Chapter 530
He picked up a jade tube but didn’t examine it closely. With an air of boredom, he glanced at it a couple of times before tossing it back onto the shelf, curling his lip in apparent impatience.
Other disciples in the pavilion observed this and assumed that the son of the sect leader was simply indulging in some idle play.
Even the elders in the pavilion only paid him a moment's attention. Seeing him merely glance at each jade tube, they concluded he was just fooling around and didn’t think much of it.
Meanwhile, Yan Wushuang was furiously posting on the forum.
“This is a travelogue by a senior in the Transformation stage…”
“This senior, um, a Grand Elder’s…”
“I’ve never heard of this one…”
This was a little distraction that Zheng Fa and Xie Qingxue had concocted:
For someone like Yan Wushuang, a Golden Core cultivator, a few glances might not be enough to fully grasp the contents of the jade tubes, but it was certainly sufficient to memorize and transcribe the information.
To outsiders, it seemed like Yan Wushuang wasn’t using his brain.
But the real issue was…
Zheng Fa had brought a whole entourage to act as his brain:
As an archaeologist, Xiao Yuying, though not rigorously trained, had a knack for text analysis.
With a few disciples skilled in alchemy nearby to clarify some unfamiliar terms, they quickly dissected these travelogues from different eras and even different grammatical styles.
Through the Jiushan Forum, Yan Wushuang enjoyed the benefits of Zheng Fa’s assistance—he became a relentless scanner.
Before long, Yan Wushuang had scanned dozens of jade tubes, but he found no mention of the Wuxing Lan (Five Elements Orchid).
After another two hours, Xiao Yuying suddenly exclaimed, “This one!”
Zheng Fa turned to look at the new post by Yan Wushuang.
It was a lengthy note, but with Zheng Fa’s far superior spiritual sense, he quickly pinpointed the section Xiao Yuying was referring to.
“...I’ve heard that the Qingling Dan (Clear Spirit Pill) requires a material called Wuxing Lan, but unfortunately, it’s no longer available. However, the Qingling Dan is extremely important for cultivators, so a great alchemist spent a hundred years finally improving the formula for the Qingling Dan…”
Wuxing Lan!
Zheng Fa’s heart raced with excitement, but he quickly posted, “Brother Yan, don’t look back!”
In the secret pavilion, Yan Wushuang had also felt a surge of excitement and wanted to check the jade tube that recorded the Wuxing Lan. At that moment, however, he froze and walked straight to the next shelf.
Fortunately, Zheng Fa had given him a heads-up.
Otherwise, he might have turned back to examine that jade tube more closely…
Xie Qingxue scanned with her spiritual sense and cursed her junior brother for being foolish, but she also breathed a sigh of relief.
…
Zheng Fa looked at Xiao Yuying, who pondered for a moment before saying, “The language and style of this travelogue should be characteristic of the early era of this epoch.”
Upon hearing this, Zheng Fa felt a surge of hope; this meant the claims in the travelogue were much more credible.
However, Xiao Yuying’s next words left him somewhat disappointed: “But the Qingling Dan isn’t a particularly rare pill.”
Zheng Fa remained silent, merely glancing at the disciples skilled in alchemy.
“Xiao Xianzi is correct,” one of the disciples said, exchanging glances with the others. The one with the highest cultivation among them, a Golden Core disciple, stood up nervously to explain, “The Qingling Dan is a pill that purifies spiritual energy, suitable for cultivators above the Foundation Establishment stage.”
“We don’t know the formula for the Qingling Dan, but we’ve certainly never heard of any sect acquiring Wuxing Lan.”
Upon hearing this, Zheng Fa understood the implication:
Since the Qingling Dan wasn’t rare, the absence of any sect acquiring Wuxing Lan must have a reason—likely the one mentioned in the travelogue, that the formula for the Qingling Dan had changed.
The reason the Qingling Dan wasn’t rare was probably due to the high demand for it among cultivators; this pill had always had a strong market.
At that moment, Xie Qingxue suddenly spoke up in the thread: “I looked at the formula for the Qingling Dan a few days ago!”
Zheng Fa perked up, waiting for her to continue.
Xie Qingxue walked a few steps along the shelf, picked up a jade tube, confirmed it, and then stated firmly, “The formula doesn’t include Wuxing Lan.”
Reading this, Zheng Fa thought for a moment before slowly analyzing in the thread: “What you’re seeing now, Xie Xianzi, should be the current formula… which means it has been modified.”
“What Brother Yan mentioned in this travelogue refers to the earlier version of the Qingling Dan, which once used Wuxing Lan.”
Yan Wushuang quickly replied, “So, the pill that our ancestor used for cultivation was the Qingling Dan?”
Zheng Fa pondered for a moment before replying, “I don’t think so. If Wuxing Lan isn’t even recorded, then that kind of pill was probably never dared to be refined.”
“This… doesn’t that mean all efforts were in vain!”
There was a deep sense of disappointment in Yan Wushuang’s words.
Not just him; even Xiao Yuying and the others in the hall wore expressions of dismay.
Zheng Fa, however, wasn’t as disheartened. He comforted everyone, saying, “At least we’ve clarified that the Qingling Dan is related to Wuxing Lan…”
“What good does that do?”
“I don’t know,” Zheng Fa replied, then added, “But we’ll find out soon.”
Not only Xiao Yuying, but even Xie Qingxue and Yan Wushuang, far away in the Tianhe Sect, wore puzzled expressions.
Yet Zheng Fa sent a message to another informant:
“Seventh Young Master, do you know… about the Qingling Dan?”
Xiao Yuying watched as he took out the Zao Hua Yu Die (Creation Jade Tablet), seemingly guessing what he was up to, her expression one of shock—how absurd it was that the Grand Elder and the sect leader’s son had been bought off by you, and now you were going for more?
Zheng Fa smiled slightly, appearing a bit shy: “At home, I rely on Sister Zhang; outside, I rely on informants. Ugh, good comrades.”
Research always requires gathering information, but the Jiushan Sect was lacking in some materials and had to rely on… borrowing.
Coincidentally, the Seventh Young Master Zhao Jingfan, from the Qingmu Sect, was particularly skilled in alchemy!
(End of this chapter)
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Chapter 402: The Sect’s Envoy, Piecing Together the Truth
In that new post, another informant had joined the fray.
Seventh Young Master Zhao Jingfan rarely participated in such significant matters, but he was clearly excited: “I’ve heard of the Qingling Dan!” he posted. “Wait a moment, I’ll go ask around in the sect.”
“...Wait for me!”
Zheng Fa, reading Zhao Jingfan’s message, could almost picture the guy hurriedly bouncing out the door, a smile creeping onto his lips.
He didn’t bother giving Zhao Jingfan any further instructions.
As for Xie Qingxue and Yan Wushuang from the Tianhe Sect, he could only hope they would be cautious.
But Zhao Jingfan from the Qingmu Sect was different—after all, the leader of the Hundred Immortals Alliance was Zheng Fa!
He just didn’t have time to deal with these sects at the moment.
What Zhao Jingfan was looking into regarding the Qingling Dan, whether he found anything or not, generally wouldn’t pose any danger.
There was nothing to worry about.
Sure enough, after a while, Zhao Jingfan sent back a message:
“I checked in the Scripture Pavilion and even had some brothers there help me look into it. There’s quite a bit of information about the Qingling Dan.”
With that, Zhao Jingfan began posting various formulas, travelogues, and alchemical techniques related to the Qingling Dan.
He was far bolder than Yan Wushuang and Xie Qingxue.
While Yan Wushuang and Xie Qingxue shared information from the Tianhe Sect, they were still somewhat selective—after all, they were part of the Tianhe Sect and still had a sense of loyalty, not willing to share everything with Zheng Fa.
In simple terms, these two spies still had some sense of confidentiality.
For instance, they rarely posted formulas or alchemical techniques in the thread.
Zheng Fa understood their feelings and even intentionally mentioned only looking at travelogues.
But Zhao Jingfan was different…
He didn’t care about sects or formulas.
We’re all part of the Hundred Immortals Alliance; why should there be any division?
Post!
With a flurry of activity, the thread was filled with information about the Qingling Dan.
Zhao Jingfan wasn’t a student of alchemy, so he didn’t know which information was valuable and which wasn’t, and he simply dumped everything he found into the thread.
Zheng Fa knew he was doing his best, so he and Xiao Yuying began sorting through the materials.
They set aside the formulas and alchemical techniques for now.
The two remained focused on some unofficial histories and travelogues.
After more than half a day, Zhao Jingfan had long stopped transmitting information; after all, the Qingling Dan was just a single type of pill, and the Qingmu Sect didn’t have an abundance of information on it.
They had truly searched every nook and cranny.
Zheng Fa read through the posts carefully, then looked up at Xiao Yuying, who shook her head and whispered, “The Qingmu Sect probably doesn’t have a long history. From the wording, these materials seem to date back no more than thirty thousand years…”
Zheng Fa fell silent upon hearing this.
That was the problem—they weren’t looking for the Qingling Dan; they were trying to find more clues about Wuxing Lan through the Qingling Dan.
In Zheng Fa’s view, the Qingling Dan was likely useless for the Jiushan Golden Core Method—after all, if even Wuxing Lan had faded into history, then the supporting pill for the Tianhe Patriarch’s Nine Turns Golden Core Method would be hard to miss.
Especially since the Qingling Dan had some reputation in the Xuanwei Realm.
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