Chapter 82: Yaochi
“You can tell your master that when it’s time to leave, just let me know,” Yue Wu Xia said coldly.
Her master treated both men and women with the same aloofness. Even though Ning Feixuan was the disciple of her old friend, her attitude remained unchanged.
Perhaps only he and his senior sister received a slightly warmer treatment, and even that was just a subtle difference.
“Alright.” Ning Feixuan didn’t enter the room. After hearing Yue Wu Xia’s words, she turned and left to inform Ning Mengru.
“I hope this will be fruitful. It’s a pity the Human King Physique is so mysterious, not as well-known as other special constitutions. I can’t find a special cultivation method for you.” Yue Wu Xia’s brow furrowed slightly. Although she was strict with Mingyan, she didn’t intend to let him fend for himself. As his master and protector, she had a duty to guide him and clear the path ahead.
“Master has already done more than enough for me.” Mingyan was touched. His master had indeed done a great deal for him, and he would always remember her kindness.
“How is the nurturing of the Netherworld Immortal Gold going?” Yue Wu Xia asked.
“Both the Netherworld Immortal Gold and the dragon tendon are now imbued with my aura. I think I can begin crafting my weapon.”
“Good. The first step in weapon crafting is to shape it. Since they’re imbued with your aura, you should be able to manipulate them now. Connect them and forge them into the shape you desire. You don’t need to worry about inscribing Dao patterns or laws for now.” Yue Wu Xia instructed, “With the Netherworld Immortal Gold as the bow stave and the dragon tendon as the bowstring, even an ordinary wooden arrow will be incredibly powerful.”
Most Great Emperor-level weapons were made from a single Emperor-level material, but Mingyan’s bow would have two. If he could find a suitable material for his arrows…
Any ownerless material, after being nurtured, could be imbued with one’s aura and utilized. And with a deeper connection, one could achieve “heart-to-heart” communication with the weapon, allowing it to move with one’s thoughts. So, arrows didn’t have to be expendable. As long as the material was durable enough and the connection was strong, they could be recalled after being shot, and even controlled mid-flight.
Mingyan nodded and, at Yue Wu Xia’s request, focused his consciousness on his Qi Sea.
He summoned the dragon tendon and the Netherworld Immortal Gold.
When he first touched the immortal gold, it had been bone-chillingly cold, as if it could suck the warmth from his hand. But now, after nurturing it for some time, although still cold, it was no longer unbearable.
After it was refined into a weapon and a deeper connection was established, it would likely be more manageable.
He held the dragon tendon. It had once been as hard as the Sea-Calming Divine Needle from “Journey to the West,” but now, it had a slight elasticity.
The Netherworld Immortal Gold, however, was still incredibly rigid. He tried to activate the secret technique from the Sun and Moon Scripture to amplify his strength. The technique seemed to have a name, “*,” and was accompanied by a “ding” sound and the sound of shattering chains.
With a “ding,” the “*” technique activated, and he felt a surge of strength. He could use the technique within his Qi Sea. He grabbed both ends of the immortal gold and bent it with all his might. It was incredibly durable, but imbued with his aura and with his strength amplified, he was able to bend it into a bow-like arc.
But it gradually straightened itself, returning to its original shape.
The secret technique’s effect wore off, and he felt a wave of weakness, unable to bend it again.
The immortal gold’s resilience made it an ideal material for a bow stave. It needed to be refined and shaped into a permanent arc to become a proper bow.
Mingyan left his Qi Sea. He would have to refine it after returning to the Wind Spirit Moon Shadow Sacred Land.
Shortly after, Yue Wu Xia stood up. The Queen Mother of the West had contacted her. She led Mingyan and Yue Qingying out of the room, informed Huang Junru of their departure, and the three of them left.
Mingyan and Yue Qingying hadn’t had a chance to say a proper goodbye to Huang Feiyan, but time was short. After returning from Yaochi, they would have to prepare for their trip to the Supreme Dao Hall. They couldn’t stay at the Huang family for too long.
Yaochi had also brought a retinue of celestial maidens, all of whom wore veils, their beauty ethereal.
The Queen Mother of the West’s carriage was the same one he had seen before, pulled by divine birds made of spiritual energy, giving it a celestial feel.
Although using demon beasts as mounts was frowned upon in the Eastern Continent, using spiritual energy constructs seemed to be acceptable.
Mingyan wondered if the Demon Clan had spiritual energy constructs of humans to pull their carriages…
Yue Wu Xia’s mode of transportation was much simpler, a simple blanket that carried the three of them alongside the carriage.
The Wind Spirit Moon Shadow Sacred Land and the Yaochi Sacred Land were on opposite ends of the Eastern Continent, with the Huang family in the middle.
Yaochi also had a teleportation gate nearby, built during the reign of the Queen Mother of the West. Such large-scale teleportation gates required the assistance of a Great Emperor or a being like a peak Human King Physique to construct, a very demanding condition.
The laws of space and time were the most fundamental and mysterious. They were everywhere, yet no one seemed to be able to master them.
Only those close to or at the Great Emperor realm could touch upon the laws of space and time, and even then, only barely.
Soon, they arrived at the Yaochi Sacred Land.
It was located on a strange mountain called Jade Mountain. As its name suggested, the mountain was covered in jade, which shimmered even at night. At its peak was a large celestial pool, the “Yaochi,” from which the Sacred Land took its name.
It was said that the Queen Mother of the West of Yaochi wasn’t human but a spirit born from a jade stone, nurtured by the celestial pool, eventually taking human form. That was why she was so incredibly beautiful, a treasure of heaven and earth. She eventually achieved enlightenment and established her sect on Jade Mountain, naming it the Yaochi Sacred Land.
Of course, this was just a rumor. The Queen Mother of the West had passed away millions of years ago, even before Great Empress Yue Ying and Human King Feng Ling. The people of that era were long gone, and the Yaochi Sacred Land insisted she was human, so the rumor couldn’t be confirmed.
Yue Qingying had told him all this. Although he had enjoyed reading books in his village, they were mostly myths about the creation of humanity or strange novels. They didn’t contain any information about the world of cultivation.
From a distance, Jade Mountain shimmered in the sunlight, a beautiful sight. It was a stark contrast to the Wind Spirit Moon Shadow Sacred Land, which was mostly hidden in mist. Although the Wind Spirit Moon Shadow Sacred Land also had the imposing aura of an Emperor-level Sacred Land, it was more mysterious than majestic.
“Wu Xia, do you remember the last time you came to Yaochi? How many years has it been?” The Queen Mother of the West’s voice came from the carriage, filled with a hint of amusement.
“Perhaps five or six hundred years,” Yue Wu Xia replied.
“In the blink of an eye, so much time has passed…” Ning Mengru sighed. “Those talented geniuses of our generation are now Holy Masters and great powers. Those with less talent have likely exhausted their lifespan and passed on. Even for us, how many five or six hundred years do we have?”
A Human Gateway Realm cultivator’s lifespan was about twenty-five hundred years. Ning Mengru and Yue Wu Xia were both over eight hundred years old, having already lived through a quarter of their lives.
But in human terms, they were only twenty-five or twenty-six?
No, he couldn’t compare them to ordinary people. Although they had only lived a quarter of their lives, they had still lived for several hundred years and were no longer as naive as they had been in their youth.
