Chapter 27: The Life Story Emerges, the Linglong Furnace

"Reporting to Your Excellency, he has already entered the Yuanqing Sect." In the darkness, a person in white bowed and reported to the person on the seat.

Yet that person seemed not to have heard, supporting their head on the chair as they pleased, one hand still tapping on the armrest; that hand was gaunt and bony, the skin dark, withered, and shriveled. Only after a long while did they wave at the person below the seat.

"Yes! This subordinate understands!" The person on the seat had clearly not said a single word, yet the person in white seemed to have received some order, cupped their fists, and then vanished from sight.

……

The scenery on Qingwei Peak was the same as it had always been; the grass and trees in the mountains were lush and green, the stream water gurgled, and the rocks here were mostly rounded and lacked sharp edges, unlike the jagged, towering rocks of the Yuanqing main peak, Congyun Peak.

The residence of Lingxiang was located halfway up Qingwei Peak. This place was vastly different from the residences of other Elders; it was neither carved beams and painted pillars nor flying eaves and long corridors, but merely a few wooden houses and a small courtyard. The surroundings were entirely filled with spirit plant fields, distributed up and down like a heavenly ladder, with irrigation ditches crisscrossing among them. The water in the ditches flowed ceaselessly, all coming from a deep pool behind the house, and a small waterfall above the pool descended gracefully like silk from a workshop.

Such scenery was no different from the secluded dwelling of someone outside the world, only……

"Hmph! A bunch of stubborn old fools!" Lingxiang slammed the table hard. "They set up a pile of filthy things, but they hid the treasure furnace quite securely!" As she spoke, she wanted to pour some tea to soothe her temper, but not a single drop of water would come out, making her feel even more stifled.

The Spirit Treasure that Lingxiang had casually taken at Wuji Hall just now was not entirely for the sake of teasing Zhaoming Zhenren; it was more to search for the Spirit Treasure with which she had refined the Life-Prolonging Pill back then—the Linglong Treasure Furnace.

It is said that this Linglong Treasure Furnace originated from the same source as that cauldron in Doushuai Palace, but this furnace was not kept in the Thirty-Three Heavens of Lihen; instead, it was bestowed upon the Kuiwei clan. As time passed and ages changed, following the decline of the Kuiwei Jiang clan, the whereabouts of this furnace became unknown.

This furnace had traversed the long river of time and had long since achieved Spirit Communication; only those with the bloodline of the Kuiwei and recognized by it could ignite the fire to refine pills.

Yet all things are no match for the fleeting passage of time, and bloodlines are the same.

Back when the Conferment of the Gods was established, Queen Jiang suffered a tragic fate. That demon concubine was still not satisfied and wanted to exterminate her sons. The two princes were saved by a great power and temporarily avoided disaster, but this made the demon concubine even more furious. She plotted to harm their mother's clan as well to vent the hatred in her heart. Fortunately, Marquis Jiang had taken precautions and settled some clansmen in advance, so the Kuiwei bloodline was able to be preserved.

This is why Lingxiang, with only Foundation Establishment cultivation, could refine Supreme Grade pills. For one, it was related to her bloodline, and for another, the Linglong furnace resonated with her, bypassing the limits of her cultivation.

When Lingxiang's mother was traveling through the mortal world, she happened to pass by a shop selling miscellaneous goods by chance, and her spirit felt a response, which allowed this Spirit Treasure, lost for a hundred years, to see the light of day again.

It was not to say that she could refine nothing without this Linglong furnace; after all, she possessed an ancient bloodline and had obtained the recognition of the Linglong Treasure Furnace's Spirit Artifact. It was just that with her Foundation Establishment cultivation, it was difficult to obtain a Supreme Grade pill like the Life-Prolonging Pill again.

Speaking of the Life-Prolonging Pill, it was originally created by Lingxiang's mother. Back then, she refined five, but she did not expect that this would create Karma, not only bringing about her own demise but also nearly causing the Yuanqing Sect to suffer a catastrophic disaster.

When Lingxiang refined two Life-Prolonging Pills based on her mother's posthumous work, the entire Yuanqing Sect was shocked, and even the ancestors who did not ask about worldly affairs were alarmed. No one had expected that a ten-year-old girl could be favored by an ancient Spirit Treasure.

Fearing that if this matter spread, it would surely cause another bloody storm, the ancestor ordered Shangqing Zhenren to forcibly hide the Linglong Treasure Furnace in the mountains, not letting Lingxiang know its whereabouts.

Lingxiang naturally would not agree to such an act; she cried and made a scene, and even nearly dismantled the Xuanling Pavilion, but Shangqing Zhenren remained completely unmoved and let her be.

As for why Shangqing Zhenren was so resolute, he had personally experienced that purgatory-like disaster back then, seeing with his own eyes his fellow disciples die one by one under the devil's claws; the events of the past were still vivid in his mind. To avoid repeating the mistakes of the past, he had no choice but to wrong Lingxiang.

Nowadays, the several great Elders of the Yuanqing Sect, even Fuyin, Danyang, and Danzhu, who were still young at the time and went down the mountain for training together, all had fresh memories of that catastrophe—the new graves of fellow disciples and uncles seen upon their return, the dilapidated houses left after the fighting, the remains of spirit beasts in the mountains……

During the catastrophe, Lingxiang was but a child and naturally did not understand these things. Later, seeing that Shangqing Zhenren would not grant her wishes no matter what, she left the mountain in a fit of anger with those two Life-Prolonging Pills, and thereafter, Youran Abode came to be.

The Elders originally did not want her to be alone outside, but fortunately, she was still under their own noses, so they let her follow her own temperament.

"Lingxiang! Lingxiang!" Before hearing the person, one heard the voice; without needing to think, one knew who it was.

"I am still at ease in the human world; what is your intention in calling souls like this?" Lingxiang lay on the table listlessly, responding lazily.

"You just returned to Xianyun Abode and are already so indifferent to worldly affairs. It is a pity that the Sect Master Uncle even conferred upon you the title of Peak Master. If you are unwilling, why not yield the position to me, so I can show off in front of the senior brothers." Maidong rushed into the room, not standing on ceremony, sat down boldly, and picked up the kettle to drink.

"I say, you are at least a Peak Master of Qingwei Peak; you don't even have water to quench thirst. To be a Peak Master like you is truly pathetic!"

Maidong and Lingxiang had grown up together since childhood, had similar temperaments, and were of the same age, so they had always treated each other as sisters and never cared about seniority in private.

"Look at what you are saying. I am not like your master, with students everywhere, and someone following you wherever you go, with everything served in perfect order." Lingxiang rolled her eyes and turned her head to instruct, "Go! Brew some Xiangtan tea for your Ninth Martial Aunt and serve her well; it won't be in vain that she has doted on you all these years."

"Pfft!" Seeing Lingxiang so listless, Maidong couldn't help but laugh. "Since Ninth Martial Aunt has doted on me for so long, why not dote on me a little more and let your disciple come to serve his senior sister."

"How dare you speak such wild words in front of this Peak Master! Watch as I take out the sect rules today and teach you properly how to respect your elders~" Lingxiang stood up, singing like a storyteller in the street, gesturing with her hands as if to hit Maidong, but suddenly stopped.

Oh my! These past few days I have been busy with the City Lord's family affairs, and then suddenly encountered a thief at Youran Abode; I forgot I still have a disciple!

Stunned for a moment, she sat back down slowly: This is good; once Escort Master Du from the Pingchuan Escort Agency delivers the items, there will be no need to worry about the moving and carrying.

Why take on a disciple? Naturally, it is to order them around!

I must think of a way to make that fellow Long Qi's promotion to the inner sect go smoothly, so that I can rightfully take him under my wing sooner. Then I won't have to worry about having no one to serve tea, pour water, or cook meals, and I'll have a laborer to look after the spirit plants for me. It serves multiple purposes; very good! Very good!

In just an instant, Lingxiang's thoughts turned a hundred times. Seeing the sly smile and cunning look on her face, Maidong knew that her unlucky disciple had definitely been schemed against again.

"Achoo!" Long Qi was practicing horse stance with Liu Xia and the others, but unexpectedly sneezed—could it be that he didn't close the window when sleeping last night and was blown by the wind?