Lüoshan City.
Within the multi-tiered, deeply sequestered courtyards of the Luo Family, Lüo Bing—uncontested as the foremost disciple of the third generation—exclusively occupied a massive estate, situated in the very area closest to the Luo Family's First-Rank Spirit Vein.
At this moment, deep within the estate dotted with pavilions, small bridges, rockeries, and bright verandas, an exquisite water pavilion floated in the center of a wide, tranquil lake.
Lüo Bing, the eldest young miss of the Luo Family, sat cross-legged with bare feet in the water pavilion, cultivating.
Wisps of spiritual qi formed tangible white radiance, drawn in by the array activated beneath her and swirling around her body to aid her cultivation.
Just a single day of such cultivation was equivalent to a hundred days of bitter toil for one with a Low-grade Spiritual Root, allowing Lüo Bing—who was still in the prime of her youth—to already be a Qi Cultivation Ninth Level cultivator poised to break through to the tenth heaven.
With such innate talent and current cultivation, it could be said that Lüo Bing had a promising future of reaching the Golden Core stage, and the Luo Family naturally showered this third-generation disciple with pampering.
A flash of spiritual light suddenly streaked in from outside the courtyard, rapidly approaching from afar. The light descended to reveal the maiden-like figure of Xi'er.
"Eldest Young Miss!"
Xi'er landed on the surface of the water outside the pavilion, her feet treading the ripples as she executed a bow.
"Has the person been brought here?"
Lüo Bing asked in a cool, detached voice.
Yes, and an extra mortal was brought along as well. It's the one who delivered the message earlier. This Chen Deng said he needed a helper, and this mortal can assist him in looking after things.
Lüo Bing opened her eyes, their pupils like polished lacquer. As her gaze swept around, her bearing was heroic and imposing, yet her temperament remained elegant, ethereal, and aloof. She spoke indifferently.
"Refining the Golden Silkworm Gu takes forty-nine days, so someone is indeed needed to tend to it. But what help can a mere mortal be?"
Xi'er's heart skipped a beat. "Should this maid chase that mortal away then? I can send Little Sixth to help him instead."
"There is no need."
Lüo Bing stood up, her loose white dharma robes—which nonetheless failed to conceal her graceful figure—rustling against her form as she spoke calmly. "Since he has already cultivated to the Qi Refining First Layer, he has already mastered the manipulation of spiritual qi. Perhaps he truly can help me refine the Golden Silkworm Gu.
Take a portion of the materials and hand them to him first. I want to see how he intends to set about refining the Golden Silkworm Gu. Remember, I am only giving him two chances."
As to how Chen Deng@#$ had managed to cultivate to the Qi Refining First Layer so quickly, she already had her suspicions, but she had no wish to pry.
She couldn't be bothered to inquire about other superfluous matters either, such as the fact that the man was wanted, because none of it was worth her attention.
If Chen Deng@#$ failed to refine the Golden Silkworm Gu, then this person would have no necessity to concern her and would be driven straight out of the Luo Family. Learning a bunch of trivial gossip related to such a person would be even more meaningless.
The path of immortality is merciless, and for the most part, this does not manifest as people extinguishing their emotions.
Rather, once people pour the vast majority of their energy into cultivation, they gradually lose the spare energy to deal with other matters.
Such trivialities unrelated to oneself are even more so, and naturally, people slowly grow detached and unfeeling.
Therefore, by the end of immortal cultivation, immortals are mostly indifferent.
In the eyes of mortals, that is selfishness, ruthlessness, and a complete lack of the so-called grand love that ought to exist in their imagination.
At this moment, within a courtyard of the Luo Family.
Xu Wei looked apprehensively at Chen Deng@#$ who was dripping with sweat, able only to sit in a chair and continuously sip tea to mask her nervousness and a shred of awkwardness.
"Hey! Ha!—"
Chen Deng@#$ regulated his breathing, drinking in the spiritual qi of the Luo Family—which was three times as dense as that in the city of the Gathering Place—and seized the time to strike various bizarre cultivation poses in the hall, utterly oblivious to anyone else.
Watching the beads of sweat slide and drip like grease down Chen Deng@#$'s robust back, which was covered entirely in knife scars and sword slashes, Xu Wei subconsciously swallowed a mouthful of tea, feeling no small degree of shock.
No wonder Young Master Chen—oh no, Immortal Master Chen—was able to become a cultivator. He truly cultivates with such diligence.
Recalling how the man had always stayed behind closed doors in the shanty town back then, refusing to answer when she went to knock, Xu Wei couldn't help but feel a pang of shame.
She also possessed a Low-grade Spiritual Root. If she could be as diligent as Chen Deng@#$, coupled with the spirit rice frequently supplied by Zanhua Tower, perhaps she would already be a cultivator by now.
A short while later.
Chen Deng@#$ suddenly stood up, walked over to the table, picked up a cup of tea, and gulped it down in one go.
Xu Wei hurriedly stepped over to refill the tea, wanting to take out a silk handkerchief to wipe the sweat for Chen Deng@#$.
"No need! I'll be sweating again in a moment, and no need for more tea either! Drink too much and you pee too much."
Chen Deng@#$ directly took out a few tea leaves and chewed them dry in his mouth, laughing. "This is more convenient."
"Huh?"
Xu Wei froze.
Yet she watched as Chen Deng@#$ returned to the hall to practice his arts once more, even calling for her to join him.
"Come on, Xu Wei, let's practice together. The spiritual qi here in the Luo Family is truly rich; don't waste a good opportunity."
The drum was beaten louder and louder, the cultivation deepened further and further.
For Chen Deng@#$, the dense spiritual qi environment of the Luo Family was truly a rare and precious land for cultivation.
Practicing here once was equivalent to practicing three times in the Gathering Place or four times in the wilderness. After twelve cultivation sessions in a single day, the proficiency of his Three Yuan Spirit Gathering Technique would increase by four points—how could he possibly restrain himself from practicing?
Xu Wei felt a stirring in her heart. Seeing that Chen Deng@#$ had plunged back into his fiery routine, she said nervously, "I-I'll still practice tonight instead. I'm afraid that if someone from the Luo Family comes by later, there won't be anyone to greet them."
Inwardly, however, she found it rather bizarre.
Just what kind of technique was Young Master Chen cultivating? Why did it require assuming so many strange postures?
Although cultivation was not strictly limited to meditation, and there were indeed techniques that could be practiced whether running, jumping, sitting, or lying down, this was the first time she had ever seen such a shameful method of practice as Chen Deng@#$'s. Perhaps her horizons were simply narrow, but at least she was broadening them today.
Half an incense stick's time later.
Xi'er's two braids fluttered as she rode upon a streak of spiritual light, and before she had even reached the outside of the house, she heard Chen Deng@#$'s urgent voice.
"Come on, Xu Wei, don't be so nervous. Opportunities are rare, let's seize the time and cultivate together!"
"L-Let's leave it for another day, Immortal Master Chen. Y-You're making too much of a commotion, I find it hard to settle my mind and want to practice tonight."
"What?!"
Xi'er's pretty face darkened.
What on earth were these two outsiders trying to pull?
Had they eaten bear's gall and leopard's ambition, or ingested some kind of aphrodisiac?
Oh right, this mortal was from Zanhua Tower, but did they take this place for some kind of tavern, still leaving the door wide open?
"Chen Deng@#$, you're bold!"
Before her flying artifact could even come to a complete halt, Xi'er leaped off, charging straight into the residence, only to see Chen Deng@#$ bare-chested and striking a golden rooster standing on one leg pose as he cultivated, his entire body wreathed in spiritual light—clearly in a state of the Three Yuans converging.
As for Xu Wei, she was sitting nervously inside the room holding a teacup. Seeing Xi'er storm in, she immediately stood up and bowed.
"W-What are you doing?"
Xi'er stared in astonishment at the layers of stacked muscle all over Chen Deng@#$'s body.
Chen Deng@#$ was taken aback. He finished his cultivation routine, put down his other foot, and said, "Cultivating. Wait, my lord, I didn't know you weren't allowed to cultivate in the Luo Family?"
The tips of Xi'er's ears turned red. Realizing she had misunderstood, she suddenly remembered that what Chen Deng@#$ was cultivating ought to be the Three Yuan Spirit Gathering Technique.
This technique was something the eldest young miss had once mentioned casually as a joke: that old Daoist from the Hidden World Sect was dishonest, trading away the Three Yuan Spirit Gathering Technique—which looked thoroughly 'ugly' when practiced—to Chen Deng@#$ at the Ascension Convention.
"Oh... no, it's nothing. I was just... just saying, you've got a lot of nerve. Cultivating is cultivating, but with all that sweat, you've gone and dirtied the carpet."
Xi'er placed her hands behind her back, pacing around the room while casting a rather unnatural, sideways glance at Chen Deng@#$.
Chen Deng@#$ glanced down at the soaked carpet beneath his feet. "..."
Xi'er frowned with a look of utter disgust. "And another thing, don't just run around bare-chested—it's uncultured. Put your clothes on and come with me to refine the Golden Silkworm Gu immediately. The eldest young miss said she is only giving you two chances, so whether you're cut out for this depends entirely on your performance."
"Two chances."
Chen Deng@#$ felt a tightening in his chest, yet he relaxed slightly at the same time.
That's fine. Thinking on the bright side, at least it's not just a single chance.
Though he had never refined a Golden Silkworm Gu before either.
According to the records in the Gu Refining Art, however, one only needed to master the art to the realm of proficiency to successfully refine a Golden Silkworm Gu.
Therefore, back when he was still in the Xiantian realm, he had already intended to gather the materials for the Golden Silkworm Gu to refine one.
Now that he had two chances, it should be enough to successfully refine the creature.
As for what would happen if he failed after two tries, Chen Deng@#$ had already considered it—his crime wouldn't warrant death.
He had long since made discrete inquiries ahead of time.
Those past cultivators who had faked knowing how to refine the Golden Silkworm Gu and were driven out by the Luo Family had merely received a severe beating without losing their lives over it.
And since he actually possessed genuine skills, he merely needed to demonstrate them. Fairy Lüo was not entirely devoid of discernment, so she naturally wouldn't strike him down over a mere disagreement.
Of course, these calculations were also built upon the foundation of his current strength as a cultivator.
If he were still a mere mortal, even with the Luo Family offering a bounty, he would never dare to risk his life unless pushed to the absolute brink.
Even if a mortal wanted to borrow external power, it was utterly impossible to pull off.
A single glance from a high-tier cultivator could see right through any petty thoughts a mortal might have, leading straight to a dead end!