Stealing Immortal

Chapter 36: Chapter 35: Death

[Chen Qingyang]

[Fourth Realm of Qi Refining]

[Tai Xu Energy-Introducing Technique: (1/1000)]

[Tier Two Qi-Introducing Pill: (293/300)]

[Great Soul Scripture (Fragmented): (1/600)]

[One-Origin Sword: (2/600)]

[Available Immortal Seedlings: 95]

「The next day.」

In his room, the fire in the brazier was about to go out, and the space grew dimmer.

Small, golden characters floated before Chen Qingyang’s eyes. The 95 new Immortal Seedlings were what he had acquired from Qi Xiuyuan today.

They had arrived earlier than yesterday, but there were fewer of them.

When he had seen Qi Xiuyuan, he was no longer slumped over but had started meditating.

He seemed to have a certain aura about him, a radiance that burst forth only after enduring a life-or-death ordeal.

’It seems his survival of the Nine Deaths Treasure Mirror is all but certain. I’m afraid he’ll be difficult to stop.’

Ever since his last breakthrough with the Great Soul Scripture, its progress cap had risen to 600. This meant the Fragmented Technique was still useful. When its progress became as unreasonable as the Tai Xu Energy-Introducing Technique’s, then it would have reached its limit.

A thought flickered through Chen Qingyang’s mind. The progress for the Tier Three Qi-Introducing Pill was already complete. As for whether there would be a Tier Four, the floating golden characters told him he would need to reach a cap of two thousand.

’This means any elixir can be continuously improved. It’s just that the effort and reward become completely disproportional, so no one bothers to delve deeper.’

He naturally added the remaining Immortal Seedlings to the One-Origin Sword.

Today was Qi Xiuyuan’s sixth tribulation. In three days, he would be out. Only a higher cultivation level would give Chen Qingyang a chance to survive.

’But in these three days, I’ll be about five hundred progress points short. I’m afraid I won’t be able to reach the Qi Refining Fifth Realm.’

He changed his clothes and washed up.

It was still early, and the other two in the small courtyard had not yet woken up. The work in the Tai Xu Sect was heavy, after all, and getting enough sleep was important.

Chen Qingyang left and was the first to arrive at the Hongling Token.

Wu Boyou was very late today. He only showed up after Chen Qingyang had already finished three Dao Rhyme Texts.

Observing his complexion, Chen Qingyang noted his face was dark and he looked listless, just as he had for the past two or three days.

Since yesterday, Wu Boyou had grown suspicious. Not only had his chance for a breakthrough vanished for no reason, but his cultivation was also showing signs of regressing. The more this happened, the more anxious he became, and the more he couldn’t figure out where the problem lay.

”Senior Brother Wu, you don’t look so well,” Chen Qingyang said with feigned concern.

”Sigh!” The long sigh encapsulated all the bitterness of Wu Boyou’s immortal cultivation journey. ”I don’t know what’s going on. These past few days, not only can I not sense even a hint of a breakthrough, but my cultivation is actually regressing. I’m afraid my wish to return to the Golden Summit will never be fulfilled.”

His tone was naturally filled with a sense of desolation, a stark contrast to the high spirits he’d shown just a few days ago.

”I have a suggestion, I wonder if Senior Brother Wu would be willing to hear it?”

Wu Boyou rubbed his hands together. ”Is it more elixirs?”

Chen Qingyang shook his head.

Wu Boyou stared at him, then gradually broke into a sneer. ’The only reason I hold him in any regard is because of his elixirs and his background, not because a miscellaneous task disciple like him has any real insight!’

”Then why don’t you tell me? What’s your great idea?” His tone was naturally contemptuous.

Chen Qingyang ignored his attitude and said with great earnestness, ”Senior Brother Wu, for the next two or three years, you should stop taking Qi Gathering Pills. Focus on cultivating quietly and diligently, and pay special attention to refining your meridians. If you slowly stabilize your True Essence like this, everything will return to normal.”

”You’re talking nonsense. Haven’t you heard the saying about rowing a boat against the current? If you don’t advance, you fall behind...” Wu Boyou waved his hand dismissively, then a thought struck him. ”What are you trying to say? Is there a problem with the elixirs?”

Chen Qingyang’s expression didn’t change. ”What could be wrong with the elixirs? I often take them myself. My meridians were once blocked by Qi Gathering Pills, and someone told me that if I just stopped for a while, it would get better. After all, to forge iron, one must first be strong.”

Undoubtedly, he was offering him a way out.

The dose of poison Xu Baoling had used was small. Through slow and steady cultivation and refining his meridians, it could be completely neutralized.

After hearing this, however, Wu Boyou’s sneer turned into a cold laugh. ”Hmph. Junior Brother Chen, if you really wanted to help, you’d get me a few more Qi Gathering Pills instead of making these sarcastic remarks. Are you saying an Outer Disciple like me knows less than a miscellaneous task disciple like you?”

Chen Qingyang could only play along. ”Senior Brother Wu makes a good point. In a few days, I’ll definitely have some elixirs for you. They will surely help you break through and return to the Golden Summit!”

At this, Wu Boyou’s smile was no longer cold. He squinted, affecting a strange familiarity. ”Heh, now that’s my good Junior Brother. Don’t you worry. Once I break through, you’ll get your share of the benefits.”

After saying this, he added a few more words of feigned concern for Chen Qingyang, only leaving after securing the promise of more Qi Gathering Pills.

Afterwards, at the Hongling Token.

Chen Qingyang completed two more Dao Rhyme Texts, making up for some of the work he had missed in the previous days.

As he set out on the path to the Golden Summit, snowflakes began to drift down from the sky again.

Soon, a thick layer covered the ground.

In his memory, the Four Golden Peaks of the Tai Xu Sect were always buried in ceaseless snow every winter.

The scene made Chen Qingyang feel a bit emotional. He had entered the Sect at nineteen and hadn’t seen the outside world since.

’If I hadn’t come here for immortal cultivation, would I have been long dead by now?’

He walked with a light step and arrived at the Pill Institute before long.

Liu Tao had been eagerly waiting for him for a long time. ”Junior Brother! We’re trying to refine Tier Three Qi-Introducing Pills today. How confident are you?”

On the shelves, all the ingredients were prepared.

To her, the difference between Tier Three and Tier Two was enormous. She had been looking forward to this since yesterday.

Chen Qingyang didn’t mention his confidence, only saying, ”We can start now. I’ll refine two today to test the fire.”

”Two?” Liu Tao was even happier. ”Junior Brother, you have to take it easy! It doesn’t matter if you waste ingredients. Your Senior Sister here has saved up quite a bit over the years, enough for you to waste. I’m just afraid that if you fail once, it’ll affect your mentality, and then... hehe, that would be trouble!”

One could tell there was a hint of genuine concern for him in her words.

”Don’t worry, Senior Sister. I’ve always been one to play it safe.”

He put a considerable amount of ingredients into the pill furnace this time. It was still the same seven types of Immortal Grass plus Yellow Essence Stone, but he would use a more exquisite alchemy technique to further temper the materials and extract their most essential parts.

While he processed the herbs, Liu Tao watched quietly from the side.

Then, Chen Qingyang sat down, pulled up his wide sleeves, and slowly pushed out with both palms. A pale blue flame leaped to life inside the pill furnace.

A wave of heat instantly billowed out, making their clothes flutter and even causing the surrounding furniture to tremble slightly.

The True Essence required for such an intense fire was not something a Qi Refining Second Realm cultivator could manage. Liu Tao suddenly wondered, ’Has his cultivation broken through again?’

She studied Chen Qingyang carefully. Based on his body’s Qi Mechanism, it didn’t seem so, but the True Essence emanating from his palms was incredibly powerful. ’It’s really very strange!’

Chen Qingyang was unaware of her musings; he was focused solely on Fire Control.

The fire was extremely fierce at first, causing the Qi Mechanism inside the pill furnace to surge. Then, using an exceedingly profound technique, he gradually lowered it bit by bit. When it reached a certain point, he would abruptly intensify it again... After repeating this cycle three times and expending a great deal of mental energy, he finally reached the final ”Late Fire” stage.

At this point, his mind could finally stray from the pill furnace for a moment to notice his surroundings.

He glanced sideways. Liu Tao was still there, and through the window behind her, he could see the sky had already turned dark.

During the ”Late Fire,” one’s mind needed to be even steadier.

Relying on his powerful Divine Soul Perception Power, Chen Qingyang had a crystal-clear sense of the changes inside the pill furnace, allowing him to control the process as if it were an extension of his own arm.

”HUU...” He exhaled a breath of Dense Qi, then drew in Pure Qi.

”Did your cultivation break through again?” Liu Tao wasn’t in a hurry to retrieve the items from the pill furnace; she had sensed the change in his Qi Mechanism.

”Yes, I just broke through to the Third Realm of Qi Refining.”

Hearing Chen Qingyang’s words, she recalled a topic they had discussed before. ”You haven’t been a victim of Possession, have you? If a person was always this talented, how could he have been so unremarkable in his youth, waiting until he was one hundred and twenty to even begin Qi Refining?”

That...

...was a very serious question. Liu Tao was asking today, but others would surely ask tomorrow. Moreover, he was someone with a known history in the Tai Xu Sect.

”Hmm?”

After a moment of silence, Liu Tao pressed him again.

”Well... what do you think, Senior Sister?”

Liu Tao wasn’t one for overthinking, so turning the question back on her was effective. ”Whether it’s innate talent or comprehension ability, a person has it from birth; it doesn’t just change easily later on. The fact that you can display such skill now means you had this talent from birth. As for why it disappeared when you were Li Qianxue’s attendant...”

Liu Tao fell silent for a moment, forming her own theory. ”Do you think... maybe someone harmed you back then?”

Chen Qingyang racked his brain but couldn’t recall any such incident.

Those high and mighty Immortals could have sent him to the Four Golden Peaks to be a miscellaneous task disciple with the slightest trick. It wouldn’t have been worth doing something that attracted so much attention.

”I suppose we’ll only know if we ask Li Qianxue when she wakes up.”

”Hehe, true.”

Liu Tao reached into the pill furnace and finally grasped the two Tier Three Qi-Introducing Pills.

She brought them to her nose and took a long sniff. ”Wow, they’re really amazing! A success on the very first try! This is the first time I’ve ever seen one...”

Chen Qingyang also examined them closely. Tier Three was Tier Three, in a completely different league from Tier Two. However, to produce three pills in one batch, or even to improve the elixir’s efficacy, would still require more effort.

Having gotten her elixirs, Liu Tao had no reason to pester Chen Qingyang any longer. She consumed one and began meditating nearby.

Just as Chen Qingyang was about to leave, another image appeared in his mind.

It wasn’t Qi Xiuyuan, but Lü Yunshen!

He was lying stiffly in a vast, snowy field.

Covered in blood, he looked as if he had fallen from a cliff.

’Dead?’

And he had died because of him.

’Otherwise, how could Stealing Immortal have taken any Immortal Seedlings?’