Chapter 1011: Challenging the Medicine Pavilion Again!
Dao of Alchemy Division. Medicine Pavilion.
As soon as Meng Hao set foot inside, he was once again on the seventh level.
Last time, he passed six levels in a row, achieving the highest marks possible at each level. He passed them perfectly. Notably, on the six level, each step he took caused lotuses to bloom, shocking the outside world and causing the Dao bell to toll.
Now he had returned, and in addition to his desire to earn some money, he was filled with determination, as well as dedication to the Dao of alchemy.
“This time, I’m definitely going to go through all nine levels!” Everyone in the Ninth Mountain and Sea knew that Meng Hao was an Immortal Realm Paragon, but few people were aware that that his skill in the Dao of alchemy had reached a point of perfection that could only be described by the saying, “the pill furnace flame turned blue.” 1
The last time he was on the seventh level, he had grafted 75,000 medicinal plants and yet, his mental focus had been insufficient. If he had persisted in continuing, he would have sustained mental injuries; the concentration required to pass that level perfectly required an incredible level of mental constitution.
Furthermore, at that time, Meng Hao’s skill with plants and vegetation had not reached a state of perfection. However, he was now much more skilled regarding the numerous variations of plants and vegetation in the Fang Clan. Furthermore, the difference between his current cultivation base and his former one was like the difference between Heaven and Earth. Meng Hao was now completely confident that he could pass all the way through the ninth floor!
Inside the Medicine Pavilion, mists swirled everywhere. The Classic of Plants and Vegetation appeared, glowing with boundless light. The first pages flipped over, and Meng Hao waved his finger, causing a single medicinal plant to appear. His eyes shone with the glow of augury, and in the blink of an eye, he began to produce new grafts.
Eventually, he began to merge the grafts together to produce entirely new medicinal plants.
Time passed.
This time, Meng Hao only used half a day to graft 75,000 medicinal plants, whereupon the mists churned, and rumbling sounds could be heard.
The rumbling could even be heard outside of the Medicine Pavilion, where a bright light shone from the entire pavilion, rising up into the air above the Dao of Alchemy Division. It was as if the light was building up pressure, waiting for Meng Hao to reach the pinnacle of the level, whereupon it would burst up into the sky. All of the alchemists in the Dao of Alchemy Division were paying rapt attention.
Fang Danyun was there on his mountain peak, looking over with an expression of anticipation.
Meng Hao’s eyes glittered as he extended his hand and continued to graft.
80,000. 83,000. 86,000…. Eight hours later, he had grafted 90,000 medicinal plants!
Massive rumbling sounds could be heard coming from the Medicine Pavilion. To date, no one had ever been able to graft as many plants as Meng Hao had in the seventh level. He was the first one to ever do so! Currently, his name appeared on the stone stele outside of the Medicine Pavilion, and the number of medicinal plants he had grafted was clearly visible to all of the other clan members, causing a huge commotion among them.
90,000. However, that wasn’t the end! The drain on Meng Hao’s mental faculties was barely even noticeable. His mental constitution had greatly increased compared to before. His eyes glittered, and he lifted both hands, multitasking as he used both hands to graft different medicinal plants!
Rumbling like that of thunder could be heard outside the Medicine Pavilion as the number of grafted plants next to Meng Hao’s name increased.
93,000. 96,000. 99,000…. All the way to… 100,000!
When the last grafted medicinal plant appeared, Meng Hao was surrounded by 100,000 swirling plants. They let out incredible light that spread out of the Medicine Pavilion, shooting up into the air in a brilliant beam.
The light instantly shot high up into the air above the Dao of Alchemy Division, causing everything to tremble. The entire Fang Clan was shaken, and all of the cultivators on Planet East Victory could see the light. Even the alchemists in the Medicine Immortal Sect were shocked.
As for Fang Yanxu, although he was in secluded meditation, he opened his eyes and looked over toward the Dao of Alchemy Division, clearly moved.
“He passed the seventh level perfectly….” he murmured lightly. “Well, the eighth level is so difficult it can’t even compare to the seventh. They’re completely different.”
Meanwhile, the Fang Clan’s Dao bell appeared in the air above the ancestral mansion. Immediately, its toll echoed out into the minds of all clan members with Fang Clan blood, deep and sonorous.
The toll of the Dao bell indicated that Meng Hao had passed the seventh level in exactly the same way that he had passed the sixth… perfectly!
Furthermore, it had only taken him one day!
Word rapidly spread that he had passed the seventh level perfectly, having grafted 100,000 medicinal plants. The members of the Fang Clan suddenly realized that their Crown Prince was not just a blazing sun in terms of cultivation, he was also a blazing sun when it came to skill in the Dao of alchemy!
Meng Hao had no way to hear or see the uproar in the outside world. Up ahead, light swirled throughout the seventh level, causing a staircase to appear, a staircase that led up to the eighth level!
Meng Hao took a deep breath. Eyes filled with determination, he stepped onto the stairs and began to climb up.
Immediately, all the light around him vanished, and Meng Hao found himself looking out at a huge desert. The sky stretched out limitlessly, and up ahead, he could see an azure-colored dragon. It lay there completely motionless, as if it were a corpse.
The dragon was so huge that one glance was not enough to take in the entire thing. Upon closer inspection, it could be seen that it was actually composed of countless medicinal plants that were apparently growing on the dragon’s body, using its flesh and blood as nourishment.
He was standing near the tail of the dragon, but even from there, he could sense the terrifying life force that existed inside of it. However, that life force was sealed, and was apparently being absorbed bit by bit by the numerous medicinal plants.
“This is the eighth level?” he thought. Almost at the same time, a cold, archaic voice spoke, echoing out through the entire eighth level.
“1,000,000 medicinal plants grow upon this Azure Dragon. Separate 100,000, and you can pass this level!”
Meng Hao’s eyes shone with bright light as he looked at the Azure Dragon. Gradually, a look of obsession appeared in his eyes.
“In the seventh level, you have to graft various medicinal plants. In the eighth level, you are faced with numerous grafted medicinal plants that you have to deconstruct!
“Return them into their original state, into the original medicinal plants. The level of difficulty here… is far, far greater than the seventh level!
“However, if I can pass this level perfectly, then my skill with plants and vegetation would reach an unprecedented level!
“I can’t even imagine a level of difficulty regarding knowledge of plants and vegetation that exceeds this eighth level.” Meng Hao’s heart surged with the determination to face this challenge head-on. He took a deep breath and stepped forward. As soon as his foot touched the ground, brilliant light flickered, and an illusory medicinal plant appeared in front of him, blocking his way.
He looked at it for a moment, then waved his finger, causing the medicinal plant to break apart into three distinct plants, after which it faded away.
Without even pausing, he continued forward. Every step he took caused more medicinal plants to appear. Each and every one took only a single glance before it was deconstructed.
10 steps. 100 steps. 1,000 steps. 10,000 steps….
Time passed. Meng Hao eventually took 30,000 steps, which indicated that he had deconstructed 30,000 medicinal plants. As he proceeded along, the Azure Dragon beneath his feet began to show indications that it was awakening.
From the look of it, if someone could deconstruct all 1,000,000 medicinal plants, then the dragon… would no longer be sealed, and would once again be able to fly through the Heavens.
Outside of the Medicine Pavilion, Meng Hao’s name appeared on the stone stele, among the relatively few other names that had reached the eighth level. Everyone looked on, wide-eyed, as his name quickly climbed up the list.
Booms emanated out from the Medicine Pavilion, filling the ears of all onlookers. When they heard it, it almost seemed as if the sounds could control the beating of their hearts, which caused the entire Dao of Alchemy Division to fall silent.
All eyes were completely fixed on the Medicine Pavilion.
Meng Hao proceeded forward along the Azure Dragon in the eighth level. 15,000 steps. 18,000 steps. 20,000 steps!
30,000. 40,000. 50,000….
He didn’t even pause a single time. Step after step, he deconstructed medicinal plants. Because of his skill with plants and vegetation, none of these medicinal plants were even qualified to cause him to spend time thinking.
RUUUUUUMMMMBLLLLE!
The sound filled the Dao of Alchemy Division, and gradually began to resemble the roar of a dragon. By this point, Meng Hao… had taken his 70,000th step!
Step by step, plant by plant. He continued onward as relentlessly as ever. 80,000. 90,000. 100,000!
By taking his 100,000th step, it indicated that he had separated 100,000 medicinal plants from the Azure Dragon, which was now beginning to glow with brilliant light, and even tremble slightly.
Meng Hao took a deep breath, and his eyes glittered brightly. Naturally, 100,000 was not his limit. If he had never come to this place, none of this would have mattered, but now that he was here… he wanted to reach the pinnacle!
A tremor ran through him, and he took another step forward. Slowly but surely, he continued onward. 100,000. 150,000. 200,000. 300,000. 400,000. 500,000!
The Azure Dragon’s trembling grew more intense, and the roars were now echoing out through all of Heaven and Earth.
The members of the Fang Clan outside the Medicine Pavilion were completely shaken as they watched Meng Hao’s name climbing up the stone stele. It had long since reached first place, but the thing that really caused the onlookers to be amazed were the numbers that stood next to his name.
Meng Hao’s eyes shone with a strange light as he continued on. 550,000. 600,000. 700,000. 800,000….
When he reached 800,000, his pace began to slow. However, at this point his energy surged even more explosively than before. He was now drawing on all of his mental constitution. His eyes glowed with a mad light of augury. The level of skill with plants and vegetation that was on display here was intense as he drew on everything to proceed onward.
830,000. 860,000. 890,000….
900,000!
The Azure Dragon roared; it was now ninety percent awake, and a shocking aura emanated out from the eighth level. It almost seemed to be pleading with Meng Hao to complete the final 100,000 deconstructions, so that it could be free to fly among the Heavens.
A tense silence reigned outside of the Medicine Pavilion as all eyes focused on the numbers on the stone stele. It was as if everyone was waiting for that number to reach 1,000,000!
Meng Hao suddenly looked up. The level of difficulty here was incredible, and his eyes were completely bloodshot. When it came to these final 100,000 medicinal plants, each one of them was made up of dozens and even hundreds of other medicinal plants.
He took a deep breath, and within him, his Immortal meridians exploded with power, fortifying his mental constitution. An intense Immortal will caused his Immortal qi to swirl, and his eyes glittered as if with starlight as he continued onward.
RUUUUUUMMMMBLLLLE!
91,000. 92,000. 93,000…. 97,000. 98,000. 99,000!!
Countless medicinal plants appeared in front of him, all of which he separated from the dragon. He lost track of time, and it almost seemed like the medicinal plants would never end. But then, all of a sudden, there were none. Meng Hao stopped in place.
1,000,000!!
When he finished the 1,000,000th medicinal plant, massive roaring filled the eighth level. The entire Medicine Pavilion emanated azure light as the illusory image of an azure dragon roared a shocking roar.
The members of the Fang Clan who were watching outside the Medicine Pavilion were thrown into tumult.
“1,000,000! The Crown Prince reached 1,000,000 on the eighth level!!”
“This is unheard-of! No one has ever done that in the history of the Dao of Alchemy Division!”
“The Crown Prince is a Chosen in cultivation and a blazing sun in the Dao of alchemy!!”
1. “The pill furnace flame turning blue” is a Chinese idiom based on the beliefs of ancient Chinese alchemists, who thought that when the flame of their pill furnace turned blue when concocting, it was a perfect success. It’s now an expression that means “to reach a point of perfection”