Chapter 650: New Ways of Thinking in a Land of Ambitions

Chapter 650: New Ways of Thinking in a Land of Ambitions

Seeing the Captain this excited caused Xu Qing to smile. He couldn’t care less about the position of archbishop, and considering how hard his Eldest Brother had been working for so long, Xu Qing wouldn’t mind at all if he became the leader of the Moonrebel Congregation.

“Allow me to congratulate you in advance, Eldest Brother,” Xu Qing said with a faint smile.

The Captain laughed heartily. “What’s mine is yours, little Junior Brother! Let’s go!”

The mirror shard flickered with light that rapidly spread out and enveloped the two of them. Some rumbling sounds could be heard, and then they vanished from sight.

***

The mood inside the Moonrebel Congregation was bleak.

The mountain was still there, and it still looked majestic. But the temples atop it were dark. In the past, innumerable statues could be seen traversing the paths on the mountains, but with the advent of war, they were currently nowhere to be seen. The vast majority of congregation cultivators were completely focused on leading the resistance armies into battle against the forces of the Red Moon Cathedral. As a result, people had less time to come to the Moonrebel Congregation.

Therefore, there was only a small group present to exchange information and do business. They numbered in the hundreds. Most people hurried to take care of whatever business was at hand, and then left. No one wanted to waste any time. However, just now... something unusual suddenly happened.

High in the dome of heaven, higher than the nine main temples atop the mountain, in the shocking temple that hovered above everything else, brilliant light glittered into existence. There was also a deafening rumbling sound that swept out. The light and the sound filled the mountain of the Moonrebel Congregation, causing the other temples to tremble.

Stunned, the cultivators present all looked up. When they realized where the sound and light was coming from, they were even more astonished.

“Paramount Temple!”

“What’s happening? Paramount Temple represents the Archbishop of Moonrebel. It was dark before, but now it’s shining brightly.”

An uproar was already spreading. After all, to the cultivators of the Moonrebel Congregation, this was an absolutely astonishing development.

That was Paramount Temple! It was the highest temple in the Moonrebel Congregation, and it represented their archbishop! For innumerable years, there had been no Archbishop of Moonrebel. The vice-bishops had managed everything. Thus, it was only natural that a development like this would be unusual.

That said, there were some old-timers present who, though they were surprised by what they were seeing, weren’t exactly flabbergasted. They had seen this happen before and knew what it implied.

“Some big-shot has come along to take the archbishop trial.”

“I’ve seen this happen twice before. Sadly, on neither occasion did the entrance to Paramount Temple actually open. And afterward, it went dark again.”

“I saw this happen once, and in the end, Fifth Vice-Bishop walked out.”

The sighs of the old-timers clued the newcomers in. That said, there was still a keen air of anticipation. Few people believed that a new archbishop would come out of the trial, but even having an additional vice-bishop would be a big matter for the Moonrebel Congregation. Considering the conflict going on with the Red Moon Cathedral, having a new vice-bishop would be a big boost to morale.

As word spread, more and more people started returning to the Moonrebel Congregation. One statue after another walked out into the open and looked up into the sky. Discussion and chatter spread. In fact, some of the vice-bishops’ temples lit up.

Of the five vice-bishops, two stepped out and looked up at Paramount Temple.

“My ambitions aren’t particularly amazing. The main thing I’ve been trying to do here in the Moonrite Region is make a medicinal pill that can get rid of the curse. Especially for humans.”

That was the whole reason Xu Qing had traveled to the Bitter Life Mountains in the first place. He wanted to get into the Moonrebel Congregation so that he could find research information about the curse.

In response to his words, the water rippled and the old man’s facial expression flickered. If some other trial-taker had said something like that, he would call them out as a liar. But as the spirit automaton of the Moonrebel Congregation, he could sense certain things on Xu Qing, for instance, his cursequelling lozenge. He could tell that this person really was making progress toward the stated ambition.

A moment later, the old man waved his hand, causing the surface of the water to roil as a large pill furnace rose up.

“In this place you can easily create something from nothing. Although everything you create will be illusory, you can have access to any ingredient or material you need.

“Your trial will begin here with a concocting session. Time flows differently here than in the outside world, so don’t feel the need to track it. Create a medicinal pill that can reduce the curse by at least twenty percent and you will pass the assessment.”

With that, the old man disappeared.

Xu Qing’s eyes narrowed as he looked at the pill furnace. After a moment, he approached to inspect it. His heart started pounding as he realized that the pill furnace seemed real in every aspect. It didn’t seem illusory at all.

“This place can create anything?” Xu Qing murmured. “I need ten lifespan flowers!”

The moment the words left his mouth, ripples flowed out on the water as ten water drops rose up and floated to Xu Qing. Along the way, the drops rippled and transformed into ten lifespan flowers. Whether it was the fragrance of the flowers or their medicinal strength, they seemed completely real in every way.

Moved, Xu Qing studied them for a while, then put one in his mouth, chewed, and swallowed.

It’s so realistic. Even the medicinal effects. That said, I can sense that they don’t really exist. But it does feel like I consumed it. This place clearly has the ability to alter one’s perceptions, although it’s different from what the Heir Apparent can do.

The latter can use his power whenever he wants to affect the world around him. But here, it’s like some of that type of authority was placed here to use like a tool! It also seems more domineering.

Looking around again, he marveled at how amazing this place was. Then he started thinking about some of the difficulties he’d faced so far in working on his cursequelling lozenges.

Because of the environment in the Moonrite Region, there are a lot of medicinal plants that don’t grow here....

Eyes gleaming, Xu Qing said, “1,000 stalks of one-hundred-year-old earthsole benevolence bamboo. 3,000 blades of skymist immortal cagegrass! 10,000 immature leaves from a dragonsoar tree that’s been struck by lightning! And I need cloudmist quasi-illusion flowers, nine-wither seven-wilt weed, and thousand-year-old mulberry root....”

Even in Sea-Sealing County, precious materials like this would be considered very rare. But as Xu Qing rattled off dozens of different medicinal ingredients... they popped up instantly. Delighted, Xu Qing went on to list over a hundred different ingredients. There were some ingredients that didn’t come out as he expected. But all he had to do was describe their appearance and medicinal properties, and they would form anew. After making various adjustments, he had a huge collection of plants and vegetation that conformed exactly to his requirements.

Xu Qing was deeply moved. He was obviously in a location that would be a dream to any alchemist. After taking all of the rare medicinal plants and studying them closely, he started concocting according to his train of thought. Failures didn’t matter. He would just start over.

There was no limit to the medicinal plants he had access to. Because he didn’t have to worry about waste, Xu Qing happily focused on research. Every single theory or idea he had was tested.

I’m already going in the right direction with my cursequelling lozenges. Concocting a version that will reduce the curse by twenty percent shouldn’t be a problem. In fact, I might be able to make one that’s even better than that. However, there’s something else about this place that I can’t forget. It can make... poisonous plants!

His eyes burned with passion.

Any poisonous plant I can imagine is available here! They’re not real. But perception is reality. And I can still hone my instincts here. In that case, I should be able to finally complete the process of getting poison into my gaze!