Plundering the Heavens - Chapter 103

Mount Desolation was located to the south of the Qing-Yun Sect, sharing the same mountain ranges as the great Taiheng Mountain. It was hidden from view amidst a vast sea of trees and tall bushes, and it would be difficult even for someone from the Qing-Yun Sect to find its exact location without a Positioning Talisman. Since this was the location where the beast king was sealed, the entire area had been contaminated by Demonic Qi over the past hundreds of years, creating a large sphere filled with mutated beasts and plants.
Of course, in a certain sense, areas like this could also be seen as a land rich in resources. Killing the beasts within would give access to their beast cores, and if these mutated plants were used correctly, most could also be called spirit herbs. As for the beast king sealed at its center, it was viewed as the catalyst for all of this.
It was said that large legendary clans and sects would often have their own sealed grounds as well to test the capabilities of their disciples.
The spirit vessel might not have been very fast, but it was still much faster than a horse galloping at its best. After one day and night, the disciples arrived at the skies of Mount Desolation.
BOOM….
The spirit vessel gave another shake and halted to a stop, and all of the disciples disembarked by slowly drawing themselves to the ground with [Levitation]. After sleeping during the entire trip, Fang Xing also joined the majority with his saber still hanging from his shoulders. As for Wu Xiangtong, he was Fang Xing’s responsible assistant; he was the last to leave the vessel and formed a hand seal to return it to its portable size and put back into his storage sack.
Once the disciples from the four valleys had landed, they began to look around in all directions. They had arrived next to the edge of an enormous basin, and a thick, ghostly mist covered the basin itself. Within it was a forest that all but oozed terror, enough so that even a single look could send chills down the spines of those less daring. Directly above the basin were large demonic clouds that shifted into strange shapes from time to time, while the loud calls of mutated birds rang out circling the basin’s outskirts.
A white crane was also still in the air and circling the area. Sitting atop it was Xu Linyun, observing the basin’s topography in the hopes of finding the best location for their entry. After she’d studied it for some time, her voice rang down from above, "The demonic beasts within Mount Desolation have caused a gust of demonic wind. Danxia Valley disciples, I order you to craft the Mind-Cleansing Pellet for all of our brothers and sisters right now. Do not delay!"
As Xu Linyun spoke, she waved her hand and tossed a white jade vase inside the basin. Before long, she had it return and then sent it directly to land in the hands of a Danxia Valley disciple. From within the vase was a sample of Mount Desolation’s demonic mist, and the disciple closed his eyes while reciting, "On top of the mother pellet, add three-percent stamen of Pure Indigo Blossom, nine drops of the Cleansing Fruit Elixir…"
As the rest of the Danxia Valley disciples heard the recipe, they all sat down with their legs crossed before taking out the furnaces from their storage sacks. A white pellet was first tossed into their furnace as they controlled its temperature, with a new material added from time to time. As for the disciples from the other valleys, they had all felt that the sight was refreshing and interesting. They knew that this was the so-called "double refinement method" for alchemy, and it was not something that could usually be watched.
Such a method was characterized by adding certain spirit herbs or ingredients into an already-made "mother pellet" to re-refine the latter. This method’s final product usually had a specific purpose, such as in cases like this.
Inhaling the demonic mist from the basin could be dangerous to cultivators after extended exposure. One of the methods of defending against it was by constantly keeping a barrier of Qi activated, but if someone were to always do so, they would use up their Qi extremely quickly and it wouldn’t take long before they ran out. Especially in times like this where they were expected to face aggressive beasts, wouldn’t this cause misfortune? Such pellets were born for this very reason. These pellets could be kept inside the mouth and used medicinal properties to counteract the demonic mist without needing to waste Qi on constantly maintaining a barrier.
Of course, such pellets could not be crafted immediately from scratch, and the most efficient method was through the double refinement method of the mother pellet. Even after crafting the mother pellet, it was still necessary to determine the mist’s properties in order to add in spirit herbs to counteract them with a second refinement. Using this method, not only would the refinement process take less time, but the effectiveness of the final pellet would be much more pronounced.
Within less than half an hour, the Danxia Valley disciples completed their pellets and began to return their furnaces to their storage sacks. As the Danxia Valley disciples stood up to hand out their re-refined pellets, everyone who received one was all smiles and politely thanked them. Only the disciples from the Shuwen and Shanhe Valleys had actually received them, however; when it came time for the disciples from Duanzhen Valley, it was as though all of the alchemists had conspired together to ignore them.
"Umm…." As the Duanzhen Valley disciples held out their hands for the pellet, they were completely ignored, making them appear rather awkward.
"Heh, you still want pellets?" a Danxia Valley disciple softly ridiculed. Upon hearing this, the disciples from the other two branches looked on as if to watch a show, all of them fully aware of why this was happening. Although Fang Xing may have had a blast cursing at these Danxia Valley disciples on his own in the spirit vessel, it was clear that they not only held a grudge against him, but the entire Duanzhen Valley branch as well. Now that they wanted to make things difficult by refusing to offer pellets, what could be done?
"Umm…." Wu Xiangtong helplessly looked to Fang Xing before sighing. He then walked up to where the Danxia Valley disciples had gathered and cupped his hands in apology with a bitter smile.

"Humph! You still want your pellets? Then tell that brat to come over and apologize to Shijie Lin Qinxue!" the girl Fang Xing had named "crater face" a while ago shouted out.
Troubled, Wu Xiangtong returned empty-handed, clearly failing in his negotiations. At least, he did not dare to ask Fang Xing to apologize to them, as that was something he knew Fang Xing would certainly not do. "Once we enter, we will have to use our Qi barrier for a short moment. They can’t really refuse to give us the Mind-Cleansing Pellets…." Wu Xiangtong helplessly told the rest of the disciples in a low voice.
As for the rest of them, indignation could be seen on some of their faces while accusatory glares were shot at Fang Xing. If it weren’t for them knowing that their strength was no match for Fang Xing’s, they would have truly coerced the boy into apologizing to these Danxia Valley disciples in exchange for their pellets.
"Hmph, a bunch of stinking shrews, how dare you try to make things difficult for me?" Fang Xing felt annoyed at this and directed a vicious gaze at the group of females. Similarly unfriendly glances were returned, as if to respond with ‘We are making it difficult for you on purpose. Are you going to bite us?’
Fang Xing naturally would not bite them; he had decided that he would bite Xu Linyun instead. While standing firmly on the ground with his arms resting on both sides of his waist, he held up his head towards the air and yelled out, "Xu Linyun! Shijie Linyun!"
This act left all of the disciples astounded. What was this little brat trying to get at now? Did he not want to live any longer? How dare he refer to Shijie Linyun by her full name! As for those from the Danxia Valley, they were stunned even more. ‘Is he trying to tattle on us again?’ But such thoughts didn’t last long before they were replaced by more derisive ones, ‘Surely Shijie Linyun will be on our side. So what if you tattle on us?’
Xu Linyun was not the slightest bit amused as she circled above with her white crane. "What?" she asked while cringing her brows.
Fang Xing snickered. "All of your shimei are not willing to give us the pellets. Make a furnace of these pellets for me instead!"
Xu Linyun appeared a touch annoyed and softly commanded, "What nonsense. Give them their pellets!" It seemed that not only had she become angry, but that the disciples of her Danxia Valley received some of her anger as well.
Before everyone had managed to process and be surprised by Xu Linyun’s response, Fang Xing’s response sent out another shockwave, "I don’t want theirs, they’re not good enough. I want ones personally crafted by you!"
This caused the expressions of everyone to grow even more peculiar, as if they were all convinced that they must have heard wrong. Even those from Fang Xing’s own Duanzhen Valley wanted to hide their faces in embarrassment; Fang Xing was simply too thick-skinned!
‘You just berated Shijie Linyun’s shimei from top to bottom and front to back, yet she still asked them to give you the pellets. It’s already more than generous, and yet now you dare to ask her to personally craft these pellets for you?’
Xu Linyun was the second-best alchemist in the entire Danxia Valley, just behind her shifu, Qin’nyao. Even if she was asked to craft a furnace of pellets by an elder, the price would be thirty mid-grade Spirit Stones at minimum; if a single pellet made its way from her hands into the sect, it would be sold at a sky-high price. Yet this boy had just now directly asked her to personally make him an entire furnace of such low-level pellets?
In that moment, at least half of those nearby believed Fang Xing must’ve gotten so bored as to look for a good beating. The other half believed the boy was seeking death!
"Idiot! Who do you think Shijie Linyun is that you can just ask her for pellets? Look at you, you can’t even afford to buy a single pellet from her!" The "black eel" started to point and curse at Fang Xing. Xu Linyun was their idol; they would not allow anyone to act with such impertinence towards her.
Fang Xing, on the other hand, simply rolled his eyes at those words before continuing to smirk at Xu Linyun.
The results were surprising. Xu Linyun considered it for some time—seemingly angry—but in the end she let out a sigh and summoned a red furnace. With a graceful flick of her finger, a string of white pellets flew inside. Her lips moved in a quick motion to release a red flame to surround the furnace before she finally added a few more medicinal herbs into the mix.
In less than nine breaths, the flame vanished and the furnace opened up. All of the completed pellets were placed into a white vase that was then tossed down to Fang Xing. At the same time, an emotionless voice made its way to Fang Xing’s ears, "There was no need for you to test me like this. I always keep my word!"