Stealing Immortal

With Liu Tao standing protectively before him, her Flying Sword Cyan Simurgh circled, unleashing a powerful wave of fire that rippled outward.

"Her cultivation is higher than mine. I’ll hold her off. When you see an opening, escape and head for the mountains to the north. Xuanwei Master has a Dao Field there."

Her expression was grim as she whispered instructions to Chen Qingyang with great speed.

Chen Qingyang knew Liu Tao wouldn’t say such things unless she sensed a real threat. "Senior Sister, this isn’t the time for that."

Seeing that he wasn’t listening, Liu Tao grew angry. "Just do as I say! It’ll be easy for me to escape."

In the few moments they spent arguing, the figure in black across from them removed their hood. It revealed a pale, delicate face with a frail air. Long hair fluttered, framing her features from her temples to her cheeks. Her glistening, pitch-black eyes held the uniquely shattered look of a young maiden.

It really was her. "You’re... Junior Sister Lin?"

Hearing Chen Qingyang’s words, Liu Tao also thought back carefully. She recalled seeing this girl arguing with him outside the Pill Institute.

"What is going on?"

Across from them, Lin Qingxuan looked over. "Senior Brother Chen, I didn’t expect to see you here. Your cultivation has improved so quickly!"

Of course, her own progress was even more astonishing in comparison. In less than two months, she had achieved an Essence Condensation Cultivation.

Chen Qingyang stared at her for a long moment, recalling their farewell that night. He asked hesitantly, "Are you... Master Xuan Gui now, or are you Lin Qingxuan?"

Before Lin Qingxuan could answer, Liu Tao, standing beside him, was already stunned. "Master Xuan Gui? Wasn’t he executed by our master?"

Lin Qingxuan addressed only Chen Qingyang. "There is no longer a Master Xuan Gui, nor a Lin Qingxuan. There is only Master Qingxuan."

This only deepened the confusion in Chen Qingyang’s mind. "What on earth is going on?"

Lin Qingxuan said, "Why don’t we go down and find a place? I can explain everything to you in detail."

Liu Tao immediately grew wary. "We’re not going. Who knows who you really are now? If you have any regard for your past connection with him, just let us go."

Lin Qingxuan looked at Chen Qingyang, secretly concealing a great deal of pain in her eyes, though her tone remained as firm as ever. "Senior Brother Chen, the Demon Dao conflict is growing more intense. Master Wufang has already set up an Array and is just waiting for you. It’s best you don’t cross the Great Marsh. Also... if you hadn’t given me the Warm Jade Scroll, I wouldn’t be where I am today. I’ve always been grateful to you!"

As she spoke, she stepped aside, clearing a path for the two of them to pass.

Liu Tao, who had been about to leave, froze when she heard the three words "Warm Jade Scroll." She glared at Chen Qingyang and demanded, "You really gave her the gift I gave you?"

He knew he should have been the one to tell her, but he’d kept it a secret until now to avoid this exact trouble. For a moment, Chen Qingyang truly didn’t know how to respond.

Liu Tao continued, "Hmph. So that’s why I haven’t seen you use it lately. It was with her. You brat, you’ve been deceiving me for so long."

With Lin Qingxuan standing right there, Chen Qingyang was genuinely embarrassed. "Senior Sister, why don’t we go down and listen to what Junior Sister Lin has to say? Don’t you want to get to the bottom of all this?"

Liu Tao stopped dwelling on the Warm Jade Scroll, but her expression remained hesitant. "She was just a Miscellaneous Task disciple. How could her status change so drastically? This is still not right!"

Chen Qingyang said seriously, "Senior Sister, I trust her."

"You..." Liu Tao was even more furious. "Fine, fine, fine! Have it your way. Let’s go down."

...

They were now outside the docks, in a stretch of rolling hills. The land was covered in lush green grass dotted with flowers. Two straight, official roads intersected, leading off into the distance.

Beneath a willow tree, inside a pavilion, the two sides faced each other once more. Lin Qingxuan stood alone on one side, while Liu Tao pulled Chen Qingyang to stand on the other.

He asked the same question again. "Junior Sister Lin, what on earth is going on?"

Liu Tao tugged on his sleeve. "How can you be sure that’s really Junior Sister Lin? What if it’s not?"

Across from them, Lin Qingxuan’s voice was as gentle as ever. "It’s a long story. I’m afraid it will take up a lot of your time, Senior Brother Chen."

Despite everything that had happened, her attitude toward Chen Qingyang was unchanged, her tone still filled with respect.

"It’s alright. Take your time and explain."

The young woman fell silent for a moment, as if reminiscing. Her gaze drifted toward the distant mountains before she slowly began to speak. "I only found out later... The only reason I was able to enter the Immortal Sect and ascend the Golden Summit was all part of Master Xuan Gui’s ’Golden Cicada Shell’ scheme..."

"He dissipated ninety-nine percent of his Power, leaving only a sliver of his Divine Soul’s True Spirit hidden inside my body. This allowed him to evade the Circulation of Stars Demon Suppression Array and move freely in and out of the Sect."

"The night I came to see you, my Divine Soul was already under his influence. I was barely managing to resist being consumed by him. The only reason I held on was because when he tried to take control of my body, he was attacked by the Warm Jade Scroll."

"His cultivation was already greatly diminished, and controlling me in his Divine Soul state consumed a great deal of True Essence. This gave me an opening, allowing me to even suppress him temporarily..."

Chen Qingyang knew this young woman well. She was frail on the outside but resolute on the inside, though she had been a bit naive at first. She made it sound simple, but he knew that without a will far beyond that of an ordinary person, she could never have fought against Master Xuan Gui.

"After that... I said goodbye to you and followed Master Xuan Gui here. His original escape route led to the Yu Xiao Demon Sect, but after losing his cultivation, the Demon Sect spurned him. His only option was to stay here at the Nine Nether Mechanic Divine Palace."

At this point, Lin Qingxuan’s gaze shifted back to them, and she fell silent for a moment. Neither Liu Tao nor Chen Qingyang pressed her to continue.

"That day, countless specks of starlight fell from the sky and entered my body. It turned out to be a last-ditch survival technique left by Master Xuan Gui. After his true body was destroyed in the Tai Xu Sect, it broke down into motes of light that, upon Refinement, would allow one to directly enter the Realm of Essence Condensation. It’s just..."

Throughout her tale, Lin Qingxuan’s tone had been flat. Only now did the shattered look in her eyes seem to coalesce, leaving only determination. "That Immortal never imagined that I, a mere mortal, could seize his opportunity, steal his life’s work, and turn his decades of scheming to my own advantage... And so, I became Master Qingxuan."

’It had been less than two months since they last parted, yet she had undergone such a drastic transformation. He thought back on his own journey; though it had been difficult, it was nothing compared to what this young woman had endured. More than sympathy, he felt immense admiration.’

"Junior Sister Lin, you... you’ve suffered!"

Lin Qingxuan shook her head, disagreeing. "It wasn’t suffering. I see it as a tribulation, one I was fated to endure. I now understand clearly which path I must walk."

"When I heard the head of the Yao Family mention your name, I thought I’d come and see. I didn’t expect it to really be you. Just being able to thank you in person is more than enough."

Her slender hand opened, revealing the Warm Jade Scroll. However, it was shattered into two pieces and had long lost its former radiance.

Seeing her gift in such a state, Liu Tao wanted to say something more to Chen Qingyang, but she couldn’t find the words.

"Junior Sister Lin, I heard you’re at odds with that Master Wufang?"

Lin Qingxuan didn’t deny it. "This is the way of survival in the Demon Sect. I can only advance by using him as a stepping stone. The ways of the Demon Dao are different. Please, Senior Brother Chen, ask no more."

Chen Qingyang recalled how she had risked her life to warn him that night. "From what I know, Master Wufang is at the Essence Condensation Second Realm. I know your progress has been incredibly fast, but you still need to be cautious."

After a long moment of contemplation, Lin Qingxuan nodded lightly. "Senior Brother Chen, would you like to see what I’ve become?"

"Yes," Chen Qingyang replied.

Lin Qingxuan began to remove her cloak. Liu Tao, standing beside them, didn’t understand her intent and thought the two had met like this before. But just as she was about to intervene, she froze, stunned by the sight before her.

She was naked from the waist up, her frame still slender, but her skin was completely transformed.

Skin that looked like Mutton Fat Jade was fused to her flesh. It was composed of densely packed, fingernail-sized plates. At her Dantian was a brilliant Golden Wheel, continuously circulating True Qi through Ren and Du Meridians that appeared to be forged from metal.

Her Earth Root and Mingtang Two Acupoints were also transformed: one held an Inscriptionless Jade Stele covered in Profound Nether Cracks; the other, an Exquisite Pagoda that produced a Dragon and Tiger Phenomenon. Both acupoints pulsed with vast reserves of True Essence, the clear sign of the Essence Condensation Second Realm.

A golden light shone from her body, wreathed in swirling Profound Qi that covered her entire upper torso.

The Armor on her body had fused with her very flesh and blood; she had become a half-human, half-armor being.

"Senior Brother Chen, don’t be alarmed. This is my Daoist Technique. As you can see, I am also at the Essence Condensation Second Realm now. Even if I can’t defeat Master Wufang, he won’t be able to harm me. You can return without any worries!"

She put her long robe back on, once again covering that formidable, iron-and-jade exterior.

At this moment, Chen Qingyang had another idea. "We were originally going to the Great Marsh to pick a Water Spirit Immortal and complete our mission, but Master Wufang has obstructed our journey. Senior Sister, why don’t we join forces with her and eliminate Master Wufang?"

Whether this plan succeeded or failed all depended on Liu Tao.

Liu Tao, naturally, pouted angrily. "Are you doing this to complete the mission, or to help *her*?"

"Senior Sister, this is the best of both worlds for us. With the three of us and our combined cultivation, we can definitely eliminate Master Wufang. Then we can also find the remaining fragments of the Great Soul Scripture."

Before Liu Tao could respond, Lin Qingxuan was the first to shake her head. "There’s no need, Senior Brother Chen. You can wait here for ten days, then enter the Great Marsh."

Her refusal, however, only made Liu Tao more determined. "We’re going. We have to go! Why pass up such a good opportunity? It’ll be good training for us, too!"

"You..." Lin Qingxuan started to speak again, but Chen Qingyang stepped between them. "Then it’s settled."