Chapter 9: Engraving the Inscription

This guy didn’t seem to care at all about saving face. On the contrary, the more embarrassing the situation, the more he seemed to enjoy it. If other cultivators encountered such provocation, they would have stood up to defend themselves no matter what. After all, in the cultivation world, reputation was everything. Yet this newcomer, barely arrived, tarnished his own name by hiding behind her.

There was no denying this tactic was effective, but it would surely have a profound impact on his future cultivation path. Once these rumors spread, he would become known as a coward who hid behind women.

Nangong Ruoxi was lost in thought for a moment before noticing that Qin Changsheng, lying there and eating fruit, had somehow started carving into a stone. Upon closer inspection, it was clear he was engraving a stone tablet.

“What’s the use of carving this thing?” Nangong Ruoxi couldn’t help but ask.

Qin Changsheng wasn’t the type to waste his time on pointless techniques; yet here he was, carving a seemingly useless stone tablet, and no one knew why.

“To give away,” Qin Changsheng replied casually.

“Give away? Give away a stone?” Nangong Ruoxi was puzzled.

“Who would want a broken stone?” Qin Changsheng gave her a meaningful look and shook his head. “There will always be someone who wants it.”

“Don’t people use tombstones when they die? I think this could be a profitable business.”

After all, if it wasn’t used while alive, it could be used after death. Qin Changsheng wondered how many people would come to him for tombstones. When Little Blackie died, Qin Changsheng had carved a new stone for Qinghe because he found the original one unpleasant. After that, whenever he was bored, he carved some tablets to keep on hand—so when the time came, he wouldn’t have to rush and could simply write down a name. It was a better way.

“Uh, your business sense… you’re selling tombstones to the living?”

Hearing that they were for the dead, Nangong Ruoxi was speechless again.

“Your Highness, would you like one? As my first customer, I’ll give you a twenty percent discount—just eighty spirit stones.”

“Get lost!”

“Or I could just give it to you?”

“...”

“By the way, let me ask you something. If someone in the Qi Refining stage cultivates beyond the ninth layer, what level of combat strength would that be? Could they defeat someone at the Foundation Establishment stage?”

“Exceeding the ninth layer isn’t unheard of, but it’s very rare. Maybe one in a thousand geniuses, through some special secret, can reach the tenth layer. A handful can reach the eleventh. As for the twelfth layer, only the rarest prodigies throughout eternity achieve that.”

Nangong Ruoxi spoke with admiration: “Even as the Sacred Maiden of the Backing Sect, I only reached the tenth layer of Qi Refining. The most prodigious talent in the Eastern Lands, Jade Beauty Immortal, reportedly reached the twelfth. At her Qi Refining stage, she could easily kill those at Foundation Establishment. That’s why she’s called the number one genius, with the bearing of an Immortal Emperor.”

When she mentioned Wang Yuyan, her eyes revealed unabashed envy and helplessness.

She didn’t notice Qin Changsheng beside her smiling gently, like a kind father.

“That is indeed quite powerful.”

“Of course it is! The rarest prodigy in eternity; how could she not be strong? Why do you ask?”

“I have a friend who’s obsessed with books and wants to know if someone could cultivate Qi Refining to a thousand layers and kill a Golden Core.”

“Huh? Impossible!”

“Impossible to kill?”

“No, I mean, it’s impossible for anyone to reach a thousand layers of Qi Refining.”

Nangong Ruoxi firmly denied it, then noticed the young man before her smiling brightly. Unlike before, he no longer seemed timid around others, but rather carried an inexplicable calm confidence.

Many things at the Cultivators’ Conference were rather dull. People came looking to debate cultivation principles, but the majority of those speaking were low-level cultivators spouting nonsense, of little real value.

In contrast, top geniuses like Nangong Ruoxi sat quietly on the sidelines. No one dared to challenge them, especially after those who tried to provoke Qin Changsheng were soundly defeated. Everyone knew the first challenger would fail, and Qin Changsheng would then shamelessly refuse any subsequent provocations, making pointless challenges unnecessary.

Qin Changsheng quietly continued carving stone tablets. Since asking his question, his carving speed had noticeably increased.

Nangong Ruoxi maintained her graceful demeanor, and the two of them together created an oddly harmonious scene.

To Long Chen, however, this harmony was unbearable. His fists clenched so tightly that blood trickled through his palms. “Qin Changsheng, don’t give me a chance. If I get one, I will kill you.”

Suddenly, after a long time carving, Qin Changsheng sneezed, spraying saliva onto Nangong Ruoxi’s face, who was maintaining her poised demeanor. She glared at him fiercely. “What are you doing?”

“Sneezing. Can you control that?” Qin Changsheng shrugged helplessly, thinking that someone clearly harbored murderous intent toward him at this moment.

He turned to look at Long Chen, who was indeed glaring at him with murderous intent.

Qin Changsheng shrugged again. “Actually, Your Highness, you don’t always need a human shield. After all, a shield is just a disposable tool. Having one isn’t enough to kill.”

“Why don’t you just kill Long Chen, who’s been pestering you endlessly? Then you wouldn’t need an arranged marriage.”

Nangong Ruoxi, still angry, was stunned by these words. “You’re just a Qi Refining stage cultivator. How dare you say such things? Don’t you know Long Chen is the number one young talent in our Backing Sect? Even if I fought at full strength, I wouldn’t be his match. How could you kill him?”

“Besides, fellow disciples cannot kill each other. If I killed him, I wouldn’t be exempt from punishment.”

Nangong Ruoxi found it ridiculous that a Qi Refining stage cultivator would say such things. Who did he think he was?

“I’m just joking,” Qin Changsheng shrugged. In that short time, he had already finished carving a stone tablet.

In a moment when Nangong Ruoxi wasn’t paying attention, he wrote two characters on the tablet...

Then he put it away and started carving a second one. He hesitated over how many characters to inscribe this time. If it didn’t work, he’d just write four characters instead. Such a headache.

Qin Changsheng withdrew his gaze and continued carving peacefully.

After all, the business was just getting started, and whether it would prosper depended on how customers chose.

The dull debates among the weaklings finally ended, and the real highlight was about to begin. Top geniuses, all at Golden Core level, were starting to debate cultivation principles. Nangong Ruoxi couldn’t avoid it either. She interrupted Qin Changsheng’s carving.

“Let’s go see how my friends are doing in their cultivation,” Nangong Ruoxi said, a proud, icy gleam in her eyes.

Qin Changsheng thought for a long moment before realizing where he had seen such a gleam before. It was the look from stories in his past life, the hidden protagonist about to make an appearance. It was exactly that kind of gaze, only lacking the swelling music.

It seemed the Sacred Maiden was about to show off.

Only, unfortunately, this time it wasn’t with her own intimate garments...