After raging for a good minute, Qiu Yunru took a deep breath.
It was true that in the end, it was no use to continue raging when one was in an impossible situation. However...
It was getting really damn hard not to rage when the tenth, twentieth, and fiftieth impossible situations were thrust into his arms! He wasn't a Buddha--he was only a man!
As a small comfort, the harder the difficult quest in Spring Blossoms, Autumn Fruits, the exponentially more valuable the rewards. So, if he was going to be given an 'Extreme Difficulty' Quest, then the rewards should be astounding, no?
Breathing deeply so as to not lose his mind, Qiu Yunru turned around.
Li Chenyuan shuddered. Qiu Yunru's smile was so tight that it looked like his lips might snap!
"Let's go," Qiu Yunru said softly. "We'll tell the authorities on the way out, and then inform Shizun when we're back."
And so they did. Back at the Jade Clouds Sect, He Yongliang was horrified to hear the news.
"Black Lip Leaf Poison...?" He murmured, absently tapping the corner of his mouth with his bamboo fan. His snow-pale skin had gone even whiter than porcelain. "Attempted murder...attempted kidnapping...then murder, without a trace..."
Suddenly, he looked up at Qiu Yunru, seeming puzzled.
"But, Yunru--how did you survive? Didn't you say you drank the Black Lip Leaf Poison, and in the end spat up black blood? This Shizun is endlessly grateful that you are here, but when one reachees that state, they are generally considered to be..."
He Yongliang trailed off, not wanting to be harsh with his words. However, it was obvious what he meant to say: once a person spit up black blood, they were beyond all help!
Qiu Yunru, thankfully, had already prepared an answer to this question. It was entirely true that he shouldn't have survived at all, but he couldn't exactly spout off some nonsense about a game menu exchanging Demon Realm Reputation Points for HP!
"Thankfully, this disciple was quick to recognize the poison by smell, and is somewhat immune to certain poisons through alchemical experimentation. Recently, I consumed a large amount of Spirit Disintegrating Powder, which I believe interfered with the poison's ability to affect my body. It seems to have been a lucky accident."
He Yongliang tilted his head, pondering this. In the moonlight streaming through the window of his abode, he looked rather tired, and older than he usually appeared. In the end, he found Qiu Yunru's response believable.
Who knew the depths of the alchemical sciences? In any case, if some alchemical miracle hadn't occurred, his disciple would be long-dead. Better to be alive than dead!
Also, there was little chance that this child could be in kahoots with such kinds of people. If he was...
He Yongliang gave Qiu Yunru a long look with jade eyes, opening and closing his fan once. Though Li Chenyuan had run off to get his shixiong some medications and wasn't present, He Yongliang could imagine him easily by this child's side, stone-faced. Chenyuan had been following Yunru around for some time now; it was obvious to everyone.
"You'll protect Chenyuan, won't you, Yunru?" He Yongliang's voice was quiet.
Qiu Yunru blinked.
...What was that supposed to mean...?
"Ah...Yes," Qiu Yunru said awkwardly, making a courtesy. "But from what is it this disciple should protect him, Shizun?"
"Oh, just in general." He Yongliang smiled kindly. "I just worry."
________
After that day, life at the Jade Clouds Sect returned to normal. News came continuously from Jin He City to He Yongliang's ears, and he updated Qiu Yunru occassionally; however, there was never anything of note. Those men cloaked in black hadn't been spotted nearby again, and the inn had been handed to that innkeeper's brother, since he didn't have a wife or children to give it to.
"So he didn't have a family!" Li Chenyuan spat when he hard the news. "I knew it."
Qiu Yunru coughed awkwardly, but didn't bother to scold him. In truth, he was thinking the same!
The days came and went like melting water, the sun rising solid each morning and running into the horizon every night. They trained through the hot summer days and into the cool breeze of fall. Slowly, the mountains turned gold with autumn leaves.
Qiu Yunru could tell that his body was at the edge of forming a golden core. His meridians brimmed with spiritual qi that replenished quickly, filling him with a sense of boundless energy. Thus, he encouraged Li Chenyuan to train harder, too. The sooner this kid got a core, the sooner he'd be just that much closer to the immortal life he was determined to get--even if this damn game AI blocked him at every corner!
Interestingly, there were no more notifications about that "REQUIRED EXTREME DIFFICULTY" level quest. At first, Qiu Yunru was worried, constantly checking his window at night for signs of intruders, and going often to his Shizun for news on Jin He City. But as time went on and nothing happened, he forgot about it altogether.
One early morning as Qiu Yunru was mediating and circulating his meridians out on the cliffside, overlooking the beautiful mists and valleys of Li Hua mountain, something burst in his meridians.
There was the sensation of qi flooding outwards to the extremities of his body, then rushing inwards towards his core, bringing with it a flowing warmth. It swirled within his abdomen and around his heart, generating a heat that began to be uncomfortable. That heat grew into a raging fire, and his heart felt like a lump of metal being melted on a stick.
So this was what it meant to "use the body as a crucible"!
Qiu Yunru didn't dare move. He continued to cultivate, even as a cold sweat dripped down into his eyes and down his neck.
This was it--the formation of a Golden Core!