Stealing Immortal

Qi Xiuyuan!

Chen Qingyang reacted instantly, the name flashing through his mind.

Only someone with a Qi Refining Ninth Realm cultivation could unleash such a potent Qi Mechanism.

Before his attacker even arrived, a bone-chilling wind swept over him, so cold it felt as if it could freeze the very Sword Qi in his Dantian.

’He’s trying to kill me!’

With no time to turn back, Chen Qingyang gripped the Warm Jade Scroll in his hand. Instantly, an overwhelming heat surged from his sleeve, enveloping his entire body. He felt a searing pain, as if countless steel needles were piercing him, and his vision was completely engulfed in flames.

"Hah!"

A curse came from behind him as the Qi Mechanism was hastily withdrawn. Chen Qingyang felt the Flame Gang Qi around him fluctuate violently, the shock rattling his insides and nearly making him spit out a mouthful of blood.

"You... you old bastard, you dare trick me!"

Another curse followed.

Only then did Chen Qingyang have a chance to turn around. The man opposite him had a crimson face, and his clothes looked as if they had been scorched, leaving him in a sorry state. His thighs and arms were exposed and fiery red. Wisps of white energy occasionally flowed over his skin, suppressing the flames.

The Ice Skin Jade Bone Technique that Qi Xiuyuan cultivated was a water-aspected True Skill of the Five Elements, making it the perfect counter to the Nine Flavors True Fire left by Liu Tao.

Chen Qingyang observed him carefully. Although the man’s expression was calm, his Qi Mechanism was erratic. Liu Tao hadn’t been wrong; Qi Xiuyuan was gravely injured.

"Senior... Senior Brother Qi, why is it you?" he asked, feigning astonishment. The more critical the moment, the more cautious one had to be.

Seeing this, Qi Xiuyuan indeed lowered his guard. "You old bastard, are you that old bitch’s lover? To think she’d leave such a powerful Restriction on you... COUGH, COUGH..."

As he coughed, a flicker of fire flashed across his face, and blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. After a moment of instability, he forcefully suppressed it with his Ice Skin Jade Bone Technique.

"Senior Brother Qi, are you all right?" Chen Qingyang asked, continuing to size him up.

"Hmph!" Even this cold snort seemed to have lost its usual menace. "Fine. I’ll spare you this time, you old dog. The day I break through to the next realm of my cultivation, you and Liu Tao are both dead!"

His arrogance was already returning.

It seemed he hadn’t noticed at all that for a brief moment, Chen Qingyang’s Qi Mechanism had been amiss while he was at the center of Liu Tao’s Nine Flavors True Fire.

With that said, he prepared to depart using Wind Control.

Chen Qingyang quickly called out, "Senior Brother Qi, look at me!"

Qi Xiuyuan was naturally confused and turned his head instinctively. Chen Qingyang was no longer where he had been standing. All Qi Xiuyuan could see was a brilliant silver wisp of Sword Qi, shaped like a blade, shooting from Chen Qingyang’s fingertip. Before it even made contact, the very air before his face felt sharp and piercing.

"A sword—"

He had barely uttered the word before it reached the spot between his eyebrows. Silver and white light clashed in an instant, erupting with a powerful Qi Mechanism.

’What a powerful Dharma Gate!’

At that moment, the Ice Skin Jade Bone Technique displayed its immense power. Where Qi Xiuyuan’s forehead should have burst open with brains and blood, there was instead a section of skull as durable as White Jade. A shimmering light flowed across its surface, actually managing to block the Sword Qi.

However, the force of the impact still made Qi Xiuyuan spit out a mouthful of blood. No longer daring to waste time on words, he fled straight for the Golden Summit.

He pushed his Yin Yao Step to its absolute limit, moving at incredible speed!

Chen Qingyang remained perfectly calm. No matter what, Qi Xiuyuan had to die tonight. He turned and gave chase.

There were two reasons for this. First, the True Fire left by Liu Tao was burning wildly inside Qi Xiuyuan’s body, forcing him to constantly suppress it with his True Essence, which undoubtedly slowed him down. Second, the Sword Formula from a moment ago had rattled his Divine Soul, leaving him with not even half of his usual cultivation. Before he had taken more than a few steps, Chen Qingyang cut him off.

"You..."

he cried out, but the other man didn’t respond.

Again, he used his finger as a sword, striking unerringly at the injured spot on the skull. The power he unleashed was even greater than before.

CRACKLE! A crisp sound echoed.

Looking again, fine cracks had spiderwebbed across the White Jade skull, seeping blood to form thin red lines.

"Spare me! Please, spare me! I’ll pretend tonight never happened..."

Qi Xiuyuan was practically weeping. Seeing such a weak-willed nature, Chen Qingyang was even more convinced that he couldn’t have survived the Nine Deaths Treasure Mirror on his own.

The only answer he received was another Sword Formula, utterly ruthless in its execution. Qi Xiuyuan hastily circulated his True Essence to block with his hand, but the sword strike pierced straight through it.

Though he wasn’t dead, his body could no longer take the punishment. His legs gave out, and he lost the strength to flee.

Chen Qingyang stood his ground as a gentle breeze brushed past him. The killing intent in his eyes reached its peak, so intense that it stirred his robes.

Slowly, he raised two fingers again.

The intense silver light on them coalesced into a flicker of flame, like a sword-shaped fire.

"It’s the One-Origin Sword... How could that old bitch give you everything..."

The sheer power of the Qi Mechanism stunned Qi Xiuyuan for a moment. From the start of the fight until now, he had been in a constant state of shock, not even managing to draw the sword on his back.

And now, he no longer had the chance.

"Your time is up."

The four words were spoken calmly, as if in normal conversation, without a ripple of emotion.

A flash of silver light burst through the darkness. Chen Qingyang’s face was pale, and large beads of sweat covered his body.

Behind him, Qi Xiuyuan’s eyes were vacant. Blood gushed from his forehead. After four sword strikes, he was finally and truly dead.

After taking a few deep breaths, Chen Qingyang recovered slightly.

He first cleaned up all the bloodstains on the ground, then swiftly picked up Qi Xiuyuan’s body and rushed to a deserted valley.

He then used a large fire to burn the corpse to ashes. The sword, crafted entirely from Cold Jade, lay motionless in the cinders. This item had been a gift from a Foundation Establishment Master, so Chen Qingyang naturally didn’t dare take it. He only left the Lotus Token from the Nine Nether Mechanic Divine Palace on the grass nearby.

This way, the circumstances of the death would be identical to the previous two. Furthermore, with the body incinerated, Liu Tao’s True Fire within it would also vanish completely. This was precisely why Chen Qingyang had intentionally burned the previous two bodies to ash as well.

He scanned the area to ensure no traces were left behind, then used the Void Step Introduction and returned to his small courtyard moments later.

Inside the house, no lamps were lit.

He focused on his breathing, cautiously circulating his energy, and only recovered a bit of his Primordial Energy after a long while.

He had used all his strength in that final strike against Qi Xiuyuan. At that moment, he had even felt his Meridians burn intensely. He estimated that it would take quite some time to recover from such an internal injury.

’He began to review the events in his mind. Qi Xiuyuan had been so difficult to kill not because Liu Tao’s methods were lacking, but because the Ice Skin Jade Bone Technique was far more formidable than anyone had anticipated. Secondly, Qi Xiuyuan’s arrogance had given him an opening. He hadn’t even drawn his sword before losing the ability to do so. Otherwise, it was hard to say who would have emerged the victor.’

’The saying "even a lion uses its full strength to hunt a rabbit" was truly no lie.’

[Available Immortal Seedlings: 1132]

Small golden characters floated in his vision. He gazed at the Immortal Seedlings. This time, he had stolen 1,117, which was more or less what he had estimated.

When Xu Baoling’s physical body was destroyed, he had obtained over eight hundred Immortal Seedlings. Now that Qi Xiuyuan’s body and soul had perished—and given that he had been at the Ninth Realm for much longer—it was only natural to get more.

’If he used them all on his cultivation, he would be just a hair’s breadth from breaking through. But if his appearance were to become younger again and his Qi Mechanism were to change, he wouldn’t be able to hide his secrets. Besides, the Qi Refining Sixth Realm was enough to refine Tier Four Elixirs. There was no need to attract too much attention.’

’If he used them on the Great Soul Scripture, the benefits would certainly be significant. He wondered what new level he would reach. But these were troubled times; a bit more cultivation offered a bit more security for his life. In the end, he decided to save them. If he ever faced real danger, he could break through in an instant.’

After recovering some of his strength, Chen Qingyang adjusted his Qi Mechanism.

"Master, what happened?" As he was doing this, Xu Baoling floated beside him like a phantom.

"Qi Xiuyuan is dead," he stated directly, not hiding anything.

"Ah?" Xu Baoling was stunned. "It was... Liu Tao made a move!"

"Yes and no. Qi Xiuyuan was severely wounded by the Warm Jade Scroll, but he ultimately died by my Sword Formulas."

Xu Baoling knew the backstory behind these events, so she immediately understood. "Master, what you did was far too risky. If my former Master had left a Magical Treasure or something on him, then..."

"It’s fine. He’s dead now, and I’m perfectly all right, am I not? Tell me, what will the consequences be?"

Xu Baoling was clever and thought of the Lotus Token Chen Qingyang had taken from Hu Kai. "You left the token behind?"

"That’s right."

"But was there any residual Qi Mechanism, or anything at the scene that could be traced back to Liu Tao or you, Master?"

Chen Qingyang shook his head.

"My former Master is strong-willed and extremely strict with her disciples, so she naturally cares a great deal about her reputation. What’s more, she was the one who pulled Qi Xiuyuan out of the Nine Deaths Treasure Mirror. She will definitely investigate this matter thoroughly... As for whether suspicion will fall on you, Master, I don’t think you need to worry. This storm will surely be stirred up on the Golden Summit. Given your current status, it would be very difficult for you to be suspected. In the future, all attention will be focused on the Nine Nether Mechanic Divine Palace!"

After hearing her analysis, Chen Qingyang nodded. "That’s what I was thinking, too. It might even divert Leng Yueru’s attention."

"Mm," Xu Baoling hummed, but then hesitated as if she wanted to say more. "However, there is one person who will definitely know, right?"

"You mean Liu Tao?"

"Exactly. After all, she was the one who refined that Warm Jade Scroll. She only needs to glance at it to know if the True Qi inside has been consumed. She’s always been timid and cautious. Master, you must be on your guard against her!"

From Xu Baoling’s perspective, it was indeed a valid concern.

Chen Qingyang waved his hand. "It’s fine. That’s not worth worrying about."

Xu Baoling instantly understood. The relationship between the two was far more intimate than she had imagined.

"Yes. Master is as sagacious as ever!"

The night passed without incident.

After these last two incidents, Chen Qingyang understood that the uproar from the death of such an important Outer Disciple wouldn’t reach him for some time. So, he went about his business as usual.

Hearing that he was about to go out, Lin Qingxuan hurried over.

The young woman was tall and graceful, like a delicate willow in the wind. Despite her fragile appearance, she possessed a strong heart. She bit her red lip and said, "Senior Brother Chen, I’ve seriously considered your advice, and I’ve still decided to go to the Golden Summit. There are more opportunities there, and I don’t want to..."

Chen Qingyang smiled and nodded. "That’s fine, I understand. When are you leaving?"

"In two days."

"All right. I’ll prepare some food and wine tomorrow night as a farewell for you. I promised you all I would, after all."

Lin Qingxuan nodded. "Okay, I’ll go tell the others now."

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