Chapter 117: The Correct Way to Use Pills |
Ninth year of Changning.
The seventy one year old old Chancellor Zhang Jingheng returned once.
The current Emperor Changning had already established his eldest son as crown prince.
This crown prince was very clever and also placed great importance on the livelihood of the people.
Zhang Jingheng had also been granted the title of Grand Tutor, but at his level, no matter how many titles were added, he had already reached the very top.
This time, when he returned to Pinecone Village, Zhang Jingheng was clearly much older.
Even walking had become unsteady and trembling.
Chu Xun advised him to retire and return home, settle down in Pinecone Village, and stop going back to the capital.
But Zhang Jingheng did not agree. He had spent his whole life worrying about Jing Kingdom and its people.
This return was only to visit Chu Xun, and also to burn paper offerings and pay respects to Duke Wei, Liao Shouyi.
Emperor Changning had built a Duke Wei Shrine for Liao Shouyi in Pingshui Town.
A mighty and extraordinary general’s statue stood there, drawing many people to come.
The men of the guard still remained to protect the Duke’s shrine.
Liao Licheng and Liao Xingbang had not left either. Only the two grandsons were elsewhere. One wanted to take the imperial examinations and had moved to Fenggu City.
Naturally, he lived in that remote little courtyard.
Zhang Jingheng had already sent people to tidy it up again. Chu Xun could not help remembering that the oil-paper umbrella at home still had not been returned.
The other grandson loved martial arts and followed Liao Xingbang to wander the martial world.
Occasionally, he would return and bring some materials used for forging weapons.
Most of them were iron ores of slightly better quality, but in Chu Xun’s eyes, they were not especially good.
After paying respects to Liao Shouyi, Zhang Jingheng returned to the capital.
Before he left, Chu Xun gave him some slices of old ginseng.
He also instructed him to hold one in his mouth if he ever felt unwell.
Zhang Jingheng naturally agreed at once.
Chu Xun used his qi-gazing ability to observe him. Although his vitality was weak, he should still have a few years left to live.
After he left, Chu Xun returned to the courtyard.
Tempering iron for three double-hours every day, then going to the Songliu River to refine water essence, had already become part of life.
If he missed it even for one day, he would feel as though something was lacking.
Through daily accumulation, the meteorite iron had already been tempered more than eighty times.
Its volume had shrunk by thirty percent compared to the beginning, and its surface emitted a faint, mysterious dark glow.
Even before being forged into a sword, it already revealed a powerful sharp aura.
As for the wind tribulation protecting the flood dragon transformation, Chu Xun was almost completely confident.
The water tribulation was not much of a problem either.
The green-white python was now fifty-four zhang long. It hid beneath the Songliu River and rarely showed itself.
Although its water-control ability was still immature, it had already begun to merge with it.
Only the lightning tribulation remained completely unsolved.
Soon, night fell.
Pinecone Village sank into silence. Inside the house, Chu Xun stood before the wooden table.
On the table were a brush and yellow paper, but no ink.
He reached out and picked up the brush. Spiritual energy flowed into it, and the tip of the brush immediately lit up with a faint glow.
With one hand pressing down on the yellow paper, he lowered the brush.
Using spiritual energy as ink, the brush tip moved like a swimming dragon.
Strands of flowing light extended from the tip, leaving complex and mysterious lines across the yellow paper.
Two years ago, after obtaining the Soul-Dispersing Talisman from the Zhangnan County City God, Chu Xun had practiced every day.
At first, he could only draw one talisman in a day. Now, he had shortened that time to one double-hour per talisman.
The Soul-Dispersing Talisman had a single effect and was of little use to Chu Xun.
But practicing talismans could help control spiritual energy.
When spiritual energy control became sufficiently precise, the power of his techniques would increase to a certain extent.
The karmic fire burning his body could no longer bring Chu Xun much help, so he had no choice but to continue improving in this way.
Fortunately, the results were not bad. Although it was not as convenient as karmic fire, accumulated over time, it could not be underestimated.
After finishing a Soul-Dispersing Talisman, the brush handle gave a crack and burst apart from the middle.
Chu Xun shook his head, and spiritual energy poured in.
With the support of the Wood Movement Art, the brush handle slowly closed and repaired itself.
Ordinary mortal wood was still unable to endure the might of magic power.
Even the yellow paper was covered in dense cracks like spiderwebs.
This was already the best yellow paper Chu Xun had specifically found on the market.
If it had been ordinary paper, it would have shattered long ago.
Outside the courtyard, three figures crept over quietly.
Their faces were covered with black cloth as they stealthily arrived beside the residence.
They leaned over the wall and glanced inside. The crows under the eaves had their eyes half-open, showing no movement.
The weasels curled up on the stools and the field mice in the vegetable patch also seemed unaware.
“This is the place, right?” one person asked in a low voice.
Another nodded.
“This is it. We’ve scouted it several times. But be careful of those crows. They’re a bit too big.”
“They’re just a bunch of beasts. What’s there to fear?”
The third person drew a long saber from his waist.
“Climb in and move fast! If he dares resist, kill him!”
The three gripped the top of the wall and leaped over lightly, like wild geese crossing the sky.
Judging from their movements, they were no ordinary trained fighters. At the very least, they were sixth- or seventh-rank martial artists.
Seeing that candlelight was still lit inside the room, the three immediately crept toward it under cover of night.
But before they had taken two steps, their feet suddenly sank into empty space.
Before they could cry out, they were swallowed by the earth.
The ground quickly closed again, completely covering all sound.
The crows beneath the eaves still did not move at all, too lazy even to flap their wings.
Inside the room, Chu Xun lifted his eyes and glanced toward the courtyard, then shook his head slightly.
“Men die for wealth, birds die for food. No matter the era, that never goes out of date.”
In recent years, because he had accumulated incense by doing good deeds, the name Chu the Great Benefactor had become increasingly famous.
While earning the reverence of the common people, it had also attracted some petty criminals.
Every once in a while, some blind thief would come and deliver himself to death.
The strongest had been a solitary second-rank martial artist and notorious bandit.
He had been wanted by the authorities for a long time, but because his methods were vicious and he never left survivors, only his title remained. No one had ever known what he looked like.
Yet when he came here, the result was the same. He had not taken more than a few steps before being buried alive by an earth-element spell.
Chu Xun vaguely remembered that in the past, a few scoundrels had also wanted to extort silver from him.
Thinking back now, those people should already have reincarnated for the second time, right?
At that moment, a ghost official arrived at the door, cupped his hands, and bowed respectfully.
“Exalted Immortal.”
Chu Xun raised an eyebrow.
“They were just buried and you’re already here? That fast?”
The ghost official quickly said, “Exalted Immortal, you misunderstand. The City God ordered me to inform you that Haixing County may have something you would be interested in.”
“Oh? What thing?” Chu Xun asked.
Only after the ghost official explained did he understand.
A few days ago, a thunderstorm had occurred in Haixing County and blasted open the graves of several families outside the county town.
What was astonishing was that the ancestral grave of one family had remained perfectly intact and had not been affected much.
The City Gods of these counties whose authorities were controlled by Chu Xun all knew that he was inquiring about ways to withstand lightning tribulation, so they had been very diligent in gathering relevant information.
Chu Xun’s heart stirred when he heard this. He immediately set down the brush and said, “As for the few in the courtyard, handle them as you see fit.”
After saying that, he took one step and instantly appeared two hundred meters away.
After respectfully bowing, the ghost official carried his black chain and hook toward the area where the three unlucky men had been buried alive.
The reverence on his face turned gloomy and stern.
“You dared disturb the Exalted Immortal. Your crime deserves ten thousand deaths. Get out here and follow this ghost official to the underworld to receive punishment!”
Three bewildered souls drifted out from underground.
The ghost official showed no mercy. He swung his black chain and hook like a whip, lashing them until smoke rose from their bodies. They howled and rolled across the ground.
Caw!
An old crow under the eaves opened its eyes and called at the ghost official.
The ghost official seemed to hear its displeasure and quickly cupped his hands to apologize. On his blurry face, one could even see a trace of flattery.
“I’ll take them away right now!”
A crow was a crow, but this was a crow raised by the Exalted Immortal. How could it be the same?
The three unlucky ghosts were seized by the black chain and hook and dragged away like dead dogs.
Before long, Chu Xun arrived at Haixing County.
Sensing his arrival, the Haixing County City God quickly floated out from the City God Temple.
“The Exalted Immortal has arrived. This minor god failed to welcome you from afar. Please forgive me.”
Chu Xun waved his hand.
“No need for courtesy. Where is the ancestral grave you mentioned?”
“Exalted Immortal, please follow me.”
The City God extended a hand in invitation and led the way ahead.
Chu Xun followed him outside Haixing County, and soon saw an area that had been struck by lightning.
The surroundings were scorched black. Although people had already repaired the place, one could still see trees blackened and snapped by lightning.
Waves of foul stench assaulted the nose.
The Haixing County City God said, “The graves of the other families were struck so badly that even the coffin lids cracked open. Two families only buried their dead two or three years ago, so the smell is quite strong.”
Chu Xun paid it no mind and walked straight to the only intact grave.
There was nothing particularly unusual about it. Its scale was merely that of an ordinary wealthy household, with a tombstone standing before it.
On it was written:
Joint Grave of the Late Parents of the Chen Household
Virtue Illuminates Later Generations, Blessings Shelter Descendants
Filial Son Chen Chengzong and Grandsons Erect This Stone
It was proper and ordinary, with nothing remarkable visible.
Chu Xun thought briefly, then used an earth-element spell to investigate the interior.
About seven chi beneath the soil was the widened grave chamber.
Two coffins were placed side by side.
Still, he found no clue. After thinking for a moment, Chu Xun silently said, Forgive me.
Then he used Wood Movement Art to inspect the inside of the coffins.
There was nothing unusual in the woman’s coffin.
Only when he reached the man’s coffin did Chu Xun see a bright yellow talisman placed on the corpse’s chest.
Unlike the yellow paper he used, this talisman was also yellow paper, yet it looked as though it had been cast from gold.
Perhaps sensing the aura of spell arts, the talisman flickered faintly, but made no other movement.
However, when Chu Xun tried to control the coffin board with Wood Movement Art, turning it into a wooden hand to take the talisman—
A silver light suddenly sprang from the talisman and dispersed the Wood Movement spell.
Chu Xun’s body trembled slightly, and he withdrew his gaze from the grave, falling into silent thought.
That talisman was perhaps the key reason this grave had not been struck by lightning.
But to determine exactly what it was, he would need to take it out and verify it.
The Haixing County City God asked, “Exalted Immortal, did you discover anything?”
Chu Xun nodded.
“There is a talisman inside the coffin. It may be what I need, but the coffin must be opened.”
“This…”
The Haixing County City God found it rather difficult to speak.
After all, digging up someone’s ancestral grave went against heavenly harmony.
Incense gods like them were most wary of such things.
Chu Xun naturally understood as well. Digging up someone’s ancestral grave meant having sons with no backsides.
Although he had no son, he did not want to add such a stain to his path of longevity for the sake of his own matters.
So he said, “Where does that family live? Take me there.”
The Haixing County City God led the way, bringing him back to the county town.
A moment later, Chu Xun stood before a household.
It was located in the southwest corner of the county town, with streets on both sides.
Morning dew had dampened the blue bricks. In the courtyard, a pomegranate tree stretched out a few branches.
When the wind blew, its small green leaves swayed gently, quite pleasing to the eye.
A plaque reading Chen Residence hung above the two vermilion gates.
There were also two stone lions at the entrance, each half the height of a person.
The Haixing County City God introduced, “This family was originally an ordinary farming household in this county. Many years ago, for some unknown reason, they suddenly became enormously wealthy.
Although they have much silver, their annual expenses are at most one thousand taels, no more and no less.”
To ordinary commoners, one thousand taels was already an unimaginable astronomical sum.
But to a family with wealth beyond measure, it was not much.
Even for Chu Xun, one thousand taels of silver a year was only a small dish.
“You go back first. I’ll call you if there is anything,” Chu Xun said.
The Haixing County City God bowed and returned to the City God Temple.
Chu Xun stepped forward and knocked on the door. By now, the sky had already begun to brighten faintly, and the occasional early-rising street vendor had started setting up stalls.
The smoke and fire of human life gradually rose.
Only after a while did someone come to open the door.
It was a middle-aged man in his thirties, dressed in an ordinary hemp robe.
His appearance was also ordinary, with nothing remarkable about it.
Seeing Chu Xun standing outside, the man asked in confusion, “Who are you looking for?”
Chu Xun cupped his hands.
“I happened to pass through this place and heard your esteemed household is rather extraordinary, so I came specially to pay a visit.”
The middle-aged man frowned slightly, seeming not to like such flattering words.
“There’s nothing worth visiting.”
As he spoke, he was about to close the door.
Chu Xun had already activated his qi-gazing ability and swept him with a glance.
He saw that this man stood upon a mass of golden qi, yet his head was shrouded in black qi. It was extremely strange.
Golden qi represented wealth and status, but it usually appeared around the palms. Who had ever heard of stepping on it beneath the feet?
Moreover, the black qi was almost the same size as the golden qi, both very conspicuous.
Looking more carefully, this man’s vitality had only a few years left.
Chu Xun was somewhat surprised and asked, “May I ask whether you have felt unwell recently?”
The middle-aged man turned back, his eyes showing both surprise and guilt.
His tone evasive, he said, “What unwell? What nonsense are you talking about? Go, go!”
He waved his hand randomly and was about to close the door.
Chu Xun said, “If I leave, you will undoubtedly die within five years.”
After saying that, he turned to go.
The middle-aged man who had been chasing him away froze when he heard this. Then he hurriedly ran out from inside.
He grabbed Chu Xun, then guiltily looked around.
Only then did he ask in a low voice, “Can you tell fortunes?”
Chu Xun shook his head.
“I only know how to observe qi. I do not tell fortunes. Your brow is dark, and your vitality is dim. You have only a few years left to live.”
This was not a lie, and the middle-aged man seemed to believe it even more.
A panicked expression appeared on his face.
“Can we speak inside?”
Chu Xun did not refuse. That had been his intention from the start.
The two entered the courtyard one after the other. The middle-aged man quickly shut the gate, then cupped his hands toward Chu Xun and bowed.
“I am Chen Guizhou. I offended you just now. Please forgive me. May I ask the Immortal Master’s honored name?”
Chu Xun did not correct his form of address. Instead, he swept his gaze across everything around him.
The various arrangements in the courtyard could be called orderly and elegant.
Yet for some reason, it felt strange.
Some places clearly should have had things placed there, but were now empty.
Some objects looked exquisite, yet were missing two or three pieces and were no longer complete.
Most importantly, Chu Xun sensed a familiar aura.
After carefully distinguishing it, he could not help raising an eyebrow.
The power of the Five Elements?
Seeing that he kept examining the things in the courtyard, Chen Guizhou became even more nervous and could not help asking, “Immortal Master, have you seen something?”
Only then did Chu Xun wave his hand.
“There is no need to call me Immortal Master. But your courtyard is indeed somewhat strange. Is there a Dao cultivator in your family?”
Chen Guizhou’s body trembled, but hope surged in his eyes.
“As expected of an Immortal Master. You saw the truth at a glance!”
As he spoke, he knelt down and kowtowed to Chu Xun.
“Please, Immortal Master, save my Chen family! Please save my Chen family!”
His voice was full of pleading and sounded extremely pitiful.
If the people of Haixing County saw this scene, they would certainly be shocked.
The Chen family was a famously wealthy household in the county. Their silver seemed impossible to exhaust, yet he was kneeling and begging someone to save his life?
Chu Xun helped him up.
“You have to tell me what happened first. Only then will I know whether I can save you.”
Chen Guizhou looked up at him, and struggle seemed to flash in his eyes.
Greed and the desire to live crossed back and forth in his heart.
After a while, he finally gritted his teeth and said, “Immortal Master, please look!”
As he spoke, he walked to a stone stool in the courtyard and reached out to touch it.
Without appearing to use much strength, he directly broke off a piece of the stone stool.
What was even more astonishing was that the stone in his hand turned into a piece of silver in an instant.
There was no pride in Chen Guizhou’s eyes, only pain and fear.
Chu Xun raised an eyebrow and took the silver from his hand.
It did not change back. When he broke it open again, it was still silver.
Looking at the other things in the courtyard, Chu Xun suddenly understood why things here were missing bits and pieces.
“So the rumor that the Chen family’s silver can never be spent comes from these things transforming into silver?” Chu Xun asked.
Chen Guizhou nodded and was about to kneel and kowtow again.
Chu Xun had no choice but to support him.
“You should first explain clearly how you obtained these things.”
A woman wearing a coat opened the door. Seeing the two speaking in the courtyard, she asked, “Husband, who is this?”
“Go back! Go back!” Chen Guizhou shouted harshly.
The woman froze, not daring to say more, and quickly closed the door.
Sweat had already appeared on Chen Guizhou’s forehead. Only then did he let out a long sigh and say, “This matter begins with my grandfather.”
Chen Guizhou’s grandfather, as the City God had said, had originally been an ordinary farmer.
His family owned only two mu of poor farmland, not even considered good fields.
Forget natural disasters and man-made calamities, even in ordinary harvest years, after paying taxes, they were too poor to eat.
Watching others keep at least some grain after the harvest and pass a year that was neither good nor bad.
His own family was so poor that even mice refused to visit. He was nearly thirty, yet his trousers were so torn that half his buttocks were exposed.
Chen Guizhou’s grandfather could not endure such hardship, so every day he ran to the Songliu Water God Temple to kowtow.
He begged the Songliu Water God to bless him with wealth, even if he could only live a few good days.
Chu Xun’s expression became strange as he listened.
Your grandfather kowtowed to the Songliu Water God?
Chen Guizhou did not notice his odd expression and continued:
“One day, after Grandfather finished kowtowing, he happened to meet Master Chu’s wife.”
Perhaps afraid Chu Xun did not know who Master Chu was, Chen Guizhou deliberately explained, “There is a household surnamed Chu near Zhangnan County. Duke Protector Zhang Jingheng is his nephew. You should have heard of him.”
Chu Xun froze slightly.
Chen Guizhou’s grandfather kowtowing to the Songliu Water God was not very strange.
Judging by the time, he himself should now be over ninety years old.
The Songliu Water God Temple had existed for more than sixty years.
But Chen Guizhou had mentioned Zhang Anxiu.
He could not help asking, “What was Master Chu’s wife doing at the time?”
“Buying medicine,” Chen Guizhou said. “It was an old man in a tattered Daoist robe. He looked completely ordinary. The old madam bought a bottle of medicine from him. I think I heard Grandfather say that Master Chu had no heirs. The old madam bought the medicine because she wanted to have a child.”
Chu Xun frowned as he recalled it.
Zhang Anxiu had indeed bought medicine from an old fraud in a tattered Daoist robe.
At that time, he had been around thirty-four years old?
Fifty-seven years ago?
He did not ask further and said, “Continue.”
Chen Guizhou continued, “After the old madam left, the old Daoist selling medicine called my grandfather over and said his medicine could cure all illnesses.”
My grandfather somehow asked, as if possessed, ‘Can it cure poverty?’
The old Daoist said it could, but the price was very expensive.”
How could someone who wanted to cure poverty afford very expensive medicine?
Yet strangely, he really could afford it.
The old Daoist did not give Chen Guizhou’s grandfather any medicine. Instead, he took out a large piece of silver and had him go to Haixing County to buy a residence.
After entering the courtyard, the old Daoist took a bottle of medicine from his wooden cabinet, ground it into powder, and blew it toward the residence.
The powder scattered into every corner of the residence and onto every object. Then the old Daoist smiled and said, “From now on, this place is a house of gold.”
Chen Guizhou’s grandfather did not understand. The old Daoist told him to casually break off a piece of anything and he would understand.
Just like his grandson today, Chen Guizhou’s grandfather casually broke off a small piece of the doorframe.
To his astonishment, it immediately turned into a piece of silver.
The old Daoist said, “The medicine has been given to you. How you take it is your own affair.
Spend one thousand taels of silver, and you will lose one year of life. Once all the silver in this courtyard is spent, your family line will end.”
The old Daoist also gave Chen Guizhou’s grandfather a talisman, saying this matter would attract some jealousy.
To avoid being struck by lightning after death, he should place the talisman inside his coffin when the time came.
Chen Guizhou’s grandfather was overjoyed. This was an enormous blessing, and he never considered refusing.
Wasn’t it just losing one year of life for every thousand taels of silver?
As long as he could live good days, he would be happy even if he died next year!
He was just about to kowtow to the old Daoist in gratitude when he realized the man had already vanished without a trace.
From then on, the Chen family suddenly became a famous wealthy household. The silver in the family truly seemed inexhaustible.
How could a farmer who had been poor all his life restrain himself?
He married, had children, and spent lavishly.
As a result, when he was only in his thirties, he suddenly neared death.
Only then did he realize that he had spent too much silver, shortened his lifespan, and did not have long to live.
Most people only understood when facing death that being alive mattered more than anything else.
Chen Guizhou’s grandfather was no exception. He regretted it.
Although he had lived a few good years, what meaning was there if he died so young?
But regret was already useless. Before his death, he told this secret to his son and instructed him to control himself and not spend money recklessly.
He told him to earn money with his own hands as much as possible, in order to escape the fate of losing lifespan.
His son was indeed obedient. But who could have imagined that any silver the Chen family earned through their own effort would turn into stone the next day?
At first, they thought someone had secretly switched it out. Only later did they realize that they could not earn silver from outside at all. They could only spend what was inside their own home.
And even if they did not want to spend, they still had to. One thousand taels a year. At the end of the year, something in the courtyard would disappear by itself.
Chen Guizhou’s father also only lasted until thirty-four before suddenly dying.
Chen Guizhou was the third generation and already had a son, but he was thirty-two this year.
Even if he could live a few years longer than his father, he did not have much time left.
That was why the Chen family had been very low-key over the years and never did anything excessive.
Whenever he heard someone say that the Chen family’s silver was so much it could never be spent, Chen Guizhou would have nightmares.
Over fifty-seven years, the Chen family’s expenses had far exceeded fifty-seven thousand taels.
There was still plenty of silver left in the residence, but generation after generation had their lifespan shortened. Who could bear that?
Could even endless silver be more important than life?
Chen Guizhou did not want to die, and even more, he did not want his son and grandson to die like this.
After listening, Chu Xun fell silent.
Ever since he first obtained the Five Elements spell arts, he had wondered whether one day he could turn stone into gold.
But so far, he still could not.
Perhaps only when the Five Elements spell arts advanced into Five Elements Dao arts would it be possible.
Yet that old Daoist had merely taken out some medicinal powder, blown a breath, and turned an entire residence into silver.
Moreover, it was completely invisible in daily life. Only descendants of the Chen family could transform decay into wonder.
Such a method was beyond Chu Xun’s current understanding.
Chu Xun had already seen the old Daoist in a tattered robe twice.
He also knew that Zhang Anxiu had once bought medicine from him, but he had not expected to have an intersection with another family fifty-seven years later.
“So the medicine that old Daoist sold is actually useful? It was just used in the wrong place?”
Chen Guizhou threw away the silver in his hand and pleaded with Chu Xun.
“Please, Immortal Master, save my family’s lives. Even if I must serve you like an ox or horse, I am willing!”
With a thought from Chu Xun, the silver automatically flew into his hand.
Chen Guizhou’s eyes filled with astonishment and excitement.
Immortal methods!
Chu Xun’s finger slowly brushed over the silver, and it immediately turned back into an unremarkable stone.
Chen Guizhou became even more excited and could not help wanting to speak.
But the next second, the stone turned back into silver.
Chu Xun raised an eyebrow.
The other party’s Five Elements power was above his own.
Spell arts and Dao arts seemed to differ by only one word, but in truth, they were worlds apart.
One was deliberate human action. The other was natural and seamless.
At that moment, Chu Xun thought of the bottle of medicine he had bought from the old Daoist.
Remembering Chen Guizhou saying that the old Daoist had ground the medicine into powder and blown on it toward the residence, Chu Xun’s heart stirred.
But he did not immediately go home to get the medicine.
Instead, he said to Chen Guizhou, “I have a method we can try for now, but I am not certain whether it will work. Before that, I need you to agree to one condition.”
Chen Guizhou was still staring at the piece of silver, full of fear.
When he heard Chu Xun say there was a method, hope immediately reignited in his heart, and he nodded repeatedly.
“Immortal Master, please say it. Not just one condition, even ten or a hundred would be fine!”
Chu Xun’s tone became slightly stern.
“Your grandfather was exactly like this. For the sake of his own selfish gain, he harmed his descendants. Do you also wish to do the same?”
Chen Guizhou felt that the person before him was far more majestic than the county magistrate, and also carried an indescribable transcendence.
Every word seemed to press down until he could hardly breathe.
For a moment, he stammered submissively and dared not speak.
Chu Xun said, “My condition is simple. Inside your grandfather’s grave, there may be something I need.
Regardless of whether I can save your life, you must agree to open the coffin and help me retrieve that thing.”
Chen Guizhou was stunned. If he remembered correctly, there should not be anything valuable inside his grandfather’s coffin.
What thing inside could be worthy of an Immortal Master’s attention?
“Do you agree or not?” Chu Xun asked.
Chen Guizhou had nothing to hesitate about.
No matter what was inside the coffin.
Even if it were a mountain of gold, he did not want it!
After receiving his promise, Chu Xun said, “Wait here for a moment.”
With that, he took one step, used shrinking the earth into inches, and left the Chen residence.
Chen Guizhou personally witnessed this wondrous spell art, and his heart was both anxious and full of anticipation.
His fourteen-year-old son walked out from a room.
His face was handsome and delicate, making it clear he was usually well cared for.
“Father, who were you talking to just now?”
Chen Guizhou ran over and hugged his son, tears in his eyes.
“Our family can be saved! Our family can be saved!”
Chu Xun returned home and found the unremarkable medicine bottle beside a pile of wine jars.
He opened it and looked. The pills were still there.
After so many years, they had not changed in the slightest.
Although he did not know whether it would actually be useful, he decided to try.
He poured out one pill, held it in his fist, and placed the bottle back.
Before leaving, he instructed the crows to watch over the things at home, especially the medicine bottle.
An old crow flapped its wings twice and nodded with remarkable intelligence.
Some of the crows were not much younger than Chu Xun. A few might even be one or two years older.
They were already close to one hundred years old. Not to mention they had always received Chu Xun’s spiritual rain, even without it, living this long would have made them understand human nature.
Chu Xun took the pill back to the Chen residence, where Chen Guizhou was still waiting in the courtyard.
Seeing him, Chen Guizhou immediately came forward excitedly.
“Immortal Master…”
“I’ll try.”
As Chu Xun spoke, he ground the pill in his palm into powder, then held it flat beside his mouth.
Suddenly, a flash of inspiration came to him.
Back then, had that old Daoist truly used breath blown from his mouth?
The power of earth moved according to Chu Xun’s will and roared toward the powder in his palm.
In the eyes of others, the powder seemed to have been blown out by Chu Xun.
It scattered in the air, falling across every part of the residence.
In an instant, the residence trembled slightly.
Flowers, trees, artificial mountains, stone stools, doors, windows, tables, and chairs all crazily absorbed spiritual energy like bottomless pits.
Chu Xun’s expression changed. He felt the spiritual energy in his body lose control because of the power of earth, continuously surging outward.
That feeling was as though even his soul was about to be pulled away.
He immediately understood. This came from the immense gap between himself and the other party in terms of Five Elements power. Trying to undo the spell had caused backlash.
Moreover, that pill looked unremarkable, but once ground into powder, it amplified the Five Elements power by an unknown number of times.
The spiritual energy of the Foundation Establishment stage was simply insufficient to support such powerful Five Elements power, which was why the backlash had gone out of control.
At that moment, on a rural road countless tens of thousands of li away from Haixing County.
An old Daoist carrying a wooden cabinet on his back, holding a cloth banner, and wearing a tattered Daoist robe suddenly stopped walking.
His mouth opened in a grin, revealing sparse teeth.
“That family’s karma has nothing to do with you, boy. Why are you meddling for no reason?
Forget it, forget it. You and I also share karma. Since we both cultivate the Five Elements, so what if this old Daoist helps you once?”
The cloth banner in his hand swayed slightly. Silently, the earth-element power in the Chen family residence instantly vanished like smoke.
A voice entered Chu Xun’s ears.
“Boy, this old Daoist saved your life. How should you thank me?”
Chu Xun knew this was the old Daoist transmitting his voice. His gaze flashed, and he said, “My wife bought your medicine because she wanted a child, but it had no effect.”
Tens of thousands of li away, the old Daoist laughed.
“So by that logic, I’m the one who owes you?”
Chu Xun said, “I would not dare say that Senior owes me. But this favor today is real. In the future, I will naturally repay it.”
If anyone else had said such words, the old Daoist would not have listened at all.
There were very few people in the world capable of repaying his favors.
But upon hearing Chu Xun say this, the old Daoist suddenly felt something in his heart.
He immediately calculated with his fingers, then revealed slight surprise.
“I can’t calculate it?”
“Hm? So that is what you want to do.”
The two consecutive sentences represented different meanings.
The voice sounded again beside Chu Xun’s ear.
“Not bad, not bad. Very good.”
“On account of us both cultivating the Five Elements, when you face danger in the future, this old Daoist will help you one more time.”
After a slight pause, he added, “But you are not allowed to blame me anymore for your wife being unable to have a child. This old Daoist’s medicine works every time. How can you falsely accuse someone for no reason?”
Chu Xun’s heart shook when he heard this.
He had already sensed everything within a thousand zhang, yet he had not detected the old Daoist’s presence.
From who knew how far away, the other party had easily resolved a trouble he could barely handle.
What kind of cultivation was this?
“Many thanks, Senior.”
No more voice entered his ears, and everything in the residence settled.
Chen Guizhou did not know who he had been speaking with and stood at the side, his face full of unease.
Chu Xun said, “Go break off another piece and see.”
Chen Guizhou moved his feet and walked to the stone stool. Gritting his teeth, he bent over and reached out to break it.
Then he froze, and soon after, wild joy appeared on his face.
He could not break it!
Without needing him to speak, Chu Xun had already seen the clue from his expression.
“Your family’s matter has been resolved. From now on, do not let greed for wealth arise again. If there is a next time, there may not be anyone who can save you.”
Chen Guizhou was so moved that he shed tears, kneeling and kowtowing to Chu Xun.
“Thank you, Immortal Master! Thank you, Immortal Master!”
“I have done what I promised. What about what you promised me?” Chu Xun asked.
Only then did Chen Guizhou remember that he had agreed to dig up the ancestral grave and open the coffin to retrieve something.
Although he felt somewhat ashamed toward his grandfather, the person before him was an Immortal Master who had saved both him and his descendants.
If he went back on his word, he might die even more miserably than his grandfather.
So he immediately said, “I’ll order people to dig the grave right away.”
“No need to call others. You come with me,” Chu Xun said.
Tens of thousands of li away, the old Daoist chuckled. Carrying the wooden cabinet and holding the cloth banner, he began walking again.
With his cultivation, taking one step across a hundred li was nothing difficult.
Yet he deliberately moved slowly, like an ordinary old Daoist.
His dry, aged lips opened and closed. His tone was not loud, yet it could pierce clouds and mist, scattering across mountains and rivers.
“When the false becomes true, the true is also false. Where nothing becomes something, something returns to nothing…”
“Carefree, carefree…”
“Selling medicine! Cures all illnesses! Honest to both children and elders!”
In Haixing County, Chu Xun pulled Chen Guizhou along and moved quickly.
Chen Guizhou only felt the wind roaring around him. In the blink of an eye, they were already outside the county town before the grave.
His heart was filled with astonishment, and he also felt deeply honored.
How many people in this world could travel alongside an immortal?
Chu Xun looked at him, then gestured toward the grave.
“I’m going to dig the grave.”
Chen Guizhou said respectfully, “Immortal Master, please do as you wish.”
Chu Xun no longer hesitated. With a thought, the soil automatically separated to both sides, quickly revealing the coffin buried seven chi below.
“You must open this coffin yourself.”
Chu Xun casually reached out, and an iron crowbar appeared out of thin air. He handed it to Chen Guizhou.
Chen Guizhou was stunned beyond belief. Immortal methods were truly unimaginable.
He said nothing more and kowtowed several times to his grandfather’s coffin.
“Grandfather, today the Immortal Master has helped our Chen family escape suffering. Please do not blame your unfilial grandson for disturbing you.”
After saying this, he jumped into the grave chamber and used the crowbar to pry out the coffin nails with all his strength.
Chu Xun watched from above.
Poor families regarded lack of silver as suffering.
The Chen family had so much silver they could not spend it all, yet also regarded it as suffering.
After a long while, Chen Guizhou was covered in sweat and finally managed to pry out all the coffin nails.
Then he forced open the coffin lid, revealing the white bones inside the coffin.
A bright yellow talisman was pasted to the skeleton’s chest.
Chen Guizhou took down the talisman. Before he could speak, a hiss came from the grave chamber.
Chu Xun saw clearly as a stream of golden qi leaked away.
Only now, after the talisman was removed, did it represent the Chen family completely severing itself from the karma of that year.
Whether they were poor or fortunate in the future would depend on themselves.
Chen Guizhou climbed out and respectfully handed the talisman to Chu Xun.
Then he jumped back down and closed his grandfather’s coffin lid.
Chu Xun cast a spell to cover the grave soil, restoring it to its original state. It was almost impossible to see that it had been disturbed.
After all this was done, Chen Guizhou was so tired he was nearly collapsing.
He wiped the sweat from his forehead and asked expectantly, “Immortal Master, now that my family no longer relies on immortal silver to live, how long can I still live?”
Chu Xun glanced at his vitality and did not hide the truth.
“Still no more than five years.”
The lifespan already lost would not be returned simply because the karma had been resolved.
Chen Guizhou froze, his gaze dimming somewhat.
Chu Xun said calmly, “Your grandfather was greedy for wealth, and three generations of the Chen family lost lifespan. You abandoned greed, and blessings will extend to your descendants. Do you still think that is bad?”
Chen Guizhou reacted, and his eyes gradually brightened.
Although knowing he could live at most five years still left him feeling blocked in his chest, when he thought of his descendants no longer dying early because of silver, his heart eased considerably.
He knelt on the ground and kowtowed to Chu Xun.
“I, Chen Guizhou, on behalf of my family and the descendants of the Chen clan, thank the Immortal Master for your help. From now on, our family will certainly enshrine a longevity tablet for you. I only ask the Immortal Master to leave your name.”
“You and I owe each other nothing. There is no need for such trouble.”
Chen Guizhou hurriedly said that the lives of his whole family could not possibly count as no debt.
But he received no response.
When he raised his head, he discovered there was already no one before him.
He felt lost and remained there for a long time before climbing up from the ground.
He turned back to look at his grandfather’s grave, then returned home.
He hired a carpenter to make a longevity tablet, and the Chen clan lit incense before it every day.
Since they did not know the name, they could only write three words upon it:
Nameless Immortal.
After returning home, Chu Xun placed the golden talisman on the table, then picked up the medicine bottle again and poured out a pill.
No matter how he looked at it, it was completely unremarkable, like something rolled from ordinary mud.
Who could have imagined that once this thing was ground into powder, it would greatly enhance the power of the Five Elements?
If using an entire pill was impossible to control, then he could reduce the amount.
Even if it only amplified power by one or two times, that would still be considerable.
Moreover, with that old Daoist’s ability, the pill might not only greatly amplify Five Elements power, but might also have other wondrous uses.
Chu Xun could not help thinking of Zhang Anxiu.
She had swallowed an entire bottle of pills without any movement at all.
He wondered whether, if she had ground them into powder to eat back then, she might really have given birth to a chubby boy.
Chu Xun sighed.
The times had changed. Thinking about it now was useless.
“As expected, there is always a sky beyond the sky and people beyond people.”
Thinking of the old Daoist saying he would help once when Chu Xun was in danger, Chu Xun immediately felt much more at ease.
With that person standing guard, even if the capital City God personally descended, he would have to return with a bruised and swollen face.
He carefully put the pill back.
From now on, this was his true treasure at the bottom of the chest, even more useful than metal essence qi.
Afterward, Chu Xun’s gaze turned toward the bright yellow talisman.
The old Daoist had given it to Chen Guizhou’s grandfather to prevent him from being struck by lightning.
He wondered whether it could withstand the lightning tribulation of a flood dragon transformation.
[End of Chapter]