Chapter 476 The Core Launch
A stream of light, coming from the southwest at extremely high speed in the night sky, flew to the Ascension Cliff a moment later. It was a magic tool called Flying Sword and the one standing on it was a nun. With her legs slightly bent and her upper body leaning forward, this woman looked exactly like a skater. Both her skirt and the hossu were fluttering in the wind and there was something aloof and detached about her.
Reverend Miexin was here.
Ning Tao’s heart beat with envy and pride at the sight of Reverend Miexin standing on the flying sword. He craved the sword at her feet but was also very proud that he had repaired it. In fact, he was the only one in this world who could make it.
“Oh my god! That’s a real flying sword. I finally saw it! It’s not a waste of time!” said Wolf from the Northwest. He looked very excited.
Many people had the same feeling. Of course, not every practitioner had a flying sword. It was as if a rich, handsome guy or a beautiful lady drove a luxury car to a party while everyone else was sitting on their cheap, compact EMGRAND, Harvard H6, or BenBen.
After all, who didn’t want to have a flying sword? That was the dream of all practitioners.
Reverend Miexin flew over the Ascension Cliff and put her sword away with a spell. She landed lightly in front of Master Fakong, just steps away from Ning Tao. She first greeted the master and then walked over to him.
“Amitabha. How have you been since I saw you last time, Patron Ning?” asked Reverend Miexin.
“I’m fine. Thanks for asking,” Ning Tao replied politely.
Reverend Miexin chanted Amitabha Buddha, then lowered her head and her words crept into Ning Tao’s ears in secret. She said, “You’ve fulfilled your promise and got into trouble. If Wu Yue dares to threaten or hurt you, Emei Sect and I will definitely stand by your side.”
Ning Tao was touched. He smiled and nodded to show his gratitude.
Ruan Tianyin leaned over to Ning Tao and whispered, “Master, there’s a lot of delicious food on the stage. Can I have some?”
Ning Tao nodded again.
Ruan Tianyin‘s face lit up with a smile. She waved to Zhang Qianshu, Wang Laoba, and Man Zuli, and the three fish monsters followed her. There were several long tables on the makeshift table, with many exquisite snacks, cakes, traditional liquors, and foreign wines on it. Some practitioners were drinking and enjoying food while talking to each other. The four monsters obviously couldn’t resist the temptation of food.
Ning Tao didn’t care about what they were doing. After all, the main purpose of this trip was to broaden their horizons.
Master Fakong glanced at Ruan Tianyin, who was eating a piece of cake. He could not help frowning at her fairy-like looks and figure. Then, he looked back at Ning Tao with dissatisfaction and said, “Amitabha, Patron Ning, you’re really loved by the monsters, aren’t you?”
Ning Tao pretended not to hear what he had just said.
At this moment, a group of people on the red carpet came to them. The leader was a man in a robe. He had a Taoist priest’s mane on the top of his head. His thin face and long eye gave others an impression of shrewdness. The two long mustaches on his lips were special but not very good-looking. He was tall and thin and was a hunchback. His arms were long and slender. With a hossu in one hand and a porcelain jar in the other, he really looked like a mountain cat walking on its feet.
He was Shan Yi, the Spiritual Cat Deity.
Liu Xian’er and Wu Xiaolin followed behind him, looking steadily forward.
Ning Tao fixed his eyes on Shan Yi and activated the state of looking and smelling. However, he could see nothing but a blurry halo of light. There was no colorful innate aura nor any good or evil energy around him.
What was going on?
A thought struck him. Wu Yue and Nicholas Conway were competent enough to hide all their energies, that was the reason why he couldn’t see the good or evil energy around them. Was that true for Shan Yi too?
One must be at least at the Out-of-Body state if they could hide all their energies, which meant that Shan Yi had already reached this state and could separate his body and spirit. Chen Pingdao was in the same state and his spirit could even occupy the body of the dog.
This suddenly reminded him of the two wild cats he had seen before. The first one had appeared in the alley where the clinic was located and the second on the roof of the rented courtyard house. “Maybe this guy has been spying on me for a long time but I’ve never realized,” thought Ning Tao.
Shan Yi also noticed Ning Tao. His long, thin eyes slightly widened when their eyes met. His gleaming gaze seemed like a sharp blade that could pierce through everything. But he looked away in a minute.
Ning Tao’s eyes were fixed on the porcelain jar in Dan Yao’s hands. Unfortunately, it was well sealed and he couldn’t see the elixir light nor smell the elixir odor.
Tang Zixian came over, standing side by side with Ning Tao, and whispered, “He is Shan Yi, the Spiritual Cat Deity.”
Her information was always delayed, but Ning Tao was not sure whether she did it deliberately. He hid all his emotions and said: “I just wondered if he’s Shan Yi. You know, he looks a bit like a cat. Is that why he’s called Spiritual Cat Deity?”
“Perhaps. I’m not sure,” said Tang Zixian.
Ning Tao had another question. “Since Spiritual Cat Deity is here, why hasn’t Wu Yue come yet?”
Tang Zixian answered,” Don’t worry, she’ll come. Your talk with her is scheduled later in the day.”
Ning Tao looked away at Shan Yi without saying anything else.
In fact, he did not have any expectations about his peace talks with Wu Yue in the first place. He did not believe that Wu Yue would give up. The only reason he came here was to make sure if she was the tyrant who was going to be killed by the clinic!
Maybe the tyrant was someone else.
Shan Yi came on the makeshift platform and bowed to a group of fellow Taoists who came here to attend the so-called core launch. Then he said, “I’m Shan Yi and my Taoist name is Spiritual Cat Deity. Thank you for joining my core launch. I’m going to show you the Ancestor-Seeking Elixir, to which I’ve devoted all my time and energy.”
On hearing this ordinary opening speech, the quiet audience suddenly got excited.
“The Ancestor-Seeking Elixir? What do you mean?”
“My fellow Taoist, you’re kind of ignorant, aren’t you? The Ancestor-Seeking Elixir is a demonic core that has triggered a bloody war in our world hundreds of years ago. It has been said that the core was produced by a big shot of the heavenly realm and anyone who takes it can become immortal. ”
“One can become immortal after taking it? I don’t believe it. If there is such a thing, the producer would definitely eat it himself without showing it to anyone else.”
“That’s weird. It’s normal to hide such a magic core. Why does he hold a core launch? It seems that he wants more people to learn this piece of news.”
“It has nothing to do with ordinary people like us. There must be some big shot backing him up.”
“I’m wondering if he’ll sell the elixir. I will swap the 200 square meters house in Beidu for that.”
“Are you dreaming? It’s impossible!”
“What do you know? You have no idea what investment is all about. My house in Beidu is worth 30 million yuan, and it’s still climbing…”
Everyone was talking about the core, some of them were serious while others were just kidding.
But Ning Tao was perplexed. Shan Yi had obviously admitted that he was the one who had produced the Ancestor-Seeking Elixir, which had turned Jiang Hao into a new demon. It was also him who had provided the Ancestor-Seeking Elixir to the biological experiment center of the Academy of Sciences. What did he want by holding a core launch with the incomplete version of the Ancestor-Seeking Elixir?
Shan Yi waved his hossu lightly at this moment.
It was much quieter now. Some Taoist fellows were still talking but their voices were kept low-pitched.
Shan Yi said, “I’m sure many of you have heard of the Ancestor-Seeking Elixir. It has triggered a bloody war hundreds of years ago, leaving many Taoist fellows dead. But the core itself is innocent. In fact, it’s a real immortal elixir rather than a demon core. After hundreds of years of research, I finally improved it. Of course, one cannot become immortal by taking it. Nevertheless, I believe that it can definitely boost your competence. Now, everyone, this is the core.”
Shan Yi lifted the lid of the porcelain jar.
A ball of misty elixir light suddenly floated up from the porcelain jar but did not disperse. The light was misty green and it was obvious that the core was the Master of Elixir Refinement and was only one step away from the Grandmaster of Elixirs.
Without the Spirit Gathering Pearl, Ning Tao could barely make a core with that misty green elixir light. After all, Shan Yi had been refining pills since the beginning of the Qing Dynasty, while he had just started a year ago. Shan Yi’s rich experience and knowledge were far ahead of his.
However, with the help of the Spirit Gathering Pearl, the core refined by Ning Tao could show the red light of the Grandmaster Elixirs, which was better than that of Shan Yi.
Liu Xian’er came to Shan Yi with a white jade plate in her hands. He carefully poured out an Ancestor-Seeking Elixir the size of a pigeon egg. It was a perfectly round, crystal clear pill, and looked extraordinary with its dense elixir light.
The Taoists exclaimed and gasped at the sight of the Ancestor-Seeking Elixir.
“He’s definitely an excellent Alchemist! Look at the core! It’s almost at the level of the Grandmaster of Elixirs!”
“I’m sure that my competence will definitely be boosted by taking this core!”
Someone asked loudly amid the heated discussions, “Taoist Shan, is that for sale?”
Shan Yi waved his hossu and answered with a smile, “Of course. That’s why I hold this core launch.”
“Just name your price. I’ll get it,” said a man.
Shan Yi chuckled and said slowly, “I’m sorry, but It has already been bought by someone. And that friend will take this Ancestor-Seeking Elixir in front of everyone so that all of us can see its effects.”
“This core is definitely worth tens of millions. The buyer must be a billionaire.”
“Who has bought it? I heard nothing about this. Do you know who they are?”
“Taoist Ma from Jiangnan, is that you?”
Amid murmurings of speculations, Shan Yi proclaimed, “Please, stop now. That friend is just an ordinary mortal. Oh, here she is.”
Ning Tao turned back and was stunned.