Chapter 263: Binding

Chapter 263 -254: Binding

As the force grew stronger, the Qi Mechanism within the Jade Talisman began to merge with Chen Qingyang’s own Qi Mechanism. This Magical Treasure had a natural affinity with the Nanming Red Emperor’s Method.

As time passed, the True Fire in his body surged. Like a cycle of Circulation, it flowed out of his body, through the Jade Talisman, and finally returned to his Mingtang Hall.

The Qi Mechanism within the Jade Talisman was slowly being mastered and cleansed by Chen Qingyang, on the verge of becoming a Magical Artifact that belonged completely to him.

Master Jing Yuan had been right. The Sacrificial Refinement of this artifact was a great boon to his Nanming Red Emperor’s Method. An entire day and night passed without a single pause.

He was beginning to gain preliminary control over the Li Guang Jade Talisman. As for what came next, he would have to continue the Refinement process slowly to erase all the Qi Mechanisms inside that were not his own.

He had just returned from the outside world, after all, and there was much for him to do. For the next eight or nine days, Chen Qingyang sent his Conscious Fish back to the Five Elements Cave Mansion to cultivate on its own.

Besides the daily Sacrificial Refinement of the Li Guang Jade Talisman, he also needed to hurry and Refine some Elixirs.

Now that his Cultivation had increased, he could easily produce five Earth Root Biochemical Pills from a single furnace, all of them at the Fifth Realm. Sometimes he could even manage two furnaces in a day. In just a few days, he had accumulated sixty Elixirs.

The speed was so fast that the difference between refining Tier Four and Tier Five pills was almost imperceptible.

A light rain fell today.

It had been falling from dawn until noon, a ceaseless, drizzling patter.

The air was damp and cold, filled with a biting chill. Such foul weather was rare on Four Golden Peaks.

After Chen Qingyang packed his Elixirs, Xu Baoling combed his long hair for him. He changed into a clean long robe and flew toward Four Golden Peaks.

The moment he left the territory of Cyan Bamboo Peak, the rain immediately turned to falling snow. It was spring on one side and winter on the other, separated by an invisible line.

With his increased Cultivation, his Wind Control Skill was extremely fast. In just a moment, he arrived at the Golden Summit of Four Golden Peaks.

He was at the Pill Institute. Standing at the door, he saw Liu Tao meditating inside. He gently pushed the door open and landed behind the round table.

The fire in the Pill Furnace was not extinguished, making the room warm and toasty. The shelves were piled high with the necessary Alchemy Raw Materials.

Years had passed, but this place was exactly the same as when he had been here as an old man.

Slowly, Liu Tao opened her eyes and saw Chen Qingyang at once. Her gaze swept over him, looking him up and down. “Chen Qingyang, you seem… different somehow.”

Chen Qingyang’s first reaction was that she was talking about his Cultivation. He immediately checked himself and found that the Great Soul Scripture was working without a hitch, so it was impossible for her to see through him.

“Different how? I don’t think I’ve changed at all.”

Liu Tao shot him another look and started to pout. Whenever she did this, it meant she was already fuming inside.

“I knew it! All men in the world are the same. Those who claim to be pure and have few desires are just the incapable ones. Once they have some ability and face so many temptations, who can remain pure and desireless?”

His senior sister wore a pink dress. Though not tall, she had a voluptuous figure. Two graceful curves ran from her chest to the top of her thighs, and her hips were especially round.

Her face was like a peach blossom, often holding a hint of amorous charm. Although she was angry, she didn’t look entirely so.

Chen Qingyang was perplexed. ‘Who could possibly guess what she’s thinking?’ “Senior Sister, I came to bring you Elixirs this time!”

‘Since I can’t figure out the reason, I shouldn’t dig any deeper. Changing the subject is the best tactic.’

But Liu Tao had suddenly become much harder to fool. “Don’t change the subject. Tell me, who have you been with?”

That one sentence seemed to hit the nail on the head.

Chen Qingyang mulled it over for a moment and then understood. The problem wasn’t anything else; it was his hairstyle.

His hundred years as a Miscellaneous Task disciple had made him accustomed to doing everything himself. Although he was meticulous, in certain areas, it was still no match for being attended to by others—combing his hair, for instance.

‘Liu Tao must have seen that I look very different from before and guessed that there’s a woman by my side now.’

“It’s just one more Miscellaneous Task disciple. Why do you suddenly bring this up, Senior Sister?”

He knew, but he pretended to be clueless to prove that he never thought about such things.

Liu Tao pressed on, “Is it a young lady?”

‘More than just a young lady, she’s her mortal enemy.’

Chen Qingyang said with a straight face, “Indeed. I saw that she has some talent in the Alchemy Dao and in planting Spirit Grass, so I took her in as a Miscellaneous Task disciple.”

“Then…” Liu Tao leaned in a little closer, her bright eyes alluring, a delicate fragrance wafting from her. “Is she just a Miscellaneous Task disciple? Doesn’t she also attend to your daily life? You are a disciple of Cyan Bamboo Peak now, a future giant of the Alchemy Dao.”

‘I never realized Liu Tao was so silver-tongued.’

Chen Qingyang said, “Only occasionally. As you know, Senior Sister, I’m not often on Cyan Bamboo Peak.”

When she was uncertain of the outcome, she had questioned him aggressively. But now that she had her confirmation, she seemed to deflate, falling silent for a moment.

“That’s right. You’re devoted to the Alchemy Dao and your Cultivation, so why waste your thoughts on such trivial matters? If there’s someone by your side who can do it better than you, why not use them?…”

As she spoke, she took the Elixirs. This time, Chen Qingyang had given her Tier Five ones.

“Thanks to you, I still have to cultivate diligently to catch up to you in the future. Although it’s only been a few years since I broke through to the First Realm of Essence Condensation, I feel like I’ll break through again in a few more years.”

Liu Tao was never exceptionally talented. Reaching this stage was entirely due to Elixirs and her own hard work. For her, breaking through one realm within ten years was already very difficult.

“Mm, I heard something happened to Master Yun Ci. I was wondering if she is on Four Golden Peaks lately?”

Liu Tao didn’t know that Chen Qingyang had made a trip to the Yong Kingdom; she only knew that he hadn’t come to visit once in three months.

She shot him a coquettish glance, knowing he was going to deliver Elixirs to her master. “Sigh, you must have heard about what happened in the Yong Kingdom. After meeting with a Golden Core True Monarch, Master was granted a Healing Elixir. She’s recuperating on the summit now.”

‘Last time, I heard from Ji Rang that she was summoned by the True Monarch. Now she’s been given an Elixir. It seems the True Monarch has finished his questioning.’

“Did the Master summon any of you?”

Liu Tao shook her head, looking as if she still had lingering fears. “No. I heard many people died in the Yong Kingdom. Now that you’re an Inner Sect Disciple, I’m sure missions to the outside world will fall on your shoulders soon enough. If you really end up going to the borderlands of the Demon Sect, you must be careful with everything.”

She was still lecturing Chen Qingyang as if he were a complete novice.

“Don’t worry, Senior Sister. If you ask me, you should be more concerned about yourself.”

Liu Tao added, “Sigh, it was all thanks to Master’s protection. I heard that this mission to the Yong Kingdom wasn’t supposed to be Master’s turn, but she went in place of the entire Four Golden Peaks.”

“You know the situation here. We have many Miscellaneous Task disciples but few proper disciples. Even the one or two who are outstanding can’t compare to the disciples from the Sword Institute or the Pill Institute. They don’t have many Magical Treasures for protection, either. If they had gone, they would have easily died.”

After hearing this, Chen Qingyang fell silent for a moment. “So, in other words, the Master’s actions saved many disciples of Four Golden Peaks.”

Liu Tao said, “Exactly.”

Chen Qingyang gazed out the window. The sky had grown darker. “It’s getting late. I have to deliver these Elixirs. With this, my debt for the year will be settled.”

“Mm. The path up the mountain is slippery. Be careful.”

The path could never be slippery enough to affect Chen Qingyang, but Liu Tao gave the warning anyway. She watched his back disappear into the wind and snow before closing the door to the Alchemy Room.

The Elixirs he owed Yun Ci were Tier Four, but this time Chen Qingyang brought Tier Five. This was because he anticipated that he would very likely need to ask her for a favor in the near future.

He had made a breakthrough in the True Understanding of the Celestial Star Demon Suppression Array. Combined with his Conscious Fish entering and exiting over the past few days, his mastery over the Array had grown.

He needed to make a trip to Xu Lingfeng to carefully investigate the Sumeru Secret Realm. If the guidance of the Star Map was correct, and given that Purple Sun True Monarch—the previous Controller of the Sumeru Secret Realm—hadn’t found anything related to the Great Soul Scripture, then in theory, the scripture should still be there.

‘Of course, there’s another possibility. If I really can’t find Volume Three, then I’ll go into seclusion and try to reverse-engineer it from Volume Four. Whether I succeed or not, I should gain something from the attempt.’

As long as he made progress with the Great Soul Scripture, he could immediately break through to the Essence Condensation Six Realms. As for the Universe in the Sleeve technique he had been yearning for, after much thought, he concluded he could obtain it from this Master.

Based on his understanding of this Master’s personality, even if she wouldn’t give it to him, she wouldn’t expose his secrets either.

If she did give it to him, it would mean they both violated the Sect’s rules, binding them deeply together. Sometimes, relationships were forged through such ties.