Stealing Immortal

Chapter 135: Chapter 134: Corrosion

Chen Qingyang withdrew his Conscious Fish and slowly opened his eyes, a look of delight on his face.

”Senior Brother Lu really didn’t lie to me. The Wood Spirit Qi here is abundant, far richer than the last two times!”

The others didn’t understand what had happened and exchanged confused glances, finally turning their eyes to Lu Sheng. Only Lu Sheng knew what had truly occurred.

The Peach Spirit could have gone wrong, since it wasn’t completely under his control, but that Golden Needle was his Lifebound Magical Artifact. He had been tirelessly performing Sacrificial Refinement on it every day since he began the Artifact Cultivation Dao.

If he continued to nurture it with his Dantian True Fire, it would one day become a graded artifact.

He was silent for a long time. His insides churned, and a thousand thoughts raced through his mind. Finally, he forced himself to climb to his feet. ”Junior Brother Chen, I’m glad you had a fruitful harvest!”

Chen Qingyang sneered inwardly. ’This man really knows how to endure. Even at a time like this, he hasn’t turned on me. It just shows how deep his schemes run.’

’Never mind anything else; if the four men beside him found out he’d suffered such a huge loss, he would quickly lose the title of leader of the Seven Immortals of Peach Valley, which he had only just obtained.’

”Senior Brother Lu, what’s wrong?” Chen Qingyang asked slowly, as if he had only just noticed something was amiss.

The four junior brothers by his side glanced over, also wanting to confirm what had happened.

Lu Sheng wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with his sleeve, then pushed himself up with both hands. It was clear he was still struggling. ”It’s nothing. The Peach Spirit Granny just tried to break free from my control. Junior Brothers, let’s consider today’s banquet over.”

The four men—Jiao, He, Que, and Bao—were each lost in their own thoughts. Bao Sheng, in particular, was the most familiar with the Peach Demon; how could he not have noticed the change? Besides, they had all agreed to plot against Chen Qingyang, yet here he was, standing there perfectly fine.

And the Golden Needle, where had it gone?

Chen Qingyang didn’t want to bother with the rest of it. He bid them farewell but left his Conscious Fish behind. After he was gone, the remaining men looked at each other, no one speaking first.

Lu Sheng spoke up. ”Junior Brothers, I’ll be heading back first.”

After holding it in for a long time, Que Sheng couldn’t resist asking, ”Senior Brother Lu, you borrowed our power to use that Rotting Immortal Corroding Essence Needle. You said that once the poison needle was planted, it would slowly consume its victim’s Primordial Power. You said it was formless and intangible and would ruin their Dao foundation. But from what I saw today, Chen Qingyang’s complexion is normal. He seems completely unchanged. Could it be that something went wrong?”

Rotting Immortal Corroding Essence—what a vicious name. Just hearing it sounded formidable.

Chen Qingyang observed carefully. Lu Sheng was suppressing his anger. ”Junior Brother Que, if it ruined his Dao foundation on the spot, then what use would this Golden Needle be? Just you wait and see!”

With a flick of his sleeve, he strode away, and no one tried to stop him. The remaining three exchanged glances and then left without another word.

「Meanwhile.」

Chen Qingyang was hiding in a dense forest. He took the Golden Needle from his sleeve and examined it carefully. It glittered with golden light, was as smooth as a mirror, and had no visible seams.

When he infused it with his Qi Mechanism, he finally detected a sinister and malevolent aura hidden within. It was bone-chillingly cold and even somewhat similar to the Peach Demon’s poison. ’It seems he made considerable use of the Peach Demon’s power to refine this thing.’

The Golden Needle wasn’t meant to injure an enemy by piercing their flesh. Instead, upon getting close, it would inject this formless and intangible aura to ruin their Dao foundation and damage their fundamental Meridians.

However, a golden light would inevitably appear when it was used, making it difficult to go unnoticed. That’s why Lu Sheng had thought to mix it with the Wood Spirit Qi, allowing it to enter Chen Qingyang’s body silently and without a trace.

’The plan wasn’t particularly brilliant, but it was effective. If my Cultivation was only at the Qi Refining realm, and I’d been greedy for that mouthful of Wood Spirit Qi, I definitely would have fallen for it.’

Chen Qingyang put the Golden Needle away and then used the Danxia Nourishing Truth Sword Manual to refine the Wood Spirit Qi he had just absorbed.

He only stopped after watching the sun climb high into the sky and then fall again.

[Danxia Nourishing Truth Sword Manual: (77/8000)]

A quick look showed that it had added 40 points to his Cultivation progress. ’Another small gain.’

Once everything was settled, Chen Qingyang ambled back toward his small courtyard.

...

By now, everyone had retired for the night. As darkness fell, the Star Disc hanging in the sky above became increasingly conspicuous, even blanketing the entire courtyard in a soft glow.

The moment he pushed open the courtyard gate and stepped inside, his body felt as if it passed through a barrier. The active Spiritual Qi brought an instantaneous feeling of comfort.

Back in his Alchemy Room, he washed up, then took out the Golden Needle again to toy with it.

Xu Baoling, barefoot, descended from the altar. Her movements were graceful, as if she were stepping on invisible stairs. Her recent growth in Cultivation had resulted in this new bearing.

”Master, is that a Magical Artifact in your hand?”

Chen Qingyang placed the Golden Needle on the long table before him, gesturing for Xu Baoling to take a closer look.

”Ah!” she exclaimed softly. ”What a filthy thing. How on earth was it refined?”

Chen Qingyang shook his head. ”I don’t know either. It belongs to Lu Sheng. I suppose he must be well-versed in the Dao of Artifact Refining.”

Xu Baoling nodded, her posture gentle. ”Then, Master, you didn’t run into any trouble on your trip?”

”I was fine. You know the level of my Cultivation. I’m just not sure what to do with this thing.”

Xu Baoling examined it carefully again. ”Master, if I’m not mistaken, this should be a Lifebound Magical Artifact. It’s intrinsically linked to one’s Cultivation. If you wanted to advance this Magical Artifact further, you would have to use your Lifebound True Fire for Sacrificial Refinement. But doing so isn’t worth it.”

”You must understand, Master, the Danxia Nourishing Truth Sword Manual you cultivate is famous throughout our entire Tai Xu Sect. Its Sword Dao is righteous, magnificent, and immensely powerful. Even if you were to refine a Lifebound Magical Artifact, it shouldn’t be something like this.”

Xu Baoling was right. He should think in the long term. Besides, using the Golden Needle for sneak attacks was too troublesome; Elixirs were more convenient.

”You’re right. I’ll set it aside for now. Maybe I can use it to refine something else in the future, or see if I can trade it for some Spirit Stones.”

”Mhm.” After agreeing, Xu Baoling asked, ”I wonder what’s become of the matter with the Seven Immortals of Peach Valley?”

Xu Baoling knew about most of Chen Qingyang’s affairs. After all, their lives were bound together, which was fundamentally the most stable relationship in the world.

”Now that Lu Sheng is seriously injured, the seven of them will either have to lie low for a while, or they’ll continue to cause trouble. But in the short term, they won’t be coming after me. I think... they’ll probably have to re-evaluate my strength!”

At this point, the act was completely over. No one would believe it if he kept it up. This was about all the Immortal Seedlings he could get from them.

Xu Baoling pondered for a moment. ”That may be so, but Senior Brother Chen should still be wary of anyone else from Master Water Moon’s faction getting involved, lest they cause trouble for you, Master.”

Chen Qingyang, however, was nowhere near as worried as she was. ”It’s fine. I doubt the seven of them will be eager to tell anyone how they failed to scheme against me four times. The Elixirs I gave them are in their stomachs now, and the effects will wear off soon!”

Hearing this, Xu Baoling just hummed in agreement and said no more. Seeing Chen Qingyang close his eyes and begin to meditate and cultivate, she returned to the altar.

[Great Soul Scripture (Volume 2): (3714/5000)]

[Available Immortal Seedlings: 1368]

Small golden words floated before his eyes. He had managed to acquire quite a few Immortal Seedlings from this trip, just enough to advance his Great Soul Scripture further.

Chen Qingyang didn’t hesitate and spent them on the Great Soul Scripture.

The change this time was truly significant. The Spiritual Sea above his head became like a black hole, absorbing all the True Essence in his body. And that wasn’t all; it also began to continuously draw in Spiritual Qi from the outside world.

Not only was Xu Baoling startled, but even Li Sheng, who was meditating, was disturbed. All the Spiritual Qi was frantically surging toward one place: Chen Qingyang’s Alchemy Room.

Chen Qingyang couldn’t react at first. He initially felt dizzy and disoriented, but as he gradually adapted, his mind cleared.

The Conscious Fish was no longer swimming in the outside world but had been drawn in by him. It now swam freely within his Spiritual Sea, which served as its pond, with his True Essence as the water. It formed a vortex, which in turn desperately drew in Spiritual Qi from the outside.

Chen Qingyang didn’t know how long this went on. His entire body and mind were immersed in the process. Even the Separation Huo Dragon Pearl in his sleeve was affected, spontaneously generating a gentle warmth.

He covered it with his hand and silently recited the Nine Yang Separation Fire Technique in his mind. The Separation Dragon Earth Fire roared out of the Dragon Pearl like a long dragon, passing through his Seven Meridians and Eight Vessels before finally swimming toward the Conscious Fish.

Perhaps it was day after day, or perhaps hour after hour, but the process continued unabated.

Finally, the Spiritual Sea was brimming with True Essence. The Conscious Fish within was wreathed in flames. Its koi-like colors remained, but now two Dragon Beards sprouted from the corners of its mouth.

As the saying goes, appearance is born from the mind. The fish had absorbed a great deal of Dragon Qi, resulting in its current appearance.

Chen Qingyang felt his Divine Soul had grown stronger. With a mere thought, he could extend his consciousness two hundred li out, and the Conscious Fish could arrive there almost instantaneously.

If he activated the Nine Yang Separation Fire Technique, the fish could spew fierce flames, incinerating everything around it. Such power was far faster than an exceptionally sharp Flying Sword.

Wherever his thought reached, its power would follow.

Chen Qingyang continued to meditate, sending his Conscious Fish to roam the mountain peaks within a two-hundred-li radius. Flying over the mere Peach Blossom Valley had become completely effortless. He just wondered if it could escape the notice of Essence Condensation realm Cultivators.

After a long while, he withdrew the Conscious Fish and looked again at the small golden words before him.

[Great Soul Scripture (Volume 2): (1/10000)]

The upper limit had doubled. Chen Qingyang could feel it. Once he reached Perfection in this next wave, he would have finished cultivating Volume Two of the Great Soul Scripture.

As for Volume Three, he didn’t have any leads for now. Ever since seeing the layout of that Underground Palace last time, he couldn’t shake the feeling that it was both a great opportunity and a great deal of trouble.

’With the Stealing Immortal ability and being in an Immortal Sect, it’s almost a certainty that my Cultivation will one day reach the peak. The best course of action is not to take unnecessary risks.’

”How long was I cultivating?”

Xu Baoling replied from his side, ”Seven days and seven nights.”

”Then... I didn’t miss anything important, did I?”

Xu Baoling said, ”Aside from the commotion being a bit large, you didn’t miss anything.”