Chapter 214: We Finally Meet Again. (1/2)

Chapter 214: We Finally Meet Again….

No one could possibly know that the same Meng Hao who had stirred up such waves in the outside world, was currently carefully looking over medicinal herbs in the Violet Fate Sect’s Celestial Land, an innocent student confirming the validity of his studies.

Time passed by, and Meng Hao lost track of how many medicinal plants he had harvested. As long as he recognized a plant, it counted toward his quota, and he placed it in his bag of holding.

At one point, Meng Hao found himself about three hundred meters away from one of the giants. For quite some time, he observed how it planted the seeds, moved the seedlings around, and cared for the plants.

Later, he stood beneath one of the Cyclops trees, watching the enormous eye gazing about. He even climbed up one of them to harvest some of the red grass that grew on its trunk.

Eventually, he was far, far away from where he had started. The fields of medicinal plants seemed to have no end. In Meng Hao’s estimation, these more remote areas would most certainly have even more amazing medicinal plants, perhaps even some of the legendary extinct variety.

However, everything was simply too big. Around him stretched never-ending fields of medicinal plants. As he proceeded, he started to realize that he actually only recognized about one medicinal plant out of one hundred.

“The Dao of alchemy is endless,” he thought with a sigh. “It’s just as difficult as Cultivation, a road without end, an almighty facet of Heaven and Earth. At first I thought that memorizing a bit more than half of the hundred thousand medicinal plants would be enough. But now I can see that those one hundred thousand plants are simply the threshold.” However, stubborness glinted in his eyes. This type of Cultivation had nothing to do with his Dao Pillars. His excitement actually became even stronger.

“I’m a scholar at heart,” he said, reassuring himself. “Although my aspirations were never realized, when it comes to studying, I definitely have an advantage over all the other apprentice alchemists.” He would focus, do his best to remember everything he saw, and then go back to do more research in the ancient records.

It was in this fashion that time slipped by. Soon, the sound of bells filled the Celestial Land; the one month time period had passed quickly. Time was up, and Meng Hao wasn’t content. He felt as if he had just started. However, the strands of light appeared in the air, and he sighed. He gave one last look at the Celestial land before a strand of light whisked him away.

When they reappeared in the various valleys, there were a variety of expressions on the faces of the hundred thousand apprentice alchemists. Meng Hao wasn’t the only one to have grown during the month inside the Celestial Land. All of the apprentice alchemists had.

Soon, people came to collect the medicinal plants they had harvested, along with their jade slips which contained information about the harvest. Meng Hao chose not to secretly duplicate any of his spoils. He was fully devoted to his Violet Fate Sect identity, and wouldn’t do the slightest thing that might give himself away. He handed over all the medicinal plants, then slowly headed back to the valley that contained his house.

Once back in his courtyard, he immediately took out some scrolls and began to study. When he found areas that he had overlooked before, his face would flash with excitement, and he would commit the information to memory.

Two more months passed. He had already been in the Violet Fate Sect for half a year. Already, the search for Meng Hao in the outside world was slowing down. The various Sects and Clans had searched throughout the Southern Domain, and still hadn’t been able to find a trace of Meng Hao. A variety of speculations began to circulate, but nothing conclusive could be determined.

Meng Hao heard all about the situation from Bai Yunlai, who well deserved his reputation for being well informed about everything. He wasn’t just familiar with the latest news about the Violet Fate Sect; he kept himself plugged into the events of the outside world as well.

One morning, Meng Hao walked out of his house to sit in the courtyard. He lifted up his right hand, within which was a small, growing plant. His medicinal plant garden was filled with quite a few plants, all in full bloom. A medicinal aroma filled the air. Suddenly, Meng Hao’s expression flickered, and he looked up.

Bai Yunlai was racing along the side of the meandering stream. Before he even arrived, he called out, “Junior Brother Fang, there’s an excellent opportunity! Your Elder Brother won a great opportunity for you!”

Meng Hao smiled. He waved his right hand, and the medicinal plant in his hand disappeared. At the same time, the courtyard door swung open, just in time for Bai Yunlai to rush in.

“What opportunity?” asked Meng Hao, smiling. Bai Yunlai’s Cultivation base was ordinary, only at the seventh or eighth level of Qi Condensation. However, he was viewed as indispensable within the Sect. He often came to visit Meng Hao, and they spent quite a bit of time together.

“There’s an Inner Sect disciple from the Violet Qi Division who requested Alchemist Li Tao [1] to concoct some pills for him,” gushed Bai Yunlai. “Alchemist Li wanted me to arrange for two apprentice alchemists to assist. I will go, of course. As for the second spot, you were the first person I thought of.

“Quickly gather your things and come with me. This will be an excellent opportunity to expand your knowledge of alchemy. Lots of apprentice alchemists would like to go, but Alchemist Li’s personality is a bit eccentric. Just don’t say anything, and follow my lead.”

Meng Hao’s eyes glittered. He’d learned some time ago that Inner Sect disciples from the Violet Qi Division would often request master alchemists to concoct pills for them. Under most circumstances, the Violet Qi Division disciple would gather together the necessary medicinal plants, as well as some Spirit Stones. If this pleased the master alchemist, then work could begin.

As for Furnace Lords, who ranked above master alchemists, they were well versed in the Dao of alchemy, and had reached Foundation Establishment. There were only about one hundred of them in the entire Violet Fate Sect, and each one occupied a very prominent position. Generally speaking, Inner Sect disciples didn’t qualify to request their services. Only Conclave disciples and Sect Elders could request pill concocting from Furnace Lords.

As for Violet Furnace Lords, they could be considered to be virtually at the Grandmaster level. Each and every one was a precious treasure of the Sect, and all were Pill Demon novitiates. Only those with extremely high influence within the Sect could request pill concocting services from them.

The Alchemist Li who Bai Yunlai referred to was naturally not a Furnace Lord, but one of the one thousand master alchemists. Considering how things were arranged, and considering how few master alchemists there were in the Sect, it was only natural that they would seek apprentice alchemists to act as assistants when concocting pills for Violet Qi Division disciples.