Chapter 37 Han Feng
The Light-Shadow Realm gradually became silent and calm again. In order for it to open again would require a thousand year wait.
Most of the Central Plain's Dou Zongs had entered this mysterious space a Dou Di had left behind, but only sixty percent of them managed to exit alive. As for others like Dou Huangs, only thirty percent of them survived.
But behind those huge losses were even greater gains. Of course, the exact gains were secrets. No one would reveal their wealth. They slowly digested their profits, waiting to amaze the world with a single amazing achievement.
Feng Xian and Yao Chen had both made bountiful gains. Many Dou Zongs had collected medicinal ingredients in that space and had taken them out to exchange with Feng Xian for medicinal pills. Some of the stronger Dou Zongs didn't even immediately request the medicinal pills as long as Yao Chen made them a promise for the future.
Yao Chen agreed to every single request, but in comparison, the divine items inside the Black Demon Cauldron were his true gains. Careful examination revealed that they included all kinds of Houtian and Xiantian precious treasures that were enough for him to refine ten years worth of medicinal pills without pause.
There were also endless materials that could be used to refine items. They were all handed to Feng Xian so that he would easily be able to become a refining grandmaster.
This refining didn't refer to refining medicine. It referred to refining artifacts to use, perhaps as weapons or for support. An ordinary talent would also be able to have success as long as his Dou Qi was strong enough. The crucial point was one word - refining. Only through countless experiments could you accumulate experience.
Feng Xian's refining talent was originally not bad. He was fire-attribute, and the Sky Flame Three Profound Changes he cultivated had already reached a high enough level. Now that he had enough material to squander, his growth could only be described as exceptionally fast.
His greatest work he was most proud of was a soul-warming spirit-nourishing ring he had refined for Yao Chen. Just by looking at it, it didn't seem so special, mostly appearing plain and simple just like a normal ring. But in reality it could nourish the soul. By wearing it for a long time it was possible to increase the level of the wearer's Spiritual Perception slightly.
That slight amount could not be looked down upon. When it came to Yao Chen who had reached a peak level in Spiritual Perception, that slight increase increased his pill refining success rate by around thirty percent.
Yao Chen also cared greatly about the ring and wore it every day.
Yao Chen stayed within Sky Star Mountain Range's new headquarters for a year, each day wildly refining medicinal pills to add power to the Falling Star Pavilion. Basically every other day he would draw Pill Lightning Tribulation.
A year later, Yao Chen brought the Black Demon Cauldron with him and began to wander the Central Plains again.
The legend of the mainland's number one alchemist also began to be spoken more and more following his roaming. Even more experts also began to recognize Yao Chen's status.
Of course, he also ended up causing many enmities as well. Experts constantly came to find trouble with Yao Chen. There was one time they had taken advantage of when Yao Chen was refining medicine in a remote small down, and three peak Dou Zongs as well as ten nine star Dou Huangs joined hands to kill him.
Yao Chen had yet to advance to Dou Zun at that time so he could only flee. Luckily he had managed to escape extremely quickly and hadn't received any wounds. Because of various reasons he was very busy at that time and so he didn't immediately go take revenge. He had planned on just remembered this event and going to find those people when he had the time.
But somehow news that he had been attacked had spread, and as a result there were two Dou Zuns, over ten Dou Zongs and countless Dou Wangs that formed an alliance without Yao Chen's participation and spent three months' time to kill the family and sect members of those three Dou Zongs that had tried to kill Yao Chen, completely uprooting their traces from the Central Plains.
From then one, no one dared find trouble for Yao Chen again.
Month after month, year after year passed. In just an instant, twenty years had gone by.
The Falling Star Pavilion had become all the more powerful. It had begun to be termed along the Ten Thousand Sword Pavilion, the Wind Lightning Pavilion, and the Yellow Spring Pavilion as the Central Plains' Four Pavilions.
Yao Chen and Feng Xian had both already advanced to Dou Zun. Yao Chen had been called as the matchless Yao Zun-zhe while Feng Xian was called Feng Zun-zhe. The reason he was able to advance to Dou Zun was by relying on Yao Chen's medicinal pills, and so he decided to casually change his name to Gu Ling, borrowing the Bone Chilling Flame's 'Gu Ling' pronunciation.
At this time the two of them were extremely famous within the Central Plains. If they wanted rain then it rained; if they wanted wind then there was wind. There were many times when he refined an eighth tier medicinal pill and wasn't the slightest bit stingy with it all, taking it out to be auctioned. To those auctioneers, even a seventh tier medicinal pill was an impressive treasure. Every time he took one out it would incite huge interest.
For Yao Chen to bring them out to be auctioned off as soon as he refined them was a waste, but it also had its own benefits. His fame continued to grow. Sometimes when people spoke of alchemy his name would be more prestigious than even the Pill Tower! That was an absolutely frightening fame.
Other than the ancient clans, other powers had all been pushed down a level by Yao Chen and his Falling Star Pavilion.
Yao Chen continued to roam around the land. It had been thirty years since he had left Holy Pill City, and at this time he was already past fifty years old.
He had experienced many feelings, from resentment to gratitude. As for the little princess of Demon Valley's Fox clan, unfortunately there had been a huge battle that had involved multiple Dou Shengs. The Fox Saint had originally been unable to survive for much longer. It had always relied on medicinal pills to forcefully extend its ending lifespan. In order to avoid the complete extermination of the clan, the Fox Saint had sacrificed its own life in order to send the Fox clan from Demon Valley to another world in the void. From then on, Yao Chen had lost any contact with the little princess. Many of his loves had also ended up unsettled just like that.
As for Xuan Yi, the two were indecisive fools. Sometimes they were happy, sometimes they were sad; sometimes they fought, sometimes they worked together; sometimes they helped each other, sometimes they hurt each other. From the very start, neither of them was able to make any advancements in their relationship.
At this time, Yao Chen had already roamed over all of the Central Plains. He had left his mark on even the most desolate and dangerous lands.
Finally Yao Chen's footsteps left the Central Plains.
He didn't use Spatial Wormholes, instead using his own two feet or mounts to travel throughout the lands.
The Falling Star Pavilion's strength could no longer keep up with Yao Chen's pace. They could only chase after him, hoping to offer him any support they could.
Outside the Central Plains, the land was savage and uncivilized. Civilization in those lands was a luxury. On his journey through those lands, the thing he saw the most often was carnage and bloodshed.
The Black-Corner Region was one of the most famous barbaric lands. Countless evil cultivators established their own powers there and fought for dominance.
The third year after leaving the Central Plains, Yao Chen arrived at the edge of the Black-Corner Region.
This was a manor that had been burnt down by a huge fire. Outside the manor were troops that were setting up spikes with human heads on them. Those were all freshly made spikes with the heads of people who had just recently died being stuck on top of a pointed wooden stick around two meters tall. It was an extremely cruel display, but in the Black-Corner Region, such a scene was all too common.
Yao Chen directly took action and immediately exterminated all those troops.
However, just as he was about to leave, a wailing cry came from within the manor…
Three years later, an extra child had appeared by Yao Chen's side. He was around three years old and his eyes were filled with intelligence. The child was currently learning to speak and was actually reading from alchemy scriptures. Those scriptures weren't from the Yao clan, but instead were the sum of Yao Chen's experience. It might not be as profound as the Yao clan's original inheritance, but it was much more suited to an apprentice who was learning on his own. In terms of the smaller details it wasn't much inferior to the Yao clan's.
This child had been saved by Yao Chen from the destroyed manor. After three years had passed, Yao Chen noticed that the child had an extremely perfect dual fire-wood attribute constitution in addition to being very intelligent. He had heard that that manor had been called the Han Family Manor and that they had had only one newborn called Han Feng.
A family name of Han! Yao Chen immediately felt some affinity towards the child. He had taken in this child and treated him as his perfect disciple, beginning to nurture and raise him.
At two years old he had begun to build the initial foundation of the child. He made a spiritual liquid that was suited to building a child's foundation which wouldn't cause any pain or any side effects. He spent a great deal of time adjusting it to suit him properly.
At three years old, Han Feng's fire-wood attribute had already become extremely outstanding and traces of Dou Qi started to be born from within his body.
But he didn't immediately teach him cultivation. Instead he used those traces of Dou Qi to nourish the body and increase his potential talent. That was something that Yao Chen was an expert at. That child's talent was originally not bad, and then with Yao Chen's nourishment he had already reached a perfect state.
"Master, master, what's the next section?"
Han Feng's small hand pulled at Yao Chen's finger. His bright eyes were filled with a thirst for knowledge.
"Haha, don't bite off more than you can chew. Think about what you just read some more. Inside are many truths that are hidden away. Did you really comprehend it?"
Yao Chen picked up the tiny Han Feng and laughed.
"Eh… but master, I feel like I already understand it. If you don't believe me then I'll explain it to you."
Han Feng actually began to explain all the hidden truths that were contained within that section to him.
Yao Chen stared blankly. Was just being a genius enough to have such comprehension?
"Haha, you really are worthy of being my disciple. Excellent, master will teach you the next section and see if you will still be able to completely comprehend it. Listen closely, this section is even more difficult…"
A master and a disciple, a grown-up and a child, a teacher and student, the two of them lived harmoniously and joyously.
In that manner Yao Chen brought Han Feng along with him as he roved around the land.
They arrived at the distant ocean side and made friends with the Sea clans. They also travelled to extremely hot volcanoes and experienced all kinds of hardships.
Ten years passed and Yao Chen gradually lost the drive of his early days. He concentrated completely on Han Feng's growth. Seeing Han Feng progress everyday in all areas including Dou Qi and alchemy caused Yao Chen to feel extremely gratified. Han Feng was truly a perfect disciple. Even the Yao clan would have to use endless resources to raise him someone to Han Feng's level.
Having such a disciple truly made life worth it. Seeing the tiny Han Feng continue to grow every day, Yao Chen started to feel an urge to give up all of his grudges and focus completely on this disciple of his.
However, even if people didn't go provoke matters, matters would provoke people. Enmities and grudges were not something that could be given up so easily just by wanting to. This was also due to the profoundness of karma.
On this day, Yao Chen left to go to a contact point with the Falling Star Pavilion and send over some pills he had just refined. Originally Han Feng would always accompany him, but because Han Feng was attempting to refine a fourth tier medicinal pill he had been left in a seclusion room.
As the curtain of night descended, the moonlight started to shine down. With a loud rumbling sound, Han Feng failed his refinement. It was after all a fourth tier medicinal pill. There were still many particular involved that that were difficult for him to accomplish even if he understood them.
Han Feng sighed and felt a bit irritated. There had been a chance he could have succeeded.
"Refining like this isn't completely correct."
Suddenly a swift voice came from outside.
"Who is it?!"
Han Feng was startled out of his thoughts and immediately grabbed a sword to the side. He didn't charge out of the room, instead planting himself in the corner of the room, carefully preparing and setting up a Dou Formation silently.
"Haha, apprentice-nephew, there's no need to be afraid. I just came to give you some pointers. Actually, you're already doing very well, but there are a couple areas where you are acting too properly. If you switch the perspective when you refine then your success rate will increase by at least ten percent. And listen to this…"
That voice actually perfectly pointed out the problem Han Feng had run into just now.
At this time, Han Feng had already gained some of Yao Chen's true inheritance and was naturally able to differentiate truth from falsehood. That technique the voice had told him was definitely true, and by extrapolating it to his alchemy process, his success rate increased by quite a bit. It was at least fifty percent superior to his original technique.
"Wait, what did you just call me?"
Han Feng's eyes suddenly flashed.
"Haha, I actually thought you wouldn't ask. I'm your uncle-master."
"Uncle-master? But my master said that his master only had him as a disciple."
Han Feng was extremely guarded against this voice.
"Haha, that was because your master and I had some problems. That's already something from twenty years ago. The past is already dead. Now I remember that the matter from back then truly was just because of the vigor of youth. Just for some Flame Mantra, us apprentice-brothers ended up ruining our friendship. Tch, it really is regretful."
Flame Mantra?
"What is the Flame Mantra?"
He truly did remember his master had such a scroll that was called Flame Mantra. Every time his master read through the scroll his expression would become extremely complicated. It seemed there were many secrets involved with it.
One time he had secretly taken the Flame Mantra and had wanted to read it over, but the result was that before he had even managed to open it, his master had found him and scolded him harshly.
Ever since he had been small, he had never been beaten or even cursed. But just one time he had been very firmly scolded…
Although he had been scolded, the intelligent Han Feng knew that that Flame Mantra would definitely be extremely exceptional.
Perhaps his master didn't want him to know what was inside for his own good, but the more it was like that, the greater his urge to find out just what the Flame Mantra really was.
Moreover Han Feng had an extremely great urge to be number one. Every time his master said it was no good, he would repeatedly repeat what he had originally failed at until he succeeded. That small grudge Han Feng had had against his master finally faded and he was once more filled with respect for him again. Only then was his desire for the Flame Mantra forced down. His master's things would sooner or later be handed down to him.
However, now that he heard this self-claimed uncle-master of his speak of the Flame Mantra…
That powerful and curious fire within him was once more ignited. This time he was unable to stop his curiosity; since his master wouldn't tell him then he would listen to what this other person had to say about it.
"Ah, your master hasn't passed on the Flame Mantra to you?"
That voice seemed extremely startled and filled with disbelief.
Those words were exceptionally piercing to Han Feng's ears.
"Haha, that makes sense. If it it was me I also won't easily hand over such an outstanding thing to my disciple. No matter how good or talented the disciple was, I'd still have to think about it over and over again. Hehe, the matter of apprentice killing the master after learning everything, well, I won't talk about that. Do you really want to know what the Flame Mantra is?"
The owner of that voice had clearly already observed Han Feng for a long time and knew exactly how to provoke his nature.
He was repeatedly instigating the curiosity and competitiveness in Han Feng's heart.
This was also because Yao Chen had pampered Han Feng from a young age. He had always felt that with Han Feng's talent, he was truly a perfect genius. Although he had never explicitly said that to Han Feng, with his intelligence, Han Feng was clearly able to sense this opinion of his.
Occasionally Han Feng felt that he truly was more talented than his master. His master has simply trained for a longer time.
Sometimes Han Feng would even dream that there would come a day where he would replace his master and become the mainland's number one alchemist, and that title would actually be true for him.
His master's title of being 'number one' was actually just the result of the experts Yao Chen had exchanged medicinal pills raising him up. The other stronger alchemists weren't as magnanimous as his master, so they naturally didn't have the face to compete with his master over that number one spot.
But if it was him who succeeded that number one spot, at that time, hmph…
However Han Feng was very clear that that path was an extremely long one. Perhaps it would require forty to fifty years before he could achieve that goal. Although he was extremely competitive, he could judge intelligently. Perhaps in twenty years he would be able to surpass his master, however to become the true number one alchemist would require at least another twenty years of bitter cultivation after that. Of course, if he could find some sort of fortuitous encounter then that time would shorten.
"If you started to study the Flame Mantra now… hehe, I feel that in twenty years you will likely surpass your master and become the true number one alchemist of the mainland. That of course includes the legendary Yao clan. No one will be your match."
Han Feng was surprised; was the Flame Mantra really so powerful?
"Hmph, you're just trying to trick me into stealing the Flame Mantra for you!"
Han Feng saw right through that voice's intention.
"Hahaha, you really are smart and talented. You're right, I really do want that Flame Mantra, however… I'm also an eighth tier alchemist just like your master. For your master to not dare train in it there must be a reason so I naturally also wouldn't dare. However I keep feeling that you are definitely the perfect person to take on the inheritance of the Flame Mantra. However your master, hehe, he's too selfish and refuses to teach you it. As for the reason for that, with your intelligence you should be able to guess why."
"… Who are you?"
"I'm your uncle-master, Mu Gu. I guess I can also count as famous within the Central Plains. In any case, even if I say any more you probably won't believe me. One month later I'll come find you again. Meet me at that Thunderbolt Tree."
The final words of that voice had come very far as if the speaker had already left.
Many thoughts ran through Han Feng's head. In the end he kept the sword in his hand and went to his master's room. In the corner of the bed was a wooden trunk. This was Heavy Iron Wood and its hardness did not lose out to steel essence. The trunk had a black lock, however that didn't mean anything to Han Feng. Circulating his Dou Qi, he perfectly opened the lock. Over the years he had done things like that quite often, sneaking peeks at his master's things. Naturally he had a couple stealthy abilities.
There were many scrolls in that wooden trunk. Most of them were powerful Dou Techniques as well as various alchemy techniques. However, there was no Flame Mantra.
So despite promising his master that he would no longer have any intentions towards the Flame Mantra, his master had still taken it away…
Footnote:
The 'Han' in Han Feng's name is the same as the one in Han Shanshan.
'Yao Chen had been called as the matchless Yao Zun-zhe while Feng Xian was called Feng Zun-zhe. The reason he was able to advance to Dou Zun was by relying on Yao Chen's medicinal pills, and so he decided to casually change his name to Gu Ling, borrowing the Bone Chilling Flame's 'Gu Ling' pronunciation.'
It the Bone Chilling Flame based on BTTH's translation, but the translator essentially ignored part of its name. The full name would be the Bone Spirit Chilling Flame. The spiritual aspect was mentioned a couple times back when Yao Chen was capturing it. The Chinese pronunciation of 'Bone Spirit' is 'Gu Ling', while the Gu Ling that Feng Xian changed his name to is actually 'Ancient Spirit', a homonym also pronounced Gu Ling. Feng zun-zhe's name is mentioned in BTTH to be Gu Ling here (Feng=Wind, so the 'Wind zun zhe' mentioned is Feng zun-zhe.):
Also recall in chapter 32 how Feng Xian consumed the Yin-Yang Mysterious Dragon Pill which is mentioned in that chapter of BTTH. Chapter 32 also vaguely implies about how Feng Xian was unable to draw out the dragon aura from the pill which is mentioned here in BTTH:
Chapter 102 of the BTTH manga shows an auctioneer's retelling of how Gu Ling recovered through the Yin-Yang Mysterious Dragon Pill. Chapter 104 also contains some details about it, the effects of the Yin-Yang Mysterious Dragon Pill, as well as the first manga appearance of Han Feng in adult form.