Stealing Immortal

Chapter 38: Chapter 37: Disappearance

He didn’t need many. Just adding a few Immortal Seedlings to his Void Step Introduction would allow him to master the technique instantly.

Reaching one hundred on the progress bar meant achieving Perfection. With Chen Qingyang’s current talent and cultivation, he didn’t actually need to spend any Immortal Seedlings; he could reach Perfection simply through comprehension and practice, given enough time.

By the time he next descended the mountain, he could already move without his feet touching the ground, crossing over snow without leaving a trace. As for his speed, it was much faster than before. A journey that used to take a quarter of an hour now took only a third of the time.

However, if he wanted to reach the level Xu Baoling had described, he would have to practice diligently every single day.

A Cultivator’s life may be long, but there was still never enough time.

There was so much to learn in one lifetime, and mastering each skill took a great deal of effort, to say nothing of the time one wasted on meaningless matters.

By now, Chen Qingyang had the Warm Jade Scroll for defense. He could rely on the One-Origin Sword to face his enemies. For escaping, he had the Void Step Introduction. And on top of all that, he possessed considerable skill in alchemy. After building himself up for so long, he was finally starting to feel like a true Cultivator.

Returning to his small courtyard, Chen Qingyang resumed his meditation. Before long, the sky had brightened into dawn.

After that, his routine was the same as always: he tidied himself up, went to his assigned work, and then headed to the Golden Summit to refine elixirs.

Today was the eighth day. He wasn’t sure if there had been another change with Qi Xiuyuan or if the power of the Nine Deaths Treasure Mirror’s calamity had increased, but Chen Qingyang had once again harvested 172 Immortal Seedlings—more than double the amount from the previous day.

However, Qi Xiuyuan’s appearance hadn’t changed noticeably compared to yesterday; he even looked slightly better. Chen Qingyang pondered this for a while but couldn’t figure it out. ’Is this a good thing or a bad thing?’

’Oh well. Regardless, tomorrow is the last day. I’ll find out the result then!’

He went up to the Golden Summit, refined his elixirs, and then used Void Step Introduction to descend directly to the mountainside. He didn’t linger today, so it was just getting dark when he arrived.

Back in the small courtyard, only a single lamp was lit.

It came from Xu Yong’s room. Once, at this time of day, the courtyard would have been filled with the pleasant sight of cooking smoke. The five of them gathered together had been a lively group, so different from the current solitude.

Chen Qingyang first lit a candle, then used the Warm Jade Scroll to ignite the charcoal in the brazier. Seeing the activity, Xu Yong quickly came over. From the anxious look on his face, Chen Qingyang already knew what had happened.

”It was you, wasn’t it?”

He burst through the door, his tone purely accusatory.

When Chen Qingyang looked up, the coldness in his eyes sent a chill down Xu Yong’s spine, and he instantly remembered the heavy blow he’d taken the day before. ”Get out!”

Xu Yong did indeed take two steps back, but he just stood there in the doorway. Unable to vent the bitterness in his heart, he asked again, ”That day, Senior Brother Liu took a blow from you and was quickly kicked off the mountain. Now you’re doing the same thing to me. This was your doing, wasn’t it?” His voice was filled with conviction.

Chen Qingyang raised his head, unhurried. ”And what did the Steward say?”

”Hmph, what else could he say? That I have no talent, that keeping me here is a waste of time, that the Sect is getting new servant disciples soon and doesn’t need me...” Xu Yong grew more agitated as he spoke. Just a few days ago, he had even thought he was on the verge of breaking through to the Outer Sect. ”...Tomorrow. The Law Enforcement Disciples will show up at my door tomorrow. They’re not showing any mercy at all...”

By now, tears were once again welling up in the young man’s eyes.

Chen Qingyang remained perfectly calm. ”I think the Steward was right. Immortal Cultivation isn’t for you.”

”You...” He wanted to curse, but the pressure from Chen Qingyang was too intense, and he couldn’t get the words out. All he could do was ask, ”I just want to hear one thing from you. Did this have anything to do with you?”

”Then let me ask you: exactly how much did you do for Gong Yueshu?” With that one, deceptively casual question, Xu Yong understood everything.

His anger vanished, and he no longer dared to raise his voice. He immediately became humble and earnest, even falling to his knees. ”...Senior Brother Chen, I’m begging you. I’ll never betray our own people again. Please, if you’ll just let me...”

”Heh. Our relationship was tenuous at best, so you can’t call it a betrayal. Go and get ready to leave the mountain. And if...”

As he spoke, Chen Qingyang’s entire demeanor shifted. ”...you bother me again, then tomorrow, you will be *carried* down by the Law Enforcement Hall!”

Carried down.

’Where else would they carry him?’

’They wouldn’t just find it too troublesome and dump his body on the path, would they? Whether he lived or died... that would be his own business!’

Hearing this, Xu Yong could only stand there, stunned and unable to utter a word for a long moment. Only after Chen Qingyang slammed the door shut with a BANG did he finally leave, dejected.

’Benevolent or ruthless, it didn’t matter. This was the only possible outcome.’

「The next day.」

The sky was clear and bright. As the sun began to rise, the various peaks of the Tai Xu Sect presented the beautiful spectacle of sunlit golden mountains.

The disciples from the Law Enforcement Hall arrived quickly. Filled with resentment, Xu Yong was driven off the mountain. He wanted to find Chen Qingyang to say something more, but Chen Qingyang gave him no such opportunity.

After the commotion, everything fell quiet, leaving only a mess of footprints on the ground and the appearance of 19 Immortal Seedlings in Chen Qingyang’s mind. Among all the servant disciples, Xu Yong’s opportunities had been quite good and his aptitude was decent; it was almost a certainty that he would have one day reached the First Realm of Qi Refining. Chen Qingyang wasn’t surprised to have stolen 19 Immortal Seedlings from him.

Standing under the large locust tree, he gazed all around.

It was just over two months ago that he had first arrived, and back then, everyone in this small courtyard had still been here.

This was the path of Immortal Cultivation; it was normal for the road to grow lonelier the further one walked.

A message came through his Hongling Token. Wu Boyou was pressing him about the elixirs, and Chen Qingyang replied that he would bring them the next day.

”Excellent! Junior Brother Chen, you have no idea how good your Qi Gathering Pills are!”

’The man’s had another taste of success,’ Chen Qingyang thought. ’Impatience really is his greatest weakness.’

...

Today was the day of Qi Xiuyuan’s ninth calamity.

Chen Qingyang waited from morning until night but saw no sign of him. According to the principle of one calamity every twelve hours, he could conclude that Qi Xiuyuan had survived this final one. Stealing Immortal would no longer be able to steal his Immortal Seedlings.

”Senior Sister, have you heard any more news about Qi Xiuyuan today?” Chen Qingyang asked Liu Tao, who was beside him, after he finished his alchemy.

Liu Tao’s attention, however, was focused solely on her elixirs. ”How would I know? Unless he comes out of seclusion or Master announces it to all the disciples, there’s no way of knowing.”

Chen Qingyang paused for a moment before adding, ”Still, Senior Sister, you should ask around more. If all else fails, go ask Master Yun Ci’s Daoist Child. He’s always by the Master’s side, so he’s bound to know some inside information.”

Liu Tao finally tore her attention away from her work. ”That’s a great idea! Why didn’t I ever think of cozying up to the Daoist Child? I hear he’s in need of a Warm Sun Pill right now. If I give him one, I can build a good relationship and have an easier time figuring out Master’s moods in the future.”

”Exactly.” Chen Qingyang gave her a thumbs-up. ”That’s precisely the right way to think about it, Senior Sister. The whole reason Qi Xiuyuan is facing the Nine Deaths Treasure Mirror is because of you, so it’s only logical that you’d be making inquiries!”

”Sigh. But doing that means I’d have to short-change you. Would you be willing?”

Of course, Chen Qingyang knew what she was referring to. ”It’s no problem. One less pill is fine. This matter is extremely important for us. Senior Sister, don’t forget our hypothesis from a few days ago. This is a critical time for a breakthrough, so we need to be extra cautious.”

Liu Tao took his point to heart. ”Understood. I’ll go visit the Daoist Child first thing tomorrow morning. To think, when he first joined the Sect, he even learned some cultivation methods under me!”

”Good. It’s settled then.” With that, Chen Qingyang asked, ”How long do you think it will take for you to have your cultivation breakthrough, Senior Sister?”

Their last calculation was based on Tier Two Qi-Introducing Pills; now, they had Tier Three.

If Liu Tao became the Chief Steward of the Pill Institute, he could use her access to enter the Cloud Scripture Jade Pavilion and obtain pill formulas—for example, the one for Yang Replacement Powder, or for the Jade Flower Spirit Dew Pill he had promised Xu Baoling. All of these could be found in their peak’s Pill Institute.

”Hehe, in that case, three months will be plenty! By then, even Master will have to see me in a new light.” Liu Tao couldn’t help but giggle as she thought about it.

”And what if I can produce three pills per batch?”

”Haha!” Liu Tao covered her mouth. ”Then it would only take one or two months! But I’ve already waited this many years, so I’m not in a rush. Don’t you panic, Junior Brother.”

She might not be in a hurry, but Chen Qingyang certainly was.

Instead of descending the mountain, he decided to continue meditating in Liu Tao’s Alchemy Room.

[Chen Qingyang]

[Fourth Realm of Qi Refining]

[Void Step Introduction: (2/100)]

[Tier Three Qi-Introducing Pill: (2/2000)]

[Great Soul Scripture (Incomplete): (1/600)]

[One-Origin Sword: (384/600)]

[Available Immortal Seedlings: 1]

Looking at the small golden words, he saw the gap to a breakthrough for his One-Origin Sword was still considerable. He had hoped to make a big push on this ninth day, but to his disappointment, he had gotten nothing at all.

After completing the Refinement of the three Qi Gathering Pills he had taken, Chen Qingyang descended the mountain.

「The following day.」

The weather was fine.

On his way to his work post for the Hongling Token, Chen Qingyang made sure to have the elixirs on hand. Unfortunately, he saw no trace of Wu Boyou all morning.

Another day passed with the same result.

’Could that guy have been summoned by his master and gone up the mountain for a while?’ Chen Qingyang wondered. He had known him for five or six years, and a situation like this had never occurred.