Chapter Thirty-Nine: Enlightenment
Coming out of Master Brother Gu Senran, Ming Fan looked at Gan Ping with a pair of eyes that seemed quite unnatural, and then he blurted out this sentence, startling Gan Ping, who hastily asked: "What do you mean by this?" Ming Fan glanced at him and said: "Isn't it simple? In our Earth Fire Temple, the workload is the lightest, and no one has to do anything. The temple also has a ban on existence, so we don't even need to sweep the floor. At most, we just run errands and deliver things to the senior teachers who are refining elixirs. It's very leisurely. But as soon as you arrived, Master Brother let you go to the seventh layer of the Earth Fire Temple to manage the furnace fire. The Earth Fire Temple has a total of sixteen layers, with the first five layers being relatively ordinary flames. From the fifth layer down, each layer is extremely hot, and only the senior teachers can go to the last three layers. You, a newly admitted disciple, directly went to the seventh layer to manage the elixir furnace. Isn't that torture?"
Ming Fan thought that Gan Ping would say something profound, but instead he heard these lazy words and couldn't help but burst out laughing. "Ming Fan, you're overthinking," he said with a smile. "Gan Ping has just entered the sect, how could he have offended anyone? It's probably because some elder needs someone to watch the dan furnace that I was sent here. Besides, being close to the dan furnace can also help me learn some alchemy techniques, which would be beneficial for myself." Ming Fan had grown lazy and thought this was a punishment. Gan Ping secretly sighed in his heart, thinking that life in the Earth Fire Temple was too comfortable, causing Ming Fan and other disciples like him to lose their motivation to progress. He wondered how many of the remaining disciples shared the same thoughts as Ming Fan. His own determination to advance on the path remained unchanged, otherwise he would be ridiculed.
Ming Fan thought for a moment, then stopped paying attention to these things. After all, it had nothing to do with him, so why bother worrying about it. He led Gan Ping to the quarters of the junior disciples who served at the Earth Fire Temple, found an empty room for him to put down his belongings, and then took him to meet the other on-duty disciples.
In the morning, Gan Ping followed Ming Fan to tour the entire Earth Fire Temple and saw all the disciples in the temple. As expected, the highest among the servant disciples in this temple was indeed Master Gu Senran, while the rest of the disciples were only around the middle stage of Qi Refining, it seemed that the comfortable days in the Earth Fire Temple were not good for cultivation.
Because Master said that after settling down, he would go to the seventh floor of the Earth Fire Temple to guard the stove fire. Although Ming Fan advised him to go tomorrow, Gan Ping decided to report today. He put Huo Er on his shoulder and walked along the winding path towards the underground, occasionally passing by a few outer door disciples who didn't pay attention to Gan Ping's servant attire.
Gan Ping looked around curiously at the decorations, the long and winding corridor was empty, this corridor spiralled downwards, on the top of every few dozen steps a moonstone was inlaid to illuminate it, so although it was underground it was as bright as daylight. The doors on both sides were tightly closed, and from time to time some noise came out, presumably those disciples who borrowed the fire room were refining elixirs or magical treasures.
Gan Ping looked at the door numbers above and walked forward, earlier he had learned from Ming Fan that the first ten floors of the Earth Fire Temple were ranked by heavenly stems, the first floor's number one room was Jia Yi, and so on, Jia Yi Bing Ding Wu Ji Xin Ren Gui Ten Floors. He himself was going to the seventh floor, Gu Zi layer, only Master didn't explain which number he was going to in the Gu Zi layer, but as the Earth Fire Temple went downwards it became narrower, presumably when he arrived at the seventh floor there wouldn't be many rooms left.
All the way, Gan Ping came to the seventh floor with a lot of random thoughts. As expected, as Ming Fan said, after passing the third floor, the firepower increased significantly, and by the time he reached the sixth floor, the flames were overwhelming, and it felt like his clothes, hair, and everything would be scorched. Fortunately, Gan Ping was a fire spirit body, so he had a subtle sense of intimacy with this intense fire attribute power. As for Huo Er, it was obvious that she was having fun, dancing on Gan Ping's shoulders with joy.
"This is only the sixth layer, if it were to reach the tenth layer, wouldn't it be like a raging fire in the sky? As for the last layer, it must be close to the heart of the earth's fire, and it must be extremely terrifying." Gān Píng thought as he arrived at the seventh layer, where a large "Gēng" character appeared before his eyes. This "Gēng" character was written by someone unknown, with dragon-like strokes that seemed like a jumping flame. Gān Píng looked at it and felt that it contained a hint of the heavenly rules of fire attributes, so he focused his attention on it. For a moment, a magnificent flame seemed to emanate from the character, shooting into Gān Píng's brain, and the dense fire-attribute spiritual energy around him immediately gathered towards him. The Fēng Yuán Zhuàn Tǐ Zhēn Què (Fusion of Origin, Body Refining True Method) in Gān Píng's body quickly circulated, and a faint dragon aura was emitted from his body, but fortunately, this secret method of the dragon clan was very secretive, and the aura only leaked out for a moment before being retracted back into his body.
The abnormal spiritual energy also alarmed others, and the door of the third house in the distance was opened. An old man with ordinary clothes walked out, and if Gan Ping were awake at this time, he would have recognized him as the Wuyan elder from yesterday. The Wuyan elder saw Gan Ping standing in the middle of the corridor, his eyes slightly closed, and the mysterious power of the law flew down from the "Geng" character on his head, surrounding the child's body, and with each breath, the fire attribute spiritual energy surged, combining with him. Even the Mihuo monkey on his shoulder looked solemn, and the fire attribute spiritual energy around it flowed through its paws, using the Mihuo monkey's innate ability to control fire to deliver these energies into Gan Ping's body in an orderly manner. The Wuyan elder couldn't help but praise, "He is indeed a born spiritual beast."
"Originally, I was going to bring this disciple into the Dan House to borrow the power of the Mihuo Monkey by his side. But I didn't expect that this child is also extraordinary! Yesterday, I heard Tanming say that this child's bones are extraordinary, and his soul is solid, making him a good material for cultivation. Today, I saw it with my own eyes, and indeed he is not ordinary. He can even understand the profundity of the third-generation ancestor's handwritten words! It seems that his comprehension is also top-notch. And there is such a spiritual beast by his side, his fortune is indeed deep! Thinking of this, Wuyan Old Man's heart moved, "Could it be that the heavenly calamity a hundred years later will be resolved on this child?" Thinking of this, he shook his head again, "This child is still young, even if we cultivate him with all our might, in a hundred years, at most, he will only have the cultivation of a false Dan. However, if it's after another hundred years, he will definitely be a great talent in the sect. Unfortunately, those senior elders are guarding the sect's traditions and won't take him in as a disciple. Otherwise, with this child's qualifications and fortune, he would surely enter the inner circle, and who knows, maybe even become a robe-wearing disciple! For now, he can only mix around in the Earth Fire Temple, but it seems that this child has some affinity for the fire rules, perhaps I can teach him one or two things."
The old man's eyes sparkled as he gazed at Gan Ping, who was in a meditative state. He didn't disturb him, but with each breath of fire attribute spiritual energy that Gan Ping exhaled, the joyful light in his eyes flickered once. Finally, as if seeing a treasure, his gaze on Gan Ping became extremely fiery. "Prodigy, prodigy! With just an entry-level stance, you've grasped the profound understanding of our three ancestors' cultivation, which was hidden within the words. I thought that at your young age, you would have fainted long ago, but unexpectedly, you're fine. Now is the time to comprehend and integrate that understanding... it seems you're about to awaken."
Gan Ping's divine soul had long since absorbed the fragments of two powerful Yuan Shen masters, and his divine soul was incredibly strong. The profound understanding and enlightenment that was hidden in a single word was instantly grasped by him, so how could he have fainted? When he opened his eyes, he couldn't help but jump in fright. An old man was staring at him intently from a short distance away, the light in his eyes flashing with an intensity that was even more overwhelming than the flames beside him. Looking into those eyes made Gan Ping involuntarily think of the wild wolf he had encountered for the first time on the outskirts of Ju Tian Ridge - their eyes were equally fervent, as if they wanted to swallow him whole. He couldn't help but take a step back and assume a defensive posture.
He felt embarrassed and quickly coughed twice, withdrawing his gaze and putting on a dignified air. It was only then that Gan Ping realized the old man with wolf-like eyes in front of him was actually Wu Yun, the elder from the grand hall yesterday. Although Xuan Yang's voice had been very soft, Gan Ping's keen senses had already picked up on the old man's name. He hastily stepped forward and bowed, "Disciple Gan Ping, greetings Elder." Wu Yun stroked his beard and nodded, feeling increasingly delighted as he looked at Gan Ping. This young man was exceptionally talented, with a solid foundation in spiritual energy, and possessed an extraordinary understanding that was not common among ordinary people. Moreover, he was neither arrogant nor servile, knowing when to yield and when to stand firm, truly a rare gem of exceptional quality. If he could recruit him as his disciple, Wu Yun was certain he would be able to pass on all his knowledge and make it flourish. Thus, he had already made up his mind in secret.
