Chapter 12: The Art of Concealment
Zhao Gou became an honorary elder.
Of course, that meant a grand feast at night.
Liu Shunyi was back at it again.
Why? Because as a Servant Disciple, when there’s a big feast, it’s time to serve dishes, wash pots, and scrub plates.
These chores were just part of the job description for a servant disciple.
Fortunately, Liu Shunyi had cultivated the Crazy Thunder Sutra, giving him the body of someone at the Qi Refinement Eighth Stage.
So when it came to strength and stamina, he was pretty tough.
Handling these menial tasks was a breeze for him now.
The best part was, while serving, he could sneak a bite or two.
And when it came to those spirit fruits and spirit wines? If he could snag a couple, he’d do it.
If he couldn’t fit them all in, well, he’d just eat them!
After finishing up, Liu Shunyi was stuffed, and he even had a bunch of spirit fruits stuffed in his pockets.
Then came the long wait.
Since Servant Disciples weren’t allowed to leave just yet, they had to clean up and wash the dishes after the feast.
However, during this downtime, Liu Shunyi noticed that merely circulating a bit of the Crazy Thunder Sutra had completely absorbed and transformed all the spirit fruits and elixirs he’d consumed into cultivation energy.
His cultivation jumped straight from Qi Refinement Fifth Stage to Sixth Stage!
“What the—!” Liu Shunyi was flabbergasted.
What kind of spirit fruits were these?
Just eating a few and boom—straight into Qi Refinement Sixth Stage!
But sadly, such opportunities didn’t come by often.
After all, who throws a massive feast every day?
Watching his fellow Servant Disciples laboriously refining their energy, finally scraping together enough to move from Qi Refinement Second Stage to Third Stage, their faces flushed with joy, Liu Shunyi fell silent.
It seemed like he was a bit of an oddball among the Servant Disciples!
———
Time flew by.
The feast finally wrapped up, much to the relief of the Servant Disciples.
Why? Because there were still many spirit fruits and elixirs left uneaten.
Liu Shunyi realized what it meant to be a dog diving for food!
The scene of those Servant Disciples scrambling for spirit fruits and elixirs was simply savage.
He didn’t join in, because honestly, it just wasn’t worth it.
He still had over fifty thousand points and a thousand spirit stones to his name.
For a few leftover scraps, it wasn’t worth the hassle.
The most ridiculous part? When he was washing dishes, they were sparkling clean!
Liu Shunyi was so disgusted that he didn’t even want to go to the kitchen for a meal anymore.
It was just gross!
……
……
Three days passed in the blink of an eye.
The festivities surrounding Zhao Gou came to an end.
During those three days, Liu Shunyi continued living his calm life as a Servant Disciple.
He even wore a somewhat naive expression.
No matter who asked him to work, he complied without a word.
But hey, he charged for it!
That’s precisely why Liu Shunyi’s Servant Disciple courtyard was humming along peacefully.
While life was chill for him, the other Servant Disciples were frenetic.
Whenever they had a moment, they were frantically cultivating.
Everyone aimed to reach Qi Refinement Fourth Stage and upgrade to Outer Disciples.
That was the lifelong goal for that bunch of Servant Disciples.
But who could blame them?
Being a Fourth Stage disciple was like hitting the jackpot.
Let’s not even mention the Outer Disciples’ monthly allowance of five hundred low-grade spirit stones.
That’s a tenfold increase compared to the five measly spirit stones Servant Disciples received each month.
Who wouldn’t be tempted?
They even heard that Outer Disciples received a magical wooden sword upon admission, and access to flying techniques and a full set of spell basics!
Entering the Outer Sect? Now that’s the real deal in cultivation.
Liu Shunyi had thoughts about entering the Outer Sect too.
But right now, he didn’t dare.
Why? Because he was a Mixed Spiritual Root.
A Mixed Spiritual Root reaching Qi Refinement Sixth Stage? That was just asking for attention!
To enter the Outer Sect, he definitely needed a technique to hide his cultivation level.
With this in mind, Liu Shunyi stepped out and headed down the mountain!
When it came to concealing cultivation, buying techniques from the sect was out of the question.
A little investigation would easily reveal everything.
So, he had to go outside to make a purchase.
It was straightforward for Servant Disciples to head down the mountain.
After all, they weren’t even considered true disciples of Qinglian Sect.
They didn’t even have their living quarters inside the sect.
Leaving the mountain didn’t require any notification.
Before he figured out how to use his golden finger, Liu Shunyi had often gone down the mountain.
He had a solid grasp of the market in the cultivation world.
He could even say he was quite familiar with it.
But once he arrived at the market, even though he had a clear goal, he found himself wandering aimlessly.
Occasionally, he’d squat down to check out interesting odds and ends at various stalls.
After some back-and-forth haggling, he walked away empty-handed.
As for spells being sold by scattered cultivators? Liu Shunyi didn’t even take a glance.
It was simple.
There aren’t so many free lunch deals in this world.
Besides, Liu Shunyi was brilliant.
He could tell the authenticity of spells with just one look.
He had been to this market many times.
If any spells sold here were real, he wouldn’t be a complete failure after years of work.
Eventually, Liu Shunyi found himself standing at the entrance of the Treasure Pavilion.
“Eh, let’s check it out!”
Liu Shunyi strolled inside.
Once in the Treasure Pavilion, he spotted a scholar-type cultivator who smiled warmly at him.
“Hey there, fellow Daoist. Looking to purchase something?”
Liu Shunyi nodded, his face concealed, his eyes carrying a weary look.
His Qi Refinement Sixth Stage cultivation was barely noticeable.
“I have too many enemies, and my level is easy to identify. So you know what I need!”
The scholar smiled slightly.
“Just a moment!”
Not long after, he tossed a scroll to Liu Shunyi.
Liu Shunyi caught it, glanced at the scroll, and knew instantly that the contents were genuine.
But it wasn’t complete.
It had been modified to prevent anyone from stealing it.
Liu Shunyi returned the scroll, lowering his voice, “This is exactly what I want! What’s the price?”
The scholar chuckled.
“Eight hundred thirty-six low-grade spirit stones!”
Liu Shunyi looked at the eight hundred thirty-six spirit stones in his storage bag and took a deep breath.
“Wow, buddy, you really cleaned me out! Come on, leave me a little!”
Liu Shunyi protested.
The scholar laughed heartily.
“You eat at Qinglian Mountain using points, no need for spirit stones. What do you plan to do with spirit stones anyway?”
Liu Shunyi was speechless.
“I don’t use spirit stones for cultivation!”
The scholar remained silent.
Instead, he tossed a burlap bag to Liu Shunyi.
“Take these as a gift!”
Liu Shunyi felt a tad helpless as he opened the burlap bag.
Holy moly! It was full of beginner-level alchemy herbs.
He was practically setting himself up for indigestion with this bag!
Liu Shunyi sighed.
“Old Qing, quit with all the fluff!”
He pulled out the Analects and handed it to the scholar.
“Here’s some notes to study at your leisure!”
The scholar was thrilled.
Then he looked at those notes, his face turning dark.
“To learn and practice is a joy, right? Isn’t it great to have friends come from afar? Isn’t it gentlemanly to remain unfazed when others are unaware of your abilities?”
The scholar: “…”
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