Chapter 47

On this day, Wei Yuan suddenly remembered that he had been at the Taichu Palace for a full year. If it weren't for the classes during the day, he would have been unable to tell whether he was a human or a jade toad; truthfully speaking, he spent most of his time inhaling and exhaling moonlight.

By now, it was late, the bright moon was rising, and there was a hint of chill in the evening breeze; the tall trees cast mottled shadows in the lonely courtyard. It was a night of beautiful, desolate atmosphere, but Wei Yuan felt like vomiting the moment he looked at the moon.

However, on the first anniversary of stepping onto the immortal path, he couldn't just spend it like usual, right?

Wei Yuan set up cups and plates on the stone table in the courtyard, poured clear water into a teacup, and placed a Breath-Drinking Pill in the center of a plate; this was the anniversary feast he had prepared for himself. Come to think of it, the last time he had eaten human food was at that banquet hosted by Bao Yun; since then, Wei Yuan had been eating plain rice, for a full year.

This year had been extremely arduous.

The pocket money given by True Person Fenhai had long been used up, and Wei Yuan still owed the Qisi Hall over two thousand taels. In addition, there were some expenses in his studies that couldn't be put on credit, so Wei Yuan had to borrow from the public account set up by Bao Yun; after a year of accumulation, he had borrowed several thousand taels. Calculating it all, Wei Yuan was over ten thousand taels in debt, which could be considered a small achievement.

This year had been particularly lonely.

Since meeting True Person Fenhai, Wei Yuan had only seen Zhang Sheng about ten times in total, adding up to less than half a day. Apart from classes, Wei Yuan spent almost all his time sitting on the giant rock, staring blankly at the full moon. Oh, for a jade toad, sitting and lying down were actually the same posture.

Inhaling and exhaling moonlight? Now Wei Yuan could inhale and exhale moonlight even while asleep.

This year, the pressure had been like a mountain.

Having reached this point, it didn't really matter whether he worked hard or not; after all, there were only twelve hours in a day, and it was impossible to conjure an extra hour out of thin air.

Recalling the events of the past year, it was just a single thought, and everything had been remembered.

Wei Yuan sighed softly, sat down by the table, raised his cup to toast Wei Youcai far away in Yongzhou, then toasted Zhang Sheng, drained it in one gulp, picked up the Breath-Drinking Pill, assumed a heroic and generous posture, and swallowed it.

"What are you doing?" Zhang Sheng's voice suddenly rang out from behind him.

Wei Yuan was shocked beyond measure; the Breath-Drinking Pill got stuck in his throat, neither going down nor coming up.

The moment Wei Yuan turned his head, he saw Zhang Sheng's expressionless face; his face instantly burned, and he felt a rush of hot blood surge to his head, wishing he could dig a hole and bury himself.

Zhang Sheng just watched Wei Yuan like that, watching until Wei Yuan's face turned from red to purple, and just as he was about to spit out a mouthful of old blood, he suddenly laughed.

Wei Yuan suddenly felt the ten-thousand-zhang mountain pressing on his heart fly away without a trace, and joy surged in his heart. He couldn't remember how long it had been since he last saw his teacher smile.

Zhang Sheng glanced at the teacup on the table and the neatly arranged empty bowls and plates, and Wei Yuan's face turned red again instantly.

There were two pairs of chopsticks on the table.

Zhang Sheng could no longer hold it in and burst into loud laughter, laughing until Wei Yuan wanted to bang his head against something and die.

Zhang Sheng laughed until his stomach hurt and he couldn't straighten his back, only then managing to stop his laughter, and said solemnly, "The Patriarch calculated the heavenly secrets and determined that your cultivation is complete today, so he specifically asked me to take you to the Tianqing Palace."

"Cultivation complete?!" Wei Yuan was overjoyed.

It had been a full year, and Wei Yuan had inhaled and exhaled moonlight until he almost forgot he was still a human. Although the shadow in the full moon was still the same as it was at the beginning, since the Patriarch said his cultivation was complete, it must be correct.

Zhang Sheng said "Patriarch" and not "Grandmaster"; the Patriarch in the Tianqing Palace could only refer to Fenhai Zhenjun Xuanyue.

Summoned by the Patriarch, he naturally couldn't delay; Zhang Sheng released his flying sword and carried Wei Yuan into the sky. It was just that he would laugh a few times every now and then, making the flying sword sway, sometimes high and sometimes low.

Every time Zhang Sheng laughed, Wei Yuan wanted to jump off the sword.

During the flight, Zhang Sheng suddenly said, "Today is your first anniversary of entering the palace; it can be considered a day worth commemorating."

Wei Yuan was startled, and suddenly his nose felt a bit sore; he hadn't expected Zhang Sheng to remember. Over the past year, he had only been able to see Zhang Sheng once a month, and he had almost thought his master didn't want him anymore.

This year, Wei Yuan had grown quite a bit taller, already surpassing Zhang Sheng's nose tip, and it was no longer convenient to pat his head. Zhang Sheng patted Wei Yuan's shoulder and said gently, "Silly child, the immortal path is long; the days ahead for us as master and disciple are still long."

Wei Yuan's nose felt sore again, and his eyes felt a bit dry.

The flying sword was like a drunkard, but it finally remembered the way and arrived at the main hall of the Tianqing Palace.

The main hall of the Tianqing Palace was eighty-eight zhang high, much more magnificent than the side hall where True Person Fenhai resided. Wei Yuan and Zhang Sheng stood in the main hall, and a gentle, resonant voice came from high above: "You are Wei Yuan? Manifest your visualization map and let me see."

Wei Yuan sat cross-legged; this technique was already carved into his bones, and even before he entered meditation, the visualization map appeared, and the jade toad impatiently took a huge gulp of moonlight!

At this moment, the visualization map not only appeared in Wei Yuan's sea of consciousness but also manifested in the center of the Tianqing Palace at the same scale.

A giant rock appeared in the center of the Tianqing Palace, and a terrifying jade toad nearly a hundred zhang long was coiled on the rock, its head already touching the palace ceiling, and the full moon was simply outside the palace ceiling!

The vast Tianqing main hall couldn't even contain a single visualization map?!

The main hall was silent.

Finally, Fenhai Zhenjun Xuanyue's voice rose again: "Wei Yuan, you have practiced the 'Jade Toad Gazing at the Moon Map' for three hundred and sixty-five days, but you must not expand it any further. I will pass you a technique that will allow you to enter body forging immediately; you should go to the side hall to cultivate first."

Wei Yuan stood up as instructed and went to the side hall to cultivate. He was not at all surprised by the visualization map in the main hall; after all, he had to contemplate the life of a toad every day, so there was really nothing to see.

After Wei Yuan left, six figures appeared in the main hall, True Person Fenhai among them. The several True Persons looked at the jade toad that stood between heaven and earth, all silent.

The main hall suddenly vanished, revealing the complete visualization map, and everyone seemed to be standing in the void. This was Fenhai Zhenjun Xuanyue using his divine ability to hide the main hall so that everyone could see the complete visualization map.

Fenhai Zhenjun Xuanyue asked, "Zhang Sheng, you are his master; did you know he had reached this stage?"

Zhang Sheng said, "Disciple is busy every day and only goes to give guidance once a month. At first, I felt the visualization map was a bit large, but I got used to it after seeing it more. Moreover, there were no errors or omissions in Wei Yuan's cultivation, so disciple did not interfere."

"Then what have you been busy with?" There was a hint of reproach in Fenhai Zhenjun Xuanyue's tone.

Zhang Sheng seemed to glance at True Person Fenhai inadvertently, but said, "Nothing much."

Fenhai Zhenjun Xuanyue did not pursue the matter, but said, "Although the destiny from beyond the heavens still remains, Wei Yuan has been absorbing it for three hundred and sixty-five days; as the saying goes, too much is as bad as too little, so he must not take any more."

In the huge full moon, that shadow appeared exceptionally clear; those with shallow cultivation couldn't feel anything, but the True Persons present all felt vaguely uneasy.

One True Person said, "The destiny from beyond the heavens is, after all, different from the destiny of our world; Wei Yuan converting it into his own foundation, isn't that tantamount to theft?"

Fenhai Zhenjun Xuanyue said, "This is precisely what I am worried about, which is why I will personally take action to seal the destiny channel."

Another True Person suddenly said, "Absorbed for three hundred and sixty-five days and still no change, this... isn't this destiny from beyond the heavens almost the same as the great destiny of heaven and earth?"

The remaining True Persons finally understood this point and all gasped.

A thin stream of moonlight fell from the sky; this was Fenhai Zhenjun Xuanyue's signature Dao technique. The moonlight fell on the full moon of the visualization map, and the shadow in the moon became blurred, gradually dissipating.

As the shadow in the moon dissipated, all the True Persons inexplicably felt relieved, as if they had moved away from a fatal danger. However, just at this moment, the shadow suddenly expanded rapidly, overflowing directly from the full moon, and then a bird head with three eyes emerged from the shadow!

The moment it appeared, it scanned the main hall and finally fixed its gaze on Zhang Sheng.

(End of chapter)