Emerging from Seclusion, Entering Seclusion

Li Feng sat alone, cross-legged atop a stone peak. Its summit held just enough room for a single meditation cushion; one casual step in any direction would send him over a sheer cliff more than two hundred zhang high. He had already sat there in meditation for half a month. Half a year ago, after successfully escaping the tedious labor of hauling water and chopping firewood, he had twice as much time for regulating his breath and refining Qi. Thus, his progress had been immense, and the time he could remain in meditation had grown far beyond what it had been before.

Even Li Feng found it incredible. With his temperament, making him honestly sit in one place for half a month should have been impossible. Yet whenever he sat down to meditate, it was no longer under his control. His heart always became cool and clear, as if he could sit there without end. After experiencing this several times, he finally understood why those old fellows of the Yiyuan Sect cultivated in the Alchemy Room year after year. The Yiyuan Sect's cultivation method was simply... too freakish. It could turn even a monkey into a devout cultivator, let alone these old Daoists who had long pursued the supreme heavenly Dao with all their hearts.

At this moment, Li Feng was personally proving the terrifying nature of the Yiyuan Sect Qi Refining Mind Formula. Strands of clear Qi visible to the naked eye surged toward him from every direction, entering his body through his nose, mouth, ears, crown, and every pore across his body. The incomparably cool primordial Qi of heaven and earth coursed through Li Feng, rushing back and forth nine times from the Baihui acupoint atop his head to the Yongquan acupoint beneath his feet before obediently merging into his true Qi. It then began circulating meekly through his meridians, and Li Feng's true Qi thickened by another measure.

The primordial Qi of heaven and earth continued pouring in, Li Feng's true Qi continued growing stronger, and his flesh was continuously tempered. Although most of his food consisted of spiritual herbs, with little meat or fish, the influx of primordial Qi that formed all things in the world still caused his muscles to expand bit by bit. The change was subtle, but they truly were expanding. With every deep breath he took, the muscles of his bare upper body swelled dramatically outward, brimming with the beauty of strength and a rhythmic sense that seemed to contain the ultimate principles of heaven and earth.

"Exhale, inhale, exhale, inhale." With each breath, Li Feng's divine sense sank deep into his body, sensing the exchange and fusion between his own true Qi and the external primordial Qi. It was an incomparably marvelous sensation, a lucid feeling as though he held everything in his grasp. From the incoming primordial Qi, he could grasp many things: three zhang beneath him, an Orchid Heart Grass was blooming; two hundred zhang to his left on a cliff, a small White-Scaled Vermilion-Horned Python was sneakily spying on a nest of Vermilion-Feathered Magpies; on another stone peak fifty zhang behind him, two Skylarks were fighting over a tiny Dragon Saliva Fruit.

What Li Feng sensed most clearly, however, was Little Cat beneath the stone peak where he sat. The creature had put on more than fifty jin of fat and was sprawled on the ground asleep. It seemed countless slabs of fresh meat and tigresses awaited him in his dreams; drool had pooled all over the ground, yet he remained utterly unaware.

Everything was so natural, everything so effortless. Li Feng's divine sense was hidden deep within his body, yet his heart held a bright mirror that reflected everything outside without missing the slightest detail. It was like a person in a pitch-black room who could still sense which direction the wind was blowing from through the sharp touch of his skin.

Yes, natural. Everything was natural. There was no need to think too much, no need to do too much. He only needed to sit quietly, quietly comprehending everything happening outside and within himself.

"The Dao, as a thing, is only vague and elusive. Elusive and vague, yet within it are images; vague and elusive, yet within it are things. Deep and dark, yet within it is essence; that essence is most real, and within it is truth."

Two tears suddenly hung from the corners of Li Feng's eyes. An image abruptly surfaced in his mind. He had been eight or nine then. After great difficulty, he and A Zhu had stolen a steamed bun and hidden in the grass by the riverbank to devour it clean. After starving for four or five days, the comfort of suddenly eating their fill had left them without the strength to move even a finger. Stars dotted the sky as the heavens turned and the stars shifted. The black canopy overhead held an enduring mystery that he had been unable to understand at the time.

During the day, the sandbank had been warmed by the sun. Now, every pebble and every grain of sand generously released its own warmth. Lying in that nest of grass, Li Feng felt as though he had returned to his mother's womb. It was warm and comfortable, a hazy, dreamlike feeling in which he thought of nothing, yet thought of countless things.

Wave after wave of primordial Qi surged into Li Feng's body. Suddenly, realization struck him. The space between his brows trembled violently, and the primordial Qi coursing back and forth from Baihui to Yongquan within him instantly accelerated by more than tenfold. Part of the medicinal power of the Candle Dragon Grass, deeply buried in Li Feng's meridians, dispersed once more, stimulating his dantian and meridians to expand and contract violently. A powerful suction force emanated from his body. It was as though he had become an enormous vortex; with a series of crisp, tearing sounds, the primordial Qi outside cheered as it flooded into him.

A mouthful of turbid Qi was forced upward from his lower body by the fresh primordial Qi, charging straight toward Li Feng's throat. Li Feng abruptly opened his eyes, and two flashes of azure light gleamed. Throwing back his head, he released a clear, piercing howl like an old ape of Bashan. A wave of white sound burst from his mouth. The layers upon layers of auspicious clouds over a hundred zhang above his head were struck by an immense force and rolled apart layer by layer like boiling soup poured over snow, revealing a circular patch of blue sky.

As his long howl continued, the source of true Qi within Li Feng's dantian shifted from orderly clarity into a chaotic mass. That chaotic cloud of Qi resembled a tiny universe, slowly spiraling and drifting. As he focused inward, a mystery profound beyond profundity rose in Li Feng's heart. Looking at the Qi cloud within his dantian, he felt as though he were once again looking at the sky and stars he had seen on that night at the riverbank.

Looking around, Li Feng felt light and cheerful with every gesture. It seemed as if he and the surrounding mountains and waters had fused into one. A pure tranquility and peace seeped into his heart, and for a moment, nothing interested him anymore. He only wished to sit quietly here and enjoy the feeling of heaven and man becoming one.

Understanding dawned on him. After half a year of bitter cultivation, he had entered Late Qi Induction in a single leap. Although the quantity of true Qi in his body had not increased by much, the speed at which he absorbed primordial Qi in future cultivation would be at least ten times faster. In particular, that subtle insight he had just gained had advanced his Dao attainment—his cultivation of the heart—by a great step. By Li Feng's own assessment, well, using Little Cat's standards, he could now be considered a minor demon with fifty years of cultivation.

The cultivation of beasts was originally a process of seizing the primordial Qi of heaven and earth, comprehending the ultimate principles of heaven and earth, then changing form and body to evolve continuously. Beasts were like this; humans were the same.

A streak of azure light shot over, and Xiao Longzi appeared before Li Feng with a smile, suspended over a hundred zhang above the ground. Xiao Longzi's face was filled with delighted joy. "Fengzi, good, very good! In just over three years, you entered Late Qi Induction in one stroke. You truly are a genius... I, Xiao Longzi, can finally give the sect an account... Ahem, ahem, hmm, hmm. What did I just say? Fengzi, you truly are a genius. To reach your current level in just over three years—heh heh—aside from your Junior Sister Aunt, none among us twelve martial brothers had your speed."

Li Feng tilted his head and stared for a long time before finally recalling that this Daoist before him was the master who had brought him up the mountain. But this fellow had called himself Xiao Longzi just now? Oh, right, he did seem to be named Xiao Longzi... Look at that—after not seeing each other for over three years, Li Feng had forgotten he even had such an old Daoist master. Over those three years, he had spent every day sweetly entwined with Zhao Yue'er, and had long forgotten where this old bastard had been tossed. How could he still remember him?

Stretching his body, Li Feng rose to his feet. Lazily and listlessly, he cupped his fists in the common salute of Jianghu folk toward Xiao Longzi. "Ha, ha, ha. Master above, this disciple Li~~ Fengzi," he muttered the last part very softly, "pays his respects... Wow, this disciple finally saw Master today. Master, this disciple missed you so much. More than three years! This is the first time this disciple has seen Master. Wuwuwuwu, how moving. This disciple actually survived long enough to see you again, Master."

Although Xiao Longzi had cultivated his heart into a bright mirror, still as an ancient well, his face nevertheless filled with shame and turned crimson. He stammered for a long while before finally squeezing out a few words. "Ha, ha. Since master and disciple have reunited today, let us not speak of such sorrowful things... Your master has also been striving to improve himself, so it was inevitable that I... Ha ha, hmm, hmm. Fortunately, Junior Sister Yue'er took excellent care of you, so your master was quite at ease."

Li Feng could not be bothered to speak further with this master, this "stinking man" for whom he felt little affection. He simply stretched out his right hand, rapidly rubbed his thumb and forefinger together a few times, winked his left eye at Xiao Longzi several times, pulled the left corner of his mouth into a narrow slit, and made several clicking sounds. "Tsk, tsk."

Xiao Longzi looked blank. How could he know this was the gesture street thugs commonly used when collecting protection money and extorting people?

Li Feng grew a little impatient, muttering inwardly, Damn it, does this old bastard have water for brains or what? Why is he so slow? I followed Master's wife for three years, went through untold hardships, and only then reached Late Qi Induction. Now you come running out to claim me as your bargain disciple? Fuck, I don't even want you as my bargain master. Old, ugly, stiff as a board—not even one hair on Master's wife's head can compare to you. And you still want me to follow you? If you don't give me some benefit, how can I be willing?

When Xiao Longzi still stared at him blankly like an obedient child of five or six, Li Feng's heart blazed with fury. The sliver of "Dao" he had just comprehended was burned clean away by nameless rage. He simply pulled the Jade Rhinoceros Sword from beneath the meditation cushion and tossed it to Xiao Longzi with one hand. Then, in an exceptionally gentle tone, he said, "Master, thank you for granting me the Jade Rhinoceros Sword. But this disciple now has the ability to protect himself, so naturally I no longer need this sort of thing. I should return it to you."

"Tsk tsk, you're my master? But I think Junior Sister Aunt is my real master. Without her, I would still be illiterate and know no internal arts at all. I might even have starved to death on this mountain. Especially since Junior Sister Aunt truly acts like my master. You only gave me a sword worth at most a hundred taels of silver in Suzhou Prefecture, while she gave me the Heavenly Escape talisman... So, what do you think?"

Li Feng swiftly pulled out Heavenly Escape with his left hand and sent a thread of true essence into it. Heavenly Escape immediately emitted glittering golden light that dazzled the eyes. No matter how dull Xiao Longzi was, he now understood Li Feng's meaning. His face turned red again as he muttered inwardly, This disciple really has no manners. A master giving his disciple a magical treasure is only proper, but directly holding out his hand to demand one... It seems none of the cultivators from the hundred sects of the Nine Provinces have ever done such a thing? Still, I was negligent. I actually forgot this matter. But Junior Sister gave him Heavenly Escape? Then what should I...?

Li Feng shook his head. Seeing Xiao Longzi still standing there in a daze, his thief's eyes began actively examining Xiao Longzi from head to toe. The hairpin on his head was no good. The jade ring on his left hand looked ordinary too, so that was no good either. The belt around his waist seemed like a fine treasure, but it was too ugly. Forget it. Hmm, what was that half-exposed thing on his belt? It looked like a tiny jade blade. Judging by the flickering red glow, it seemed alive.

After following Zhao Yue'er for over three years, Li Feng had long learned how to identify magical treasures. Moreover, he seemed to have heard of this jade blade before. Li Feng immediately reached out. The nimble fingers he had developed as a thief deftly plucked out the tiny jade blade, no more than four cun long, and slipped it smoothly into his sleeve. Laughing heartily, he said, "Master, there's no need for you to rack your brains anymore. I know you wanted to give me a fine magical treasure, but we're master and disciple, aren't we? How could your disciple bear to let Master spend too much? Ha ha ha! Seeing how you just tucked this jade blade casually into your belt, it naturally cannot be anything precious. You must have already merged body and artifact with any truly good treasures, right? So this disciple will reluctantly take this blade instead."

Xiao Longzi shuddered all over, looking at Li Feng as though he had seen a ghost. His body trembled slightly several times before he finally nodded with a bitter smile. "Th-this... forget it. This too is fate... Fengzi, this is one of our sect's precious treasures, the Vermilion Bird Crescent. You must take good care of it."

Xiao Longzi's heart was bleeding. Not even more than a hundred years of cultivation could suppress his heartache. Over the past three years, he had borrowed the sect-protecting treasure, the One Yuan Pearl, from the Sect Leader and used its immense power to form his Golden Core in one stroke, finally stepping onto the golden road of Dao cultivation. Chen Songzi had only just granted him this Vermilion Bird Crescent in a moment of happiness after seeing that he had achieved Golden Core Completion. He had not even carried it for a quarter of an hour before Li Feng stripped it from him.

The regret in his heart was unbearable. Xiao Longzi wailed madly inwardly, Three Pure Ones, have pity on this Daoist... The Vermilion Bird Crescent, our sect's strongest offensive magical treasure—I, I, I... Wuwu, I had only just emerged from seclusion, only just returned the One Yuan Pearl, only just received a magical treasure from Master. Why did I have to come over after hearing that brat's howl? Wuwu, this Daoist has been wronged!

It really was true that good people died young. The moment Xiao Longzi heard Li Feng's howl, he knew Li Feng had entered Late Qi Induction. While rejoicing for Li Feng, he had also grown curious about why his progress was so fast. Out of concern for his disciple, he had hurried over in high spirits, intending to praise Li Feng properly. Who would have guessed that Li Feng would be so ruthless, striking so viciously at his own master? A top-grade magical treasure simply vanished from the face of the earth.

Li Feng gave several hollow, skin-deep chuckles, then bowed and scraped as he said, "Then, Master, thank you, Master. Thank you so very much... Oh, and would Master please pass down the incantation for the Vermilion Bird Crescent as well? This disciple finally has an offensive magical treasure now, so I won't have to spend every day throwing yellow paper slips at monkeys." Li Feng's plan was to quickly cultivate the Vermilion Bird Crescent into oneness with his body, so he would not need to fear Xiao Longzi suddenly regretting it.

Xiao Longzi's lips trembled twice. He still did not have the nerve to reclaim a magical treasure he had "given away." He could only hang his head as though mourning his parents and pass down the twelve-line incantation for cultivating the Vermilion Bird Crescent.

Li Feng was overjoyed. After thanking Xiao Longzi twice without the slightest sincerity, he sat cross-legged directly upon the cushion from before and began regulating the true essence within his body. He gripped the Vermilion Bird Crescent tightly in his palm, not daring to relax in the least. After a while, when Li Feng felt the Qi within him flowing smoothly, he immediately began drawing in the primordial Qi of heaven and earth. Hand seal after hand seal flew forth alongside incantations, and threads of icy azure light emanated from his hands, winding around the Vermilion Bird Crescent, which blazed with red radiance.

Xiao Longzi opened his mouth wide and stared blankly at the Vermilion Bird Crescent flashing with red light and radiating a fierce, pressing force. His mind was in utter chaos. If I had put the Vermilion Bird Crescent away more carefully just now, the one doing this should have been me.

While he was wallowing in grief, Xie Yuezi came riding on a clear breeze with a smile on his face. He began shouting from afar, "Junior Brother Xiao, congratulations, congratulations! Golden Core Completion! When we martial brothers study the Nine Revolutions Profound Art in the future, there will be one more of us... Eh? What are you doing? Isn't that the Vermilion Bird Crescent?"

Xie Yuezi's head swung left and right more than a dozen times as though springs had been fitted inside it. His gaze darted repeatedly between the Vermilion Bird Crescent in Li Feng's hand and Xiao Longzi's funeral-like expression, as if he suddenly understood something. Thus, he cautiously said, "Sect Leader Uncle-Master said that Junior Sister Yue'er needs to enter seclusion for one year. Second Martial Uncle will protect her while she opens her Violet Palace and strengthens the Misty Violet Qi within her body... Therefore, Sect Leader Uncle-Master said that for this year, Junior Brother, you will be responsible for teaching your nephew-disciple Fengzi."

Xiao Longzi shuddered and looked toward Xie Yuezi.

Xie Yuezi said softly, "Junior Sister Yue'er asked me to tell you that if you dare abandon your nephew-disciple, then when she emerges from seclusion, she will thoroughly destroy your Alchemy Room and burn all your alchemy scriptures and Daoist books... Ah, there were many more vicious things she said, things cultivators like us should not speak aloud, so this senior brother will not repeat them here. This senior brother truly finds it strange. Junior Sister has never gone down the mountain, so how does she know those street sayings? Things like sneaking up behind you and knocking you dead with a club. I truly do not know where Junior Sister learned such words."

After speaking those words with great caution, Xie Yuezi carefully glanced at Li Feng, who had his eyes narrowed as he cultivated the Vermilion Bird Crescent. Xiao Longzi could no longer say a single word. He could only stare blankly at Xie Yuezi.

At last, Xie Yuezi delivered Xiao Longzi the final blow. "A few months ago, Junior Sister Yue'er extorted wine from Senior Brother Gu. It seems it was for this nephew-disciple... Ah, Junior Brother, you said your nephew-disciple was alone and helpless, earning his living as a laborer for landlords in Suzhou Prefecture. But what Junior Sister Yue'er told Senior Brother Gu was not quite that, was it?... Ah, this nephew-disciple seems to be some Jianghu man from a gang called the Golden Dragon Gang?"

Xiao Longzi completely fainted. No hundred years of Dao attainment, no Golden Core Great Dao, could clear his mind by even a fraction. After hearing Xie Yuezi's words, Xiao Longzi—who was nearly an immortal, who had just formed his Golden Core—fell from over a hundred zhang up with a thud, landing squarely atop Little Cat. Little Cat let out a miserable shriek, yet did not dare bite him twice. He could only swallow a bellyful of fury.

Fortunately, Xiao Longzi landed on Little Cat. Otherwise, given the way he had fallen headfirst, and the jagged rocks beneath the mountain, he would certainly have smashed himself bloody. If fortune had been especially unkind, the Yiyuan Sect might have become even more famous in the future. "The first Daoist cultivator who could fly and still fell to his death came from the Yiyuan Sect." "What do you know? He had even formed a Golden Core! A Golden Core... Daoist cultivators who formed Golden Cores had been killed by enemies, killed by demons, or burned to death after suffering Qi deviation—but falling to death... Heh heh, the Yiyuan Sect really is impressive."

Fortunately, fortunately, Little Cat had been sleeping below.

Xie Yuezi looked at Xiao Longzi, who lay on his back atop Little Cat's belly, and a smile suddenly spread across his face. Smiling, he said, "Heh heh, Sect Leader Uncle-Master always says we know nothing of worldly affairs, so we cannot even recruit disciples... Heh heh, this time Junior Brother has accepted a disciple who is extremely familiar with worldly affairs. We will not need to worry about recruiting disciples in the future."

Xie Yuezi gave several sly chuckles. He had already decided to use Li Feng as free labor.

Li Feng secretly glanced at Xie Yuezi's wickedly smiling face, and an equally wicked smile suddenly appeared on his own. The two of them smiled like two clients who had successfully escaped a brothel after eating a free meal—equally shameless, equally lewd.