Stealing Immortal

Chapter 60: Chapter 59: Golden Core

The room was dim.

Chen Qingyang sat cross-legged on his bed, slowly exhaling a dense breath from his chest. The Golden Qi from the Five Hearts of his body flowed along with it, re-gathering in his Dantian.

Among them, a strand of Golden Qi connecting his Mud Ball Palace to the Baihui Acupoint on the crown of his head was the most potent. Now, whenever he cultivated and meditated, it would always drift between the two points.

Gradually, this strand of Golden Qi also returned to his Dantian. He began to adjust his breathing frequency and the expression of his body’s Qi Mechanism, slowly making himself appear like a low-level Qi Refining Cultivator—at the Second or Third Realm at most.

[Chen Qingyang]

[Qi Refining Sixth Realm]

[Void Step Introduction: (99/100)]

[Great Soul Scripture (Incomplete): (16/600)]

[One-Origin Sword: (2/1200)]

[Tier Two Yang Replacement Powder: (78/200)]

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

[Dragon and Tiger Fighting Calamity Pill: (0/50)]

[Available Immortal Seedlings: 1132]

A golden light flickered in his eyes. He stared at the number of available Immortal Seedlings, but ultimately suppressed the tremor in his heart.

The Separation Dragon Pill Institute’s competition was still two months away. He just had to endure these two months peacefully. After all, if his Cultivation advanced another step, it was highly likely he would revert to his youthful appearance. Holding back also meant he could make a push for the Tier Four Yang Replacement Powder at a critical moment.

The sky had not yet brightened, but Chen Qingyang heard a noise in the courtyard.

As he was pondering, he sensed that it was Lin Qingxuan leaving. The courtyard had been lively for half the night, and Chen Qingyang had experienced the fervor of youth.

Lin Qingxuan was a quiet, taciturn person. She wouldn’t say words of farewell and found it hard to express sadness. Leaving alone with her bag was her best way of saying goodbye.

He meditated for a while longer. When he felt the light in the room grow brighter, he exhaled a dense breath and opened his eyes.

This "dense" did not mean impure. It was the counterpart to "clear," representing the substantial. "Clear," in turn, did not mean transparent; it represented Qi, which could be considered ethereal.

In simpler terms, it was a process of "transforming the substantial into the ethereal, refining essence into Qi."

After dressing and washing up, Chen Qingyang pushed open the door.

The wind outside was strong, and a rush of fresh air instantly flooded in.

"Senior Brother Chen, Junior Sister Lin is gone!"

The two youths reacted differently. Zhang Ping sounded wistful, while Li Sheng was full of reluctance.

’A perfect moon on a beautiful night, green willows and peach blossoms... A young man’s admiration should indeed come so quickly!’

"Mm. Now that you’ve embarked on the path of Immortal Cultivation, you can’t view things the same way as mortals. Rules are established based on circumstances. When circumstances change, your understanding of the rules must also change. The road ahead is long. There will be other times."

Zhang Ping was a bit confused by such scholarly words, but Li Sheng seemed to have a sudden realization. He bowed to Chen Qingyang and departed.

"Senior Brother Chen, ah, you’re saying we’ll live for a long time, so anything can happen."

Chen Qingyang nodded. "As long as you can set foot on the Immortal Dao, that will be the case."

"Haha, Senior Brother Chen is so learned."

Zhang Ping left as well.

Leaving the small courtyard, Chen Qingyang didn’t rush up the White Jade Steps. Instead, he veered off the path and walked into a deserted valley.

He looked around. A constant wind flowed through the dense mountain grass. Where the pass was narrow, the wind’s speed increased. Where it was wide, with nothing to obstruct the view, it felt magnificent.

’Perhaps... this is the Wind Dao.’

He activated Void Step Introduction. A gentle breeze gathered beneath his feet, steadily holding his body aloft. Within a single breath, he rose a hundred zhang. When he tried to go higher, he felt his Qi Mechanism stagnate. ’The bottleneck must be here.’

Chen Qingyang stood with his hands clasped behind his back, cutting a rather immortal figure!

With a thought, the wind moved as he willed, pulling him forward at great speed. Whether he could travel a thousand li in a day was hard to verify, but it certainly felt possible.

With this, his Void Step Introduction had reached a new level. He just noted that the proficiency cap had jumped significantly, all the way to a thousand.

This Dharma Gate was originally meant as a basic form of transportation for Qi Refining Disciples. If he wanted to go faster in the future, he would have to find another method, or perhaps use Sword Control.

’I’ve worked my way up from a Miscellaneous Task disciple to this point. My entry into Cyan Bamboo Peak is now virtually guaranteed; I only need to wait for the right opportunity.’

He walked up the White Jade Steps, one step at a time.

He moved at a leisurely pace, taking in the scenery on both sides. Two squirrels playing by the path didn’t even scurry away when they saw him. Only then did he recall that he had fed them before.

As for the Golden Summit.

He had just reached the Alchemy Room when he heard Leng Yueru’s voice from inside.

’I’ve known Liu Tao for a while, and I’ve rarely seen her get close to any of her peers. It’s clear she’s come here for me.’

’It’s true that I’ve stirred up a lot of trouble because of the Immortal Seedlings. But without them, I’d still be stuck in the First Realm of Qi Refining, let alone concocting Tier Two Qi-Introducing Pills.’

’Since I’ve chosen this path, I’ll just have to deal with the trouble that comes with it.’

Knowing the power of a Fifth Realm Essence Condensation Cultivator, Chen Qingyang didn’t dare hesitate at the door. He knocked and called out, "Senior Sister Liu!"

Hearing a response from within, he entered. Just as he expected, Leng Yueru’s gaze was fixed on him.

"I heard... you want to go to Cyan Bamboo Peak, and you plan to secure a spot through an alchemy competition?"

She hadn’t asked much about it when he mentioned it last time, but today she was paying attention.

Chen Qingyang gave a self-deprecating, bitter smile. "Senior Sister Leng, as you can see, I have no other way. After all, I’ve been languishing among the Miscellaneous Task disciples for so long, and I’m getting old. Most people look down on me."

Leng Yueru seemed to empathize. "It is a pity. If Li Qianxue were still awake, I imagine things wouldn’t be so difficult for you, would they?"

"I can’t blame anyone else. It’s just that my fate wasn’t so kind. Back when Senior Sister Li was still conscious, I couldn’t even break through to Qi Refining!"

Leng Yueru nodded lightly. "That’s true. If not for her stewards, they wouldn’t have violated the Sect’s rules to keep you for so long. Even your Immortal Fate was given to you by her."

He couldn’t tell if she was genuinely empathetic or had some other motive, so Chen Qingyang just responded to her noncommittally.

"Mm, what Senior Sister Leng says is reasonable."

At this point, Leng Yueru’s gaze shifted to Liu Tao. After all, her junior sister was the master of this place. "Junior Sister, I still have a few more questions. It won’t disturb him while he’s performing alchemy for you, will it?"

Whenever she asked about Chen Qingyang, Liu Tao grew a little worried. But since Leng Yueru had already brought it up, she couldn’t refuse. "Mm, feel free, Senior Sister!"

"Speaking of which, I met Li Qianxue once. She was just too outstanding to remember me, that’s all."

After that moment of sentimentality, Leng Yueru’s expression turned serious. "A junior brother from our lineage named Qi Xiuyuan died suddenly the night before last. Do you happen to know him?"

He had been to Qi Xiuyuan’s courtyard, and Qi Xiuyuan’s Miscellaneous Task disciples had all seen him clearly, so it wasn’t strange that she would ask.

"Sigh!" Following his bitter smile, Chen Qingyang let out a long sigh. "When I was a Miscellaneous Task disciple, I once saw him arguing with Senior Sister Xu Baoling. He was punished because of it and grew to resent me deeply. So of course, I know him."

Leng Yueru watched him quietly, trying to find any flaw in his expression. "Then how did you dare to visit him? Weren’t you afraid he’d beat you to death? Or did you have something to rely on?"

He couldn’t reveal the matter of the Warm Jade Scroll, of course. He spoke before Liu Tao could. "I am Senior Sister Liu’s Miscellaneous Task disciple, after all, and she is an Inner Sect Disciple. Even if he taught me a lesson to vent his anger, he wouldn’t go so far as to kill me."

"Senior Sister Liu treats me well. If it weren’t for her, I’d still be doing odd jobs on the mountainside. This whole grudge started because I ran my mouth. I can’t let people direct their anger toward Senior Sister Liu."

Liu Tao understood Chen Qingyang’s meaning now and chimed in, "A matter that started because of a Miscellaneous Task disciple should be resolved at that level. I don’t want to harbor such a great enmity with someone either. You know, Senior Sister, our Master thought very highly of Qi Xiuyuan!"

Leng Yueru seemed to have no more questions and began to talk about something else. "I’ve already confirmed that the token from the Nine Nether Mechanic Divine Palace is real. I also discovered something strange on the mountainside."

’Why is she telling me about her investigation?’ Liu Tao knew that her senior sister was not one to let things go easily. "What strange thing?"

"In the room of Hu Kai from the Profound Light Association, I found a list with sixty-nine names on it. All of these people used methods from the Nine Nether Mechanic Divine Palace to achieve their breakthroughs. We have now apprehended all of them."

"These people originally had no Immortal Fate. They were forcefully pushed up, and the vast majority are registered under Master Xuan Gui."

Liu Tao didn’t know what she meant by all this, so she remained silent. Leng Yueru’s gaze once again fell on Chen Qingyang. "Junior Brother Chen, did this Hu Kai ever tell you about any of this?"

"No, but he did mention a certain Dharma Gate that could allow a Miscellaneous Task disciple with enough accumulated experience to directly break through and become an Outer Disciple."

At this moment, Leng Yueru was like an auditor cross-referencing accounts. Chen Qingyang’s performance clearly matched up.

"Then how is it that he didn’t succeed in recruiting you?"

"Senior Sister may not know, but I had already broken through to the First Realm of Qi Refining by then. Why would I need their methods? Besides, I didn’t dare get involved in that kind of trouble."

Having said this, Leng Yueru stopped questioning Chen Qingyang and turned back to her junior sister. "Junior Sister, do you understand the crux of the matter concerning this Miscellaneous Task disciple of yours?"

Liu Tao could only shake her head.

"It’s about the struggle for the Golden Core."

Liu Tao was still shaking her head. "I don’t quite understand. Please explain in more detail, Senior Sister."

"The Yu Xiao Demon Sect is behind the Nine Nether Mechanic Divine Palace. For years, we have maintained a balance with the Demon Sect because both sides have a similar number of Golden Core True Monarchs. Li Qianxue’s appearance shattered that balance. The last time she was plotted against, it was a coordinated attack from both within and without."

"Now, although Li Qianxue is in a coma, there’s no guarantee she won’t wake up later. The balance would be broken all the same. So, they’ve been trying all sorts of methods and schemes. Using this Junior Brother Chen to get close to Li Qianxue is one of those methods."

’Leng Yueru really is clever,’ Chen Qingyang thought. ’It’s only been two days since the incident, and she’s already uncovered so much through her investigation.’

Chen Qingyang himself had only learned all of this after waiting for Hu Kai to explain it personally that day.

"Then... Senior Sister, what should I do?" Liu Tao paused for a moment.

Leng Yueru simply said, "I also found out that Hu Kai isn’t his real name. He’s gone by Zhao Kai, Liu Wenyuan, Lin Shaoyang... His Cultivation is at the First Realm of Qi Refining, but he isn’t fifty years of age as he appears. He’s at least one hundred and twenty. To be able to live that long and constantly change his appearance, someone inside our Sect must be helping him!"

At this point, she looked at Chen Qingyang again. "If I wanted to defect to the Demon Sect, Li Qianxue would be an excellent token of allegiance. I’m afraid your road ahead will not be peaceful. Besides Junior Sister Liu, I can also protect you. It just depends on you..."

The unspoken words, of course, were ’what you will do.’

Chen Qingyang’s face was a picture of confusion. "I don’t quite understand. What is it that Senior Sister wants me to do?"

Her words stopped there. After bidding farewell to Liu Tao, Leng Yueru pushed open the door and left.

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