Bang bang bang!
The sound of three knocks rang out, and the shadow of the sun's corona in the northeast corner of the martial arts field finally shrunk to a small dot. The long beard under Ge Yuan's chin swayed without wind, and a hint of anxiety appeared in his eyes as he looked at the cave entrance in the martial arts field.
It was already noon, a day had passed, and over two hundred years, had the Ge Sect failed to produce a disciple who could pass this final test and leave the mountain?
The Ge Sect had a long-standing history, founded by the renowned alchemist Ge Hong of the Jin Dynasty, making it the first sect of alchemy in the Middle Land. Although the number of disciples was not large, every Ge Sect disciple who could leave the mountain was a prominent figure in the alchemy world.
The term "dan" was not as simple as an ordinary pill to the common people at the foot of the mountain. The alchemy path was extensive, divided into internal and external paths: internal alchemy referred to the practitioner's own cultivation, with the most advanced practitioners achieving the Golden Elixir and Yuanying stages. External alchemy almost included all non-self-cultivation projects, including alchemical elixirs, magical tools, formations, incantations, and secrets, leading to the cultivation world being also called the alchemy world.
People outside the sect didn't know that the Ge Sect disciples who could leave the mountain were carefully chosen. Breaking through the "Nine Coronal Mysteries" within a day was not something an ordinary genius could achieve. It required an extraordinary genius.
The exit of the Nine Coronal Mysteries was this cave. The entrance was located on another mountain peak, with a total of nine golden crowns, each engraved with a difficult alchemical question. It was not the difficulty of solving these questions that was the challenge, but the task of solving all nine questions within a day. Alchemy was unlike other disciplines, where even a small pill took several days to refine, and larger ones could take several years. To solve these questions in a day required not just a deep understanding of alchemy but also the ability to think creatively. The consequence of taking shortcuts was that while the results met the requirements of the golden crowns, they often had various flaws, such as quality issues.
However, this was a test devised by Ge Sect's predecessors to assess a disciple's unique insight into alchemy. Only those who could find shortcuts were considered to have their own unique understanding of alchemy and were qualified to represent the Ge Sect beyond the mountain.
Without passing this test, even the master who took disciples down the mountain could not casually use the name of the Ge Sect.
Ge Yuan was the current head of the Ge Sect. The person who entered the Nine Coronal Mysteries the day before was his third disciple, the most stubborn and talented one. If he couldn't pass through the Nine Coronal Mysteries in a day, it was likely that there would be no one from the Ge Sect in this generation who could appear in the mortal world again.
Ge Yuan sighed. He had extremely high expectations for this stubborn and talented disciple, but he didn't expect to be disappointed in the end. Ge Yuan shook his head slightly and was about to announce the failure of the disciple to pass the test. Suddenly, a voice came from the cave, "Master!"
The cave was also the work of the predecessors, automatically counting the time from Ge Zheng's entry. At this moment, a day had just ended, and the stone door at the mouth of the cave was slowly closing. When the dragon-shaped stone fell, it also declared Ge Zheng's failure to pass the test, which meant he would have to stay on the mountain for the rest of his life.
Ge Zheng, feeling very unwilling, compared the worldly life below with the silent years on the mountain and suddenly felt a surge of strength. He swiftly skimmed the ground, and the bright light appeared in front of him. With a thud, the heavy stone had fallen behind him.
"Master!" Ge Zheng rushed onto the martial arts field and Ge Yuan was also extremely excited, clenching his hands together and murmuring, "Good, after so many years of effort, this stubborn boy is finally living up to expectations."
This disciple had been a headache for him. He's been rebellious since he was young, refusing to be disciplined, teasing his senior brothers, oppressing his junior brothers, and causing chaos throughout the mountains - he was a despot in the mountains, equally respected by humans and beasts.
"Finally, I can rightfully send this little troublemaker down the mountain." Ge Yuan breathed a sigh of relief, fulfilling the wishes of his predecessors and getting rid of this menace, feeling relieved.
As Ge Zheng ran over, tears in his eyes, he knelt in front of Ge Yuan and kowtowed three times with a loud thud. Ge Yuan's eyes also filled with tears, comforting him with a sense of reluctance to part after twenty years of master and disciple relationship.
"Master, the child in the belly of the disciple's junior sister is my flesh and blood. Please take care of them. When the disciple builds a family at the foot of the mountain, I will come back to marry the junior sister..."
Ge Yuan was furious and thought the disciple was kowtowing to repay his twenty years of teaching, but he didn't expect it was for this reason!
In this generation, there was only one female disciple in their sect, Ge Yuan's own daughter, Ge Ying. In fact, most disciples in the sect were not surnamed Ge; they changed their surname to Ge after joining the sect.
The Ge Sect had always been unconstrained, even encouraging disciples to practice martial arts together to advance in the Dao of the Dragon and the Tiger. Ge Hong's "Baopuzi" specifically included a section on the arts of the bedroom. Let alone that the disciples had to study the "Ten Poses and Thirty Techniques" thoroughly. Ge Yuan was angered that this pair had concealed it from him for so long. If he hadn't planned to leave the mountain today, perhaps he wouldn't have found out, and they might have continued to hide it from him.
When Ge Yuan realized, Ge Zheng had already run far away. With extraordinary talent and profound alchemical skills, Ge Yuan's slight negligence made it impossible for him to catch up.
Next to the martial arts field was a winding path that led to halfway up the mountain, where a steep cliff split into two rock walls. In the middle of the cliff was the mountain gate. As soon as someone exited, the cliff immediately started closing.
Ge Yuan gritted his teeth, wondering when this little troublemaker managed to sneak away. He had just seen his daughter and she was still a virgin; the bracelet on her arm was as red as blood.
Looking around, Ge Yuan realized that most of the disciples around the martial arts field were suppressing their amusement. He understood that these people had long been aware of the matter, but they had kept it from him, making him very angry. Today was truly a disgrace. He waved his hand and ordered, "All of you, go back!"
Ge Zheng left the mountain gate, a piece of grass in his mouth, walking unsteadily along the mountain road. His skin was slightly dark due to being exposed to the sun while chasing foxes and rabbits in the mountains every day. His eyes shone with a sharp black and white, his nose was straight, his lips were square, and his whole body exuded a masculine energy, not like those delicate flowers grown in the city. However, upon closer observation, his eyes had a hint of cunning and mischief. Thinking of the years of hardship in the mountains, Ge Zheng felt a bit scared. Luckily, he had escaped, although he couldn't travel the world with his junior sister, which was somewhat regrettable.
It was evident that Ge Zheng was the most outstanding disciple of his generation in the Ge Sect. In order to engage in a clandestine relationship with his junior sister without being discovered by the master, he specifically refined a batch of "Solidifying Sand Pills," taking one every ten days to prevent the sand from falling, fooling the master to this day, and even having a child together.
"Oh, what's that?" Not far from Ge Zheng's side, a faint golden light ball was jumping in the grass and shrubs. With his level of ability, Ge Zheng didn't have any fear. Instead, he eagerly chased after it. The light ball rolled and grew larger as he approached, becoming almost half his height.
Ge Zheng was secretly delighted. This area was covered by the seal left by the sect's predecessors. Within a radius of three hundred miles from the mountain gate, it was forbidden to enter or leave. Modern radar searches couldn't detect any trace, and the spiritual energy in the mountain wouldn't leak out. Over the centuries, the accumulated spiritual energy was abundant, and there were often worldly spirits, animals, and spiritual beings that had cultivated to form. This was a treasure that couldn't be sought after. After capturing it, it would greatly aid in cultivation.
Having roamed the mountains for over ten years, he had never encountered such an opportunity. Today, he had come across it and he was determined not to let it slip away. Ge Zheng placed one hand behind him and pointed with the other, drawing a "Capturing Spirit Talisman" in the air and shouted, "Come!"
A faint green light enveloped the pale golden ball.
To his surprise, the light ball suddenly enlarged, not only easily devouring the spirit-capturing talisman but also exerting a strong suction force that instantly pulled Ge Zheng towards the ball, breaking the spiritual connection between him and the talisman.
Ge Zheng was shocked and tried to struggle, but it was already too late. He had underestimated the strange power of the light ball, which was overwhelmingly strong and made him helpless even though he was fully alert. He was inevitably pulled into the golden light without any suspense.
The golden light engulfed Ge Zheng, then rapidly shrank, and after rolling on the grass tip for a while, it suddenly disappeared, as if it had never appeared in this world.
Inside the Ge family residence.
"Bam!" Ge Yuan fiercely shut the door and casually cast a spell to lock his daughter, Ge Ying, inside the house. Ge Ying hammered on the wooden door, crying, "Father, let me out, let me out..." Ge Yuan grunted, "That little beast better not come back! If he dares to return, I will definitely break his legs!" He did not realize that his most outstanding disciple might truly never return.
...
Parachel Su Su was the universally recognized top alchemist under the starry sky, the chief consultant of the three continents' alchemy guild, and the only living master craftsman. In the Star Refining World, artifacts were the patent of the gods, and no one in human history had ever been able to create a divine artifact. Therefore, quasi-artifacts became the pinnacle of human alchemist achievement. One-third of the quasi-artifacts in the Star Refining World had been created by this master.
If a piece of equipment was adorned with the emblem of the master "Flame Saint Hand", even a piece of scrap metal could fetch a sky-high price.
Furthermore, Parachel Su Su completely changed the dark and mysterious image of alchemists in the Star Refining World. He was elegant and refined, like a beloved mentor in the academy. He was courteous, and even the most conservative gentlemen could not find fault with him. He was generous, and his name was always on the disaster relief donation list for the three continents.
However, today, the gentle old man with the white beard was furious, the unfortunate target of the wrath of the Star Refining World's top alchemist. Crouching on the ground, he covered his head with his fluffy paws, drooping his two large ears like squirrel tails, covering almost half of his body.
Indeed, Parachel Su Su was currently scolding his own lovely magic pet, named Dou Dou.
"Half a bag of Black Zene Nine-Seed Grass, intact Split-Fang Serpent's eye, two kilograms of the Serpent's gall of the Rhino-head Furious Snake... These are all the top spatial alchemy materials. You've defiled them all, you are really too much, too arrogant, too disrespectful of my authority. You, you, you listen carefully, from now on, you are prohibited to come within ten meters of my laboratory, otherwise you will never be allowed to eat hami fruits again!"
"Wuwu..." Miss Dou Dou shook her ears, looking grievously at the white-bearded man. Parachel Su Su furiously said, "Don't you regret it?" Dou Dou provocatively extended her paw towards the old man and then pointed outside, before jumping and hopping out of the window. Parachel Su Su was furious. He misinterpreted Miss Dou Dou's intent and thought she had invited him for a "duel".
"Fine!" Parachel Su Su gritted his teeth. Although he was older, he was not someone anyone could easily bully. He grabbed his cane and rushed out.