Eternal Tale

”Moo!” The big black ox responded solemnly.

”Let’s get to work” Chen Xun said, chuckling, ”We also need to practice spells.”

”Moo!”

The ox’s eyes lit up. It had been eagerly anticipating the Fireball spell; after all, many street performers could perform such tricks.

They began nurturing the spiritual herbs daily and practicing spells and cultivation techniques. Whenever they felt famished, they would venture into the mountains and hunt for food. The days passed by happily.

Half a year later, a heavy atmosphere filled the cave and tension hung in the air.

”Old ox, I never thought that in such a short time, you would advance to the fourth layer of Qi Refinement. It seems that I can’t let you leave today!” Chen Xun’s expression was cold as he uttered these words. His palms and fingers moved swiftly in the air and his spiritual energy surged. ”Witness my Beast Taming Technique!”

”Moo!”

The big black ox was vigilant, and suddenly a stone moved from behind and rushed in ambush. It immediately reacted, conjuring a small fireball with its hoofs and sending it towards the stone.

The fireball collided with the stone and a small explosion filled the cave as it turned bright momentarily. When the dust settled, the stone had turned to ash, which prompted the black ox to grin in triumph.

”A force that drags mountains; qi shrouds the world!”

”Moo~!!”

The big black ox yelped in surprise and it was dragged right off the ground and over Chen Xun’s head, which caused him to burst into a fit of laughter. This move never fails, he thought.

After a while of messing around, Chen Xun and the big black ox sat on the ground.

The ox’s eyes gleamed with a determined spirit. They had finally mastered spells.

The black ox’s abilities had astonished Chen Xun yet again. They had asked around over the past few years at the Ascension Conference and knew that most people couldn’t cultivate techniques and spells very well. Yet, here it was, the black ox, capable of almost everything they laid their hands on.

This was but a fleeting thought, all that matters was that they were together, he and the black ox, one happy family. Chen Xun smiled warmly and patted the ox, which was letting out moos of happiness.

...

Another year passed, and Chen Xun led the black ox to the Ascension Conference once again. They walked ahead, stoic. Nothing could shake their minds anymore.

Many vagabonds cast them a few brief glacnes before shaking their heads.

To them, these two were the most miserable figures in the cultivation world. They lacked talent and were still unable to accept their fates. They could only loiter around at the outskirts of the mountains.

However, they didn’t look at them with mockery anymore.

People like these commanded a certain kind of respect. After all, even when their lives were miserable, they continued to live on with a smile. They were, in the end, a reflection of many vagabond’s sad lives filled with toil.

Some of the more seasoned vagabonds gave Chen Xun a few more glances, admitting inwardly that they weren’t as good as him.

If he stopped attending the summit one day, they would surely feel a hole of emptiness in their hearts over his absence.

…

Inside the valley, within a pavilion of one of the sects, Chen Xun’s stoic expression crumbled into one of distress and he cried out, ”Senior, add a bit more, please! I’ve already lived half my life, and I’ve only found this one!”

The old man in front of him had his creases on his forehead as he fell in thought, hesitating slightly as he looked at the hundred-year old Divine Meeting Grass.

”Senior, look at that quality and condition. It hasn’t lost any of its potency since I have found it. I’m begging you, add a little more and it’s yours,” Chen Xun pleaded, squeezing out two drops of tears to appear more sincere. ”A little bit more, just a teeny-tiny bit and you can have it.”

”Then we can add ten more since the quality is indeed good,” the old man caved in a little.

”Alright.” Chen Xun’s expression immediately turned calm again. He wouldn’t push his luck.

The old man observed Chen Xun’s change of demeanor and his lips twitched slightly. _Was he acting just now? _he wondered.

He took the 120 spirit stones in hand and said, ”If I find more, I’ll bring them to you.” He then seemed to remember something and added: ”Senior, I’ll buy a few more medicine boxes. My ox loves them dearly,” Chen Xun grinned widely.

”Five spiritual stones each. Fetch the boxes yourself” the old man smiled and shook his head, glancing at the massive black ox outside the pavilion. He knew it wasn’t that easy to come across hundred-year spiritual herbs.

The old man’s face turned into one of surprise when Chen Xun bought thirty boxes and stewed them on both sides of the black ox.

”You really haven’t seen much of the world,” the old man muttered.

He even took back the medicine box that used to contain the spiritual herb and held it in his hand.

Actually, deep within the Ningyun Mountain Range, were Crane Spirit Trees, and they were plentiful, even. And these medicine boxes were crafted using their wood. It didn’t take much effort either. Unfortunately for Chen Xun, he didn’t know that. And it would only be years later when he learned of this fact. At that time, he would pound his chest and stamp his foot in anger every time his eyes laid on one of those trees. He would have the urge to take his axe to every tree he saw and chop it down. But that’s all for another time.

Right now, they were standing outside an alchemy pavilion.

The pills sold here were more expensive than those sold by vagabonds outside, but their quality was much better.

”Friend, is there something you’re interested in?” A sect disciple greeted Chen Xun.

The items on display were dazzling, and they ranged from alchemy furnaces, spiritual herbs, pills to even alchemical techniques. Everything was available.

The disciple didn’t seem to mind Chen Xun’s get-up, after all, he had seen his fair share of eccentrics among the vagabonds, so this black veil couldn’t provoke much of a reaction from him.

”How much is this alchemy furnace?” Chen Xun cleared his throat and pretended to know his way around.

”This is a Lower Yellow Grade alchemy furnace. It’s only twenty low-grade spiritual stones,” the sect disciple introduced with a smile, pointing to a small furnace.

”This larger one is...”

”I’ll take this one.” Chen Xun’s heart trembled a bit. Why was it so expensive? He couldn’t help but ask, ”Friend, I’ve seen furnaces sold by vagabonds for just ten low-grade spirit stones.”

”Most of those are of inferior quality, or are already damaged in many ways,” the sect disciple patiently explained. ”They would seriously affect the rate of pill formation and the quality of the pills.”

”Oh, that’s very professional.” Chen Xun praised.

It turns out buying such magical artifacts required dealing with legitimate merchants, he thought, then handed over the spiritual stones and took the alchemy furnace before leaving.

He had learnt before that items were divided into four levels: Heavenly, Earthly, Profound, and Yellow. Although there were higher grades, ordinary cultivators didn’t need to know about those.

”Moo~”

The big black ox was quite fond of this small furnace and kept showing it off to Chen Xun.

….

Staying in one place and cultivating until old age, it was all just a pipe dream in the end. That way, one’s cultivation will hit a bottleneck, sooner than later.

”Even in this world, the old sayings still hold true,” Chen Xun sighed internally.

They continued selling the booklets, but last year’s received quite the response from the people, and they managed to sell over a hundred copies every day.

At an empty spot in the valley, Chen Xun’s eyes brightened when he looked at their profits, but unexpectedly, he turned to the black ox and said something that caught it off guard, ”Let’s stop selling these after this year.”

”Moo?” The big black ox looked puzzled. _But weren’t they selling well? _It thought.

”These booklets are way too easy to imitate, and they attract too much attention. We’re only after the initial capital, this is not a long term project.”

”Moo!”

The big black ox suddenly understood. Its intelligence was growing, and now it could easily grasp what Chen Xun meant with just a few words. However, when it came to others’ expressions, it was still somewhat clueless.

”Oh, hey, friend, there you are.” An old man in white clothes with a gentle smile walked over. He seemed to have been looking for them for a while.

”What’s the matter?” Chen Xun’s eyes narrowed slightly in cation. He recognized the old man. He was the one who sold fake pills in the past.

”I have something related to your booklet. I wonder if you’re interested, friend?” The old man smiled, his hands behind his back.

He had observed Chen Xun for a long time, every year in fact, but he never dared to approach. But this time it was different, it was time to make a move, and he believed Chen Xun would take the bait.

Chen Xun shook his head in silence and didn’t respond. He started pulling at the black ox’s reins and led it back to the streets, not showing interest in the old man’s words.

The old man stood still and muttered, ”So, he’s really just a fool. A simpleton.”

”Old ox, remember, we won’t harm others in our lifetime, nor will we search for fortuitous encounters. But we can’t be gullible enough to believe that a pie will fall right on our laps from the sky.”Chen Xun’s gaze turned profound as he spoke each word, ”We might miss many opportunities this way, but we’ll never suffer a loss as well.”

”Moo moo!” The big black ox nudged Chen Xun repeatedly, remembering his words.