Chapter 46

In immortal cultivation, there is no concept of days or months. As Little Wei Yuan spent his days inhaling and exhaling the moonlight, he finally saw Zhang Sheng again.

Half a month had passed since their last meeting.

Little Wei Yuan had initially been very excited, but upon seeing the coldness and impatience on Zhang Sheng's face, he knew his master's anger had not yet subsided. Yet, what kind of anger could last for an entire month?

Little Wei Yuan dared not ask; he could only stand honestly, waiting for Zhang Sheng to examine his studies and cultivation progress. At this point, Little Wei Yuan had been expanding his visualization map for over fifty days, already exceeding the longest record in history, but the shadow in the full moon had not only failed to be exhausted, it hadn't even moved.

When it came to cultivation progress, Little Wei Yuan felt a bit guilty. After all, it had taken him over fifty days to expand the visualization map to eight zhang. While the size was barely passable, his daily progress was truly not fast, and the visualization map showed no signs of any anomalies. The red line on the jade toad's back had simply vanished after being washed by the Senior Martial Sister.

Generally speaking, there was only one explanation for this situation: Little Wei Yuan's comprehension was lacking. It couldn't be that the jade toad was a fake and would fade when washed, right?

Hearing that Little Wei Yuan was still expanding the visualization map, Zhang Sheng was not surprised; he simply told him to manifest the visualization map for him to see.

Little Wei Yuan followed his instructions and channeled his power, and the Jade Toad Gazing at the Moon appeared in his sea of consciousness once more.

At this moment, apart from being relatively large, the visualization map could be described as utterly useless: the ground was barren, the giant rock lacked any luster, the jade toad's skin was pale, and only the shadow in the full moon was somewhat special.

Those who could cultivate the Jade Toad Gazing at the Moon map were all people of great destiny, and this destiny was primarily manifested in the full moon. The various anomalies manifested by great destiny were naturally extraordinary; for instance, the visualization maps left behind in the collected insights of past disciples were all remarkable, featuring everything from dragons and phoenixes to auspicious beasts, and beyond that, there were things like the Heaven-Sacrificing Tripod, ten-thousand-zhang green peaks, and immortal palaces with layered towers—each one terrifying to behold. However, wasn't what those who left their visualization maps in books wanted simply the admiration of future generations?

The full moon in Bao Yun's visualization map was filled with gods and demons, which also qualified her to leave her map in the disciples' insights, and it was ranked quite high.

In comparison, the shadow in Little Wei Yuan's map was truly somewhat pathetic. It not only looked pathetic, but its actual effect was also mediocre; the foundation it converted was extremely flimsy, and even after being refined by Ji Liuli, it could only be called passable.

After looking at the visualization map, Zhang Sheng made no comment and continued to ask about Little Wei Yuan's history and art theory.

History was Little Wei Yuan's strength, so he answered fluently. Art theory was mostly miscellaneous learning, and at this moment, with Little Wei Yuan's foundation not yet set, he spent almost all his time inhaling and exhaling moonlight; where would he find the time to study art theory?

Just as he was being examined on his studies, someone suddenly knocked on the courtyard gate, and a Daoist serving as a handyman entered. He simply delivered an envelope and turned to leave, without saying a single word.

Written on the envelope was "To be opened personally by Zhang Sheng."

Zhang Sheng gave a huff; someone must have known he was here and sent it specifically. He couldn't be bothered to guess who it was, so he took the envelope, tore it open, and pulled out a sheet of paper. But after just one glance, Zhang Sheng's brow twitched slightly.

Little Wei Yuan wanted to see what was written on the paper, but Zhang Sheng turned in a different direction, not giving Little Wei Yuan any chance to see the contents of the letter. Little Wei Yuan had sharp eyes and vaguely caught a glimpse of a long number, which seemed to be about immortal silver, counted in the tens of thousands of taels.

After reading the letter, the two pages turned into fireballs in Zhang Sheng's hands and vanished.

He looked at Little Wei Yuan and asked, "Has Ji Liuli been refining your foundation the whole time?"

"Yes, she said it would take three months of refining in total."

For some reason, Little Wei Yuan always felt that when Zhang Sheng heard "three months," there was a faint sense of relief.

Zhang Sheng took out a jade bottle, placed it on the table, and said, "This is Foundation-Nurturing Pill; it can greatly replenish vital energy and accelerate cultivation speed. Take one every three days; this is a month's supply."

"Many thanks, Teacher!" Little Wei Yuan bowed in gratitude, though the pressure in his heart increased by another notch.

In the Taichu Palace, pills were an important and indispensable part of cultivation. In terms of alchemy, the Taichu Palace was supreme throughout the entire immortal cultivation world, and many types of pills produced by the Creation Temple were known for their mild medicinal properties and remarkable effects. For instance, this Foundation-Nurturing Pill could significantly accelerate the progress of the Body Forging Realm, especially tendon and muscle forging; one pill was equivalent to ten days of cultivation. This pill's medicinal properties were extremely mild, and it could almost be eaten without limit; it was known as the holy medicine for body forging.

Everyone needed such divine medicine, so the price was not cheap—one hundred and twenty taels of immortal silver per pill, and the price never dropped. Therefore, only the core descendants of high-ranking and noble families could afford to eat it like a meal.

Little Wei Yuan's monthly allowance for a year was only enough to buy one Foundation-Nurturing Pill, so he hadn't even thought about it before. Now, although Zhang Sheng looked at Little Wei Yuan with utter disdain, this bottle of Foundation-Nurturing Pills revealed his true intentions.

After putting down the pills, Zhang Sheng said, "I will come again next month."

"Disciple has one more matter." Little Wei Yuan hurriedly stopped Zhang Sheng and asked the question that had been puzzling him: "The time I've spent expanding the visualization map has already exceeded the record in history; what should I do now?"

"As long as the shadow in the moon remains, continue to cultivate; don't consider anything else."

Having received Zhang Sheng's words, Little Wei Yuan finally felt at ease. Before he could even offer a respectful send-off, Zhang Sheng had already soared into the sky and vanished in an instant; it seemed he couldn't even be bothered to say another word to him.

After Zhang Sheng left, Little Wei Yuan immediately began to cultivate. His progress was already much slower than others, so he naturally had to seize every second. Now that he had the pills, he dared not delay even more. Every Foundation-Nurturing Pill was a giant rock pressing on his heart.

After taking the Foundation-Nurturing Pill, this cultivation session of the visualization map indeed showed a clear change, as a light drizzle began to fall. This rain could not compare to the Pagoda Sea-Stabilizing Pill, but it caused Little Wei Yuan's speed of inhaling and exhaling moonlight to surge, more than ten times faster than before.

Little Wei Yuan discovered that as the jade toad and the full moon grew larger, the speed of inhaling and exhaling moonlight also accelerated.

For the next month, Little Wei Yuan inhaled and exhaled moonlight, and at the end of the month, Zhang Sheng arrived on time, bringing a bottle of new Foundation-Nurturing Pills.

Seeing the second bottle of Foundation-Nurturing Pills, Little Wei Yuan felt a bit puzzled. According to the Taichu Palace's customs, a Dao Foundation disciple's monthly allowance was only one hundred taels, and a True Person's was one thousand taels. One bottle of Foundation-Nurturing Pills was already worth Zhang Sheng's entire year's allowance. According to Taichu Palace customs, genius disciples like Zhang Sheng would have their allowances increased above the standard, but no matter how high, it couldn't exceed that of a Dharma Form True Person. At the rate of one bottle of Foundation-Nurturing Pills per month, Zhang Sheng would sooner or later be eaten into bankruptcy by Little Wei Yuan.

As soon as Zhang Sheng arrived, the handyman Daoist appeared on time, delivering an envelope identical to the one from the previous month. After Zhang Sheng read it, he burned it as usual, then glanced at Little Wei Yuan's visualization map before leaving, not even examining his studies.

Little Wei Yuan vaguely felt that Zhang Sheng was extremely irritable, only suppressing it and not letting it erupt; after reading the letter, this was even more so, to the point where sword Qi was almost leaking out. But Zhang Sheng valued his face the most; asking about things he didn't want to say was just courting death. Having followed him for a long time, Little Wei Yuan naturally wouldn't touch this bad luck.

In the fourth month, Little Wei Yuan inhaled and exhaled moonlight while worrying about the progress of the visualization map and Zhang Sheng's wallet, all while eating the Foundation-Nurturing Pills.

In the fifth month, Little Wei Yuan inhaled and exhaled moonlight, forgetting both himself and the world.

In the sixth month, the jade toad inhaled and exhaled moonlight.

In the seventh month, he contemplated the life of a toad.

In the eighth month, the life of a toad was not worth it.

This month, Zhang Sheng didn't open the letter; he tore it up directly.

In the ninth month, the students in the centralized teaching somehow came into conflict with the Zhigu Sect disciples. Bao Yun and Cui Yu declared themselves leaders of the Dingxin Sect, took their classmates to settle the score, and unsurprisingly, a fight broke out. Little Wei Yuan naturally couldn't be absent from such things, but everyone else had started body forging, while only Little Wei Yuan was still expanding his visualization map, so he ended up beaten black and blue.

……

In the twelfth month, the jade toad gave up on thinking.

……

(End of chapter)