Chapter 549

“A letter from Senior Brother,” Lin Jue said to the junior sister tending the alchemical furnace, “he says he went down the mountain, took a walk, and took on four new disciples.”

“Four?”

The junior sister was slightly astonished.

“Yes, four—but still the same four,” Lin Jue said. “Cheng Qi, Ji Quan, Zhuang Jinwei, Yuan Zique.”

“Yuan Zique…”

While continuing her alchemy, the junior sister paused briefly and understood.

In the illusory realm foreseen by the Old Celestial, this descent of her senior brother was both a duty every abbot of Fuxiu Pavilion must fulfill and a chance to gather alchemical ingredients; he had originally brought back three disciples, and Yuan Zique, the last one, was an orphan he took in years later. Clearly, he judged that taking her in earlier would bring no negative effect—and might even help—so he found her ahead of time.

“Senior Brother’s letter also says the world is growing ever more peaceful,” Lin Jue added, addressing several disciples in the quiet chamber, “so it’s becoming harder to gather silver and gold by slaying demons and exorcising evils without resorting to fraud. See what clever schemes you’ll come up with from now on.”

“Mm hmm…”

“Hmm?”

Lin Jue’s expression changed: “Save some for me!”

“Master Buddha! We didn’t eat much!”

“Didn’t eat much? Your voices are already hoarse!” Lin Jue said. “With all that noise outside, you don’t even go check—just keep eating!”

“Master, don’t trick us…”

“Listen for yourselves.”

“…”

The mouths of the several disciples, which had been moving like rabbits’, suddenly stopped, falling silent.

Listening closely, they heard indeed a commotion outside.

“Go see what it is!”

“Yes…”

When they went out, they learned that their uncle-master had been refining pills here, causing a celestial anomaly: daylight bloomed with radiant auroras, drawing the people of the capital out in awe.

“Truly an omen…”

“Isn’t this a sign of a golden age?”

“It’s like something out of a book!”

Older people gathered before the courtyard, either peering over the walls to glimpse inside, or standing far off, kneeling in worship toward the courtyard.

This scene stunned Ziyun, Xu Yi, and Pumei—and left the more naive Xianzhu utterly awestruck.

Some looked up at the auroras in the sky; others looked down at the common folk below.

＿￠o

Xu Yi faintly heard an elder say:

“You young sprouts with green backsides wouldn’t know—this kind of sight, ah, appeared once over twenty years ago, and back then it was even more astonishing!”

Another elder replied:

“That was when Lin Zhen was at it, wasn’t it?”

“Yes…”

“Could this one be Lin Zhen too?”

The other three—two disciples and one rabbit—were lost in awe at their master’s celestial anomaly and the crowd’s veneration, but Xu Yi frowned:

“Trouble!”

If Master and Uncle had experienced this before—even a more terrifying celestial anomaly, back when the dynasty was collapsing and chaos reigned—why wouldn’t Master know what the noise outside meant? Why make us come out to check?

Tap-tap-tap! He rushed back inside!

As expected—

The several seafood gifts sent by the Emperor had been eaten clean.

Caili gnawed the last giant shrimp, the fox tore at the final octopus, Uncle clutched the pot and tilted his head back to drink the broth, while Master was already calmly wiping his mouth.

“Oh no!”

Xu Yi slapped his thigh.

…

The same morning and evening auroras, the same dragon roars and phoenix cries, had been interpreted differently in different eras.

In the dying days of the old dynasty, when the realm was in turmoil, people said Lin Zhen was refining pills using the imperial dragon’s qi. Now, with the new dynasty established, sweeping away the old regime’s rot, its armies victorious on the northern frontier, the Emperor redistributing wealth and purging corruption, and within just twenty years, signs of a great golden age emerging, this spectacle was naturally read as an auspicious omen—a sign of prosperity.

Xu Yi and the others followed their master’s or uncle’s instructions, watching intently in the quiet chamber, studying carefully.

The chamber alternated between cold and heat, its spiritual resonance ever-changing, wondrous and distinct.

A few months ago, the dragon and phoenix had clashed, their fates colliding with thunderous force, shaking the alchemical furnace as if it would explode, forcing them to retreat in alarm.

But once subdued by the alchemist’s merit, the dragon and phoenix ceased fighting, instead coiling and dancing in harmony, even slowly merging all the spiritual resonances within the furnace into one.

At the moment the pill was complete, the dragon’s roar echoed calmly, the phoenix’s cry rang high.

Faintly, a dragon and phoenix emerged from the furnace, rose from the courtyard’s tiled roof, soared into the sky, dancing together as they ascended.

All of them were startled, immediately sensing the spiritual resonance of the moment.

Outside, the commotion grew louder still.

Lin Jue was no longer in the quiet chamber.

Xu Yi and the others couldn’t help but step outside to check.

The courtyard was still guarded by soldiers; outside, loud noises came from the crowd—again, the people of the capital had come, kneeling beyond the walls, praying, perhaps seeking peace of mind.

But above, there were also figures.

Immortals had come out of curiosity, murmuring: “Wasn’t it this same Lin Zhen who refined his Golden Core here decades ago? Why is the commotion so much smaller now?”

“Decades? More like twenty or thirty years—or maybe just over ten?”

“Haha, friend, you’ve lost track of time!”

“Sigh…”

“Why do you sigh?”

“I sigh because similar celestial anomalies, similar spiritual subtleties—but less commotion now—mean another Golden Core formula has fallen to the mortal realm.”

“So that’s it! Makes sense, makes sense! Now I think of it, how many Golden Core formulas are still truly ‘heavenly’?”

“Most likely none…”

Another immortal called down:

“We haven’t heard of anyone achieving true enlightenment—should we go down and pay our respects?”

“Wait a bit longer…”

“There are too many mortals below…”

Most of these immortals were quite courteous.

Yet some Nine Heavens Celestial Officials arrived with heavenly soldiers and generals; the City God of the capital came too, accompanied by his civil and military attendants:

“Who is refining pills below? What’s causing such a commotion in the capital?”

“Huh? Did the Emperor permit this?”

“It’s that high cultivator from Fengshan, the one with pure Five Qi, who often descends to slay demons, punish evil, and uphold justice.”

“Ah, it’s her…”

“Wait—down there—that figure is…”

Following their gaze, a Daoist priest sat in the courtyard’s center with a fox, clad in wide-sleeved robes, the hem neatly spread on the ground like a blooming flower; the fox sat upright, expression solemn, as if stepping from an ancient mural.

No matter their purpose, the celestial officials, spirits, heavenly soldiers, and generals all halted upon seeing the Daoist.

After a while, the Nine Heavens spirits departed.

Only then did some immortals descend to greet.

Xu Yi and the others recognized several—they were immortals who occasionally visited Fengshan to pay respects to their master.

At that moment, they turned back—

Inside the quiet chamber, mist and auroras still swirled, golden light radiated, deep spiritual resonance poured forth—the Golden Core was complete, half mist, half jade, cradled in Uncle’s hands.

Uncle paused briefly, as if struck by insight.

Then without hesitation, utterly focused, he tilted his head back and swallowed the Golden Core.

The disciples and junior nephews immediately reentered the quiet chamber, guarding their master and uncle, leaving only the Daoist figure outside to receive the curious visitors and those come to pay respects.

In the blink of an eye, a day passed.

The mist and golden light in the quiet chamber had not faded.

The junior sister sat motionless within, eyes closed, meditating.

A moment later, several days passed.

The junior sister remained in the quiet chamber, deep in meditation.

Lin Jue sometimes stood beside her, sometimes strolled idly through the courtyard, calm and at ease.

This was different from when he himself had done it.

This was the tenth Five Elements Golden Core—no longer granting instant enlightenment—but the junior sister’s own cultivation was already high, her Dao profound, nearing true enlightenment; with this Golden Core absorbed, combined with her own meditation and insight, her cultivation and destiny would bring her to true enlightenment.

Slowly, the mist and golden light within the chamber dissipated, absorbed into her body.

Until a hundred days later—

Pumei and Ziyun were hanging laundry in the outer courtyard when they suddenly felt something was wrong. They looked up—suddenly, a five-colored auspicious cloud appeared in the sky. They turned back—and saw golden light radiating from behind them.

They exchanged glances, then sprinted toward the small courtyard.

The two exchanged a glance and immediately ran toward the small courtyard.

Just past the cave entrance, he stopped involuntarily and raised a hand to shield his eyes.

The golden light inside the quiet chamber was blinding!

After some time had passed, the golden light slowly dimmed.

Zi Yun saw only two masters inside the quiet chamber.

One stood calmly, inner radiance contained; the other sat motionless before the alchemical furnace.

“Huh…”

As she stood frozen, the standing master turned and blew a breath toward the one on the ground.

Whoosh!

The master on the ground instantly turned to countless specks of dust, swept away by the wind, vanished completely, none knew where they went.

The senior brother then smiled and offered his first congratulations:

“Congratulations, younger sister—you have transcended the mortal realm, attained true Dao, and henceforth shall live forever, free from illness and calamity, save for the trials of fate.”

Several disciples and junior cousins, seeing this, hurried forward to offer their congratulations.

But the junior sister’s expression remained calm; she only said to Lin Jue: “Now I can finally be of some help to my elder brother.”

“Hah!” Lin Jue laughed, not disputing, only bowed to her. “Younger sister, master of the Five Elements combat art—henceforth I rely on your protection!”

“I still lack sufficient mastery.”

The junior sister did not readily agree, but spoke thus.

These words showed she was truly serious.

The second immortal of Yishan Fuqiu Temple was born.