When Zhang Ruochen returned to the Nameless Manor, the drunkard was already awake.
He took the faintly purple-glowing gourd from Zhang Ruochen, glanced at it, and said, “This Tian Shu Gourd bears Feng Caiyi’s handiwork. You had best not provoke that woman.”
Zhang Ruochen could not help rolling his eyes. He very much wanted to say, Old man, your train of thought truly defies normal comprehension. She is Death Divine Venerable, now more reverently addressed as Feng Tian. With my current cultivation, seeing her once is already harder than ascending to heaven. Even if I wanted to provoke her, how could I possibly manage it?
The drunkard simply plopped down on the ground by the lakeside. “Tell me your thoughts. What do you plan to do with this old fellow?”
Zhang Ruochen replied, “Naturally we cannot release him back to Heaven. Yet killing and refining him outright would be too wasteful. Senior, your mental strength is immense and your methods profound. Is there any secret art by which he could be refined into a guardian divine general for our realm?”
The drunkard nodded and said coldly, “He came to our Xinghuan Heaven to strut about arrogantly. He deserves death. However, the spiritual will of a mental-strength god is extremely powerful. If his spiritual will is not erased, even if he is refined into a guardian divine general, endless future troubles will remain. But once the spiritual will is erased, his battle power will plummet drastically. He would be no more than an ordinary great god, essentially useless.”
“An ordinary great god, essentially useless,” Zhang Ruochen repeated.
If those great gods heard this, would they not die of shame?
Even the weakest great god could dominate a powerful realm and decide the fate of all beings within it. Yet here, such a being seemed worthless.
How was a cultivator like Zhang Ruochen, still far from the level of a great god, supposed to feel?
After a moment’s thought, the drunkard continued, “How about this: refine him into pills that enhance mental strength.”
The instant he spoke, the gourd clearly trembled.
Zhang Ruochen asked, “Refine an entire god into pills?”
The drunkard looked at him as if he were an idiot and said disdainfully, “In Hell Realm, using gods as ingredients to refine divine pills is perfectly commonplace.”
“You must understand that a Tai Yi great god is already comparable to a divine herb.”
“This old fellow’s mental strength ranks among the very strongest in the entire universe! Using him to refine pills would be even better than a divine herb. If he fell into the hands of gods from the Ghost, Nether, or Corpse clans, they would probably swallow him whole without bothering to refine pills first, slowly digesting him inside their bellies. Their cultivation would undergo a tremendous transformation.”
“Refining divine pills can simultaneously erase his spiritual will and soul impurities while extracting his mental strength to the greatest possible extent. For gods like you whose mental strength is not yet sufficiently powerful, nothing could be more suitable.”
Zhang Ruochen grew excited and his mind raced with ideas. “In that case, Senior, please begin refining the pills at once.”
The drunkard waved a hand repeatedly. “No, no, I cannot!”
For a powerhouse like you to say you cannot?
Zhang Ruochen protested, “With Senior’s mental strength, every path and every method in the universe is at your fingertips. How could refining divine pills possibly be difficult?”
Refining divine pills did indeed demand an extremely high threshold for alchemists.
But at the drunkard’s level of mental strength, what threshold in the world could still exist?
In a single day he could research any sacred path to a depth unattainable even by gods.
In a single instant he could master any technique.
For once the drunkard was modest. “Refining divine pills is indeed not difficult. But this old fellow is a great medicinal ingredient. To refine him into a sufficient quantity of divine pills in an extremely short time, and of extremely high grade, that is very difficult!”
“My own cultivation is rather broad and miscellaneous. My attainment in the pill dao is merely average. If you truly want a furnace of extraordinary divine pills, you must find someone more skilled.”
Zhang Ruochen understood. The time required to refine divine pills was indeed extraordinary, often thousands or tens of thousands of years.
He truly could not wait that long.
“Senior, when you say ‘someone more skilled’, whom do you mean?” Zhang Ruochen asked.
From outside the manor, a voice drifted in: “This junior Yan Yu pays respects to Senior Nine Heavens.”
The drunkard laughed. “There, he has arrived!”
Zhang Ruochen knew the “skilled person” the drunkard meant could not possibly be Yan Yu himself, but the supreme pill dao master of the Yanluo clan.
“You sealed heaven?” Zhang Ruochen asked quietly.
The drunkard grinned. “Nine Heavens is my name. Seal heaven? Heh heh, I disdain to seal heaven! Go tell him that my cultivation is at the absolute pinnacle and my mental strength is already perfectly rounded. How could a mere junior meet me just because he wishes it?”
With that, the drunkard’s figure faded and vanished.
Zhang Ruochen walked out of the manor and saw Yan Yu waiting outside. He smiled. “Second Uncle! Senior says he is gravely injured and must enter secluded recovery. He is seeing no one!”
Yan Yu was visibly moved. “Shang Tian’s cultivation is truly so formidable that he could wound a ninety-order mental-strength expert to the point of needing secluded recovery?”
Zhang Ruochen’s heart jolted. Ninety-order mental strength?
Clashed with Shang Zu?
He had known the drunkard’s mental strength was formidable, but he had never imagined it reached such an exaggerated degree.
In Zhang Ruochen’s view, Xuan Yi was already peerless, an insurmountable towering peak.
As for Shang Tian…
Even Xuan Yi had to pay respects to that ancient existence. He was practically a supreme legend between heaven and earth.
Zhang Ruochen glanced back at the spot by the lake where the drunkard had sat. His feelings were complicated. This unkempt, wine-obsessed old man, could he truly stand equal to the Heavens?
Any single hair plucked from such a figure would be priceless and bring boundless benefits.
“Ruochen!”
Yan Yu called him once.
Zhang Ruochen snapped back to attention. “What matter brings Second Uncle to visit Senior Nine Heavens?”
Yan Yu knew Zhang Ruochen had been personally chosen by Nine Heavens as Realm Venerable of Xinghuan Heaven and had the great backer Tianmu behind him. Yet despite such status, Zhang Ruochen remained neither arrogant nor overbearing and still addressed him as uncle. This only increased Yan Yu’s fondness.
The two walked side by side along a verdant wooden corridor.
Yan Yu said, “The Supreme transmitted a message to me, asking me to convey the Yanluo clan’s stance to Senior Nine Heavens. If the Rebel God Clan faces another crisis, they may migrate to the outer heavens of Yanluo. The Yanluo clan can offer them shelter.”
Zhang Ruochen smiled and expressed his thanks.
In his heart he understood that if Tianmu had not stood at the forefront and borne the pressure alone, the Yanluo clan would never have waded into these muddy waters. After all, it did not concern them directly.
Their statement now was merely icing on the cake. How could it compare to aid sent in the hour of need?
Still, the Yanluo clan’s gesture was kind.
“This upheaval in Xinghuan Heaven has left me deeply moved. The situation ahead will only grow more severe. When I return this time, I will enter seclusion. I will not emerge until I reach upper-god level.”
Yan Yu continued, “Ruochen, before I leave, there is one more matter. I would like to know your feelings.”
Zhang Ruochen asked, “Second Uncle means Ying’er?”
“In your heart there is only Ying’er. What of Xian’er?”
Yan Yu sighed. “The bond between you and Xian’er truly cannot be blamed on you. In fact, the Yanluo clan even owes you something. But do you know, that girl seems to have developed true feelings for you? When she learned you were struck by the Dao-Severing Curse, she begged the Supreme for a long time and tried every possible method! Later, when Qing Zu crippled your martial dao cultivation, she never spoke of it outwardly, but I could see she was extremely worried.”
“Second Uncle can tell that although your martial dao was crippled, your talent in mental strength is outstanding. And Xian’er’s own talent in mental strength is equally exceptional. The two of you are truly well suited!”
“When you have time, come to the outer heavens of Yanluo to see her. She would be overjoyed.”
Seeing Yan Yu about to depart, Zhang Ruochen called, “Second Uncle!”
“What is it?”
Zhang Ruochen explained, “It is like this. Perhaps in the near future I can repair the Sundial. When I do, it will be able to support multiple gods cultivating simultaneously. I wish to invite Miss Yan to come to Xinghuan Heaven to cultivate.”
“The Sundial repaired!”
Yan Yu exclaimed, his emotions surging.
Zhang Ruochen clarified, “It is not repaired yet, only a possibility of success. If it succeeds, I will certainly reserve a slot for Second Uncle as well.”
Yan Yu’s mood brightened immensely. He smiled broadly. “If the Sundial is truly repaired, it will cause a considerable stir. Back then, Saint Monk Xumi used the Sundial to make Kunlun Realm, in an extremely short time, powerful enough to be unmatched among all realms. If there is a slot available, Second Uncle will be endlessly grateful!”
Zhang Ruochen added, “There is actually one more matter I wish to request.”
“In front of Second Uncle, why be so reserved? Speak freely,” Yan Yu laughed.
Zhang Ruochen took out the gourd. “I wish to refine the Third Elder of the Array Annihilation Palace into a furnace of divine pills that enhance mental strength. In the entire universe, the only alchemist who can fully utilise this great medicinal ingredient in a short time is the Supreme.”
Yan Yu understood at once!
Cultivation slots in the Sundial would be something countless factions would fight tooth and nail to obtain. On what basis should the Yanluo clan receive any?
There were conditions.
This was perfectly normal; he understood.
Affection was affection, but affection given endlessly without any return would eventually run dry.
“Good! Come with me to the outer heavens of Yanluo. Great-grandfather should have no objection.”
Yan Yu was an outstanding figure of this generation in the Yanluo clan and very possibly the future successor. Words from someone of his status naturally carried extraordinary weight.
Zhang Ruochen handed the Tian Shu Gourd to Yan Yu. “I still have to repair the Sundial. The matter of refining the divine pills can only be entrusted to Second Uncle.”
Yan Yu glanced down at the Tian Shu Gourd and gave a meaningful smile. “This is the Third Elder of the Array Annihilation Palace, a great powerhouse of the mental-strength path! You truly trust me so much as to hand him over?”
Zhang Ruochen pretended not to understand the implication. “Senior Nine Heavens has already used his mental strength to reseal the gourd. No matter how strong he is, he cannot escape.”
“Good! Since Ruochen trusts me so, Second Uncle will not let you down.”
Yan Yu was straightforward. He accepted the Tian Shu Gourd and carefully stored it away.
Shallow acquaintance stops at courtesy.
But deep friendship begins with mutual trust.
After watching Yan Yu depart, Zhang Ruochen headed toward the Yuchen Divine Temple, intending to descend once more into the underground and confirm certain matters.
