Stealing Immortal
Chapter 26 - 25: Sword Dao

Chapter 26: Chapter 25: Sword Dao

[Chen Qingyang]

[Third Realm of Qi Refining]

[Tai Xu Energy-Introducing Technique: (1/1000)]

[Tier Two Qi-Introducing Pill: (19/300)]

[Great Soul Scripture (Incomplete): (35/300)]

[One-Origin Sword: (0/100)]

[Available Immortal Seedlings: 5]

Small, golden characters materialized before his eyes. Staring at the mere five Immortal Seedlings listed, Chen Qingyang felt a bit pathetic.

The higher his Cultivation, the more resources it demanded, yet the fewer Immortal Seedlings he seemed to acquire. After receiving so many "benefits" from Xu Baoling, it would be difficult for him to go back to cultivating in seclusion. Besides, the nature of Stealing Immortal was that it became more useful the higher his Cultivation grew. Wasn’t this just forcing him to strive ever upward?

’Oh, well,’ he thought. ’The vast Tai Xu Sect is full of hypocrites anyway. From now on, I’ll just consider myself to be carrying out justice on heaven’s behalf.’

With that thought, Chen Qingyang took four Immortal Seedlings and applied them to the One-Origin Sword.

Starting from his Dantian, the energy traveled through his Eight Extraordinary Meridians, already following the path of the One-Origin Sword. Within a few breaths, it completed a full Circulation, and in an instant, he had achieved a basic entry into the Sword Dao.

There was no need to deliberately comprehend Sword Qi, no need to meticulously ponder Sword Momentum, nor would he need to spend years in deep contemplation like others. It was just that simple...

He remembered Li Qianxue saying that in cultivating the One-Element Sword Technique, simply tempering one’s Sword Qi was considered "entering the hall and glimpsing the path." He figured that completing the full one-hundred points of progress would be just that.

When he slowly opened his eyes, he saw Xu Baoling just staring at him blankly, the Elixir in her hand not yet undergoing Refinement.

He wasn’t surprised by her shock.

"Master, this is..."

She had also reached this stage once, but it had taken her a full year of effort. When she made no further progress, she abandoned the Sword Dao to focus on the Righteous Great Divine Dao.

"You don’t need to be so surprised. I’ve only just touched the threshold. I’m still a ways from truly entering the hall. Hurry up and refine this Qi Gathering Pill!"

The Pill was right there in her hand.

’So it only took him an instant to touch the threshold,’ she thought.

Xu Baoling’s heart filled with a mixture of emotions. She even began to believe that Chen Qingyang might actually let her go soon.

...

「By the time he descended the mountain, it was midnight.」

A night watchman walked through the alleys, striking his clapper.

The mountainside of the Four Golden Peaks was like a small town. Besides providing for food, clothing, housing, and transport, there were even Miscellaneous Task disciples who formed Dao Companion pairs. The Sect didn’t forbid this, but if a woman became pregnant, she would be forcibly sent down the mountain.

Most of these pregnant women would sever their ties to the Red Dust. Once they left the Sect, it was hard to find even a familiar face. One could only imagine their fate.

As for their Dao Companions, Chen Qingyang had seen many.

"Hmph! If you hadn’t seduced me, how could I have fallen for your trick? Go down the mountain yourself. Don’t obstruct my Immortal Dao!"

Once that step was taken, in the eyes of a Miscellaneous Task disciple, it meant transcending one’s mortal coil. Compared to that, moral constraints seemed infinitesimally small.

All was silent.

The lights in many of the small courtyards had been extinguished.

As Chen Qingyang arrived at his own gate, he once again sensed the same familiar aura from the past few days. He had thought that after the last test, Xu You would have stopped this pointless charade.

’Perfect,’ he thought. ’It’s time to put an end to this.’

Chen Qingyang didn’t linger. Xu You didn’t reveal himself either, merely continuing to watch from the shadows.

Back in his room, Chen Qingyang didn’t go to sleep. He lit a candle, its flame casting a flickering shadow on the window, then quickly extinguished it.

When he emerged again, he was dressed in short, black clothes and moving with extreme speed. He left his courtyard and hurried away.

Seeing this, Xu You believed he had found Chen Qingyang’s weakness and immediately quickened his pace to follow.

The moonlight was enchanting on the captivating, snowy night.

This Senior Brother Chen now stood ramrod straight. As his legs moved, he tapped lightly on the snow, leaving not a single trace. His pace grew faster and faster, showing no sign of the hundred-year-old man he was supposed to be. Witnessing this, Xu You grew even more excited.

One chasing the other, they left the mountainside far behind in the blink of an eye, heading toward an even more remote area.

In the valley, a stream flowed, and the snow lay deep.

The path had long since vanished, and there were no tracks in the snow to show anyone had passed.

Xu You, of course, understood that Chen Qingyang was deliberately luring him. However, he was confident in his own superior Cultivation. Even if his opponent had managed a Breaking Realm, he’d done so at a hundred years old; his vitality would be weak, posing no threat at all.

"Junior Brother Chen, you can stop now, can’t you?"

With a leap, Xu You blocked Chen Qingyang’s path.

Chen Qingyang first glanced around. They were an unknown distance from the Golden Summit, and the small courtyards on the mountainside had long since disappeared behind a ravine.

"Junior Brother Xu, you entered the Qi Refining Realm at such a young age. Your future on the Golden Summit would be boundless. Why must you insist on hounding an old man like me?"

Xu You sneered, pacing back and forth on the ground. The cold glint in his eyes told Chen Qingyang that he intended to kill him. "It’s not that I’m insisting on hounding you, Junior Brother Chen. I’m just a man who seeks the truth. Have you forgotten that I love to get to the bottom of things?"

Chen Qingyang feigned a sigh. "The truth? Haven’t you already seen it, Junior Brother? It’s your origins that are truly strange. And what exactly is this Profound Light Association?"

"Hmph! I get angry just thinking about it. That bastard Hu Kai almost ruined everything. He didn’t even know you were already at Qi Refining and insisted on trying to recruit you. He had no idea that if someone like you ever reached the Golden Summit, none of the Profound Light Association’s secrets would be safe."

As he said this, his killing intent soared.

Chen Qingyang sighed again. "So, you’re saying you want to kill me, Junior Brother?"

"Precisely."

"Haha!" Chen Qingyang laughed heartily as a golden light erupted from his body. The aura he displayed was enough to startle Xu You. "Perfect! I don’t want you to live either, Junior Brother!"

How could Xu You have possibly imagined his opponent was at the Third Realm of Qi Refining? He simply braced himself. "Hmph! Let’s see if you have what it takes!"

His speed was incredible, his burst of movement ferocious. In an instant, he was right in Chen Qingyang’s face.

His hands formed seals at lightning speed as he chanted an incantation. A dense Profound Light erupted from behind him, and his hands, taking the form of a sword and saber, chopped down with overwhelming force.

Such techniques were definitely not something a Miscellaneous Task disciple could possess!

Either someone in the Tai Xu Sect taught him in secret, or he was a legacy disciple who brought his master’s teachings with him. If it was the latter, getting involved with him would mean endless trouble!

Unexpectedly, Chen Qingyang remained unfazed. An astral wind formed above his head, blocking all of Xu You’s attacks.

"You..." Stunned, Xu You stumbled back three steps. "You’re not at the First Realm of Qi Refining?"

"Many things were just your own assumptions. I never said a word."

Realizing the situation was beyond him, Xu You decided to retreat. Just as he was about to flee, he found that with a light push off the ground, Chen Qingyang was already above his head. With a simple point of his hand, Xu You was slammed heavily into the snow.

"Chen! Don’t you go too far!"

It took him a long moment to struggle back to his feet, his body a complete mess.

"Heh." Chen Qingyang sneered. "Weren’t you the one who was trying to kill me?"

As his voice fell, a Jade Scroll materialized in mid-air, emitting waves of Fire.

Xu You’s pupils dilated. A fleeting flicker of fire shot toward the spot between his eyebrows.

He had no time to react. In an instant, it entered his body. It felt as if his limbs and bones were being set ablaze, and then came death.

After he died, the Fire continued to spread until his body was burned to ash. Chen Qingyang then pushed out with his palm, sending a wave of Power that scattered the ashes. ’It would be great if it started snowing heavily right now,’ he thought.

Almost at the exact moment of Xu You’s death, his face appeared in Chen Qingyang’s mind as Stealing Immortal absorbed a White Flame from it.

It was the first time in his life he had killed someone. He thought he would feel dazed, but after a brief pause, he found he felt nothing much at all and quickly left the area.

「Half an hour later, he was sitting silently on his bed.」

[Chen Qingyang]

[Third Realm of Qi Refining]

[Tai Xu Energy-Introducing Technique: (1/1000)]

[Tier Two Qi-Introducing Pill: (19/300)]

[Great Soul Scripture (Incomplete): (35/300)]

[One-Origin Sword: (4/100)]

[Available Immortal Seedlings: 104]

’Not bad. Not bad at all!’

He had stolen 99 Immortal Seedlings. Xu You hadn’t been boasting; to step into Qi Refining by the age of thirty meant he truly had some talent.

The next step was to break through in his Sword Dao.

He focused his thoughts on the panel, and the progress for the One-Origin Sword reached Perfection in an instant. A change began to stir within his Dantian.

Sharp True Essence erupted from its center and spread to his limbs and bones. His body surged unpredictably as three strands of Golden Qi tangled together in his Dantian. It was like facing a Breaking Realm, another tempest of raging waves...

「When it all came to a stop.」

The small room was still dark. Chen Qingyang extended a finger, and on its tip, a tiny point of silver light burned like a sword seedling. Though its aura was small, it was just as sharp and unstoppable.