Stealing Immortal
Chapter 29 - 28: Plotting

Chapter 29: Chapter 28: Plotting

Day broke.

On the mountainside, people began to head to work in twos and threes.

Snow still covered the road, making a crunching sound underfoot and leaving long, dirty trails in its wake.

In contrast, their small courtyard was quite desolate. Chen Qingyang had finished his cultivation early, and after washing up, he meditated for a while longer. He would be heading out a bit later today.

"Senior Brother Chen, Senior Brother Xu hasn’t been back for days. Putting everything else aside, according to the Sect’s rules, since we share a courtyard with him, we have to report it to a Steward. Otherwise, we’ll be blamed!"

In the courtyard, Lü Yunshen offered his suggestion. For once, Xu Yong actually stood with him on the matter.

"That’s right, Senior Brother Chen. I really don’t know where Senior Brother Xu could have gone at a time like this. I still have so much I need to talk to him about..."

However, Xu Yong’s attitude toward Xu You was completely different from Lü Yunshen’s.

Chen Qingyang looked at the two of them, a plan quickly forming in his mind. "Junior Brother Xu, I’ll have to trouble you to take a trip to the Steward’s office and report this. Be clear about how many days he’s been missing and when he disappeared... And Junior Brother Lü, you go find Hu Kai and tell him the same thing. He’s a member of the Profound Light Association, after all. Let’s see how he responds."

Chen Qingyang was the one who had gotten Lü Yunshen into the Profound Light Association, and Lü Yunshen often told him about the association’s affairs. He understood the hidden meaning at once. "Alright, I’ll go right now."

Watching him leave, Xu Yong finally spoke up. "Senior Brother Chen, I heard that Senior Brother Lü only got into the Profound Light Association because you recommended him. You know he and I have never gotten along. Are you forgetting that *you* only got into the Profound Light Association because I recommended you?"

Chen Qingyang finally recalled that he had made arrangements for almost everyone around him, but had left out Xu Yong.

’Should I find some trouble for him, or should I take him under my wing and train him?’

After a moment of silence, he responded with just a few ice-cold words: "Junior Brother Lü wanted to. What does it have to do with you?"

With that, he headed straight for the Hongling Token area.

Xu Yong wasn’t ready to give up, but there was nothing he could do.

On the road, the number of pedestrians gradually increased. Everyone here was in a hurry. Some even clutched dried rations in their hands, dipping them in the snow by the roadside for a hasty breakfast.

Back in the mortal world, many of them had been wealthy enough to be dressed in silks and feast on delicacies. But even so, that life couldn’t compare to the joy of pursuing the Immortal Path, even if it meant eating bran and wild vegetables here.

The old man Chen Qingyang from his memories was one of them.

「At the Hongling Token area.」

He stuck to his old routine, completing exactly four Dao Rhyme Patterns each day—no more, no less—just enough to fulfill his quota.

It was meticulous work, and if one was dedicated enough, it could also temper the mind.

Unlike usual, Wu Boyou kept pacing back and forth past him today. Whenever he saw Chen Qingyang take a break, he would inevitably strike up a conversation.

It had been about ten days since he had last given him a Qi Gathering Pill. He had also just started cultivating the One-Origin Sword and was waiting to max out its progress bar to break through to the Fourth Realm of Qi Refining. After that, concocting Tier Three Qi-Introducing Pills would be much easier.

"Junior Brother Chen, I’ve been thinking. I’ve received so many favors from you. If I don’t do something for you in return, I feel like I’m taking advantage of you."

He squinted, his greasy face crinkling into a smile so convincing it was hard to believe he was faking it.

Chen Qingyang stood up. "Senior Brother Wu, could we speak in private?"

"Ah... Of course, that would be great!"

Moving to a corner, Chen Qingyang took out a Qi Gathering Pill. With this, only ten of the Poison Pills Xu Baoling had left behind remained.

’As for how to concoct more Qi Gathering Pills, he had all the knowledge he needed from Xu Baoling. But knowing Liu Tao’s personality, would she really let him use her Pill Furnace to refine poison?’

’On the other hand, since Xu Baoling is dead, her Alchemy Room is still empty... COUGH COUGH, I must not think about such things!’

Wu Boyou’s smile grew even wider. "Excellent, excellent! Junior Brother Chen, you’re too good to me!"

"You’re too kind. Actually, there is one thing I’d like to ask you today."

"Of course, of course. Ask away."

"If a servant disciple goes missing, how does the Sect usually handle it?"

Hearing this, Wu Boyou’s expression changed. "Junior Brother Chen, who has offended you now?"

Chen Qingyang quickly shook his head. "Senior Brother Wu, you misunderstand. My courtyard-mate, Junior Brother Xu, has vanished without a trace. I’ve already sent someone to report it to one of the other Stewards. I was just curious how the Sect would handle it, so I thought I’d ask."

Wu Boyou waved his hand dismissively. "Is something so trivial even worth mentioning? Of course, they’ll just assign a new one to take his place. As for where the old one went, who knows... Heh heh, Four Golden Peaks is a huge place. Maybe he fell off a cliff and died. Or maybe he was carried off by a beast. He’s just a servant disciple, after all."

Chen Qingyang nodded slightly. "Mm, what Senior Brother Wu says makes sense."

He left the Hongling Token area and headed up the mountain.

He had only taken a few steps when the image of Wu Boyou appeared in his mind. This time, he had stolen 14 strands of his Immortal Seedling.

’He’s eaten so many Poison Pills, his foundation must be completely ruined, right?’

Good. Now Chen Qingyang could finally rest easy.

[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: (1/400)]

[Available Immortal Seedlings: 17]

Ever since the One-Origin Sword had broken through last time, its progress cap had jumped directly from 100 to 400. The change was anything but small.

He had saved the remaining Immortal Seedlings until now. After a moment of contemplation, Chen Qingyang used them all on the One-Origin Sword.

’Break through in the Sword Dao first, then focus on the Alchemy Dao.’

「In the Alchemy Room.」

Liu Tao was weighed down with worry about Qi Xiuyuan. She was distracted even when she tried to meditate. Seeing Chen Qingyang, she naturally asked, "Did Qi Xiuyuan come to pester you again yesterday?"

Chen Qingyang answered honestly, "Not only did he come, he even mentioned you."

"He mentioned me?!" Liu Tao was furious, her expression turning extremely ugly. "Didn’t you say last night that he was only worried about exposing himself? How could he suddenly bring me up?"

Chen Qingyang sighed. "Just because he’s worried about exposing himself doesn’t mean he won’t suspect us. In short, the situation is very unfavorable for you, Senior Sister. We need to prepare a countermeasure in advance."

In truth, despite their long conversation yesterday, Qi Xiuyuan hadn’t found any holes in his story. The matter could have been put on hold for a while.

But he was too impatient. He wanted to test how karma affected the theft of Immortal Seedlings.

"Countermeasure? What countermeasure?" Liu Tao started scratching her head again. "That bitch died, I had elixirs to take every day... I only had two days of a good life, how did it suddenly come to this..."

Seeing her frustration, Chen Qingyang threw more fuel on the fire. "He wasn’t suspicious at first, but when he saw how close we are, he naturally connected the dots. And he also said that he saw Xu Baoling three days before she died and that there’s no way she died from cultivation deviation. Once this gets to Master Yun Ci, you, Senior Sister, will be..."

Liu Tao turned, her teeth clenched in fury. "Then what do you suggest? Should we poison him to death like last time?"

After saying that, she pondered for a moment herself. "That’s not a bad idea. Qi Xiuyuan doesn’t practice the Alchemy Dao, so he probably wouldn’t know the tricks of the trade. We could do it without anyone knowing. Besides, Master liked Xu Baoling far more than him. If a disciple like Qi Xiuyuan dies, he dies."

Chen Qingyang immediately shot her down. "No. If two people die in the same way, one after another, that’s just handing Master Yun Ci a knife to use against us. Besides, Qi Xiuyuan has no reason to take one of my Elixirs."

Liu Tao collapsed onto the floor, her gaze falling on Chen Qingyang, too listless to even move. "Sigh... you tell me, you old fox. What should we do? You’ve got more wicked schemes in your belly than I do."

Chen Qingyang had come up with the plan last time, too, but she had rejected it on the spot. This time, she was the one asking.

Chen Qingyang gave a calm smile. "Senior Sister, it’s quite simple. We can turn the tables and bite back, flip the whole story around. I’ve heard that Qi Xiuyuan is Master Yun Ci’s least favorite disciple. We can use that, can’t we?"

Liu Tao leaned in close, sniffing suspiciously. "Who told you that Master doesn’t like Qi Xiuyuan?"

"Oh, come on, Senior Sister. If I’m suggesting this plan, it’s obviously because I got the information out of Qi Xiuyuan last night. How can you not even trust me? We’re in the same boat, you and I!"

Put on the spot like that, Liu Tao immediately grew bashful. Like a young girl, her tone softened. "Tell me... how would we flip the story?"

"It’s simple. You go to Master Yun Ci and tell her that one of the servant disciples who assists you with Alchemy was outside the Alchemy Room before Xu Baoling died and saw Qi Xiuyuan having a fierce argument with her. Then, you add that he came to threaten both you and your servant disciple. You couldn’t bear it anymore, so you decided to report it to your Master. That way, all suspicion will fall on Qi Xiuyuan."

Chen Qingyang smiled again. "This way, Senior Sister, if he wants to expose you, he’ll have to clear his own name first."

He could make such a judgment entirely based on the information he’d gotten from Xu Baoling.

An unpopular disciple.

A coincidental argument.

A baffling death by cultivation deviation.

Coupled with the fact that Liu Tao and Xu Baoling were sworn enemies, if she were to strike, how could the result possibly look like death by cultivation deviation?

Chen Qingyang just wanted to know: if a Master grew to detest a disciple even more, would it affect that disciple’s Immortal Path? And if it did, could he steal their Immortal Seedling?

But the crux of the problem was still Liu Tao. After hearing him out, she immediately jumped to her feet. "Nonsense! That’s nonsense... You want me to face Master alone? You know that I..."

She stomped her feet and ranted for a while, but Chen Qingyang remained calm throughout.

Finally, Liu Tao settled down and started to grumble at Chen Qingyang. "I’m so anxious I could die, but you’re acting like it has nothing to do with you. Can’t you think of another way?"

"Senior Sister Liu, you’ve lived for four hundred years. You should know that the Immortal Path is hard to find. Opportunities are already scarce. If we don’t fight for them, how will they ever fall into our hands?"

This time, Liu Tao’s face grew somber. She was quiet for a long, long time, then suddenly slapped Chen Qingyang on the back. "You old fox, lecturing your Senior Sister now, are you...? Master is terrifying, but I can’t let my Immortal Path be cut short... I need to think this over."

Chen Qingyang said, "Mm. And while you’re at it, practice your lines."

Pushed into a corner, Liu Tao shot him another glare.