Inside the hall, Wuchen cleared his throat. He did his best to put on his Alchemy Emperor airs as he looked at Zhang Mingyuan and said, “Zhang Mingyuan, although I have agreed to refine pills for you, these Immortal-grade pills are no small matter.
“The three main ingredients—the Twin Shadow Symbiotic Begonia, the Yin-Yang Luan-Phoenix Immortal Grass, and the Twin Concentric Lotus—require a great deal of effort to purify.
“You can handle that part yourself. I only agreed to refine the pills for you.”
With that, Wuchen produced a jade slip. “Also, take this jade slip. It lists dozens of auxiliary herbs. Go gather them from the medicine garden on Xuanhe Mountain and process them properly while you're at it.”
Wuchen gave his instructions with a dignified expression. He was the Alchemy Emperor, after all; he had to maintain his prestige.
Zhang Mingyuan took the jade slip and cheerfully slapped his chest. “No problem, Old Chen! Just you wait!”
With that, Zhang Mingyuan transformed into a streak of light and shot out of the hall.
Wuchen's lips twitched as he watched Zhang Mingyuan leave. This Zhang Mingyuan was really... He didn't even know how to describe him.
Shaking his head, he sat back down in front of his cauldron and closed his eyes, intending to meditate and refine his insights into the Dao of Alchemy.
However, before he could even enter his meditative state, a loud commotion erupted outside the hall.
“Wuchen, you brat, get out here!”
Wuchen frowned, a flash of displeasure crossing his face. He flicked his sleeves, stood up, and strode out of the hall.
In midair stood an elder dressed in a dark green robe. Eerie green alchemical fire swirled around him, and he unleashed the pressure of the Mahayana Stage without reservation, even tinting the surrounding clouds with a faint green hue.
In his hand, the elder held a bruised and battered young disciple. Behind him stood several other Mahayana Stage cultivators with deep, powerful auras, all well-known figures in the Xuanling Realm.
The newcomer was none other than the Alchemy Sage of Tiandan Valley, Dan Wuhui.
This old fellow was also at the Mahayana Stage and specialized in the Dao of Alchemy. He had harbored a bitter grudge over Wuchen's title of "Alchemy Emperor" for over a thousand years. He had always felt that in terms of seniority, he was older than Wuchen. Why should he only be an Alchemy Sage while Wuchen got to be the Alchemy Emperor?
The two of them had engaged in countless overt and covert power struggles over the years.
Dan Wuhui threw the young disciple onto the ground and sneered repeatedly, “Wuchen, take a good look at your precious disciple!
“How dare he sneak into the territory of my Tiandan Valley to steal my Rank Eight spiritual plant, the Purple Heart Jade Marrow Flower!
“If you do not give me an explanation today, I will destroy his cultivation to make an example of him!”
Wuchen focused his gaze. The youth lying on the ground was indeed his personal disciple, Qingfeng.
Qingfeng spat out a mouthful of bloody water and cried out with a miserable face, “Master, I didn't steal it! That flower was clearly growing in an ownerless land! It was only slightly close to Tiandan Valley's boundary, but their people insisted it was theirs and started beating me without a word!”
Seeing how aggressively the other party had come, clearly well-prepared, Wuchen found it difficult to lose his temper immediately. But how could the dignity of the Alchemy Emperor tolerate such a provocation?
Boom! With a grand wave of Wuchen's sleeve, an ancient cauldron materialized with a thunderous roar. The cauldron was dark gold all over, save for one of its three legs, which glowed with an unusual purple light.
This was Wuchen's natal magic treasure—the Eternal Heart-Tempering Cauldron!
The moment the cauldron appeared, a terrifying pressure capable of burning mountains and boiling seas instantly swept across ninety thousand miles, utterly suppressing Dan Wuhui's eerie green alchemical fire.
Seeing Wuchen reveal his weapon, the Mahayana Stage cultivators who had accompanied Dan Wuhui did not hesitate either, quickly summoning their own Mahayana magic treasures.
Instantly, brilliant lights of various treasures soared into the sky above Xuanhe Mountain. As their terrifying pressures collided, ripples of distortion ran through the very fabric of space.
Seeing this, Wuchen laughed in extreme anger. “Dan Wuhui, do you think you're the only one who can call for backup?”
What a joke. Was his network as the Alchemy Emperor not vastly superior to this pathetic Alchemy Sage's?
Wuchen immediately prepared to summon his allies! A transmission jade talisman appeared in his hand.
Right at that moment, a sinister glint flashed in Dan Wuhui's eyes. He directly sucked Qingfeng up from the ground into his grasp, holding him aloft in the air.
“Wuchen, I did not come here to fight you today. If you do not apologize to me today and offer Tiandan Valley a handsome compensation, I will destroy your precious disciple right now!”
“You old bastard, how despicable!” Wuchen cursed furiously.
Dan Wuhui merely smiled. “Some Alchemy Emperor. When trouble arises, you are nothing but an incompetently furious fool who cannot resolve a single issue.”
“Good, good, good.” Wuchen clenched his fists tightly. “Is your Tiandan Valley declaring war on my Xuanhe Mountain?”
“If it is war, then so be it! Do you think I fear you?” Dan Wuhui deliberately raised his voice, his face full of mockery.
“With such an atrocious attitude... I originally only wanted an apology and some compensation for Tiandan Valley, but who would have thought you would be so arrogant!
“Now, unless you kowtow and apologize to me, and declare to the entire world that Xuanhe Mountain's Dao of Alchemy is inferior to Tiandan Valley's... otherwise—”
As he spoke, his grip on Qingfeng's neck tightened. Qingfeng's neck bones immediately began to creak.
Dan Wuhui was deliberately trying to disgust Wuchen. He refused to believe that Wuchen would dare to wage a massive, costly war against Tiandan Valley over a mere disciple!
“Good, good, good! You said it yourself!” Wuchen was furious, his peak Mahayana Stage cultivation exploding outward.
He projected his voice across the world, sounding like rolling heavenly thunder that reverberated throughout the entire Xuanling Realm: “Dan Wuhui of Tiandan Valley is despicable and shameless, bullying my Xuanhe Mountain disciple!
“Today, I, Alchemy Emperor Wuchen, declare to the world that Xuanhe Mountain officially declares war on Tiandan Valley! It is a fight to the death, to the bitter end!!!”
At this, a dead silence fell over the entire area.
Dan Wuhui was completely stunned, his smug expression freezing on his face.
Wait, how does Wuchen dare to do this? For a mere disciple, he is actually starting a war on the scale of Sacred Grounds?!
The Mahayana Stage guest elders beside Dan Wuhui were also completely dumbfounded. They had only come to show support and stand in his corner. How did they end up in a fight to the death over a minor disagreement?
Finding himself unable to back down, Dan Wuhui's face flushed red and pale in turn. Out of sheer embarrassment and anger, he squeezed out, “Good, good, good! In that case, your disciple doesn't need to live either!”
With that, his grip tightened once more, intending to strangle Qingfeng to death.
Wuchen's eyes nearly split from rage. “You old bastard, you dare?!”
Qingfeng was his most prized disciple. If Qingfeng died, he would tear this old bastard into ten thousand pieces!
“Why would I not dare!” Dan Wuhui's face twisted into a hideous grin, his killing intent fully revealed.
Right at that moment, the crisp sound of a finger snap echoed across the entirety of Xuanhe Mountain.
The sound was not loud, yet it seemed to contain some supreme law. In an instant, the wind ceased, and the clouds stilled.
Dan Wuhui's hand froze, and the immense pressure of all the Mahayana Stage cultivators vanished in an instant, like a popped balloon.
Everyone present was pinned to the spot by an irresistible, supreme power.
Immediately after, a lazy, teasing voice rang out.
“Oh, quite lively here. What are you all doing? Mind if I join in?”
Rate on N.U.
