Hard, So Hard

"You mean I'm the one who comes and goes as I please?" Yue Qianchou narrowed his eyes at him. A flicker of severity flashed through his gaze, and even his calm words carried threads of icy chill.

Though he had run with the Black Society in his previous life, he had still been a commanding overlord of one corner of the underground kingdom. The authority that burst forth from him without warning carried the air of looking down upon all living things. Though everyone present had long stood above others, they relied on their illustrious family backgrounds. Before the aura Yue Qianchou had tempered through decisive killing and battle, they were immediately eclipsed.

The Young General, second brother, was slightly startled. He too had once fought on battlefields, and he secretly wondered what sort of person his third brother's friend truly was. That aura was not something an ordinary person could simply put on as an act. It even seemed to carry a faint scent of blood. Without dozens of lives on one's hands and long experience in ruthless slaughter and decisive judgment, it was absolutely impossible to possess such an aura. He seemed to see that same aura often on their father, the Pillar State General.

Everyone else also sensed that familiar aura and were suddenly so choked up they could scarcely speak. The second son, a civil official whose face had still been full of arrogance moments ago, was left stunned by Yue Qianchou's single sentence. The beautiful woman with tear tracks on her face had stopped crying as well, staring at him in shock.

This was also Shi Xiaotian's first time seeing Yue Qianchou like this. It seemed his eldest brother had truly angered the boss. He gently shook his head, then walked to the boss's side with some unease and put on a smile. Turning to the others, he said, "Mother, Eldest Brother, second brother! This is my martial uncle, and also my lifesaving benefactor. Without Martial Uncle, Xiaotian might never have seen Mother and my two brothers again!" His purpose in once again introducing the boss to his family as his martial uncle was obvious: he feared they would look down on the boss and cause trouble. He then introduced his three family members to Yue Qianchou.

This person was actually Xiaotian's martial uncle—did that not mean he was also an immortal? They were astonished by Yue Qianchou's youth and grew nervous at the same time, inwardly cursing themselves for having slighted him just now. In the Huaxia Dynasty, even the reigning emperor treated cultivators with courtesy. Yet they had left this man sitting off to one side, and the eldest civil official brother had even spoken rudely to him.

The second brother, the general, immediately bowed. "This junior is Shi Yintian. Greetings, Immortal Elder." Yue Qianchou nodded indifferently.

The eldest brother, the civil official, bowed somewhat fearfully. "This junior is Shi Youtian. Greetings, Immortal Elder. I did not know Immortal Elder's identity earlier and offended you in many ways. I ask Immortal Elder to forgive me." Yue Qianchou merely gave him a cold glance, with not the slightest intention of forgiving him. Shi Youtian's face immediately turned pale.

Seeing her eldest son's awkward plight, the beautiful woman gracefully bowed as well. "I am Li Hongniang. Greetings, Immortal Master. My husband is away on campaign, and my eldest son has lacked proper discipline. I ask Immortal Master to forgive any offense he has caused."

Yue Qianchou truly had not intended to let Shi Youtian off. He had endured so many cold words and sneers at Qingguang Sect, but when one lived under another's roof, one had no choice but to bow one's head. Yet now, even a mere mortal dared speak rudely to him, instantly stirring the anger he had long suppressed deep in his heart. But this woman's words carried another meaning! My husband isn't here. You're a dignified immortal—you wouldn't bully my son, would you? On top of that, Shi Xiaotian was looking at him with pleading eyes, so he could only force down the anger in his heart.

"Madam, there is no need for such formality." Once he said that, it meant he would no longer pursue the matter with the eldest brother.

Li Hongniang and her three sons hurriedly thanked him. She then ordered the servants to prepare wine and food so they could properly entertain the immortal. Yue Qianchou politely declined. Their first meeting had already turned out like this—what meaning was there in sitting together to eat and drink?

In truth, there was another main reason he had not erupted earlier: his cultivation really was not much to speak of. He was only at Qi Refining Level Five, while even Shi Xiaotian had already reached Qi Refining Level Seven. Although the latter had never been able to see through his cultivation, if a fight truly broke out, who the hell knew which side Shi Xiaotian would help? In any case, he certainly would not help Yue Qianchou beat up his own brother.

And once his true cultivation was exposed, would Shi Xiaotian still regard him as the boss? That was truly hard to say. He remembered a Brother Li from the underworld once saying—when people's hearts scattered, the team became hard to lead!

He had finally realized the importance of cultivation. Pulling Shi Xiaotian aside, he asked him to arrange a secluded place for him to cultivate. Shi Xiaotian immediately relayed the boss's request to his mother, and the entire General's Mansion promptly sprang into action.

The Marquis General's Mansion had a spacious rear garden. A small courtyard in its most secluded corner was quickly cleaned out. The General's Mansion issued a ban: without permission, no one was allowed to enter the small courtyard in the rear garden.

"Xiaotian, if your family asks about your experiences, I think you should only tell them selectively. Knowing too much will not benefit them. And it's best not to let outsiders know about our presence here. Otherwise, if Qingguang Sect finds out one day, the trouble will be enormous!" Yue Qianchou said. The courtyard was both secluded and quiet, and he was very satisfied. At the moment, only the two of them were there.

"I understand!" Shi Xiaotian nodded.

A year passed quickly. The little courtyard in the rear garden of the Marquis General's Mansion had become a mysterious place. Aside from Third Young Master Shi Xiaotian, who went in and out every day, no one else ever saw the immortal inside again. As for the immortal living in the rear garden, the General's Mansion had issued a strict gag order. The servants fortunate enough to have seen him that day never spoke of it, so the other servants naturally knew nothing. Whenever those servants who did know passed through the rear garden, they would secretly prostrate themselves toward the little courtyard. The immortal from legend lived there!

The masters of the General's Mansion were all quite pleased to have an immortal living in their home. They always felt they had a powerful backer now, and their hearts were at ease. Most importantly, the immortal truly possessed an immortal's bearing. He never disturbed them. As long as fine wine and good food were delivered every day, the immortal did not so much as step beyond the courtyard gate, let alone trouble them.

But one person was rather depressed: the Young Master of the General's Mansion. Once, in order to show off, he mentioned before the immortal who had intended to accept him as a disciple that his family was also hiding an immortal. As a result, that immortal was no longer willing to accept him as a disciple and would not even meet him again.

It caused him terrible anguish. It had been fine when he did not know he possessed spiritual roots, but after learning of them, it became sheer torment. How many people could resist the temptation of eternal life? Thus, he set his sights on Yue Qianchou and wanted to take him as his master. Time and again, he pestered his third brother to introduce him. But his third brother refused outright, saying, "Eldest Brother! I truly can't see where you have any spiritual roots. You must have been deceived!"

Possessed by obsession, he stubbornly refused to believe it. He thought his brother did not want to introduce him because he had offended his martial uncle, and he even began to resent his third brother somewhat. Then, in a moment when lard clouded his heart, he barged into the little courtyard to beg Yue Qianchou to accept him as a disciple. Yet the moment he stepped through the gate, he felt himself trapped amid clouds and mist. He wandered in circles within, unable to find a way out or see a single person.

Yue Qianchou had been afraid someone might barge in at will, so he had specifically learned a simple formation from the white fox and set it up in the courtyard. It was not some powerful formation, but trapping a mortal posed no problem at all. He had not expected it to trap this fellow. When Shi Xiaotian came and discovered it, he truly did not know whether to laugh or cry. He could have brought his eldest brother out, but it was not right for him to do so, so he could only beg Yue Qianchou to release him. Once Yue Qianchou understood why Shi Youtian had been trapped, he shook his head and refused Shi Xiaotian's request. He said Shi Youtian should remain trapped for a few more days; if his brother did not suffer a little, he feared there would be no end to it later. Shi Xiaotian thought that made sense.

But two days later, Li Hongniang grew anxious. She could not find her eldest son anywhere, and the imperial court was looking everywhere for him to report to work. In the end, Shi Xiaotian feared his mother and second brother would become too worried, so he had no choice but to tell the family that Eldest Brother had trespassed into Martial Uncle's courtyard and become trapped inside. Li Hongniang and Shi Yintian were greatly alarmed and hurried to the little courtyard in the rear garden. They stood outside the gate, not daring to enter again. Within the courtyard, Shi Youtian was crashing about everywhere like a headless fly. After two days without a drop of water, he was visibly weak.

Mother and son immediately knelt outside the courtyard gate and begged Yue Qianchou. Considering that he had been eating and staying at their home, Yue Qianchou felt it would not be proper to go too far. Thus, he released Shi Youtian and warned him that if he barged in again, he would not be lightly spared.

This was only a minor incident during that time, but after witnessing Yue Qianchou's divine abilities, the mother and her three sons revered him even more as though he were a god. Having tasted the experience for himself, Shi Youtian's heart itched all the more unbearably, yet he no longer dared barge in recklessly.

Relying on the large quantity of spirit stones within the golden pearl, Yue Qianchou successfully broke through to Level Ten Qi Refining in just one year. Shi Xiaotian had reached it even earlier than him. Qi Refining had reached its peak, and the next step was Foundation Establishment. After asking the white fox, a grave problem lay before them.

Foundation Establishment Realm, Core Formation stage, Nascent Soul Realm, and the Tribulation Transcendence stage were four thresholds cultivators found difficult to cross. Without outside aid, these four thresholds could not be crossed at all. This so-called outside aid referred to miraculous pills capable of cleansing the meridians and marrow. Why cleanse the meridians and marrow? A cultivator's body was like a vessel. If the vessel was not strong enough, it could not bear stronger cultivation. Forcing a breakthrough led to only one outcome: the body exploding to death.

Yue Qianchou asked the white fox again, "You were trapped in that stone cave for many years and never consumed any spiritual medicine, so why could you still break through from the Nascent Soul Realm to the Tribulation Transcendence stage? Since it was the golden pearl's wondrous effect, could I also rely on it to advance?" The white fox told him that this was simply not the same thing.

The Cultivation World was divided into the Human Path, Demon Path, and Ghost Path. The white fox belonged to the Demon Path. Unlike the other two paths, the Demon Path cultivated cultivation and body refinement simultaneously. Without successful body refinement, advancing one's cultivation was difficult. It was the most arduous path of the three to cultivate, yet among those of equal cultivation, it was also the most powerful.

The Ghost Path was the easiest path to cultivate. What they absorbed in cultivation was not spiritual energy, but yin energy. As long as they had enough yin energy, their cultivation could grow almost without any limits. Yet because they were restricted by the laws of heaven and earth, they were also the weakest of the three paths.

Although the Human Path was further divided into the Righteous and Demonic paths, that was merely a distinction humans had made themselves. In truth, only their cultivation techniques differed; at its root, it was still just one path. Humans were the spirits of all creatures, gifted with intelligence, and held supremacy among the three paths. If those of the Demon Path wished to ascend to the Immortal Realm, they had no chance at all unless they cultivated a human form. Perhaps gain always came with loss! The laws of heaven and earth had bestowed the best things upon the Human Path, yet had also given it the weakest body. Thus, the Human Path could devise all manner of methods to increase cultivation, but the body, that vessel, had become its greatest restriction.

In short, she was telling him that while the golden pearl was incomparably strange, since it existed between heaven and earth, it necessarily had to follow the great laws of heaven and earth. Some things could not be changed recklessly. So it could help demons, but that did not mean it could help humans.

The white fox added, "When the golden pearl was inside my body, though I never used it, I could still feel changes in both my body and cultivation day after day. You've swallowed it for so long—have you felt anything?" Yue Qianchou immediately drooped in dejection and told her that aside from his physique improving a little, he had not felt a damn thing. The white fox sighed. "The heavenly principles cycle in turn. A treasure of heaven and earth like this must have its own unique benefits for the Human, Demon, and Ghost Paths!"

There was no other way. It seemed he still had to obtain a Foundation Establishment Pill for Foundation Establishment. When he asked the white fox, she said she had never taken one either and had no idea how it was made. She only knew that larger sects should all possess formulas for refining Foundation Establishment Pills, and that it was not considered a particularly important secret. It seemed the spiritual herbs needed for alchemy were quite difficult to find.

Yue Qianchou was depressed. If he had known this, he would not have made his relationship with Qingtian Sect so tense. He could not possibly run back now! Wouldn't that be seeking death?

He was not the only one depressed—Shi Xiaotian was depressed too! Only now did he learn that this martial uncle had not even passed the Core Formation stage. He had been eagerly clutching a pile of spirit stones and cultivating with all his might, but now that he had reached the end, he did not dare absorb any more spirit stones even if Yue Qianchou gave them to him. Why? The True Qi inside his body had already reached the limit of the Qi Refining stage. Absorbing more would make his body explode! Who would dare gamble with their life?

In the courtyard, the two looked at the pile of spirit stones and sighed. The things were good, but what could they do with them? Where to obtain Foundation Establishment Pills had become a headache. Suddenly, Yue Qianchou shouted, "I've got it!"

Shi Xiaotian's body trembled, and his eyes lit up. "Boss! You have a way?" Yue Qianchou smiled. "Didn't your eldest brother know some bullshit immortal? Go bring your eldest brother here. I have something to ask him."

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