Chapter 118: Special Product of Xiaoqiong Peak Xiongxin Dan

“Isn’t a dao companion just a partner for cultivation? When did it start meaning the same as a married couple?

Can’t I just focus on pursuing the Great Dao?

Can’t I want to cultivate in peace? Can’t I?!”

In the dan room of Xiaoqiong Peak, Jiu Wu’s face was slightly flushed from alcohol. He sat there, repeatedly slapping the table and letting out muffled growls.

At this dan room banquet, Jiu Wu sat in the seat of honor, with his sixth junior sister Jiu Lu’er and seventh junior brother Jiu Qi by his side. Jiu Jiu was there too, but she was sitting with Li Changshou and Ling E, more like the host entertaining guests.

Jiu Lu’er appeared as a graceful and clever fairy, exuding a gentle and delicate charm. She seemed to favor green; she wore a light green soft dress topped with a grass-green jacket, and her hair ornaments were made of translucent jade. Of average height, her figure was between slender and petite, somewhat similar to Jiu Jiu’s but not quite as striking. Her slightly round face featured willow-like eyebrows, almond eyes, thin lips, and a small mouth, with a long, fair neck. At first glance, she gave off an air of extreme gentleness, and she spoke in a soft, measured tone, making anyone feel rude for raising their voice around her.

As for Jiu Qi beside her... well, that’s about it.

The two had come along because they were worried about their fifth senior brother.

After downing two cups of strong wine, Jiu Lu’er quietly asked, “Fifth senior brother, what’s going on between you and fourth senior sister?”

That opened the floodgates, and Jiu Wu launched into a rant, slapping the table as he vented.

Jiu Lu’er and Jiu Qi just frowned in silence.

Meanwhile, the culprit, Li Changshou, kept comforting Jiu Wu, pinching his nose and feeding him a stream of motivational words.

Ling E and Jiu Jiu, completely clueless about what was happening, just exchanged bewildered glances.

Ling E knew a bit about matters between men and women, but not much. Jiu Jiu, having grown up around it and practiced for over a thousand years, understood these things to some extent, but without personal experience, she couldn’t figure out what was suddenly making her fifth senior brother so full of complaints.

The banquet started with nothing but Jiu Wu’s endless griping.

Fortunately, Li Changshou suggested that Jiu Wu go out for a walk to clear his mind, leaving the four of them to eat, drink, and have fun, so the table of good dishes wasn’t wasted.

Strolling through the spirit beast enclosure, Li Changshou pondered how to fix this situation.

Once Jiu Wu seemed a bit calmer, Li Changshou asked quietly,

“Jiu Wu shibo, there’s no one else here.

I see you as both my shibo and a close friend, so what’s really going on?

Weren’t you and Jiu Shi shibo always so affectionate?”

“Ah!”

Jiu Wu sighed and turned away without speaking.

Li Changshou asked again, “Jiu Wu shibo, is there some... unspoken issue you’re dealing with right now?”

“Ah!”

Jiu Wu sighed again, hesitating a bit.

Li Changshou pondered for a moment and said softly, “Shibo, there’s something I’m not sure if I should say.”

Jiu Wu replied, “Go ahead, I’m listening.”

“Shibo, sometimes you lack a bit of confidence in this area,” Li Changshou said. “But honestly, you’re already quite impressive. If even you feel this way, then I’d probably just avoid dao companions altogether in the future.”

“I’m just...”

Jiu Wu paused, gave a bitter laugh, and slapped his thigh.

“Fine, I’ll tell you the truth!

I don’t know what’s wrong with me lately... I just... I just don’t feel like being intimate anymore...”

Li Changshou stepped back half a step upon hearing that.

Jiu Wu was amused and annoyed by the move, scolding, “Don’t get the wrong idea! I’m not some lone yang daoist!”

“Yes, yes,” Li Changshou said, just joking—he knew exactly where Jiu Wu’s problem stemmed from.

After thinking for a moment, Li Changshou said, “Shibo, I heard from my master about the details of your demon extermination. Did you see that painting I made... the one of the hundred beauties in their old age?”

“Yeah, I saw it,” Jiu Wu frowned. “It’s just a painting. How could it affect me? I’m a true immortal, after all, with a steady state of mind.”

“It’s not the painting itself, but at the time, you were under the fox demon’s charm technique, and your mind was completely unguarded...”

Li Changshou gave a gentle reminder, and after a brief thought, Jiu Wu suddenly realized.

“Is that really it?”

“It should be,” Li Changshou sighed. “This traces back to the painting I made. Though it’s a side effect of the charm technique, I bear some responsibility as the disciple who created it.

Shibo, if you trust me, let me try to fix this for you.”

Jiu Wu furrowed his short, thick brows. “How do you plan to fix it?”

Li Changshou smiled calmly, clearly having a plan.

In no time, Jiu Wu perked up, his eyes full of hope, and returned to the dan room banquet. He seemed like a completely different person, eagerly urging everyone to drink and eat, quickly livening up the atmosphere.

His three junior brothers and sisters were utterly baffled, scratching their heads in confusion.

Li Changshou didn’t follow Jiu Wu back right away. Instead, an hour later, he returned to the dan room, rubbing his brow, and solemnly handed a storage pouch to Jiu Wu.

Jiu Wu asked quietly, “How many are there?”

“Thirty-six volumes, matching the number of the Tiangang stars.”

“Excellent! Thanks for the trouble, nephew!” Jiu Wu’s eyes lit up with a smile.

Seeing Jiu Jiu staring intently at the pouch in his hand, the short daoist laughed and scolded, “Don’t look too much—this isn’t for a kid like you!”

Then, Jiu Wu carefully put the pouch away and gave Li Changshou a thumbs-up.

“You’re the reliable one, nephew!”

“It’s nothing, just a small matter. Shibo, don’t forget our earlier agreement.”

“Of course not. Come on! Let me toast you! If this works out, I’ll definitely reward you handsomely!”

“Shibo, no need to be so polite. Just remember to keep it under wraps.”

The two exchanged words, leaving the others around them curious and hanging, but no matter how they probed, the pair just smiled and said nothing.

Soon, Jiu Wu left his junior brothers and sisters behind and hurried off on a cloud.

Jiu Lu’er and Jiu Qi also said their goodbyes and left.

After they were gone, Jiu Jiu kept pestering Li Changshou with questions. Left with no choice, he explained briefly to Jiu Jiu.

“Jiu Wu shibo had some health issues, a bit of yang energy deficiency.

So, I gave him some pills and made a few paintings to lift his spirits.”

“That’s it?”

“Mm, that’s it.”

But as soon as Li Changshou finished speaking, Ling E, who was clearing the dishes nearby, suddenly remembered something. Her hand shook, nearly dropping the jade plate.

Li Changshou glanced at her, and Ling E quickly lowered her head, suppressing a laugh and moving more quickly.

She was thinking about the rapid breeding of the jade frogs...

At Potian Peak, in the residence of the Jiu characters.

Jiu Wu flew back in a hurry, dashed into his pavilion, and pulled out two storage pouches. From one, he took out a few bottles of pills, and from the other, a stack of exquisite scrolls.

In his mind, Li Changshou’s instructions echoed:

‘Shibo, remember to look at the scrolls first to counteract those images in your mind.

Then, try taking one Xiongxin Dan pill and see if it works.

But be careful—this pill isn’t for overuse. One will refresh and invigorate, two will prevent fatigue, and three could cause problems.’

Jiu Wu took a deep breath and murmured,

“Changshou, my nephew, my future is in your hands now!”

With that, he opened the scroll marked with “1,” slowly unrolling it to reveal two lines of poetry first:

When will the spring flowers and autumn moon end? How many lingering dreams do I know?

As the scroll unfolded further, it depicted scenes in meticulous detail that words can’t describe...

Jiu Wu gradually became engrossed, a knowing smile creeping onto his lips as he continued...

Half an hour later, he had opened all the scrolls and taken a pill, sitting there lost in thought.

Soon after, Jiu Wu jumped to his feet with a start.

His Adam’s apple bobbed, his heart raced, and his eyes grew red...

This was it!

That familiar feeling he hadn’t had in over a decade!

“Shi Shi, Shi Shi! I’m fine now!”

The short daoist quickly packed away the pills, grabbed the scrolls, and rushed out of the pavilion toward his dao companion’s quarters.

Half a month later.

Jiu Wu and Jiu Shi came hand in hand to Xiaoqiong Peak to express their thanks, praising Li Changshou for his miraculous healing and compassionate heart.

It made Ling E laugh endlessly afterward.

With the sect’s grand competition approaching, Jiu Wu brought an immortal treasure and two high-quality magical treasures as gifts. Li Changshou didn’t refuse much, knowing Jiu Wu had a substantial stash from his years as an elder, so he accepted the three items with a smile and gave Jiu Wu three jars of Poison Dragon Wine in return.

To consolidate the effects and replenish his energy—Jiu Wu looked noticeably more worn out than half a month ago.

Li Changshou figured that settled the karma...

The immortal treasure was a short sword, which he gave to Ling E for self-defense. The two high-quality magical treasures, he kept for himself to study the refining restrictions later.

For the sect’s grand competition, Li Changshou set a goal for Ling E—to aim for the top 108 spots, even if she had to reveal her true cultivation. That way, she’d get more attention from the sect.

Now that Li Changshou was Xiaoqiong Peak’s trump card, whether Ling E hid her strength or not didn’t matter much anymore. She just needed to follow a few rules when out and about to avoid new troubles.

As for himself, Li Changshou had no high expectations for the competition—just making it to the top 36 would be fine; pushing further isn’t necessary.

Days passed, and the small spirit trees planted behind the mountain had grown strong, providing a steady supply of paper figure material.

Those few old trees that had served well were turned into firewood by Li Changshou.

After all, they knew too much; if they became spirits later, it would be too cruel to kill them. Better to chop them now while they were still trees—no pain, a peaceful end.

The little shishu had been well-behaved these past few months, seemingly afraid to disturb Li Changshou and Ling E’s cultivation.

This pair of senior brother and sister were probably the most composed young disciples in the sect before the grand competition. Whenever they had free time, they discussed how to help their master overcome his gloom.

Ling E suggested finding a dao companion for their master, and Li Changshou agreed, but emphasized it should happen naturally, without rushing.

And so, several more months flew by. Duxianmen’s peaks bustled with flying lights and chasing figures, all busily preparing for the grand competition. The atmosphere was just like a mortal festival.

Li Changshou began personally teaching Ling E how to fight, sharing some simple tactics to make her advancement easier.

Among this batch of disciples, Ling E was one of the latest to join, but her cultivation wasn’t the weakest.

With half a month left until the competition, preparations were underway at the foot of Potian Peak, and many elders who had been in seclusion awakened to witness Duxianmen’s biennial event.

Not only that, the sect sent out invitations to several friendly sects in Dongsheng Shenzhou and a few lineages under the Ren School.

The aura of the Jin Xian realm sect master occasionally appeared.

Li Changshou wondered if the sect master was still coughing up blood...

Originally, Li Changshou thought nothing else would happen before the competition. Xianlin Peak seemed to have forgotten about Kui Si the true immortal, and the area around Duxianmen was peaceful, with no schemes afoot.

On the Sea God Cult side, its aggressive expansion had stabilized, and the Dragon Clan had backed off, avoiding direct confrontations and just holding onto their share of merit.

Li Changshou had accumulated a fair amount of incense merit by now, enough to condense a merit golden body the size of a fingernail...

But unexpectedly, Jiu Wu flew to Xiaoqiong Peak on a cloud, carrying a pile of gifts. Seeing Li Changshou, the short daoist flashed a meaningful smile.

“Changshou, do you have any more Xiongxin Dan?”

Li Changshou frowned. “Shibo, you should still have plenty left...”

“It’s true, I haven’t used it all,” Jiu Wu said, a bit embarrassed as he set up a soundproof barrier. “Here’s the thing—somehow, my master found out about what happened with Shi Shi.

He asked me for the details, and I gave a simple explanation.

I didn’t mention anything about you, I swear—I remembered our oath.

But when he asked, there were two elders present, and one of them approached me privately...

You know how it is, Changshou—after so many years of cultivation, people get indifferent. Even the elders have dao companions, so they’re worried about this sort of thing. I couldn’t refuse, so I shared some Xiongxin Dan...

Guess what?

Hey, it actually worked!”

Li Changshou couldn’t help but facepalm, taking a moment to compose himself.

He had joined the Ren School for steady cultivation and a protective backer to achieve immortality—not to run a pill shop selling Xiongxin Dan and stir up the sect’s customs!

Jiu Wu laughed. “Changshou, can you refine more Xiongxin Dan?

What materials do you need? I’ll get them right away!”

“No,” Li Changshou shook his head firmly. “That stuff is hard to make, and I absolutely don’t have any more.”

Jiu Wu looked disappointed and whispered,

“Really? I’ll go back and tell the elders then.

Sigh, they were all ready with rewards. The transmission elder even promised to give you the lower volume of the Wuwei Jing once you ascend...”

Li Changshou smiled slightly—was he the type to be swayed by such things?

From his sleeve, he pulled out six porcelain bottles. “Divide these among the elders. That’s really all I have.”

After all, he needed to save some for the spirit beasts in his enclosure...