Originally, as an immortal, Xu Wangu should have been impossible to divine or investigate. However, his current immortal state was extremely unstable, and aided by an immortal treasure, Feng Chutang had successfully unraveled the karmic ties.
Once this layer of karma was clarified, Wei Yuan put his mind at ease. At least during the most critical period of the war, Xu Wangu would never dare destroy Qingming; he could only scheme to take over and seize control. Otherwise, if Wei Yuan hardened his heart and sent all the Xu family maidens directly onto the battlefield, Xu Wangu would be left to suffer the disastrous fallout.
As long as Xu Wangu did not step onto the field himself, Wei Yuan did not care whether the Xu family had a few more or a few less Scenery Command experts. There were plenty of Scenery Command cultivators standing behind Qingming right now as well. At the very least, several grand national masters would not sit idly by.
Wei Yuan had previously noticed the name Xu Lanshan while investigating key figures of the Xu family, but he had assumed she was at most another Qiuniu. Only now, as he carefully read Xu Jingfeng's secret dispatch, did he realize things were not so simple.
Xu Lanshan's innate talent clearly surpassed Qiuniu's and might even approach the level of Ji Liuli and Feng Chutang. Having wandered for a century, she had now returned at full fruition, bound to soar into the heavens. According to the dispatch, the Xu family had already prepared an advancement grand ceremony, inviting cultivators across the world to witness it.
At the ceremony, Xu Lanshan would break through to Scenery Command. The attending guests would have the rare chance to witness the heavenly tribulation firsthand, an invaluable benefit for their own future breakthroughs to Scenery Command. Afterward, Xu Lanshan would hold an altar sermon, expounding on her cultivation insights.
Such grand ceremonies were celebrated events in the cultivation world. Only supreme geniuses who possessed absolute certainty in breaking through would ever dare host one.
That the Xu family dared hold an advancement ceremony for Xu Lanshan demonstrated their immense faith in her, as well as their intention to awe all four corners of the realm.
Had that been all, it would not have mattered. Talents across the realm were as numerous as carp crossing a river, and Wei Yuan did not consider himself inferior to anyone, so there was no need to single her out.
However, the very first thing Xu Lanshan did upon returning was take charge of the Xu family's workshop industries and begin organizing the Xu family's own fire gun New Army.
Wei Yuan frowned at this. Could this woman actually train troops and command an army? If so, she could not be left unchecked. Grabbing the secret dispatch, Wei Yuan set off to find Feng Chutang.
Feng Chutang's current quarters were sealed airtight, with windows and doors shut fast. A brazier burned inside, and the air was thick with the rich vitality of the wood element. Because his health was exceedingly poor, Wei Yuan had specially channeled a portion of Jianmu Life-Mystic power for him to recuperate.
A small red clay stove sat in a corner of the room, boiling a pot of medicinal soup. A medicine bowl rested on the table before Feng Chutang, half full of broth that gave off a pungent herbal vapor.
After reading the dispatch thoroughly, Feng Chutang remarked, "I've heard of her. This Xu Lanshan was quite famous in her early years. Once she formed her dharma idol, she traveled alone to the Sword Palace to test her sword, only narrowly losing to the foremost young disciple of the Sword Palace at the time. Now that her cultivation is complete, she finally dares return to the Xu family."
"One can go to the Sword Palace to test their sword?"
Feng Chutang nodded. "The Sword Palace is open to all young talents under heaven. Anyone may go to challenge disciples of the same realm to temper themselves. Many youths from smaller sects see it as a shortcut to fame. But our Palace of Grand Beginning ranks higher than the Sword Palace, so we generally don't go."
Wei Yuan understood. Challenging the Sword Palace at their gates was, in a sense, placing oneself beneath them. Other sects could afford to do so, but as the foremost immortal sect under heaven, the Palace of Grand Beginning could not visit lightly—unless one could sweep through all peers of the same rank.
At the thought of sweeping through peers of the same rank, Wei Yuan's heart of invincibility flared with eager anticipation. But the moment he remembered Su Xuejing, his dao heart settled back down, turning tranquil and unruffled once more.
Feng Chutang said, "Back then, the Xu family produced many insolent young geniuses, yet all of them perished under mysterious circumstances. Rumors spread that Xu Wangu was secretly using the bloodlines of these young descendants to refine pills to prolong his own lifespan. Xu Lanshan likely left to avoid calamity. It was called wandering, but in truth, she was fleeing the Xu family."
Setting down the dispatch, he asked, "You're paying so much attention to her—what are your thoughts?"
Wei Yuan said, "Her advancement grand ceremony is set for three months from now. I have a premonition that she might become a troublesome foe in the future, so I want to attend the ceremony and observe her heavenly tribulation up close. Watching the tribulation will reveal some secrets of her mindscape world, ensuring I won't be caught unprepared if we clash down the line."
Feng Chutang gave Wei Yuan a searching look. "Is that truly what you're thinking?"
Puzzled, Wei Yuan replied, "Indeed. Why do you ask?"
"Nothing. Knowing oneself and one's enemy is a good thing. I'll make the arrangements for you. Just focus on your own affairs; there will be a seat for you at the ceremony."
"Thank you, Martial Uncle."
Once Wei Yuan left, Feng Chutang shook his head with a wry smile. "Spending this short time around that fellow, I've committed enough wicked deeds to last several lifetimes. If this keeps up, I fear I'll perish halfway along the path. No, I must find that fellow Xu Henshui and squeeze some life-saving pills out of him. Ah, how shameful!"
That final exclamation of shame was entirely heartfelt. Among the three top geniuses of this generation, he was the only one who had never bullied the fourth genius, Xu Henshui. Ever since the other two began cultivating their momentum of invincibility, they had practically beaten him every single day. A stepping stone of such fine quality was truly hard to come by.
Today, Feng Chutang was about to break his own rule.
Meanwhile, Xu Henshui lay sound asleep in bed. His Primordial Soul was kneeling before the statue of a maiden goddess, praying devoutly: "Disciple has gathered enough merit and beseeches the Immortal Venerable to grant another chance to comprehend the ancient immortal prescription."
A five-colored beam of light shot down from the forehead of the maiden statue, condensing before Xu Henshui into an exceedingly profound ancient prescription. This formula was distinctly more wondrous than the longevity-extending immortal prescription he had previously studied, likely higher by more than a single grade.
The prescription called for seven main ingredients and thirty-six auxiliary herbs, governed above all by a heart medicine that unified the whole. When Xu Henshui had first laid eyes upon it, he was filled with equal parts shock and delight, hardly daring to believe his eyes.
The concept of a heart medicine appeared only in ancient legends; within the Monastery of Creation, only a single fragmented ancient formula made any mention of it. As the name implied, the heart medicine was the core of an immortal pill, commanding every main and auxiliary herb—an esoteric secret of Primordial Alchemy never passed down lightly.
In the Primordial Era, humanity comprehended pill formulas directly from the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth. Those prescriptions were less like medicines and more like reflections of the fundamental Dao itself.
Thus, the moment Xu Henshui saw that this formula contained a heart medicine, he was shaken beyond measure, vaguely seeing the path of his immortal journey laid out before him.
Yet his natural aptitude was clumsy. To this day, he had only barely comprehended the pharmacology of one auxiliary herb and found its real-world counterpart. Today, however, Xu Henshui felt his spiritual clarity vibrant and his karmic luck high, sensing an opportunity for sudden enlightenment. With eyes blazing, he stared intently at the auxiliary herb, pondering it with undivided devotion.
Just then, one of the auxiliary herbs suddenly brightened a fraction, faintly revealing the shape of a section of azure wood. Xu Henshui's spirits lifted, and he focused his entire mind on contemplating it.
Within the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World, Maiden Yin-Yang gathered five parts Jianmu qi, four parts sea grass qi, and one part tea qi from the Bingli Divine Wood. Blending them evenly together, she tossed the mixture into that auxiliary herb.
As for what Xu Henshui could comprehend from it, that depended entirely on his own wits and ability.
Chapter 561