Chapter 24: A True Immortal Can't Work

Clang!

Clang!

In the quiet afternoon, the smooth, reflective protective barrier of Du Xian Men enveloped the area.

On Xiao Qiong Peak, which was noticeably shorter than the surrounding peaks, a rhythmic chopping sound echoed through the air…

In the dense forest about ten li north of the three thatched huts by the small lake, a towering ancient tree trembled with each strike.

Beneath the tree, a young woman dressed in a training outfit embroidered with orchids and wild grass, her head tied with a light purple silk scarf patterned with flowing clouds, swung a large axe with a surprisingly graceful motion.

Gritting her teeth, the young woman muttered a string of colorful greetings:

“What am I going to do if I can’t use my Fa Li and end up with these bulky leg and arm muscles?

I’m a female Lian Qi Shi after all!

Seriously, he said he’d watch me chop wood, but where is he? He ran off to meditate again!

Hmph, you awful senior brother, I’ll chop you down at the roots, clear out every last bit, leave nothing behind, not even a blade of grass!

Break for me!”

Crack—

The old tree reluctantly toppled over, sending flocks of birds scattering from the forest.

Suddenly, a voice called out from behind:

“Is that… Lan Ling’e?”

Lan Ling’e instantly became alert. She gripped her giant axe and leaped forward, landing with her back to the voice. She looked up at the figure floating in the air, feeling a vague sense of familiarity.

A yard-long gourd, with a female immortal sitting cross-legged on it, wearing somewhat dirty linen clothes… How annoying, her linen shirt was almost bursting at the seams…

Oh, it’s Jiu Jiu Shishu…

Lan Ling’e quickly set down her axe, stepped forward, and bowed with a Daoist salute. In her mind, she recalled the greeting templates her senior brother had set, selecting the most appropriate one, and said softly:

“This disciple, Ling’e, pays respects to Jiu Jiu Shishu. My cultivation is weak, and I failed to welcome you in time. Please forgive me, Shishu.”

“It’s fine, no need to be so formal,” Jiu Jiu replied, quite fond of this polite and pleasant junior niece below her.

Jiu Jiu put away her large gourd and jumped down from the air.

“Is your senior brother around? I have something to discuss with him.”

“Senior brother should be in cultivation,” Lan Ling’e answered meekly, continuing in a gentle tone. “Please wait a moment up front, Shishu. I’ll go and ask Master to come out of seclusion.

Our humble abode may not offer proper hospitality, so I hope you understand.”

“Ah, don’t bother with that. I’m here specifically for your senior brother.

Let your master continue his immortal cultivation in seclusion without disturbance.”

Jiu Jiu waved her hand dismissively and glanced around curiously. “Xiao Ling’e, why are you chopping wood?”

“It’s just a way of training, Shishu. I hope you don’t laugh at it.”

Lan Ling’e’s response was impeccably polite, though a hint of doubt stirred in her heart.

What does this Shishu want with my senior brother?

Immortals who have achieved ascension have long lifespans, and in the sect, there are many cross-generational Dao companions.

This Shishu in front of her had a pretty face, a curvaceous figure, and though a bit disheveled, she was naturally beautiful with ample assets…

More importantly, Jiu Jiu Shishu had gone on an outing with her senior brother before…

Something’s off.

Lan Ling’e grew wary, her mind quickly turning as she planned to probe Jiu Jiu’s intentions indirectly.

But before she could speak, ripples appeared on the ground nearby, and Li Changshou’s figure slowly emerged, bowing to Jiu Jiu in greeting…

A short while later, in Li Changshou’s thatched hut, Jiu Jiu and Li Changshou sat cross-legged on opposite sides of a low table.

She had come to deliver the rewards from the recent trial assembly and also brought a token of gratitude from Jiang Jingshan, placing two storage treasures on the table.

Li Changshou accepted them without hesitation.

Upon inspecting the storage ring from Jiang Shibo, which contained several magical treasures, a pile of precious materials stacked like a small mountain, and a heap of spirit stones, he felt a sense of relief.

Earlier, while surveying the earth veins of Xiao Qiong Peak, Li Changshou had been worrying about the materials needed for constructing various arrays, and this gift resolved most of those issues.

Li Changshou asked, “Shishu, why didn’t you go to South Continent?”

“Ah,” Jiu Jiu sighed heavily, slumping weakly onto the table, her eyes gradually losing their spark. “I was planning to tag along for some fun, but on the way back, I got held back for questioning and just got out of the Hall of Rewards and Punishments.

Now I’m in a real bind.

The elders actually punished me by banning alcohol for three years. Ugh, they’d might as well tie me to a lightning rod and strike me for three years…”

Li Changshou couldn’t help but chuckle, noticing that Jiu Jiu’s small gourd treasure was gone—it must have been confiscated by the sect elders.

Just then, Lan Ling’e entered with tea. Seeing the scene, she pursed her lips slightly.

How casually she’s posing, getting along so well with my senior brother…

This Shishu really has ulterior motives.

After serving the tea, Lan Ling’e moved her meditation cushion next to her senior brother and knelt down demurely, deliberately pressing her arm against his.

Jiu Jiu glared and exclaimed, “Hey? What about your condition, Changshou?”

“Contact with my junior sister is fine, probably because we’ve been together day and night,” Li Changshou explained calmly. “But with other women, I still experience symptoms like convulsions.”

“Cough! Cough cough!”

Lan Ling’e covered her mouth and coughed, her expression slightly pained—clearly from suppressing laughter.

“Oh, I see.”

Jiu Jiu didn’t suspect a thing and sighed gloomily, her eyes dimming again as she murmured weakly:

“Three years… How am I going to get through three years…

Without alcohol, how can I meditate or cultivate? I can’t even sleep, and I have no energy for anything…

That jerk Yuan Qing, stirring up trouble and getting himself in hot water, and now dragging me into three years of misery.”

Li Changshou pondered with his head lowered, stroking his chin thoughtfully.

Beside him, Lan Ling’e noticed her senior brother’s expression and instinctively shifted slightly to the side, sitting up straight with her eyes fixed forward, not daring to speak.

She sneaked a glance at the curve of Li Changshou’s eyebrow and confirmed it was the sign that he was plotting something—whenever he made this face, either she or their master ended up involved!

“Jiu Shishu, how about we make a deal?”

“Hmm? What kind of deal?” Jiu Jiu responded listlessly.

“During these three years when you can’t touch alcohol, if you can’t cultivate, why not help me build some arrays instead?” Li Changshou said seriously. “In return, I’ll brew three types of extinct fine wines for you, ready just in time for you to enjoy them afterward.

And among them, there’s one drink that can substitute for alcohol.”

“Extinct fine wines? A substitute for alcohol?” Jiu Jiu perked up immediately, sitting straight. “What are you talking about? You’re not trying to get free labor out of me, are you?

Just so you know, I know nothing about arrays.”

“You just need to use your immortal power to stabilize the array foundations and suppress any spiritual energy fluctuations,” Li Changshou replied with a smile, then asked, “Shishu, do you prefer the act of drinking or savoring wine? Is it the taste or that light, tipsy feeling when you’re drunk?”

“Um…” Jiu Jiu thought for a moment. “Both, I suppose.

I was three when I entered the mountains, and my fifth senior brother, who looked after me, loved brewing wine. One time, he accidentally tossed me into a wine vat for a bath, and I’ve been hooked ever since.

If I had to say, the taste is important, but so is that comfortable, floating buzz when you’re slightly drunk.”

“Please, Shishu, take a look.”

Li Changshou pointed to the teacup in front of him, took a small jade pot from his sleeve, uncorked it, and let a drop of pale green liquid fall into the cup.

Instantly, a faint aroma wafted out, turning the tea water a light green.

Li Changshou said with a smile, “Shishu, try it and see if it gives you that tipsy feeling.”

“Oh?” Jiu Jiu blinked curiously, lifted the cup to her nose for a sniff, catching only a subtle fragrance. She then took a small sip, and her eyes lit up.

She raised her hand and downed the cup in one go.

A faint blush spread across Jiu Jiu’s pretty face, her eyes growing hazy as she grinned nonstop.

“Good stuff… Really hits the spot…”

Clang—the cup hit the table, and Jiu Jiu slowly lay down, rolling back and forth on the ground while letting out giggles, murmuring:

“Seventh senior brother, you’re so shameless, always clinging to sixth senior sister. You’ve been dual cultivating for years and still no little babies…

Everyone’s pairing up, and just because I’m the ninth, I have to stay single? Hmph, once I reach Tian Xian realm, I’ll snatch a few handsome men to pour my wine and bathe me every day…

Little Changshou… You must never look down on your master… Your master was amazing back in the day…”

Gradually, snores began, and Jiu Jiu hugged the cushion, falling fast asleep on the floor.

Lan Ling’e asked curiously, “Senior brother, what is that?”

“Shen Xian Zui,” Li Changshou replied via voice transmission. “It’s both a type of intoxicant and a fine wine, but it doesn’t have any alcohol scent. Aside from making someone drunk for a while, it has no other effects—it’s something I had set aside.

According to ancient records, in ancient times, many immortals who loved their drinks would try this Shen Xian brew, though they usually chugged it because their addiction was too strong.

It’s made using a method similar to brewing wine, but instead of immortal fruits or grains, it’s from thirty-two types of medicinal herbs.”

Lan Ling’e asked with some concern, “Is this enough for three types?”

Li Changshou nodded with a smile, looking at the soundly sleeping Jiu Jiu and thinking about his soon-to-be-completed alchemy room. He transmitted, “Not just three— I could make thirteen if I wanted.

With a Zhen Xian to help, many ideas I couldn’t realize before are now possible.

Once the alchemy room is finished, security will be even more assured.”

“Alright then,” Lan Ling’e said, puffing her cheeks slightly. She looked at the unexpectedly endearing Jiu Jiu asleep and felt a tiny sense of… crisis.

And so, two years later…

Bam!

The wooden door of Li Changshou’s thatched hut was kicked open. Jiu Jiu, dressed in linen clothes and looking frantic, burst in.

“Quick! Where’s this month’s Shen Xian Zui and Jia Ren Mei…

It’s not here?

Ah! You’re off refining pills again! I ought to tie you to the alchemy furnace!”

Jiu Jiu stamped her foot, muttering under her breath, then turned and leaped into the air, about to dash toward the dense forest behind the hut.

But her figure halted abruptly. She tilted her head, staring at the thick, shadowy woods ahead, sensing the spiritual energy flowing within, and her forehead instantly furrowed with lines.

She recalled the embarrassing experiences from the past half-year, when she’d been trapped inside more than ten times…

If she hadn’t known what was there, she wouldn’t have noticed the twenty-eight visible arrays and seventy-six hidden ones, all interconnected traps and illusions…

“Where’s the safe path again? Did I really help set this up?

This way? That doesn’t seem right.

Or this way?

Argh! Arrays are so annoying!

Li Changshou, get out here! Otherwise, I’ll tear down your entire peak!”

A gentle breeze blew through the forest, making the trees sway lightly as the spiritual energy flowed more freely.

Li Changshou’s voice drifted on the wind: “The array has been deactivated. I’m tending the alchemy furnace and can’t come out to greet you.”

Jiu Jiu blinked, cautiously advancing more than ten zhang. Once she confirmed she was safe, she flew straight to the center of the forest in a huff.

There, an elegant small pavilion stood quietly, wisps of pure energy drifting from it, with the fresh scent of herbs filling the air.