Chapter 8: Laying the Cards on the Table
There are two methods for crafting artifacts: besides mineral materials, one can use either fire veins or spiritual power for refinement. At present, Cao Chengyu lacks spiritual power, so both skills require fire veins to be employed.
The art of refining tools similarly provided a blueprint for forging a pill furnace.
This feeling of having everything ready except for the fire vein was truly vexing. Most of the ingredients for the Nourishing Qi Pill were ten-year-old herbs, which, given the Cao family’s influence, could be gathered in bulk with ease.
So it was indeed just the fire vein that was missing.
After sitting quietly in his room for a while, Cao Chengyu set off for the Four Seasons Academy. To obtain a fire vein, he would have to go out searching; he could no longer spend every day attending classes and reciting texts as he had this past month.
He needed to have a proper conversation with Old Master Yang.
The city of Immortal Tower was especially lively in the early morning.
Vendors lined the streets, hawking all manner of buns, rice cakes, glutinous pastries, and floral confections, all at affordable prices.
Life in Immortal Tower was pleasant, thanks to the wisdom of the current Dayue Dynasty. The common folk led good lives.
This vibrant scene put Cao Chengyu in a comfortable frame of mind.
His fear of Old Master Yang was much lessened now, though he could still recall vividly the scene of his hand being severely injured just a month prior.
Speaking of dreams again now inevitably made his heart tremble.
Upon entering the Four Seasons Academy, he didn’t see the usual diligent students engaged in morning reading. Only then did Cao Chengyu realize today was a rest day—there were no classes.
For some reason, this discovery made him suddenly cautious. He glanced around, wanting to see the person he sought, yet also not wanting to encounter him.
“Ahem…”
“!?”
“Good morning, Master Yang.”
“There are no classes today. Why have you come?” Yang Jiuxuan stroked his gray-white beard, his brows lowered as he gazed at Cao Chengyu.
“Well… I’ve come today to withdraw from the academy…” Cao Chengyu forced himself to speak.
“Withdraw?” Yang Jiuxuan did not lose his temper as expected. Instead, he asked, “Do you know the advantages of studying?”
“I do.”
“Tell me, then.”
“May I dare to compose a poem?”
Feigning contemplation, Cao Chengyu paced back and forth. He didn’t quite understand why Old Master Yang was being so enigmatic, but after musing long enough, he dropped the act and recited in a clear voice:
The wealthy need not buy fertile fields; within books, there are countless stores of grain.
To live in comfort, no need for lofty towers; within books, there are houses of gold.
Do not lament the lack of a worthy match; within books, there is beauty like jade.
Do not fear to travel alone; within books, carriages and horses abound.
A man with ambitions should diligently study the Five Classics at his window.
“Hahaha! Excellent!”
“What a fine line—within books, there is beauty like jade; within books, there are houses of gold!”
“Since you understand, I will not persuade you further. Does this poem have a title?”
“Master, it is called ‘An Ode to Learning.’”
“A fine name. Come with me.”
Yang Jiuxuan strode ahead, leaving Cao Chengyu no choice but to follow obediently.
He had no idea what was about to happen.
A few minutes later, they entered the study. Yang Jiuxuan picked up a brush and began writing on paper. In no time, he was finished.
“Take this.”
“Master Yang, what is this?”
“I know your intentions well enough. This is a letter of recommendation for the Dayue Celestial Observation Tower.”
“When I was young, I held office in the capital and had some acquaintance with the Tower Master.”
“With this letter, you should be able to enter safely.”
Cao Chengyu scratched his head, not quite understanding.
“The Celestial Observation Tower?”
“It is the official gathering place for cultivators in Dayue. The late emperor, fearing that the hard-won peace of Dayue might be disrupted by cultivators, recruited a group of free practitioners and combined them with the royal experts to form the Celestial Observation Tower.”
“Its purpose is to oversee all under heaven. Among all the cultivation factions within Dayue’s borders, the Tower is the strongest and most resourceful. I know that ever since you witnessed an immortal as a child, you’ve never been able to forget.”
“And now, you have finally come to this point.”
So that’s how it was—Cao Chengyu hadn’t realized Dayue was a dynasty of cultivators. He thought he’d have to seek out a sect in the mountains or something. It was fortunate he hadn’t just set out blindly.
After mulling it over, he asked, “Master, did you know I would do this?”
“I knew one thing, not another. You are a raw gem, a scholar wasted on the pursuit of immortality. Now, at fourteen and a half, you have already missed the best age. At the Celestial Observation Tower, they will test your aptitude. If you do not pass, I hope you can accept your fate.”
“If that happens, you will stay at the capital’s academy. In a few years, I will join you there and reassess your studies.”
…
So he thought I wouldn’t succeed—and that’s why he said little. Hmph, I am a genius.
Taking the letter from Yang Jiuxuan, Cao Chengyu now held the pass to the most powerful cultivation sect in Dayue, a clear and direct path before him.
It was time to be honest with his parents and his aunt.
Cao Chengyu waved farewell to Master Yang. This was a man of great stature—anyone who could befriend the Tower Master could not be underestimated.
But there was no need to curry too much favor; maintaining their current teacher-student relationship was enough.
He returned home while it was still early. His parents had probably just finished breakfast. The familiar study, the familiar faces—except this time, he had come to speak his mind.
Creak—
“Out! Knock before you enter! How many times must I tell you?” his father’s angry voice boomed. This time even his mother didn’t defend him; he’d just walked in on an awkward scene.
They were cuddling early in the morning—how was that his fault?
Knock, knock, knock—
“Come in! Hmph!”
Ignoring his father’s glare, Cao Chengyu planted one foot on a stool. Still feeling a little short, he stepped onto the seat back instead.
Yes, now I’m at the right height and status.
“I declare, from today onward, I, Cao Chengyu, am going to cultivate immortality.”
“??”
“???”
His parents were more bewildered than ever, looking as if their son had taken leave of his senses. The sight was infuriating.
Cao Chengyu pressed down with his foot, and the chair exploded with a bang—not a normal break, but a true explosion. Both parents were stunned for a moment.
“This…”
Landing lightly on the ground, Cao Chengyu leaped four or five meters high, bounding with ease onto a ceiling beam, brimming with confidence.
“I, Cao Chengyu, have inherited an immortal’s legacy in a dream. Now that my cultivation has reached a bottleneck, I have come to bid you farewell in pursuit of a breakthrough.”
“I advise you to train up another heir soon; the Cao family mines are no longer my concern.”
“You—”
What he meant could not have been clearer: he was renouncing his right to inherit the family’s mining business and would go out to forge his own path.
And with a capital of fifty million—this was no joke.
The two exchanged a glance and both gave a wry smile.
Since the age of ten, the child had wanted nothing more than to cultivate. When the immortals didn’t accept him as a disciple, the family had hoped he would finally focus on their affairs, but now he had come to this crossroads after all.
“Sigh…”
Cao’s father let out a heavy sigh.
“So be it, if this is your choice.”
“Yu’er, come down here first.”
“Uh…”
Cao Chengyu jumped down from the beam. He’d thought this would be difficult, but apparently, after seeing his newfound prowess, his parents were willing to concede—a strategic victory!
His mother, Tang Shuwan, approached and patted her son’s head with concern.
“Since you have an immortal’s fate, I will not stop you. Before you go, pay a visit to your aunt. She and your second uncle once had dealings with immortals—you should ask her for advice.”