Longzang

Chapter 47 Anniversary
On this day, Wei Yuan suddenly remembered that he had been at Taichu Palace for a full year. If it weren't for attending classes every day, he would have trouble distinguishing whether he was a human or a jade toad. To be honest, he spent most of his time breathing in and out moonlight.

It was already late, the bright moon had risen, and a slight chill was in the air. Tall trees cast dappled shadows in the lonely courtyard. It was supposed to be a night of poignant beauty, but Wei Yuan felt nauseous just looking at the moon.

But the first anniversary of embarking on the path of immortality can't be celebrated the same as before, can it?
Wei Yuan set out cups and saucers on the stone table in the courtyard, poured water into the teacups, and placed a Qi-drinking pill in the center of the saucer. This was his anniversary feast prepared for himself. Speaking of which, the last time he had eaten anything of the sort was at Bao Yun's banquet. Since then, Wei Yuan had been eating plain rice for a whole year.

This year has been extremely difficult.

Wei Yuan had long since run out of pocket money given to him by Master Fenhai, and he even owed Qisitang over two thousand taels. In addition, there were some expenses related to his studies that couldn't be paid on credit, so Wei Yuan had to borrow from the public account set up by Bao Yun. Over the course of a year, he had accumulated several thousand taels in debt. In total, Wei Yuan was over ten thousand taels in debt, which could be considered a small achievement.

This year was particularly lonely.

Since meeting the Burning Sea Immortal, Wei Yuan had only seen Zhang Sheng about ten times, totaling less than half a day. Aside from classes, Wei Yuan spent almost all his time sitting on the boulder, staring blankly at the full moon. Oh, for Yu Chan, sitting and lying down were essentially the same posture.

Inhaling and exhaling moonlight? Wei Yuan can inhale and exhale moonlight even when he's asleep.

The pressure this year has been immense.

At this point, it doesn't really matter whether you work hard or not, since there are only twelve hours in a day, and you can't just add an extra hour out of thin air.

Looking back on the past year, it turns out that everything was resolved in just a moment's thought.

Wei Yuan sighed softly, sat down at the table, raised his cup to toast Wei Youcai, who was far away in Yongzhou, and then to Zhang Sheng. He drank it all in one gulp, then picked up the Qi-drinking pill, and swallowed it with a generous and heroic air.

"What are you doing?" Zhang Sheng's voice suddenly rang out from behind.

Wei Yuan was greatly alarmed; the Qi-drinking pill got stuck in his throat, unable to go down or come up.

When Wei Yuan turned around, he saw Zhang Sheng's expressionless face. His face immediately burned, and he felt a rush of heat to his head. He wished he could dig a hole and bury himself.

Zhang Sheng stared at Wei Yuan until Wei Yuan's face turned from red to purple, and just as he was about to spit out a mouthful of blood, he suddenly laughed.

Wei Yuan suddenly felt the towering mountain that had been weighing on his heart vanish without a trace, and his heart surged with joy. He couldn't remember the last time he had seen his teacher smile.

Zhang Sheng glanced at the teacups and neatly arranged empty bowls and plates on the table, and Wei Yuan's face instantly turned red again.

There were two pairs of chopsticks on the table.

Zhang Sheng could no longer hold back and burst into laughter, making Wei Yuan want to bang his head against a wall and die.

Zhang Sheng laughed until his stomach hurt so much he couldn't straighten up. He barely managed to stop laughing and said seriously, "The Patriarch calculated the secrets of heaven and predicted that you would complete your cultivation today. He specially asked me to take you to the Azure Sky Palace."

"Completed cultivation?!" Wei Yuan was overjoyed.

A whole year has passed, and Wei Yuan has been absorbing the moonlight so much that he's almost forgotten he's still human. Although the shadows in the full moon are still the same as before, since the patriarch said his cultivation has reached perfection, then it must be true.

Zhang Sheng was referring to the Patriarch, not the Grandmaster. The Patriarch in the Azure Sky Hall could only refer to True Lord Xuan Yue.

The patriarch's summons could not be delayed, so Zhang Sheng released his flying sword, carrying Wei Yuan into the sky. However, he would occasionally chuckle, causing the flying sword to sway and lurch.

Zhang Sheng smiled, and Wei Yuan wanted to jump off his sword.

During the flight, Zhang Sheng suddenly said, "Today marks one year since you entered the palace, which is a day worth commemorating."

Wei Yuan was startled, and suddenly his nose felt a little sore. He hadn't expected Zhang Sheng to still remember. In the past year, he had only been able to see Zhang Sheng once a month, and he had almost thought that his master had abandoned him. In this year, Wei Yuan had grown quite a bit taller, already taller than Zhang Sheng's nose, so it was no longer easy to pat his head. Zhang Sheng patted Wei Yuan's shoulder and said gently, "Silly child, the path to immortality is long, and our days as master and disciple are still many."

Wei Yuan felt a lump in his throat again, and his eyes became dry.

The flying sword seemed drunk, but it still remembered the way and eventually arrived at the main hall of the Azure Sky Palace.

The main hall of the Azure Sky Palace was eighty-eight zhang tall, far more magnificent than the side hall where the Burning Sea Immortal resided. Wei Yuan and Zhang Sheng stood in the main hall when they heard a gentle and deep voice coming from above: "You are Wei Yuan? Show us the visualization diagram."

Wei Yuan sat down cross-legged. This technique was ingrained in his bones. Before he even entered meditation, the visualization diagram had already appeared. Yu Chan couldn't wait to take a big gulp of moonlight!

At this moment, the visualization image not only appeared in Wei Yuan's sea of ​​consciousness, but also materialized in the center of the Azure Sky Palace in the same proportion.

A huge rock appeared in the center of the Azure Sky Palace, and a terrifying jade toad nearly a hundred feet tall was coiled on the rock, its head already touching the top of the palace, while the full moon was simply outside the top of the palace!

The vast Azure Main Hall couldn't even accommodate a single visualization diagram?!
The main hall was silent.

Finally, the voice of True Lord Xuan Yue rang out again: "Wei Yuan, you have been practicing the Jade Toad Gazing at the Moon Painting for 365 days, but you cannot expand further. I will teach you a method that will allow you to enter the Body Forging stage immediately. You should go to the side hall to cultivate first."

Wei Yuan got up as instructed and went to the side hall to cultivate. He wasn't surprised at all by the visualization diagrams in the main hall, since he had to contemplate the life of a toad every day, there was really nothing to see.

After Wei Yuan left, six figures appeared in the main hall, including True Person Burning Sea. The True Persons looked at the towering jade toad in silence.

The main hall suddenly vanished, revealing the complete visualization diagram, making everyone feel as if they were standing in the void. This was because True Lord Xuan Yue used his supernatural powers to conceal the main hall so that everyone could see the complete visualization diagram.

Xuan Yue Zhenjun asked, "Zhang Sheng, you are his master, do you know that he has cultivated to this level?"

Zhang Sheng said, "I am busy every day and only go to give guidance once a month. At first, I thought the visualization diagram was a bit big, but I got used to it after seeing it many times. Besides, Wei Yuan's cultivation has no mistakes, so I did not interfere."

"So what have you been busy with?" Xuan Yue Zhenjun's tone carried a hint of reproach.

Zhang Sheng glanced at Master Fenhai seemingly casually, but said, "It's nothing."

True Lord Xuan Yue did not delve into the matter, but said, "Although the celestial fortune still exists, Wei Yuan has been absorbing it for 365 days. As the saying goes, too much is as bad as too little, so it is not advisable to take any more."

Within the enormous full moon, the shadow appeared exceptionally clear. Those with shallow cultivation could not perceive anything, but the true cultivators present all felt a vague unease.

One of the masters said, "The fortune from beyond the heavens is different from the fortune of our world. If Wei Yuan were to convert it into his own foundation, wouldn't that be tantamount to theft?"

True Lord Xuan Yue said, "This is exactly what I was worried about, so I will personally take action to seal off the channel of destiny."

Another True Man suddenly said, "After being absorbed for 365 days, there has been no change. This... isn't this extraterrestrial fortune almost the same as the great fortune of heaven and earth?"

The others who finally understood this part all gasped in shock.

A thin ray of moonlight descended from the sky—this was the signature technique of True Lord Xuan Yue. As the moonlight fell upon the full moon in the visualization diagram, the shadows within the moon became blurred and gradually dissipated.

As the shadow in the moon dissipated, all the immortals inexplicably breathed a sigh of relief, feeling as if they had escaped deadly danger. However, at that moment, the shadow suddenly expanded rapidly, overflowing directly from the full moon, and then a bird's head with three eyes emerged from the shadow!

As soon as it appeared, it looked around the hall and finally fixed its gaze on Zhang Sheng.

(End of this chapter)