Nine Evolutions of the True Spirit
chapter-304

Chapter 304: The Injured Liang Xuan-Feng

"What kind of person can seriously injure Junior Uncle Liang?"

Lu Ping was extremely shocked to hear the news. Liang Xuan-Feng was an Eighth Layer Core Forging Realm Enlightened Master and one of Zhen Ling Sect’s seven most prominent experts, the Wind Sage of the Seven Sages.

He was a master of the wind-element arts, and practiced several divine abilities, this made him almost uncatchable in the Core Forging Realm. Hence, only Avatar Realm Great Ancestors could hold him back and severely injure him.

Chu Ting was puzzled to see Lu Ping’s shocked expression. She didn’t know why he was so concerned about Enlightened Master Liang, but she continued to explain, "It’s our fault. We were being chased by the Crystal Palace and were in a bad situation. He suddenly appeared and worked together with Junior Aunt Jiang to stop the Crystal Palace cultivators.

"After that, when the monster cultivators ambushed us, he and Senior Sister Zhu fought off several Late Core Forging Realm monster cultivators to protect us. When I left, I saw him spitting out a mouthful of blood and then escaped with some kind of divine ability."

Lu Ping’s mood turned grim the more he listened, and he couldn’t help thinking, Is it because of Enlightened Master Mei? Is she personally related to Junior Uncle Liang… or perhaps, she is actually related to Zhen Ling Sect instead?

When the two returned to Silver Sword Island, Chu Ting followed Lu Ping around as he explored the streets, looking at the inns as if he was searching for something. Suddenly, he stopped in front of one particular inn, a pleased look on his face. After briefly scanning the premises, he walked inside.

…

"Junior Uncle, how is your injury?"

Upon seeing Liang Xuan-Feng inside the inn, Lu Ping’s unsettled heart finally calmed down. Although the Enlightened Master looked pale and feeble, he was still able to heal his own injuries, which suggested that his condition was still under control.

At the same time, Lu Ping ignored Zhu Xuan-Meng who was also in the room. Clearly, he was not pleased with them as she and Chu Ting were the cause of Liang Xuan-Feng’s injuries. For Late Core Forging Realm Enlightened Masters, any injury could be fatal to their advancement. If Liang Xuan-Feng’s cultivation foundation was affected because of this incident, his chances of breaking through to the Avatar Realm would be greatly reduced, or worse, his cultivation journey might end right here.

Hence, it was rare to see Late Core Forging Realm Enlightened Masters involved in battle anymore as they were all preparing for their breakthroughs. They would avoid unnecessary conflict and only take part in missions to look after the younger ones.

As one of the most promising Late Core Forging Realm Enlightened Masters in Zhen Ling Sect, Liang Xuan-Feng carried the responsibility of maintaining the sect’s inheritance and future.Thus, his advancement to the Avatar Realm was of the utmost importance.

Even though they had successfully secured the Heavenly Wind Leaf, Liang Xuan-Feng wouldn’t be able to fuse it with his Golden Core if his cultivation foundation was affected by injuries.

The moment Zhu Xuan-Meng saw Lu Ping’s cold attitude, she knew right away he was unhappy that they put Liang Xuan-Feng in this state. She opened her mouth, then paused and didn’t say a word.

Liang Xuan-Feng had naturally sensed Lu Ping’s arrival as well. He opened his eyes and sighed in relief when he saw the younger man was unharmed. He said, "The adventure was fruitful, but the only unexpected encounter was the monster ambush. Seems like the East Ocean will fall into another period of turbulence again. It’s nice to know all three of you are safe and sound, otherwise, I’d be damned."

Then, Lu Ping asked hesitatingly, "Junior Uncle, will your injuries affect…"

Zhu Xuan-Meng and Chu Ting nervously looked at Liang Xuan-Feng from the side.

Liang Xuan-Feng smiled bitterly. "Crystal Palace’s Yao Luan-Shan… After his defeat by Senior Brother Jiang, he must have cultivated diligently. I didn’t expect him to be this strong after all these years—now he is just one step behind Senior Brother Jiang.

"If not for my battle with him, I would’ve had enough strength to fight off those monster cultivators. And I wouldn’t be as wounded if they didn’t take advantage of my drained state. I guess I can only save the Heavenly Wind Leaf for the juniors now."

The three listened carefully, and Lu Ping’s face darkened when he heard Liang Xuan-Feng’s words. What he feared the most had happened.

Chu Ting stood by the side full of guilt and Zhu Xuan-Meng’s eyes were teary. Lu Ping glanced at the two with extreme dissatisfaction, and he asked, "Junior Uncle, is there a remedy?"

Lu Ping’s expression naturally didn’t escape Liang Xuan-Feng’s notice, and he secretly thought, "This kid’s character is just like Senior Sister, always distinguishing clearly those they care for and those they don’t. But his temperament is more straightforward than his teacher. Ah, it brings back memories… those old days, those fun though troubled times we all had together…"

Liang Xuan-Feng was very pleased to see Lu Ping worrying about him, so he laughed and comforted, "No matter. In fact, I’ve already prepared an Earth-class high-grade wonder wind that I was originally going to use if we couldn’t get the Heavenly Wind Leaf. It’s merely fate that I ended up using it even after obtaining the treasure. But trust me, even if I can only forge a Sixth-grade Golden Core, I still have the confidence to break through to the Avatar Realm."

Lu Ping said in a solemn voice, "Junior Uncle, that’s simply not the same! A Heaven-class wonder item will forge a Golden Core of Seventh-grade and above. The coalescence of Avatar and advancement to Mid Avatar Realm is a certainty. But an Earth-class wonder item can only forge your Golden Core to the Sixth-grade, and the highest you can achieve is only Early Avatar Realm!"

After Lu Ping advanced to the Core Forging Realm, he gained a deeper understanding of the all-encompassing [North Ocean Wave Listening Scripture], which clarified many unresolved questions he had. His knowledge was far greater than before now.

Liang Xuan-Feng sighed and fell silent, while Zhu Xuan-Meng and Chu Ting nervously stood on the side, not knowing what to say.

Then, Lu Ping asked, "Junior Uncle, can Core Forging Realm pellets completely heal your injuries?"

Zhu Xuan-Meng and Chu Ting looked at Lu Ping in surprise, while Liang Xuan-Feng smiled and said, "I know what you’re thinking, but the Great Ancestors have already distributed them to the other martial siblings making their breakthroughs. There are none left, so it’s too late to ask now."

Suddenly, Chu Ting said from the side, "There is one pellet that might help Junior Uncle Liang."

"Oh? She passed you the Health Prosper Pellet as well?"

Liang Xuan-Feng asked in surprise. However, although he was asking Chu Ting, he was actually looking at Zhu Xuan-Meng. Lu Ping could tell that Liang Xuan-Feng had a better relationship with the latter, while the former was someone new and unfamiliar.

Zhu Xuan-Meng nodded and said, "Junior Sister is Teacher’s alchemical successor, and she has passed all the Core Forging Realm pellet recipes to her."

Just as a spark of hope ignited in Lu Ping, Zhu Xuan-Meng continued on by saying, "The Health Prosper Pellet certainly helps, but Junior Sister’s alchemy is not at a suitable level yet. Wherea Teacher is in closed-door cultivation now, so it will be too late for her to come here."

Liang Xuan-Feng was not surprised by this. Obviously, he had expected it already, and said calmly, "It’s fine, I never expected to forge a Seventh-Grade Golden Core in the first place. Anyway, the Avatar Realm is already an immense achievement for any cultivator, including myself."

"How do we know it won’t work if we don’t try?" Lu Ping was fired up as he said, "There are two Master Alchemists here, even though we’ve only just reached this level, but there is still some hope. If we can concoct one, just one pellet, then we can heal your injuries."

Liang Xuan-Feng waved his words away. "You do not know the difficulty of concocting such medicinal pellets. I may not be an Alchemist, but I still know a thing or two about alchemy. Leaving aside the rest, where will you find the 3,000-year spirit herbs needed? Not to mention the dozens of 1,000-year spirit herbs. More importantly, you two are not at that level yet."

Chu Ting was looking down—she clearly wasn’t confident about concocting the pellet as well.

"Give me the pellet recipe." Lu Ping didn’t back down, surprising the others.

Zhu Xuan-Meng couldn’t help but ask, "Junior Brother Lu, do you have the 3,000-year spirit herbs the Health Prosper Pellet needs?"

Lu Ping naturally knew about the pellet, and he knew about the spirit herbs that were used to concoct it. In fact, the spirit herbs needed for most pellets were generally known, otherwise, cultivators wouldn’t know which ones to harvest. The value of pellet recipes was only dependent on the concocting process.

Therefore, Zhu Xuan-Meng only asked if Lu Ping had the required spirit herbs, and not whether he had concocted the pellet before.

Indeed, Lu Ping had the four pieces of 3,000-year spirit herbs listed in the recipe. They were from the small spirit garden herb on the mountainside in the Golden House spatial mystic instrument.

Lu Ping said nothing and moved forward to take the pellet recipe from Chu Ting, which was a silent acknowledgment that he did possess the spirit herbs. Liang Xuan-Feng was greatly surprised, but he still said, "Nonsense, you’ve only become a Master Alchemist recently. How many Core Forging Realm pellets have you concocted already? This is beyond your current level, you’d only waste those spirit herbs…"

Lu Ping smiled back at him and teased, "Junior Uncle, you’re absolutely right! I’ve only concocted less than ten cauldrons of Core Forging Realm pellets. But it’s not because I’m not good enough, it’s because I’m lacking in pellet recipes."

His expression suddenly changed from coldly forbidding to a teasing smile, leaving everyone surprised and slow to react.

Liang Xuan-Feng heard his lighthearted tone and immediately knew that Lu Ping was determined to do this. He was only being lively to lift their spirits. Hence, Liang Xuan-Feng played along and said, "How ridiculous, a Master Alchemist with only a few pellet recipes! The others will laugh at us for neglecting such a bright talent!"

Then, Liang Xuan-Feng took out four jade scrolls and five jade boxes. "The boxes all contain spirit herbs and these four jade scrolls are all the Core Forging Realm pellet recipes I’ve collected over the years. I initially planned to exchange them for something good from the sect, but now they’re yours. But they’re not for free, mind you. I’m just investing in you, so that you’ll concoct me some Late Core Forging Realm pellets in the future when I need them."

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Editor: MilkBiscuit