A Will Eternal

by Srtyi

One will to create oceans. One will to summon the mulberry fields. One will to slaughter countless devils. One will to eradicate innumerable immortals. Only my will… is eternal. Translator: Deathblade

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Chapter 1: I'm Bai Xiaochun

Mount Hood lay in the Eastwood Mountain Range, and at its base was a quaint little village. The villagers there lived off the land, and didn't have much to do with the outside world.

Currently it was dawn, and the villagers were congregated at the village gate to see off a young man of fifteen or sixteen years of age. He seemed thin and weak, but had a healthy, fair complexion, and an overall charming appearance. He wore an ordinary green robe that had apparently been washed so many times it was nearly worn through. Something about the way he was dressed, plus the innocent look in his eyes, made him seem exceptionally quick-witted.

His name was Bai Xiaochun.

"Dear Elders and fellow villagers," he said, "I am on my way to learn about Immortal cultivation. I shall miss all of you!" The young man wore a slightly pained expression, as if he couldn't bear to part with his fellow villagers. This made him look even more charming than before. 1

The surrounding villagers exchanged glances, shrugged helplessly, and then pretended to look even more reluctant to see him leave.

A white-haired old man stepped out of the crowd and said, "Xiaochun, ever since your dad and mom left us, oh so long ago, you… you have been, er–" he paused for a moment "–such a good kid!!" Seeing that Bai Xiaochun hadn't left yet, he continued, "Don't tell me you're not interested in living forever? All you have to do is become an Immortal, and then you can live forever! That's a really, really long time! Well, it's time for you to leave now. Even a baby eagle must learn to fly eventually.

"No matter what situations you run into out there, you have to hang in there and keep moving forward. Once you leave the village, you can't come back, because your path will always lie ahead, not behind!" The old man patted Bai Xiaochun kindly on the shoulder.

"Live forever…." Bai Xiaochun murmured. A tremor ran through him, and a look of determination slowly filled his eyes. Under the encouraging gazes of the old man and the other villagers, he nodded his head seriously and looked around at everyone one last time. Finally, he turned and walked away from the village.

As he disappeared off into the distance, the villagers started to look more and more excited. Their forlorn expressions turned to those of joy, and the kind-faced old man began to tremble. Tears even streamed down his face.

"Justice from Heaven! The weasel… is finally gone! Who was it that told him they saw an Immortal in the area? Whoever it was, I'm going to give you a huge reward on behalf of the village!" 2

The village was soon echoing with cries of rejoicing. Some people even took out gongs and drums and began banging them excitedly.

"The weasel is gone," someone said, "but oh, my poor chickens. He hated the roosters crowing at dawn, so he somehow got all the kids in the village to eat every chicken we had…."

"Today is the beginning of a new era!"

By this point, Bai Xiaochun was still fairly close to the village, and could actually hear the sounds of the gongs and drums. He even caught wind of some of the cries of excitement.

He stopped in his tracks, a strange expression on his face. After a moment, he cleared his throat and proceeded on his way. Accompanied by the faint sounds of rejoicing, he began to make his way toward Mount Hood.

Mount Hood wasn't a very tall mountain, but it was covered with thick vegetation. Therefore, despite the fact that it was dawn, beneath the trees, it was dark and quiet.

"Double-Dog told me that he was hunting some wild pigs a few days ago and saw an Immortal flying around…." Bai Xiaochun proceeded along, heart thumping. Suddenly, a rustling sound could be heard from some nearby shrubs. It almost sounded like a wild pig, and it immediately caused Bai Xiaochun to grow extremely nervous. The hair on the back of his neck stood up straight as he asked, "Who is it? Who's there?!"

He quickly pulled four axes and six machetes out of his travel pack, but that in and of itself didn't make him feel much safer, so he also produced a bit of black incense from within his robe, which he clutched tightly in his left hand.

"Don't come out!" he shouted, trembling. "Don't even THINK about coming out! I've got axes AND machetes, and this incense can call lightning from the Heavens, and even summon Immortals! If you dare to show your face, you're DEAD!" Finally, he turned and ran toward the mountain path, simultaneously juggling all of the various weapons in his hands. Clanking sounds could eventually be heard as axes and machetes began to fall to the ground left and right.

Perhaps whatever it was that had been rustling around in the shrubbery really did end up getting frightened by him. The sounds ceased, and no wild animal burst out of the bushes. Bai Xiaochun hurried toward the mountain, wiping the sweat from his brow. By this point, his face was pale, and he was almost considering giving up this crazy idea of climbing the mountain, but then he thought about the incense stick, which his parents had handed down to him before they died. Supposedly, it had been passed down from their ancestors, a gift bestowed by a down-and-out Immortal they had saved. Before departing, the Immortal had given it to them to pay back the kindness they had shown. Furthermore, the Immortal had even promised to take a member of the Bai Clan as a disciple. He told them that merely burning the incense stick would summon him to their side.

Bai Xiaochun had actually lit the incense stick more than ten times in the past few years, and yet, no Immortal had ever shown up. It had eventually reached the point that Bai Xiaochun was starting to suspect whether or not the story about the Immortal was even true. Finally, he'd resolved to climb the mountain. For one thing, the incense stick was almost used up, and also, there was the matter of the flying Immortal being sighted recently.

And that was how he ended up in his current situation. His theory was that if he could get a bit closer to the Immortal, then perhaps it would be easier for that Immortal to sense the incense stick.

Standing in front of the mountain, he hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth and decided to keep going. Thankfully, the mountain wasn't very high, and it didn't take long to reach the peak, where he stopped, panting. He looked at the village down below, and an emotional expression appeared on his face. Then he glanced at the finger-nail sized bit of black incense. It had clearly been burned on numerous occasions, and was almost completely used up.

"It's been three years. Bless me, mom and dad. It HAS to work this time!" Bai Xiaochun took a deep breath, and then carefully lit the incense. A stiff breeze instantly kicked up, and in the blink of an eye, dark clouds filled the sky. Lightning crackled, and deafening thunder boomed in his ears.

The majesty of the entire scene caused Bai Xiaochun to tremble, fearful that he might be killed by the lightning. He very nearly spit on the incense to extinguish it, but managed to hold back.

"I've lit this incense twelve times in the past three years, and this is the thirteenth time. I have to let it burn! Come on, Xiaochun! The lightning won't kill you. At least probably not…." All twelve times that he had lit the incense in the past, there had been lightning and thunder, and yet no Immortal had ever appeared. Each time, he had gotten so scared that he spit on the incense to put it out. He actually found it a bit strange that a supposedly Immortal stick of incense could be extinguished with some ordinary saliva.

Bai Xiaochun sat there shaking in fear as the thunder boomed around him. Suddenly, a streak of light appeared in the air off in the distance.

It was a middle-aged man wearing luxurious clothing. He had the demeanor of a transcendent being, yet he looked weary and travel-worn. In fact, if you looked closely, his eyes seemed to flicker with extreme exhaustion.

"Finally I can see exactly what moron has been lighting that incense stick all the time for the past three years!"

Every time the man thought about what he had experienced during the past few years, he got extremely annoyed. Three years ago, he had sensed the medicinal aura of an incense stick he had given away back when he was in the Qi Condensation stage. That immediately caused him to recall the debt he owed back in the mortal world.

The first time he flew out in response to the incense stick being lit, he had assumed it would be a simple matter of heading out and then immediately returning. He had never imagined that before even being able to find the incense, its aura would suddenly vanish, severing his connection to it. If it had happened only once, it wouldn't have been a big deal. However, over the course of three years, the aura had appeared more than ten times.

Over and over again his search was interrupted, ensuring that he was constantly leaving his sect and then going back. Back and forth, back and forth. It was torment.

As he closed in on Mount Hood, he caught sight of Bai Xiaochun. Fuming with numerous frustrations, the man landed on the mountain top and waved his hand, instantly extinguishing the sputtering incense stick.

The thunder ceased, and Bai Xiaochun stared at the man in shock.

"Are you an Immortal?" Bai Xiaochun asked cautiously. Still unsure about what exactly was going on, he slipped his hand behind his back and grabbed an axe.

"You may call me Li Qinghou. Are you from the Bai Clan?" The middle-aged cultivator's eyes shone like lightning as he measured up Bai Xiaochun, ignoring the axe behind his back. To him, Bai Xiaochun seemed delicate, almost pretty, and reminded him of his old friend from years ago. Furthermore, his latent talent seemed suitable. Li Qinghou's anger gradually began to fade. 3

Bai Xiaochun blinked a few times. Although he was still a bit scared, he sat up straight and quietly said, "Junior most definitely is from the Bai Clan. I'm Bai Xiaochun."

"Alright, well tell me this," Li Qinghou said, his voice cool. "Why did you light that incense so many times over the past three years!?" He very much wanted to know the answer to this question.

As soon as Bai Xiaochun heard the question, his mind spun as he tried to come up with a good answer. Finally, a melancholic expression appeared on his face, and he looked down toward the village at the bottom of the mountain.

"Junior is a sentimental and righteous person," he said. "I simply couldn't bear to part with my fellow villagers. Every time I lit the incense, I was overwhelmed with feelings of sorrow. The mere thought of leaving them behind was far too painful."

Li Qinghou stared in shock. He had never considered such a possibility, and as such, the anger in his heart faded even more. He could tell from this young man's words alone that he was definitely good material.

However, the next thing he did was send his divine sense down toward the village, and he heard the sounds of drums and gongs and rejoicing. He even heard the villagers talking about how glad they were that 'the weasel' was gone. An unsightly expression appeared on his face, and he felt a headache coming on. He looked back at the charming and pure Bai Xiaochun, who seemed like he wouldn't hurt a fly, and suddenly realized that this kid was a villain to the core.

"Tell me the truth!" Li Qinghou said, his voice echoing like thunder. Bai Xiaochun was so frightened that he started shaking.

"Hey, you can't blame me!" Bai Xiaochun said, sounding very miserable. "What kind of crappy incense is this anyway!? Every time I lit it, lightning would start crashing around everywhere! I almost got killed on several occasions! In fact, avoiding that lightning thirteen times was quite a feat!"

Li Qinghou looked silently at Bai Xiaochun.

"If you were so scared, then why did you light it over ten times?!" he asked.

"'Cuz I'm scared of dying!" Bai Xiaochun replied indignantly. "Isn't the point of Immortal cultivation to be able to live forever? I want to live forever!"

Li Qinghou was once again struck speechless. However, he found the kid's fascination with living forever laudable, and realized that his personality might change a bit after some hard training in the sect.

After a moment of thought, he waved his sleeve, sweeping Bai Xiaochun up into a beam of light that shot off into the distance.

"Alright, come with me," he said.

"Where are we going?" asked Bai Xiaochun, suddenly realizing that they were flying. "Ah, we're so high…." The ground was very, very far down, causing the blood to drain from his face. He immediately dropped his axe and grabbed onto the Immortal's leg.

Li Qinghou looked down at him clutching his leg. Feeling a bit at a loss, he replied, "The Spirit Stream Sect."

1. Bai Xiaochun's name in Chinese is 白小纯 bái xiǎo chún. Bai is a surname which also means "white." Xiao means "little." Chun means "pure"

2. The word for weasel is literally "white rat wolf," the first character being the same character as Bai Xiaochun's surname

3. Li Qinghou's name in Chinese is 李青候 lǐ qīng hòu. Li is a very common surname, also the same surname as the Li Clan in ISSTH. Qing means "green, blue, black, azure, etc." Hou means a lot of things including "time" and "wait"

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Chapter 2: The Ovens

The Spirit Stream Sect was located in the Eastwood Continent on the lower branch of the Heavenspan River, and was divided between the northern and southern banks. Its history stretched back countless years, and was very famous in the area.

Eight enormous cloud-wreathed mountains towered over the Heavenspan River. Four of those mountains were located on the north bank of the river, whereas three were on the south bank. Shockingly, one mountain, the most majestic of them all, rose up from the middle of the river itself.

The entire top half of that mountain was covered with brilliant white snow, and rose up so high that the peak of the mountain wasn't even visible. The middle of the mountain had been hollowed out, allowing the golden river water to flow right through it, and causing the mountain itself to somewhat resemble a bridge.

Currently, a beam of light was speeding along near the south bank of the Spirit Stream Sect. It was none other than Li Qinghou and Bai Xiaochun. As they raced into the servants' quarters beneath the third peak, it was just possible to hear Bai Xiaochun shouting out in fear.

He was scared to death from all the flying. They had passed over countless mountains, and the entire time, he had felt like he was losing his grip on Li Qinghou's leg.

Eventually, everything turned into a blur. When everything finally became clear again, he realized that they had landed just outside of a building. He stood there, legs trembling, looking around at a scene that was very different from what he was used to back at the village.

Towering up in front of the building was a huge stone, upon which three characters were written in flamboyant calligraphy.

Department of Servant Affairs.

Sitting next to the stone was a pock-faced woman. As soon as she caught sight of Li Qinghou, she rose to her feet and clasped hands in greeting.

"Send this kid to the Ovens," Li Qinghou said. Without another word, and paying no further heed to Bai Xiaochun, he then transformed into a beam of light that shot off into the distance.

When the pock-faced woman heard him mention the Ovens, she stared in shock. She looked Bai Xiaochun over, then handed him a bag which contained a servant's uniform and other items. Face expressionless, led him away from the building toward a nearby path, simultaneously explaining some of the basic sect rules and customs. The path was paved with green limestone, and wound through numerous buildings and courtyards. The fragrant aroma of plants and flowers filled the air, and the entire place seemed like a celestial paradise. As he looked around, Bai Xiaochun's heart began to thump with excitement, and his previous nervousness and anxiety began to fade.

"This place is awesome," he thought. "It's way better than the village!" His eyes shone with anticipation as he followed the woman along. The scenery only continued to get more and more spectacular. He even saw some beautiful women along the way, which instantly caused his heart to surge with delight.

Soon, Bai Xiaochun got even more excited. That was because he caught sight of what appeared to be their destination; at the end of the path was a seven-story building that sparkled like crystal. There were even celestial cranes soaring in the air above it.

"Are we there yet, Elder Sister?" Bai Xiaochun asked excitedly.

"Yes," she replied coolly, her face as expressionless as ever. She pointed to a small path off to the side. "That's where we're going."

Bai Xiaochun looked in the direction she was pointing, heart bursting with anticipation. But then, his entire body went stiff, and he rubbed his eyes. He looked again, a bit more closely, and saw a gravel path lined by haphazardly-constructed thatch-roofed huts that looked like they might disintegrate at any moment. A strange aroma wafted out from the area.

Bai Xiaochun wanted to cry, but no tears would come. Still clinging to a scrap of hope, he asked the pock-faced woman another question.

"Elder Sister, did you point in the wrong direction just now?"

"Nope," she replied coolly, stepping onto the gravel path. When Bai Xiaochun heard her response, all of the beauty of the place seemed to disappear. A bitter expression appeared on his face as he continued to follow her.

Before long, he caught sight of the end of the decrepit path, where he saw several huge black woks running around. After a moment, he realized that the woks were actually attached to the backs of several incredibly fat men. These men were so obese that it seemed like squeezing them would cause pure fat to ooze out. One of the men was even fatter than the others, so fat that he looked like a mountain of flesh. Bai Xiaochun was even worried that the man might explode from being so fat. 1

The entire area was filled with hundreds of huge cooking woks, within which fat men were boiling rice.

Sensing that someone had approached, the men looked up and saw the pock-faced woman. The fattest of the men, the one who looked like a mountain of flesh, hefted his ladle and hurried over. The ground trembled as he walked, and his fat bounced and jiggled in a way that made Bai Xiaochun stare in shock. Without even thinking about it, he began to feel around for an axe.

"The magpies were singing especially beautiful songs this morning, and now I know why," the mountain of flesh cried out as he ran over. His eyes flickered with a lustful gleam. "It was all because you were coming, big sis. Could it be that you've changed your mind? You finally realized how talented I am, and want to take advantage of this auspicious day to formally become my beloved partner?"

The pock-faced woman looked at the mountain of flesh with both disgust and anger.

"I'm just here to deliver this kid to the Ovens," she said. "Task accomplished. I'll take my leave now!" Then she hurried off.

Bai Xiaochun gasped. He had taken the time to check out the woman on their way here, and she really looked like a freak. He couldn't help but wonder what kind of taste this fat man had. Apparently even someone with a face like hers got him all hot and bothered.

Before Bai Xiaochun could consider the matter any more, the mountain of flesh was suddenly standing in front of him, panting a bit. The man was so huge that Bai Xiaochun found himself completely covered by his shadow.

Bai Xiaochun looked up at the enormous man and his quivering rolls of flesh, and swallowed hard. This was actually his first time ever seeing someone so fat.

The mountain of flesh glanced resentfully at the pock-faced woman, who was making her way back up the gravel path, then looked back at Bai Xiaochun.

"Well well, we have a newcomer. We'd left a spot open for Xu Baocai to join, so this complicates matters."

Bai Xiaochun felt nervous just looking at the man's huge frame, and subconsciously took a few steps back. "Elder Brother, I am your humble… er, humble servant Bai Xiaochun…."

"Bai Xiaochun? Hmm…. White skin, slender and dainty. You look pretty innocent. Excellent, excellent. Your name really fits my taste." The mountain of flesh looked him over, then clapped Bai Xiaochun on the shoulder, which very nearly sent Bai Xiaochun flying off to the side.

"Uh, what's your name, Elder Brother?" Bai Xiaochun took a deep breath and looked up thoughtfully as he prepared to make fun of the man's name.

The mountain of flesh chuckled and slapped his chest, causing the fat to ripple back and forth. "I'm Big Fatty Zhang. That's Second Fatty Huang, and that's Third Fatty Hei…"

As soon as Bai Xiaochun heard these incredibly stirring names, he abandoned any plans to make fun of them.

"As for you," Big Fatty Zhang continued, "from now on, you'll be Ninth Fatty Bai! Er…. Wait a second, Junior Brother. You're way too skinny! If you go around looking like that, you'll lose face for the Ovens! Well, I guess that doesn't matter for now. Don't worry. After a few years, you'll get fat too. Then we'll call you Ninth Fatty Bai."

When Bai Xiaochun heard the nickname Ninth Fatty Bai, he grimaced.

"Well, since you're already our Ninth Junior Brother, you don't count as an outsider any more. Here in the Ovens, we have a long-standing tradition of carrying woks on our backs. See this wok here on my back?" He slapped the wok and continued boastfully: "It's the king of woks, forged from the highest quality iron and engraved with an Earth Flame spell formation. When you use this wok to cook up spirit rice, the flavor is far, far better than the rice cooked in any other wok. By the way, you'll have to choose a wok to carry on your back, too. Then you'll look really impressive."

Glancing at Big Fatty Zhang's wok, and realizing that everyone else in the Ovens was similarly adorned, Bai Xiaochun suddenly got an image of himself walking around in such a fashion.

"Elder Brother," he blurted, "is it possible to opt out of the wok-carrying thing…?"

"Are you kidding me? Wok-carrying is an important tradition in the Ovens! Later on when you're out in the sect, people will see the wok on your back and instantly recognize that you're from the Ovens! Once they know that, they won't dare to pick on you. The Ovens has a lot of influence around here, you know!" Big Fatty Zhang winked at Bai Xiaochun. Allowing no further discussion of the matter, he led Bai Xiaochun to one of the thatch-roofed huts, within which were stacks of thousands of woks, most of which were covered in layers of dust. Clearly, no one had been in here for quite some time.

"Go ahead and pick one, Ninth Junior Brother, then come on over and help tend to the rice. If the rice burns, then the Outer Sect disciples will make a scene again." Letting out a holler, Big Fatty Zhang turned and ran back to join the other fat men as they hustled and bustled amongst the more than one hundred cooking woks.

Sighing in despair, Bai Xiaochun looked over the woks, and was agonizing over which one to pick when he suddenly noticed one particular wok off in the corner, buried under a big pile.

It was a unique wok that, instead of being circular, was shaped like an oval. It almost didn't even look like an oval, but rather, like a turtle shell. There were also some faint markings visible on its surface.

"Eee?" Bai Xiaochun's eyes brightened, and he quickly walked over and squatted down to look at the wok more closely. After dragging it out and examining it further, his eyes began to shine with satisfaction.

He had been fond of turtles ever since he was young, mostly because they represented longevity. Considering that he had come to learn about Immortal cultivation for the purposes of living forever, as soon as his saw the turtle-shell wok, he knew that it was an auspicious sign, a good omen.

After he emerged with the wok, Big Fatty Zhang caught sight of him and hurried over, ladle in hand.

"Ninth Junior Brother, why did you pick that one?" he asked sincerely, rubbing his ample belly. "That wok has been in there for years, and nobody has ever used it, mainly because it looks like a turtle shell and people don't want to put it on their backs. Umm… are you sure, Ninth Junior Brother?"

"I'm sure." Bai Xiaochun said resolutely, looking fondly at the wok. "This is the wok for me."

Big Fatty Zhang tried to dissuade him some more, but eventually realized that Bai Xiaochun had made up his mind. Finally, he gave him a strange look and stopped trying. After assigning him one of the Ovens' thatch-roofed huts for housing, he went back to work.

Soon, dusk had fallen. Bai Xiaochun sat in his thatch-roofed hut, examining the turtle-shaped wok. One thing that stuck out to him were the designs traced on the back of the wok, which were so faint that you wouldn't see them unless you looked closely.

He could instantly tell that this was no ordinary wok. Carefully putting it on the stove, he looked around the little hut. It was very simple. In addition to the stove, it had a bed, a desk, and an ordinary copper mirror hanging on the wall. As Bai Xiaochun had his head turned to look around, the seemingly-ordinary wok behind him suddenly emitted a flash of violet light!

As far as Bai Xiaochun was concerned, this had been a day packed with all sorts of momentous events. He had finally arrived in the land of his dreams, a world of Immortals. At the moment, he was still in a bit of a daze.

After a bit of time passed, he took a deep breath, and his eyes began to shine with anticipation.

"I'm gonna live forever!" As he sat there, he pulled out the bag which the pock-faced woman had given him.

Inside the bag was a medicinal pill, a wooden sword, some incense, a servant's uniform, and a command medallion. Finally, there was a bamboo scroll with several small characters written on the cover.

"Violet Qi Cauldron Control Art. Qi Condensation Manual."

It was evening, and Big Fatty Zhang and the others in the Ovens were bustling about. Meanwhile, Bai Xiaochun was looking at the bamboo scroll, eyes shining with anticipation. He had come here in order to learn how to live forever, and he held the key to achieving that goal in his hands right now. After taking a deep breath, he opened the scroll.

Moments later, his eyes were gleaming with excitement. The bamboo scroll had three pictures, and accompanying text that described how cultivation was divided into two stages of Qi Condensation and Foundation Establishment. As far as the Violet Qi Cauldron Control Art, it was divided into ten levels, each of which corresponded to the ten levels of Qi Condensation.

By practicing cultivation to a given level, it was possible to exercise control over physical objects. After reaching the third level, you could control half of a small cauldron. At the sixth level, it became half of a large cauldron. At the ninth level, it was a full cauldron. As for the final full circle, you could actually control two full cauldrons.

Unfortunately, this scroll only described up to the third level of the art, with no further information about the subsequent levels. The key to the whole thing was cultivation, using a prescribed set of breathing techniques to develop the Violet Qi Cauldron Control Art.

Bai Xiaochun cleared his mind and began to regulate his breathing. Then he closed his eyes and imitated the posture depicted in the first picture in the bamboo scroll. He was able to hold on for three breaths of time before intense pain filled him. Finally, he let out a shout and gave up. From what he could tell, using this breathing technique actually sucked all the air out of him, making it impossible to actually breathe.

"This is way too hard," he thought. "According to the description under the picture, when you practice this kind of cultivation, you should be able to sense a strand of qi flowing through you. Just now, though, the only thing I felt was intense pain." He was starting to get frustrated. However, for the sake of living forever, he gritted his teeth and tried again. He repeated the process over and over again until it was the middle of the night. During that entire time, he never once sensed any sort of qi in his body.

He had no way of knowing it, but even someone with exceptional latent talent who tried to cultivate the first level of the Violet Qi Cauldron Control Art would need at least a month to succeed, unless they had some outside help. Considering that, it was simply impossible that he could have succeeded after only a few hours.

Body aching painfully, Bai Xiaochun finally stretched, and was about to go wash his face when, all of a sudden, he heard a commotion outside. He stuck his head out of the window and immediately caught sight of a sallow-faced young man standing in the door of the main courtyard of the Ovens. He looked angry.

"I'm Xu Baocai! Whoever it was that took my spot here, get the hell out here right now!"

Note from Deathblade: Not everyone has read other versions of this translation, so please keep spoiler information out of the comments.

1. This situation is pretty funny because "to carry a black wok on the back" is an expression which means "to be made a scapegoat" or "be unjustly blamed." Here's a little clipart (http//wp-content/uploads/2016/12/c83d70cf3bc79f3d47ed2dc9bca1cd11728b293f.jpg) I found on the Chinese internet that depicts the phrase

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Chapter 3: Six Lines of Truth

The motion of Bai Xiaochun sticking his head out of the window instantly attracted the attention of the sallow-faced young man. Enraged, he yelled, "So, you're the guy who took my spot!"

It was too late for Bai Xiaochun to duck his head back into the window. He immediately pasted an innocent expression onto his face and said, "No, it wasn't me!"

"Liar! You're so skinny and short, you're obviously a newbie here!" Xu Baocai clenched his hands into fists and stared furiously at Bai Xiaochun. He was so angry that he looked like he might explode at any moment.

Feeling quite wronged, Bai Xiaochun peeped: "It really had nothing to do with me!"

"I don't care! Three days from now on the southern slope of the sect, you and I are gonna have a fight to the death! If you win, then I'll have no choice other than to suck it up. If you lose, then I get my spot back." Xu Baocai shoved his hand into his robe and pulled out a Blood Notice, which he threw onto Bai Xiaochun's window sill. The notice was covered with countless versions of the character "DIE," all of them written in blood.

Bai Xiaochun looked down at all the "DIE" characters and couldn't miss the killing intent roiling off of them. His heart went cold. Then he remembered that Xu Baocai had just mentioned a 'fight to the death,' and he gasped.

"Elder Brother, this isn't that big a deal! Why did you have to go and use your own blood to write so many characters? Didn't it… hurt?"

"Not a big deal?!" Xu Baocai roared, gnashing his teeth. "Humph! I've been living frugally for ages. I saved up spirit stones for seven years! Seven years, do you hear me!?!? Only then could I afford to bribe the Honor Guard into getting me a spot in the Ovens! Then you decide to stick your foot into the door? This enmity will never be reconciled! Three days from now is the day you die!"

"I think I'll pass," Bai Xiaochun said, picking up the Blood Notice gingerly between his thumb and forefinger, and then tossing it out the window.

"YOU!" raged Xu Baocai. Suddenly, he felt the ground shaking, and he realized that there was a mountain of flesh standing there next to him. It was hard to say how long Big Fatty Zhang had been standing there, but there he was, off to the side, coldly measuring up Xu Baocai.

"Ninth Fatty," he said, addressing Bai Xiaochun, "you're on dish duty with Second Brother." Then he looked back at Xu Baocai. "As for you, stop causing such a ruckus! Get your ass out of here!" He swept his ladle through the air threateningly, causing a gust of wind to spring up.

Xu Baocai's face fell, and he backed up several steps. He wanted to keep arguing, but seeing the impatient look on Big Fatty Zhang's face, he shot a venomous look at Bai Xiaochun, then stalked off.

As Bai Xiaochun thought about it, he realized that considering the vicious look Xu Baocai had given him, he was certain to pop up again at some point. Therefore, the best thing to do in this situation would be to stay put in the Ovens. Most likely, Xu Baocai wouldn't dare to come back there and cause trouble.

Days passed. Bai Xiaochun slowly got used to working in the Ovens during the day, and cultivating the Violet Qi Cauldron Control Art at night. However, progress was slow. Eventually he got to the point where he could endure for four breaths of time, but no more, leaving him very frustrated.

On one particular night in the middle of his cultivation session, he suddenly heard a big commotion among the fat Elder Brothers.

"Close the gate, close the gate! Hurry up, Second Fatty Huang, close that gate!"

"Third Fatty Hei, check and see if anyone is spying on us. Quickly!"

Bai Xiaochun blinked in shock. Having learned from his previous mistake, he avoided the window and peeked through a crack in the door. What he saw was a bunch of fatties bustling around the courtyard so fast they were almost flying.

Moments later, the main gate to the Ovens was closed tightly. Furthermore, for some reason, a faint mist had sprung up, making the fatties look even more mysterious than ever.

Bai Xiaochun watched the scene playing out. The fatties were now hustling over to one particular thatched hut. Despite all the mist, Bai Xiaochun could clearly see Big Fatty Zhang's formidable frame, and he seemed to be speaking to the others. The whole scene was very odd, so Bai Xiaochun began to edge away from the door in an attempt to pretend he hadn't seen anything at all.

However, it was at that exact point that Big Fatty Zhang's voice echoed out: "Ninth Fatty, I know you're watching. Get out here!" Although he didn't speak very loud, his voice instantly weighed down on Bai Xiaochun.

Bai Xiaochun blinked a few times, then slowly walked out the door, putting on the innocent expression of a person who wasn't capable of even hurting a fly.

As soon as he neared the group of fatties, Big Fatty Zhang grabbed him and pulled him over to stand among them. Almost immediately, Bai Xiaochun caught a whiff of some unique aroma, something that instantly caused a warm feeling to spread throughout his body.

He looked around at the others, and saw that they all had euphoric expressions on their faces. For some reason, he also felt enlivened. It was then that he noticed that Big Fatty Zhang was holding a magical mushroom in his hand. It was about the size of an infant's hand, and as translucent as crystal; all it took was a single glance, and anyone could tell that it was no ordinary item.

Big Fatty Zhang looked over at Bai Xiaochun, then held out the mushroom and gruffly said, "Come on, Ninth Junior Brother, take a bite."

"Uhh…" replied Bai Xiaochun, eying the magical mushroom. Then he looked around at all the fat Elder Brothers, and hesitated. Big Fatty Zhang instantly got irritated. From the look on his face, if Bai Xiaochun didn't eat the mushroom, the two of them would become enemies.

It wasn't just him. Second Fatty Huang, Third Fatty Hei, and all the others were all glaring at Bai Xiaochun.

Bai Xiaochun swallowed hard. Even in his wildest dreams, he would never have imagined himself in a situation where people would flip out in anger if he didn't take a bite of a priceless magical mushroom, as if it were nothing more than a chicken leg. And yet, that was exactly what was happening right in front of his very eyes.

Bai Xiaochun's heart was thumping as he gritted his teeth and accepted the magical mushroom. Finally, he opened his mouth and took a big bite. The mushroom instantly dissolved in his mouth, causing a wonderful sensation to fill his body, something many times more intense than what he had experienced moments before when merely smelling it. Almost instantly, his face flushed bright red.

"Excellent. Elder Sun demanded that we use this hundred-year-old magical mushroom in a soup. If we all take a bite, then we'll have to sink or swim together!" Big Fatty Zhang looked extremely content as he opened his mouth and took a nibble. Then he tossed the mushroom to the next fatty in line, and soon, all of them were munching on mushroom flesh. Now that they were all chewing together, the group smiled at Bai Xiaochun as if he were now one of them.

Bai Xiaochun chuckled as he realized that all these guys were essentially partners in crime. Furthermore, considering they had gotten so fat this way, it probably wasn't dangerous to join them. It was little wonder Xu Baocai had given him a duel challenge with the word "DIE" written on it so many times….

"Elder Brother," Bai Xiaochun said, "that magical mushroom was scrumptious! I feel like my whole body's on fire!" He licked his lips and looked impatiently at Big Fatty Zhang.

In response, Big Fatty Zhang's eyes began to shine brightly. With a hearty laugh, he flamboyantly pulled out a sealwort flower, which he handed to Bai Xiaochun.

"Now do you see how amazing the Ovens is, Junior Brother? I wasn't lying! Alright, eat up. Eat till you're stuffed!"

Bai Xiaochun's eyes began to shine as he took a big bite. Next, Big Fatty Zhang pulled out some sort of natural precious material, something that looked like a golden jewel, which emanated a fragrant aroma.

Bai Xiaochun needed no prompting from Big Fatty Zhang. He immediately took a bite and swallowed it down. The tangy flavor filled him with a wonderful sensation. After that, Big Fatty Zhang produced an incredibly sweet red spirit fruit.

More items emerged. Magical mushrooms, various medicinal ingredients, spirit fruits and other precious items. Bai Xiaochun partook of them all, as did the other fatties. He ate so much that soon, his head was spinning. He almost felt drunk, his body hot and burning to the point where white steam rose up from the top of his head. He already felt as fat as a ball.

The more he ate, the more kindly Big Fatty Zhang and the others looked at him. In the end, they slapped their stomachs and laughed heartily, and they all truly seemed like partners in crime.

Head swimming, Bai Xiaochun stretched out his arms and legs. His hand landed on Big Fatty Zhang's giant stomach, and his foot landed off to the side. He began to laugh along with the others.

"Other servant departments would kill to get one of their own into the Outer Sect. But we kill to make sure we stay out! Who wants to go there anyway? What's so good about the Outer Sect, huh?" Big Fatty Zhang sounded very proud of this. As he finished speaking, he pulled out a ginseng root. The root itself had countless faintly visible age rings, and was covered with numerous rootlets. Clearly, this ginseng root was very old.

"Ninth Junior Brother, our cultivation bases are all strong enough that we could have become Outer Sect disciples a long time ago. However, we prefer to hide our true level. Look, there are Outer Sect disciples who would kill for the chance to get a single bite of a one-hundred-year-old ginseng root like this. Do we look scared?" Big Fatty Zhang subsequently plucked a rootlet off and popped it into his mouth, chewed, and swallowed. Then he handed the ginseng root to Bai Xiaochun.

Bai Xiaochun was so stuffed he almost couldn't see straight. "Elder Brother, I'm full…. I really can't eat another bite–"

Before he could even finish speaking, Big Fatty Zhang plucked off a rootlet and stuffed it into his mouth.

"Ninth Junior Brother, you're far too skinny, so skinny that the girls in the sect won't like you. In our sect, they like guys like us Brothers, stalwart and plump! Come on, eat…." Big Fatty Zhang let out a huge burp. Then he picked up a stack of empty bowls, simultaneously pointing to two scrolls hanging on either side of the nearby thatched hut, upon which was written a couplet. "Look, we have a saying here that goes I'd rather starve to death in the Ovens than struggle up the ladder in the Outer Sect."

Bai Xiaochun looked over at the couplet and said, "Yeah, for sure! We all want to starve to death here! Uh… yeah, starve to death."

Then he slapped his stomach and let out a burp.

Hearing this, Big Fatty Zhang and the others all started laughing. They all were finding Bai Xiaochun to be increasingly charming.

"Today is a great day," Big Fatty Zhang said. "Ninth Junior Brother, I have something important to tell you. We have certain ways of doing things here in the Ovens, and to fit in, you need to memorize a certain mnemonic. Pay attention. Fruits and herbs of a magical nature; Nibble the edges but spare the stem; Slice the meat thin when there's some to butcher; As for the bones leave some flesh on them; Spirit congee? Water it down until it's thin; Fine wine? Half a cup will do you in. 1

"These six lines were compiled after years of suffering by previous generations. If you go about eating following these principles, then you're guaranteed to be safe. Alright, let's call it a night. Head to sleep everyone, today's midnight snack is over. The Outer Sect disciples are still waiting for their soup." As he spoke, Big Fatty Zhang began to fill the empty bowls with rice gruel.

Bai Xiaochun's head was spinning, and he couldn't stop thinking about the six lines of truth he had just been told. He looked over at Big Fatty Zhang and the others filling up the bowls, let out a burp, then squatted down to examine the bowls themselves. Then, his mouth turned up into a smile.

"Elder Brothers, these bowls are too nice."

Big Fatty Zhang and the others looked back at him with strange expressions.

Looking as charming as ever, he chuckled and said, "At first glance, they don't look very big, but can actually hold a lot of food. Why don't we make them look big, but hold less food? For example, we could make the bottom of the bowls… thicker!"

Big Fatty Zhang stared in shock, as though he had just been struck by lightning. His rolls of fat then began to quiver, and his eyes began to shine brightly. The other fatties began to pant, and their fat also began to tremble.

All of a sudden a loud smacking sound rang out as Big Fatty Zhang slapped his thigh. Then he threw his head back and laughed uproariously.

"Yes, yes, YES! That's an idea worth passing down! Future generations in the Ovens will all benefit from this! Ninth Junior Brother, I never imagined that someone as charming as you would actually be as crafty as this! Hahaha! You were born to be a part of the Ovens!"

1. Thanks to anonpuffs for helping out with these six lines. We managed to carry across the meaning of the original Chinese, and also maintain the rhyme scheme of A, B, A, B, C, C!

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Chapter 4: Spirit Enhancement

Everyone was in a wonderful mood, and were extremely pleased with Bai Xiaochun. Not only was he very charming, he seemed to have lots of crafty ideas. Big Fatty Zhang decided that a reward was in order, and pressed a grain of spirit rice into Bai Xiaochun's hand.

Bai Xiaochun laughed happily as he staggered back to his room. Before he could climb in bed, all of the spiritual energy he had absorbed by eating the various precious materials suddenly burst out inside of him. His head spun, and he flopped face-first down onto the ground, where he immediately began snoring.

He slept wonderfully for the entire night. The following morning at dawn, when he opened his eyes, they shone brightly. He looked down to find that he was fatter than the day before. Furthermore, his skin was covered in a sticky layer of filth. When he hurried out to wash up, Big Fatty Zhang and the others were preparing breakfast for the sect disciples. When they saw Bai Xiaochun's bedraggled appearance, they started laughing.

"Ninth Junior Brother, all that filth comes from the impurities in your body. Once you get rid of it, it will be much easier for you to practice cultivation. Take a few days off, we won't need your help anyway. In a few days you can start working again."

"Don't forget about that grain of spirit rice! Eat it up quickly before it goes bad."

"Sure thing," Bai Xiaochun replied. Feeling quite energetic, he returned to his room and grabbed the turtle-shaped wok off of the stove. After filling it with water from the washroom, he returned and put it back on the stove. Then he pulled out the grain of spirit rice to examine it. It was about the size of his thumb, crystalline in appearance, and fragrantly aromatic.

"If Immortals eat this stuff, then it must be incredible." Sighing, he threw a few pieces of wood into the stove, then lit the fire. He was immediately hit by a blast of heat, which caused him to back up, blinking anxiously. Then he looked down at the fire and clicked his tongue.

"That's no ordinary fire. It lights faster and also burns a lot hotter than the fire in the village." Taking another look at the burning logs in the fire, he realized that they were not ordinary pieces of wood.

About this time, the fire began to burn even hotter than before, and Bai Xiaochun watched in amazement as one of the designs etched into the back of the turtle shell wok began to light up, starting at what appeared to be the tail of the turtle shell and ending where the head would be. Soon, the entire design was shining brightly.

Bai Xiaochun stared in amazement, then slapped his thigh.

"I knew it! This is some sort of treasure! It's definitely way better than Eldest Brother's wok!" More certain than ever that this wok was something extraordinary, Bai Xiaochun quickly tossed the grain of spirit rice into the water.

Then he sat off to the side with the Violet Qi Cauldron Control Art bamboo scroll. Emulating the movements and breathing techniques depicted in the first picture, he began to cultivate.

He had only just begun when, suddenly, his eyes went wide; the posture which had been so difficult to maintain just the day before, was now much easier to assume. In fact, he actually felt very comfortable, without the slightest sensation of awkwardness. In addition, the breathing technique no longer left him feeling as if he were suffocating. Instead, he felt a very pleasant sensation.

Furthermore, he was absolutely certain that before today he could only maintain the posture for about three or four breaths of time, but this time, after seven or eight breaths, he didn't feel the least bit of pain or discomfort.

Suppressing his excitement, Bai Xiaochun calmly continued until thirty breaths of time had passed. Just when he was finally starting to feel weak and uncomfortable, a strand of qi suddenly appeared inside of him. It was very cold, and swirled around rapidly; before it could make a full circle through his body, it vanished. However, Bai Xiaochun was so excited he leapt to his feet.

"Qi! Hahaha! Finally some qi appeared!" Bursting with excitement, he began to pace back and forth in his room. He quickly came to the conclusion that it must have something to do with all the precious materials he had consumed the previous night. Suddenly he wished he had eaten more.

"No wonder Elder Brother Zhang would rather starve to death in the Ovens than go climb the ladder in the Outer Sect. Not even the Outer Sect disciples would have opportunities like this." Sitting down anxiously, he once again began to practice cultivation.

This time, he was able to maintain the posture and breathing for a full sixty breaths of time. At that point, a flow of qi appeared in him, almost a trickle, that rapidly circulated through his body.

Having experienced this once before, he was ready, and began to guide the qi through a specific path, as indicated by the first picture in the bamboo scroll.

Soon, the qi was flowing through him in just the way he wanted. He maintained the posture and movements indicated in the first illustration, and as he did, he could sense streams of coldness emerging from various parts of his body, almost like drops of water, which merged into the qi flow, causing it to grow larger and larger.

In the end, it was like a tiny stream, flowing in a continuous cycle. A tremor ran through him, and it was as if a layer of fog had suddenly been stripped away from his mind. A rumbling sound echoed out from his body.

He suddenly felt lighter and more agile than before. At the same time, globules of filth were expelled from the pores all over his body.

Unlike last time, the stream of qi inside of him didn't vanish, but instead, remained there, circulating through his body. Bai Xiaochun opened his eyes, and they shone even more brightly than before. His mind even seemed to move a bit quicker and his body felt lighter and faster.

"A permanent qi vessel," he thought excitedly. "That's the sign that I've successfully cultivated the first level of the Violet Qi Cauldron Control Art! It also means that I've reached that–what's it called–first level of Qi Condensation!" Bai Xiaochun was overjoyed, and immediately ran to the washroom.

When Big Fatty Zhang and the others saw him, they exchanged knowing glances. Although they were a bit surprised that Bai Xiaochun had reached the first level so quickly, they all knew why it had happened.

After returning to his room, Bai Xiaochun took a deep breath, and then began to study the bamboo scroll more thoroughly.

"After cultivating the first level of the Violet Qi Cauldron Control Art, I should be able to manipulate physical objects. Wow, this is basically an Immortal magical technique. I should be able to shoot things through the air." Eyes shining, he followed the instructions prescribed in the scroll, moving both hands together in a special way to perform an incantation. Then, he waved his finger at the nearby desk. Instantly, the stream inside of him surged like a bucking bronco, racing toward his right index finger and then out through the tip of his finger.

It turned into something like an invisible thread, which then attached itself to the nearby desk. However, almost as soon as it reached the desk, the connection grew unstable, and the thread disintegrated.

Bai Xiaochun's face went pale. After a moment of recuperation, he reviewed what he had just done, then decided to give up on moving the desk. Instead, he pulled out the wooden sword from his bag and placed it on top of the desk. He wasn't sure what type of wood the sword was made from, but despite being much lighter than the desk, it still seemed unusually heavy. He waved his finger toward it, and the wooden sword twitched, then slowly floated an inch up into the air before falling back down onto the desk.

Bai Xiaochun was anything but discouraged. After a few more excited attempts, he was able to get the sword to rise higher and higher. Soon it was ten inches, then twenty, then thirty…. By the time dusk fell, he could get the wooden sword to fly in a straight line. Although it wasn't very fast, and he couldn't quite make it turn, it wouldn't fall down as easily as it had when he first started practicing.

"Henceforth, I, Bai Xiaochun, am an Immortal!" He rose proudly to his feet, held his left hand behind his back, and then waved his right hand, causing the wooden sword to fly unsteadily back and forth in his room.

Eventually, his qi began to grow unstable, so he put the wooden sword away and continued to practice cultivation. Later, he caught wind of a fragrant aroma coming from the wok, causing him to raise his head and take a deep sniff. Suddenly feeling ravenous, he realized that he had been busy cultivating all day, and had completely forgotten about the spirit rice boiling in the wok. He immediately walked over and lifted the lid to look inside.

The moment he did, the strong, fragrant aroma of spirit rice wafted out. Furthermore, at some point during the process, a brilliant, glowing silver design had appeared on the surface of the rice!

The design was clearly visible, and when Bai Xiaochun looked at it closely, he suddenly felt lost within the light. After a while, though, the design began to fade. He narrowed his eyes, and after some more thought, picked up the grain of spirit rice and held it in his hand for a closer look.

"That design looks really familiar…." His eyes flickered with a thoughtful gleam. He ducked his head to look under the stove, and saw that the fire had long since burned out. The pieces of wood were nothing more than ash now, and the design on the wok had once again faded into obscurity.

However, he could still tell that the silver design on the grain of rice was the same design as the one on the back of the wok.

He decided not to continue to investigate the design, and to be safe, chose not to eat the rice for the time being. Instead, he put it into his bag, sat there for a moment in contemplation, then left his hut to help Big Fatty Zhang and the others.

Before long, half a month had passed. Bai Xiaochun's cultivation progress had once again slowed down. However, after some discreet inquiries, he learned that silver designs never appeared on spirit rice when it was cooked.

His curiosity had definitely been piqued. The more he learned about it, the more it seemed that there was something special about this particular grain of rice, not to mention his wok, which seemed even stranger. A few days later, Third Fatty Hei left the Ovens to go purchase supplies, giving Bai Xiaochun the perfect opportunity to sneak into the Four Seas Room, a place where servants could get general information about cultivation.

On his way back to his hut, he did his best to conceal the excitement which filled his heart. After closing the door behind him, he immediately took out the grain of spirit rice and studied the silver design. Gradually, an expression of disbelief appeared on his face.

"When Immortals practice cultivation, there are three skills they can't do without. The first is synthesizing medicines, the second is equipment forging, and the third is spirit enhancement!" Bai Xiaochun thought back to the images he had dug up when searching through the ancient records in the Four Seas Room. One of them had closely resembled the silver design that was now visible on the grain of rice.

"Spirit enhancement!" After a moment, he took a long, deep breath.

Spirit enhancement was a special technique in which the energy of Heaven and Earth was forced into physical objects. It was a type of magic that essentially replaced the natural functions of Heaven and Earth, a technique which could be used on medicinal pills, incense, or magical items. Unfortunately, it was forbidden by Heaven and Earth, ensuring that the rate of success was limited. A success would lead to the item being vastly more powerful. A failure would result in the energy of Heaven and Earth rendering the item completely useless.

The most shocking thing about spirit enhancement was that it could be performed over and over again. Every success increased the effects of the spirit enhancement by tenfold, leading to Heaven-shaking, Earth-toppling transformations.

Of course, the more precious the item was to begin with, the more terrifying the results of success would be.

Unsurprisingly, the chances of success decreased with each enhancement. In fact, after a certain point, even some spirit enhancement Grandmasters wouldn't dare to go any further. After all, the ramifications of a failure in that case would be difficult to accept.

"The ancient records said that the Spirit Stream Sect's guardian treasure is an item that was somehow enhanced ten times by spirit enhancement. The Heavenhorn Sword!" Bai Xiaochun's throat felt dry. Eyes shining with disbelief and confusion, he swallowed and looked over at the turtle-shaped wok. There were ten faint decorative lines on the back of it, and when he looked at them, his heart began to beat so hard it felt like it was about to burst out of his chest.

As of this moment, he was sure that the design which had appeared on the spirit rice was a mark of spirit enhancement. Furthermore, the source of that design was none other than his wok!

After a moment of hesitation, he gritted his teeth. If he didn't get to the bottom of this mystery, he wouldn't be able to sleep. He knew for a fact that this wok was something extraordinary, and therefore, he couldn't let anyone in on his secret.

He waited until it was late in the night, then very quietly tip-toed over to the wok. After taking a deep breath and trying not to think about what would happen if he failed, he pulled out his wooden sword and threw it inside, the same way he had thrown the grain of rice in.

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Chapter 5: What Happens If I Lose My Poor Little Life?

After waiting for what seemed like forever, nothing unusual happened. Bai Xiaochun looked thoughtfully at the patterns on the turtle-wok, and then looked down into the stove itself. Nothing remained of the wood but ash so he left, to return a few minutes later with some more firewood.

Firewood for personal use wasn't very common in the Ovens, so he'd been forced to go find Big Fatty Zhang to make a special request for some more.

After kindling the fire, Bai Xiaochun once again focused on the first design on the turtle-wok. As the wood burned, the design lit up. Bai Xiaochun's heart began to thump with excitement, and then suddenly, the wooden sword began to shine with blinding silver light.

He backed up a few paces, after which the light slowly faded away, and a piercing sensation began to emanate out from inside the wok.

He took a deep breath and carefully sidled up to the wok. The wooden sword, just like the grain of spirit rice, now had a bright silver design on it, which gradually faded to a deep silver color!

The sword appeared different than before. Although it was still made of wood, it now seemed more like it was made from metal. Bai Xiaochun's eyes lit up as he carefully took the sword out of the wok. It felt heavier, and also emanated a certain coldness.

"It worked! My first spirit enhancement on the wooden sword worked!" Bai Xiaochun fondled the sword ecstatically, then glanced over at the wok and tried to decide what to do with it. In the end, he decided to just leave it where it was. The more he treated it like an ordinary item, the less likely it was that anyone would pay attention to it.

As for the spirit rice, he decided to eat it bit by bit over time. He would also be careful to not let anyone see the wooden sword. As an added measure, he came up with the idea of somehow painting over the glowing design.

Finally, he tidied his room, then walked out nonchalantly, as if nothing unusual had occurred. Over the next few days, he collected some various liquid materials from the Ovens which he used to paint the sword, making it bright and colorful, albeit somewhat unsightly. The most important thing was that the spirit design was covered up well enough that it wasn't obvious. In the end, Bai Xiaochun nodded his head in satisfaction.

As the days passed, Bai Xiaochun became as comfortable with life in the Ovens as a fish in water. He quickly fit in with the other Elder Brothers, and also became familiar with the work that went on there. He soon found that different types of fire were necessary for cooking different spirit foods. In fact, the different types of fire were described in terms of color; there were one-colored flames, two-colored flames, and so on. The wood he had used earlier to heat the turtle-wok had been one-colored firewood.

Big Fatty Zhang began to grow especially fond of Bai Xiaochun, and took special care of him. Furthermore, just as he'd said, after a few months passed, Bai Xiaochun was starting to gain weight.

He was no longer the scrawny kid he had been when he had first joined the sect. He was fatter, but at the same time, his skin was also fairer and clearer than before. He also looked more harmless than ever, and was clearly reaching the point of being deserving of the title Ninth Fatty Bai.

He also experienced the special snack-time arrangement on more than one occasion. However, what Bai Xiaochun found especially frustrating was that, despite gaining weight, his cultivation seemed to progress as slowly as ever. Eventually, he stopped worrying about that and spent most of his time eating and drinking with his Elder Brothers. Life was good. As the months passed, he heard bits of gossip about recent events in the Spirit Stream Sect.

In addition, Big Fatty Zhang taught him more about the sect in general. He learned that the sect disciples were divided into the Inner and Outer Sects. Any servant who could practice cultivation all the way to the third level of Qi Condensation would be able to challenge one of the trials by fire, which were paths that existed on the various mountain peaks in the sect. A servant who passed the trial by fire could join that mountain peak as an Outer Sect disciple. Only by becoming an Outer Sect disciple could anyone truly become a part of the Spirit Stream Sect.

However, accomplishing such a feat would count as a stunning accomplishment, and would be equivalent to the old saying about the fish leaping over the dragon gate. Only the top three competitors in the monthly trials by fire would be accepted, meaning that the number of people who could become an Outer Sect disciple was limited.

On one particular day, Seventh Fatty had been scheduled to go out and purchase supplies, but ended up being busy with some other matters. As a result, Big Fatty Zhang called for Bai Xiaochun and told him to stand in for Seventh Fatty. Bai Xiaochun hesitated for a moment, recalling the incident with Xu Baocai from a few months before. Although it probably wasn't anything to worry about, he couldn't shake his anxiety. Before leaving, he went back to his room and collected eight meat cleavers 1 and also donned six long leather coats. By the time he was finished getting dressed, he looked like a round ball.

However, he also felt much safer, which was the important thing. The last thing he did was strap his wok onto his back, leaving him feeling very safe. He then staggered out of the Ovens and down the mountain.

As he walked along the green limestone paths in the sect, he gazed around at the beautiful buildings and courtyards, and began to feel prouder than ever.

"How time flies!" he mused, clasping his hands behind his back. "Life is like a dream. I, Bai Xiaochun, have only spent a few months practicing cultivation. However, as I think back to the mortal world, and my life in the village, it fills my eyes with tears." He walked along with eight meat cleavers hanging from his belt, a wok on his back, and multiple layers of clothing, looking very much like a dilapidated toy ball. Occasionally, he would encounter other servants, who would stare at him out of the corners of their eyes as he passed.

There were even a few female disciples who couldn't help but laugh out loud when they saw him. They covered their mouths with their hands, and the sound of their laughter was like silver bells, clear and melodious.

Face slightly flushed, Bai Xiaochun couldn't help but feel even more impressive than ever. Clearing his throat, he stuck his chest out and continued to saunter along.

Before too much time had passed, and before he had even left the third peak's servants' district, he noticed that quite a few servants were rushing off into the distance, looking very excited. They appeared to be heading in the direction of the path that led up to the top of the third peak, a place where Outer Sect disciples often congregated.

More and more servants began running over in that direction, looking very excited. Surprised by the scene, Bai Xiaochun quickly grabbed a scrawny servant who happened to be running by.

"Junior Brother, what's going on?" Bai Xiaochun asked quizzically. "Why is everyone running over there?"

The young man looked over angrily, but then saw the black wok on Bai Xiaochun's back, and his expression turned envious.

"I didn't realize you were from the Ovens, Elder Brother. Why don't you come along? Two Chosen from the Outer Sect, Zhou Hong and Zhang Yide, are fighting it out in the trial by fire arena. Supposedly, the two of them have a beef with each other. Whatever happens, they're both at the sixth level of Qi Condensation, so we should be able to learn a bit by watching them, and maybe even gain some enlightenment." Finishing his explanation, the young man hurried off, apparently worried about missing out on any of the action.

Feeling very curious, Bai Xiaochun set off in a hurry, following the flow of people as they left the servants' district and headed to the foot of the third peak, where a large raised platform could be seen.

The platform was about 3,000 meters wide, and was surrounded by a crowd of servants. There were even people watching from positions further up on the mountain, all of whom wore resplendent clothing, and were clearly Outer Sect disciples.

Two young men occupied the platform, both of whom wore extravagant outfits. One of them had a scar running down his face, the other had skin as white as jade. The two of them were fighting back and forth, causing booming sounds to echo out.

The glow of magical items surrounded both of them. Floating in front of the scar-faced youth was a small flag that fluttered of its own volition, as if some invisible hand were waving it. The swirling flag formed the shape of a Mist Tiger, which let out deafening roars.

The jade-faced youth danced back and forth as he fought. He had a small blue sword which whistled through the air, leaving behind streaks of light.

When Bai Xiaochun saw the sword flying about, he gasped. Although he could control his own wooden sword in a similar way, it would be impossible to even compare his level of skill with that of the jade-faced young man.

What was even more remarkable was how the two young men didn't seem to be holding anything back. Killing intent roiled off of them, and within a short time, numerous deadly situations arose. Both were heavily wounded, and despite the fact that the wounds weren't critical, it was still a shocking sight.

This was Bai Xiaochun's first time seeing cultivators fighting, and it was very different from how he had imagined Immortals would look when they fought. The cruel and vicious way they attacked each other left his heart pounding in fear.

"Immortal cultivation… isn't just about living forever? What's this fighting and killing all about? What happens if I end up losing my poor little life…?" Bai Xiaochun swallowed nervously as he watched the scar-faced youth's Mist Tiger lunging voraciously at the other young man. Wiping the sweat from his brow, Bai Xiaochun suddenly realized that the outside world was a very dangerous place; it was probably a much better idea to stay back in the Ovens where it was safe.

Having reached this conclusion, he began to hurry off when, all of a sudden, he heard someone shouting his name.

"Bai Xiaochun!!"

He turned his head and saw the author of the Blood Notice, Xu Baocai, hurrying in his direction, a vicious expression on his face. A wooden sword floated next to him, glittering with an unusual light that clearly surpassed the first level of Qi Condensation. As the sword flew along, it left a streak of light in its wake, and sent a formidable spirit pressure emanating out.

When Bai Xiaochun saw that wooden sword heading in his direction, his eyes went wide, and an intense sense of deadly crisis welled up in him.

"He's gonna kill me!" he thought.

Instantly, he began to run in the opposite direction, screaming: "Murder! Murder!"

The other servants in the area all heard, and looked over in shock. The cries were so loud that even Zhou Hong and Zhang Yide stopped fighting.

In fact, even Xu Baocai was unnerved by the screams. He had obviously just yelled Bai Xiaochun's name and then started to chase him. His sword hadn't even touched Bai Xiaochun, and yet Bai Xiaochun was screaming as though he had been stabbed repeatedly.

Xu Baocai hated Bai Xiaochun so much his gums itched. Face ashen, he ran after him, shouting: "Come on, Bai Xiaochun, you know how to fight! What are you running away for!?"

"If I knew how to fight, why would I be running away, you moron!? I would have killed you a long time ago! Murder! Murder!" Bai Xiaochun's screams grew even louder as he fled in the opposite direction like a fat little bunny.

Meanwhile, in a building which jutted out into the air at the very peak of the mountain, two men were in the middle of playing a game of Go. One was middle-aged, the other was an old man. The middle-aged man was none other than Li Qinghou. As for the old man, he had a full head of white hair, and a ruddy complexion. His eyes glittered brightly, and he was clearly no ordinary individual. Currently, he was looking down at the scene playing out down below.

Chuckling, he said, "What an interested child you brought back to the sect, Qinghou."

"How embarrassing, Sect Leader. The kid's personality definitely needs a lot more work." Feeling a headache coming on, Li Qinghou placed his game piece onto the board and then shook his head.

"The kids in the Ovens are pretty stuck up, and yet this kid fits right in," scoffed the old man, stroking his beard. "Not an easy task. Hmm…"

1. Quick note about the meat cleavers. In Chinese the word is literally "vegetable knife," and could more properly be translated as "kitchen knife." However, the most common kitchen knife that you find in most Chinese households is what we would call a cleaver in English. You can see that by going to baidu and doing an image search for the term "vegetable knife" in Chinese. You'll see a couple "normal" kitchen knives in that image search, because the word could also mean that. However, in both home kitchens and restaurant kitchens in China, cleavers are used for everything from cutting big chunks of meat to julienning vegetables, as you can see demonstrated by Anthony Bourdain and Eric Ripert in this video

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Chapter 6: Drunk On Spiritual Energy

The sound of Bai Xiaochun's screams undulated through the air beneath the third peak, catching the astonished attention of numerous servants. All of them could clearly see Bai Xiaochun, black wok on his back, wearing several layers of clothing, running at breakneck speed through the servants' district. He looked like a fat, round ball.

From a distance, it was difficult to actually make out Bai Xiaochun himself, but you would definitely see the black wok, which made him look almost like a beetle as he flew along.

Then there were the eight meat cleavers that hung from his belt, which clashed and clanked as he fled.

"Murder!" he hollered as he ran, picking up speed. "Someone save me! I don't want to die…."

Xu Baocai was hot on his tail, face ashen, eyes gleaming ferociously and heart filled with both anxiety and rage.

Chasing Bai Xiaochun this way was catching quite a bit of attention from the servants, and Xu Baocai was worried that the Honor Guard might notice. The nervousness in his heart continued to grow.

"Quit screeching, dammit!" Xu Baocai raged. "Quiet down! What are you screaming for? Shut UP!" Gritting his teeth, he performed a double-handed incantation gesture, causing the wooden sword to flicker with light and then shoot toward the fleeing Bai Xiaochun.

A clang rang out as the wooden sword slammed into Bai Xiaochun's black wok. As the noise echoed out, Bai Xiaochun continued running as if nothing had happened.

Xu Baocai gnashed his teeth. The big wok on Bai Xiaochun's back covered nearly half of his body, making it very difficult to hit him. However, feeling that he had little other choice, Xu Baocai continued to give chase.

And so they raced through the servants' district, Bai Xiaochun leading the way, Xu Baocai running behind him.

"This guy is pretty fast, even with that wok on his back!" thought Xu Baocai, huffing and puffing as he fell further behind in the chase. His cultivation base was at the second level of Qi Condensation, and he was running as hard as he could. However, Bai Xiaochun was running with the passion of a rabbit whose tail had been stepped on. No matter what Xu Baocai did, he couldn't catch up.

More horrifying was that he was starting to get tired, and yet hadn't even laid a finger on his opponent. In contrast, Bai Xiaochun didn't seem to be the least bit tired at all, and was also screaming like a pig at the slaughterhouse.

Soon, Bai Xiaochun caught sight of the little path leading to the Ovens, and his eyes glittered with excitement. He suddenly felt as though he were arriving home, and the sensation was so moving that he almost cried.

"Elder Brother, save me!" he cried. "He's trying to murder me!" A trail of dust rose into the air behind him as he ran toward the Ovens at breakneck speed. Big Fatty Zhang and the others heard his screaming and hurried out, shocked expressions on their faces.

"Elder Brother, save me! Xu Baocai is trying to kill me! My poor little life is on the line!" Bai Xiaochun quickly scrambled behind Big Fatty Zhang.

Big Fatty Zhang's eyes gleamed with a ferocious light as he looked around vigilantly, but he saw no one.

"Xu Baocai?" he asked. It was at this point that Xu Baocai finally appeared, huffing and puffing as he ran down the path toward the Ovens.

When Bai Xiaochun realized how far behind Xu Baocai was, a quizzical expression appeared on his face.

"Eee? Why is he running so slow?"

Big Fatty Zhang looked at Bai Xiaochun, and then back at the panting Xu Baocai. The motion caused the fat on his face to quiver a bit.

Xu Baocai had expended a lot of effort in the chase, so as he neared the Ovens and then heard what Bai Xiaochun said, he was filled with so much rage that he felt like he was about to explode. With a roar, he waved his right hand, sending his wooden sword stabbing toward a nearby tree.

A bang could be heard, and the tree quivered as the sword pierced through it, leaving behind a gaping hole.

"Bai Xiaochun," he cried, "our differences are irreconcilable!" His eyes were completely bloodshot as he glared at Bai Xiaochun, and then the hulking Big Fatty Zhang. Finally, he turned angrily and began to stalk off back down the path.

Bai Xiaochun's heart was pounding as he looked at the hole in the tree. Then he looked back at the fuming Xu Baocai, and swallowed hard as an uneasy feeling rose up in his heart.

Big Fatty Zhang looked at Xu Baocai's retreating figure, and his eyes flickered with a sinister gleam. Then he patted Bai Xiaochun on the shoulder.

"Don't worry, Ninth Junior Brother. Xu Baocai might have some good connections in the sect, but if he dares show his face here again, we Elder Brothers will cut off one of his legs!" Almost as soon as the words left his mouth, though, his tone changed. "Although, it would probably be best if you didn't leave the Ovens, Ninth Junior Brother. You're looking a bit skinny, I think I should fatten you up a bit. After all, Elder Zhou is celebrating his decade-birthday in a few days."

Bai Xiaochun nodded his head absentmindedly as he stared at the hole Xu Baocai's wooden sword had left in the tree.

He then followed his Elder Brothers back into the Ovens. Later, he sat in his room, brooding and feeling more uneasy than ever. The fact that his opponent could send a wooden sword through a tree meant that if it had hit him, he would definitely be a corpse now.

"This isn't gonna work, not unless I plan on staying inside the Ovens for the rest of my life. What if he catches me next time I go out…?" Bai Xiaochun just couldn't stop thinking about the venomous look Xu Baocai had cast his way before leaving.

"I came here to live forever, not to die…." The feeling of insecurity and anxiety caused Bai Xiaochun's eyes to slowly become shot with blood. After a long moment passed, he gritted his teeth.

"Fudge! I'm gonna do it! I'm gonna go all-out! I'm gonna go so all-out that I'll terrify myself, let alone everyone else!" His eyes were now completely bloodshot. Instead of saying that Bai Xiaochun was the type of person who was afraid of dying, it would be more accurate to say that he was simply insecure. The ordeal he had just gone through had only served to stoke his determination.

"I'm gonna practice cultivation! I'm gonna get stronger!!" Bai Xiaochun's breath came in ragged pants as he made his decision. He pulled out the Violet Qi Cauldron Control Art bamboo scroll, opened it up to the second illustration, and then immediately began to practice cultivation.

He might be afraid of dying, but he was also viciously persistent. Were he not, he would never have been able to light that stick of incense thirteen times throughout the years, despite the threat of the lightning.

Grinning with vicious determination, he assumed the posture in the second illustration, tenaciously maintaining the pose. Before, he had only been able to last for about ten breaths of time, but this time, he actually lasted for fifteen.

He ended up wracked with pain, forehead dripping with great drops of sweat. However, the vicious gleam in his eye didn't fade. Soon, he was able to last for twenty breaths of time, then thirty. The small stream that was the qi vessel in his body was now ten percent complete. Gasping for breath, vision fading to black, he finally rested for a moment, then started cultivating again.

The night passed relatively uneventfully. Soon it was the next day. And the day after that. And yet another day…. Eventually fifteen days went by. Other than eating and visiting the restroom, Bai Xiaochun never left his room. To someone who had just begun the practice of cultivation, such tediousness was usually difficult to endure. However, Bai Xiaochun didn't even come close to giving up.

Big Fatty Zhang and the others were shocked by his relentless practice of cultivation. It must be stated that cultivating the Violet Qi Cauldron Control Art was no easy task. In principle, it was relatively simple. However, the postures that had to be maintained to reach the various levels all led to unimaginable pain, and therefore required incredible perseverance. Normally speaking, the servants in the sect would give up after only a few days of trying to cultivate it.

Therefore, when Big Fatty Zhang and the others saw Bai Xiaochun continue to cultivate it for more than half a month, they felt like they were observing an entirely different person than the one they had met a few months ago.

His clothes grew wrinkled, his hair became disheveled, his eyes were completely bloodshot. He seemed completely bedraggled, and at the same time, completely focused. Regardless of the pain he felt, he never gave up.

Another thing that happened was that he began to lose some of the fat he had built up. At the same time, the spirit pressure he radiated increased by more than fifty percent. He was now very close to the great circle of the first level of Qi Condensation.

Apparently, all of the precious materials he had eaten had built up in his fat. By practicing cultivation in the way he was, it was forcing those items to materialize as part of his cultivation base. It also ended up making his body tougher than the average person.

"Ninth Junior Brother, why don't you take a break? You've been practicing cultivation nonstop for more than half a month." Big Fatty Zhang and the others tried to persuade him to stop. However, when he looked up at them, they saw a gleam of determination in his eyes that left them shaken.

Time passed. Soon, Bai Xiaochun had been practicing cultivation like mad for a full month. Big Fatty Zhang and the others were shocked. In fact, Big Fatty Zhang even said, "he's not cultivating, he's killing himself!"

By this point in his cultivation, Bai Xiaochun could hold the pose in the second illustration for longer than 100 breaths of time. Soon, he reached 150 breaths of time. The spiritual energy inside of him was not a small stream any more. It was far, far larger than that.

Another month passed. Big Fatty Zhang and the others trembled in fear, worried that Bai Xiaochun really was killing himself from working too hard. Even as they were working up a plan to go get rid of Xu Baocai, a huge rumbling could be heard coming from Bai Xiaochun's hut.

As the sound echoed about, the spirit pressure of the second level of Qi Condensation erupted out from the hut, spreading for dozens of meters in all directions. As soon as Big Fatty Zhang and the others sensed it, they looked up with expressions of shock.

"Little Junior Brother has broken through!"

"The second level of Qi Condensation! He hasn't even partaken of the Ovens' snack arrangement for more than half a year, and he's already reached the second level of Qi Condensation! That's pretty rare!"

"It took me a whole year to reach the second level of Qi Condensation…." Even as they were making exclamations of shock, a crash could be heard as Bai Xiaochun's door opened, and he burst out, looking exhausted and disheveled. However, his eyes were glittering brightly.

Big Fatty Zhang and the others were just about to hurry over to offer congratulations when Bai Xiaochun flashed through the air and nimbly landed on the bamboo fence that surrounded the Ovens. He clasped his hands behind his back and tilted his head up proudly, looking off into the distance with a profound gleam in his eyes. He looked every bit like a proud, lonesome hero.

Big Fatty Zhang and the others exchanged dismayed glances.

"What is he standing there for? He looks so weird…."

"Did little Junior Brother… get possessed or something?"

Almost as soon as they looked over at Bai Xiaochun and his odd appearance, they heard his voice echoing out, sounding proud and wise.

"Xu Baocai is a consummate Chosen among the servants of the Spirit Stream Sect, matchlessly vicious, and famous far and wide. His cultivation base is even in the terrifying second level of Qi Condensation. However, my cultivation base is also in the second level of Qi Condensation. A fight between us will be an even match. It will likely be a fight talked about in all the lands, a battle that will shake the entire sect. However, it must be fought, no matter how much blood and gore flows, no matter how many bones are shattered and tendons… wait a second. No, this battle is far, far too important. I have to keep practicing cultivation!"

Having finished speaking, Bai Xiaochun looked around for a moment, then flicked his sleeve and returned to his room. The door slammed shut behind him as he began another session of secluded meditation. Big Fatty Zhang and the others swallowed hard, and exchanged glances. Finally, Third Fatty Hei said, "Don't tell me we gave Junior Brother some spoiled food?"

Second Fatty Huang shivered and replied, "Oh no! This is bad! Junior Brother is drunk on spiritual energy! He's gone crazy from cultivation…. We mustn't provoke him now!"

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Chapter 7: Bonding the Turtle-Wok

In the following days, Big Fatty Zhang and the others kept a constant eye out on Bai Xiaochun's thatched hut. As for Bai Xiaochun, breaking through to the second level of Qi Condensation gave him quite a boost in self-confidence, and he continued to focus on cultivation.

Currently, he was in his room, wiping the sweat from his brow. He was buck naked, gritting his teeth against the pain as he tried to maintain the posture of the third image in the bamboo scroll.

His qi vessel was no longer a flowing stream, but rather, a small river. It flowed through his body, and with every rotation, cracking sounds would emanate out from inside of him. His previously rotund body was now thin once again, and in fact, he was even thinner than when he had first arrived in the Ovens.

However, there seemed to be energy building up in his body. As he continued to practice cultivation, the flesh and muscle that covered his skinny frame pulsed with power. In fact, if you listened carefully, you would even be able to hear the sound of his heartbeat echoing about in his room.

More and more spirit pressure was condensing inside of him, filling Bai Xiaochun with a feeling of increasing power. After several more days passed, the pain increased to point where it was simply too much, and he had to give up.

He was left panting, eyes completely bloodshot. He had the strong feeling that he simply couldn't continue on this way. Although he naturally absorbed the spiritual power of Heaven and Earth while cultivating, that flow simply couldn't keep up with how much power he was wasting. Furthermore, the Ovens' snack arrangement wasn't a regular occurrence, and only happened on lucky occasions.

Most other people cultivated the Violet Qi Cauldron Control Art by practicing it once every few days. Even people who were more devoted would only practice it once per day. In contrast, Bai Xiaochun had been practicing nonstop. It was no small wonder that Big Fatty Zhang and the others were shocked. In fact, many Inner Sect disciples would have been astonished to hear about what he was doing.

However, having reached this level of cultivation still left Bai Xiaochun feeling insecure and uneasy. After all, he was the type of person who would rather be safe than sorry. Finally, he pulled out the grain of spirit rice that he had enhanced and looked at it for a long moment before using an ordinary wok to cook it up. After the spiritual energy began to waft out of it, he quickly gobbled it down.

As soon as the spirit rice entered his mouth, it turned into a thick blast of spiritual energy that was exponentially more powerful than ordinary spirit rice. In fact, the two types couldn't even be considered to be on the same level. As the rumbling sounds echoed out inside of him, he began to practice cultivation. He instantly assumed the posture in the third illustration, and at the same time, began to regulate his breathing.

Half a month later, deep in the night, a tremor ran through Bai Xiaochun, and he opened his eyes. He suddenly realized that at some indeterminable point, he had actually broken through from the second level of Qi Condensation to the third level.

This development caused him to go wild with joy. Excitement filled his eyes, and he began to laugh uproariously. Examining himself, he realized that the qi vessel inside of him had thoroughly transformed into a small river.

The small river circulated through his body at high speed, moving far, far faster than it had before. In fact, he could even send the spiritual energy around to different parts of his body, all with a simple thought.

"The third level of Qi Condensation! That spirit enhancement was incredible!" He rose to his feet, licking his lips at the thought of producing another spirit-enhanced grain of spirit rice. However, it was at this point that he remembered something the bamboo scroll had mentioned about the growth of internal meridians. Right now, he needed to let his body adapt to the expanded meridians, and temporarily couldn't continue to practice cultivation.

Putting his idea about the spirit rice on the back burner, he walked out of his room, all the while looking extremely proud of himself. However, almost as soon as he set foot out the door, he caught sight of the little path outside of the Ovens, and the tree with the hole in it. Although it was late at night, the tree was clearly visible in the moonlight.

"This won't do. Xu Baocai's wooden sword is obviously beyond ordinary. Even being in the third level of Qi Condensation won't guarantee my safety!" Frowning, he stood there in thought for a moment before taking out his own multi-colored wooden sword. Then he looked back at the wok inside his room.

"I think I'll feel a bit more confident if I do a second spirit enhancement," he thought. Without any further hesitation, he retrieved some of the Ovens' spirit wood.

After getting fully prepared, he stood in front of his mysterious wok and kindled the fire. Once the design on the wok lit up, he tossed the wooden sword inside.

However, after waiting for quite some time, there didn't seem to be any reaction. Bai Xiaochun frowned and looked at the design on the turtle-wok, then glanced down and realized that the fire had already burned out. Nothing but ash remained of the wood. Muttering to himself, he went out to find some more spirit wood. However, after burning several more batches, he didn't see any difference in the wooden sword.

"These pieces of firewood are all for one-colored flames," he thought. "Maybe that's just not hot enough. Maybe I need the heat… of a two-colored flame?" He left his room again and found a piece of violet-colored firewood, which was relatively rare in the Ovens. In fact, after searching for a while, he could only find a single piece.

After kindling it, the flame appeared, a two-colored flame that was far hotter than a one-colored flame!

Almost as soon as the two-colored flame touched the surface of the turtle-wok, the second design began to shine brightly. As for the flame itself, it rapidly began to fade away; apparently the power of the flame was being sucked away. Soon, the two-colored flame had burned out, leaving behind nothing but ash. However, the turtle-wok's second design was now shining brightly.

"It worked!" he thought, eyes shining. He quickly put the wooden sword back inside, whereupon silver light began to shimmer. This time, it lasted for several breaths of time longer than the first time he had done the spirit enhancement.

The light began to dim, but then, it suddenly flared up and shot directly toward Bai Xiaochun. This sudden change occurred so quickly that he couldn't even react. His vision swam with light as an indescribably cold sensation washed through him. It almost felt as if he were being frozen over. There was nothing he could do to stop it from happening; it felt as if the coldness was viciously grabbing at his insides.

His face went pale, and his vision blurred. It was as if something inside of him was being sucked out and merged into the turtle-wok.

Finally, the silver light faded away, and within the wok, the wooden sword appeared, sharper than ever. In fact, it was so sharp that looking at it hurt the eyes.

Although it was still painted gaudily, the veins of the wood inside had already changed. If you scraped away the paint, you would find that they seemed to be filled with starlight, as if the sword had been thoroughly and completely transformed.

In virtually the same moment as the new wooden sword appeared, thunder crackled in the air above the south bank of the Spirit Stream Sect. It was almost as if the Heavens were rumbling in rage, causing shock to rise up in the hearts of countless cultivators in the Spirit Stream Sect. However, almost as soon as the thunder crackled out, it was gone.

As the thunder was booming, a second silver design appeared on the wooden sword. After flickering for a moment, the design faded away into the gaudy paint.

Bai Xiaochun, however, couldn't even look at the sword. He staggered backward, a grim look on his face. After a long moment passed, he recovered his composure, although fear still lingered in his heart.

"What did it suck out of me…?" he thought, nervously looking at his reflection in the copper mirror on the wall. After examining himself closely for a moment, he rubbed his eyes, then gaped at his reflection, looking as shocked as a wooden chicken.

There in the mirror, he could see that at the very top of his forehead was a white hair. Although his face didn't look any different, he couldn't shake the feeling that the white hair made him look at least a year older.

"My lifespan!!" he murmured, aghast.

"Just now, my lifespan was reduced. My… my…" He wanted to cry, but no tears would come. His whole purpose in learning about cultivation was to live forever. Now, instead of reaching the goal of living forever, he had actually lost one year of his lifespan, which was a huge blow.

"Screwed…. How could I ever have imagined that I, Bai Xiaochun, would be so careful in life, only to end up screwing myself like this…." He sat there in a daze for a while before finally chuckling bitterly. After calming himself down, he looked back at the turtle-wok, whereupon a strange gleam gradually rose in his eyes. For some reason, after having some of his longevity sucked away, it now felt like there was some sort of connection between him and the wok, as if he could actually control it now.

Heart thumping, he extended his hand and pointed a finger at it.

The turtle-wok immediately flickered, shrank down, and flew toward Bai Xiaochun. In the blink of an eye, it disappeared into the tip of his finger. Eyes wide with shock, Bai Xiaochun leapt to his feet and backed up a few steps. He looked down at his finger, and then back at the empty stove.

"This… this…." He pointed his finger down at the ground, and a black gleam of light flashed, and a clanking sound rang out as the wok appeared once more.

After experimenting a few more times, his expression flickered from grim, to delighted, to mournful. Finally, he sighed.

"Well, I can suck this thing into my body, but the price I had to pay was a year of longevity. How come it still seems like I screwed myself?"

The next day at noon, Bai Xiaochun was trying to figure out a way to get back the longevity which had been sucked away from him. He was in the middle of doing some research when, all of a sudden, he looked up. He had just sensed that there were eight people heading toward the entrance of the Ovens.

That was something he would never have been able to detect when only in the first level of Qi Condensation. However, now that he was in the third level, he could instantly sense that one of the eight people was none other than Xu Baocai.

Almost at the same time, Xu Baocai's voice suddenly rang out, filled with fury and hatred.

"Bai Xiaochun, you have Elder Brothers to protect you, but so do I! Today, the enmity between the two of is going to end permanently!"

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Chapter 8: We're Gonna Go All Out!

As soon as he realized that Xu Baocai was coming, Bai Xiaochun shot to his feet.

"Well, he came sooner than expected…." he thought, his eyes flickering with hesitation. Although he had done everything he could to prepare in the last half-year or so, he still didn't feel ready. As far as he was concerned, the best option would have been to go into the conflict in the fourth level of Qi Condensation. Only then would he have felt safe.

Seeing that Xu Baocai had come with a group of seven others, Bai Xiaochun knew that hiding wasn't an option. Gritting his teeth, he said, "Fine! I'm gonna go for it!"

Taking a deep breath, he quickly donned eight leather coats, and then attached his backup wok to his back. Only then did he nervously open his door and step out.

The first thing he saw was Big Fatty Zhang and the others out by the front gate, hefting meat cleavers and huge kitchen ladles as they blocked the path of Xu Baocai and his friends.

"I was wondering why I heard the crows squawking this morning," Big Fatty Zhang roared, his voice echoing like thunder as he stood there, tall and mountain-like. "As it turns out, a bunch of brats from the Supervisors' Department decided to come cause a scene here in the Ovens!"

"Other people might be scared of the Ovens, Big Fatty Zhang, but the Supervisors' Department doesn't give a crap about you. We received a complaint from Junior Brother Xu, and we're here with the authority of the Supervisors' Department. Do you really dare to resist us?" Seven arrogant-looking men clustered around Xu Baocai. Although they wore servant uniforms, their sleeves were conspicuously embroidered with the character 'Supervisor,' indicating that they were from the Supervisors' Department, and had a status and power beyond ordinary servants.

One of the men was a burly fellow who looked as tough as a tiger and as sturdy as a bear. He emanated the spirit pressure of the third level of Qi Condensation, and his eyes glittered coldly as he stared at Big Fatty Zhang. Apparently, he didn't seem fazed at all by Big Fatty Zhang and the others.

"Hogwash!" replied Big Fatty Zhang. "He was trying to kill my Junior Brother. How do you explain that!?" He then laughed coldly as his hand whistled through the air, causing the big black wok on his back to suddenly fly up into the air, looking completely majestic. The burly man's cohorts looked on with flickering expressions, and as for the burly man himself, his eyes widened. Then his hand flashed in an incantation gesture, causing a small flag to fly out. Mist poured out of the flag, from within which the roaring of a wild beast could be heard.

Even as the figurative swords were being drawn, Xu Baocai saw Bai Xiaochun stepping out of his thatched hut, and all his previous rancor and hatred erupted inside of him.

"Bai Xiaochun!!" he roared.

As soon as the words left Xu Baocai's mouth, he waved his hand, sending his wooden sword flying out.

Looks of shock could be seen on the faces of Big Fatty Zhang and the others. Just as they were about to leap to stop the wooden sword, the burly man from the Supervisors' Department laughed coldly and blocked their path.

However, it was in that same instant that Bai Xiaochun, eyes bloodshot, roared, "Xu Baocai, you've pushed things too far! You and I are going to go all out!"

Bai Xiaochun's heart was pounding. He had never actually been in a fight in his entire life, much less magical combat against another cultivator.

He was so nervous that he was shaking. Roaring to build his own courage, he unleashed the power of the third level of Qi Condensation, holding nothing back from his cultivation base. He poured all of his spiritual energy into his wooden sword, then waved his finger to send it flying toward Xu Baocai.

As the wooden sword whistled through the air, the two designs hidden by the garish paint flickered slightly. Suddenly, the sword expanded in size and exploded with an oppressive coldness as it bore down on Xu Baocai.

The speed and majesty with which it shot through the air caused Big Fatty Zhang, as well as the group from the Supervisors' Department, to gasp and stare in astonishment. As the ferocious aura of the sword filled the area, all hearts were struck with shock, and suddenly, nobody was interested in fighting any more, and instead stared at the sword.

Xu Baocai hadn't even gotten close to Bai Xiaochun yet, and was struck with terror by his energy. From what he could tell, this version of Bai Xiaochun was completely different than the person he had faced several months before. The way he gritted his teeth and looked like he was going all out caused Xu Baocai's heart to fill with shock.

Next, his eyes widened with disbelief as he saw Bai Xiaochun's wooden sword speeding toward him. It was like a stream of white light, bursting with the type of energy that he had only seen during fights between Outer Sect disciples. He was so flabbergasted that his scalp went numb.

A bang rang out as Bai Xiaochun's wooden sword slammed into Xu Baocai's. Xu Baocai's wooden sword trembled, completely incapable of standing up to the force of the blow. Starting from the tip, it shattered into pieces. In the blink of an eye, it was completely destroyed, transformed into countless shimmering fragments.

As for Bai Xiaochun's wooden sword, it didn't even pause. It continued to shoot through the air toward Xu Baocai, who by this point was scared witless. Using all the power he could muster, he dodged out of the way. The wooden sword whistled past him, slicing his shoulder in the process, and then slashing into a nearby tree.

A boom rattled out as the tree was chopped completely in half, and then collapsed onto the ground, sending a cloud of dust into the air. Xu Baocai let out a miserable shriek as blood splashed all over his arm. Face pale, he immediately fell back.

Luckily for him, Bai Xiaochun wasn't very adept at controlling physical objects. Otherwise, that sword would definitely have killed him.

"Third level of Qi Condensation! Impossible! This is impossible!" Xu Baocai looked at Bai Xiaochun, and he seemed as terrified as if he had just caught sight of a ghost. To be able to unleash such power in a wooden sword clearly required the third level of Qi Condensation, and he simply could not imagine how Bai Xiaochun could have made such an astonishing transformation in only a few months. Things were playing out in exactly the opposite as he had imagined they would, which was impossible for him to accept. It was like he was in a living nightmare.

He wasn't the only shocked one. The burly man from the Supervisors' Department and all of his friends all gasped and looked over at Bai Xiaochun with serious expressions.

"Forming sharpness with spiritual energy and unleashing sword light! That's only possible by cultivating the Violet Qi Cauldron Control Art into the Lightness-in-Heaviness Realm! There's no other way to unleash a divine ability like that!" The burly man from the Supervisors' Department gasped, and fear could now be seen in his eyes as he looked at Bai Xiaochun.

His fellows had the exact same reaction, and there was almost no need to even mention Big Fatty Zhang and the others, who were also completely shocked. Although they had sensed that Bai Xiaochun had reached the third level of Qi Condensation, the fact that he could cause sword light to emanate out from the wooden sword, and also make it grow larger, showed that he really had reached the Lightness-in-Heaviness Realm, something they had been completely unaware of before.

Even Bai Xiaochun was a bit shaken by what had just happened with the wooden sword. He stared at the toppled tree, then at the ashen-faced Xu Baocai, and suddenly threw his head back and laughed.

"So, Xu Baocai, it turns out you are the weak one! Eat my sword!" Delighted that he was clearly stronger than Xu Baocai, Bai Xiaochun immediately began chasing Xu Baocai, laughing the entire time.

Bai Xiaochun's gaze caused Xu Baocai to tremble, and the sight of him rushing over, laughing uproariously, was completely terrifying. Xu Baocai immediately scrambled to flee.

However, he could only take a few steps before Bai Xiaochun was upon him. As he closed in, Bai Xiaochun couldn't help but think of how Xu Baocai had chased him relentlessly, forcing him to spend so many bitter days practicing cultivation. That bitterness turned into power, which he now used to kick viciously at Xu Baocai.

"Let's see you try to kill me again!" he yelled, punching Xu Baocai in the eye. Xu Baocai let out a miserable shriek and fell to the ground. He wanted to fight back, but his cultivation base was only at the second level of Qi Condensation, leaving him powerless to do anything to Bai Xiaochun.

"You provoked the Young Master, so now he's going to show you that he's not to be trifled with!" Fuming with rage, Bai Xiaochun continued to kick and punch Xu Baocai, who was now wailing in anguish.

Cracking sounds could be heard that caused both the burly man and the others from the Supervisors' Department, as well as Big Fatty Zhang and the others, to all stare in shock. They watched Xu Baocai being beaten, and Bai Xiaochun excitedly doing the beating, and their hearts prickled with fear.

Tears streamed down Xu Baocai's face, and his heart overflowed with grief. He still couldn't believe that Bai Xiaochun had experienced such a drastic transformation in just a few short months. Even more unbelievable was that he could use the divine ability of Lightness-in-Heaviness. That was something that was impossible to achieve without years of work and significant skill.

In his mind, Bai Xiaochun obviously must have someone powerful helping him. Furthermore, he was surely more powerful than he had let on before. However, because of his despicable and shameless personality, he had pretended to be weak. Most outrageous was that Xu Baocai had completely fallen for the act.

At that point, Xu Baocai was overwhelmed with sorrow, and simply passed out.

Seeing that Xu Baocai had fallen unconscious, Bai Xiaochun patted the dust off of his clothes and then waved his hand, causing his wooden sword to fly over into his sleeve. Then, looking every bit the lonely hero, he did his best to hide the excitement in his eyes.

The burly man from the Supervisors' Department looked deeply at him, his expression conflicted. Finally, he clasped hands and bowed.

"Junior Brother Bai, you did a good job of concealing your true strength," he said, his face expressionless. "You've earned our admiration." Then, he turned and left with his fellows, picking up the unconscious Xu Baocai and taking him along too.

After they left, Big Fatty Zhang and the others clustered around Bai Xiaochun, smiling broadly. After all, the people from the Supervisors' Department were outsiders, and they knew that Bai Xiaochun had worked hard over the past months. Therefore they were pleased with the overall outcome.

"Nice work, kid. You didn't kill yourself for half a year for nothing!" Big Fatty Zhang patted Bai Xiaochun's shoulder.

"That's right. I worked so hard that I scared even myself!" Bai Xiaochun lifted his chin as proudly as a cocky rooster, as if daring Big Fatty Zhang and the others to ever laugh at him again.

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Chapter 9: Age-Prolonging Longevity-Enhancing Pill

According to an ancient saying, time flying by is like catching a glimpse of a white colt flashing past a chink in a wall. That is exactly what happened for Bai Xiaochun. A month later, cold winds blew down the Heavenspan River and through the Spirit Stream Sect. All of a sudden, Bai Xiaochun realized that he had been in the sect for a year already.

The past year had been chock-full of one event after another. He had left the world of mortals to become a cultivator, elevated his cultivation base to the third level of Qi Condensation, and had resolved all the conflicts that cropped up due to him joining the Ovens.

Xu Baocai never showed up at the Ovens again, and when Bai Xiaochun left on supply runs and saw him from a distance, he would scurry away, clearly terrified.

Despite all of that, however, after a month went by, Bai Xiaochun looked as anxious as ever, and was sighing constantly. He didn't talk to Big Fatty Zhang and the others about his concerns; he simply wallowed in his helplessness.

"One year of longevity…." he thought, looking at a tree off in the distance, whose leaves had already begun to turn yellow and fall to the ground.

"I'm just like that tree, and those falling leaves are just like my one lost year of longevity…." Having reached this point in his train of thought, Bai Xiaochun suddenly felt very sentimental.

During the course of the past month, he had come up with countless ideas on how to restore the lost longevity, and yet, that white hair on his head remained as white as ever. He made some roundabout inquiries of Big Fatty Zhang, and learned that in the cultivation world, methods did indeed exist which could restore longevity. However, such methods were either well-kept secrets, or as easy to track down as a phoenix feather or a qilin horn.

Soon, he even lost interest in eating and drinking, and his face became wan and pallid. Eventually, he decided that he had no choice but to give up and accept the fact that he had lost the longevity. However, the following day when he went out on an Ovens supply run, he happened to catch sight of an enormous stone stele below the Third Peak, and all of a sudden, he started to pant.

On the south bank of the Spirit Stream Sect, all of the mountain peaks had stone steles like this one. It was covered with dense script, lines and lines of writing that glittered with bright light. Occasionally, the lines of script would flow like water as old characters were replaced by new ones.

That stone stele was where missions were handed out by the Spirit Stream Sect. Anyone in the sect who wanted to could accomplish the missions to earn the spirit stones necessary for cultivation, as well as merit points.

The merit points could be used to pay admission fees to scripture sermons or the Magical Arts Pavilion. They could also be used to gain access to all sorts of special places in the sect set aside for certain aspects of cultivation. Virtually everything in the sect could be acquired with merit points, and they were actually viewed as more valuable than spirit stones.

At the moment, quite a few Outer Sect disciples were gathered around the Third Peak's Mission Stele, staring at the missions. When one of them selected a mission to take, they would respectfully notify the middle-aged cultivator sitting cross-legged beneath the stele.

There were even some servants mingling with the Outer Sect disciples. The servants wore their uniforms, and the Outer Sect disciples wore green robes embroidered with cloud and river designs, making it very easy to tell who was who.

There were certain missions that only Inner Sect disciples could accept, but missions like that wouldn't show up on this particular stone stele. The missions here could be accepted by Outer Sect disciples and servants alike.

Many ambitious servants viewed this place as their first step in becoming like that fish which leaped over the dragon gate, achieving a meteoric rise.

Bai Xiaochun stood there for the time it takes an incense stick to burn, face grim as he stared at one particular line of script in the middle of the stone stele. Eventually, a look of hesitation appeared in his eyes.

"Age-Prolonging Longevity-Enhancing Pill…." he murmured. "I never imagined that this stone stele would offer a medicinal pill like that as a reward. From the name alone, you can tell that the pill probably increases longevity." After a bit of thought, he approached the middle-aged cultivator.

When the Outer Sect disciples sensed Bai Xiaochun approaching, they completely ignored him. Considering their status, they didn't care at all about servants, who they viewed as beneath them.

Bai Xiaochun waited until the crowd around the middle-aged cultivator thinned a bit, then, looking as charming and innocent as possible, clasped hands and bowed in greeting.

"Good afternoon, Elder Brother," he said.

The middle-aged cultivator looked Bai Xiaochun up and down, then nodded slightly.

The problem of his own longevity swirled in Bai Xiaochun's mind as he asked:"Elder Brother, one of the missions is to go search for some medicinal plants. The reward is an Age-Prolonging Longevity-Enhancing Pill. Might I ask whether or not that pill is useful for extending longevity?"

"Age-Prolonging Longevity-Enhancing Pill…. Yeah, it's this mission right here. That pill really can prolong your age and enhance your longevity. In fact, it adds a whole year. However, it has a lot of limitations. It can only be used if you're at the fifth level of Qi Condensation or lower, and can only be consumed once. If you take the pill more than one time, it simply won't do anything. You could say that it's valuable, but unfortunately, one year of longevity doesn't really count for much." Seeing how charming and innocent Bai Xiaochun looked, the middle-aged cultivator decided to add a bit more information.

"Generally speaking, this is a pill that disciples will give to their mortal family members who are reaching the ends of their lives. However, it's still very expensive. Do you want to accept the mission?"

Bai Xiaochun looked back at the stone stele, did some calculations, and then nodded.

The middle-aged cultivator waved his finger at the stone stele, and the mission turned gray. At the same time, he produced a jade slip which he handed over to Bai Xiaochun.

"Greenspirit Leaf, Earthdragon Fruit, and Stonebeetle Husk," the man said coolly. "Collect the proper amounts of those three medicinal ingredients, and you can exchange them for an Age-Prolonging Longevity-Enhancing Pill." After that, he paid no further heed to Bai Xiaochun, and instead turned and began to explain other missions to the nearby Outer Sect disciples.

Bai Xiaochun left, clutching the jade slip in his hands, the term "Age-Prolonging Longevity-Enhancing Pill" echoing about in his mind. His eyes began to glow with decisiveness.

"I'm definitely going to get that medicinal pill and make up for the one year of longevity I lost."

Bursting with determination, he hurried to the Four Seas Room, where he poured over the information available to servants. He soon found an introduction to Greenspirit Leaf, a type of medicinal plant that only grew in habitats occupied by Hopespirit Birds. Hopespirit Birds lived in large colonies, and usually grew to the second level of Qi Condensation, making the Greenspirit Leaf difficult to harvest. As a result, it tended to be expensive.

Unfortunately, there was no record in the Four Seas Room of the Earthdragon Fruit or the Stonebeetle Husk. Bai Xiaochun patted his bag, smiled bitterly, and left. After returning to the Ovens, he asked Big Fatty Zhang and the others about them. Nobody had ever heard of Earthdragon Fruit, but Third Fatty Hei knew about Stonebeetle Husk. Apparently, it was nothing more than the molted exoskeleton of a type of Spirit Insect called a Stonebeetle.

Supposedly, those exoskeletons were extremely tough and heavy, but were uncommon on the south shore. However, they were common on the north shore, a result of the fact that most of the techniques they cultivated there were shamanic magics. Unfortunately, despite the fact that both the north and south shores were part of the Spirit Stream Sect, they were separated by the main mountain bridge. Furthermore, only Inner Sect disciples qualified to be able to cross that mountain bridge to get from one shore to the other.

"What are you asking about these medicinal ingredients for?" Big Fatty Zhang asked, patting his stomach. "You can't eat them, you know. Besides, if you try to buy them at the south bank market, the prices are ridiculously high."

When Bai Xiaochun heard the word 'market' mentioned, his eyes suddenly lit up. After offering a quick explanation, he hurried down the mountain. In the year he had been a part of the Ovens, he had only been out of the sect on a few occasions, and yet, was very familiar with the market outside of the sect.

Most of the stalls were run by various cultivator clans related to sect disciples. There were even some establishments that were owned by disciples, and catered specifically to other disciples. Gradually, a set of unspoken rules had come to be established that everyone abided by.

Generally speaking, any supplies that the Ovens needed could be found here.

Bai Xiaochun strolled around the market for a while and visited several medicinal plant shops. By the time he got back to the Ovens, his brow was furrowed and he was heaving sighs left and right.

"What a rip-off! Especially the Earthdragon Fruit. All it is is a kind of fruit that grows underground. Why is it so expensive!?" Bai Xiaochun was dismayed to discover that, given his current situation, he was essentially incapable of getting the Age-Prolonging Longevity-Enhancing Pill.

He basically had no concept of money. To him, no amount of wealth could compare to longevity. Unfortunately, he was currently embarrassingly short on funds. Furthermore, he knew that although his Elder Brothers possessed extremely ample bellies, their bags were as empty as his. They definitely weren't any richer than he was.

Although nobody would go to the trouble of calling them to task for eating a bit of the food from the Ovens' supplies, if they tried to sell that food, the Supervisor's Department would definitely catch on, and would not be happy.

After thinking about the matter from numerous angles, Bai Xiaochun couldn't come up with any ideas for how to make some money, other than to sell some spirit enhanced items.

However, that didn't quite seem like the appropriate thing to do. He continued to ponder the matter for a few more days. On one particular morning, he was sitting cross-legged in his hut practicing cultivation when he heard the sound of bells echoing out through the sect.

The sound wasn't very loud, and quickly faded away. Bai Xiaochun slowly opened his eyes. He wasn't surprised by the tolling of the bells. In fact, they rang out every month. He had learned from Big Fatty Zhang that the bells indicated that a trial by fire was beginning for servants. Whoever succeeded would be given a spot as an Outer Sect disciple.

For those extremely ambitious servants who wanted to become Outer Sect disciples, the first step to becoming the fish who leaped over the dragon gate was to reach the third level of Qi Condensation. Then they could select one of the trials by fire. The trials by fire were nothing more than a path of stone steps that led to the top of the mountain peak. However, that path was imbued with magical power, making each step extremely arduous. Anyone who managed to make it to the top would be qualified to become an Outer Sect disciple.

Unfortunately, spots in the Outer Sect were limited, so only the first three competitors to the top, the best of the best, would be able to get in. After all, there were many servants in the Spirit Stream Sect. There were thousands and thousands on the south bank alone. Therefore, there were always fierce struggles to succeed.

Of course, the members of the Ovens would rather die of starvation in the Ovens than try to climb the ladder in the Outer Sect. Therefore, on this particular day every month, they turned their noses up at all the hustle and bustle.

Bai Xiaochun closed his eyes. However, a moment later, they snapped open, and a strange expression could be seen therein. Then, they began to glitter with excitement as a new idea formed in his head. He shot to his feet and began to pace back and forth inside his hut. After considering this idea for quite some time, a delighted expression appeared on his face.

"This is the ticket!" he exclaimed. Then he pushed his door open and cried out to Big Fatty Zhang and the others, who were currently debating about which unlucky servant would be promoted to be an Outer Sect disciple.

"Elder Brothers, I've figured out how to get rich, but I need your help. Then, we can all get rich together!" He licked his lips and looked at Big Fatty Zhang and the others, eyes gleaming.

Big Fatty Zhang was familiar with this expression; it was the same look Bai Xiaochun had on his face when he brought up the idea of making the bottoms of the bowls thicker. Considering how much that idea had benefited the Ovens, Big Fatty Zhang couldn't wait to hear Bai Xiaochun's idea.

"Ninth Fatty, what's your plan? To tell you the truth, we're all completely destitute, and it's all the fault of that damned Supervisor's Department. If it weren't for them, we could sell some of our stuff and get totally rich!" Big Fatty Zhang clapped Bai Xiaochun on the shoulder, eyes shining with anticipation.

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Chapter 10: Elder Brother, Don't Go!

Bai Xiaochun looked around at his Elder Brothers, who were staring at him with eyes that glittered like spirit stones. Big Fatty Zhang's eyes looked like they were about to erupt with flames. Bai Xiaochun cleared his throat, feeling more than a little bit proud of himself.

"Elder Brother, check this out. The three mountain peaks of the Spirit Stream Sect all have a trial by fire every month, giving us servants a chance to become like the fish that leaped over the dragon gate, right? Bai Xiaochun glanced around at everyone, looking like the picture of charm and innocence.

Big Fatty Zhang nodded in response.

"However, the sect only wants the best of the best. Therefore, no matter how many people participate in the trial by fire, only the top three disciples per mountain peak get picked. Am I right?" He licked his lips, and his eyes were beginning to shine. Big Fatty Zhang listened thoughtfully.

A ruminative expression could also be seen on Third Fatty Hei's face, although everyone else seemed confused.

Big Fatty Zhang looked at Bai Xiaochun, and his eyes also began to shine. "Do you mean…."

"Considering the levels of your cultivation bases, Elder Brothers, and mine, it would be easy to sweep the trials by fire of all three mountains…." Bai Xiaochun looked around at his Elder Brothers. All of them had cultivation bases at the third level of Qi Condensation; Big Fatty Zhang and Third Fatty Hei were actually at the peak of the third level. Were it not for the fact that they didn't want to leave the Ovens, and thus kept their cultivation bases suppressed, they could have broken through to the next level long ago.

"Therefore," Bai Xiaochun continued, speaking very quickly, "all we have to do is get to the peak of the mountains as quickly as possible, and hold the top three spots. Then, we can… sell them to whoever comes along after us!" He stopped and looked at Big Fatty Zhang and the others.

Big Fatty Zhang was trembling.

"So low down…." he said. Then he took a deep breath and slapped his thigh. An unprecedentedly bright glow appeared in his eyes. The method described by Bai Xiaochun wasn't very complicated at all, and was in fact quite simple. It was merely a different way of thinking that, after being spoken out loud, was easy to understand. However, before being explained, it was actually the opposite of what everyone would have thought the idea to be.

Big Fatty Zhang seemed to be in the midst of spiritual enlightenment. It was as if a door had been opened, leading to a brand new type of life. He couldn't hold back from laughing heartily.

Third Fatty Hei stamped an excited foot, face flushed from either embarrassment or excitement. "This couldn't be any more low down! Hahaha!"

As the other fatties understood, they started getting excited. Panting, they couldn't help but stare at Bai Xiaochun with more admiration than ever.

"Great idea! Let's do it!"

"Fudge! That bunch of bastards from the Supervisor's Department have persecuted us into poverty for years now. Thankfully, Ninth Junior Brother is here now. Let's do it!" Then, they began to excitedly discuss the details of how to carry out such a plan.

After they were sure that there was nothing they had overlooked, they decided to try out their scheme in the following month's trials by fire. Big Fatty Zhang slapped his thigh in delight.

"Tonight is snack night!"

Excited conversations filled the Ovens. The following month was one of extreme enthusiasm. In fact, just to play it safe, everyone took time to practice cultivation, which was a rare occurrence. In the end, everyone was waiting impatiently for the day of the trial by fire to arrive.

Finally, it did.

The sun shone brightly in the morning sky. Beneath the three mountain peaks on the south shore of the Spirit Stream Sect, an unprecedented scene was playing out. There at the entrance to each of the trails leading up the mountains, shockingly, three black woks appeared.

A closer look revealed that underneath those black woks were extraordinarily formidable fatties. The sight was truly impressive.

These were the nine members of the Ovens, and this was, in fact, their first time attending the trials by fire held for servants at the three Mountain Peaks. Just as they had planned, three of their number went to each of the three mountain peaks.

Large groups of servants were hurrying toward the mountain peaks from all directions, cracking their knuckles and looking very excited. Many of these servants had attempted the trials by fire on numerous occasions, only to fail in the end. For others, it was their first time attending. Everyone was both excited and nervous, and hoped that they could be like a galloping divine steed and make a meteoric rise to become an Outer Sect disciple.

As they neared the various mountain peaks, they caught sight of the fatties from the Ovens.

"The Ovens? What are they doing here?"

"I've been a servant for nine years already, and I've participated in the trials by fire thirty times. This is the first time I've ever seen anyone from the Ovens here…." The other servants were shocked, and began to spread word. Soon, everyone was talking about the fact that all three of the mountains had people from the Ovens waiting there for the trials by fire.

"This is big! I can't believe the Ovens people all are going to vie for a spot in the Outer Sect. What's going on…?"

Bai Xiaochun, Big Fatty Zhang and Third Fatty Hei were all waiting at the bottom of the third peak. When they heard the shocked exclamations of the other servants, they didn't react at all. In fact, their faces were so calm that it almost seemed they were away on astral journeys and were completely oblivious to all of the conversations around them.

They were completely and utterly focused on the trial by fire starting line. To them, this was not the path of a trial by fire; instead, it was a glittering, glowing road to spirit stones.

Bai Xiaochun looked especially solemn, with his eyes turned up in thought.

Soon, a figure could be seen floating down from the three mountains. The person to land by Bai Xiaochun and the others was a middle-aged man who had the demeanor of a transcendent being. The first thing he noticed as he alighted next to the starting line was the mountain of flesh that was Big Fatty Zhang.

Then he looked over at Bai Xiaochun and Third Fatty Hei. This man was the Honor Guard in charge of the trial by fire, and currently, his heart was filled with astonishment.

"Did the sun rise from the west today?" he thought. "Usually the people from the Ovens would rather die than become Outer Sect disciples. What's going on?"

After blinking a few times to make sure he wasn't seeing things, an expression of encouragement appeared on the man's face. He flicked his sleeve and began to speak, his voice echoing out in all directions.

"Let the trial by fire for promotion to the Outer Sect… begin!" As soon as the words left his mouth, bells began to toll throughout the sect. At the same time, the starting lines to the trials by fire lit up, indicating that the event had begun.

Instantly, Big Fatty Zhang shot forward, an expression of extreme focus on his face. He kicked up a huge wind as he ran toward the stone steps leading up the mountain, moving so fast you might think he was being chased by a ravenous beast.

Third Fatty Hei also leapt into motion behind Big Fatty Zhang, a brutal gleam in his eyes that seemed to indicate that anyone who tried to overtake him on the path was threatening his life.

In third place was Bai Xiaochun, who leapt onto the path as quickly as a rabbit, thinking about nothing else but the Age-Prolonging Longevity-Enhancing Pill. In the blink of an eye, the three of them were dashing madly up the path.

All of that happened so quickly that the other servants barely had time to react. Their faces immediately fell and, gritting their teeth, they scrambled onto the path and began to climb toward the peak.

Similar scenes played out on the other two mountains, with the fatties from the Ovens instantly taking the lead.

The third mountain peak was known as Fragrant Cloud Peak, and currently Bai Xiaochun and his companions were flying along the trial by fire path, far ahead of everyone else. However, it didn't take long before they felt increasing pressure weighing down on them, forcing them to slow their pace.

Bai Xiaochun looked around and realized that seven or eight people were closing in behind him. Suddenly, he was filled with a feeling of anxiety; it was as if these people were on the verge of stealing his Age-Prolonging Longevity-Enhancing Pill.

"Taking away my Age-Prolonging Longevity-Enhancing Pill is the same as taking away my life!" He suddenly held his breath, causing his face to turn scarlet. Then he sent spiritual energy streaming out into his body, which formed into a powerful, surging force. All of a sudden, he charged forward like wild boar whose tail had just been stepped on. In the blink of an eye, his speed more than doubled, and he had passed Third Fatty Hei and even Big Fatty Zhang.

Third Fatty Hei let out a roar, and then used some unknown technique to similarly increase his speed and suddenly pass up Big Fatty Zhang and race closer to Bai Xiaochun. Seeing that he had just been passed by his two companions, Big Fatty Zhang started getting anxious.

He took a deep breath and then, all of a sudden, his rolls of fat seemed to shrink. It was almost as if he was burning his fat in exchange for a burst of speed. Rumbling sounds could be heard as he closed the distance between himself and Third Fatty Hei. Soon, all three of them were speeding along rapidly.

When the servants behind them saw what was happening, their jaws dropped in shock. Looks of despair appeared on their faces, and yet, they weren't willing to give up so easily, and pushed onward with all the strength they could muster. Unfortunately, there was nothing they could do to catch up with Bai Xiaochun and the others. Their tempers having reached the limit, they began to cry out curses.

"Dammit! Are they high on aphrodisiacs or something? How could they be so fast!"

Soon, enough time had passed for an incense stick to burn, and Bai Xiaochun had already reached the top of the mountain. In fact, he could even see two Outer Sect disciples standing just beyond the finish line, waiting there to receive the servants.

As soon as the two Outer Sect disciples caught sight of Bai Xiaochun, they smiled slightly, and one of them said, "Congratulations, Junior Br–"

However, before he could even finish speaking, his eyes went wide with shock.

Bai Xiaochun barreled along a few more paces, but then screeched to a halt a mere step in front of the finish line.

He stood there looking at the Outer Sect disciples, and they looked back at him. Then, he gave them a charming smile, and spun to face the other direction.

"Stop!" he roared, throwing his hands up into the air. Instantly, Third Fatty Hei and Big Fatty Zhang wheezed to a stop next to him. The three of them stood there looking at each other, breathing heavily. Then, they broke out into laughter.

The two Outer Sect disciples exchanged dismayed glances, unsure of what exactly was happening. The fact that these three suddenly stopped running at this point seemed to indicate that they were crazy.

"Junior Brothers," one of the Outer Sect disciples said cautiously, "the three of you are the first to arrive at the finish line. Just step on over, and you will be promoted into the Outer Sect."

"Outer Sect disciples?" Big Fatty Zhang said, waving his hand dismissively. "Who wants to become Outer Sect disciples?" He continued to stand there along with Third Fatty Hei, two mountains of flesh who completely blocked the exit gate.

Bai Xiaochun sat down in front of them, jaw tilted up as he waited, lofty and proud.

The two Outer Sect disciples didn't seem pleased. "Huh? If you don't want to be Outer Sect disciples, then what are you doing here? Are you people crazy or something?!"

Big Fatty Zhang, Third Fatty Hei and Bai Xiaochun pretended not to have heard, and kept their eyes focused further on down the mountain.

Soon, enough time had passed for an incense stick to burn. Finally, a long-faced servant struggled up the path, gasping and wheezing. When he saw Bai Xiaochun and the others, he immediately sighed. However, his eyes burned with an unyielding light. This was his ninth time participating in the trial by fire, and this was the first time he'd even come close to winning. But then, along came the people from the Ovens.

Looking furious, he was just about to turn to leave when Bai Xiaochun shot to his feet and yelled, "Elder Brother, don't go! Come, come. You know what? I just can't bear to leave the Ovens. All of a sudden, I don't want to be an Outer Sect disciple after all. Maybe I should give my spot up…."

The long-faced servant stared in shock for a moment, and then his eyes began to shine.

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Chapter 11: Hou Xiaomei

Hope! That was the word that flashed into the mind of the long-faced young man as soon as he heard Bai Xiaochun's words. But then he glanced at the mountains of meat sitting there behind him, grinning maliciously, and he hesitated.

"You…."

Bai Xiaochun stepped forward with an utterly charming smile, looking like the type of person who wouldn't harm a fly. He clasped the long-faced servant on the shoulder and said, "Congratulations on becoming an Outer Sect disciple, Elder Brother. You are the fish that leaped over the dragon gate. You will soar like a shooting star, your future limitless. However, your Junior Brother here worked really hard to run all the way to the finish line. Don't you think it would be appropriate to give a little compensation?"

The servant's face darkened. If he didn't understand by now what was going on, then he didn't deserve to have lived for so many years. He looked at Bai Xiaochun, and then at Big Fatty Zhang and Third Fatty Hei. Then his expression flickered as he rapidly considered the matter, trying to decide if it was worth it.

It didn't take very long before the long-faced young man gritted his teeth and made his decision. If he lost this chance, it might seem like all he was losing was a month of time. However, who knew what other sort of powerful expert would appear during that month. Besides, who was to say whether or not the three people from the Ovens… might not show up again in the next trial by fire.

Most important of all was that this young man was dead set on becoming an Outer Sect disciple, and now, hope had been set down right in front of him. Finally, he stamped his foot.

"How much compensation do you want?" he asked through gritted teeth.

Beaming, Bai Xiaochun quickly replied, "Not much, not much. Look, I prepared for several months to participate in this trial by fire. How about we agree to twenty spirit stones? That should be enough."

When he heard the number mentioned, the long-faced young man's heart trembled. He flicked his sleeve, and was just about to refuse, when Bai Xiaochun once again spoke up.

"Look, it's not that I'm being greedy. All three of us are together, you see, so you can't just think about me. My Eldest Brother and Third Elder Brother both starved themselves and lost a lot of weight for the sake of this trial by fire."

In that respect, Bai Xiaochun wasn't lying at all. Big Fatty Zhang and Third Fatty Hei had both lost quite a bit of fat on their way up the mountain.

The long-faced servant eyed Big Fatty Zhang and Third Fatty Hei, and inwardly began to let loose a torrent of curse words. Then, he started to bargain, and ended up agreeing on sixteen spirit stones. Heart twinging in pain, he finally tossed a bag over to Bai Xiaochun.

"Alright?" he asked, his voice hoarse.

"Wonderful," replied Bai Xiaochun cheerily. "Okay, Elder Brother, please wait off to the side for a moment. Once we have two more takers, we'll open the way to the exit gate." Bai Xiaochun tossed the spirit stones to Big Fatty Zhang.

When the long-faced servant realized that they were going to wait for two more people to come, anticipation suddenly welled up in his heart. It was a situation of "if I get screwed, you better not have a smile on your face."

By this point, the two Outer Sect disciples on the other side of the exit gate realized what was going on, and their eyes were wide with disbelief.

"Wh-what are you people doing?" one of them shouted. "You're actually selling spots in the Outer Sect? What gall!"

Big Fatty Zhang was elatedly counting the spirit stones when he heard the Outer Sect disciples. Looking irritated, he turned to glare at them. "What are you hollering for? It was tiring reaching this point, and now I don't feel like going any further. Don't tell me we're not allowed to let other fellow disciples continue on past us? If they want to give us some compensation for our efforts, what's so wrong with that, huh?"

The two Outer Sect disciples weren't really sure how to respond to such a statement.

It was at this point that seven or eight flushed faces could be seen hurrying up the path. The sound of their gasping pants rang out almost like thunder. In the lead position was a burly man of about thirty years of age. He was bare-chested, and looked very impressive as he strode up to the top of the mountain. Bai Xiaochun immediately stepped forward, eyes gleaming.

"You're a bit late, Elder Brother. However, I suddenly don't want to become an Outer Sect disciple. Would you like my spot?"

The burly man stared in shock, then turned back to look at all the other servants coming up the mountain behind him. Then he snorted coldly and said, "You think you can extort money from me, you little brat? Beat it!"

Roaring, the man waved his arm, causing the spirit pressure of the third level of Qi Condensation to surge out.

Bai Xiaochun backed up a pace and shouted, "Eldest Brother!"

Almost immediately, a mountain of flesh descended from above.

The burly man's face fell as he looked up. Then, a huge boom rang out as the mountain of flesh smashed into him.

The burly man let out a miserable shriek as Big Fatty Zhang proceeded to sit down on top of him. Although he struggled, it was impossible for him to free himself. In fact, if it weren't for the fact that he was so big and strong to begin with, the air would have been squeezed out of his lungs, and he would have fainted.

When the seven or so servants coming up the mountain behind the burly man saw what was happening, their eyes went wide with shock.

The two Outer Sect disciples also gasped. The burly man stuck under Big Fatty Zhang almost seemed to be deflating, and they couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for him.

Eyes darting about, Bai Xiaochun leaned over and whispered, "Eldest Brother, we have an audience."

Having known Bai Xiaochun for over a year now, Big Fatty Zhang understood exactly what he meant. Glaring down at the burly man, he clenched his massive hands into hammer-like fists and then began to beat him soundly.

"How dare you try to freeload off of Grandpa Fatty! What brazen gall!

"It was really hard to climb all the way up here. We wanted to become Outer Sect disciples, but just happened to give up at the last minute. Of course we want some compensation!

"Fudge, I can't believe you refused us!" After beating him for a bit, Big Fatty Zhang then jumped back up into the air and then slammed down onto the man. The burly man was shrieking miserably, and could barely breathe. Then Big Fatty Zhang prepared to jump up again, and the man suddenly held a bag out in a shaking hand. Face filled with terror, he blurted, "Here, take some compensation!"

Big Fatty Zhang immediately helped the burly man to his feet. Face beaming, he took the bag, glanced inside, then helped the man dust off his clothes.

"Hahaha. Why didn't you say so earlier, bro? Look, people are already lining up ahead of you. All we need is one more and we'll open the path."

The burly man looked both humiliated and enraged, but didn't dare to say anything. He stalked over to stand next to the long-faced servant, feeling incredibly depressed. As for the long-faced servant, he already felt a little better, and couldn't help but feel that he was smarter than this burly fellow.

"That was incredible, Eldest Brother!" Bai Xiaochun said, grinning from ear to ear. Then he looked over excitedly at the other servants who had been following the burly man, but were now standing there looking terrified.

Big Fatty Zhang smiled proudly, then walked back to his place by the entrance, where he sat down again to block the way.

The two Outer Sect disciples exchanged dismayed glances. Compared to what had just happened now, the way Bai Xiaochun and the others had extorted the long-faced servant almost seemed mild and gentle.

"They're… they're actually robbing people!!"

"This is robbery!" They were infuriated, but also a little bit jealous, and couldn't help but wish they had come up with a similar idea back when they had been participating in the trial by fire.

Most conflicted of all were the seven servants who had been following close behind the burly man. As they watched Big Fatty Zhang crushing and beating the burly man, their eyes began to shine with a bright light.

Previously, becoming an Outer Sect disciple had almost seemed like an impossibility. But now… they all of a sudden had hope.

Looking around excitedly at all the people, Bai Xiaochun suddenly cried out in a high-pitched voice: "Ladies and gentlemen, there's one spot left. How about this, we'll give it to the highest bidder!"

Immediately, the crowd of people realized what was happening, and the sound of their panting grew even louder.

The looks in their eyes became even stranger, and their hearts filled with all sorts of wild possibilities. Almost immediately, people began crying out bids, making it seem almost like an auction.

"I'll bid ten spirit stones!"

"Eleven!"

"That spot belongs to me. I'll bid fifteen spirit stones!"

Bai Xiaochun, Big Fatty Zhang and Third Fatty Hei were instantly elated.

When the two Outer Sect disciples heard what was going on, it was like pouring oil onto a fire. From their perspective, extortion was one thing, and robbery could potentially be overlooked. But to see the situation turning into an auction left their minds spinning. It was so outrageous that waves of shock seemed to batter their hearts. To them, the most villainous among the three wasn't Big Fatty Zhang, but rather, the seemingly charming and innocent Bai Xiaochun!

"Outrageous! Shameless!" One of them finally gritted his teeth and spun around, eyes bloodshot with either jealousy or fury, he wasn't sure which, as he went to report the matter to the Honor Guard.

Bai Xiaochun wasn't actually very pleased with the level of bids being called out. His eyes turned up in thought for a moment, and then he cried out, "Ladies and gentlemen, we need to hurry things up. Otherwise, other servants are going to show up, and then who knows what lengths they'll go to in order to win!"

In response to his words, the voice of a young woman suddenly called out from further back down the mountain.

"I, Hou Xiaomei, bid thirty spirit stones! I come from a cultivator clan and have tons of money. Let's see who dares to try to steal my spot!" A pretty young girl huffed and puffed her way up the mountain. She had white skin and a slim frame, and looked quite young.

When Big Fatty Zhang saw the pretty young girl, his eyes went wide. He was just about to say something, but stopped himself and looked over at Bai Xiaochun.

Almost as soon as Hou Xiaomei's words left her mouth, the rest of the servants were thrown into a huge commotion, calling out increasingly high bids. In the end, she named a price that left the horse-faced youth and the burly man trembling in fear. In fact, they even felt like they had just gotten a huge deal.

Hou Xiaomei strode out from the crowd, her ample chest leading the way. She looked back scornfully at everyone else, then joined the long-faced young man and the burly fellow, who called himself Lord Wolf. Together, they walked up to the final step and then exited the trial by fire.

Behind them, Bai Xiaochun, Big Fatty Zhang and Third Fatty Hei clasped hands and bowed deeply.

"Congratulations, Fellow Daoists. You are the fish who leaped over the dragon gate, you are galloping divine steeds!"

The long-faced servant and the others stood there at the top of the mountain, somewhat in a daze. Although they were now Outer Sect disciples, for some reason, it wasn't as joyous of an occasion as they had imagined. Then they heard the words uttered by Bai Xiaochun and the others, and the long-faced young man and the burly servant exchanged rueful, bitter glances.

Hou Xiaomei, on the other hand, seemed extremely excited. Her charming face was even a bit flushed.

"I never thought that I, Hou Xiaomei, would ever encounter such luck," she thought proudly.

As luck would have it, just a few hours before the posting of this chapter, Er Gen released a new official depiction of Hou Xiaomei. Here it is:

http//wp-content/uploads/2016/12/hou_xiaomei.jpg

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

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Chapter 12: On the Bamboo Fence

And thus, the trial by fire concluded. As Hou Xiaomei walked further up the mountain, Big Fatty Zhang looked at her and rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"Ah, so fair, so young, so pure…." he said. Then he looked over at Bai Xiaochun, as if he were comparing the two of them. 1

Bai Xiaochun was also staring at Hou Xiaomei as she walked off into the distance, his heart filled with conflicting emotions. Then he heard Big Fatty Zhang, and turned to find him looking at him out of the corner of his eye.

"Hey, what are you looking at!?" he yelled.

Big Fatty Zhang laughed loudly at Bai Xiaochun's anger, then pulled out the bag of spirit stones and quickly changed the topic.

"Come, come, why don't we count our spirit stones? We're rich now! Hahaha! This really was a great idea."

"What's the point in counting them?" replied Bai Xiaochun with a cold harrumph. "No matter how many times you do it, it won't change how many there are."

"Ninth Junior Brother, you don't understand. What you're looking at is just spirit stones, but what you're counting is… life." Big Fatty Zhang rarely spoke of the profundities of life. To hear him speak in such a way left Bai Xiaochun shocked. He took the bag and tried to count the spirit stones the way Big Fatty Zhang would, but quickly got bored and handed the bag back.

It was at about this time that glittering light rose up along the trial by fire path. Everyone's vision swam, and when it became clear again, they were back at the bottom of the mountain.

When the middle-aged Honor Guard who was in charge of the trial by fire saw Bai Xiaochun and the others, a strange expression appeared on his face. After a moment, he shook his head and ignored them. As far as he was concerned, the sect would have to figure out what to do with the Ovens.

Bai Xiaochun and the others were nervous, but seeing that there were no immediate repercussions, they exchanged glances, cleared their throats, and quickly headed back to the Ovens.

Big Fatty Zhang kept counting the spirit stones over and over again, all the way until they were back at the Ovens. The other fatties soon returned, also elated. Everyone exchanged glances, and then looked extremely proud of themselves.

After the loot had been split up, Bai Xiaochun went back to his hut. He had come to this place seeking to live forever. Were it not for the fact that he needed the medicinal plants to exchange for an Age-Prolonging Longevity-Enhancing Pill, he would never have even thought for a moment about spirit stones.

That night, nobody in the Ovens could sleep. Big Fatty Zhang and the others were simply too excited from getting rich all of a sudden. In the past, their coin purses had been depressingly empty, but now, the future seemed bright and glorious. That having been said, they were still worried about the possible repercussions of what they had done, making it difficult for them to fall asleep.

As for Bai Xiaochun, he couldn't stop thinking about the Age-Prolonging Longevity-Enhancing Pill, and was equally unable to fall asleep.

The next day, the news about the Ovens blocking the path during the trial by fire spread like wildfire through the entire servants' district on the south bank of the Spirit Stream Sect. Soon, everybody had heard.

"Did you hear what the Ovens crew did?!?!"

"Are they crazy? I can't believe they did that! Heavens! They sold spots into the Outer Sect! Outrageous! How come I never thought to do that?!"

"I've heard that the people from the Ovens have important backgrounds and are really well connected in the sect. Otherwise, how could they dare to do something so infuriating!?" All departments and individuals in the servants' district were talking about the Ovens.

In the following days, the crew tried to keep a low profile, and even avoided going out alone. One evening several days later, Bai Xiaochun was ladling soup out into one thick-bottomed bowl after another. Suddenly, he heard the sounds of footsteps coming from the path outside.

"Everyone from the Ovens get out here immediately! The Supervisor's Department has received orders to investigate your role in what happened during the trials by fire!" Even as the voice called out, the main gate of the Ovens was kicked in loudly.

The sound of the door being kicked open echoed out as several servants burst in, all of them wearing the robes of the Supervisor's Department. Leading them all was none other than the burly man who had come last time with Xu Baocai.

Big Fatty Zhang and Bai Xiaochun exchanged a glance, then walked out nonchalantly to face the combative group from the Supervisors Department.

"I thought I heard the crows squawking this morning," Big Fatty Zhang said. "I should have known that you would be showing up today, Chen Fei."

Chen Fei laughed coldly as he looked first at Big Fatty Zhang and then at Bai Xiaochun. Their completely calm demeanor caused him to frown.

On the way, he had been extremely excited, having believed himself to have finally gained the advantage he needed to be able to take down the Ovens, to put an end to the animosity that had existed for years between their two departments.

"Quit pretending to be so calm!" Chen Fei said with a cold, eerie laugh. His eyes flickered with a fierce light. "People of the Ovens, allow me to ask, did the nine of you attend the most recent trial by fire for servant promotion to the Outer Sect?"

"Sure did," Big Fatty Zhang replied, chuckling.

"That's all I need to know. Take them away!" Chen Fei didn't mince his words. He waved his right index finger, and immediately, a dozen or so servants from the Supervisor's Department quickly hurried out with iron manacles to arrest the Ovens staff.

Seeing this, Bai Xiaochun couldn't help but laugh and say, "Is your Supervisor's Department in charge of everything? You can even disqualify us from being able to become Outer Sect disciples? You guys are pretty powerful."

Chen Fei couldn't help but think of the recent incident with the flying sword. He held his hand out to stop the other servants, then looked at Bai Xiaochun with narrowed eyes.

"Junior Brother Bai, if you're still not convinced of my authority, then answer me another question. Did you Ovens people block the exit of the trial by fire and then sell spots in the Outer Sect? Do you dare to admit that you did such a thing?!"

"Of course I admit it!" Bai Xiaochun replied with a calm nod, looking quite charming. He even pointed at Big Fatty Zhang and the others and said, "So do they."

"That's right, we all do. So what?!" Big Fatty Zhang said with a hearty laugh.

Chen Fei's face flickered. He had never imagined that the Ovens staff would actually admit to the allegations. He had expected them to give in only after a bitter and protracted battle of wits.

The way things were playing out seemed strange, and an odd feeling was growing inside of him. Therefore, it was without another word that he growled, "Excellent. Since you admit it, then it saves me having to ask more questions. You're going to come with me to the Court Hall. If any of you dare to resist us, then in accord with the sect rules, you'll be immediately expelled!"

With that, he flew forward toward Bai Xiaochun, followed by the rest of his group.

However, it was at this point that Bai Xiaochun suddenly extended his right hand and performed an incantation gesture. Immediately, a beam of sword light shot out from his sleeve, transforming into a colorful wooden sword. The instant the sword appeared between the two groups, it let off an oppressively cold glow. Chen Fei stopped in his tracks, his face falling.

"Bai Xiaochun, how dare you resist arrest!"

"Elder Brother Chen, the Supervisor's Department might have the right to question us, but where did you get the right to arrest us?"

"Hmph! What you admitted to violates sect rules, of course I have the right to arrest you!"

"Wait, what sect rule did we violate?" Bai Xiaochun asked with narrowed eyes. Big Fatty Zhang and the others also looked at Chen Fei with narrowed eyes and cold smiles.

"You sold a spot into the Outer Sect, which violates sect rule number… wait, huh?" Suddenly, Chen Fei stopped speaking, and his face fell. Beads of sweat popped out on his forehead.

It was only at this point that he suddenly realized that there was actually no sect rule specifically forbidding people from selling spots into the Outer Sect while on the path of the trial by fire…. After all, not many people would think to do such a thing, and even if they did, they would likely not have the gumption to go through with the plan….

"Elder Brother Chen, why are you sweating?" Bai Xiaochun asked, sounding flabbergasted. However, as he spoke, his words grew louder and louder. "Come on, what rule was it that we violated? Just say it. Wait, could it be that we didn't violate any sect rules? Elder Brother Chen, did you trick the Court Hall into carrying out your own personal vendetta? Is that why you came here to punish us? Elder Brother Chen, what you are doing is a violation of volume nine statute number eleven of the sect rules! That comes with a heavy punishment!" By the end of his speech, he felt great.

"Liar! I…." It wasn't just Chen Fei's face who fell. All of the other servants from the Supervisor's Department all realized that a huge mistake had been made.

It was at this point that Big Fatty Zhang smiled viciously, lifted up both hands, and cracked his knuckles. Fierce gleams appeared in the eyes of the other fatties as they began to walk toward the group from the Supervisor's Department.

"Chen Fei, the Court Hall will deal with your violation of sect rules," said Big Fatty Zhang with a vicious grin, his energy surging. "But right now, you had better explain how you're going to compensate for the Ovens' cherished main gate, which was painstakingly forged by the hands of numerous past ancestors who died in the process!"

Since they had dared to block the finish line of the trial by fire, they had naturally done so after being fully prepared. Bai Xiaochun had suggested early on that they research the sect rules before enacting their huge plan.

"Charge!" cried Big Fatty Zhang. His mountain-like figure immediately caused Chen Fei and the others to begin to tremble.

Instantly, the clashing and clanging sounds of battle rang out in the courtyard. As for Bai Xiaochun, his body flashed through the air as he alighted on his usual spot atop the bamboo fence which surrounded the courtyard. He flicked his sleeve and clasped his hands behind his back. Looking off into the distance, he looked every bit the lonely hero who didn't deign to participate in the fighting.

"I, Bai Xiaochun, can exterminate the Supervisor's Department in the twinkling of an eye…."

1. In describing Hou Xiaomei, Big Fatty Zhang uses the same characters that make up Bai Xiaochun's name

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Chapter 13: You're Coming Too!

The Supervisor's Department and the Ovens had been at odds for years. There was a lot of friction between the two, but usually things were kept under control. The worst that ever happened were minor injuries.

The battle over the trial by fire went on for the time it takes an incense stick to burn. Big Fatty Zhang and the others beat Chen Fei and the Supervisor's Department squad until they were black and blue. Only when they forked over enough spirit stones to pay for the main gate were they allowed to leave, cursing the entire time.

Before departing, Chen Fei looked over at Bai Xiaochun standing there on the bamboo fence, and the hatred in his heart grew deeper. As far as he was concerned, ever since Bai Xiaochun showed up, the Ovens had only become more and more repulsive.

The fight had attracted quite a bit of attention in the servants' district. Many of the servants, upon realizing that the Supervisor's Department could do nothing to the Ovens, were angrier than ever. However, other servants were like Hou Xiaomei, and felt that what the Ovens had done meant that they would now have a good opportunity in the trials by fire.

In fact, when the trials by fire started the following month, the Ovens crew proudly made their way to the starting line.

The surrounding servants looked at them furiously.

Big Fatty Zhang cleared his throat, looked around at the other servants, and said, "Ladies and gentlemen, if you get to the top more quickly than us, then you won't have to buy a spot. We're doing this for the good of the sect! A good struggle will bring out the best of the best!"

He had been instructed by Bai Xiaochun to word things in such a way, and the result was that the surrounding servants clenched their jaws in anger.

When the bells began to toll, and the trial by fire began, the Ovens crew, as well as all the other servants, began to race up the mountain as if their lives depended on it.

Soon, the fatties and Bai Xiaochun were so far ahead they couldn't even be seen. The other servants smiled bitterly, but continued on with the race.

Apparently, they had taken Big Fatty Zhang's words to heart….

Yet again, the Ovens crew succeeded in spectacular fashion, which caused a huge commotion in the servants' district. After all, they had profound cultivation bases, and their physical frames were enormous. No one dared to say anything.

The Ovens was now more in the spotlight than they had ever been. Although they were well known in the servants' district, their current fame surpassed anything from past years.

Another two months passed, and whenever there were trials by fire, the Ovens crew quickly hurried over. As far as they were concerned, that time of the month was their spirit stone payday.

Bai Xiaochun was also excited by the buildup of spirit stones. He would soon have enough to buy all of the medicinal plants he needed. Eventually, yet another round of trials by fire began.

It was currently dawn. Big Fatty Zhang, Third Fatty Hei, and all the other fatties woke up early. Bai Xiaochun joined them, and the nine of them sped along, then split into three groups, with the group led by Big Fatty Zhang heading toward Fragrant Cloud Peak.

However, a group from the Supervisor's Department intercepted them en route. No explanations were given, and fighting broke out immediately. The Supervisor's Department held the advantage in terms of numbers, leading to a chaotic battle. Soon, the toll of bells could be heard, causing Big Fatty Zhang to grow so anxious that his eyes were shot with blood.

As soon as the sound of the bells could be heard, the group from the Supervisor's Department scattered. Big Fatty Zhang, Bai Xiaochun and Third Fatty Hei were incensed, but had no time to give chase. They immediately sped toward the trial by fire on Fragrant Cloud Peak. When they arrived at the entrance of the path, nobody was there, so they instantly began to race up the mountain.

"Those Supervisor's Department bastards!" cursed Big Fatty Zhang. "Just wait until we're done here, I'll call all the Junior Brothers together and we'll go beat the crap out of 'em!" He was pushing so hard that the fat in his body was burning away, making him visibly thinner. However, the result was explosive speed.

Bai Xiaochun was also furious. He only needed a few more spirit stones to reach his goal. Gritting his teeth, he pushed forward with all the speed he could muster. Keeping pace with Big Fatty Zhang and Third Fatty Hei, he shot up the path, passing one servant after another.

As soon as they reached the top of the mountain, their faces darkened. Standing there at the peak, blocking the entrance, were three people.

Standing up front was Chen Fei, flanked by two burly men who appeared to be at the third level of Qi Condensation. As soon as they saw Bai Xiaochun and the others, they started laughing uproariously.

"Big Fatty Zhang and Bai Xiaochun are here! Well, don't worry, we still have spots left. You want one?"

Big Fatty Zhang gritted his teeth. Eyes bloodshot, he yelled, "Despicable! Shameless! You flunkies!"

"Hey, since this isn't breaking sect rules, then if you people from the Ovens can come here, then so can the Supervisor's Department!"

"Hahaha! This business belongs to the Supervisor's Department now!"

When Bai Xiaochun and the others heard the mocking laughter of Chen Fei and his friends, their rage burned. Now it was obvious why the others from the Supervisor's Department had ambushed them on the way here. It was all a big plot!

Big Fatty Zhang let out a bellow of rage and was just about to attack Chen Fei. As far as he was concerned, a fight at this point was unavoidable. Furthermore, he had no way of knowing how often the same thing would happen again in the future. It was essentially the same as stealing spirit stones from him, which caused his fury to bubble and boil.

Third Fatty Hei was equally enraged. However, in the same moment that the two of them were about to attack, Bai Xiaochun looked up in thought and then suddenly whispered, "Eldest Brother, run as fast as you can and then push them over the finish line. We might not get any spirit stones this time, but at least the Supervisor's Department won't be able to steal our business in the future!"

Big Fatty Zhang's eyes immediately went wild with joy. More than ever, he realized how much of a villain Bai Xiaochun was. Laughing heartily, he suddenly shot forward. Third Fatty Hei followed Big Fatty Zhang, chuckling, eyes shining.

The path wasn't very wide, and when Big Fatty Zhang and Third Fatty Hei charged forward together, they were almost like a huge wall.

A wind kicked up as they sped directly toward Chen Fei and the others.

Bai Xiaochun followed behind Big Fatty Zhang, letting out a wild whoop.

Without the slightest hesitation, Chen Fei and his friends attacked. However, it did no good. Big Fatty Zhang and Third Fatty Hei were charging forward like startled wild boars.

Their dual attack was shocking enough to make ghosts and gods weep. They charged madly forward, slamming into Chen Fei and his friends, forcing them back. Chen Fei and his friends were completely shocked, and when they realized what the Ovens crew was doing, their scalps felt like they were about to explode.

In any other situation, Chen Fei and his friends would dodge to the side or counterattack. But here, fleeing backward would do no good, and would in fact hasten their defeat.

As they were pushed back, their faces filled with fury.

Obviously, they had no desire to become Outer Sect disciples. After being promoted, they would no longer be in the Supervisor's Department, and would become ordinary disciples again, losing access to their ill-gotten gains.

"Elder Brother Zhang, stop it!" blurted Chen Fei, sweat pouring down his forehead. "There's something I want to say–" However, before he could finish, he was interrupted by Bai Xiaochun.

"Eldest Brother, keep going! Push them over the finish line!"

In response, Big Fatty Zhang let out a roar and pushed forward even harder. Third Fatty Hei joined him, and rumbling sounds echoed out as they shoved Chen Fei and two other burly fellows down the narrow path. The first to cross the finish line was one of the burly men, who then stood there at the top of the mountain, wanting to cry, but unable to.

The other burly fellow let out a miserable scream. Staggering backward, he began to beat his chest in regret.

Last to cross over was Chen Fei. No matter how he struggled, the path was too narrow, and a boom could be heard as he was forced off the path. He glared back at Big Fatty Zhang and the others, eyes bloodshot and filled with murder.

"Bai Xiaochun!!" The person they hated the most wasn't Big Fatty Zhang, but rather Bai Xiaochun, who had come up with the despicable plan to begin with.

The two Outer Sect disciples at the top of the mountain had been watching as the whole scene played out. They cleared their throats, and then backed up a bit, having nothing to say.

Big Fatty Zhang and Third Fatty Hei now stood at the finish line, sticking their chests out in pride and laughing heartily.

"See you later, Chen Fei!" said Big Fatty Zhang, slapping his stomach and causing the fat to jiggle. "Hahaha! Although, not in the servants' district! Hahaha! I'll miss you! Congratulations on becoming an Outer Sect disciple!"

Chen Fei and his friends very nearly coughed up blood, and in their hearts, they wanted nothing more than to commit murder.

Bai Xiaochun stuck out his lower jaw, looking very pleased. "There's no need to thank us, Elder Brothers. Congratulations on becoming the fish which leaped over the dragon gate. As Outer Sect disciples, your meteoric success will be like the galloping divine steed. We Junior Brothers offer sincere congratulations!"

However, even as his words rang out, a cold harrumph rang out from the top of Fragrant Cloud Peak.

"There's no need for congratulations, you're coming too."

Almost as soon as the words entered Bai Xiaochun's ears, he began to tremble. His eyes filled with fear as a powerful force surged down from further up the mountain, enveloped him, and then began to pull up the mountain.

Bai Xiaochun let out a miserable shriek, and quickly latched his arms around a tree that bordered the trial by fire.

"Elder Brothers, save me!" he screamed.

This development occurred too quickly. Before Big Fatty Zhang and Third Fatty Hei could even react, a cracking sound could be heard as the tree Bai Xiaochun was holding on to split in half. He flew backward like a kite with its string cut, spinning upward toward the top of the mountain. At the same time, a middle-aged man appeared up above, wearing a long blue cloak, looking very threatening despite not looking angry. It was none other than…

Li Qinghou.

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Chapter 14: Third Elder Brother? Third Elder Sister?

Chen Fei and his friends were always happy to gloat in the misfortune of others. As they watched what was happening to Bai Xiaochun, they couldn't help but feel as if the grand laws of Heaven were truly being enforced implacably. As for the two Outer Sect disciples in charge of the trial by fire, they looked on with hatred, a sensation that no other servant had ever caused them to feel.

"I don't wanna go…." Bai Xiaochun plopped onto the ground and immediately began to wail, his voice filled with such a feeling of being abused that any listener would surely weep.

Simultaneously, back down on the path, Big Fatty Zhang and Third Fatty Hei saw Li Qinghou and began to quiver. They quickly bowed their heads to avoid notice.

"Ah, Ninth Junior Brother, it's not that I refused to save you. Now that the Peak Lord of Fragrant Cloud Peak has shown up, you have no choice but to suck it up in the Outer Sect…." Big Fatty Zhang heaved continuous sighs in his heart as he hunched his shoulders and tried to inconspicuously scuttle away. However, it was at that point that Li Qinghou's voice suddenly rang in his ears.

"You two are coming along as well." As soon as Big Fatty Zhang heard the words, a powerful force dragged both him and Third Fatty Hei up into the air. They didn't even have a chance to grab onto a tree before they were hauled to the top of the mountain.

"I don't want to go!" Big Fatty Zhang wailed, sounding even more miserable than Bai Xiaochun. "I'd rather die in the Ovens than climb the ladder in the Outer Sect…." He sounded so miserable, in fact, that Bai Xiaochun looked up in surprise and forgot to cry.

Third Fatty Hei didn't say anything, but instead looked silently down toward the bottom of the mountain, his face a picture of depression and longing.

When Li Qinghou heard Big Fatty Zhang's miserable wailing, his face darkened and he said, "Shut up!"

Instantly, Bai Xiaochun rose to his feet, face solemn as he stood there. Instead of looking sullen like he had before, he was the complete opposite, as if he had suddenly switched faces.

Big Fatty Zhang stared in shock, and then immediately stood up. Inwardly, he felt as if the persecution he was enduring was like an ocean that threatened to overwhelm him. He just couldn't figure out why Li Qinghou wouldn't say anything when Bai Xiaochun wailed, and then yelled at him when he did the same thing.

"Zhang Dahai, starting today, you'll be an Outer Sect disciple of Violet Cauldron Peak! 1

"Chen Qingrou, you'll be going to Green Crest Peak! 2

"Bai Xiaochun, you'll be staying here with me, as an Outer Sect disciple of Fragrant Cloud Peak." Li Qinghou looked at Bai Xiaochun and felt a headache coming on. He had just gone into secluded meditation when he got the news about the Ovens crew and everything that was going on. Even the sect Elders were talking about it. Of course, from their perspective, the whole thing was quite amusing, and a nice break from the monotony of cultivation. None of them were even inclined to dole out any punishment.

However, it wasn't something that could be allowed to go on indefinitely, so Li Qinghou came to straighten matters out.

After he finished speaking, he flicked his sleeve, ignoring Chen Fei and the other two men as he looked at something further up on Fragrant Cloud Peak.

Bai Xiaochun sighed bitterly and said his goodbyes to Big Fatty Zhang and Third Fatty Hei. All of a sudden, he remembered something. He turned his head to look at Third Fatty Hei, a strange expression on his face as he asked, "Third Elder Brother, your name… is actually Chen Qingrou? Hahaha! What a good name. It makes you sound like a smoking hot babe!"

Third Fatty Hei gave a cold but depressed snort, then turned and began to walk down the mountain.

"What's wrong with him?" Bai Xiaochun asked, looking at Big Fatty Zhang.

Big Fatty Zhang looked back at him with a strange look in his eyes. Then, he clapped him on the shoulder and spoke, his voice solemn and sincere.

"Ninth Junior Brother, there's something I never told you before. Third Fatty Hei actually isn't your Elder Brother. In fact… she's your Elder Sister." Clearing his throat, he turned and hurried off.

Bai Xiaochun stared at him blankly. It felt like thunder was crashing around inside his head, as if the whole world were collapsing.

"Elder… Elder Sister?" After a long moment passed, Bai Xiaochun took a deep breath and was about to turn and look at Third Fatty Hei, when suddenly Li Qinghou's cold voice rang out.

"Quit running your mouth and catch up! "

Bai Xiaochun hurried after Li Qinghou, looking more bitter than ever. After a few paces, he turned, looked back down at the Ovens, and sighed.

It had been quite a while since Bai Xiaochun learned that the Spirit Stream Sect's north bank had four mountain peaks, and that the south bank had three. Li Qinghou was the Peak Lord of the third mountain, Fragrant Cloud Peak. The position of Peak Lord was very distinguished in the sect.

Although Fragrant Cloud Peak didn't look very big, upon entering it, one would realize that it was filled with the singing of birds and the fragrant aroma of flowers. It looked like a celestial paradise, and was actually much larger on the inside than it appeared to be from the outside.

Actually, the finish line of the trial by fire was only the peak of one of the auxiliary spurs of the mountain as a whole, and really only counted as the foot of the mountain.

Mist swirled about everywhere, as well as an occasional medicinal aroma, a single whiff of which would lift the spirits and send a warm feeling through the body. Bai Xiaochun could immediately tell that this place was extraordinary. He took a deep breath, and his cultivation base, which hadn't made much progress in the past months, instantly surged to life.

Li Qinghou didn't look back, but his eyes gleamed with a bit of admiration. Even he felt that Bai Xiaochun's progress in cultivation in the past year wasn't bad.

"Now that you're an Outer Sect disciple, you can't go and cause any more trouble," Li Qinghou said slowly. "Practicing cultivation is like rowing a boat against the current. It requires constant effort."

Bai Xiaochun didn't dare say anything back. He put on the most charming expression he could, and nodded continuously.

"Sect resources are only one aspect of cultivation for Outer Sect disciples," Li Qinghou continued. "You also need to work hard and take advantage of whatever opportunities come your way. There are plenty of missions that you can take on for the sect. In a moment, you can go look at the missions and pick a few to start your training."

When Bai Xiaochun heard that, his heart suddenly thumped. A while back when flipping through the sect rules, he had noticed one particular rule about Outer Sect disciple being required to accomplish at least one mission every so often. If they didn't, they would be punished by being demoted from Outer Sect disciple to servant.

He immediately went wild with joy. However, Li Qinghou had apparently realized what he was thinking, and coolly said, "Don't go thinking about breaking the sect rules. Other people might be demoted to servant for not accomplishing missions, but if you try something like that, I'll expel you from the sect and return you to your village. A hundred years from now I might even burn some incense for you, if I haven't forgotten about you by then."

That frightened Bai Xiaochun half to death. If he had never seen this world of Immortals, it wouldn't have been so bad. But now that he was on the way to living forever, he had no desire at all to go back to his village. If that happened, he might as well forget about trying to live forever. He quickly smacked himself in the chest and told himself that he would definitely go and accomplish some missions.

Soon, they were in the middle section of Fragrant Cloud Peak. A building appeared out of the mists, not very large, but very elegant-looking. Visible through one of the windows was a young man, who sat there quietly reading a book.

As if having sensed someone approaching, the young man looked up, revealing a handsome-looking face. When he saw Li Qinghou, he immediately walked out of the building and clasped hands in greeting.

"Disciple offers greetings, Peak Lord."

"This is disciple Bai Xiaochun. Take him and get him set up as an Outer Sect disciple." Li Qinghou gave Bai Xiaochun a final look before transforming into a beam of prismatic light that shot further up the mountain.

Now that Li Qinghou was gone, Bai Xiaochun could heave a sigh of relief. All of a sudden, he felt as if a weight had been lifted off of his shoulders, and the sky was now blue again.

The young man measured Bai Xiaochun up, then laughed.

"Ah, are you the guy who's been blocking the trial by fire and selling spots? It's… Bai Xiaochun, right?"

Bai Xiaochun chuckled. "You're praising me for nothing, Elder Brother. A small thing like that isn't even worth mentioning."

The young man laughed even harder at that. Clearly, he was very amused by Bai Xiaochun. Dropping the topic, he began to lead Bai Xiaochun around Fragrant Cloud Peak, pointing out some of the important buildings along the way.

"Fragrant Cloud Peak occupies an important position on the south bank. Green Crest Peak is known for its sword cultivators, Violet Cauldron Peak for their magical techniques. As for the Fragrant Cloud Peak, we excel in concocting spirit medicines.

"Fragrant Cloud Peak is famous even among the Four Great Sects on this branch of the Heavenspan River. That's especially true of his excellency the Peak Lord, who is one of the two most famous apothecaries in the Eastwood Continent.

"Therefore, becoming an Outer Sect disciple of Fragrant Cloud Peak also makes you an apprentice apothecary. That means you need to study about plants and vegetation, as well as different medicine synthesizing techniques." The young man continued to provide even more detailed explanations to Bai Xiaochun as they walked along. Eventually, they reached the location where Bai Xiaochun received his Outer Sect disciple clothing and equipment, including a bag of holding.

Although the bag of holding didn't fit much inside, Bai Xiaochun found the thing to be marvelous. After testing it out a few times, he put it away as carefully as if it were a precious treasure.

What delighted him more than anything else was that getting promoted to Outer Sect disciple also came with a reward of twenty spirit stones. Now, he had just enough to buy the medicinal plants he needed.

Soon it was dusk. Thanks to the explanations provided by the young man, Bai Xiaochun now knew a lot about Fragrant Cloud Peak. Eventually, the young man led him to a place called the 10,000 Medicines Pavilion.

From there, he received a jade slip.

"This jade slip describes 10,000 types of plants and vegetation. You need to memorize all of them, and then you can get the second jade slip.

"Junior Brother Bai, the path of cultivation is a long one, and spirit medicines are an aid that you can't do without. If you can become an apothecary, you'll be able to achieve a meteoric rise here.

"Apprentice apothecary, journeyman apothecary, master apothecary…." the young man said with a smile. "Junior Brother Bai, your future progress will all depend on what good fortune you encounter." By the time night fell, the young man had led him to the courtyard dwelling the sect had arranged as his residence.

"Junior Brother Bai, I have to head off the mountain tomorrow, so I won't be able to accompany you to the Scripture Pavilion. Go there at dawn to get the rest of the Violet Qi Cauldron Control Art mnemonics. You'll also be able to pick one more magical technique from the selection they have there. It's a good opportunity to get some things for free. After that, you'll have to pay merit points for any magical techniques you want.

"If there's anything you don't understand, you can always come looking for me. My name is Hou Yunfei. Many thanks for taking care of Xiaomei for me." Hou Yunfei smiled, clasped hands and bowed. Then he turned and walked away.

"Hou Yunfei?" Bai Xiaochun returned the bow and watched Hou Yunfei walking off. After a moment of thought, he recalled the face of a young woman.

"Hou Xiaomei!" he thought, blinking. He suddenly realized that he had struck it very lucky, as if he'd shoved a random stick into the ground only to have it grow into a lovely shady tree.

After a moment, he took a deep breath and then looked over at his courtyard residence. His eyes gleamed, and he stood tall and straight beneath the moonlight.

"Well, I guess becoming an Outer Sect disciple isn't that bad after all!" Flicking his sleeve, he walked into the courtyard.

1. Zhang Dahai's name in Chinese is 张大海 zhāng dà hǎi – Zhang is a common surname. Dahai means ocean or literally "big sea"

2. Chen Qingrou's name in Chinese is 陈轻柔 chén qīng róu. Chen is a common surname. Qingrou means "soft" or "gentle." This sounds like a very feminine name

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Chapter 15: Undying Live Forever Technique!

Moonlight flooded down onto Fragrant Cloud Peak of the Spirit Stream Sect, dispersing some of the mists that covered it, and causing the entire scene to be spectacularly beautiful.

About halfway down the east face of the mountain, at the end of a side path, was a courtyard residence. The courtyard itself was as large as a field, and was filled with the delicate fragrance of flowers and plants. The residence itself was a log cabin, complete with a desk and a bed inside, all of which were made from some sort of magenta-colored wood that let off a lovely, fragrant aroma. This place was far superior to anything in the servants' district.

The field in the courtyard had been cleared, and was ready for planting. There was even a well in one corner. Bai Xiaochun looked around at the moonlit scene, and his eyes sparkled with satisfaction.

"Outer Sect disciples are official disciples of the Spirit Stream Sect, so naturally they get much better compensation than the servants. This residence really isn't bad at all. Although, I remember Eldest Brother saying that Inner Sect disciples get to live in Immortal's caves… I wonder what those are like." Bai Xiaochun looked up toward the top of Fragrant Cloud Peak.

Only Inner Sect disciples qualified to live on the top half of the mountain.

After a while, he went back into the log cabin, where he stretched lazily and then took out his bag of holding. After patting it carefully, a bottle of medicinal pills appeared in front of him, as well as a green stick of incense.

"Wow, this thing is awesome," he thought, rubbing the bag of holding fondly. After a moment, his eyes came to rest on the medicinal pill bottle and the green incense. The pill bottle had a label on it, upon which were written the words 'Spirit Condensation.' As for the incense, the words 'Green Rising' were carved on the side. He had received similar things when he had become a servant. Consuming such pills would increase his cultivation base, and inhaling the smoke from the burning incense stick would have a similar effect.

"Using them as-is would be a big waste. It would be much better to use spirit enhancement on them first. Maybe I could even use them to break through a bottleneck in my cultivation base." After pondering the matter for a bit, he made his decision. However, he only had one-colored firewood on hand, so he decided to go down the mountain the following morning to get something better.

Having made his decision, he sat down cross-legged and began to meditate. When it came to his cultivation, he had never given up. Although his progress had slowed recently, he still spent time every day on it.

The whole purpose to practicing cultivation was to live forever, so of course he would stick to it.

The night passed uneventfully, and soon it was dawn. Sunlight poked through the mist, making it seem as if valuable treasures were descending. Bai Xiaochun had been cultivating all night. He opened his eyes, donned his Outer Sect disciple clothing, and then hurried out of his log cabin to find the Scripture Pavilion that Elder Brother Hou had mentioned the day before.

The Scripture Pavilion was some distance away from his own residence, on another side of the mountain. It took about an hour of walking before he saw a cluster of towering pagodas off in the distance. They radiated shimmering light, and sent pulsing pressure out in all directions.

He encountered quite a few other Outer Sect disciples, all of whom were hustling about busily. When they sensed that Bai Xiaochun was only at the third level of Qi Condensation, they completely ignored him.

Bai Xiaochun didn't care, but considering that most of the disciples he encountered had cultivation bases far higher than his own, he proceeded cautiously. There were even a few he encountered whose cultivation bases were so high that they were unreadable. Those ones always had crowds of other disciples clustered around them, laughing and chatting with them as they walked along.

The closer he got to the Scripture Pavilion, the more disciples he saw. Just as he was about to enter the area of the building itself, a beam of light flew down toward the area from one of the distant mountain peaks. Within that beam of light, it was possible to see a young man standing on a flying disk, who circled around Fragrant Cloud Peak before flying back off into the distance.

"That's Qian Dajin from the Court Hall! Elder Brother Qian!"

"Elder Brother Qian is an Inner Sect disciple, and also a member of the Court Hall. He's famous! I heard that he's in the great circle of the eighth level of Qi Condensation, and has access to temporary flight items. I'm so jealous!"

Bai Xiaochun also looked over jealously. After Qian Dajin disappeared, he sighed inwardly.

"One of these days, when I can fly, I'm going take time every day to fly in circles around Fragrant Cloud Peak!" Muttering to himself in anticipation, he began to push his way through the crowd toward the Scripture Pavilion.

The building was huge. The first floor was completely empty except for a long table. Behind the table, an old man sat there with his eyes closed in meditation. All the disciples who wanted to go past him would put their identity medallion onto the table. After it shone with glittering light, they would pass by respectfully.

Copying everyone else, Bai Xiaochun placed his identity medallion onto the table. It only took a moment for it to glitter, after which he picked it back up and followed the other disciples up the stairs to the second floor.

This floor was filled with numerous shelves, which were packed with jade slips or the occasional bamboo scroll. All of them shimmered with bright light, making the second floor of the Scripture Pavilion an extraordinary place.

Seeing another staircase further off, Bai Xiaochun looked around and then walked over. However, when he tried to step onto it, his foot bounced back.

A young man was sitting off to the side, with straight eyebrows and a bamboo scroll in his hand. When he sensed what was happening, he looked up at Bai Xiaochun.

Bai Xiaochun put on his most charming expression and then curiously asked the young man, "Elder Brother, what qualifications do you need to go up there?"

"What, are you new here?" the young man replied slowly. "You have to be at the fifth level of Qi Condensation to go up there." With that, he continued to read the bamboo scroll.

Bai Xiaochun could tell the young man didn't want to be disturbed. Forgetting about the third floor, he began to stroll around the second floor. Occasionally he would pick up a jade slip to examine, or look through some bamboo scrolls. He saw all sorts of different magical techniques, all of which seemed very exciting.

That was especially true of something called the Flame Dao magical technique, which seemed especially exceptional.

After a while, he found a jade slip for the Violet Qi Cauldron Control Art. It had descriptions and pictures for the fourth to eighth levels. He quickly grabbed it and then continued to stroll about.

Time passed, and soon evening was approaching. Bai Xiaochun had browsed about seventy percent of the second floor, and by now, the crowds were thinning.

"These eight seem really incredible…." he thought, looking over his selections. One was a bamboo scroll, somewhat dilapidated, but something that had caused Bai Xiaochun's eyes to widen with excitement the moment he saw it.

"Undying Live Forever Technique!!"

He took a deep breath as he examined the introduction to the technique. Apparently, cultivating this technique to the ultimate degree would make a person undying and also be able to live forever.

Panting, he once again examined the name of the technique, and then decided that this was his decision!

He had begun practicing cultivation for the purpose of living forever, so finding a technique like this one almost made it seem like they were mysteriously connected by destiny. Laughing heartily, he held the bamboo scroll in his hand as he climbed down the stairs.

Back in the main hall of the first floor, the old man was still sitting behind the table with his eyes closed, looking exactly like he had before. However, as soon as Bai Xiaochun put the Violet Qi Cauldron Control Art jade slip and the Undying Live Forever Technique bamboo scroll onto the table, the man's eyes slowly opened.

He looked Bai Xiaochun up and down, which left Bai Xiaochun trembling. The man's gaze felt like lightning. Shivering, Bai Xiaochun immediately put on his most respectful expression.

Thankfully, the old man quickly looked down at Bai Xiaochun's identity medallion.

"Newly promoted disciples can take a copy of the first eight levels of the Violet Qi Cauldron Control Art," the old man said slowly, his voice hoarse. "They may also select a technique of their choosing." Then his eyes fell upon the Undying Live Forever Technique bamboo scroll, and he frowned slightly.

"Although the name of this technique sounds astonishing, it's incomplete. Furthermore, the more you cultivate it, the more difficult it becomes. The pain is so excruciating that ordinary people can't endure it. Even most Inner Sect disciples can't cultivate it successfully. The majority give up. It's been here in the Scripture Pavilion for quite some time. Are you sure you want this particular magic?" The old man looked at Bai Xiaochun.

After hearing the old man's words, Bai Xiaochun got the feeling that this technique had been waiting here for years just for him. Then he thought again about the words 'undying' and 'live forever', and his blood felt like it was boiling. He immediately responded, "Senior, I definitely want it, very much!"

The old man said nothing further to dissuade him. He waved his right hand, sending two blank jade slips flying out. After the copies were made, he handed them to Bai Xiaochun, then paid him no more heed and went back to meditating.

Bai Xiaochun put the jade slips away. Eyes gleaming with anticipation, he left the Scripture Pavilion and headed back to his courtyard residence.

By the time he got back, it was already nighttime. Once again inside his log cabin, he sat down cross-legged, took a deep breath, and pulled out the jade slip for the Undying Live Forever Technique. Then he circulated his spiritual energy and sent it into the jade slip. After closing his eyes, the technique's magical incantation appeared in his mind.

An hour later, he opened his eyes again, and a thoughtful expression could be seen.

Just as the old man had said, the Undying Live Forever Technique was incomplete. According to the description, the technique was cultivated in two ways, internally and externally. It was further broken down into the external aspects of skin, muscle, and tendon.

The internal aspects were bones and blood.

As for this incomplete version, it only contained the technique for cultivating skin. Also, the cultivation method truly did seem to be a torment. Furthermore, to cultivate it required a huge expenditure of resources. However, there were several secret magics listed inside that seemed almost beyond belief. For example, there was one called the Throat Crushing Grasp that was supposedly unbeatable.

Bai Xiaochun hesitated for a moment, then looked once more at the words 'undying' and 'live forever'. Finally, his eyes filled with determination, and he followed the description in the information, using both of his hands to strike various positions on his body.

Bai Xiaochun was focused on not dying and living forever in a way that vastly outmatched other people. Therefore, he did exactly as the technique required, and beat himself the entire night.

The following day, his whole body hurt. It didn't matter whether he stood up or sat down. Even lifting his arm hurt. And yet, he gritted his teeth and continued to do as the technique manual instructed, and forced himself to move.

"Owwwwwww…. Relax then flex…. aaaaoooowwwww…. flex then relax!" he said, repeating one of the lines from the technique as he hopped and skipped around the courtyard. He let out one miserable shriek after another, and tears were streaming down his face. Finally, he gritted his teeth, grabbed some spirit stones, and headed down the mountain.

He figured that if he had to move around, he might as well just go out and buy the medicinal plants he needed to get the Age-Prolonging Longevity-Enhancing Pill. That would be a lot better than doing nothing more than exercising in his courtyard.

Soon, numerous Outer Sect disciples on Fragrant Cloud Peak saw a very strange sight. There was a fair-faced young man hopping and skipping about in a very strange fashion. He was also crying out at the top of his lungs in a fashion which almost sounded euphoric.

"Ah ah, oh oh! Ah ah, oh oh! Ah… ah… ah… ah…"

Bai Xiaochun didn't want to cry out, but the pain was just too much. In fact, it hurt so much that he was pretty sure that even not moving would also hurt. However, all he had to do was think about the words 'undying' and 'live forever', and he continued with vicious determination. And thus he continued all the way down to the market outside of the sect.

Trembling, he bought all of the medicinal plants he needed, as well as some one-colored firewood. The two-colored firewood was much more expensive, so he only bought one piece. After that, he ran out of spirit stones.

Gritting his teeth, he went back to the Missions Office and handed in the mission he had taken when he was still a servant. In return, he got the Age-Prolonging Longevity-Enhancing Pill.

The pill was yellow, about as big as his thumbnail, and emanated a strange medicinal aroma. He looked at the pill, his body still burning with so much pain that he could barely talk. Sweat poured down him, soaking him completely.

Clenching his teeth, he climbed back up the steps of Fragrant Cloud Peak, leaving a trail of sweat behind him as he went. He got quite a few surprised and even cynical glances from other Outer Sect disciples. After all, he was really sweating far beyond what was normal.

He really wasn't sure what was going on. By the time he got back to his courtyard residence, it was the middle of the night. As soon as he walked inside, he collapsed onto the ground, unconscious.

Despite having passed out, the pain woke him up several times through the night. By the time the light of dawn spread out across the sky, though, he woke up and realized that the pain was gone.

"An incomplete minor cycle…." he thought, recalling the technique's introduction. If he could go for a full day and night without passing out, that would be a complete minor cycle. If he could complete eighty-one minor cycles, that would count as a minor circulation. After that, his skin would be changed, and would reach a point that the process wouldn't be so painful.

"If the technique were simple, everyone would do it, and then everyone would be able to live forever. The harder it is, the more I'm going to cultivate it! Then I'll really be undying and able to live forever!" His eyes filled with determination; his obsession with living forever was strong, and had reached a truly astonishing level.

Now that his body didn't hurt any more, he pulled out the Age-Prolonging Longevity-Enhancing Pill and studied it. He was just about to eat it when all of a sudden he seemed to recall something. Looking around to make sure no one was watching, he hurried into his log cabin and performed an incantation gesture with his right hand, causing the turtle-wok to appear.

"To consume it the way it is would be a big loss. The best thing to do is eat it after doing a spirit enhancement." Licking his lips, he produced the two-colored flame firewood and kindled it beneath the turtle-wok. Immediately, the log burst into flames, and moments later, became ash. At the same time, two glowing designs appeared on the turtle-wok.

After a moment of hesitation, he placed the Age-Prolonging Longevity-Enhancing Pill inside. Almost as soon as the spirit medicine entered the wok, silver light flashed. Having experienced this before, Bai Xiaochun's expression didn't change in the least, and he continued to stare at the wok.

After a moment, the silver light faded away and, shockingly, two silver designs could be seen on the Age-Prolonging Longevity-Enhancing Pill. The medicinal aroma which floated off of it was now much stronger than it had been before, so strong that a mere sniff would enliven the spirits.

"It's too bad I don't have anything to make a three-colored flame." He picked up the spirit medicine and put it into his mouth. The instant it melted, it transformed into a scalding current that swept through his body.

Bai Xiaochun felt his mind rumbling, and his body felt like a furnace. However, even as he was consumed by heat, the white hair on his head turned black again. A powerful surge of life force replenished him, and after a moment, he could tell that it was even stronger than before. A bit of blood oozed out of his nose.

"Major success!" he thought, his eyes widening. He immediately began to cultivate the Violet Qi Cauldron Control Art, but found that there was little difference. After all, this spirit medicine replenished vital energy, not spiritual energy. More blood flowed out of his nose, and the scalding current inside of him expanded. He felt like he was an inflatable ball that was on the verge of popping. Astonishment filled him.

Actually, the result of performing a twofold enhancement on the spirit medicine ensured that the result vastly exceeded anything from before, and was far more valuable. Bai Xiaochun's cultivation base, which was at the third level of Qi Condensation, simply couldn't take it.

At this critical juncture, he suddenly thought of the Undying Live Forever Technique. He immediately leapt up and began hitting himself as hard as possible.

Popping sounds rang out, and the scalding current began to clear up. Bai Xiaochun didn't dare to stop. It wasn't until an hour later that the current faded away completely. He was in so much pain that he fell down onto the ground, panting for air. However, he looked more excited than ever, and his eyes shone with an intense gleam.

"It has something to do with the spirit enhancement, but the main thing was that spirit medicine. Spirit medicine… is remarkable…. It can increase spiritual energy and can increase longevity…. Well, I wonder if there's a type of medicine that can make people live forever!" The more he thought about it, the more excited he got, and the brighter his eyes shone.

"Fragrant Cloud Peak trains apothecaries….

"Well then, I'm going to become an apothecary. I'm going to make…. a Live-Forever Never-Die Pill!" Bai Xiaochun began to pant, and his intrigue for spirit medicine reached an unheard-of level.

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Chapter 16: Meticulously Careful

Bai Xiaochun lay there in the courtyard, filled with that obsessiveness of his. His body ached, and yet somehow he could tell that his skin was tougher than before. That made him look forward more than ever to becoming an apothecary.

After laying there in the courtyard for more than an hour, the shaky, painful feeling eventually faded away. Bai Xiaochun crawled into a cross-legged position, eyes flickering as he patted his bag of holding to produce the medicinal pills and medicinal incense.

After closer inspection, he took a deep breath, looked around furtively, then headed back into the log cabin, where he once again took out the turtle-wok.

"I could consume this medicinal pill as is. But after I do a spirit enhancement, it should be able to break my cultivation base through from the third level of Qi Condensation to the fourth. It's too bad that two-colored firewood is so expensive. The Ovens has some, but I'm not longer a servant there anymore, which makes things complicated." Bai Xiaochun's excitement regarding the medicinal pill continued to grow. After a bit of thought, he ceased any hesitation and produced a piece of one-colored firewood.

"I'll just do a basic enhancement! That'll be good enough!" He quickly lit the firewood, and the resulting one-colored flame caused the first turtle-wok design to light up. He opened the medicinal pill bottle and poured out the three medicinal pills it contained, all of which were as large as longan fruits.

After performing three spirit enhancements, flickering silver designs could be seen on the surface of the medicinal pills. He also enhanced the green incense. In the end, he sat there looking at the four different spirit medicines upon which he had performed a basic enhancement. Finally, he placed the incense stick in front of him and then popped the three medicinal pills into his mouth.

Then he examined the pictures in the Violet Qi Cauldron Control Art manual, and followed the mnemonics as he began to practice cultivation. Soon, the spiritual energy in his body was seething. He could now maintain the posture for much longer than before, and he could feel his cultivation base rising rapidly.

After the time it takes an incense stick to burn, the little river of spiritual energy inside of him was flowing through his body, and he could sense that he was nearing a breakthrough to the fourth level of Qi Condensation.

"I just need to hold on for one hundred breaths of time, and I can break through!" He gritted his teeth as he continued to maintain the posture in the fourth picture. His body was swelling up so much that he felt like a ball, and cracking sounds could be heard inside of him. Great beads of sweat were rolling off of him.

It was at this point that the spiritual energy began to wane. Bai Xiaochun's eyes narrowed in concentration, and he blew a mouthful of spiritual energy onto the green incense stick in front of him.

As soon as the spiritual energy touched the green incense, it lit up, causing tendrils of green smoke to swirl about like green snakes. They flew through the air, entering into Bai Xiaochun's eyes, ears, nose, and mouth, and then turning into strong spiritual energy. Within moments, the river of spiritual energy inside of him had doubled in size.

Rumbling could be heard as a wind-like shockwave rolled out from Bai Xiaochun, spreading out through the cabin and then into the courtyard. His eyes opened, and they shone with pleasure.

"The fourth level of Qi Condensation!" he exclaimed, laughing.

He could immediately sense the spiritual energy surging through him, carrying with it a strong life force. He felt more agile, and when he looked down, he saw black filth caked all over his body. That would be the impurities within his body that had just been forced out.

His body flickered as he floated out of the log cabin. After tidying up the courtyard a bit, he stood there feeling very energized. He quickly performed an incantation gesture and waved his finger, causing his wooden sword to fly out of his bag of holding in a streak of light.

He sent it flying back and forth, eyes gleaming with satisfaction. The wooden sword was already extraordinary, but now that it was combined with the cultivation base of the fourth level of Qi Condensation, it possessed an even more striking air.

"Spirit enhancement is pretty awesome. It would be great if I could use a three-colored flame, though. A medicinal pill like that would be incredible!" The more he thought about it, the more miraculous spirit medicine seemed to be. Regardless of whether it was in pill form or incense form, it was definitely an absolute necessity for practicing cultivation.

"I'm definitely going to become an amazing apothecary! I'll concoct a Live-Forever Never-Die Pill! Then I'll enhance it tenfold–no, wait, I'll enhance it a hundredfold!" Bai Xiaochun's desire to become an apothecary was growing stronger. Suddenly, he slapped his bag of holding to produce a jade slip.

It was none other than the jade slip given him by Hou Yunfei when they had gone to the 10,000 Medicines Pavilion together. Inside were images of 10,000 types of plants and vegetation. Only Fragrant Cloud Peak had ancient records of this type, and they were something that all apprentice apothecaries had to master.

Of course, a mere 10,000 types of plants and vegetation was only the beginning. According to Hou Yunfei, after memorizing those, you could acquire another volume.

With a look of resolve, he circulated his spiritual energy, and images of various types of plants and vegetation rose up in his mind. He was filled with a strange feeling, as if a whole new page of life had opened up in front of him. There were even descriptions of the medicinal plants needed to trade for an Age-Prolonging Longevity-Enhancing Pill.

After examining the contents of the jade slip, he realized that memorizing each of the 10,000 items wouldn't really be that difficult. However, he wasn't just any old person. His goal was to become a great apothecary who could concoct a Live-Forever Never-Die Pill.

The vicious determination concealed in his personality once again exploded out. This was not just memorizing a simple list; he had to carefully observe all of the details of each type of medicinal plant. Only after understanding a plant fully could he move on to the next one.

Back when he had been under such pressure because of Xu Baocai, he had practiced cultivation like mad for the better part of half a year. Now, with even grander aspirations, a similar thing was occurring.

He studied the medicinal plants down to the tiniest detail, until he could close his eyes and recall an image of each and every one.

However, he still felt as if that wasn't enough, and wished he could study the actual items to make his research complete. Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do about that. All he could do was carefully research what he had at his disposal, which included the shapes of the leaves and the patterns of the veins.

Even that wasn't enough for Bai Xiaochun though. He also studied the roots and the fruits. It was almost as if the plants themselves were right in front of him, several times their normal size and dug up out of the ground for him to study.

After that, he still didn't feel confident enough. Next, he studied the tiny hairs growing on the plants, and even the tiny pore-like openings beneath them.

Time passed. Soon, a month had gone by. During that time, he spent time every day practicing the fourth level of the Violet Qi Cauldron Control Art, and was getting much more comfortable with his cultivation base. At the same time, he hadn't forgotten about the Undying Live Forever Technique. Every day, he endured the pain as he ran around his courtyard practicing it, simultaneously memorizing the plants and vegetation from the jade slip. Unfortunately, the jade slip had no table of contents, so he wasn't sure exactly how many he had memorized so far.

In addition to exercising in his courtyard, he would often stop by the spirit field in the corner, where he was growing ten medicinal plants.

These ten plants were Spiritwinter Bamboo. He had gone to Fragrant Cloud Peak's Outer Sect disciple Mission Stele half a month before and selected a simple, non-dangerous mission to get them.

Bai Xiaochun didn't dare to forget what Li Qinghou had told him. Sect disciples needed to complete at least one mission every half year; it was a sect rule that Bai Xiaochun had kept firmly planted in mind.

The merit point reward for this mission was significant, and could actually be even higher depending on how many goods were turned in at the end. It was a simple mission, but required quite a bit of time wastage; he had to care for the plants for three months before he could hand the mission in.

Of course, the Spiritwinter Bamboo could be catalyzed by a cultivator's spiritual energy, which would make it grow faster. Unfortunately, Bai Xiaochun had no time to test that method, and had simply planted the seeds in his spirit field as soon as he had gotten back.

"You grow so slowly," he said, looking down at the spirit field. From the description in the jade slip, he knew that Spiritwinter Bamboo required a lot of spiritual energy to grow properly. If the soil it was growing in didn't have strong spiritual energy, then the cultivator would need to add spiritual energy personally.

He squatted down and picked up a handful of soil from the spirit field. After a moment, he muttered, "I bet this spirit field doesn't have enough spiritual energy, and that's why the Spiritwinter Bamboo is growing so slowly.

"What can I do to get the spirit field's spiritual energy to be a bit stronger…?" After a moment of thought, his expression lit up, and he extended his right hand, within which materialized the turtle-wok.

He looked at the wok, and then back at the spirit field, and his eyes began to shine.

"If this wok can enhance anything, then… I should be able to perform a spirit enhancement on the spirit soil, right?" Feeling very curious all of a sudden, he quickly dug up the Spiritwinter Bamboo seeds, then filled the turtle-wok with spirit soil and produced a piece of one-colored firewood to perform a test.

Soon, silver light flashed, and the spirit soil in the turtle-wok glowed with the design of a basic spirit enhancement. The light quickly faded, but the spirit soil clearly emanated a much stronger spiritual energy than before.

Bai Xiaochun was delighted. Not feeling the slightest bit inconvenienced whatsoever, he quickly began to enhance one wokful of spirit soil after another. After more than an hour had passed, when he was just about out of one-colored firewood, the entire spirit field had benefited from a basic spirit enhancement.

Of course, that was only the top level of soil. He didn't have enough firewood to go any lower. Therefore, because there was no foundation for the spirit soil, after enough time passed, it would gradually return to normal.

Even so, the current spiritual energy in the spirit field had undergone a Heaven-shaking, Earth-toppling transformation, and was so strong that it caused a fragrant aroma to swirl about.

Bai Xiaochun immediately planted the Spiritwinter Bamboo seeds again, then stood off to the side watching. It didn't take long before some tiny buds popped up and began to grow rapidly.

In the blink of an eye, they were almost a meter tall. In fact, if disciples in the sect who were adept at growing medicinal plants saw what was happening, they would certainly gasp. Even if a cultivator skillfully nourished the plants with spiritual energy, they wouldn't grow so fast.

After all… no one in the cultivation world had ever been so extravagant as to perform spirit enhancement on soil, all for the purpose of growing ten stalks of Spiritwinter Bamboo….

Not even the famous grandmasters of spirit enhancement would ever think to do such a thing; it was simply far too much of a waste.

Seeing that the Spiritwinter Bamboo was now growing well, Bai Xiaochun felt very pleased. He turned back and continued to jog around the courtyard, simultaneously studying the plants and vegetation in the jade slip.

The sun was setting, and the sky grew dark. Considering that the stalks of Spiritwinter Bamboo had already grown higher than a meter, and had apparently still not reached its full height, it was hard to say… exactly how tall they would be in three months….

That night, Bai Xiaochun finally put the jade slip down. After vicious hard work, he had finally thoroughly memorized all 10,000 types of plants and vegetation. He had even found some areas in the descriptions of the medicinal plants that revealed how they conflicted with other medicinal plants.

"Tomorrow morning, I'm going to go get the second volume about plants and vegetation. I wonder what the test at the 10,000 Medicines Pavilion will be like. Can I really pass it?"

Bai Xiaochun set his chin and flicked his sleeve. He had just been planning on uttering some bold and audacious words, but then, just couldn't help but feel a bit anxious. Clearing his throat, he picked up the jade slip again and began to study some more. He just couldn't shake the fear that some problem would come up in the test.

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Chapter 17: Little Turtle

The next morning at dawn, Bai Xiaochun woke up early. As soon as he walked out of his log cabin, he looked over at the Spiritwinter Bamboo and saw that it was already taller than half the height of an average person. He nodded his head in satisfaction, then left the courtyard and headed in the direction of the 10,000 Medicines Pavilion.

The sun rose up over the horizon, sending scintillating beams of light out in all directions. The multi-colored sunlight dancing among the mists like golden carps was a truly spectacular sight. Bai Xiaochun was currently hurrying along a path along with numerous other Outer Sect disciples. He didn't recognize any of them, which caused him to suddenly miss his Elder Brothers from the Ovens.

"I wonder how Eldest Brother is doing, and Third Fatty Hei…." Sighing inwardly, he walked along for about an hour, until the sun was high in the sky. Finally, he saw the 10,000 Medicines Pavilion off in the distance, and the ten shocking stone steles set up outside of it.

Those stone steles were the identifying feature of the 10,000 Medicines Pavilion. Green light emanated off of them, rising a hundred or more meters up into the air. It was an amazing sight, like ten giants standing there, completely intimidating.

Visible on the surface of the stones steles were lines of text, a ranking system that went from one to a hundred.

Toward the top, there were no names, only various images, which were in fact the insignias of various Outer Sect Chosen who had become famous apothecaries in the 10,000 Medicines Pavilion.

Every apothecary had a unique insignia which they would use to mark the satisfactory spirit medicines they had concocted. It was a tradition that went back throughout the ages, and therefore, it was an important honor to all apothecaries.

The last time he had come here, Hou Yunfei had explained all of these things briefly. But now that Bai Xiaochun was coming here alone, he couldn't help but stare at the ten stone steles.

The first thing that caught his attention was the eye-catching insignia on the first place position of the foremost stone stele.

It was a magic bottle! 1

According to Hou Yunfei, that magic bottle was the insignia of… Zhou Xinqi!

The name was not unfamiliar to Bai Xiaochun. Back when he was a servant, he remembered sitting under the moonlight as Big Fatty Zhang munched on a ginseng rootlet and sighed about Zhou Xinqi.

She came from a clan of mortals, and several years ago had been discovered by one of the Senior members of the sect, who sensed that she had unusual latent talent. When she arrived in the sect and was formally tested, her latent talent caused a huge commotion in the Spirit Stream Sect.

She had a rare plant and vegetations spirit meridian, which not only made her speed of cultivation many times greater than the average person, but also gave her astonishing potential when it came to synthesizing medicine. After joining Fragrant Cloud Peak, she became Li Qinghou's only apprentice, and was actually viewed as the most important apothecary in the sect next to Li Qinghou, and a future pillar!

According to the rules of the Spirit Stream Sect, it didn't matter how high a person's latent talent was, they couldn't automatically become an Inner Sect disciple. Therefore, Zhou Xingqi was just like all the other Chosen from the other mountain peaks on the south bank. They all started out as disciples in the Outer Sect, where they trained hard to improve. However, the cultivation resources they had access to were actually provided by the Inner Sect.

Everyone knew that it wouldn't be long before Zhou Xinqi would prove herself and become an Inner Sect disciple.

On top of all that, she was astonishingly beautiful, which earned her the wide admiration of countless male disciples.

Because of all of these reasons, she was very famous on Fragrant Cloud Peak. In fact, the Inner Sect disciples didn't view her as belonging to the Outer Sect. Even the conservative Inner Sect as a whole feared her.

As Bai Xiaochun considered all these matters, he suddenly felt very curious about Zhou Xinqi. Then he made his way from one stone stele to the next, closely looking at all ten. Soon, he was virtually struck speechless.

"Zhou Xinqi is amazing. Of these ten stone steles, her name is in first place on eight! I don't see her name at all on the other two; presumably she hasn't competed for those yet!" Bai Xiaochun's eyes were as wide as saucers as he looked at all the stone steles.

By now, the crowd of disciples that had gathered around the 10,000 Medicines Pavilion had swelled to quite a number. Bai Xiaochun looked away from the stone steles and found the location where he could exchange his jade slip for the second volume of plants and vegetation. As he looked around, he realized that there really were a lot of people present, almost as if they were gathering in advance for some reason. Suddenly, he heard people talking excitedly.

"Elder Sister Zhou is coming!"

"Hahaha! So the rumors were true! Elder Sister Zhou is coming today. We didn't come in vain!"

"Elder Sister Zhou has already taken first place in the five volumes of plants and vegetation and three volumes of spirit creatures. This time she'll definitely challenge the fourth volume of spirit creatures!"

The buzz of conversation rose and fell, and the crowd grew more packed. Bai Xiaochun was stuck in the very middle, but thankfully he wasn't as fat as he had been before. After jostling around a bit, he managed to get out in front. Just as he did, he looked up and saw a bright beam of light flying through the air.

It was blue flying silk, standing atop which was a young woman wearing the clothing of the Outer Sect. Long black hair flew behind her in the wind; she had narrow, phoenix-like eyebrows and eyes that shone as cold as the moon. Her complexion was lovely, her frame thin and lithe.

As she flew toward one of the ten stone steles, a cheer rose up from the surrounding Outer Sect disciples. She landed and, without even glancing around, headed directly toward one of the log cabins erected beneath the stone steles.

It was only at this point that Bai Xiaochun noticed that all ten of the stone steles had log cabins beneath them. In fact, there were currently people going in and out of all of them, and that included the one the young woman had just entered.

The surrounding disciples were very excited. Bai Xiaochun looked around and found one particular disciple who looked skinnier and weaker than the others, and sidled up to him.

Then, he cried out loudly, "At long last, I can lay eyes on Elder Sister Zhou again. This time she's definitely going to take first place on the ninth stone stele!"

After that, he turned and asked the skinny guy for more details about what was going on. Considering the young man was in such a good mood, he quickly gave a detailed explanation.

"Elder Sister Zhou wants to be the first person from ancient times to now to have first place in all ten stone steles. And she's the only person who could possibly do it. All she has to do is take the test for the fourth and fifth volumes of spirit creatures, and she'll definitely take first place in both!"

Bai Xiaochun decided that the most important thing was to get the second volume of plants and vegetation, which meant that he had to go take the test in the appropriate log cabin. If he succeeded, the volume would be his. Therefore, he began to push his way through the crowd to the first stone stele. It wasn't easy, and after he got there, he found that all the cabins were already occupied. After waiting a bit, he saw a crestfallen disciple moping out from one of them, but that didn't discourage him at all. He immediately entered the log cabin.

Once inside, it was as if he was completely separated from the cacophony of sound on the outside; everything here was peaceful and quiet. The log cabin wasn't very large, and in the middle, a prayer mat was laid out in front of a small stone stele.

Bai Xiaochun sat down cross-legged in the prescribed fashion, then pulled out the jade slip that contained the first volume of plants and vegetation. He placed it up against the stone stele, and it sank down inside. The stone stele shuddered, and began to shine brightly.

"According to what the Elder Brother outside said, now is when I'm supposed to decide what insignia will identify me as an apothecary." After thinking for a moment, he chuckled and drew the image of a turtle. He loved turtles, and although his drawing was a bit misshapen and ugly, in his eyes it was pretty good.

The turtle insignia flickered a few times, and Bai Xiaochun took a deep breath. He settled his qi and cleared his mind, and his eyes began to shine brightly. Finally, he slowly reached out and put his hand onto the stone stele. In the moment that he touched it, rumbling sounds filled his mind, and his vision swam. When it became clear again, he was no longer in the log cabin, but in an illusory world.

Before he could size up his surroundings, light flashed in front of him, and countless medicinal plants appeared, filling his field of view.

None of the medicinal plants were intact. Instead, they were broken up into pieces of ten or more, all of which were scattered about.

Just by looking around, it was impossible to tell how many plants there were in total.

This testing method of the 10,000 Medicines Pavilion was what countless Outer Sect disciples of the Fragrant Cloud Peak dreaded. Throughout the years, numerous disciples had taken the test, only to feel completely useless at the end. Because of that, if your name made it into the top 100 on the stone stele, you would be the object of mass envy and approval.

That was especially true of the first place spot, which led to total fame.

A cold, emotionless voice suddenly rang out: "In the time it takes an incense stick to burn, re-assemble the spirit plants. Your test results will be based on the total number you put together. You may begin now."

"That's it?" Bai Xiaochun thought. He almost couldn't believe it. He had immersed himself in studying the medicinal plants in the jade slip to the point where even now, he could already spot hundreds of medicinal plant parts that he could piece together.

He had been really worried about this test, but now that he saw what it was like, he heaved a sigh of relief. However, he still wasn't completely at ease.

"It can't be this easy. Considering the test is so simple, the final target to pass must be incredibly high." Once again feeling nervous, he quickly waved his finger through the air, pointing at a dozen or so medicinal plant fragments. Immediately, those fragments pieced themselves together, forming two medicinal plants.

Next he waved both hands in the air, not even pausing as he sent countless plant fragments flying around and forming together. One medicinal plant after another was formed, until soon he had 100 medicinal plants.

He looked up in thought for a moment, and his spirits lifted. Tuning everything else out, he focused completely on the medicinal plant fragments, his hands flying about rapidly. Then, he suddenly thought about how terrible it would be to fail the test, and went all out with even more vicious determination. His eyes were completely bloodshot, and his hands moved even faster.

100 plants. 200 plants. 300 plants. 500 plants…. 1,000 plants!

Sweat poured down his face, white steam rose from the top of his head, and his hands flew. He looked around, instantly identifying more medicinal plant parts that could be pieced together. Back when he had been memorizing the medicinal plants in the jade slip, he had been so devoted to the process that he had reached the point where he wished he could grind the plants into powder to study them further.

However, that wasn't possible, so he could only study them in minute detail until he felt that he understood them completely.

If any of the disciples on the outside could see what was happening, they would gasp in disbelief. To them, this test was so terrifying it made the hair on their necks stand up straight. None of them could possibly imagine how thoroughly Bai Xiaochun had researched the medicinal plants in the jade slip.

Time passed. 2,000 plants. 3,000 plants….

Bai Xiaochun's eyes were completely bloodshot as he forced his hands to follow his train of thought. He even relied on the power of the fourth level of Qi Condensation, fearful that he wouldn't be able to keep up.

Despite how fast he was going, he wasn't sure if he would be able to pass, so all he could do was grit his teeth and keep going.

4,000 plants. 5,000 plants. 6,000 plants. 7,000 plants….

He wasn't sure how much time had passed, and there were still some plant fragments left. Suddenly, light began to shine everywhere, and his vision swam. The log cabin came back into view again, and the jade slip appeared on the surface of the stone stele. It was the same slip he had put in before, which contained the first volume of plants and vegetation.

"I missed a few, but only a few…." he thought apprehensively. After picking up the jade slip, he walked out of the log cabin, feeling completely crestfallen. It was at this point that he heard the cheering on the outside.

He looked up in the direction of the log cabin Zhou Xinqi had entered. As she walked out, her name suddenly appeared in first place.

1. If you look up this word for "magic bottle" in the CE dictionaries, it is often defined as Aquarius (the western constellation). While the term has come to be an accepted translation for Acquarius, the original meaning of the word, especially as it pertains to xianxia, is a type of bottle used in Buddhist rituals

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Chapter 18: Drawing the Attention of the Crowd!

"Hahaha! Elder Sister Zhou did it! Didn't I say she would get another unprecedented first place spot!?"

"She definitely deserves to have that plants and vegetation spirit meridian. Her options for the future are endless!"

"Elder Sister Zhou, we'll be waiting for you to set another record. When you get first place in all ten, the Great Spirit Stream Bell will toll to notify the whole sect!" All of the surrounding Outer Sect disciples were cheering. Although there were a few disgruntled faces to be seen, and a few sharply spoken words, they were drowned out by the overwhelming applause. Zhou Xinqi's position among the disciples here was like the sun within the sky. In fact, she was well regarded by virtually everyone on Fragrant Cloud Peak.

Although she was normally quite cold, the applause of the surrounding disciples couldn't help but make her feel a bit pleased with herself, and she smiled slightly. That smile caused the cheering to grow even louder.

Bai Xiaochun stood there in the crowd, feeling quite envious of her. Muttering to himself, he looked back at the first stone stele and suddenly, his eyes went wide. Then he looked back down at the jade slip with the first volume of plants and vegetation, and after closer scrutiny, he realized that in addition to the original 10,000 types of plants and vegetation, another 10,000 had been added. His heart suddenly swelled with joy.

He then turned his head to look at the first stone stele, and saw that right above the magic bottle insignia was the image of a turtle. Suddenly, he felt wonderful.

He had originally planned to leave immediately. But now, filled with excitement, he waited to hear the audience begin to applaud his accomplishment. However, it quickly became apparent that everyone was only paying attention to Zhou Xinqi, and hadn't even noticed what had just occurred. In fact, even Zhou Xinqi was preparing to depart.

Bai Xiaochun immediately started getting nervous. Blinking, he suddenly called out in his most astonished voice: "Look! Elder Sister Zhou isn't in first place on the first stone stele anymore! Somebody else took her place! Weird! Now there's a really cool-looking turtle there. I wonder who drew that?"

His voice pierced through the cheering, and as people heard the shocking nature of his words, they started to turn around to look at the stone stele. Soon, faces fell, and cries of alarm rang out.

That in turn caused more people to spin around in shock. Expressions of disbelief could be seen as more and more people began to stare at the text on the first stone stele.

"Th-th… somebody actually passed up Elder Sister Zhou on the first stone stele!"

"That's impossible! Heavens! Somebody surpassed Elder Sister Zhou, and with that ugly-looking turtle. Who could it be?!"

"There's actually somebody who can pose a challenge to Elder Sister Zhou in terms of skill with plants and vegetation? This is ground-breaking!! Elder Sister Zhou just took first place on the ninth stone stele, but she still only has a total of eight first place positions!"

Everyone was in an uproar, and the sounds of discussion filled the air. Moments ago, everyone had been cheering Zhou Xinqi, and could not possibly have been prepared for something unexpected like this to happen.

Bai Xiaochun stood there in the crowd, so pleased with himself that he almost started laughing. However, he knew that doing so wouldn't be very appropriate, so he held himself back. Instead, he cried out in shock like everyone else around him.

Actually, he had never had even the slightest clue that he could actually take first place.

It was at this point that Zhou Xinqi, who had just been on the verge of leaving, suddenly trembled where she stood. After hearing the cries echoing out around her, her phoenix-like eyes turned to look at the first stone stele, and she saw the turtle in the first place spot.

At first she frowned, but then her expression calmed. In fact, she wasn't even shocked at all. As far as she was concerned, when she had taken first place in the test of the first volume of plants and vegetation, it had been just after she was promoted into the Outer Sect. Back then, she hadn't tried as hard as she could have when she took the test, and that was not to mention the advancement she had made since then.

"Not bad," she said coolly. "It looks like there might be a new rising star in the sect." With that, her body flickered as she shot toward the first stone stele.

In her mind, this was a simple matter. The moment someone exceeded her, she would take back what was hers.

Her movement immediately caused a ripple of excitement to run through the crowd of disciples. All of them stared in anticipation as Zhou Xinqi walked into the log cabin to take the test for the first volume of plants and vegetation.

"Elder Sister Zhou is going to take back the first place spot which rightfully belongs to her! Whichever Junior Brother drew that turtle seems pretty good. What a pity that he'll only be able to stay in first place for the time it takes an incense stick to burn."

"Well, that's how it should be. He's definitely Chosen when it comes to plants and vegetation. He's just unlucky to have encountered Elder Sister Zhou."

After hearing what everyone was saying, Bai Xiaochun started feeling nervous. Not only had he run out of time, but Zhou Xinqi was simply too famous.

Even he himself was starting to think that maybe he belonged in second place.

"Ah, that's fine too," he consoled himself. "If I get in second place, then second place it is. Men shouldn't be fighting women anyway!" He wanted to leave, but couldn't quite make himself do so. He couldn't stop wondering about whether or not he would lose out on what he had just won.

Soon, enough time had passed for an incense stick to burn, and the name list hadn't changed. Bai Xiaochun was still in first place, and Zhou Xinqi was now walking out from inside the log cabin. Her expression was calm, and she was completely confident, having used eighty percent of her skill to piece together 4,000 of the total of 10,000 medicinal plants.

From her perspective, she had already outclassed all the other naturally gifted disciples.

However, as soon as she walked out, she realized that not a sound could be heard. In fact, all eyes were staring at her with strange expressions. There were even looks of shock.

She looked around blankly, then turned to inspect the stone stele. It was at this point that she realized that the magic bottle which represented her name was still beneath the ugly turtle.

Everything was dead quiet, and all the surrounding disciples, even Bai Xiaochun, were staring with gaping jaws. Bai Xiaochun then looked over at Zhou Xinqi and realized that, other than being quite good-looking… maybe she wasn't that special after all.

Zhou Xinqi's eyes narrowed briefly, and then her expression returned to normal.

"This person really has some talent with plants and vegetation. Now I'm a bit curious to find out who he is." Her body flickered and she once again entered the log cabin.

This time, Bai Xiaochun didn't even think about leaving. He stood there in the crowd, holding his breath in anticipation. The surrounding Outer Sect disciples were no longer discussing the matter in loud voices. Instead, they were whispering in hushed tones, watching the unprecedented scene playing out in front of them.

Furthermore, many of them were glancing up at the turtle mark, which now seemed utterly mysterious to them. After enough time passed for an incense stick to burn, Zhou Xinqi emerged once again, and that enigmatic sensation increased.

The turtle… was still on top!

Bai Xiaochun's eyes went wide, and then he cried out in a loud voice to incite the other disciples: "Heavens, who is this person!?!?"

Finally, the crowd, which had been silent up until now, exploded with conversation.

"Elder Sister Zhou tried twice and yet didn't surpass the turtle! How could this be happening? How many medicinal plants did that person complete!?"

"Did anybody see which Elder Brother it was that just took the test?"

Zhou Xinqi stood beneath the stone stele, frowning. Just now, she had used all the skill she possessed to piece together 6,000 plants. She could never have imagined that she would still be stuck in second place.

Her eyes narrowed, and she gave a cold harrumph as she spun and walked back into the log cabin, a very serious look in her eyes.

After enough time passed for an incense stick to burn, she emerged again, her expression grave. She turned yet again and went back in, and the same amount of time passed before she emerged, face pale. Expression staunch, she once again entered.

Once. Twice. Three times. Four times….

The surrounding cultivators were panting as they watched Zhou Xinqi try over and over again. However, the end result was that everyone lapsed into complete silence.

The scene playing out in front of them was terrifying. They could never have possibly imagined that whoever owned the turtle insignia could have pieced together so many medicinal plants, and so thoroughly surpassed Zhou Xinqi.

As of that moment, everyone was completely thunderstruck by the turtle.

That was especially true of Zhou Xinqi, who once again emerged, her beautiful eyes shot with blood. Everyone in the audience gasped.

Bai Xiaochun couldn't help but clear his throat. Right now, he couldn't just blurt out that he was the person in first place. However, the desire to do that very thing itched in his heart like a restless cat. Actually, it was a wonderful feeling.

"Now's not the time," he thought. "I'll find an opportunity in the future to make a big scene in front of everybody. I'll make sure everyone knows that the person who holds the first place spot on the first stone stele is none other than me, Bai Xiaochun!" Looking up, he realized that it was getting dark, and yawned, looking like the picture of a lonely hero.

"In the twinkling of an eye, I, Bai Xiaochun, reduced Zhou Xinqi to nothing more than ash…." With that, he flicked his sleeve and turned, walking away through the crowd.

As he departed, Zhou Xinqi gritted her teeth, and stubbornly entered the log cabin to once again take the test for the first volume of plants and vegetation….

Eventually, the moon hung high in the sky, and Zhou Xinqi stood there, completely exhausted as she stared up at the turtle. She could never have predicted that a day like this would come, that something like this would happen.

The crowds departed, and word of the turtle became the talk of Fragrant Cloud Peak.

One would think that the matter was over, but the next day, as the sun shone down onto the 10,000 Medicines Pavilion, the disciples were shocked to see Zhou Xinqi return and once again go into the first stone stele's log cabin. Yet again, she failed, over and over.

One day, two days, three days…. For a full three days, she never gave up. Soon, the gossip about the turtle disciple had reached a fever pitch in Fragrant Cloud Peak.

There was not a single person who hadn't heard about the matter, and even the Inner Sect disciples were talking about it.

Seven days later, Zhou Xinqi stood beneath the stone stele, staring up listlessly at the turtle. She had tried over and over again during the past seven days. She had held nothing back, and had even pushed herself to the point of piecing together 7,000 plants. However, she still couldn't surpass that mysterious disciple.

"Just who are you?!" she murmured. Finally, she took a deep breath, gritted her teeth, and turned to leave. She would no longer attempt to compete over the first stele. However, the image of that turtle was now burned deeply into her psyche.

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Chapter 19: The Legend of the Weasel

The comfortable life of an Outer Sect disciple on Fragrant Cloud Peak was great for Bai Xiaochun. Although he missed the delicious food he had access to back in the Ovens, everything else was quite satisfactory.

In terms of his progress in cultivation, and his research into plants and vegetation, he truly felt as if he was living life to the fullest. The only downside was that his courtyard residence was relatively remote, and there was no one around to chat with, so he got bored sometimes.

"Could it be that all cultivators are so lonely?" he thought, sighing as he stood there in the courtyard looking up into the sky. Somehow, he felt much older and more grown up.

The winds of autumn had passed, and snow had begun to fall occasionally, causing the temperature to drop significantly. Snowflakes drifted about in the air, and the Spiritwinter Bamboo in Bai Xiaochun's courtyard was growing strong and healthy. They were now taller than Bai Xiaochun himself, and emerald green in color. They were like a splash of spring in the middle of the winter cold.

A month had passed since he had taken first place on the first stone stele of plants and vegetation. However, the second volume of plants and vegetation was much more difficult than he'd anticipated, causing his research to slow. But that didn't change the most important thing to him, which was that Zhou Xinqi never took back the first place spot on the first stone stele. Unfortunately, Bai Xiaochun still felt a lot of pressure to be able to piece together all of the incomplete medicinal plants that he hadn't been able to before.

"I have an amazing reputation now. I can't let that wench Zhou Xinqi surpass me." From that moment, Bai Xiaochun decided that he would continue to work harder and harder until he reached his secret goal of being able to proudly announce in front of everyone that he was Apothecary Turtle.

Although his progress with the second volume of plants and vegetation was slow, his cultivation of the Undying Live Forever Technique was rapidly nearing the point where he would be able to achieve a full minor circulation.

Although the pain only continued to get worse, Bai Xiaochun remained completely focused on the words 'undying' and 'live forever'.

"Three more days. According to the description of the Undying Live Forever Technique, in three days I'll be able to complete a minor circulation." Bai Xiaochun took a deep breath, gritted his teeth, and continued to speed around his courtyard, simultaneously studying the second volume of plants and vegetation.

The three days passed by quickly. On the evening of the third day, it began to snow, covering the Spirit Stream Sect in a blanket of shimmering silver.

Bai Xiaochun was in the middle of running when a tremor ran through him, and he suddenly stopped in place. The pain that he had been enduring for the past eighty-one days suddenly vanished.

A flow of heat exploded through him, converging on his skin, which felt as if it were broiling in an oven.

The snowflakes melted before they could even get near him, instantly transforming into a white mist.

"It worked!" he exclaimed ecstatically, despite his dry throat. Although he felt like he was on fire, when he looked down, he saw a black light flowing over his skin, which circulated around him and then vanished.

He then poked his arm with his right hand, and could tell how incredibly tough it was. His eyes shone, and shook his arms and legs a bit. Instantly, he could tell that he was much faster than before. He started to run forward, then let out a cry of shock as he appeared several meters away in the blink of an eye.

He could now move twice as fast as he could before. Completely delighted, Bai Xiaochun ran around a bit to test out his new speed, and was very satisfied.

Without any further hesitation, he used the Undying Live Forever Technique mnemonic to continue practicing cultivation. This new method involved closing his mouth and nose and then attempting to breathe through his skin. An inhalation and exhalation counted as a minor cycle. He needed to practice eighty-one minor cycles per day for eighty-one days to complete a minor circulation.

If he could accomplish that, then, combined with the painful minor circulation he had already completed, he would have made his initial success in acquiring the Undying Skin.

After practicing a few times, Bai Xiaochun got the knack of it and struggled to get through one minor cycle. Afterward, his body seemed much more gaunt.

He also felt incredibly hungry, and gurgling sounds could be heard coming from his stomach. He ignored that, and continued breathing, causing his body to get even skinnier. After breathing in and out fifteen times, his body looked like nothing more than a bag of bones.

It was as if all the nutrients that existed inside of him had been sucked out of him. However, his skin looked even more resilient than before.

Bai Xiaochun couldn't hold on any longer. His vision was fading, and his eyes had turned green from the indescribable hunger which filled him. He was so hungry that he could eat an elephant in a single bite.

"This isn't working, I'm starving to death!!" He looked around, salivating, only to realize that there was nothing in the area to eat except for the verdant bamboo he was growing, which at the moment looked quite attractive.

Unable to hold back because of the incredible hunger, he flashed over to the Spiritwinter Bamboo and took a big bite out of one of them.

Crunching sounds could be heard as he ripped out a huge chunk and began to chomp it down. After swallowing, his face twisted, and he shivered from the bitter flavor.

"Too bitter…. I need to eat some real food…." He suddenly missed the Ovens more than ever. Never before in his life had he ever been this hungry, so hungry that he felt like he was going to faint. His eyes were turning even more green, and he was panting. Finally, he bolted out of the courtyard.

Racing down the mountain path at top speed, he would occasionally encounter other Outer Sect disciples. To them, it felt like a wind was blowing past their bodies, and they turned in shock to stare at Bai Xiaochun running off into the distance.

He raced down the mountain, into the servants' district and straight toward the Ovens. Not wanting to waste time opening the door, he flew over the main gate.

The Ovens crew was in the middle of cooking. Now that Big Fatty Zhang and Third Fatty Hei were gone, Second Fatty Huang had become the leader. He was currently ladling out some rice gruel into a bowl, when suddenly a wind blasted in his face, and the bowl was gone, to be replaced by Bai Xiaochun's gaping mouth.

"Huh?" Second Fatty Huang was startled, and stood there gaping for a moment. Before anybody could say anything, Bai Xiaochun grabbed one of the nearby woks and began to guzzle it down. Apparently that wasn't enough, because he then simply dunked his head into the wok, draining the rice gruel….

One wok, two woks, three woks…. Bai Xiaochun rapidly drank down a hundred woks of gruel. He was like a bottomless pit, and still didn't feel close to being full.

"Still hungry! This isn't working! I'm so hungry… I need meat!" He looked around frantically and quickly caught sight of the mountains of meat that were his Elder Brothers.

The fatties of the Ovens stared at Bai Xiaochun in shock. They had seen hungry people before, but had never seen someone this hungry. It was like the ghost of a person who had died from starvation.

Then they realized that he was staring at them and salivating. Second Fatty Huang suddenly backed up rapidly, simultaneously shouting, "Ninth Fatty, quickly, there's some spirit food in the kitchen that we prepared for Elder Zhou!"

Bai Xiaochun's eyes gleamed, and he immediately charged toward the kitchen.

Outside, Second Fatty Huang and the others exchanged dismayed glances.

"Did you see that? That's the fate in store for people who become Outer Sect disciples. Look at how hungry little Junior Brother is…."

"You could beat me to death before I agree to become an Outer Sect disciple!" The other fatties were all completely determined to hold fast to their decision, although they felt bad for Bai Xiaochun.

At the moment, Bai Xiaochun was doing his best to control himself and abide by the six lines of truth from the Ovens. He would only nibble the edges, and not eat the entire item. After all, if he broke the rules, that could implicate his Elder Brothers, which was something he would never do.

After drinking the gruel and nibbling the edges of the spirit food, Bai Xiaochun's hunger had been reduced a bit. He could deal with it now, so he walked out of the kitchen, wanting to cry but not able to find any tears. This Undying Live Forever Technique was far too terrifying. Although he didn't have to deal with any pain now, the hunger was enough to drive a person mad.

"Second Elder Brother…." he said, looking nervously at Second Fatty Huang.

Seeing that Bai Xiaochun looked normal again, Second Fatty Huang finally felt relieved. He walked up and patted him on the shoulder in sympathy.

"Little Junior Brother, don't worry. Thankfully, we were already preparing some food for Elder Zhou. Look at how hungry you are! Ai. From now, you come back more often to fill up, alright?"

Bai Xiaochun was very moved. However, he gritted his teeth and decided that he would do the opposite. After all, one day if he ever reached the point where he lost control, he might end up clearing out the entire Ovens….

Second Fatty Huang and the others escorted him out, and Bai Xiaochun sighed continuously as he trekked back up Fragrant Cloud Peak. All of a sudden, the wonderful, carefree feeling from before was gone, replaced by despair. He really was scared of starving himself to death now.

"I wonder if there really were some Spirit Stream Sect disciples who died from starvation in the past. I definitely don't want to be the first." Scowling miserably, he was in the middle of trying to figure out how to resolve the food and hunger issue when suddenly he heard a rooster crowing off in the distance.

The sound caused him to pause in place and slowly turn his head to stare in the direction of the crowing.

"Chickens…." Looking around to ensure that nobody was watching him, he ducked into a nearby thicket, vanishing with a whoosh. Then he began to slink along like a weasel.

Moments later, he appeared outside the fence that surrounded Fragrant Cloud Peak's spirit fowl farm. Inside were a group of chickens strutting around arrogantly, as large as calfs, with three-colored tails. Bai Xiaochun eyed them with glistening eyes, and began to salivate.

"Meat…." he murmured, then began to chuckle, a strange sound that, when coupled with his wide smile, was completely terrifying.

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Chapter 20: Feathers Scattered About

Spirit Tail Chickens were far larger than ordinary chickens. They had very resilient feathers and extremely ferocious temperaments. After reaching full maturity, they were comparable to the second level of Qi Condensation.

Not only was their meat edible, so were their eggs. Their blood and bones could be added to medicines, and when you burned their tails, they could create rare, three-colored flames. Because of all that, large amounts of Spirit Tail Chickens were being raised in all of the three mountains on the south bank of the Spirit Stream Sect.

However, they did not actually belong to the sect itself. Instead, they were the personal property of Li Qinghou and the Peak Lords of the other two mountain peaks, who assigned certain disciples to raise them and take care of them. On Fragrant Cloud Peak, there were three areas specially set aside to breed them.

Bai Xiaochun crouched in the thicket looking at the Spirit Tail Chickens. Back when he had worked in the Ovens, he had never seen the chickens live, but had eaten their meat and knew it was delicious. Furthermore, Big Fatty Zhang had mentioned that they loved to eat spirit insects.

After observing the chickens for a while, Bai Xiaochun flickered into motion. He did not do anything rash, but instead went back down the mountain, where he spent some spirit stones to buy some spirit insects, after which he returned to his courtyard residence.

By the time he got back, he was so hungry that he had to fight not to faint, and immediately began to look around for something to eat.

It didn't take long for his gaze to fall upon the Spiritwinter Bamboo, whereupon his eyes began to shine. The bamboo stalks were already around three meters tall, and thick as a fist. From the spirit glow they emanated, they seemed far beyond ordinary.

Bai Xiaochun immediately hurried over and began to walk around the bamboo stalks, laughing heartily as he studied them closely. Based on what he had studied about plants and vegetation, he was quickly able to identify the toughest among the various stalks, which he cut off at the base and then sliced in half.

When it came to stealing chickens, Bai Xiaochun had a very special method. The key lay in the word 'steal' itself. Being able to get the chickens without anyone noticing was an art form.

He quickly used some of the bamboo to craft a device called a bamboo cicada.

He had learned how to make bamboo cicadas from his father when he was young. Supposedly, they were effective in catching all sorts of creatures from chickens to phoenixes. Once the bamboo cicada itself was finished, he used some strips of bamboo to weave a cord. After finishing that, he tested out the cord's strength, tied it to the bamboo cicada, then flew out into the darkness of night.

"I'm gonna eat chicken!!" His stomach grumbled, but his eyes were shining with a green light. Because of how starving he was, he moved even faster than normal, and soon arrived at the Spirit Tail Chicken farm.

As he neared, he tiptoed up to the fence, placed a spirit insect onto the bamboo cicada, then threw the bamboo cicada over the fence. Next, he crouched hungrily off to the side, holding the cord, which was attached to the cicada.

Further inside the fence were some log cabins, where certain Outer Sect disciples resided and practiced cultivation. The chicken farm was quite large, with over a hundred Spirit Tail Chickens, most of whom were laying on the ground. A few were walking about, occasionally sticking their heads up haughtily and looking around. After a bit of time passed, one of the Spirit Tail Chickens seemed to have noticed something. It turned and looked at something a ways away, then walked over. It immediately saw the spirit insect sitting there, prompting it to peck its beak down to grab it.

However, as soon as the Spirit Tail Chicken pecked at the spirit insect, right at the critical moment, the bent piece of bamboo snapped open, ingeniously forcing the Spirit Tail Chicken's beak open.

The Spirit Tail Chicken wanted to cry out, but its beak was stuck open, and it couldn't emit any sounds. Then it tried to close its beak and crush the bamboo, but the bamboo was too resilient, and its efforts were in vain.

No matter how the Spirit Tail Chicken struggled, it couldn't make a peep as it was quickly dragged toward the fence, then up and over, straight into Bai Xiaochun's hands. Bai Xiaochun quickly drew upon the power of the fourth level of Qi Condensation, sending massive amounts of force into his hands, which he used to snap the chicken's neck. Then he tossed it into his bag of holding. From the way he moved, it seemed he was quite a veteran when it came to this sort of thing.

The entire affair took only about thirty breaths of time, and most of that time had been spent lying in wait. Were it not for that, it would have been accomplished even faster.

Bai Xiaochun raced excitedly back to his courtyard residence, whereupon a fragrant aroma soon filled the air. By dawn, the entire chicken was now in Bai Xiaochun's belly.

The only thing left were the feathers and the bones scattered about….

After eating the entire Spirit Tail Chicken, most of Bai Xiaochun's hunger was abated. Having replenished his body, he now felt quite warm and comfortable.

In fact, he even seemed to have a bit more spiritual energy inside. However, the most apparent change had to do with his Undying Live Forever Technique. Bai Xiaochun immediately began to breathe in and out, for roughly eight cycles.

With every inhalation and exhalation, pulsating warmth would spread through his body and then converge on his skin. That in turn caused his skin to become tougher and more resilient. It even flickered with a black light. However, if you looked closely, it was just as fair and clear as before.

"The Undying Live Forever Technique starts with pain, then moves to hunger. This type of cultivation is definitely quite difficult, however, the results are excellent." With that, he extended his right hand, within which appeared his wooden sword. Then, he carefully and softly tapped the blade onto the back of his hand.

The wooden sword had a twofold spirit enhancement, but when it touched his skin, Bai Xiaochun could sense a faint force of resistance. He ceased any testing, more convinced than ever that he needed to continue cultivating the Undying Live Forever Technique.

"According to the description, the Undying Skin has four stages: gold, silver, copper, and iron. Right now I've just started. But if I can last for eighty-one days… I should be able to develop Undying Iron Skin." Bai Xiaochun looked around at the scattered chicken bones, and in his heart, he now realized what was the key to successfully cultivating the Undying Iron Skin.

"Thankfully, there are plenty of Spirit Tail Chickens on the mountain," he thought, laughing heartily. He was now more interested in the Spirit Tail Chickens than ever.

What he didn't know was that in the past 10,000 years in the Spirit Stream Sect, very few people had ever cultivated the Undying Live Forever Technique. Most who did ended up quitting during the terrifying torment that was the first eighty-one days. Although some managed to continue, the main problem after that was how much money it cost to keep going.

In order to cultivate the technique all the way to the stage of Undying Gold Skin, the expenditure involved was simply terrifying. Even an entire sect would have a hard time forking over so much. After all, those resources could be used on other, less wasteful techniques. Although those other techniques weren't as marvelous, a sect had to consider what was most cost-effective.

That was the main reason why the Undying Live Forever Technique had ended up gathering dust in the Scripture Pavilion.

After practicing cultivation for a bit, Bai Xiaochun gathered up the chicken bones and buried them in the nearby spirit soil, along with the feathers.

Then he left his courtyard residence and found a place where the Outer Sect disciples tended to congregate, where he eavesdropped a bit to see if anyone was talking about the chicken being stolen. Based on his experience stealing chickens back in his village, he knew that the most optimal method was to only strike once every few days.

After eavesdropping a bit, he didn't hear anyone mention anything about a missing chicken. However, during his eavesdropping, he also learned that the three-colored tail feathers of the Spirit Tail Chickens could be used to kindle three-colored flames.

Having learned this, Bai Xiaochun immediately trotted back to his courtyard residence and dug up the three-colored tail feathers out of the spirit soil. Then he sat there, studying them thoughtfully.

"No wonder they raise so many Spirit Tail Chickens here." He immediately stored the three-colored feathers in his bag of holding. To others, such feathers were nothing more than kindling for three-colored flames. To him, though, they were fuel to perform threefold spirit enhancements.

He didn't attempt to do so immediately, though. His plan was to get some spirit medicine first, then perform a spirit enhancement to make the medicine more powerful.

After resting for a few days, Bai Xiaochun started getting hungry again one night. He put down the second volume of plants and vegetation and headed out into the darkness of night. When he returned, he had two more Spirit Tail Chickens in his bag of holding.

And that was how time passed by. Soon, a month had gone by, during which time, news about the missing Spirit Tail Chickens began to spread on Fragrant Cloud Peak.

Even Li Qinghou heard about the matter. After all, in only a month of time, a few dozen chickens had gone missing from the three Spirit Tail Chicken farms. However, Li Qinghou didn't pay much attention to the matter, as he had important affairs to handle which ended up taking him off of the mountain.

Most depressed of all were the seven or eight Outer Sect disciples in charge of raising the Spirit Tail Chickens. It wasn't that they cared a lot for the chickens themselves, but rather, that the chickens weren't really theirs to begin with. Although the Peak Lord didn't say anything, they felt the matter to be a big loss of face. After all, whoever was stealing the chickens was doing it right under their noses.

However, there was nothing they could do about it. No matter what they did to try to protect the chickens, the chickens kept going missing. What was most puzzling of all was that the chickens went missing without a trace. Not even a sound could be heard, as if they had vanished into thin air.

By now, Bai Xiaochun's body was now completely back to normal, and in fact, he had even gained a bit of weight. However much the Undying Live Forever Technique sucked away from him, he would replenish it with chicken meat. His face had a healthy flush, and he was once again living a comfortable life.

He was in a wonderful mood, and his belly was full. As a result, his research into the second volume of plants and vegetation picked up speed. Eventually, the day arrived when he was finished studying. Based on what had happened last time, he had studied everything in even more minute detail, including the leaves, stems, roots, veins, and even the tiny hairs on the surface of the plants. He was now more confident than ever, and was sure that even if the plants were split into dozens of parts, he would still be able to identify them.

Chest puffed out proudly, he strode out of his courtyard residence.

"This time, I'm going to make sure everybody knows that I am the Lord Turtle who passed up Zhou Xinqi!" Filled with anticipation, he headed straight for the 10,000 Medicines Pavilion.

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Chapter 21: Big Bro Xiaochun….

The 10,000 Medicines Pavilion was one of the most lively locations on Fragrant Cloud Peak. Virtually every day, crowds of Outer Sect disciples came and went. One reason was because of the ten stone steles, and the other reason was because of the 10,000 Medicines Pavilion itself, which was located in the middle of all those stone steles. That was where you could exchange merit points for medicinal plants and pill formulas.

Every so often there were also tests for promotion to journeyman apothecary, or occasions when the medicinal pills concocted by various disciples were bought back by the sect. For a variety of reasons, the area was almost always a boiling cauldron of voices.

Because of the lively nature of the place, it had eventually become a place to talk about the latest news. Although it had started as an exchange of information about plants and vegetation, eventually, everything in the sect came to be talked about. Big things, small things, even random gossip was all passed among the various disciples.

When Bai Xiaochun arrived, the place was packed. Some people were coming and going, but about thirty to fifty percent of the disciples were standing around talking. There were also disciples lined up to challenge the stone steles and earn a place on the name lists.

Bai Xiaochun squeezed through the crowds for a while before finally nearing the second stone stele. Just when he was about to walk up to the stele itself, he happened to overhear three Outer Sect disciples up ahead talking about him.

"Did you guys hear? Something really weird has been going on in the sect recently. Someone has been specifically stealing Peak Lord Li's Spirit Tail Chickens! Supposedly, over a hundred have already gone missing."

"What do you mean a hundred? I heard that it won't be long before Peak Lord Li doesn't have any chickens left at all. The disciples in charge of the Spirit Tail Chicken farm have put him on the most wanted list. They even said that when they catch him, they're going to chop him up and feed him to the chickens!"

"Definitely weird. Why are all these prodigies showing up in Fragrant Cloud Peak all of a sudden? First there was the mysterious turtle, and now this mighty chicken bandit!"

Bai Xiaochun subconsciously hunched his shoulders guiltily. After all, he'd done nothing more than steal a few chickens, right? Who would have known that it would cause such a stir? From the look of it, almost everybody knew.

Furthermore, when he realized that the Spirit Tail Chickens actually belonged to Li Qinghou, he got even more scared.

"Gee, I didn't steal THAT many," he thought. He almost felt like he was being framed. Just as he was trying to think of a way to change public opinion about the matter of the mighty chicken bandit, he heard the sound of a commotion from behind him.

"Hey girly, what's with the shoving? Are you late to be reincarnated or something?!"

"So what if I'm shoving, huh? There's nothing special about you. If you're afraid of crowds, what'd you come here for anyway? You should feel lucky to get shoved by a girl like me."

"You…."

For some reason, the voice sounded familiar to Bai Xiaochun. He turned to see a fair, delicate young woman standing there, chest puffed up, hand on her hip as she arrogantly stared down a burly-looking fellow.

"Hou Xiaomei?" Bai Xiaochun said, blinking.

The young woman was indeed Hou Xiaomei, and when she heard his voice, she turned over and saw him, and the arrogance on her face quickly transformed into joy.

"Big bro Xiaochun, it's you!" she exclaimed, turning and hurrying in his direction. Before she even arrived, Bai Xiaochun felt her hot, pure aura brushing past his face.

"Hey, chaste little sister," he replied, looking over the vivacious and charming Hou Xiaomei. 1

Hou Xiaomei's face flushed a bit in response to Bai Xiaochun's words.

"Oh, stop it, big bro Xiaochun!" she said sweetly. "You're such a tease, just call me Hou Xiaomei!"

And just like that, the previously bristling young woman was suddenly beautiful and charming. Quite a few surrounding Outer Sect disciples' eyes began to gleam. As for the burly man she had just been arguing with, he suddenly had goosebumps as he realized what a moody and temperamental girl she was.

"Big bro Xiaochun," she gushed, "my big brother left the mountain and hasn't come back, and this is my first time here. Where do I go to get the second volume of plants and vegetation?" This really was her first time here. Before, her older brother had helped her handle everything, and now that she was on her own, she didn't know what to do. Luckily, she ran right into Bai Xiaochun.

Bai Xiaochun smiled as he explained the process to her, going into minute detail. Hou Xiaomei nodded occasionally. By the time he finished explaining, she not only felt that he was a good person, she also felt that he was also extremely knowledgable.

After finishing, Bai Xiaochun looked at Hou Xiaomei to ensure that she had no further questions. Then he pointed over at the first stone stele, the one which tested the first volume of plants and vegetation, and calmly said, "See that stone stele? All the people who leave their mark at the top of the list are like Chosen in the sect. Any one of those people are the type who will shake the whole cultivation world in the future.

"I won't go into all the names, just the second one on the list. See that magic bottle insignia? That represents one of the female Chosen here on Fragrant Cloud Peak, Zhou Xinqi!"

"Zhou Xinqi!" exclaimed Hou Xiaomei, her eyes shining as she looked over at the magic bottle insignia. "So, that magic bottle stands for the Peak Lord's apprentice, the one with the plants and vegetation spirit meridian, Elder Sister Zhou, who's destined to join the Inner Sect!" From the way Hou Xiaomei talked about Zhou Xinqi, it was obvious that she held her in immense esteem. Hearing Bai Xiaochun's explanation about the magic bottle symbol seemed to get her even more excited.

Bai Xiaochun continued to explain matters placidly for a bit longer, until he noticed that Hou Xiaomei seemed to be completely fixated on the magic bottle, and wasn't paying attention at all to the turtle which had obviously surpassed it. He felt a bit irritated; after all, hadn't the whole point of his explanation been to get her to notice the turtle?

"Ahem, well, Zhou Xinqi is definitely amazing, that's why she was able to get to second place on the first stone stele of plants and vegetation!" He made sure to especially emphasize the words 'second place.'

Hou Xiaomei gaped for a moment, then frowned.

"Second place? Who does that turtle above Elder Sister Zhou represent? It looks so ugly."

Hearing this, Bai Xiaochun felt much happier. In his mind, he really did need to educate Hou Xiaomei a little bit more. Putting on a very solemn demeanor, he began to speak in a very earnest tone.

"You're wrong there, Xiaomei. Did you know that the cool-looking turtle actually represents the most mysterious, admirable and transcendent disciple in the entire sect?

"There are many legends about this person. Whenever he appears, he causes a huge uproar in the sect, and is the center of all attention. Countless disciples follow his every move, envy him and even cheer out loud for him."

"Really?" Hou Xiaomei was a simple and pure girl, and the things Bai Xiaochun was saying caused her to stare in skeptical shock.

"You should know that two months ago, this disciple made a big splash when he destroyed Zhou Xinqi's hopes of having the first place spot on all nine stone steles!

"You should know that in his debut appearance, he took the first place spot in the first stone stele. He did it as easily as flipping over his hand.

"You should know that Zhou Xinqi personally witnessed it happen. For the following seven days, she neither slept nor rested. She challenged the stone stele over and over again, but even after she did everything she could, she was still in second place, and was forced to concede defeat.

"You should know that I, Bai Xiaochun… ahem" Bai Xiaochun was getting very excited, and in the end, he wanted to reveal himself as the mighty Lord Turtle, but held back at the last moment. The ideal time to reveal his identity was in front of a big crowd. To do so in front of just a single young girl was too much of a waste.

"That's all true?" Hou Xiaomei asked, eyes shining as brightly as glittering stars on a moonless night. She was now staring at the little turtle, her flushed face the picture of adoration.

"Of course it's true," Bai Xiaochun replied, sighing inwardly. In his mind, he had just done a very good thing, which was helping straighten the course of a child who had strayed off onto the wrong path. Feeling quite a sense of accomplishment, he swished his sleeve and ignored Hou Xiaomei's adoration as he headed toward the second stone stele.

He elbowed his way through the crowd, then waited for a bit until he was next in line. He had to wait a while for one of the log cabins to empty up, after which he strode into the door and disappeared.

The log cabin looked the same inside as the last one he had been in. After drawing a turtle, his vision swam, and rumbling sounds filled his ears. When he could see again, he was once again in that familiar empty space. No cold voice spoke out this time; instead, the fragmented plants and vegetation immediately appeared in front of him.

Since Bai Xiaochun had been prepared for this, his eyes shone and his hands sped to work. In the blink of an eye, one spirit plant after another was pieced together.

Time passed. When the incense stick's worth of time was up, there were less than 5,000 plants left, which was significantly better than the record he had set when he had first been tested for the time it takes an incense stick to burn.

Unfortunately, time was up. Bai Xiaochun's vision swam, and when he could see clearly, he was back in the log cabin. Despite having come up slightly short, he was still completely confident in the results. Quickly snatching up the third volume of plants and vegetation, he turned and walked out of the door of the log cabin, heart pounding in anticipation.

Outside, he could see countless Outer Sect disciples, many of whom were looking up at the name list. Bai Xiaochun's currently felt very heroic.

"This time I'm going to shake the entire sect! I'm going to make sure that everyone knows Bai Xiaochun is the famous Lord Turtle!" He could envision what it would be like to the object of adoration of tens of thousands of disciples, and could already see the look of shock on Hou Xiaomei's face.

When he thought about that, Bai Xiaochun couldn't hold back from laughing loudly. Then he lifted his hand grandly, and was just about to shout out at the top of his lungs that he was the mighty Lord Turtle, when…

All of a sudden, a voice rang out from among the Outer Sect disciples lined up for the trial by fire.

"Do you think the little turtle who stole Elder Sister Zhou's limelight will dare to make an appearance?"

"I doubt it. Elder Sister Zhou's fans are crazy. I heard that they've been searching the entire south bank for the little turtle. They even spread word that as soon as they find him, they'll skin him alive…."

"I heard that too. There are even some Inner Sect disciples who've joined in on the search."

Bai Xiaochun's hand hung in the air as he listened to what the people were saying. Suddenly, his heart began to tremble. When he heard that there were Inner Sect disciples looking for him too, his forehead began to drip with sweat, and he quickly scratched his head, and then dropped his hand as if nothing at all had happened.

Enraged, he wormed his way through the crowd, an anxious, bereaved expression on his face.

"This is ridiculous. They're pushing things too far. All I did was take first place, right? And now the Inner Sect disciples are involved? Was it worth it?" This time, his expression was real, and not the least bit pretend.

Almost as soon as he worked his way into the crowd, someone noticed that the name list on the second stone stele had changed, and immediately, a huge uproar ensued.

1. This exchange involves some wordplay that's impossible to translate directly. Hou Xiaomei's name literally means "little sister," so it would be silly to call her "little sister little sister." Instead he literally calls her by his own name, although it comes across sounding kind of funny and/or flirtatious

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Chapter 22: Don't Worry, Elder Sister!

"Look at the second stone stele! That little turtle… it's showed up again!!"

"It's in first place again! Just who is this little turtle? Whoever it is has taken two first place spots in a row!"

"Now Elder Sister Zhou doesn't have eight first place spots, she only has seven!"

The Outer Sect disciples were in a complete uproar, and countless cries of alarm could be heard ringing about. However, there was one voice in the crowd, a girl, who was crying out excitedly.

"Go, little turtle, go!" That young woman was none other than Hou Xiaomei. Thanks to Bai Xiaochun's earlier prodding, she was now a huge fan of the little turtle. Now that she suddenly saw the little turtle take two first place spots, her sense of adoration increased rapidly. In fact, the little turtle had now surpassed Zhou Xinqi's place in her heart.

The sound of commotion rolled in waves, until everyone was shouting out. After all, the little turtle really was very famous, and now it had once again proven by its actions that whoever it represented was qualified to challenge Zhou Xinqi.

In fact, there were even some people who were starting to anticipate the scene of the little turtle surpassing Zhou Xinqi in all ten stone steles.

Bai Xiaochun was there in the crowd, still a bit depressed, but also secretly felt pleased with himself. He was only a bit regretful that nobody knew who he was.

"Hmph. One of these days, I'm going to reveal that I'm Lord Turtle in front of an even bigger crowd!" he promised himself.

Despite his oath, he wasn't ready to give up just yet. He next began to participate in all the shouting. Occasionally, a piercing voice would ring out, drawing the crowd into further commotion.

"Heavens! Who could it be!? I love this guy!"

"The idol of the masses! Lord Turtle is invincible!"

Thanks to Bai Xiaochun's piercing cries, the Outer Sect disciples' discussions grew even more feverish. However, it was in that instant that a cold snort rang out, and a figure leapt out of the crowd to stand atop one of the log cabins.

It was a young man with a cold, grim expression on his face. His icy voice rang out across the crowd as he said, "I better not find out who that damned little turtle is. If I do, he'll regret ever having stolen the limelight from Junior Sister Zhou!"

"Same here! The little turtle is probably hiding in the crowd right now. I'm gonna find him!" The second voice belonged to that of another young man, who also flew up to the roof of the log cabin and looked around coldly at the crowd. Apparently he had his eye on Bai Xiaochun, not because he thought that he was the little turtle, but because Bai Xiaochun's shouting earlier had been quite blatant, and irritated the young man.

Soon, more people began to say similar things, seven or eight of them. Furthermore, when they unleashed the incredible power of their cultivation bases, it was obvious that the strongest among their number was in the seventh level of Qi Condensation.

These people were obviously fans of Zhou Xinqi, and famous ones at that. Their appearance on the scene caused the crowd to immediately quiet down and stop discussing the matter. However, inwardly, most people were irritated at what was happening, and loathed the young men more than ever.

Although everyone liked Zhou Xinqi, she was only a single person. The disciples present weren't stupid, and actually admired someone who could challenge Zhou Xinqi based on individual merit.

When Bai Xiaochun found himself the subject of the young man's glare, he didn't feel very confident. However, after considering that there were so many bystanders who the young man didn't dare to offend, Bai Xiaochun glared back with a look that said, "If you dare to do something to me, I'll fight back to the death."

At this point in the standoff, a beam of light shot through the air in the direction of the 10,000 Medicines Pavilion, within which a graceful figure could be seen. It was none other than Zhou Xinqi.

"It's Elder Sister Zhou."

"Elder Sister Zhou is coming." The standoff ended. As soon as the Outer Sect disciples caught sight of Zhou Xinqi, smiles broke out on their faces.

The seven or eight young men who were her fans quickly retracted their cultivation bases. Looking completely confident and at ease, they clasped hands to Zhou Xinqi.

Zhou Xinqi had come because first, she had already heard about the change to the ranking list on the second stone stele, and second, she had another matter to attend to. After glancing around, she easily guessed what had caused the standoff. She looked over at the eight fans, her eyes flickering with displeasure and even disgust.

"The affairs of Zhou Xinqi have not reached the level where others need to interfere," she said coldly. "Besides, if a new Chosen disciple has appeared on Fragrant Cloud Peak, that's something fortunate for the sect as a whole. If you people let something like this happen again, then don't blame your Junior Sister for losing her temper." Her voice cut with the sharpness of a sword, and the eight fans looked angry. However, they didn't dare to say a word.

Zhou Xinqi looked up at the little turtle on the second stone stele, and her heart filled with an unyielding spirit. She looked out over the crowd and said in a cool, arrogant voice, "Whichever Junior Brother it was who happened to surpass me on the stones steles for the first and second volumes of plants and vegetation, if you're still scuttling around in the crowd and don't feel like showing your true face, then so be it. Do as you wish."

The surrounding Outer Sect disciple cheered in response. For most of them, Zhou Xinqi was the true Chosen of Fragrant Cloud Peak.

Bai Xiaochun stood there in the crowd, musing that Zhou Xingqi definitely deserved to be Chosen. Her words just now had been marvelously spoken. He looked up for a moment in thought. He could clearly hear the haughtiness in her words, and what caused him to sigh the most was not that he didn't want to reveal himself. No, it was the killing intent flickering in the eyes of her adoring fans.

Zhou Xinqi's expression was calm as she coolly addressed the crowd as a whole. "Ladies and gentlemen, I came here for another reason today, and I hope I can have the support of each and every one of you."

Her words instantly got everyone excited, and everyone waited respectfully to see what she had to say next.

"The tranquility of Fragrant Cloud Peak has been disturbed of late. My Master, Li Qinghou, has had quite a few Spirit Tail Chickens go missing. He is currently out of the sect, and most likely doesn't care too much about the matter. However, as his apprentice, I have a responsibility to do something about it. I sincerely hope that all my fellow disciples will work hard to catch this chicken thief. If anyone manages to apprehend him, I will personally reward that person with a treasured jade pendant!" Even as she spoke, Zhou Xinqi pulled out a green jade pendant from inside her robe. It let off a gentle glow that made it obvious it was an extraordinary item.

"This is an item I came across some years ago that contains potent defensive power." As her voice echoed out, the numerous Outer Sect disciples looked at the jade pendant, and excited expressions could be seen on many of their faces. Some even began to call out various promises.

"Don't worry, Elder Sister Zhou. That chicken thief won't have a place to hide!

"How dare he steal the Peak Lord's chickens! This chicken thief is daring to the extreme. We'll definitely be paying close attention to the matter!" Soon, almost everyone in the crowd had cried out assurances that they would help, especially Zhou Xinqi's fans, whose eyes burned passionately as they cried out louder than everyone else.

Bai Xiaochun stood in the middle of the crowd, somewhat stunned. The surrounding disciples were getting worked up into a frenzy, and he felt like a cold wind was blowing down his spine.

However, he still wasn't willing to give up. Even just thinking about the hunger caused from cultivating the Undying Live Forever Technique caused sweat to bead up on his forehead. His mind raced as he tried to come up with ideas, and a moment later, his eyes lit up. Suddenly, he slapped his chest and projected his voice through the crowd.

"Elder Sister Zhou, I, Bai Xiaochun, will definitely accomplish this mission, even if I have to climb a mountain of blades or swim to the bottom of a vat of boiling oil. I will catch this chicken thief!" His piercing voice couldn't be missed, and as he spoke, he shouldered his way forward to stand at the front of the crowd.

The way he made his entrance caused numerous eyes to fall upon him, as did the way he loudly slapped his own chest. Even Zhou Xinqi's fans felt a bit overwhelmed, and Zhou Xinqi herself couldn't help but look over at him.

Seeing how much her fellow disciples supported her caused a smile to break out on Zhou Xinqi's face. She nodded slightly, and was just turning to leave when all of a sudden, Bai Xiaochun's piercing voice once again weighed down onto the crowd.

"Elder Sister Zhou, I have a suggestion. Why don't we form a chicken thief task force? If we work together, it will make it much easier to catch this vile traitor, and protect the Peak Lord's Spirit Tail Chickens!" From the righteous tone of Bai Xiaochun's voice, it seemed that he was willing to spare no effort to accomplish the mission set forth by Elder Sister Zhou.

Zhou Xinqi stared in shock. As for the rest of the crowd, quite a few of them thought it was a good idea and began to voice their approval.

"Good idea," someone said. "However, cultivation is still our main priority, so the matter must be voluntary." Zhou Xinqi looked over at Bai Xiaochun once more. In her opinion, this Junior Brother of hers was not only fair and pure, he seemed inherently charming. Furthermore, he appeared to be piously devoted to her, which left her with a very favorable impression. Nodding, she gave him a smile.

"Since the idea was put forth by this zealous Junior Brother, I suggest that he form the chicken thief task force. Take these ten silk bands to use as tokens of identification for the task force members." With that, she produced ten bands of blue silk from within her bag of holding. With the wave of a hand, she sent them flying toward Bai Xiaochun, where they landed in his hand.

"Don't worry, Elder Sister, I'll handle everything!" He stood there with silk bands in hand, looking prouder than ever. In fact, he looked like he would yield to no one when it came to the Peak Lord's chickens, and would even be willing to sacrifice his life for the cause.

Zhou Xinqi's eyes glowed with admiration, and she couldn't help but muse that there were very few responsible Junior Brothers like this in the sect. Taking one last look at Bai Xiaochun's charming appearance, she turned and left.

Zhou Xinqi's fans were not happy to suddenly see her and Bai Xiaochun on good terms. Furthermore, they also regretted not winning her favor in such a fawning way themselves.

After Zhou Xinqi left, the disciples from the spirit fowl farm also left, thanking the crowd profusely in the process. They especially expressed thanks to Bai Xiaochun, who stood there, chest puffed up as he cursed the chicken thief. Then, he organized the chicken thief task force, filling it with other disciples whose cultivation bases did not exceed his.

Finally, Bai Xiaochun hurried away, wiping the sweat from his brow. Sighing, he thought,

"That was a close one. I almost lost access to my food source. It's a good thing you're so clever and quick-witted, Bai Xiaochun. Heh heh." Having reached this point in his train of thought, Bai Xiaochun felt very pleased with himself. Humming a little tune, he headed once again in the direction of his courtyard residence. Back in the courtyard, the Spiritwinter Bamboo in the spirit field was growing frighteningly high. It was now three meters high, thicker than his calf, and shocking in appearance.

That night, when dark clouds filled the sky and everything was pitch black, Bai Xiaochun sat there with his eyes wide open, licking his lips.

"The night is dark, and I'm feeling hungry yet again…."

Note from Deathblade: As luck would have it, just a couple days ago, Er Gen released a new depiction of Zhou Xingqi. Here it is:

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Chapter 23: The Chicken-Thieving Fiend

It was late at night, and Fragrant Cloud Peak was blanketed in darkness. If you held your hand out in front of you, you wouldn't even be able to see your fingers. Other than the whispering wind, everything was peaceful and quiet. Not even a peep could be heard coming from the birds and beasts.

Bai Xiaochun hurried through the darkness, Zhou Xinqi's silk bank tied around his arm, following the path that led to one of the Spirit Tail Chicken farms. As he sped along, he would occasionally duck into a nearby thicket and proceed along in concealment.

Soon, the Spirit Tail Chicken farm came into view up ahead. Most of the chickens were asleep, although a few were walking about to and fro. There was even one chicken in particular which was strolling in Bai Xiaochun's direction.

He crouched there in the thicket, licking his lips until the Spirit Tail Chicken neared the fence. Just as he was pulling out his bamboo cicada, his heart flip-flopped, and a look of vigilance filled his eyes.

At the same time, shouting could be heard from behind him as numerous figures charged toward him through the night. They even had flame globes which cast radiant light out into the night.

"Damned chicken thief! Finally you show your face!"

"We've been waiting for you here for days! Now we've got you surrounded, let's see how you try to escape!" As the cries echoed out, eight figures closed in on Bai Xiaochun, completely surrounding him.

These were the disciples in charge of taking care of the chickens. Even after days of painstakingly laying in wait, they had never imagined that today would be the day when everything paid off. Their hearts were filled with righteous ardor as they prepared to immediately execute justice upon the chicken thief.

When their words rang out, Bai Xiaochun looked shocked at first. But then he looked up in thought for a moment and let out a cold snort.

"Shut up, you people!" he said. "Keep it down!" His words were spoken without the slightest politeness, as if justice were on his side. He did nothing to attempt to flee, but instead, arrogantly rose to his feet, making sure that the silk band on his arm was clearly visible.

"See that?!" he asked. "I'm the captain of the chicken thief task force." Brow furrowed, he looked around at the eight disciples, clearly displeased.

This sudden development caused the eight interlopers to stare in shock. Some of these disciples had seen Bai Xiaochun earlier in the day. After examining him a bit closer, they started to hesitate.

One of the disciples seemed a bit skeptical about the situation. "Oh, it's Junior Brother Bai. Well… what are you doing here so late at night, huh?"

His words caused the other disciples to stare suspiciously at Bai Xiaochun.

Flicking his sleeve and frowning, Bai Xiaochun angrily said, "Elder Sister Zhou herself asked me to be the captain of the chicken thief task force, so of course I'll do everything in my power to catch the chicken thief. I've even given up my nightly cultivation routine to come here and lay in wait. However, considering how much of a racket you people are making, I'm sure the chicken thief has long since fled." He really did look like the picture of someone trying to catch a thief.

The chicken farm disciples exchanged dismayed glances, and some of them even looked a bit embarrassed. As for the most suspicious of the disciples, his expression softened a bit, although he still didn't seem totally convinced.

Seeing that their suspicions hadn't been completely dispelled, Bai Xiaochun gave a cold harrumph and, before anyone could ask any more questions, he decided to seize the initiative and put the onus on them.

"No wonder you people have lost so many Spirit Tail Chickens! You're completely negligent. Look over there, your fence is even broken!" He pointed over to a spot where there really was a hole in the fence, although it wasn't very obvious. It had actually been punched into the fence by a struggling Spirit Tail Chicken that he had been in the process of stealing a while back.

The chicken farm disciples looked in the direction that Bai Xiaochun was pointing, and when they saw the hole, expressions of shock appeared on their faces. It was true that they really hadn't paid much attention to tiny details like this in the past.

"And look at that Spirit Tail Chicken. How did you plan to protect it after it walked all the way over here!?" Bai Xiaochun seemed to be getting more and more angry, and was even raising his voice, causing the chicken farm disciples' faces to flush with shame.

"According to my investigation, this spot right here is the most remote location on the chicken farm. You should be guarding this place especially closely. But look, I was here for ages before any of you people showed up." The more Bai Xiaochun talked, the angrier he got. In the end, he let out a long sigh.

"How do you people expect to catch a thief like this, huh? Based on my experience catching thieves, if my speculations are correct, then this is the location in which the most chickens were taken." As soon as the words left his mouth, the chicken farm disciples began to tremble inwardly. Exchanging glances, they saw the shock in each others' eyes. Based on the information they had, this was indeed the location where they had lost the most chickens.

In fact, that was the reason why they had decided to stand guard here. Bai Xiaochun had hit the nail square on the head, causing the entire group to look at him with increasing admiration.

Even the disciple who had been the most suspicious of him now felt that he had been in the wrong. First he thought about how Bai Xiaochun had sacrificed his cultivation time to come catch the thief, and then he remembered how enthusiastic and duty-bound he had seemed earlier in the day. Finally, the disciple took a deep breath, clasped hands and bowed deeply.

"Junior Brother Bai, please do not be too deeply offended at what I said earlier. Many thanks for your sacrifice. We will repair this spot immediately, and will definitely increase the guard in this area!"

Everyone else clasped hands as well, thinking about how rare it was to find someone as zealous as Bai Xiaochun. He was obviously trying to help them, and that made them even more sorry for their impulsiveness earlier.

Bai Xiaochun sighed, then earnestly offered them a few more pieces of advice before turning to leave. As he walked off, the eight disciples once again clasped hands and bowed, completely moved by what he had just done.

"Junior Brother Bai is such a good guy."

As soon as Bai Xiaochun was out of sight, a cold wind brushed against his back, and he realized that he was sweating profusely from how close of a call it had been. However, his stomach was still grumbling, so he decided to go to the other two chicken farms to see if there was still a chance to make a move.

He strolled down the mountain path, looking around cautiously as he went along to make sure he wasn't being followed. His expression was grave as he pondered how to go about stealing a chicken from the next chicken farm. As the wind blew, it fluttered the silk band tied around his arm.

Meanwhile, up in dark night air, a woman stood on a blue flying silk, completely undetectable to everyone down below as she examined the situation on this part of Fragrant Cloud Peak. Suddenly, her expression flickered as she caught sight of Bai Xiaochun walking along, looking around vigilantly. Her eyes gradually began to glow with praise.

"This little Junior Brother really takes his responsibilities seriously." Naturally, that woman was Zhou Xinqi, who had been inspecting the area. Earlier, there had been lots of disciples on patrol, but as the night wore on, most of them had gone back to practice cultivation. Bai Xiaochun was the only one out and about actually trying to catch the thief.

"With him around, the chicken thief will definitely have to reign things in." Zhou Xinqi looked away and then headed back to her Immortal's cave, feeling much better about the situation.

Two hours later, Bai Xiaochun had circled back around to his courtyard residence. Once inside, he slapped his bag of holding to produce two Spirit Tail Chickens. Chuckling to himself, he plucked them and tossed them into the wok, soon after which, a fragrant aroma filled the air, causing him to salivate. Then, he didn't even wait for them to cool before wolfing them down ravenously.

Finally, he burped, patted his belly, and then laid back, looking so content he almost seemed drunk.

Another month passed, during which time Bai Xiaochun conscientiously went out at night, looking very solemn as he appeared randomly to inspect the various chicken farms.

Despite that, the chickens still continued to go missing. They seemingly disappeared without a trace, which was a deep mystery. The chicken farm disciples were increasingly feeling as if they had lost all face. Filled with passion, they continuously swore oaths to not give up until the chicken thief was incarcerated.

Bai Xiaochun seemed to be taking things even more seriously than them. He was completely devoted to defending the chicken farms, as if he wasn't even willing to rest until the thief was apprehended. There was even one occasion in which he stood guard at one chicken farm for four days and four nights.

The hard work being put in seemed to put a lot of pressure on the chicken thief, and the rate of thievery seemed to have been reduced. However, the thief didn't disappear altogether. Eventually, nearly half of the Spirit Tail Chickens on Fragrant Cloud Peak were now gone, and the ones left behind were mostly juveniles.

In the end, even the chicken farm disciples began berating themselves, and couldn't help but sigh emotionally. They were of the opinion that if the rest of the chicken thief task force was as conscientious as Junior Brother Bai, then the chicken thief would definitely have been caught already.

Zhou Xinqi was getting particularly anxious. One afternoon when Bai Xiaochun was sitting cross-legged at one of the chicken farms, looking around vigilantly, a blue flying silk descended from above, upon which was Zhou Xinqi.

After seeing who it was, Bai Xiaochun charmingly called out, "Elder Sister Zhou."

When Zhou Xinqi's beautiful eyes fell upon Bai Xiaochun, she smiled and said, "Hard at work, I see, Junior Brother Bai."

Soon, other disciples in the area were rushing up, clustering around Zhou Xinqi and also Bai Xiaochun.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I offer my profound thanks for your assistance recently," she said softly. "I am truly grateful. However, the chicken thief is still as brazen as ever. Therefore, I will join you to stand guard." After looking around at the group, she frowned slightly and continued, "I'm wondering if perhaps the chicken thief has a connection to my Master. Otherwise, wouldn't he steal Spirit Tail Chicken from the other mountain peaks too? Instead, he seems to be targeting only my Master's chickens!"

When Bai Xiaochun heard that, his eyes began to shine brightly, and he very nearly slapped his thigh. What Zhou Xinqi said made a lot of sense, and as he thought about it, he couldn't help but look off in the direction of Violet Cauldron Peak. Slowly, his eyes narrowed to cover over the wily glint deep therein.

Now that Zhou Xinqi had shown herself, many of her admirers also began to flock to the area. Soon, vast crowds had gathered at Fragrant Cloud Peak's Spirit Tail Chicken farms.

The chicken thief was now incapable of doing anything, and in the following days, not a single Spirit Tail Chicken was lost.

Even still, the mysterious and unfathomable chicken thief was already completely famous. In fact, many people had taken to calling him the Chicken-Thieving Fiend. He had caused such a stir among the disciples that he was considered to stand alongside the owner of the little turtle as one of the most mysterious figures on Fragrant Cloud Peak. In fact, even the Outer Sect disciples on Green Crest Peak and Violet Cauldron Peak had heard about him.

Now that the chicken thief had apparently vanished, Zhou Xinqi felt a lot better. Although he had never been apprehended, when she thought about how hard Bai Xiaochun had worked over the past month or more, she ended up rewarding him with the jade pendant anyway, as a form of encouragement.

When the matter finally came to an end, Bai Xiaochun's earnestness and devotion had caused quite a few fellow Outer Sect disciples to notice how pure, charming, and dedicated he was.

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Chapter 24: Who Are You?

Bai Xiaochun sat in his courtyard on Fragrant Cloud Peak, looking at the jade pendant sitting there in his hand. After activating it with some spiritual energy, the pendant began to glow with a soft, green light that surrounded his body.

Next, he performed an incantation gesture with his left hand, causing his wooden sword to appear. It circled around in the air and then shot back toward Bai Xiaochun. However, as soon as it hit the green light, it was as if it had suddenly run into a patch of water, causing it to slow down significantly.

"What a treasure!" he murmured, putting the wooden sword away and clasping the jade pendant in his hand, feeling a little embarrassed.

"Ah well, it doesn't matter. Li Qinghou is Zhou Xinqi's Master, but he's my mentor too. In fact, considering our relationship, I should probably call him Uncle." Clearing his throat, Bai Xiaochun put the jade pendant away, then stood up and stretched lazily.

After eating more than half of Li Qinghou's chickens, his Undying Live Forever Technique was progressing by leaps and bounds. It was now more than seventy percent complete. Of course, the Spirit Tail Chickens replenished his vital energy, not his spiritual energy. However, even though his cultivation base was still at the fourth level of Qi Condensation, it had made some progress, and was more refined than before.

He buried all the chicken bones in the spirit soil, which was now filled with so much spiritual energy that it bordered on ridiculous. As for his Spiritwinter Bamboo, it was now more than two meters tall, and no longer purely emerald green; dark dots had begun to appear within the green.

Most important of all were the Spirit Tails, which could produce three-colored flames. Bai Xiaochun had been collecting them, and now had several hundred. Whenever he thought about the three-colored flames that the Spirit Tails could produce, his heart filled with anticipation.

"I'm in no hurry with my cultivation base. As long as I can get enough medicinal pills, I can do a threefold spirit enhancement on them and advance with flying speed. The most important thing to do is make some progress with my Undying Skin!" Almost as soon as the thought entered his mind, Bai Xiaochun's stomach started to grumble. At first he looked in the direction of Fragrant Cloud Peak's chicken farms, but then he turned toward Violet Cauldron Peak.

"Eldest Brother is on Violet Cauldron Peak, I wonder how he's been doing lately." Thinking about all the things that had happened back in the Ovens, he raced out of his courtyard, down the mountain, and toward Violet Cauldron Peak.

Of the three mountains on the south bank of the Spirit Stream Sect, Green Crest Peak focused on swords, Fragrant Cloud Peak concentrated on spirit medicine, and Violet Cauldron Peak excelled in magical techniques and spirit enhancement. Furthermore, the south bank's most fundamental technique, the Violet Qi Cauldron Control Art, actually came from Violet Cauldron Peak.

Bai Xiaochun walked along the path toward Violet Cauldron Peak, and by the time he got there, evening was falling. He looked up at the mountain, which was wreathed in clouds and mist. High up in the air, he was just barely able to make out tiny shadows flitting around in beams of prismatic light. He sighed.

"I wonder when I'll be able to get some kind of flying treasure, and then do something like that. Then my world will really open up, and I'll actually be on the path to living forever." Eyes gleaming with anticipation, he began to ascend Violet Cauldron Peak.

Although he wasn't a disciple of Violet Cauldron Peak, as an Outer Sect disciple, he was qualified to go to any of the various mountains. As he walked along, he asked some people about where Zhang Dahai lived. Thanks to his charming manner, he almost immediately got an answer, and quickly hurried off in the direction indicated.

Big Fatty Zhang's residence was located on a different part of the mountain compared to the location of Bai Xiaochun's place on Fragrant Cloud Peak. It was on the sunny side of the mountain, where there was stronger spiritual energy. There weren't many residences here; they were sprinkled about like stars in the night sky, apparently in some prescribed pattern.

Although it was evening, and the light wasn't very clear, it was still possible to see the swirling mists and abundant spirit plants, all of which gave the place a celestial feeling.

Taking a deep breath, Bai Xiaochun looked around enviously. "Eldest Brother really does have connections in the sect. I can't believe he got a place like this. It's way better than mine."

It only took a bit of looking to find Big Fatty Zhang's residence. The courtyard was filled with weeds, as if no one had tended to it for ages. Bai Xiaochun gaped in shock, then knocked on the main gate. However, there was no response.

"Am I in the wrong place?" he thought. Even as he stood there, shocked, the front door of the building inside the courtyard slowly creaked open, and an emaciated figure appeared, holding a flying sword in his right hand. Dim silver light flickered around his left hand as he trudged out. Looking exhausted, then languidly said, "Who is it?!"

Even as the words left the man's mouth, he suddenly saw Bai Xiaochun standing there across the courtyard, and a tremor ran through him. A look of delight appeared on his face, almost as if he had just caught sight of a blood relative. Suddenly, he flew forward, pushed the main gate open, and then stood there looking at Bai Xiaochun. Then he laughed loudly and said, "Ninth Junior Brother!"

"Who are you?!" Bai Xiaochun responded, backing up, his eyes wide. Although this person seemed familiar for some reason, Bai Xiaochun couldn't identify him at all.

He had average features, and was very skinny. Although he couldn't be described as being only skin and bones, he was almost to that point. His eyes shone with vigor, and yet were sunken in. From the ripples of his cultivation base, he seemed to be in the great circle of the fourth level of Qi Condensation.

When the emaciated young man saw Bai Xiaochun's expression, he looked like he was about to start crying.

"Ninth Fatty, it's me, Big Fatty!" he said. Face filled with intense grief, he went on to say, "Ninth Fatty, you have no idea how much I've suffered during the past year. My master is so demanding! As soon as I got here, she told me she doesn't like fatties, and that I had to go hungry for half a year!

"Half a year, Ninth Fatty! Do you know what I ended up looking like after half a year? It took me forever just to gain this much weight back." This emaciated young man was none other than Big Fatty Zhang, who was now standing there weeping.

Bai Xiaochun looked him over carefully. Having heard the story, and confirmed that he really was his Eldest Brother, Bai Xiaochun's jaw dropped. The Eldest Brother he remembered, and this person standing in front of him, looked like two completely different people.

"Is there some grudge between you and your Master?" Bai Xiaochun asked sympathetically.

"That old shrew! I…." Big Fatty Zhang said a few words, but then shivered and didn't dare to continue. Pulling Bai Xiaochun into his courtyard, he said, "Ninth Junior Brother, I miss the Ovens! Nobody can survive in a place like this. I've never been full the entire time I've been here, plus there's no way for me to make any money. Ah, I'm so hungry!" He then proceeded to tell Bai Xiaochun everything that had happened to him from the moment he had arrived.

As Bai Xiaochun listened to the bitter tale, he suddenly realized that his decision to start stealing chickens was definitely the right thing to do. He looked at Big Fatty Zhang's emaciated frame, then sighed and patted his bony shoulder.

"Since you're in some trouble, Elder Brother, then Junior Brother will naturally help. Just wait here for the time it takes an incense stick to burn. I'll be right back." Big Fatty Zhang gaped in shock as Bai Xiaochun turned and left the courtyard.

On his way up the mountain, Bai Xiaochun had already taken note of where Violet Cauldron Peak's Spirit Tail Chicken farms were located. Taking advantage of the darkness of night, he suddenly vanished.

Big Fatty Zhang had no idea what was going on, nor any clue as to what Bai Xiaochun might be doing. He waited there at his front gate for the time it takes an incense stick to burn, after which Bai Xiaochun returned, carrying a Spirit Tail Chicken in each hand.

When Big Fatty Zhang saw the Spirit Tail Chickens, his eyes went wide. Before he could say anything, though, Bai Xiaochun hustled him into the courtyard. Ignoring Big Fatty Zhang, Bai Xiaochun expertly produced a wok, boiled some water, plucked the chickens and tossed them in. With that, he dusted off his sleeves, lifted his chin and looked at Big Fatty Zhang.

Big Fatty Zhang was panting, and his eyes were wide. He pointed at the chickens in the wok, and then back at Bai Xiaochun, and a look of disbelief crept up on his face.

"Y-you… don't tell me that you are the Chicken-Thieving Fiend of Fragrant Cloud Peak!?!?"

Bai Xiaochun chuckled. Then, as if he were very familiar with the process, placed his hand onto the wok and sent out some spiritual energy to ensure that the chicken meat was perfectly tender. Soon, a fragrant aroma wafted out. Bai Xiaochun reached in, pulled out a chicken leg, and then handed it to Big Fatty Zhang.

"Eat!" he said, imitating the way Big Fatty Zhang had handed him the magical mushroom back when he had first joined the Ovens.

Big Fatty Zhang swallowed a few times as he stared at the chicken leg. Finally, he grabbed it and wolfed it down. From that point on, it wasn't necessary for Bai Xiaochun to say anything. Big Fatty Zhang flew over to the wok and virtually dunked his face in. The two chickens were rapidly consumed down to the bones, except that he couldn't stop there; crunching sounds could be heard as he chomped them down too.

Finally, he smacked his belly, and laid back, looking nearly drunk with contentment. Then he and Bai Xiaochun exchanged a look and started laughing.

"Ninth Fatty, you're incredible," he said, looking very proud. "You really were paying attention back in the Ovens. I never would have imagined that Fragrant Cloud Peak's illustrious Chicken-Thieving Fiend would turn out to be my bro."

"Cultivation is innately a Heaven-defying thing. As cultivators, it's only natural to contend with the Heavens, and fight with men. You have to rely on yourself! What do a few Spirit Tail Chickens count for?" Bai Xiaochun waved his hand, but was unable to conceal how pleased he was with himself. He had been keeping his identity a secret for far too long now; being able to share it, and then see the look on Big Fatty Zhang's face, made him feel wonderful.

"The true pity is that I've eaten so many Spirit Tail Chickens on Fragrant Cloud Peak that only the chicks are left. They don't taste very good, otherwise I'd invite you to live with me over there, and we could eat our fill every day. You would definitely gain all your weight back." Bai Xiaochun sighed.

When Big Fatty Zhang heard that, his eyes gleamed, and he immediately crawled to his feet.

"Violet Cauldron Peak has them too. The west, south, and north faces of the mountains all do. They're guarded by two shifts a day, each shift manned by seven disciples!" Big Fatty Zhang went on to explain in further detail. When he was finished, he found Bai Xiaochun looking at him with a strange expression. Big Fatty Zhang cleared his throat and said, "After I heard about the Chicken-Thieving Fiend, I decided to try to do the same thing as him. Unfortunately, the chickens are too hard to steal. As soon as you get close, they start making noise. Not only did I not even come close to stealing a chicken, I almost got caught." Big Fatty Zhang seemed a bit embarrassed about the whole thing.

Bai Xiaochun laughed, then edged closer to Big Fatty Zhang and began to whisper something. Gradually, Big Fatty Zhang's eyes began to glow brighter and brighter, and he was even panting. Then Bai Xiaochun pulled out his bamboo cicada, and after a moment wide smiles covered their faces and they began to chuckle.

Soon, laughter rang out from within the courtyard, and it sounded terrifying.

From that day on, Bai Xiaochun began to visit Big Fatty Zhang more often, and gradually, the Spirit Tail Chickens from Violet Cauldron Peak began to go missing….

Every night, two great chicken bandits struck. One did the stealing, the other stood watch. Soon, the disciples of Violet Cauldron Peak were in an uproar, and everyone was discussing the matter.

"Did you hear? The Chicken-Thieving Fiend from Fragrant Cloud Peak has set his eyes on Violet Cauldron Peak!"

"I actually saw it happen! The Chicken-Thieving Fiend isn't a person, it's a team of two!"

When the news got back to Fragrant Cloud Peak, the Outer Sect disciples there all took deep breaths and looked sympathetically in the direction of Violet Cauldron Peak.

"So the Chicken-Thieving Fiend has learned to be balanced. He's finally not stealing chickens from our Fragrant Cloud Peak…."

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Chapter 25: Invincible Iron Skin!

It got to the point that, a month later, the rumors were flying like crazy. Even the Xu Meixiang, the Peak Lord of Violet Cauldron Peak, who was none other than the old shrew Big Fatty Zhang had mentioned, caught wind of what was happening. Bai Xiaochun and Big Fatty Zhang had no choice but to cease their activities. After discussing the matter together, they decided to go rescue Third Girly Hei.

Therefore, the two of them went to Green Crest Peak.

Third Girly Hei was a bit thinner, but not conspicuously. However, she now emanated a somewhat seductive air, which left Bai Xiaochun and Big Fatty Zhang virtually speechless. They barely even recognized her. Her previously swarthy face even looked somewhat elegant. One could easily imagine how, if she continued to lose weight, she would eventually turn into a true beauty.

However, once she heard about the Spirit Tail Chickens, here eyes began to shine.

From then on, the Spirit Tail Chickens on Green Crest Peak began to go missing….

By now, the Chicken-Thieving Fiend was completely famous on the south bank. It was virtually impossible to find an Outer Sect disciple who hadn't heard of him, and even the servants knew the name.

Before long, the Elders took note of the matter. Although the Chicken-Thieving Fiend eventually vanished without a trace, never to reappear again, Third Girly Hei and Big Fatty Zhang both visibly regained a lot of weight. Although they weren't as impressive as they had been in the past, they were still much sturdier.

As for Bai Xiaochun, he finally… finished eighty-one cycles, at long last sating his hunger. It was at that point that the three of them gave up on stealing chickens.

Although the eighty-one cycles of the Undying Live Forever Technique hadn't been performed in succession, but rather built up over time, the result was absolutely the same.

On one particular day, Bai Xiaochun sat in his courtyard in Fragrant Cloud Peak, his expression solemn. His skin was emanating iron-colored pulses, and even glowed with a flickering black light. An incredible aura radiated off of him, making him seem savage and wild.

He had endured eighty-one days of pain and then eighty-one days of hunger. That combination transformed into a shocking power that erupted up inside of Bai Xiaochun, over and over again.

Each eruption was filled with boundless vital energy, which then poured into Bai Xiaochun's skin, causing it to become increasingly iron-colored. The black glow grew more blinding, and the toughness of his skin increased exponentially.

Eventually, it reached the point that if anyone had happened to catch sight of him standing there, they would think they were looking at an iron statue, and not a flesh and blood human.

His mind was reeling as the bursts of energy continued. After the 19th time, he realized that they weren't slowing down at all, but were actually increasing in intensity.

Bai Xiaochun didn't move a muscle, and didn't even seem to be breathing. However, if you looked closely, you would see that all of the pores on his body were dilated as he silently absorbed the energy of Heaven and Earth in the area.

"After eighty-one eruptions, my Undying Skin will reach the initial stage of completion, and I'll be in the Iron Skin stage!" The Undying Live Forever Technique's mnemonic floated in Bai Xiaochun's mind, and a firm and unswerving expression could be seen on his face. All of his hard work over the past year, including enduring all the pain and hunger… had all been for this moment!

RUMBLE!

The vital energy inside of him erupted out once more, and the iron color of his skin deepened. Every time the vital energy poured into the flesh of his skin, it was as if it were being tempered by the strikes of thousands of forge hammers.

As of this moment, he pulsed with energy, like a divine weapon in the forging process!

RUUUUMMMMBLLE!

28 times. 30 times. 40 times. 48 times…..

Time passed. Three days later, Bai Xiaochun remained in the exact same spot. Although no bystander would be able to hear anything, to him, it sounded like endless thunder was booming in his ears.

However, it was at this point that the vital energy inside of him erupted out for the 49th time. Suddenly, the power redoubled, and a tremor ran through him. At the same time, tiny cracks began to appear on his skin, as if it couldn't endure any longer.

Although the cracks were few, as soon as they appeared, Bai Xiaochun's heart sank.

"So, the signs of impending death have finally appeared…." Bai Xiaochun frowned. The introduction to the Undying Live Forever Technique mentioned cracks like this. During the process of reaching the initial stage of success, they were guaranteed to show up. How long each individual could hold on would depend on their willpower, and would end up determining the quality of the future Undying Skin.

Even if you didn't endure for very long at all, you could still successfully cultivate the Undying Skin. However, the quality would naturally fall short of perfect.

If you could hold on through all 81 eruptions of vital energy, then you could reach a state of perfect flawlessness.

Bai Xiaochun's eyes gleamed with determination for a moment before he closed them once more. Rumbling explosions continued to erupt inside of him. 50 times. 60 times. 70 times…. Unexpectedly, one breath took him through five whole days, during which he endured all the way past 70.

The cracks covering him were so numerous that his skin almost looked like a turtle's. In many places, the cracks had joined together, making him resemble a broken flower vase that had been pieced back together.

He looked like he might shatter at any moment.

"Only seven more times!" he thought, his eyes completely bloodshot. Panting, he clenched his jaw, and that vicious streak in his personality surged to life.

74 times!

77 times!

79 times!

Bai Xiaochun threw his head back and roared, although it wasn't very loud of a roar, more like a muffled grunt. His body trembled as he endured yet another eruption, reaching a total of 80.

The vital energy poured into his skin which, although it was covered with cracks, was like iron; anyone who saw it would surely be shocked.

"Last one!" he said. As the final burst of vital energy surged out, he suddenly extended his right hand and smashed it down toward the ground.

A boom rang out, and a huge crater appeared. The final blast of vital energy erupted as everything reached a conclusion. Endless amounts of vital energy poured into his skin, causing the cracks to immediately vanish, leaving him looking sleek and smooth. The black glow vanished, and he looked just as fair and pure as before. However, now his skin was far tougher than ordinary skin, although nobody could tell that by looking at him.

Bai Xiaochun stood there panting for a moment before looking up at the crater he had just blasted into the ground. Then he looked at his skin, and his expression brightened. Finally, he threw his head back and laughed uproariously.

He waved his right hand, causing his wooden sword to fly out, which then transformed into a black beam that slashed at his forearm. As soon as it hit, a metallic clang rang out, and the wooden sword unexpectedly flew backward. As for his arm, it felt almost like a mosquito had bitten him. When he examined the point of impact, his skin wasn't harmed at all.

"Undying Skin!" he cried, unable to contain his joy. It must be stated that his wooden sword was no ordinary magical item; it had received a twofold spirit enhancement. Although it was made from ordinary materials, because of the spirit enhancement, it could be considered a magical item worthy of a Chosen. Despite that, though, it hadn't hurt him at all.

Bai Xiaochun suddenly flickered into motion, shooting forward. A buzzing sound could be heard as he suddenly appeared more than thirty meters away. He could now move many times faster than before, leaving him completely delighted.

As for the power he could unleash, a mere look at the crater in the ground revealed that it was also many times greater than before. Furthermore, this was only the initial stage of success of the Undying Skin. Although it couldn't be said that he had completely cast off his mortal body, he was definitely vastly different than before.

"With defensive power like this," he thought, Bai Xiaochun is going to be much safer on his path to living forever." Bai Xiaochun was extremely pleased with himself. Next, he examined his cultivation base and saw that he had also made quite a bit of progress in that aspect as well. He was now in the great circle of the fourth level of Qi Condensation.

Furthermore, it was not the ordinary great circle. Because of how the spiritual energy had been compressed inside of him, it's quality was far beyond compare to an ordinary cultivator of the same stage as himself.

Feeling very satisfied, he sped a few laps around the courtyard, then suddenly stopped, eyes gleaming. Lifting his right hand out in front of him, he held his thumb and forefinger out in a U shape. Then he pinched them together, causing a black glow to appear on them. Although nothing happened, cracking sounds could be heard in the air up ahead of him.

Eyes widening, he turned and dashed over to a nearby rock, where he once again caused the black light to flash from his two fingers. As soon as he pinched the fingers together, cracking sounds could be heard as the rock exploded like a piece of tofu.

He flickered into motion again, appeared next to the Spiritwinter Bamboo, which was now more than nine meters tall. After identifying the toughest of the bamboo stalks, he pinched his fingers together. A boom could be heard as the bamboo shattered.

Bai Xiaochun took a deep breath and sank down to the ground, where he looked down at his two fingers, and the black glow which was slowly fading away from them. After a bit of time passed, he let out a long breath.

"So, that's the Throat Crushing Grasp, huh…?" he murmured quietly. That was one of the secret magics of the Undying Live Forever Technique, something that could only be unleashed after reaching the first stage of initial success. Supposedly, it could double one's power, and could not be countered.

Just now, Bai Xiaochun had only used about fifty percent of his full power. He couldn't even imagine how powerful and terrifying the secret magic would be if he unleashed its full power.

From what Bai Xiaochun could tell, a secret magic like that should be used for killing people. After a moment of silent thought, he came to the conclusion that although it was brutal, he still needed to practice it in earnest. Therefore, he began to zip back and forth in his courtyard, causing a black flashing light and cracking sounds to echo out.

Time passed. In the blink of an eye, half a month went by. During that time, Bai Xiaochun never left his courtyard. He stayed there practicing the entire time. Naturally, he had no way of knowing that after months of being away, Li Qinghou had finally returned to the Spirit Stream Sect, and was currently flying through the air atop a beam of green light, heading directly toward Fragrant Cloud Peak.

After he landed, and before he could even rest, two beams of light shot out from Green Crest Peak and Violet Cauldron Peak and headed in his direction. Soon, he could make out the figure of an old man in one of the beams of light. He looked like a sharp, unsheathed sword, and emanated the unique pressure of a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

In the other beam of light was graceful woman. She looked like a natural beauty, exquisite despite the strange expression on her face. It almost looked like she didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Together with the old man, she alighted on the mountain peak.

These two were the Peak Lords of Green Crest Peak and Violet Cauldron Peak respectively. After arriving at Fragrant Cloud Peak, they had a private discussion with Li Qinghou, then left.

Li Qinghou stood atop Fragrant Cloud Peak, rubbing the bridge of his nose. Finally, he sent out some divine sense, focusing it on the three Spirit Tail Chicken farms in their various locations on the mountain. When he saw that the only things left were chicks, he similarly looked like he didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Sighing, he waved his sleeve and began to walk down the mountain. From the direction he took…

It seemed he was heading directly toward Bai Xiaochun's courtyard residence.

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Chapter 26: How Were the Spirit Tail Chickens?

Li Qinghou had actually never been to the area where Bai Xiaochun's residence was located. After all, it was in a somewhat remote part of the mountain. As he proceeded along, the courtyard residence soon became visible off in the distance.

However, before he could get very close, a fair, clear-faced figure appeared, holding a piece of roasted meat in his hand, walking and eating at the same time. He seemed to be engrossed in his eating, and was even humming a little tune.

Li Qinghou's face darkened as he realized that the meat currently being stuffed into Bai Xiaochun's mouth was definitely a chicken leg. Anger instantly flared up in his heart.

"Bai Xiaochun!!" he roared, his voice booming out like thunder. Bai Xiaochun, who was in the middle of sucking on the chicken bone, very nearly jumped up into the air in fright.

"Peak Lord Li!" he gasped, his eyes widening. Without even thinking about it, he stuffed the entire chicken bone into his mouth, then vigorously crunched it to pieces and swallowed it down, his face turning a deep purple in the process.

In the entire sect, the person he feared the most was Li Qinghou, which was especially true after having eaten so many of his chickens. Bai Xiaochun actually felt a little bit guilty. Wiping the sweat from his brow, he hurried over, looking extremely charming and also very sincere as he clasped hands and bowed in greeting.

"Disciple offers greetings, Peak Lord."

Li Qinghou looked at Bai Xiaochun, his face completely expressionless. Inwardly, he felt a bit torn. Bai Xiaochun's ancestor had truly shown him a great kindness, and Li Qinghou was the type of person who valued such things deeply. Despite what Bai Xiaochun had obviously done, he couldn't forget about what had happened all those years ago.

The Peak Lords from Green Crest Peak and Violet Cauldron Peak had come to speak with him about the matter of the Spirit Tail Chickens. Although the chickens weren't necessarily very expensive, Li Qinghou couldn't allow other people to criticize his own disciple, so he compensated them with several times more than the chickens' actual value.

Now, he looked at Bai Xiaochun, feeling even more irritated than ever at how he wasn't living up to expectations.

Li Qinghou snorted and then said, "You've been an Outer Sect disciple for a little more than half a year, but your cultivation base has only progressed from the third level of Qi Condensation to the fourth. Pleased with yourself?"

Bai Xiaochun blinked, then cleared his throat, unsure of how to respond. However, he continued to put on the charming face, reassuring himself that as long as he maintained the right attitude, things should work out fine in the end. However, when he thought about the fact that he had just been munching on a Spirit Tail Chicken leg, he couldn't help but sweat.

Li Qinghou felt a headache coming on. After a moment of thought, he coolly continued, "Considering how you've been fooling around, you obviously have a lot of time on your hands. In that case, why don't you join the competition for fourth and fifth level Qi Condensation disciples in three months? It will be right here on Fragrant Cloud Peak."

Bai Xiaochun's heart immediately began to pound. He had heard about the competition Li Qinghou was referring to. He knew that there were prizes to be won, but he had also heard that the fighting was fierce. If you weren't careful, it was even possible to get injured. Bai Xiaochun scowled.

"Peak Lord, I'm only at the fourth level of Qi Condensation. If I join in the competition, what happens if one of them ends up beating me to death? What would I do then…?"

Li Qinghou completely ignored his question. Looking very serious, he said, "It's not a request. You will join the contest. Plus, if you don't place in the top 5, then I'll…."

Bai Xiaochun sighed. "I know, you'll expel me from the sect, right…?"

Li Qinghou glared at him. Knowing how mischievous Bai Xiaochun was, he realized that the threat of being expelled from the sect probably wasn't enough to keep him in place. Remembering how much Bai Xiaochun feared death, he suddenly swished his sleeve, sweeping Bai Xiaochun up from the courtyard and then flying toward the top of the mountain.

Bai Xiaochun's heart began to thump madly. Li Qinghou's expressionless face gave him a very bad feeling. The wind buffeted his face as they flew along, and before he had time to even analyze the matter, Li Qinghou had taken him to a location behind Fragrant Cloud Peak.

It was a place considered to be a restricted area, a place few disciples ever visited. The first thing he noticed was the thick vegetation everywhere.

As they flew down toward the area, Li Qinghou pulled Bai Xiaochun along until they were in a valley. Almost immediately, a sinister aura could be sensed, and the various plants in the area brightened in color, and even began to rustle.

Bai Xiaochun's heart raced as he looked at the plants, and a sensation of deadly crisis rose up in his heart. He was just about to speak when, all of a sudden, a crimson viper raised its head, flicking its forked tongue as it stared icily at Bai Xiaochun.

"Snake!" Bai Xiaochun had no choice but to follow Li Qinghou into the valley, and when he did, his scalp went numb as he realized that the ground, the plants, and even the trees in this place were filled with countless snakes.

All of them were brightly colored, making it obvious that they were vipers. Furthermore, all of them were staring at him with cold, beady eyes, forked tongues flicking in and out of their mouths.

Bai Xiaochun started trembling. He had always been scared of snakes, and the way these ones were looking at him left him terrified. Although they didn't actually seem like they were going to attack him, their long fangs dripped with venom in a very frightening fashion.

It was at this point that Bai Xiaochun suddenly remembered that he had his Undying Skin, and that these vipers probably wouldn't be able to bite through it. Considering that, even if there were more snakes than there already were, to him they were about as dangerous as feeble chickens. In the end, they weren't really very scary at all.

However, his eyes then turned up in thought, and he realized how risky it would be to not look scared. If that happened, Li Qinghou might take him to an even more dangerous place. Therefore, he immediately let out a shriek, and tried to look as frightened as possible.

Li Qinghou let out a cold snort, then unleashed his cultivation base. The wriggling snakes slowly moved out of the way to make a small path, at the end of which was a pitch-black cave that emanated a noxious odor.

"Uncle Li, s-spare me, please!" Bai Xiaochun called out in a quavering voice. "I didn't break any sect rules!" Li Qinghou's face was completely expressionless as he grabbed Bai Xiaochun and dragged him over to the cave. Once they reached the cave mouth, he waved his sleeve, causing the darkness to fill with a bit of light.

Bai Xiaochun could instantly see that the cave was filled with numerous vipers, some of them very large. The hissing sounds they made seemed to contain some strange, mesmerizing power that instantly caused Bai Xiaochun's eyes to go wide.

A sensation of crisis rose up, and he began to pant as he realized that the cultivation base power of these vipers was unexpectedly high. There was even one four-colored viper that was comparable to the fifth level of Qi Condensation.

The stares of the snakes made Bai Xiaochun feel as if a cold wind were blowing down his back. Then he thought about his Undying Skin and realized that he wouldn't last for very long against these snakes. This time, he didn't need to pretend, he really was scared.

"This is 10,000 Snakes Valley," Li Qinghou said, voice cool, "where we harvest venom here on Fragrant Cloud Peak. Each one of these snakes is extremely venomous. In fact, a single drop of their venom is potent enough to kill a hundred oxen.

"Any cultivator under Foundation Establishment bitten by one of these snakes, who doesn't get the antidote in time, will die. Deep in the cave is the Snake King, who is in the great circle of Qi Condensation. Get bitten by that snake, and even I would have a hard time saving you.

"If you don't get in the top 5 in the Outer Sect's competition, don't worry. I won't expel you from the sect. I'll just bring you here and have you harvest venom." Li Qinghou looked over at Bai Xiaochun.

"Um… uh… Uncle Li, don't worry, it's just a little sect competition, right? Only the top 5, you said, right? I'll definitely pull it off!" Bai Xiaochun's tongue felt as if it were sticking to the roof of his mouth, and his face was deathly pale. When he heard that there were even more fearsome vipers in the depths of the cave, he swore to himself that he would never come back to this place again in his entire life.

When Li Qinghou heard Bai Xiaochun's declaration, he smiled inwardly. However, his face remained completely expressionless, and he even snorted as he took Bai Xiaochun away. When they got back to Fragrant Cloud Peak, he tossed Bai Xiaochun onto a mountain path and then turned as if to leave.

But then he stopped and looked back. Voice casual, he said, "Oh right, how were the Spirit Tail Chickens?"

Without even waiting for Bai Xiaochun to respond, he turned and flew off into the distance.

Bai Xiaochun sighed, then turned and headed back toward his courtyard, frowning the entire way. As he walked along, the wind blew, rustling the leaves, which made him think about the vipers.

Back in his courtyard, he sat there, gnashing his teeth and scowling. "Li Qinghou…. More like Li the Snake! Ridiculous!"

"I'll definitely never go back to that 10,000 Snakes Valley. If I get bitten, I'll lose my poor little life." In that moment, Bai Xiaochun made his decision. "I'm definitely going to go all out to get into the top 5!"

"If I'm going to join that competition, then considering the level of my cultivation base, I'm definitely going to need some spirit medicine!" Taking a deep breath, Bai Xiaochun clenched his fists. A wild gleam appeared in his eyes as he glanced around. Eventually, his gaze fell upon the Spiritwinter Bamboo.

"After I finish the Spiritwinter Bamboo mission and get my reward, I'll have enough merit points to get some spirit medicine. Unfortunately, the bamboo hasn't even reached fifteen meters. I'm not sure if that meets the requirements…." Having reached this point in his train of thoughts, Bai Xiaochun still wasn't certain about the bamboo. However, he didn't have any other options. After doing a few calculations, he confirmed that the appointed deadline to hand in the spirit vegetation was rapidly approaching.

Bai Xiaochun scowled his way through a few more days. At dawn on the fourth day, he got up early and walked over to the bamboo. Then he wrapped his arms around one stalk after another to pull them up out of the ground.

What he found was that although the bamboo did not seem to be very heavy, each and every stalk actually felt as if it were made from metal, and was incredibly heavy.

The ground trembled constantly until ten stalks of bamboo were uprooted. Each one was close to fifteen meters tall, and as thick as a person. Throwing them over his shoulder, he marched out of the courtyard in the direction of the Missions Office.

Unfortunately, his bag of holding wasn't very big inside, and the bamboo just wouldn't fit in it. That was why he had to physically carry the bamboo. Thankfully, he was much stronger now, having achieved the Undying Iron Skin. Otherwise, he would never have been able to pull the task off.

As he walked along, he muttered to himself miserably. But then he thought about the competition, and the vipers, and possibility of his bones and tendons being snapped in the fighting.

"Why am I so unlucky…?"

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Chapter 27: Th-that's… Bamboo?

The bamboo was extremely heavy, and he was carrying ten stalks. Couple that with the fact that he was climbing a mountain, and soon Bai Xiaochun was huffing and puffing. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that he was in a really unfair situation.

"I began to practice Immortal cultivation because I want to live forever. Why the heck would I go around fighting and killing, huh?

"This bamboo could obviously grow a bit taller, but right now I need those merit points…." The more he thought about the situation, the more annoyed he got at the unfairness of it all. Sighing, he hefted his Spiritwinter Bamboo as he hiked up the mountain path.

Currently, quite a large group of Outer Sect disciples was gathered outside of Fragrant Cloud Peak's Missions Office, hands filled with various medicinal plants which they would exchange for merit points.

A Fragrant Cloud Peak Elder was present to inspect the items being handed in. The amount of merit points given as a reward depended on the quality of the items handed in.

Just outside of the building itself was a wide, flat boulder, upon which a ruddy-faced, white-haired old man sat cross-legged. A seemingly endless line of disciples stretched out in front of him, and everyone in line had spirit plants clutched in hand. When the old man gave his appraisal, a young assistant off to the side would record the information and dole out the merit points.

"Not bad. This Watermist Orchid already has four petals. Mid-grade item.

"This Woodvein Ginseng is a bit too dark, and the earth-type power is too strong. It's completely out of balance. Sorry, it doesn't meet the requirements."

Circling about overhead was a flock of elegant five-colored phoenixes, each one more than three meters long. Occasionally, they would make melodious calls that rang out in the area.

They were spirit pets belonging to the Elder who sat there, and whenever the appointed day came to hand in plants and vegetation, the birds would come along with him. They were, of course, the subject of much envy on the part of the Outer Sect disciples.

The Elder's cultivation base was in the Foundation Establishment stage, and was clearly beyond ordinary. Although his overall skill with spirit medicines didn't match up to Li Qinghou's, he was still very famous in the sect. Furthermore, his obsession with the Dao of medicines had reached a frightening level that even Li Qinghou couldn't equal. Many people even said that if a third master apothecary ever appeared in the Eastwood Continent, then it would definitely be this very Elder Zhou.

There was one particular young man in the line who wasn't very handsome, but stood tall and straight. When he reached Elder Zhou, he clasped hands and bowed respectfully. "Greetings, Elder Zhou, it's me, Chen Zi'ang." 1

When the other Outer Sect disciples in the area heard the young man's name, they all looked over curiously.

"Oh, so he's Elder Brother Chen Zi'ang. I heard that he's quite gifted when it comes to growing spirit plants."

"I heard that too. Ever since Chen Zi'ang joined the sect, he's never grown a spirit plant that got less than a high-grade rating. He's really incredible!"

As the discussions continued in low tones, Chen Zi'ang stood there with a tranquil, indifferent expression on his face. However, deep in his eyes burned a proud and lofty air.

Elder Zhou could see how pleased Chen Zi'ang was. He had long since been keeping an eye on him, considering how gifted he was when it came to growing spirit plants.

"Zi'ang, what type of plant did you grow this time?" Elder Zhou asked warmly.

"Elder Zhou, I'm happy to report that I grew Spiritwinter Bamboo!" With that, Chen Zi'ang waved his hand, causing ten stalks of Spiritwinter Bamboo to appear. Each one was as thick as an arm, and over two meters long. They were emerald green, and even flickered with a faint green glow.

"I first soaked the seeds in a spirit spring, then ground some spirit stones into gravel to act as soil. Next, I fed the plants with my own spiritual energy at least every six hours. Every three days, I would carefully tend to their leaves, and I even used the Ninegreens Profound Magic I mastered, as well as other medicinal plants, to grow them to this level!"

"Very good," said Elder Zhou, stroking his beard. The praise in his eyes was clear. "These stalks of bamboo are over two meters long, and pulse with green energy. They exceed the high-grade mark, and can be classified as extreme high-grade. I encourage you to keep working hard. If you can grow the bamboo to over three meters, then they will be classified as superior-grade."

When the surrounding Outer Sect disciple heard the words extreme high-grade, even more discussions broke out, and numerous envious gazes were cast in the direction of the Spiritwinter Bamboo.

A smile broke out on Chen Zi'ang's face, and the lofty gleam in his eyes intensified. He clasped hands and bowed, and was just about to walk over to the assistant to collect his merit points, when a cold snort suddenly rang out.

"Elder Zhou, Disciple Zhao Yiduo also grew some Spiritwinter Bamboo!" A long-faced young man with narrow eyes suddenly appeared. As he approached, he cast a glance of disdain in Chen Zi'ang's direction. 2

His sudden appearance on the scene instantly caused excitement among the surrounding Outer Sect disciples, who all looked over at him.

"It's Elder Brother Zhao Yiduo! Elder Brother Zhao's skill with spirit plants and vegetation is supposedly neck and neck with Chen Zi'ang's!"

"Well now we get to see them face off. They've been rivals for some time now, and both of them want to be known as the number one botanist among all the disciples."

Chen Zi'ang's expression immediately darkened. He looked coldly at Zhao Yiduo, who glared back at him. The hostility in their eyes instantly intensified.

"Zhao Yiduo, why don't you take out your Spiritwinter Bamboo," Elder Zhou said encouragingly. Apparently, even he was interested in finding out what was going to happen. He was well aware of the competition between the two young disciples, and was in fact happy to see it. It was only by means of healthy competition that great advancement could be made.

Zhao Yiduo clasped hands and bowed to Elder Zhou, then slapped his bag of holding to produce ten stalks of Spiritwinter Bamboo, each and every one of which was over three meters long and thicker than a person's leg. They were bright emerald green and even seemed somewhat crystalline. From the spiritual energy they emanated, it was clear that they were beyond normal, and also far above Chen Zi'ang's in terms of quality.

The mere sight of the bamboo sent the crowd into an uproar. Most people had heard that Spiritwinter Bamboo could grow longer than three meters, but had never seen it before.

"Spiritwinter Bamboo three meters long! I wonder how long it took to grow?"

"That Spiritwinter Bamboo has reached the point where it's emanating spiritual energy. Elder Brother Zhao's ability with plants definitely puts him as the number one Outer Sect disciple on Fragrant Cloud Peak!"

Seeing how excited the crowd was, Zhao Yiduo smiled provokingly at Chen Zi'ang.

Chen Zi'ang's face immediately darkened.

As for Elder Zhou, his eyes gleamed with praise as he looked at the bamboo and then nodded.

"Excellent, excellent. Quite a few disciples have handed in Spiritwinter Bamboo today, but yours is definitely the best in terms of quality. It isn't high-grade, it's definitely superior-grade. Very, very good job, Zhao Yiduo. Keep up the good work!"

Zhao Yiduo once again bowed to Elder Zhou, then looked over challengingly at Chen Zi'ang. "Junior Brother Chen, it seems you need to put some more work into your studies."

Chen Zi'ang's expression grew even darker, and he snorted coldly. "Isn't it a bit early to gloat, Elder Brother Zhou? After all, it doesn't count when you have someone helping you. Next time, I'll definitely grow the Spiritwinter Bamboo to five meters tall!"

Hearing this, Zhao Yiduo laughed heartily. "Junior Brother Chen, if you talk yourself up too much, you're bound to crash and burn. Spiritwinter Bamboo is extremely hard to grow because of the incredible amount of spiritual energy it requires. For Qi Condensation disciples like us, growing it to three meters is the absolute limit of the limit. And you think you're going to grow it to five meters? Only Foundation Establishment Elders could do something like that. That's not even to mention six meters. In all the years I've been in the sect, I've never even seen six-meter-tall Spiritwin–"

Before Zhao Yiduo could even finish speaking, booming thuds could be heard from the path leading up to the Missions Office, as if some enormous creature were approaching. Instantly, the Outer Sect disciples turned in shock, whereupon gasps began to ring out.

The standoff between Zhao Yiduo and Chen Zi'ang was also interrupted, and both of them frowned and looked over toward the path.

Soon, what became visible were the tops of several stalks of enormous bamboo, thicker than a person. They were a bright emerald green, and if you looked closely, you would even see some violet specks flickering on their surface. They also emanated a splendid, multicolored glow.

Even more shocking was the powerful spiritual energy emanating off of the bamboo, which instantly led to cries of shock.

"Wh-what is that stuff!?"

"It looks like some kind of tree! But at the same time, it also looks like bamboo!"

Chen Zi'ang and Zhao Yiduo were frowning, and couldn't even identify what it was they were looking at. However, they could tell that it was something incredible. Off to the side, Elder Zhou's eyes were wide as he stared at the bamboo, and he even began to pant slightly.

Everyone stared as more and more of the bamboo became visible. When the bamboo was completely revealed, shockingly, each stalk was fifteen meters tall, and it was being carried by a petite young man, who was currently panting as he trudged up the path, the bamboo slung over his shoulder.

He almost looked like an ant carrying a steamed mantou….

Every step that he took resulted in a booming thud, and as he walked along, the Outer Sect disciples made way for him, shocked by how strong he appeared to be.

The young man was, of course, Bai Xiaochun, who had been grumbling to himself the entire way about the brutality of the contest and the horror of 10,000 Snakes Valley. Although he wanted to cry, no tears would come, and as he trudged along, he didn't even notice the crowd of people looking at him. When he reached Elder Zhou, he tossed the bamboo down onto the ground, which resulted in a huge boom. Then he sat down on top of the bamboo, huffing and puffing a bit as he wiped the sweat from his brow.

"I couldn't fit this bamboo in my bag of holding. Man, I'm totally worn out. Oh, hello Elder, I'm here to hand in this mission." All of a sudden, Bai Xiaochun got an odd feeling, and looked around to find everyone in the crowd staring at his bamboo. Gasps could even be heard.

"Bamboo…. That stuff is actually bamboo?"

"It's so big! I've never seen bamboo that big before. Come on, they must be trees, right?!"

Chen Zi'ang and Zhao Yiduo couldn't conceal their astonishment as they realized what they were looking at. However, they almost couldn't make themselves believe it was true, and knelt down to inspect the bamboo more closely. Zhao Yiduo began to tremble, and had to resist the urge to try and break open one of the bamboo stalks to examine it from the inside.

Before he could, Elder Zhou tromped over and then waved his sleeve, sending Chen Zi'ang and Zhao Yiduo tumbling off to the side. Then Elder Zhou stood there, staring at the bamboo with wide eyes. After a long moment, he took a deep breath and said, "Th-this… this really is Spiritwinter Bamboo!!"

The surrounding Outer Sect disciples gaped in shock for a moment, and then burst into an uproar.

"Spiritwinter Bamboo!! I can't believe those big trees… are actually Spiritwinter Bamboo!!"

"How is that even possible? How could Spiritwinter Bamboo get so thick? Heavens, they're actually fifteen meters long!"

"Fifteen meters and as thick as a person. Th-that's… bamboo?"

The sounds of the uproar grew even louder as people began to compare Bai Xiaochun's bamboo with that of Chen Zi'ang and Zhao Yiduo.

1. Chen Zi'ang's name in Chinese is 陈子昂 chén zǐ áng. Chen is a common surname. Zi means a lot of things, including "son." Ang means "expensive" or "elevated"

2. Zhao Yiduo's name in Chinese is 赵一多 zhào yī duō. Zhao is a common surname. Yi means "one" and duo means "more"

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Chapter 28: Pressure is Motivation

Bai Xiaochun gaped in shock at the commotion. Chen Zi'ang and Zhao Yiduo, apparently completely oblivious to the pain caused by Elder Zhou tossing them aside, rushed back toward the bamboo and knelt down to examine it.

Elder Zhou began to study the stalks of bamboo one by one, his expression that of shock and elation.

Everyone's crazed reaction left Bai Xiaochun somewhat alarmed. In his mind, these people were acting like lunatics. It was just bamboo, after all, right? Besides, he had originally planned to grow it to a total of thirty meters before turning it in.

Bai Xiaochun took a few steps back and then tried to get the Elder's attention.

"Elder…." he cried loudly.

"Wonderful! Amazing!" Elder Zhou said, laughing as he began to caress each and every inch of the bamboo. Apparently, he hadn't even heard Bai Xiaochun speaking. "Spiritwinter Bamboo like this is extremely rare. Only by growing it to fifteen meters can it achieve such a deep green color. In fact, at this point, it's not a medicinal plant, but rather, the primary ingredient to forge spirit bamboo swords. It can even be used to cast certain unique magical techniques!

"Listen up everyone. Take a deep breath." Looking very excited, Elder Zhou closed his eyes and breathed in deeply through his nose. "Can you smell that fragrance? It smells like flesh and bone, right? That's the unique aroma that appears after this type of bamboo reaches fifteen meters!"

Chen Zi'ang and Zhao Yiduo earnestly followed suit. The other disciples in the area also pressed forward to do the same.

Bai Xiaochun cleared his throat. He had noticed that same aroma as he was carrying the bamboo down the path. However, he was pretty sure that… it was actually the aroma of chicken bones. After all, he had buried several hundred Spirit Tail Chicken skeletons in the spirit field where he had grown the Spiritwinter Bamboo. Furthermore… those bones had all been stripped clean of their meat by none other than him.

By now, Bai Xiaochun was thoroughly convinced that these people were crazy.

"Elder…." he cried out again.

However, it was at this point that a violent tremor ran through Elder Zhou; flames of rage sprang up in his eyes, and his expression twisted with rage.

"Dammit! What the hell happened here? Someone actually bit a chunk out? Spiritwinter Bamboo is extremely bitter and can't be eaten raw! What bastard actually bit a chunk out and ruined the quality!?" Elder Zhou seemed begrieved; to him, it was like discovering a perfect piece of beautiful jade, only to find one part that had been destroyed by pests. His head suddenly whipped up to look at Bai Xiaochun.

"It wasn't me!" Bai Xiaochun blurted, backing up nervously. He suddenly thought back to the first time he had been struck by incredible hunger. In his desperation at not having anything to eat, he had taken a bite out of one of the stalks of bamboo. How could he ever have imagined this would be the terrifying scene that would result when he went to hand in the mission, or how that single bite would affect these lunatics?

When the surrounding disciples heard what Elder Zhou said, they peered over toward the last of the Spiritwinter Bamboo stalks, and sure enough, there was a big bite mark clearly visible.

Elder Zhou stared at the damaged portion of the bamboo, then let out a long sigh. After all, he was a Foundation Establishment cultivator, and was obsessed with the Dao of medicines. However, this bamboo that Bai Xiaochun had brought was so shocking, and so different from anything Elder Zhou had ever seen before, that he had lost his composure just now.

Finally, he took a deep look at Bai Xiaochun, then flicked his sleeve.

"This bamboo is extreme super-grade… no, wait, supreme-grade. Yes, list it as supreme-grade. The reward is 10,000 merit points!" The audience gasped in response. The usual reward for plant-growing missions was usually about 10 merit points. At the most, one might be able to get 100. But in this case, the reward was 10,000!

Off to the side, the assistant gaped in shock. For years and years, it had always been a rarity to have a spirit plant listed as supreme-grade.

In fact, this was the first one in hundreds of years.

Bai Xiaochun was very excited, and immediately walked over to the assistant and handed over his identity medallion. The assistant hesitated for a moment, then looked over at Elder Zhou, who was still studying the bamboo, then gritted his teeth and gave the merit points to Bai Xiaochun.

Having acquired his merit points, Bai Xiaochun quickly turned to leave, determined to never come back and deal with these lunatics ever again.

However, before he could leave, Elder Zhou suddenly called out. "Hey, what's your name?"

"Bai Xiaochun," was the immediate response. "I'm Bai Xiaochun, and my uncle is Li Qinghou!" Before coming here, he had been completely unaware that the bamboo would cause such a scene, and he was actually a bit worried about that, which was why he pulled out Li Qinghou's name, as sort of a threat.

"Hmph." Elder Zhou seemed to be irritated that Bai Xiaochun would resort to dropping Li Qinghou's name. "You might think you're pretty clever, but the Spirit Stream Sect is one of the great sects, with a long history. There are always disciples who come along with their secrets and their unique good fortune. I won't lower myself to the level of asking for the specifics of how you grew this bamboo, but next time you grow something similar, you make sure to bring it all to me. I'll make sure you get a nice reward of merit points!" Finally, he waved his hand to dismiss Bai Xiaochun, then went back to studying the bamboo. It was at this point that, because of the matter with the bamboo, the entire mission-handover event concluded.

Bai Xiaochun clutched his command medallion firmly in hand as he hurried away from the Missions Office and then headed directly toward Fragrant Cloud Peak's Spirit Medicine Pharmacy, which was where disciples could acquire spirit medicines.

It was also where disciples could hand over spirit medicines that they had crafted, and thus earn merit points.

Bai Xiaochun sped over at top speed, then hurried around the Spirit Medicine Pharmacy trying to decide what to buy. Eventually he decided to purchase a bottle of medicinal pills suitable for the fifth level of Qi Condensation. These medicinal pills were by no means cheap. Bai Xiaochun had originally assumed that 10,000 merit points was a lot, but unexpectedly, the spirit medicines were actually very expensive.

"Greengod Spiritgathering Pills," he murmured, looking at the medicinal pill bottle he held in his hand. Inside were three medicinal pills, which had cost him fully 4,000 merit points.

However, these were pills that ordinary Qi Condensation disciples would usually not have access to. They were quite extraordinary; not only was their medicinal efficacy greater than that of ordinary spirit medicine, they could provide purer spiritual energy.

Bai Xiaochun wasn't convinced that merely stepping into the fifth level of Qi Condensation would be enough, so he planned to break through all the way to the great circle of the fifth level.

He had thought about aiming for the sixth level of Qi Condensation to avoid having to fight in the competition, but if he did that, he could well imagine how Li Qinghou would come up with some other method of punishing him.

As for the rest of his merit points, he didn't let them go to waste. He traded them for some disposable defensive talismans. With those hidden in his robe, he felt much safer.

Unfortunately, he didn't have enough merit points to go through with his plan of heading to the Treasure Pavilion to acquire a weapon or two suitable for the Qi Condensation stage. Instead, he headed back toward his residence. Once back in the courtyard, he sat down cross-legged in his log cabin, then pulled the medicinal pills out and studied them closely.

"I still have three months to go. It's time for some secluded meditation!" Gritting his teeth, he looked around to make sure no one was watching, then performed an incantation gesture and pointed out. Instantly, the turtle-wok flew out, along with a bunch of Spirit Tails, which he used to start a three-colored flame.

One tail feather wasn't enough to satisfy the turtle-wok. He had to feed in ten before the three designs on the wok lit up brightly. Then, he took a deep breath and put the three medicinal pills inside to perform a threefold spirit enhancement.

After the process was completed, the Greengod Spiritgathering Pills in his hand had three silver designs covering its surface. Finally, he placed one of them in his mouth.

The medicinal pill dissolved, and spiritual energy began to course through him explosively. Bai Xiaochun instantly began to utilize the breathing techniques and postures of the Violet Qi Cauldron Control Art, using them to manage the flow of the spiritual energy.

A few days later, rumbling sounds filled Bai Xiaochun's log cabin, and numerous dust particles blasted out in a shockwave. Moments later, Bai Xiaochun's laughter could be heard ringing out.

"Fifth level of Qi Condensation!" he said, panting, eyes shining brightly. After eating so many Spirit Tail Chickens recently, his cultivation base had already reached the great circle of the fourth level of Qi Condensation. By eating that one medicinal pill, he was able to easily break through into the fifth level.

More filth was expelled out from inside of him, but not as much as before. After washing up, he didn't immediately take out another medicinal pill, but rather, took time to stabilize his cultivation base. After five days passed, he took out the second of his threefold spirit enhanced Greengod Spiritgathering Pills, and consumed it. As the spiritual energy coursed through him, the river that was his spirit meridian grew larger, and flowed faster, causing his cultivation base to climb higher at a rapid rate.

After stabilizing himself for a few more days, he consumed the third Greengod Spiritgathering Pill, and his cultivation base shot up to the great circle of the fifth level of Qi Condensation.

By this point, everything about him seemed different than before. His skin was fairer, and there was something unique about his energy.

Bai Xiaochun was quite happy, but also realized that, normally speaking, it would be impossible to use only three medicinal pills to break through from the great circle of the fourth level of Qi Condensation all the way to the great circle of the fifth level, and then be only a hair away from reaching the sixth level.

As far as he could tell, the only reason he was able to do so was the turtle-wok and its spirit enhancement ability.

The more Bai Xiaochun practiced cultivation, the more obvious it was to him how helpful the turtle-wok was. That in turn caused him to become even more curious about its origins.

Although it looked like a turtle shell, the more he studied it, the more it seemed that it wasn't.

In recent days, he had looked more into the matter of spirit enhancement, and had learned that Violet Cauldron Peak was known for their spirit enhancement abilities. In fact, if you paid enough merit points, you could even acquire the services of the Elders there to perform spirit enhancements. Word had it that the Peak Lord of Violet Cauldron Peak was a grand master when it came to spirit enhancements.

Running his fingers along the designs that covered the turtle-wok, Bai Xiaochun's eyes glittered. Finally, he shook his head. There were too many things he didn't understand, and it wouldn't do any good to waste time thinking about them. Reaching his hand out, he caused the green jade pendant and his wooden sword to appear.

These were the only magical devices he owned at the moment. Gritting his teeth, he produced some more Spirit Tails as he prepared to perform threefold spirit enhancements on them.

"I wonder what the wooden sword and jade pendant will look like after I do the threefold spirit enhancement."

The wave of a hand caused the three designs on the turtle-wok to light up. When he sent the jade pendant flying inside, silver light shone, and rumbling sounds like that of thunder could be heard. Thankfully, they didn't echo out very far, so nobody heard them.

When the silver light faded away, the green jade pendant had three silver designs on it, which flickered brightly for a moment before fading away. However, Bai Xiaochun could sense that the jade pendant's aura was now as different from before as the Heavens were from the Earth.

In fact, it was even possible to see glowing violet speks within the green of the jade pendant. Even the shape of the pendant had changed; instead of being oval, it had now been flattened into a circular shape.

Bai Xiaochun poured some spiritual energy into it, causing rumbling sounds to echo out as a green shield sprang up around him, fully a meter thick and completely astonishing to behold.

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Chapter 29: Lightness-in-Heaviness

After performing a quick test on the defensive power of the jade pendant, Bai Xiaochun couldn't help but laugh out loud. Next, he turned his attention to the wooden sword. He had acquired this wooden sword the moment he had joined the sect, and since then, had performed spirit enhancements on it twice.

"With the protective power of this jade pendant, after I perform a threefold spirit enhancement on my little wooden sword, I'll definitely be completely extraordinary!" Bai Xiaochun smiled, then began to prepare the little wooden sword for the spirit enhancement.

Silver light flickered within the turtle-wok. As it faded away, the little wooden sword appeared in front of Bai Xiaochun. Three silver designs gleamed on its surface, then gradually faded away. At the same time, the physical appearance of the sword changed. It was longer by a finger's length, and the grain of the wood was now virtually completely violet.

There was also a bizarre aroma which pulsed out of the sword, an aroma which, upon entering the nose, seemed sweet, but quickly caused the mind to enter a state of confused distraction.

Bai Xiaochun trembled for a moment, but then his eyes grew clear. He looked in shock at the wooden sword for a moment, then reached out to grab it, whereupon he found that it was many times heavier than before. Unexpectedly, as he held it in his hand, it felt as heavy as a boulder.

Eyes glittering, he examined the sword, and gradually a profound gleam rose up in his eyes.

"This wooden sword is made from the rarely-seen Heavycloud Wood," he murmured, "which only needs to be refined for forty-nine days before you can use it in equipment forging. It can also be used in mass-production." Next, he focused on the veins in the wood of the sword.

"Violet veins. There's only one explanation for that. After performing these handful of spirit enhancements, these are the signs of the sword's transmogrification." Bai Xiaochun closed his eyes and began to review the information about Heavycloud Wood that he had gleaned when studying about plants and vegetation.

After a while, his eyes opened, and they gleamed with anticipation. He performed an incantation gesture and then tapped the little wooden sword, which instantly caused a black light to flicker out, within which were tiny violet specks. Suddenly, the sword shot out of the log cabin, across the courtyard, and then another thirty meters or so, where it stabbed into a huge boulder.

Without making a single sound, the sword then spun around inside of the rock, pierced out of it, and flew back to Bai Xiaochun.

The sword wasn't damaged at all, and in fact began to emanate a piercing aura.

Bai Xiaochun's expression brightened. He played around with the sword a little bit more, then once again painted over the designs. Finally, he opened the door of his log cabin, stepped out, and took a deep breath. Unfortunately, as soon as he thought about the competition in two months, his previously high spirits sank a bit.

"This isn't good enough. I'm still not well enough prepared. The other people in the competition are definitely going to be vicious beasts. I need to do more." Grinding his teeth, he thought about the second level of the Violet Qi Cauldron Control Art, which he had read about in the manual.

Lightness-in-Heaviness. Heaviness-in-Lightness.

Those two levels of the Violet Qi Cauldron Control Art were powerful magics that appeared when cultivating the art. If both were cultivated to the pinnacle, they could lead to a divine ability called Violet Qi Cauldron Summoning.

On the south bank of the Spirit Stream Sect, the fundamental techniques of the Violet Qi Cauldron Control Art were something that virtually everyone practiced. However, few people cultivated Heaviness-in-Lightness, and as for the second stage of Lightness-in-Heaviness, that was even more rare. As for those who cultivated the art to the absolute peak, and could unleash the Violet Qi Cauldron Summoning divine ability, they were most rare of all.

Actually, the majority of those who gained enlightenment of Violet Qi Cauldron Summoning were disciples from Violet Cauldron Peak.

"Lightness-in-Heaviness…. Only by reaching that stage of being able to completely control physical objects can I even be absolutely assured of rising above the pack." Bai Xiaochun continued to think about the description of the technique as he gazed down at the little wooden sword.

Back when he had fought his battle with Xu Baocai, everyone from the Supervisors' Department and even the Ovens had mistakenly assumed that he had gained enlightenment of Lightness-in-Heaviness. Now that he thought back to the situation, an idea flickered through his mind.

"The reason people thought I had achieved Lightness-in-Heaviness was because of how adeptly I controlled my little wooden sword. However, the real reason behind that was mostly because of how incredible the sword became after my spirit enhancement.

"The truth of the matter is that my ability to control it isn't actually that incredible, and definitely is not Lightness-in-Heaviness." Frowning, Bai Xiaochun randomly sat down cross-legged and looked at the wooden sword. Gradually, his eyes grew blank, and were soon shot with blood.

A moment later, his right hand suddenly waved up into the air, sending the little wooden sword flying out. It whistled through the air in front of him, kicking up a cloud of dust. Bai Xiaochun's frown deepened as his right hand flashed with an incantation gesture, and then pointed his finger out. However, what he pointed at wasn't the sword, but rather, the huge rock outside the courtyard that he had just stabbed with the sword moments ago.

The wave of his finger caused the huge stone to tremble slightly, then gradually rise up into the air by about one third of a meter. But then Bai Xiaochun's spiritual energy grew unstable, and it thumped back down with a boom.

Bai Xiaochun was not dismayed, though. In fact, quite the opposite. His eyes began to shine brightly. Focusing completely, he circulated his spiritual energy and once again waved his finger.

Once, twice, three times….

Time passed. Half a month was gone in the blink of an eye. Virtually that entire time, Bai Xiaochun worked on trying to control the boulder. Of course, this boulder was about as tall as three people put together, and weighed about 1,500-1,600 kilograms. Despite the fact that Bai Xiaochun was already in the great circle of the fifth level of Qi Condensation, manipulating an object like this was not an easy task. 1

The only reason Bai Xiaochun could do so was because of the extraordinarily refined state of his cultivation base. Anyone else in the fifth level of Qi Condensation would never be able to move the boulder more than a handful of centimeters.

Bai Xiaochun worked hard for an entire month. By this point, he realized that the reason controlling the boulder was so difficult wasn't because of a lack of spiritual energy, but rather, that his level of control was lacking. Even when he still had plenty of spiritual energy, the connection would always break.

"The key is to move the threads of spiritual energy at a constant speed," he muttered hoarsely, eyes bloodshot but shining brightly. "That's how to make sure they never break."

It was the same principle that applied to mortals when they were making noodles at home. If you pulled the dough apart too quickly, it would snap. If you went too slowly, it would be impossible to stretch them out very far. You had to use just the right amount of strength, and then you can control the objects smoothly and clearly however you wish.

If cultivators wanted to control physical objects to a degree that surpassed the ordinary, they would need to use just the right amount of strength, and maintain stability. Of course, that increased the level of difficulty significantly.

"I get it now!" Bai Xiaochun thought excitedly. "Lightness-in-Heaviness is about more than the words 'light' and 'heavy'. It's not just being able to control heavy objects as if they didn't weigh a lot. That's just the surface meaning. The true, deeper meaning has to do, not with physical objects, but rather, with the way you manipulate spiritual energy!

"In the fifth level of Qi Condensation, your total reserve of spiritual energy is what makes the heaviness. When you take that spiritual energy and convert it into numerous tiny, unbreakable threads, that is the lightness. Doing it correctly is Lightness-in-Heaviness. Of course, with the surface meaning, the result is the speed with which you can effortlessly control physical objects!" After getting to the root of the problem, he waved his hand again, and the boulder began to tremble. Then it suddenly rose up into the air.

It was almost as if some enormous hand had simply grabbed it and pulled it up. Then, it began to whistle through the air toward Bai Xiaochun. However, before it could reach him, it suddenly fell down out of the air into his courtyard, where it kicked up a huge cloud of dust.

Bai Xiaochun felt no discouragement. He continued to practice for another half a month. Unfortunately, for that entire time, he was unable to maintain one continuously stable thread of spiritual energy.

Even when he was able to form a stable thread, the incredible heaviness of the rock ensured that the threads of spiritual energy always grew unstable and broke.

Of course, when it came to controlling the little wooden sword, he had no problems whatsoever. Because of the vast difference in weight between the boulder and the sword, Bai Xiaochun now felt that controlling the wooden sword was much, much easier. Furthermore, after the month or more of training, he could move it with much greater speed.

In actuality, he really had achieved Lightness-in-Heaviness. However, he wasn't satisfied. Eyes completely bloodshot, he gritted his teeth, and that vicious determination once again appeared.

"I refuse to believe I can't do it!" He performed an incantation gesture with his right hand, causing the boulder to fly over and hover directly above him.

Beads of sweat popped out on his forehead as he looked up nervously at the rock, exerting all the possible effort he could muster to preserve that invisible thread of spiritual energy. After all, if it broke, then the rock would fall. Although it wouldn't kill him, it would definitely be very painful.

This time, he was clearly able to maintain the connection for a lot longer than before. However, after about an hour passed, rumbling sounds began to echo out, and then Bai Xiaochun let out a yelp as the stone smashed down. After a long moment, it trembled and fell off to the side as Bai Xiaochun crawled out from underneath it.

Thanks to his Undying Skin, he wasn't hurt. However, the pain of what had just occurred left him grimacing.

Despite that, his resolve grew even more intense. Another month went by, and the rock smashed down onto him over and over again. Eventually, he reached the point where he could actually keep it afloat for an entire day without dropping it.

Furthermore, the height to which he could lift it grew greater and greater. Soon, he could hold it thirty meters high in the air. Of course, the pain that resulted when he dropped it from that height left Bai Xiaochun completely pale-faced.

However, that was the only way to refine himself to the pinnacle.

Gradually, his ability to achieve Lightness-in-Heaviness with his internal spiritual energy was growing more and more stable. Eventually, he reached the point where he almost never broke the connection. However, he still wasn't satisfied. Next, he didn't practice while sitting cross-legged, but instead, while exercising.

That made things even more difficult, and led to continuous booms ringing out in his courtyard.

Time passed, one day at a time. Soon the competition Li Qinghou had mentioned was now only three days away. The scene in Bai Xiaochun's courtyard was that of a figure zipping around while a 1,500 kilogram boulder floated around up above. Despite how much Bai Xiaochun was moving around, the boulder remained motionless up in the air.

Eventually, Bai Xiaochun stopped running around, and stood there in front of his log cabin, laughing heartily. Then, he waved his right hand, causing the boulder to fly out of the courtyard and settle back firmly into the ground.

Next, he performed an incantation gesture and pointed out, causing his little wooden sword to slash out in front of him. It moved so quickly it was little more than a blur; clearly it was much more powerful than before.

Bai Xiaochun's face lit up with delight, and his hand began to flash with incantation gestures.

The speed combined with the might of the sword, resulting in a shocking combination. All of a sudden, the courtyard almost seemed to be filled with innumerable little wooden swords, all flying about.

In the end, he flicked his sleeve, causing the sword projections to vanish. Only one wooden sword remained, which then shot back toward Bai Xiaochun and vanished into his bag of holding.

"Now I finally feel ready to get into the top 5." Bai Xiaochun took a deep breath. Although he didn't feel one hundred percent confident, time was running out. All he could do was settle his qi and calm his mind, then sit down cross-legged to meditate and put himself in the proper state.

1. I already did the math, and for a boulder that tall to weigh only 1,500-1,600 kg, it would have to be really, really skinny. I think we can assume that Er Gen either made a mistake in how much it weighed, or it's some sort of magical rock that doesn't weigh as much as real-world boulders

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Chapter 30: Bring It On!

Three days later. Dawn.

Bai Xiaochun's eyes opened at sunrise. He took a deep breath, and a serious expression could be seen on his face. This was his first time taking part in a competition like this.

His fight early on with Xu Baocai actually didn't really count as much of a battle. However, now that he was going to participate in Fragrant Cloud Peak's Outer Sect competition, he would be truly fighting against his fellow sect members.

He slowly rose to his feet, organized his bag of holding, and then somberly walked out of his residence. Moments later though, he came running back and started rummaging around under his bed until he found the leather coats he still had from back in his days at the Ovens. After donning several layers, he then placed his jade pendant somewhere he could access it easily.

Were it not for the fact that it would have led to too many questions, he would have put his turtle-wok on his back.

"Ah, why didn't I think of this earlier!" he thought regretfully. "I can't believe I forgot about that big black wok of mine." However, he was running out of time, and had no choice but to grit his teeth, turn, and leave. Taking a glance in the direction of the distant sun, his eyes filled with determination. Puffing his chest out, he began to climb toward the top of the mountain.

At the moment, he was wearing far too many layers of leather clothing. Even though he didn't have the big black wok on, he still looked somewhat like a sticky rice dumpling…. He was bundled up so tightly that after walking for only a little bit, he was already starting to sweat.

However, even if he sweat more profusely, he wouldn't shed even one item of clothing. The competition was too important, and he couldn't stop thinking about how brutal it would be. As he walked along the path, he suddenly realized that it was quite a foggy morning on the mountain, and he actually had no idea where exactly he was.

"Did I take a wrong turn…?" he thought, and instantly looked around for someone to ask directions from. At the same time, his heart began to thump from the fear of possibly being late.

At the top of Fragrant Cloud Peak was a fighting arena, which was where the competition was to take place. Quite a few people were already gathered there to watch the proceedings, and were chatting in hushed tones.

There were even some disciples in the audience who were in the fifth level of Qi Condensation, although most of them stood there with arms folded across their chests as they looked at their Junior Brothers and Sisters who would be participating in the competition. Of course, there were also people there to cheer on their friends.

This Outer Sect competition wasn't very formal, but it was a place where the participants could stand out from the crowd. There were about twenty people who had come to join the competition, all of whom were sitting in the area cross-legged in meditation, preparing in earnest for the fighting to begin.

No one in the competition was in the third level of Qi Condensation. Although the rules allowed for that, most of the people who actually joined the competition were in the fifth level of Qi Condensation, although there were five or six who were in the fourth level.

There was one young woman among the group who stood out from everyone else. She was tall and beautiful, and her Outer Sect disciple uniform could not conceal her curvaceous form. Anyone who laid eyes on her wouldn't be able to stop from slipping into a bit of a reverie.

Her skin was white like snow, and she had eyebrows that curved as gracefully as willow leaves. She really was spectacularly beautiful. As for the Daoist trousers she wore, although they were loose, they stretched tightly around her rear end in a way that made it virtually impossible for any man to look away.

There were quite a few Outer Sect disciples clustered around her, obviously her admirers.

Although she couldn't quite compare to Zhou Xinqi, she was still one of the most famous of the Outer Sect disciples, Du Lingfei. 1

"Elder Sister Du's cultivation base is in the great circle of the fifth level of Qi Condensation, so she'll definitely take first place in this competition. There's not even any suspense in the matter."

"You can't underestimate Elder Brother Chen Zi'ang, though. I heard that he had a cultivation base breakthrough last month. He might not be in the great circle of the fifth level of Qi Condensation, but he's close." Standing not too far away from Du Lingfei was an arrogant-looking young man, the same Chen Zi'ang who had been shocked by Bai Xiaochun's bamboo outside the Missions Office that day.

Even as everyone was discussing the matter, Chen Zi'ang looked over at Du Lingfei with a strange gleam in his eyes. Although he wasn't too confident in being able to take first place, he was pretty certain he could take second. Besides, he might also be able to take advantage of the situation to get to know Du Lingfei a bit better.

It was at about this point that two beams of light whistled through the air from off in the distance. It was none other than Li Qinghou, followed by an emaciated old man. The old man had swarthy skin, but his eyes shone brightly, and he seemed like a very strict person.

The surrounding Outer Sect disciples were completely shocked to find that Li Qinghou would be in attendance at the competition, and quickly clasped hands in greeting.

"Greeting, Peak Lord. Greetings, Elder Sun." Everyone was flabbergasted that the Peak Lord would personally come to an event like this. Small competitions like this were almost always presided over by Elder Sun.

Du Lingfei and Chen Zi'ang were also shocked, and had very serious expressions on their faces as they bowed in greeting to Li Qinghou.

Li Qinghou looked around benevolently, nodding. As he scanned the crowd of disciples, however, he frowned when he realized that Bai Xiaochun wasn't there.

When the surrounding Outer Sect disciple saw Li Qinghou frowning, their hearts began to thump. Du Lingfei instantly began to get nervous, unsure of why the Peak Lord might be displeased.

"Shall we begin, Peak Lord?" asked Elder Sun, who stood next to Li Qinghou.

Li Qinghou was just about to reply when, all of a sudden, a sweat-soaked spheroid shape could be seen speeding toward them from off in the distance.

"I got lost!" cried Bai Xiaochun as he ran along. "It was too foggy…." Not only was Bai Xiaochun very nervous, he also felt that the whole situation was very unfair. After all, he wasn't very familiar with all the mountain paths, and considering how foggy it had been, he had simply gotten lost while thinking.

As soon as the words left his mouth, all of the Outer Sect disciple involuntarily looked over. There were quite a few of them who were familiar with Bai Xiaochun, and when they heard the words he called out, they began to snicker. As for those who didn't know him, they frowned, and gleams of derision could be seen in their eyes.

As far as they were concerned, the only reason he could have for getting lost on the way to the competition was that he rarely ventured up to the top of the mountain, and didn't care much about the competitions that the sect held. Most likely, he was only used to strolling around for pleasure.

Du Lingfei looked at him, and remembered him as one of the people who had been chasing after Zhou Xinqi recently. Supposedly, he had worked hard to catch the great chicken bandit. Du Lingfei immediately turned away in disdain, not willing to even look at him.

Chen Zi'ang looked at Bai Xiaochun in complete shock, and couldn't help but glance over at Li Qinghou. He hadn't forgotten what Bai Xiaochun had said at the Missions Office about Li Qinghou being his uncle. That would explain why Li Qinghou had been frowning right now, and after analyzing the matter, he realized that when fighting Bai Xiaochun, he would have to be careful not to beat him too badly.

Li Qinghou snorted coldly, glaring at Bai Xiaochun for a moment before nodding at Elder Sun.

Elder Sun looked thoughtfully at Bai Xiaochun for a moment, then laughed and waved his sleeve. "Very well. All disciples who wish to participate in the Outer Sect fighting competition, please step into the arena."

Seeing Li Qinghou's glare caused Bai Xiaochun to feel more than ever that the situation was completely unfair. However, he didn't dare to give voice to his sentiments. As soon as the words left Elder Sun's mouth, Bai Xiaochun was the first disciple to leap up onto the platform, chest puffed out proudly, looking as though mountains of daggers and seas of flames couldn't impinge on his honor.

Soon, all the contestants were in the arena. Including Bai Xiaochun, there were twenty in total.

The rules for competitions like this one were fairly lax. Elder Sun looked at the contestants for a moment, then pulled out a small cloth sack, within which were a collection of marbles with numbers on them. One by one, the competitors filed over to take a marble, which would indicate the order in which they fought.

Bai Xiaochun didn't manage to get first in line. He got stuck in the middle, and when he pulled out his marble, it had the number 11 written on it.

"Very well," Elder Sun said coolly. "Now, everyone step back so that the first match can begin. Fighters number one and two, prepare to begin!" Bai Xiaochun and the others quickly left the fighting arena, whereas the disciples with the number one and two marbles remained. As the two stared each other down, brilliant light began to shine in their eyes.

Soon they began to fight, and the booming sounds of battle rang out. Meanwhile, Bai Xiaochun's mind was racing. He kept telling himself that, considering there were twenty people in this competition, all he had to do was win twice to make it into the top 5. He was also wondering who it was that got the number twelve marble, but no one was willing to reveal to everyone else which numbers they had, making it virtually impossible for him to determine who he would be fighting.

Even as his spirits began to fall, the first match ended, and the second began. Du Lingfei was one of the fighters in this match, and she immediately performed an incantation gesture, causing a banner to fly out, which then turned into a stream of mist that enveloped her opponent. After struggling a bit, the disciple couldn't escape, and conceded, filled with admiration for Du Lingfei.

The third and fourth matches went by quickly enough, and when it came time for the fifth match, Chen Zi'ang secured a quick and efficient victory over a disciple in the fourth level of Qi Condensation.

"Fighters number eleven and twelve, step forward and let the match begin," Elder Sun called out. Bai Xiaochun took a deep breath and walked forward, a very serious expression on his face. After setting foot into the arena, he found that his opponent was a tall, gaunt young man with a cold smile on his face.

His cultivation base was extraordinary, in the fifth level of Qi Condensation. His eyes flashed like lightning, and overall, he seemed like the type of person who was not to be trifled with.

"Well Junior Brother," the gaunt young man said, his voice cold, "you have the bad luck to have run into me in the first round. It's not too late to concede. If you don't, you'll have to take responsibility for yourself if you get injured."

However, in the instant that the words left the young man's mouth, Bai Xiaochun suddenly let out a powerful roar.

The roar was so intense that everything shook, and quite a few audience members were shocked. The gaunt young man was also taken aback, and even backed up bit without even thinking about it, staring at Bai Xiaochun with wide eyes.

After roaring, Bai Xiaochun slapped his jade pendant, causing a green glow to surround him. That didn't leave him feeling safe, though, so he pulled out a big stack of paper talismans, which he rapidly stuck all over himself. Each time he did, they would emit a powerful glow, until he was covered with no less than ten individual shields. Their combined power transformed into a protective wall nearly a meter-and-a-half thick. From a distance, the sight was completely shocking.

Because of all the protective shields, Bai Xiaochun's subsequent shout was actually a bit muffled.

"Alright, bring it on!"

The gaunt young man was still staring blankly at Bai Xiaochun, and it wasn't just him. The other Outer Sect disciples, including the other contestants, were all gaping in shock. In all the times they had observed competitions like this, they had never seen anyone use protective shields to such an extent.

Li Qinghou's face twitched, but from the look in his eyes, it was clear he could do nothing about the situation.

Chen Zi'ang took a deep breath as he grew even more certain that Bai Xiaochun and Li Qinghou were actually relatives. However, Du Lingfei simply gave a cold harrumph, and her derision increased.

Everyone watched with wide eyes as the gaunt young man down in the arena let out his own roar, then performed a double-handed incantation gesture, causing a wooden sword to fly directly toward Bai Xiaochun.

http//wp-content/uploads/2017/02/IMG_8681.jpg

As luck would have it, Er Gen recently released this depiction of Du Lingfei

1. Du Lingfei's name in Chinese is 杜凌菲 dù líng fēi. Du is a common surname. Ling means "to rise up." Fei means "luxurious"

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Chapter 31: Humiliated!

The gaunt young man's wooden sword pulsed with a strange energy, streaking through the air in a prismatic beam, directly toward Bai Xiaochun. However, before it could even get close, a pinging sound rang out from the exterior of Bai Xiaochun's thick meter-and-a-half shield as the wooden sword bounced off of it.

As soon as Bai Xiaochun's protective shields flickered, his eyes glittered, and he breathed a sigh of relief. Clearing his throat, he actually just sat down cross-legged.

The audience exchanged confused glances. They weren't really sure what to say in response to Bai Xiaochun and his extreme level of defense. They had seen people who focused on defense before, but… had never seen anyone who shielded himself this much.

As for his opponent, the young man's face first flushed, then went pale. Gritting his teeth, he roared, sending his flying sword shooting toward the glowing shields, ratcheting up in power even as it shot through the air.

A pinging sound rang out as the flying sword flew in again and again, but each time, it was sent spinning away. Finally, the pale-faced young man's spiritual energy was more than half depleted, and a look of despair appeared on his face.

He had been fighting in duels for years, but this was the first time he had encountered an opponent who hid like a turtle in a shell. However, he wasn't willing to give in yet. He had joined the competition with the express purpose of taking 3rd place. Staring at Bai Xiaochun with bloodshot eyes, he furiously roared, "Get out from behind that shield!"

Bai Xiaochun wasn't scared at all by this young man, so he didn't have any reservations about staying behind the shield and shouting, "If you're good enough, why don't you come on inside!"

Strange expressions appeared on the faces of everyone in the audience as they looked at Bai Xiaochun, not sure whether to laugh or cry. The gaunt young man was so angry that blue veins popped out on his forehead as he clenched his jaw. Finally, he bit his tongue and spit out a mouthful of blood. When it landed on his wooden sword, the entire thing turned the color of blood.

Discussion immediately broke out in the audience.

"Blood Spirit Magic!"

"For him to use that magical technique shows that he really has been driven to madness!"

The blood-colored wooden sword moved even faster than before, and emitted double the pressure. Blood-colored light spread out in all directions as it shot toward Bai Xiaochun.

A boom rang out as the wooden sword pierced a full three inches into the shield. Rumbling could be heard as it tried to pierce further, but failed. In fact, because too much force was being exerted, cracks began to spread out over the sword.

A moment later, a pop could be heard as the entire wooden sword… shattered into pieces, which slowly floated down to the ground.

The gaunt young man's eyes went wide, and blood sprayed out of his mouth. His spiritual energy was vastly depleted, his magical item destroyed, and he was so furious simply passed out.

As Li Qinghou watched the scene playing out, his face grew increasingly unsightly. Chuckling wryly, Elder Sun stepped forward, signalled for people to come carry the gaunt young man away, and then declared Bai Xiaochun the winner.

"Ah, he let me win!" Bai Xiaochun said as the shield light around him faded away. Looking very solemn, he puffed his chest out and clasped his hands behind his back, looking every bit like a Chosen. As for the gaunt young man, as he was being carried off, he apparently heard Bai Xiaochun's words, regained consciousness, coughed up another mouthful of blood, and then passed out again.

Clearing his throat, Bai Xiaochun turned to Elder Sun and clasped hands. Then he flicked his sleeve and walked out of the arena.

The Outer Sect disciples who had come to watch the competition took everything in fairly well. At most, they had strange looks on their faces. As for the contestants, they were looking at Bai Xiaochun with very unsightly expressions.

That was especially true of the people who had already won their respective matches. When they compared the gaunt young man's current condition with Bai Xiaochun, they couldn't help but feel the need to be on guard.

The competition continued, and soon the rest of the matches were completed. Of the original twenty participants, half had been eliminated to produce the current top 10.

That included Du Lingfei, Chen Zi'ang, and Bai Xiaochun, who stood there, chin jutted out, looking around at his fellow top 10 competitors. Inwardly, he was saying, "All I have to do is win one more match and then I'll have succeeded!"

Seeing hope right there in front of him, he felt quite excited.

Elder Sun looked over the ten contestants, his gaze lingering on Bai Xiaochun for a moment before saying, "The top 5 will now be selected. Would the ten of you please step forward to select your marbles."

This time, Bai Xiaochun scrambled to be first in line, and pulled out a marble with the number two written on it. Afterward, he immediately turned to study his fellow competitors.

It didn't take long for everyone to draw a marble, after which Elder Sun announced that the first two fighters were to begin their match. Bai Xiaochun was joined by a burly, muscular man who, upon seeing who he was fighting, began to laugh loudly.

"Other people might fear your defenses, but I don't care at all about them. I'm also adept with defense, so let's just wait and see which of us two can hold out for longer!" Laughing, the man slapped his bag of holding to produce a shield. After imbuing it with some spiritual energy, the shield grew larger and began to emit a yellow glow which completely surrounded the man.

The man wasn't done yet, though. Roaring, his flesh and muscles expanded, and he even grew a few inches taller. The entire scene was quite shocking.

"I can't believe its Body Forging magic!"

"That little shield looks familiar. Don't tell me it's the Dawnlight Shield! That things costs 9,000 merit points!" Everyone was shocked, and as for Bai Xiaochun, his brow was furrowed.

When Elder Sun saw what was happening, he nodded his head slightly, eyes shining with a look of praise. Turning to Li Qinghou, he said, "This kid is Li Shan, fifth level of Qi Condensation. He'll be a difficult opponent, as he was born with Godly power, plus cultivates Body Forging magic. Not only is he incredibly strong, he also excels in defense."

Li Qinghou nodded slightly, then looked over at Bai Xiaochun.

Bai Xiaochun was studying the burly man's transformed body, and the shield he had. He recognized the shield from his visit to the treasure Pavilion, and although he wasn't sure exactly how many merit points it cost, his frown deepened.

Everyone watching the competition seemed very interested to find out what was going to happen, especially the other disciples in the competition, who were clearly pleased to gloat in the misfortune of others.

"That fair-skinned disciple sure got unlucky."

"Well, he got super lucky before, that's all. Now that he's facing a powerful opponent like this, he'll naturally get beaten back into place."

As the audience discussed the developments, the burly man smiled viciously and then began to stride rapidly toward Bai Xiaochun.

"There's nothing you can do. I beat the last disciple I fought without even drawing a weapon. My fist is the most powerful magical technique I have!"

The man sped up, causing a wind to blast out. As he closed in, Bai Xiaochun's eyes glittered and he suddenly waved his finger, causing his little wooden sword to fly out from his bag of holding.

Without the slightest pause, it shot out in front of Bai Xiaochun toward the burly man.

As it slashed toward him, sword qi built up for dozens of meters around the sword, causing rumbling sounds to echo out.

The burly man's face fell, and his scalp was tingling so hard it felt like it might explode. His eyes widened as an intense sensation of crisis washed through him. Without the slightest hesitation, he fell into retreat. Roaring, he waved both hands, sending his shield out to block the sword.

A boom rang out as the wooden sword and the little shield slammed into each other. However, the shield didn't do anything to even slow down the wooden sword. It was blasted apart, and the wooden sword continued on toward the burly man.

The man's face was filled with shock; even if he were capable of dodging faster, it would do no good. The flying sword was on him in the blink of an eye, causing an icy wind to buffet his face.

"I concede!" he shouted without hesitation, his voice rising by a few octaves as he fell to the ground.

A buzzing sound could be heard as the wooden sword stopped just in front of the man's forehead, then turned and flew back into Bai Xiaochun's bag of holding.

Bai Xiaochun blinked, also somewhat shocked by the wooden sword. Before, he had only practiced with it, and had no idea it was so powerful. And that was before he even began to utilize Lightness-in-Heaviness.

After looking up in thought for a moment, he jutted his jaw out, folded his hands behind his back, and looked coolly at the burly man.

The man's face was pale white, and yet he still didn't seem to want to back down. Crawling to his feet, he glared at Bai Xiaochun and said, "Using the power of magical items doesn't count as winning! I don't accept this as being a defeat!"

With that, the man turned and stalked out of the arena.

Elder Sun looked over at Bai Xiaochun, also astonished by the power of the wooden sword. However, he didn't say anything other to announce that Bai Xiaochun was the victor.

"Hahaha," Bai Xiaochun laughed to himself. "In the next battle I'll just instantly concede. I became a cultivator to live forever, right? All this killing and fighting is too barbaric. That's not how Bai Xiaochun does things." Bai Xiaochun left the arena, feeling wonderful at having complied with Li Qinghou's requirement to get into the top 5.

Li Qinghou's eyes had also come to rest on Bai Xiaochun. Although everyone else had been focused on how incredible the flying sword was, Li Qinghou hadn't been paying attention to that at all. He had been watching the skill and ease with which Bai Xiaochun controlled the flying sword.

Seeing that Bai Xiaochun had won another match, the crowd began to sigh emotionally.

"Ah, this guy must be rich, that's why he has such an incredible wooden sword. Hmph. If he had any other weapon he definitely couldn't have won!"

"Magical devices have nothing to do with your cultivation. First he used those amulets, then that sword. What a waste! He's definitely going to go broke eventually."

The grumblings didn't last for long though. The next battle soon got underway. Du Lingfei was fighting an opponent with an extraordinary cultivation base. It was a fierce fight, but Du Lingfei didn't use her banner. Instead, she utilized a flying sword. They fought back and forth in dazzling fashion until suddenly, Du Lingfei's flying sword shot forward with incredible speed to appear directly in front of her opponent.

Such speed vastly surpassed that which ordinary disciples could control, sending the audience into an uproar when people realized what they were seeing.

"I can't believe its Lightness-in-Heaviness!!"

"Du Lingfei has actually reached enlightenment of that stage…."

"It's Lightness-in-Heaviness!" Deep within Elder Sun's eyes, the glitter of approval could be seen as he looked at Du Lingfei.

Li Qinghou also nodded.

Chen Zi'ang was shocked, and most everyone else who had made it into the top 10 had similar reactions. As for her opponent, he chuckled bitterly and clasped hands to concede.

Du Lingfei stood there in the arena, looking around proudly. Clasping hands toward Li Qinghou and Elder Sun, she left the arena.

The crowd was still in an uproar.

However, Bai Xiaochun was left standing there, blinking.

"That level of speed counts as Lightness-in-Heaviness?" he thought, astonished.

As Du Lingfei proudly left the arena, slight drops of sweat could be seen running down her face. Despite being in the great circle of the fifth level of Qi Condensation, fighting two successive battles was quite a drain on her spiritual energy. That was especially true of the battle just now, in which her opponent had possessed unusual battle prowess. In the end, she had been forced to unleash her magic of Lightness-in-Heaviness, which was an even bigger drain on her spiritual energy. That was how she had secured victory.

Her goal was 1st place, and she knew that subsequent opponents would only be more powerful. Because this particular sect competition wasn't very strictly organized, she wouldn't have much time to rest before the next fight. Therefore, she immediately pulled out a medicinal pill, which she consumed, then closed her eyes and began to take advantage of the time to recover.

The top 5 now consisted of Bai Xiaochun and Du Lingfei, as well as Chen Zi'ang. In the end, there were two other young men, both of whom had profound cultivation bases in the fifth level of Qi Condensation.

Currently, everyone was in the process of rotating their cultivation bases, taking advantage of every opportunity to replenish some spiritual energy.

Only Bai Xiaochun didn't seem to have spent any spiritual energy at all. In fact, he even stood off to the side yawning. When everyone else who had been eliminated from the competition saw that, it left them with the urge to beat him.

Now that he had fulfilled Li Qinghou's demand to get into the top 5, he didn't care at all about the rest of the competition.

Trying to suppress his boredom, he looked over at the other four top 5 competitors, especially Du Lingfei, musing that if the speed she had just unleashed counted as Lightness-in-Heaviness, then he was surely far, far beyond that.

"It's too bad she has such an extremely murderous aura. Why would a good girl like that be so into fighting and killing? Don't tell me that all girls who practice Immortal cultivation are weirdos like this? Zhou Xinqi is super proud, and Hou Xiaomei is way too moody." Bai Xiaochun shook his head. He was just about to look away from Du Lingfei when she seemed to sense that he was looking at her. Her eyes suddenly snapped open to stare at him coldly.

As far as Du Lingfei was concerned, Bai Xiaochun wasn't even worth thinking about. After watching his first two battles, she was of the opinion that he had pulled off lucky wins, which caused the derision in her heart to grow stronger.

"Well well, you dare to stare at me, do you?!" Bai Xiaochun immediately ceased any motion of looking away. Instead, his eyes went wide as he glared right back at Du Lingfei. Staring contests didn't have anything to do with fighting and bloodshed, so from a young age, he had met few people who could overcome him.

Du Lingfei frowned. As for the admirers who clustered behind her, they were very irritated, and cast ferocious glares in his direction.

However, seeing so many eyes staring at him, and considering that quite a few of them were extremely fierce, Bai Xiaochun cleared his throat. He only had two eyes, so how could he possibly match up? "Well, they have numbers on their side, and besides, true men don't fight with girls."

With a harrumph, he looked away.

About that time, Elder Sun's voice rang out across the arena.

"Very good, all of you. This competition has gone very well so far. And now, we will continue to narrow down the competitors. Would the five of you please step forward and select a marble. One of those marbles is a free pass into the top 3." Smiling, Elder Sun produced the bag again.

This time, Chen Zi'ang was first. After pulling out the marble, he frowned; his marble had the number four written on it.

Du Lingfei was next, who got the number two marble. The other two Outer Sect disciple got numbers one and three respectively.

Bai Xiaochun didn't even need to draw a marble; the remaining marble was the free pass.

Bai Xiaochun's eyes lit up, and he chuckled. He took his place outside of the fighting arena, arms folded, feeling completely relaxed as he prepared to watch Du Lingfei and all the others. He hadn't even planned to continue on the with the competition, but now he didn't have to do anything and he was already in the top 3.

"Luck is a big part of strength!" he thought, feeling quite pleased with himself.

That very luck caused quite a few audience members to stare at him with even stranger expressions on their faces. Most of them really couldn't bear to accept the situation, especially the other disciples who had been eliminated, whose hearts were filled with jealousy and envy.

"This guy is totally shameless. Alright, fine, he used a magical item to get into the top five, but then he actually got a free pass into the top three!"

"How despicable. In fact, there's never been someone as despicable as this to ever show up in the competitions."

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