Chapter Seventeen: An Audience with the Immortal Master

"Young Master, the Young Master has returned! This must be the legendary immortal. We humbly greet the immortal."

Seeing the two descend from the sky, the wives and concubines of Master Wang hurriedly led the household servants and maids to welcome them, kneeling to pay respects to Uncle Zhao.

"Rise, all of you. I, the immortal, will certainly see that justice is served for you."

Though Uncle Zhao's cultivation was nothing remarkable, he greatly enjoyed the reverence of mortals, adopting the airs of a true immortal as though he were a charlatan.

As he spoke, Uncle Zhao unleashed his divine sense to its utmost, meticulously searching every nook and cranny of the Wang family estate.

He had thought it would be simple to ferret out a newly-emerged mosquito demon, but after thoroughly scouring the entire residence, his expression grew sour.

For aside from a faint trace of demonic aura lingering in a small crevice atop the rockery in the rear garden, there was no sign of the mosquito demon within the vast estate—though common mosquitoes were plentiful.

Unwilling to give up, Uncle Zhao began questioning Master Wang’s wives and servants. Learning that for two or three nights none had been troubled by the demon mosquito, and that the entire village had seen no sign of it, he sensed something amiss.

He therefore declined Wang Sheng’s offer of a banquet and set out to search the whole of Woniu Village.

Woniu Village was neither small nor large, with nearly a thousand households; even with Uncle Zhao's cultivation, it would take two or three hours to investigate them all.

Yet before he had finished searching every home, he had already confirmed that neither the Wang family nor any other villagers harbored the demon mosquito. The cunning creature had likely fled days before.

To possess such awareness of risk and opportunity so early in its life—this was a rare demon indeed. If he could subdue it, it would be a great asset in the future. Uncle Zhao was greatly tempted.

Thus, centering his search on Woniu Village, he expanded his exploration to the surrounding mountains and wilderness.

At dawn, Xiao Wenzi, who had flown through the night, finally put dozens of miles between himself and the forest where the bandits had been buried. Seeing the fork in the official road ahead, he let out a long breath.

Where there were crossroads, there might be passing carriages. As long as they weren’t headed toward He County, he could hitch a ride.

By midmorning, after a lengthy wait, Xiao Wenzi at last spotted a mule cart.

The cart was driven by a gaunt old man, and inside the roofless flatbed lay an elderly woman wrapped in bedding, the pungent aroma of herbs wafting out—clearly, the old lady was ill.

Having confirmed they were not bound for He County, Xiao Wenzi wasted no more time and alighted quietly inside the cart.

The mule cart moved at a leisurely pace, but by noon had trundled into a bustling town, no less lively than Qingtian.

As expected, the old man had brought his wife to seek medical treatment, stopping directly in front of a pharmacy.

Though grateful for the ride, Xiao Wenzi could do nothing to help the couple. He silently wished them a swift recovery before spreading his wings and flying off into the distance.

Nanfeng Town lay eighty or ninety miles from He County, and was as prosperous as Qingtian.

As the saying goes, the greatest hermits hide in the city. Xiao Wenzi resolved to find a safe place here to attempt a breakthrough. Once he reached the second stage, he would seek an opportunity to encounter a lone, inexperienced fledgling cultivator.

Everywhere had its wealthy landowners. Using his old tricks, Xiao Wenzi soon found, before nightfall, a large estate with a rockery and a secluded courtyard.

But since he intended to exchange for demon-gathering stones to aid his cultivation, the burrow he selected this time was much larger than before—large enough to fit an adult's calf.

As dusk deepened, Xiao Wenzi spread his infrared senses, confirming no one was approaching. With a thought, a transparent crystal stone two or three times his own size appeared within the cave.

Though called transparent, the rhombic crystal harbored a lingering mist of pale yellow deep within, from which faint, impure strands of demonic energy emanated.

This was a low-grade demon-gathering stone, redeemable for just ten system coins. A medium-grade stone, however, required thirty first-tier coins—clearly, the energies they contained were not the same.

Xiao Wenzi had neither time nor mood to compare the energies of the two grades. He needed them to break through his bottleneck.

A single low-grade stone would not suffice. He tapped the exchange icon again and again, summoning stone after stone until the space around him was piled high.

“That should do. Let’s begin.”

Gazing at the dozen or more demon-gathering stones heaped at the bottom of the cave, Xiao Wenzi calmed his mind, then exchanged for over a dozen drops of rock spirit essence.

The cave walls were all stone, so the spirit essence would not evaporate quickly. Xiao Wenzi activated the Blood Spirit Art, gulping down the essence as he began his breakthrough.

With the essence at hand and the demonic energy from the stones constantly pouring into his body, it was not long before Xiao Wenzi felt his inner reserves swelling to the brim.

Buzz~~~

Time passed swiftly. Two days later, a sudden hum resonated through his body, his senses sharpened in an instant, and the demonic energy within his sea of qi grew far denser and more robust. Xiao Wenzi had reached the pinnacle of the first tier of demonic energy refinement.

However, his system coins were now nearly exhausted, with only a few stones retaining scant traces of energy—nowhere near enough to propel him to the second tier.

He felt a touch of helplessness. His mosquito body was simply too ordinary. Though he cultivated the profound Blood Spirit Art, his ability to refine and absorb spirit essence and demon stones was mediocre at best.

Had his aptitude been higher, this many system coins would have sufficed to break through to the mid or late stages of the second tier.

Yet Xiao Wenzi quickly reconciled himself. He had not yet obtained first-tier coins, and could not exchange for the second-tier Blood Spirit Art. Even if he could break through, it would be futile without the advanced technique to cultivate.

“Sigh… Where am I to find a fledgling cultivator, one who’s just entered the world and hasn’t surpassed the first tier?”

As daylight brightened, Xiao Wenzi darted all about Nanfeng Town, hoping to catch some rumor of cultivators. But by noon, he had found nothing and could not help but sigh.

In truth, he was not entirely without clues.

The Green Mountain Sect was the largest cultivation school within several hundred miles, but with Wang Sheng sowing discord, Xiao Wenzi avoided it at all costs—he would not walk into a trap.

Cultivators generally gathered in extraordinary mountain ranges. From the map he had seen that night in He County, Xiao Wenzi remembered that some two thousand miles south of Qing County lay a range even greater than the Green Peaks.

Perhaps cultivators could be found there. But the distance was an impassable chasm to him at present.

With no alternative, Xiao Wenzi resolved to first make his way to Qing County, then find a means of reaching the southern mountains step by step.

Having set his goal, he began listening intently to those planning to leave town, seeking a merchant caravan or traveler bound for Qing County.

Fortune favored the diligent. At dawn the next day, Xiao Wenzi smoothly hitched a ride on a carriage headed for Qing County.