Stealing Immortal

Chapter 90: Chapter 89: Laying out the Array

Liu Tao was as cautious as ever, still believing Chen Qingyang was capable of anything.

”Senior Sister, you don’t actually think I took this to poison your master’s elixirs, do you?”

Liu Tao blinked, her eyes asking, ’Isn’t that exactly what you’re doing?’

”Sigh!” Chen Qingyang let out a breath. ”Your master is exceptionally brilliant, with cultivation that reaches the heavens. How could I dare plot against her? Do you really think I have a death wish?”

Liu Tao said, ”Fine. Then tell me, what do you need this for?”

’Indeed, there was no good excuse to ask her for poison. If he weren’t so short on elixirs, he would have just gone to Gentle Breeze to trade for it.’

”For alchemy, of course.”

Seeing his perfectly justified expression, Liu Tao grew a little angry. ”You’re spouting nonsense again! The only thing you could make with that is a Poison Pill!”

”Senior Sister, why can’t you consider the principle of mutual generation and suppression? Star Meteor Powder is meant to be an ingredient in medicine. It’s crucial for the Nameless Elixir from Master Liu that I’m trying to refine. It’s just a shame that I’m only just starting out and lack everything. After thinking it over, I realized you were the only one I could ask for it.”

Liu Tao narrowed her eyes, sizing Chen Qingyang up and down as if trying to see right through him. ”Really?”

Chen Qingyang’s gaze was intense. ”Of course, it’s real. Now that I’m an Outer Disciple of Cyan Bamboo Peak, I don’t need to resort to my old tricks just to survive. Do you really think I was born with a love for harming people?”

Seeing how sincere and earnest he sounded, Liu Tao finally decided to trust him. She found the half-full bottle and handed it to Chen Qingyang.

He remembered clearly: only half a qian could be used at a time, otherwise the person taking it would notice.

”Thank you, Senior Sister.”

Liu Tao then asked, ”How is your cultivation going on Cyan Bamboo Peak?”

”That’s actually what I wanted to talk to you about. My cultivation has broken through to the Seventh Realm of Qi Refining. According to the Sect’s rules, I can now leave the mountain to gain experience. I want to search for the Great Soul Scripture. I was wondering if it would be convenient for you to come along? Even if we don’t find the scripture, we can still broaden our horizons!”

Liu Tao looked utterly stunned. This was even more shocking than his breakthrough with the Tier Four Yang Replacement Powder in a single day. To outsiders, it seemed that after a hundred years as a miscellaneous task disciple, Chen Qingyang must have been hiding his cultivation for a long time.

But only Liu Tao knew that he had gone from the first to the seventh realm of Qi Refining in just seven short months. If word of this got out, he would be the next Li Qianxue.

”You... How on earth do you cultivate? Why don’t you give me some pointers someday? I want to be like you,” Liu Tao said, studying him closely as if seeing him for the first time.

Chen Qingyang gave a wry smile. ”Senior Sister, please don’t joke with me. I just received some guidance from my master recently, and things that I couldn’t grasp before suddenly clicked. It won’t be so easy to break through again.”

He said it so seriously that Liu Tao, knowing his disposition, couldn’t be bothered to press further. ”Forget it. Let’s talk about the Great Soul Scripture. We have to be careful when we go there. We have to be cautious about everything. After all, it’s far from the Sect’s sphere of influence and close to the Nine Nether Mechanic Divine Palace. They’re allied with the Yu Xiao Demon Sect and have always enjoyed making enemies of us.”

”Also, before we head out, let’s accept a task from the Sect. We’ll get Merit for completing it. For this Flying Sword, I’ve used up everything I could. I’m short on everything right now.”

The thought of entering the Demon Sect’s territory undoubtedly made Chen Qingyang hesitate for a moment. ”You don’t think... it will be life-threatening, do you?”

Liu Tao stifled a laugh. ”Getting cautious now, are we? Starting to fear death? Don’t worry. The Nine Nether Mechanic Divine Palace is far weaker than the Tai Xu Sect. The strongest in their sect are just Foundation Establishment Masters. We’re just going to look for something, not to cause them trouble. They couldn’t be bothered with you.”

Chen Qingyang pondered for a moment. ”Senior Sister, you don’t understand. I was only bold in the past because I was forced into it. Now, there’s absolutely no need for us to take risks.”

Liu Tao stuck out a finger and poked him. ”Relax.”

”Where did you find the Great Soul Scripture the first time, Senior Sister? Do we have a plan for this trip?”

Liu Tao thought for a moment. ”What plan? Last time I just stumbled upon it. This time, we’ll go and see if we can stumble upon it again. If not, so be it. I don’t think that thing is all that precious anyway.”

Perhaps in her eyes, going on an expedition with Chen Qingyang was far more worthwhile than finding some blasted Great Soul Scripture.

”Sigh, then I’ll follow your lead, Senior Sister. We can make a plan when we get there.”

After chatting for a while longer, Chen Qingyang left the Four Golden Peaks. With several dozen Merit Copper Coins in his possession, he first made his way to the Cloud Scripture Jade Pavilion on Cyan Bamboo Peak.

Compared to this place, the Four Golden Peaks truly paled in comparison. Not only was it majestic and vast, but its collection of Cultivation Techniques, Pill Formulas, Arrays, Spirit Plant Beast Taming manuals, and more was far richer than that of the Four Golden Peaks.

Chen Qingyang also specifically looked into the Sword Dao, but unfortunately, all the cultivation techniques only went up to the Qi Refining Ninth Realm. The most advanced among them was still the One-Origin Sword. In the end, he only memorized a formula for the Qi Gathering Pill before leaving.

Unlike the Four Golden Peaks, although there were guards here, they never asked what you took or how much. They only checked to see if you were an Outer Disciple.

In such a massive Sect, aside from profound Dharma Gates like the Purple Star True Skill, most cultivation techniques weren’t secrets at all. Besides, the ultimate reason for one’s cultivation level was the person, not the technique.

So there was no reason to guard them too closely. The Dharma Gates that did need to be guarded were held by the masters.

After leaving the Cloud Scripture Jade Pavilion, Chen Qingyang went to the Merit Tower. He spent the thirty Merit Copper Coins in his hand and exchanged them for five Magical Artifacts.

There was one piece of Array Building material in the shape of an Incense Burner and four in the shape of Jade Gui. He could start setting up the array as soon as he got back.

In addition, Chen Qingyang also saw Magical Treasures like Flying Swords and Talismans in the Merit Tower. Calculated in Merit Copper Coins, each one was expensive. He just hadn’t calculated which was more cost-effective: this, or trading elixirs at Gentle Breeze.

After a full day of running around, it was noon by the time he returned.

Two young boys were resting in the courtyard. Chen Qingyang greeted them briefly before returning to the Alchemy Room and began to tinker with the Array Building materials.

”Master, are you really going to study arrays now?” Xu Baoling asked from the side.

The Liu Family Ancestral House Incense and Candle Prayer Skill for Gathering Blessings was the most basic of all arrays. Its effects weren’t particularly powerful. Only those who truly wanted to study this path would dive in and start their research from such a fundamental level.

Undoubtedly, Chen Qingyang was showing all the signs of being such a person.

”Exactly.”

”Master, you’ve grasped the Alchemy Dao and are now cultivating arrays. Won’t this affect your cultivation in the future?” Xu Baoling’s question was one of genuine concern. After all, even the long lifespan of a Cultivator had its limits.

”It’s fine. Of all the skills in the world, any that are useful are worth studying. Perhaps for others, it’s a waste of energy, but for me, that’s not a concern.”

Using an altar table as the location for his array, Chen Qingyang first performed a Sacrificial Refinement on the Bronze Incense Burner. This item came from the upper echelons of the Tai Xu Sect; it possessed spirituality and could also contain True Qi.

This was the Array Profound.

Next were the four pieces of Jade Gui. He performed a Sacrificial Refinement on them in the same way described in the array manual. When he saw them glitter with a golden light, the process was complete. This was the Array Base.

Afterward, he formed hand seals and chanted an incantation. First, he set down the Array Base in the four cardinal directions, then he embedded the Array Profound in the center. Finally, using his True Essence Power, he activated the array.

An extremely faint wind gathered from all directions, seemingly forming a vortex above the altar table and bringing with it a hint of coolness.

”You try it!”

Xu Baoling drifted over and landed on the altar table. She closed her eyes to recuperate for a moment. ”Master, this array really works! It gathers Yin Qi from all directions. As it nourishes me, my body feels much more comfortable, and I can absorb more Spiritual Qi.”

This scene made her look just like the ancestral Yin Spirit of a family mansion.

”From now on, you will cultivate here. I’ve only just begun to understand arrays and am still studying. Its effects will surely be greater than this in the future.”

Filled with gratitude, Xu Baoling bowed to Chen Qingyang in thanks.

In truth, whether she thanked him or not, Chen Qingyang had his own plans. By feeding her the Nameless Elixir, he could learn of its effects; by nourishing her with the array, he could learn how to improve it.

After all, the Immortal Path was long. Mastering more skills might seem cumbersome at first, but if he could one day reach Foundation Establishment, or an even higher cultivation realm, and integrate all these skills, he would be unfathomable compared to others at the same level!

”I have to go on a long trip. It could be half a month, or as long as a month. You must be careful while I’m gone...”

After a moment of thought, he added, ”If there’s any real trouble, you can go directly to my senior-most brother. He’s a good-natured person.”

Xu Baoling knew why Chen Qingyang was leaving, so she didn’t ask any more questions. ”Yes, Master.”

”Also, those two boys. If you have free time, urge them on in their cultivation.”

Xu Baoling hesitated slightly. ”With my current appearance, won’t they mind?”

Chen Qingyang shook his head. ”No. That Li Sheng is an extremely smart person. He can figure things out.”

Xu Baoling said again, ”Yes, Master.”

...

In the following days, Chen Qingyang refined three more batches of Qi Gathering Pills. Although they were only Tier One, the quality of the refinement was excellent.

He gave one to each of the two boys. After some time, he could continue to ”feed” them more. For someone with good talent like Li Sheng, a breakthrough might be possible in three to five years.

Noon.

The sky was a vast, empty blue.

Chen Qingyang finally arrived outside Tian Jingzhao’s Cave Mansion, holding the prepared Tier Four Yang Replacement Powder. The one who came out to greet him was the young girl, Hong’Er.

”Please forgive us, Senior Brother Chen. My senior brother is temporarily unable to get up, so he cannot come to greet you.” Although she spoke with polite words, the look in her eyes as she gazed at Chen Qingyang was clearly unusual.

A Qi Gathering Pill was tossed into her hand. ”This is a Qi Gathering Pill. Find a time when no one is around and secretly begin its Refinement. It won’t be good for you if anyone sees.”

Watching his back as he walked inside, Hong’Er nodded vigorously. ”Mhm.”