the Vast Sea Divine Palace’s Thirty-Six Islands, devoting all his energy to comprehending the Great Trends.
It was worth noting that Shangguan Yue had been grounded for three months by Shangguan Feiying for secretly entering the Hidden Dragon Valley Secret Realm. When Qin Ya occasionally went to visit her, he would always be met with her complaints, to which he would offer a few words of comfort.
「One month later, on Cold Heaven Island of the Vast Sea Divine Palace.」
"Quick, A’Jie, attack its neck!"
"Damn it, this Frost Earth Dragon’s hide is so thick!"
"Stop dawdling! It’s about to attack again."
In a world of ice and snow, the landscape was a vast, white expanse. As far as the eye could see, there was nothing but wind and frost. Upon this snowy ground, a six-person team was hunting a gigantic, snow-white, lizard-like Fierce Beast with large, fleshy wings.
This Frost Earth Dragon was very powerful, equivalent to a cultivator at Celestial Essence Realm Perfection. The six-person team was not weak either; each was a Celestial Essence Realm Martial Artist, and they were fighting it on equal footing. Furthermore, the six of them had excellent coordination and had devised the correct tactics, so the Earth Dragon was soon at a disadvantage.
