fairy family

Chapter 227 The Ceremony of Bestowing Treasures upon Ding Jia and Selecting Talents

Yu Que and his apprentice remained silent and returned directly to the Refinement Peak.

Before the alchemy furnace inside the hall, the Peak Master of Refining Du flicked his sleeves, pointed to the main hall, and said:

"From now on, this will be your home."

Yu Que immediately bowed and said, "Yes, thank you, Master, for protecting your disciple today."

"We're all family, why speak like strangers? A master chooses his disciple, and a disciple chooses his master."

The Peak Master of Refinement Peak said with a smile, "That old fellow Xuan Tu was blind, letting me pick up such a good disciple as you."

Upon hearing this, Yu Que bowed deeply once more.

Just as he was about to raise his head, he suddenly heard a shout from the Peak Master of the Refinement Realm in front of him:
"Yu Que, kneel down."

Although he didn't understand why, since the two were already master and disciple, Yu Que didn't resist and knelt down in front of the alchemy furnace.

The Peak Master of Refinement Peak did not specifically accept Yu Que's generous gift. Instead, he pointed to the alchemy furnace behind him with his palm-leaf fan and said:
"You previously became my disciple, which established our master-disciple relationship."

"Now that you have paid homage to this Yin-Yang Profound Yellow Furnace, you are considered to have completely entered the sect's ranks."

The other party described it as follows:

"The origins of this lineage are both grand and trivial."

According to legend, the earliest instance of alchemy can be traced back to when the Xuanhuang Emperor was refining elixirs here. The patriarch saw the Xuanhuang Emperor's alchemy skills and became his student. Later, he set up a furnace to refine elixirs on Huangshan Mountain and established the first Huangshan Taoist Palace.

However, the Huangshan Taoist Temple of today is no longer the one in the legend; it has changed hands countless times.

Furthermore, our lineage excels in the cultivation of spiritual power, which is of paramount importance to modern immortals, not in alchemy, which was highly valued by the ancients.

As he spoke, the Peak Master of Refinement Peak sighed, looked around, and added:

"The time when Liandu Peak became independent from the other peaks of Huangshan was also at the beginning of the establishment of the incense offerings. Our lineage received the opportunity of the country's great promotion of Liandu Masters."

Otherwise, this lineage would likely remain a secondary lineage scattered across various mountain peaks, unable to become the sole dominant lineage, and even less likely to inherit such a treasure from the palace.

After listening to the Peak Master of Refinement Peak give a brief introduction to the origin of this lineage, Yu Que suddenly understood.

"It turns out that the existence of the Refinement Peak is so short, less than a thousand years."

As far as he knew, more than half of the nine families on Huangshan Mountain had been established for over a thousand years, and the five Taoist temples of the same lineage were all formed when the Huangshan Taoist Palace was founded.

Compared to the lineages and teachings of these aristocratic families, the foundation of the Refinement Peak is undoubtedly shallow.

After the Peak Master of Refinement finished introducing the history of the lineage, he looked at Yu Que with a smile and asked:

"Well, now that you know the origins of this lineage, I am just a Qi Condensation Immortal."

Have you ever regretted joining our lineage?

Yu Que immediately bowed deeply and said:
"How dare I, your disciple?"

"To be favored by my master and accepted into our lineage is a great blessing for Yu Que."

Seeing Yu Que's anxious appearance, the Peak Master of Refinement couldn't help but laugh even louder and exclaimed:
"What a blessing! You are indeed a blessed person."

It is because of your protection that I was able to successfully refine the Six Ding and Six Jia.

Since that's the case, I'll share some more of my blessings with you.

As soon as he finished speaking, the other person pointed at Yu Que and shouted, "Go!"

With a buzzing sound, two dark lights suddenly flew out from his sleeves and pounced in front of Yu Que. Then, they transformed into two human figures.

These two figures, a man and a woman, were clearly the Six Ding Six Armor beings created by the Peak Master of Refinement. The man was dressed in golden armor and had a robust appearance, while the woman was dressed in palace attire and had a slender figure.

“This…” Yu Que was stunned.

The Peak Master of Refinement slowly introduced:
"After years of searching and refining, and countless failures, I have finally managed to refine the six Ding (丁) and six Jia (甲) spirits, including the Yin Goddess Jade Maiden and the Yang Goddess Jade Male, together."

They are Dingmao and Jiazi from the Six Ding and Six Jia. From now on, they will serve you and protect you. You must treat them well.

This is not only the culmination of my teacher's hard work, but also the culmination of nearly a thousand years of dedicated research within our lineage.

Upon hearing this, Yu Que's expression became even more moved.

He had only just become a disciple, and the other party had bestowed upon him such a precious treasure; he dared not accept it for a moment.

"Master, this item is so precious and important, how can I use it? Please take it back." Yu Que suppressed his thoughts and spoke sincerely.

The peak master of the refinement peak said indifferently:

“Guardian deities are created to protect the gatekeepers; it would be a waste not to use them.”

Don't rush to refuse. Among these guardian deities, there are two other pairs that I will bestow upon your senior brother and sister. If you don't accept them, they might not.

And this puts them in a difficult position.

Upon hearing this, Yu Que was slightly taken aback and swallowed back the rest of his words of refusal.

However, he frowned as he looked at the pair of guardian deities in front of him, and said in a deep voice:

The names "Liuding Liujia" have existed since ancient times.

These were a batch of guardian deities. Master had painstakingly crafted a batch, but now they were being separated. Would this affect the magical power of the remaining divine generals in Master's possession?

Faced with Yu Que's question, the Peak Master of Refinement raised an eyebrow and looked at Yu Que with appreciation:

"That's a good question. You're not only a filial child, but also quick-witted."

With a buzzing sound, the Peak Master of Refinement shook his sleeves, and the remaining ten guardian generals in his hand ran out from his sleeves and rolled into the hall. They grew in the wind and transformed into human shapes.

The Peak Master of Refinement pointed at this group of divine generals and said:

"The Six Ding and Six Jia are on par with the Four Duty Officers, the Eighteen Venerables, and the Twenty-Eight Constellations in ancient books. They belong to the ranks of heavenly soldiers and generals, so it is most appropriate for them to be paired together as a set. In this way, their energy can be connected and various formations can be arranged."

For example, the methods I displayed today at the Xuan Tu Temple, aided by the Six Ding and Six Jia, were not entirely a bluff. With them present, I could indeed unleash the power of a fourth-rank immortal.

"A bluff, just one strike?" Yu Que was momentarily bewildered upon hearing this.

So it turns out that when Master Du Mie was showing off his power at Xuan Tu Temple, he was just bluffing.

The peak master of refinement was still speaking:
"After the split, I only have three teams of Dingjia left to protect me, so there is absolutely no way I can use the methods of a fourth-rank immortal again. But this is good, so that I won't keep thinking about this and get obsessed with it, thus losing my life."

After listening carefully, Yu Que finally understood. It turned out that commanding such heavenly soldiers and generals required a considerable amount of resources. The best resource was immortal true energy, followed by spiritual energy, then immortal essence, and finally, incense offerings.

However, because the quality of the Six Ding and Six Jia is too high, if one wants to make offerings to them with incense, the imperial family must use the "divine instrument" of the court to encompass the pure national fortune condensed by all immortals and mortals in the world before they can be made offerings.

Although Huangshan Dao Palace also receives a portion of the nation's fortune, that belongs to the three main peaks. Unless the three main peaks ask Liandu Peak for a favor, Liandu Peak has absolutely no chance of getting involved.

Ordinary incense is useless. The spiritual energy of heaven and earth is currently depleted and of even lower quality. The true energy of the Refinement Peak Master is also of insufficient quality. If he wants to make offerings to the Six Ding and Six Jia, he will naturally have to consume his essence and deplete his life force.

"Therefore, by splitting them up, I have obtained three pairs, which is enough for me to settle down in the palace and not fear any strife."

The Peak Master of Refinement gently comforted her: "As for you three juniors, you each have a skill. When you were in the palace, it was fine. We were all from the same sect and clan. Even if we resented each other, we rarely broke the rules."

But once you're outside of Huangshan, you'll easily become the target of jealousy.

The other person sighed softly: "The land outside the mountains is not like the palace. Those people there have no morals whatsoever. The majority of them bully the weak and take advantage of the strong."

Upon hearing this, Yu Que's expression softened, realizing that the Peak Master of Refinement had considered everything very thoroughly.

Moreover, he has now completed the cultivation of the seventh rank, and he will not stay in the palace for long before he goes out to travel the world and seek opportunities to condense evil spirits.

At that time, neither the peak master of the Refinement Peak nor his two unfamiliar senior brothers and sisters had time to accompany him to slowly mingle outside.

If he were truly targeted by someone with ulterior motives, Yu Que would find it difficult to cope with the sword embryo and true fire he currently possesses.

Yu Que's expression was sincere, and he immediately bowed his head:
“I dare not refuse the gift from the elder.”

"Disciple thanks Master for bestowing this treasure!"

He raised his hands.

The Peak Master of Refinement Peak gently pointed at Dingmao Jade Maiden and Jiazi Jade Man, and the two guardian deities immediately transformed into two balls of dark light. After hovering in mid-air, they landed in Yu Que's hands.

"Probe your divine sense into it, and then... slowly refine it."

Yu Que followed his master's instructions, slowly channeling his divine sense into the divine general's body, and using true fire, chanting scriptures and performing incantations.

A full hour later, he finally realized that the jade maiden and jade man had finally connected with his heart and were now under his control.

With a whoosh, Yu Que had a thought, and the team of Dingjia generals obediently flew into his ancestral temple.

After refining it, he secretly sensed Ding Jia's magical power and how much magical power the other party could add to him.

The result was somewhat different from what he had expected. The realm that Ding Jia Shen Jiang displayed in his hands was only crimson, belonging to the aura of a sixth-rank ghost god, not the azure fifth-rank aura.

With these two divine generals supporting him, even though Yu Que was skilled at manipulating Dao soldiers, they could at most boost his magic power to the upper level of the sixth rank, unable to contend with the fifth rank.

Yu Que opened his eyes and looked at the Refinement Peak Master with a puzzled expression.

Before he could speak, the Peak Master of Refinement explained:
"The divine generals can change according to their master. You are currently only at the seventh rank, and they are nourished by the true energy within your body, so naturally they can only be at the sixth rank. Unless you can obtain spiritual energy or other items comparable to the true energy of a fifth-rank immortal, you will not be able to raise their magical power to the fifth rank."

Of course, if you encounter a life-threatening crisis, they will also risk their lives to help you, either by consuming their own essence or by extracting your blood and energy to unleash their fifth-grade magical power and help you escape.

Hopefully, you won't encounter such a situation.

Yu Que's expression relaxed slightly, and he let out a breath: "This disciple understands."

Without needing a more detailed explanation from the Peak Master, Yu Que thought for a moment and realized that the fact that "divine generals change with their masters" was not a flaw, but rather a strength.

In this way, the possibility of backlash and pressure on the immortal's own spirit are minimized when the deity resides within the immortal's body.

Otherwise, if a child is holding a weapon that is too large, it is more likely to cause injury than to protect themselves.

Yu Que then had a detailed conversation with the Peak Master of Refinement. He listened to every word the other party said and dared not slack off.

After the other party finished explaining everything, including the intricacies of raising the Six Ding and Six Jia, Yu Que thought it was over.

Unexpectedly, the Peak Master of Refinement Peak suddenly said:

"By the way, once our sect's Six Ding and Six Jia are successfully refined, they can generate two from one, three from two, and even more from three. In the future, you can use resources to make your pair of Ding and Jia generate and change, thus completing the number of 'Six Ding and Six Jia'."

If you acquire more in the future, and there are any surplus, remember to give some to the sect. Don't accuse me of being greedy; after my death, these three pairs or more will also be passed on to you.”

These words made Yu Que think for a moment, and then his eyelids twitched violently.

He couldn't help but gasp in astonishment: "Besides being refined, this thing can actually generate its own derivatives and be used interchangeably with others?"

The Peak Master of Refinement was somewhat puzzled by Yu Que's surprise.

The other party muttered, "Otherwise, if it weren't for the fact that this thing can generate itself, why would our lineage have spent nearly a thousand years figuring it out before it was finally completed in our hands?"

If the goal was simply to forge celestial soldiers and generals, the entire lineage could have done so long ago by selling everything they owned. However, those forged that way would be finite, their numbers dwindling with each use; they wouldn't last long and couldn't be preserved.

The Peak Master of Refinement shook his head slightly, then said with self-satisfaction:

"The Dao soldiers that I have now refined are the ones that can be passed down through generations."

Yu Que immediately exclaimed in genuine admiration:

"Master, your skill is truly timeless and enduring."

His words were not a lie.

As long as the Six Ding and Six Jia Dao Soldiers are as the Refining Peak Master said, the Refining Peak lineage will only need to accumulate more Dao Soldiers in the future. Even if the skills of future generations are not good, they will surely be able to maintain their position in the Huangshan Dao Palace and prosper for a long time, and even not be confined to the Huangshan Dao Palace.

Seeing his disciple so cooperative, the Peak Master of Refinement Peak blushed, and he could barely suppress a smile.

He had no choice but to quickly turn around, facing the alchemy furnace and turning his back to Yu Que.

Even so, the Peak Master of Refinement couldn't help but burst into laughter:
"Haha, that's too much. I'm just picking up the scraps of my predecessors and building on their legacy."

He laughed for a while, then remembered that his disciple was still behind him.

The Peak Master of Refinement Peak coughed lightly, then suddenly pointed at the two pairs of divine generals and Dao soldiers beside him, and instructed Yu Que:

"Your senior brothers and sisters are all preparing for the Luncai Grand Ceremony two years from now, and they are not in the mountains."

"You should deliver these two pairs to them, so they won't be upset after they pass the test."

"Yes, Master."

After Yu Que agreed, he pondered what the "Talent Selection Ceremony" mentioned by the Peak Master of the Refinement Peak was. When did the palace start having such a ceremony? He had been in the palace for six years, so why had he never heard of it?
A few breaths later, Yu Que suddenly realized that this thing was not the talent selection for the Dao Palace, but the talent selection for the country, referring to the "Great Selection" in the Immortal Academy Examination system of the dynasty.

He has now passed the "minor" and "middle" examinations, and only the final "major" examination remains to be taken.

(End of this chapter)