Chapter 686: Success or Failure?
"Well done," a smile hung on the face of the Alchemist God as he praised the young man. It was indeed amazing that he had managed to create a body like this on his very first attempt.
When one took into account how young a God ranked cultivator he was, then it showed that his willpower was truly magnificent for him to be able to persevere to the end.
Even the Alchemist God, who had an unfathomable cultivation base, had been beyond exhausted after creating the body for Lan Feng. It only made perfect sense that Hui Yue felt as if some ancient beast had picked him up, chewed on him, and spat him out again.
Hui Yue truly felt accomplished as he looked at the body floating in front of him. Even if it was a failure, it had to be rather close to being successful as it had all its limbs and a head.
Even so, the moment Hui Yue collapsed, he had also lost control of the flame which was surrounding the body, and now they had at most an hour to place a soul within it if it truly was capable of holding a soul.
Knowing that the clock was ticking, Hui Yue once more forced himself to gather all the strength he had and he looked at the Alchemist God with pleading eyes. He wished to be told right away, was this truly a success or a failure?
"No need to look like that," the Alchemist God chuckled as he saw the pleading in his disciple's eyes. "If it is a failure, even I will be unable to salvage it, but if it is a success, then you truly have a reason to be proud of yourself."
He said no more as he took a step closer to the body and started scrutinizing it from every angle.
"If I had created this body then I would instantly know whether or not it would work," he explained. "Since I did not create it, it will take me some time to know for sure."
Hui Yue nodded his head. There was no reason for him to be too agitated. If it were a success, then he would be able to resurrect Wang Ju Long, but if it were not, then he would just continue to refine bodies until he succeeded. He would never give up.
This was the first time he had reached the second half of what it meant to refine a body. Expecting to be successful on the first attempt might be ludicrous he thought to himself as he calmed his emotions, yet still, deep inside, he wished for it to be a success.
The minutes felt like hours as Hui Yue was seated on the ground slowly breathing in and out in an attempt to absorb the Ancestral Worldpower in the surrounding air.
"It seems successful," the Alchemist God nodded his head. "The body should not have any imperfections and should indeed be classified as the strongest type of body in the galaxy."
Hearing this Hui Yue yelled out jubilantly as he sprung to his feet. He reached out his arms and dragged Huli and Sha Yun, who had been standing beside him, into a large hug as he showed a brilliant smile that could not be contained. "Ju Long will be back soon!" he exclaimed shocked, and the two women softened their expressions and nodded their heads.
"Hurry up," Huli gently nudged Hui Yue. "The body will only last for so long. You should let younger sister Ju Long's soul enter it as soon as possible."
Hui Yue, filled with excitement nodded his head. He turned to look at the body he had created, and although it was far from being proportioned correctly and not very attractive, he still felt a bit of warmth in his heart. This was to be Wang Ju Long's body.
He flipped his hand, and a bottle appeared within. This was the bottle which contained Wang Ju Long's soul. He gently opened it allowing for the soul to slowly rise into the air.
He could see that Wang Ju Long's soul slowly emerged from within the bottle. It took only a few moments before her entire body had left the bottle and taken the shape of a young woman who was laying down. Her eyes were closed, and her body was transparent.
Gently, ever so gently, Hui Yue lifted his hand and caressed the cheek of the soul in front of him, but he didn’t feel anything when he touched her.
"Soon you will be alive again," Hui Yue said silently as he slowly pushed the soul towards the body.
Although the soul was asleep, it had some basic survival instincts, and the moment it felt a body coming towards it, her soul entered with no problems.
The long-limbed body which had been rather comical to look at underwent a great transformation.
While it was transforming every man, apart from Hui Yue turned around and started leaving the area. This was not something they were supposed to see.
Hui Yue, on the other hand, observed everything with keen eyes. He was afraid that something would go wrong, but the transformation of the body was very similar to how Lan Feng's transformation had happened.
Although it was the same transformation, it took many times longer for Wang Ju Long to assimilate with the body she had entered than it had taken for Lan Feng. There was simply a great difference in the strength of their souls.
The Nirvana Phoenix Flame had strengthened her soul, and she had gotten the strength of a God ranked expert from this therefore with a God ranked body she would be a God through and through. But she had died as a mortal, so her mind was still that of a mortal until she awoke.
The process of settling into the body took a full two hours, but no one was in a rush. Hui Yue, Huli, and Sha Yun stayed by her side the whole time until the body finally finished transforming.
Although she was naked, Hui Yue did not seem to sense it; his entire focus was on her face and those familiar features he had missed so much.
Her eyelids trembled before her beautiful black eyes slowly opened. Confusion was evident in her eyes, and they widened in shock when they noticed Hui Yue and Sha Yun standing in front of her.
Wang Ju Long looked down on herself, and a hint of red appeared on her face. Hui Yue finally seemed to notice how inappropriate it was that he was staring at her and he coughed lightly and turned around.
"You pervert," Wang Ju Long mumbled, but her voice was soft, and happiness was evident within. Hui Yue also smiled softly hearing this. Wang Ju Long held a special part in his heart. He could not help but want to see her, take her into his arms, and hug her, but he also knew that it was not possible right now. She might die from embarrassment if he did so then he would have to make her another body.
Sha Yun, who had previously butted heads with Wang Ju Long time and time again could only smile when she saw this old rival of hers resurrected, and she stepped forward. She picked up a dress from within her storage treasure and handed it over to Wang Ju Long who frowned. Sha Yun did not wear dresses, so why did she have one on hand?
"We have waited to resurrect you for a very long time," she said happily as Wang Ju Long slowly dressed.
"Yue spent no small effort to restore your soul and then find the Alchemist God so that you and Lan Feng could get your own bodies."
"That being said, how does it feel to be a God? Can you feel the Ancestral Worldpower entering your body? Do you sense the dao surrounding you?"
Wang Ju Long, who was being bombarded with questions, just smiled at Sha Yun and shook her head. "I’m… I’m not sure," she said honestly.
Having dressed herself, she looked at Hui Yue and slowly went towards him. She wrapped her arms around his back and gave him a tight squeeze.
"Thank you," as she said those heartfelt words, a tear fell down her cheek. The thank you implied so many things. Firstly it was a thanks for being alive.
The last thing Wang Ju Long had seen was Hui Yue at a disadvantage, almost dead. Now he was in front of her, completely fine and well.
The thank you also contained her happiness for being resurrected. Wang Ju Long understood that to bring someone back from the dead was in no way an easy feat, even if one had the soul they wish to resurrect. She was truly grateful that it would be possible for her to once more spend time together with Hui Yue.
Hui Yue lifted his hands and placed them on top of Wang Ju Long's. He softly squeezed them and turned around, taking the frail woman into his arms. He dared not hold her in too tight as he feared that she might vanish at any moment again.
Everything was silent, and Hui Yue felt completely at peace. There were still things that had been left unresolved, such as the battle with An He, the strange Demon Lord that had put pressure on the divine beasts, rescuing Rong Ming, and finding the last two heirs to the Divine Beast World, but even so, he was comfortable.
He had come one step closer to his goals of keeping himself and his friends safe and living a good life.
The rest of the day, no one interrupted them. Hui Yue, Huli, and Sha Yun were within the courtyard that belonged to them, and Sha Yun especially talked with Wang Ju Long about everything which had happened since her death.
It turned out that although Wang Ju Long had been dead, her soul had continued to absorb Ancestral Worldpower and her strength was not much weaker than Sha Yun if one were to judge solely by Ancestral Worldpower. If one looked at the daos they commanded though, she was rather far behind.
Sha Yun was proud of all the achievements Hui Yue had gained during the time Wang Ju Long had been dead and she talked about all of the excitedly.
Wang Ju Long said nothing, but her eyes glistened with excitement. She was proud when she heard what Hui Yue had done, and even more so when she understood how much he had grown.
She was shocked when she realized how long she had been dead for, but at the same time, she understood that it could have been for much longer had they not been lucky and came across the Alchemist God so soon.
Hui Yue once more went to the Divine Beast World to gather food and drinks, and he spent the night drinking with the three girls, spending the time talking together.
All four were happy. At first Wang Ju Long had looked at Huli confused, but when she heard that it was Huli and heard of her past with one of Hui Yue's past lives, she instantly approved of her. A woman who had loved Hui Yue for so long, how could she not approve of her?
The night was spent with the four of them happily relaxing together; they did not think about anything other than enjoying each other's company.
As the light started shining and the sun began to rise, the four slowly got ready for the day ahead of them. Hui Yue had refined one body, but he still had to refine bodies for everyone else.
Wang Ju Long needed to start comprehending the dao, and Huli and Sha Yun would join her to support he and answer all her questions.