Chapter 336: Great Ancestor Tian-Xiang
Besides Great Ancestor Tian-Xiang, Shocking Sting Island also had one medium spirit vein, twelve Enlightened Masters, and over one hundred Blood Condensation Realm disciples. From this alone, one could tell just how important Zhen Ling Sect regarded the island.
Lu Ping followed Xuan-Rong to a cave-dwelling and settled down, while Liang Xuan-Feng followed Xuan-Tong to report to Great Ancestor Tian-Xiang.
The next day, as Lu Ping was cleansing his eyes with Inebriant Purified Water, a guest had come to visit.
Lu Ping walked out and saw two cultivators staring at him; he was filled with surprise and joy, and laughed happily, "Senior Brother Wei Zi-Heng, Senior Brother Su Zi-Peng! It's been more than ten years since our time together on Fei Ling Island. I didn't think we would meet here. Come in!"
Wei Zi-Heng and Su Zi-Peng were none other than the two leaders that led the Blood Condensation Realm disciples to explore Fei Ling Island.
At first, they were restrained, not knowing how they should approach Lu Ping who was now an Enlightened Master. But after seeing that Lu Ping's attitude didn't change in the slightest despite his advancement, they felt relieved and entered the cave-dwelling.
Su Zi-Peng smiled bitterly and exclaimed, "Back in Fei Ling Island, junior brother had already showcased your talents. Both of us gained a lot from the expedition, broke through to the Mid Core Forging Realm quickly, found teachers, and were sent to hone our skills and character in the Fallen Rift. Coupled with our hard work, we had thought that we would be able to stand out amongst our peers. But after seeing you today, we feel ashamed for all the resources the sect has invested in us."
Wei Zi-Heng said, "When Junior Martial Uncle Xuan-Tong told us that we have another Core Forging Realm pillar called Enlightened Master Lu Xuan-Ping, we still had our doubts until we saw you today. Junior brother, your cultivation progress is just... unbelievable, we don't even know what we can do to catch up."
Lu Ping sensed the despondency in his senior brothers, so he laughed and comforted them, "Senior brothers, my cultivation progress is because of many reasons including external powers at play that have helped me reach this stage. That said, I will also need more time to consolidate my foundation. On the other hand, both of your foundations are cultivated solely by time and effort; they are solid and ready for the advancement to the Core Forging Realm."
Su Zi-Peng laughed happily, "We will gladly accept junior brother's best wishes, may they come true. Other than to visit you, we also came here with a request."
Lu Ping knew that they were here for something, and said, "Senior brothers, I'll do whatever I can."
Wei Zi-Heng smiled, "We knew that you were already capable of concocting half-step Core Forging Realm pellets back in the Blood Condensation Realm, and now that your cultivation base has advanced, we presumed that your alchemy would have as well. Hence, we are here to ask if junior brother could possibly help us concoct some medicinal pellets."
Su Zi-Peng saw Lu Ping's curious expressions, and said, "It's a type of pellet to help us advance to the Core Forging Realm called the Trance Pellet. We have prepared the pellet recipe and two cauldrons of spirit herbs, and as per the sect's rules, junior brother can keep one-third of the concocted pellets."
Lu Ping checked the pellet recipe with his divine revelation and noticed that the Trance Pellet was similar to the Reverie Pellet. Even though it wasn't as helpful as the Seven Step Striped Pellet, it was still a great help in Core Forging Realm advancements.
Lu Ping smiled, "Rest assured, I will be on the island for a few days. Senior brothers, you can come to collect the pellets two days later."
Su Zi-Peng and Wei Zi-Heng were overjoyed. They stayed for a few moments and exchanged some pleasantries before leaving.
With his current alchemy level, the River Inclusion Cauldron, and Azure Spirit Fire, Lu Ping had a consistent seventy percent success rate for half-step Core Forging Realm pellets. He only took one day to complete the task and concocted 15 Trance Pellets. Then, he put away five Trance Pellets for himself and stored the remaining pellets into two bottles.
Although he didn't need the Trance Pellets, he still took his share because this was the rule that alchemists had and breaking it without proper cause might come back to bite him in the future. Additionally, Lu Ping deliberately quoted an extra day so that he wouldn't appear to be too good in alchemy.
However, the Enlightened Masters on the island still had Liang Xuan-Feng's confirmation that Lu Ping was indeed a Master Alchemist. Hence, after passing the Trance Pellets to his senior brothers, the martial uncles started to come looking for him to concoct pellets for them.
Naturally, the pellets requested by Enlightened Masters were all Core Forging Realm pellets.
However, Lu Ping only accepted requests to concoct Early Core Forging Realm pellets. Not only was he due to leave in a few days' time, he also didn't have that much energy to concoct Mid or even Late Core Forging Realm pellets for them.
Currently, he only had a fifty percent success rate for Early Core Forging Realm pellets and forty percent for Mid Core Forging Realm pellets. He hadn't tried to concoct any Late Core Forging Realm pellets before, so he was unsure of his success rate.
Having said that, he did successfully concoct two half-step Avatar Realm pellets before, the Health Prosper Pellet and the Heart Forging Pellet. Although, during both times luck played a huge role.
Within a few days, Lu Ping completed the requests and handed the medicinal pellets to the martial uncles. Due to the scarcity of spirit herbs, it was common to see Mid Core Forging Realm Enlightened Masters consuming Early Core Forging Realm medicinal pellets.
Additionally, Shocking Sting Island was far from the North Ocean, so despite the rich resources here, there wasn't a Master Alchemist that could convert these resources into consumable pellets. Sure enough, Lu Ping's arrival was a blessing to the Enlightened Masters on the island.
A day before returning to the North Ocean, Liang Xuan-Feng came to find Lu Ping, and said, "Junior Uncle Tian-Xiang wants to see you."
Lu Ping was stunned. He quickly got up and followed Liang Xuan-Feng to the center of the island.
The only time Lu Ping had ever met a Great Ancestor in person was the Northern League's Great Ancestor Hong Ye. This would be the second time Lu Ping would meet a Great Ancestor, what's more, it was one of the only three Mid Avatar Realm Great Ancestors in the sect.
The meeting location was not in Great Ancestor Tian-Xiang's cave-dwelling, but rather in a spirit herb garden. Great Ancestor Tian-Xiang looked just like an ordinary gardener, wearing a straw hat and hemp clothes, bending down to tend to the flowers and plants in the garden.
The old gardener patted the soil and dirt off his hands, waved his hand at them, and said, "Here already? Come, drink some tea."
Lu Ping bowed respectfully, "Disciple Lu Xuan-Ping, greets junior granduncle!"
Great Ancestor Tian-Xiang walked to a small pavilion, and looked at Lu Ping, "What a bright disciple Xuan-Li... um, Tian-Ling has taken in."
Great Ancestor Tian-Xiang casually sat down while Liang Xuan-Feng and Lu Ping sat down with their backs straight.
"Tian-Lin, Tian-Ling, Xuan-Me..., Ehem, we're glad that the second generation is beginning to step up, even you Xuan-Feng, you're now just half a step away from the Avatar Realm. In time, we old bones will retire, and the second generation will take over the sect. However, the sect's future lies not in the second generation, but in the third, with people like you Xuan-Ping. You and your peers have exceeded our expectations, we have faith in you all to carry Zhen Ling Sect to a whole new height!"
Lu Ping kept quiet and listened carefully, while Liang Xuan-Feng smiled, and answered, "It's all because the martial uncles have raised us right and managed the sect well, we are merely just inheriting what the seniors have established for us."
Great Ancestor Tian-Xiang nodded casually, and then said, "The human-monster war has begun and the momentum is getting out of control, even the Central Plain can't retain peace for much longer. Whilst opportunities arise in turbulent times, the challenges ahead are also much tougher. Not to mention that we are divided, between sects in the human race, between factions within the sect. There is still a long, long way to go."
This time, Liang Xuan-Feng didn't know what to say.
Great Ancestor Tian-Xiang continued, "The squabbles between sects, I don't bother with; the conflicts within the sect however, I will allow no more. The old bones have been liberal, but the situation has changed now. The conflicts amongst yourselves have to be resolved now, seek changes, find solutions, even duel if you have to, and if you can't put down your dignity to fight personally, assign the young ones to fight for you. Do anything you must to resolve these conflicts. You can have a difference in opinions, but you must all stand as one together. No matter what, you are all martial siblings that have grown up together. Be it me, Junior Sister Tian-Xue or Junior Brother Tian-Fan, we all want a sect that is united. Consider this a final reminder from us."
Great Ancestor Tian-Xiang was calm the entire time, but every single word he spoke was nailed into Lu Ping's heart.
The old man drank a cup of tea, giving them some time to digest his message. Then, he continued, "There's a few more years left until my second heavenly tribulation. Should I survive, Tian-Xue and Tian-Fan will be relieved from the exhausting contest against Dao-Sheng; but should I die, Tian-Lin and Tian-Ling's advancement will help deter Xuan Ling Sect in the near future. Furthermore, Xuan-Feng you are near the Avatar Realm too, Xuan-Cheng and Xuan-Shan also have Core Forging Pellets to help their advancements, they will be able to catch up to you soon. As for Xuan-Yin... if not for that incident, he would've been even faster than you now."
Lu Ping was shocked, there was so much information to register, with so many untold secrets of the sect uncovered to him today. For some reason, Great Ancestor Tian-Xiang didn't seem to care about hiding these secrets in front of him at all.
Furthermore, Great Ancestor Tian-Xiang also revealed that he was at the peak of the Mid Avatar Realm, and that he had to pass the second heavenly tribulation to advance to the Late Avatar Realm.
After leaving the spirit herb garden, Liang Xuan-Feng walked in the lead quietly with a serious expression on his face, appearing as if there were endless thoughts running in his mind. Lu Ping was full of questions, but he didn't know what to ask or where to start
It was clear from Great Ancestor Tian-Xiang's words that Zhen Ling Sect was also divided from within. But it was only natural that a big sect with over ten thousand pupils had factions and disputes. However, as long as the higher-ups retained good judgment, they would still be able to steer the sect in the right direction.
Lu Ping knew that most of the words were directed at Liang Xuan-Feng and the disciples of his generation. He also guessed that Liang Xuan-Feng's return to the sect was because he was making his final preparation for the Avatar Realm.
Lu Ping wondered if Liang Xuan-Feng had fully fused the Heavenly Wind Leaf into his Golden Core, and whether his Golden Core had achieved the seventh-grade.
At the same time, somewhere in his heart, Lu Ping thought that Great Ancestor Tian-Xiang was also using the second generation to lecture him. It was as if Great Ancestor Tian-Xiang knew what he was planning and was telling him to consider the harmony within the sect before making any decision.
Leng Qian... Yuan Zhan... Hmph!
Since teacher didn't expel Leng Qian, he also wouldn't take action against her. But Yuan Zhan and the Yuan Clan; if he could find any evidence of their set up he would definitely bring the entire clan to ground.
The next day, several Enlightened Masters, Wei Zi-Heng, and Wei Zi-Peng came to send Liang Xuan-Feng and Lu Ping away. The long-distance teleportation formation was activated, and the duo finally returned to the North Ocean!
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Editor: Immortal BloodRogue