Stealing Immortal

Chapter 40: Chapter 39: Kill Again

At some point, the wind had picked up again.

The starry sky had vanished behind the clouds, leaving the firmament as black as ink. On the mountainside, it was so dark you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face.

A palpable Slaughter Qi was swirling between heaven and earth!

After killing Wu Boyou, Chen Qingyang quickly returned to his small courtyard.

The benefit of living alone was now apparent. No one knew when he left or when he returned. Even if the Law Enforcement Hall came to investigate one by one, they would find nothing on him.

Inside the house.

Chen Qingyang didn’t light a lamp, relying only on the glow of the charcoal in the wooden basin. He didn’t begin his breathing exercises or start his Cultivation, either. Instead, he just let the small golden characters float before his eyes.

’This is quite a pleasant surprise!’

’With so many Immortal Seedlings, I have enough to break through with my One-Origin Sword in one go. I’ll reach the Qi Refining Fifth Realm tonight.’

The so-called Qi Refining Realm was about Cultivating True Essence, but also about cultivating one’s Meridians.

From the first to the Ninth Realm, everything was inextricably linked to Meridians and True Essence. While it also involved the Divine Soul to some extent, these two were the foundation.

In his Dantian.

The four strands of gold began to merge, forming a Qi Mechanism far superior to any before. It flowed along the Seven Meridians and Eight Vessels, circulating to his four limbs and entire body.

His body instantly entered a state of ultimate release, drawing in all the surrounding nature’s spiritual energy. It was fierce, domineering, and incomparably sharp!

The vibrations caused the furnishings in the room to rattle and clatter. Even the wind near Chen Qingyang seemed to grow sharp.

Such was the breakthrough of a Sword Cultivator.

The strongest stream of Qi Mechanism surged from his Ren Meridian, circled his Baihui Acupoint at the crown of his head, then returned to his Dantian along the Du Meridian. This was known as ”Qi traveling the Ren and Du Meridians.” The rising Qi Mechanism at the Baihui Acupoint was called Five Qi Gathering Essence.

Chen Qingyang immersed his entire consciousness, his mind following the Qi Mechanism as it circulated again and again according to the method of the One-Origin Sword.

This continued for about a quarter of an hour before all the swirling wind vanished in an instant, absorbed into his body.

Upon Introspection, he saw a fifth strand of Golden Qi—or perhaps a fifth strand of Sword Qi—had formed in his Dantian. Its Qi Mechanism was powerful, a world apart from before.

Even on the Four Golden Peaks Golden Summit, the Qi Refining Fifth Realm was considered to have crossed the threshold into true cultivation.

After the breakthrough, his thoughts turned elsewhere.

’How did Gong Yueshu find out I poisoned her?’

’I don’t need to dwell on that part, but Gong Yueshu will definitely guess that I’m connected to Wu Boyou’s death. To solve this problem once and for all, she has to die. And it has to be tonight!’

Having made up his mind, Chen Qingyang immediately changed into a set of black clothes, tying up the hem and cuffs of his long robe. He covered his face securely, then shot up from the courtyard and sped off toward the west.

Lü Yunshen had once mentioned bumping into Gong Yueshu at the western end of the mountainside. She most likely lived in this area. It was only a few dozen courtyards; with a bit of care, she wouldn’t be hard to find.

The Miscellaneous Task disciples were extremely busy during the day and would fall asleep the moment their heads hit the pillow. As a Qi Refining Realm Cultivator, Gong Yueshu was most likely meditating and cultivating. The Qi Mechanism around her would be surging, and as long as he got close enough, he would certainly be able to sense it with his Divine Soul.

The houses here were arranged in a scattered yet orderly fashion, one after another. Flanked by a cliff on one side and the mountain on the other, they were nestled on this small patch of flat land, veiled by the woods. In the daylight, they looked quite elegant.

Choosing a direction, Chen Qingyang began his search using his powerful perception. His figure flitted across the rooftops, and after just a quarter of an hour, he sensed an anomaly.

This particular courtyard wasn’t large. It was built into the slope of the mountain, with sections at different elevations.

A single house stood on the high ground, while four were lined up on the lower level. In the middle grew an old tree, its branches stretching from the lower level all the way up to the higher one.

Chen Qingyang’s target was in the house on the high ground.

He drew closer. The view inside was dim, and he couldn’t make out with his naked eye whether the person inside was standing or sitting.

’I definitely can’t just barge in. Never mind the commotion it would cause, what if it’s not Gong Yueshu inside?’

Fortunately, this wasn’t a problem for Chen Qingyang.

He hovered on a tree branch, broke off a dry twig, and tossed it to the ground.

It made a crisp, almost imperceptible sound.

But to the ears of a Qi Refining Cultivator, it was clearly audible. What’s more, for someone like Gong Yueshu—whose loyalty was questionable—she would surely be on high alert at all times.

As expected, the trick worked.

Chen Qingyang immediately sensed footsteps inside the house. It was as if someone who had been meditating on their bed suddenly stood up and was now listening intently to the sounds outside.

CRACK!

Another soft sound. This time, the twig landed just outside the threshold.

The person inside finally couldn’t take it anymore. Amid the creak of the opening door, Gong Yueshu’s entire figure was revealed in the doorframe.

In that moment, she showed remarkable alertness. In a mere instant, she locked onto Chen Qingyang standing in the shadows. But before she could even register her surprise, she saw a flash of silver rapidly expanding before her eyes, and then...it plunged into her body.

”Ah!”

It was just a faint cry, not even loud enough to overcome the sound of the wind. Her vision went black, and she lost consciousness.

Between her brows was another wound the size of a baby’s fist, sealed by Qi Mechanism to stop any blood from flowing.

Before the body could crumple to the ground, Chen Qingyang caught it, gently pulled the door shut, and carried it away.

Disposing of the body would be simple, but it might not stand up to the Sect’s investigation.

However, if someone were to discover Wu Boyou and a Miscellaneous Task disciple dead together, both killed by the Sword Dao, it would stir up a great deal of trouble. It might even expose who was backing Gong Yueshu!

Chen Qingyang didn’t want to deal with one Xu You today, a Gong Yueshu tomorrow, and someone else the day after.

This way, it would be difficult for either side to suspect him.

After arranging all this and leaving no trace of himself on the ground, he quietly returned to his room, changed his clothes, and stoked the charcoal fire to burn more brightly.

[Chen Qingyang]

[Qi Refining Fifth Realm]

[Void Step Introduction: (6/100)]

[Tier Three Qi-Introducing Pill: (2/2,000)]

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

[One-Origin Sword: (145/800)]

[Available Immortal Seedlings: 123]

The 123 Immortal Seedlings were the ones he had just taken from Gong Yueshu.

The benefits of killing were made clear at this moment. What he needed most right now was Cultivation, so he spent them all on the One-Origin Sword.

Never mind the threat of Qi Xiuyuan; even Refining Tier Four Elixirs in the future would require sufficient Cultivation to support the process.

「The next day.」

Dawn had broken completely. The snowstorm was about to cease, and the red sun was on the verge of rising.

Chen Qingyang once again stirred the charcoal in the brazier until it burst into flames, and the small hut immediately grew warm. Seeing no commotion outside, he sat back down and began to contemplate his Cultivation.

Having entered the Qi Refining Fifth Realm, when he meditated, five streams of Golden Qi would now separate from his Dantian and travel toward his Five Hearts before circulating back. The path of his Qi’s Circulation had already changed.

The number five was the midpoint between one and nine, making this stage extremely crucial.

As for entering the sixth realm and preparing for the seventh, he would have to start focusing on cultivating his Divine Soul. This was where the Yang Replacement Powder would come into play.

He, however, had no such bottleneck. As long as he had enough Immortal Seedlings, a breakthrough was just a matter of deciding to do it.

On the path outside, the clamor of voices began to rise.

The vast majority of Miscellaneous Task disciples chose this time to head to work, and Chen Qingyang was no exception. After tidying himself up, he was about to head out.

Just as he was standing in his small courtyard, a Steward in black robes entered from outside. This man was from the Law Enforcement Hall; Chen Qingyang had seen him before.

”Senior Brother!”

He clasped his hands and gave a slight bow.

”Mm,” the man grunted. He clearly had something on his mind today, his face grim. He even looked as if he were facing a great enemy.

Though Four Golden Peaks was large, the deceased was an Outer Disciple, after all. Chen Qingyang wasn’t surprised at all that the body had been discovered.

”I hear... another Miscellaneous Task disciple has gone missing from your courtyard?”

He added the word ”another” because the last one to disappear was Xu You.

Chen Qingyang replied dutifully, ”That’s right. Junior Brother Lü has been missing for several days now. I’ve already reported this to the Sect.”

”Well... did he exhibit any unusual behavior?”

Although he was asking about Lü Yunshen, his concerned tone was not how one would normally treat a Miscellaneous Task disciple. He must be trying to deduce whether this person’s disappearance was related to Wu Boyou, given how close the incidents were.

Chen Qingyang paused as if in thought. ”Although there were four junior brothers in the courtyard before, they never associated with me and always kept their distance. So, I didn’t notice anything unusual. We all just did our own thing.”

”Hmph.” Another soft grunt. It was well-known why this old Miscellaneous Task disciple was disliked. ”Then let me ask you this: what were you looking for Wu Boyou for a couple of days ago? And why were you asking other Outer Disciples about him?”

”Well...” Chen Qingyang hesitated slightly.

”Spit it out!”

His words were sharp, leaving no room for hesitation.

”On my Hongling Token, some of my tasks weren’t done well. I often relied on Senior Brother Wu’s help. I even managed to stay on the mountain past the age of sixty because of him... I was looking for him about those things.”

After listening, the man across from him mulled it over. ”That’s plausible. One last question: why do you go to the Golden Summit so often?”

This time, Chen Qingyang answered without hesitation. ”I work as a Miscellaneous Task disciple for Senior Sister Liu Tao at the Pill Institute. Any of the senior brothers can verify this.”

At these words, the man stared blankly for a moment. Perhaps he had heard the rumors that Chen Qingyang had connections on the Golden Summit and had assumed his daily trips were for some great opportunity. It turned out he was just a Miscellaneous Task disciple.

’This old man really has his schemes!’

”Then your recent increase in Cultivation, was that also from an Elixir granted to you by Senior Sister Liu Tao?”

Chen Qingyang replied, ”Yes, it was.”

The man scrutinized him for a long while but ultimately couldn’t find any other flaws in his story. ”Fine. How could this possibly have anything to do with you anyway? I’m just asking routine questions.”

With the questions finished, he could report back. Just as he was about to leave, he heard Chen Qingyang ask an extra question. ”If I may ask, Senior Brother, what has happened?”

The man simply said in a low voice, ”Wu Boyou is dead.”

He said it as if it were some trivial matter that had nothing to do with him.

After that, naturally, all he left Chen Qingyang was the sight of his back.

Chen Qingyang feared he would never hear about how the investigation would proceed or what would come of it.

After all, he was just a Miscellaneous Task disciple.

The reason he mentioned Liu Tao was that the Law Enforcement Hall would really go and ask her, and that act wouldn’t hold up. But it didn’t matter. He had a new backer now.

For a Qi Refining Ninth Realm expert, or even an Essence Condensation master, keeping a Miscellaneous Task disciple on the mountain was a matter of a single sentence.

Chen Qingyang locked his door and went out to work. He just needed to carry on as usual.