The mountains that made up the Fang Clan’s Dao of Alchemy Division stretched out boundlessly in all directions. There were 10,000 mountains in the inner region that were occupied by alchemists, which were surrounded by 100,000 additional mountains.
The higher a given alchemist’s ranking, the closer that alchemist could get to the center of all the mountains.
The 100,000 outer mountains were divided into ten districts, which were areas in which apprentice alchemists studied. They were known as Alchemy Lodges, and were comprised of 10,000 peaks each.
Meng Hao’s destination was Alchemy Lodge Peak #7191.
Thankfully, there was no prohibition on flight here, otherwise it would have taken Meng Hao a very long time to reach his destination. He shot forward at top speed and, with the help of the map, soon reached an ancient and primitive-looking mountain peak.
The peak was not sharp and tall, and in fact, it appeared as if the top had been directly cut off to create what looked like a huge public square. Currently, several hundred people sat cross-legged surrounding a raised central platform, listening to an old man give a lecture about medicinal plants. He wore a long robe, the collar of which was embroidered with a single golden dragon.
The old man rambled on and on, occasionally holding out a medicinal plant. Every so often, one of those plants would bloom, and would be surrounded by multicolored light. The audience members were apparently experiencing significant enlightenment as they watched.
In the audience of hundreds of cultivators could be seen men and women, old people and young, all of whom were members of the Fang Clan, come here to study pill concocting. Of course, everyone had to start out as an apprentice alchemist.
No one paid much attention to Meng Hao’s arrival. He sat down off to the side to listen to the old man’s lecture.
“This is Godshine Flower,” the old man said coolly, “which is also known as Sunbirth Leaf. On any given day, its medicinal strength is at its peak at high noon. Make sure to pay close attention to this flower’s vein pattern, because it looks very similar to Godrain Flower.” With that, he pulled out another medicinal plant and began to introduce it.
Occasionally, the old man would look out at the crowd, and when he saw the earnest expressions of the faces of the apprentice alchemists, he felt quite a sense of accomplishment.
He was a mere tier 1 alchemist, and had virtually no hope of ever being promoted for the rest of this life. Therefore, he had been assigned to deliver lectures on plants and vegetation to the apprentice alchemists. It was only during times like these that he could enjoy the sensation of a crowd looking at him enviously.
Even as he continued his lecture, a glimmer of displeasure suddenly flickered within him. He had just seen a young man in the audience frowning at what he was saying. At first, he didn’t pay the matter much attention, but over the course of the next two hours, he realized that the young man had frowned seven or eight times.
That made the old man more and more irritated. He had been giving lectures here for many years, and every single apprentice alchemist looked at him with deep respect and courtesy. Even Chosen from other clans’ Dao of Alchemy Divisions would recognize his authority in this place.
The old man had never encountered someone like Meng Hao, who frowned at what he said. The more he saw this happening, the more offensive he found it.
Meng Hao continued to listen to the lecture. Eventually the old man began to talk about Brightmoon Vine, and Meng Hao frowned again. He could clearly tell that this old man had an incorrect understanding of plants and vegetation. He was making mistakes that, if the audience of apprentice alchemists paid attention to, could cause problems for them in the future. They might even pay heavy prices before they understood the truth.
“This type of tree grows in the frigid weather of regions that were once extremely hot. It is called Midwinter Tree. When it is burned, it can produce a type of sap that is considered a precious treasure, the name of which is Midwinter Sap!” As soon as he finished speaking, he saw Meng Hao frown yet again. That made it more than ten times in which Meng Hao had frowned. At long last, the old man couldn’t take it any more. Face cold, he pointed directly at Meng Hao.
“You! What’s your name!?” he asked, his voice rumbling like thunder. The surrounding apprentice alchemists had just been listening to his lecture in a virtual trance, and were instantly shocked. They quickly followed the line of the man’s finger to see Meng Hao.