Chapter 5: Secrecy

A quarter of an hour later.

Yu Xian unearthed a small wooden box from beneath a large tree in the inn’s backyard. The most dangerous place is often the safest; no one would have guessed that Chen Xiao had stashed his entire fortune inside an ordinary inn.

Yu Xian opened the box. Inside lay five gold bars and two hand-copied ancient texts. One was a cultivation technique called the "Everlasting Spring Manual." Practiced over time, it could prolong life, but much like his own Innate Qi Refining Manual, it was merely a low-tier technique ubiquitous in the cultivation world. The other was the "Poison Scripture," a lifetime of research on toxins by some long-dead cultivator.

"I suppose I was being too greedy."

Looking at the contents, Yu Xian wasn't overly disappointed. As he had suspected, it was by obtaining the inheritance of a deceased cultivator that Chen Xiao had achieved his current status. However, cultivators who end up dying in the mortal realm are usually those who failed to make a name for themselves in the cultivation world; having anything left behind at all was a stroke of luck. If he hadn't awakened his own "cheat," he would be even worse off than the man; he’d be lucky to leave behind a diary after a hundred years, let alone dream of spirit stones.

He flipped through the Poison Scripture, finding it filled with descriptions of various venoms and methods of poisoning. Some of these toxins could even affect cultivators. Chen Xiao’s "Five Poisons Palm" had been derived from this book; he had taken a different path, incorporating the essence of five poisons into his own internal energy, turning himself into a living vessel of toxins. Though this shortened his lifespan, it granted him staggering combat prowess. An average innate martial artist entangled with him for even a moment would find their body silently invaded by toxic vapors.

As for the grudge between Chen Xiao and the Prince Fu’s estate, Chen Xiao had made no attempt to hide it. Thirteen years ago, the Chen family had angered Prince Fu and were wiped out on charges of treason. Chen Xiao had barely escaped, falling off a cliff and accidentally stumbling into the cave dwelling of a deceased cultivator. There, he found the two secret texts and eight low-grade spirit stones, and through the cultivator’s final testament, learned of the existence of the cultivation world.

Chen Xiao had hoped to become a legendary cultivator. Yet, even with the aid of the spirit stones, his two and a half years of bitter cultivation of the Everlasting Spring Manual yielded little result. If he continued, he would likely exhaust all his spirit stones without ever breaking through the Qi Refining stage. With a blood feud still unavenged, he dared not gamble on that possibility. Thus, he resolutely turned back to his family’s martial arts.

Perhaps it was the foundational work laid by the Everlasting Spring Manual and the spirit stones, but his martial progress was rapid. Within five years, using the spirit stones to draw spiritual energy into his body, he became an Innate Grandmaster. After breaking through, he spent years honing his skills in the martial arts world, eventually deriving his own technique, the Five Poisons Palm, from the manual, and returned for revenge.

The rest of the story followed. The girl was Chen Xiao’s younger sister. After the assassination attempt failed, before fleeing, Chen Xiao visited the ruins of the old Chen estate to pay his respects, where he happened to encounter his sister, who had come to offer incense to their ancestors after hearing that Prince Fu had been wounded. As it turned out, she had been switched by an old servant of the Chen family with his own child years ago.

The siblings, reunited after so long, were loath to part. Combined with Chen Xiao’s overconfidence in his martial prowess and his underestimation of the Prince’s estate, it led to today’s standoff.

Yu Xian felt no ripples in his heart after hearing this. Had Chen Xiao escaped today, he might well have been the protagonist of a legend. But there were no "ifs"—he had simply been relegated to a supporting role.

...

At the Prince’s estate, Chen Xiao and his sister knelt in humiliation before Prince Fu. They looked disheveled, a far cry from the invincible demon-king persona he had displayed during the street battle. Yu Xian sat to the side, observing coldly. He appeared to be drinking tea leisurely, but he was inwardly alert, taking this as a warning.

Even if he were to cast a Fireball Spell, an innate martial artist caught off guard would melt on the spot. But his mana was limited; he could only cast a few fireballs. If he truly encountered a situation like Chen Xiao’s today, with his meager reserves of spiritual arts, he would almost certainly be finished once his mana ran dry. And if the opponent had two more innate martial artists assisting... The thought sent a chill down his spine, and he resolved to keep a low profile.

Perhaps one of the reasons low-tier cultivators avoid the mortal realm is the fear of being killed by a mob of ordinary people—a death that would be truly hard to swallow. Fortunately, once he reached the late stage of Qi Refining, his spiritual sense would be able to leave his body to manipulate objects. He would then be able to refine magical artifacts, using their power to protect himself, finally gaining the ability to handle large groups.

With his Dao companion Yulan’s help, even while being careful not to overexert, he gained one cultivation point per day on average. In less than half a year, he would break through to the late stage of Qi Refining.

But where would he get a magical artifact? Yu Xian fell into a state of happy worry.

On the other side, Prince Fu’s face was livid, yet he said with a hint of vengeful satisfaction, "Chen Xiao, when you tried to assassinate me, did you ever imagine this day?"

Chen Xiao kept his head bowed, saying nothing. At this point, any words were merely the wails of a defeated dog; the "Consultant Yu" had already demonstrated that to him. Even if he said a few sharp words, what would it change? Being fearless of death meant nothing if it only resulted in harm to his sister.

"Guards, throw him into the dungeon. Guard him strictly. No one is to approach without my command," Prince Fu ordered with a wave of his hand. Although he wanted to execute Chen Xiao immediately, the poison in his body still required Chen Xiao’s cure. Dr. Huang’s pills could only suppress the toxins, not eradicate them; the one who tied the knot must be the one to untie it. Despite his calm facade in front of the Princess, no one wanted to die if they didn't have to.

Before being dragged away, Chen Xiao suddenly struggled and shouted at Yu Xian, "Consultant Yu, don't forget what you promised me! Otherwise, I will not let you off even as a ghost!"

"Oh? I wonder what the consultant promised this assassin?" Prince Fu looked at Yu Xian, his gaze deepening. Now that Chen Xiao was captured, his greatest threat was gone, and Yu Xian, the Innate Grandmaster, was not as indispensable as before.

Yu Xian knew that his interrogation of Chen Xiao couldn't have escaped the Prince’s eyes, so he answered quite frankly, "Yu took a few things from him in exchange for sparing his sister’s life. I hope the Prince can grant me this favor."

Prince Fu fell silent. A moment later, he stared at the girl kneeling on the ground and said flatly, "If Consultant Yu can persuade Chen Xiao to purge the toxins from my body, I can grant you this favor."

Yu Xian pondered for a moment. Instead of saying he could try, he looked troubled. "Chen Xiao is currently relying on this final card to save his life; I fear he would rather die than comply. I can only say I will do my best."

Prince Fu forced a smile and nodded. "Doing your best is sufficient. I am not an unreasonable man."

"Many thanks for your understanding, Your Highness. I take my leave."

Yu Xian departed. He didn't ask for a reward for capturing Chen Xiao, and the Prince didn't offer one. This was a tacit understanding between them, meaning his private interrogation and the items he had obtained from Chen Xiao were now forgotten.

A little while later, Prince Fu asked in a chilling voice, "What exactly did Consultant Yu obtain from Chen Xiao?"

The girl kneeling on the ground, who was Chen Xiao’s sister, raised her head. Her expression was cold and stern, showing not a trace of a fragile maiden.

"Reporting to Your Highness, it was two spirit stones, two manuals of the cultivators, and five gold bars."

"It seems Chen Xiao truly regarded you as his sister." Prince Fu smiled, his gaze drifting into the distance, a look of reminiscence on his face. "Setting that hidden piece on the board years ago—I never expected it to be so useful. Since Consultant Yu wants to protect you, you shall follow him from now on, Chen Yi."

"Yes!"

The girl, formerly nameless but now Chen Yi, retreated respectfully. There are few coincidences in this world. The greatest mistake Chen Xiao made was revealing his identity during the assassination attempt. He had not expected that Prince Fu would keep the old Chen family servant alive and use the situation to his advantage, having Chen Yi pose as the younger sister to wait at the ruins of the Chen estate. That was what had bought Prince Fu the time to calmly lay his trap and deploy his forces.

Yu Xian’s involvement was merely happenstance. Even without him, Chen Xiao would not have escaped the trap Prince Fu had set.

"Still, another inheritance left behind by a cultivator..." Prince Fu coughed twice, a look of longing in his eyes as he murmured, "What kind of world is it, really?"

To the royal family, cultivators were not a great secret, nor was there an absolute barrier between the cultivation world and the mortal realm. The direct lineage of the Yue Kingdom’s royal family had their aptitude tested in their youth, and those with excellent potential were sent to the cultivation world to train. Once they achieved success, they would feed back into the royal family. Every dynasty in the mortal realm was the same; by leaning on cultivation families, they ensured the continuity of their imperial fortune. Otherwise, how could ordinary mortal emperors resist the strange and varied methods of cultivators? They would have been usurped and killed long ago.

After all, even a mosquito's meat is meat; the same applied to the resources of the mortal realm. A Golden Core master might look down on them, but Qi Refining or Foundation Establishment cultivators were never so wasteful.

Prince Fu had been tested in his youth but lacked the aptitude for cultivation, so he remained in the secular world as a leisure prince. His older brother, who now sat on the throne, was likely the same, as any prince who wanted to cultivate could not be emperor—that would mean using the entire nation to pave his path, which did not align with the interests of the royal family’s backing.

But somehow, his older brother had persuaded the royal family’s supervising Immortal Master and had begun to cultivate with great fanfare. In Prince Fu’s eyes, this was a path to ruin, and the current chaos in the Yue Kingdom was proof of it.

...

The departing Yu Xian was naturally unaware of these secrets. Since he had transmigrated, he had been nothing more than a farmer. His social circle was small; how could he know about the entanglements between mortal dynasties and cultivation families? He had heard that cultivators could live like kings in the mortal world, so he had come running.

Fortunately, having lived two lives, he prioritized stability above all else. He didn't let his status as a cultivator go to his head, nor did he look upon mortals as pigs and dogs. Otherwise, he might have been ready for a fresh pile of dirt on his grave by now.

Returning to the "Heaven No. 2" building, Yu Xian didn't idle. He once again embraced his decadent life as a master.

"Yulan, show me your talent!"