“What auction?” Ye Chenyan asked with some curiosity. He casually took the spear from his back and handed it over. “They said it’s an ancient demonic weapon.”
Chi Yantian’s eyes nearly ignited with tangible flames. He could not help repeating, “An ancient demonic weapon!”
Ye Chenyan warned him, “Careful. It might not let you touch it.”
“That’s normal. Any temperament is normal for a magical artifact.” Chi Yantian first examined it meticulously from top to bottom. Only then did he cautiously reach out and try to touch it.
“Hiss—” He jerked his hand back, baring his teeth in pain, but the excitement on his face only intensified. “What a vicious spear. So this is demonic energy?”
“Mm.” Ye Chenyan asked again, “What auction?”
Chi Yantian’s eyes gleamed as he sank into a world of his own, muttering under his breath, “I can’t identify the material. Could it have been forged from some special ancient mineral? Or is it the forging technique? Perhaps its former wielder was simply too powerful...”
Ye Chenyan: “...”
Scholar Xiao shook his head in amusement. “I’m afraid he can’t hear a word you’re saying right now.”
“I’ll explain instead. We went to Great Wilderness Mountain before and deliberately did business with the demonfolk because we wanted to establish a connection with them and find some way to acquire ore from inside the mountain.”
“We were lucky. We...”
Halfway through, his expression suddenly changed. “The food’s coming out! Brother Ye, wait here. I’ll be right back!”
He snatched up an empty bowl and shot into the crowd.
“You...” Ye Chenyan did not have time to stop him. His eyes widened slightly, and he instinctively turned to Yu Qingtang.
Yu Qingtang watched Scholar Xiao charge into battle and volunteered, “He’s busy now, so I’ll tell you!”
“We met a demonfolk bathhouse proprietor. He liked us quite a bit, so he recommended that we attend an auction held within the demonfolk community. There should be some ores there that are rarely seen on the open market.”
“Oh—” Ye Chenyan drew the word out. “I suppose it was only natural, then.”
“But...”
His eyes narrowed as he studied Yu Qingtang.
“What?” Yu Qingtang touched his face. “Did I get food on myself?”
“No.” Ye Chenyan propped up his chin. “Why do I feel that after spending a month or so with you, all of them have acquired a certain... unreliable air?”
Yu Qingtang’s eyes went wide. “Don’t make things up! Brother Chi is the holy son of the Heavenly Fire Cult, and Brother Xiao is one of the foremost prodigies of Four Books Academy. How could they possibly be unreliable?”
Just then, Scholar Xiao returned triumphantly from battle. His hat had slipped sideways, and he was carrying an entire pot filled to the brim with food, his face radiant with the joy of a bountiful harvest.
“Everyone! A total victory!”
Ye Chenyan gave him a long look, then turned back to Yu Qingtang.
Yu Qingtang guiltily rubbed his nose. “E-even if they are unreliable, they clearly had a natural talent for it. How could that possibly be my fault?”
Ye Chenyan gave a low laugh. “Well...”
Yu Qingtang threateningly raised a bamboo tube as a weapon. Ye Chenyan obligingly corrected himself. “It must have nothing to do with you.”
Only then did Yu Qingtang turn the bamboo tube back around and resume his conquest of the dining table.
Ye Chenyan turned to look at him and asked quietly, “You’ve been at full Golden Core for so long. Why haven’t you formed your Nascent Soul yet?”
“Agh—” Yu Qingtang wailed and reached out to cover his mouth. “Shh! Don’t talk about cultivation while we’re eating. You’re ruining the food.”
He muttered under his breath, “Not everyone is as extraordinarily gifted as the rest of you. Besides, forming a Nascent Soul depends on the right opportunity and the right state of mind. If it hasn’t happened, then the time simply hasn’t come.”
Ye Chenyan poked his cheek. “I’m not complaining that you’re slow. I’m only worried there might be something you need help with...”
“Relax.” With half a chicken foot hanging from his mouth, Yu Qingtang brushed him off indistinctly. “Immortal cultivation is all about fate. Maybe once I’ve eaten and drunk my fill, I’ll form one right here on the...”
His chewing abruptly stopped.
Ye Chenyan froze. “What is it?”
“Oh no.” Yu Qingtang swiftly finished gnawing the chicken foot clean, covered his dantian, and sat cross-legged. “I feel it coming.”
Ye Chenyan’s eyes widened in shock. “What?”
“I think I’m about to break through.” Yu Qingtang managed only that hurried sentence before tightly closing his eyes.
“Here?” Scholar Xiao looked around, his mouth falling open. “At least find somewhere quiet, Brother Yu!”
“Brother Chi! Brother Chi, wake up! Help guard Brother Yu’s breakthrough!”
“Huh?” Although Chi Yantian could not touch the demonic weapon, nothing stopped him from examining it meticulously with his eyes, entirely absorbed in his own little world.
Hearing Scholar Xiao call him, he turned around blankly. “Guard what... Hm? What’s happening to him?”
“Everyone, move back! Be careful not to touch him!”
At that moment, Yu Qingtang’s mind was perfectly clear. His mind sea was tranquil and still, and he felt as comfortable as if he had curled up in a reclining chair and enjoyed a good nap on a day made for basking in the sun—other people’s Nascent Souls sat cross-legged, while his lay sprawled out in complete comfort. That was probably quite rare. One might even call it distinctive.
The only discordant element was the gleaming golden lotus throne beneath the little Nascent Soul’s backside. It was far too ostentatious.
Yu Qingtang was somewhat worried—he had originally planned to toss that bum-scorching lotus throne at someone else, but he had yet to find a suitable candidate.
On further consideration, perhaps Nanzhou was simply the wrong place to search for someone to inherit a Buddhist lotus throne.
But who could have known that when he broke through to the Nascent Soul stage, the lotus throne would be reflected in his Nascent Soul as well?
It hasn’t decided to stick with me forever, has it?
The vague stray thought flickered through his mind without lingering. Yu Qingtang yawned, peacefully closed his eyes within his leisurely mind sea, and somehow fell asleep just like that.
He was like the tranquil waters of his mind sea, like the free and easy wind, and even more like his own idle, indolent self.
He quietly closed his eyes, but the Nascent Soul inside him stretched and woke. It actually leaped out of his mind sea, took a leisurely circuit outside, and only then returned to its place, finally sitting cross-legged opposite him.
His cultivation rose steadily and smoothly, inch by inch, like water climbing with the tide. It was as effortless as piercing a layer of window paper. His Nascent Soul took shape.
He felt his five senses open and clear. His floating, almost immortal consciousness gradually returned, and amid the clamor of the crowd, he opened his eyes.
Under everyone’s expectant gaze, Yu Qingtang yawned, stretched, and even smacked his lips.
He looked puzzled. “Why are all of you staring at me?”
He glanced back at the perfectly calm surroundings and scratched his head. “You weren’t still expecting some kind of phenomenon, were you?”
“My talent is very average. It was just an ordinary, perfectly unremarkable Nascent Soul breakthrough. There was nothing special to see!”
Grinning, he gestured toward his dantian. “But it went very smoothly. I formed one big, fat Nascent Soul.”
“Ordinary?” Chi Yantian’s eyes bulged. “What part of that was ordinary? Your Nascent Soul came running out just now!”
“Huh?” Yu Qingtang looked dazed. “I think I did feel it wandering outside for a bit...”
He pointed at Ye Chenyan. “When he formed his Nascent Soul, it appeared behind him too. There’s nothing strange about that, is there?”
“It wasn’t quite the same.” Ye Chenyan wore an odd expression. “Your Nascent Soul seemed... remarkably intelligent.”
Scholar Xiao nodded in agreement. “Extremely lively.”
Chi Yantian touched his own dantian with lingering alarm. “For a moment, I thought it was about to call my Nascent Soul out too...”
“Huh?” Yu Qingtang looked utterly bewildered.
What was that supposed to mean? Was his Nascent Soul some kind of social butterfly? It had only just been born, yet it was already running around knocking on everyone’s dantians and shouting, “Come out and play”?
He instinctively looked toward Candle Nine Yin, whose cultivation level was the highest of anyone present.
Candle Nine Yin’s expression remained calm. “I don’t know.”
“The demon race’s cultivation system does not produce Nascent Souls.”
Auntie Huan, however, looked thoughtful. “Among the demonfolk of old, there was a saying about all birds paying homage to the phoenix. Now that I think about it, that seems somewhat similar to what happened with your Nascent Soul.”
A strange light flashed through her eyes. “Could your Nascent Soul possess the bearing of a king...”
In an instant, the way everyone around them looked at Yu Qingtang changed.
Yu Qingtang’s eyes widened in horror. “What?”
He took a step back. “Don’t start making things up!”
What kind of kingly Nascent Soul slept sprawled on its back inside someone’s mind sea?
“Ahem.” Ye Chenyan cleared his throat. “In any case, do you feel uncomfortable anywhere?”
“No.” Yu Qingtang raised his arms. “I feel fantastic. Like I just had a really good sleep.”
Candle Nine Yin nodded calmly. “As long as nothing is wrong.”
He glanced at Ye Chenyan. “If you are concerned, have the shaman healer examine him.”
Ye Chenyan turned toward Yu Qingtang, who had already grabbed another pastry. His eyes widened slightly. “Huh? I still need to see a shaman healer? That shouldn’t be necessary...”
He met Ye Chenyan’s faintly worried gaze, sighed, and gave way. “Fine. After I finish eating.”
Ye Chenyan smiled softly. “All right.”
“Sorry to trouble you, Senior...”
Candle Nine Yin shook his head. “You are the Demonic Sovereign. You need only give the order.”
He turned and left for the time being.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk.” Pretty Butterfly tossed Yu Qingtang a terrifying-looking but delicious scorpion, then leaned over and deliberately looked at Ye Chenyan. “Making such a fuss over nothing—”
Ye Chenyan averted his gaze. “I’m merely being cautious.”
Only after Yu Qingtang had eaten and drunk his fill did Ye Chenyan take him to see the shaman healer.
Chi Yantian’s entire group had originally intended to follow, but Pretty Butterfly said that the shaman healer had always lived in seclusion and hated noise more than anything. If they annoyed her, she would deliberately add strange ingredients such as insect legs or bat eyes to her medicine.
Only the two of them were allowed to go.
Some distance from Pleasure Sect’s communal settlement stood an isolated cottage. The grass in front of it had grown taller than a person, plainly indicating that almost no one usually came there.
Just as the two of them were about to part the grass, an elderly woman’s voice came from inside the cottage. “Do not step carelessly. There are poisonous insects living in there.”
Yu Qingtang immediately and obediently withdrew his hand, then pressed Ye Chenyan’s hand down as well.
Ye Chenyan considered the situation. Rather than abuse his new status as Demonic Sovereign, he respectfully cupped his hands in greeting. “Senior, Candle Nine Yin should have come by earlier. We were hoping you could examine...”
The shaman healer’s voice came from inside. “Do not step on my grass, and do not disturb my insects. Find your own way over.”
Ye Chenyan raised an eyebrow and was about to carry Yu Qingtang over in a single leap, but Yu Qingtang cautiously stopped him again.
“Wait! We don’t know whether some of the insects might be especially fragile. What if something as minor as a shadow passing overhead frightens them?”
Ye Chenyan sighed helplessly. “Then what do we do?”
Yu Qingtang scratched his head and tentatively called out, “Could you come outside, Senior? Or we could just forget the whole thing!”
He was still haunted by Pretty Butterfly’s description of the shaman healer’s prescriptions and was about to slip away when the cottage door creaked open.
A shriveled old woman emerged, bent nearly double and leaning on a dragon-headed cane. She narrowed her eyes as she studied them.
The dragon-headed cane in her hand abruptly moved, and her entire body vanished from where she stood. Ye Chenyan’s eyes narrowed in an instant—he had vaguely seen totems flashing behind her.
More than one.
She was also a member of the Heavenly Demon clan!
The shaman healer appeared directly in front of Yu Qingtang and examined him closely. Then she turned around and sighed. “You brought me out for something this trivial?”
Her tone was relaxed, making it obvious that nothing was seriously wrong. Both of them breathed a sigh of relief.
The shaman healer plucked a blade of grass and held it beneath Yu Qingtang’s nose. Caught off guard by the smell, Yu Qingtang gagged.
The shaman healer took the opportunity to stuff the blade of grass into his mouth. Leaning on her cane, she turned to go back inside. “When you overeat, find one of these leaves and chew it.”
Yu Qingtang obediently chewed the leaf with a grimace. “Huh?”
Senior, we didn’t come here for a digestive remedy!
Only after Ye Chenyan explained why they had come did the shaman healer examine Yu Qingtang properly. She pulled open his eyelids, ordered him to open his mouth and stick out his tongue, and inspected him carefully before finally reaching her conclusion.
“There is nothing wrong with him.”
She turned around and stared at Ye Chenyan.
“You, on the other hand...”
Yu Qingtang immediately tensed. “What’s wrong with him?”
A trace of nostalgia appeared on the shaman healer’s face. “The Demonic Sovereign’s son. So you truly survived.”
She rummaged through her pocket, dug out a silver lock-shaped longevity charm, and beckoned to him.
Ye Chenyan lowered his head, allowing her to fasten the charm around his neck. He looked somewhat uncomfortable. “...I’m not a child anymore. I don’t need this.”
“At your age, you are children by a cultivator’s standards, of course.” The shaman healer laughed. Her voice was dry and hoarse, but her expression was kindly as she gently stroked the top of his head. “I prepared one for every child in Pleasure Sect. Now that you have returned, naturally there is one for you as well.”
“Live a long life.”
“You are already at mid-Nascent Soul...”
Her brows drew together slightly.
“That old man Tianji Zi—why has he still not sent the pills?”
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