Chapter 6: An Auspicious Omen from the East

“Martial Uncle Huanglong, I recently found a Nectar Spirit Grass in the Azure Waves Mountain. Unfortunately, my understanding of the Way of Alchemy is limited. It would be a terrible waste for me to attempt to refine it into a pill!”

The moment Master Guyun produced the white jade bottle, the other elders knew something was wrong. Master Xiayun and the others immediately saw Guyunzi’s intention and cursed him furiously in their minds. Damn him and his entire family! That bastard Guyun is trying to bribe the Sect Master!

Perfected Man Huanglong might not have been interested in other items, but this thousand-year-old Nectar Spirit Grass was a crucial ingredient in an ancient pill formula. He had hinted several times that he wanted to trade for Master Guyun’s grass, but the sly old man had always played dumb. To think he was willing to part with it now, just to take Zhang Yang as a disciple.

As expected, Perfected Man Huanglong’s eyes lit up, and his gaze was fixed on the Nectar Spirit Grass, unable to look away. At his level of cultivation, advancing further was incredibly difficult. But with this grass, he could refine the pill from that ancient formula and potentially break through to the next realm within a hundred years.

“How could I accept this? This Nectar Spirit Grass is your treasured possession. I cannot accept such a precious gift,” Perfected Man Huanglong said, feigning righteousness, though his eyes never left the herb.

His meaning was clear: the grass was good, but not good enough to trade for a Gray Seed disciple.

Master Guyun groaned inwardly. It’s all my fault for being so stingy before. The Sect Master is planning to fleece me! But for the sake of a Gray Seed disciple, and for the future of the Ancient Cloud Hall to produce a Sect Master, he decided to go all in.

His chubby hand fumbled inside his robe and produced a crystal-clear Cloud Beast Core. Holding a treasure in each hand, Master Guyun’s heart bled at the thought of giving them away, but he maintained a smile. “Martial Uncle, I have also planted some Blackwood in my courtyard. It can raise the temperature of alchemical flames and is the finest material for pill forging. I’ll have some sent over to you later. And this Cloud Beast Core can increase the success rate of alchemy. As long as you can accept these and refine the Ascension Pill, leading the Taichu Sect to a more glorious future, what is this small contribution from me in comparison! For the sake of my sincere heart, please do not refuse.”

Before Perfected Man Huanglong could refuse again, Master Guyun pushed and shoved the Cloud Beast Core and the Nectar Spirit Grass into his hands.

Blackwood, a Cloud Beast Core, a thousand-year-old Nectar Spirit Grass—each one was a top-grade material for alchemy. Master Bizhu, who prided himself on being the foremost alchemist in the sect, felt as if a thousand cats were scratching at his heart. He cursed Master Guyun internally; the fatso was always crying poor in front of the other elders, yet his personal collection was so rich. Truly a cunning old fox. Appearances can be deceiving.

Faced with Master Guyun’s “overwhelming generosity,” Perfected Man Huanglong found it “disrespectful to refuse.” And so, the promising seedling, Zhang Yang, naturally fell under the banner of the Ancient Cloud Hall.

The others hadn’t expected Master Guyun to resort to such a despicable tactic—bribing the Sect Master to secure the once-in-a-century Gray Seed disciple. Filled with indignation, they could only sigh in dismay. What could they do? None of them possessed treasures more valuable than the Cloud Beast Core and the Nectar Spirit Grass. They could only watch as Zhang Yang was claimed by Master Guyun.

This was a Gray Seed! A potential future Sect Master.

Master Xiayun sighed with regret. If Zhang Yang had joined his hall, his peerless Six Divinatory Trigrams technique would have had a successor. With the boy’s aptitude, he might have even elevated the art to greater heights!

But since Perfected Man Huanglong had given his nod, they could only sigh. They wouldn’t dare to challenge the Sect Master’s decision.

Zhang Yang looked up at the elders vying for him, a smug and arrogant expression on his face. So, a Gray Seed is this rare! So many powerful figures are fighting over me. From this moment on, my path will be paved with success! Not only can I deal with Qin Haoxuan, but even Zhang Kuang? After his test, he might have to turn around and call me ‘boss’!

Excellent! This is just excellent! Zhang Yang had to restrain himself from laughing out loud. His arrogant gaze swept over the others waiting to be tested, finally landing on Qin Haoxuan. Just you wait! You once broke several of my ribs for sticking up for someone else. When I master my spiritual techniques, I’ll break every bone in your body.

Qin Haoxuan felt Zhang Yang’s hateful gaze and frowned slightly. For someone like him to have such good aptitude, is it that the heavens are blind? Or that his ancestors’ graves have good Feng Shui? With such an arrogant and unstable temperament, his future achievements on the long path of cultivation will be limited.

Seeing Perfected Man Huanglong accept Master Guyun’s bribe and assign Zhang Yang to his hall without anyone daring to object, Qin Haoxuan had a sudden realization.

No matter how powerful these seemingly transcendent cultivators were, no matter how long their lifespans, they were still human. They had emotions, desires, greed, and selfish thoughts. This place was just a reflection of the mortal world, and some human vices were even more pronounced here.

Perfected Man Huanglong, the leader of the Taichu Sect, was powerful enough to ignore any criticism. If he could refine the ancient pill, his strength would reach a new level, and his authority would be even greater.

Strength! Your strength is directly linked to your authority! The stronger you are, the more say you have!

As Zhang Yang stepped down from the platform, Prince Li Jing immediately led his followers over, clasping his hands in congratulation. “Congratulations, Brother Zhang Yang! In the future, we will be counting on you to look out for us on our cultivation path.”

“Brother Zhang Yang, what a great fortune…”

“From the moment I saw Brother Zhang Yang yesterday, I knew you were a man of great bearing, a dragon among men! As fellow disciples, please guide me in the future, Senior Brother Zhang!”

“Senior Brother Zhang, from the moment I saw you last night, I wanted to follow you. From now on, you’re my boss!”

“That’s right, Boss! Our boss is a Gray Seed prodigy! I heard the Sect Master, Perfected Man Huanglong, was also a Gray Seed when he started! Our boss is destined to be a great figure who will lead the Taichu Sect!”

“Of course, of course,” Zhang Yang said, a smug smile playing on his lips. His gaze intentionally and unintentionally swept over to the nearby Zhang Kuang, who remained unmoved, his face as dark as a thundercloud. What is my dear cousin waiting for? Does he really think he’ll also be a Gray Seed?

“Zhang Kuang, step up…”

At Perfected Man Luoye’s call, Zhang Kuang walked onto the testing platform, his expression grave. He felt as if a thousand-pound stone was weighing on his heart. If his test result turned out to be an Uncolored Seed, he would never be able to hold his head high in front of Zhang Yang again.

But then, Zhang Kuang reconsidered. During the preliminary test, his results were far better than Zhang Yang’s. How could his aptitude be worse? Since childhood, in what way had he ever been inferior to him?

With this thought, Zhang Kuang straightened his back, puffed out his chest, and strode onto the platform. He shot a contemptuous glare at Zhang Yang, who was basking in flattery, and thought, Kid, I was your boss before, and I will be in the future!

Having already found one Gray Seed among this batch of disciples, Perfected Man Huanglong and the others were overjoyed and didn’t have high hopes for the rest. Finding one was already a blessing from the heavens; one shouldn’t be too greedy.

Even if all the remaining disciples had weak seeds, Perfected Man Huanglong would still be smiling in his sleep.

But no one could have predicted what happened next. The moment Zhang Kuang’s hand touched the “Clear Appraisal Immortal Eye,” a brilliant, dazzling purple light erupted, illuminating half the sky and piercing into the hearts of everyone present.

For a moment, everyone thought they were hallucinating. They rubbed their eyes, but it was true—the light bursting from the artifact was a radiant purple.

“A Purple Seed!”

Perfected Man Huanglong’s eyes went wide, and he shouted, almost losing his voice. His face shone with a disbelief that bordered on ecstasy. The unshakeable composure he had cultivated over a century, the Dao Heart that wouldn’t flinch even if the heavens collapsed, instantly and completely crumbled.

A Purple Seed… a Purple Seed! An Unsurpassed Purple Seed!

What did an Unsurpassed Purple Seed mean?

A sect with an Unsurpassed Purple Seed, if they could nurture it to its full potential, could one day be elevated to the status of an Unsurpassed Great Sect! Such a sect was far beyond what the Taichu Sect could compare to.

Even among the Unsurpassed Great Sects, a Purple Seed successor might not appear in several thousand years! The appearance of such a talent was enough to cause two great sects to go to war over them.

“A Purple Seed… it’s really a Purple Seed…”

Perfected Man Huanglong rubbed his eyes forcefully. This was no illusion. A Purple Seed was right before him! He had thought that if he could see even an Azure Seed in his lifetime, he could die without regrets. He had never imagined he would see a Purple Seed, something that the leaders of many Unsurpassed Great Sects would never see in their entire lives!

He felt like he was suffocating. The rise of the Taichu Sect, its true glory, its ascent to become an Unsurpassed Great Sect—was this history going to be written by his own hands? Ancestors! Did you see that? Our Taichu Sect has a Purple Seed!

Master Guyun stared blankly at Zhang Kuang. He had just spent a fortune to secure a Gray Seed, and in the blink of an eye, a Purple Seed appeared. Immortal Ancestors above! Are you playing a joke on me? A Gray Seed is already rare, how can a Purple Seed appear? Doesn’t that mean my investment was…

Master Guyun looked at Zhang Yang down below. The disciple who had seemed so pleasing to the eye a moment ago now looked like an eyesore. He wished he could slap himself twice. If he hadn’t traded the Nectar Spirit Grass for Zhang Yang, perhaps he could have used it to get this Purple Seed as his disciple.

To be the master of a Purple Seed disciple—that was an honor that would be recorded in the annals of history for all time. Even if he achieved nothing else in his life, his name would be heavily inscribed in the history of the Taichu Sect!

With a Purple Seed present, his Gray Seed disciple had no hope of becoming Sect Master. No, I have to fight for this!

Just as Master Guyun was about to speak, Master Bizhu, who had always presented himself as magnanimous, shot to his feet, his voice trembling. “Martial Uncle Huanglong, this Zhang Kuang must come to my Jade Bamboo Hall! Our hall emphasizes the cultivation of the disciple’s state of mind. Every disciple of our hall has an incredibly stable temperament. This boy, Zhang Kuang, has some rough edges. I can surely preserve his unique characteristics while guiding him…”

“Nonsense! Look at how agitated your own state of mind is! How can you guarantee you’ll teach him well? Zhang Kuang’s temperament suits my taste perfectly. The Ancient Cloud Hall is the best place for him!” Master Guyun, fearing that Perfected Man Huanglong would be persuaded by Master Bizhu, jumped up and retorted, shedding all pretense of immortal grace. “The Ancient Cloud Hall doesn’t cultivate some nonsense state of mind! Strength! Only strength guarantees a smooth path in cultivation!”

Master Xiayunzi sneered in rebuttal. “Senior Brother Guyun, you just accepted Zhang Yang. Are you trying to hoard all the good seedlings? Martial Uncle Huanglong, my Six Divinatory Trigrams is a peerless art that can perceive the heavens above and the earth below, possessing a mysterious and unpredictable power. Zhang Kuang’s heaven-defying talent makes him the perfect successor for the Six Divinatory Trigrams!”

As he spoke, Master Xiayunzi turned to Zhang Kuang. “The Six Divinatory Trigrams is an ancient and profound art. Not only can it predict fortune and misfortune, but it can also defeat enemies without them even knowing. It is the most mysterious and profound art in our sect.”

“Senior Brother Xiayunzi, your Six Divinatory Trigrams is just a pale imitation of the ancient art. It’s incomplete. Passing such a flawed technique to Zhang Kuang would be a waste of an Unsurpassed Purple Seed, wouldn’t it?”

The one who spoke was Su Baihua. The well-preserved and beautiful master of the Hundred Flowers Hall was unexpectedly sharp-tongued, proving that no woman was to be trifled with, especially one who had lived for several hundred years.

“That’s right, Xiayunzi. Your Six Divinatory Trigrams isn’t all-knowing, is it? Why don’t you just divine where the next Purple Seed disciple is and go recruit them? Why fight with us over Zhang Kuang?”

Su Baihua’s words were lethally sarcastic, leaving Master Xiayunzi red-faced and speechless. With a flick of his wide Daoist sleeve, several trigram coins floated up in front of him, as if he was about to perform a divination on the spot.