23: Chapter 23 Temporary Stability

Five days later, Lu Chen received the first "Successor Treatment" sent by Elder Zhou.

It was not Spirit Stones, nor was it Medicinal Pills, but an access token.

It was made of copper, the size of a palm, with "Danding" engraved on the front and "Inner Treasury" on the back.

With this token, he could enter the Inner Treasury of the Danding Sect to consult non-classified Pill Formulas and Cultivation Techniques, and every year he could receive a "Cultivation Resource Package"—ten qi gathering pills, five peiyuan pills, and twenty Spirit Stones.

When Su Qing delivered these items, there was an indescribable complexity in her eyes.

"You are lucky." She placed the token on the table. "Elder Zhou used her own annual quota to exchange for this Successor Treatment for you. She has half the cultivation resources for herself this year."

"I didn't ask her to exchange it."

"You didn't ask, but she did it anyway." Su Qing looked at him. "Do you know what this means?"

"It means she truly treats me as her successor."

"Not just that." Su Qing said. "It means she has placed a bet on you. If you succeed, her faction will have one more person capable of entering the Inverted Tower. If you die, her investment will go down the drain. Therefore, she will not let you die easily."

"Can she protect me?"

"Within the Danding Sect, yes. Outside the Danding Sect, not necessarily."

Lu Chen tucked the token into his robes.

"Then I will not go out for now."

After Su Qing left, Lu Chen made a trip to the Inner Treasury.

The Inner Treasury was located on the mountainside, a small three-story building made of stone, with small windows and a tightly closed iron door.

Two Inner Sect Disciples stood at the entrance, wearing dark blue robes with jade plaques engraved with the character "Guard" hanging from their waists.

They examined Lu Chen's token and then glanced at him; their eyes held scrutiny, but they did not block his path.

"The first floor is for Pill Formulas, the second for Cultivation Techniques, and the third for resources. You can only enter the first and second floors. The third floor requires approval from an Elder."

Lu Chen pushed the door open and walked in.

The first floor was spacious, with rows of wooden shelves against the walls, holding bamboo slips and handwritten paper manuscripts.

The air carried the scent of aged paper and ink, mixed with the fragrance of insect-repelling herbs, smelling as if he had walked into the study of an old scholar.

He walked to the shelf labeled "Pill Formula" and began to browse.

The formula for the peiyuan pill—he already knew it. The formula for the qi gathering pill—he also knew it. The formula for the small foundation establishment pill—he had brewed it during the assessment, but Elder Zhou said that was only a simplified version; the true small foundation establishment pill required seven ingredients, not three.

He found the true formula for the small foundation establishment pill.

"polygonatum, lingzhi, fleeceflower root, poria, angelica, atractylodes, and licorice. The ratio is three to two to one to one to one to one."

Below the formula was a line of small text—"This pill can replenish the Spiritual Qi of a Cultivator at the Qi Refining stage; the effect is halved when taken by a Cultivator at the Foundation Establishment Stage. If taken continuously for more than ten pills, the efficacy decreases."

Lu Chen memorized the formula and flipped through a few more pages.

There were no more Advanced Pill Formulas.

"The second floor."

He walked up the stairs. The stairs were wooden and creaked loudly when stepped on, as if they might break at any moment.

The layout of the second floor was the same as the first, but the shelves did not hold Pill Formulas; they held Cultivation Techniques.

He scanned them—"Taiyin Breathing Technique," "Pure Yang Qi Channeling Art," "Five Elements Balance Technique"—all were basic Cultivation Techniques for the Qi Refining stage, not involving Five Elements attributes, so even a Grey Spirit Root could practice them.

He picked up the "Taiyin Breathing Technique" and flipped through it.

"Channel lunar essence into the body to nourish Qi with Yin. Upon reaching Major Achievement, the speed of Spiritual Qi absorption can be increased by thirty percent."

"Thirty percent." Lu Chen calculated. Currently, he could increase his Dantian capacity by about one percent per day with Qi Channeling. An increase of thirty percent would mean 1.3 percent. The difference was not significant, but it was better than nothing.

He put the bamboo slip back and picked up the "Pure Yang Qi Channeling Art."

"Channel sunlight into the body to refine Qi with Yang. Upon reaching Major Achievement, the purity of Spiritual Qi can be increased by twenty percent."

Purity was more important than speed. With the same Dantian capacity, higher purity Spiritual Qi could exert greater power and make a Breakthrough more stable.

"This one."

He held the bamboo slip of the "Pure Yang Qi Channeling Art," went downstairs, and wrote his name and the name of the borrowed Cultivation Technique in the register at the entrance of the Inner Treasury. The guarding Disciple glanced at it but said nothing.

Returning to the small hut behind the Pharmacy, Lu Chen began to practice the "Pure Yang Qi Channeling Art."

The core of the technique was "Channeling Sunlight." It was not actually absorbing sunlight into the body, but rather, at high noon when the sun was strongest, facing south, closing his eyes to regulate his breath, and imagining sunlight pouring in from the Baihui acupoint on the top of his head, flowing down along the Ren Meridian, and sinking into the Dantian.

He tried it for the first time—he felt nothing.

The second time—the top of his head felt slightly warm.

The third time—the sensation of heat traveled down from the top of his head, passing through his throat and chest, all the way down to his Dantian.

The Spiritual Qi in his Dantian was stimulated by this heat and began to rotate slightly faster. It was not much faster, just a little, as if someone had given it a gentle push from behind.

"It works."

Lu Chen did not get greedy; he stopped after practicing three times. Elder Zhou had said that new Cultivation Techniques should be practiced slowly, as practicing too much could overwhelm the Meridians.

In the following days, Lu Chen's life became routine.

He would wake up at dawn and go to the Pharmacy to work—grinding herbs, drying herbs, and organizing the warehouse. In the afternoon, he would perform Alchemy—one furnace of qi gathering pills, one furnace of small foundation establishment pills, alternating between them. At night, he would Cultivate—first Qi Channeling for an hour, then practicing the "Pure Yang Qi Channeling Art" for an hour, and then sleep.

The days passed as if the same day were being repeated many times over.

But his Dantian was growing.

It grew a little bit every day. Not much, invisible to the naked eye, but his body knew. Each time he performed Guiding Qi into the Body, the feeling of Spiritual Qi flowing through his Meridians was different—smoother and faster, as if the riverbed had been widened by the water.

Ten days later, the Spiritual Qi in his Dantian had increased from thirty percent to forty percent.

"Ten percent increase in ten days. It will take sixty days to reach Level 4 Qi Refining."

Two months.

Much faster than the two years Elder Zhou had mentioned.

But Lu Chen knew this was only the initial stage. It would get slower later because the Dantian would get larger and larger, requiring more and more Spiritual Qi.

He needed more Medicinal Pills.

On the twenty-third day, while Lu Chen was performing Alchemy, Elder Zhou walked in.

The Elder did not look well; her lips were pale, and there was a bruise under the corner of her eye, as if she had been beaten.

"What happened to you?" Lu Chen asked.

"It's nothing." Elder Zhou sat down in a chair and rubbed the corner of her eye. "I went to the warehouse for inventory last night and bumped into the door frame."

Lu Chen looked at her.

A door frame could cause a bruise? Could hit the corner of an eye?

He did not press the matter. It was useless to ask about things Elder Zhou did not want to talk about.

"Vice Steward Wang is gone." Elder Zhou said.

"Gone? Where did he go?"

"Transferred to the Law Enforcement Hall. Elder Sun issued the transfer order herself." Elder Zhou looked at him. "Do you know what this means?"

"Does it mean the Law Enforcement Hall has given up on planting spies in the Pharmacy?"

"No." Elder Zhou said. "It means they have changed their approach. Vice Steward Wang was in the open, and you could guard against him. The next one will be in the shadows, and you won't be able to guard against them."

Lu Chen silently removed the Medicinal Pill from the Pill Furnace and placed it on the stone platform.

"Then I will just wait for them to make a move."

"Are you not afraid?"

"Is being afraid useful?"

Elder Zhou looked at him, was silent for a few seconds, and then laughed. It was not a happy laugh, but a bitter one, as if she were smiling bitterly, or perhaps sighing.

"You are stronger than I was back then." Elder Zhou said. "If I had your kind of drive—not fearing anything—back then, perhaps I wouldn't be at Qi Refining Level 3 now."

"Do you regret it?"

"I regret it." Elder Zhou said. "But regret is useless. I didn't dare, I just didn't dare."

She stood up, walked to the door, and stopped.

"Be careful of Sun Qian. He has been getting close to an Inner Sect Disciple recently. That person is named Zhou Ran."

"Elder Zhou's nephew?"

"Yes." Elder Zhou said. "Although Zhou Ran is my nephew, he does not stand with the Alchemy Hall. He thinks he has high talent and should be focused on and cultivated, but I gave the successor position to you, not him. He is not convinced."

"So he and Sun Qian have joined forces?"

"The enemy of my enemy is my friend." Elder Zhou said. "Sun Qian wants to deal with you, and Zhou Ran also wants to deal with you. Together, they are more troublesome than you imagine."

Elder Zhou left.

Lu Chen sat in the hut, holding the freshly brewed qi gathering pill in his hand, but did not eat it.

"Zhou Ran."

He remembered what Su Qing had said—"Qi Refining Level 5, high talent for Alchemy, favored by Inner Sect Elders, and being focused on and cultivated."

Qi Refining Level 5.

Two levels higher than him.

If Zhou Ran and Sun Qian joined forces, he would indeed be in trouble.

But trouble is trouble. The road must still be walked.

Lu Chen swallowed the qi gathering pill, closed his eyes, and began Qi Channeling.

Spiritual Qi surged into his Dantian.

His Dantian grew a tiny bit larger.

The thirtieth day.

Lu Chen's Dantian was fifty percent full of Spiritual Qi.

He was still fifty percent away from Level 4 Qi Refining.

He stood in the small courtyard behind the Pharmacy, watching the evening glow on the horizon. The autumn evening glow was more beautiful than summer's, with more colors—red, orange, purple, gold, layered one upon another, as if someone had spilled a basin of dye in the sky.

The black line on his left wrist had faded another shade.

It had turned from dark grey to light grey.

He could no longer remember Qin Wu's face clearly. He remembered he was a Person in Black, remembered he had said "Don't let him die," and remembered he had given Spirit Stones and Medicinal Pills. But his features—how big were his eyes? How high was his nose? Was his chin pointed or round?

He couldn't remember.

The line was still there.

But he was about to forget the person.

Lu Chen untied the black line from his wrist, placed it in his palm, and looked at it for a long time.

Then he tied it back on.

He tied four knots.

"If I forget, then I forget. As long as the line is there."

He turned and returned to the hut, sat down, and continued Qi Channeling.

The thirty-fifth day.

Su Qing came again.

This time she did not come at night; it was dusk. The setting sun shone through the window, illuminating half of her face and leaving the other half in darkness.

"Did Zhou Ran look for you?"

"No."

"He will soon." Su Qing said. "Sun Qian is instigating him. Saying you are a Grey Spirit Root and not worthy of being Elder Zhou's successor. Saying Elder Zhou was deceived by you. Saying you bewitched her with the bone fragment."

"Does Elder Zhou believe it?"

"No." Su Qing said. "But Zhou Ran believes it. Because he wants to believe it."

"How does he plan to deal with me?"

"I don't know." Su Qing said. "But Sun Qian has plenty of methods. Framing, plotting, setting traps—he has spent five years in the Outer Sect, and he has done these things often."

Lu Chen was silent for a few seconds.

"What can you do to help me?"

"Keep an eye on Sun Qian." Su Qing said. "If he makes any moves, I will tell you in advance."

"What is the price?"

"The next line of text on the bone fragment."

Lu Chen thought about it.

He already remembered all the text on the bone fragment. But "remembering it all" and "telling someone else" were two different things. He could selectively tell Su Qing a part and keep a part for himself.

"Fine."

"Deal." Su Qing turned to leave.

"Su Qing."

She stopped.

"Why do you trust me so much?"

Su Qing did not turn back. She stood at the doorway, the setting sun shining on her, stretching her shadow long, extending all the way to Lu Chen's feet.

"Because you are the first man who does not treat me as a woman."

She left.

Her footsteps were light and soon disappeared.

Lu Chen sat in the hut, watching the empty space at the door illuminated by the setting sun.

"Does not treat her as a woman."

He had never thought about this question. In his eyes, Su Qing was a trading partner, a source of information, a person of the Sect Head, and a Disciple of the Danding Sect. Whether she was male or female was not important. What was important was what she could provide and what she wanted.

"Perhaps this is the reason she trusts me."

Lu Chen pushed this thought out of his mind, closed his eyes, and began Qi Channeling.

No matter how others saw him, there was only one road beneath his feet.

Walk forward.

Without stopping.

The fortieth day.

Lu Chen's Dantian was sixty percent full.

He was still forty percent away from Level 4 Qi Refining.

He had brewed the first small foundation establishment pill of Advanced quality.

It was not the kind of "Advanced" from the assessment, but true Advanced—the surface had a layer of pale golden light, the same color as the skin under his skin when he was at Qi Refining Level 3.

Elder Zhou looked at the Medicinal Pill and was silent for a long time.

"Do you know what this means?"

"It means my Alchemy level has improved."

"Not just that." Elder Zhou said. "It means your Grey Spirit Root has grown another segment. Only when the Spiritual Root is large enough can one brew an Advanced quality small foundation establishment pill. The size of your Grey Spirit Root now is no longer inferior to an ordinary Spiritual Root."

"Is it still growing?"

"It is still growing." Elder Zhou said. "But as it grows, it is also absorbing your emotions. Have you felt recently—that you are indifferent to everything?"

Lu Chen thought about it.

"Yes."

"For example?"

"For example, when Vice Steward Wang left, I was indifferent. Zhou Ran wants to deal with me, I am indifferent. I cannot remember Qin Wu's face, and I am indifferent to that too."

Elder Zhou looked at him, with something indescribable in her eyes.

"That is friendship disappearing. It doesn't vanish all at once, but fades bit by bit. Today you feel indifferent, tomorrow you feel like you don't care, and the day after, you won't even have the 'feeling' of it."

"That's quite good."

"Quite good?"

"Yes." Lu Chen said. "If I am indifferent, I won't be afraid. If I am not afraid, I can walk forward."

Elder Zhou opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but didn't.

She turned around and walked out of the hut. Her footsteps were slower than usual, as if she had sandbags tied to her legs.

Lu Chen watched her back, feeling nothing in his heart.

It was not deliberately suppressed; it was truly nothing.

Whether Elder Zhou leaves or not, it has nothing to do with him.

Whether Elder Zhou is happy or not, it has nothing to do with him.

What Elder Zhou said today, he remembers, but does not care.

"Is this the feeling of friendship disappearing?"

It is not pain, not emptiness, it is—indifference.

Not caring about anything.

The forty-fifth day.

Lu Chen was performing Alchemy, and someone knocked on the door.

It was not Su Qing—Su Qing didn't knock. It was not Elder Zhou—Elder Zhou pushed the door directly.

Who was it?

"Come in."

The door was pushed open.

A young man stood at the door. In his early twenties, tall, fair-faced, with thick eyebrows and large eyes, wearing a light blue Inner Sect Disciple robe, with an "Inner Sect" jade plaque hanging from his waist.

"Are you Lu Chen?"

"Yes."

"My name is Zhou Ran."

Lu Chen looked at him.

Zhou Ran also looked at him.

Neither of them spoke.

Zhou Ran's gaze moved from Lu Chen's face to the Pill Furnace, then from the Pill Furnace to the herbs on the stone platform. Finally, it landed on the bone fragment on Lu Chen's chest—the collar didn't cover it, revealing a corner of grey-white.

"Is that the bone fragment?"

"Yes."

"Can I take a look?"

"No."

The corners of Zhou Ran's mouth twitched, not a smile, but a kind of displeasure after being rejected.

"Do you know who I am?"

"Elder Zhou's nephew."

"Then you should know that I am more qualified than you to be her successor."

Lu Chen removed the Medicinal Pill from the Pill Furnace, placed it on the stone platform, and then looked up at Zhou Ran.

"You are qualified, but she didn't accept you. I am not qualified, but she accepted me. If you have any objections, go to her. It's useless to come to me."

Zhou Ran's expression changed.

From white to red, from red to green. His lips were trembling, his fingers were trembling, his whole person was trembling.

"You—"

"I have finished speaking." Lu Chen interrupted him. "You can go."

Zhou Ran stood where he was, staring at Lu Chen, with something in his eyes—not anger, but something deeper than anger. It was hatred after being humiliated.

He turned and left.

The door was not closed.

The wind blew in, blowing the furnace ash everywhere.

Lu Chen stood up, closed the door, returned to the Pill Furnace, and continued Alchemy.

Zhou Ran had been here.

Said a few useless words.

Left.

Had nothing to do with him.

He did not care.

It was dark.

Lu Chen sat on the bed, untied the black line from his left wrist, and placed it in his palm.

Light grey.

It was about to turn white.

He still remembered the name Qin Wu.

But he could no longer remember Qin Wu's face at all.

The line was there.

The person was forgotten.

Lu Chen tied the black line back on his wrist, tying five knots.

Then he closed his eyes and began Qi Channeling.

Spiritual Qi surged into his Dantian.

No matter what he lost.

He would not stop.

Tianxuan Era, 18th Year of Taiping, Autumn.

Lu Chen, Qi Refining Level 3, Grey Spirit Root.

Dantian Spiritual Qi sixty percent.

He was still forty percent away from Level 4 Qi Refining.

Friendship—almost gone.

Compassion—still there.

But soon.

He did not care.

He did not care about anything.