Chapter 183: A Surprising Discovery in the Sacred Hall. Guo Xiaomei's Final Gift of the Promised Favor.
Chapter 183: A Surprising Discovery in the Sacred Hall. Guo Xiaomei's Final Gift of the Promised Favor.
With a gentle push, Guo Xiaomei effortlessly parted the colossal door open, revealing a vast hall shrouded in darkness. She snapped her fingers, and the torches lining the walls burst into bright flames, brightening the place.
Yang Wei walked up behind her, then his smile faded when he realized there was only one object in the closely guarded room.
"Huh?" he exclaimed.
He had expected it to be hiding something far more impressive, perhaps a Heaven-defying artifact of some sort.
Guo Xiaomei glanced at him and said, "Didn't you say you needed a more powerful pill furnace to refine your special pill, the one that's supposed to rival the authentic Blood Dragon Strengthening Pill?" She might have sounded skeptical, but that didn't stop her from ensuring he had enough support to comfortably refine his pills.
Yang Wei was surprised. "I didn't expect you to acquire such a durable pill furnace so quickly," he admitted.
Pointing to the furnace, Guo Xiaomei explained, "This one is even more durable than those nonsense Golden Dragon Furnaces invented by that shameless, perverted Huo Zirou."
"Perverted?" Yang Wei repeated.
"N-, nevermind..." Guo Xiaomei awkwardly looked away.
"..."
As Yang Wei laid eyes on the cauldron again, he gasped, his eyes shinning with child-like excitement. He began to circle around the object, unable to contain his astonishment. "A cauldron that's more durable than a Golden Dragon Furnace," he then pat on the object and said, "I imagine this baby's insides make refining any pill feel like a cool breeze."
Guo Xiaomei folded her arms and nodded proudly, savoring Yang Wei's admiration for the cauldron. However, she felt the need to brag more, "What you are standing before, is the Spirit-forging Cauldron. It used to belong to my master, Elder Qian, a heaven-defying apothecary grandmaster who ascended to the Garden of Eternal Alchemy.
It's made from celestial alloys and rare metals that possess unparalleled resilience. I, myself, added some extra layers of defense using a few spiritual seals I made." The peak chief elegantly dressed her hair. "It's a good thing you didn't depend on Zirou's half-assed pill furnace."
The pill furnace was huge; to be precise, about 70 meters wide. It had an attractive aquamarine color and was covered in all sorts of mystical golden spiral patterns.
Yang Wei ran his hands over every inch of the pill furnace, almost as if he were lovingly caressing it like a woman. "Mmhh, this is excellent," he exclaimed, his fingers tracing the contours of the Spirit-forging Cauldron.
The slime perched atop his head chimed in with its approval, exclaiming, "Piidi! Piidi!" It seemed to agree with Yang Wei's admiration for the furnace.
After a few minutes of enjoying the way Yang Wei admired her pill furnace, Guo Xiaomei finally switched back to serious mode. In a sense, she did feel like she had defeated Huo Zirou somehow. She asked, "So, what exactly is in this pill formula that you need my heaven-defying treasure for? I should at least know that much."
Yang Wei didn't seem thrilled by her question, evident from the way his face squeezed like a child whose toy had been seized. "Sister Guo...?" he called with a calm voice.
"Yes?" Guo Xiaomei prompted, her gaze narrowing.
Yang Wei asked in an analyzing voice, "Are you perhaps... planning to steal my pill formula for yourself?"
His question was met with nothing but silence. Guo Xiaomei's arms, already folded, tightened even more, and she frustratedly squeezed her eyes shut, as if trying to suppress her anger.
She snapped, "DO YOU DARE THINK I, GUO XIAOMEI, AN APOTHECARY GRANDMASTER, WOULD EVER DO SOMETHING SO UNDERHANDED?!"
Yang Wei awkwardly cleared his throat, avoiding her gaze. "I was simply testing your temper, and it seems you failed," he nodded slowly, stroking his invisible full-length beard. "How unbecoming of a peak chief, tsk, tsk." He was clearly fibbing, but Yang Wei wasn't about to admit he might've been wrong in his assumptions.
Guo Xiaomei seemed ready to unleash her anger, but Yang Wei quickly distracted her by revealing a transparent bottle containing golden liquid. She paused, wide-eyed, as Yang Wei explained, "This is the blood of a celestial dragon."
"No way," Guo Xiaomei exclaimed. "How did you get that? The only celestial dragons you could have gotten it from are..."
"Indeed."
The celestial dragon race wasn't as thriving as it once was; there weren't many of them left, so it was fair to say they were nearly extinct. Consequently, if a person possessed the blood of a celestial dragon, one could only assume one of two things: either it came from the Blood Dragon Pool or they knew a celestial dragon who gave it to them.
"Did you somehow master dragon vein Qi cultivation?" Guo Xiaomei wondered aloud. "That's the only way anyone in this sect could've encountered the guardian dragons."
In all her years of staying in the Dragon Blossom Sect, she'd never once met the sect's guardian dragons. Only those who gained full comprehension of dragon vein Qi could truly ever meet them.
Yang Wei nodded to validate all she'd said.
This left Guo Xiaomei even more baffled. Taking a hesitant step forward, she asked with intrigue, "A-, are you sure the cauldron can handle such a celestial element? I've heard the blood of a celestial dragon is corrosive enough to erase an entire major world."
Yang Wei raised an eyebrow at her claims. He knew they were true since he'd heard the exact same thing from Senior Yàndi?n, yet he replied, "So, are you saying your heaven-defying apothecary treasure can't even match up to a drop of celestial dragon's blood?"
Guo Xiaomei tilted her head back slightly.
"Insolence!"
She wasn't overly concerned about Yang Wei's disrespectful words; if she cared, she would have dealt with him harshly, like she'd done with many of her unruly disciples. Rather, she took offense because the pill furnace was crafted by her master, the original peak chief of the Green Sanctuary Peak.
Pointing at Yang Wei, she instructed him, "You better refine that pill, and as many as you want. After all, the Spirit-forging Cauldron is unbreakable!"
Yang Wei grinned confidently. "Good to know. I'll refine as much as I want!"
"Piidi!" the golden slime chirped excitedly in agreement.
Guo Xiaomei turned, swishing her sleeves before locking her hands behind her plump behind. She declared, "I'm glad to hear it. I won't disturb you." With an elegant stride, she walked away but paused at the huge doors. "It would also be best if you didn't go anywhere beyond here in the temple. This is a sacred place to me," she advised.
"Of course," Yang Wei replied. "Since when have I invaded someone's privacy?"
Guo Xiaomei smiled gently and then waved her hand.
"Sea of Trees!"
In an instant, she conjured up a dense forest, with trees bursting to life so rapidly that they cracked the floor as they grew, filling the vast room with their lush foliage. In an eye's blink, the entire space was engulfed in thick vines and the trunks of exotic plants and herbs.
"These will provide enough resources for you. The roots will naturally absorb Qi and regenerate to produce even more of the ingredients you need."
Yang Wei nodded as he watched her depart.
As the doors closed behind her, the room fell into silence.
He blinked several times and remarked, "Wow, that woman's something."
The slime chimed in, saying, "Piidi."