Seeing the Captain this excited caused Xu Qing to smile. He couldn’t care less about the position of archbishop, and considering how hard his Eldest Brother had been working for so long, Xu Qing wouldn’t mind at all if he became the leader of the Moonrebel Congregation.

“Allow me to congratulate you in advance, Eldest Brother,” Xu Qing said with a faint smile.

The Captain laughed heartily. “What’s mine is yours, little Junior Brother! Let’s go!”

The mirror shard flickered with light that rapidly spread out and enveloped the two of them. Some rumbling sounds could be heard, and then they vanished from sight.

***

The mood inside the Moonrebel Congregation was bleak.

The mountain was still there, and it still looked majestic. But the temples atop it were dark. In the past, innumerable statues could be seen traversing the paths on the mountains, but with the advent of war, they were currently nowhere to be seen. The vast majority of congregation cultivators were completely focused on leading the resistance armies into battle against the forces of the Red Moon Cathedral. As a result, people had less time to come to the Moonrebel Congregation.

Therefore, there was only a small group present to exchange information and do business. They numbered in the hundreds. Most people hurried to take care of whatever business was at hand, and then left. No one wanted to waste any time. However, just now… something unusual suddenly happened.

High in the dome of heaven, higher than the nine main temples atop the mountain, in the shocking temple that hovered above everything else, brilliant light glittered into existence. There was also a deafening rumbling sound that swept out. The light and the sound filled the mountain of the Moonrebel Congregation, causing the other temples to tremble.

Stunned, the cultivators present all looked up. When they realized where the sound and light was coming from, they were even more astonished.

“Paramount Temple!”

“What’s happening? Paramount Temple represents the Archbishop of Moonrebel. It was dark before, but now it’s shining brightly.”

An uproar was already spreading. After all, to the cultivators of the Moonrebel Congregation, this was an absolutely astonishing development.

That was Paramount Temple! It was the highest temple in the Moonrebel Congregation, and it represented their archbishop! For innumerable years, there had been no Archbishop of Moonrebel. The vice-bishops had managed everything. Thus, it was only natural that a development like this would be unusual.

That said, there were some old-timers present who, though they were surprised by what they were seeing, weren’t exactly flabbergasted. They had seen this happen before and knew what it implied.

“Some big-shot has come along to take the archbishop trial.”

“I’ve seen this happen twice before. Sadly, on neither occasion did the entrance to Paramount Temple actually open. And afterward, it went dark again.”

“I saw this happen once, and in the end, Fifth Vice-Bishop walked out.”

The sighs of the old-timers clued the newcomers in. That said, there was still a keen air of anticipation. Few people believed that a new archbishop would come out of the trial, but even having an additional vice-bishop would be a big matter for the Moonrebel Congregation. Considering the conflict going on with the Red Moon Cathedral, having a new vice-bishop would be a big boost to morale.

As word spread, more and more people started returning to the Moonrebel Congregation. One statue after another walked out into the open and looked up into the sky. Discussion and chatter spread. In fact, some of the vice-bishops’ temples lit up.

Of the five vice-bishops, two stepped out and looked up at Paramount Temple.

***

On the other side of the Moonrebel Congregation’s dome of heaven was a location that no one could take the initiative to enter. It was a mist-filled void. Roiling mist spread out in all directions, and at the far end of the void was a lake. Rather, it was a huge mirror covered with a layer of water. As a result, the lake was crystalline and incomparably clear. In fact, it seemed holy.

Atop the lake was a huge figure. It was an old man in a white robe, with his hands crossed into the opposite sleeves. His head was bowed as he seemingly looked down into the lake, unmoving. The only thing moving was his white hair, which stirred slowly as if having been touched by a breeze. Faint ripples rolled out across the water, as if something was forming beneath the surface.

The mirror the old man stood atop seemed like a barrier that separated one side of the void from the other. And the figure that was forming was on the other side.

After a certain period of time passed, the figure below took shape. It was Xu Qing. He looked around seriously, heart pounding. Eventually, he looked down. Earlier, when the light of the mirror enveloped him and his Eldest Brother, everything suddenly felt empty. Then, only a moment later, it went back to normal, and he was standing on this lake. In addition to the lake, there was a void and nothing else other than the mirror….

The mirror seemed to contain another world, and within it, he could see the old man in the white robe.

The two of them looked at each other, separated by the mirror lake.

Xu Qing could see two cold, apathetic eyes. His guard went up and he looked around, but didn’t see any sign of his Eldest Brother.

“The person who came with you is in another mirror, contemplating how to go about this trial.” The calm voice came from the lake beneath Xu Qing’s feet, and it echoed out with great majesty into the void. “All cultivators who come here, regardless of the level of their cultivation base, come prepared for the trial.

“If you pass the trial, you will become the lord and master of the Eye of Heaven, and will also become my lord and master. If you fail, you will receive a lesser rank. What is your decision? Will you take the trial?”

The voice seemed cold and emotionless to Xu Qing. After a moment of thought, he decided not to agree immediately.

“What kind of trial is it?” he asked.

“A statement of ambition,” the white-robed man said coolly. “Use the power of ambition to reach an agreement. And demonstrate your qualifications. That’s how you pass. You have a limited time to complete your ambition.

“The extent of your ambition will determine your level of privileges with the Eye of Heaven. If your ambition is only average, then you won’t become the lord and master of the Eye of Heaven. You will receive a lesser rank.

“Only those with incredible ambition have incredible karma. That being said, do not behave unscrupulously.”

The old man waved his hand, and intense rumbling could be heard as waves spread out over the water. At the same time, dozens of ice sculptures appeared. They featured men and women, all of whom emanated extraordinary auras. However, their life force fluctuations had been sealed.

“These are trial-takers who have failed throughout the years in this epoch. Some of them had ambitions so exaggerated that they were deemed to be false, and thus, they were punished. Others had no way to make good on their promises, and were thus bound to this spot until now.”

Xu Qing scanned the group, and when he didn’t spot the Captain, breathed a sigh of relief.

“What is your ambition?” The old man in white looked through the mirror and the water at Xu Qing.

Xu Qing thought about it for a bit. Given that the Captain had prepared for so long for this, it seemed likely that he wouldn’t have any trouble. After all, though his Eldest Brother wasn’t always perfectly reliable, he certainly went crazy when going on big jobs.

As for Xu Qing, he didn’t think it was necessary to take a risk and say something about destroying Crimson Mother. Answering from the heart seemed like the best idea.

He thought some more, then locked eyes with the old man.

“My ambitions aren’t particularly amazing. The main thing I’ve been trying to do here in the Moonrite Region is make a medicinal pill that can get rid of the curse. Especially for humans.”

That was the whole reason Xu Qing had traveled to the Bitter Life Mountains in the first place. He wanted to get into the Moonrebel Congregation so that he could find research information about the curse.

In response to his words, the water rippled and the old man’s facial expression flickered. If some other trial-taker had said something like that, he would call them out as a liar. But as the spirit automaton of the Moonrebel Congregation, he could sense certain things on Xu Qing, for instance, his cursequelling lozenge. He could tell that this person really was making progress toward the stated ambition.

A moment later, the old man waved his hand, causing the surface of the water to roil as a large pill furnace rose up.

“In this place you can easily create something from nothing. Although everything you create will be illusory, you can have access to any ingredient or material you need.

“Your trial will begin here with a concocting session. Time flows differently here than in the outside world, so don’t feel the need to track it. Create a medicinal pill that can reduce the curse by at least twenty percent and you will pass the assessment.”

With that, the old man disappeared.

Xu Qing’s eyes narrowed as he looked at the pill furnace. After a moment, he approached to inspect it. His heart started pounding as he realized that the pill furnace seemed real in every aspect. It didn’t seem illusory at all.

“This place can create anything?” Xu Qing murmured. “I need ten lifespan flowers!”

The moment the words left his mouth, ripples flowed out on the water as ten water drops rose up and floated to Xu Qing. Along the way, the drops rippled and transformed into ten lifespan flowers. Whether it was the fragrance of the flowers or their medicinal strength, they seemed completely real in every way.

Moved, Xu Qing studied them for a while, then put one in his mouth, chewed, and swallowed.

It’s so realistic. Even the medicinal effects. That said, I can sense that they don’t really exist. But it does feel like I consumed it. This place clearly has the ability to alter one’s perceptions, although it’s different from what the Heir Apparent can do.

The latter can use his power whenever he wants to affect the world around him. But here, it’s like some of that type of authority was placed here to use like a tool! It also seems more domineering.

Looking around again, he marveled at how amazing this place was. Then he started thinking about some of the difficulties he’d faced so far in working on his cursequelling lozenges.

Because of the environment in the Moonrite Region, there are a lot of medicinal plants that don’t grow here….

Eyes gleaming, Xu Qing said, “1,000 stalks of one-hundred-year-old earthsole benevolence bamboo. 3,000 blades of skymist immortal cagegrass! 10,000 immature leaves from a dragonsoar tree that’s been struck by lightning! And I need cloudmist quasi-illusion flowers, nine-wither seven-wilt weed, and thousand-year-old mulberry root….”

Even in Sea-Sealing County, precious materials like this would be considered very rare. But as Xu Qing rattled off dozens of different medicinal ingredients… they popped up instantly. Delighted, Xu Qing went on to list over a hundred different ingredients. There were some ingredients that didn’t come out as he expected. But all he had to do was describe their appearance and medicinal properties, and they would form anew. After making various adjustments, he had a huge collection of plants and vegetation that conformed exactly to his requirements.

Xu Qing was deeply moved. He was obviously in a location that would be a dream to any alchemist. After taking all of the rare medicinal plants and studying them closely, he started concocting according to his train of thought. Failures didn’t matter. He would just start over.

There was no limit to the medicinal plants he had access to. Because he didn’t have to worry about waste, Xu Qing happily focused on research. Every single theory or idea he had was tested.

I’m already going in the right direction with my cursequelling lozenges. Concocting a version that will reduce the curse by twenty percent shouldn’t be a problem. In fact, I might be able to make one that’s even better than that. However, there’s something else about this place that I can’t forget. It can make… poisonous plants!

His eyes burned with passion.

Any poisonous plant I can imagine is available here! They’re not real. But perception is reality. And I can still hone my instincts here. In that case, I should be able to finally complete the process of getting poison into my gaze!

This ontent is taken from f(r)eeweb(n)ovel.