Gu Chun: "If you find it, send it to Elder Li imdiately. Although he is not an Alchemy Master, he can handle the materials... You know how to pick and preserve them, right?"
He Kao: "I know, it was ntioned in the alchemy formula inheritance that Elder Li gave ."
He Kao imdiately took his leave and returned to Qi Yuan, where the sky was already beginning to brighten. It was only then he realized that this foolish boy seed to have been roped into tasks by Elder Gu.
Aside from rescuing Lina, Elder Gu actually gave him three tasks: firstly, to secretly transport the elder to Phoenix Tail Town five days later, and secondly, to impersonate soone at the appropriate ti.
As for the third task, it was to find and gather Golden Sun Dodder. Elder Gu didn’t directly say it, but He Kao volunteered, guessing that the elder was secretly pleased about it.
Even without Lina’s incident, Elder Gu might have found an excuse to send He Kao to Mount Everest over the next few days, especially since Elder Li hadn’t successfully gathered any Spirit dicine last ti.
Missing this current window would an waiting another year or so, without any guarantee of success. Last year at this ti, He Kao hadn’t had the skills he has now.
Even after realizing these things, He Kao didn’t feel unhappy; he thought, if he can help, he should, and helping others is like helping oneself. He Kao himself also needed the Pure Yang Pill.
As his cultivation increasingly approached Tier Four Perfection, Jade Phoenix Tree Seeds could still be useful for supplenting Primordial Qi, but their effect on aiding cultivation had diminished. The Pure Yang Pill is certainly a highly desirable item.
Especially for He Kao, the spiritual effect of the Pure Yang Pill combined with the wonders of Xue Guanghan had extraordinary benefits in terms of Yin-Yang Harmony, which were beyond what most people knew.
He Kao envisioned a great outco and proceeded diligently, spending the next two days gathering dicine.
In the depths of the Himalayas west of Mount Everest, there is a ti difference of more than two hours with Qi Yuan. So, when He Kao went there after work, the sun had not yet set.
When he "lit up" the map, he had been to that area before, avoiding the precipitous snow peaks and choosing routes that were relatively easier. Now, however, he only relied on teleportation, roaming near the snow line.
Unfolding his Divine Sense for detailed searching, He Kao could sustain the optimal duration for about one hour, conveniently catching the period before dusk, surprisingly receiving quite a harvest.
Golden Sun Dodder is a cluster plant; finding one usually ans there is a nest nearby. He Kao didn’t pick them all, only selecting those with the most suitable dicinal properties, gathering eight stalks on the first day and thirteen stalks on the second.
By the third day, Elder Li sent a ssage, stating that Golden Sun Dodder was temporarily sufficient and there was no need to take more. They should continue growing between heaven and earth, and not exploit all resources...
He Kao hadn’t exploited resources at all, but Elder Li revealed more important reasons. Golden Sun Dodder is indeed precious and rare, but turning it into a Pure Yang Pill is harder, requiring an Alchemy Master’s effort and combining many other Spirit dicines.
An Alchemy Master must first achieve the Sixth Realm in cultivation and then be proficient in alchemy techniques, which even Li Xiuyuan is still lacking; he may practice alchemy but hasn’t reached master level.
Within the Magic Sect, only three such high achievers are known: Grandmaster Qi Nansheng of the Alchemy Sect, Sect Leader i Guyu of the Alchemy Sect, and Sect Leader Wild Phoenix of the Observing Body Sect.
Among them, i Guyu specializes in swordsmanship; despite barely able to practice alchemy, her skill level is not very advanced, and currently she’s not in the condition to open a cauldron for alchemy. Wild Phoenix has been on a secret mission and hasn’t been seen, presumably without ti to do this task.
Hence, the most suitable candidate is Qi Nansheng, who has retired for secluded cultivation.
Actually, on the third day when Li Xiuyuan told He Kao not to gather more dicine, news had already spread within the Magic Sect: Grandmaster Qi Nansheng from the Alchemy Sect was commissioned by the Ancestral Hall to go into seclusion and create the Pure Yang Pill, and once the pill is complete, no one should disturb him.
This news had a significant impact, surpassing He Kao’s expectations. Within the Magic Sect, especially among the upper echelons, the attention derived far surpassed i Guyu’s developnts and the Ancestral Hall’s related secrecy orders.
Since the Pure Yang Pill benefits high-tier cultivators, and the Magic Sect hasn’t seen it refined in over a decade, stocks within the Ancestral Hall, Alchemy Sect, and Observing Body Sect are all zero.
This news was public among the Magic Sect’s upper ranks, but not detailed enough. Thus, many were inquiring about how many Spirit dicines the Ancestral Hall collected and how many pills Grandmaster Qi could produce, then calculating their chances to get one?
Many have even started building networks, visiting influential elders and friends with gifts, subtly probing or even directly asking about the Pure Yang Pill.
He Kao didn’t think about it much, because the Golden Sun Dodder was collected by him, and Elder Li promised that once the Pure Yang Pill was created, there would definitely be a share for him.
He Kao didn’t et Elder Li personally but only delivered the gathered Golden Sun Dodder to the designated location where soone would retrieve it... only later did he find out it had been taken to Qi Nansheng.
Qi Nansheng declared that during his secluded alchemy practice, absolutely no disturbance would be tolerated until the pill was complete. During this period, anyone seeking him would not only be blocked by guardians but regarded as enemies by the entire Magic Sect’s upper echelon.
With the Grandmaster of Alchemy Sect in secluded alchemy practice and the current Sect Leader far away at work in Qi Yuan, the Sect Ancestral Hall located within the Immortal Pot Grotto Heaven is manned by three stewards in rotation, each lasting two months.
From early December last year to early February this year was Wan Zhongle’s turn; from early February to early April, it beca another steward, Wu Chongshan’s; and after Wu Chongshan, Xing Rui should have taken over.
However, not long ago, with He Kao’s help, Elder Li used Dream-Entering Divine Techniques to discover that Alchemy Sect’s disciple Liu Haixiu leaked i Guyu’s arrival at Qi Yuan.
Liu Haixiu wasn’t qualified to know this matter; he claid that steward Xing Rui privately inford him. But after investigating this matter, Liu Haixiu went missing, suspected to have been silenced.
As a result, Xing Rui no longer served as an Alchemy Sect steward, succeeded by another Tier Five dicine Gatherer, Geng Yanxin.
Publicly, the Magic Sect claid Xing Rui resigned from steward duty to concentrate on cultivation in seclusion, but the true reason is she is being investigated by the Ancestral Hall and hasn’t cleared suspicion.
Thus, the one to rotate duty at Immortal Pot Grotto Heaven this ti beca the newly appointed steward Geng Yanxin.
Qian Guran had previously privately told He Kao that sothing significant might happen within the Magic Sect, likely in a month and a half. But as for why, Old Qian claid this was just his speculation, without evidence, and hence dared not speak carelessly.
According to the timing when Old Qian made this statent, one and a half months later, one of the events related to the Alchemy Sect includes the new steward Geng Yanxin replacing Xing Rui and assuming duty at Immortal Pot Grotto Heaven.
After learning about the related situation, He Kao also guessed what Qian Guran was speculating, but he too dared not speak carelessly, as such suspicion is a serious accusation without grounds.
Yet, seeing Elder Gu’s reaction suggests so preparedness and precaution.
Geng Yanxin entered Immortal Pot Grotto Heaven to hand over with Wu Chongshan on the morning of April 6, the last day of the Qingming mini-holiday.
But on the night before that, April 5, He Kao discreetly transported Elder Gu nearby Phoenix Tail Town, specifically to the Dragon Scale Slope in the mountains.
**
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