Stealing Immortal
Chapter 20 - 19: Action

Chapter 20: Chapter 19: Action

The Alchemy Room was warm and dry.

Chen Qingyang took off his thick cotton coat, preparing to begin the Alchemy.

Today was the final day. Liu Tao had personally prepared all the ingredients, then watched as Chen Qingyang placed them into the Pill Furnace.

The blue flame inside the Pill Furnace flickered, emitting a gentle, warm light. It burned like this from noon until dusk.

Finally, Chen Qingyang finished his work.

There was no exhaustion, none of the sweating from before. It was as if he had just completed some trivial task.

"I can see that refining this Pill is now a simple matter for you."

Chen Qingyang didn’t reply, merely preparing to extinguish the flame in the Pill Furnace.

But Liu Tao paid him no mind. Her pair of withered hands had already reached inside. Chen Qingyang could see a faint, fiery Gang Qi covering them, shielding her from the heat.

She pinched the Elixir in her fingers, examining it meticulously before holding it up to the lamplight and letting out a dry cackle. "Heh heh, now let’s see how that little demoness can keep causing trouble!"

Chen Qingyang simply said, "Senior Sister, my Cultivation has broken through to the Qi Refining Second Realm. Once Xu Baoling’s matter is settled tomorrow, I can try to refine a Tier Two Qi-Introducing Pill."

"Mm." Liu Tao seemed to suddenly process what he had just said. "Ah, so soon?"

Although Chen Qingyang had mentioned it before, she couldn’t help but look shocked. It had been a month at most.

Chen Qingyang gave a slight nod.

Liu Tao studied him closely, her expression much like the last time. She was silent for a long while.

"Junior Brother, you have such immense talent. How could you have been held back by a Miscellaneous Task position for a Hundred Years? That Li Qianxue is surrounded by experts, yet none of them had the eye to recognize your worth. And so you ended up with me!"

As she spoke, her expression turned coquettish. "Take a good look. What do you think of your Senior Sister? Once I break through, according to the principles of the Fire Control Three Acupoints, it’s inevitable that I’ll become young and beautiful, right?"

Whenever this happened, Chen Qingyang would respond with silence.

’He only said this for one reason: with the final confrontation against Xu Baoling imminent, he needed to show Liu Tao his value so she would be more vigilant later.’

"What, Junior Brother? You don’t believe me?"

Chen Qingyang didn’t take the bait. "Senior Sister, I think we should focus on the matter at hand. Xu Baoling is at the Qi Refining Eighth Realm, after all. I’m afraid if you’re even a split second too late, there will be no more Tier Two Qi-Introducing Pills!"

Liu Tao chuckled. "How many times have you said that? You old codger, you really cherish your life. Don’t worry, your Senior Sister knows what she’s doing."

Chen Qingyang added, "What about Qi Xiuyuan?"

They had discussed this yesterday. Qi Xiuyuan was Liu Tao’s junior brother but had always admired Xu Baoling, even considering himself her Dao Companion. He had been in seclusion for two years and had most likely broken through to the Qi Refining Ninth Realm.

Hearing this, Liu Tao grew instinctively irritable. "Hmph! If he doesn’t get in our way, it’ll be fine. But if he does... we’ve already come this far. Xu Baoling must die!"

This was the attitude Chen Qingyang wanted to see. "I think it’s about time. Let’s go!"

It was the same time of day, and he was on the same path.

He hadn’t run into Qi Xiuyuan yesterday and hoped today would be no different.

The Warm Jade Scroll was hidden in his sleeve, and the freshly refined Qi-Introducing Pill was clutched in his hand.

He pushed the door open and went inside. Xu Baoling was there, dressed in a green Daoist Robe, her long hair unbound. Her figure was graceful, her chest full. ’Since this is the last time I’ll have to see her,’ Chen Qingyang thought, ’I might as well take a few extra glances.’

"Senior Sister, I’ve placed the Elixir here for you. I won’t be coming tomorrow or the day after. I wish you a smooth breakthrough!"

He said his piece and turned to leave.

But Xu Baoling’s gaze shot toward him. "Stop. What were you looking at just now?"

Chen Qingyang hesitated. Xu Baoling, however, chuckled. "It seems you also think your Senior Sister is beautiful, don’t you?"

"Senior Sister is, of course, a peerless beauty, a rare sight in this world."

Xu Baoling snorted. "You’re quite the flatterer. Seeing you every day... I’m actually a little reluctant to part with you."

’Her "reluctance" was definitely not what it seemed on the surface.’

"Senior Sister, I will return in two days. Once Liu Tao is gone, I will be able to serve you loyally at all times."

"Well said. If Liu Tao isn’t eliminated, you won’t have the fortune of being with me every day." She walked forward, took the Elixir in her hand, and inspected it closely.

Though Chen Qingyang’s face was expressionless, he couldn’t help but feel a stir of anxiety. ’A triple dose of Star Meteor Powder, and in front of a skilled Pill Master, no less.’

"Today’s Elixir... seems a little different?"

Her beautiful eyes glanced over, and Chen Qingyang tensed up instantly.

’I haven’t seen any sign of Liu Tao since I left her place. Is she even still hiding nearby?’

"Senior Sister... in what way is it different?"

Xu Baoling covered her mouth and smiled. "I mean the refinement is getting better and better. Honestly, your Senior Sister is truly reluctant to let you go. While the Four Golden Peaks isn’t short on Qi-Introducing Pills like this, I can’t get my hands on them. I can only get some from you. So tell me, how could your Senior Sister not grow fond of you?"

As her voice fell, her outer green Daoist Robe suddenly slipped off, leaving only a thin, translucent gauze covering her body. Large patches of snow-white skin were exposed, and Chen Qingyang’s gaze was instantly drawn to them.

Slender jade-like legs, a graceful waist, the rise and fall of her chest, and the dip of her lower abdomen. It was truly a scene of "a thicket of curls, a ravine of moisture, and amidst the snowy white, a golden light is born."

Then came the Righteous Great Divine Dao, its Brahma Sound washing over him. "Tell me, can you be good to your Senior Sister for the rest of your life?"

A slender, jade-like hand reached out and caressed Chen Qingyang’s chest. For her to pull a move like this at this moment made him unavoidably nervous.

"Does Senior Sister still not trust me?"

Chen Qingyang put on an entranced and infatuated act. Protected by the Great Soul Scripture and his Qi Refining Second Realm Cultivation, he was almost completely unaffected. Only base instinct stirred within his body.

"Of course I trust you. I don’t have a Qi Gathering Pill for you today, but I’ll give you a new one later. If you still have any of the old ones, throw them away. After we get rid of Liu Tao together, I’ll recommend you to be my junior brother. With your Qi-Introducing Pills, I might even be able to reach Essence Condensation."

She studied Chen Qingyang closely again. "Among all the old men I’ve seen, you have quite an extraordinary air about you. Once your Cultivation increases in the future, you’ll become young and handsome again. Heh heh!"

’Even at a time like this, she’s reluctant to kill me. Oh, Senior Sister Xu Baoling, don’t you think it’s all a little too late?’

"Mm, I’ll listen to whatever Senior Sister says. The future heights of my Cultivation will all depend on Senior Sister’s support."

Xu Baoling was immensely pleased. How could she possibly suspect anything? Amidst her loud laughter, she swallowed the Elixir.

He hadn’t expected her to do that.

Chen Qingyang’s nerves instantly tensed. The hand hidden in his sleeve was already gripping the Jade Pendant tightly.

Across from him, Xu Baoling’s laughter abruptly died.

"Something’s wrong... Am I having a cultivation deviation...? That shouldn’t be... The Elixir..."

Her expression flickered between alarm and gloom, and she bit her red lip as if in extreme pain. Her aura surged and then ebbed, completely unstable.

When her gaze fell upon Chen Qingyang, it turned vicious.

"Speak! What did you give me?"

’What is Liu Tao doing? Why hasn’t she shown up yet?’ Not knowing what else to do, Chen Qingyang could only feign ignorance. "Senior Sister, Senior Sister, what’s wrong?"

With a wave of her sleeve, Chen Qingyang was thrown through the air like a broken sandbag. Yet, he was completely unharmed. A flicker of fiery light had emerged from his body, blocking the entire attack.

The moment Xu Baoling saw this, she understood everything and shrieked, "That old hag! It’s that old hag! You conspired with that old hag to harm me! You fed me poison!"

Heedless of everything, she charged forward in a rage. Her thin clothes could hardly conceal her white flesh, leaving her nearly naked.

With a light wave of her hand, a streak of golden light shot toward him.

Before it even reached him, Chen Qingyang felt a monumental force so powerful it made his cheeks ache. If that attack landed, he would undoubtedly die.

At that critical moment, a stream of fiery energy, gentle as a spring breeze transforming into rain, easily neutralized the golden light.

When the utterly enraged Xu Baoling looked again, a gray-robed old woman was standing before her.

"You slut, today you die!"

Seeing Liu Tao’s vicious expression, Xu Baoling grew afraid. "Killing a fellow disciple... aren’t you afraid the Master will execute you...?"

Liu Tao was unmoved.

Xu Baoling’s expression changed again. "Senior Sister, I was wrong back then! I’m begging you, please spare me just this once! I’ll be your slave from now on..."

Liu Tao didn’t speak. She just single-mindedly formed hand seals. At some point, a golden nail materialized and floated before her, the fiery light upon it growing more and more intense.

By now, the poison had taken full control of Xu Baoling’s body, and she seemed to have lost all her strength.

"Senior Sister, no, don’t!"

When the golden nail had charged to its limit, a streak of fiery light shot toward Xu Baoling’s body. Her physical form didn’t burn, but she let out an agonized wail. After just a few breaths, her body went limp and fell silent.

Liu Tao stepped forward and viciously squeezed one of her plump areas. "The slut is finally dead. Her soul is scattered, but her body is unharmed. Even if the Master comes and inspects the corpse, he’ll only think she died from cultivation deviation!"

The words had barely left her mouth when a burst of golden light erupted from Xu Baoling’s body. The glare was so blinding that Chen Qingyang’s vision went black.

It felt as if something had happened to his body, yet at the same time, as if nothing had happened at all.