Stealing Immortal

He didn’t remember seeing this “heart” beating so fiercely before. The Spiritual Qi and Star Power hadn’t been this abundant either. Could the Array be active right now?

Was the person controlling the Array just outside this spherical world?

‘It doesn’t seem very safe to go out now,’ he thought.

Even if there were no Golden Core True Monarchs, there might be a Master Life Light.

Not daring to act rashly, the Conscious Fish lay flat against the crystal-like barrier, suppressing its aura to the absolute minimum as it quietly waited for the Array to deactivate.

As the “heart” beat faster and faster, Chen Qingyang began to see that the thin silver threads were occasionally tinged with a hint of azure-black.

The amount was minuscule, but the color was just as rich. He felt like he had seen this color somewhere before but couldn’t recall where at the moment.

Continuing his observation, he noticed these specks of azure-black seemed to be flowing along with the silver threads, all heading in the same direction.

After sensing it carefully, Chen Qingyang’s mind buzzed. The aura was like a shot of strong liquor, sending a rush of hot blood to his head.

‘What could be this potent?’

The Conscious Fish moved stealthily, following the flow of azure-black for a dozen or so li.

Here, the fine silver threads began to converge, merging into slightly thicker strands, which then combined into even more robust cables. Naturally, the specks of azure-black were also gathered together.

They eventually formed a mass of condensed aura the size of an infant’s head.

Chen Qingyang suddenly remembered—this was an Earth Deity, being drawn from all directions by the Circulation of Stars Demon Suppression Array.

At first, it was like a cloud of smoke. Then, it grew slightly denser. Finally, it became almost corporeal, swimming in circles.

‘After careful sensing, there was still no sign of the person controlling the Array. What would happen if I just took it?’

‘I’m inside the Circulation of Stars Demon Suppression Array, and they’re actively controlling it. The chances of being trapped are high.’

‘It’s best to leave quickly and avoid trouble.’

But then Chen Qingyang considered the karmic implications. ‘If this Earth Deity is being prepared for a certain Master, and I take some of it, wouldn’t that slightly affect that Master’s Immortal Path?’

‘Not a lot, just a little bit should be worth a few thousand Immortal Seedlings. It’s worth a try!’

Like a thief, the Conscious Fish extended its two Dragon Beards and gently dipped them into the mass.

It was like dipping chopsticks into a sauce for a taste. But who would have known that just that tiny bit of aura would surge through the Dragon Beards into the Conscious Fish’s body, running wild inside.

An image appeared in Chen Qingyang’s mind: a white-bearded old man with the air of a celestial immortal, dressed in an indigo Daoist Robe embroidered with a dragon, a tiger, and the Eight Trigrams on the front and back.

This was a Master Life Light. Chen Qingyang recognized him; he had been following behind True Monarch Cheng Tian at the time.

The Conscious Fish hovered over the man’s head, stealing 775 Immortal Seedlings.

‘It’s not much, but that was just from a quick dip. And it looks like he didn’t notice.’ He then extended the two Dragon Beards again.

He didn’t pull them back immediately, letting the Earth Deity flow steadily along the Dragon Beards and into the Conscious Fish’s body.

‘So strong!’ The aura bounced around inside its body, rampaging chaotically. He could barely control it. Helpless, he had no choice but to retract the Dragon Beards.

Another image appeared in his mind. 4,078 Immortal Seedlings stolen. The man still seemed completely unaware.

He moved a short distance away from the wisp of Earth Deity and activated the Nanming Red Emperor’s Celestial Burning and Sea Boiling Daoist Truth, beginning to attempt the Refinement of the Earth Deity.

As expected of the most potent Spiritual Qi in the world. Once the technique was activated, the Earth Deity instantly dispersed within the Conscious Fish. His Cultivation grew at an incredible rate—this was the true meaning of advancing a thousand miles in a single day.

[Nanming Red Emperor’s Celestial Burning and Sea Boiling Daoist Truth: (2,456/24,000)]

His progress had jumped by more than two thousand. Even with the Conscious Fish stationed year-round in the Five Elements Cave Mansion, he could never obtain power this strong.

After observing for another moment, he returned to the Earth Deity and extended the Dragon Beards again. When he felt his body could hold no more, he scurried away to secretly begin the Refinement process.

He then used the power of Stealing Immortal to observe the Master Life Light’s facial expression.

‘Right. His attention should be entirely focused on controlling the Array. As long as I take small amounts multiple times and don’t get too greedy, I probably won’t be discovered.’

Following this strategy, he repeated the process. On the fourth attempt, although the Master Life Light’s eyes were closed, his eyelids twitched slightly. He must have sensed something.

The moment he caught this movement, Chen Qingyang didn’t linger for a second. He immediately retracted the Dragon Beards and fled.

He passed back through the outer area filled with Five Elements Qi, and even though he sensed the distant aura of Five Elements Essence, he ignored it completely.

With Master Life Light’s attention focused on the Array, he pushed through in one go, bursting out of this self-contained world and out of the Xu Ling Mountain Sumeru Secret Realm.

The Conscious Fish returned to the small courtyard and lay down beside the Pill Furnace to begin the Refinement of the last bit of Earth Deity before returning to Chen Qingyang’s body.

[Nanming Red Emperor’s Celestial Burning and Sea Boiling Daoist Truth: (12,753/24,000)]

[Available Immortal Seedlings: 16,435]

Looking at the small golden characters, he couldn’t help but feel a secret delight.

Although he had been trapped for so long, the benefits were simply immense. More importantly, he had successfully forged a path of stealing Earth Deities to obtain Immortal Seedlings.

The Tai Xu Sect was enormous, with tens of thousands of Foundation Establishment Masters. The amount of Earth Deities they controlled must be immense. If a little bit went missing occasionally, who would ever know?

Just like today, if he acted secretively, even a Master Life Light would only assume there was a problem with the vast Array. ‘It seems I can make this a regular trip in the future.’

With his mind made up, he sent the Conscious Fish back to the Five Elements Cave Mansion to seek out Five Elements Fire and cultivate on its own.

Today, he practiced the Great Soul Scripture, Volume Three, and his Cultivation speed increased exponentially.

「In the blink of an eye, another half a month passed.」

…

Dressed in green robes with his long hair tied up high, Chen Qingyang looked just like a Little Daoist Child.

He traveled by Wind Control, stopping in front of Fulu Workshop. With a slight wave of his hand, a basket appeared. He neatly arranged the Elixirs inside it and slung it onto his back.

As usual, he first paid a visit to Senior Brother Liu, then ran into his Fourth Senior Brother, Ji Rang, and chatted for a while. After trading his Elixirs for Spirit Stones, he headed toward the True Register Elixir Platform.

On the way, he bumped into an acquaintance, Xu Wuji. The man still held a grudge against him, but he just hadn’t found an opportunity to act on it.

Chen Qingyang, however, greeted him with great enthusiasm, telling him they should interact more in the future. After bidding him farewell, he continued on his way.

At the True Register Elixir Platform, he presented his Token, entered, found a specific Poison Pill, and also obtained the Dongming Upper Mansion Pill.

What was “Upper Mansion”? It meant this Elixir had the effects of strengthening the Dongming Mansion, performing Essence Condensation and Preservation, and achieving a Top Grade result.

For the Nine Acupoints of Ascension, each acupoint had a corresponding Elixir. He had specifically consulted Senior Brother Liu about it. For this particular Elixir, thirty-six Tier Three pills a month were sufficient. If he switched to Tier Four, only twenty-seven were needed. At 1,500 Spirit Stones per pill, the price of a single Tier Four pill already exceeded that of the Tier Five Earth Root Life Transformation Pill.

As for the Poison Pill, it was called Wangchuan Intoxicated Bone. Chen Qingyang hadn’t chosen it for its high toxicity, but because it was colorless, odorless, and extremely difficult to detect.

Pills that could kill someone instantly usually had some inherent drawbacks.

It wasn’t that he needed to deliberately poison anyone, or had a target in mind. He just wanted something he could pull from his Universe in the Sleeve at any time and ensure his target would ingest it.

The highest grade for this Elixir was Tier Six, the same as the Dongming Upper Mansion Pill.

With Spirit Stones in hand, he didn’t hurry back, instead making another trip to Gentle Breeze.

He was, after all, a major debtor. Every time Shopkeeper Wang saw Chen Qingyang arrive, he would be all smiles, terrified that one day he might never see him again.

“Senior Brother Chen, your presence brings light to my humble shop! To have a valued customer such as yourself…”

Before his flattery could fully blossom, Chen Qingyang cut him off. “We’re old acquaintances, Shopkeeper Wang. There’s no need for such formalities. I’m here on big business today.”

He was carrying a cloth bag. Shopkeeper Wang glanced at it, likely guessing it was full of Spirit Stones, and immediately burst into laughter. “What kind of big business?”

“I was wondering, does Gentle Breeze still have any Five Elements Essence?”

The substance was hard to find. Even in the Five Elements Cave Mansion, it took a great deal of time, and the Conscious Fish couldn’t bring it out anyway.

Chen Qingyang happened to have saved up several hundred thousand Spirit Stones, and he intended to spend it all on this.

The moment Shopkeeper Wang heard this, he knew it was big business. “Yes, yes, we have some! I just don’t know…”

He glanced sideways at the bag. “How much will you be wanting this time, Senior Brother Chen? Is the price the same as last time?”

But to his surprise, Chen Qingyang said, “What if I want to buy some more on credit?”

Shopkeeper Wang immediately shook his head, a hint of fear even appearing in his eyes. “No, no, absolutely not!”