Chapter 129: Hmm, It Really Was Simple!
Chapter 129: Hmm, It Really Was Simple!
If the Qin State didn’t have that dazzling blue light, even with the earthshaking changes in the Chu State, the four nations that had already fired their arrows might not have been shameless enough to lick up their own spit.
Lu Qingming was hailed as the number one expert across the Seven Nations!
But before that blue light, he was like nothing more than trash!
The Carefree Sect didn’t have a bright reputation or a prominent status in the eyes of the common people.
But in the eyes of those in high positions across the nations, it was a genuine top-tier sect!
Furthermore, with Lu Qingming’s defeat and demise, a rather terrifying piece of news spread—the Chu State’s original guardian sect, the Mount Taiyue Sect, had been completely wiped out by the Carefree Sect not long ago!
Such a powerful and fearsome super cultivation sect had backed down in the face of that blue light.
The Seven Free Swords had spoken those words with helpless expressions, captured on camera, and they had already been analyzed countless times by countless people!
Even if it was only a temporary retreat, it was still backing down!
If even they dared not face that blue light, where would the four nations find the immense courage to do so?
An army could destroy Qin, but a king could be beheaded by a person!
That unbelievable young man from Qin was now considered a genuine plague god in the minds of those in high positions across the nations!
Whoever provoked him would be unlucky!
They all wished they could stay as far away from him as possible.
The key thing was, that bastard kept saying he was a Qin People!
You, a cultivator with a terrifying big shot standing behind you, why are you pretending to be an ordinary person?
Why don’t you just hurry off to some deep mountains and old forests to cultivate?
If that’s really not possible, we could provide you with some cultivation resources to buy peace!
But now, it was even heard that he’d settled down in the Chu State’s Imperial Palace!
Damn it, that cheap woman Chu Yanyu… her judgment was way too sharp.
But it’s not like only your Chu State has princesses; we have them too!
Many quick-witted people had already begun to take action.
Fortunately, Ling Yi had his flaws too.
Looking at the beauties surrounding him, and now him living in the Great Chu Imperial Palace, he must be a romantic, flower-loving young man.
It’s not a problem if you have flaws; the problem is having nothing that appeals.
You like beautiful women, right?
You like beautiful women with status and position, right?
Alright, then we’ll send them!
Ling Yi, currently waiting in the Great Chu Imperial Palace for the Aged Monarch to take the initiative to visit him, had no idea yet that in the minds of those in high positions across nations, he had already become the primary target to be won over…
Ling Yi currently only felt that the Chu State was really wealthy.
Even after going through such a major incident, it actually caused no real damage to the Chu State’s national power.
A brief war only consumed the Military’s money.
The Chu State’s national treasury was filled to an unbelievable extent!
Chu Yanyu immediately had people deliver large quantities of Spirit Stones, medicinal herbs, Elixirs, Pill Alchemy tools…
Looking at the mountain-like pile of cultivation resources in the room, Ling Yi suddenly understood a little why the Carefree Sect so wanted to unify the world through Lu Qingming.
Hu Dali watched, dumbstruck.
The poor big fox had never seen so many resources before.
Even though they weren’t for her, she felt moved almost to tears.
As for those lesser fox spirits with even less experience, they were even more pitiful. A group of beautiful women, like a flock of orioles and swallows, surrounded these cultivation resources, nearly drooling with excitement.
Hu Xiaoxian felt somewhat proud, though deep down she was also greatly moved—Young Master only had to “sell” a tiny bit of his charm to get so much. If he really… um, now she’s the Monarch… if he really slept with this Monarch, wouldn’t he get even more?
Of course, this little thought could only stay in her mind; she didn’t dare say it out loud.
Diwu Qianqian had never lacked cultivation resources since childhood, but she had never seen so many at once either. The girl, still in her red dress, sat dazedly to the side, watching.
Now all seven of her senior brothers and sisters had left. When they bid her farewell before departing, the question buried deep in her heart, she wanted to ask, but in the end, she didn’t.
Over just a few short days, experiencing so many things, the girl, without realizing it, had grown up a little.
If it were her previous self, she would have definitely asked for a clear answer.
Faced with these resources sent by Chu Yanyu regardless of cost, Luo Xue was also a bit stunned.
What is this for? she wondered.
A dowry?
A queen is a queen indeed, so rich!
She glanced secretly at Ling Yi and found he looked quite calm, which settled her heart a bit.
What dowry? These are what we deserve!
Ling Yi divided a portion of these cultivation resources and gave them to Hu Xiaoxian, telling her to distribute them among the sisters of the Fox Clan.
Although from start to finish, this group of Fox Spirits didn’t seem to be much help, they had come when he was in greatest peril. That was friendship and loyalty; he couldn’t let them down.
As for Diwu Qianqian, the girl even had a Storage Ring; she was a little rich lady and didn’t lack his meager resources.
After the group of little and big fox spirits happily took the resources back to their rooms, and Diwu Qianqian and Luo Xue also returned to their rooms to cultivate, only Ling Yi remained in the room.
Looking at the pile of cultivation resources there, he asked the Enchantress, “How much was consumed to kill Lu Qingming and injure that Primordial Spirit expert?”
The Enchantress said grandly, “Not much, no need to worry. Also, that Primordial Spirit was intentionally let go.”
Ling Yi raised an eyebrow. “Intentionally?”
The Enchantress said, “Yes, intentionally released, to see if we could lure a bigger fish.”
Ling Yi was a bit worried. “Is fishing now… okay?”
The Enchantress said confidently, “It’s fine. Even two more Primordial Spirits aren’t our match. I underestimated the power of the Dao Flame a bit before; I didn’t expect them to be so weak.”
Ling Yi: “…”
Listen, is this human talk?
The Enchantress said, “These resources before us are nothing. The truly rich are those big Sects! If we just take down one casually, the harvest would be enough for us to feast for at least three years!”
Miss, do you think Sects are like cabbages?
Just take them down as you please?
Even though he deeply understood the Enchantress’s strength, for some reason, words coming from her mouth always gave him a feeling of bragging.
“You said the Aged Monarch of Chu State, why hasn’t he shown up yet? He’s quite good at enduring.”
“He’s used to being a turtle hiding in its shell, and the development of events was beyond his expectations. I didn’t expect the members of the Chu State Cabinet to be so… cooperative.”
Probably there was a harsher description, but she didn’t say it.
After all, they were the ones who actively sent so many resources.
Although it was Chu Yanyu’s idea, the people executing it were those Cabinet members below.
“Don’t worry about all that. Go get that Alchemy Furnace. I’ll teach you Pill Alchemy.”
“Is it easy to learn?”
“It’s so easy it’s a joke!”
“Really?”
“Mhm, super easy!”
The Enchantress tried to trick him with deliberate cuteness, but Ling Yi was deeply suspicious.
Because in her words, nothing in this world was difficult.
Over the next few days, a group of newly assigned guards in the Chu State Imperial Palace looked toward the direction of their “honored guest’s” residence with daily concern.
The pastoral life others spoke of was about curling cooking smoke.
Here, it was signal smoke shooting toward the sky.
Billowing black smoke was a constant, accompanied by waves of scorched, foul odors.
This smell occasionally drifted from the Imperial Palace to the outside, and those nearby who caught a whiff all stared speechlessly toward the palace.
What on earth were they doing in there?
Refining people?
At first, Chu Yanyu, Luo Xue, Diwu Qianqian, Little Fox, and others came by every day, either to chat with Ling Yi or to seek advice on cultivation.
But after two days, even Luo Xue stopped coming.
She even proactively found Chu Yanyu and swapped to a room a bit farther away.
On the third day, the guards stationed there couldn’t take it either. They found Chu Yanyu’s aides and complained tearfully, saying that staying there any longer would probably suffocate them.
Chu Yanyu knew Ling Yi was learning Pill Alchemy, not committing arson or refining people, but she couldn’t withstand everyone’s complaints and had to withdraw the guards from that area.
After all, Ling Yi was the biggest source of terror in the entire Royal Capital. It was a blessing if he didn’t stir up trouble for others; no one dared to pick a fight with him anyway.
Actually, the person suffering the most was definitely Ling Yi himself!
He was already a bit of a neat freak, and now he reeked of who-knows-what every day.
Just a complete mess.
Only by soaking in the Medicinal Bath could he block out the smell.
So these days, Ling Yi was left with two things: first, learning Pill Alchemy; second, taking baths.
Sadly, there wasn’t even a beautiful woman to attend to him—not even a ghost in sight.
“Is this what you call ‘easy as a joke’?”
After a week had passed, Ling Yi asked the Enchantress with a dark expression.
If it weren’t for the fact that Chu Yanyu didn’t have the Elixir required for his Golden Body Method, he would have truly given up.
“Yeah, it’s easy!” Even now, the Enchantress stubbornly insisted.
“Did you think this stuff would be as simple as carving Formation Arrays, learn it in one go? When I said it’s easy, I meant I think it’s easy, got it?” The Enchantress said triumphantly, hands on her hips.
“Then why don’t you just do it? Look at how many fine materials we’ve wasted these days!” Ling Yi retorted angrily.
“I can’t do everything for you. Even helping you beat people up can’t always be my job. As a cultivator, you must learn to face every difficulty yourself. Otherwise, how can you say the path of cultivation is hard?” The Enchantress rebuked him righteously.
“I kind of feel like this is artificially creating difficulty,” Ling Yi shot back.
“I’ll leave someday, you know. Once you master these, you can benefit for a lifetime.”
The Enchantress said with a giggle, her tone not entirely serious, but her words actually made a lot of sense. Ling Yi wasn’t unaware, but this Pill Alchemy was truly too difficult!
Distinguishing and preparing the medicinal herbs—he picked that up easily. But controlling the heat… it was just too hard to master!
It had to be absolutely precise!
Exactly where it needed to be, not a second or a fraction off!
This really wasn’t something you could just grasp with your brain by talking about it. It was like driving—without over a decade of experience, would you dare call yourself an expert driver?
“Let me tell you, do you know how long apprentices who enter a Pill Master’s school have to tend the fire? At least three years!”
“Three years tending fire, six years controlling fire. Only after nine years can they begin refining pills.”
“And you can’t take it after just a few days? Based on your talent as shown by your skill practice level, you’ll probably master heat control perfectly in about a month. So what are you still unhappy about?”
“If those Grand Alchemists knew you had this talent, they’d be begging and pleading to take you as a disciple, believe it or not?”
Ling Yi felt a little comforted inside, but his expression remained unchanged. The Enchantress had too many pitfalls; one careless step and you’d fall right in.
So he cautiously asked, “Then how long did it take you back then?”
The Enchantress indeed laughed heartily: “Me? I only needed half a month, hahahahaha!”
Ling Yi: “…”
After a long pause, he sneered, “What’s half a month got on me? It’s only been a week! There’s still another week! Just you wait!”
The Enchantress: “…”
She sneered inwardly: Little punk, think I can’t handle you? Lazy as a pig, once you killed your biggest enemy you lost all drive, huh? Such great talent, not learning more is simply an unforgivable waste!
Five days later.
Morning.
The sky was overcast, large snowflakes fluttering down outside, dressing the entire Chu State Imperial Palace in a world of silver.
A strange medicinal fragrance drifted from the area where Ling Yi lived.
Many people who caught the scent all looked toward that direction with stunned expressions, their eyes filled with disbelief.
After feeding them crap every day, you actually changed the menu today?
Inside the room.
Ling Yi stood with his hands on his hips.
He laughed heartily toward the ceiling.
“Hahahaha, Enchantress, come out! How about that? Less than half a month, am I better than you?”
“Mhm, Master, you’re the best.” The Enchantress’s voice was sweet and cloying, impossibly soft and charming.