Stealing Immortal

Chapter 43: Chapter 42: Earth Deity

The sun vanished behind the layered mountains. As the world lost its light, the small cabin grew dim.

Chen Qingyang poked at the flame, and the small golden point suddenly brightened, illuminating more of the space.

It revealed the grim expression on Hu Kai’s face. His eyes had been fixed on Chen Qingyang from the moment he arrived, and with his occasional pensive looks, it was clear something was weighing on his mind.

The brazier was beside the long table. Before long, the teapot began to whistle. Chen Qingyang lifted it and brewed a pot of hot tea, pouring a cup for each of them.

"This tea may not be as expensive as what Junior Brother Hu is used to, but I picked it myself on the mountain this spring. It still has a fresh aroma even now. Why don’t you try it?"

Chen Qingyang had a good idea why the man had come today.

If there was anyone in the world who could connect him to the deaths of Gong Yueshu and Wu Boyou, it had to be Hu Kai.

He took the cup but only placed it on the long table. "Senior Brother Chen, what is your impression of me?"

Chen Qingyang gave a slight, knowing smile. The hot tea, sweet and pleasant, slid down his throat. "A good one, of course. We haven’t met many times, but you gave me two Qi Gathering Pills. It’s rare for someone to show an old man like me such regard. Please, drink up!"

Only then did Hu Kai pick up the cup and drain it in one go. "Then... the Profound Light Association hasn’t offended you either, has it, Senior Brother Chen?"

Although Chen Qingyang didn’t know what he was getting at, he still shook his head.

At this, Hu Kai suddenly grew angry. "Hmph, then why would you harm us like that, Senior Brother Chen? If not for the Profound Light Association having some influence in the Tai Xu Sect, how could this matter have been resolved so smoothly?"

’When he says ’harm,’ he’s talking about the bodies of Wu Boyou and Gong Yueshu being found together,’ Chen Qingyang understood.

’So it wasn’t that there was no fallout; someone had pulled strings to cover it up.’

’But did the Profound Light Association really have that much power in the Tai Xu Sect?’

’No matter how useless Wu Boyou was, he was still the disciple of a Foundation Establishment Master. Could they really suppress a Master’s wrath?’

Naturally, Chen Qingyang feigned ignorance. "Are you talking about Junior Brother Xu? Surely his disappearance has nothing to do with me?"

"Doesn’t it?" Hu Kai retorted, though his tone was less firm than before.

A hundred years of life as a low-level Miscellaneous Task disciple, a hundred years of reading people’s expressions, had long ago honed Chen Qingyang’s ability to read people to a fine art. He immediately judged that the other man was just testing the waters; he wasn’t certain about anything.

"Hmph, if you say so, then it must be so!"

Seeing his furious reaction, Hu Kai’s expression faltered even more.

Both fell silent for a moment. Then, Chen Qingyang spoke again. "Junior Brother Hu, think about it. The moment that Junior Brother Xu arrived at my courtyard, he announced he had a Qi Cultivation Realm cultivation and was about to break through to the Qi Refining Second Realm. How could I possibly be a match for him?"

"A few days ago, when the Outer Disciple Wu Boyou died, the Law Enforcement Hall came to investigate me as well. I’ve already made it perfectly clear to them that I only go to the Golden Summit to perform Miscellaneous Tasks in the Pill Institute. Do you really think a Miscellaneous Task disciple has such capabilities?"

Hu Kai closed his eyes in contemplation. He opened them a long while later. Although his face was still full of suspicion, he was helpless in the face of Chen Qingyang’s answers. "Are you saying there was never anyone from Li Qianxue’s courtyard, or any acquaintance of hers, who came and bestowed a great opportunity upon you?"

"That’s right."

"Ridiculous..." The word came out like a self-deprecating sneer. Then his expression turned cold again. "Do you have any idea how much trouble you’ve caused me? You really played a good game of deception, leading us all on!"

Back then, Hu Kai had stated clearly that he was trying to recruit Chen Qingyang only because he was interested in the person backing him. Now, discovering it was all a pipe dream, all for nothing, how could he not be disappointed!

Chen Qingyang just said sheepishly, "I had no choice. To survive in the Tai Xu Sect, one needs skills like these. Otherwise, I would’ve been kicked off the mountain long ago. But Junior Brother Hu, for you to come here today asking so many questions... could it be that Xu You isn’t missing, but was murdered?"

Hu Kai stared at him, hesitated, but finally chose to nod. "That’s right."

Chen Qingyang then asked, "And now they’re saying the Outer Disciple Wu Boyou is dead. Could that be related to you as well?"

"Nonsense!" Hu Kai immediately cut him off. "In the decades since the Profound Light Association was founded, we have never done such a thing! All we’ve ever wanted is to band together for survival. Why would we murder an Outer Disciple!"

Chen Qingyang said nothing more on the matter.

Hu Kai, however, took a sip of tea and said, "Let me tell you something else, Senior Brother Chen, so you can understand me better."

The more you know, the more trouble you attract. Chen Qingyang didn’t want to listen, but before he could interrupt, Hu Kai continued.

"I have six brothers, but I was the most promising of the seven. I came from a farming family, worked my way up to become a Miscellaneous Task disciple here, and all I ever thought about was achieving immortality. But as I wasted away, approaching Fifty Years of Age, I still hadn’t found a chance to break through. I’ve always believed you have to make your own opportunities, and by chance, I learned about the Profound Light Association.

"It took some effort, but I finally got in. With the help of the Profound Light Association’s methods, I broke through to the Qi Refining Realm. But I knew my talent was limited and I couldn’t advance any further, so I decided to stay on the mountainside and help other junior brothers and sisters with talent seek their own breakthroughs. Having grown up with many brothers, I understood the value of banding together for survival. To date, sixty-nine of them have made it to the Golden Summit."

Sixty-nine.

That was no small number. One had to remember that the Golden Summit of the Four Golden Peaks only had a few hundred people in total.

At this point, he sighed again, as if what he was about to say was the true burden on his mind.

"I’m telling you this so you understand that I never intended to make things difficult for you. I only care about my work... But with two Qi Refining members dead, it’s caused huge trouble. We paid a heavy price to smooth things over, and the Profound Light Association will not let this go!"

Having said his piece, he stood up. "It’s getting late. I won’t disturb you any longer."

"Take care. I won’t see you out."

After Hu Kai left, Chen Qingyang pinched out the candle flame and began to meditate and cultivate.

「The next day.」

After clocking in with his Hongling Token, he went up to the Golden Summit again.

He refined the three elixirs and placed them before Liu Tao. Just as he was about to leave, he saw her slowly open her eyes.

A faint cyan aura, wreathed in the color of fire, drifted up from the top of her head before vanishing into the air.

He remembered Liu Tao once saying that the most important step in transitioning from Qi Refining to Essence Condensation was forming the Spiritual Sea.

This phenomenon was known as ’the cyan soul surging upward, spirit piercing the crown.’ She was getting closer and closer to her breakthrough!

"Junior Brother, the breakthrough is coming faster than I expected. I estimate it will be in about three days. Come back tomorrow and the day after, but there’s no need to come on the third day. I need to rest and quiet my mind. After I break through, I’ll naturally come find you."

’Why does that sound like I’m about to be abandoned?’ Chen Qingyang thought, remaining silent.

Liu Tao, however, gave him a light slap. "What’s on your mind now, you old codger?"

Chen Qingyang quickly said, "Nothing, nothing."

"Hmph, that’s more like it. When the time comes, I’ll get you a post in the Pill Institute. You won’t need to do that Hongling Token job down the mountain anymore. You just need the status of a Miscellaneous Task disciple, right? It doesn’t matter where you do the work. By then, I’ll have the authority to arrange it." A hint of pride crept into her expression.

Chen Qingyang, however, recalled his conversation with Hu Kai from the previous night. "Senior Sister, in this Cyan Nether State, are there any Immortal Sects that are enemies of our Tai Xu Sect?"

Liu Tao was full of disdain. "Enemies of the Tai Xu Sect? You should be asking which sects in the Cyan Nether State *aren’t* hostile to each other. They all wish the others were dead."

Chen Qingyang was confused. "Can’t everyone just cultivate their own path? Why must they fight to the death? By blocking someone else’s path, do you really benefit yourself?"

’He felt a bit strange saying that.’

Liu Tao remained dismissive. "I see that even though you’ve lived a long time and have a cunning mind, you old codger, your horizons are still too narrow. You have no idea how brutal the competition for Earth Deities among Immortal Sects is. You have to understand, there are only so many Earth Deities in the entire Cyan Nether State, but the number of Sects, Immortal Cultivation Clans, Dynasties, and so on, is countless. They all want a piece of the pie. If you don’t take it, someone else will. That’s why you have to be willing to engage in cutthroat tactics."

"Take our Tai Xu Sect and the Yu Xiao Demon Sect, for example. We’re both Grade E Sects, so we’re rivals. If we were to advance a step, then according to the established rules, they would be allocated fewer Earth Deities. If we were to fall back a step, they would get more."

Just as Chen Qingyang was about to ask, Liu Tao spoke again. "You’re definitely about to ask what an Earth Deity is. Well, let me tell you, everyone at the Foundation Establishment Master level and above considers them as important as life itself. It’s like this Qi-Introducing Pill to me. With it, I can advance. Without it, I’ll perish. Tell me, is that something worth fighting for or not?"

Chen Qingyang reflected on his own life. The world he had known was merely that of an ordinary young hunter in some country. He was just a lone boat, completely unaware of the vastness of the world.

’In that case, it wasn’t hard to understand why Hu Kai had backing from an external force.’

"Then... what’s a Grade E Sect?"

Liu Tao chuckled. "A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H... so what do you think Grade E is? Why are you suddenly asking about all this? Are you hiding something from me?"

She was on the verge of a breakthrough and was now afraid that Chen Qingyang would stir up trouble.

’A, B, C, D, E... so it’s only ranked fifth. I used to think the Tai Xu Sect was the sky itself. Just how immense must the real sky be?’

"Didn’t Senior Sister just say my horizons are narrow? If my horizons are narrow, then I should study more to broaden them!"

"...Hmm, you’ve got a point there, you old codger."

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