Stealing Immortal

Chapter 103: Chapter 102: Five Pieces

At the entrance of the Cave Mansion.

With a folding fan and a rocking chair, Tian Jingzhao sat by the cliff’s edge, gazing at the waterfall that hung from its face. He felt the gentle breeze on his skin, looking completely at ease.

The young girl, Hong’Er, stood beside him. She had set up a small tea table and was holding a fragrant cup of tea to Tian Jingzhao’s lips. The man didn’t even lift his eyelids, only lightly moistening his lips.

"Good."

After Hong’Er took the teacup back, she used a brand-new piece of silk brocade to wipe his lips for him.

From a distance, Chen Qingyang took in the scene.

The first to notice him was the young girl, Hong’Er. Her face instantly flushed as red as a pair of peach blossoms. Being perceptive, Chen Qingyang naturally understood. It was because the girl felt that serving someone was a blow to her dignity, and he had happened to see it.

After all, he had shown her some respect in the past.

"COUGH, COUGH... Junior... Junior Brother Chen!" Perhaps to play up his misery, Tian Jingzhao deliberately coughed for a while as he turned his head. He made saying the three words "Junior Brother Chen" sound especially difficult. With the help of elixirs, he shouldn’t have been in such a state; it was hard to say there wasn’t an element of pretense.

"Senior Brother Tian, you’re looking much better. You should be able to get up and walk around, right?"

Tian Jingzhao saw the jade box resting in his hand and knew it contained an elixir, but he could also tell it wasn’t meant for him. He replied, "It’s all thanks to Junior Brother Chen’s excellent elixir. Otherwise, who knows what state I’d be in. I’ve been able to go out for some fresh air and sun recently..."

His frail, delicate posture was gentler than even a woman’s.

"Since the elixir is effective, Senior Brother Tian should take more of it. You’ll eventually recover your cultivation that way. Otherwise, if your master sees you in this state, she certainly won’t keep you!"

At the mention of this, Tian Jingzhao’s expression turned a little unnatural. His gaze fell upon Chen Qingyang’s hands. "That... Junior Brother Chen, in this jade box..."

Chen Qingyang waved his hand. "No rush. During the time I was away, did Steward Lu come looking for you again, Senior Brother?"

Tian Jingzhao was about to speak, but when he saw Chen Qingyang’s piercing gaze, he had no choice but to pause in thought. "It would be impossible to say he didn’t look for me. After all, it was because of him that I had improper designs on Senior Brother Chen’s Separation Huo Dragon Pearl."

"Steward Lu did indeed send a disciple over. I suspect he originally wanted to ask if I had succeeded, but when he saw the state I was in, he left without saying a word."

Chen Qingyang studied him carefully, then glanced at Hong’Er. She secretly shot him a meaningful look. The man was clearly lying.

"Seeing you so heavily injured, Steward Lu didn’t think to do anything for you? Didn’t you say he valued you the most?"

Tian Jingzhao shook his head decisively. "No. This matter arose from my own greed. Even if Steward Lu was at fault, it wasn’t the main cause. He naturally doesn’t need to do anything for me."

Such righteous-sounding words didn’t sound like Tian Jingzhao at all. Chen Qingyang didn’t press further and said, "Let’s go inside. I brought an elixir for you to refine."

"COUGH, COUGH... Thank you, Junior Brother Chen!"

Supported by Hong’Er, his body trembling, he walked into the Cave Mansion. Chen Qingyang first gave him a Poison Pill. After he refined it, Chen Qingyang collected 24 strands of Immortal Seedling, then gave him another elixir and watched him refine it as well.

"Senior Brother Tian, the ingredients needed to refine this elixir are extremely expensive. There won’t be any more after this. You’ll have to recover the rest on your own!" At least, Chen Qingyang certainly sounded like he was in a difficult position.

Of course, Tian Jingzhao refused. He was counting on Chen Qingyang to restore his cultivation. "Junior Brother, these are minor matters. I’ll prepare everything for you in a few days and have Hong’Er deliver it personally. You absolutely can’t stop giving me the elixirs! My cultivation recovery depends on you..."

Chen Qingyang stood his ground, feigning contemplation. "Fine. For your sake, I’ll just have to delay my own training. However, for every elixir I produce, I require three times the corresponding ingredients. Consider the surplus my compensation."

This way, he would only need to provide a little Star Meteor Powder and could harvest Immortal Seedlings every few days. After Essence Condensation, there was still the First, Second, and Third Realms. Naturally, the more Immortal Seedlings, the better.

Tian Jingzhao put on a troubled expression, but then he thought of his cultivation and his master’s pressing demands. He had no choice but to go all in. A smile immediately appeared on his face. "No problem. Of course, that’s no problem, Junior Brother Chen. I’ll have Hong’Er send the ingredients over in the next two days."

"Sigh!" Chen Qingyang still looked somewhat reluctant. "I suppose I have no choice but to agree."

With that said, he prepared to leave. Tian Jingzhao, ever so polite, instructed Hong’Er to see him out. He always seemed to be intentionally, yet casually, creating opportunities for the handmaiden to interact with Chen Qingyang.

Outside the Cave Mansion, the young girl followed him for some distance. She seemed to be waiting for him to ask something, but he remained silent.

"Senior... Brother Chen, Senior Brother Tian was lying to you just now. Some of the things he said weren’t true." Hong’Er bit her lip and was the first to speak.

Chen Qingyang stopped and looked at her. "I know they weren’t true. I just don’t know which parts."

The young girl said, "Steward Lu did send someone to check on him. Seeing his condition, he didn’t ignore him completely. He even had someone deliver elixirs twice afterward."

"After taking those elixirs, Senior Brother Tian’s cultivation clearly recovered to a certain extent, but he’s been faking his illness this whole time. That man is incredibly cunning; he’s probably plotting something in his heart."

"Also, his lineage under Master Water Moon has a great number of Outer Disciples. Because they aren’t valued on Cyan Bamboo Peak, they’ve always been very united, especially when it comes to dealing with us Miscellaneous Task disciples."

"These people all know about what happened, and who knows what they’re secretly plotting..."

Hong’Er said a great deal in one breath. It seemed the effort he’d invested in her hadn’t been in vain. No matter how well-connected Tian Jingzhao was, trouble was coming, and he would just have to face it.

Chen Qingyang took a Qi Gathering Pill from his sleeve. "How did you feel after taking the elixir I gave you last time?"

The girl nodded. "Mm, it feels like I’m getting closer and closer to a breakthrough."

"Then keep refining it. You’ll reach Qi Refining soon enough."

Hong’Er bowed to him in salute. "Thank you, Senior Brother Chen. I also secretly overheard Senior Brother Tian say something to the person who delivered the elixir the last time. He said he would follow all of Steward Lu’s instructions and that sooner or later, they would take back the Dragon Pearl. Although they are all Outer Disciples, these people have endless ways to torment others. Senior Brother Chen must be careful."

Her words piqued Chen Qingyang’s curiosity. "From what you know, what kind of methods do they use?"

Hong’Er replied, "I’ve heard Senior Brother Tian talk about it before. He divides them into overt, covert, and illusory tactics. The overt methods involve seizing resources and using the Sect’s rules to suppress you. The covert methods are more numerous—things like inflicting curses, sowing discord, and other such deceptive schemes. In short, Senior Brother Chen just needs to be careful."

This was an eye-opener even for Chen Qingyang. No matter how much the Miscellaneous Task disciples schemed, they had to perform manual labor during the day and didn’t have much energy left over. But these Outer Disciples, seeing no hope of breaking through in their cultivation, must have focused all their thoughts on such things.

Knowing what the young girl wanted, Chen Qingyang returned her salute. "Junior Sister, thank you."

This form of address first startled the girl, then filled her heart with secret joy. Although according to the Sect’s laws, everyone below the rank of Foundation Establishment Master was to address each other as senior or junior brothers and sisters, in practice, who really treated a Miscellaneous Task disciple as a junior sister?

"In the future... even if I can’t break through in my cultivation, I hope I can come to Senior Brother Chen’s side to serve as a Miscellaneous Task disciple, or even do anything for you, Senior Brother!" Hong’Er’s tone was firm, as if declaring her resolve.

After listening, Chen Qingyang neither agreed nor refused. He simply said, "You should head back for now. I’ll be back in a few days."

Hong’Er nodded lightly and headed toward the Cave Mansion. Chen Qingyang thought for a long time but couldn’t come up with what methods they might use against him, so he couldn’t be bothered to think about it anymore.

In any case, he was now an Outer Disciple and had his master’s protection. There had to be a limit to how much they could harass him.

Two days later, Tian Jingzhao had indeed prepared a large quantity of alchemy ingredients and had a few Miscellaneous Task disciples deliver them. Naturally, Hong’Er was the one leading them.

With other Miscellaneous Task disciples present, Chen Qingyang didn’t interact with her, merely having Li Sheng receive them. After all the ingredients were tallied and accepted, he began his preparations in the Alchemy Room.

He was about to refine a furnace of Tier Four Yang Replacement Powder, but the amount of ingredients he had prepared was far more than what was needed for three pills. Xu Baoling, who had been watching from the side for a long time, also noticed the difference.

"Master, are you preparing to produce more than three elixirs from a single furnace?"

Chen Qingyang nodded lightly. "Tell me, who was it that set the rule that a single furnace can only produce three elixirs?"

Xu Baoling answered him, "It’s not so much a rule as it is experience accumulated by our predecessors through trial and error. Once you try to produce more than three elixirs in one furnace, the required Fire Control Ability, the Pill Furnace’s heat, and so on all increase exponentially. This makes it much harder to control. Thus, the ’rule’ of three pills being the limit gradually formed. Master, are you trying to break this limit?"

Chen Qingyang gave a wry smile. "For a full hundred years, I owe your master such an enormous debt. If I only produce three elixirs per furnace, how long will it take to refine what I need?"

Xu Baoling began her analysis of the pros and cons. "When ordinary people perform alchemy, there are always successes and failures; it’s just a matter of probability. But with you, Master, there is only success and no failure. Perhaps producing four or even five elixirs in a single furnace won’t be a problem."

Chen Qingyang said, "Correct. That’s exactly what I was thinking."

"However, there is one more thing I must remind you of, Master. You should have the Separation Huo Dragon Pearl ready. If the amount of ingredients is too large and the fire’s intensity is insufficient, you can use the Dragon Pearl to assist."

"Mm, not bad. That’s a good idea!"

When processing the raw ingredients, he prepared enough of each for five pills, spending a long time before finally putting them into the Pill Furnace.

Afterward, Chen Qingyang began the alchemy process, relying on his own formidable Fire Control Ability.

At first, because his cultivation had risen considerably, his Dantian True Power was abundant, and he was able to keep up. Later, his strength gradually began to fall short. Just as he was on the verge of failure, he performed a Sacrificial Refinement on the Separation Huo Dragon Pearl. Fierce flames slowly emerged from it, and the Dragon Pearl floated to one side of the Pill Furnace. He immediately felt much more at ease.

Combined with his ample experience and powerful Fire Control Ability, he gradually managed to stabilize the Pill Furnace and enter the "Late Fire" stage.

Before he knew it, the sky outside had turned completely dark.

Xu Baoling had been standing by his side the whole time. "I’ve calculated the time. From when you added the ingredients until now, a full four hours have passed. Normally, three hours would have been enough."

Chen Qingyang said, "Then it was still a gain."

"Yes, but you spent over an hour just processing the ingredients, Master. If possible, you should teach the two youths how to process the ingredients. That would save you a lot of time."

Her words were a sudden wake-up call for Chen Qingyang. "You’re right. I’ve always been short of alchemy children here."

A short while later, the "Late Fire" stage ended. He had successfully refined five pills in a single furnace.

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