Beichen Sword Sect's Headmaster's Secret Records

Chapter 481 The Secret Chamber of Alchemy
Nine Heavens Burning Heart? Free and Unfettered Burning Heart Valley? What the hell?! Why is it the Free and Unfettered Sect again?!

Moreover, the Xiaoyao Sect is actually connected with the Qingtang Sect.

Aren't they like oil and water, irreconcilable enemies?

Could it be that the Qingtang Sect was bullied so badly by Lingxuzi that it colluded with the demonic path and betrayed the Xuanmen?

Or is this just a disguise, as Lingxuzi said, a secret hideout where Qingtang pretends to be carefree, committing murder and robbery?

Or perhaps he's overthinking it, and the stove was simply something he picked up from the roadside?
That makes perfect sense, considering the Xiaoyao Sect was quite wealthy and powerful back then, possessing many valuable items. This furnace looked to be of decent quality, so they simply used it. At most, they probably didn't anticipate someone being bored and might open the furnace to take a look, which is why they missed scraping out the inscriptions inside?
With so little information, Tie Dan couldn't figure it out in a short time. However, after being in contact with the Xuanmen for so long, he no longer believed in any kind of coincidence.

Everything is a scheme, everything is a plan, everything is a setup; there must be a conspiracy involved. You can't be wrong to think that way.

In short, no matter how elaborate the disguise, the truth will always come out, and a dark horse can't become a white horse. There are definitely other details around...

Tie Danzi carefully examined the alchemy workshop, tapping and touching everything, even trying to lift up all the bricks on the ground to check. His efforts paid off, and he actually found a wall brick with a different echo, revealing a secret room.

Ah, Earth Release!
Hmm, there's no escaping it...

Okay, it's surrounded by copper, lead, sand, and piles, with layers and layers of different spiritual energy properties of the substrate, specifically to prevent you thieves of escape techniques from opening back doors.

Yes, while the escape techniques are powerful, they have this drawback: all five elemental escape techniques require a stable medium to travel through. One of them, pointing to the ground as copper, can cause a loud 'DUANG!' and knock you out.

Other special escape techniques also have their drawbacks. For example, while sword escape is as fast as light and lightning, it can only reach places that can be cleaved by a single sword strike. Blood Shadow Divine Movement is exceptionally powerful and can go anywhere, but it leaves too many traces and consumes too much of one's life essence.

However, in comparison, the Nine Heavens Cloud Escape Technique of the Free and Unfettered Sect is indeed extremely powerful. At its highest level, it truly allows one to possess nine parts of the body, with nine energies coexisting, granting nine different escape forms simultaneously. No matter how many obstacles or seals are present, one can easily slip through them. No wonder the Nine Heavens Demon Lord could rely on this skill to roam the world freely, entering and leaving palaces to steal other men's wives as if they were nothing. Perhaps only the Kun can surpass him…

Of course, Tie Dan hasn't mastered the Cloud Riding Escape technique to its highest level yet, since practicing it is too wasteful of a woman's life, cough cough. Anyway, let's unlock it head-on!

Lock picking is also a unique skill of the Xuanmen sect, and it can even be said to be a practical application of the Dao of Formations. After all, when people travel around the world, they inevitably dig up graves, open treasure chests, and so on.

This isn't stealing, it's picking up treasures; it's not taking without permission, it's my opportunity. As long as you don't use violence, like smashing, breaking, or destroying someone's grave, it doesn't count as creating enmity. By relying solely on wisdom and skill to break through the seals and barriers left by predecessors, the treasures within are naturally a blessing left to you by your predecessors—that's what you call the tacit understanding between cultivators.

Normally, Tie Dan would have cleaved through with a single sword strike, but the important business wasn't finished yet, and the Mountain Master Daoist was lurking in the shadows, ready to seize any opportunity to kick him out of Wangwu and prevent him from ever returning. Besides, he had nothing better to do while waiting...

Tie Dan also studied it carefully. The opening and closing formation of the secret chamber door was not obviously drawn in a grand manner. It was usually made by mixing specially prepared ink and writing specific talismans. Only by activating the corresponding talismans in sequence could the seal be broken without disturbing the owner.

So Tie Dan rubbed his hands together, held his breath, and gathered all his true qi. He only exhaled wisps of mist from his fingertips, which seeped into the cracks in the wall. He varied the types of true qi, layering them behind the bricks. By sensing the changes in qi and the amount of residual qi, he could determine the approximate location of the array on the wall and the attributes of the various talismans and array bases. Then he could guess what kind of talisman the opponent was using.

This step is the most difficult. After all, everyone has seen what talismans look like: the head, the core, and the foot. There can't be any mistakes. Although each school has its own rules for writing them, such as the ancestral master worshipped by each school for the head, the specific content for the core, and the tassel foot having some secret teachings or tacitly agreed-upon writing methods, etc.

However, the three major schools have created far too many talismans over the years, and some of them are written in a very irregular manner, almost like scribbles, with only their attributes known...

"click"

Uh, it's open. The nine wall bricks snapped shut, revealing a low door...

Tie Dan was speechless; even he hadn't expected it to be so simple.

Of course, he wasn't just blindly searching everywhere. But when he saw the phrase "A guest from the Nine Heavens, burning his heart to refine the mortal world," he naturally started by trying the talismans of the Nine Heavens Free and Unfettered Sect. And lo and behold, they opened right away...

Well, that makes sense, really. After all, the Xiaoyao Dao sect has been exterminated for so many years. If Tiedan hadn't obtained the secret Daoist book from Ciyun, he would never have been able to figure it out even if he tried for ages.

It's all fate~~
Tie Dan then entered the secret chamber, flicking sparks from his fingertips to illuminate the room.

The secret chamber was about ten feet square, with solid stone walls on five sides. Only the entrance was made of a flat jade wall. Inside, four rows of bookshelves were crammed together, barely allowing anyone to squeeze through sideways. The bookshelves were piled high with scriptures and classics, mostly pharmacopoeias and prescriptions. Each book had extensive notes and annotations, and judging from the handwriting, many prescriptions were handwritten by the same person. Clearly, this secret chamber contained the life's work of a master alchemist.

Tie Dan casually flipped through a few alchemical texts. Although his understanding of alchemy was still quite superficial, he could tell that the authors possessed genuine knowledge and expertise. Each formula included detailed annotations and experimental records regarding the ingredients, dosages, and side effects. Furthermore, the methods were quite scientific, taking into account the different physical constitutions, meridians, and qi attributes of the experimenters, as well as the varying conditions of men, women, and children.

However, one commendable aspect is that this person's research subjects are not limited to cultivators, but also include mortals.

After all, one of the biggest problems in the Tai Chi cultivation world is its disregard for ordinary people; they either ignore them or treat them like livestock. Therefore, there are indeed quite a few medical texts on the bookshelf that design cases for treating common and difficult-to-treat ailments of ordinary people. It's likely that this alchemy master was a charlatan before attaining enlightenment, or perhaps he came from a family of doctors.

However, people say that the Free and Unfettered Sect is full of lewd demons and evil spirits, which is not really unfair to them.

Even a carefree successor who is clearly a pure scholar still has a whole shelf full of pill formulas that are all aphrodisiacs. They have all sorts of yin-nourishing, yang-strengthening, mind-controlling, seductive, soul-stealing, brainwashing, and body-modifying formulas that increase sensitivity. It's so good it's hard to look at!
Especially considering the long list of appendices and notes detailing various modified formulas, the number of victims, including the trial participants, must be in the tens of thousands. Without a doubt, he was a truly despicable scoundrel who deserved to die.

Interestingly, while browsing the bookshelf, Tie Dan suddenly discovered a book called "Seven Fragrances of Leisure and Immortal Powder." The appendix clearly recorded a practical application method: using Ziwei Yaoxian Dao (紫葳瑶仙倒) and Yehe Tuoluo Meng (夜合陀罗梦) in two separate places, one could secretly and unknowingly cause someone to fall victim to the poison.

Thinking back, that 'hahaha' young master who plotted against Yao Honglei must be a descendant of the Free and Unfettered Heart Valley, perhaps even inheriting the legacy of this alchemy grandmaster. It seems we really do have some kind of destiny... *clang clang*

Just then, the sound of the door opening and closing came from outside. Tie Dan knew that someone had entered the alchemy room. He immediately rushed to the door, closed the secret chamber door, hid behind the bricks, held his breath and concentrated, secretly gripping the Wuxiang Sword in his hand, preparing to take advantage of the moment when the Grandmaster was busy sneaking in, and then cut off his head, disembowel him, and kill him.

Soon Tie Dan heard a series of footsteps and bursts of laughter. Clearly, there was more than one person coming down from the alchemy workshop. Although it was not advisable to use his divine sense to investigate and avoid being noticed, he could tell from the sounds that it was probably a man and a woman.

The man's voice was clear and powerful, full of energy, and very clear. He was loudly boasting about his insights into alchemy, claiming to have five hundred years of experience in alchemy and to be an expert in the field. He then challenged fellow practitioners to a friendly competition.

Then the woman smiled sweetly, her voice clear and melodious, like jade beads falling onto a plate. She said that she had long admired the reputation of the Daoist and had been spiritually connected with him for a long time. She also said that she had some knowledge of the classics and that she had a rare opportunity to use all her skills to learn from the Daoist brother.

Tie Dan frowned as he listened, unsure which one was the Grandmaster of Alchemy. After all, five hundred years of studying alchemy was no short time; perhaps both were Grandmasters. He decided to kill them both.

However, there's no need to rush. We can make our move while the other party is refining the elixir. After all, refining elixir requires not only controlling the heat with Qi, but also focusing one's mind on the dosage and timing of the medicine. Especially when the elixir is about to be completed and undergoes nine cycles, one must concentrate fully. This is the easiest time to make a move.

At that moment, Tie Dan also held his breath, concealed his figure, and calculated the right time to make his move.

But after waiting for a while, listening to the sounds outside, Tie Dan felt that something was wrong.

He heard neither the sound of the furnace being lit nor any discussion about the dosage or formula of the medicine. All he heard outside were low moans and giggles from the man and woman, followed by moaning and groaning...

Damn it, are you guys cultivating internal alchemy or external alchemy?!
Okay, I almost forgot that although he's nominally a Grandmaster of Alchemy, he's essentially a carefree demon, and he definitely still needs to fish and practice his skills from time to time. Iron Egg just happened to run into him today.

Forget it, killing with both internal and external elixirs is the same. It's better to refine the internal elixir and kill them even faster. You don't need to wait until your elixir reaches the ninth level. Just wait until the two outside are flying to the ninth peak, their souls trembling and their bodies unable to control themselves, then suddenly attack and kill them both with one sword. That should be easy to deal with...

"Roar--!"

Before Tie Dan could even pinpoint the location of the two combatants outside, a sudden roar erupted from the man! A violent surge of Qi energy erupted within the meditation chamber! True Qi surged forth, gushing forth like a spring, overflowing!

"...Eh, eh? Fellow Daoist, you've already...finished refining?"

Not only did the woman exclaim in surprise, but even Tie Dan was speechless.

No, wait, your cultivation is just too fast! Forget fighting day and night, it's so fast even he hasn't had time to react! Wait, wait... maybe he's discovered him and is deliberately bluffing? Or maybe it's just a small test, and there'll be a second round or something? Should we wait a little longer?
"Ahem, thank you for your guidance, fairy. Indeed, your alchemy is far superior. I am ashamed of my inferiority and cannot master it myself. I admire you greatly."

"Ah...uh...this...um...I'm just glad you're happy, fellow Daoist..."

Then the two of them left.

……

……

"Bang!" The sound of the door closing came from behind...

Damn, it's just too outrageous that he really left like that!!
Tie Dan was speechless. For a moment, he even had the urge to rush out and kill them both, but in the end, he held back.

It might be a trap...

That's it!

So, the man was indeed a Grandmaster of Alchemy from the Free and Unfettered Heart Valley. He had just discovered someone hiding in his secret chamber plotting an assassination, waiting for an opportunity to commit violence. Fearing that a fight would expose his demonic identity and make things difficult, he decided to end his cultivation without losing face, perhaps to avoid giving the assassin an opportunity.

It was all a conspiracy, all a scheme...

Suddenly, there was a loud "bang," and another door opened outside.

Then a large group of people came down in a flurry. Judging from their breathing and footsteps, they seemed to be laborers from the alchemy workshop, carrying a lot of things down with them.

Then the woman's voice boomed from above, carrying a hint of anger and irritation, and was quite sharp.

"A bunch of lazy idiots! The alchemy workshop is filthy! How can you refine Hundred Herbs Frost like this!"
"Get this clean now! Anyone who tries to slack off will get a beating from me!"

Tsk, I miscalculated...

(End of this chapter)