Chapter 37: The Stars Shift, Concealing Heavenly Secrets

The Wang family had departed.

Luo Qingning gazed in their direction with a cold smile. “Not one of them is worth anything,” she muttered. Then she turned to Lu Kaijiang, “Thankfully you arrived just in time, old man.”

“Indeed!” Lu Kaijiang nodded affirmatively before addressing Zhu Yi, “Host, it was truly reckless of my junior kin.”

“No matter!” Zhu Yi waved his hand dismissively. “If not for my own constraints against casual intervention, I’d have roasted every last member of that Wang Clan like rabbits—no exceptions.” He then shifted his gaze towards Qin Shu. “Young man, you’re quite impressive. By bone age, you’re barely eighteen, yet you’ve reached Late Foundation Establishment stage—and possessing a God-tier Spiritual Soul at such a tender age… Might I inquire if there’s any chance to witness its power?”

Qin Shu cupped his hands respectfully. “My apologies, Senior. That will not be possible.” His refusal was firm and unambiguous.

“Then we’ll leave it at that; I won’t force your hand,” Zhu Yi said amicably. Noticing he rather liked this youngster, he added, “Here, take this as a token of my appreciation.” With those words, he tossed a gold card to Qin Shu. “This is a Golden VIP Card from our God of Food Restaurant. When you dine with us, enjoy a ten percent discount on all meals.”

Without hesitation, Qin Shu accepted the offer. “Many thanks, Senior.”

“Hmm!” Zhu Yi acknowledged him with a nod, then waved goodbye to everyone present. “It’s time we all moved on—I shall see you out.” In an instant, his figure flickered and vanished from sight entirely.

Lu Kaijiang finally turned to look at Qin Shu. “So you’re young friend Qin Shu.”

Qin Shu bowed respectfully with cupped hands. “Greetings, Senior Lu. It’s an honor to meet you.”

“No need for formalities,” Lu Kaijiang said invitingly. “Why not join us at our Lu residence?”

Qin Shu couldn’t tell whether this was mere courtesy or a genuine invitation. Regardless, he was unwilling to visit their home outright. With an apologetic expression, he replied, “Many thanks for your offer, senior. However, I have other matters to attend to. Perhaps another day I will call on you personally.”

“Very well.” Lu Kaijiang didn’t press the matter further. Before they parted ways, he offered one last piece of advice: “The Wang family has suffered a significant setback this time; they likely won’t let it go easily. If you plan to leave Nine Yong City soon, be sure to conceal your whereabouts carefully.”

Qin Shu nodded gratefully. “Thank you for your warning, senior. Rest assured, I’ll take heed.”

“Well then, we must take our leave now.” Lu Yixi cast a reluctant glance back at Qin Shu before turning away alongside Lu Kaijiang and Luo Qingning.

“Farewell!” Qin Shu watched as the trio soared into the sky, departing by air—a method that drew no attention from passersby.

Instead of leaving immediately, Qin Shu strolled through the area, eventually arriving at a real estate agency. He inquired about the price of a standard residential property within the Immortal District.

Even the most basic dwelling cost three million Spiritual Soul Coins—a staggering sum indeed.

While he could afford to buy property here, it wasn’t worth the cost for what he’d get. It made more sense to continue residing at Yanghe Villa.

Without lingering any longer, Qin Shu took flight on his sword, departing from the immortal district.

In secret, a group of individuals watched him intently.

“The Lu Family didn’t even bother entertaining him,” one remarked. “How peculiar.”

“Should we make our move?” another suggested with a swift hand gesture mimicking a blade slicing through air.

“No, not within city limits,” replied the first voice. “Wait until he leaves the city boundaries before making your move.”

“And if he doesn’t leave?”

“Then there’s no need to act hastily. I’ll head to the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion to investigate his background—see just how audacious this newcomer truly is.”

It was clear that these were members of the Wang Clan keeping tabs on Qin Shu.

As for the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion, it was a place where information and intelligence were traded—a far more specialized establishment than the Money God Shopping Mall when it came to such matters. The threshold for entry into its ranks was significantly higher as well.

A minor Foundation Establishment cultivator like Qin Shu wouldn’t even know where to find the door to the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion.

Back in his hidden chamber at Yanghe Villa, Qin Shu set about refining the remaining spiritual energy still unassimilated within his body.

Meanwhile, in the immortal district, Wang Shuangjiang had arrived alone at an observatory-like structure known as the Star Gazing Pavilion—the very same building housing the nine-story-high Heavenly Secrets Pavilion.

Despite being at the Primordial Spirit realm, Wang Shuangjiang could only ascend to the second floor.

“Great Master Feng,” Wang Shuangjiang asked courteously upon reaching the second level, “have you discerned anything yet?”

“The heavens’ secrets are inscrutable; destiny remains hidden—difficult, most difficult!” Master Feng shook his head solemnly. “Go ahead and pay the fee: thirty million spiritual soul coins.”

“What?! Thirty million spiritual soul coins?! Wasn’t it supposed to be three million?” Wang Shuangjiang stared, dumbfounded by this revelation.

Blood seeped from the corners of Master Feng’s mouth, while several strands of his hair turned white. “Originally, it would have been only three million,” he said softly. “But as you can see, I’m not in my best state now. Thirty million—it’s still a fair price.”

His tone remained even, but when he pointed at his graying hair, the dissatisfaction in his eyes was palpable.

Wang Shuangjiang opened his mouth yet uttered no words. Not only had he received no definitive answer, but he’d also been fleeced for thirty million spiritual soul coins—a sum so bitter he could hardly bear to voice his anguish.

Still, one thing had become clear: Qin Shu was not someone to be trifled with. Even the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion couldn’t discern his origins—an expenditure that, though painful, might just prove worthwhile.

Yet the loss cut deep. Though he could afford these thirty million spiritual soul coins, they represented nearly half of his entire fortune.

“That damned Lu Family!” he cursed under his breath, resentment simmering within him.

At Yanghe Villa’s secluded study, Qin Shu finished absorbing the spiritual energy within him. Suddenly, both his eyelids began to twitch involuntarily.

Left eye twitches foretell good luck, he thought, right eye warns of misfortune. So what does it mean when both eyes twitch simultaneously? Am I simply suffering from nutritional deficiency?

He pondered this peculiar occurrence for a moment.

Unbeknownst to him, within his Cyan Lotus Spiritual Soul, a line of script appeared on one of its petals: “The stars shift and turn; fate remains unpredictable.”

There must be a reason behind such an omen, Qin Shu mused. Someone is surely scheming against me—either the Wang or Lu Families. But it’s most likely the Wangs.

Despite these musings, there was little he could do about it. His best course of action remained unchanged.

“Pill concocting!” he exclaimed resolutely.

His only means of earning money now lay in refining pills. First-order spirit pills were no longer challenging, so he decided to move on to second-order ones.

Qin Shu retrieved his pill furnace along with all the necessary ingredients for the Foundation Establishment Pill:

The primary ingredient—a single stalk of Gathering Origin Grass—and three secondary ingredients—Heavenly Spirit Flowers, Earthspirit Roots, and Scarlet Heart Fruits—all being second-order spirit medicines.

Each component held unique properties. The Gathering Origin Grass, shimmering like amethyst crystal throughout, possessed mild toxicity that needed to be neutralized by the other three辅助药材.

The higher the grade of the resulting Foundation Establishment Pill, the less residual medicinal toxicity it would contain. A high-grade pill would have minimal toxicity, while a perfect-tier pill could fully refine the essence from all four spirit medicines into a single dose. Such a flawless pill would be equivalent to half again as much of even the highest-quality variant, with virtually no risk of developing resistance over time.

Qin Shu began by placing the Heavenly Spirit Flowers into the pill furnace, then using his Karma True Fire to extract their quintessence. Second-order spirit medicines proved more difficult to refine than first-order ones, but for someone like Qin Shu, the challenge wasn’t insurmountable.

As he continued, he skillfully extracted the essences from each of the three secondary ingredients using his Karma True Fire before bottling them separately for later use.

Only then did he begin refining the Gathering Origin Grass.

Under the searing heat of Karma True Fire, the purple skin of the Gathering Origin Grass began to peel away, falling into the bottom of the furnace. A glob of medicinal liquid emerged, no larger than an infant’s fist, radiating potent spiritual energy.

Qin Shu directed his divine sense to lift three bottles containing the essences extracted from the Heavenly Spirit Flower, Earthspirit Root, and Scarlet Heart Fruit. He poured these into the Pill Furnace where they met with the essence of the Gathering Origin Grass, instantly coalescing into a single mass.

The once-clear violet liquid grew murky, now displaying hues of purple, white, yellow, and scarlet all at once.

With relentless application of Karma True Fire, Qin Shu continued the refinement process until inspiration struck him like a bolt of fortune. With a resounding command, “Condense!”

His divine sense exerted immense pressure on the mixed medicinal solution within the furnace. The liquid began to converge towards its center, compressing under this force.

As the spiritual energy in the concoction reached its limit, Qin Shu issued another directive: “Divide!”

His divine sense split the nearly solidified mixture into seven distinct parts, each forming a perfect sphere as if conjured from thin air itself.

“Coalesce!”

Increasing the pressure yet again, the medicinal liquid rapidly solidified into spirit pills, their spiritual energies converging inward.

The Foundation Establishment Pills were complete.

Lifting the lid of the furnace, Qin Shu guided the seven pills out with his divine will. They flew forth like beads of amethyst-red jade, drilling into the prepared jade bottle set aside for them.

“High-grade quality,” he observed, somewhat unsatisfied, “but still falling short of perfection.”