Chapter 139: Making a Fortune in Silence, the Tianhe Sword Record

At the banquet, Lin Qinhu had just sat down when he stood up again, cupped his hands, bowed, and replied in a low voice: "This Apprentice is ashamed and dares not accept any more rewards from Teacher."

"Heh."

True Person Jiao's hand, which had been stroking his long beard, paused slightly, and he sneered: "Is it shame, or is there resentment in your heart? Is it that you dare not, or that you are unwilling?"

"Apprentice..."

Lin Qinhu was startled and was about to explain, but he saw his Teacher wave a hand, and a jade bottle and a piece of yellow paper fell onto his table like a streak of light; it seemed these two items were the rewards.

Chen Ci was sitting close by and managed to catch a glimpse; the jade bottle likely contained a Spirit Pill, while the yellow paper was drawn with mountains, rivers, and marshes, looking somewhat like a map.

Lin Qinhu bowed three times, dared not say anything more, tucked the two items into his robes, and sat back down.

"The first place for progress in Daoist practice has already been taken by this child."

True Person Jiao's expression softened slightly, and he smiled at the Apprentices below: "Regarding Daoist arts, supernatural powers, and the various crafts of cultivation, is there anyone else who wishes to compete for first place?"

Chen Ci curled his lips; it was fortunate he had self-awareness and didn't bring out his Yellow Sprout Pills or Nourishing Life Pills to embarrass himself.

True Person Jiao also smiled, ignoring the chatter of these juniors. With a light flick, he drew a verdant medicine gourd and a small tripod-shaped pill vessel into his hand. He performed a hand seal and took a light sniff, his expression immediately showing understanding.

"Dragon Tiger Longevity Treasure Pill?"

"Thank you, Teacher Jiao!"

"Five Cart Nourishing Essence Pill, the pill potency is excellent, a mid-grade Spirit Pill. However, some pill Qi was lost during the condensation process; otherwise, the number of pills formed could have been higher."

The male cultivator surnamed Su had a slight change in expression, but he did not lose his composure and smiled lightly: "Junior Sister Wang is joking. Teacher only said to examine the various crafts of cultivation; as for the rest, there is nothing to mind or not mind."

However, the cultivators from the Longhu Mountain and Tianhe Daoist Temple factions sitting in the front were different. Hearing what True Person Jiao said, joy appeared on all their faces. A male cultivator from the Tianhe Daoist Temple immediately stood up and saluted: "Teacher, this Apprentice recently refined a furnace of Five Cart Nourishing Essence Pills. Twenty-four pills were formed, which can abstain from grain, nourish life, cleanse foul Qi, consolidate the foundation, nourish the essence, and advance True Qi. I ask Teacher to provide some critique."

Looking at it this way, such banquets indeed involved examining the cultivation of Apprentices; if one could show their face, they would naturally receive rewards from True Person Jiao.

"Senior Brother Su, this time I cannot let you take all the glory."

"Dragon Tiger Longevity Treasure Pill, the pill potency is mediocre. If taken for the first time, it can extend life by ten years. However, the heat was not properly controlled when harmonizing the medicinal properties; otherwise, it could have extended life by another five years."

A female cultivator in yellow also stood up and saluted, smiling gracefully: "Teacher, Teacher Jiao, this Apprentice also recently refined a Dragon Tiger Longevity Treasure Pill. However, this pill was refined together with my Junior Sisters, so I took some advantage. I wonder if Senior Brother Su minds?"

True Person Jiao did not directly judge which Spirit Pill was better, but smiled instead: "Yinghua, this Treasure Pill is of some use to me. I will trade you a piece of Geng Metal for it, is that acceptable?"

She held a verdant medicine gourd in her hand, which looked very pleasing; just hearing the name and efficacy of the pill, it was clearly not common goods like the Yellow Sprout Pill.

As for these swords, pills, and talismans, he didn't know if he, Chen Ci, would ever have a chance to stand out. A hint of agitation appeared on Chen Ci's face, but after looking up, he saw that not only Lin Qinhu but also the five cultivators from the Red Dragon Temple made no extra moves. Although he didn't know why, he followed suit, lowered his head slightly, and raised his cup to drink.

As for chess, wine, or tea, forget it.

The female cultivator surnamed Wang was also overjoyed; she received the fist-sized piece of red-gold treasure ore with both hands, her expression respectful.

A piece of Geng Metal of this size was enough to trade for three Dragon Tiger Longevity Treasure Pills. With the four of them splitting it, it was equivalent to each person getting a Treasure Pill; how could they not be happy?

True Person Jiao tossed the small green gourd back and stroked his long beard, then spoke calmly: "Although the world's pill methods revere the Eight Views Palace, for over a dozen kalpas, pill masters across the world have also been innovating and gaining their own insights. Take this method of condensing pills, for instance: one must look at the depth of the medicinal power of the main and auxiliary herbs, and also observe the changes in medicinal properties. What should be discarded must be discarded, what should be severed must be severed, and one must follow the pill's momentum to condense the pill..."

Blah, blah, blah—he was actually explaining the method of condensing pills within the pill arts.

For a time, all the cultivators in the venue wore solemn expressions. Whether they understood or not, at least their attitude had to be proper. Just like Lin Qinhu beside him, although his eyes were slightly closed, he had set down his wine cup and sat upright.

Chen Ci's expression also tightened. Although he understood a little of the pill condensation method this True Person Jiao was explaining, the details were slightly different from the Condensing Pill Incantation in the Small Heavens Qi Absorption Pill Method, yet they shared commonalities, giving him a sense of enlightenment.

Chen Ci's heart stirred, and he subconsciously tapped on his Gold Finger interface.

In the sub-entry for the Small Heavens Qi Absorption Pill Method, the display status of the Condensing Pill Incantation line slowly changed, from 3/100, it slowly turned into 4/100.

Condensing Pill Incantation: Entry Level/4/100 (Daily condensing of Spirit Pills, one in ten can progress)

It didn't end there; after about half a cup of tea's time, some changes occurred on it again.

Condensing Pill Incantation: Entry Level/5/100

Chen Ci: "!"

It could be played like this?

Was he actually a genius of the pill path, and the reason he hadn't shown his edge yet was just because he lacked an old medicine master or a famous teacher to guide him?

After a cup of tea's time, the progress of the Condensing Pill Incantation finally stopped at Entry Level/6/100, and True Person Jiao on the high seat stopped speaking; clearly, this explanation had come to an end.

The expression on Chen Ci's face was as melancholy as could be. In just this short while, it had saved him the cost of Spirit Materials for at least ten furnaces of Yellow Sprout Pills; calculating it, that was probably worth fifty or sixty Spirit Pearls.

I beg you, please explain a bit more!

Chen Ci felt quite resentful, but once he thought about how he had gotten it for free, the feeling of loss eased slightly. He didn't know if he would have another chance to mooch off such a public lecture in the future. Only today did he truly and clearly understand the benefits of having a good teacher on the path of cultivation.

True Person Jiao, do you see if I still have a chance?

"Thank you, Teacher, for the lecture!"

The male cultivator surnamed Su listened as if intoxicated. Although True Person Jiao was lecturing in public, he was actually speaking based on the deficiencies of that gourd of Five Cart Nourishing Essence Pills, so he was the one who benefited the most. Moreover, in the path of pill arts, apart from the Longhu Mountain Apprentices, the cultivators present were not deeply learned; those who could truly understand were likely few.

At least Chen Ci noticed that the group of He Mountain Sect cultivators were all sitting upright, but their eyes were squinted as if they were asleep, appearing to have gained nothing.

"In the path of the pill, externally one can nourish the body and dispel demons, and internally one can increase Daoist practice. Apart from natural talent, it also relies on diligence."

True Person Jiao sipped his wine and nodded slightly to signal. After the male cultivator surnamed Su bowed, he returned to his seat with an uncontrollable smile on his face.

After a long pause, as if waiting for the cultivators in the venue to digest the pill knowledge just shared, another male cultivator stood up and said respectfully: "Reporting to Teacher, this Apprentice has finally refined the sword light in recent days and made further progress in the practice of the Tianhe Sword Record. I would like to ask Teacher for some critique."

It was actually a half-acquaintance—the handsome cultivator with the green robes and eyebrows reaching into his temples who had asked a question earlier.

A flash of approval crossed True Person Jiao's eyes, and he nodded: "Very well, you may demonstrate your practice and let this Teacher see what progress you have made."

The handsome cultivator stood tall and smiled, cupping his hands in response: "Teacher, if it is just a demonstration, how can it show any progress? This Apprentice would like to spar with the fellow disciples present to verify what I have learned."

As soon as he finished speaking, the cultivator jumped onto the field, cupped his hands toward the He Mountain Sect cultivators sitting at the end, bowed, and smiled respectfully: "Senior Brothers, are you willing to join this younger brother in verifying our sword arts before Teacher?"

He paused and added: "Only discussing sword arts, stopping at the point of contact."

Chen Ci was still thinking about this so-called Tianhe Sword Record—was it a sword technique or a Dharma seal? —when he suddenly heard these words. He just silently lowered his head, pretending to be a transparent person.

If the sky falls, the tall ones will hold it up; it has nothing to do with him, nothing to do with him!

(End of chapter)