Stealing Immortal

Chapter 112: Chapter 111: Great Fortune

Last time Lu Jinzhang and Tian Jingzhao had come after him, it had been a minor scheme. This time, it was a carefully considered plot.

Chen Qingyang had been mentally prepared for this. The only thing he didn’t quite understand was what the "Separation Dragon Assembly" was. He would have to find a way to figure that out later.

...

「The next day.」

A light rain last night had soaked the entire mountain peak. When he pushed open his window in the morning, a thick fog shrouded everything. Several mountain peaks were particularly hidden in the clouds and mist, creating a truly mystical sight!

Cranes and wild beasts roamed within the mists. Two young boys were discussing how, on their way out that morning, they had run into a white deer. Its coat had the luster of jade, and its eyes were like the night sky—it was an incredibly magical creature.

After Chen Qingyang got himself ready and pushed the door open, he saw the two boys were still in discussion. Behind them, a newly built house was nearly complete.

"Senior Brother Chen, we’ve been in the Immortal Sect for so long, but I still haven’t seen a single Spirit Beast. Isn’t that strange?" Seeing the well-informed Senior Brother Chen, Zhang Ping couldn’t help but ask.

"They’re probably on the peaks dedicated to Beast Taming. They should be a rare sight on Cyan Bamboo Peak. It’s not just you; even I have never seen true Beast Taming techniques. But our paths are long. We’ll have plenty of opportunities."

Zhang Ping nodded. "That’s true."

Beside them, Li Sheng added with a sigh, "With Senior Brother Chen here, we have a real hope of reaching Qi Refining. We’ll definitely get the chance in the future."

He had never told the two boys that Lin Qingxuan was still alive. In their eyes, Lin Qingxuan was probably dead. Ever since then, Li Sheng had become a man of few words.

Just then, Zhang Ping pointed to the house behind them again. "By the end of today, this house will be completely finished. The furnishings inside have all been arranged according to your habits, Senior Brother Chen. We even left a dedicated spot for the Pill Furnace. It’s much more spacious and brighter than the old place. Should we find an auspicious day to move in?"

Chen Qingyang thought for a moment. "Why don’t you two just pick a day? I’ve never really cared much about these things."

Zhang Ping immediately shook his head. "That won’t do. According to the customs in my hometown, when the master of the house completes a new home, he must personally select the auspicious date and time to move in. It’s better if you make the decision, Senior Brother Chen."

Li Sheng chimed in, "Senior Brother Chen, even though we’re pursuing Immortal Cultivation, we should still try for a bit of good luck."

"A bit of good luck!" Chen Qingyang muttered. ’You’re right, we should try for a bit of good luck. Let me think carefully.’

Astrology also touched upon this subject. The so-called auspicious days were determined by the Star Map. Chen Qingyang looked up. Though the heavens were filled with a hazy mist, making things unclear, his eyes could still discern the Star Map and the brilliant stars within.

After pondering for a moment, he said, "How about two days from now? On that day, the auspicious stars will be shining brightly. It’s a favorable day for moving into a new home and settling the land."

Zhang Ping said, "Alright! Two days from now it is. I’ll move everything in ahead of time. Since you’re an Immortal, Senior Brother Chen, you can start the furnace for Alchemy as the housewarming fire. That’ll make the auspicious day official, and our little courtyard on Cyan Bamboo Peak will only get better and better."

"Yes, better and better."

...

After bidding farewell to the two boys, Chen Qingyang headed up the mountain. Today, he planned to visit his Senior Brother to ask about the Separation Dragon Assembly. On Cyan Bamboo Peak, he was the only one he could ask.

When he arrived, his Senior Brother was cultivating in his room, dressed in simple clothes. From what Chen Qingyang had observed, he had always been a solitary person, handling all his own affairs without even a Miscellaneous Task disciple to order around.

Just like the previous two times, Shen Chongzhou habitually brewed him a pot of tea. It was steaming hot and gave off a fragrant aroma.

Chen Qingyang picked it up and drained it in one gulp. "Excellent tea, Senior Brother!"

"You certainly have a lot of patience. Lu Heng came to see me ten days ago. I’ve been wondering when you would come looking for me. I didn’t expect you to wait until now!"

’So he knew everything all along. He truly lives up to his reputation as the ’half-master’ of our lineage,’ Chen Qingyang thought. "Then why didn’t you think to tell me sooner, Senior Brother? Why keep me in suspense?"

Shen Chongzhou gave a wry smile. "If I had told you earlier and they ended up not going through with it, wouldn’t I have just made you worry for nothing? It’s just a pity that even the Master’s mediation failed. The Lu Family, relying on that Golden Core True Monarch of theirs, is truly showing a growing tendency to treat the Separation Dragon Pill Institute as their own private property!"

This was the first time Chen Qingyang had ever seen him complain about anything.

Regarding the Lu Clan, Chen Qingyang only knew they were powerful, but he never expected them to have a Golden Core True Monarch. Such a Cultivation level was among the absolute peak within the entire Tai Xu Sect. He couldn’t help but wonder if this Separation Huo Dragon Pearl would ultimately bring him more fortune or disaster.

Seeing him lost in thought, Shen Chongzhou scoffed. "Don’t let your imagination run wild. How could a dignified True Monarch possibly have the time to care about such petty squabbles? It’s just his unworthy descendants borrowing his name to run amok. You should just do what you were going to do."

Chen Qingyang shook his head. "Senior Brother, that’s not what I was thinking about. I just think this Lu clan is being far too stubborn. Even our Master stepped in, and still, they won’t give up. Besides, that item should have been mine to begin with."

Unexpectedly, as soon as he said this, his Senior Brother’s expression turned grave—a look not often seen on his face. "’Should,’ ’supposed to,’ ’reasonable’... In the future, do not say such things within the Immortal Sect, and do not even think them. Otherwise, it will be your undoing."

"With the Separation Huo Dragon Pearl, Lu Qing would have been guaranteed entry into the Inner Sect and could even have reached Foundation Establishment. Without it, his future is uncertain. What you and Martial Uncle Liu did was no less than snatching away his Dao Fruit. Since it is a feud over a Dao Fruit, he will not let this go. In the Tai Xu Sect, this struggle *is* the righteous path—not what you call ’should be’ or some man-made ’reasonable.’ All of that... is absolute bullshit!"

All this time, he had believed his Senior Brother was the type to just ’go with the flow.’ Today’s fiery words, however, changed his perception of him.

’The Tai Xu Sect... Tai Xu...’ he thought. ’It seems that no matter what, one must always remember the meaning of those two words: "Great Void."’

Chen Qingyang bowed. "I have been taught a lesson. Please, Senior Brother, tell me more about this Separation Dragon Assembly. In any case, no matter what, I will not give up the Separation Huo Dragon Pearl!"

Shen Chongzhou didn’t comment on his attitude, simply saying, "Do you know what is most important for a Pill Master?"

Had he been asked before, Chen Qingyang would have certainly thought of Fire Control and a precise grasp of the medicinal properties of various ingredients. Now, however, he felt the answer was simply... fire.

"Are you saying the answer is fire, Senior Brother?"

Shen Chongzhou nodded. "Precisely. You know as well as I do that Alchemy is the process of fusing and tempering the essence of raw ingredients. In this process, fire is undoubtedly the most important element. If one obtains a Divine Flame, one can refine any Spiritual Essence in the world. If not, one is doomed to mediocrity."

"This is manageable for Elixirs below Tier Seven, but for anything Tier Seven or above, it is the only way. At the time, I didn’t quite understand why Master passed the Sword Dao on to you. I only figured it out later. Perhaps he felt that you simply wouldn’t be able to get very far on the Alchemy Dao."

’How far I can go has never been for others to decide,’ he thought. ’No matter what, I will keep trying to create Liu Pei’s Nameless Elixir.’

"So, the Separation Huo Dragon Pearl is extremely important?"

Shen Chongzhou didn’t answer his question, continuing on his own. "The Separation Dragon Pill Institute owes its current power entirely to that True Dragon Cave. This True Dragon had a body of Yang and Separation energy. It subsequently fell upon a source of Earth Fire, creating a Spiritual Land. Every one to two hundred years, a Separation Huo Dragon Pearl is born there."

"This Dragon Pearl contains the spirit born from the True Dragon Earth Fire. With every one that is produced, the True Dragon Earth Fire inevitably weakens a little. Since the founding of the Tai Xu Sect, thirty-four have appeared. Someone once predicted that if thirty-six are produced, the cave will completely dissipate."

Everything he had said so far concerned the origin and importance of the Separation Huo Dragon Pearl, but he still hadn’t mentioned what the Separation Dragon Assembly actually was.

Knowing Chen Qingyang would ask, Shen Chongzhou spoke again before he could. "Don’t be impatient... Because of this, someone skilled in Arrays came up with an idea: to borrow the power of the Separation Huo Dragon Pearls to lock the spirit of the Dragon Cave. *That* is the Separation Dragon Assembly."

"Once every ten years, whoever holds one of these Dragon Pearls, no matter where they are, must return to the Pill Institute to help lock the Dragon Cave. This, in turn, has become a test for those who hold the Dragon Pearls."

Just hearing about it sounded incredibly complex. No wonder Lu Heng had said that no one who held a Separation Huo Dragon Pearl could refuse. It turned out it was all for the sake of protecting this place.

"Then what is it that we do when we go there?"

Shen Chongzhou replied, "Since it’s about borrowing the power of the Separation Huo Dragon Pearl, you’re naturally being sent to perform Array Building. The Array Building for the Dragon-locking Array. Afterward, the Array will be activated to lock the spirit of the Earth Fire True Dragon."

Array Building!

Chen Qingyang was silent for a moment. Shen Chongzhou continued, "If you can’t do it, they will likely find an excuse to take back the Separation Huo Dragon Pearl. For so many years, they’ve used this exact trick to keep it firmly under their control. This is a Pill Institute affair, after all, so even our Master can’t interfere. Therefore, you’ll have to play it by ear..."

’Play it by ear, he says,’ Chen Qingyang thought bitterly. ’Looks like I can only rely on myself!’

After listening to his Senior Brother’s detailed explanation, Chen Qingyang was still contemplating his strategy all the way down the mountain. It seemed that keeping that Immortal Seedling had been the right decision after all. It might just come in handy.

...

「Two days later.」 The date of his trip to the Separation Dragon Pill Institute was drawing ever closer.

Early that morning, Zhang Ping and Li Sheng were in the new house with newly made brooms, sweeping back and forth to symbolize sweeping away bad luck.

At Zhang Ping’s direction, Chen Qingyang personally pushed open the door, dipped a willow branch in water to sprinkle at the entrance, and then lit a fire in the Pill Furnace, completing the Water and Fire Ceremony.

Ordinary people believe in such things because there are always matters they cannot comprehend and problems they cannot solve. When faced with something like a major illness, with nowhere else to turn, one can attribute it to bad feng shui. It turns the abstract into the concrete, providing a source of spiritual comfort.

For Cultivators, however, believing in such things was truly just about seeking a bit of good luck.

The two boys had been bustling about for over three months, and the bamboo house they had built was quite impressive. The interior was about seven or eight zhang long and three zhang wide. On the right were the shelves where ingredients were usually placed, and next to them was the Pill Furnace.

Next to the Pill Furnace were a long table, a bed, a bookshelf, a clothes rack, and the cattail cushion Chen Qingyang needed for his cultivation and meditation.

Against one wall, an altar table had also been set up. This was prepared especially for Xu Baoling, so the Gathering Yin Array could be moved here.

Looking around at everything, Chen Qingyang was extremely satisfied. Moving into his new home today was indeed most auspicious.

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