Although the pursuit by Demon Saint Feilian ended when Yuanshi intervened and drove him off, Chen Song did not immediately return to his usual "playing dead" state after returning to Kunlun Mountain.
The thought of being chased around in a panic by a Quasi-Saint Demon Saint, only narrowly escaping thanks to the Heaven and Earth Mysterious Yellow Exquisite Pagoda and his elders from the sect, left this salted fish feeling somewhat uneasy. It was not guilt, exactly. Mainly... lingering fear! If he had reacted a little slower, or if the pagoda his Master gave him had not been strong enough, would he, Chen Song, have become the first Grand Unity Golden Immortal in the primordial world to be turned into "roast whole man" for barbecuing a demon god?
That death would have been far too undignified! It would seriously damage his glorious future image as CEO of the Three Pure Ones Group—his private name for the Three Pure Ones Dojo!
"No, I can't keep being such a salted fish!" Chen Song's fighting spirit flared up for once. "At the very least... I need to max out my survival skills! If I can't beat them, I should at least be able to outrun them, right? And if I can't outrun them, I should at least be able to take the hit, right?"
However, the moment this rare "drive for self-improvement" surfaced, the Three Pure Ones noticed it.
Laozi, Yuanshi, and Tongtian looked at this disciple and martial nephew, who would rather lie down than sit and would rather slack off than cultivate. Yet now, unprecedentedly, he was actively asking about difficulties in cultivation and even declaring that he wanted to "enter secluded cultivation diligently." The three exchanged meaningful looks.
Something strange was afoot!
Laozi stroked his beard, his tone calm yet carrying unquestionable authority. "Song'er, your mind has been unsettled lately, and your Dao foundation has fluctuated slightly. Have outside matters disturbed your state of mind?"
Yuanshi snorted coldly. "Only after causing trouble do you realize the importance of cultivation? What were you doing before?"
Tongtian was more direct. He grinned. "Senior Disciple Nephew, did Feilian scare you out of your wits? It's fine. Your Martial Uncle will teach you a few powerful sword formations. Next time you see him, just slice him into 'Feilian sashimi'!"
Chen Song shrank back and hurriedly stated his position. "Master, Second Martial Uncle, Third Martial Uncle, this disciple knows his mistake! This disciple now deeply understands that strength is the only hard truth in the primordial world! I beg the three elders to teach me strictly! This disciple will surely turn over a new leaf and become a new Song!"
Hearing this, the Three Pure Ones exchanged another tacit glance.
Laozi nodded. "Good. There is no greater virtue than correcting one's mistakes. Since you possess such determination, I shall lend you a hand."
Yuanshi continued, "It just so happens that Elder Brother, Third Brother, and I have recently deduced the Heavenly Secrets and discovered surging Tribulation Qi. Great changes are coming to the primordial world. You truly need to improve your strength, lest you answer the tribulation in the future."
Tongtian rubbed his hands together excitedly. "Then let's begin! Our 'Education of Love' package!"
Before the morning mist had dispersed, Chen Song was awakened by a strike from Laozi's bamboo staff. It was not to urge him to cultivate, but because the lingering smoke from his alchemy furnace explosion last night had even smoked Laozi's meditation cushion with a burnt smell.
"Master, I was wrong!" Chen Song sprang to his feet, alchemy ash still clinging to his sleepwear. He looked like a squirrel that had just crawled out of a stove. "Next time, I'll definitely control the heat! I'll never turn a 'Nine Revolutions Golden Elixir' into a 'Six Flavor Rehmannia Pill PLUS Edition' again!"
The moment he finished speaking, Yuanshi's icy voice came from outside the door. "And that 'Five Elements Wristguard' you refined the day before yesterday—you melted my treasured Mysterious Iron into a lump. If not for Four Unlike pleading for you, these hands of yours would be splitting firewood for three thousand years."
Chen Song shrank his neck. From the corner of his eye, he spotted Tongtian passing by with the Qingping Sword slung over his shoulder. Hanging from its tassel was a "throwing dart" he had failed to make while practicing last night—actually a crooked piece of iron. He could not help complaining, "Third Martial Uncle, could you not use the junk I refined as decoration?"
"Why not?" Tongtian grinned and slapped him on the shoulder so hard that Chen Song nearly toppled over. "It was made by my Senior Disciple Nephew, after all. I hang it up to remind myself that if one isn't serious about artifact refinement, one will end up making things like this!"
This was Chen Song's daily life in seclusion:
During the day, he wrestled with flames in Laozi's alchemy chamber, occasionally exploding an alchemy furnace. In the afternoon, he went to Yuanshi's Artifact Room to wage war against Mysterious Iron. At night, he had to listen to Tongtian explain the basics of formations—though the main point was, of course, "Don't get trapped in your own formation."
As for that session of "Education of Love," even now, remembering it made his backside go numb—Laozi had struck him with a bamboo staff for his "unsteady Dao Heart," Yuanshi had poked him with the Three Treasures Jade Ruyi for his "floating foundation," and Tongtian had been even more direct, raising the Qingping Sword and threatening, "Slack off again, and I'll throw you in with the Kui Ox to chew alchemy dregs." In the end, all three had said in unison, "It's for your own good."
Chen Song understood: the heart of the primordial world's "teaching according to aptitude" was "beat them up first, then teach them the skills."
During this time, Big White tried to "rescue his master," only for Tongtian to casually toss him into a "tooth-grinding trapping formation." Inside were "tooth-grinding stones" as hard as acquired spiritual treasures. Big White gnawed until his eyes brimmed with tears, nearly believing his dog teeth were about to be ruined. From then on, he developed a deep psychological shadow toward the Three Pure Ones' "educational methods." Whenever he saw the three masters, he would tuck his tail and take a detour.
Meanwhile, Four Unlike obediently followed Yuanshi and received the nurturing influence of the Yuqing Immortal Method. His progress was rapid. Before long, he stabilized his cultivation at the peak of the Golden Immortal realm and began advancing toward the Grand Unity Golden Immortal realm, much to Yuanshi's satisfaction. Occasionally, Yuanshi would compare him with the Green Ox, which was still chewing its cud, and the dozing Kui Ox, earning innocent snorts and snores from the latter two.
From then on, it was as if his talent for alchemy had suddenly opened up.
Of course, the price was countless exploded alchemy furnaces, which even scorched three cracks into the floor tiles of the alchemy chamber. Finally, in the third hundredth year of seclusion, he refined a batch of barely presentable Calming Pills. Although eating one would make a person yawn for half an hour, Laozi still nodded. "At least you haven't learned alchemy as if it were cooking."
Artifact refinement was even more turbulent.
Yuanshi's standards for "form" were downright exacting. The first time Chen Song refined wristguards, he kneaded the Mysterious Iron into a crooked, lumpy mess and was punished by Yuanshi with copying the Yuqing Artifact Refining Record a hundred times. The second time, he tried to cut corners by mixing pinewood into the molten iron. The wristguards fell apart as soon as they took shape, and Yuanshi struck him on the head with the Jade Ruyi Scepter again.
Until the fifth hundredth year, he finally refined a proper Five Elements Pine Pattern Sword—the blade was engraved with the patterns of five-needle pines and could draw upon a trace of Innate Five Elements Qi. Yuanshi stared at it for a long time before finally forcing out one sentence: "Fine. Just don't tell anyone outside that I taught you."
This was only the beginning. His true seclusion was only now officially beginning. He needed to digest the knowledge he had been forced to learn over these centuries and truly raise his cultivation. At the very least... the next time a Quasi-Saint chased him, he could not rely solely on his pagoda and shouting for his Martial Uncles!
After making up his mind to enter formal seclusion, Chen Song first handled two matters.
First, he soothed—sweet-talked—his mount and pet, Big White.
"Big White," Chen Song said earnestly as he stroked the dog's head, "look, your boss has truly made up his mind to enter seclusion and cultivate this time. You can't just eat without doing any work either, right?"
Big White looked at him warily, his dog mouth curling. "Woof! Boss, are you trying to trick me again? My teeth are still sore from Third Master's tooth-grinding formation last time!"
"This time is different!" Chen Song put on a righteous expression. "I'm thinking of you! Think about it: your belly's defense is so strong. What does that mean? It means you're exceptionally gifted! What use is strong defense alone? What about offense? What about running away? We need all-around development!"
He took out several freshly refined Five Elements Spirit Nourishing Pills, which emitted dense Five Elements Qi. They were experimental products, their effects somewhat unstable, but packed with energy. He waved them before Big White's eyes.
"See that? Your boss has made progress in alchemy! You'll have as much of this good stuff as you want in the future! But there's a condition: you need to develop new skills! For example... devouring? You can eat anything, so can you 'eat' an enemy's spells and divine abilities too? Or convert what you eat into energy to run faster?"
Big White's dog eyes immediately lit up. He stared at the pills, drool pouring from his mouth. "Woof! Devour spells? Run faster? That actually... sounds kind of interesting! I'll give it a try!"
Before you continue