Chapter 164 - 145: Cyan Yang, Nine Nether

Chapter 164: Chapter 145: Cyan Yang, Nine Nether

"If Patriarch Li doesn’t mind, you can have your daughter tested. Perhaps she, too, can set foot on the path of cultivation."

Li Cheng’an’s eyes widened in shock. "Pang’Er can cultivate too?"

The old man shook his head. "We must test her first."

"Then I must trouble you to test Pang’Er, Immortal Master," Li Cheng’an said without hesitation, cupping his hands.

With that, he turned his head and shouted, "Pang’Er, come out for a moment!"

A moment later.

Li Pan’Er walked into the courtyard, her face blushing. She glanced at the old man and his companions, then asked in a low voice, "Father, why did you call me?"

Li Cheng’an grinned. "To have the Immortal Master examine you and see if you can become a Cultivator, too."

"A Cultivator?"

Li Pan’Er looked bewildered.

She had been eavesdropping from behind the door curtain for a while, but had only caught bits and pieces, leaving her thoroughly confused.

Ma An, holding a Pulse Testing Stone, approached Li Pan’Er and said gently, "Miss Li, you only need to place your palm on the Crystal Stone."

"Oh." Li Pan’Er murmured in assent and placed her hand on the Pulse Testing Stone.

Ma An waved his hand, sending a stream of Spiritual Power into it.

A few moments later.

The once-transparent Pulse Testing Stone took on a faint yellow hue. As time passed, the color deepened to a bright yellow before changing no further.

Ma An smiled. "That’s enough."

"Oh." Li Pan’Er hastily withdrew her hand and ducked behind Li Cheng’an, listening quietly.

Li Cheng’an hurriedly asked, "Immortal Master, what about my Pang’Er?"

The old man praised, "Miss Pan’Er has fourth-grade aptitude. Her innate talent is quite good; she has a promising future on the path of cultivation."

Lou Anjin, who knew exactly what a fourth-grade aptitude entailed, secretly curled her lip in disdain.

’He’s never praised me once, and I have a third-grade aptitude,’ she thought. ’This girl’s is clearly a grade lower than mine, yet he’s laying on the praise so thick.’ A flicker of resentment sparked within her.

"Really!"

Li Cheng’an’s eyes lit up. "So Pang’Er can cultivate?" he asked eagerly.

The old man nodded with a smile. "Of course, she can."

"Pang’Er, what are you waiting for? Thank the Immortal Master."

Li Cheng’an suppressed his delight and pulled Li Pan’Er out from behind him.

"Thank you, Immortal Master," Li Pan’Er whispered, her face as red as an apple and her fingers fidgeting nervously.

Seeing her delicate, shy demeanor, the old man inwardly shook his head. ’Should I really bring her into the Cyan Yang Sect?’ He suddenly felt hesitant.

’If something happened to Li Pan’Er under my watch, I’d have made an enemy instead of a friend.’

Li Cheng’an was oblivious to the old man’s thoughts. His own mind was filled with joy, washing away days of worry.

Before long, the group returned to the side room in the central courtyard.

This time, the woman didn’t dare to make any more snide remarks, but she didn’t give them a pleasant look either. She just sat silently at the head of the bed, her face grim.

Li Cheng’an shot her a glare, then cupped his hands and said with a smile, "My apologies for the trouble, Immortal Master Ma."

The old man waved his hand dismissively and walked to the bed. This time, he didn’t take out any Elixir Pills, but simply reached out and touched the youth’s forehead between his eyebrows.

In just a moment.

To the woman’s horrified gaze, a blue ball of light the size of a small fingernail emerged from the youth’s mouth.

The old man collected the ball of light in a jade box and turned to leave the room.

Li Cheng’an led them out, rubbing his hands together and smiling sheepishly. "Immortal Master, does my son... does he have a Spirit Vein?"

The old man shook his head. "Your son has the body of a mortal; he does not possess a Spirit Vein."

"Thank you, Immortal Master."

Li Cheng’an was a little disappointed, but then he cheered up. ’It’s for the best,’ he thought. ’This way, I’ll have a son to keep me company in my old age and an heir to the family estate.’

Just as Li Cheng’an was about to invite them to a banquet, the old man suddenly announced their departure.

Upon learning the reason, Li Cheng’an’s face turned pale with fright. After seeing the group off, he immediately ordered a servant to bolt the main gates.

After leaving the Li Mansion, the four of them boarded their carriage.

The old man took out the jade box. With a wave of his hand, it opened, and he removed the orb of light from within.

The aquamarine Spiritual Power enveloping the orb slowly dissipated. As a foul stench filled the air, a roiling, multicolored mass that looked like liquid miasma settled into the old man’s palm.

The old man said coldly, "Let’s see just where you’ve been hiding, you little rat." He then closed his eyes, his hands forming a seal for a Technique.

After a few moments, a white light burst from the old man’s palm and enveloped the miasma.

A moment later.

The old man’s palm clenched into a half-fist. He opened his eyes and commanded, "To the city center."

"Yes."

The carriage departed swiftly.

「Two hours later.」

An old man and a young man stood inside a room in a brothel.

The old man stared at an old folding fan in his hand, embroidered with images of nude court ladies. He frowned, lost in thought.

Ma An glanced at the headless male corpse lying amidst seven or eight desiccated female bodies and sneered, "Practicing the inferior Yin Gathering Technique."

"To think a mere Qi Cultivation Fourth Layer practitioner would dare use mortals to refine a blood weapon. He must be some down-and-out Loose Cultivator who stumbled upon an inheritance in some forgotten corner of the world."

"Let’s go."

The old man placed the fan in a jade box, shook his head, and turned to leave.

Ma An took out a talisman and flicked it forward with a wave of his hand.

He waited until all the corpses in the room had turned to ash before turning to leave.

Shortly after the four departed by carriage, in one of the brothel’s rooms, wisps of black qi suddenly billowed from the ashes. They coalesced into a streak of light that circled for a few moments before slipping through a crack in the window and melting into the night sky.

「A small courtyard elsewhere in the city. The study.」

A scholarly-looking middle-aged man with slightly graying temples was reading a book late into the night.

Just then, a streak of black light shot down from the sky and poured through the window.

The middle-aged man reached out, caught the black qi, and patted it into the spot between his eyebrows.

A moment later.

He opened his eyes, his brow furrowed. ’What are Cyan Yang Sect Cultivators doing in a remote place like this?’

"Cyan Yang, Nine Nether..."

The middle-aged man sighed. "Can’t afford to provoke them, not at all. Sigh... I’d better go check out the territories of the righteous sects..."

As soon as the thought finished, the light in the middle-aged man’s eyes suddenly dimmed. The next moment, a bizarre, multicolored creature—like a long snake, but with no head or tail—burst from his chest and crawled out. It immediately plunged into the void and vanished.

Looking down from high in the sky, wisps of miasma, invisible to the naked eye, were gathering. In a matter of moments, they condensed into an Elixir Pill the size of a thumb.