Success in Skin Refining

“Look, spirit stones.” Zhou You took two spirit stones brimming with spiritual power out of his backpack and showed them to Chu Xiaoyao and Nuomi. With a full two spirit stones in his grasp, he could more or less call himself free of the poverty line. The spirit stones had a solid, weighty feel. If they hadn't been so big, Zhou You would have liked to roll them around in his palm the way old men roll their walnuts. That was how it went on TV, after all: gang bosses always clutched something valuable whenever they talked to people, and it gave them an air of majesty. “Wow, the sect master is so amazing—that's like beating the damn rice-thrower twice!” Nuomi said in utterly sincere praise. It was hard to tell whether her main goal was praising Zhou You or putting down Su Tingxue. Zhou You's eye twitched. He'd noticed lately that he was stuck between Nuomi and Su Tingxue, unable to please either side, never sure whom he should favor. By feeling, Nuomi was the deputy sect master, one of his own, forever circling around him and supplying plenty of emotional support—and she was the class's air conditioner. By reason, Su Tingxue had brought him into the Immortal Cultivation Forum and shown him the vast cultivation world. Cold on the outside, warm within, loyal and upright, she had promised to help him exchange for spirit jade. The girl and the ghost had a long-standing grudge, and their conflict would not be easy to reconcile. If they started fighting again, whose side was he supposed to take? So much pressure. Forget it—he would stand with Chu Xiaoyao. “And there's more good stuff.” Zhou You dug two books out of his backpack. He'd picked them up on impulse the day before: one called Introduction to Immortal Cultivation, the other Illustrated Guide to Vengeful Ghosts. They had arrived along with the spirit stones. He'd wanted an Introduction to Sects too, but his spirit jade ran out. That could wait for next time. Zhou You handed Introduction to Immortal Cultivation to Chu Xiaoyao and kept the Illustrated Guide to Vengeful Ghosts for himself. “This is just the thing. Let this seat examine the book and see how the cultivation methods of this world differ from those of the Hongmeng Continent.” Chu Xiaoyao took it with studied dignity and began leafing through it. The book drew her in more than any comic ever had. Zhou You began studying the Illustrated Guide to Vengeful Ghosts. He did enjoy eating ghosts, but the truth was he didn't understand them at all. This was the perfect chance to learn, so he wouldn't be caught helpless the next time he ran into a ghost he couldn't recognize. It was like eating at a restaurant: every dish might be delicious, but you should still know which one was beef and which was pork. That was respect for the ingredients. Nuomi watched him, trembling. The sect master seemed terrifying right now. What if he read on, got too hungry, and ate Nuomi? She had to distract him, fast. “Sect Master, what did you and the Grand Elder do last night?” “Last night? Oh, that was quite an experience…” Zhou You recounted the fight with Lian Yi the night before, with Chu Xiaoyao supplying embellishments from the sidelines. “The Demon Alliance really is a pack of villains!” Nuomi's attention had indeed been diverted by his story, and she wasn't afraid anymore. Seething with indignation, she launched into a full set of military boxing right there in midair, fists whipping up a fierce wind. Her only regret was that she had duties to attend to and had to guard the sect's territory, so she hadn't been there. Otherwise she would have taught Lian Yi a lesson. Hiding in the old dormitory building, lying in wait to frighten people—she'd thought that was bad enough. She hadn't expected someone worse than herself. Bad living person! … Now that he had two spirit stones, Zhou You cultivated even more diligently, often using the dinner break to go cultivate with Chu Xiaoyao at Big Stone Lake. The results showed quickly. In less than a week, Zhou You came back from Big Stone Lake with hardly any mosquito bites on him. Ordinary mosquitoes could no longer pierce his skin—even seven or eight of them taking turns on the same spot couldn't manage it. When he clenched his fist with all his strength, a faint film appeared on the surface of his skin, so subtle it was hard to notice unless you looked closely. It meant his skin refining had begun to show results. Chu Xiaoyao poked it out of curiosity. The film felt extremely close to skin itself: it dented first, and the skin beneath it followed, cushioning the force. “Try slapping me as hard as you can,” Zhou You said. Chu Xiaoyao put her strength into it and smacked him across the back. “Hey, it doesn't hurt.” Zhou You could clearly feel the force dispersing; the blow landed without pain or itch. Chu Xiaoyao raised an eyebrow. “Not bad. It seems you have real talent for body refining. You might even achieve a major accomplishment in body refining as this seat has—standing above time, unshaken however the years wash over you.” “But don't get conceited. This is only the beginning; the road ahead is long.” The Empress both encouraged and cautioned him. “The sect master is amazing, seeing results so fast,” Nuomi said happily. At last they could fish up her little treasury. Ah, what a pity she wasn't a water ghost and couldn't go into the water. What had possessed her back then to think this was a good place to hide something? She'd even left a sealing on the box holding the little treasury so no one else could open it. “It's mainly that I have enough spirit stones,” Zhou You said modestly, heeding the Empress's teaching and not letting himself grow smug. But the modesty was only on his lips; inside, he was blooming with joy. And with spirit stones aiding his cultivation, his cultivation attainment was rising steadily as well—a far cry from the version of himself who could just barely twist off a bottle cap. If Zhou You had to give his current state a name: “Call it grand completion of early Qi Refinement.” Zhou You felt it necessary to draw a line between himself and other early Qi Refinement cultivators. Who was he? A sect master with two spirit stones in hand, commanding a powerful vengeful ghost like Nuomi who had defeated a Celestial Master of Mount Longhu—and the Carefree Sect was the number one sect on the Hongmeng Continent. Could an ordinary early Qi Refinement cultivator compare with him? Zhou You checked his own condition. Since a film had appeared on his skin, that meant success in skin refining. “Feels about right—tomorrow I can get into the lake!” “Have you two noticed that Natural Disaster and Zhou You keep running off to that lake?” the Red King asked Nianshi and Lishi. He felt those two had good heads on their shoulders, and their views were worth consulting. These past few days the Red King had been quietly observing the movements of Natural Disaster and Zhou You, and he really had spotted something. Two people and a ghost seemed to dash to the shore of Big Stone Lake at every opportunity. Their behavior was highly suspicious. “What's at the lakeside besides mosquitoes?” “Surely they're not going there to feed the mosquitoes?” The Red King shook off the absurd thought. Natural Disaster was arrogant, but she wasn't brain-damaged. Lishi stroked his chin in thought. “Is it possible the Human Dao supreme treasure is in that lake? That Natural Disaster is preparing to obtain it?” “Hm?” The Red King turned to look at the burly Lishi and decided his guess had some merit. “The Human Dao supreme treasure is in the lake?” At the thought, the Red King could not resist the urge to slip into No. 2 High by night and find out for himself. “No, no. That's too rash.” If he found the Human Dao supreme treasure, fine, but this was only a guess. If he didn't find it, there was also the danger of being discovered by Natural Disaster. “Watch for a couple more days and see how things stand.” The next day, when evening self-study let out, the entire Carefree Sect turned out. Under cover of darkness they crept furtively to the shore of Big Stone Lake, moving with great care. They were taking a risk. If a patrol teacher caught them, at the very least they'd have points docked from the class and have to face the homeroom teacher's death stare—if they weren't publicly reprimanded in front of the whole school the next day. Zhou You took a long transparent case from his backpack and solemnly drew out a pair of swimming goggles. To get Nuomi's little treasury, he had truly spared no expense. He and Chu Xiaoyao had gone halves on these—twenty yuan. He'd need them for the dive, or he wouldn't be able to see a thing underwater. “Go, sect master, I believe in you!” Nuomi cheered him on. “Go on and dive in. This seat will bless you,” Chu Xiaoyao said, as reassuring as ever. Zhou You looked at the girl and the ghost and offered a kind suggestion. “Have you two considered keeping watch around the perimeter?” Chu Xiaoyao blinked. “Can't Nuomi keep watch by herself?” “Don't worry, sect master. I watch in all directions and listen on all sides. If anyone comes, I'll spot them straight away.” Seeing that neither had understood him and that both were instead staring at him in eager expectation that he jump in, Zhou You was silent for a long while and then had to state it plainly. “…I need to take my clothes off.” His success in skin refining had put a film on the surface of his skin, not on the surface of his clothes. If he went into the water dressed, they would get soaked no matter what—he had to strip completely before going in. He had even brought a towel, packed in his backpack. “Oh, right. I forgot.” Chu Xiaoyao and Nuomi hurriedly turned their backs and moved far away, for propriety's sake.