Chapter 249: Reconciled (1/2)

Chapter 249: Reconciled

“Well, it seems this trip to the Black Sieve Sect was by no means for naught!” Having put away the Spring and Autumn tree, Meng Hao smiled. However, deep in his eyes flickered a bit of doubt.

“There seems to be a deep connection between Han Bei and the East Pill Division. I wonder what secret lies there….” He thought about it for a bit, but then put the matter aside. Early morning light once again filled the sky outside.

“As for Zhou Jie, why did he go crazy? When I reencountered him for the first time earlier, something didn’t seem right… Discarnate souls possessing the body, returned from the afterlife….” Meng Hao sat there lost in thought for a while, before raising his head to look outside.

Moments later, he heard a respectful voice from outside. “Grandmaster Fang, the World Pill Division’s Grandmaster Chen will deliver an alchemy lecture today. Would you like to attend?”

Meng Hao thought about it for a moment. He was curious as to how these alchemists from the World Pill Division understood the Dao of alchemy. He rose to his feet and joined the disciple from the Black Sieve Sect. Together, they descended Black Welcoming Peak.

The location of the alchemy lecture was the fifty-seventh mountain of the Black Sieve Sect. This mountain had no peak; its top had been shorn off to create a massive public square which was filled with rings of seats that could fit tens of thousands of spectators.

By the time Meng Hao arrived, there were already more than twenty thousand Black Sieve Sect Cultivators present. They represented a variety of stages, including Qi Condensation, Foundation Establishment and Core Formation, all seated around a raised dais.

Chen Jiaxi and Li Yiming from the World Pill Division sat cross-legged atop the dais, meditating.

Surprisingly, off in the distance were three tables, seated behind one of which was Patriarch Violet Sieve. Next to him was a beautiful middle-aged woman. Meng Hao recognized her as the same woman who had taken Elder Sister Xu from the Reliance Sect all those years ago.

At the third table was a ruddy-faced old man who sat at his table, his eyes flashing like lightning. It was impossible to fathom the level of his Cultivation base, but it seemed to Meng Hao that he was slightly more powerful than Patriarch Violet Sieve.

To have three Nascent Soul Cultivators present would make this alchemy lecture especially superb.

Seated cross-legged some distance in front of the three tables was Zhou Dekun, who was currently staring grimly at Chen Jiaxi and Li Yiming.

Meng Hao strode over and sat down next to him, his expression the same as ever.

Seemingly ignoring his previous distaste for Meng Hao, Zhou Dekun said, “These two are far too arrogant. They came to visit me yesterday on the pretense of paying their respects. In actuality, their words were filled with haughtiness. Apparently they believe that the World Pill Division has already exceeded the East Pill Division!” He really seemed to hate the two alchemists from the World Pill Division. Furthermore, Meng Hao was a fellow Sect member. There had been friction between them, but now they were in the outside world and had to stick together.

Meng Hao had barely seated himself before Zhou Dekun continued to rant: “The Black Sieve Sect invited alchemists from two other Sects to help train their own alchemists. Instead of having us lecture first, they ask the World Pill Division to speak! It’s outrageous!

“The two of us need to be careful. The World Pill Division clearly has ill intentions. They obviously want to humiliate us. If that happens, then we’ll lose a lot of face when we go back to the Sect.” Zhou Dekun clenched his jaw and stared fixedly at Chen and Li. “I probably have it a bit better off than you,” he continued. “You need to be careful in your pill concocting. Ai… Alright, listen. If you have any problems with your pill concocting in the coming days, come find me immediately. I can answer any questions you have. I’ll do my best to help you get up to speed as quickly as possible.”

Meng Hao smiled. There had been friction between the two of them, but the recent days spent together caused him to realize there was no reason to be so irked by the man. He shook his head with a smile. “I don’t think I’ll make any mistakes, don’t worry.”

“You… Ai… Fang Mu, we’ve had our differences. Big or small, it doesn’t really matter. Right now, the World Pill Division is trying to provoke us. We are here to represent the East Pill Division!” He looked over at Meng Hao. With a sigh, he slapped his bag of holding to produce a jade slip which he handed over. “I prepared this for you last night. It’s a collection of information based on my hundred years of cultivation of the Dao of alchemy. All of my knowledge and experience is collected together here. Take a close look, and we can corroborate and test the information together. I’m sure it will help you improve your skill in the Dao of alchemy.”

Meng Hao stared in shock for a moment. He accepted the jade slip and then scanned it with Spiritual Sense. He studied it silently for a long moment. Finally, he looked back up at Zhou Dekun. The information inside was genuine. It contained all the experiences of one of the most senior Furnace Lords of the Violet Fate Sect. The information therein was incredibly valuable.

After examining the jade slip, Meng Hao knew that he had been a bit rash before. Any Furnace Lord deserved respect, and could be learned from. Zhou Dekun’s way of thinking was a bit rigid, but his detailed understanding of the Dao of alchemy had reached the pinnacle.

Such attention to detail would affect the success rate of pill concoction. Meng Hao might be somewhat more talented than Zhou Dekun in the Dao of alchemy, and have a more profound understanding. However, his success rate in pill concoction was only around three or four batches out of ten.

From the jade slip, though, Meng Hao could see that Zhou Dekun’s success rate was around eight batches out of ten.