Qingxi City had never had a city lord, so naturally it had no City Lord Manor either.
Xia Yunzhao had no intention of making a huge fuss and building one for himself. He kept living in the little valley, going into Qingxi City every few days to check on Qingming Pavilion. If anyone had news to report, they sent it there.
During that time, Xu Ziyu came by once. He said he was there to pick through the resources he had brought back from the north, but he did not take much. Instead, he left Xia Yunzhao quite a few handwritten notes of his own.
Xia Yunzhao glanced through them. Every page was about advancing to Level-Three pill master. Is Fellow Daoist Xu trying to pull up seedlings to make them grow faster? He only became a Level-Three pill master himself not long ago!
There was no rushing something like this anyway, so Xia Yunzhao continued cultivating and refining pills every day.
His cultivation had now stabilized at mid Foundation Establishment. In truth, judging solely by the depth of his spiritual power, advancing to late Foundation Establishment or even Great Completion of Foundation Establishment would not have been impossible.
But mid Foundation Establishment was the stage for tempering the internal organs. Once he passed this stage, the opportunity would be gone, so he resisted the temptation to advance and deliberately suppressed his cultivation.
Cultivation was difficult, but suppressing one’s cultivation was difficult too. That degree of self-control alone already put Xia Yunzhao ahead of countless cultivators.
Of course, he was not the kind of person who insisted on suffering for no reason. He had long since dug five or six recipes out of his Complete Collection of Pill Recipes, then selected the best three for assisting the tempering of the internal organs: the Five-Elements Organ-Nourishing Pill, Ice-Soul Heart-Tempering Pill, and Hundred-Herb Viscera-Opening Pill.
The Five-Elements Organ-Nourishing Pill used the power of the five elements to gradually nourish the internal organs. The Ice-Soul Heart-Tempering Pill used icy power to temper the heart. There was naturally more than one kind of heart-tempering pill, but after enduring the secret-realm core’s tempering, Xia Yunzhao had become increasingly compatible with ice-attributed spiritual power. Other pills really were not as suitable for him as the Ice-Soul Heart-Tempering Pill.
As for the Hundred-Herb Viscera-Opening Pill, it was taken after the internal organs had been fully tempered to keep the meridians unobstructed and improve the circulation of spiritual power.
Of the three pills, Xia Yunzhao had long since learned the Five-Elements Organ-Nourishing Pill and Ice-Soul Heart-Tempering Pill. It was not that he could not refine the Hundred-Herb Viscera-Opening Pill. He simply lacked the materials.
You never knew how few spirit herbs you had until you actually needed them! More than ten storage pouches in his cave dwelling were stuffed full, and the spirit-herb fields in the valley were packed with mature plants. He had thought he counted as a small landowner by now, but one look through the recipe showed there were still spirit herbs he simply could not find.
“Greenwood Heart-Penetrating Vine, Moon-Marrow Poria, Earthfire Warmstone Lichen… Good thing we at least have Scarlet Berries, or there wouldn’t be a single ingredient on this recipe that our family could produce.” Sitting cross-legged before the pill furnace, Xia Yunzhao shook the recipe at Shang Shuangze with a miserable expression. “Senior Shang, our family is so poor.”
Shang Shuangze took hold of his fingertips, then looked at the yellowed recipe. “Most of these materials do not grow on Liancui Mountain. Why not ask a merchant caravan?”
Xia Yunzhao nodded. “That’s one option… Forget it. I won’t need the Hundred-Herb Viscera-Opening Pill until last anyway. I’ll refine the other two first.”
Still in the same position, he flicked a finger as soon as he finished speaking. An Earthfire Art shot out, and with a roar, red flames ignited beneath the pill furnace.
Xia Yunzhao had already closed his eyes and begun refining.
After entering mid Foundation Establishment, his meridians had expanded again, and his pill-refining speed was much faster than before.
In the past, he could refine fifty furnaces at once at most. Now a hundred or so was easy, and if he really pushed himself, even two hundred furnaces at once was not impossible! The problem was that doing so required spirit pearls to replenish his spiritual energy. Each session would burn through roughly five hundred thousand spirit pearls… Ahem. The cost was a little high.
So Xia Yunzhao generally kept each round to around one hundred furnaces.
Two hours later, five hundred Five-Elements Organ-Nourishing Pills emerged from the furnaces.
Another two hours later, five hundred Ice-Soul Heart-Tempering Pills came out as well.
As usual, he kept the high-grade pills for himself and sold the mid- and low-grade ones.
Xia Yunzhao stared at the two piles of pills and once again sank into thought. Hmm… if he could refine multiple furnaces of pills simultaneously, could he also refine different kinds of pills at the same time?
Of course it would be difficult to try. The required spirit herbs were different, the processing methods were different, and even the refining times varied from pill to pill… But none of that was impossible to solve. The herbs could be processed in advance, the furnaces could be controlled separately according to refining time… Hiss. The more he thought about it, the more feasible it sounded!
Xia Yunzhao made a mental note to experiment with low-tier pills when he had time.
Across from him, Shang Shuangze opened his eyes. Seeing Xia Yunzhao excitedly bobbing his head as though he had come up with another wonderful idea, he smiled faintly and closed his eyes to continue cultivating.
Xia Yunzhao settled down as well. He swallowed a Five-Elements Organ-Nourishing Pill, waved a hand, and a small mountain of spirit pearls appeared before him. Only then did he sit cross-legged and begin meditating.
Xiao Qing, having just finished its own job, was a little tired too. It gave a yawn, shrank inch by inch, and turned into a streak of light that slipped into Xia Yunzhao’s qi sea.
Time passed minute by minute. The mountain of spirit pearls before Xia Yunzhao grew smaller and smaller. Hundreds of thousands of spirit pearls were visibly being “eaten” away as vast spiritual energy poured into his body like a river, then flowed into his internal organs under the guidance of his cultivation method to temper them little by little.
A fine, prickling itch immediately spread through his organs. It was even harder to endure than tempering his meridians, like having an itch inside his belly that he could not possibly scratch.
Fortunately, the medicinal power of the Five-Elements Organ-Nourishing Pill quickly dispersed the itching pain and began gently nourishing the organs as they were tempered. The soft internal tissues gradually grew stronger.
With piles of pills and spirit pearls supporting him, Xia Yunzhao’s cultivation rose steadily.
Meanwhile, word of Qingxi City’s new city lord finally began spreading through the city. It started when two cultivators got into a fight and were restrained by Ji family cultivators. Neither accepted the outcome, and both demanded to see the new city lord for a ruling.
Only then did the ordinary people watching from the street learn that Qingxi City had acquired a city lord. At first, everyone felt awkward about it. After all, Qingxi City had gone so many years without one. Having a city lord suddenly appear out of nowhere naturally left the people uneasy even if they did not dare say anything.
Then they asked around and discovered that the new city lord was none other than their Lord Xiao Xia… Well, that settled it. Not a trace of discomfort remained.
Lord Xiao Xia was wonderful! It was no exaggeration to say that eighty percent of Qingxi City’s present peace and prosperity was thanks to him. Think back: the Fang family’s conspiracy, the poison pill master’s plague, and now that pill that shaved thirty years off one’s lifespan… Any one of those landing on ordinary people would have been a disaster, yet Xia Yunzhao had blocked every single one.
The people of Qingxi City were delighted. With the New Year festival approaching, they even seized the opportunity to celebrate the news in lively fashion.
As for the cultivators, naturally they had even less to say. The cultivation world had always followed the rule that whoever had the bigger fist got the final word. Even Yunjiangguan could not beat Xia Yunzhao’s group, much less them… Besides, who would be foolish enough to object? Did they not want to shop at Qingming Pavilion anymore?
Of course, Xia Yunzhao knew nothing about any of this. As far as he could tell, becoming city lord had changed almost nothing about his life. The Ji family had still found no trace of the information he had asked them to investigate…
“City Lord, news has come from below.” Someone knocked against the valley restriction, and a voice sounded outside.
Xia Yunzhao opened his eyes. “Huh? We haven’t had any news for so many days. Why did something suddenly come up today?”
Shang Shuangze patted him, signaling that he did not need to move. “I’ll go take a look.”
He was gone only briefly before the restriction opened and the Ji family cultivator was brought inside.
This was the same cultivator who had delivered the tokens to Xia Yunzhao before. His name was Ji Hongyu. Although he was also a member of the Ji family, his constitution was unsuitable for the Ji family’s Yellow Springs Art, so he cultivated a different method. His temperament was therefore somewhat more “lively” than the other members of the Ji family.
That was probably why the Ji family head had assigned him to serve as Xia Yunzhao’s point of contact.
Ji Hongyu entered without daring to look around, but the corner of his eye still caught several unusual sights, and his eyelid twitched. A Level-Three restriction surrounding the valley was understandable, but why was there also a Level-Three defensive formation disk outside the cave dwelling? Were Level-Three magical treasures being handed out wholesale?
And then there were the spirit-herb fields… If he was not mistaken, those were time formations. Yes, spirit-plant masters used time formations, but everyone else used ten-to-one formations. Why was this one one hundred to one?! Wait. Was that thing beside it… one thousand to one?
Wasn’t using such a precious formation to grow Scarlet Berries a little wasteful…?
As a cultivator at Great Completion of Qi Refining, this was the first time Ji Hongyu had ever looked at a Level-Two spirit plant and thought someone was wasting heavenly treasures…
He tried desperately to control his expression but still could not stop it from twisting slightly. In a daze, he wondered whether he was dreaming. Most cultivators had some secret opportunity or another, and it was perfectly normal to keep a few hidden trump cards. But having this many trump cards… wasn’t that going a bit too far?
Wait. What just floated past? A little blob? No, that looked like… a magical-treasure spirit?!!!
The magical-treasure spirit had been harassed by Xianchan for ages yesterday and slept late today. It was hurrying toward the spirit-herb fields when, unexpectedly, it ran into an outsider. It squeaked twice, panicked, and dove into its true body. The little yellow-jade seal then bounced away hop by hop.
An ordinary low-level cultivator might fail to recognize some magical treasures, but that little yellow-jade seal was different. Never mind cultivators. Even the ordinary people of Qingxi City knew what it was!
The Kunyuan Xutu Seal…
Ji Hongyu stiffly turned his head, practically hearing his own neck creak. he suddenly had an overwhelming urge to run home and rant to his stone-faced brothers: Guys, can you believe this? There’s a Level-Four magical treasure in this completely ordinary little valley!
Something red seemed to jump in and out at the edge of his vision, accompanied by splashing water. He no longer dared look. He was afraid he might see something else his heart could not withstand.
“You’re here.” Xia Yunzhao failed to notice his stiffness and greeted him kindly. “Sit.”
With a wave of his hand, a stone table and three stone stools floated over, followed by a cup of spirit-herb tea. “Have some tea.”
Ji Hongyu sat carefully and touched the tea to his lips… Damn! Tea brewed from Level-Two spirit herbs! One cup and all the spiritual power he had expended over the past few days was completely restored!
Outsiders rarely came to the valley, so everything they ate and used had naturally been prepared for themselves. Of course it was all good stuff.
Xia Yunzhao waited until he had drunk some tea before asking, “What news were you about to report?”
Ji Hongyu finally remembered why he had come. “Reporting to the City Lord: a few days ago, news came from Yuantong Village. There is an ancient well in the village that has recently shown repeated abnormalities. Not only have cries for help come from inside it, strange lights have also flashed within. I took several people to investigate and indeed detected an unusual spiritual-power fluctuation. I did not dare delay and came to report immediately.”
Xia Yunzhao was still not quite used to being spoken to this way. He hurriedly shifted in his seat and sat up a little straighter. “You only detected spiritual-power fluctuations? No demonic-qi fluctuations?”
Ji Hongyu shook his head and said shamefacedly, “To tell the City Lord the truth, this subordinate is seventy-eight years old and has never seen demonic qi.”
Xia Yunzhao: “……”
Who would have guessed his strapping subordinate was already an old man nearing eighty? No wonder Brother Du and Xu Ziyu had both called him a little brat before… In his early twenties, Xia Yunzhao really was a brat compared with these people.
He raised a hand and refilled Ji Hongyu’s cup. “Well then, have tea. Have some more tea.” An old man should drink plenty of tea.
He glanced at the sky and said, “Come back at the same time tomorrow and take me to Yuantong Village.”
Ji Hongyu hurriedly answered, “Yes.” After bowing to Shang Shuangze as well, he backed carefully out of the cave dwelling. Anyone who did not know better might have thought two tigers lived in the valley.
After he left, Xia Yunzhao scooted up to Shang Shuangze and asked, “Shang Shuangze, how old are you this year?”
Shang Shuangze laughed. “Why are you asking that?”
Xia Yunzhao thought, I’ve only just realized you can’t tell a cultivator’s age by looking at them… He tilted his head up to stare at Shang Shuangze’s smooth, flawless face, which perfectly matched his aesthetic. Even if you’re eighty, I’ll accept it! “So how old are you?”
Drawn in by his gaze, Shang Shuangze lowered his head and kissed the center of his brow. In a low voice, he said, “I am twenty-nine this year.”
Xia Yunzhao made a surprised sound. “You’re only twenty-nine?”
Shang Shuangze nodded.
Xia Yunzhao said, “Then you’re only seven years older than me!” There was that saying about a man three years older being worth a brick of gold; seven years older was basically two gold bricks… “Wait. You’re only twenty-nine and you’re already Golden Core?!”
Just look at Ji Hongyu. He was over seventy and still at Great Completion of Qi Refining! Even Xu Ziyu was over a hundred and still stuck at Foundation Establishment!
Xia Yunzhao circled Shang Shuangze in amazement. “Are you one of those legendary geniuses?”
Shang Shuangze steadied him. “I began cultivating under my master at three, reached Foundation Establishment at nine, and formed my core at twenty-one. It has now been twenty-six years. I am far inferior to you.”
In terms of talent, Xia Yunzhao surpassed him by far. The first time Shang Shuangze met Xia Yunzhao, he could tell Xia Yunzhao had only recently stepped onto the path of cultivation. Now he was already at mid Foundation Establishment, and not even a year had passed.
But Xia Yunzhao knew his present cultivation was only possible because Xiao Qing had helped him, while Shang Shuangze could not even use the most basic pills or magical artifacts.
Both men simultaneously felt that their own Dao companion was far more impressive than they were.
Xia Yunzhao threw his arms around him. “Once we get back from Yuantong Village, I’m going to advance to Level-Three pill master too! I’ll refine Level-Three pills for you!” Whatever other people had, his Dao companion had to have too!
Luckily, pill masters could advance beyond the rank corresponding to their own cultivation. Otherwise, by the time Xia Yunzhao reached Golden Core, Shang Shuangze might already have reached Nascent Soul.
Amusement filled Shang Shuangze’s eyes. “All right.”
Early the next morning, Ji Hongyu arrived at the valley exactly on time and led his city lord and the city lord’s Dao companion toward Yuantong Village.
Qingxi City was fundamentally a Foundation Establishment-level power, with influence extending roughly five hundred li in every direction. Its territory contained more than thirty villages and six small towns. As for the population, no one had bothered counting it. Ordinary mortals lived and died within a few short decades, and no cultivator was willing to keep track.
The two followed Ji Hongyu into Yuantong Village. Several Ji family cultivators were already waiting there, along with a trembling old man leaning on a cane. Two young men, apparently his grandsons, stood behind him and supported him.
Seeing people approach, the old man leaned on his cane and tried to kneel. “G-greetings, my lords!”
Yuantong Village was far from Qingxi City, and the stories of “Lord Xiao Xia” had not spread this far. The old man simply assumed all cultivators behaved the same way.
Xia Yunzhao had developed a reflex by now. The instant he saw someone’s knees bend, he moved a finger, and the old man found himself unable to kneel. “Elder, there’s no need to kneel. It’s freezing out here. Don’t ruin your knees. Take us to the ancient well first.”
The two young men behind him hurriedly helped the old man upright. They looked at Xia Yunzhao gratefully, then quickly lowered their eyes, afraid the cultivator lord might grow impatient.
Xia Yunzhao shook his head. The cultivators he knew, whether Xu Ziyu, Du Yan, Xing Wenyu, or even Lu Shi and Chang Sanbao, rarely made trouble for ordinary people. He had no idea how other cultivators bullied mortals badly enough to frighten them like this.
The old man led the way. By the time they reached the well, he could go no farther. His throat sounded like a bellows, rasping harshly as he struggled to breathe. He could not get a single word out, and his face had gone blue.
Even Xia Yunzhao was frightened listening to him. He took out a Lingwei Pill and handed it over. “Let the elder take this spirit pill and catch his breath. Why drag him around in weather this cold?” Then he pointed at the two young men behind him. “Do you two know what happened? If you do, tell us. If you don’t, go find someone who does.”
When Ji Hongyu saw the two hesitate after accepting the pill, he hurriedly said, “Our City Lord is nothing like those people from Yunjiangguan. This is a proper spirit pill. It treats illness. Not only will it not shorten his life, it can even extend it.”
Hearing that, Xia Yunzhao quietly asked, “Word of Yunjiangguan’s Demon-Warding Spirit Pill has spread all the way out here?”
Ji Hongyu answered softly, “Everyone in the territory knows about it. The mortals are terrified… I heard that among those who took the pill, more died than survived.”
Xia Yunzhao frowned slightly.
Shang Shuangze glanced at Ji Hongyu and took Xia Yunzhao’s hand. “You protected an entire city of people. That is very good.”
Ji Hongyu: “……” Damn. Did I say the wrong thing again?
Xia Yunzhao laughed. “You really do love praising me.”
Shang Shuangze nodded as if it were obvious. “It is simply the truth.”
On the other side, the two young men hesitated. In the end, afraid of offending the cultivators, they nervously fed the pill to the old man.
The moment the pill entered his mouth, the old man’s labored breathing stopped. His breath smoothed out, color returned to his face, and even his hands, which had stayed cold all morning, gradually warmed.
The two young men exchanged an excited look. One cautiously asked, “My lord, I know how everything happened. May I lead you there while my grandfather and younger brother go home to rest?”
Xia Yunzhao nodded quickly. “Of course.”
The young man gave his brother a few instructions. His brother helped their grandfather home, and only then did he begin explaining. “About a month ago, light began appearing from this ancient well from time to time. At first only a few people in the village saw it and everyone said the well was haunted. Later, the light appeared more and more often and more people saw it. Every night, we could also hear cries for help coming from inside.”
“Cries for help?” Xia Yunzhao asked. “You’re certain it was someone speaking, not wind or something else that merely sounded like a voice?”
“It was definitely a voice,” the young villager said firmly. “Very clear speech. And it was a woman’s voice.”
Xia Yunzhao turned to the cultivators. “You heard it too?”
The cultivators all shook their heads. “Reporting to the City Lord, we arrived yesterday and kept watch here all night. We did not hear any cries for help. But we went to the bottom of the well to inspect it and did indeed sense a spiritual-power fluctuation.”
If they had not known mortals would never dare lie to them, they would have suspected they were being toyed with. Why had the cries vanished the moment they arrived?
Xia Yunzhao released his divine sense and sent it into the well. He vaguely sensed that something was different somewhere, but when he examined it more carefully, the feeling vanished in an instant…
Just as he was considering whether to go down to the bottom of the well himself, the young man hesitated and added, “Actually, the first place where anything unusual happened wasn’t the well. It was a cliff wall not far from here.”
One Ji family cultivator immediately frowned. “Insolent! You dare make fools of us? Why did you fail to report information like that?”
The young man jumped in fright and looked nervously at Xia Yunzhao. “I didn’t…”
Xia Yunzhao said irritably, “You didn’t ask properly and somehow you’re the one with reason on your side? Let me ask you. From last night until now, how many words have any of you actually exchanged with the villagers?”
The cultivator stiffened. “City Lord…”
Xia Yunzhao said, “You didn’t ask, yet you expected people to volunteer information? Did you give them gold or spirit pearls? With an attitude that grand, how about you become the city lord instead?”
The cultivator’s rigid back instantly slumped, sweat breaking out across him. “I would not dare. City Lord, please forgive me…”
The others silently edged away from him. Had cultivation fried his brain? Had he not just watched the City Lord give that mortal a pill? Of all times to throw his weight around, he chose now.
Xia Yunzhao could not be bothered looking at him. He turned back to the young man and changed his tone entirely. “Where is that cliff wall? Please take us there.”
The young man hurriedly agreed. His feelings were extremely complicated. Just as those cultivators had assumed, he naturally did not dare lie before cultivator lords. He truly had simply forgotten about the cliff wall earlier.
It was just that his grandfather was old and had suffered from asthma for a very long time. For several years now, the pain had kept him from sleeping well. Yet a single pill from this cultivator lord had stopped his grandfather’s wheezing instantly. At the very least, surely the old man would sleep soundly tonight.
That pill had to be extraordinarily precious. Thinking of that, the young man wanted to do more to help, which was how he finally remembered the matter of the cliff wall.
He did not think he had done anything wrong, yet that cultivator had still tried to punish him. No wonder his grandfather had refused again and again to bring the brothers along today. Dealing with cultivators truly was dangerous at every turn.
Thankfully, this cultivator lord was here…
Xia Yunzhao noticed him sneaking glances and gave him a polite smile. “How much farther?”
The young villager quickly looked away. “Not far. It’s just ahead.”
So cultivators could be divided into good cultivators and bad cultivators too. This lord was clearly one of the very good ones. The young man no longer dared steal glances and focused on leading the way.
Seeing him look once and immediately turn away, Xia Yunzhao touched his face in confusion and whispered to Shang Shuangze, “Is there something on my face? Do I look scary?”
At that, Shang Shuangze gently lifted his chin and looked left and right before smiling and offering four words: “As beautiful as a painting.”
Xia Yunzhao tried to hold it in but failed. The corners of his mouth lifted. “Get out of here.”
Ji Hongyu, who was nearest to them, hunched his shoulders and bowed his head, then moved three very inconspicuous steps away. Flirting? He did not dare listen! Absolutely did not dare!
Still, Senior Shang looked so taciturn. Who knew sweet-talking his Dao companion came to him so naturally?
The young villager in front stopped and pointed toward a cliff face. “We’re here. That’s the place. A few months ago, I was gathering firewood on the mountain when I saw this cliff wall glowing, and I heard someone speaking. Later those sounds disappeared and the ancient well began acting strangely instead, so I forgot about this place.”
Xia Yunzhao immediately focused on the matter at hand. He walked to the cliff and touched it with his fingertips. There were cracks in the rock, and wind was blowing through them.
Wind meant empty space lay behind the stone.
He released his divine sense and sent it through the cracks.
Afraid Xia Yunzhao’s divine sense might be injured, Shang Shuangze released his own as well. Their senses intertwined and entered together.
It was fortunate there were no other Foundation Establishment cultivators present. Otherwise, this sight alone would have broadened their horizons yet again.
The two men’s divine senses had intertwined who knew how many times before. They did not reject one another at all, winding around each other peacefully as they explored forward.
Suddenly, they felt something blocking the way. With a gentle jolt, both of their divine senses were pushed back out.
Repelling Xia Yunzhao’s divine sense was not especially difficult. He had only just reached Foundation Establishment and had not yet had time to cultivate it properly.
But repelling Shang Shuangze’s divine sense was another matter entirely.
Of course, the force on the other side had been extremely gentle. Shang Shuangze’s first instinct was to protect Xia Yunzhao’s divine sense rather than fight back, so he had simply withdrawn along with it.
Even so, it showed that whatever, or whoever, lay inside the cliff was far from simple.
Xia Yunzhao frowned. “That felt like a very polite refusal.”
How to describe it? It was like knocking on a neighbor’s door, having them open it and say, “Sorry, we’re not receiving guests,” then shut the door again. There had been no malice and no hostility.
Xia Yunzhao thought about it. They were here looking for demonic qi. Something this polite probably was not a demonic cultivator or demonic qi, right? If the host did not want visitors, they could hardly force their way in.
But on second thought, this place was extremely close to Yuantong Village. Leaving it completely alone did not seem right either…
While he was still wrestling with the question, a voice suddenly drifted over. It was thin and faint, as though carried by the wind, and it was unmistakably a woman’s voice!
Xia Yunzhao spun around. None of his own people were speaking!
The villager shuddered. “That’s the same voice as before!”
Ji Hongyu hurried forward, wanting to relieve his city lord’s burden.
Xia Yunzhao raised a hand to stop him, then pressed his own ear against the rock and listened carefully.
No one dared breathe loudly, and the cultivator who had just been scolded even held his breath, terrified of embarrassing himself again.
After listening for quite a while, Xia Yunzhao finally straightened and said in confusion, “Why does that voice sound so familiar to me?”
Ji Hongyu was filled with admiration. As expected of their City Lord, he was so widely experienced that he even knew people who lived inside cracks in rocks!