Cui Hao's Path to Immortality

Yuan Kong wore a helpless expression.

Circumstances forced one's hand, and suffering one less torment in a single day was still a small blessing.

That thing truly wasn’t fit for human consumption.

Just how was this pill even concocted?

Yuan Kong also wanted to ask—since the refining had gone so awry, couldn’t they just give up?

Wasn’t there another path to take? Did they have to stubbornly cling to pill-making?

But the moment he saw the calm smile on Chu Xingchen’s face, he swallowed his words.

Moreover, when facing Chu Xingchen, Yuan Kong had no confidence—he genuinely couldn’t tell whether the man truly cared for this young woman or not.

In any case, Yuan Kong didn’t dare gamble. One less pill to swallow was a small redemption on the path of life.

With Li Zi’s matter settled, Chu Xingchen had one less unresolved issue weighing on him.

Li Xingtian’s instructions regarding Li Zi had been far too brief, leaving Chu Xingchen uncertain about his second disciple’s true intentions.

Before leaving the Central Continent, Chu Xingchen had even made a cursory search for Li Zi’s younger brother in Sunset Valley Town.

But he found nothing—likely a lost cause.

In any case, as a master, Chu Xingchen had done all he could for his disciple.

As for the tangled web of love and hate in his second disciple’s life, it was best left for the disciple himself to unravel.

A master couldn’t double as a relationship counselor.

Chu Xingchen’s gaze drifted lazily toward Yuan Kong.

"What’s with this appearance of yours? Counts as a successful evolution?"

Yuan Kong touched his face and heaved a deep sigh, his expression resigned.

"The abbot said it was a success, but that it’s only temporary—my cultivation isn’t high enough to fully assimilate the Buddha’s Heart and the relic, so my form has taken on a slight Bodhisattva-like visage."

"Once I reach the Foundation Establishment stage, I’ll revert to my original form!"

Li Yingling’s eyes flickered with a trace of pity, as if to say, This kid… no, this poor man is so easily fooled.

Chu Xingchen nodded, sweeping his divine sense over Yuan Kong. There was some truth to the claim, but reverting after Foundation Establishment? Unlikely.

Most likely, the change would only reverse once that gray status tag was removed.

Still, Chu Xingchen wasn’t particularly concerned.

After all, these two junior brothers were a case of the willing beating the willing.

At most, one could praise Yuan Jing for his relentless efforts.

A mere Foundation Establishment cultivator, yet he somehow managed to accomplish one impossible task after another.

Yuan Kong didn’t dare linger. With the Qiankun Bag and Li Zi in tow, he departed under Chu Xingchen’s watchful gaze, his expression grave.

Since the master’s return,

the sect had seemingly returned to tranquility, the oppressive atmosphere that had lingered in his absence now dissipated.

The backbone of the sect had returned.

Only two notable events had occurred since.

The first was little more than a seasoning to daily life.

From the day the master returned, the image of the second senior brother as a fool who couldn’t even use talismans correctly began spreading like wildfire through the sect.

As for the source of these rumors, Chu Xingchen had no hesitation in pinning the blame on his eldest disciple.

Only three people had heard those words: Yuan Kong, Chen Baiqing, and Li Yingling.

Given those options, the culprit was obvious.

With the sect’s current small size, it took less than half a day for even the usually dull and honest Ning Kun to catch wind of it.

From then on, the notion that the second senior brother was an idiot became an indisputable fact within the sect.

Who knew what expression Li Xingtian would wear when he returned to find himself the legendary fool of the sect.

The second matter was the resumption of the sect’s construction plans.

The Heavenly Rosy Sect had paid a hefty sum in spirit stones as compensation.

Chu Xingchen decided to use this windfall to further develop the sect, completing the Hall of True Martiality.

He aimed to fulfill the system’s mission and advance to the next stage.

Ning Kun was once again entrusted with the heavy responsibility of overseeing the construction.

With Yuan Kong’s condition still unstable, Chu Xingchen temporarily halted the pill-feeding regimen.

No need to risk any complications.

Even without Yuan Kong around,

Chu Xingchen wasn’t idle—there was still the pressing matter of Cui Hao’s cultivation technique to resolve.

Since Cui Hao didn’t meet the system’s disciple criteria, he had no access to the divine manuals it provided.

Chu Xingchen had no choice but to seek an alternative cultivation method.

Surely, he couldn’t just have Cui Hao practice the Qi Nurturing Art and then move on to the Foundation Establishment Nurturing Art, could he?

Having accepted him as a disciple, it was only right to put in some effort and secure Cui Hao’s future path of immortality.

Cui Hao possessed dual spiritual roots of fire and metal.

In terms of innate talent, he was actually quite promising.

Moreover, he bore the "Brilliant Mind" trait.

For cultivation techniques, Chu Xingchen’s first thought was the Demon Suppression Bureau—after all, they had trained quite a few formidable cultivators.

There might be some hidden gems in their archives suitable for Cui Hao.

The Demon Suppression Bureau proved surprisingly cooperative, granting Chu Xingchen unrestricted access to their scripture repository.

However, after a full day of scouring their so-called divine manuals, Chu Xingchen finally understood why they had been so accommodating.

Every single "profound" manual in that repository was better suited as toilet paper.

By the end of the day, Chu Xingchen felt his mental database had been thoroughly polluted.

After all, his disciples’ comprehension of cultivation techniques was directly and fully transferred to him.

Among them, Li Xingtian’s insights were the most refined, at least allowing Chu Xingchen to discern good from bad.

Thus, he decisively abandoned the Demon Suppression Bureau route.

Let them keep their "divine" manuals—practitioners were guaranteed to suffer in silence.

Soon, however, an idea surfaced in Chu Xingchen’s mind.

The sect.

The main hall was undergoing renovations, replacing the temporary materials used earlier.

The noise was considerable, but Li Yingling used her spiritual energy to muffle the clamor.

Today, at the eldest senior sister’s suggestion, a small sect gathering had been organized.

The eldest senior sister only acted childishly in front of the master—otherwise, she carried herself with the dignity befitting her position.

Naturally, no one dared refuse.

With the master absent from the sect, the second senior brother away in the Central Continent, and Ning Kun overseeing construction, everyone else had gathered.

Ning Qianqian was also present, currently busy grilling skewers.

Li Yingling praised her culinary skills highly—claiming they were seventy percent as good as the master’s.

In the master’s absence, Ning Qianqian was the only one among them capable of preparing decent food.

Cui Hao sat on a stone stool, watching the fish in the pond leap and twist through the air in an orderly fashion, their movements resembling an elegant dance.

At times, they clustered together; at others, they scattered like blooming flowers.

Chen Baiqing’s mastery over her divine abilities grew ever more effortless.

She didn’t even need to glance at the water’s surface—

the fish moved entirely according to her will.

Li Yingling watched as well, though unlike Cui Hao’s appreciative gaze, hers quickly locked onto one particular fish:

"Baiqing, bring up the biggest black one—we’ll grill it."

"Alright."

The moment Chen Baiqing nodded, the unfortunate fish selected by Li Yingling flung itself out of the pond.

Cui Hao looked at Chen Baiqing with envy. That move was seriously cool!

Lin Luoyu’s gaze lingered on Cui Hao.

Among all the disciples formally accepted into the sect, Cui Hao was the only one practicing a run-of-the-mill cultivation technique.

The others all seemed to have techniques tailor-made for them.

Yet after days of observation, Lin Luoyu realized that their master did, in fact, care deeply for Cui Hao.

In recent days, he had frequently handed Cui Hao Qi-Nurturing Pills to aid his cultivation.

But after trying one, Cui Hao began actively avoiding the master whenever he saw him.

This was… puzzling.

Before taking the elixir, Cui Hao was only at the third level of Qi Refining. Yet, after consuming it, he advanced to the fourth level in just a single night.

Such potent efficacy…

So why was Cui Hao fleeing as if he’d seen the King of Hell himself?

From the sect’s entrance, Chu Xingchen’s confident voice rang out:

“Haha! My dear disciple Cui, your master has prepared something special for you.”

The envy on Cui Hao’s face instantly twisted into horror.

Without hesitation, he turned to bolt.

Unfortunately, a single immobilization spell froze him in place.