Fang Yunyi’s face suddenly looked extremely unsightly. The faces of the other Chosen who surrounded Fang Wei also darkened, as did the faces of all the other Fang Clan members who were there to accompany Fang Wei.

In their opinion, even though Meng Hao was the eldest grandson of the direct bloodline, in the Fang Clan, it was Fang Wei who had been declared Dao Child by the Patriarch. Fang Wei was sure to reach the Ancient Realm within a thousand years, and therefore, he was someone that no one could afford to depose or offend.

In addition to that, there were Fang Yunyi’s provocations; he constantly told everyone about how vicious Meng Hao was. In the end, many of the Chosen of the clan were already fed up with Meng Hao.

Deep within Fang Donghan’s eyes was a virtually imperceptible flicker. Everything that was happening was exactly what he wanted to see. The more Meng Hao rose to prominence, the more at odds he would be with Fang Wei, and the two would surely become irreconcilable adversaries.

“The two of them are going to fight each other sooner or later,” he thought. “And my own opportunity to rise up will come… when that battle ends!” He lowered his head so that others would not be able to see the wild ambition in his eyes.

Fang Xiangshan stood off to the side, panting, her eyes wide. She had seen Meng Hao a few times within the clan, and had always scurried away at the sight of him. Now the sound of the bell echoed in her mind. How could she ever have imagined that Meng Hao… would actually concoct a Skypalace Sunspirit Pill?

The entire Fang Clan was shaken!

“What happened?” asked Song Luodan with a smile, his eyes flickering. The Chosen of the other clans all looked curiously at Fang Wei, even Li Ling’er and Fan Dong’er.

A touch of scorn could be seen within Li Ling’er’s expression. When the subject of Fang Mu came up earlier, she could only laugh grimly at how Fang Wei had acted. She well knew that Fang Mu was not Fang Wei, but rather, the detestable Meng Hao.

Fang Wei’s expression returned to normal, and he smiled slightly as he turned back to the other Chosen.

“Oh, nothing really,” he said. “Just a clan member concocting a pill, which caused the Dao Bell to toll, that’s all. Fellow Daoists, once this day pa.s.ses, the day of the East Ascension Sun will be upon us.

“I, Fang Wei, would like to congratulate all of you ahead of time on what you will gain. This is a day of jubilee for the Fang Clan that happens once every hundred years, and as one of the Four Great Clans of the Ninth Mountain and Sea, it is always our pleasure to invite disciples from all the various sects and clans. Let us once again enjoy this East Ascension Sun together!!”

Fang Wei’s words made it difficult for anyone to ask further questions. They resumed chatting and laughing, although n.o.body forgot about what had just happened.

Sun Hai’s expression was that of extreme haughtiness as he chatted politely with the Fang Clan cultivator next to him. The Fang Clan members didn’t show the slightest bit of disrespect. After all, they had recently heard that Sun Hai had clinched the nomination to become the Imperial Child of the Church of the Emperor Immortal.

“Now that you mention it,” said Sun Hai, laughing heartily and rubbing his bald head, “I actually have a deep connection with the Fang Clan.

“I have a Junior Sister in the Church of the Emperor Immortal who happens to be a member of the Fang Clan.” When Sun Hai mentioned this Junior Sister, his eyes glowed with adoration. He still remembered the first time he had seen the young woman, how he had stared blankly, and how it felt as if his mind were being struck relentlessly by lightning. In that moment, it had seemed as if that young woman from the Fang Clan was the only thing that existed in the whole universe.

Although her true ident.i.ty was kept a secret in the Church of the Emperor Immortal, Sun Hai knew that she was a member of the Fang Clan.

He had sworn an oath that, one day, the two of them would be united as beloved. In the course of pursuing that dream, he had already been violently beaten up on several occasions, all just to be near her….

Each time he was beaten up, he got extremely excited, as he took it as an expression of her desire to be on intimate terms with him.

Within the East Ascension Pavilion, everyone was talking about the imminent sunset, and then the following rise of the East Ascension Sun. Outside of the pavilion, the sh.o.r.es of Brightmoon Lake were encircled by more than a hundred thousand people. Most of them were Fang Clan members younger than 1000 years of age, and although they were all extremely excited in their antic.i.p.ation of the following day’s sunrise, they were now all shaken inwardly by the tolling of the Dao Bell.

Fang Xi was in the crowd, a bit closer to the lakesh.o.r.e than most of the others. Currently, he was clenching his fists in excitement, but also feeling a bit disappointed that he hadn’t gone to watch Meng Hao’s performance earlier.

In his excitement, he didn’t notice that within the East Ascension Pavilion, Fang Yunyi’s grim gaze had come to rest on him.

“I don’t dare to provoke Meng Hao again,” Fang Yunyi thought, “but Fang Xi… is always following him around! He’s just looking for trouble!” With a cold snort, he turned his head to a nearby clan member and whispered a few sentences. The young man hesitated in response, after which Fang Yunyi spoke a few more words. The young man immediately left the pavilion to go make the appropriate arrangements.

Meanwhile, back in the Dao of Alchemy Division, Meng Hao was looking at the medicinal pill floating in midair. He exhaled deeply as the blinding but gentle light surged out from the medicinal pill. Finally, he made a grasping motion, causing the pill to fly down into his palm, whereupon he examined it closely.

The minds of the surrounding cultivators trembled as they stared blankly at Meng Hao and the medicinal pill in his hand. Gasps filled the air.

It was clearly… a Skypalace Sunspirit Pill!

The medicinal pill contained unsurpa.s.sable Yang characteristics, as well as a divine air. To cultivators who cultivated fire magic, it was like a Heavenly material or Earthly treasure. In fact, it was a medicinal pill that Spirit Realm cultivators couldn’t consume, and even Immortal Realm cultivators who used it would do so with extreme caution.

After absorbing it successfully, one’s fire magic would without doubt achieve an incredible breakthrough, as would one’s cultivation base. Any fire poisoning that resulted would actually be an incredible divine ability to any cultivator who practiced fire magic.

Furthermore, because of the East Ascension Sun on the following day, if this pill was consumed at that time, the internal fire and the external fire would combine, catalyzing the pill’s medicinal properties and making it endlessly powerful in terms of body refinement!

To any alchemist, this pill… was even more precious. By studying it, one could potentially refine and improve one’s Dao of alchemy. When it came to the other two rare medicinal pills of the Fang Clan, there were none left in the Pill Pavilion. There were still some Skypalace Sunspirit Pills remaining though, less than ten.

Rumor had it that those pills had been there for a long time, and could only be acquired by exchanging a significant amount of merit points.

Of course, the Medicine Immortal Sect could concoct the pill, but to purchase it there required a vast and dreadful expenditure of spirit stones. Even tier 7 alchemists wouldn’t necessarily be able to buy one.

Immediately, the surrounding alchemists began calling out, desirous of purchasing the pill.

“Alchemist Fang, are you going to sell that pill?”

“How many spirit stones are you selling it for?! I want to buy it!”

As soon as Meng Hao heard spirit stones mentioned, his eyes began to glow. As he hesitated, the previously invisible tier 8 alchemists in the area suddenly materialized.

Immediately, the faces of the full alchemists in the crowd flickered, and they simultaneously clasped hands and bowed.

“Greetings, Pavilion Elders!”

Their reaction caused the other members of the audience to gasp and look at the unprepossessing old men who had just appeared. Their minds spun as they realized that, other than Pill Elder, these were the most supreme figures in the Dao of Alchemy Division, the Pavilion Elders!

“Greetings, Pavilion Elders!”

“Greetings, Pavilion Elders!”

All of the surrounding hundreds of thousands of cultivators clasped hands and bowed. The rumbling sounds of their voices echoed out like thunder. In response, the five Pavilion Elders’ faces remained expressionless. One of them, a rather short, hunchbacked old man, smiled and waved his hand, causing him to flicker and then appear in front of Meng Hao.

“Fang Hao offers greetings, Pavilion Elder!” said Meng Hao, clasped hands and bowing.

“Fang Hao, there’s no need to act like this. The Dao of Alchemy Division has a rule that any person who concocts one of the three sacred pills will be granted the status of Pavilion Elder. Come. I shall take you to pay a visit to Pill Elder.” The old man's face glowed with admiration and approval. The other four elders around them, despite their expressionless faces, emanated similar feelings.

Meng Hao took a deep breath as he obediently followed them. The entire group transformed into beams of prismatic light that shot further into the inner mountains.

They left behind hundreds of thousands of cultivators, all of whose faces shone with envy. As for all of the apprentice alchemists who had listened to Meng Hao’s lectures, they looked extremely excited. Since they considered themselves to be followers of Meng Hao, that meant… they were the followers of a Pavilion Elder!

Off in the distance in midair, the Pavilion Elders looked at Meng Hao’s obedient and charming demeanor, and their approval of him deepened.

“Neither arrogant nor rash,” said one of the elders, smiling. “Furthermore, you have no flaws of character, and also understand etiquette. You might be a bit greedy, but there’s no harm in that. Hao’er, you’re really remarkable! Far more exceptional than your father.”

“My dad?” Meng Hao gaped.

“Back before your father met your mother, he came to me to concoct some pills. He was extremely arrogant and domineering, and even threatened me! He said that if I didn’t concoct the pills for him, he would set up my granddaughter with some Junior Brother of his.” The old man suddenly looked a bit irritated, and he harrumphed.

“Really?” exclaimed Meng Hao, staring with wide eyes. He could hardly believe that his father, who seemed so mighty and solemn, eternally strict, would act like the person this Pavilion Elder had just described.

“It’s absolutely true in every way!” said another of the Pavilion Elders, nodding earnestly. “After he met your mother, your father became much more restrained. To think that, back in the day, he was the number one bully on East Victory. He oppressed all the men and subjugated all the women!” The old man sighed.

Meng Hao cleared his throat and shook his head, unsure of what to say, and still not quite able to believe what he was hearing.

“That’s why I say that you’re remarkable, Hao’er,” said the hunch-backed old man. “Wonderful and with boundless prospects.” He laughed heartily and looked at Meng Hao with an expression of praise.

“Pavilion Elder,” Meng Hao asked, “in the end… did you refine the pills for him?”

“Hmph! I am upright and proud,” the old man said haughtily. “I won’t bow my head to anyone! I have my principles, and because of that, if I don’t feel like concocting pills, it doesn’t matter who comes to me, even your father, do you think I would make an exception? Therefore, I only concocted five hundred batches of medicinal pills for him. Not one more!”

Off to the side, another old man who hadn’t spoken so far looked at Meng Hao and winked.

Meng Hao blinked, cleared his throat, and didn’t dare to ask another question.

Before long, the Pavilion Elders had led Meng Hao to the very center of the inner mountains. Off in the distance was a peak that towered up into the swirling clouds. Upon close inspection, it was possible to see countless caves riddling the heights of the peak.

Gradually, a droning sound became audible from within the caves, a sound that caused Meng Hao’s scalp to go numb.

Before they could get very close, countless black beams shot out from the caves. In the blink of an eye, the sky was filled with millions of black beetles, which were usually known as Split-horned Scarab Beetles! [1. In Chinese, the word for scarab beetle is literally “Golden Turtle.” There is an extra line that I’m leaving out of the main text which reads, “Although the name has the world ‘turtle’ in it, these weren’t turtles, but vicious bugs!”]

Buzzing sounds filled the air as millions of them swarmed around Meng Hao’s group, emanating astonis.h.i.+ng energy.

“Fear not,” said the hunchbacked Pavilion Elder, smiling. “We call these bugs Unicorn Immortals, and they are personally raised by Pill Elder himself. Actually, there’s something about him you probably don’t know. Pill Elder… excels, not in the Dao of alchemy, but in the Dao of insects!”

Meng Hao was shaken. Pill Elder didn’t excel in the Dao of alchemy, and yet was a tier 9 alchemist. One could only imagine how terrifying he would be if he did excel in it. Seeing these Unicorn Immortals, caused him to recall the countless black beetles he had seen in the medicinal plant garden in the Ruins of Immortality.

It was at this point that an archaic voice suddenly echoed.

“Fang Hao, come….”

The Unicorn Immortals circled around the mountain peak and then shot back into one of the caves.