If you don't give up, I'd like to be your adoptive father.

Chapter 1401 Ascension in the Day
Master Cai wasn't particularly old, probably around thirty-five. His appearance was unremarkable; just an ordinary, overweight middle-aged man.

"The old immortal you speak of is dead." With a flick of his sleeve, Grand Tutor Yu sent Cai Yuanwai flying out of the Eight Trigrams Alchemy Furnace, then out of the alchemy room, and into his bedroom, which was more than ten feet away.

A moment later, Master Cai found his own clothes, tidied himself up, and went to the main hall in the front courtyard to pay his respects to Grand Tutor Yu.

"This humble citizen, Cai Fu, pays his respects to the Fairy Maiden!"

He didn't know Yu Taishi's identity, but he knew about her power and guessed that she must be an immortal.

Although his eyes were filled with amazement and his expression was somewhat dazed, he was very polite. Upon meeting her, he immediately prostrated himself on the ground and kowtowed three times.

Xiao Yu didn't waste any words with him. She directly projected the image of the Forgetful Immortal using the Real Illusion and asked, "Was the old immortal you saw earlier him?"

Cai Fu nodded and said, "It's this old immortal. What happened to him?"

After a moment's thought, Xiao Yu raised his hand to dispel the formation that enveloped Caijiazhuang, and then reached out and grabbed a wandering spirit from ten miles away.

"Ah, so it's Grand Tutor Yu here! This humble god pays respects to Grand Tutor Yu!" The wandering god only glanced at Grand Tutor Yu before his knees went weak with fear. He prostrated himself on the ground, kowtowing and begging for mercy, "Grand Tutor, spare my life! This humble god only wandered around the vicinity of Locust Tree Village twice. I didn't see anything, I didn't hear anything, really."

"What, Grand Tutor Yu?" Cai Fu was stunned, then knelt down with a "plop". "This humble subject pays respects to the Grand Tutor. I was very rude just now, and I hope the Grand Tutor will forgive me."

Grand Tutor Yu said, "Summon your City God."

The wandering god quickly got up and flew rapidly towards Yinling City.

In less than half a minute, the City God of Yinling arrived at Caijia Village in a panic. He didn't even dare to enter the inner hall and directly prostrated himself in the courtyard, saying, "This humble God, Zhang Zhao, the City God of Yinling, pays respects to Grand Tutor Grandmother."

Grand Tutor Yu smiled slightly and said, "You rascal, you're so afraid of me, are you feeling guilty?"

Zhang Zhao panicked even more. "Grand Tutor, spare my life! I would never dare to betray the Great Qin, but General Deng Zong has come to our door. I dare not refuse to attend the 'Nine Rivers Ten Thousand Gods Banquet'!"

During the banquet, the little god remained cautious in his words and actions, and did not utter any words that slandered the Grand Tutor or our Great Qin.

They dared not act as accomplices to the tyrant, nor would they search for officials and wealthy households within the county who remained loyal to the Qin Dynasty for Deng Zong's army.

Yinling County is located north of Jiujiang Prefecture.

Before Chen Sheng entered Chen County, Ge Ying had already led a large army into Jiujiang.

Ge Ying also supported a descendant of the Chu royal family named Xiang Qiang, who became the King of Chu in Jiujiang. In the end, Xiang Qiang was killed by Ge Ying, who was then killed by Chen Sheng.

Although Ge Ying was dead, Chen Sheng was unwilling to give up the foundation Ge Ying had built in Jiujiang County.

So he sent General Deng Zong with several thousand troops to Jiujiang County to take over the 200,000-strong army that Ge Ying had recruited earlier.

It sounds a bit surreal: kill someone's commander and still inherit their hundreds of thousands of troops?
The troops that followed Ge Ying into Jiujiang actually numbered only a few thousand.

These hundreds of thousands of followers were all locals from Jiujiang County who had come to join them. They simply wanted to follow a rebel king in his rebellion against the Qin Dynasty; they could either join Ge Ying or submit to Deng Zong.

Grand Tutor Yu asked, "Has the land of Huai Shu Village disappeared?"

Zhang Zhao paused for a moment before following Grand Tutor Yu's train of thought, nodding and saying, "A few days ago, on the Lantern Festival, the City God's Office was checking roll and distributing wages, but the local earth god Ye Feng of Huai Shu Village was nowhere to be found."

Grand Tutor Yu glanced at Cai Fu and said, "The Supreme Elder of the Southern Demon Sect, the Forgetful Immortal, has his eye on Cai Fu and is using Cai Fu's luck and destiny to refine immortal pills."

The old demon, fearing the local deity would discover the strange phenomena in Caijia Village, used a spell to bewitch him, causing him to indulge in pleasure in a brothel.

She recounted what had happened in Caijiazhuang to everyone, and then said, "Although Daoist Ye Feng was seduced by the demon, his behavior was ultimately improper and had a very bad influence. You have expelled him. His divine position will remain vacant, awaiting the court's arrangement."

Grand Tutor Yu seemed to have forgotten that Yinling County had already fallen and no longer belonged to the Qin Dynasty.

"I will obey the Grand Tutor's decree."

Zhang Zhao bowed and kowtowed without the slightest hesitation or entanglement, as if he were still the City God of Qin.

"Go ahead!"

After sending the City God away, Grand Tutor Yu looked at Cai Fu again.

He seemed to have suffered a major blow and was in a daze.

"Cai Fu, what do you have to say now?" Grand Tutor Yu asked.

"How could the old immortal be a great demon? How could he harm me?"

Cai Fu was so distraught that he forgot to thank Grand Tutor Yu for saving his life.

"I ask you, when and where did you meet him, and how did he help you?" Grand Tutor Yu asked.

She summoned Zhang Chenghuang for two reasons: firstly, the previous calamity had caused quite a stir, and by revealing herself, she could save herself a lot of trouble; secondly, through the City God, she could dispel Cai Fu's suspicions about her identity and the motives of the Forgetful Immortal.

She didn't want to waste her breath explaining.

For the people of the county town, the "Grand Tutor" who was far away was not as useful as the county magistrate or the county god who were right in front of them.

She talked at length, and Cai Fu was probably suspicious of her identity and motives.

When Zhang Chenghuang arrived, he knelt down, and Cai Fu had no more doubts.

Cai Fu hesitated for a moment before saying, "I first met the Immortal Elder ten years ago."

I am a commoner from one of the six counties. In my youth, I was ignorant and indulged in drinking and idleness, which ruined my family's fortune. So I had to seek refuge with my relatives.

My relatives thought I was a useless spendthrift and kicked me out.

It was the dead of winter. The commoner, dressed in a tattered single garment, penniless and hungry, wandered aimlessly through the streets, not knowing where to go, and couldn't help but burst into tears.

An immortal appeared.

He appeared to be an ordinary old man, leaning on a cane, and asked the commoner why he was crying. The commoner then explained his situation.

The commoner was filled with resentment towards his heartless relatives and friends, and spoke with great emotion. However, the immortal seemed uninterested in the commoner's relatives' affairs. After the commoner finished speaking, he directly asked him how much money he needed to spend.

I never expected him to give me money, so I just casually said that I needed at least a thousand coins to get through the winter.

He said it wasn't enough and asked me to say more.

I, a commoner, said 100,000 coins. He laughed at me for being spineless. I got angry and said 1 million coins.

He still shook his head and said it wasn't enough, so I said ten million.

He smiled and nodded, saying it was barely enough, then took out a small cloth bag and poured out a pile of copper coins for me.

“If it weren’t for the immortal’s rescue, I would have frozen to death that very day,” he emphasized to Grand Tutor Yu.

Grand Tutor Yu said, "That was ten years ago. What happened after that?"

Cai Fu stammered, "I thought ten million would be enough to live a carefree life, so I continued to squander the money in just a year and a half."

Wearing tattered clothes and starving, feeling lost and helpless, tears streamed down her face.

The old immortal reappeared and asked the commoner how much money he needed to spend.

I am so ashamed that I cannot speak of it.

The immortal pressed him repeatedly, and the commoner knelt down and kowtowed to him, repeatedly saying, "I dare not."

He sighed, then took out his small cloth bag and poured out one hundred million copper coins for the common people.

Then the disciple resumed his extravagant spending and debauchery. In less than two years, he was penniless again.

Grand Tutor Yu remained calm throughout, but Xiao Qiang, who was lying by the door, couldn't help but ask, "Are you out of your mind? After so many times, haven't you learned anything?"

Now that he knew that the beautiful fairy in front of him was Grand Tutor Yu, Cai Fu was only surprised when he heard the "divine dog" speak human language, but he was not afraid or flustered.

His cheeks flushed red, and he was filled with shame. "Lord Divine Dog is right. At that time, I felt as if... alas, I don't know how to say it."

In my youth, I was aimless and dissolute; looking back now, it all seems like a dream. I despise myself for it.

Yet the dream was so vivid; this humble citizen has finally matured, and will take this as a warning, returning to the right path.

Grand Tutor Yu said, "I've given you money twice in a row, and only four years have passed. What about the next six years?"

Cai Fu buried his face in his chest and grumbled, "The Immortal Elder gave me ten billion, and I spent it all in two years."

"You dog, you~~" Xiaoqiang pointed at him, his dog eyes wide open.

"Stop arguing! Cai Fu, you continue," said Grand Tutor Yu.

Cai Fudao said, "The past is too painful to recall! Back then, we commoners were really outrageous."

When the commoner encountered the immortal again, he covered his face with his hands and hid in the corner, not daring to look at him.

Yes, at that time, I had already fallen into begging.

The immortal took the commoner's hand and said directly, "Hiding is the most foolish thing to do. You should take the money, work hard, and manage the business well."

He gave the commoner a box of fine gold beads, each one worth a thousand gold pieces.

The commoner was filled with extreme remorse and deep emotion. He made a solemn vow to the immortal that he would work hard from now on and use all the money he earned to help the suffering people of the world. He would also give all his good deeds to the immortal to repay him for his help time and time again.

Then the commoner went to Pengcheng in Sishui, bought land and shops, and even formed a caravan. In two years, the profits multiplied several times.

The commoner kept his promise and donated all his gold and silver.

A few years later, I suddenly felt that life was boring and I couldn't muster any enthusiasm for anything, so I returned to Jiujiang and came to Yinling County, where no one knew me. I built a manor, bought two hundred acres of land, and became a leisurely rich man.

As before, the immortal suddenly jumped out, pointed at the commoner, and laughed excitedly—"You've got it! You've finally achieved enlightenment! You can help me refine elixirs now!"

After saying that, he looked expectantly at Grand Tutor Yu.

Grand Tutor Yu asked, "How did you help him refine the pills? Do you still remember what happened after you were stuffed into the alchemy furnace?"

Cai Fuxian shook his head and then nodded, "I remember some things very clearly, but I don't know if they are illusions or reality."

"Say whatever you remember," said Grand Tutor Yu.

Cai Fu said, "The immortal first made me cleanse my stomach, and for seven days I could not eat, but could only drink water without roots."

The commoner was so hungry that he was dizzy and lightheaded.

For the next seven days, the immortal fed me all sorts of magical herbs, mica, and marrow, almost making this humble commoner die from overeating.

Then the immortal placed me into the furnace and said that if I wanted to repay him, I should help him refine an elixir.

I swear I will do everything in my power to help.

He also instructed me that I would see all sorts of wonders and experience all sorts of strange things, but I must remember to keep my mouth shut. Once I open my mouth, the elixir will leak out and the elixir will turn into waste.

This humble citizen swore an oath to help him refine the elixir of immortality.

Grand Tutor Yu asked curiously, "What strange things have you experienced?"

Cai Fu thought for a moment and said, "This humble subject has seen gods, demons, and yakshas, ​​and has been to hell, heaven, and the divine palace."

No matter who he met or what he experienced, this humble man always kept in mind the old man's teachings and kept his mouth shut without uttering a word.

There were several times during this period when I almost couldn't hold on.

For example, a group of soldiers under Chen Sheng asked me questions, and when I didn't answer, they hacked me to death.

I almost screamed.

Fortunately, a golden light fell into my heart, and I remembered the old immortal's warning. I died without saying a word.

After the commoner died, he was reincarnated as another person. He had no clear memories of his previous life, but he still kept his mouth shut and did not speak, so people treated him as a mute.

Later, I encountered jackals, tigers, leopards, venomous scorpions, and evil dragons, who devoured me again and again, reincarnating me time and time again, but I never uttered a word.

Whenever they felt they couldn't hold on any longer, golden light would warm the hearts of the common people, reminding them 'never to speak.'

In the end, the commoner was reincarnated as a woman, married, and had a son.

Previously, this commoner had also been married, and his wife was even devoured alive by an evil spirit, yet he managed to remain silent.

When I became a mother myself and saw my own child's skull being smashed open, I couldn't help but feel outraged.

Fortunately, a surge of golden light flooded his heart, and though tears streamed down his face, he managed to keep his mouth shut. Suddenly, he awoke from the Eight Trigrams Alchemy Furnace, his mind clearer than ever before.

As he finished speaking, his expression turned strange. "I have never felt so clear-headed before."

Despite having experienced so much and remembering so many things, I remain completely unaffected.

I know I am who I am, not them.

Upon opening his eyes, he inquired whether the elixir had been successfully refined, without asking about the child born to the commoner after transforming into a woman.

Although I, a humble commoner, have a very deep impression of that child and love him dearly, I also know very clearly that this is the real time!

Grand Tutor Yu sighed and said, "This is because you used an unconventional method to sever the three corpses and see through the root dust and delusions."

They might even be unaffected by reincarnation, let alone the previous illusions of inner demons.

The Immortal of Forgetfulness hadn't lied to him; as long as he refined the Elixir of Forgetfulness, he would also reap enormous benefits.

The reason why Grand Tutor Yu interrogated Cai Fu carefully instead of directly reading his mind was because Cai Fu was now clear-headed and no mind-reading technique would work on him.

He could not hear even the slightest noise, as if Cai Fu had lost his heart.

"What is 'severing the three corpses'?" Cai Fu asked, puzzled.

Grand Tutor Yu did not answer his question, but stared at him with scrutinizing and hesitant eyes.

After struggling with her thoughts for a while, she sighed silently, opened her right hand, and a transparent bead floated in mid-air.

Then she flicked her finger, and the bead turned into a stream of light, instantly arriving in front of Cai Fu, entering his mouth, and sliding into his stomach.

The moment the Forgetfulness Elixir entered his stomach, it immediately transformed into a warm current that burst forth from his heart and flowed into his limbs and bones.

"Ugh~~~" Cai Fu cried out, whether in pain or pleasure, his body suddenly stiffened, his arms stretched out and his legs spread wide, like the Chinese character "大" (big).

Wisps of foul and malevolent energy emanated from his pores, forming a mist that enveloped an area of ​​several feet in radius.

Grand Tutor Yu waved his sleeve, and a gentle breeze rose from the ground, blowing away all the turbid air.

This process lasted for more than half an hour, and then Cai Fu floated up.

He was lifted off the ground, and with a gentle breeze, he "whooshed" out of the house.

The wind outside was stronger, and he floated faster and higher.

Xiao Qiang exclaimed in shock, "Ascension in broad daylight? Master, this mortal actually ascended to heaven in broad daylight?"

Grand Tutor Yu nodded slowly and said, "The Forgetfulness Elixir emptied the evil and foul energy in his body and replaced it with pure and spiritual energy, so he naturally floated up."

Moreover, he ascended to heaven in broad daylight, thus becoming a 'highest immortal'.

Given his near-perfect state of mind, capable of severing the three corpses, he'll likely fly straight to the Heavenly Court.

(End of this chapter)