Chapter 538
In the eyes of Master Song, this place was merely filled with over a hundred Foundation Establishment disciples. Yet, under the influence of the celestial formation, the spiritual energy of this group intertwined, effectively equating to the collaboration of three or four Golden Core cultivators.
Refining the simplified external elixirs was not particularly difficult; in fact, it didn’t even require the involvement of Golden Core disciples.
Madam Xuanhua looked at the Shenxiao external elixir in her hand, her tone tinged with disdain. "It’s still not quite right; it’s only equivalent to a low-grade Golden Core..."
Master Song was taken aback. With a group of Foundation Establishment disciples, they managed to produce an external elixir, and she still wanted more?
If I were to refine it, I could only achieve this level...
With that thought, his expression darkened.
Zheng Fa chuckled, "Xuanhua, when you say that, could you at least try to keep the corners of your mouth down a bit?"
Everyone looked up at Madam Xuanhua. Although her tone was critical, the slight upward curve of her lips and the glimmer of pride in her eyes when she glanced at the disciples revealed her true feelings—she was somewhat insincere.
Master Song sighed inwardly. This solitary cultivator, who had always walked her own path in the Hundred Immortals Alliance, was now feeling proud of a group of Foundation Establishment disciples’ achievements?
Zheng Fa understood Madam Xuanhua’s sentiments.
Most of the team working on the Golden Core project had been trained by her, and she had invested considerable effort; it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call them her disciples.
Moreover, she was now the head of the Tiangong Pavilion, and these disciples were the backbone of the pavilion.
How could she not care?
The pride in Madam Xuanhua’s eyes flickered and vanished. She turned to the group of smiling disciples and said sternly, "Not enough!"
"According to the Master’s vision, we need to further improve the Shenxiao battleship. Our goal is to enable the Shenxiao flying vessel to gather spiritual ore!"
"Additionally, everyone must become proficient in the remaining external elixir refining techniques. You’ve all studied spiritual materials; external elixirs are the foundation for creating various spiritual materials!"
Master Song listened, initially confused, but then his heart raced with shock.
He understood—Jiu Shan Sect was aiming to solve the issue of spiritual materials!
Traditional sects relied on various spiritual mines to obtain common spiritual materials.
It seemed Jiu Shan Sect wanted to leverage that Shenxiao battleship?
He wasn’t sure if it was feasible, but the external elixirs on the battleship were essentially equivalent to a Golden Core cultivator.
If a Golden Core cultivator were to mine...
And they could produce an external elixir in just a month...
With that thought, Master Song felt a shiver of excitement.
Could it be that they could even "manufacture" spiritual materials themselves?
Perhaps in the future, Jiu Shan Sect could acquire various spiritual materials at a very low cost, just like they improved the cultivation of spiritual herbs?
Zheng Fa, however, was unaware of Master Song’s thoughts and led the group to another factory.
This was a large rectangular workshop, where two Golden Core disciples were busy with over twenty disciples manufacturing Shenxiao battleships.
Currently, the demand for Shenxiao flying vessels in the Jiu Shan realm was immense.
Outside the Jiu Shan realm, the need for Shenxiao battleships was even greater—after all, the Xuanwei realm was somewhat dangerous.
Fortunately, the manufacturing difficulty for these two types of ships was not high; the main challenge lay in refining the external elixirs.
However, this group of disciples had to work overtime.
When Zheng Fa and the others arrived, a Shenxiao battleship was just taking shape.
A Golden Core disciple cast a spell, and the roof of the rectangular workshop opened like a door.
A brand-new Shenxiao battleship slowly rose from the workshop, its massive form hovering in the void.
Zheng Fa looked at this scene and smiled, "This Shenxiao battleship has finally taken shape..."
The Shenxiao battleship hadn’t succeeded on the first try; this was already the fourth version.
The greatest advantage of this version was that it resembled the Shenxiao flying vessel, with about eighty percent of the components being interchangeable, significantly reducing maintenance and manufacturing costs.
Sister Zhang also gazed at the Shenxiao battleship but spoke of another matter: "The Chongxuan Sect may have ulterior motives."
Master Song’s heart trembled. He had long known that Zhang Wuyi was keeping an eye on the Chongxuan Sect, but he hadn’t expected her to start reporting right away.
Yet he knew that the Chongxuan Sect truly harbored ill intentions!
There might even be someone backing them.
But Zheng Fa’s tone remained calm: "Whether they have ulterior motives or not is irrelevant..."
His words seemed vague, but Master Song felt he understood instinctively and couldn’t help but look up at the Shenxiao flying vessel above.
If, as he imagined, Jiu Shan Sect could mass-produce Shenxiao battleships in the future...
If they could use these ships to gather various spiritual ores at a low cost...
And even... produce various spiritual materials themselves.
Then the Chongxuan Sect truly wouldn’t matter.
He looked at the massive vessel above, feeling an inexplicable sense of relief—
Thank goodness he got on board.
Thank goodness he ignored the Chongxuan Sect leader’s message.
He felt fortunate that when Jiu Shan Sect set sail on this giant vessel, it would likely crush many sects and cultivators—by then, the Qingmu Sect should be on board, while some would probably be left behind in the depths.
With that thought, he glanced at Zhao Jingfan beside him. This kid... had truly done a great service for the sect!
Zhao Jingfan noticed that his master was smiling more warmly at him, and he felt a chill run down his spine.
He had been so brazenly disloyal, yet Master was smiling at him as if he were a beloved son...
Scared, should I just stay in the Jiu Shan realm?
(End of this chapter)
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Chapter 406: Qingmu New Star, Playing Dirty
Zhao Jingfan sensed the complexity in his master’s gaze, as if there was something he wanted to say, but he couldn’t quite grasp it.
Perhaps the occasion wasn’t right, as Master Song didn’t elaborate further and instead turned to Zheng Fa.
Zheng Fa first smiled at him before looking back at Master Song, saying, "So, has Master Song agreed to this technical alliance?"
He wore a cheerful expression, clearly pleased.
The most urgent matter at hand was, of course, the alchemical arts.
This was crucial for his own advancement.
As the strongest sect in the Hundred Immortals Alliance regarding alchemy, Qingmu Sect was highly valued by Zheng Fa.
To put it plainly, even if this technical alliance wasn’t meant to cater to Qingmu Sect’s interests, it was still a main course.
Master Song exchanged glances with Elder Xiong. By now, he had no intention of backing out; he simply nodded decisively.
With mutual understanding, they proceeded to sign the agreement.
Master Song reviewed the prepared agreement, appearing somewhat puzzled. He didn’t write anything down but instead turned to Elder Xiong and handed him the document.
Zhao Jingfan watched from the side, feeling anxious as it seemed the situation was shifting again.
Zheng Fa, however, remained calm and asked, "Does Master Song have any objections to this agreement?"
"No objections, none at all!" Master Song replied, a bit flustered, as if afraid of offending Zheng Fa. He quickly added, "I just don’t quite understand."
"What part don’t you understand?"
"In this agreement, what exactly is the Alchemist Guild? Is it similar to a merchant guild for mortals?"
Elder Xiong had also finished reading the agreement and looked up, his face filled with confusion.
"Well... it is indeed modeled after a mortal merchant guild," Zheng Fa said, tapping his head. He had been so busy lately that he had forgotten this detail.
"Although it’s a technical alliance, the arts of cultivation are vastly different, so they naturally can’t be mixed together."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
"Therefore, this technical alliance will actually be divided into several major guilds. For instance, alchemists will eventually be categorized under the Alchemist Guild."
"And what does it mean to join this guild...?"
Zheng Fa pointed to the agreement and smiled, "Actually, it’s all written in the appendix, but it’s quite simple. The role of the Alchemist Guild is primarily for commercial cooperation, talent cultivation, and technical exchange."
"Commercial cooperation serves to reduce internal strife and sometimes allows for mutual support, while also enhancing the bargaining power of the alchemists in the Hundred Immortals Alliance."
Zhao Jingfan nodded silently; this part was easy to understand. Mortal merchant guilds likely operated on a similar model.
"Our alchemists in the Hundred Immortals Alliance are currently competing with the alchemists of the Five Sects..." At this point, Zheng Fa’s tone grew heavy. "We can’t afford to remain divided."
Master Song merely pursed his lips at this.
Even Elder Xiong didn’t dare show any sign of dissent—he could look down on any alchemical sect in the Hundred Immortals Alliance, but at the end of the day, they were just a Nascent Soul sect. How could they challenge the alchemists of the Five Sects?
"So... this technical alliance was established for that reason?" Master Song asked in surprise, his expression even tinged with guilt. He genuinely thought Zheng Fa was coveting their alchemical arts...
"There is indeed a need to consolidate resources to face future competition."
Of course, they were greedy for alchemical techniques.
But on the other hand, at this level, their opponents had become the Five Sects or the ancient demons.
"Addressing competition primarily focuses on talent cultivation and technical exchange."
"Talent cultivation is straightforward; it essentially involves two things: revising the alchemical textbooks."
This matter was indeed quite urgent.
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