Chapter 16 The Pursuit of Immortality

Three months later.

Atop Mount Great Stone, a small palace-style Daoist temple.

Tall walls surrounded the temple, with soldiers guarding the roads below the mountain.

The backyard.

Xu Xuan drew his bow and loosed an arrow, the target being a straw man with a Yellow Talisman attached to it.

Whoosh!

The arrow shot out, and the Talisman Paper flickered with light.

Just three inches from the straw man's vital point, the arrow, as if striking something invisible, was deflected away.

The second arrow!

The third arrow!

After the third arrow, the Talisman Paper turned to ash.

"A Soldier-Avoiding Talisman can block three arrows," Xu Xuan concluded the limit.

Whether it was three consecutive arrows or three arrows at once, it could only block three.

But no matter, he could simply attach more.

He then placed a new one on the straw man.

Casting aside his bow and arrows, he pointed his sword into the empty air, tracing patterns that brought forth crimson lines in the void.

Three breaths later.

Whoosh!

A fireball formed, flying toward the straw man.

After three months of diligent practice, Xu Xuan had at last achieved great success with the Fire Summoning Talisman, reaching the stage where he could draw it out of thin air.

This meant that even if he ran out of Talisman Paper, he could still instantly create spells.

If it were perfect, the speed would probably be even faster.

Boom!

The fireball obliterated the straw man.

"Useless against spells of greater power; it likely wouldn't stop large caliber bird guns or cannons," he reasoned.

This was the late Ming dynasty, where firearms existed; ordinary troops weren't equipped with them and they were time-consuming and laborious to use, but their power was not to be underestimated.

Of course, it was sufficient to stop arrows and bolts. With such large targets as large caliber bird guns and cannons, he could sense them coming.

"With the Soldier-Avoiding Talisman Technique at great completion or even perfection, it should be able to block cannons."

Xu Xuan returned to another side hall where there was a coffin. The skylight was closed but would open at night to let the corpse absorb the essence of Taiyin.

He lifted the lid and was assaulted by a wave of rotting stench.

The body inside had long since decayed, and the Yellow Talisman on its forehead was ineffective.

"Still useless."

Enduring the foul smell, Xu Xuan removed the Spirit Stone from the body.

"Could it really be necessary to use a living person to refine a corpse?"

This act was too damaging to Heaven's harmony and wouldn't work if the subject wasn't cooperative, such as by tearing off the Talisman Paper or refusing to follow incantations to absorb Spiritual Energy.

The Li Family had experimented with this; the failures with corpses were due to insufficient Yin energy. Since it was insufficient, they should artificially absorb it.

Such actions were harmful to Heaven's harmony, but further attempts at other methods were warranted.

Xu Xuan closed the coffin lid and headed to the mid-mountain level, where several people were practicing martial arts.

Their bodies glowed red, as if they were tireless, some pulling bowstrings, some lifting stone locks.

Wu Xiong, Gui Zhegu, Xu Yong, Yuan Kong, and a dozen of their close followers were all present.

Only after they finished their practice did they notice Xu Xuan.

"Heavenly Master!"

"Big Brother!" Xu Yong approached Xu Xuan, dripping with sweat and smiling, "Big Brother, this Small Azure Dragon Powder is really effective. It feels like our strength never runs out."

The Small Azure Dragon Powder was a less potent version of the Great Green Dragon Powder, developed by Xu Xuan, and with the heavy metals removed, it served to boost Qi and blood.

"Good to hear it's useful. Once your Qi and blood have reached a certain level, I'll teach you more about cultivation techniques."

Of course, gifting them Spirit Stones was out of the question.

As for failing to cultivate?

They should reflect on their own reasons!

"Make sure there's enough Talisman Paper and medicinal herbs. There's far too little," Xu Xuan told everyone.

Premium quality Talisman Paper was necessary, and the herbs not only assisted in his own cultivation but were also crucial for Corpse Driving.

They needed large quantities of those because his success rate wasn't high—for instance, if ten attempts at making the Great Green Dragon Powder resulted in one success, it was considered good.

"Chenxi is too poor; I'm also trying to think of solutions," someone replied.

"Have the brewery, the glazed crystal workshop, and the Refined Salt Workshop opened yet?" Xu Xuan asked.

"They've opened. Really, Big Brother, your methods are so effective. We're paving roads now, getting ready to sell to Yiyang, Hengyang, Changsha, and other places."

"Hmm, with these industries, Chenxi can develop too. The more refugees you recruit the better. They work as craftsmen in peacetime and as soldiers in times of war."

"Find me another corpse."

"Yes!"

...

At the foot of the mountain, Xu Residence.

When Li Hu woke up in the morning, his old body was wrapped in thick bandages; Xu Xuan had not expected Li Hu to survive.

He had been unconscious for three months and had only come to that morning.

Leaning against the wall, Li Hu listened as the servant from Pear Manor recounted what had happened during his coma.

He was utterly astonished by Xu Guangting's actions, yet Xu Xuan had lived up to his expectations.

The next step would probably be the fight for the inheritance.

"The eldest son is building a Daoist Temple on the mountain. I've heard rumors that he's become a Taoist and is studying the ways of Immortals."

Li Hu gave a wry chuckle, thinking the lad was quite persistent.

Perhaps he should advise him not to waste his prime years on this pursuit.

Xu Feng was aggressively ambitious, and if he were to take charge, the fate of the Xu brothers would not be good.

"Have you found out who killed Siru?" Li Hu asked, his eyes filled with deep-seated hatred.

Yang Siru was his nephew, the sole heir of the Yang family. Li Hu's real surname was Yang; he was Han and had fled a famine to live in the mountains in his youth.

"It was Li Duo who attacked you, one of Chenzhou's generals. Xu Feng killed young master Siru. He coveted your property and now Pear Manor has fallen into his hands. Li Duo was acting on his orders."

"So, it was him..." Li Hu clenched his teeth so hard they nearly shattered. It was a shame he had become a cripple with no hope of revenge in this life.

Thump, thump, thump!

At that moment, someone knocked on the door; the servant saw that it was Xu Xuan.

"Greetings, Eldest Young Master!"

"You go out first, I have something to discuss with my master."

Xu Xuan asked the servant to leave.

"Master, you're not having any major issues, are you?" Xu Xuan asked, still holding several packets of medicinal herbs.

Li Hu coughed a few times, saying, "I'm about to die anyway, it's all the same."

"Haha, you should be getting stronger with age, why say such things?"

Xu Xuan placed the medicinal prescriptions aside and sat down in the chair.

After thinking for a while, Li Hu suddenly said:

"You must fight, constant yielding only encourages others to become more aggressive."

"What?"

"Xu Feng is not a good person," Li Hu said of his own situation. "In this life, you are the closest person to me. I truly don't want to see you go astray. You shouldn't stay away from Chenzhou, especially since you have Gui Zhegu and Xu Yong as allies—you should go back to Chenzhou and fight for what's yours."

"Cultivation is hugely beneficial!"

"Foolish..." Li Hu became agitated, and his coughing grew intense.

"Easy, easy," Xu Xuan stepped forward and gently patted Li Hu's back.

"Since ancient times, Emperor Qin, Emperor Wu of Han, which of them succeeded? Do you think you're more capable than Emperor Qin or Emperor Wu? Do not be arrogant about your talent. Whether it's Cultivation or martial arts, ultimately, you won't achieve greatness."

"I don't know if I'm more capable, but I'm definitely luckier than them."

"What sort of spell or technique, I've also experienced..."

Li Hu was about to scold when he looked up and was stunned by the scene before him.

He saw Xu Xuan painting in the air, his finger drawing red lines, after which the talisman formed and a fireball floated above his palm.

The room was bathed in red light, and Xu Xuan's complexion flickered mysteriously and obscurely.

The intense heat convinced Li Hu that this was not mere trickery.

It wasn't until the fireball disappeared that Li Hu snapped out of his daze, speechless for a long time.

It was an unexpected reaction, considering Xu Xuan had never used his spells to kill anyone since he mastered them; often, he would simply display the fireball, and his opponents would immediately kneel.

Shown three times, and three times convincing others sincerely.

"It seems I've overestimated the psychological tolerance of people from the Magicless World," Xu Xuan thought to himself.

He figured, not to mention the ancients, even modern people would be terrified if they saw it.

Unless it was a place like the Mirror Realm, where people frequently saw cultivators.

He planned to recruit Li Hu, who had connections and could develop trade routes, providing logistical support for his great cultivation endeavor.

"Is this a Fire Summoning Talisman?" Li Hu finally regained his composure and murmured.

"Precisely," Xu Xuan replied.

Li Hu burst into loud laughter, his chest heaving like a broken drum.

"Haha, Emperor Qin, Emperor Wu, the goals they didn't achieve you have. You really are a once-in-a-millennium Immortal! It was my narrow-mindedness; what counts the striving for dominion over the Mortal World?"

Cultivation meant withdrawal from the world, but if it was genuine, it was different.

What was Chenzhou compared to that?

"Master speaks the truth. I am not just avoiding the world for cultivation," Xu Xuan said with piercing eyes. "It would be a waste of my talents to stay isolated in the mountains and watch the Divine Land sink into decay."

"Only when my divine skill reaches great completion will it be time for me to come down from the mountain."