Stealing Immortal

[Chen Qingyang]

[Seventh Realm of Qi Refining]

[One-Origin Sword: (524/1600)]

[Great Soul Scripture (Fragmented Technique): (5/999,999)]

[Tai Xu Star Pivot Purple Micro True Skill (Starlight Body): (5/3,000)]

[Dragon and Tiger Fighting Calamity Pill: (51/100)]

[Liu Family Ancestral House Incense and Candle Prayer Skill for Gathering Blessings: (100/100)]

[Tier One Nameless Elixir: (19/600)]

[Tier One Qi Gathering Pill: (76/100)]

[Available Immortal Seedlings: 1,082]

He left the building and, in a flash, arrived outside the mansion. Standing in a deserted spot, he watched the small golden characters float before his eyes.

As he expected, the Immortal Seedlings from that Qi Refining Ninth Realm Cultivator, combined with his prior accumulation, would allow him to break through to the Qi Refining Eighth Realm in one go.

After adding the Immortal Seedlings, a wind stirred endlessly around him. He consumed four Spirit Stones, and an eighth strand of Golden Qi finally formed within his Dantian.

It meandered about before finally settling in his Mud Ball Palace. He then used it to open his Baihui Acupoint, and from that moment on, his Cultivation officially entered the Qi Refining Eighth Realm.

Once the ninth strand appeared, he could form a three-and-six configuration. With six below and three above, their fusion would give birth to a Spiritual Sea to house his Divine Soul, and his Cultivation would officially step into the Realm of Essence Condensation.

The Spiritual Qi here was faint, so the breakthrough took quite some time. Chen Qingyang then used a technique from the Great Soul Scripture to adjust his body’s Qi Mechanism. A moment later, he no longer looked like someone in the Qi Refining Eighth Realm. ’My Cultivation has been increasing too quickly lately. I need to keep a low profile for a while, especially within the Tai Xu Sect.’

Having completed his breakthrough, he approached the Yao Mansion again and released his Conscious Fish, beginning a search within the residence.

He had told Liu Tao to wait where she was for two reasons. First, he was worried she would once again find his methods too ruthless, leading to unnecessary misunderstandings. Second, the remaining four brothers had mediocre Cultivation, so Liu Tao’s help was not needed.

Before long, the locations and activities of everyone in the mansion were imprinted in his mind. Only the fourth brother was missing. ’He must have gone to contact that Master Wufang,’ he thought.

Chen Qingyang had deliberately waited these past two days for precisely this reason—for him to leave.

「In the study.」

The third brother was in a leisurely mood. He gazed at the smoke curling up from the Incense Burner, lost in thought for a good while, before finally painting a picture of Cyan Bamboo.

Though the bamboo grew from the soil in a corner, it was nourished by the Sun and Moon Essence, by rain and snow, growing taller section by section until its tip reached beyond the courtyard wall. The symbolism was, of course, excellent, implying the Yao Clan’s escape from their cage.

Just as he was basking in his own contentment, a Qi Mechanism suddenly entered his body from an unknown source. He tried to resist, but his body was already being ravaged. Excruciating pain shot through his Dantian and Meridians, and his body felt as if it were on fire.

His face turned beet red, like a boiled shrimp, and he clutched his stomach, curling up on the floor. As he watched in terror, that Senior Brother Chen from the Tai Xu Sect pushed the door open, entered, and then closed it behind him.

"Mm, the symbolism in this painting is quite good. I like it a lot, because..."

Chen Qingyang smiled. "I think it suits me better."

"Who... are... you..." He finally managed to force out the three words. The man before him didn’t feel like one of those lofty figures from an Immortal Sect.

"Isn’t it obvious who I am? I’m the Disciple from the Tai Xu Sect. The very one you five—father and sons—plotted to kill!"

Hearing this, the third brother lowered his head, his expression flickering between various emotions.

"Don’t even think about it. The moment you made your decision, your doom was sealed. I’ve kept you alive because I find you useful. Whether or not you can prove that usefulness depends on your performance!"

"Heh... heh..." Gritting his teeth against the intense pain, the third brother actually managed a laugh. "Useful? Do you dare to kill me?"

Chen Qingyang said, "You really are the smartest of you three brothers. You know that someone with my methods would never let you live."

The third brother raised his head and laughed at him again. "Heh... heh... Then why don’t you hurry up and kill me?"

Chen Qingyang remained unhurried. He sat down opposite him, took out the Separation Huo Dragon Pearl, and with a light flick, sent a flame into the man’s body. The third brother was immediately overwhelmed with a pain worse than death.

"You need to understand something. Seeking death is easy, but what if you can’t even die? With my abilities, I can seal your Divine Soul and make you suffer this torment day and night." He had used this method on Hu Kai once before, and the results had been quite satisfactory.

"You..." The third brother was furious, but he was utterly helpless.

"Since you’re so smart and know you’re doomed to die, why not cooperate with me for once? It might make your death a little easier."

"Fine... What do you want to know?"

Chen Qingyang asked, "What is that Master Wufang’s Cultivation?"

’This is a very important question. If Master Wufang’s Cultivation is very high, I’ll report it to the Sect and let Xuanwei Master handle it.’

’If Master Wufang’s Cultivation is average and we could actually deal with him, then I’ll play along and see if I can break through to the Qi Refining Ninth Realm.’

’Two thousand Immortal Seedlings... that’s an incredible number. It would take an Essence Condensation Cultivator to provide that many.’

Hearing the question, the third brother, smart as he was, knew that the other man understood everything. There was no point in hiding anything further. "He’s at the Qi Refining Ninth Realm, but he’s been established at that level for a very long time, far beyond my father."

Chen Qingyang sneered. "It seems you’re not one for telling the truth either. I have no more time to waste on you. Suffer!"

The Qianxue Sword on his back didn’t even need to be drawn. With just a flick of his Sword Point, he destroyed the man’s physical body. When the Divine Soul tried to escape, he simply reached out and seized it.

He considered putting it into the Separation Huo Dragon Pearl for a slow interrogation, but he didn’t have complete control over the world within the Dragon Pearl. One careless move, and the soul would be scattered to the winds.

’Dying so easily is letting him off cheap.’

An image of the man appeared in his mind as the Stealing Immortal hovered over his head and extracted 425 Immortal Seedlings.

’A Fourth Realm of Qi Refining Cultivator only yielding this many Immortal Seedlings... it’s proof his foundation was unstable. Besides the lack of Spiritual Qi, he must have focused all his efforts on scheming.’

After disposing of the body, he went to find the second brother in the mansion. He refused to believe he couldn’t get the details about Master Wufang out of him.

Chen Qingyang crouched in the shadows, sending his Conscious Fish ahead. He saw a small child in the second brother’s room, sitting on his lap and chattering in a sweet, childish voice about the joys of family.

"Great-grandpa, Mommy said we’re going on a big boat tomorrow to a faraway place! She said it’s very pretty, even better than here!"

A benevolent look in his eyes, the second brother gently patted the child’s back. "Yes, that’s right."

"Are you coming with us, Great-grandpa?"

"Of course I am. You’ll just have to go one step ahead of me."

After they played for a while longer, he had a maid take the child away. The second brother then sat alone in his rocking chair, a look of serene contentment on his face.

In that moment, he truly looked like an ordinary, wealthy old man.

Suddenly, he sensed a shadow in front of him. When he opened his eyes, a young man with a Sword on his back was standing beside him.

"Senior... Senior Brother Chen?" He hadn’t yet realized that the man was there to cause trouble.

"I want to ask you something," Chen Qingyang said, his tone flat.

The second brother stood and bowed. "Please ask, Senior Brother Chen."

"What is Master Wufang’s Cultivation? And is he currently hiding in the Great Marsh, waiting for me and Senior Sister Liu to arrive?"

The second brother was horrified. He was about to mobilize the True Essence in his body when he saw that Chen Qingyang, whose Cultivation was far superior to his own, was faster. In an instant, a powerful Sword Qi flooded his body, immobilizing him.

The pain, which clung to his bones and gnawed at his heart, caused fine beads of sweat to break out on his forehead.

"Don’t even think about struggling. If you can tell me the truth, I might consider sparing your life and letting you enjoy that family bliss you seem to cherish. And by the way, your father and brother have already paid for this with their lives."

THUD. With his last bit of strength, he chose not to fight to the death, but to fall to his knees. "Senior Brother Chen, will you really spare my life?"

Chen Qingyang said, "That depends on the choice you make."

"As far as I know, Master Wufang’s Cultivation is extremely profound. He’s at the Essence Condensation Cultivation level and has opened at least Two Acupoints. He has already laid an ambush, waiting for you two Upper Immortals to walk into it... Sigh. If not for my father and the entire family being deceived by him, things would never have come to this..."

’That level of Cultivation is definitely higher than Liu Tao’s. If the two of us go, it would be suicide. What he’s saying must be true.’

As he spoke, the second brother began to weep. "I worried from the start that this was a bad idea, but I couldn’t stop them! I beg you, Upper Immortal, spare my life! I’m willing to cripple my own Cultivation and live as an ordinary old man. Just let my family’s bloodline be preserved..."

He had certainly given in quickly. He seemed to be the least ambitious of all the brothers.

"What is this Master’s status in the Nine Nether Mechanic Divine Palace?"

The second brother replied, "There are many such Masters in the Divine Palace, and they all compete with each other for benefits. His status isn’t particularly high. This Master also has two Disciples at the Artifact Refining Eighth Realm who often accompany him. They will surely be the ones to ambush you Upper Immortals."

He was being perfectly clear with his confession. Chen Qingyang stood there, pondering for a long time, before finally saying, "Fine. I’ll spare you."

He understood the principle of cutting the weeds and pulling up the roots. In the long life of Immortal Cultivation, who knew what kind of person this family might produce in the future.

But right now, he just didn’t feel like killing this man. If someone really came seeking revenge in the future, then he would face them.

The second brother trembled with excitement and began to kowtow. "Thank you for sparing my life, Upper Immortal! Thank you, Upper Immortal..."

Chen Qingyang struck out again with his Sword Point, hitting the second brother in the abdomen. The man’s body instantly curled up; his Cultivation had been completely destroyed. Given his advanced age, it was now almost impossible for him to ever practice cultivation again in this lifetime.

The second brother’s kowtows became even more frequent. "Thank you, thank you for sparing my life, Upper Immortal..."

He knew that the other man was truly letting him live.

"Don’t even think about going to the Nine Nether Mechanic Divine Palace. You’ll surely die if you go. Take your family, young and old, get on a boat, and find somewhere else to settle. I’m going to see the eldest brother now. Don’t disturb me."

"Yes, yes..."

Watching the door close little by little, the second brother felt a great sense of relief.

This man had been at the Qi Refining Sixth Realm, the highest among the brothers, yet he had given it all up just like that. He was quite decisive.

Chen Qingyang saw the golden text: 596 Immortal Seedlings stolen. This was nearly everything a Sixth Realm Qi Refining Cultivator had to offer. After all, with his Dantian destroyed, it would be difficult for him to ever rise again.

Using his Conscious Fish again, he arrived at the eldest brother’s courtyard in a moment.

Chen Qingyang discovered something interesting. This old man, who on a normal day struggled just to stand, had now taken off his upper garment, revealing something on his abdomen that looked like a Metal Lotus. A faint, bloody light was emanating from it, and it even looked somewhat familiar.

Armor!