Chapter Twenty-One: The Warm-Hearted Elder Brother
Chapter Twenty-One: The Warmhearted Elder Brother
More than another day passed before Fang Junmei finally arrived at Steward Peak. His sluggish pace along the road was nothing compared to the speed when Linghu Jinjiu brought him here last time, which greatly stirred Fang Junmei’s desire to break through to the Dust Realm and learn to fly through the air.
Within Steward Mountain, disciples moved about as usual; many, like Fang Junmei, were here to fulfill sect tasks and earn contributions and rewards. The prosperity of a sect never rests on one or two experts alone.
“He’s here.”
“How could this person be so formidable? Even if his senior brothers and sisters gave him special guidance, Xiao Yunyu shouldn’t have lost that quickly.”
“So this is the difference between outer disciples and inner disciples?”
No sooner had he reached the summit than murmurs arose all around. News of Fang Junmei’s skirmish with Xiao Yunyu had preceded him at Steward Peak. Upon his arrival, he was greeted by a multitude of gazes, each bearing its own meaning.
Some bold female cultivators even threw him a few flirtatious glances, eager to cling to a rising star. The cultivation world, in essence, was nothing more than a grander version of the rivers and lakes.
Fang Junmei ignored them, found someone to inquire, and entered Cloud Summoning Pavilion, which specialized in issuing sect tasks.
The Cloud Summoning Pavilion was spacious, reminiscent of an inn; half the hall was for task announcements, while the other half was furnished with tables and chairs for disciples to rest, chat, forge bonds, or exchange banter.
When Fang Junmei entered, nearly thirty people sat at those tables, and once more, eyes turned toward him, though the buzzing whispers were much quieter.
He swept his gaze around—naturally, he recognized no one and greeted no one, heading straight into the depths of the hall.
Five steward disciples handled the task assignments.
Fang Junmei approached a female cultivator, appearing just over twenty, sweet-faced, with a cultivation at the eighth or ninth stage of Qi Induction, and said, “Senior Sister, please show me a task suitable for earning spirit stones.”
“Please wait a moment, Senior Brother!”
She was polite, clearly higher in realm than Fang Junmei, yet called him “Senior Brother”—a sign she knew his status and was herself an outer disciple; otherwise, she would never have shown such humility.
Fang Junmei nodded and waited.
Soon, the female cultivator handed him a jade slip, which he began to read beside her.
…
Mining at the quarry: one hundred low-grade spirit stones per month.
Fang Junmei shook his head, finally realizing how rare it was to receive a thousand low-grade spirit stones upon entering the sect.
Harvesting Wind Demon Leopard claws: twenty low-grade spirit stones each.
He shook his head again. He didn’t know what a Wind Demon Leopard was, but such tasks surely wouldn’t yield much.
He quickly skimmed through task after task. Most required searching for various materials outside the mountain. Some offered generous rewards, but Fang Junmei felt lost in a fog, so he asked the female cultivator, who explained not only must one leave the mountain but also rely on luck.
Disappointment gradually showed on Fang Junmei’s face.
At last, he found nothing suitable.
“Are there no other tasks?” he asked.
The female cultivator replied without hesitation, “Other tasks have restrictions on realm and are much more dangerous. I’m sorry, Senior Brother, but I can’t let you take them.”
---
Fang Junmei grew frustrated; it seemed he’d come for nothing.
He thought for a moment, then explored the jade slip in his hand more thoroughly.
…
At that moment, the female cultivator’s beautiful cat-like eyes flickered, as if she remembered something she wanted to say to Fang Junmei, but ultimately kept silent. He didn’t notice her expression.
But while she held her tongue, someone else spoke up.
“Junior Brother Fang, I know of a task that pays quite a lot of spirit stones and doesn’t require a high realm—just afraid you won’t have the courage to take it.”
A slightly hoarse, aged voice suddenly rang out in the hall.
Fang Junmei withdrew his spiritual sense and looked toward the speaker.
A cultivator sat alone in a corner, leaning lazily against the wall with a wine jar in hand. He was a man of more than fifty, thin and gaunt, with sparse beard and a lively pair of eyes that shone like a clever rat, a mysterious smile curling at his lips.
His first impression was enough to make one wary.
His aura was impressive, at least on par with Senior Sister Yang Xiaoman, perhaps even stronger—certainly mid-Dust Realm.
The hall quieted down. Several cultivators seemed to recall something, their eyes brightening. The female cultivator wore a helpless expression.
“...How should I address Senior Brother?” Fang Junmei sized him up and asked coolly.
“My name is Song Shoude, just a warmhearted elder brother. No need to worry about anything else, Junior Brother Fang,” the old man chuckled.
Upon hearing those seven words, “just a warmhearted elder brother,” the whole hall burst into laughter; even Fang Junmei couldn’t help but twitch his lips. Who would believe that?
“Please enlighten me, Senior Brother Song.”
“Gladly,” Song Shoude chuckled again and continued, “Our Peach Blossom Sword Sect has ten great Sword Immortals. One, Elder Chunyu Qian, is known as the ‘Medicine Sword Immortal.’ Elder Chunyu excels at alchemy and loves to develop new pills. Every new pill needs someone to test it. This task is to serve as a tester for Elder Chunyu’s pills.”
Fang Junmei nodded in understanding.
“Don’t think I’m scheming against you. I’ll be frank—the pill-testing task pays well because it’s dangerous. There have been disciples whose Dao hearts were ruined by the effects, who then left the mountain to live as ordinary mortals. But if you succeed, you might gain unexpected rewards. Your senior brother, I’ve heard, once received a great fortune from such a task in his family,” Song Shoude added, his tone turning mysterious.
The mention of “senior brother” piqued Fang Junmei’s interest.
“If you don’t believe me, ask Senior Sister here whether such a task exists,” Song Shoude suggested.
Fang Junmei turned to the female cultivator, who nodded solemnly, “There is such a task, but whether the former senior brother of Immoveable Peak truly gained any fortune, I can’t say.”
Fang Junmei nodded, then suddenly looked at Song Shoude and asked, “May I ask, Senior Brother Song, what is your relationship with Elder Chunyu?”
“He is my master!”
Damn it!
So you’re fishing for candidates for your master! Why don’t you go test the pills yourself?
Upon hearing this, Fang Junmei’s face darkened, and he shook his head, ignoring Song Shoude and returning to the jade slip.
Seeing Fang Junmei ignore him, Song Shoude’s eyes flashed with anxiety. “Junior Brother Fang, my master’s pills this time only require strong willpower and resolve—the longer you endure, the more you earn, and you might encounter great fortune. There’s no danger to your life.”
Fang Junmei continued to ignore him; if the pill-testing task were so simple, it wouldn’t fall to him.
“Junior Brother Fang, fortune favors the bold!”
---
It seemed Song Shoude had set his sights on Fang Junmei, or perhaps he’d already pitched this to others and been rejected.
Fang Junmei found him annoying and struck up a conversation with the female cultivator, inquiring about each task in the jade slip, calculating how many Sword Spirit Stones he could earn and comparing it to the speed at which he absorbed sword spirit energy from the world.
He concluded that, given his cultivation speed, taking low-level tasks was pointless.
“Senior Sister, can I take a higher-level task?” he finally asked.
She shook her head with a smile, “Sect rules forbid disciples from taking tasks above their level to prevent reckless ambition and unnecessary deaths. Unless you demonstrate cross-realm ability in the once-a-century sect tournament.”
“Sect tournament? What is it, and how many years until the next?” Fang Junmei’s eyes lit up.
“The sect tournament encourages younger disciples and outer elders to compete. It’s held every century; the next is twenty years from now. There are three levels: Dust, Dao Embryo, and Dragon Gate. Outer elders must reach Dragon Gate to qualify. If they defeat an inner elder, they gain the right to open a peak and advance. Inner elders who fail lose their peak lord status and become outer elders,” she explained, giving Fang Junmei a meaningful look.
He recalled the rumors he’d heard and pondered, “If my master is in deep sleep, how can he compete?”
“It depends on the disciples’ performance; the details haven’t been announced yet,” she replied.
Fang Junmei understood. He was clever and quickly deduced why his second senior brother, Fan Lanzhou, entrusted him to Linghu Jinjiu for training, and why he was driven so hard. He felt moved, wanting to do his part for Immoveable Peak. But could he reach the Dust Realm in twenty years, especially when he didn’t have even a single spirit stone?
He fell into deep thought.
“Junior Brother Fang, if you wish to help Immoveable Peak keep its mountain, earning spirit stones by testing pills for my master is the fastest way to improve,” Song Shoude’s persistent voice sounded again. The old fellow was adept at reading people and seizing opportunities.
This time, Fang Junmei felt a bit tempted.
“How many have taken this task, and how did they fare?” he asked the female cultivator, ignoring Song Shoude.
She hesitated, glancing at Song Shoude.
“Don’t hold back, just tell him the truth,” Song Shoude declared.
The female cultivator nodded, “This pill-testing task requires you to endure the effects of six different pills before facing the ultimate one. Seventeen disciples have attempted it; all failed midway. Three became deranged, two had their Dao hearts destroyed and left to live as mortals, one was left paralyzed. The remaining eleven are intact, but their willpower suffered greatly and will take a long time to recover.”
No wonder no one dares take it!
Fang Junmei felt his scalp tingle.
“The four who went mad or were paralyzed can still be saved, just need more time,” Song Shoude quickly added, afraid to scare Fang Junmei away.
Fang Junmei pondered, curiosity rising, “What is the ultimate pill?”
The female cultivator shook her head, “I don’t know.”
Fang Junmei was stunned.
“Junior Brother Fang, if you want to know what the ultimate pill is, just pass the trial,” Song Shoude’s mysterious voice echoed, his smile growing ever broader.