"What's going on?" Yang Zhen gave a low shout, looking unhappily at Cheng Bailian. "At your age, such a fuss is unseemly!"
But Cheng Bailian seemed not to hear. His eyes were wide, filled with a mix of excitement, joy, and shock, fixed unblinkingly on Yang Kai. The next instant, his figure swayed and he appeared directly in front of Yang Kai, grabbing the young man's shoulders in a grip as tight as iron bands, afraid Yang Kai might flee. His voice trembled slightly as he asked, "Kid, where did you get this spirit formation?"
Yang Kai frowned, vaguely sensing something, and replied calmly, "Medicine King Valley, Cloud Hidden Peak."
Cheng Bailian's body trembled slightly, his face taking on an expression of "I knew it." He nodded repeatedly. "I knew it, I knew it..."
As he spoke, he looked solemnly at Yang Kai again, his voice low. "What is your relationship with Master Xiao?"
"None, really. I just stayed at Cloud Hidden Peak for two months." Yang Kai shook his head slowly, being deliberately vague.
Cheng Bailian's expression turned instantly cold, his gaze unfriendly as a glint of frost deepened in his eyes. He said icily, "Then you stole this spirit formation?"
Yang Kai shook his head. "Master Xiao taught it to me."
Cheng Bailian was stunned. He didn't understand why this young man, if he had no real relationship with Master Xiao, would have been taught two such spirit formations. But soon he smiled again. "Good, good, good. Alchemy techniques cannot be stolen. Since the master taught it to you, then there's no problem."
He clearly assumed Yang Kai was being reserved, unwilling to publicly acknowledge his connection to Xiao Fusheng.
Although their exchange was brief, the white-haired elders in the hall caught a whiff of something unusual.
Those two spirit formations Yang Zhen hadn't been able to identify... apparently had a significant origin!
"Elder, you recognize this spirit formation?" Yang Kai was slightly surprised. If Cheng Bailian hadn't recognized it, he wouldn't have lost his composure like this. But Yang Kai had gleaned it from the True Alchemy Manual—how could Cheng Bailian know it?
Hearing Yang Kai's question, Yang Zhen and the others turned their eyes to Cheng Bailian, who looked dejected and shook his head with a bitter smile. A trace of reminiscence flickered in his gaze, as if lost in thought.
"Say something, damn it!" Yang Zhen had a fiery temper. After waiting all this time without an explanation from Cheng Bailian, he couldn't help but curse.
Under normal circumstances, the Yang family's chief alchemist would have already lost his temper, but now he seemed listless. He pondered for a good while before saying, "Thirty years ago, at an alchemy conference in Medicine King Valley. I was fortunate enough to see it once, but unfortunately, it was only half of a damaged formation."
Yang Kai's expression shifted, suddenly understanding a little.
"That alchemy conference was a gathering of extraordinary talents, a galaxy of stars! I fought my way through, defeating dozens of opponents in a row, my momentum unstoppable as I charged towards the finals, only to be finally defeated in one person's hands. That person was none other than the current Xiao Fusheng!" Cheng Bailian looked at Yang Kai with a bitter smile. "Master Xiao is a heaven-sent genius, born for alchemy. To lose to him wasn't unjust!"
Yang Zhen stood nearby, hands in his sleeves, pursing his lips. As a martial artist, he naturally didn't understand the intricacies of alchemy, nor the mutual admiration and camaraderie between alchemists.
"Afterwards, those of us promising young alchemists were arranged to visit the Alchemy Saint's Peak to pay respects to the Alchemy Saint's statue and comprehend the Dao of alchemy from it," Cheng Bailian recounted the events of that day. "Xiao Fusheng and I both saw half a damaged formation in the statue, but we could never glimpse its complete form. It became a great regret at the time."
"Later, I came to the Yang family. Xiao Fusheng entered Medicine King Valley. Heh." Cheng Bailian smiled faintly. "Over these thirty years, Master Xiao and I have exchanged many letters. When I had free time, I would go to Medicine King Valley to study that half-formation with him, attempting to complete it. But after thirty years, we still hadn't succeeded!"
"The Scarlet Cloud Evil Lands launched a massive attack on Medicine King Valley, and the Alchemy Saint's statue was destroyed! I thought I would never have the chance to see this spirit formation's complete form in my life, but I didn't expect... I didn't expect... Hahahaha, to have my wish fulfilled today!" Cheng Bailian threw his head back and laughed wildly. But as he laughed, his expression turned bitter again. "Xiao Fusheng is worthy of being Xiao Fusheng; he's always a step ahead of me. I never thought he had actually completed this formation. I'm not his match. The world's number one alchemist—his title is well-deserved!"
Yang Kai hadn't expected that the spirit formations he produced would be tied to such past events. Even someone like Xiao Fusheng could only glimpse half the formation back then. It showed the vast depth of the True Alchemy Manual.
The appearance of these formations seemed to have resolved a thirty-year knot between the world's two greatest alchemists. There were some misunderstandings involved, but Yang Kai had no intention of clarifying them. He had wanted to use Master Xiao's name to act anyway.
"You've said all this, so are these two spirit formations actually useful or not?" Yang Zhen asked impatiently.
"Nonsense." Cheng Bailian gave a snort. "How could they not be useful? These are spirit formations from the Alchemy Saint's statue, a supreme treasure left by the Alchemy Saint himself, of course they're useful!"
"Their value?" Yang Zhen sniffed.
"Immeasurable!" Cheng Bailian's expression was utterly serious.
All the elders couldn't help but look strange. Yang Kai presenting such two spirit formations—his contribution to the Yang family was truly immense. Even Yang Zhen didn't know how to properly credit him.
"I'll take the spirit formations. I need to study them properly." Cheng Bailian was like a withered tree seeing spring again, his old face breaking into a delighted grin as if he'd found a treasure, clutching the two jade slips in his palm.
"Take them, but they must not be leaked. You know the Yang family's rules," Yang Zhen said solemnly.
Cheng Bailian rolled his eyes. "I've been with the Yang family for thirty years, my whole family lives here. Do you think I don't understand the gravity?"
Yang Zhen finally nodded slightly, satisfied.
Cheng Bailian turned to look at Yang Kai, his previous disdain and contempt gone, his tone now kindly. "Kid, what's your name?"