Chapter Fifty: Fellow Daoist, You Arrived Too Late

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As soon as Liu Ruicai’s soul emerged in Zhou Qi’s sea of consciousness, it was struck by a blazing flame. Divine Yangfire, which spares nothing, instantly ignited it. Startled, Liu Ruicai had no time to react before a significant portion of his soul was scorched away—and, to his horror, this flame could not be extinguished.

He hadn’t expected Zhou Qi to possess such a powerful treasure. Overjoyed, Liu Ruicai thought: as long as he destroyed Zhou Qi’s spirit and erased his consciousness, these things would be his. For a cultivator at the Nascent Soul stage like himself, eliminating the soul of a mere Qi Condensation disciple should be as simple as turning over his hand.

Suppressing the searing agony of his burning soul, Liu Ruicai searched Zhou Qi’s sea of consciousness. There, before him, stood a colossal palace of white jade, faintly inscribed with the words “Sanctuary of the Immortal Apothecary.”

So it truly was the Sanctuary of the Immortal Apothecary! No wonder Long Chengye had been so obsessed with it—his guess had been correct. Liu Ruicai felt as though he’d been struck by a wave of great fortune; his heart brimmed with joy. With Divine Yangfire and the Sanctuary in his grasp, advancing to the Void Refinement and Union stages was within reach, perhaps even crossing the tribulation to become a true immortal.

He could hardly wait; he needed to take possession as soon as possible and prepared to continue his search.

Beneath the Sanctuary, a vague figure slowly rose with its back to him, flickering between illusion and solidity.

A remnant soul? Liu Ruicai sneered. “Who are you, and why are you in my disciple’s sea of consciousness? Do you, a mere remnant, think you can seize what is not yours?”

“Friend, you are too late,” the figure intoned, turning languidly. It was the True Lord of Celestial Mystery.

Liu Ruicai felt the figure grow rapidly in size and presence, soon overshadowing even the Sanctuary itself, expanding until it filled the entire sea of consciousness.

Stunned, Liu Ruicai realized he faced a being of immense power—so overwhelming that he could not help but tremble.

Without a word, he retreated swiftly, turning to flee Zhou Qi’s soul sea.

“Since you’ve come, there is no leaving,” said the True Lord of Celestial Mystery. A colossal, spectral hand reached out, blotting out the heavens, grasping for Liu Ruicai.

“Spare me, senior! I failed to recognize your greatness. Please, for the sake of my arduous cultivation, show mercy and let me live!” Liu Ruicai pleaded, feeling himself entirely immobilized, the giant hand drawing ever closer.

“Did you, in your high cultivation, ever consider Zhou Qi’s struggles when you bullied your inferiors? When you oppress those weaker than you, you should be prepared for someone stronger to do the same to you.” The True Lord’s voice was calm, but the hand did not pause, seizing Liu Ruicai’s soul in its grasp.

“I know the remaining arts of the Nine Transformations of Celestial Mystery! I have other treasures as well—I’ll give them all to Zhou Qi!” Liu Ruicai begged through tears.

“Once I refine your soul, I’ll gain that knowledge regardless. With your unstable heart, even ten thousand more years would not see you advance.” With that, the True Lord gave him no further chance.

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Under the crushing hand, Liu Ruicai’s soul was relentlessly ground away. His screams echoed for a long time, until the last fragment was dissolved and silence fell.

Zhou Qi sat cross-legged in the great cauldron, fully aware of the events within his soul sea. Refining Liu Ruicai left him unsettled; how he wished his master had been a good man, after calling him “teacher” for so many years.

“Before you, he had found five other young prodigies—two perished practicing the second transformation of Celestial Mystery, and three stalled at the Nascent Soul stage, unable to progress until their lifespans ended. As for those who sold their bodies for demon or beast blood—do you wish to see?” The True Lord asked.

Zhou Qi shook his head. Why bother looking? He had no interest in how others sold themselves.

“True Lord, is there a continuation to the Nine Transformations of Celestial Mystery?” Zhou Qi asked. Liu Ruicai had sought his own doom; his death was inevitable, and his nature could not be changed by Zhou Qi’s wishes.

On the Celestial Mystery Continent, with a single slap, one might kill the innocent; but if one hesitated, evildoers would escape punishment.

“He possessed no further techniques of the Nine Transformations. He obtained the first and second through betraying a close friend—who had found them in some ruin. Beyond that, he had no clue,” replied the True Lord.

That complicated matters.

Still, fate would provide when the time was right; Zhou Qi quickly composed himself. Such things hinged on destiny.

With a single punch, he shattered the formation before him, leaped from the cauldron, hastily dressed, stowed the cauldron away, then set out a meditation mat, placing Liu Ruicai’s body in a seated posture to simulate his master healing.

Time was of the essence. As a Nascent Soul cultivator, Liu Ruicai was a crucial pillar of the Sect of Life and Death, and the sect surely kept a soul-jade for him. Someone would likely check soon.

With Liu Ruicai dead, this small world could not be preserved; better to seize what he could. Zhou Qi swept various spirit beasts into the Sanctuary, pulled up all the spiritual herbs, and cleaned out the medicine storeroom. He left Liu Ruicai’s ring untouched—tampering with it might give him away. Though the treasures of a Nascent Soul master would make anyone envious, if it was discovered that his storage ring had been disturbed in his own lair, suspicions would surely arise.

In any case, no one else had entered this world, and no one knew its contents. Glancing at the spirit spring, Zhou Qi was about to ask the True Lord how to collect it when Han Qiaoman’s voice sounded outside.

“Junior Zhou, are you there? Elder Liu…?” Her tone was sorrowful.

Zhou Qi glanced at the formation. Outside, dozens waited, Han Yuanzheng among them.

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“Senior Sister, my master… has passed away,” Zhou Qi replied in a choked voice as he stepped out, wiping tears from his eyes.

Seeing Han Yuanzheng and the others, he paused to salute them, tears streaming down his cheeks.

“Tell me in detail—how did Elder Liu pass?” Han Yuanzheng’s face was heavy with grief, his voice low.

“Master Gatekeeper, my master returned a few days ago, saying he’d been ambushed by two Nascent Soul cultivators and was gravely injured, needing to heal. I stayed by his side all this time. Today, suddenly, he cried out, then fell silent. I was terrified—when I checked, he wasn’t breathing, and my spiritual sense could not detect his soul. I fear he failed in his healing and perished, his soul scattered. I was weeping in sorrow when I heard Senior Sister Qiaoman’s voice,” Zhou Qi sobbed.

“Alas, Daoist Liu suffered great wounds, yet would not seek help from us. He must have feared that, weakened by healing, we’d be unprepared for the coming war. Who would have thought he would pass so suddenly,” lamented an elderly man behind Han Yuanzheng—clearly another Nascent Soul cultivator.

“Let us go in and pay our respects to Elder Liu,” Han Yuanzheng said.

Zhou Qi dared not refuse, quickly opening the formation and leading the group inside. When Elder Liu was alive, none were permitted in; now that he was gone, that rule no longer applied.

Upon entering the little world, everyone was astonished to find such a hidden paradise—no wonder Liu Ruicai guarded it so jealously. Greed flickered in their eyes, and none paid much heed to the corpse seated in meditation.

After a perfunctory ritual of mourning, Han Yuanzheng said, “Take Elder Liu’s remains away. After the war, we will arrange a proper burial.”

Two disciples stepped forward to collect the body.

“Zhou Qi,” Han Yuanzheng continued, “you need not be afraid now that your master is gone. I will find you a worthy new teacher—one no less skilled than Elder Liu. For now, you may stay with Qiaoman.”

“I submit to your orders, Master Gatekeeper,” Zhou Qi replied with a bow. As expected, he could not inherit this little world. Who would benefit from it, he wondered.