Deacon Huang quickly found all of the materials and went to him with a small storage bag. After Chen Jingzhai checked the items, he promptly paid 900 spirit stones. Then Deacon Huang called over a casual disciple of the Alchemy Temple. The disciple led Chen Jingzhai to the Alchemy Cave Residence in the Alchemy Temple. Coincidentally, this casual disciple happened to be Xu Ziyue, who joined not too long ago.
“Grand Master-Uncle!” Xu Ziyue forced himself to bow to Chen Jingzhai.
“No need to be formal,” Chen Jingzhai said nonchalantly. “We’re not strangers, anyhow.”
“Yes!” Xu Ziyue felt wry inside. “Grand Master-Uncle, come with me!”
He led the way, but his steps were quite unsteady. Back in the Aspirant Cultivators Academy, he had been the celestial aspirant that everyone had high hopes for. Who was Chen Jingzhai? He was merely a three-element spirit root. In the past, he was no different from a mortal to Xu Ziyue.
Who knew that their statuses would be flipped once they entered the celestial clan?
He vaguely remembered how joyous he’d been when he’d been chosen by the Heavenly Artisan Temple. Xu Ziyue wished he could tell practically the entire universe. Then he learned that Chen Jingzhai was a direct disciple and had become his Grand Master-Uncle. The bitterness and resentment within him at that time almost drove him mad. Now that they met again, he saw that even Sage Huang Shi was hurrying around and serving Chen Jingzhai personally.
How could Xu Ziyue calm down?
After all, Sage Huang Shi was the master that he had always wanted to study under but couldn’t! This difference sent chills down his spine. He wished he could turn around and never see Chen Jingzhai again in his life. Meanwhile, Chen Jingzhai did not feel much. He was more excited about the Alchemy Cave Residence. The Alchemy Temple also had strict rules. They had to go down the mountain, but they couldn’t fly. They could only walk on foot. It was the same even for Sages or Nascent Zhenjun.
It was said that this rule had been set by the first leader of the Alchemy Temple. All disciples of the Alchemy Temple followed this rule for thousands of years afterward, including alchemists.
“Xu Ziyue, I remember that your shoulder blade has been spiritualized. Why did you come to the Alchemy Temple?” Chen Jingzhai asked this question out of curiosity as he walked down the path. With a spiritualized shoulder blade, he should join the Puppet Temple. Manipulating puppets was the most suitable for him.
“The elder led me to Tianzhu Peak and had me choose freely.” Xu Ziyue hesitated. “The Puppet Temple isn’t bad, but I like alchemy more. You can earn more spirit stones.”
“Do puppet masters not make spirit stones?” Chen Jingzhai asked, confused.
“Puppet masters spend a lot of spirit stones,” Xu Ziyue explained. “Regardless of the size of the puppet, they require a lot of materials. They also use talismans and need to cultivate many techniques. It uses up spiritual power.”
Puppet masters need to create many puppet parts. They also had to learn formations and talismans, using up a lot of energy and time. In other words, one couldn’t grasp it in a short time. It needed to be accumulated through time. For Xu Ziyue, who had recently joined the clan, it wasn’t as nice as the Alchemy Temple.
Plus, on Tianzhu Peak, the Puppet Temple of the Heavenly Artisan Temple had already declined. The Alchemy Temple was by far the strongest. One could see this by looking at how many alchemists and puppet masters there were. In addition, they could count how many cultivators entered the Alchemy Temple and Puppet Temple.
Xu Ziyue was very arrogant and proud, but after his experience at Kouxin Pass, he’d become more restrained. He was a smart person, so he easily knew what to choose after comparing the two.
“Is that so?” Chen Jingzhai commented. “How have you been now that you joined the Alchemy Temple?”
“I am just cultivating normally and saving up spirit stones to buy materials.” Xu Ziyue’s expression turned cold. “Casual disciples like me can’t compare to the Grand Master-Uncle. We don’t have celestial clans as support.”
He was still in the Meditation Plane and was only a casual disciple, and he could only receive spirit stones through his own effort. His situation was better than that of the disciples of Handy Peak, but he could not compare to Chen Jingzhai at all.
“I’m already in the Foundation Plane.” Chen Jingzhai glanced at him. “Just that fact makes me stronger than you. If I tell Deacon Huang that you disrespected the Grand Master-Uncle, you’ll get punished!”
Xu Ziyue’s expression changed. Humiliation flashed in his eyes, but he panicked a little inside.
“Seeing as we were both at the Aspirant Cultivators Academy in White Cloud City, I won’t make it hard for you,” Chen Jingzhai said indifferently. “But only this once. No more exceptions! Since you joined the clan, you should have respect for your elders and seniors. You should be careful with your words and actions to improve. If you hold onto resentment, disaster will be near.”
“I understand!” Xu Ziyue mumbled.
Chen Jingzhai shook his head. He did not actually hate Xu Ziyue. He was just a little brat!
But if Xu Ziyue didn’t change, his future in the Alchemy Temple would be hard too. This guy was clearly more suitable for the Puppet Temple, but he chose the Alchemy Temple and was even proud of it. Did he have a brain? The Alchemy Temple was indeed thriving, but if there were many alchemists and disciples, then competition would be fiercer too.
The Puppet Temple was weaker, but it could still compete with the Alchemy Temple and take up half the mountain. One could see that the Puppet Temple was full of potential and had a rich heritage. Xu Ziyue should’ve joined the Puppet Temple. With his celestial bone talent, he would even be taught attentively. Then would he still have to save up spirit stones to buy materials?
He would not have to waste his time in the Alchemy Temple and be ground down by his elders. Chen Jingzhai wanted to give him advice, but Xu Ziyue’s attitude made him change his mind. After living two lives, Chen Jingzhai knew how complex people’s hearts were. Even if he had good intentions, others might think he meant ill. Trouble came from the mouth. He would just stay silent!
Thus, Chen Jingzhai did not say anything and just sped up for the rest of the journey. Xu Ziyue was thinking about who knew what and led the way silently. Soon, the two arrived at the entrance of the cave residence in the middle of the mountain. The manager of the Man Grade cave residences was an inner disciple of the Alchemy Temple. He was in the Foundation Plane. He quickly sent Xu Ziyue away and personally led his Grand Master-Uncle to choose a cave residence.
“Grand Master-Uncle, the Man Grade cave residences all have protective formations.
“Every room requires spirit stones, mostly for the formations and earth fire. Thus, the Alchemy Temple sets the price at three spirit stones per use. It’s a total of one day and one night. If you wish to continue, you can just add more spirit stones.”
The Foundation Plane manager was a middle-aged man named Yu Antai. He was very respectful toward Chen Jingzhai, and it was not only an act. This was a normal attitude. People like Xu Ziyue were not normal.
“One day and one night should be enough. I need one room with a gentle earth fire. It just needs to be easy to control. It’s my first time, so I should be more careful,” Chen Jingzhai said with a smile.
He had never tried alchemy or pill-making before. He only knew sorcery and had read some books before. This time, in addition to relying on his talent, he also wanted to build up experience.
“Room C No. 3 should fit your requirements!”
As Yu Antai spoke, he pulled out a token and handed it to Chen Jingzhai.
This was the token to control the formation within the room. He could only open the room with this token. Chen Jingzhai accepted the token and followed Yu Antai to Room C No. 3. The room was inside the cave. It was not very big, but it was empty. Yu Antai left after giving him a detailed explanation. Chen Jingzhai activated the token immediately and tossed it at the door.
The token hovered before the room’s door. The formation was activated immediately. A thin layer of white light spread out along the door to the left and right. At the same time, a ball of fire shot up from the center of the room’s floor. There was a brass cauldron above the fire.
