Stealing Immortal

Chapter 137: Chapter 136: Biohazard

Earth Root Biochemical Pill.

To refine this Elixir, Chen Qingyang was still missing three key Immortal Grasses. He took ten Tier Four Yang Replacement Powders to the Gentle Breeze, used six to settle a debt, and then traded the remaining four for the three Immortal Grasses he needed.

The three Immortal Grasses were Extremely Yin Soul Reviving Grass, Red Sun Heart-Burning Flower, and Profound Ice Soul-Condensing Vine. Two of them were Extremely Yin and Cold substances, which fit the characteristics of cultivating with the Earth Vein Yin Fiend in the Earth Root Acupoint.

As for the Red Sun Heart-Burning Flower, it was a ’yang’ substance meant to neutralize the medicinal properties. It was a known principle that all things in the universe required a balance of Yin and Yang, of life and death, to function endlessly.

If one was missing, the result would be annihilation.

Besides these, he added five other common Immortal Grasses and the all-purpose Yellow Essence Stone, bringing the total to ten ingredients for the Elixir.

In any case, Chen Qingyang was now an Alchemy Master. Refining a mere Tier One Elixir didn’t require him to use an Immortal Seedling. After studying the formula carefully a couple of times, he was confident he knew what to do.

Since this was his first attempt and the properties of the ingredients were unknown, Chen Qingyang processed them himself, preparing to refine just a single pill this time.

Before long, once the ingredients were processed, he placed them into the Pill Furnace and began to carefully control the fire, neither too fast nor too slow.

Whenever he encountered a new Elixir, he always proceeded very slowly on his first attempt. As long as nothing went wrong, he considered it a success. This slow pace also allowed him to familiarize himself with the properties of the ingredients in the Pill Furnace—when they would react, when they would fuse together, and so on.

He no longer needed the Conscious Fish to help with Fire Control. With his own True Essence, he could manipulate the faint blue flame. After continuing like this for more than three hours, he finally entered the ”Late Fire” stage.

His hands never stopped, and his mind remained active, constantly reviewing the previous steps in his head. ’Where can I improve? What could I do better?’ By the time the ”Late Fire” stage was over, another hour had passed.

Xu Baoling gently pushed open a window, letting in a bit of the cool breeze. Outside, a gentle breeze was blowing under a clear, bright sky.

”Master, this Elixir is very good. It hardly seems like a first attempt.”

Having followed Chen Qingyang for so long, she had appraised quite a few Elixirs and developed her own unique insights.

[Tier One Earth Root Biogenic Pill: (149/150)]

She truly had a sharp eye. Chen Qingyang had only refined a single batch, and the Tier One pill was already near Perfection.

”I’ll see how effective it is.”

With that, he swallowed the Elixir and began to circulate his True Essence using the Danxia Nourishing Truth Sword Manual.

The Elixir’s potency slowly dissolved in his abdomen. Guided by the Qi Mechanism through his Seven Meridians and Eight Vessels, it passed through his Five Viscera and Six Bowels before finally settling between his legs, right where the Earth Root Acupoint was located.

Then, the Earth Vein Yin Fiend was activated. After circulating for a moment, the True Essence within his Earth Root Acupoint strengthened slightly, and the spinning Qi Vortex became fuller.

He glanced at the floating golden text again. It showed that the progress of his Danxia Nourishing Truth Sword Manual had increased by 1.

This was just like when he took the Qi-Introducing Pills or Qi Gathering Pills before. The initial growth was extremely fast, but he would eventually hit a bottleneck, and the Elixirs would even become ineffective. Otherwise, Chen Qingyang would have just figured out a way to produce ten of these Tier One Elixirs per batch, refined eight hundred batches, and broken through to the next level of his Cultivation.

’Unfortunately, that’s not how it works!’

When he opened his eyes, Xu Baoling was watching from the side. Chen Qingyang said, ”Not bad. It’s beneficial for my Cultivation. The things Master prepares are always the most suitable!”

Xu Baoling added, ”It seems coming to Cyan Bamboo Peak was a great stroke of fortune for you, Master!”

She wasn’t wrong. Although he possessed the Stealing Immortal ability, it would all be for nothing without a proper Cultivation Technique. That Danxia Nourishing Truth Sword Manual was not something an ordinary person could get their hands on.

Moreover, in a world where Immortal Sects controlled everything, a Practitioner couldn’t even absorb Spiritual Qi after leaving their Sect, which made his master’s support all the more crucial.

”Yes. You should get back to your Cultivation. I’m going to refine another batch of Elixirs. Just leave the window open.”

Xu Baoling replied softly, ”Yes, Master.”

She floated over to the offering table and resumed her Cultivation, like a living idol set as a Sacrificial Offering in the Alchemy Room.

Chen Qingyang first walked a lap around the courtyard to clear his head. He then sat down and contemplated the Elixir. When he began to refine it again, he had gained new insights.

He used the same ingredient processing and the same Fire Control, but there were subtle changes in the details.

By the time this batch of Elixirs was ready, dawn had broken. The three youths in the small courtyard were busy with their own tasks, adding a bit of life to the place.

Chen Qingyang finished the ”Late Fire” stage and slowly withdrew his power.

[Tier Two Earth Root Biogenic Pill: (299/300)]

’Just as I thought, it’s the same pattern,’ he mused. ’I might as well press on and go straight for Tier Three.’

He swallowed this Elixir, and another wave of potency spread through him. As he began its Refinement, he carefully sensed the Elixir’s properties, contemplated them, and then started up the Pill Furnace once more.

Once again, he waited until nightfall, and the batch of Elixirs was complete.

[Tier Three Earth Root Biochemical Pill: (499/600)]

’Looks like breaking through to Tier Four won’t be so easy.’ Chen Qingyang took the Tier Three Elixir, adjusted his Qi Mechanism, and then added a larger quantity of ingredients into the furnace—enough for a Tier Four attempt.

He wanted to push through in one go.

The ingredients went in. This time, he used the Conscious Fish carrying the Li Yang True Fire as an aid, having it circle the Pill Furnace. Chen Qingyang was completely focused, not daring to let his concentration waver for an instant. True Essence flowed steadily from his palms, and he didn’t dare to slack off in the slightest.

The process was a bit slow, but its strength was in its stability.

This attempt must have lasted a very long time, and he encountered two setbacks along the way. By the time fine beads of sweat dotted his forehead, he had just barely managed to enter the ”Late Fire” stage. ’It should be a success,’ he thought, ’even though I’m drenched in sweat.’

Seeing it was dark outside again, Xu Baoling took a clean white towel, dipped it in water, and gently wiped the beads of sweat from Chen Qingyang’s forehead. Her movements were so skillful it was as if she had performed this task many times before.

For the two of them, it was truly the first time they had shared such an intimate gesture.

They had been together for over a year. In Xu Baoling’s eyes, this Chen Qingyang was a completely new person. In Chen Qingyang’s eyes, she was a new person as well; all that had happened before was long in the past.

As a result, the atmosphere had become a little... strange.

”That’s enough!” Chen Qingyang said, breaking the silence.

”Mm,” Xu Baoling hummed softly and pulled the towel back. When she snuck another glance at Chen Qingyang, his gaze was fixed solely on the Pill Furnace. She smiled to herself, a hint of shyness in her expression.

”Judging by the furnace’s fire, Master’s Tier Four Elixir should be a success. To advance the Earth Root Biochemical Pill from Tier One to Four in three days and two nights... I’ve truly seen something amazing.”

Chen Qingyang replied, ”I’m beginning to understand what Master Liu said. The most important thing in Alchemy is the fire. If it weren’t for the Li Yang Earth Fire in this Dragon Pearl, succeeding with this Elixir wouldn’t have been so easy.”

Xu Baoling grew curious. ”Then how much fire is stored in that Dragon Pearl? It feels like it’s inexhaustible.”

He recalled what he had seen at the Separation Fire Assembly—an entire world filled with endless, layered flames.

After a long pause, Chen Qingyang answered her. ”The Dragon Pearl is born in the True Dragon Cave. The sheer vastness of the fire there is something perhaps only a Golden Core True Monarch could begin to measure. In a thousand years, only thirty-four have appeared. The amount of fire they contain is an astronomical figure for Cultivators like us. It would be very difficult to completely exhaust it with our methods.”

Xu Baoling said, ”You’re right, Master. ’More’ or ’less’ depends on one’s Cultivation. If one were to take a step beyond a Golden Core True Monarch, perhaps it would seem as insignificant as a single small boat.”

”Exactly. That’s the principle.”

As they spoke, the ”Late Fire” stage concluded.

[Tier Four Earth Root Rejuvenation Pill: (99/1,000)]

’Breaking through again won’t be so easy,’ he thought. ’I’ll have to work on it slowly in the future.’

He swallowed the Elixir. Its potency was more than ten times stronger than the Tier Three version; one could even say they didn’t seem like the same substance at all.

Chen Qingyang sat on his meditation cushion and cultivated with his eyes closed. This session lasted for a full seven days. The Elixir’s potency in his body had long since been absorbed through Refinement, and the deficits in his Dantian and Spiritual Sea had been replenished.

For the remaining days, undisturbed by other matters, Chen Qingyang focused solely on Alchemy and Cultivation.

Perhaps feeling that the Seven Immortals of Peach Valley were being too quiet, he sent his Conscious Fish to circle their area. He discovered that the one now in charge of the Wood Element Mystic Core was Bao Sheng. Finding this strange, he had the Conscious Fish remain there to observe for half a day.

Its range was now great enough that he no longer needed to stake out a spot nearby; he could simply remain in his courtyard and cultivate.

It turned out that after Bao Sheng sensed something was amiss that day, he informed Long Sheng. Thanks to a favor from Senior Brother Wuji, Long Sheng’s injuries had recovered relatively quickly, and he had now come forward to support Bao Sheng.

At this time, Hu Sheng was ignoring worldly affairs, focused only on secluded cultivation. The other three—Crane, Magpie, and Flood Dragon—had lower Cultivation than Bao Sheng. Then there was Lu Sheng, who was no different from Hu Sheng. Thus, Bao Sheng had become the leader of the Seven Immortals of Peach Valley, and, on the surface, the one with the highest Cultivation.

Furthermore, all seven of them had come to realize the truth about Chen Qingyang. From the first encounter to the fourth, he had been hiding his true strength. He was the one who had severely injured Long Sheng and Lu Sheng.

The hunter had become the hunted. Who could they complain to? Even if they raised a fuss with the Sect or their master, they were the ones who had tried to harm someone else first. Although they were filled with resentment, they could only endure it for now.

As for Chen Qingyang, he was well aware that the seven now held a grudge against him. But this was Cyan Bamboo Peak, after all, not the mountainside of the Four Golden Peaks where a few deaths might go unnoticed. He had no choice but to suppress his own murderous intent.

...

For the next two months or so, Chen Qingyang remained in his small courtyard, never stepping out.

He alternated between meditation and Alchemy, not noticing how quickly time flew. In what felt like the blink of an eye, more than two months had passed.

[Chen Qingyang]

[Essence Condensation Realm]

[Great Soul Scripture: (3/10,000)]

[Tai Xu Star Pivot Purple Micro True Skill (Starlight Body): (19/6,000)]

[Danxia Nourishing Truth Sword Manual: (96/8,000)]

[Tier Four Nameless Elixir: (146/5,000)]

[Nine Luminaries Array: (1/1,000)]

[Tier Four Earth Root Rejuvenation Pill: (468/1,000)]

[Available Immortal Seedlings: 82]

Staring at the golden text before him, Chen Qingyang saw that the various Dharma Gates he practiced had all been organized. Now, he needed to focus all his efforts on the Sword Manual to advance his Cultivation even further.