Chapter 62: Being the First Disciple of Human Teachings is Truly Difficult

Chapter 63: Less Routine, More Sincerity

Lately, why has my left armpit been so itchy?

While refining pills, Li Changshou flexed his left arm, his brows furrowing slightly.

Now, his body was that of an immortal, pure and flawless inside and out, like flawless jade.

Someone as pure as him—how could he suddenly experience something like...

An itchy armpit?

This wasn't a trivial matter, but after checking himself repeatedly for half a month, Li Changshou found no issues.

A lingering effect from the heavenly punishment? That didn't seem right.

After thinking it over, he could only attribute it to his immortal body not being fully perfected yet, so he needed to consolidate his realm gradually.

After ascending, Li Changshou also noticed a subtle change in his mindset. Though the change wasn't very obvious, his confidence had indeed grown a bit, to the point that...

He dared to meditate directly in the dan room!

Sigh, he still needed to be more cautious.

Stick to the old rules: solidify one minor realm before moving on to the next.

He had a long lifespan ahead, and the Fengshen calamity was still far off, so there was no need to rush.

Only by building a solid foundation and strengthening his immortal base could he seek the path of eternal life and have more power to protect himself in future calamities.

His immortal sense detected Ling E flying over from near the thatched cottage, so Li Changshou deactivated part of the arrays, allowing her to arrive at the dan room unimpeded.

Soon, Ling E jumped down from the cloud and landed in the dan room.

"Senior Brother!

Are you... warming your hands?"

"Warming what hands? This is refining pills."

In the dan room, Li Changshou stepped aside, revealing the three-foot-tall miniature dan furnace.

Ling E, who had floated in carrying a lunchbox, blinked and glanced at the now more spacious dan room and the small dan furnace on the ground. She traced the outline of a large dan furnace in the air with her slender fingers...

"What about the big one?"

"It exploded half a month ago," Li Changshou sighed softly, carefully controlling the flame in the small dan furnace.

Without the prohibitions and arrays of a proper dan furnace, and without a way to stabilize the flames, refining pills had become as troublesome as in the early days. He had to constantly adjust the heat, and some immortal pills were impossible to make.

"Senior Brother, you need to be careful when refining pills. Is this really that dangerous?"

Ling E said this with some concern as she placed the deep purple, intricately carved phoenix lunchbox on a nearby low table.

Looking up, she noticed the roof seemed to have been replaced.

She busied herself, pushing two tables together and activating the simple prohibitions carved on them, then took out the freshly prepared delicacies and arranged them slowly.

When Li Changshou wasn't on the mountain, Ling E mostly wore a few loose training outfits.

But when he was around, even if they didn't see each other for days, she would change into a beautiful immortal skirt, occasionally applying a bit of makeup to her brows and lips...

"Senior Brother, is this wine from Uncle-Master Jiu Wu again?"

"Yes, Uncle-Master Jiu Wu sent a paper crane yesterday saying he wanted to come discuss something with me today."

Li Changshou exhaled gently, and the flames in the dan furnace gradually subsided as the pills began to emit waves of medicinal fragrance...

Thinking about how a few years ago he had pranked Jiu Wu and made him swear those oaths, Li Changshou couldn't help but smile faintly.

This wine gathering could serve as an apology to Uncle-Master Jiu Wu.

Once the food was set and the wine warmed, Ling E glanced at the pouch hanging from her waist and giggled...

"What's up?" Li Changshou waited for the pills to finish refining and asked casually, "Your mood improved this quickly?

Looks like you've already forgotten the last lesson."

"I haven't! Absolutely not forgotten!"

Ling E quickly furrowed her brows, putting on a pitiful expression as she lamented, "Senior Brother, I made you angry before—that was my fault as your junior sister..."

"Enough," Li Changshou chuckled, "Whatever you made for me, bring it out."

Ling E's eyes lit up, and she said delightedly, "Hehe, I knew you were peeking at me!"

Li Changshou said helplessly, "Where's the need to peek? Even if a strand of your hair moves, I can tell what's on your mind."

"Come on," Ling E suddenly felt a bit disappointed, tossing the pouch over and pouting as she headed out the door.

"Selfish senior brother, it's a robe I made for you!

I'm going back to cultivate. I'll come by later to clean up the dishes!"

Li Changshou caught the pouch and peeked inside, seeing a deep green ordinary robe. He smiled with satisfaction.

Indeed, all the effort in guiding his junior sister hadn't been wasted...

This robe was exactly to his liking.

Sitting in the rocking chair outside the dan room, Li Changshou quietly waited for Jiu Wu to arrive, closing his eyes to ponder immortal techniques.

Before long, the short Daoist's figure appeared outside Xiaoqiong Peak.

Li Changshou stood up to greet him, deactivating the surrounding arrays, and bowed in salute to this uncle-master, everything just as before.

But this time, the short Daoist circled around a few times before landing a hundred zhang away, hands behind his back as he scrutinized everything...

His gaze was full of vigilance.

Li Changshou just smiled without speaking, standing quietly by the door and waiting for his uncle-master to approach step by step, without making any extra gestures.

When they were three zhang apart, the two exchanged smiles.

"Ahem!"

Jiu Wu cleared his throat and said calmly, "Well, this time... no need for me to give you pointers on arrays?"

Li Changshou laughed, "I didn't prepare in advance, Uncle-Master. You said you'd come, so I just asked my junior sister to prepare some wine and dishes.

If you'd like to give me pointers on array cultivation, I do have some questions."

"No, no," Jiu Wu shook his head immediately, "I'm getting old; I can't give pointers anymore."

"Uncle-Master, your mastery of arrays is far beyond what I can achieve."

Li Changshou said seriously, "I only came up with a few minor innovations in trivial areas.

To set up a truly powerful array, it still requires an expert like you—someone truly skilled in arrays, with high cultivation and ample resources."

Jiu Wu raised his short, thick eyebrows and broke into a grin.

"No shadow orbs from you this time?"

Li Changshou shook his head with a smile and was about to step aside to invite his uncle-master in, but Jiu Wu chuckled smugly and pulled out...

Two fist-sized glass law orbs from his robe.

"Hmph, I brought them!"

Li Changshou: ...

"As long as you're happy, Uncle-Master," Li Changshou gestured invitingly, "This time, I have no requests; I just wanted to listen to your teachings. Please, come inside."

And so, they proceeded slowly, checking every step.

Jiu Wu noticed the unusual state of the dan furnace and couldn't help analyzing in his mind what kind of setup could turn a dan furnace into such a miniature version.

Finally, after much effort, Jiu Wu and Li Changshou both sat down.

Looking at the feast before him...

Jiu Wu narrowed his eyes and took out a spirit beast rabbit from his sleeve, starting to feed it the food to test for poison.

Li Changshou watched with amusement and waited quietly for Jiu Wu to finish.

At last, when Jiu Wu confirmed that Li Changshou hadn't tampered with anything this time, he took out a pair of his own jade chopsticks, cleared his throat, and said with a troubled expression, "Your Uncle-Master Jiushi has been in seclusion seeking a breakthrough, nephew...

You mustn't pull anything like last time."

Li Changshou replied, "I can swear an oath that right here and now, I truly want to invite you for a drink and a chat!"

"Then swear it," Jiu Wu nodded immediately, "Go on, swear it quickly."

"I was just saying that casually. If I really swear, wouldn't that mean I have ulterior motives?"

Li Changshou laughed, "Uncle-Master, let me offer you a toast."

Jiu Wu snorted with a smile, raised his cup to clink with Li Changshou's from afar, but only took a small sip.

"Let's discuss the main matter before drinking," Jiu Wu said, "This time, as per the oath I made last time, I'm coming to consult with you in advance.

If you agree, the sect will definitely give you a good reward.

If not, just pretend I never mentioned it."

"Oh?" Li Changshou thought for a moment and quickly realized what it was about, "If Uncle-Master wants to promote the linked arrays within the sect, you don't really need to ask me."

Jiu Wu frowned, "How did you know? I haven't told anyone about this!"

"Just a guess," Li Changshou picked up a piece of the spirit fish his junior sister had prepared; the tender fish melted in his mouth, fragrant on the outside and sweet inside, leaving a delightful aftertaste.

"So, you're agreeing?" Jiu Wu's eyes narrowed with a smile, "Come on, tell me how you set up those linked arrays."

So, he hadn't figured it out yet...

Li Changshou said, "Actually, I came across some scattered mentions in ancient texts and summarized them."

With that, Li Changshou took out a sheepskin scroll.

He naturally wouldn't reveal his real secrets so easily.

What he handed over was just a theoretical plan to address the key challenge of linked arrays—adapting different array bases.

It was an earlier solution.

The scroll also referenced materials, all from obscure ancient texts in the outer hall of the Daoist Scripture Pavilion that no one bothered with.

This plan differed completely from the 'array base unit' method he was currently using; its main drawback was wasting materials, but it could still achieve the effect of setting up linked arrays.

From the day the arrays around the dan room began construction, this sheepskin scroll had been waiting for the right moment, and today it finally 'served its purpose.'

Jiu Wu took it and studied it carefully.

After a short while, the short Daoist slapped his thigh and exclaimed in admiration.

"I thought I'd have to persuade you with some effort, but you handed it over so readily! I didn't misjudge you; I really didn't!

Can this really be offered to the sect?"

Li Changshou nodded with a smile, "Of course."

"Ah, who would have thought!

I judged you by my own standards and misunderstood you, thinking you'd keep it private!"

Jiu Wu sighed, drained his cup in one go, "I deserve a penalty for that!"

Li Changshou said seriously, "The sect is our home; we all contribute to its prosperity.

Uncle-Master, about this...

What reward can the sect give?"

Jiu Wu laughed, "You won't be shortchanged! What do you want?"

"If possible," Li Changshou pointed to the dan furnace beside them.

Jiu Wu was momentarily stunned, then nodded in agreement, adding, "If the sect doesn't have a dan furnace you like, once your Uncle-Master Jiushi comes out of seclusion, I'll have her make one for you!

Her refining skills aren't as good as those of the sect's expert Tianxian elders, but her control of the flames is quite proficient!"

Li Changshou immediately smiled and toasted Jiu Wu repeatedly.

For a while, they chatted and drank merrily, the uncle-master and nephew getting along splendidly...

When they were slightly tipsy, that rabbit used for testing the food was suggested by Li Changshou to be roasted directly in the small dan furnace, turning it into 'medicinally fragrant crispy rabbit.'

It tasted quite good.

After this gathering, just three days later, Jiu Wu came to find Li Changshou and took him to Danding Peak to select a new dan furnace.

Danding Peak was the branch of the Duxian Sect dedicated to alchemy and artifact refining. Though their output of pills and treasures wasn't large, they had a strong reputation in Dongsheng Shenzhou, serving as one of the sect's rare highlights.

As soon as Li Changshou rode the clouds and left Xiaoqiong Peak with Jiu Wu, a graceful figure flew over from the direction of Potian Peak.

His immortal sense caught this figure, and Li Changshou furrowed his brows slightly.

He didn't need to look closely at her face; just her slender figure, nearly perfect curves, and that familiar fiery red dress told him it was Youqin Xuanya.

On Xiaoqiong Peak, Ling E was cultivating under the tree...

Li Changshou thought for a moment and decided not to interfere, continuing his conversation with Uncle-Master Jiu Wu.

When these two—uncle-master and nephew—weren't scheming against each other, they actually got along quite well.

...

Under the willow tree, Youqin Xuanya stood quietly and stated her purpose.

Though she really wanted to visit Xiaoqiong Peak to see that senior brother, she couldn't just show up without reason. After emerging from seclusion, she had pondered for days and nights and finally came up with an excuse.

She was here to seek advice on earth-escape techniques.

After explaining, Youqin Xuanya lowered her head and waited quietly, feeling that her excuse was a bit forced and wondering if it would fool...

She heard a rustling sound but no response from Ling E.

Youqin Xuanya looked up and saw a stone slab with a few lines carved on it:

Senior Brother just went out.

I was punished by Senior Brother and can't speak.

Senior Sister, you can wait in the house.

Ling E smirked to herself; she had promised her senior brother not to speak to strangers, and Youqin Xuanya counted as somewhat of a stranger to her.

Even though they had slept in the same place once.

With this, Youqin Xuanya would surely leave tactfully.

The word 'out' was a bit vague and could easily be misunderstood as leaving the mountain entirely.

"That's fine."