Tang Xiu's impression of Electrolady was that she was a shallow woman;. she only saw men for their looks while ignoring their inner qualities. She was the type of woman Tang Xiu never had a good impression of, while Aquababe actually gave him a good impression. He might act as a matchmaker a bit to tie the two if Aquababe were the one who liked Light. But as for Electrolady… Tang Xiu didn't feel like he wanted to make Tang Guang get occupied with this… ill-fated relations.h.i.+p.
"Just forget it! You're not suitable for him."
Tang Xiu took out a cigarette and lit it up. After taking and blowing out the smoke a few times, he turned and left. He didn't want to answer more, even if she had more questions.
Electrolady strode to chase after him, and angrily asked, "What the h.e.l.l do you mean? Why are we not a match? I'm an ability user and an Elementalist, while he's a cultivator—why isn't it a perfect match for us?!"
Tang Xiu's pace came to a halt and he said with a pale smile, "Do you think the abilities of Elementalists can be compared to that of cultivators? Do you think you're a good match for him?"
"Yes!" answered Electrolady firmly.
"Ability users do have some power to be proud of, as powerful Elementalists are as equally powerful as some cultivators. But how long can an Elementalist live, may I ask?" Tang Xiu shook his head. "100 years? Or 200 years? Do you know how long cultivators can live if their cultivation keeps getting stronger?"
"What does this have to do with how long you can live if two people don't love each other, huh?" retorted Electrolady angrily. "Besides, there had been a super strong person among the ability users who lived for two-hundred-plus years before. Pity that it was during the Anti-j.a.panese War of Resistance, so I wasn't able to meet him."
"This issue of your lifespan doesn't matter? Are you kidding?" Tang Xiu berated her. "If Tang Guang cultivates with my instructions, his cultivation will keep improving and he can have a lifespan of at least a millennium. If he cultivates diligently and has some luck, he even can become an ascending immortal in the future. By then, he won't only have a lifespan of thousands of years, but even possibly tens of thousands of years. What about you? Even if you become a super powerful Elementalist one day, you can only live for at most two-hundred-plus years. When you die by then, do you really want to push Tang Guang to drown in loneliness and walk the path of cultivation in solitary?"
"This…"
Electrolady was not a cultivator. She had heard some hearsay about cultivators and knew that a very strong cultivator was indeed able to live for a very long time.
However, she really fell in love with Tang Guang the instant she saw him. She truly realized that it was love at first sight. She hadn't had such a feeling of falling in love at first sight, even though the number of people she had fallen in love with was in the three digits. But the story was very different now. Her heart moved the very moment she saw Tang Guang. That feeling burst forth by itself and she couldn't extricate herself of it.
Upon seeing such disdain from Tang Xiu's expression, only then did Electrolady realize that there was such a gap between her and Tang Guan. But she was really unwilling to give up. After hesitating for a while, she said with all seriousness, "Can you teach me how to cultivate, Mr. Tang? As long as I become a cultivator, I can be with Tang Guang for a long time."
"Do you think you can become a cultivator just by moving your tongue? What a big joke!" Tang Xiu rolled his eyes and snappily replied, "There's an unwritten rule in our cultivation world: you can never impart the art easily. Who do you think you are and what qualifications do you have to ask me to teach you the cultivation technique, huh?"
With that said, Tang Xiu really couldn't be bothered by her anymore and strode to w.a.n.g Rui who had vented his anger and said, "Your mortal enemy has died, and the crisis that befell upon your Qingcheng school has also been lifted. I've delivered on the promise I gave you and have paid back your favor. We'll see each other again later if fate wills it!"
w.a.n.g Rui looked at Tang Xiu with a b.l.o.o.d.y face. His lips squirmed a few times and suddenly asked, "If I were to practice according to that type of cultivation technique you've imparted to us, is it possible to have the strength you currently have at present?"
"No." Tang Xiu shook his head and said, "There's no hope for you to achieve it in your life unless you happen upon other opportunities. What the Qingcheng school has is only martial art heritage to begin with. With what I've taught you, you can make it ten to twenty times stronger. It's already good enough a gift for you."
w.a.n.g Rui looked disappointed and fell into silence for a while. Then he said, "Tang Xiu, what price do I have to pay so you can teach me a cultivation art to practice? Do you want me to exchange it for my life in serving you?"
"No. You're not the kind of man who will serve others, ever." Tang Xiu shook his head and said, "I don't need you to serve under me, while the path to the Dao cannot be pa.s.sed on easily either. I always weigh the situation of those who I will impart cultivation art to. The previous you may still have the chance to walk on the cultivation path, had it not been for the calamity that befell upon your Qingcheng school and led to the death of your father who had been killed by Dao Master Poison. But now, your situation is not just suitable for it."
"Why not?" asked w.a.n.g Rui in a heavy voice.
"The current you has a heart that is filled with too much grudge and with evil tendencies," explained Tang Xiu. "Even if I bring you to the threshold of the cultivation path, you won't achieve much in the future. There's even a high probability that the higher your cultivation is, the more likely you are to fall into an obsession which will lead you to the blazing path of evil. It would be very easy for you to fall into a calamitous path of devils with no way to return."
"I understand." w.a.n.g Rui stared at Tang Xiu deeply. Yet, even though he said he'd given it up on the outside, he became more adamant to be a cultivator inwardly, wanting to be a very strong powerhouse such as Tang Xiu in the future.
Tang Xiu himself couldn't be bothered with the aftermath of the incident this time due to the presence of Electrolady and Aquababe. After leaving with Jin s.h.i.+ and the rest, they went directly to the cave near the mountain brooks where Mo Awu and Zhang Xinyue were staying.
To begin with, the purpose of his visit to Qingcheng Mountain was to obtain the Red Silk Flower. But, he didn't have a plan to leave immediately after achieving it.
It was due to the Blood Seizing Pill. He must concoct it as soon as possible to break through in his cultivation. Else, he would be in for big trouble if he ever met with another cultivator at the Golden Core stage again.
"When will we leave this place, Tang Xiu?"
Zhang Xinyue had a very complicated mood at this time. She felt rather reluctant to be separated from Tang Xiu, yet she also didn't want to stay much longer in such a remote and isolated place like the Qingcheng Mountain either. She didn't even realize that after spending many days getting along together, including an incident of them becoming husband and wife, Tang Xiu had taken a place deep inside her heart.
"I still need to stay here for some time; at least a week or so." Tang Xiu shook his head. "But I can send someone to send you back to Shanghai if you don't want to stay here. It's been many days, and I'm sure your older sister must be worried sick about your safety too."
Zhang Xinyue hesitated and then made up her mind, "Then I won't go back now since you still need a week to tend to your things. Besides, I'm kinda in a need of rest since I've been living in the big city all year round while constantly working hard for my studies and developing my career. I think I'll spend this week staying in Qingcheng Mountain to enjoy the beauty of nature here and to relax."
"Since you decided so, then I'll a.s.sign Awu to protect you." Tang Xiu nodded. "He'll guard you whenever you want to go anywhere to enjoy the scenery here."
"Why are you so kind to me?" asked Zhang Xinyue all of a sudden. "Are you trying to make up for the debt you owe in your heart?"
"I, uh…"
Tang Xiu's mouth was opened, but he didn't know what kind of reply he should come up with. Truth be told, he did have the idea to make it up for Zhang Xinyue, though it might not be fair to her as a woman if he were to express it.
Zhang Xinyue's expression was a bit dark. But then she smiled and said, "Alright. Let's forget it, shall we? Don't reply to me if you don't want to, regardless of whether you want to make it up to me or are falling in love with this Missy. In any case, we'll forget all the things that have happened here and return to our own lives in seven days."
Tang Xiu fell into silence. Zhang Xinyue said it in such an easy way, but could she really forget everything that had happened between them?
The threads of sentiment and feelings between two people would lead to a confused state of mind if they were to keep cutting it.
Tang Xiu was a free and easy person to begin with. He couldn't clear up such a situation between them, but he didn't want to be kept entangled with it either. He firmly believed that there must be a way out of every problem, so what he needed to do was to tread carefully with each step taken in the future.
He no longer bothered himself with this relations.h.i.+p issue and finally immersed his mind and heart to begin refining the Blood s.n.a.t.c.hing Pill. He had definitely earned a huge harvest by coming to Qingcheng Mountain. Needless to say about the Red Silk Flower, the large number of herbs he obtained from the Qingcheng Monastery's underground vault were significant cultivation resources for him.
There was also—that Soul Slaying Spike.
As he recalled this object, Tang Xiu suppressed his mind immediately and used the Demon G.o.d Soul Devourer Cauldron to start concocting the pill. Though the rest of the herbs had been prepped properly, Tang Xiu's pace while concocting the pill was rather slow, though he kept it very smooth. An explosion sound was heard from the cauldron on the fourth day as Tang Xiu threw in the last precious herb, the Red Silk Flower, into the Demon G.o.d Soul Devourer Cauldron.
He cast the pill concocting technique and started to form the medicinal pill.
When he opened the lid of the cauldron, a strong medicinal scent filled the whole cave. Everyone stayed inside in the cave for the last four days, and Zhang Xinyue, who hadn't left to enjoy the scenery outside, felt her spirit dim while all the pores over her body stretched out as she was intoxicated in the rich medicinal scent.
It was comfortable!
It made her look at the Demon G.o.d Soul Devourer Cauldron while her throat unknowingly gulped a few times, swallowing her saliva.
"Absorb!"
Tang Xiu cast a secret art rune and took a peanut-sized, red-blooded Blood Seizing Pill immediately to ingest it.
"Awu, none shall stay in the cave without my order!"
Tang Xiu shouted and quickly retrieved back the Demon G.o.d Soul Devourer Cauldron into his interspatial ring. Then, he sat cross-legged in the same spot and crazily began to digest the efficacy and energy contained in the Blood Seizing Pill.
After the Blood Seizing Pill entered Tang Xiu's stomach, a torrent of blood burst out and flooded every corner of Tang Xiu's body. The tide of blood flushed on and on, was.h.i.+ng his muscles and tempering his bones, including his internal organs over and over again while increasing the flexibility and firmness all the way through.
The surging blood was gradually encapsulated by the red-blooded energy of the medicinal force inside Tang Xiu's blood vessels, which underwent a qualitative change. With the pa.s.sage of time, the amount of blood in his blood vessels was getting less and less. On the third day after he took the pill, the amount of blood in his blood vessels only remained at a quarter of what it had been before.
However, even though it was just only a quarter of the previous amount, Tang Xiu was not affected by it whatsoever. His blood that was originally red seemed to have been covered by a layer of golden light like it was being coated with a glossy red and golden color.
"I'm so starving!"
The moment Tang Xiu opened his eyes, strong hunger made him particularly uncomfortable. He quickly took out a lot of food and wolfed them down under the curious gaze of Zhang Xinyue.
Two hours pa.s.sed by, yet Tang Xiu didn't stop munching. While crazily eating and drinking, his body extracted the energy to nourish his blood and qi and added it into his blood vessels.