togophonebook Chapter 9: Five Years in the End
Chapter 9: Five Years in the End
"Always grinning and never serious!"
The Fifth Elder looked at the young man and snorted, "Young Yun, this is my most useless disciple, Yaosheng. From now on, you will learn from him."
"Fang Yun greets Senior Brother!"
Fang Yun bowed respectfully, his attitude impeccable.
"So it really is my junior brother! Excellent! At least I won't have to take the scolding alone anymore!"
Fang Yaosheng was overjoyed and, feigning delight, gave a respectful bow.
"What nonsense are you spouting? You deserve a kick!"
The Fifth Elder, with a stern face, made a kicking motion: "Aren't you going to take your junior brother around to familiarize him with the rules and procedures of our alchemy room?"
Fang Yaosheng skillfully dodged the kick, showing none of the composure expected of an alchemist, and led Fang Yun around.
The medicine warehouse, the fire control room, and in addition to these, there are five alchemy rooms in total, one large and four small, occupying a vast area like a palace.
Besides Fang Yaosheng, there were nearly twenty other young people.
They were not disciples of the Fifth Elder, but rather alchemy apprentices sent by the family. They could only address him as their teacher and learn from him.
According to Fang Yaosheng, he has six senior brothers and sisters who have already graduated and are currently stationed in the market.
Fang Yun changed into the robes of an alchemy apprentice.
The base color is pure white, with a smooth and delicate feel. The chest is decorated with green bamboo patterns, with a pill pattern surrounding the center.
Fang Yun's main focus was naturally on the medicinal herb warehouse.
He will spend a long time here for the foreseeable future.
Fang Yun had already memorized the medical classic, the Hundred Herbs Compendium, which the Fifth Elder had given him.
At this point, you can match the illustrations in the book with the processed herbs one by one and truly master this knowledge.
"Junior brother, you... your memorization skills are amazing!"
Fang Yaosheng casually asked a few questions about knowledge points, and received perfect answers to all of them.
Thinking back to his past behavior, where he would feel sleepy whenever he saw a prescription, he suddenly felt that his future was bleak.
"I've just had a photographic memory since I was a child. I still have a long way to go before I can become an alchemist."
Fang Yun shook his head, showing no arrogance.
After spending a day together, the two brothers became quite familiar with each other and had a very pleasant conversation.
Fang Yaosheng, being a warm-hearted person, insisted on taking his junior brother to visit his own cave.
He is a true direct descendant of the Fang family, living in Zizhu Mountain, a place abundant with amazing spiritual energy.
"Junior brother, so you're Yu'er and the others' husband. No wonder..."
Fang Yun did not hide his background.
Having a powerful background and choosing not to use it, instead hiding it away, is foolish.
When Fang Yaosheng was a child, he had met Zhiyu and Zhiqing, and according to their generation, he was their cousin.
Unfortunately, the mortal and immortal realms are ultimately separate, and Fang Zhiyu's family had fallen on hard times, so they lost contact.
Fang Yaosheng has a carefree personality, but he is also meticulous and humble.
They did not look down on these outsiders or put on airs of superiority.
Regardless of their background, becoming a disciple of the Fifth Elder has already proven their abilities.
Fang Yun arrived at his senior brother's cave, activated the formation, pushed open the door, and was immediately startled.
"Stone Armored Bear!"
They saw a ferocious bear-like beast, covered in earthen-yellow stone armor, standing upright, staring intently at them, its claws and teeth gleaming with a sharp, cold light.
This is the Stone Armored Bear, a demonic beast. Once it reaches adulthood, it rivals the late-stage Qi Refining Realm, possessing formidable combat power and a renowned reputation.
Fang Yun quickly realized that what was in front of him was not a living creature, but a lifelike specimen of a demonic beast.
Fang Yaosheng watched with a smile and joked, "Junior brother, congratulations! You're the 128th cultivator to be startled!"
Fang Yun clenched his fist, feeling both amused and exasperated.
I never expected the other person to have such a peculiar hobby.
Fang Yun leaned closer to examine the stone-armored bear, marveling at its exquisite craftsmanship, which made it seem almost alive.
Besides this, there were dozens of monster specimens, which Fang Yaosheng placed in various locations within the cave.
Even in the corner, a shadow snake coiled up, its pupils emerald green, its fine scales gleaming with an eerie light.
This dinner was really tasteless.
Being surrounded by a group of high-level demonic beasts, even though he knew they were inanimate objects, still made Fang Yun feel somewhat uneasy.
In the end, they practically fled in disarray.
……
Fang Yun's life at Ziqing Lake settled down in this way.
He traveled daily between Lingshan Mountain, practicing alchemy and cultivating his spiritual path, spending time with his family, and enjoying a loving relationship with his wife.
His concubines gave birth to four children one after another.
The two boys were named Fang Ping and Fang An.
The two girls were named Fang happy and Fang Le.
Together, they mean peace and joy.
After all, he was born out of wedlock, and if he didn't have spiritual roots in the future, he wouldn't get much attention from Fang Yun.
Time flies like water, passing in the blink of an eye.
When Fang Yu was two years old, he was already eloquent and could recite complete ancient poems. He was calm and intelligent.
Fang Lan was much more lively, the complete opposite of her mother Zhi Yu. Her face was rosy like an apple, and her clear, bell-like laughter could be heard every day.
It was also in this year that Fang Yun successfully broke through to the third level of Qi Refining.
Furthermore, by passing the Fifth Elder's test, he was able to enter the Fire Control Room to learn more advanced alchemy knowledge.
In the blink of an eye, two more years have passed.
Five years have passed since the fairy seedlings arrived at Purple Lake.
Many have settled down, started families, and now enjoy a peaceful and stable life with their wives, children, and warm homes. This has brought them peace of mind.
The fire chamber was filled with sweltering heat.
Fang Yun sat there cross-legged, his fingertips igniting spiritual fire that pulsed continuously.
As he formed a fire seal with his hands, the blue flames immediately dispersed.
It transformed into a dozen or so strands of fire, releasing high temperatures, intertwining like a net, and disappearing into the dark alchemy furnace before them.
The mana was steadily output, transforming into surging flames. The cauldron, the size of a human head, rotated slowly, requiring constant adjustments to the fire intensity.
It takes a lot of mental effort.
After the time it takes for two incense sticks to burn, the alchemy furnace landed with a bang, releasing a faint fragrance.
After a moment of meditation, Fang Yun opened the lid and immediately saw thirteen fasting pills, still steaming hot.
"Junior brother, well done. With your fire control skills, you're already capable of making initial attempts at alchemy."
Across from him, Fang Yaosheng, mimicking his master's stern demeanor, gave his approval.
Fang Yun shook his head.
The Bigu Dan is not a panacea, but rather a food, which is a concentrated form of purified spiritual rice.
Real alchemy is far more complicated, involving extracting medicinal power, gathering liquid and condensing vortex, and solidifying the elixir and locking in the spirit—he had little confidence in any of these.
"It's still because my cultivation level is too low and my magical power is insufficient to sustain me for long enough."
Fang Yun has been stuck at the peak of the third level of Qi Refining for a full year.
This is because he was born with all his meridians open and wide, allowing him to cultivate faster than ordinary people.
He truly understood the difficulty of having a low-grade spiritual root; even breaking through to the mid-stage of Qi Refining, he encountered a bottleneck.
"Junior brother, guess what good news your senior brother has to tell you?"
Fang Yaosheng suddenly chuckled, reverting to his carefree demeanor, with a touch of reserved arrogance.
His face practically screamed, "Come praise me!"
"Could it be... bitter bamboo dung?"
Upon hearing this, Fang Yun's eyes lit up immediately.
His senior brother had been a mid-grade first-level alchemist for nearly ten years.
However, so far, they can only refine one type of mid-grade elixir.
That is bitter bamboo syrup.
It can help cultivators break through bottlenecks and enter the fourth level of Qi Refining, making it extremely precious and naturally very difficult to refine.
"Indeed! Recently, a steward from the family came to me for help, and I prepared all the medicinal herbs to make a batch for his son."
"I'll sell you one now, at half the market price, for sixty spirit stones."
Upon hearing the price, Fang Yun couldn't help but gasp in astonishment.
At a normal price, one Bitter Bamboo Pill is enough to be worth a high-grade magic weapon!
Those with low-grade spiritual roots and no resources or background simply cannot afford it.
They can only grit their teeth and cultivate diligently, spending three to five years slowly breaking through the bottleneck.
"Thank you, senior brother!"
Fang Yun didn't try to bargain again.
Fang Yaosheng's life was not easy either.
Those monster specimens looked beautiful, but the prices were extremely high; each one was ridiculously expensive.
After the transaction was completed, Fang Yun received a spiritual pill that was both blue and white, and he could smell its bitter aroma even through the jade bottle.
He was overjoyed. With this pill, he could break through to the fourth level of Qi Refining as soon as possible and have a certain degree of self-protection.
At that time, Fang Yun planned to return to the Chen Kingdom to retrieve the treasure he had buried in his previous life.
After leaving the alchemy workshop, Fang Yun returned to Zhunan Mountain.
I'm preparing to seize the moment, go into seclusion, and forcefully break through this damned bottleneck.
Unexpectedly, when he returned home, Lu Guishou had been waiting for him for a long time.
"Young Master, Young Master!"
The former young gang leader, his face flushed, waved a letter, his expression extremely agitated.
"It's Qin Yao! She sent a letter from the Qingmu Sect, inviting the five of us to meet again in our hometown of Chen!"