The Desire to Be Eternal
Chapter 5: What Happens If I Lose My Poor Life?
After waiting for what seemed like forever, nothing strange happened. Bai Xiaochun looked at the patterns on the turtles, and then looked down at the furnace itself. There was nothing left of the wood except the ashes, so he left, to return a few minutes later with firewood again.
Firewood for personal use was not commonplace in the Ovens, so he was forced to go look for Big Fatty Zhang to make special requests for a few more.
After lighting the fire, Bai Xiaochun once again focused on the first design on the turtles. When the wood burns, the design lights up. Bai Xiaochun's heart started to beat violently, and then suddenly, the wooden sword started to glow with a dazzling silver light.
He took a few steps back, after which the light slowly faded, and a piercing sensation began to come out from within the pan.
He took a deep breath and carefully stepped onto the pan. The wooden sword, like a grain of spirit rice, now had a bright silver design on it, which gradually faded into a deep silver color!
The sword appeared different from before. Although it was still made of wood, now it seemed like it was made of metal. Bai Xiaochun's eyes shone as he carefully retrieved the sword from the frying pan. It felt heavier, and also emitted a certain coldness.
“It worked! My first boost of spirit on the wooden sword succeeded! ” Bai Xiaochun stroked the sword happily, then glanced at the wok and tried to decide what to do with it. In the end, he decided to just let it go. The more he treated her like an ordinary item, the less likely people would notice her.
As for rice rice, he decided to eat it little by little from time to time. He would also be careful not to let anyone see the wooden sword. As an additional step, he came up with the idea of somehow painting over a luminous design.
Finally, he tidied up his room, then walked out nonchalantly, as if nothing strange had happened. Over the next few days, he collected some liquid materials from the Oven which he used to paint the sword, making it bright and colorful, although somewhat unsightly. The most important thing is that the spirit design is covered well enough so that it is not clear. In the end, Bai Xiaochun nodded in satisfaction.
As the days passed, Bai Xiaochun became comfortable with life in the Oven like a fish in water. He quickly suited up with the other Elder Brothers, and also became familiar with the work that was taking place there. He soon discovers that different types of fire are needed to cook different spirit foods. In fact, different types of fire are described in terms of color; there are one-color flames, two-color flames, and so on. The wood he used before to heat the turtle was one-color firewood.
Big Fatty Zhang started to grow especially fond of Bai Xiaochun, and took care of him. Furthermore, as he said, after a few months had passed, Bai Xiaochun started to gain weight.
He was no longer a skinny child when he first joined the sect. He was fatter, but at the same time, his complexion was also brighter and clearer than before. He also looked more innocuous than before, and had clearly reached the point of deserving the title of Ninth Fatty Bai.
He also experienced special snack timing more than once. However, what Bai Xiaochun found frustrating was that, despite gaining weight, his cultivation seemed to be progressing slowly like before. Eventually, he stopped worrying about it and spent most of his time eating and drinking with his older brothers. Life is good. As the months passed, he heard a bit of gossip about the recent events in the Spirit Stream Sect.
Moreover, Big Fatty Zhang taught him more about the sect in general. He learned that the sect disciples were divided into Inner and Outer Sects. Any servant who could practice cultivation all the way to the third level of Qi Condensation would be able to challenge one of the ordeals with fire, which was a pathway that existed at the various mountain peaks in the sect. A servant who passed the trial by fire could join that mountain peak as an Outer Sect disciple. Only by becoming an Outer Sect disciple could there be people who were truly part of the Spirit Stream Sect.
However, achieving such a feat would be considered an astonishing achievement, and would be on par with the old adage about a fish jumping over a dragon gate. Only the top three competitors in the monthly trial would be accepted, meaning that the number of people who could become Outer Sect disciples was limited.
On one particular day, the Seventh Fatty had been scheduled to come out and buy supplies, but ended up being busy with a few other things. As a result, Big Fatty Zhang called Bai Xiaochun and told him to replace the Seventh Fatty. Bai Xiaochun hesitated for a moment, recalling the incident with Xu Baocai from a few months before. Although it might not be something to worry about, he could not shake off his anxiety. Before leaving, he returned to his room and collected eight meat machetes and also wore six long leather coats. By the time he finished dressing, he looked like a round ball.
However, he also felt much safer, which was an important thing. The last thing he did was tie his watch to his back, making him feel very safe. He then staggered out of the Oven and down the mountain.
As he walked along the green chalk roads of the sect, he looked at the beautiful buildings and courtyards, and began to feel even more proud than before.
"How time passes!" he pondered, clasping his hands behind his back. “Life is like a dream.I, Bai Xiaochun, have only spent a few months practicing cultivation. However, when I thought back to the mortal world, and my life in the village, it filled my eyes with tears. ” He walked along with eight meat machetes hanging on his belt, a frying pan on his back, and several layers of clothing, looking very like a dilapidated toy ball. Sometimes, he would meet other servants, who would stare at him from the corner of their eyes as he passed by.
There were even some female disciples who could not help but laugh when they saw her. They covered their mouths with their hands, and the sound of their laughter was like silver bells, clear and melodious.
His face flushed slightly, Bai Xiaochun could not help feeling more impressive than before. Clearing his throat, he stuck out his chest and continued to pitch.
Before too much time passed, and even before he left the third peak servant district, he noticed that some servants were rushing into the distance, looking extremely excited. They seemed to be heading towards the path that led to the peak of the third peak, a place where the disciples of the Outer Sect often gathered.
More and more servants started running towards it, looking extremely excited. Shocked by the scene, Bai Xiaochun quickly grabbed a skinny waitress who happened to run.
"Young Brother, what happened?" Bai Xiaochun asked in surprise. "Why is everyone running there?"
The young man looked on angrily, but then looked at the black frying pan on Bai Xiaochun's back, and his expression turned envious.
"I didn't realize you were from Ovens, Elder Brother. Why don't you come along? The two Chosen from the Outer Sect, Zhou Hong and Zhang Yide, fought in the trial with the fire arena. Supposedly, both of them had beef with each other. Whatever happens, the two of them are at the sixth level of Qi Condensation, so we should be able to learn a little by watching them, and maybe even gain enlightenment. " Finishing his explanation, the young man rushed away, seemingly worried about missing one of the actions.
The platform was about 3,000 meters tall, and was surrounded by a crowd of servants. There were even people watching from a position further up the mountain, who were all wearing luxurious clothes, and were obviously disciples of the Outer Sect.
Two young men occupied the platform, both of them wearing luxurious clothes. One of them had a scar on his face, the other had a skin as white as jade. The two fought back and forth, causing the sound of explosions to echo.
The light of magical objects surrounded the two of them. Floating in front of the scar-faced young man was a small flag fluttering of its own accord, as if an invisible hand was waving it. The swirling flag formed the shape of a Mist Tiger, which let out a deafening roar.
The jade-faced youth danced as he struggled. He had a small blue sword that whistled through the air, leaving behind a trail of light.
When Bai Xiaochun saw the flying sword, he gasped. Although he could control his own wooden sword in the same way, it was impossible to even compare his skill level with that jade-faced young man.
What was even more incredible was how the two young men seemed to hold nothing back. The killing intent disappeared from them, and within a short period of time, many deadly situations arose. Both were seriously injured, and despite the fact that the wound was uncritical, it was still a shocking sight.
This was the first time Bai Xiaochun had seen cultivators fighting, and it was very different from how he imagined the Gods would look when they fought. Their cruel and ferocious ways of attacking each other made his heart thump in fear.
"Eternal cultivation .. isn't just about living forever? What is this fight and murder about? What happens if I end up losing my poor little life …? ” Bai Xiaochun gulped uneasily as he watched Mist Tiger, the scarred young man nimbly attacking the young man. Wiping sweat from his brows, Bai Xiaochun suddenly realized that the outside world was an extremely dangerous place; it might be a better idea to stay in the Oven in a safe place.
After reaching this conclusion, he began to rush over when, suddenly, he heard someone shout his name.
"Bai Xiaochun !!"
He turned his head and saw the Blood Notification author, Xu Baocai, rushing towards him, a ferocious expression on his face. The wooden sword floated next to him, gleaming with an unusual light that clearly surpassed the first level of Qi Condensation. As the sword flew, it left a beam of light behind it, and sent a powerful spirit pressure out.
When Bai Xiaochun saw the wooden sword heading towards him, his eyes widened, and an intense feeling of a deadly crisis surfaced within him.
"He's gonna kill me!" he thinks.
Instantly, he started running in the opposite direction, shouting: “Murder! The murder!"
The other servants in the area all heard, and looked on in shock. His cries were so loud that even Zhou Hong and Zhang Yide stopped fighting.
In fact, even Xu Baocai was unnerved by the screams. He had obviously just shouted Bai Xiaochun's name and then started chasing after him. His sword had not even touched Bai Xiaochun, yet Bai Xiaochun shouted as if he had been stabbed repeatedly.
Xu Baocai hated Bai Xiaochun so much that his gums itched. With a pale face, he ran after her, shouting, “Come, Bai Xiaochun, you know how to fight! What are you running away for !? ”
“If I know how to fight, why should I run away, moron !? I'll kill you a long time ago! The killing! The murder!" Bai Xiaochun's scream grew louder as he fled in the opposite direction like a fat little rabbit.
Meanwhile, in a building jutting into the air at the top of a mountain, two men are playing a game of Go. One is middle-aged, the other is old. The middle-aged man was none other than Li Qinghou. As for the old man, he had a head full of white hair, and a reddish complexion. His eyes were sparkling brightly, and he was definitely not an ordinary individual. Right now, he was looking down at the scene playing down below.
Chuckling, he said, "What an interested child you brought back to the sect, Qinghou."
"It's a shame, Sect Leader. The child's personality definitely needs more work. " Felt a headache coming, Li Qinghou placed the piece of his game onto the blackboard and then shook his head.
"The kids in the Oven are quite stuck, but this kid fits in," the old man sneered, stroking his beard. “Not an easy task. Hmm … "
Quick notes on meat parangs. In Chinese the word is literally "vegetable knife" and can more accurately be translated as "kitchen knife." However, the most common kitchen knife you find in most Chinese households is what we call a knife in English. you can see it by going to Baidu and doing a picture search for the term "vegetable knife" in Chinese. You will see a pair of "normal" kitchen knives in the search for that image, because that word can also mean that. However, in home kitchens and restaurant kitchens in China, machetes are used for everything from cutting large chunks of meat to chopping vegetables
