’If I can keep taking the Dragon Tiger Great Golden Pill, my progress with the Blood Prison Heart Blade Scripture is bound to speed up considerably.’
Besides, with a stronger Heart Spirit, he’d have a huge advantage whether he was comprehending and deducing Cultivation Techniques or fighting.
’I’ll go for the Dragon Tiger Great Golden Pill Formula!’ He had made his decision.
No wonder Elder Huoyun had given him the Dragon Tiger Great Golden Pill out of all the Marrow Cleansing Elixirs.
The Dragon Tiger Great Golden Pill’s Marrow Cleansing effect might be inferior to other elixirs, but its ability to nourish the Heart Spirit alone made it superior.
In the later stages of the Martial Dao, the Heart Spirit was far more important than the physical body or Gang Qi.
The next day, after breakfast in the dining hall, Xu Yang returned to his courtyard and started counting his contribution points.
He originally had around four hundred points. He had received about two hundred from gifts, and the reward from the Ten Heroes List combined with the payment from Qiushui Manor totaled eight hundred fifty. After counting everything, he found he had a total of 1,423 contribution points.
’This should be enough for the Dragon Tiger Great Golden Pill Formula!’
Xu Yang put all the contribution points into a bag and headed straight for the Inheritance Tower.
The Inheritance Tower wasn’t on Li Fire Peak, but on Tianquan Peak.
After identifying himself, he quickly ascended Tianquan Peak.
There were clearly more disciples here than on Li Fire Peak, as well as more grand halls and courtyards.
After asking for directions, he found the Inheritance Tower without any trouble.
The Inheritance Tower wasn’t large, only about the size of an ordinary house. It had three floors and a dusty gray color, making it impossible to tell what material it was built from. Disciples stood guard on all sides, and a small door served as the entrance.
Xu Yang stepped through the small door. Inside, he saw a long desk with a spirited old man sitting behind it. The man’s hair was almost completely white, yet his face was ruddy and full of life.
When Xu Yang entered, the old man’s tiger-like eyes glinted sharply as he sized him up.
’He’s at least a Celestial Essence Martial Artist!’
Xu Yang instantly felt a wave of pressure. ’Why are all these old geezers so obsessed with checking people’s realms? They try to size you up the moment they meet you, with zero respect for privacy.’
He quickly stepped forward and cupped his hands. "Disciple Xu Yang greets you, Elder!"
Wei Zhihe’s eyes lit up. "So you’re Xu Yang? Your aura is truly contained. No wonder that old coot Li Songhe misjudged you."
His gaze toward Xu Yang grew more curious, but the desire to probe deeply had vanished. He had been observing for a while and couldn’t see anything, realizing Xu Yang must have cultivated some kind of Hidden Qi Mechanism technique. It was hard to discern anything without a direct confrontation.
Xu Yang nodded. "Yes, Elder, I am Xu Yang."
Wei Zhihe smiled. "What are you here to exchange for? A Cultivation Technique? A Martial Technique? If you’re not sure, feel free to tell me what you’re looking for. I can give you a recommendation."
"Thank you, Elder. I wish to exchange for the Dragon Tiger Great Golden Pill Formula. How many contribution points will that require?"
As soon as he said this, Wei Zhihe’s warm smile froze on his face and slowly faded.
He had assumed this disciple, ranked fifth on the Ten Heroes List, was here to acquire some powerful Martial Technique or a Superior Heart Method. He never imagined the disciple wanted to exchange for the useless Dragon Tiger Great Golden Pill Formula.
"You still haven’t given up on alchemy?" Wei Zhihe frowned.
He had heard that Xu Yang had first tried to join Medicine King Peak, but was rejected by Elder Chang Chun, which was why he ended up on Li Fire Peak.
He thought Xu Yang had given up on learning alchemy, but it seemed he was still obsessed. ’Is alchemy something you can learn just from a single pill formula?’
"Please, Elder, I ask for your approval," Xu Yang said, cupping his hands.
He had expected this reaction and had no way to explain himself.
"Kid, with your talent, if you dedicated yourself to the Martial Dao, you could very well achieve a Secondary Dragon Ascension, leave the Purple Sun Sect, and enter a much wider world. If you get your priorities backward, you’ll regret it when it’s too late," Wei Zhihe snorted.
The number of contribution points required for the Dragon Tiger Great Golden Pill Formula would be enough to trade for four of the pills themselves. Xu Yang was completely wasting his resources.
Even he, who had long been detached from worldly affairs, couldn’t bear to watch a genius with the potential for a Secondary Dragon Ascension go astray.
The Alchemy Dao was merely an auxiliary path. If those Pill Masters had what it took to become powerful Martial Artists, who would choose to be a Pill Master?
Xu Yang shook his head. "It’s not that I don’t understand the priorities. I just can’t explain my reasons, so please forgive me. Elder, just follow the Sect’s rules and make the exchange for me. Even if I regret it later, I will bear the consequences myself."
"Fine. In that case, I won’t waste my breath. The Dragon Tiger Great Golden Pill Formula costs twelve hundred contribution points. Do you have enough?" Wei Zhihe’s earlier smile was completely gone, replaced by a stern expression.
Xu Yang gave a bitter smile. He knew the elder meant well, but he couldn’t explain himself, so he had no choice but to let the kind senior misunderstand him as being neglectful of his duties.
"I do."
He took out his bag, counted out 1,200 contribution points, and handed them over.
Wei Zhihe took out a device specifically for counting, tallied the points in a few swift motions, and then turned and entered the tower.
"Take it. I hope you have a genuine use for it. Remember, do not leak this to anyone, or it will be considered treason against the Sect."
A moment later, Wei Zhihe returned and handed Xu Yang a slip of paper—the Dragon Tiger Great Golden Pill Formula.
"Thank you, Elder!"
Xu Yang cupped his hands, took it, and turned to leave. As he walked out the small door, he saw a disciple staring at him, utterly dumbfounded, clearly shocked that he had spent 1,200 contribution points on the Dragon Tiger Great Golden Pill Formula.
Xu Yang paid the disciple no mind and strode away.
"Xu Yang has lost his mind! He’s still not over alchemy, spending twelve hundred contribution points on the Dragon Tiger Great Golden Pill Formula!"
The disciple had come to exchange for a Cultivation Technique, but after witnessing such an event, he lost all interest in his own task. He left excitedly and immediately started spreading the news.
Before long, most of the disciples on Tianquan Peak knew that Xu Yang had supposedly lost his mind, spending 1,200 contribution points on the Dragon Tiger Great Golden Pill Formula. From Tianquan Peak, the news quickly spread to the other Three Peaks.
...
"Haha! Is Xu Yang sick in the head? With that many contribution points, he could have reached Marrow Cleansing Great Success in about a year and started pushing for the Celestial Essence Realm. This is just plain suicidal!"
"I can’t believe a genius like him can’t get his priorities straight. Elder Chang Chun rejected him back then precisely so he would focus on the Martial Dao."
"He’s finished. What a waste of all that talent."
"He bought pill formulas at the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion several times before. I can’t believe he’s still buying them now that he’s in the Inner Sect."
...
The disciples of the Four Peaks were all dumbstruck when they heard the news. Instead of focusing on raising his cultivation to attempt a Secondary Dragon Ascension, he was dabbling in alchemy.
Even if he really had the talent to become a Pill Master, so what? He would still just be serving stronger experts. It was a classic case of putting the cart before the horse.
For a time, disciples across the Four Peaks were all laughing at Xu Yang.
’I can’t believe I actually took someone like him seriously, treating him as a rival. How ridiculous,’ Yan Guiyun thought, a self-mocking smile on his face. Someone with such backward priorities, who didn’t know what was important, would never catch up to his cultivation in a lifetime. He wasn’t even qualified to be his enemy.
"Haha! Brother Lu, to think we were beaten by someone like him! It’s a joke!" Xiong Kun was laughing so hard he was almost in tears.
If Xu Yang had been dead set on improving himself, he would have had nothing to say. But just a few days after making it onto the Ten Heroes List, Xu Yang pulls a stunt like this—snatching the resources that should have been his, only to trade them for a completely useless pill formula.
’What are you really trying to do? How could you possibly know alchemy?’ Lu Ren’s brow was deeply furrowed.
He was arguably the person who understood Xu Yang best. When Xu Yang did something, you might scoff and laugh at first.
But in the end, you would discover he was always right. He never did anything without a reason.
He thought for a long time but couldn’t figure out Xu Yang’s objective. ’Could it be that he actually learned alchemy from those few formulas he bought at the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion?’
’Impossible!’
Lu Ren’s pupils contracted, startled by his own thought.
Based on his own knowledge, it was impossible. But based on Xu Yang’s way of doing things, he would never do anything that wasn’t to his benefit. Every move he made had a deeper purpose.