Stealing Immortal

Chapter 51: Chapter 50: Sixth Realm

Executing the Void Step Introduction again, Chen Qingyang moved at an incredible speed, reaching the outskirts of the valley in just a few breaths.

The terrain opened up here. Dense forest climbed the mountain in layer after layer, until all that remained was barren grassland and scattered patches of white snow.

At the junction where the forest met the grassland, he saw Xu Baoling drifting in the darkness. At her feet lay a man, bound by a current of True Power.

Although she was now just a Divine Soul Body, she had once possessed the cultivation of the Qi Refining Eighth Realm, so dealing with Hu Kai was a simple matter.

"Your servant greets you, Master!"

Seeing Chen Qingyang land, Xu Baoling approached and gave a graceful curtsy.

Having been inexplicably captured by a Divine Soul, Hu Kai was already baffled. Now, seeing this scene, his face was a mask of utter disbelief. "Who... who in the world are you?"

’This was a question Chen Qingyang suspected he would hear often in the years to come.’ Ignoring the man, he said to Xu Baoling, "Yes, you did well. Did you alert anyone?"

Xu Baoling replied, "Rest assured, Master. I spotted him from afar right after you left and followed him all the way here before subduing him. No one could have noticed."

Chen Qingyang nodded. "Good."

Only then did he turn his gaze to Hu Kai on the ground. The man was still pale with fright. "Are you... from the Nine Nether Mechanic Divine Palace? Or a hidden Disciple from the Law Enforcement Hall? Or even from Yu Xiao?"

Chen Qingyang’s smile was gentle. With his middle-aged face, he looked like a truly refined gentleman. "You know quite a bit. It seems your years in the Profound Light Association weren’t a complete waste."

Hu Kai took a ragged breath, finally composing himself a little. "Senior Brother Chen, I don’t understand why you’re doing this to me."

His expression was one of pure innocence.

Chen Qingyang said slowly, "Speak. Why did you plot against me?"

"Plot?" Hu Kai first feigned surprise. Then, seeing Chen Qingyang’s certainty, his expression hardened into one of defiance, and he began to laugh. "How ridiculous! Look around the Tai Xu Sect, from the Miscellaneous Task disciples to the Masters, who isn’t plotting against one another? Who isn’t fighting for their own path? So what if I plotted against you? What’s there to ask? Hmph!"

He was a tough one.

Chen Qingyang’s movements seemed unhurried. He stomped his foot lightly, and Hu Kai recoiled as if he’d taken a heavy blow to the stomach, curling into a ball. "To have clawed your way up from nothing, you must be quite capable for a Miscellaneous Task disciple. For the sake of the elixir you gave me, I can spare your life. But in return, you must tell me what I want to know."

Hearing this, Hu Kai endured the pain and sneered again. "Haha, I am the fish on the chopping block. You can save those words for a three-year-old. The moment I saw her call you ’Master,’ I knew I wasn’t going to make it out of this alive. Stop pretending. You’re just as ruthless as anyone else... Get it over with!"

He tilted his head to the side, ready to meet his end.

"Heh," a cold sneer touched Chen Qingyang’s lips. "You’ve never died before. How could you possibly know death isn’t to be feared? Besides... a quick death is easy. A life worse than death, however, is a terrible thing to endure."

He pulled the Warm Jade Scroll from his sleeve. With a light tap of his finger, a wisp of flame floated into Hu Kai’s body.

Though he couldn’t scream, his limbs spasmed violently. His eyes bulged as if they were about to burst from their sockets, and he mumbled deliriously. Beside them, even Xu Baoling trembled in fear at the sight.

Liu Tao had been right. The flame produced by this Dharma Gate was brutally effective at burning the Meridians and Dantian, and the pain it inflicted was nearly impossible for an ordinary person to bear.

"I wonder if you realize, with my abilities, I can make you suffer like this for three years. Would you prefer to endure that, or would you rather I give you a quick death now?" After retracting the flame, Chen Qingyang asked slowly.

His voice was low, and his features, flickering in and out of the darkness, seemed to hold an immense and dreadful power.

Hu Kai finally came to his senses. He raised his head and studied Chen Qingyang for a long moment. "So vicious... You’re not a Disciple of the Tai Xu Sect. You’re from the Demon Sect, aren’t you?"

His wild guess was of no consequence to Chen Qingyang, but it made Xu Baoling, standing nearby, go rigid.

Chen Qingyang didn’t answer. He simply took out the Warm Jade Scroll again.

"Wait!" Hu Kai was finally scared, a look of terror on his face. "Can you really give me a quick death?"

Chen Qingyang said, "A smart man like you should know I have no reason to waste my energy torturing someone useless. Isn’t a corpse much simpler?"

Hu Kai nodded emphatically. "Fine. I’ll tell you whatever you want to know. I’m a dead man either way."

The first thing Chen Qingyang needed to confirm was whether the youth who had died by his hand was truly the Profound Light Association Steward that Hu Kai had mentioned.

"The Profound Light Association Steward you spoke of—what did he look like, and what was his cultivation?"

Without a moment’s hesitation, Hu Kai just said, "Just a youth. Thin and frail, with a very fair complexion... As for his cultivation, it was naturally the First Realm of Qi Refining. The Tai Xu Sect strictly forbids Miscellaneous Task disciples from being formally taught by a master. All of us who rely on the Profound Light Association to advance have shallow foundations. The Qi Refining Second Realm is pretty much our limit."

’This matched what Chen Qingyang had seen exactly. He wasn’t lying anymore.’

"You said a Foundation Establishment Master in the Tai Xu Sect is colluding with the Demon Sect. Who is this Master?"

Hearing this, Xu Baoling grew tense once more.

’In her mind, how could he possibly ask about such a thing? How could he get involved?’

Hu Kai, his hands still bound, could only shake his head violently. "Senior Brother Chen, you think too highly of me. I just overheard a rumor. How could I possibly know the details? If I did, I would have spread it long ago and brought everyone down with me!"

Seeing that he didn’t seem to be lying, Chen Qingyang decided not to press the issue. "Fine. I have one last question. Where is the Lotus Token you mentioned? Give it to me."

"It’s on my person. I have a suggestion: just leave it on my corpse. That way, the Profound Light Association will be wiped out too. Haha!" Even at death’s door, he still wanted to take someone down with him.

"You’re really something else."

Chen Qingyang stepped forward and frisked him, sure enough finding the item on his chest. It was small, like a glittering, golden lotus cast from metal, and it emanated a unique aura.

’Those who hold these items must use this aura to identify one another.’

"Do you know why I tried so hard to win you over?" Hu Kai asked.

Chen Qingyang shook his head.

"Haha, it was because of Li Qianxue! Only you would have a chance to get close to her and kill her!"

Chen Qingyang was still confused. "Why?"

"Why? It’s Senior Brother Wang’s order, of course. Don’t ask any more about it. I don’t know anything else even if you ask..."

After a moment of thought, Chen Qingyang could only surmise that after severely injuring Li Qianxue, the Yu Xiao Demon Sect now wanted to finish the job. ’Alright,’ he said aloud, "you can die now."

"Haha..." Hu Kai began to laugh again. If his limbs hadn’t been bound, his posture would have been utterly unbridled. "What bullshit Tai Xu Sect! Just a bunch of self-righteous, cold-hearted, stinking Daoists! Hypocrites! Utter hypocrites! If I had the talent, I would gather the power of the masses and replace them all..."

Chen Qingyang had heard enough of his crazed ranting. With a flick of his Sword Point, he ended the man’s life.

Another small flame descended, incinerating the corpse until nothing but ash remained. The ground was left with a scorched mark.

He temporarily stored Xu Baoling in the Warm Jade Scroll, only releasing her once he was back in his room.

"You don’t actually think I’m some Demon Sect Disciple, do you?" Chen Qingyang asked, noticing Xu Baoling’s odd expression.

Xu Baoling’s silence was confirmation enough that she was suspicious.

For she could no longer lie in front of Chen Qingyang.

"Sigh," Chen Qingyang lamented. "Don’t worry. That was all just nonsense spouted by Hu Kai. It’s not true. My origins are exactly the same as Li Qianxue’s, and that has never changed."

After a moment’s pause, Xu Baoling finally said, "Mm."

Chen Qingyang then asked, "Tell me, has a Foundation Establishment Master ever colluded with the Demon Sect in the Sect’s history?"

"Master may not know this, but something like this happens almost every few hundred years. The Sect just keeps it a secret. I’ve only heard whispers because I’ve been around for a long time. After all, it’s quite easy to fall from the path of cultivation into the Demon Dao. For those Foundation Establishment Masters whose cultivation stagnates and whose own lineage lacks promising disciples, the amount of Earth Deity they receive dwindles day by day. When they face the end of their lifespan, it is incredibly easy for them to fall to the Demon Dao."

’So even at the level of a Foundation Establishment Master, there are still desires and troubles. The rat race never ends.’

’If it goes on like this, it truly is a bottomless pit.’

Chen Qingyang gave her the Jade Flower Spirit Dew Pill he had refined that day. "This is today’s elixir. Cultivate well."

"Thank you, Master."

Xu Baoling shrank into a corner and began the refinement of the elixir with her Divine Soul Body, while Chen Qingyang began to take stock of his own cultivation.

[Chen Qingyang]

[Qi Refining Fifth Realm]

[Void Step Introduction: (85/100)]

[Tier Three Qi-Introducing Pill: (41/2000)]

[Great Soul Scripture (Incomplete): (12/600)]

[One-Origin Sword: (307/800)]

[Tier One Yang Replacement Powder: (94/100)]

[Tier Two Jade Flower Spirit Dew Pill: (5/2000)]

[Available Immortal Seedlings: 508]

’One cultivator at the Fourth Realm of Qi Refining and one at the First Realm of Qi Refining, for a total of 507 stolen Immortal Seedlings. I thought a little over two hundred would be my limit tonight, but I ended up with so much more.’

’I can wait on the Yang Replacement Powder and use it when I hit a bottleneck. As for breaking through to the Qi Refining Sixth Realm, I can do that right away.’

He wanted to do it immediately, but considering the commotion it would cause, he decided to rest for the night and head to the Golden Summit early the next morning.

He walked to a secluded pine tree and sat down.

’When Wu Boyou died last time, it didn’t cause much of a stir. The person who died this time was just an Outer Disciple involved in shady dealings, so his death certainly wouldn’t be publicized either.’

As Chen Qingyang focused his intent, his Dantian stirred. A cool wind rushed in from all directions, entering his body with force.

A gust of wind seemed to rise from the ground, swirling the surrounding leaves into the air.

The breakthrough from the Fifth to the Sixth Realm was naturally far more powerful than before. After the energy ran through his Meridians for several Circulations, it finally settled, and another wisp of Golden Qi had accumulated in his Dantian.

When he circulated his Qi Mechanism, five streams of Golden Qi would flow toward the Five Hearts, while a sixth stream took up a presiding position in the central Mud Ball Palace.

This was the unique characteristic of the Qi Refining Sixth Realm: replenishing Yin with Yang and nurturing the Divine Soul with Qi. The Mud Ball Palace began to connect to the Baihui Acupoint, marking the beginning of the formation of a Cultivator’s Spiritual Sea.

Once the Spiritual Sea was fully formed, a cultivator would enter the Essence Condensation realm. Their perception of the Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi would be greatly enhanced, and their proficiency with various Magic Techniques would rise to a new level.

After briefly steadying his mind, Chen Qingyang used the Qi Concealment Method he had developed from the Great Soul Scripture to adjust his Qi Mechanism and breathing. Once he felt confident there were no flaws in his concealment, he headed toward the Golden Summit.

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