Put away your magical powers now!.

Chapter 228 [The Kid Who Is Hated by People and Dogs] (6800)

Chapter 222 [The Kid Who Is Hated by People and Dogs] (6800)

Chen Yan had already reached the courtyard gate. Standing inside and looking out, he saw Zhao You standing by the mountain path, bowing and apologizing to someone repeatedly. His expression was helpless and aggrieved, yet he dared not show it, seemingly having many concerns.

When Zhao You bowed repeatedly to the person, Chen Yan only glanced at him before he froze, instinctively shrinking his head back.

The person looked to be no more than 1.4 meters tall, resembling a school-aged child. He had a topknot on his head, and his face was fair with white teeth and red lips, looking just like a New Year's picture doll.

She was wearing a child's shirt and had a golden bell hanging from her wrist.

However, the voice that came out of his mouth was arrogant and condescending, and he said coldly, "It's just some jade coins for some Yuan Qi arrays. Do you think I would cheat you out of it?! It's you who are so arrogant and condescending, looking down on me!"

Zhao You's forehead was covered in sweat, and he looked like he was about to kneel down: "My esteemed fellow Daoist, it's not that I... oh dear, it's just that the money you owe is the district's array fee, which is collected by the Xitai City government. What does it have to do with me? Even if you pay this money, not a single penny will go into my pocket. You won't give me the money, but you insist that I activate the array for you. This, this, this I..."

The man looked embarrassed, but could only grit his teeth, straighten his face, and angrily say, "I'm about to break through! You have one hour to open the Yuan Qi formation in my cave. If you ruin my breakthrough, see if I'll spare you!"

After saying that, the man probably realized he was being unreasonable and couldn't say anything more shameless. He just snorted heavily and turned to leave. Chen Yan saw it clearly: the guy actually walked into the yard next door, flicked his sleeve, and slammed the gate shut.

After the man entered the courtyard, he didn't linger and quickly went into the cave. Zhao Youcai stomped his foot heavily and cursed, "How unreasonable! So arrogant! Why doesn't he go and act tough at the government office? What's the use of acting like a rogue with a mere district manager like me! Relying on his cultivation level, he only knows how to bully lowly cultivators like me?!"

They say they won't renege on their debts, but aren't they just reneging?

Chen Yan then walked out of the courtyard gate and went to Zhao You.

Seeing Chen Yan emerge, Zhao You took a deep breath, suppressed his irritation, and forced a smile at Chen Yan: "I'm sorry to have made you laugh, fellow Daoist..."

Chen Yan nodded and looked at the neighboring courtyard: "What... is going on?"

“A…scoundrel.” Zhao You said indignantly, “He has lived here for a long time. At first, he could afford to pay, but later he couldn’t even pay the servants’ wages in the courtyard, and then he stopped paying for the daily energy array.”

He always said to pay on credit first, and we initially thought that since his cultivation level was not low, he wouldn't default on a small amount of money. However, we didn't expect that the debt would only increase, and today it has been more than a month since he started owing money.

In our district, the government office is required to settle accounts and settle accounts every month. I just asked him for money, and he uttered these shameless words!

As he spoke, Zhao You sighed, "It's my bad luck to run into such a scoundrel. I was initially fooled by his sweet talk and let him buy on credit. In a few days, when the higher-ups settle the accounts, if the amount doesn't match up, I'm afraid I'll be punished. If I can't pay it back, I'm afraid I'll lose my job."

At this point, he glanced at Chen Yan and said in a low voice, "Fellow Daoist, living here and having such a wicked person as a neighbor, you must be careful and avoid associating with him. In recent days, many guests in the mountains have been borrowed money by him—and he never pays it back!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Yan couldn't help but turn his head and stare at the gate of the neighboring courtyard for a while, his eyes filled with a hint of doubt.

This guy... shouldn't be this kind of person, right?

When he lit the "Li Huo Zhu" (a type of candle), the young boy inside saved his life—this boy had high cultivation and remarkable spirit.

How could the sword cultivator kid be such a shameless person?
"Fellow Daoist Zhao, may I ask how this esteemed neighbor is addressed, and how long has he lived here?"

“His Taoist name is Donghai.” Zhao You curled his lip.

Chen Yan's heart skipped a beat; the name matched...

But Zhao You continued, "This person has lived here for more than three years. At first, he was very generous with his money, but I didn't expect that he would start to act like a scoundrel as time went on."

More than three years?

This doesn't match up anymore.

Chen Yan recalled that more than half a year ago, this little boy, "Donghai," was still in the fire.

However, he didn't show it on his face while thinking about these things. He nodded and casually thanked Zhao You for the reminder. Zhao You, on the other hand, looked helpless and worried before taking his leave.

After Zhao You left, Chen Yan looked at the gate of the neighboring courtyard again.

Same name, same appearance.

But the timing doesn't match.

So...it's not the same person?

·
Chen Yan did not rashly make contact with the "East Sea" next door. Instead, he turned around and went back to his own courtyard. He tidied up his cave dwelling and took out some everyday items from his storage jade pendant.

About half an hour later, the magic array outside the courtyard started to fluctuate. Chen Yan came out of his cave and went outside the courtyard, using the jade tablet to open the magic array gate.

Outside the courtyard gate, on the mountain path, several people were kneeling on the ground—four men and two women, all ordinary people dressed in narrow-sleeved short shirts, kneeling respectfully outside the courtyard gate.

The middle-aged man kneeling at the front looked rather composed. He looked up respectfully at Chen Yan and said, "Reporting to the cultivator lord, we are servants sent by the district to serve you."

Chen Yan's gaze swept over the six people. None of them were very old. The oldest one, the middle-aged man who had spoken, was the oldest. Their appearances were also ordinary, with nothing particularly outstanding. The two maids were simply clean and plain-looking, with average appearances.

"Get up." Chen Yan waved for everyone to stand up and asked, "Tell me what each of you is good at."

The middle-aged man replied, "Reporting to Master, I am the steward. I have a token issued by the district and can travel within the inner city. From now on, I will handle all errands and shopping trips. If Master has any special needs, please feel free to give me your orders. As for the other men, two will cook and one will clean the courtyard."

Two maids will do some sweeping and washing. If the master permits, they can be allowed to enter the cave to serve him, make the bed, and clean up the cave. If the master prefers quiet, I will have them help in the kitchen and sweep the courtyard. If the master likes to grow flowers and plants, I have some experience with that, and they can serve him there as well.”

Chen Yan nodded and said calmly, "I prefer quiet, and you are not allowed to enter the cave without my permission. Hmm... you will all serve in the courtyard, and everything will proceed as usual. Hmm... what's your name?"

"Reporting to you, sir, it is I, Zhang San."

Okay, so you're an outlaw, huh?

Chen Yan glanced at the guy, who had a simple and honest appearance.

After saying that, Chen Yan took out a string of jade coins from his storage jade pendant, a full hundred coins, and threw it to Zhang San: "Here are a hundred coins, to pay your wages for this month. Keep the rest for yourself. You can decide what things my yard is still short of and go buy them for me, and deduct the amount from that."

Zhang San quickly kowtowed and took the string of jade coins from Chen Yan's hands: "Thank you for your trust, sir. I will do my best to serve you!"

Chen Yan didn't say anything more, turned around and went back into his cave. After closing the cave door, he stopped paying attention to outside affairs.

He didn't follow the example of those old-fashioned online novels that deliberately treated these servants as equals.

Let alone the realms, even in the real world, hardly anyone believes in this kind of thing anymore.

Moreover, what about a realm like the mortal realm, where immortals and mortals are distinct and there is a clear hierarchy?

If someone can easily control your life and death, and can easily crush you with a single finger, then forcibly advocating equality between the two is simply ridiculous.

·
After Chen Yan entered the cave, Zhang Sancai breathed a long sigh of relief. He turned around and looked at the five servants behind him. After a moment's thought, he slowly said, "This cultivator seems to be a kind and benevolent person, but you must not become complacent because of this. You must serve him well! If you are negligent or lax, even if the master does not punish you, I will not let you off easily!"

The other five servants, all of whom were of lower rank than him, responded respectfully upon hearing his words.

Zhang then assigned people to start working, tidying up the courtyard and organizing the kitchen. The tasks were done in an orderly manner, and he was truly skilled and composed.

After the distribution was completed, everyone dispersed, but Zhang San called one of the youngest members to stay.

“…Come here.” Zhang San frowned at the man and said in a deep voice, “I’ll say it one more time: since you’ve come to be a servant to this cultivator, put away all your delusions and focus on doing your job well!”

The young man lowered his head and said in a low voice, "Uncle, I understand."

"Yes, you are my nephew. I know that you have been ambitious since you were a child, and you have been thinking about cultivating the Great Dao and becoming a master. But you have studied in the city's public school three times and failed to enter the door after three months. Now you are over sixteen years old, so it is clear that you are not destined for it."

Since I have no affinity for the path of immortality, I should put away all those thoughts in my heart and not trouble myself with them!

The young man looked up, his eyes filled with disappointment and confusion, and said in a low voice, "Uncle, I understand."

“You…” Zhang San sighed: “Since your family has asked you to work for me, I will take care of you. Our new master seems like a person who is not difficult to get along with. If there is an opportunity, I will let you serve the master’s tools closely. If you are quick-witted and can gain the master’s trust and serve him comfortably and easily, he might be so happy in the future that he will bestow some pills upon you.”

Although you cannot cultivate and attain enlightenment, if a cultivator could bestow upon you elixirs, you could still strengthen your body and prolong your life. Wouldn't that be far more fortunate than ordinary people?

·
Chen Yan returned to his cave dwelling and went straight to the training room. He had just moved in today and hadn't used the free Yuan Qi formation from that day yet, so he didn't want to waste it.

He then activated the Qi transmission array in the training room, where he held his breath, meditated, and circulated Qi to practice his skills.

The free Yuanqi magic array is only so-so in effect, almost as bad as the top-tier rooms in the paid training rooms at Xueya Pass.

It is said that there are paid rooms in the training hall in the inner city of Xitai City, which provide a higher concentration of vital energy, but the price is not cheap. Chen Yan plans to go and take a look if he has time in the next few days.

Practicing in the training room, it takes more than two hours to complete one cycle of energy circulation.

Chen Yan felt that his cultivation of Yuan Qi had reached the ceiling of the Returning Origin Realm, and that continuing to practice would not increase his cultivation level—unless he broke through to the Ascending Stage Realm.

However, he hasn't figured out a proper way to increase his cultivation level with his primordial spirit, so he's not in a hurry to improve his realm.

At this stage, cultivation is not for increasing vital energy cultivation, but simply for vital energy to repeatedly cleanse the body and enhance physical strength.

After using the sap of the divine tree, Chen Yan's physical strength increased dramatically, not only in appearance but also by raising the ceiling of his physical strength significantly.

Many cultivators who reach his level have exhausted their capacity to nourish their bodies with vital energy, and no amount of vital energy transfer can strengthen their physical bodies. However, after consuming the sap of the divine tree, Chen Yan's upper limit was raised, and he can still use vital energy to continue nourishing and strengthening his physical body.

Two hours later, Chen Yan awoke from his meditation and was pondering his future path of cultivation when suddenly a thought struck him: the security array outside the cave was fluctuating.

He got up and walked to the cave entrance, opened the door with a flick of his sleeve, and saw Zhang San kneeling outside the cave entrance, respectfully saying, "Reporting to the master, a guest has come to visit."

Chen Yan was taken aback, and Zhang San quickly explained, "It's because the master has just moved in, and the cultivator master from the neighborhood heard that a new neighbor has arrived, so he came to pay his respects as is customary."

Chen Yan understood what he meant and nodded, saying, "Since they are cultivators from our neighboring area, we should receive them."

Then Chen Yan and Zhang San walked to the courtyard gate and saw three long-robed cultivators standing outside. As the gate opened, the three greeted Chen Yan and bowed, saying, "Greetings, fellow Daoist!"

Chen Yan returned the greeting with a cupped hand, and then invited the three of them inside.

Chen Yan had just moved in, and the courtyard was empty, so he invited the three of them into the cave and seated them in an empty room. Zhang San was quick-witted and soon instructed his young cousin to bring in some tea.

After Chen Yan invited the three cultivators to sit down, he saw Zhang San send someone to bring tea. He was also moved, as he had just moved in and didn't have anything to offer guests.

However, he didn't ask any questions, but only exchanged pleasantries with the guests after they were seated.

"My name is Zhao Shanhe. I have just arrived in Xitai City and moved into this place. I am honored to have you all visit. However, my humble abode has nothing to offer my guests. I will return the favor another day."

All three returned the greeting and then introduced themselves one by one.

The one with the highest cultivation level is named Long Da, who is at the initial stage of the Returning Origin Realm—his cultivation level is probably not as high as Chu Keqing's. But if it were a fight, he could probably crush Chu Keqing with one hand.

After all, cultivators in the realm are not the weak cultivators in the real world who only have the cultivation of vital energy but do not know any magic.

The other two were both at the Entry-Level Realm, but although their cultivation levels were low, Longda specifically pointed out when introducing them that one was an alchemist and the other a weapon refiner.

Therefore, although these two were only at the entry level, they were able to live in a courtyard with six servants due to their special profession.

Otherwise, if it's just a regular entry, there wouldn't be this kind of treatment.

After exchanging pleasantries, Chen Yan introduced his background, saying that he came from Xueya Pass and had spent many years there, experiencing battles with the ferocious beast tribe. He had some fortuitous encounters and was fortunate enough to enter the Daoist path. Over the years, he had experienced battles in Xueya Pass, but grew tired of the fighting, so he returned to the western frontier of the domain and came to Xitai City.

The group respected Chen Yan's cultivation level of Returning to Origin Realm, and treated him with great courtesy, not daring to question him directly.

All three had similar backgrounds as low-level, independent cultivators.

Although Longda has the highest cultivation level, reaching the early stage of the Returning Origin Realm, he actually has the worst future prospects among the three. He comes from a mortal family and only became a cultivator because a distant relative of his family did so. Now he serves in the Sendai, but he is probably just a low-level celestial official, and his cultivation level is probably only at the Ascending Platform Realm.

Among the five branches of the Longda family, only one promising cultivator has emerged in the past hundred years. It was thanks to the support of this distant relative that Longda, who is considered the most talented in the family, was able to cultivate to the early stage of the Returning Origin Realm after receiving some resources from this distant relative.

But his talent has probably reached its peak, and without a special opportunity, it's unlikely he can go any further.

The other two guests, however, were brothers.

The elder brother was named Zhu Yao, and the younger brother was named Zhu Qi. As their names suggest, one was an alchemist, and the other was a weapon refiner. These two were ordinary mortals who originally lived in the mountains outside the city. One day, by chance, they encountered a cultivator in the mountains who was searching for a rare and precious medicinal herb.

The two brothers served the monk for a while and acted as his guides in the mountains for a long time.

The cultivator found the rare and precious medicinal herb he had been looking for in the mountains. Since the herb was not yet fully mature, the cultivator simply built a hut not far from the herb and lived there, guarding the herb in the mountains for eight years.

The cultivator was a high-ranking master in the Immortal Realm. He recognized the brothers' talent and took them on as his disciples. One refined pills, the other crafted artifacts.

He built a hut and lived there for eight years, guarding the medicine and teaching the two brothers for eight years.

Two years ago, the immortal medicine matured, and the great cultivator took the spiritual medicine and left, instructing the two brothers to cultivate the arts of alchemy and weapon crafting. He told them that if they could cultivate to the level of a third-grade alchemist or weapon crafter, they could go to the Jade Capital Immortal Platform to find him and formally become his disciples.

Of course, the two brothers were well aware of the unspoken meaning behind some things.

The meaning of this nominal teacher is that if one cannot cultivate to the level of a third-grade alchemist or weapon crafter, then one lacks talent and is naturally not qualified to become his disciple.

A chance encounter led them to the path of Taoism, freeing them from their mortal identities, which could be considered as repaying the eight years of service they had given.

The two brothers cultivated with that great cultivator for eight years, and after the cultivator left, they cultivated on their own for another two years.

It has been ten years since then, and they have now cultivated to the second rank of alchemy and weapon crafting, which is not far from the third rank.

Therefore, although the two were only at the Entry-level cultivation stage, the Returning Origin cultivator named Long Da treated them very politely, knowing that the brothers' future was likely to be better than his own.

Both alchemy and artifact crafting require time and effort, and often cultivation level is not the most important factor; rather, the quality of the alchemy or artifact is the focus.

Moreover, alchemy and artifact crafting are recognized throughout the realm as the most lucrative career paths.

It's much easier and safer to make money than those cultivators who only know how to cultivate and fight.

Chen Yan could completely understand this.

Leaving aside weapon refiners, the importance of alchemists is self-evident with an analogy.

In the real world, no matter if you are a company owner or a wealthy person with a house and a car, you still have to go to the hospital to ask for help when you are born, grow old, get sick, or die.

If you have a family member or a social circle who is a chief physician or associate chief physician at a local public hospital, or even just an attending physician, then there are many benefits!
Those who have experienced it will understand.

After some pleasantries and conversation, Chen Yan's attitude towards the Zhu brothers became much warmer.

After the four of them talked for a while, Longda hesitated for a moment and said, "Fellow Daoist Zhao seems to be a very kind person. We are not old friends and we have a deep conversation. Since we are talking about this, there is something I would like to remind you of."

Chen Yan remained silent, simply smiling as he looked at Long Da.

Longda glanced at the Zhu brothers before whispering, "If you're going to deal with that fellow Daoist from the East Sea who lives next door to your residence, you'll have to be careful."

Upon hearing this, Chen Yan couldn't help but smile: "Oh? What's wrong with that fellow Daoist from the East Sea?"

Longda sighed: "I don't like to talk badly about people behind their backs, but I just wanted to remind you because you're a good person. Anyway... just be careful when dealing with that person."

Before he could finish speaking, Zhu Yao coldly said, "What's there to be ashamed of? We're not the ones in the wrong. You, Long Da, may be embarrassed to speak up, but my brother has nothing to be ashamed of."

Fellow Daoist Zhao! That guy from the East Sea next door is the most hypocritical person. If he comes looking for you, be careful!

At first, he was warm and considerate to people, treating them like a gentle breeze, but later he started to act like a scoundrel!
That guy now owes me money for a batch of [Invitation Yuan Pills], and hasn't paid a single penny! He even swindled a two-zhang-long, third-grade dragon tendon from my brother!
This man is utterly despicable! If my brother and I weren't so weak, we would have already gone to his door to collect our debt!

Chen Yan listened without showing any emotion, but sighed inwardly.

What's wrong with this kid next door? He's a perfectly normal person, but now everyone hates him?
Curious, Chen Yan asked, "Speaking of this neighbor next door... I saw him arguing with Manager Zhao You of the district today, saying that he owes money for the Yuanqi Formation and has been delaying payment for a month."

Now you three fellow Daoists are bringing up these matters again...

This man has debts everywhere and refuses to pay them. Doesn't the government of Xitai City care about these matters?

Seeing the Zhu brothers' faces filled with anger, Long Da waved his hand, signaling them not to get angry. He then smiled wryly and said, "So that Fellow Daoist Zhao may know that the East Sea... is not so easy to mess with."

He paused, then smiled wryly, “Although this person is despicable, he has the cultivation of a high-level cultivator in the Ascending Platform Realm. In our Xitai City, no cultivator below the Celestial Realm can afford to offend him.”

Although there are high-level cultivators stationed in the administrative center, experts at the Celestial Realm level usually do not guard the city; they are either in their sects or serving at the border.

In the current capital of Xitai City, the city lord is only at the peak of the Ascending Platform Realm and is focused on breaking through to the Celestial Realm, so he doesn't care much about the mundane affairs of the city.

Moreover, Donghai is cunning; he rarely owes money to the government or tries to cheat cultivators with official positions.

He only cheated and swindled among the rogue cultivators. When they first started dealing with him, the rogue cultivators saw that he had the cultivation of a high-level cultivator and assumed that he was some kind of extraordinary master, so they couldn't help but be fooled.

After being swindled out of their money, there's nothing they can do about it.

Some people complained to the local government, but the response was simply that we should resolve the issue ourselves.

However, now that he owes money to the district, it's equivalent to owing money to the magistrate's office. If he dares to default on this debt, sooner or later the magistrate's office will punish him.

I understand. It means that those who are strong are too lazy to manage, and those who are not strong enough can't be managed.

Although Chen Yan was curious about the suspicious aspects of this "East Sea" identity, he had a lot of secrets of his own and would not easily get involved in such matters. So he said indifferently, "Thank you for your advice, fellow Daoists. I will be careful."

After chatting for a while, the group didn't say anything more, and the three of them got up to take their leave.

Chen Yan escorted the three to the courtyard gate. After they left, Chen Yan closed the gate and returned to his cave. He had planned to continue cultivating and circulating his vital energy—he hadn't used up all the free vital energy array he had today.

But less than a quarter of an hour after he sat down, Steward Zhang San came to report from outside the cave.

"Sir, a neighbor has come to pay a visit."

Chen Yan's heart stirred, and he got up and went outside, only to see a figure standing outside the courtyard gate.

Kid?
As soon as the gate opened, the little boy was seen standing outside, casually bowing with his hands clasped, displaying a rather extraordinary demeanor.

"I am Donghai! I heard that you have moved in, so I have come to pay my respects!"

Chen Yan: "…………"

Donghai glanced at Chen Yan, raised an eyebrow, and said indifferently, "Fellow Daoist, won't you invite me in for a seat?"

Chen Yan sighed, cupped his hands and said, "Fellow Daoist of the East Sea, I won't lie to you, I'm a poor and stingy person, not worth your scheming."

East China Sea:???
·
Now that Chen Yan and Donghai were face to face, he was certain of one thing.

Face to face, this Donghai could not see through his transformation technique, nor could he see through his true form!

It's important to understand that while his transformation technique using the white fox's inner core was ingenious, it wasn't omnipotent. Su Yi had told him before that the white fox's inner core's innate transformation ability, even with his Guiyuan Realm cultivation, was undetectable to anyone below the Celestial Realm.

But for those above the Celestial Realm, that's not enough.

Back then, the little boy was already a cultivator undergoing tribulation—Chen Yan now roughly understood that it should be the cultivation level of a Heavenly Being who had broken through to the next realm.

The kid should be from the Celestial Realm.

But now, face to face, the person standing right in front of him, Donghai, doesn't recognize him.

Therefore, Chen Yan concluded that he was definitely not the person he had met before!

(End of this chapter)