Chapter 28: Discovering the Tail

……

Xu Chen and the other two naturally did not know that the moment the Soul Returning Wood bloomed, the Great Elder had scurried off to Yuqing Hall to beg the experts there for help in refining pills.

Of course, the people at Yuqing Hall knew even less that the Soul Returning Wood was indeed returning its soul before death, and after a brief flash of brilliance, it would wither completely within a few days.

Right now, it was unknown what kind of mood the Great Elder would be in when he returned to see the Soul Returning Wood dead, or if he would have the urge to hang himself to be buried with it.

However, this had nothing to do with Xu Chen and the other two; being able to get three bottles of Small Yuan Pill while out shopping was, for their currently dirt-poor state, as exciting as a timely rain.

Even Jiu Shixiong, who had always been full of disdain for Yuqing Hall, kept sighing at the grandeur of the prestigious sect, truly a model of the Immortal World and a genuine love of the human realm, worthy of him flattering it a few times.

Three bottles of Small Yuan Pill added up to ten Spirit Stones in value.

Furthermore, the alchemists of Yuqing Hall were more skilled, and the quality of these Small Yuan Pills was clearly much better than those refined by the Third Elder; one could tell just by looking at the color and scent.

Jiu Shixiong laughed: "It seems I should visit the Treasure Pavilion more often when I have time; perhaps I can get a few more bottles of pills for free."

Zhao Xuan spat and scolded: "Shixiong, you are an Immortal, can you not act like a hooligan?"

Jiu Shixiong said righteously: "How can a great man go back on his word? I cannot!"

Zhao Xuan reached out to pinch Jiu Shixiong's arm, and just as the two were bickering, Xu Chen suddenly paused his footsteps for half a beat.

"Junior Brother, what happened?" Zhao Xuan, being more sensitive, stopped and asked in a low voice.

Xu Chen released his Divine Sense and carefully searched a hundred-zhang radius, yet he discovered nothing, so he quickly withdrew his Divine Sense and transmitted his voice to Jiu Shixiong and Zhao Xuan:

"Just now, I felt a trace of Divine Sense, but it vanished in an instant."

Zhao Xuan breathed a sigh of relief and said: "There are quite a few cultivators in Jingshi, and right now there are even more Immortal Sect cultivators here to celebrate the Emperor's birthday; perhaps it was just someone passing by who inadvertently released their Divine Sense to probe the surroundings."

Xu Chen shook his head, his expression serious: "I am slightly familiar with this trace of Divine Sense. When I left Wuyang late that night, I had discovered this Divine Sense before. I thought it was just an illusion, but since I discovered it again today, it is definitely not an illusion."

Upon hearing this, Senior Brother Jiu's expression instantly turned grave, and he transmitted his voice: "Does Junior Brother think it is someone from the Ziyang Sect?"

Xu Chen nodded slightly.

The lively mood of the three instantly cooled down. Zhao Xuan asked in confusion: "This is a bit strange. This person followed us from Wuyang; why haven't they made a move after following us all the way to Jingshi? It is too strange."

Jiu Shixiong thought for a moment, his mood seeming to relax quite a bit, and said: "It seems the opponent's strength is not very strong. Besides, we killed their companion in the Zhenyuan Realm, so they must be somewhat afraid. Therefore, following and monitoring us all the way must be to find another opportunity to strike."

Xu Chen also roughly understood, so he breathed a sigh of relief and said: "Then what should we do now?"

Jiu Shixiong said: "I don't fear a thief stealing, I fear a thief coveting. Since we have discovered them, we must naturally find them and finish them off."

Zhao Xuan said: "I fear it won't be easy. Junior Brother discovered the opponent's Divine Sense twice, while neither you nor I noticed it, which shows the opponent's strength is also very high, at least a powerhouse in the True Origin Realm. Even if we find them, I fear the three of us cannot deal with them. If it weren't for Junior Brother's Divine Sense attack last time, I fear we would all be dead."

Jiu Shixiong gritted his teeth and said: "Then we need to think of more ways. Since they are timid and haven't made a direct move, it shows their strength shouldn't be stronger than the last one. Also, they didn't help last time, which shows their intentions aren't very pure either."

Xu Chen asked in confusion: "Shixiong means this guy wants to swallow the Spirit Medicine alone?"

Jiu Shixiong bared his teeth and smiled: "That is natural. With a supreme treasure in front, one can betray their fellow sect members."

Xu Chen immediately stepped back two paces subconsciously, looking at Jiu Shixiong with full vigilance.

Senior Brother Jiu was immediately embarrassed, rubbed the back of his head, and laughed dryly: "Junior Brother, rest assured, the bond between us brothers of the Taiyuan Sect is deep; we would absolutely sacrifice ourselves to save each other."

Zhao Xuan kicked Jiu Shixiong lightly and said: "When is this to be joking? This person is skilled at hiding their Divine Sense; it won't be easy to find them."

Senior Brother Jiu said seriously: "That is indeed true. It seems that to find this guy, we still need Junior Brother to act; your Divine Sense is stronger than both of ours."

Xu Chen smiled bitterly: "As long as they truly appear, I might be able to find them, but they are very careful. Their Divine Sense flashes and vanishes every time, and they are not within a hundred-zhang radius, so I simply cannot track them."

Speaking of this, Xu Chen released his Divine Sense to scan the hundred-zhang distance carefully once more, then transmitted: "Additionally, I am worried that they already know about the Blood God Grass, so this matter must be resolved as soon as possible, otherwise, the longer it drags on, the more trouble there will be."

Jiu Shixiong and Zhao Xuan looked at each other, then nodded together. The three exchanged a few words via Divine Sense and then quickly left.

After feeling they were being followed, the three became vigilant and simply stopped shopping, returning straight to the inn.

Although they had unexpectedly obtained three bottles of Small Yuan Pill at the Treasure Pavilion and made a fortune out of thin air, feeling refreshed for a while, the feeling after that was even more dejected.

The Taiyuan Sect could be considered a reputable Immortal Sect dojo in the Great Song territory, and in the eyes of rogue cultivators and mortals, it was an existence high above, but compared to the wealthy and imposing Yuqing Hall, it was completely like a common chicken or dog, and "shabby" was not enough to describe it.

Even the three of them, looking at the three bottles of Small Yuan Pill now, felt a kind of bitterness as if they were beggars receiving alms; the previous excitement had vanished completely.

The Treasure Pavilion was just a business of the Yuqing Hall's outer sect in the mortal world; although the things inside were considered precious, in reality, they were just common items in the cultivation world.

Yet, these common things that Yuqing Hall looked down upon were things the three of them couldn't afford.

"Damn it, Yuqing Hall is bullying people too much!"

Jiu Shixiong paced back and forth in the room with his arms crossed, cursing and looking unconvinced.

Zhao Xuan was both annoyed and amused, playing with the Xiao Huli, and said: "Shixiong, on the way back just now, you were praising Yuqing Hall like a flower, and in the blink of an eye, you are cursing them again. You are too snobbish!"

Xu Chen also curled his lips and said: "Shixiong, if you look down on these Small Yuan Pills, give them to me first. I am so poor right now that I want to kneel at Yuqing Hall and call them daddy!"

Jiu Shixiong squinted and threw the Small Yuan Pills to Xu Chen: "Broken pills that aren't even graded, I really don't look down on them!"

After saying this, he took out a palm-sized animal skin pouch covered in mysterious patterns from his bosom, stared at it with his Divine Sense for a long time, finally sighed, sat down on a chair, and said: "There must be many treasures in this Storage Bag. Besides that Guiyuan Pill, there might be many Spirit Stones and other treasures. Sigh, it's a pity I can't open it."

Xu Chen happily put away the Small Yuan Pills and also leaned over, took the Storage Bag from Jiu Shixiong's hand, stared at it for a moment, and specifically activated the Blue Jade Bead in his Sea of Consciousness to strike the Soul Locking Array of the Storage Bag, but unfortunately, there was no movement at all; instead, his head felt as painful as if it were being pricked by needles, and his face turned pale.

Ever since they killed that Ziyang Sect cultivator and obtained this Storage Bag, the three had been studying it whenever they had time on the road to Jingshi, but unfortunately, after several days, they had no way at all.

The Ziyang Sect was a large Immortal Sect in the Ming Kingdom with a long heritage and its own set of secret techniques and Magic Spell systems. Although this Storage Bag looked unremarkable, when Divine Sense probed into it, it would be blocked by a compass array composed of hundreds of Ancient Runes. Only by using the Ziyang Sect's unique method could it be unlocked. If one forcibly destroyed it, the things inside would surely turn to dust in an instant.

Of course, if one's own strength was strong enough, one could also use Divine Sense to forcibly destroy this array and open it, but in that case, this Storage Bag would likely be destroyed as well, unable to seal the bag mouth again, resulting in it being like a young lady without clothes, with the things inside exposed to everyone's eyes, and any cultivator could take them away at will.

After Jiu Shixiong sighed for a while, he stood up and said: "No, we must find a way to pry this Storage Bag open."

Zhao Xuan said in surprise: "Shixiong, don't use force."

Jiu Shixiong shook his head: "Shimei, rest assured, but sitting here blankly definitely won't work. I must go out and find some friends in the circle to help think of a way."

Xu Chen held his forehead and reminded: "Shixiong, this Storage Bag cannot see the light of day."

Senior Brother Jiu thought for a moment and threw the Storage Bag to Xu Chen: "Junior Brother, rest well in the inn. Your Soul is damaged; do not easily use your Divine Sense recently. To deal with the Ziyang Sect people, we will ultimately need you to act with full force. Junior Sister and I will go out to inquire about the recent trends in the Immortal World and also go to several cultivator trading places to see if we can find a way to open the Storage Bag."

After hearing this, Zhao Xuan stuffed the Xiao Huli to Xu Chen and said: "That is indeed how it should be. Right now, the enemy is in the dark and we are in the light, which is very passive. Opening the Storage Bag is a small matter; we must find a way to deal with the Ziyang Sect, otherwise, we will become increasingly passive."

Although Xu Chen also wanted to go out and broaden his horizons, thinking that he indeed needed to rest well and recover his Soul to face the upcoming battle with the Ziyang Sect, he nodded and put away the Storage Bag.

After the three exchanged a few words via Divine Sense, Jiu Shixiong and Zhao Xuan left the inn together.

Xu Chen lay down on the bed, placed the Xiao Huli, which was biting the Black Bead, on his forehead, then closed his eyes and began to absorb the energy of the Black Bead, while silently practicing his profound arts and breathing, practicing whenever he could.

On the path of cultivation, if one does not advance, one retreats.

It is just like an ordinary person exercising their body; if they do not train for a few days, they will start to become weak and flabby.

The Kaiyuan Realm primarily relies on cultivation techniques to condense the innate essence scattered throughout the internal organs, muscles, bones, and flesh, slowly organizing it and drawing it into the dantian; the earlier this process begins, the better, as once adulthood is reached, the innate essence is consumed in large quantities along with the growth of flesh and blood, eventually disappearing completely.

However, the meridians and dantian of the Kaiyuan Realm are not stable immediately after being successfully opened, so they are in a state of leaking Qi at all times; if one does not practice diligently, the primordial Qi accumulated in the dantian will slowly dissipate.

Only after Foundation Establishment, when all the apertures, meridians, and the dantian are thoroughly forged into one, forming a closed circulation system for primordial Qi, will the primordial Qi not leak, allowing one to focus on continuous accumulation and eventually condense it into a Golden Core.

The three steps of Refining Essence into Qi—Qi refining, Foundation Establishment, and Golden Core—are all of one lineage, but if the innate essence is insufficient from the start, leading to a dantian that is not opened wide enough, the accumulated primordial Qi will be insufficient for quantitative change to lead to qualitative change, and one will stop at the Kaiyuan Realm; even the best pills cannot help one break through.

Once Foundation Establishment is successful, there is a change akin to being reborn, and one truly begins to step onto the Dao path.

Therefore, only cultivators at the Foundation Establishment Stage can be called True Persons, and generally, only then will they have a Daoist title as an honorific.

In the Kaiyuan Realm, one's lifespan is basically around a hundred years, but in the Zhenyuan Realm, one can easily live to one hundred and fifty, an increase in lifespan of fifty percent; in the Danyuan Realm, one's lifespan almost doubles, with some able to live for over three hundred years, truly becoming the immortal gods that mortals view as having eternal life.

However, Xu Chen's aptitude is limited; although his innate essence is much stronger than that of an ordinary person, in the cultivation world, it is considered a very trashy constitution.

But since he has stepped onto this path, no one is willing to give up halfway; as long as there is a glimmer of hope, they will struggle and persist, for after all, eternal life is an irresistible temptation for any living being, and no one would complain about having a long life unless they were tired of living.

Wealth is precious, but life is even more so. For the sake of eternal life, all things can be cast aside.

For a cultivator, eternal life is the only belief.

Xu Chen may have often felt melancholy about his aptitude in the past, but ever since obtaining the Blue Jade Bead, he has slowly explored and discovered that perhaps he is not without a chance to succeed in Foundation Establishment.

Because in his recent cultivation, he has felt very relaxed and handy, not as difficult and obscure as before, and it seems there is still a lot of room for improvement.

Especially after facing that man in black from the Ziyang Sect and triggering the Jade Bead twice, although his Soul suffered incomparable agony and he even fell into a coma for a time, after slowly recovering, he discovered that his Soul had actually become much stronger, and during the cultivation process, his control over the condensation of primordial Qi and the operation of techniques had become more precise and subtle, allowing him to refine more innate essence hidden in his muscles, bones, flesh, and internal organs into primordial Qi to be taken into his sea of Qi.

Therefore, during this period, Xu Chen's interest in cultivation has become even more intense.

He feels that as long as he continues to persevere, he will be able to reach the middle stage of the Kaiyuan Realm in at most half a month, at which time his strength will also improve significantly.