Pill Manual Hall
The contest for the two remaining slots on the name list was a three round contest centred around alchemy. To win convincingly, Mu Yu needed to beat them at their own game instead of utilising the methods involved in poison concoction. All hope wasn’t lost, though. As a direct disciple of Bamboo Peak’s master, Mu Yu was granted special privileges. One of said special privileges was access to Pill Manual Hall, which wasn’t accessible to outsiders.
Pill Manual Hall’s value was demonstrated in Pill Cauldron Sect’s thriving history. The hall was located on Main Peak, the mountain where buildings were densely packed together.
Mu Yu had to search for Pill Manual Hall since Ku Mu didn’t specify its precise whereabouts. Every time Mu Yu asked other disciples for directions, they dismissed him, mistaking he was trying to poke fun at them. A hall storing history pertinent to alchemy and formulas was a treasure trove for alchemists, so they were expected to know where it was. Another point was the access restriction. Outstanding disciples were known faces. Mu Yu was an unknown face. Safe to say, none of the disciples would imagine him having the rights to enter the hall.
Ku Mu didn’t like Mu Yu escorting him for he found it embarrassing he had to rely on his disciple.
Alchemist Yao grounded Cai Lie and forced him to fumble through a mountain of survival skills in the wilderness in order to weather the dangers at Second Heaven.
“Excuse me, are you searching for Pill Manual Hall?” asked a graceful youth.
The youth was roughly five years older than Mu Yu. The vibe he gave was similar to the cultured demeanour Cheng Yan displayed. Mu Yu reciprocated the respect, explaining, “Greetings, Senior Brother. This one got lost on his way there. Could he bother you to tell him where it is exactly?”
“You must be new here, correct? For some reason, I have a feeling I have seen you somewhere before. I recognise all my martial siblings who are allowed into Pill Manual Hall, but I have never seen you there before.”
Mu Yu didn’t actually know Pill Manual Hall wasn’t open to all disciples. He inquired, “My name is Mu Yu. I am Elder Ku Mu’s senior disciple. Would you have heard of us?”
“Pleased to meet you, Brother Mu Yu. I am Bie Wenxuan, a disciple of Patriarch. Now I remember where I saw you. I saw you at Floating Celestial Island. I am sure you have heard it before, but I still must commend your skills.”
“You flatter me, Senior Brother,” replied Mu Yu. It was then that he recalled Bie Wenxuan was one of the prodigies Cai Lie mentioned.
“Please, this way.” Bie Wenxuan gestured for Mu Yu to follow along. “I heard you came to compete for one of the slots to travel. I can feel the pressure.”
“You are also participating in the contest? Are you not already chosen?”
“You overestimate me, Brother Mu. Junior Brother Lian Tianyou was the chosen one.”
Right… Hell as if I know who that is.
One would expect to detect jealousy for not being chosen, yet Mu Yu detected nothing of the sort from Bie Wenxuan’s tone or mannerisms. Alchemist Yao gave the slot to Cai Lie instead of Xiaohua when the latter was the senior and superior in the alchemy field. The reason for the decision was because he believed Xiao Hua had a better chance of winning the contest than Cai Lie. If Xiaohua won the slot, both of his disciples would be able to travel. By that logic, Bie Wenxuan should’ve been superior to Lian Tanyou.
“That is a shame,” commented Mu Yu.
Mu Yu didn’t need to worry about Lian Tianyou; they weren’t going to be competing against each other, in any case. He was better off investing time and effort in those he was competing against – he was still his main priority, of course.
Bie Wenxuan filled Mu Yu in on the sect rules, such as disciples only being permitted to visit Pill Manual Hall once per month and for only two hours per visit, no taking the manuals from the hall or recording for secrecy purposes.
They turned around the corner of an alchemy building, arriving before a refurbished ancient hall consisting of four storeys – Pill Manual Hall. At a set distance, the formation protecting it would activate and warn first-time visitors not to be a smart aleck in the form of a short pressure burst. The formation’s complexity was levels above Mu Yu’s knowledge on the subject.
“Keep your voice down inside. The elder guarding it wants peace.”
Mu Yu knew better than that. Nevertheless, he gave a nod of acknowledgement.
The interior was bright and ordered.
“Elder, this is my token,” declared Bie Wenxuan, handing over a red token.
Mu Yu never noticed the elder buried in a mountain of books by his left side until Bie Wenxuan faced in the elder’s direction.
Mu Yu took his token out. Without looking up, the elder exclaimed, “Quiet. You have two hours. Head in.”
Mu Yu stuffed his token back in since it wasn’t needed, apparently. Bie Wenxuan then bowed out, saying, “We shall go our separate ways now.”
Bie Wenxuan headed straight to the bookshelves to the left. Mu Yu didn’t want to disturb the elder, so he went about his own business, exploring the bookshelves on the right hand side.
Judging from the number of shelves in the spacious hall, Mu Yu estimated there were over ten thousand manuals. Mu Yu inwardly admitted that he was pretty lucky to be allowed into the hall.
Ku Mu told Mu Yu to find the manual “Speed Alchemy”, but, again, he didn’t explicate where it was specifically placed. Each shelf was only labelled using numbers. God forbid Mu Yu knew what the numbers signified. He randomly chose shelf five and reached for a manual with a blue cover. He felt a pushback sensation as soon as he touched it. His several successive attempts all ended in failure.
“A Primordial Infant Realm brat can’t access rank five pill manuals,” stated the guardian elder, from the entrance.
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