Xian Qinglin spent half a month finishing all the tasks he’d taken on. Xu Yifan would occasionally sneak by to spy on him. Last time, though Xu Yifan had been angry and declared he’d never talk to him again, the moment he had free time he’d sneak off to find Xian Qinglin regardless.
Xian Qinglin had noticed this too, this man had the temperament of a child, quick to flare up and just as quick to cool down, needing no coaxing at all. Sure enough, the very next day, he’d waylay him and strike up conversation as if nothing had happened.
Walk enough dark roads at night, and sooner or later you’ll run into a ghost [1]夜路走多了，難免的會碰上鬼, a proverb warning that repeated risky behavior eventually catches up with you jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3015897_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3015897_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });.
On his way back up the mountain, Xu Yifan was ambushed by assassins twice.
These weren’t Beast-Taming Hall disciples, and yet Xu Yifan didn’t recognize them either.
If he didn’t know them, why would they want him dead?
The demonic plant thought it over. “Boss, did you offend someone?”
“Are you kidding me? The whole world knows I’m the kind of person who’s always kind to others. I’ve never even seen these people before, how could I have offended them?” Xu Yifan pondered for a moment, then slammed a fist into a nearby tree trunk. “I’ve got it. It must be that bastard Ma Xiang. His son died, and he blames Master for failing to protect him properly, so now he wants to take me out too, to hurt Master. What a truly vile piece of work.”
“Boss, Boss, Momo thought of that too! Our hearts beat as one.” [2]心有靈犀, an idiom meaning two people are perfectly in sync jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3015897_1_2').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3015897_1_2', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });
“Yeah, sure, with that two-ounce brain of yours.”
Xu Yifan wasn’t one to accept a loss quietly. Suspecting this was Ma Xiang’s doing, he headed down the mountain the following evening. He hadn’t meant to go find Xian Qinglin, but ran into him at the foot of the mountain anyway.
“Yifan.” This time, rare as it was, Xian Qinglin greeted him first.
“What are you doing here?” Xu Yifan noticed a man and a woman standing beside Xian Qinglin. “Who are these two?”
Xian Qingchu and Xian Qingyun said nothing, sizing Xu Yifan up from head to toe. Noticing he was only at Qi Refining sixth layer, their faces immediately took on an air of contempt.
Xian Qinglin didn’t particularly want to introduce the two either, and looked at Xu Yifan. “Yifan, where are you headed, coming down the mountain?”
“Going to get up to something big.”
“Then I’ll come with you.” Xian Qinglin said.
Xian Qingchu spread her arms to block Xian Qinglin’s way. “You lowlife, did we say you could leave?”
“Third Sister.” Xian Qingyun scolded her sharply, pulling her back. “How can you speak to Fourth Brother like that?”
Xian Qingchu was displeased. “Big Brother, what ‘Fourth Brother’? He’s obviously nothing but a lowlife. Just a few months ago he was only Qi Refining sixth layer, and now, barely two months later, he’s already at Qi Refining eighth layer. Who knows whose bed he crawled into, or who he’s been doing dual cultivation with.”
Dual cultivation was mostly about absorption and supplementation [3]采補, a cultivation technique where one partner draws energy/essence from another, often with sexual overtones and exploitative implications jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3015897_1_3').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3015897_1_3', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });.
If one possessed a special constitution, a high-level cultivator engaging in dual cultivation with someone of such a constitution could increase their own cultivation.
But without a special constitution, when a high-level cultivator engaged in dual cultivation with a lower-level one, it was the lower-level cultivator who benefited.
An ordinary cultivator, progressing step by step through proper cultivation, couldn’t possibly advance two whole tiers in a mere two months.
Unless through absorption and supplementation.
“Enough, stop talking nonsense. He’s Father’s son, which makes him our younger brother. Don’t slander Fourth Brother with baseless talk.” Xian Qingyun offered Xu Yifan an apologetic smile. “Fourth Brother, our Third Sister was spoiled rotten growing up at home, don’t take it too seriously. We happen to have other matters to attend to, so we won’t intrude on you two any further.”
Once they’d left, Xu Yifan asked, “Who were they? Your siblings? Your sister sure has a nasty mouth.”
Xian Qinglin: “…”
You two are exactly the same, honestly.
Xian Qingyun and Xian Qingchu were the son and daughter of the head of the Xian clan, both possessing dual spiritual root aptitude with excellent comprehension. Xian Qingyun, at eighteen, had already reached peak Qi Refining ninth layer.
Xian Qingchu, at seventeen, was at peak Qi Refining eighth layer.
The two of them were new students recruited into Xianhao Sect this year. Part of the reason they’d entered Xianhao Sect was for Foundation Establishment pills, sects sold Foundation Establishment pills more cheaply than outside auction houses.
The Xian clan was a renowned family of pill practitioners in Yuzhou, and could certainly afford to buy a couple of Foundation Establishment pills outright if they wanted to. But the family wanted to train Xian Qingchu and Xian Qingyun as pill masters instead.
The transmission of pill-refining arts was, for the most part, something only major sects and top-tier noble clans possessed.
Whatever pill arts had been passed down within the Xian clan amounted to no more than first-grade, and even that incomplete.
By now, Xian Qingchu and Xian Qingyun had already become disciples under the Grand Elder.
Pill masters had always been highly sought after, especially high-grade ones, they were courted and flattered by cultivators from every direction.
Most cultivators, wanting to advance their cultivation, needed pills without exception. If one could befriend a pill master, one’s future would be worry-free. Whenever most cultivators needed pills, even those at Nascent Soul, top-tier powerhouses on this Savage Continent, had to carry armfuls of spirit stones and humbly come pay their respects in person.
Among cultivators, one could offend almost anyone else, but never a pill master, especially not a high-grade one.
Pill masters held an exalted status. Xian Qingchu and Xian Qingyun, already first-grade pill masters, and having grown up as the pampered darlings of their family, naturally looked down on Xian Qinglin.
Xian Qinglin was the son of a concubine the head of the Xian clan had brought back from outside, with only three spiritual roots and no aptitude whatsoever for pill arts, aside from his face, he was, by their reckoning, utterly useless.
After that concubine went missing, Xian Qinglin had been driven out of the Xian clan by the head wife.
For several years afterward, Xian Qinglin had wandered outside, until he happened upon that outer sect steward, who’d brought him back to Xianhao Sect.
At the time, Xian Qinglin had only been ten years old, still naive to the world, and had thought the steward a kind man, not until he’d returned to the sect did he learn the steward had meant to give him to Ma Xiu as his private plaything.
At that time, Xian Qinglin hadn’t yet come into his looks, and having gone hungry for years, hadn’t been particularly handsome. Ma Xiu, as it happened, had just acquired a new infatuation and was wholly absorbed in it, which was how Xian Qinglin had escaped that particular disaster.
He’d spent six years as an outer disciple, earning spirit stones through hard labor, and even now had only reached Qi Refining eighth layer.
Later, once it became known that Senior Martial Brother Gu had feelings for him, Ma Xiu, out of deference to Senior Martial Brother’s standing, had held off from making any move against him.
Xu Yifan was only at Qi Refining sixth layer, having taken the Sixth Elder as his master, the Sixth Elder was a martial cultivator, his standing not nearly as exalted as the Grand Elder’s, so Xian Qingchu and Xian Qingyun hadn’t given him a second thought at all.
“I see.” Xu Yifan asked, somewhat puzzled. “Weren’t you only at Qi Refining sixth layer before?” Why was he already at eighth layer now?
“You gave me two chests of spirit stones last time. I refined them, and my cultivation rose quite a bit. I’m at Qi Refining eighth layer now, actually, I’m already at peak eighth layer.” Xian Qinglin said with a smile.
Xu Yifan’s footsteps froze abruptly, his eyes going wide. “Peak eighth layer? How long did it take you to refine those spirit stones?”
“Three days.” Xian Qinglin’s expression turned somewhat nervous. “Is something wrong?”
Those spirit stones had been stolen goods. He had no spatial ring, and leaving them out in the open wasn’t safe, if Ma Xiang ever discovered that an outer disciple like him had suddenly come into possession of that much wealth, there’d be no question at all about where it had come from.
Fearing trouble, Xian Qinglin had simply wanted to refine them away as quickly as possible.
Xu Yifan hurriedly pulled him aside, his expression grave, and pulled an array plate out of his spatial ring. “Channel your spiritual energy into this stone.”
Xian Qinglin had no idea what he was trying to do, but instinctively felt Xu Yifan wouldn’t harm him, and obediently complied.
The moment the spiritual energy flowed in, the brownish stone lit up with three beams of light, red, orange, and yellow.
Xu Yifan’s brow furrowed tightly.
Three spiritual roots, no mistake there.
Root-testing stones rarely erred.
But could three spiritual roots refine several chests of spirit stones in three days? Could they leap almost three full tiers in just two months?
Completely impossible.
If three spiritual roots could achieve something this outrageous, then Golden Core cultivators in the sect would be worth less than dogs, and Nascent Soul cultivators would be everywhere.
“Yifan, is there something wrong with my body?” Xian Qinglin asked quietly.
“Something’s a little off. I suspect you might not actually have three spiritual roots.” Xu Yifan said.
Xian Qinglin’s brow furrowed. “If not three spiritual roots, then what? Didn’t three beams of light just show up?”
Whatever number of light beams a root-testing stone lit up with corresponded directly to the number of spiritual roots.
That was common knowledge.
Xu Yifan rubbed the root-testing stone, staring fixedly at Xian Qinglin without saying a word, his expression deep in thought.
Xian Qinglin didn’t speak again either.
After a good while, Xu Yifan suddenly closed his eyes, an enormous soul power enveloping Xian Qinglin.
“Relax. Open your sea of consciousness, let me in.”
Xian Qinglin’s face flushed deep red, looking at Xu Yifan as if wanting to say something but holding back.
Xu Yifan asked, “What’s wrong?”
Xian Qinglin looked at him, Xu Yifan seemed to genuinely have no idea, his head tilted, expression full of confusion. Xian Qinglin felt his cheeks burn, but closed his eyes anyway, opening his sea of consciousness and letting Xu Yifan enter.
Xu Yifan’s soul power, thread-thin like spider silk, slipped in through the space between Xian Qinglin’s brows.
“Mm…” Xian Qinglin let out a muffled groan.
Below Nascent Soul, a cultivator’s sea of consciousness should be entirely blank, representing the primordial state before chaos was first divided.
Only after Nascent Soul could a cultivator’s sea of consciousness be reshaped and remolded.
But within Xian Qinglin’s sea of consciousness was a raging sea of fire, roiling and churning violently. The instant Xu Yifan entered, he nearly got burned alive.
“Holy shit.”
He jolted, scrambling to withdraw, but that sea of flames, as though sensing something, suddenly retreated at tremendous speed. The flames gathered together in the distance like building blocks, stacking higher and higher, until finally taking the shape of a human figure, standing far off, gazing steadily at Xu Yifan’s retreating back.
Xian Qinglin’s sea of consciousness fell suddenly, eerily silent. Sensing something was off, Xu Yifan stiffened his neck and slowly, bit by bit, turned his head, coming face to face with a countenance whose features were hidden within the sea of fire.
That humanoid flame had countless bluish threads of light wrapped densely around its body, no, calling them threads of light wasn’t quite right, more precisely, they were chains, glowing with a faint blue light.
The chains spread across the ground like the cracked lines of parched earth, densely covering the surface, the other ends driven firmly into place.
Xu Yifan looked closer for a moment and realized that the humanoid figure’s features weren’t obscured by the flames, it simply had no features at all. And yet Xu Yifan felt as though the figure were staring straight at him, that gaze following him like a shadow he couldn’t shake. He’d never encountered anything like this before, and for a moment stood there stunned.
The flame figure stared fixedly at him for a long while, and finally, as if having confirmed something, suddenly rushed forward several steps, dragging its chains, which rattled and clanged. At the same time, the flame figure emitted a sound, something like a hoarse, anguished cry.
A wave of intense heartache surged up without any warning at all. The moment that sound struck his ears, for an instant, Xu Yifan felt his heart swell as if about to burst, something lodged in the pit of his chest, weighing on him heavily. He opened his mouth, but couldn’t manage a single word.
The flame figure, having drawn close, suddenly began to struggle violently, as if trying to break free of the restraints binding it. Startled, Xu Yifan hastily withdrew.
Xian Qinglin opened his eyes and saw him pale-faced, breathing rapidly, and asked anxiously, “Yifan, are you alright?”
“Pretty little beauty, there’s something wrong with your sea of consciousness! It’s all fire in there, nearly burned me alive.” Nearly hadn’t come back at all, Xu Yifan wiped away a cold sweat, steadying his nerves. “Did you know about this yourself?”
Xian Qinglin froze for a moment, then shook his head. “Something’s wrong with my sea of consciousness? I had no idea! What’s wrong exactly?”
“I don’t know either!” Xu Yifan said. “But there’s definitely something off with your aptitude, otherwise, with only three spiritual roots, there’s no way you could advance this fast.”
“I refined several chests of spirit stones.” Xian Qinglin said.
“I know that! That’s exactly why I’m saying something’s off about you. The more spiritual roots a cultivator has, the more useless they generally are. Do you know why?” Xu Yifan asked.
Xian Qinglin shook his head.
That, he genuinely didn’t know.
No one had ever taught him anything, even drawing energy into his body had been something he’d stumbled into by accident. How would he know anything else?
Xu Yifan thought it over. “Let me put it this way. Spiritual roots are basically like our sons as cultivators. Sons need to eat. The more spiritual roots you have, the more sons you have, wait, no, why are you blushing? Pay attention.”
Xian Qinglin pressed his lips together. “Alright.”
“More sons means more mouths to feed, and the harder they are to raise. A single-root cultivator refining one chest of spirit stones, one son eats half, and he can use the other half to cultivate with. A dual-root cultivator refining the same chest, both sons eat it all up, nothing left over at all, so their cultivation barely progresses.”
“So with the exact same chest of spirit stones, a single-root cultivator’s cultivation can climb noticeably, while a dual-root cultivator sees basically no progress at all. Three roots is even worse. Sect resources are limited, which is why most sects prefer to train single-root cultivators. But that’s only one reason.”
“The second reason is that spiritual roots vary in thickness. A thick root cultivates quickly, a thin root, correspondingly, is much harder to work with. A multi-root cultivator needs all the roots in their body to reach a certain threshold simultaneously before their cultivation can advance at all, but since the roots differ in thickness, it’s very difficult for them to all hit that threshold at the same time. So multi-root cultivators progress far more slowly compared to single-root ones.”
Xian Qinglin understood now.
He had three spiritual roots, by all normal logic, even if he refined a full two chests of spirit stones, there was no way he should have been able to advance nearly a full tier in just two months.
Xu Yifan scratched his head and said, “You probably don’t actually have three spiritual roots. Even single-root wouldn’t explain this. Go ask your Uncle-Master when you get back, he’s lived a lot longer than me, he should understand this. I’m still young, still green, it’s only natural I don’t know a lot of things.”
Xian Qinglin: “…Mm.”
Xu Yifan stood up. “It’s getting dark. Hurry back.”
Xian Qinglin looked at him. “What about you?”
The demonic plant darted out and said, “Dark night, howling wind, perfect conditions for sneaking around killing people and burning stuff down. Pretty little beauty, want to come slaughter a pig with us? It’s really fun, hahaha…” Its voice was milky and childish, but what it said sounded chillingly sinister.
Xian Qinglin wasn’t scared, and even laughed, assuming it was joking. But then Xu Yifan looked at him and smiled brightly. “Coming or not? Might even manage a two-for-one deal.”
Xian Qinglin’s tone carried a note of disbelief. “…You’re really going to kill someone?”
“You think I was joking?” Xu Yifan said. “I rarely joke around.”
Xian Qinglin swallowed. “Who are you two trying to kill? Ma Xiang?”
The demonic plant cried out in admiration. “Pretty little beauty, you’ve grown a brain! So sharp, guessed it right in one go.”
Xian Qinglin had no idea about the assassination attempts on Xu Yifan, and simply assumed he was seeking revenge for the Sixth Elder. He looked at Xu Yifan. “Are you certain what happened last time was Ma Xiang’s doing?”
“Yeah.” Xu Yifan nodded.
“Boss, that’s not fair, it was clearly Momo who figured it out.” the demonic plant cried out, climbing onto Xian Qinglin. “I sucked out the brains of those black-robed people and absorbed their memories, and discovered a huge secret.”
Xian Qinglin, seeing its expression practically begging for praise, played along and said, you’re so impressive. The demonic plant, delighted, flapped its two leaves back and forth happily.
Xian Qinglin asked, somewhat energized, “And then?”
“And then, it turns out that old bastard was the Demon Path Sect Master’s youngest disciple! He told those black-robed people, if they helped him kill Master and Uncle-Master, plus you and my Boss, he’d give them that rock. Bunch of huge idiots, that rock’s already been stolen by my Boss, and they still came running for it, foolishly. Hahaha, so dumb, so dumb.”
Xu Yifan said coldly, “They’re that dumb, and you sucked out their brains too, you’re going to turn into an idiot yourself!”
“What?” The demonic plant went pale with shock, both leaves clamping over its vine tip. “Will that really happen, Boss?”
Xu Yifan kept his expression perfectly straight. “When have I ever lied to you.”
“Then I’m done for, I’m going to turn into a little idiot, it’s over, it’s over, wuuuu, if I’d known I never would have eaten it. Although that brain matter tasted like tofu, really delicious, but eating it turns you into an idiot, that’s so terrifying, wuuuu…”
Xian Qinglin’s eyelid twitched.
“Serves you right, I told you not to eat it, and you just wouldn’t listen.” Xu Yifan stopped paying it any attention and looked at Xian Qinglin. “Are you coming? Like father, like son, as they say, I heard Ma Xiu made several attempts against you before. How about it, when we grab his father later, I’ll let you take out all your anger on him however you like?”
Now that he knew Ma Xiang was behind it, Xu Yifan naturally wasn’t going to let him see tomorrow’s sunrise.
A person like this couldn’t be allowed to live.
Ma Xiang loved his underhanded schemes, and underhanded schemes were always the hardest to guard against.
Keeping Ma Xiang alive would probably mean many sleepless nights for him, never daring to sleep too deeply, and besides, there was no such thing as guarding against a thief for a thousand days straight [4]千日防賊, part of a longer saying meaning it’s impossible to guard against danger indefinitely jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3015897_1_4').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3015897_1_4', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });.
Kill him early and be done with it, leaving him alive was nothing but a future disaster waiting to happen.
Xian Qinglin’s interest was piqued. He nodded, scooping up the demonic plant, his eyes burning with excitement. “I’ll come with you.”
The two of them slapped on concealment talismans and headed toward the peak where Ma Xiang resided. But upon arrival, they found the sprawling courtyard sealed with restrictive wards. This posed no obstacle for Xu Yifan, and he slipped Xian Qinglin in along with him.
Once outside the house, the two of them discovered, to their surprise, that Lan Xue was there as well.
In the middle of the night, why would she be in Ma Xiang’s quarters?
Xu Yifan’s face lit up with excitement. He exchanged a glance with Xian Qinglin, and the two of them quietly hid themselves away.
Presumably assuming no one could get in, the two people inside the house spoke without restraint.
“That incident last time, was that your doing?” It was Lan Xue’s voice.
Ma Xiang looked at her. “No.”
“No?” Lan Xue let out a scoffing laugh, her gaze cold as she looked at Ma Xiang. “Do you honestly believe what you’ve done has gone unnoticed by heaven and earth alike? Do you think I know nothing at all? If it wasn’t your doing, would the Demon Gate Sect send dozens of Golden Core cultivators to attack Old Six and Old Seven for no reason at all? Such a massive show of force, could it be for any other reason than that you’re a member of the Demon Gate Sect yourself? Could it be for any other reason than that Nether Stone Ore in your possession?”
Ma Xiang’s face darkened. With things having come to this point, denial was useless, and he simply admitted it outright. “So what if I did it?”
Lan Xue slammed her palm down, shattering the wooden table beside her, her expression icy. “I warned you long ago not to touch them. They’re my junior martial brothers. How dare you act behind my back like this?”
“What’s there not to dare?” Ma Xiang stood up too, roaring furiously. “They’re your junior martial brothers, but what about Xiu? He’s your own son! What, is your son worth less than your junior martial brothers to you?”
Xian Qinglin’s heart lurched.
Ma Xiu had actually been the Sect Master’s own son? Within the sect, the story circulating had only been that Ma Xiang had once saved the Sect Master’s life, and out of gratitude, the Sect Master had always turned a blind eye to Ma Xiang’s misdeeds. As for Ma Xiu, word had it he’d been born of Ma Xiang’s concubine, and the Sect Master had apparently never summoned Ma Xiu privately even once.
How could it be, then, that Ma Xiu had actually been the Sect Master’s own son?
References[+]