Longzang

Is Chapter 36 interesting or useful?

After class, Wei Yuan returned to the courtyard and saw Zhang Sheng.

After he paid his respects, Zhang Sheng asked a few questions about his studies, then smiled and said, "Today, our Grandmaster has specially come out of seclusion to see you. You have brought great honor to our Heavenly Azure Palace this time, and our Grandmaster is very pleased. Let's see what kind of treasures we can get from him later!"

Upon hearing Zhang Sheng's words, Wei Yuan was filled with anticipation. He washed up, tidied his appearance, and Zhang Sheng released a flying sword. The sword instantly grew from the size of a palm to two zhang (approximately 6.6 meters) in length. Zhang Sheng carried Wei Yuan onto the flying sword, and they soared into the sky.

On his first time flying on a sword, Wei Yuan was both excited and terrified. Looking at the courtyard and valley below that were rapidly shrinking, Wei Yuan felt his legs were weak and sore, and he felt that he might fall headfirst at any moment.

Zhang Sheng gently patted Wei Yuan's back, and Wei Yuan immediately felt as if he were soaking in hot water, experiencing indescribable comfort. Moreover, the flying sword seemed to have become one with him; he was the flying sword, and the flying sword was him, so he no longer had to worry about suddenly falling.

Zhang Sheng didn't fly very fast. People flew by from time to time, disappearing in an instant.

Wei Yuan stepped onto his flying sword, soaring higher and higher until he reached a towering peak in the sky. After a short while, he finally landed on a jade plaza at the foot of the mountain.
Zhang Sheng sheathed his flying sword and led Wei Yuan up the winding stone path, passing through forests and streams until they finally stood before a palace. The most striking feature of this palace was its two massive red jade pillars, from which flames continuously rose. Even from a distance, Wei Yuan could feel waves of intense heat emanating from them. Fortunately, wisps of green rain appeared around Zhang Sheng, protecting Wei Yuan within them, which made him feel somewhat better.

At that moment, the palace doors opened by themselves without any wind, and a powerful voice came from inside: "Come in!"

Wei Yuan was filled with both anticipation and trepidation. In his spare time these past two days, he had heard many rumors about the Azure Heaven Palace. True Monarch Xuan Yue had rarely made a move in recent years, and when he did, it was always something earth-shattering. Among the True Monarchs under him, True Monarch Burning Sea had the most deeds and the most illustrious achievements; his Daoist technique of burning the heavens and boiling the seas was virtually unstoppable. The thought of meeting such a legendary figure filled Wei Yuan with excitement.

Zhang Sheng led Wei Yuan directly through the main hall and into the backyard, where Wei Yuan saw an old man in Taoist robes feeding fish by a pond. However, the pond wasn't filled with water, but rather with raging subterranean fire. The fish swam serenely in the fiery lava.

The old Taoist slowly turned around, his gaze falling on Wei Yuan. Wei Yuan felt a blazing stream of fire enter from the top of his head, instantly spreading throughout his body, almost setting him ablaze from the inside out!

Just then, a jade toad appeared in Wei Yuan's sea of ​​consciousness. With a large inhale, it swallowed the incoming fire stream whole. The jade toad's body immediately turned red, but a few wisps of black energy flashed in its eyes. The red color faded, and its body gradually turned white again, finally leaving only a red line on its back.

In that instant, steam rose from Wei Yuan's head, he was drenched in sweat, his mouth was incredibly dry, but his body felt much lighter and more refreshed.

The old Taoist was greatly surprised and said, "The Heavenly Fire that I gave you to refine your foundation, you actually swallowed it whole?"

The strange phenomenon in Wei Yuan's sea of ​​consciousness was clearly seen by both the old Taoist and Zhang Sheng. Zhang Sheng had never seen such a change before and was momentarily puzzled. The old Taoist stepped in front of Wei Yuan and carefully examined him from head to toe. His gaze was like a sword, seeing right through Wei Yuan.

Wei Yuan looked up and finally saw the old Taoist's appearance clearly. The Taoist was not tall, even somewhat thin, and his appearance was ordinary, except for a dark red mark on his eyebrows. Apart from that, he looked like an ordinary old man from the mountains, completely unrelated to the famous Burning Sea True Man.

As he looked at it, a smile slowly appeared on the old Taoist's face. He said, "The foundation hasn't been formally laid yet, but the visualization diagram already has a divine charm. This child is not bad! My disciple, now that you've found him, you haven't wasted these past few years."

Zhang Sheng said, "Wait, what do you mean?"

Master Fenhai said, "The future glory of my Azure Sky Palace depends on my grand-disciple!"

Zhang Sheng was taken aback: "So, having a grand-disciple makes me unimportant?"

Master Fenhai's gaze remained fixed on Wei Yuan, his face beaming with a smile, and he said, "The great river's waves push the old waves forward, and the old waves... well, you are the old waves, this is the inevitable trend! My disciple, just think it through!"

Zhang Sheng's expression darkened, and he said, "Aren't you one of the old guard?"

Master Burning Sea stroked his beard and said, “It’s alright. It will be several decades before this young upstart grows up! This period of time is not long, your master can wait!”

As he spoke, Master Fenhai picked up Wei Yuan and said, "Come here, good boy! Let your grandmaster hug you!" However, Master Fenhai was not tall, and Wei Yuan was tall, so the hug was a bit of a struggle.

Zhang Sheng's eyebrows furrowed, and he said irritably, "You don't have to be so obvious about your favoritism, do you? What does this kid have that I don't?"

Without turning his head, Master Fenhai said, "He's better looking than you!"

"Uh..." Zhang Sheng almost choked on his breath. His long hair rose without wind, and a faint blue sword aura appeared in his eyes. He roared, "I am just a shell, a shell! Is it meaningful to compare him to my shell?! Why don't you compare him to the real me?"

Master Fenhai was still scrutinizing Wei Yuan when he said, "Very well, I won't comment on his appearance, lest you feel inferior. This child swept through the martial arts test, making all the powerful clans unable to hold their heads high—a first in a thousand years. This isn't just about bringing honor to me and Ancestor Xuanyue. Don't you understand the significance behind it?"

"If it weren't for the Madman of Heaven and Earth that I created, he wouldn't have been able to sweep through anything! And what do you mean by 'avoiding me feeling inferior'? In terms of appearance alone, who am I worse than?!" Zhang Sheng was completely losing his composure.

Master Fenhai said leisurely, "Although you created it, you can't use it!"

Zhang Sheng's face was as black as the bottom of a pot, and he was completely speechless. The Burning Sea Immortal's mouth was as famous as his heavenly fire.

Finally, the Burning Sea Immortal was willing to put Wei Yuan down and said, "This child's extraterrestrial fortune is extraordinary, but it's hard to say whether it's good or bad right now. So giving him the Jade Toad Gazing at the Moon Diagram is the right thing to do, turning his fortune into an extra foundation is beneficial and harmless. However, extraterrestrial fortune does not belong to our world after all, so the foundation he has transformed is inevitably superficial and requires extra effort to make up for it."

Master Fenhai stroked his beard in thought, and after a moment, with a pained expression, said, "Well then, I still have three Chonglou Dinghai Pills here, which are incredibly effective at replenishing one's foundation. After you finish them, you must take one Peiyuan Pill every three days. You, as his master, will have to figure out a way to do that!"

Zhang Sheng said irritably, "I'm not as good-looking as him, do I have to prepare medicine for him?"

Master Fenhai glared and said, "So what? Did I mistreat you when you were little? To build your Dao foundation, I swallowed my pride and begged and borrowed from all sides, and it was only with great difficulty that I managed to gather all the materials. I spent three whole years just paying back the immortal silver I owed them!"

Zhang Sheng's heart softened, and he sighed, "Alright, I'll think of a way."

Master Fenhai snorted: "That's more like it. Oh, by the way, that 'Crazy Man of Heaven and Earth' has already been handed over to the palace, but no one should be able to use it, so the reward won't be much."

Zhang Sheng said, "That was created in a moment of inspiration, and was only intended for Yuan'er. Where is the Ancestor? Has he not yet emerged from seclusion?"

"On the day of your exam, your patriarch was arguing with three people, and he suffered a minor injury. Otherwise, how could those powerful clans have allowed you to take first place?"

Zhang Sheng was taken aback: "One against three? How come I only sensed two opponents?"

Master Fenhai snorted and said, "There's also Bao Manshan from the Bao family who launched a sneak attack from beyond the heavens, which you obviously couldn't sense."

Zhang Sheng remained silent for a moment, then said in a deep voice, "Alright! I'll remember this. Yuan'er, you remember this too!"

Wei Yuan nodded vigorously.

Master Fenhai's old face broke into a wide smile again. He said, "Hey, what are you doing? Don't corrupt the child! Our Heavenly Azure Palace doesn't hold grudges!"

The True Man of Burning Sea looked at Wei Yuan and grew more and more fond of him. He couldn't help but pat his head and say, "Child, it's never too late for a True Lord to take revenge, even after three hundred years. We can talk about this when you have mastered the Dao. If you encounter Bao Manshan again then, you can't go too far. After all, we've known each other for so many years. Just breaking a few legs as a token gesture will suffice!"

(End of this chapter)