The sky in the north turned darker earlier than in the south, and it was the same for dusk.
It came and went quickly, giving way to the dark night.
This was because the white snow didn't like sunlight and the sky hated the dusk.
Very soon, the sky was pitch-black.
However, the long night couldn't compare to longing…
Xu Qing stood in front of his tent in the encampment and stared at the dark night, looking in the direction of the Nanhuang Continent.
This place was too far from the Nanhuang Continent.
"I wonder how Chen Feiyuan is doing and how Ting Yu is now. With them around, there won't be a lack of offerings in front of Teacher's grave." Xu Qing mumbled and walked inside the tent.
After sitting down, he sighed softly and closed his eyes.
After a long time, the waves in his heart calmed down. Only then did he take out the small clay bottle.
"I hope it will be useful." Xu Qing placed the small clay bottle to the side and took out the black iron stick that had accompanied him for many years. His right hand gently stroked it.
He knew every detail of this iron stick.
The teacher in the slums had once said that the older one was, the more nostalgic they would be. Xu Qing felt that this wasn't absolute because he wasn't old but he was still very nostalgic.
Regardless of whether it was people or things, as long as they had helped him before, he wouldn't forget them.
With such emotions, Xu Qing opened the small clay bottle. He then placed the black iron stick into the bottle and even spread out his perception to fuse into the iron stick to sense the changes inside.
Very soon, Xu Qing sensed traces of golden fog coming from the small clay bottle.
This fog drifted and entered the black iron stick. However, most of it circled around the iron stick and slowly nourished it.
This process wasn't short. A full night passed. When the sky outside was starting to brighten, all the golden fog disappeared.
All of them had fused into the iron stick.
Xu Qing took out the iron stick and held it in front of his eyes to observe it carefully. He looked at every inch of it seriously. After he examined it fully, a smile appeared on his face.
The cracks in the black iron stick were mostly repaired overnight. Most importantly, the material itself seemed to be a little different from before.
It was as though it had been refined again.
The Diamond Sect's ancestor had more say on this matter. Hence, when Xu Qing summoned him, the Diamond Sect's ancestor also sensed the iron stick seriously and finally spoke with certainty.
"Master, I can sense that the material of the iron stick is changing. Just like when a cultivator advances, it is also advancing. If this continues, it will undergo a transformation. It will transform from an ordinary treasure to a magic artifact. Also, because it has been enhanced by me before, once it becomes a magic artifact, its might won't be inferior to a spirit artifact at all!
It can even be said that it's a spirit artifact but it needs more nourishment."
Xu Qing nodded as a look of contemplation appeared in his eyes.
The price of this imperial metal Qi was very expensive but the simplest method was indeed to purchase it. However, Xu Qing felt that there shouldn't be much of it sold outside.
"I'll look for it first. Also, I need to make a trip to the Absolute Beginning Separation Pillar in the near future to see if I can obtain this imperial metal Qi."
Xu Qing made up his mind and carefully kept the iron stick. He then closed his eyes and meditated.
Very soon, the sky lit up. Xu Qing opened his eyes and walked out, searching for the metal Qi in the markets.
It was indeed as he had judged. Although this peculiar Qi from the Absolute Beginning Separation Pillar had some supply, the quantity was indeed very small. Xu Qing searched for a day but only managed to collect three wisps of Qi.
According to his analysis, if he wanted to complete the advancement of the black iron stick, he needed at least 30 wisps of Qi.
As dusk arrived, Xu Qing saw the Dao altar again on the way to the encampment. He saw the old man sitting cross-legged and explaining the Dao of plants and vegetation.
"Night Corpse Leading Ox, also known as Poison Mountain Root Turtledove Chrysanthemum. It is the stem and root of the chrysanthemum plant. It is a wooden vine that grows in ravines, cold streams, or jungles…"
His voice was ancient and echoed in all directions. However, the number of rogue cultivators outside the Dao altar was even fewer than yesterday. There were only a dozen or so today.
Xu Qing listened for a while before leaving silently. This time, before he left, he paid a spirit stone.
Just like that, time flowed by and very soon, half a month passed.
In this half a month, more and more disciples of the human race's various forces arrived at the Absolute Beginning Separation City, causing the city to become even more lively. Moreover, there were also many more cultivators climbing the pillar.
However, the person ranked first was still Li Ziliang from the Grand Affairs Immortal Sect. He had already reached almost 8,000 feet. The higher he went, the more difficult it seemed to be.
During this time, he sent three more challenge letters to the Alliance. The one who he challenged was still Xu Qing.
Xu Qing ignored all of the challenge letters. During this period of time, other than occasionally purchasing some metal Qi, he spent the vast majority of his time at the Dao altar. Stopping there every day for a little while when he returned had already become a habit of his.
It was only when he heard the old man start to explain the alchemy method that he decided to sit beside the Dao altar and listen.
Back then, Grandmaster Bai had only imparted knowledge of plants to him, and not much about the art of alchemy. Xu Qing had slowly figured out various things himself.
Although he gained some proficiency, overall, he was still lacking in alchemy. Hence, he listened attentively. Such days brought a rare calm, causing Xu Qing to feel a little dazed many times as though he had returned to the scavenger campsite.
At the same time, he also sensed that the ordinary-looking old man's attainments in alchemy were extremely high. This was because Xu Qing would often feel a sense of enlightenment from a single sentence from the other party.
"The conversion method of the two extremes of yin and yang is actually one of the methods. Alchemy is vast and far-reaching. So far, the human race has more than 6,000 alchemy techniques."
"I don't think highly of learning these alchemy techniques. Because they are only external techniques, at most, I'll only impart the Yin-Yang Extreme Conversion Technique. Techniques are mostly an application of knowledge of plants and vegetation."
"All of you must remember that there are thousands of paths, but one destination."
"Therefore, the foundation is the most important in alchemy. After that, you have to figure out a suitable method on your own. After all, even the simplest combination technique is effective."
"As for the so-called refinement, in this old man's opinion, it's all to better stimulate and concoct the medicinal effects of herbs."
"Although these methods are alchemy techniques, I hope that the human cultivators who listen to my alchemy techniques can understand the essence. Only then will they have future achievements."
When Xu Qing heard all of this, his expression was in a daze. He vaguely felt that this old man in front of him had become Grandmaster Bai.
He instinctively sat up straight and remembered all of this. At the same time, as he studied, he gradually felt that he had a better understanding of alchemy.
His attainments in alchemy had clearly improved. Moreover, he had a clear systematic structure to support him.
His foundation was forged by Grandmaster Bai and was extremely solid.
After that, he self-studied and mixed many things which gradually made it chaotic. It was because of his previous foundation and his focus on the poison path that he could barely maintain his alchemy system from collapsing.
This learning session was like removing the weeds and saving the essence, causing Xu Qing to slowly have a direction in alchemy.
According to what Old Master Seventh had said when he brought Xu Qing to the Ghost Emperor Mountain back then, another 'god' had now moved into Xu Qing's heart, one that illuminated his alchemy path.
This made Xu Qing very happy. It had been a long time since he was so happy.
That increase in knowledge made him feel very fulfilled. However, accidents would always appear unexpectedly, causing Xu Qing's learning to be interrupted.
There was something he needed to deal with.
The cause of this matter was some conflicts that weren't very serious. Some disciples of Mystic Nether Sect and the Seven Blood Eyes had friction with the Grand Affairs Immortal Sect. Actually, this was more or less related to Xu Qing.
During this period of time, he had ignored Li Ziliang's challenges many times, causing there to be a lot of rumors. These rumors naturally made the disciples of the Eight Sects Alliance feel uncomfortable.
Hence, it was difficult to avoid the appearance of friction.
This was the case this time. A few disciples of the Mystic Nether Sect and the Seven Blood Eyes were detained by Li Ziliang during the conflict. Moreover, he was very heavy handed.
He also informed the Eight Sects Alliance and named Xu Qing specifically to apologize if they wanted to get their disciples back.
This was clearly to force Xu Qing to fight with him.
This matter quickly spread, causing most of the disciples of the various forces at the Absolute Beginning Separation City to know. They all paid attention to this matter with the mentality of watching a show.
After all, Xu Qing hadn't accepted the challenges previously. From the perspective of those who didn't understand Xu Qing, this was clearly a cowardly act. Now that Li Ziliang had done this, they wanted to see if Xu Qing would continue to avoid the challenge.
"It's a little annoying." After Xu Qing heard about this, he frowned. He was naturally not annoyed by the Alliance's disciples but by Li Ziliang.
Xu Qing clearly saw the other party's intention to use him to establish his might and attract the attention of the Sword Holders.
This thought couldn't be said to be wrong, but to detain others and force a battle to achieve his goal was a little too much and even abnormal.
And, Xu Qing pondered deeply when things were abnormal.
For example, did the other party have other motives for challenging him many times?
However, no matter what the motive was, the other party didn't seem to be prepared. Hence, he only forced him to accept the challenge and not a life-and-death battle. This made Xu Qing feel that there was a high chance that the other party wanted to test his strength.
Regardless of whether it was the slums, the scavenger campsite, or the things he had learned in the sect, Xu Qing only had one way to deal with such a situation.
That was to not give the other party a second chance to attack. He would kill the enemy in the first battle.
What he hated the most was when he couldn't kill the enemy after the fight. After all, from his analysis, there was a high chance that the other party had ill intentions. In such a situation, hatred would definitely be formed.
If the other party continued to grow, Xu Qing would feel that they were a hidden danger.
Xu Qing took out a jade slip and transmitted his voice to the ancestor to ask.
"Ancestor, killing is not allowed within the range of the Absolute Beginning Separation Pillar. Does this range refer to the entire territory or just this city?"
A long time later, the ancestor faintly replied.
"This city, you brat… Forget it, you can do whatever you want."
Xu Qing nodded. Outside the Dao altar, he cupped his fists toward the old man who was narrating about herbs. He knew that the other party wouldn't pay attention because during this period of time, the old man had only been narrating and hadn't asked or paid attention to anyone below.
However, Xu Qing attached great importance to etiquette. After bowing, his body swayed and he headed straight for the sky. Within moments, he arrived outside the city. He stood in the air and calmly spoke.
"Li Ziliang, do you dare to accept life-and-death battle?"
As soon as his voice rang out, the entire city and the disciples of the various forces instantly broke into an uproar.
