The Desire to Be Eternal

Chapter 2: The Oven

The Spirit Stream Sect was located in the Eastwood Continent on the lower branch of the Heavenspan River, and was divided between the northern and southern edges. Its history stretches back countless years, and it is very famous in the area.

Eight great mountains surrounded by towering clouds over the Heavenspan River. Four of the mountains were located on the north bank of the river, while three mountains were on the south bank. To his surprise, one mountain, the most majestic of all, rose from the middle of the river itself.

The entire top of the mountain was covered in brilliant white snow, and rose so high that the mountain peak was not even visible. The central part of the mountain had been hollowed out, allowing the golden river water to flow through it, and causing the mountain itself to somewhat resemble a bridge.

Right now, a beam of light was speeding up near the southern edge of the Spirit Stream Sect. It was none other than Li Qinghou and Bai Xiaochun. As they ran to where the servants were under the third peak, it was only possible to hear Bai Xiaochun screaming in fear.

He was scared shitless of all the flights. They had passed through countless mountains, and the entire time, he felt like he had lost his grip on Li Qinghou's feet.

Eventually, everything turned into a blur. When everything finally became clear again, he realized that they had landed outside a building. He stood there, his legs trembling, looking at a scene very different from what he used to return to the village.

Towering high in front of the building is a huge boulder, where three characters are written in flamboyant calligraphy.

The Servant Affairs Department.

Sitting next to the stone was a pockmarked woman. As soon as he saw Li Qinghou, he got up and held a hand to greet.

"Send this child to the Oven" Li Qinghou said. Without another word, and not paying any heed to Bai Xiaochun anymore, he then turned into a beam of light that shot into the distance.

When the pock-faced woman heard him mention Ovens, she stared in shock. He looked at Bai Xiaochun, then handed him a bag containing the maid uniform and other items. An expressionless face, taking him away from the building towards the nearby street, simultaneously explained some of the basic sect rules and customs. The path was sprinkled with green limestone, and pierced through many buildings and courtyards. The fragrant aroma of plants and flowers filled the air, and the entire place looked like a heavenly paradise. As he looked around, Bai Xiaochun's heart started pounding with excitement, and his previous nervousness and anxiety started to fade.

"This place is amazing" he thought. "Much better than the village!" His eyes shone with anticipation as he followed the woman. The view just keeps getting more and more spectacular. He even saw some beautiful women along the way, which instantly caused his heart to surge with excitement.

Soon, Bai Xiaochun became even more excited. It was because he saw what seemed to be their destination; at the end of the street was a seven-story building that glittered like crystal. There was even a sky crane hovering in the air above him.

"Have we gotten there, Elder Sister?" Bai Xiaochun asked excitedly.

"Yes," she replied coldly, her face expressionless as usual. He pointed to the small road to the side. "That's where we're going."

Bai Xiaochun looked in the direction he pointed, his heart full of hope. But then, his entire body became stiff, and he rubbed his eyes. He looked again, a little closer, and saw a pebbled road bounded by haphazard-made straw-roofed huts that looked like they could be destroyed at any moment. A strange smell was coming out of the area.

Bai Xiaochun wanted to cry, but no tears were flowing. Still clinging to a glimmer of hope, he asked another question to the pock-faced woman.

"Sister Elder, did you point in the wrong direction earlier?"

"No," he answered coldly, stepping onto the gravel path. When Bai Xiaochun heard his reply, all the beauty of the place seemed to disappear. A bitter expression appeared on her face as she continued to follow him.

Before long, he saw the end of the old road, where he saw several large black pans running around. After a while, he realized that the frying pan was actually attached to the backs of some very fat men. These people were so fat that it seemed like pressing them would cause pure fat to come out. One of the men was even fatter than the other, so fat that he looked like a lump of meat. Bai Xiaochun was even worried that the man would explode from becoming so fat. 1

The entire area was filled with hundreds of large cooking pans, where fat men were cooking rice.

Sensing that someone had approached, the men looked up and saw the pock-faced woman. The fattest people, who looked like a lump of meat, raised their spoons and rushed over. The ground trembled as he walked, and his fat bounced and shook in a way that made Bai Xiaochun stare in shock. Without even thinking about it, he started looking around for an axe.

"The magpies were singing very beautiful songs this morning, and now I know why" cried the flesh as he ran. His eyes flickered with a lustful light. “That's all because you're coming, brother. Could you change your mind? you finally realize how talented I am, and want to take advantage of this good day to officially become my beloved partner? ”

The pock-faced woman looked at the mountain of meat with disdain and anger.

"I'm just here to take this kid to the Oven" he said. “Duty done. I'll go now! " So he rushed away.

Bai Xiaochun flinched. He had taken the time to check on the woman on the way here, and she really looked like a freak. He could not help but wonder what kind of taste this fat man had. Apparently even someone with a face like hers made her hot and distracted.

Before Bai Xiaochun could consider the matter again, a mountain of meat suddenly stood in front of him, slightly panting. The man was so big that Bai Xiaochun found himself completely covered in his shadow.

Bai Xiaochun looked at the large man and his trembling flesh scroll, and gulped. This was actually the first time he had seen someone so fat.

The mountain of meat glanced angrily at the pock-faced woman, who was walking back down the pebbled path, then looked back at Bai Xiaochun.

“Alright, we have a newcomer. We left a place open for Xu Baocai to join, so this complicates matters. "

Bai Xiaochun was nervous just looking at the man's huge skeleton, and subconsciously took a few steps back. "Sister Elder, I am your humility .. uh, humble servant Bai Xiaochun …."

"Bai Xiaochun? Hm …. White, slim and petite. You look so innocent. It's amazing, it's incredible. Your name is very much in line with my taste. ” Mountain of flesh looked at him, then patted Bai Xiaochun on the shoulder, which almost made Bai Xiaochun fly to the side.

"Eh, what's your name, Elder Brother?" Bai Xiaochun took a deep breath and looked up as he prepared to make fun of the man's name.

As soon as Bai Xiaochun heard these incredible names, he abandoned the plan to make fun of them.

"As for you," Big Fatty Zhang continued, "from now on, you will become Ninth Fatty Bai! Er …. Wait a minute, Junior Brother. You're too skinny! If you go around looking like that, you'll lose face for the Ovens! Well, I guess it doesn't matter for now. Don'worry. After a few years, you will become fat as well. Then we will call you Ninth Fatty Bai. "

When Bai Xiaochun heard the nickname Ninth Fatty Bai, he grimaced.

"Well, since you are already our Ninth Junior Brother, you are not counted as an outsider anymore. Here in the Oven, we have a long-standing tradition of carrying a frying pan on our backs. See this frying pan on my back? ” He slapped the frying pan and continued arrogantly: "That's the king of the frying pan, forged from high-quality iron and carved with the Earth Flame spell formation. When you use this skillet to cook spirit rice, it tastes much, much better than the rice cooked in other pans. By the way, you should choose a pan to carry on your back as well. Then you'll look very impressive. "

Glancing at Big Fatty Zhang's wok, and realizing that everyone in the Oven was similarly decorated, Bai Xiaochun suddenly got an image of himself walking in such a manner.

"First Brother," he bursts, "is it possible to choose out of the thing that carries a frying pan …?"

"Are you kidding? Carrying a skillet is an important tradition in the Ovens! Later when you come out in the sect, people will see a frying pan on your back and instantly recognize that you are from the Oven! Once they know that, they won't dare to choose you. Ovens have a lot of influence around here, you know! ” Big Zhang Fatty winked at Bai Xiaochun. Leaving no further discussion on the matter, he led Bai Xiaochun to one of the thatch-roofed huts, inside which was a pile of thousands of pans, most of which were covered in layers of dust. Obviously, no one has been here for quite some time.

“Please choose one, Ninth Junior Brother, then come and help take care of the rice. If the rice burned, then the disciples of the Outer Sect would make a fuss again. " Letting shout, Big Fatty Zhang turned around and ran back to join the other fat man as they rushed and were busy among the over a hundred cooking woks.

Sighing in despair, Bai Xiaochun looked up at the pan, and felt pain to choose which one when he suddenly saw a single pan in the corner, buried under a large pile.

It was a unique skillet that, instead of being round, was shaped like an oval. In fact it hardly looks like an oval, but rather like a turtle shell. There were also some faint marks visible on its surface.

"Dee?" Bai Xiaochun's eyes brightened, and he quickly walked over and crouched down to look at the pan closer. After dragging him out and examining him further, his eyes began to shine with satisfaction.

He has loved turtles since he was young, largely because they represent longevity. Considering that he had come to learn about Immortal cultivation for the purpose of living forever, as soon as he saw the tortoise frying pan, he knew that it was a sign of luck, a good omen.

After he appeared with the frying pan, Big Fatty Zhang caught him and rushed over, a spoon in hand.

"Ninth Young Brother, why did you choose that one?" he asked sincerely, rubbing his stomach enough. “That snack has been there for years, and no one has ever used it, especially since it looks like a turtle shell and people don't want to put it on their backs. Umm .. are you sure, Ninth Young Brother? ”

"i'm sure." Bai Xiaochun said firmly, staring at the wok dearly. "It's a frying pan for me."

Big Fatty Zhang tried to persuade him again, but finally realized that Bai Xiaochun had made up his mind. Finally, he gave her a strange look and stopped trying. After assigning him one of the straw-roofed huts for housing, he returned to work.

Soon, dusk had fallen. Bai Xiaochun sat in his light-roofed hut, inspecting the turtle-shaped wok. One thing that stands out to her is the design that is tracked behind the pan, which is so dim that you won't see it unless you look closely.

He knew right away that this was no ordinary frying pan. Carefully putting it on the stove, he looked around the small hut. It was very simple. In addition to the stove, there was an ordinary copper bed, table, and mirror hanging on the wall. As Bai Xiaochun turned his head to look around, the seemingly ordinary wok behind him suddenly emitted a flash of purple light!

As far as Bai Xiaochun was concerned, this was a day filled with all sorts of important events. He finally arrived at the land of his dreams, the world of Gods. Right now, he was still a bit absentminded.

After a bit of time passed, he took a deep breath, and his eyes began to shine with anticipation.

"I'll live forever!" As he sat there, he took out the bag that the pock-faced woman gave him.

Inside the bag was a medicinal pill, a wooden sword, some incense, a servant uniform, and a command medallion. Finally, there was a bamboo scroll with some small characters inscribed on the cover.

“Cauldron Control Art Violet Qi. Qi Condensation Manual. "

It was night time, and Big Fatty Zhang and the others in the Oven were busy. Meanwhile, Bai Xiaochun was looking at the bamboo scroll, his eyes shining with anticipation. He came here to learn how to live forever, and he holds the key to achieving that goal in his hands now. After taking a deep breath, he opened the scroll.

A moment later, his eyes sparkled with excitement. The bamboo scroll had three images, and an attached text that described how cultivation was divided into two stages of Qi Condensation and Foundation Establishment. As far as the Violet Qi Cauldron Control Art was concerned, it was divided into ten levels, each of which corresponded to ten levels of Qi Condensation.

By practicing cultivation to a certain level, it is possible to exercise control over physical objects. After reaching the third level, you can control half of the small cauldron. At the sixth level, it became half of a large cauldron. In the ninth level, it was a full cauldron. As for the last full circle, you can actually control two full cauldrons.

Unfortunately, these scrolls only depict up to the third level of art, with no further information about the next level. The key to everything was cultivation, using a set of prescribed breathing techniques to develop the Control Art of the Violet Qi Cauldron.

Bai Xiaochun cleared his mind and began to catch his breath. Then he closed his eyes and imitated the posture depicted in the first image in a bamboo scroll. He was able to endure for three breaths before intense pain filled him. Finally, he shouted and gave up. From what he knew, using this breathing technique actually sucked all the air out of it, making it impossible to actually breathe.

"It's too hard" he thought. “According to the description below the picture, when you practice this kind of cultivation, you should be able to feel the strands of qi flowing through you. However, just now, the only thing I felt was intense pain. ” He's getting frustrated. However, for the sake of living forever, he gritted his teeth and tried again. He repeated the process over and over again until midnight. During that time, he had never felt any qi in his body.

He had no way of knowing it, but even someone with extraordinary latent talent who was trying to cultivate the first level of the Violet Qi Cauldron Control Art would need at least a month to succeed, it would take him at least a month to succeed, unless they have outside help. Considering that, there was no way he could succeed in just a few hours.

Body ached painfully, Bai Xiaochun finally squirmed, and was about to go wash his face when, suddenly, he heard a commotion outside. He poked his head out the window and immediately saw a pale-faced young man standing at the door of the Oven's main courtyard. He looks angry.

"I'm Xu Baocai! Whoever took my place here, go here now! "