Stealing Immortal

He rushed back to the Golden Summit, traveling day and night.

Thankfully, the journey was uneventful.

Liu Tao was preparing to enter seclusion for three days. She specifically instructed Chen Qingyang that he was not to leave the Alchemy Room until she was finished. Otherwise... she wouldn’t perform the Sacrificial Refinement on the Warm Jade Scroll for him.

Chen Qingyang readily agreed. As soon as Liu Tao went into seclusion behind her curtain, he hunkered down in front of the Pill Furnace and began his research on the Jade Flower Spirit Dew Elixir.

This Elixir was Tier Two at its highest. Among elixirs that repaired the Divine Soul, it was considered the lowest grade. Of course, it was also the only one Chen Qingyang could get his hands on.

He meticulously studied everything about it—the Pill Formula, the process, the annotations...—and a plan formed in his mind. His Fire Control technique was now extremely refined, and since that was the main difficulty in making this Elixir, he grasped it after a quick study.

Before long, the ingredients were processed. This refinement required the Five-Flavor Immortal Grass.

The methods of the Alchemy Dao shared a common origin with Gold and Stone Pharmacology, and also followed the theory of "king, minister, assistant, and envoy" ingredients. For example, the most precious Immortal Grass among them, the "Spirit Storage Juniper Leaf," was the King Medicine. It came from a tree called Spiritual Spring Bai, and the vast majority of the elixir’s effects came from it.

The remaining four types were the ministers, assistants, and envoys, which supported the King Medicine, helped extract its medicinal power, and neutralized its properties.

It was only a Tier One Elixir, and he was only preparing to make one, so Chen Qingyang stopped after just an hour. The Elixir was now before him.

It had a lustrous sheen and a rich medicinal fragrance. A glance at the dregs of the Immortal Grass left in the Pill Furnace showed they had all turned to ash, indicating excellent utilization and that the Fire Control requirements had been met.

After a moment of thought, he used the same method to Refine another one. Its medicinal effects were even better than the last!

With the experience from these two attempts, Chen Qingyang felt he could now Refine a Tier Two Elixir.

This time, the Alchemy process was significantly longer. He also put more effort into the "Late Fire" stage. When the Elixir emerged, it was indeed Tier Two, just as he expected.

Only four or five hours had passed, so he went on to attempt the Yang Replacement Powder.

Compared to the previous elixir, this Pill was much harder to Refine. Furthermore, after the "Late Fire" stage, it didn’t form an elixir but rather a layer of golden powder. Afterward, he still had to use special techniques for further Refinement to turn this golden powder back into a golden pill.

The process was tedious, and every step was complex, which was also the origin of the Yang Replacement Powder’s name.

This was all because this Pill was extremely important for breaking through from the Qi Refining Sixth Realm to the Seventh Realm of Qi Refining. One could even say that the vast majority of Disciples in the entire Tai Xu Sect had taken it. It was especially in high demand by Foundation Establishment Masters who had many Qi Refining Disciples under them.

The Tier Four version, which had the best medicinal effects, was even rarer.

The Yang Replacement Powder required quite a few ingredients, but fortunately, Liu Tao had prepared them in advance.

For the rest of the day, Chen Qingyang studied it. Only after he felt he had completely mastered it did he begin to attempt refining the first batch.

Two hours later, another Elixir was complete. It had reached at least the Tier One level.

[Chen Qingyang]

[Qi Refining Fifth Realm]

[Void Step Introduction: (63/100)]

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

[Great Soul Scripture (Incomplete): (9/600)]

[One-Origin Sword: (304/800)]

[Tier One Yang Replacement Powder: (42/100)]

[Tier Two Jade Flower Spirit Dew Elixir: (1/2000)]

[Available Immortal Seedlings: 1]

On the small golden text, the progress for the Tier One Yang Replacement Powder was very fast; he could probably attempt Tier Two in just a few days. As for the Jade Flower Spirit Dew Elixir, it ran into the same problem as the Tier Three Qi-Introducing Pill—it had hit its upper limit.

「And so, the third day arrived.」

Liu Tao, who was performing the Sacrificial Refinement on the Warm Sun Scroll, would end her seclusion today.

After waking from his meditation and recovering his energy, Chen Qingyang saw that it was still early, so he refined another batch of Tier Three Qi-Introducing Pills.

Just as the Elixir entered the "Late Fire" stage, Chen Qingyang realized she was right beside him.

Her face was a little pale, likely from expending a great deal of energy, and when she spoke, she had the frail posture of a willow in the wind. "The Warm Sun Scroll’s limit is this high. It can’t withstand any more of my True Essence. But this is enough to severely injure Qi Xiuyuan and also protect your life."

After speaking, she took out a Talisman and gave it to Chen Qingyang. "This is a piece of talismanic magic, used for transmitting information. There’s a yin and a yang one. You carry this one with you. If it ever starts to burn, mine will burn as well, and I’ll be able to come save you at top speed."

Chen Qingyang didn’t reply immediately. He waited until the "Late Fire" stage was over before tucking it away with great solemnity. "Senior Sister."

"What is it?" Seeing him gazing at her so solemnly, Liu Tao didn’t know what had happened. A secret joy bloomed within her, and a faint blush colored her cheeks. "Go on, say it."

"Uh... In the future, if your Talisman ever burns, I’ll cross any distance to come save you too!"

"You little rascal, are you jinxing me?" she blurted out, but then she immediately thought, ’Isn’t this his promise to me?’ and giggled. "Well, you’d better not go back on your word in the future!"

Chen Qingyang nodded. "Okay. I don’t need any of the Tier Three Qi-Introducing Pills from today. You can have them to consolidate your Cultivation, Senior Sister. This is a Yang Replacement Powder. See if you can trade it for some ingredients. It’s only Tier One, so it won’t cause a stir. There are also a few Jade Flower Spirit Dew Elixirs, which I’ll take for my own use."

Liu Tao took the Yang Replacement Powder and examined it closely for a moment. She knew Chen Qingyang’s skill in the Alchemy Dao, so her expression wasn’t as shocked as before. "It is Tier One. If you ponder it for two or three years, you should be able to figure out Tier Four. But by then, your Cultivation can’t fall behind. You’ll need to be at least in the Sixth Realm no matter what!"

Liu Tao wouldn’t go out of her way to meticulously inspect Chen Qingyang’s Meridians and Dantian, so she had always assumed he was about to break through to the Fourth Realm.

"Understood, Senior Sister."

...

He had been in the Immortal Sect for a hundred years, and had spent over ninety of them in this small courtyard. It was the place Chen Qingyang knew best.

Only waking up here could make him feel at ease.

He pushed open the window. In just three short days, the snow in the small courtyard had completely melted, leaving the ground even soggier.

The weather seemed to have warmed up quickly, and the sun felt comfortable on his skin.

In the house across the way, the three youths were bustling about again. However, when they invited Chen Qingyang to breakfast today, he flatly refused.

’The first time was a show of friendship, and accepting was to acknowledge it. But I don’t want this to become a habit. It’s better to maintain some distance.’

After a flurry of morning activity, the three youths had to leave for their duties one by one.

Chen Qingyang was in no hurry. At that moment, Li Sheng, the one who usually spoke to him the least, was hesitating at the doorway.

Seeing Chen Qingyang’s gaze fall on him, the youth immediately bowed with his hands clasped. "Greetings, Senior Brother Chen!"

"Is there something you need?"

Among the three, Li Sheng had the sharpest mind. After a brief pause, he organized his thoughts and spoke, "We didn’t see you return for three days, Senior Brother Chen. We thought you had gone to the Golden Summit and weren’t coming back down. I do have a few things I’d like to ask for your guidance on."

"Alright, go ahead."

"Yesterday, I came into contact with the Tai Xu Energy-Introducing Technique. An Outer Sect Teaching Disciple passed it on to me in advance. But I’ve been pondering it for a long time and I always feel like there’s a blockage in my chest. I wanted to ask Senior Brother Chen how I can make my qi flow smoothly."

’Feeling a blockage during one’s first attempt at Qi Refining was normal. Those who had perfectly smooth qi flow on their first try would have been accepted into the Outer Sect long ago.’

’Chen Qingyang understood that the youth was just looking for an excuse to talk to him. After all, the other two of the trio had already interacted with him. Young people liked to stick together, and it wouldn’t be right for him to be left out.’

"It’s nothing to worry about. Just maintain a calm mind. Since they gave you the Dharma Gate in advance, it means they’ve confirmed your talent. With some Cultivation, you’ll get the hang of it."

Indeed, upon hearing this, Li Sheng nodded repeatedly, no longer having any questions. "Thank you, Senior Brother Chen."

"Mm, it’s no trouble."

Just then, Li Sheng hurried back into his room and brought out a very small clay jar. "This is tea from outside the mountains. Although you don’t lack the Immortal Sect’s Spirit Tea here, Senior Brother Chen, you can occasionally have a taste of this Red Dust Qi. This tea is named after my home county. It’s called Wangxian."

’He’s quite savvy,’ Chen Qingyang thought, a little curious about Li Sheng’s background. ’So young and yet so clever.’ "What does your family do?"

"My father was a merchant, but our family’s fortunes later declined. I’ve yearned for the Immortal Dao since I was young, so I decided to come pursue Immortal Cultivation. I have two older brothers, so even without me, they can take care of our parents. Thus, I have no worries holding me back."

Chen Qingyang reached out and took the tea, even giving it a deliberate sniff. It did indeed have a clear, sweet fragrance. "Thanks!"

But Li Sheng, standing across from him, still didn’t leave.

"Is there something else you wanted to say?"

Only then did Li Sheng speak up. "A few days ago, I heard from Zhang Ping that a Fairy came down from the Golden Summit. She seemed to have a very good relationship with you, Senior Brother Chen. I was wondering if she might be the legendary Li Qianxue?"

Chen Qingyang disliked people prying into his affairs more than anything, and he frowned slightly.

The youth opposite him was also very perceptive and noticed the change. "Senior Brother, please don’t misunderstand! The three of us were just curious and rather admire such things, so we were chatting about it amongst ourselves."

Chen Qingyang said, "It wasn’t Li Qianxue. It was a Senior Sister from the Inner Sect here on the Golden Summit."

Inner Sect.

’That means Essence Condensation.’

Having been in the Immortal Sect for so long and having heard many things, how could Li Sheng not be shocked?

Chen Qingyang was about to leave when Li Sheng, opposite him, seemed to think of something else. "Oh, right, Senior Brother Chen! Yesterday, that Senior Brother Hu Kai came looking for you again. He didn’t say what it was about, but he looked extremely anxious. I asked if he wanted me to pass on a message, and he just said you should go find him once you came down."

Chen Qingyang paused for a moment. "Alright, I understand."

Only then did Li Sheng head out the door for his duties.

’This kid really is clever,’ Chen Qingyang mused. ’He knows to save the most important information for last.’