There was no response but silence. Chen Jiaxi’s words echoed back and forth in the square. All of the Black Sieve Sect disciples looked on in shock.
Patriarch Violet Sieve and the beautiful woman had opened their eyes, and were looking at Chen Jiaxi, their expressions serious.
Zhou Dekun’s body trembled. He wanted to speak, but his mind was in chaos. All eyes were focused on him. To be openly ridiculed in such a way made him so upset that he was speechless.
Just when he was opening his mouth to speak, Meng Hao’s cold voice rang out. “I, Fang Mu, have a few questions.” He stood, flying up to stand next to Zhou Dekun atop the dais.
Zhou Dekun looked at Meng Hao as if he were a blood relative. He knew Meng Hao’s incisive way with words. Breathing deeply, he said no more, instead taking a few steps back, more than happy to let Meng Hao take center stage.
Meng Hao’s cold gaze swept about, eventually landing on Chen Jiaxi.
“Please, elaborate,” Chen Jiaxi said, smiling. His expression was one of indifference, but inwardly, he was composed and ready. He didn’t know much about this Fang Mu, but considering their first conversation outside of the Black Sieve Sect, he knew that he wasn’t someone who could be messed with easily.
However, he had faith in his own Dao of alchemy. Besides, Fang Mu had finagled his way into being a Furnace Lord. Therefore, Chen Jiaxi was supremely confident. A snide smile filled his face.
All the surrounding Black Sieve Sect disciples turned to look at Meng Hao. Han Bei’s eyes narrowed, hiding the glow which filled them. All attention was focused on Meng Hao, even the gaze of the beautiful woman, who sat there cross-legged, looking at him with a quizzical expression.
After hearing Chen Jiaxi’s words, most of the Black Sieve Sect disciples felt that they were quite reasonable.
“I have three questions,” said Meng Hao, his voice cool. “The first question is regarding Truth. You mentioned the sun and the moon. The boundless sun, you say, is the furnace, and the bright moon births the pill formula. Let me ask you, who invented the pill furnace, and who created the pill formula?”
“Grandmaster Fang, have you really learned so little of the Dao of alchemy?” replied Chen Jiaxi with a laugh. “The ancients gazed upon the boundless sun, and were inspired to forge the pill furnace. As for the pill formula, again, the ancients gained enlightenment from the moon and then recorded the countless variations of plants and vegetation. Thus, I say that the boundless sun is the furnace and the bright moon is the formula. The sun and the moon are a forge which bring forth all living things!” A murmur of excitement rippled through the crowd.
Meng Hao responded in a cool voice, speaking neither quickly nor slowly: “The boundless sun is a heavenly body in the sky. Its blinding radiance makes it impossible to see any other star. When the ancients gazed upward, what they looked at was not the sun, but rather, the sky! You claim Grandmaster Zhou is fishing for fame and compliments. Well, Grandmaster Chen, I say that you are a frog in a well, who looks at the blazing sun, but cannot see the sky which contains that very sun!
“The moon is another of the many heavenly bodies, frequently seen in the night sky. Because of the existence of the darkness and the light, people believed that the night sky and the bright daytime moved in rotation. In reality, among all the heavenly bodies, the only thing that does not move, are the Heavens themselves!
“You assert that Grandmaster Zhou is a lone flower in love with its own fragrance. Grandmaster Chen, I say that you are shortsighted. You, a tiny alchemist, dare to claim that the sun and moon are a forge that give birth to all living things! Since you thus reveal how much you overrate yourself, then I, Fang Mu tell you today, if the sun and moon are a forge that gives birth to all living things, then the forge of the Heavens is what gives birth to the transformations of the sun and moon!” By the time he reached his final sentence, his voice rang out like thunder, stabbing into Chen Jiaxi’s heart, whose face immediately fell.