Stealing Immortal

Chapter 126: Chapter 125: Ying Huo

Hong’Er saw him to the door again.

When there were no outsiders around, her little face was scrunched up in a pitiful expression of grievance.

The young girl was proud and arrogant. She had always believed she was here for Immortal Cultivation, not to serve people like some kind of maidservant.

Her willingness to show this side of herself to Chen Qingyang meant she held him in high regard.

"Senior Brother Chen, I’ll see you this far. I’ll come visit you when I get the chance." After leaving the Cave Mansion and walking a long way, she bowed, preparing to take her leave.

Chen Qingyang said, "Don’t take some things too much to heart. Just consider it a form of training."

Hearing this, Hong’Er immediately piped up, "Then... Senior Brother Chen, could you take me in? Let me do Miscellaneous Tasks for you. I’m even willing to be a maidservant there."

She had brought this up once before, but Chen Qingyang hadn’t agreed. This time, he said, "These things depend on the right opportunity. There’s no need to rush. Besides, with your talent, you’ll break through quickly. You’ll be able to leave this behind then."

To Hong’Er, this reply was as good as an agreement. Her spirits lifted. "Yes, Senior Brother Chen."

Xu Baoling was right. Alchemy was a long-term endeavor. He couldn’t personally handle every single task, big or small, not even things like processing raw materials. He could teach some people to do Miscellaneous Tasks and delegate the basic work.

Of the two boys, Li Sheng had some talent in this area. Although Zhang Ping showed interest, his progress was slow due to his limited aptitude, and he would require a long time to train.

This girl, Hong’Er, on the other hand, clearly had good talent. She was also clever, and for now, her character seemed to have no major flaws. She was worth considering.

After Hong’Er left, Chen Qingyang walked along the path for a while and once again received 39 Immortal Seedlings. It was clear Tian Jingzhao was very impatient.

At this rate of consumption, it wouldn’t cause any major problems, but soon his Cultivation would be permanently stuck, just like Wu Boyou’s had been back then.

He executed the Void Step Introduction. Instead of returning to his small courtyard, he went to Peach Blossom Valley. He figured that after taking the elixir, that fellow Tian Jingzhao might come here to report. Besides, he hadn’t known what those seven were up to for a long time, so it was a good idea to check on them.

He hid in the woods and sent his Conscious Fish drifting over.

Beneath a giant peach tree was a courtyard, shaded by its branches. In the courtyard were seven thatched cottages, the residence of the Seven Immortals of Peach Valley.

’These seven love to put on airs, chasing after superficial things. They use thatched cottages to feign indifference and clarify their purpose, and they even put up a plaque for the Peach Blossom Residence to show off their interests. With minds like these, does Master Water Moon really think that forcing them into seclusion will make them break through to the Realm of Essence Condensation?’

Master Water Moon had an extremely large number of disciples, following the principle of teaching all without discrimination. Anyone with even a little talent would be accepted. Other Masters fought over Earth Deities by taking an elite path; she focused on quantity.

The Conscious Fish drifted into the courtyard. Six of the seven cottages were empty. Only Long Sheng was sitting in the central one, meditating and cultivating.

The fish drew a little closer to observe. His foundation had been damaged last time, yet he had recovered quite a bit. Someone must have helped him. Among the seven, Long Sheng’s Cultivation was the highest. If any of them were to break through to Essence Condensation, he had the best chance.

The fish then moved up into the peach tree, where it found the other six. Some were sitting, some lying down, some meditating, and a group of three were chatting idly. They were quite at ease.

After listening for a while, Chen Qingyang found it boring. Just as he was about to leave, a figure approached. It was indeed Tian Jingzhao.

"Senior Brothers, so you were here! This humble younger brother pays his respects!"

Seeing no one in the courtyard, Tian Jingzhao stood under the peach tree until he finally spotted them.

The men all dropped down. Lu Sheng deliberately stood back, not speaking first. This pushed Hu Sheng to the front, who asked in a gruff voice, "What are you doing here?"

Perhaps it was because this Senior Brother Hu was typically imposing, and in a foul mood besides, that Tian Jingzhao shot a fearful glance toward Lu Sheng.

"Senior Brother Hu, that Chen Qingyang came to my place today. He said... he wanted me to pass a message to you Senior Brothers. I didn’t dare delay, so I rushed over."

"Hmph!" Hu Sheng grew angry at his words. "That kid is full of tricks! If it weren’t for him, would Eldest Senior Brother be in this state? We haven’t even gotten around to dealing with him yet, and he has the nerve to ask about us..."

As Hu Sheng grumbled and cursed, Tian Jingzhao kept his head down, not daring to say a word, only stealing glances at Lu Sheng.

In the end, it was Bao Sheng who spoke up. "Senior Brother Hu, didn’t Eldest Senior Brother instruct you and Senior Brother Lu to probe Chen Qingyang’s true strength again? Now that our seclusion is over, why don’t we find some time to pay him a visit?"

This sentence was a true life-saver for Tian Jingzhao. He immediately nodded and chimed in, "Senior Brother Bao is right."

But Hu Sheng thought for a long time and couldn’t come up with a plan. He turned to Lu Sheng behind him and said, "Junior Brother Lu, you always have the most ideas. What do you think we should do?"

As if he had been waiting to be called, Lu Sheng stepped forward from the group and questioned Tian Jingzhao, "What did he want you to tell us?"

Tian Jingzhao answered honestly, "He just sent his regards to you Senior Brothers. He also said that the last peach blossom banquet was very nice and that he hopes to visit again."

"Hmph!" Hu Sheng got angry again hearing this, but Lu Sheng remained composed. "Is that really what he said? Did he show any unusual behavior?"

Tian Jingzhao quickly assured him, "Nothing unusual. He even specially brought me elixirs. I think you Senior Brothers are overthinking it. He’s only at the Seventh Realm of Qi Refining. How could he see through your brilliant moves?"

To be honest, there were many things the Seven Immortals of Peach Valley couldn’t figure out. But once they remembered he was only at the Seventh Realm of Qi Refining, all the problems seemed to shrink.

A sharp light glinted in Lu Sheng’s eyes as he stroked his beard with one hand. "Then... at the Separation Dragon Assembly, how did he perform?"

Tian Jingzhao said, "I haven’t received any news yet. Ever since the Separation Dragon Assembly, I haven’t seen Senior Brother Lu again. I wanted to find him, but I’m afraid that temple is too profound, and he’s hard to find."

’The Senior Brother Lu he’s talking about must be Lu Heng, Lu Jinzhang’s errand boy,’ Chen Qingyang guessed. ’Most likely, after the Separation Dragon Assembly, Lu Jinzhang decided that roping in an Outer Disciple like him wasn’t very useful and simply abandoned him.’

Even someone as smart as Lu Sheng couldn’t have guessed this. After a moment of thought, he said, "Fellow brothers, I believe that no matter how talented Chen Qingyang is in the Alchemy Dao, his Cultivation is what it is. Perhaps last time was just a coincidence. He isn’t as formidable as we thought."

This one sentence was enough to define their assessment of Chen Qingyang. Hu Sheng, who always opposed him, was the first to agree. "That’s what I’ve been saying! Senior Brother Long is a nervous wreck over a mere Seventh Realm of Qi Refining cultivator! He harmed our Senior Brother to this extent. We have to destroy his foundation and get him kicked off Cyan Bamboo Peak!"

Hearing this, Chen Qingyang felt relieved. ’I’m playing the pig to eat the tiger. As long as they never see me as the tiger, I’m good.’

Lu and Hu were finally on the same page. Lu Sheng chimed in, "Exactly, exactly, Senior Brother Hu. Then let’s pick a day and pay him a visit!"

"Mm, alright."

As they spoke, the Conscious Fish circled around them. He could clearly see everyone’s attitude and expression.

At that moment, the Five Immortals of Peach Valley had all agreed. Only Bao Sheng looked as if he wanted to say something but held back. In the end, he said nothing, even after everyone had dispersed.

The Conscious Fish followed him. Seeing that he too had begun to cultivate and meditate, it left and circled the giant peach tree again.

’This tree is enormous,’ he thought. ’I’ve been sensing it for a while now, but I still can’t detect the presence of its Divine Soul. Perhaps only the Three Bows of Peach Blossoms can draw it out.’

’Without finding the Divine Soul, I have no way to pry off some Immortal Seedlings. I can’t just go poking holes in it with my sword, can I? The tree itself would hardly resist, but Master Water Moon would definitely show up.’

’Oh, well. I should just leave for now. I’ll find another chance in the future.’

The Conscious Fish swam away, and Chen Qingyang emerged from the trees. He turned and headed back toward his small courtyard.

...

Spring breezes, setting sun, and a riot of blossoming flowers.

The small courtyard was a vibrant, lush panoply of color. The locust tree had grown extremely fast and was now bearing locust flowers.

In the Alchemy Room, Chen Qingyang performed his breathing exercises. The Dense Qi descended, the Pure Qi rose. He expelled the dense to preserve the pure, discarded the dross to retain the essence, refining his meridians and cleansing his Three Souls and Seven Spirits...

Through Introspection, he could see a brilliant Profound Light at his Earth Root Acupoint. As he sat with his legs crossed on the ground, the Earth Yin Fiend gathered toward him from all directions.

His body was fully open, allowing him to absorb the surrounding nature’s spiritual energy with every breath. With each successive Circulation, the silver light in his Dantian grew richer, and a faint glow appeared on his forehead.

When he stopped, he extended a hand, and his qi condensed into the shape of a sword, which he held resting in his palm.

Now that his Cultivation had broken through to Essence Condensation, Sword Cultivation was truly Sword Cultivation, and Fire Cultivation was truly Fire Cultivation. Compared to the Qi Refining stage, the different Dharma Gates had become vastly distinct.

The Sword Qi dissipated. He then grasped the Separation Huo Dragon Pearl, and as his Conscious Fish swam, it created a link with the Li Yang Earth Fire inside his body.

After cultivating for so long, Chen Qingyang had finally come to completely understand his own dao, and a prototype for his future cultivation path had taken shape.

That path was to have the sword as his foundation, with the Fire Element as his outward expression.

After he finished his Cultivation, he used the Ziwei Scripture to observe the celestial phenomena and divine his own fortune.

In the hazy, indistinct vision, a fiery star appeared and fell upon his own natal Star Map. According to astrology, this star was called Ying Huo, a sign of misfortune. It seemed an unwelcome guest was on their way.

Chen Qingyang stopped using the Dharma Gate and said to Xu Baoling, "Someone will be visiting the courtyard today. Be prepared."

Hearing his instruction, Xu Baoling was not surprised. "Master’s Astrology Skill is getting better and better."

Chen Qingyang dismissed her praise. "This hardly counts as a true dao. I can only learn this much. As for who is coming, what it’s about, or any other details, I have no idea. The road is still long..."

After the idle chat, Chen Qingyang stopped meditating and tidied himself up. Xu Baoling hid herself in the Alchemy Room. He didn’t plan to teach the two boys today, so they went off to busy themselves with their own things.

Just before noon, two figures indeed arrived from outside. It was Lu and Hu.

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