Nian Hong Fang didn’t say anything when he saw Jing Yi’s expression. There had been too many people coming to their peak with the idea that alchemy was very easy and that they would excel at it. But honestly, didn’t they take the time to think things through?

If alchemy was really that easy, then why were there only three Elders and the Grandelder on their peak? If it was really so easy, then why had people like the Grandelder such high prestige? If alchemy was easy, then there would be a lot of alchemists and if there was a lot of something, then it would be hard for a single one of it to shine.

Wasn’t that the problem a lot of cultivators and practitioners had? They weren’t bad. In fact, a lot of them could be considered to be good. But there were just so many of them that only those peerless geniuses would be known.

Even in their own sect that had fallen to the second rank, there were quite a few geniuses but those that had secluded themselves for a long time had been forgotten and the ones remembered were only the disciple of the Sect Master and that Qiguan Cheng Da from the inner sect. Even the Grandmaster’s disciple wasn’t talked about that much anymore since people hadn’t seen him for a long time. The cultivation world was just like that.

Nian Hong Fang might not care to comfort Jing Yi but Wu Min Huan took to the task. "Don’t worry about it too much, junior martial brother Zhong. He makes it sound so difficult but there’s no harm in trying. Even a bit of knowledge in alchemy isn’t anything to scoff at. You might learn a lot of useful basic potions while you’re here. And if you find out that you’re not suited to this peak, then you can still drop out of it. It’s not like you’ve become someone’s disciple, after all."

"I see."

Nian Hong Fang looked back at them. "That isn’t recommendable though. Changing the peak is frowned upon."

Wu Min Huan knitted his brow. Couldn’t this guy see that he was trying to comfort their junior martial brother? Or maybe he could tell and was doing this deliberately because of what had happened with Ma Zhi Wu? Ah, this guy was too vengeful!

Wu Min Huan hurriedly turned to Jing Yi to appease him. "Don’t worry about that either. It might be frowned upon a bit but that’s more in regard to the other peaks. Alchemy is different and everyone knows that. There’s really no harm in trying."

"Well, you could still reconsider now." Nian Hong Fang stopped walking and turned back to them. "I haven’t officially registered you so you can still think about it and go do something different now."

Jing Yi pondered the issue. He didn’t mind what others thought so he wouldn’t reconsider because of what someone might say if he dropped out in the future. No, the thing that still bothered him was that he should probably concentrate on his cultivation more. Would learning alchemy really do him any good? Yes, it might be useful in the short term but long term? First and foremost, he had to think of his ascension.

"Senior martial brother Nian, in the Alchemy peak … can we still continue to learn cultivation?"

Nian Hong Fang’s brows lifted. What kind of question was this? "But of course you can. You have to. Alchemy on its own won’t prolong your life. How do you want to Master it in just the course of a normal human lifespan? It’s imperative that you also spend time on your cultivation. Only that will provide you with the kind of lifespan you’ll need to advance to a higher stage with your alchemy."

Jing Yi nodded, obviously relieved. "That’s good then. In that case, we can go on. I won’t just drop out of the peak. I’ll seriously try to learn alchemy."

Nian Hong Fang examined Jing Yi’s face and nodded, already feeling better about this new addition to their peak. He had thought that Jing Yi was hesitating because he looked down on alchemy and also thought that it was easy but now it turned out that he was just concerned that he wouldn’t be able to properly cultivate if he also took on alchemy. He actually understood just how much work was needed to become a good alchemist!

Well, it figured. Even though the Hei Dian Sect was a demonic sect, it was still the premier sect of that side. If he had started to learn alchemy there, his experience shouldn’t have been too shabby.

Nian Hong Fang turned at the next juncture and walked to one of the better accommodations of their peak. It couldn’t be compared to the houses with the little courtyards surrounding the Grandelder’s palace but it was a lot better than the shared houses most new disciples would have to live in.

Soon enough the three of them came to a grove. Nian Hong Fang just continued to walk serenely as if all this had nothing to do with him and wasn’t out of the ordinary at all. Wu Min Huan raised his brows though. He had lived long enough in this sect and knew Nian Hong Fang good enough to know what kind of place was lying ahead. Ah, it seemed Nian Hong Fang had taken a liking to this little junior martial brother of theirs.

Jing Yi tried to look around without being too obvious. There wasn’t much to see though. The path was lined by green bamboo that towered far above their heads. With each breeze, the leaves would rustle and the flexible trunks rubbed against each other, filling the air with a melodious sound.

Jing Yi blinked. This place felt a lot like the palace in the secret realm, very suitable for cultivation. If he compared this to the house where he had lived in the outer sect … No, actually, there was nothing that could be compared. If he could actually live here from now on and cultivate in this environment every day, then it might not be as impossible as it had seemed to ascend.