Chapter 322: The Departure Sect

The next day.

In the Great Toad Palace's main hall, the Great Toad Ancestor sat on his chair, raised a hand, and tossed out two items; the massive golden toad still lay lazily beside him, its tiny eyes occasionally glancing at the young man across from him.

Wang Yu seized the two items with one hand, examined them closely, and found they were a jade slip and a crimson token; then he heard the Great Toad Ancestor's faint voice:

"The jade slip contains the trial task demanded by the Sunset Sect—complete this designated task, and you may study the Crimson Sun Divine Art for free at the Sunset Sect. The other is a temporary True Disciple token of the Sunset Sect."

"Remember, you may stay at the Sunset Sect for only three years; once the time is up, you must return to this sect. Use this period to fully comprehend the Crimson Sun Divine Art, so you won't face trouble later."

"Also, Lieguang and I have some old ties—if you encounter problems the Sunset Sect cannot resolve, go to him."

"Thank you, Master. I shall depart in these next two days," Wang Yu replied respectfully, his heart lifting, and tucked the items into his storage pouch.

"Though I do not know the Crimson Sun Divine Art, I understand a little of the Vermilion Bird Scripture—it should be similar."

"Remember, fire-elemental Foundation Establishment cultivation techniques are far more ruthless than others, and extremely dangerous if your foundation is unstable or you rush for progress. First, solidify the first one or two layers thoroughly—otherwise, one misstep could lead to demonic deviation later."

"Moreover, when cultivating such a technique, it is best to find and assimilate a Celestial Flame, like your Li Huo Master Uncle did—with a Celestial Flame's aid, the technique's power surges and its backlash is suppressed, giving you even a slim chance to break through to Golden Core." The Great Toad Ancestor paused, then added two more warnings.

"Thank you, Master, for your guidance. I will certainly seek out a Celestial Flame—but do you have any leads?" Wang Yu blinked, then bowed deeply.

"Celestial Flames are priceless treasures—if I had any leads, I would have gone for them long ago. Why wait till now?" The Great Toad Ancestor replied irritably.

"I am foolish to have asked," Wang Yu said, offering a nervous laugh.

"Still, Celestial Flames always appear where spiritual fire energy is abundant. If you're serious, search such places—what follows is mere fate."

"Also, ordinary containers cannot hold Celestial Flames. I have here an old relic I acquired long ago—the Fire Crystal Vial—it can withstand the power of a Celestial Flame. I bestow it upon you." The Great Toad Ancestor paused again, then reached into his sleeve and pulled out a small, pale red vial already prepared, tossing it over.

"Thank you, Master, for this gift."

Wang Yu caught the vial, overjoyed, and bowed in thanks.

Whether or not he ever encountered a Celestial Flame, the Great Toad Ancestor's thorough consideration proved that, as a direct disciple, he was indeed valued.

"Enough. Go prepare. Depart within these days. The Sunset Sect's task has a deadline—finish it as soon as possible." The Great Toad Ancestor waved him off, then sat in silence, lost in thought.

"Do you truly believe Wang Yu has the potential to break through to Golden Core, and plan to nurture him heavily?" A frail voice suddenly emerged from within the giant toad.

"Break through to Golden Core? With his current talent, it's nearly impossible. But whether he has talent or not, since I took him in, he must aim for Golden Core—otherwise, I'd lose face."

"As for heavy nurturing, that depends on his future performance—but I won't withhold basic resources in the early stages." The Great Toad Ancestor replied calmly.

"Heh, I thought you favored this boy because of Mei's sake." The golden toad's eyes twitched slightly, then chuckled.

"Hmph. Mei's boldness is all your fault for spoiling her. I wonder, who is truly her grandfather—me or you? Otherwise, how could she dare defy my warnings and run from her wedding, forcing me to beg on my knees and give away several treasured artifacts just to calm the Thousand Bamboo Sect?"

"Tell me honestly—have you secretly been in contact with Mei?" The Great Toad Ancestor snapped.

"That's unfair! I've stayed by your side all these years—how could I possibly contact Mei? I don't even know if she's still in Great Ming City."

"If it were me, once I'd decided to leave, I'd put as much distance as possible between myself and the Four Symbols Sect." The golden toad's belly pulsed several times as it protested.

"I hope you speak truly. As long as Mei's soul tablet remains unharmed, staying away from the sect these past few years may even be beneficial—the demonic factions are increasing pressure, and their patience is wearing thin." The Great Toad Ancestor fell silent for a moment, then spoke more gently.

This time, the golden toad did not reply immediately. After a long silence, it let out a sigh.

"Nascent Soul…"

…

Several days later, a pale green wooden boat raced through the high skies.

Wang Yu sat cross-legged at the boat's center, intently flipping through a white-covered book; at each end of the boat, a spiritual beast lay curled up.

One was over ten feet long, its skin ink-green, neck raised, eagerly scanning its surroundings; the other was only seven or eight feet long, entirely white, faintly covered in nearly invisible white scales, curled into a ball and snoring soundly.

Wang Yu finally closed the white-covered book and shut his eyes, deeply contemplating its contents.

This book was the "Notes on Array Techniques" he had taken from the storage pouch of the Mo Luo Sect's "Cloud Senior Brother," whom he killed in the Jialan Secret Realm.

The notes recorded Cloud Senior Brother's foundational array knowledge, along with blueprints and crafting methods for three arrays: Iron Cloud, Azure Water, and Illusory Trail.

Over the years, he had fully mastered these three array blueprints through hyper-mode, thoroughly comprehended their principles, and combined them with the scattered array knowledge collected from the Scripture Library—though he was no true array apprentice, he was no longer the ignorant novice he once was.

His reason for retrieving this array notebook now was that, while simulating the crafting of second-rank artifacts in the Log Hall, he had thought of the Iron Cloud Brick—a special artifact that embeds array seals within its structure.

The Iron Cloud Brick was unusual: it possessed the offensive and defensive power of a normal artifact, yet also concealed the subtle transformations of array seals.

What if even stronger array seals were engraved into second-rank artifacts—would their power become even more astonishing?

He now possessed nine spiritual senses; in future battles, he would wield many artifacts.

Yet neither the Misan Seal gifted by the Great Toad Ancestor, nor the flying dagger he had already forged, nor the second-rank longsword he planned to craft, nor even the White Bone Yin Demon Flag he was preparing, were suitable as his True Artifact.

"True Artifact…"

Wang Yu tucked the white-covered book away, murmuring softly.