Recently, why has my left armpit been so itchy?
While refining pills, Li Changshou moved his left arm around and furrowed his brows slightly.
Right now, his body was that of an immortal, pure and flawless, inside and out, like jade.
Such purity, how could he suddenly…
Have an itchy armpit?
This wasn’t a trivial matter, but after checking carefully for half a month, Li Changshou couldn’t find anything wrong.
Could it be the aftereffects of the heavenly punishment? That didn’t seem likely.
After thinking it over, he could only classify it as his immortal body still being incomplete, and he would need to slowly consolidate his cultivation later.
Since ascending, Li Changshou felt that his mindset had subtly changed. Although the change wasn’t significant, his confidence had certainly increased a little, to the point that…
He even dared to directly comprehend the Dao while in the alchemy room!
Sigh, still, it’s best to be cautious.
Let’s stick to the old routine: solidify one small realm before moving on to the next one.
His lifespan was still long, and the Heavenly Tribulation was far off, so there was no need to rush.
Only by steadily progressing and consolidating his immortal foundation could he truly seek the path to immortality and have enough strength to protect himself when the great tribulation came.
When his spiritual sense detected Ling’e flying over from the hut, Li Changshou deactivated part of the array and allowed her to arrive at the alchemy room smoothly.
Soon, Ling’e jumped down from the cloud and entered the alchemy room.
“Senior Brother!”
“You… are you roasting your hands?”
“Roasting hands? I’m refining pills,” Li Changshou replied, stepping aside to reveal the small, three-foot alchemy furnace.
Ling’e, floating over with a lunchbox, blinked her eyes as she looked around the now much emptier alchemy room. She noticed the small three-foot furnace and gestured with her slender fingers, sketching the outline of a larger furnace in the air.
“Where’s the big one?”
“It blew up half a month ago,” Li Changshou sighed, carefully adjusting the flame of the small furnace.
Without the furnace’s restrictions or array to stabilize the flames, alchemy had once again become troublesome. He had to constantly monitor the fire, and some pills couldn’t be refined at all.
“Senior Brother, you need to be careful when refining pills. Is this really that dangerous?” Ling’e said, sounding concerned as she placed the deep purple, intricately carved phoenix lunchbox on the low table.
Looking up, she noticed that the ceiling seemed to have been renovated as well.
She busied herself, arranging two tables together, activating the simple array carved into the table, and then took out the freshly prepared dishes, slowly setting them up.
When Senior Brother wasn’t in the mountains, Ling’e usually wore a few loose training robes.
When Senior Brother was in the mountains, even if she hadn’t seen him for a few days, she would always change into a beautiful immortal skirt, sometimes even touching up her brows and adding a little lip color…
“Senior Brother, is it still the wine-master Uncle Jiuwu that you invited?”
“Yes, Uncle Jiuwu sent a paper crane yesterday, saying he would come today to discuss something with me.”
Li Changshou gently exhaled, and the flame in the furnace gradually subsided, releasing the fragrant aromas of the pills…
Thinking about how, a few years ago, he had played a prank on Uncle Jiuwu, forcing him to make those vows, Li Changshou couldn’t help but smile slightly.
This banquet would serve as a kind of apology to Uncle Jiuwu.
After finishing the dishes and warming the wine, Ling’e glanced at the pouch hanging at her waist and smiled mischievously…
“What’s up?” Li Changshou, waiting for the pills to finish, casually asked, “Already in a better mood? Looks like you’ve forgotten the lesson from last time.”
“I haven’t forgotten! Absolutely not!” Ling’e quickly frowned, making a sorrowful face as she said, “Senior Brother, I was wrong to make you angry before. I shouldn’t have done that as your junior…”
“Alright,” Li Changshou chuckled. “What did you make for me? Let’s see.”
Ling’e’s eyes lit up with delight. “Hehe, you were watching me!”
Li Changshou helplessly replied, “There’s no need to sneak a peek. I can tell what you’re thinking just by the way your hair floats.”
“Ugh!” Ling’e pouted, clearly deflated. She tossed the pouch over to him and walked out, saying, “Stinky Senior Brother, the robe I made for you! I’m going back to cultivate. I’ll come back later to clean up the plates!”
Li Changshou caught the pouch and peered inside. It was a simple, deep green robe. He smiled in satisfaction.
It seemed that raising his little junior sister hadn’t been in vain…
This robe was just what he liked.
Sitting on the rocking chair outside the alchemy room, Li Changshou quietly waited for Uncle Jiuwu to arrive, closing his eyes to contemplate his divine abilities.
Before long, the figure of the short old man appeared outside the small Qiong Peak.
Li Changshou stood up to greet him, deactivating the surrounding array. He made a polite bow to this elder, everything proceeding as usual.
However, this time, the old man circled a few times before finally landing a hundred feet away. He stood with his hands behind his back, cautiously observing the surroundings.
Li Changshou smiled and said nothing, standing quietly by the door, waiting for the elder to approach without showing any signs of impatience.
When the old man was about three feet away, the two exchanged a knowing smile.
“Ah-hem!”
Jiuwu coughed lightly and said casually, “What’s this? No need for your master to guide you in the formation this time?”
Li Changshou smiled and said, “I didn’t prepare in advance, since you mentioned coming over, I just asked my junior sister to prepare some wine and food.
If you want to guide me in formation, I do have some doubts.”
“No, no,” Jiuwu immediately shook his head, “Your master is getting old, can’t guide anymore, can’t guide anymore.”
“Your skills in formations are far beyond what I can manage.”
Li Changshou spoke seriously, “I’ve only made some small innovations in trivial matters. If it’s about setting up a powerful formation, it would still require a true master like you, someone with high cultivation, knowledge of formations, and enough materials.”
Jiuwu raised his short, thick eyebrows, his face breaking into a wide smile.
“You’re not going to leave me a magic ball this time?”
Li Changshou smiled and shook his head. Just as he was about to step aside to invite his master in, Jiuwu grinned and pulled out…
Two fist-sized glass magic balls from his robes.
“Hehe, I brought them!”
Li Changshou: …
“As long as you’re happy, Master,” Li Changshou gestured for him to enter. “This time, I have no requests. I just want to hear your guidance. Please, Master.”
Thus, they slowly made their way inside, with Jiuwu taking his time, checking everything along the way.
Jiuwu noticed the unusual situation with the pill furnace and couldn’t help but analyze the setup. What kind of arrangement could a large furnace turn into if reduced to a small one?
Finally, after a while, they both sat down.
Looking at the banquet before him…
Jiuwu squinted, pulled out a spirit beast rabbit from his sleeve, and began feeding it while testing the food.
Li Changshou watched with amusement, quietly waiting for Jiuwu to finish his antics.
Eventually, when Jiuwu confirmed that Li Changshou hadn’t tampered with the food, he took out a pair of jade chopsticks and cleared his throat, looking somewhat uncomfortable. He said in a deep voice:
“Your Master has been in seclusion recently, seeking a breakthrough, Junior…
Just make sure… you don’t repeat the same thing you did last time.”
Li Changshou said, “Disciple can swear an oath, right here, right now, that I sincerely wish for you, Master Uncle, to drink and chat with me!”
“Then swear it.” Jiu Wu immediately nodded. “Come on, swear it.”
Li Changshou laughed, “I was just speaking casually. If I swear, wouldn’t it imply that I truly have something to hide in my heart?”
Jiu Wu chuckled and raised his cup to toast, barely taking a small sip.
“Before we drink, let’s talk business,” Jiu Wu said. “This time, based on the oath I swore last time, I came to discuss something with you beforehand. If you agree, the sect will reward you well. If you don’t agree, then just pretend I never mentioned it.”
“Oh?” Li Changshou thought for a moment, then realized what it was. “Master Uncle, if you want to promote the linked formation in the sect, there’s no need to ask me.”
Jiu Wu furrowed his brows. “How do you know? I haven’t told anyone about this!”
“I guessed,” Li Changshou said as he took a bite of the spiritual fish his junior sister had made. The tender fish melted in his mouth, delicious and fragrant.
“Then have you agreed?” Jiu Wu’s eyes narrowed with a smile. “Come on, tell me, how are you setting up the linked formation?”
It seemed he hadn’t figured it out yet…
Li Changshou replied, “Actually, I saw a few lines in ancient texts and summarized it myself.”
He then took out a sheepskin scroll.
He wouldn’t easily expose his trump cards, so what he brought out was just a theoretical plan to address the key difficulties in the linked formation—adaptability between different formation bases.
It was still an early solution.
There were references marked on it, all ancient books that no one cared about in the outer halls of the Daoist scriptures.
This plan was completely different from his current ‘formation base unit’ approach. The main drawback was that it wasted materials, but it could still set up the linked formation.
From the first day the formation around the pill room began to be constructed, this sheepskin scroll had been waiting to be used, and today, it finally had its moment.
Jiu Wu took it and read it carefully.
After a while, the short Daoist couldn’t help but slap his thigh in admiration.
“I thought I would have to persuade you, but you just handed this over so easily! It’s well worth it that I think highly of you!”
“Can this be presented to the sect?”
Li Changshou smiled and nodded. “Of course.”
“Ah, didn’t expect this! I underestimated you and thought you would be secretive!” Jiu Wu sighed, raising his cup and drinking it all down. “I deserve to be punished!”
Li Changshou became serious and said, “The sect is my family; its prosperity depends on all of us. Master Uncle, about that… what kind of rewards can the sect offer?”
Jiu Wu laughed. “You’ll get something! What do you want?”
“If possible,” Li Changshou gestured toward the pill furnace, “I would like a new furnace.”
Jiu Wu paused for a moment, then nodded. “If the sect can’t find one you like, when I’m out of seclusion, I’ll have her make one for you! Her forging skills aren’t as good as the top Heavenly Immortal elders in the sect, but she has her skills!”
Li Changshou immediately smiled and raised his cup to toast Jiu Wu.
The two of them enjoyed their drinks, and when they were slightly tipsy, the little rabbit that Jiu Wu used for testing the food was roasted into “medicinal-scented crispy rabbit” in the small pill furnace.
It tasted pretty good.
Three days after their drink, Jiu Wu came to find Li Changshou, to take him to Dan Ding Peak to pick a new pill furnace.
Dan Ding Peak was the sect’s specialized area for pill refining and weapon forging. The pills and treasures produced were few, but they had a good reputation in the Eastern Sheng Kingdom and were one of the few bright spots of the sect.
As Li Changshou and Jiu Wu were about to leave Xiao Qiong Peak on a cloud, a graceful figure flew from the direction of Po Tian Peak.
Li Changshou’s spiritual sense quickly caught the figure, and he furrowed his brows.
Without needing to look at her face closely, just by the graceful figure, near-perfect body curves, and familiar fiery red gown, he knew who it was.
It was You Qin Xuan Ya.
On Xiao Qiong Peak, Ling E was practicing under a tree…
Li Changshou thought for a moment and then decided not to interfere, chatting with Jiu Wu instead.
The two of them got along quite well when they weren’t scheming against each other.
…
Under the willow tree, You Qin Xuan Ya stood quietly, explaining her intentions.
Although she wanted to meet that senior brother on Xiao Qiong Peak, she couldn’t just come without a reason. After pondering for several days and nights, she finally came up with an excuse.
She came to seek advice on earth escape cultivation.
After expressing her reason, You Qin Xuan Ya lowered her head and waited quietly, feeling that her excuse might be a bit flimsy, unsure whether it would fool…
She heard some rustling sounds but didn’t hear Ling E respond.
Looking up, she saw a stone tablet with a few lines of writing:
[Senior brother just went out.
I was punished by my senior brother to remain silent.
Senior sister, please wait inside the house.]
Ling E secretly smiled. She had promised her senior brother not to speak to strangers, and since You Qin Xuan Ya was still quite unfamiliar to her, it made sense not to speak.
Though they had slept together before.
By saying “out,” it was a bit ambiguous and could be taken as leaving the mountain gate.
“Fine.”
“Alright.”
“Sorry to bother you, junior sister.”
You Qin Xuan Ya bowed to Ling E and then went towards the open door of the hut.
Ling E tilted her head, about to speak, but then raised her hand to tap her forehead…
This senior sister… is she naive? Doesn’t she understand these social niceties?
wannaberecluse On SRTT Chapter 50.1