After Mao Yan departed, Qin Xuan stood upon the upper floor of the pavilion, gazing out at the scenery across the lake.
At the center of the water, stacked stones formed an artificial mountain crowned with a small pavilion. Schools of brocade carp swam playfully around it from time to time. A white wall over a zhang high encircled the compound, shutting it off entirely from the outside.
He pondered in silence:
*Senior Mao likely never steps outside the manor, serving solely as a guard. Madam Wei lives in deep seclusion, yet Lianyun Manor sends an endless stream of spirit herbs here.*
*From the looks of it, Madam Wei is either nursing an injury or refining pills.*
Qin Xuan leaned toward the former. Mao Yan kept a close watch on the demon sects' movements and developments within the city, which made it obvious there were adversaries lurking outside. If Madam Wei, a descendant of one of the Seven Friends of Longmen, were completely unharmed, why would he need to guard her with such vigilance?
He made a mental note to remain wary, refusing to paint too rosy a picture of his current circumstances.
Such a fortuitous encounter was not going to fall into his lap easily.
As he was turning this over in his mind, Mao Yan suddenly returned. Holding a yellow-skinned gourd in his hand, he held it out to Qin Xuan.
Uncorking it, Qin Xuan could not help but be startled.
The entire gourd was filled with Solidifying Origin Pills. This was a type of edible pill specially used to aid Qi Refining, boasting an effect eight to nine times that of ordinary Qi Gathering Bait.
Having cultivated for over a month recently, the surging consumption of resources had left him strapped for means.
This gourd of Solidifying Origin Pills could not have arrived at a better time.
Just as Qin Xuan opened his mouth to express his gratitude, Mao Yan waved a hand. "No need to thank me. This gourd of pills was left for you by Fellow Daoist Zheng. It will suffice for two years of your Qi Refining."
Taking him at his word, Qin Xuan immediately turned toward Guanjiang Mountain and cupped his hands to the distant horizon. "My deepest thanks to Senior Zheng for the gift."
Seeing this, Mao Yan found the lad rather amusing and could not help recalling what Old Brother Zheng had told him.
That old fellow was usually remarkably picky, having gone over two hundred years without taking on a single successor. Yet during this brief stroll through Pingyuan Commandery, he had actually voiced a desire to take in a disciple. Still, it seemed he had run into a soft wall with Old Daoist Wu.
Mao Yan had even poked fun at him over that.
Now, looking Qin Xuan up and down, Mao Yan found him thoroughly ordinary aside from his handsome looks, unable to fathom what Zheng Xiuyuan had seen in him.
Talent in sword arts?
Chongjin Pass was nothing like the backwater of Pingyuan Commandery; it had no shortage of sword art prodigies.
Most likely, Zheng Xiuyuan's eyes had played tricks on him.
Piqued by curiosity, Mao Yan suddenly said, "Boy, the truth is, this old man has a boon to offer as well, though it won't be easy to get. Do you care to try?"
From his demeanor, he seemed to have grown bored from staying cooped up in the manor for so long and was looking for some amusement.
*Another boon?*
*People from the big places truly are different—such generosity.*
*Mao Yan never leaves the estate, so whatever he's offering must be right here. It shouldn't be too dangerous.*
With that thought, Qin Xuan put away the yellow gourd and spoke with humble deference: "Senior Mao, this disciple is willing to try."
"Good."
Seeing him agree so readily, Mao Yan led him to a pill room situated about a hundred paces from the lakeside pavilion. Though calling it a pill room was something of a stretch; there was no medicinal fragrance here at all, making it look more like a boiler room.
The walls were built of blue stone several feet thick.
Only high above were two window openings cut into the wall, letting in faint slivers of daylight. Most eye-catching within the room was an enormous furnace, reaching nearly to the crossbeams. The body of the furnace was cast with all manner of bizarre beasts, their maws open and claws bared.
From beside the furnace, Mao Yan picked up a palm-leaf fan half the size of a person and handed it to Qin Xuan.
He pointed toward the charcoal beneath the furnace grate:
"This charcoal is called deep-sea yin charcoal, harvested from the depths of the East Sea. It was originally ancient wood from the seabed, buried for who knows how many ages. Under the immense pressure of the ocean and the ceaseless soaking of undersea yin qi, it turned into this form—neither stone nor wood."
Mao Yan pointed up toward the ceiling. "The sword-forging masters in the Sword Forging Hut of Ancient Immortal Prefecture frequently use this charcoal to smelt flying swords."
"As for me, I fetched this charcoal purely for my own cultivation."
Qin Xuan understood his meaning. "Senior intends for me to fan the coals?"
Mao Yan nodded. He was not surprised that Qin Xuan did not recognize the charcoal, considering the boy was not from the coast of the East Sea.
"Given your realm and cultivation, so long as you can fan up flames three times in this furnace, this old man will grant you a boon. But I must warn you: once this fire rises, it releases yin qi that stirs all manner of stray thoughts and delusions in the mind. Suppressing them demands a tremendous toll on one's spirit."
*So that's how it is.*
Having heard this, Qin Xuan's expression did not change in the slightest.
The old man's brow furrowed slightly, thinking the youth had not taken his words to heart, which only reinforced his suspicion that Zheng Xiuyuan had misjudged him this time.
If a Qi Refining cultivator wished to travel far along the boundless immortal path, they had to harbor reverence.
One had to understand that this deep-sea yin charcoal had nothing to do with one's cultivation level; even if Mao Yan himself went to fan the flames, his inner demons would still be provoked.
Qin Xuan picked up the fan, circulated his magic power, and fanned toward the base of the furnace.
*Whoosh!~
The burning charcoal let out a hiss like a laugh. Qin Xuan immediately felt a surge of mental fire spreading through him, and all sorts of chaotic thoughts flooded his mind, as if some force were enticing him to rush straight to the Lan River water manor right then and there to fight the black catfish great demon to the death.
Yet in the next instant, the fiend within his Lunar Aperture drew a breath in and exhaled, and those stray thoughts vanished without a trace.
Qin Xuan swept the fan three times in rapid succession—the boon was his!
*Hm?!* Mao Yan froze in astonishment. Yet Qin Xuan did not stop, striking a fourth and then a fifth time.
The furnace fire blazed furiously!
Whatever was being refined within that colossal furnace suddenly vented a blast of brilliant, fiery qi. Mao Yan opened his mouth and inhaled, drawing the fiery qi deep into his lungs. His face instantly flushed crimson, looking just like a roasted duck.
Three strokes earned one boon, so wouldn't six strokes mean two? Qin Xuan channeled his magic power and delivered a mighty sixth sweep of the fan!
*Owooo—!!*
The flames within the hearth let out a sinister, howling laugh. The seductive visage of a vixen instantly surfaced in Qin Xuan's mind, murmuring bewitching whispers right by his ear. But before he could even lose himself in it, the thought was sucked away by the fiend.
Another blast of radiant fiery qi belched from the furnace, and Mao Yan opened his mouth to inhale once more.
"Boy, fan no more!"
With that, Mao Yan sat cross-legged on a rush mat in the room. Three clusters of true fire circled his body, tumbling about. A full hour passed before he finally drew the true fire back into his dantian.
To refine true fire meant he had to be at least a great Golden Core cultivator.
Standing guard to one side, Qin Xuan secretly marveled at the wondrous nature of Mao Yan's art. But when Mao Yan opened his eyes, he looked at Qin Xuan with a strange gleam.
"Boy Qin, how did you manage that?"
Qin Xuan had long prepared an explanation: "This disciple harbors a deep, bitter feud with a great demon in the Lan River. Unable to seek vengeance, I had been consumed by resentment for years. Not long ago, while paying homage at the ancestral shrine on Eagle Beak Cliff, I had a sudden epiphany—I realized I must set aside that bitterness, focus on my cultivation, and wait for the day when I have the means to slay the beast."
"Oh?!"
Mao Yan let out a low gasp of surprise. To see through one's heart and perceive one's true nature through an epiphany, coupled with the fact that the boy was only at the Qi Refining realm—the inner demons at this stage could indeed be severed at will.
With such tempering, he truly was fine timber for the sword.
At that moment, Qin Xuan looked at him with an air of curiosity and asked, "Senior, is the technique you cultivate also an art from our Great Lingbao Sect?"
For the first time, a smile appeared on Mao Yan's face. "What, do you wish to learn my technique?"
Qin Xuan spoke cautiously: "This disciple is of meager fortune; I only asked out of curiosity."
Mao Yan pointed at the large furnace.
"This furnace is filled with molten fire crystals from the depths of the earth veins. I refine them into qi and infuse them into my true fire. The technique I cultivate is indeed a Great Lingbao art, named the Secret Demon Evil-Dispelling Great Method. Although you and I share the same ancestral roots, learning this art requires the innate constitution to gather fire-spirit magic power. Furthermore, when forming your core and refining evil qi, you must absorb the Three-Flavor Fire Evil from among the Seventy-Two Earth Evils."
Hearing this, Qin Xuan knew the art was not meant for him, and simply waited for the boon Mao Yan had promised.
From his hundred-treasure pouch, Mao Yan also brought out a gourd of Solidifying Origin Pills.
To him, this was no small expense either.
Just as he was about to hand it to Qin Xuan, the mention of Eagle Beak Cliff suddenly sparked a thought in his mind:
*The last person to find an affinity at Eagle Beak Cliff was Perfected Xuangling, who went on to become an ancestor-level figure and is now not far from attaining the Dao.*
*An epiphany from paying homage at the ancestral shrine? Could it be that this boy also shares a karmic affinity with the forebears of the Great Lingbao Sect?*
Qin Xuan had merely spun a yarn, but that did not stop Mao Yan's imagination from running wild.
*No, if this lad truly has an affinity with a senior of the Great Lingbao Sect, wouldn't it be fitting for me to forge a bit of good karma with him?*
His eyes darted about, and he said, "This old man promised that if you fanned the flames three times, I would grant you a boon. Now that you have fanned it six times, I shall give you an additional choice."
Qin Xuan listened attentively while Mao Yan deliberated in his heart before settling on a plan:
"How about this: you may choose either two gourds of Solidifying Origin Pills, or a magical art."
"Senior, what art is it?"
Mao Yan replied, "My Secret Demon Evil-Dispelling Great Method is one of the sixteen secret treasuries of Chongjin Pass. Its general outline records three hundred and sixty-five techniques. Once mastered to a profound level, every single one possesses the power to shatter evil qi and sever astral winds, far surpassing the inherited secrets of many great clans."
Qin Xuan was precisely lacking in offensive means, so he did not hesitate: "Senior, is there one belonging to the metal element of the five elements?"
"Naturally."
Mao Yan said, "Considering your constitution, combined with the fact that you practice sword arts, there happens to be a technique that suits you."
"This art is called Metal Spirit Origin Qi. It differs from the flying sword techniques of the immortal sects. This breath of origin qi follows the path of transmuting qi into a sword and attaching it to all things. When condensed into a single point, it can form an inch-long golden rainbow of extraordinary sharpness, possessing a miraculous effect in dispelling evil qi."
Weighing his options in an instant, Qin Xuan cupped his hands. "Senior, I do not want the pills. I wish to learn this technique."
"Good."
Mao Yan pointed a finger, and a ray of white light sank into Qin Xuan's mind, transforming into an incantation manual—precisely *Metal Spirit Origin Qi*.
Qin Xuan quickly scanned it, only to discover that cultivating this art actually required five elements metal crystals. It was outrageously expensive!
Seeing his troubled expression, Mao Yan could not help but burst into laughter:
"Boy, this art packs no small power. I'll permit you to use this precious furnace of mine for your cultivation. As for the five elements metal crystals, however, you'll have to find those yourself. This old man has nothing to his name and no spare wealth to sponsor you. Oh, right—if you don't have five elements metal crystals, five elements spirit metals can serve as temporary substitutes..."
...
Chapter 35