Chapter 816 - 251: What a Handsome Gentleman (3rd Update)
The Dao is mysterious, beyond words, conveyed only through the concept of ’enlightenment’.
Mu Qingge stood before the shadow wall, not hurriedly choosing a place to sit down.
"Senior Sister Zhu, how many shadow walls have you comprehended now?" Mu Qingge suddenly asked.
Zhu Ling gave a wry smile, "My talent in Linchuan is considered quite good. But here, it’s merely average. We have been in the Alchemy Institute for three years, spending one year in the Outer Court and two years in the Inner Courtyard. I’ve comprehended two walls, Senior Brother Zhao has comprehended five, and Zisu has comprehended three."
After speaking, she added, "Many people spend their entire lives and still cannot comprehend the mysteries of all twelve shadow walls. This shows how terrifying Yao Xinghai is."
Mu Qingge narrowed her eyes slightly.
Others take years to comprehend one, or they may never comprehend all twelve in their lifetime. Yet Yao Xinghai took only three years to comprehend all twelve shadow walls.
Truly impressive!
"However, I believe Qingge, you are surely more impressive than him." Zhu Ling said with a smile.
Mu Qingge smiled without speaking, realizing there was no sure way to grasp such insights. At that moment, she was only thinking, since she planned to stay at the Alchemy Institute for about half a year, intending to leave after the Alchemy Conference to seek places to enhance her cultivation, she must seize the time to refine herself and improve within the limited time.
So, how could she figure out these twelve shadow walls within half a year?
Steal them?
No!
Doing so would likely cause the Alchemy Institute to issue a manhunt on her.
Engrave them?
She frowned, if these methods were useful, someone else would have tried before her.
Mu Qingge frowned, walking towards the nearest shadow wall. She decided to first personally experience the power of this shadow wall before making a plan.
However, after taking just a few steps, she stopped and turned back to instruct Zhu Ling: "Senior Sister Zhu, I will observe in front of this shadow wall for a while. If you are not leaving, wait here for me. Also, please keep an eye on Senior Brother Mei. He is obsessed with alchemy. I am afraid if he suddenly engages with such a thing, he might get caught up and find it hard to extricate himself."
Zhu Ling nodded seriously and said to Mu Qingge, "You go on ahead, I won’t leave, I’ll wait here for both of you. When the time is right, I’ll wake you up."
"Alright." Mu Qingge gently nodded, then walked to the shadow wall, slightly raised her head, and carefully examined the smooth surface of the wall, her eyes scanning from top to bottom, not missing a detail.
Yet, no matter how closely she looked, she couldn’t discern anything conclusive.
Calming her mind, she lifted her robe and sat cross-legged on a vacant area, facing the shadow wall.
As soon as she sat down, she felt a golden light flash before her eyes, pulling her spiritual sense out and into the shadow wall.
Gradually, in her eyes, the smooth mirror-like, ink-colored shadow wall began to transform.
She seemed to be brought into a space where she saw a person enveloped in golden light, practicing alchemy. It was not just the person; everything she saw emitted a faint golden light, dreamy and ethereal, blurring the line between real and illusion.
The person within the wall appeared oblivious to her gaze, solely focused on practicing alchemy.
Suddenly, Mu Qingge noticed that the person was practicing alchemy barehanded, without a Pill Furnace. Medicines were placed into his palms, and as soon as they entered, they turned into powder, refining the essence.
He was incredibly fast, shaping the medicinal powder by hand, forming Elixirs with visible speed. Moreover, the Elixir’s color was exceedingly beautiful, with exquisite patterns faintly visible on its surface.
Mu Qingge’s eyes widened, the shock in her heart akin to a tidal wave.
She had never known that alchemy could be performed this way!
This alchemy method was something she had neither encountered nor heard of before!
’The Alchemy Institute, worth the journey!’ she marveled inwardly.
In just a moment, an Elixir slowly rose from the person’s hand. This shadow wall resonated like a projection from her past life, where one could see images and hear the sounds of alchemy, yet smell and touch were inaccessible.
Hence, she could not ascertain the level of the Elixir, relying solely on its aura to judge that it was beyond Divine Level, probably Holy Level.
’A Holy Level Elixir!’ Mu Qingge’s pupils contracted as she arrived at this conclusion within her heart.
Could a Holy Level Elixir be crafted so effortlessly?
This almost overturned Mu Qingge’s understanding.
At that moment, the alchemist suddenly clenched his five fingers, crushing the freshly crafted Elixir. The Elixir, like scattered starlight, fell and vanished.
Mu Qingge watched, stunned and bewildered as to what this signified.
"Using the heart as a furnace, one can refine all things; all things have spirits, all are at my disposal; refining with the heart, all the world becomes an Elixir!"
A voice, reminiscent of a bell toll at dawn, echoed abruptly in Mu Qingge’s mind.
It seemed to be the words of the alchemist within the shadow wall. The twenty-six characters reverberated within Mu Qingge, leaving her with a sensation of being profoundly moved.
The words appeared to open a door for her that had never been opened before.
’Using the heart as a furnace, one can refine all things; all things have spirits, all are at my disposal; refining with the heart, all the world becomes an Elixir!’
’Using the heart as a furnace, one can refine all things; all things have spirits, all are at my disposal; refining with the heart, all the world becomes an Elixir!’
’Using the heart as a furnace, one can refine all things; all things have spirits, all are at my disposal; refining with the heart, all the world becomes an Elixir!’
Mu Qingge kept recalling this phrase in her heart. She seemed to capture the essence of the Dao of Alchemy pursued by the person within the shadow wall, yet she still couldn’t comprehend it fully.
That vague impression lingered in her heartache, as though she was merely a thin sheet of paper away from the Dao of Alchemy within the wall.
Yet ironically, this thin sheet of paper was challenging to pierce.
...
In a hidden part of the Inner Courtyard, Shang Zisu was tightly held in Zhao Nanxing’s arms, as though she was a long-lost treasure restored.
Shang Zisu, too, shed her cold demeanor, her cheeks blushing, revealing a shy expression.
"Zisu, from now on, I forbid you from overthinking, nor should you consider yourself inferior. In my heart, you are eternally pure and unsullied, the most beautiful snow lotus in the Yu Country Medicine Tower." Zhao Nanxing’s long-contained emotions were finally released today.
The delay between him and Shang Zisu had been far too long.
Since he set foot in the Medicine Tower, from the first moment he saw Shang Zisu, he had fallen in love with this woman as cold as an iceberg.
However, all along, he never dared to desecrate the goddess in his heart, only thinking of silently protecting her, hoping that one day, when she occasionally turned back, she would find that he had always been there.
After weathering all the ups and downs, just as he mustered the courage to express everything, Shang Zisu encountered that incident.
From then on, she closed her heart even tighter, unwilling and afraid to let anyone touch it.
If it weren’t for today’s overbearing coercion, perhaps the two of them would have truly missed each other in this lifetime.
Zhao Nanxing felt endlessly grateful in his heart. ’Thank goodness, thank goodness. Luckily, I asked one more question; otherwise, without Qingge’s words, I would have been left with endless regret.’
"Zisu, thank you. Thank you for accepting me, I am endlessly grateful." Zhao Nanxing said with lingering fear.
His words were not an exaggeration in the slightest.
Because he could not bear the pain of losing Shang Zisu, of merely passing by her.
She was the woman he had recognized at first sight, also the woman who could only ever belong to him!
Shang Zisu looked up from his embrace, asking with shy eyes: "Why are you today... why are you so..." so bold, so domineering, so forceful, so imposing?
Zhao Nanxing, however, slyly smiled and said to her: "It’s a secret."
"A secret?" Shang Zisu furrowed her brows lightly, not understanding.
She wanted to probe further, but Zhao Nanxing released her, then took her hand and said: "Let’s go first, don’t let them wait too long."
Thinking of the three fellow disciples waiting, Shang Zisu had to suppress the doubts in her heart, nodding, and followed Zhao Nanxing out of the shadows.
As soon as she stepped out of the shadows, Shang Zisu pulled her hand out of Zhao Nanxing’s grip.
Zhao Nanxing turned puzzled eyes towards her, seeing her biting her lip in embarrassment.
She was inherently someone who didn’t like being too close, with a cold disposition, how could she be comfortable being so intimate with Zhao Nanxing in public?
She wanted to avoid being seen, but Zhao Nanxing was not having it.
He knew her nature, but while everything else could conform, this could not. Zhao Nanxing reached out again, grabbing Shang Zisu’s evading little hand and held it tightly, saying to her: "This can’t be shaken off, you can only get used to it. Because, this hand, I want to hold for a lifetime, you can’t shake it off."
Shang Zisu was so embarrassed by his words that her cheeks flushed red, she tugged hard, unable to break free, could only say: "Let’s hurry."
Her hurried steps, her shy expression, filled Zhao Nanxing’s whole heart with happiness. It seemed, even if he lived through this scene his whole life, he wouldn’t tire of it.
...
In front of the twelve Shadow Walls, Mu Qingge and Mei Zizhong each occupied a block, comprehending the Alchemy Dao on the walls along with others.
’With the heart as the furnace, one can refine all things. All things have spirits, all available to me. With the heart to refine them, heaven and earth become elixirs! How to use the heart as the furnace? How to turn heaven and earth into elixirs?’ Mu Qingge was immersed, yet kept a part of her mind clear.
Suddenly, she somewhat understood why these Shadow Walls were so attractive, making the Pill Masters of the Alchemy Institute linger day and night like addicts.
Even at the moment of enlightenment, there could be signs of mental instability.
Because, within this lies the Great Dao! The Great Dao of alchemy!
Just observing one wall gave her such a shock, what if she observed all twelve Shadow Walls? Mu Qingge couldn’t help but take a deep breath, a brilliant light bursting from her eyes.
Her confidence in becoming a Holy Level Alchemist took another step forward.
Mu Qingge’s Spiritual Sense spontaneously withdrew from the Shadow Wall and returned to her Spiritual Sea.
She blinked, stood up from the ground, and brushed the dust off her robes with a wave of her sleeve. Looking around again, there were still hundreds of people intoxicated by the Shadow Wall she had just observed.
With a faint smile, she walked towards Zhu Ling, who had been waiting outside.
"Senior Sister Zhu," Mu Qingge called.
Zhu Ling’s gaze drew back from Mei Zizhong, falling on Mu Qingge. Her charming smile said: "You’re the first I’ve seen so willing to leave so quickly."
Mu Qingge smiled and said: "Insight is something that can’t be remembered, it must be approached slowly."
Zhu Ling nodded, "My teacher said that to comprehend the Alchemy Dao, one must look over and over. When enlightenment comes, it depends on one’s insight, which is unrelated to talent but relies on a heart persistent for the Alchemy Dao."
Mu Qingge listened carefully, nodding in full agreement.
Just like alchemy and artifact refining, having a famous teacher as guidance would reduce detours.
And for her, her enlightening mentor, was the legacy of the Dan God!
It’s just a pity that the Dan God fell unknown years ago, she couldn’t even offer him a cup of disciple tea.
"It’s about time, I’ll go wake up Senior Brother Mei," Zhu Ling said to Mu Qingge.
Mu Qingge nodded, "Alright."
Zhu Ling walked towards Mei Zizhong, while Mu Qingge stood where she was, waiting. Just earlier, Zhu Ling’s look towards Mei Zizhong was fully seen by her.
Suddenly, she found it a bit amusing.
She, who once knew nothing about love, now found herself noticing some people and things around her, since being with Si Mo.
As she waited, someone suddenly approached her.
"What a handsome face! Before today, I had never seen it. You must be the one causing a stir in the academy, taking a special assessment for the inner courtyard?"
A displeasing voice echoed in Mu Qingge’s ears.
She frowned slightly, turning her gaze to the speaker.
Before her eyes were five people. One of them, clearly the leader, although a man, had a flamboyant and ostentatious look. It was annoying enough to see, and he was heavily made up, making it more displeasing at sight.
As he came closer, a thick scent of powder overwhelmed, irritating Mu Qingge’s nose unpleasantly.
She turned her gaze, and the man instead lit up in his eyes, laughing: "Even from afar, you were impressively handsome. Up close, even more indescribably beautiful. Such a face, even I find it appealing, I’m sure it suits the big sister’s taste as well."
’What on earth?’ Mu Qingge’s eyes darkened, her exquisitely beautiful features turning cold in an instant.
She was puzzled by why there was such an... um, alternative existence among the Alchemy Institute!