Eternal Tale
chapter-26

They started looking for spirit medicine seeds again. The spirit herbs themselves might have been hard to come by, but the seeds on the other hand, were plentiful. Chen Xun went ahead and bought several bags, but most of them turned out to be dead seeds mixed in with fake ones, which he wasn’t pleased with when he found out. He went back to the stall to confront the seller. He was at the fourth level of Qi Refining and had mastered the_ Fireball _spell, so he was not so weak to be trampled upon.

"I give you a big bag full of spirit stones, and you give me a bag full of dead seeds?" Chen Xun raised a brow behind his black hood, which didn’t really add an effect to his words since nobody could actually see his face….

"Moo moo!!" The big black ox also angrily bellowed at the stall.

"What does that have to do with me? Spirit seeds are a hit or miss. Are you looking for trouble, pal?" The man sneered and a yellow talisman floated in the air.

With a swipe of two fingers, a burst of light erupted and disappeared in an instant. He provocatively looked at Chen Xun.

This silly-looking man in a black hood, who led an ox, was known by everyone who had been doing business here for a few years. He was at the third level of Qi Refining and had no backing.

Chen Xun's eyes flashed with spiritual energy, and it turned out that the man was actually at the fourth level of Qi Refining. He seemed well-off as well from that talisman.

"Fellow Daoist Liao, who dares cause trouble here!?"

A few people came from behind the crowd, dressed similarly, likely from a certain cultivation clan. They were all at the fourth level of Qi Refining, except for one, who was at the fifth level. Many vagabonds gathered around, eyeing Chen Xun coldly..

"What's the matter? Do you only know how to bully the weak?" Chen Xun gave a cold smile, with no trace of fear in his eyes. "This is not how to do business."

"Oh, it’s you. I know you." A round-faced man said, his tone mocking. "Fellow Daoist, let me handle this guy."

"Sure." The man nodded slightly.

"Remember, don't go too far. Be mindful."

"Hey, you idiot, kowtow a few times to show respect to this fellow daoist and apologize, and then we can forget about today’s matter." The round-faced man looked at Chen Xun with his nostrils wide, "Then, I want you to piss off from the Ascension Conference. I don’t want to see you here again."

These people were clearly trying to taunt him. The more unfavorable one's life was, the more they enjoyed bullying those weaker.

If he didn’t show some attitude, these vagabonds would continue to make things difficult for him.

"Who do you think you are, with that face akin to a rotten watermelon," Chen Xun said calmly. "And to think you have the guts to stand there and bark at me."

"Watch how I smash that venomous mouth of yours!"

The round-faced man's face was full of anger, and he suddenly took a step forward. A bright light appeared in his hand, and his Diamond Fist carried a fierce gust of wind as it smashed toward Chen Xun.

**_Bang!_**

Chen Xun delivered a casual punch that met the round-faced man's fist, and instantly The man’s face twisted in pain, and he let out a sharp cry.

The onlookers heard the sound of bones cracking and the round-faced man sent flying, his face constricted in pain.

_What the hell is that strength!_

"The Liao Clan's Diamond Fist was broken. This person hid his strength"

"Well, I never thought this silly... daoist brother would have such power."

...

A burst of noise erupted around, and the way people looked at Chen Xun had changed significantly. _It turns out this person wasn't a fool, they thought._

"The Liao Clan, huh?"

Chen Xun nodded slightly, looking at the angry group of Liao Clan members. "Remember, you still owe me half a bag of spirit medicine seeds."

"You better watch your step outside the valley." A man supported the round-faced man and said with a smirk, "A bit of brawn doesn’t really mean much around here."

"Oh?" Chen Xun chuckled with his face hidden by the hood which caused his laughter to appear sinister and terrifying, making the Liao Clan members shiver.

At the edge of the crowd, the vagabonds couldn't help but admire Chen Xun’s strength.

Chen Xun led the black ox and walked away, and they gradually quickened their pace, moving faster and faster. With three sharp turns, they bursted out of the Nine Stars Valley and disappeared from sight.

…

"Old ox, this time I was impulsive. If I hadn't cared about that half bag of spirit medicine seeds, we wouldn't have made enemies."

Chen Xun's eyes held regret. Over these years, they had heard a lot of rumors about this issue, but they had mostly brushed them off.

"Moo moo!" The black ox didn't seem to care. They were clearly getting bullied, and in its opinion, not everything can be tolerated in life.

"For now, let's not attend the Ascension Conference. Those from the Liao clan will definitely be waiting to ambush us."

Chen Xun said softly, "Let's focus on improving our strength. We're on our own here, and the cultivation world is much more brutal than the mortal world."

"Moo!"

The black ox agreed. It was more perceptive than Chen Xun, and it could sense that the Liao clan had murderous intent.

Back in the cave at the outskirts of the mountain range, Chen Xun was immersed in self-reflection. He had fought for a moment of glory and in return brought great danger upon them.

"Old ox, if we encounter such situations again, let’s grit our teeth and endure it. Once our strength is enough, we can retrieve what we've lost." Chen Xun muttered something under his breath that the big black ox couldn't understand. "Damn these bastards!"

"Moo moo moo~"

The big black ox nudged Chen Xun. Their mindset hadn't reached the point where they could be indifferent to everything. They still had a lot to experience.

"Old ox, it's alright." Chen Xun embraced the animal. "You go and work on the spirit medicine, I'll review the alchemical techniques."

"Moo!" The big black ox was quite obedient, and it hurried off to make Chen Xun feel a little happier.

Chen Xun looked through the 'Basic Alchemical Techniques.' First, one had to gather alchemical fire within the body, then refine the medicinal properties of the spirit medicine, and finally merge everything into a pill.

However, alchemical fire was quite taxing on one's spiritual energy. One small mistake could ruin a whole batch of pills. A true alchemical master could concoct countless spirit medicines without fail.

However, the techniques also mentioned that one could use the Flame of Earthen Vein as a substitute for alchemical fire. However, these places were usually occupied by immortal sects, and ordinary cultivators could forget about entering them.

Chen Xun was absorbed in reading. He had learned medicine before, and some of the concepts here were similar.

The most common pills in the Qi Refining stage were the Heavy Feather Pill and the Qi Gathering Pill. They were both high-quality pills for enhancing cultivation, and their formulas were widely spread.

"It is advised to use spirit herbs of at least twenty years of age," Chen Xun muttered.

Of course, the older, the better. However, spirit medicines with higher ages were generally used to refine even better pills.

...

Time flew by, and they had missed this year's Ascension Conference.

The Liao clan had long been prepared outside the valley, but they didn't expect that the man would not appear this year.

It seems the "fool" has some wit, knowing he had offended powerful figures.

And this year, there were indeed a few people who began selling the same kind of booklet as Chen Xun's, and it became quite popular. They made a good fortune off of it.

Inside the cave, Chen Xun continued to add Immortal Points into The Essence of All Things.

Today, Chen Xun sat down cross-legged, closed his eyes, and concentrated. The b black ox stood up and began massaging the man’s shoulders. It huffed and puffed, appearing quite excited.

"The favorable time has come. I, as the master, shall begin the process of alchemy. May the immortals and gods give me, Chen Xun, a face!"

"Moo moo moo moo!" The big black ox behind Chen Xun also called out.

Chen Xun's eyes popped open, and there was a furnace placed in front of him. With a gesture, the furnace spiraled into the air, reaching eye level.

Around them were a dozen batches of ingredients for the Heavy Feather Pill, all aged over thirty years. They were accumulated over the past two years.

"Go!"

Chen Xun shouted loudly, and a spirit medicine flew into the furnace. Alchemical fire appeared from his palm, and Chen Xun's spiritual energy began to deplete. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead.

Chen Xun manipulated the alchemical fire, sometimes making it larger, sometimes smaller. The big black ox was feeling like it was on a roller coaster – up and down – and it dared not even breathe.

Spirit medicines flew into the furnace one by one, and waves of medical fragrance wafted out. The big black ox widened its eyes.

**_Splat! _**

A sound like a bubble bursting echoed and an entire batch of Heavy Feather Pills ingredients turned into a puddle of useless liquid.

Chen Xun was panting heavily, taking out an empty booklet and jotting down his recent experiences. Theory and practice were two completely different matters.