Nine Star Hegemon Body Art c1-2048
Page 709
Luo Fan trembled. He wasn’t afraid of the Xuan Master, but he was afraid of the strict Tower Department Head.
He was an exceptionally strict person. Once, he had even roared at the Xuan Master in front of everyone.
Luo Fan dared to interrupt the Xuan Master’s words because he was used to it. The Xuan Master’s temper was very good and he rarely got angry. But if the Tower Department Head was infuriated, no one would be able to bear it.
“Disciple knows his wrong!” Luo Fan hastily bowed.
“Tower Department Head, don’t be so serious. It’s just a minor matter. What’s the point of being so angry and putting people on the spot?” The Xuan Master smiled.
“Rules are rules, and people can’t step out of line. Without rules, how are things supposed to be kept on track? As the Xuan Master, you indulge them, while they…” The Tower Department Head immediately started to criticize the Xuan Master.
Seeing the Tower Department Head’s strict appearance, Long Chen couldn’t help but think of Qing Yu. The two of them were both inflexible, serious people. But Qing Yu was beautiful, and being scolded by her allowed one to appreciate her beauty. If her beautiful face was replaced with the Tower Department Head’s, he would have a psychotic break.
“What, do you have some opinion?” Just as Long Chen was laughing inside, the Tower Department Head’s icy gaze landed on him. It was like a pair of sharp blades were pointing at him, and he felt like all his thoughts were seen through.
“Cough, disciple doesn’t dare,” said Long Chen.
“Doesn’t dare? Is there anything you don’t dare to do? And by saying you don’t dare, does that mean you disagree but won’t say?” demanded the Tower Department Head. He clearly was intent on teaching Long Chen a lesson to avoid him being insufferably arrogant in the future.
“Cough, I think we should get back to the main topic. Luo Fan, what did you want to say just now?” The Xuan Master hastily changed the subject upon seeing this. He truly understood the two of them well.
One was completely inflexible, while one was incredibly daring. Once they started fighting, it would be troublesome.
Hearing this, Luo Fan looked at Liu Cang with intense envy and fury. “Disciple is simply unconvinced. Amongst Hall Masters, Liu Cang’s seniority is only middling. Why did the Life Star Bead not go to the one with the greatest experience, Pavilion Master Zhao? And when it comes to contributions, I’ve worked for the Law Enforcement Hall for so many years. How many things have I done for the Xuantian Dao Sect? Not only do I handle my direct duties, but I’ve even raised disciples that have been the strongest of their generation consecutively. That means the Law Enforcement Hall’s contributions have been greater than the Elder Hall’s.
“When you told us that you would quickly use the Life Star Bead after beating Ma Xingkong in his gamble, we all thought you would bestow it based on merit to the best person. All of us were waiting with anticipation, but you… you privately gave the Life Star Bead to Liu Cang. Aren’t you worried about the hearts of the other disciples? I’d like the Tower Department Head to judge the right and wrong,” cried Luo Fan.
“Disciple agrees. Please give us an explanation.” The Alchemy Pavilion Master also spoke, standing on the same battle line as Luo Fan.
Everyone was silent for a moment. The Law Enforcement Hall Master and Alchemy Pavilion Master were expressing their displeasure with the Xuan Master’s actions.
Long Chen’s eyes darted back and forth. He looked at the Xuan Master, and then the furious Luo Fan and Alchemy Pavilion Master. He basically knew what was happening.
“Xuan Master, what do you say?” The Tower Department Head did not know about this matter.
“This matter was not done by me, but by Long Chen.” The Xuan Master shrugged.
“What?!” Everyone was startled. Such a huge matter had been done by Long Chen? How had Long Chen been the decision-maker here?
“This time, the Heaven Suppressing Magic Sect came in order to suppress the Dao Sect’s drive, and it was Long Chen who reversed the tide, winning back all the chips we had lost in previous years. Furthermore, he had me increase the wager during the battle, which is the only reason it was possible to bait Ma Xingkong to bring out his Life Star Bead.
“If it hadn’t been for Long Chen, let alone winning a Life Star Bead or getting our chips back, we would have lost even more resources, and even been humiliated. That’s why I gave the Life Star Bead to Long Chen as a reward. Tower Department Head, you don’t have any objection to this, right?” said the Xuan Master.
“Of course. Rewards and punishments must be clear. Long Chen won an honor for the Xuantian Dao Sect, so of course he must be rewarded,” said the Tower Department Head.
“Long Chen, when I gave it to you, what did you say?” asked the Xuan Master.
For such a simple play, if Long Chen couldn’t understand, he really would be an idiot. He respectfully said, “I said this Life Star Bead was too precious, and it would be a waste to use it on me. So I asked for this reward to be given to the Elder Hall Master as thanks for his patronage.”
“Did you hear that? This Life Star Bead was something I rewarded Long Chen, and who he gives it to has nothing to do with me. Now do you understand?” The Xuan Master looked at Luo Fan and the Alchemy Pavilion Master.
The two of them immediately turned purple. What was Long Chen’s could be given to whoever he wanted. But he definitely wouldn’t give it to them.
Now, all the Elders were looking at them oddly. They had an urge to bury their heads beneath their legs, as this was too embarrassing. They had actually gone so far as to question the Xuan Master and put on such an expression of righteous indignation. Now they had once more been slapped in the face, very resoundingly, and with their own hands at that.
Their embarrassment had maxed out. At the same time, their hatred for Long Chen also reached a peak.
Everyone went their own way in this awkward atmosphere. Long Chen knew that this had all been arranged by the Xuan Master. It was just that he didn’t know what the Xuan Master was hoping to accomplish from this.
Three days after Long Chen returned to Crouching Dragon Mountain, an explosion suddenly rocked the Xuantian Dao Sect, and countless alarm bells began to ring.
Chapter 1134 The Alchemy Pavilion’s Explosion
The Xuantian Dao Sect’s grand formation was activated, surrounding the entire sect. Countless disciples looked around in panic, not knowing what was happening.
“Everyone, don’t panic! Something happened in the Alchemy Pavilion! Don’t make any random movements.” The shouts of Hall Masters rang out over the crowd.
The Alchemy Pavilion was situated on a huge mountain hundreds of miles wide. The many grand buildings that had dotted the landscape were gone, replaced by a large hole.
The other disciples were ordered not to move, but Long Chen was not one of them. He rushed over to get a better look. Seeing the destroyed Alchemy Pavilion, his eyes were cold.
The Xuan Master, Tower Department Head, and Liu Cang also arrived. All the higher-ups were present. The Xuan Master’s normally indifferent and leisurely expression was now frighteningly dark.
“Zhao Changting, tell me, what happened?” The Xuan Master stared coldly at the Alchemy Pavilion Master. Even killing intent had started to leak out of him.
The Alchemy Pavilion was the Xuantian Dao Sect’s foundation. There were hundreds of alchemists inside and over a thousand disciples. This terrifying explosion had killed at least half the alchemists, and the majority of the rest were heavily injured. The Healing Hall was currently rescuing them.
“It was disciple’s negligence. There were two disciples who took out Earth Flame seeds, and as a result, I don’t know what happened, but those two Earth Flame seeds suddenly began to rebel. They exploded, and that caused the other Earth Flame seeds to explode with them…” said the Alchemy Pavilion Master with alarm.
Long Chen had run over to the core region, and the aura of Ear
th Flames was still present. He cursed inside. Instead of giving them to him, they had been wasted like this.
The power of an Earth Flame seed’s explosion was extremely terrifying, especially when it exploded underground. Furthermore, there had been multiple Earth Flame seeds exploding. There was no need to doubt how much destructive power such an explosion possessed,
Long Chen picked up a piece of a broken bottle. This was clearly an item used to store an Earth Flame seed. The aura of the Earth Flame it had once contained was still present.
Earth Flame seeds couldn’t be stored with metal instruments. That would cause it to feel an innate hostility, and it would instinctively attack the metal. Not only would that destroy the instrument, but the Earth Flame would also escape. And even if that didn’t happen, it would exhaust the Earth Flame seed’s energy until it dissipated.
That was why Earth Flame seeds were stored in special bottles with formations present. That was the only way to keep them obedient. It would be like they were sleeping inside.
Although it was just a bottle, it wasn’t like a normal bottle. It was just the opposite. The cultivation world’s bottles were made of material stronger than steel, making them extremely sturdy.
Picking up a fist-sized piece, he sniffed it. The Alchemy Pavilion Master was infuriated to see Long Chen’s actions, but he was also a bit panicked.
“You really are vicious. You actually applied Everlasting Frostheart Powder to the bottle. It corroded the bottle and spread a layer of ice energy imperceptible to the naked eye. When an alchemist touches it, the ice energy will provoke their Pill Flame, causing the bottle to instantly shatter. Thereafter, the ice energy on the bottle will attack the Earth Flame seed inside. An unintelligent Earth Flame seed will then naturally explode, and that will cause the others to explode as well. Tell me Pavilion Master, were the disciples you sent to take out the Earth Flame seeds your most outstanding disciples?” Long Chen sighed.
The Alchemy Pavilion Master raged, “Long Chen, don’t slander others or make up random guesses! This was just an accident.”
Long Chen looked at him sympathetically. The Xuan Master’s words were absolutely true. The cultivation world’s people cared too much about power and didn’t know how to use their heads.
Long Chen raised the fragment. “The Everlasting Frostheart Powder is a medicinal ingredient, but it is also used in forging items. I’m sure the majority of the forging disciples would recognize it. Should we have a Forging Master look?”
“There’s no need. There truly is Everlasting Frostheart Powder on it. It’s clear with just a look. It expels Ice Qi used in forging for cooling. But when it encounters flames, especially powerful flames, the Ice Qi will be locked within the weapon. It’s one of the most elementary methods for creating ice attribute weapons. I would be willing to bet my own head that Everlasting Frostheart Powder has been applied to this bottle fragment,” said a muscular but short elder.
Hearing that, everyone’s expressions changed. The one who had just spoken was the Forging Pavilion Master. He definitely wouldn’t randomly spout nonsense.
“Zhao Changting, don’t you think you should give me an explanation?” demanded the Xuan Master coldly.
“Xuan Master, I have no idea about this. Someone’s definitely framing me, I-” cried the Alchemy Pavilion Master.
“That’s fine. Such a minor thing is very simple.”
The Xuan Master waved his hand, and space twisted. A huge mirror appeared in the air. When the Alchemy Pavilion Master saw this mirror, he immediately turned as pale as paper.
The mirror lit up and shined its light on the ruins. Figures flashed back and forth until finally, a burst of flames erupted from the center of the ruins.
Long Chen was startled. The scene he was seeing was what had happened just after the Alchemy Pavilion had exploded. The Reincarnation Mirror was actually reversing time to replay what had happened.
But this scene was just too lifelike, making it extremely shocking. Very quickly, they arrived in a scene where the flames retreated to the bottles and two disciples left an underground treasure house.
Because everything was going backward, things looked odd. Following this, a black-robed man appeared in the treasure house. The figure was smearing some transparent liquid onto the bottles of the Earth Flame seeds.
The scene continued going backward until they saw the Alchemy Pavilion Master speaking with an elder. The scene came to a sudden stop. All they saw of that elder was his back. He was very thin and a complete stranger.
The Xuan Master recalled the Reincarnation Mirror and turned to the Alchemy Pavilion Master. “Zhao Changting, I don’t know if you’ve lost your mind with age, but how stupid do you have to be to actually forget the ability of the Xuantian Dao Sect’s divine items? Speak, why did you destroy my Alchemy Pavilion?”
Within the crowd, Luo Fan was also looking at the Alchemy Pavilion Master with shock. His relations with him were good, but he hadn’t expected him to be this crazy.
“Hmph, there’s nothing to say. I have no idea about any of this. Someone is clearly framing me. Furthermore, although I am a Pavilion Master of the Xuantian Dao Sect, I am also an honorable guest of Pill Valley. You have no authority over me. I will report this matter back to Pill Valley, and they will naturally testify to my innocence.” The Alchemy Pavilion Master suddenly became unyielding, and he smiled coldly at the Xuan Master.
Pill Valley? Long Chen suddenly recalled a figure he had seen for just a flash before it disappeared. He narrowed his eyes. It seemed the reason behind this incident was quite complicated.
“Did you think Pill Valley would be your protective talisman? You’re wrong. Even if you are a member of Pill Valley, anyone who would destroy an important place of the Xuantian Dao Sect like the Alchemy Pavilion and kill my disciples will find it difficult to escape their death.”
The Xuan Master sent out a palm. Heaven and earth shook fiercely. It was like this palm filled the entire world. Long Chen didn’t even see it land before the Alchemy Pavilion Master exploded into bits. Not even his soul managed to escape.
After killing the Alchemy Pavilion Master with a single palm, the Xuan Master looked at the ruins for a moment and then left without a word, his expression frighteningly dark. He was clearly furious.
Liu Cang stayed behind, arranging for people to clean up. After all, there was a storehouse of medicinal pills below. He was trying to see if he could save any.
But he was disappointed to find that the pills that should have been in the storehouse were all gone. The Alchemy Pavilion Master’s spatial ring was also gone. Their savings of hundreds of years had vanished just like this.
That made everyone’s expressions change. The Alchemy Pavilion Master had truly been vicious to secretly destroy all the medicinal pills. They now realized why the Xuan Master was so furious.
Medicinal pills were the foundation of any sect in the cultivation world. Now that the Alchemy Pavilion was destroyed and their stock was gone, the few medicinal pills stored in the Ten Thousand Pill Hall for sale would only be able to last an enormous existence like the Dao Sect for one or two months.
Luo Fan left with a gloomy expression. The Alchemy Pavilion Master had been executed on the spot by the Xuan Master, causing him to feel sympathetic. When he had first gone against the Elder Hall, he had formed an alliance with the Alchemy Pavilion. Now Liu Cang was vice Xuan Master, and he was alone. His enemy was an existence he could only look up to, while his ally had to have gone crazy and had destroyed the foundation of the Xuantian Dao Sect for seemingly no reason.
Now that the Alchemy Pavilion was destroyed, the Xuantian Dao Sect was in a state of extreme crisis. The supply of medicinal pills was about to become a fatal issue that would very likely lead to the sect’s complete collapse.
Looking at Luo Fan’s parting figure, Long Chen was lost in thought. This had come so suddenly that he almost couldn’t react. He still felt this matter was queer.
Right
now, Liu Cang was having people tidy up and search the remnants of the Alchemy Pavilion to see if they could find anything valuable. However, other than a few pieces of equipment for refining pills, there was nothing else of value that remained.
“Not good! Vice sect master, our medicinal fields! They’ve been destroyed as well! Thousands of miles of medicinal fields are barren!”
“What?!”
Everyone furiously flew to the medicinal fields. When they arrived, they saw that the originally flourishing fields had been picked clean. The land had been scorched, and all the precious medicines had been turned to ash.
“That bastard Zhao Changting! The Xuan Master really let him off too easily by killing him!” Everyone was filled with fury.
Liu Cang had a worried expression. The Alchemy Pavilion had been destroyed, and so had their medicinal pills. From now on, the Xuantian Dao Sect would have to buy large quantities of pills from outside.
But the Xuantian Dao Sect wasn’t rich, and things had been hard-pressed in recent years. This blow from the Alchemy Pavilion Master would very likely be a fatal one for the Xuantian Dao Sect.
Three days after the Alchemy Pavilion Master was killed, a group of people wearing Pill Valley’s robes arrived at the Xuantian Dao Sect.
Chapter 1135 Scram
“Xuantian Dao Sect, why would you kill my Pill Valley’s honored guest Elder? If you don’t give me a satisfactory explanation, just wait for Pill Valley’s sanctions!”
There were dozens of red-robed elders standing in front of the Xuantian Dao Sect’s mountain gate. All of them had the image of a pill furnace embroidered on their chests.
These people came from Pill Valley. The Alchemy Pavilion Master had been one of their members. He could be likened to one of Pill Valley’s external Elders, one of their outside workers.
On the Martial Heaven Continent, ninety-nine percent of all alchemists were related to Pill Valley in some way. If they weren’t direct disciples of Pill Valley, they were still under Pill Valley’s name. One reason was because this status was grander, while the other reason was that this status would allow them to receive Pill Valley’s protection in times of trouble.