Chapter 46 Wushuang Gets Injured, Bad Turns into Good

Qin Anyu dared not get too close to the old man; five feet was a very appropriate distance.

The Foundation Establishment stage allowed for flight. If the old man were to launch a sudden, violent attack, he could rely on the sword intent within his clumsy sword to instantly kill his opponent. However, if they were any closer, he might not be able to react in time. He could not place himself, Qin Lingxue, and Qin Youqian in such a dangerous position.

The old man seemed to sense his thoughts. Outwardly, he said nothing, but inwardly, his suspicion regarding Qin Anyu's background only deepened. He resolved that once this matter was settled, he would thoroughly investigate the young man's origins, striving to turn a bad situation into a good one.

Qin Wushuang was not in his own quarters, but in the residence of the disciple who had knelt and begged for mercy before being executed by the old man. All four of Qin Wushuang's limbs had been broken, and he was still unconscious.

Fortunately, Qin Anyu had broken in just in time; his body had not been cast out into the wilderness, merely tossed into the courtyard.

Noticing the dark expression on Qin Anyu's face and the fierce flames of anger burning in his eyes, the old man, after learning the sequence of events, casually snapped the neck of that disciple on the spot, as if making amends for the sect's transgression and providing Qin Anyu with an immediate account.

Yet Qin Anyu had no intention of letting the Wuyuan Sect off so easily. First, he demanded sixty-seven types of "healing" medicinal herbs, ranging from human-grade to mortal-grade with age requirements, with the mortal-grade ones being at least a century old.

Advancing to the Qi Training realm required medicinal herbs different from those used in the Qi Nourishment realm, demanding higher grades and a greater variety. Among the herbs he listed were some he lacked, and acquiring them here was naturally the best outcome.

Such an exorbitant demand for medicinal herbs left the high-ranking members of the sect wearing bitter expressions, but Qin Anyu turned a blind eye and proceeded to state his second demand: compensation of one thousand spirit stones.

Spirit stones were crystallized essence of primordial energy, found in places where primordial energy was exceptionally dense, or they could be condensed by cultivators in the Foundation Establishment and Golden Core stages. Naturally, cultivators of even higher realms could condense them more easily, yet none would waste time on such tedious tasks.

He did not know whether the Lingqiao plane possessed spirit stones, but since this old man was in the Foundation Establishment stage, maintaining his realm in such an environment was impossible without consuming spirit stones. The hundreds of meters of flight the old man had flaunted earlier would have consumed at least two spirit stones.

The Immortal Emperor Wuwo was born in the Immortal Realm, and having never used or even seen spirit stones, he knew of them only from ancient journals, which recorded that lower planes possessed such items.

This demand caused the old man's expression to turn solemn as well. "Little Friend Qin, your knowledge of spirit stones suggests that your background is far from simple. However, you are well aware of the environment of the Lingqiao plane; the concentration of primordial energy here has become so thin that it can hardly sustain the normal requirements of the late Qi Training realm. Therefore, this demand cannot be met."

Qin Anyu said calmly, "Since you are able to steadily maintain your stance in the Foundation Establishment stage, it is impossible without spirit stones. The Wuyuan Sect must have a source of spirit stones; a demand of one thousand is not excessive."

On this demand, he would not budge. He urgently needed a massive amount of primordial energy.

He had only opened three dantians, leaving a vast number of acupoints unopened and meridians blocked. Without sufficient primordial energy, the acupoints could not be opened and the meridians could not be cleared; until these two tasks were accomplished, Foundation Establishment was impossible. This was the sorrow of possessing a clumsy body.

Cultivators without a clumsy body could slowly open and clear them over time, but a clumsy body could not.

Meridians were akin to rivers, while acupoints were akin to backwaters or deep pools within those rivers.

The river of a clumsy body was narrow and obstructed, its backwaters and deep pools nonexistent or filled in, requiring laborious excavation; whereas the river of a non-clumsy body flowed unimpeded, possessing everything it needed, albeit currently in a dry season.

The old man ordered the high-ranking members of the sect to gather the herbs and then said, "Little Friend Qin, I am Fu Peng. One thousand spirit stones is truly more than I can produce, but I can offer five hundred—this represents the entirety of my personal wealth. If Little Friend is willing, I can hand them over to you right now."

In front of Qin Anyu, he no longer dared to refer to himself as an immortal.

Qin Anyu said indifferently, "Daoist Friend Fu, since you are so eager to part with spirit stones, you must have something you want from me."

Fu Peng did not mind being addressed as a fellow daoist by a mere youth. He nodded and said, "You know that at my realm, it is exceedingly difficult to exist within the Lingqiao plane; otherwise, I cannot maintain my cultivation level."

Qin Anyu nodded without replying, waiting quietly for him to continue.

Seeing him nod in silence, Fu Peng had no choice but to go on, explaining that many people had walked out of the Wuyuan Sect and were developing quite well in the Chenqiao plane. It was true that the sect possessed spirit stones, all of which had been brought back from the Chenqiao plane to sustain the basic development of the sect and nurture its disciples. Only in this way could the Wuyuan Sect in the Chenqiao plane continually receive fresh blood.

Qin Anyu felt a slight curiosity. "Since you have established a sect in the Chenqiao plane, do you not recruit disciples locally?"

A look of embarrassment crossed Fu Peng's face, though he quickly masked it. "We are, after all, merely an external force; the suppression we face there is far too severe."

Qin Anyu understood now that their development over there was actually mediocre, so he remained silent.

Seeing that he still refused to take up the conversation, Fu Peng had to continue. "We have discovered a spirit stone mine, but our strength is insufficient to completely control it, so it remains unmined. If Little Friend is willing to join us, our sect can allocate twenty percent of the spirit stones to you."

Having witnessed Qin Anyu's combat prowess, his composure under pressure, and that seemingly dilapidated sword, Fu Peng deduced that the young man either backed a major faction or possessed a powerful master. If he could draw Qin Anyu into their fold, sacrificing twenty percent was an acceptable price—far better than having the mine usurped by others and their influence completely rooted out.

Hearing that they had discovered an unmined spirit stone mine, Qin Anyu felt a mild stir of interest. "How many spirit stones can that mine yield?"

"At least fifty thousand," Fu Peng hastily replied. "What do you say? Shall we make preparations and take a trip there together?"

Qin Anyu thought to himself: fifty thousand, and a twenty-percent share is only ten thousand—not much at all.

If Fu Peng knew what the youth was thinking, he would surely have been heartbroken and filled with grief.

Ten thousand not much? Our nearly one hundred members together can barely scrape together six thousand spirit stones in a year!

Qin Anyu shook his head. "I have matters to attend to right now; I cannot go."

Fu Peng quickly reassured him, "Rest assured, your younger brother is completely safe here; I guarantee that nothing of the sort will happen again."

Believing that Qin Anyu was waiting for Qin Wushuang's physical recovery, he hurried to offer his assurance.

Qin Anyu shook his head. "That is not it. I have business to attend to in the Dali Kingdom, and he must accompany me."

As for Qin Wushuang's injuries, they could be completely healed in a single day, and his physical resilience would undergo a major enhancement as a result.

Among the sixty-seven medicinal herbs he had demanded from them, thirty-nine were for treating Qin Wushuang's wounds, while the rest were for his own needs.

The concentration of primordial energy here was passable, and he intended to use this single day to open more acupoints and clear more meridians. Therefore, he would pluck whatever wool he could while the sheep was within reach.

Upon learning that Qin Anyu intended to head to the Dali Kingdom first, Fu Peng felt a twinge of disappointment, but he had no choice and dared not harbor the slightest intention of coercion.

Next, Qin Anyu inquired about the situation of the Wuyuan Sect in the Chenqiao plane, intentionally or unintentionally bringing up the Putian Gate.

Fu Peng answered some of his questions quite readily, especially those concerning the Putian Gate.

Not long into their conversation, the Sect Master personally delivered the medicinal herbs, reporting that three varieties, including ox-tendon grass, were missing, and the quantities of nine other varieties were insufficient. This made Qin Anyu's expression darken slightly.

The Sect Master looked anxiously at Fu Peng upon seeing this. Without even glancing at him, Fu Peng retrieved medicinal herbs from his own storage ring to make up for the three missing varieties. However, of the nine with insufficient quantities, he could only supplement four, while the remaining five were completely unavailable.

The herbs he produced were of far superior quality to those kept in the sect's inventory—the worst being of low human-grade, and the best of high human-grade. This somewhat exceeded Qin Anyu's expectations and further solidified his resolve to leave the Lingqiao plane as soon as possible.

After accepting the medicinal herbs and spirit stones, Qin Anyu announced that he needed to treat Qin Wushuang's injuries and promptly chased them all out.