Chapter 48
Chapter 48: Poor Immortal
Juan Bu said, “It’s good that you can reflect. You’re already impressive. How long have you studied? And the things I gave you—you should learn them all.”
Hu Qing: “…”
Thinking of the mountain of texts Juan Bu had dumped on her at once, she could only sigh. Knowledge was an ocean, and she was standing at the shore, ready to drown.
Then a subtle sense of danger brushed her heart.
In an instant, Hu Qing put away the forging furnaces and the spirit skiff. Talismans scattered in all directions, and at the same time she reached for Shui Xin.
At that exact moment, Shui Xin erupted with massive thunder energy and grabbed for Hu Qing as well.
Their hands locked, and both figures vanished from where they stood.
Thunder and talismans detonated with a roar. The empty sky boiled into huge rolling clouds.
Inside the clouds, a grotesque hand appeared—flesh charred black.
The blackened hand swept once, and a gale tore the clouds apart, revealing a figure in a black robe.
The newcomer was livid. The scorched hand clenched into a fist. “Damn it, you ants—if not for this Heavenly Dao suppressing me—”
His divine sense shot out in pursuit, but the world was vast and empty, and there was nowhere to chase.
“Don’t let this immortal meet you again!”
Only after fleeing a very, very long distance did Hu Qing and Shui Xin finally crawl out from underground, hearts still hammering.
Shui Xin set Hu Qing down from above his head, and they both shook dirt off themselves.
“An immortal,” Hu Qing said, voice tight.
They stared at each other.
Hu Qing spat grit onto the ground. “Shameless. Just because you’re an immortal, you can rob people?”
She coughed out mouthfuls of sand, then glared at Shui Xin. “You ran too fast.”
Now she knew for sure: Shui Xin’s escape speed was far beyond hers.
The bald thief had even carried her face-forward. Jealous she was prettier?
“Did you see him clearly?” Shui Xin asked.
“No.” Hu Qing’s face darkened. “I’m more worried he saw us.”
Both of them had top-tier danger sense. They’d each felt it a few seconds early.
They’d both answered with the same instinct—wide-area, indiscriminate attacks, then grab the other and run.
They’d also both sensed the enemy’s strength. Survival came first. Who had time to care about his face or aura?
It was infuriating. If he weren’t an immortal—if he were only Mahayana Stage—they could have teamed up and fought.
“No idea what race he is,” Shui Xin said.
Hu Qing snorted. “Does it matter? Being a person doesn’t make him a good person.”
Silence settled for a heartbeat.
Shui Xin spoke again, cautious. “Could it be Zhaohua Sect—”
Hu Qing shot him a look. “Could it be the Buddhist Sect?”
“It isn’t,” Shui Xin said at once. “If he were from the Buddhist Sect, I’d feel it.”
They fell silent again.
Then Shui Xin asked, “Your invisibility technique still works, right?”
“I tested it. It works even on immortals,” Hu Qing said. “But I don’t know how many major realms it can fool. That one just now…” She trailed off, suspicion and disbelief tangled together.
“What?” Shui Xin pressed. “Spit it out.”
Hu Qing hesitated. “Why do I feel like he was after my forging furnaces?”
“What?”
Hu Qing took out the four tiny furnaces. “These. I was rolling them around, then my neck suddenly went cold and I reacted. What did you feel?”
Shui Xin stared at the furnaces, each only a bit bigger than a fingertip. “Don’t tell me these are immortal furnaces?”
Then he answered, frowning. “I sensed danger, so I moved. Thinking back… it didn’t feel like it was aimed at me. He wanted those? Immortal furnaces?”
“Immortal my ass,” Hu Qing snapped. “My dad forced other ancestors to give these to me. They have a clear origin—made by a master refiner from Little Li Realm. They’re definitely not immortal artifacts.
I checked. Pure and original. There’s not even a scrap of immortal realm material inside.”
Then it made no sense. An immortal robbing lower realm stuff? No matter how good, it wasn’t at the “immortal” level.
Shui Xin still held a few fantasies about celestial immortals. “Then maybe they can be refined up to immortal grade.”
Hu Qing gave him a flat stare. “I think that immortal is just broke. Ascended and ended up begging.”
Shui Xin: “…”
Annoyingly, that explanation fit.
It was like a mortal stepping into the cultivation world and becoming an “immortal” in mortal eyes, yet still staying poor for life.
Like a certain someone who, back in Baoping Ward, was so broke she went stealing grass.
Shui Xin’s gaze turned teasing. Hu Qing remembered too and forced a defense. “That grass wasn’t rare. Besides, I didn’t rob anyone.”
Shui Xin said, “Back then, who could you rob?”
Hu Qing rubbed dirt between her fingers, scowling. “Stealing, robbing… how poor is he?”
Tch. Sounded like she was describing herself.
Shui Xin’s mind was already elsewhere. “We can’t gamble on him not recognizing us. We should discuss how to kill an immortal.”
Hu Qing’s teeth ached instantly. Kill an immortal?
“What level is your cultivation now?” Shui Xin asked.
“I don’t know,” Hu Qing admitted. “I broke through in the immortal realm, but there was no heavenly lightning. I don’t know why. What do you think I am now?”
Shui Xin studied her and frowned. “I can’t tell. After you came back from the immortal realm, I see through you even less.”
Hu Qing’s eyes lit up. “So I’m stronger than you now?”
Shui Xin: “…”
“I can’t see your spirit root, your origins,” he said slowly, “or even tell that you’ve had a child.”
Hu Qing: …Why are you so obsessed with whether I’ve had a child?
“But in the immortal realm, everyone could see my cultivation,” she argued.
Shui Xin snapped, “Of course. Anyone can see surface things. You’re definitely not Nascent Soul Stage anymore, but I can’t tell what you are.”
Hu Qing frowned. Was it because she hadn’t gone through heavenly lightning? Or had someone hidden her?
The Gold-Devouring Divine Beast… or the egg?
As soon as the thought surfaced, the egg that had been silent in her space sent back a faint response—an unconscious little greeting, like a sleepy “ah.”
Hu Qing’s heart tightened. So it really was that.
She cleared her throat. “My big opportunity.”
Shui Xin rolled his eyes. “I don’t care. You don’t need to tell me.”
Hu Qing laughed. “And I’ve never asked about yours.”
At that, Shui Xin’s eyes shifted. A slow smile spread across his face, pretty as a flower.
Hu Qing’s scalp prickled.
“You’ve got a big opportunity now,” he said, voice sweet. “That thunder dragon… you can’t take care of it all by yourself, can you?”
“Pah.” Hu Qing snorted. “Keep dreaming. The thunder dragon is my bonded little darling.”
“You already have Bai Wen.”
“Two companions is better than being lonely.” Hu Qing squinted at him. “By the way—your bonded artifact still hasn’t awakened a spirit?”
Shui Xin stared at her hard enough to make her uncomfortable.
“What are you getting at?”
Shui Xin clicked his tongue. “If you didn’t mention it, I would’ve forgotten. Forge me a bonded artifact too. Something like the thunder dragon.”
Hu Qing: …This monk really dreams with his eyes open.
He had once had a bonded artifact, but he was addicted to delivering karmic retribution and nearly dying. The artifact had died before he did. Right now, he truly had none.
He pestered her until she couldn’t take it anymore. “You provide the materials. You choose the style. Prep it all, and I’ll forge it for you.”
Only then did Shui Xin look satisfied. “Good. Now let’s talk about how to kill an immortal.”