Stealing Immortal

Chapter 6: Chapter 5: Harming the Immortal

Golden Summit.

At the Pill Institute, in Liu Tao’s room.

The ingredients needed for the Qi-Introducing Pills were all prepared, arranged on a shelf.

Chen Qingyang handled them with practiced skill, looking every bit the part of a Pill Master. Liu Tao sat meditating to the side, her gaze occasionally drifting over.

”That’s not the amount for two pills?”

”Mhm, it’s for three.”

Liu Tao’s expression was complex, a mixture of envy and something else she couldn’t quite name. ”I never expected you to be so talented in the Alchemy Dao!”

It wasn’t really due to talent, though. Chen Qingyang had spent almost all of his remaining Immortal Seedlings on the Tier One Qi-Introducing Pill, leaving just a little behind.

As his skill increased, he naturally dared to attempt a normal yield from a single furnace batch.

He didn’t answer her. After tossing the ingredients into the Pill Furnace, he began to carefully control the fire.

A gentle warmth spread through the room. Liu Tao would sometimes close her eyes to rest her spirit, and other times open them to take a peek.

Without Qi-Introducing Pills, her cultivation was practically useless. So, she decided to study Chen Qingyang instead.

Today’s alchemy session was slightly longer than yesterday’s. The moment Chen Qingyang stopped, Liu Tao immediately rushed over to look.

The surface of the elixirs was a bit pitted, and their luster wasn’t as brilliant as yesterday’s, but Liu Tao still cradled them in her palm. ”Well, at least there’s an extra one. The fire control just wasn’t as good as yesterday’s!”

Chen Qingyang took them and studied them for a long moment. ”Give it some time. Once things stabilize, it’ll be fine. Then we can both get an extra half-pill each.”

Liu Tao smiled, pressing her lips together, and handed two of the elixirs over. ”You take two today, and I’ll take two tomorrow.”

This was Chen Qingyang’s first time successfully creating three Pills in one batch, so their effect naturally wouldn’t be as good as tomorrow’s. She still had her own little calculations.

Chen Qingyang was decisive. ”Alright. There’s something I’d like to ask you, Senior Sister.”

Liu Tao said, ”Go ahead.”

”In our Tai Xu Sect, if someone wanted to dedicate themselves to studying the Alchemy Dao, which peak would be the best to go to?”

When Liu Tao scoffed, her wrinkles bunched together. ’An old crone like her dealing with an old codger like me,’ he thought, ’it really isn’t a strange sight at all.’

”What, are you getting ambitious now, you old coot? You only broke through to Qi Refining at one hundred and twenty, ninety years later than me. How much further do you think you can go? Having this bit of skill in alchemy is already a blessing from your ancestors!”

The wrinkles on Chen Qingyang’s face didn’t move, like a piece of pine bark. ”Senior Sister, you misunderstand. I just want to know. I hope you can tell me the truth.”

”For Sword Cultivation, there’s the Tai Hao Sword Institute. For Cultivating Pills, there’s naturally the Separation Dragon Pill Institute. That place is full of Inner Sect Disciples. The minimum requirement is reaching Essence Condensation by age fifty, so you can’t get in. Besides that, the Alchemy Rooms on peaks like Cyan Bamboo, Great River, and Kanyang are all very impressive, but you can’t get into those either. If you were an Essence Condensation cultivator at one hundred and twenty, there might have been a chance, but now... Heh, you’re only at Qi Refining!”

Of the places she mentioned, Chen Qingyang had only heard of Cyan Bamboo Peak, and that was just because it wasn’t far from here. He knew nothing about the rest.

The Tai Xu Sect was so vast, with so many peaks. Though you were within its gates, the sect saw you as nothing more than an ant. No matter how much you looked up, you could only see a tiny fraction of it.

”Is there any other way to get into Cyan Bamboo Peak?”

”Simple. They would’ve taken you when you first stepped into the Sect. After that? No chance, of course. Or, if you could rank in the top ten in an elixir competition, maybe some Master would take a fancy to you. But do you have that kind of ability...?”

Liu Tao let out a dry laugh, tinged with self-mockery. He hadn’t realized this old crone of a Senior Sister had a bit of a humorous side.

’Listening to her, I realize that nearly every path upward is blocked for me. Without a powerful master or a formidable True Skill, it’ll be hard to have any real future, even with more Immortal Seedlings.’

”...At your level, I could actually offer you a good way out.” Seeing his silence, Liu Tao spoke again.

Chen Qingyang was cautious. ”What do you mean, Senior Sister?”

”Look at the Pill Institute here on the Four Golden Peaks. The highest cultivation is only Essence Condensation. If I can break through, I can become one of the seven Chief Stewards. The benefits go without saying. I could even get you transferred out of Miscellaneous Tasks. You’d only need to study the Alchemy Dao all day. With your talent, as long as you don’t lack ingredients, you could become even more outstanding!”

Chen Qingyang replied like a seasoned veteran, ”And the conditions?”

For a moment, the old crone of a Senior Sister actually seemed to smile coquettishly. ”The condition is simple. We continue to cooperate. I’ll get the ingredients, you study the Alchemy Dao. If... if by some stroke of luck I break through to Foundation Establishment... haha, well then...”

As she spoke, she couldn’t help but cover her mouth and laugh at the thought.

’Foundation Establishment. She sure dared to dream.’

Chen Qingyang: ”Farewell!”

...

He made his way halfway down the mountain, finding that same pine tree again.

He swallowed an elixir. The feeling was like a Gentle Breeze, spreading throughout his body as his mind sank into his Niwan Palace, oblivious to the outside world.

The Spiritual Qi that coursed through his meridians again and again was gradually refined and stored as True Essence.

When he opened his eyes again, the mountains were colored like fire, and gold was leaping from behind the clouds.

[Chen Qingyang]

[First Realm of Qi Refining]

[Tai Xu Energy-Introducing Technique: (3/200)]

[Tier One Qi-Introducing Pill: (11/100)]

[Available Immortal Seedlings: 1]

Two nights of cultivation, plus one Qi-Introducing Pill, had increased his Tai Xu Energy-Introducing Technique by another point.

’If I could supplement my cultivation with a Qi-Introducing Pill every day, I might be able to maintain this pace. Breaking through to the Second Realm of Qi Refining in one or two years should count as having decent talent, right?’

’But progress in cultivation is never linear. It inevitably slows down later on. It’ll probably be difficult even in three to five years. And after that, there are the Second to Ninth Realms of Qi Refining. Dawdling along like this, it would take several hundred years, maybe even a thousand... ’

’If it really takes that long, I’ll die of old age before I break through. My aptitude is just too poor.’

「At the entrance to the small courtyard.」

Chen Qingyang sensed that something was wrong. Two strong young disciples in gray Miscellaneous Task robes stood guard, while inside the courtyard, two others were roughhousing with Liu Jinyuan, urging him to pack his things faster. Xu Yong and Lü Yunshen stood to the side, at a loss.

Seeing Chen Qingyang, Xu Yong was the first to speak. ”Senior Brother Chen, you’re finally back! Of course Senior Brother Liu couldn’t finish the eight Dao Rhyme Patterns assigned by Steward Wu. Now the Law Enforcement Hall is here today to forcibly kick him off the mountain. It’s truly too heartless!”

Lü Yunshen let out his signature cold snort. ”Why are you telling him all this? Let’s see if he can even save his own skin first!”

But Xu Yong didn’t think so. ”We’re all in the same courtyard, after all. And I think Senior Brother Chen has always been pretty good to everyone.”

Lü Yunshen was clearly puzzled. ”Don’t you always say he’s narrow-minded and selfish? Why the change of heart today...”

”Hey, hey!” Xu Yong cut him off. ”Senior Brother Lü, let’s not get into all that. We should just say a proper goodbye to Senior Brother Liu.”

But Chen Qingyang knew why the young man named Xu Yong had suddenly changed his attitude. It was because of that kick of his.

Liu Jinyuan did not come from a good background. Now, at forty-six years old, he would be leaving the mountain with no land and no family fortune. He would have to start over from scratch.

After packing for a long time, all he had were a few tattered clothes. Seeing this, Chen Qingyang felt a little more at ease.

”Sigh, sigh... I don’t understand...”

Liu Jinyuan sighed incessantly. Senior Brother Zhao was already gone; he couldn’t understand why it was now his turn.

’Could it be that Steward Wu wasn’t satisfied with my gold and silver? No, that’s impossible. He was all smiles when he took it. So what could be the reason?’

”You... it must be you... no... it was you, wasn’t it... or maybe it was you...”

Unable to figure it out, his eyes reddened as he pointed to each of the three in turn.

Xu Yong put on his most innocent look. ”Senior Brother Liu, how can you say that? We even brought things to see you off. It was all with the best of intentions.”

...

In the end, Liu Jinyuan was dragged away. In the instant he left the gate, Chen Qingyang saw the Stealing Immortal. He saw that wisp of White Flame.

”No Human Dao, no rules, no... way out...”

Lü Yunshen chanted as if reciting a scripture. Once Liu Jinyuan was out the door, the small courtyard fell quiet.

Xu Yong didn’t leave. Uncharacteristically, his attitude toward Chen Qingyang was extremely friendly. ”Senior Brother Chen, we haven’t seen you back here much lately. You’re looking much better. Did you have a breakthrough in your cultivation?”

A smile played on Chen Qingyang’s lips. ”So you think I’ve entered Qi Refining?”

Xu Yong wasn’t sure. After all, someone in Qi Refining wouldn’t still be here. ”With Senior Brother Chen’s talent, reaching Qi Refining is just a matter of time.”

’I never would have thought that this seemingly innocent youth is actually the most calculating. For now, he’s the only one in the courtyard who has noticed something different about me.’

”I’ll take that as a good omen.”

Chen Qingyang went back to his room, leaving Xu Yong alone to ponder for a long while before departing.

He sat down.

After confirming the information on his panel again and again, Chen Qingyang fell into deep thought.

wisps.

He hadn’t expected that getting rid of one Liu Jinyuan would actually grant him 10 Immortal Seedlings.

This meant that the number of Immortal Seedlings produced varied depending on the person. As for the reason...

Chen Qingyang believed it depended on who was closer to the Immortal Dao.

For example, someone at Essence Condensation was closer than someone at Qi Refining, so more Immortal Seedlings would be stolen. The fact that Liu Jinyuan yielded 10 wisps meant he was very likely on the verge of breaking through to Qi Refining.

’Good. Taking the Immortal Fate from people like this is what makes it interesting.’

He changed into a moon-white robe and tidied his hair. As his complexion improved, he looked just a tiny bit younger.

His lean face even had a hint of an immortal-like bearing, though fundamentally, he was still just an old man.

「At the Hongling Token Hall.」

In a short time, Chen Qingyang completed two Dao Rhyme Patterns. Seeing this speed, Wu Boyou couldn’t help but ask, ”Could it be that Junior Brother Chen has broken through? Otherwise, with the lifespan of someone who hasn’t reached Qi Refining by one hundred and twenty, it’s absolutely impossible to create Dao Rhyme Patterns.”

”Perhaps it’s the effect of the elixir.”

”Mmm,” Wu Boyou nodded slowly and methodically. ”That makes sense. If you had really broken through, what would you still be doing here? You’d have gone to the Outer Sect long ago. By the way, are you satisfied with that matter I handled for you?”

”Thank you, Senior Brother Wu. You truly are a man of honor.” As he spoke, another elixir slid from his sleeve. It was a Qi-Introducing Pill. ’The pills from yesterday were less effective, perfect for giving to him.’

”The quality isn’t as good as yesterday’s. I hope Senior Brother Wu won’t mind. Since we’re working with the Hongling Tokens, there will be many more times I’ll have to trouble you in the future.”

Wu Boyou didn’t take it at first. Instead, he frowned. ”Among the few who practice alchemy on our Four Golden Peaks, it’s very difficult to produce Qi-Introducing Pills. How is it that they seem worthless when they come from you?”

”If I said I refined them myself, Senior Brother Wu wouldn’t believe me, would he?”

Wu Boyou immediately shook his head. ”Don’t tell me such jokes. I’d actually prefer it if you did refine them yourself, but is that even possible... This whole business won’t end up implicating me, will it?”

This fellow neglected his cultivation, but he was a master of worldly wisdom.

Others would leave the Hongling Token work after five years at most, but he had managed to stick around for six. Creating Dao Rhyme Patterns produced some Spirit Stone dust, which a resourceful person could collect, re-refine into Spirit Stones, and present to a Steward-level Senior Brother.

The hard currency in the Tai Xu Sect was, one, Spirit Stones, and two, the merit logs issued by the Sect. Liu Tao used these two things to keep exchanging for alchemy ingredients.

”Don’t worry, the elixirs came from a legitimate source. Besides, I don’t have the ability to get them from anywhere else.”

”That’s true, I suppose.”

Only then did Wu Boyou accept it.

”Senior Brother, this afternoon I still have to go...”

”Go, go. It seems someone is giving you special treatment, not wanting you to die and turn to dust at one hundred and twenty!”

Chen Qingyang bowed with his hands clasped. ”Thank you, Senior Brother Wu.”

Using the elixirs to break his predicament, things had finally started to go a little smoother, and he could gradually begin to make some plans for the future.