Night of the Broken Gliph

To Chui Yim, necrogliphism was far too distant for him to think about.  

The Yellow Spring’s Lady’s matter had ended, but Chor Shing Chit was still unconscious. Therefore, Chui Yim had no choice but to stay in Southern Ping for the time being. He didn’t let this time go to waste as he studied alchemy and medicine under Ping Chi. The name Doctor Odd came from Ping Chi’s bold and imaginative research style, supported by the foundation he built over a hundred years. 

That was why Ping Chi liked Chui Yim so much. No matter how imaginative one was, your capability of putting those thoughts to use mattered as well. Under Chui Tin’s teaching, Chui Yim had a strong foundation in medicine, and he was very suitable to learn from Ping Chi. 

“What was the elixir in the air yesterday?” Curious, Chui Yim asked. He could tell that the elixir in the sky yesterday was why the Yellow Spring’s Lady failed to escape. 

“In alchemy, elixirs aren’t just for consumption. There are other variants of elixirs too. Poisonous elixirs, hallucination elixirs and more. The elixir you saw yesterday was a formation elixir.” 

“Formation elixir?” Chui Yim asked. 

“Mhmm.” Ping Chi nodded. “Formation elixirs aren’t for consumption. It works like a treasure, and you get a formation elixir by imbuing a formation into an elixir. The elixir you saw yesterday resulted from the hard work of all five clans of Southern Ping when Southern Ping was first founded, the Southern Mountain Elixir. 

“The elixir works great in the Southern Mountain. Here, as long as we have that elixir, not even five-chambered or thousand-gliphic state cultivators can attack us easily. The Southern Mountain Elixir is Southern Ping’s secret weapon, and it’s in the Ping Clan’s hands since our clan is the leader of this city. 

“Besides being a defence mechanism, the elixir symbolises a clan’s standing in Southern Ping. The clan holding this elixir is the leader of this city.” 

“I see. Alchemy sounds interesting,” Chui Yim pondered out loud. 

“Yes, it is. But never give up on medicine in exchange for alchemy,” Ping Chi spoke seriously. “This is something that I will only tell you—not even Little Ching knows. The Ping Clan has always been the world’s top alchemy clan, and Ping Clan members aren’t usually as proficient in medicine. But to them, this is much expected and their strong beliefs aren’t something that I can influence.

“Alchemy and medicine work together, but I always felt that medicine comes first as doctors can only treat the patient if he understands medicine well enough. When alchemy was founded, it was meant to assist doctors in treatments instead of being supplements to cultivators. That was the main purpose of alchemy, so putting medicine before alchemy is the way to go.” 

“That’s what I thought as well.” Chui Yim nodded. 

Ping Chi relaxed and spoke more calmly. His liking of Chui Yim increased more as time passed. “Okay, let’s continue.” 

Night fell. The Ping Clan’s meeting room was filled with men and women, while Ping San Yat sat on the main seat with an ugly expression. 

He wasn’t the only one upset. Ping Cheng Sau was angry as well. “Clan Leader, it’s obvious that the Mo-Yung Clan paid such a huge price to organise the Outstanding Talent Competition because Little Ching has yet to reach the one-chambered stage!” 

“Little Ching isn’t the only disciple in our clan.” Another elderly man huffed. It was Old Chan, whom Chui Yim met the other day. “No matter what… Women are still women.” 

“What’s wrong with being a woman!” an elderly woman retorted unhappily. “Chan Chung Ching, did you forget how you lost to me four times consecutively in alchemy?” 

Chan Chung Ching was annoyed to hear this, but he didn’t reply and changed the topic instead. “Man Bun isn’t a bad choice. He might win the competition.” 

Ping San Yat relaxed as he thought of Ping Man Bun, the youth in their clan with the most potential besides Ping Ching. Some elder Ping Clan members even felt that they should get married. It had been hundreds of years since the clan was founded; even if they had the same surname, it wouldn’t be considered incest since the blood relation between them has been diluted over countless generations. 

“That’s our only solution.” Ping San Yat sighed. “The Mo-Yung Clan is full of confidence this time, and they are obviously targeting Southern Ping’s leadership status and the Southern Mountain Elixir.” 

Everyone present nodded. The Southern Mountain Elixir was a product of the five clan’s cooperation in the past; similar to the Poorest Elixir, it was close to grade five. Moreover, it was a formation elixir which boasted strong comprehension effects for cultivators studying it. 

The Southern Mountain Elixir also played a large part in Ping San Yat’s and the other alchemy masters’ cultivations. It was a huge reason behind the Ping Clan’s proficiency in alchemy today. 

“Mo-Yung Yin has great ambitions,” Ping Cheng Sau said solemnly. “He might have just become a grandmaster alchemist, but he obviously wants to improve the Southern Mountain Elixir’s power and become a divine alchemy master, thereby becoming the first divine master in both alchemy and medicine!” 

The crowd held their breath on hearing Ping Cheng Sau. It was unlikely for this to happen, but since Mo-Yung Yin was able to become a Divine Doctor, who knew if he could become a Divine Alchemist as well? 

“It’s too risky for us to lose this Outstanding Talent Competition. The Mo-Yung Clan rose up too quickly for us to notice. If we lose this round, we’ll have to give up our leadership position to them. Elders, make it clear to your respective disciples that the Ping Clan must win this time!” Ping San Yat stood up. 

During this time, Chui Yim improved drastically in alchemy and medicine. Chui Tin left too soon; he only managed to teach Chui Yim the basics of medicine, and Chui Yim could only learn more advanced knowledge from his books. However, Ping Chi made up for this weakness. On the other hand, Ping Chi was stunned by how fast Chui Yim learned. In just two weeks, Chui Yim had already finished absorbing all the basic knowledge he taught. 

He might be new to alchemy, but he was learning at lightning speed. As for medicine… To Ping Chi, Chui Yim would definitely reach the great master stage as long as he broke through his innate chamber.

Just then, Ping Chi was informed about the Outstanding Talent Competition. 

“Chui Boy, there’s something I want to discuss with you.” 

“What do you want?” Chui Yim stared at him warily. 

“What’s with your reaction! I just want to discuss something!” Ping Chi replied angrily. 

“Hmph!” Chui Yim glared at him, increasingly suspicious. “I can’t let my guard down around an old fox like you!” 

“Whatever. There’s an upcoming competition on alchemy and medicine. You can state any conditions as long as you win on the Ping Clan’s behalf,” Ping Chi sighed as he spoke. 

“Anything?” Chui Yim’s eyes lit up brightly. “Done!” 

At night, Chui Yim arrived at Ping Ching’s courtyard under her invitation. Her maidservant treated Chui Yim with respect as Ping Ching ordered, but she did it reluctantly. As Ping Ching’s maidservant, she knew Ping Ching’s actual identity, but it was kept a secret from the rest of the clan. Seeing how Ping Ching welcomed Chui Yim at night made the maidservant uneasy. 

Is the young mistress planning to…