Stealing Immortal

Chapter 108: Chapter 107: The Reason

After two consecutive mishaps, the Seven Immortals of Peach Valley all fixed their gazes on Chen Qingyang, watching his every move, terrified of another incident.

Fortunately, Chen Qingyang remained still after being enveloped by the Wood Spirit Qi. It seemed everything was finally proceeding as planned.

But no one noticed that Long Sheng, standing within the Array, suddenly developed a vacant stare. A soft, pinkish glow bloomed in his pupils, growing ever brighter.

The perceptive Bao Sheng was the first to realize something was amiss. He called out softly, "Senior Brother," but at that moment, his senior brother was in no state to reply. The surrounding Wood Spirit Qi swarmed toward him, shrouding him in a faint cyan haze.

Everyone cried out in alarm and turned their gazes to Chen Qingyang, only to see him standing alone on the peach branch, his eyes closed, as if he were being possessed by the Peach Spirit Granny.

"What the..." Hu Sheng started to speak but was silenced by a gesture from Lu Sheng, who was still worried about startling Chen Qingyang.

Little did they know, Chen Qingyang was using his Conscious Fish to perceive everything happening inside Long Sheng’s body with perfect clarity. A faint cyan aura surged in and began to condense in his Dantian. It eventually formed something like a peach pit, which took root and began to sprout.

As old and cunning as Long Sheng was, he naturally sensed something was wrong and frantically tried to resist with his own power. But the overwhelming willpower of the Peach Spirit crushed his defenses. He could only watch helplessly as the peach pit took root, sending fine, delicate tendrils creeping into his Meridians, threatening to fuse with his very being.

The technique was truly diabolical. Not only was it nearly impossible to escape from, but it would also cause fundamental damage to one’s cultivation.

In the blink of an eye, Long Sheng’s body went rigid and then fell still. A speck of Spiritual Light peeled away from him and returned to the peach tree. Chen Qingyang retracted his Conscious Fish, and all fell silent once more.

Through this Tao Sanhui, he had figured it out. The Peach Spirit’s consciousness was still developing. Although it possessed a spirit, it was far from capable of human-like thought. It could only be manipulated through special methods that exploited its innate nature, such as this ritual of three bows to be granted Wood Spirit Qi.

These exotic plants could live for hundreds of thousands of years, but this one was only a few thousand years old. It wasn’t even the equivalent of a toddler.

As Chen Qingyang was lost in thought, an image of Long Sheng appeared in his mind. Stealing Immortal plucked a wisp of white flame from the top of his head.

Immortal Seedling 712 stolen. As a result, his Primordial Energy was severely wounded.

Only then was Long Sheng able to slowly open his eyes. His junior brothers crowded around him, questioning him in hushed tones. The man was a ruthless character indeed. He raised a hand to silence them and let out a long breath. "Don’t say a word. Let’s finish this business first."

Chen Qingyang still stood motionless before them. The Wood Spirit Qi had long since vanished without a trace, but no one could figure out what had happened to him. They could only exchange bewildered glances.

After everyone had stood around awkwardly for a quarter of an hour, Chen Qingyang finally opened his eyes, a look of confusion on his face. "Senior Brothers, I’ve treated you all with sincerity. This isn’t a very decent way to treat a guest!"

Those words alone made Long Sheng want to drop all pretenses. ’He’s already seen through it, so why should I have to swallow my anger?’

But then Chen Qingyang continued, "I’ve been standing here for so long, but I haven’t felt any Wood Spirit Qi whatsoever, to say nothing of any change in my Cultivation. It was even less effective than the first two times!"

The Seven Immortals of Peach Valley exchanged glances again. The situation was inexplicable and incredibly awkward. Finally, Long Sheng made a decision. "Junior Brother Que, go and fetch my Seven-Treasure Dharma Furnace. I made a promise to Junior Brother Chen, and I will not go back on my word."

As Que Sheng departed, Long Sheng’s gaze shifted back to Chen Qingyang. "Junior Brother Chen, some things did indeed go wrong during the Tao Sanhui today. Please don’t take it to heart. Our friendship is genuine."

Understanding Long Sheng’s intent, Lu Sheng chimed in, "The path of Immortal Cultivation is long. There will be plenty of opportunities in the future. We certainly won’t let you come away empty-handed!"

The others also crowded around, expressing the same sentiment. Before long, the Seven-Treasure Dharma Furnace was brought over. Chen Qingyang saw that it was indeed of better quality than his own. ’Used in that Array, its efficiency should increase significantly.’

’It wasn’t hard to guess what these people were thinking. They’ve always specialized in plotting against others. Having suffered a setback at my hands today, they’ve naturally adopted a gambler’s mindset, hoping to win back their losses with another scheme.’

’This was especially true for Long Sheng. He has a very high opinion of himself and won’t turn on me until he figures out what really happened. He’ll probably even try to get closer to me, looking for another chance.’

Chen Qingyang, of course, accepted it with both hands. "Thank you, Senior Brother Long, and thank you to the other six senior brothers for your generous hospitality. If you host such an event again, I will surely attend."

At this point, the banquet drew to a close.

After bidding farewell to each of them, Chen Qingyang departed with the Incense Burner. However, he left his Conscious Fish behind, hiding it in a forest twenty li away, from where he could clearly observe everything that happened.

"Senior Brother Long, what on earth happened during that last attempt? You have to tell us exactly what went on," Lu Sheng asked anxiously.

Leaning on his cane, Long Sheng slowly made his way to a stone couch and sat down. His junior brothers all gathered around him.

"The one who was possessed just now... it wasn’t Chen Qingyang. It was me."

With the exception of Bao Sheng, the others were aghast. They all turned to look at Bao Sheng. "Junior Brother, what did you do? How could you let something like this happen? You’ve doomed our Eldest Senior Brother!"

Bao Sheng’s expression was troubled. "I don’t know either. It was clearly Chen Qingyang who performed the rite, so how did it end up affecting you, Senior Brother... Senior Brother, your Dantian... is it...?"

"Sigh!" Long Sheng slammed his cane heavily on the ground. THUD. "Say no more! Say no more!"

Everyone understood the implication. Their senior brother, the one with the highest Cultivation, was now crippled. Some faces were blank, some filled with worry, and one person quietly breathed a sigh of relief. It was Lu Sheng.

’The plan was his idea. This way, it would be difficult for Senior Brother Long to punish him. After all, who was stronger now was anyone’s guess!’

At this moment, Bao Sheng spoke again. "The one performing the rite was Chen Qingyang. The Peach Spirit Granny has always recognized the ritual, not the person. Based on past experience, there’s no way it should have affected Senior Brother Long. Could it be... that something went wrong with the Granny herself?"

His gaze fell upon the great peach tree.

As clever as they were, they could never have imagined that Chen Qingyang possessed a technique capable of such an incredible deception.

"Then... that could explain this part of it. But what about the Peach Talisman? Could he have done that intentionally?" The one to raise this question was Que Sheng.

This time, it was Jiao Sheng who answered. "The Separation Huo Dragon Pearl is in his possession. It’s hard to say it wasn’t deliberate, but..."

Hu Sheng, who was large and impatient, had barely said a word the entire time, but now he couldn’t hold back any longer. "Junior Brother, but what? Stop leaving us in suspense!"

"It’s not certain," Jiao Sheng’s ambiguous reply was as good as saying nothing at all.

"Sigh!" Looking at his junior brothers acting this way, Long Sheng let out another long sigh. "You... how can not a single one of you come up with a plan? The enemy has barely made a move, and you’re already in disarray!"

"Junior Brother Lu, Tian Jingzhao is one of your people, and this plan to deal with Chen Qingyang was your idea. So you tell us, what do you make of his behavior today?"

Lu Sheng racked his brain, feeling extremely cornered. If he said the wrong thing, his fellow junior brothers would instantly place all the blame on him.

"Senior Brother Long, fellow junior brothers, I don’t believe we were wrong to deal with Chen Qingyang this way. After all, he bullied a disciple from our Master Water Moon’s lineage. If we did nothing, our reputation would have been tarnished."

"Secondly, the one in control of the Peach Talisman was Junior Brother Jiao, the one in control of the Zhao Dance was Junior Brother Bao, and the one in control of the Array was... Senior... Brother... Long..."

Long Sheng glared at him. "Are you saying it was my fault?"

Lu Sheng shook his head frantically. "You misunderstand, Senior Brother Long. That’s not what I meant at all. It’s just that after we lured Chen Qingyang here, I wasn’t heavily involved in the subsequent events, so I really can’t say for sure. Why don’t we all discuss it further and see if we can reach a conclusion."

His response was just as ambiguous, doing nothing but deflecting his own responsibility. It was as good as saying nothing at all.

At this crucial moment, not a single one of them stepped forward. Long Sheng brandished his cane, his chest tight with fury. "Fine! Forget it! I’ll be the one to say it. This Chen Qingyang, from what I’ve seen today, is completely unflappable and gives nothing away, whether in his actions or his words. He is a formidable character, one we must guard against. Dealing with him will require extra caution and cunning."

"Secondly, we must investigate whether the Peach Spirit Granny truly malfunctioned. Junior Brothers Lu and Hu, you two get closer to Chen Qingyang and observe him. The rest of you, focus your attention on the Peach Spirit Granny. I will be entering seclusion for a while to recuperate, and... I will also pay a visit to Senior Brother Wuji!"

He was, after all, accustomed to his role as Eldest Senior Brother. Though his Cultivation was damaged, no one dared to object. Lu Sheng felt particularly uneasy, especially when he saw the burly Hu Sheng staring at him.

"Then we shall listen... to Senior Brother Wuji!"

Once they had dispersed, Chen Qingyang recalled his Conscious Fish. It drifted along, following its master out of Peach Blossom Valley.

The banquet had lasted a long time, and it was now the middle of the night. Riding Qingfeng, Chen Qingyang traveled through the valley.

He spotted a pine tree clinging to a cliff face where a jutting rock formed a small, flat perch. He stopped there and sat down to meditate.

It inevitably reminded him of the pine tree back on Four Golden Peaks.

[Available Immortal Seedlings: 5,061]

Small golden characters floated before his eyes. He had accumulated over five thousand Immortal Seedlings. If he used them for a breakthrough in the Sword Dao, he could achieve it today.

’But the Outer Sect is different from the Inner Sect. Once I take this step, I’ll constantly be in the presence of Foundation Establishment Masters. If I can’t hide my Cultivation, it’ll be completely exposed, bringing with it endless trouble. That would be a disaster.’

’Besides, my current identity as an Outer Disciple is perfect for maneuvering around people like Lu Jinzhang, Tian Jingzhao, and Lu Sheng to acquire more Immortal Seedlings.’

After weighing his options, he decided to spend three thousand Immortal Seedlings on the Great Soul Scripture. Enhancing his Divine Soul Ability would also strengthen his ability to conceal his Qi Mechanism. He would make the breakthrough in his Cultivation only when he was confident enough to hide it.

This stage of the Great Soul Scripture immediately reached Perfection. Although the form of his Conscious Fish didn’t change, it could now travel farther and possessed even greater power—enough to shatter rocks and snap tree branches.

With that done, he resumed his meditation and cultivation, continuing until the first glint of gold appeared on the horizon. Only then did he leisurely make his way back to his small courtyard.

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