Chapter 14: Too Stifling

Chu Tianfeng had not run far before he stopped. His injuries were not yet healed, and he was still unfit for strenuous activity. After teaching Zheng Yu and his companion a lesson, he felt a measure of relief. He reckoned that the other two would surely take Zheng Yu and his companion to the hospital, which meant there would be four fewer opponents to contend with.

Normally, Peng Yongliang's group numbered eight. Even if every one of them showed up tonight, there would only be four left. Yet, that seemed unlikely. With filming tasks so heavy of late, Director Zhang would never let all eight rest at the same time. In other words, at most five or six of them would be around tonight. If four had already left, that meant only one or two remained. The pressure lifted, and Chu Tianfeng let out a quiet sigh of relief.

He walked to a spot not far from the main road, sat cross-legged on the ground, and began to cultivate while waiting for his adversaries.

Before long, the Wei brothers passed by with Zheng Yu and his companion. Although their faces were hard to make out, their voices were unmistakable. Zheng Yu and the other were dejected, yet they still cursed incessantly under their breath. Chu Tianfeng almost considered pelting them with stones again. But seeing there were four of them, he held back.

Wei Neng rarely spoke, but even a sentence or two was enough for Chu Tianfeng to recognize him. The other man, silent though he was, was likely Wei Neng's cousin, Wei Gong. Zheng Haorui, Yu Zheng'an, Wei Neng, Wei Gong—all of them merely supporting roles! And if all the supporting cast were present, surely the main actor would not be absent.

Chu Tianfeng had heard Peng Yongliang's voice earlier and knew the fellow was around. Yet Peng Yongliang was not among this group. Which meant he was either alone or paired with someone else. A glimmer of delight flashed in Chu Tianfeng's eyes.

Well now, the roles of cat and mouse have been reversed—let's have some sport!

Sure enough, about twenty minutes later, Peng Yongliang and Yuan Qi trudged past, heads hung low.

"Unlucky as hell—six of us after one man, and we end up like this," Peng Yongliang said, still unable to wrap his head around the outcome.

"I suspect they're lying," Yuan Qi muttered, a spark flickering at his lips, likely from a cigarette. "It's too much of a stretch—four men chasing one, not only failing to catch him, but getting themselves badly hurt?"

A spark glowed on Peng Yongliang's lips too. "Yeah, it's unbelievable."

"My guess is they're just looking for an excuse to slack off and head into town for some fun. Heard the girls at the dance hall are pretty nice," Yuan Qi scoffed, flicking his cigarette butt far away.

"If Xiang Yanping were there, I might believe it. But Chu Tianfeng alone? I wouldn't buy that even if my life depended on it."

As soon as Peng Yongliang finished speaking, a sudden swish sounded from the roadside as if something had flown out.

Bang!

A sharp cry of pain burst from Peng Yongliang.

"Ah—"

The pain made him drop his flashlight to the ground.

What the hell?

Yuan Qi, alarmed, bent to retrieve the flashlight.

But another stone came flying, hitting him squarely on the head.

Bang!

"Ah—"

Yuan Qi's scream was every bit as shrill and full as Peng Yongliang's, with a certain hoarse charm to it.

Peng Yongliang was furious. Blood streamed from where the stone had struck his face. Now he understood—Wei Neng and the others had not lied. Fortunately, Chu Tianfeng was farther away this time and using smaller stones, so their injuries were less severe than Yu Zheng'an's.

But Peng Yongliang cared for his face as much as Chu Tianfeng's predecessor had. He considered himself someone who made a living off his looks. To have his face smashed by Chu Tianfeng was as bad as losing his life.

To hell with it!

"Chu Tianfeng, curse your mother!" Peng Yongliang roared, prepared to leap up.

But Chu Tianfeng, hidden in the thicket, moved even faster.

Swish!

Another stone shot forth.

Luckily, Peng Yongliang had not lost his senses entirely. Like Zheng Haorui before him, he shielded his head with his right arm.

Bang!

Peng Yongliang howled again in agony.

"Ah—"

"Chu Tianfeng, I swear I'll kill you!" he bellowed, charging toward the spot where the stone had come from.

"Watch out!" Yuan Qi, more rational, bent to grab the flashlight and followed closely.

If Peng Yongliang had been alone, Chu Tianfeng would have made sure he paid dearly. But with Yuan Qi right behind him, Chu Tianfeng dared not take risks. Two against one, and with internal injuries, he stood no chance.

So Chu Tianfeng immediately turned and retreated.

Peng Yongliang, in his hurry, had left the flashlight behind. After only a dozen meters, he lost all trace of Chu Tianfeng and stood at a loss.

"Don't chase a desperate man—watch out for traps," Yuan Qi advised in a low voice, catching up with the flashlight.

"Damn it!" Peng Yongliang kicked a sapling in frustration. To be hit twice without even seeing his attacker—his irritation was beyond words.

"Don't act rashly. Chu Tianfeng probably used the same method to injure Haozi and the others," said Yuan Qi, pressing a hand to his bleeding head. "I say we pull back to the main road—it's safer there."

Yuan Qi's injuries were lighter than Peng Yongliang's, and seeing Peng's bloody face, he couldn't help feeling a bit lucky.

"It's just humiliating—six against one, and we still couldn't handle him, ended up injured to boot." Despite his words, Peng Yongliang accepted Yuan Qi's suggestion and headed for the main road.

"Should we call the police?" Yuan Qi followed close behind. Having suffered such a loss, he was reluctant to let it go and wanted to try other means of revenge.

"Call the police? Are you crazy?" Peng Yongliang shot him a fierce glare. "If the police start investigating, I'm looking at charges of attempted murder and organized crime—any one of those is enough to put me away for life."

He knew he couldn't call the police, and Chu Tianfeng likely wouldn't either. Though they had broken the law first, Chu Tianfeng had struck back repeatedly and seriously injured them, well beyond self-defense. If the police got involved, neither side would fare well.

He spat out the blood from his lips. "Let's go—hospital first!"

———

Peng Yongliang's analysis was only half right. Chu Tianfeng didn't avoid the police out of fear, but out of disinterest. He wasn't well versed in the laws of China, but he knew Peng Yongliang and his crew were probably up to no good. At the same time, he knew calling the police would cause endless trouble. He had money to make and cultivation to pursue—he had no time for such hassles.

If Peng Yongliang refrained from calling the police, Chu Tianfeng would be grateful enough. He also knew Peng Yongliang wouldn't be so foolish.

For these reasons, he was at ease about Peng Yongliang and his group, and quite satisfied with tonight's outcome. Whistling, he strode back to the film crew's quarters.

Though it was nearly midnight, Quan Hengchang and the others were still out filming. Only Xiang Yanping lay quietly on his iron bunk, snoring softly.

Listening to those snores, Chu Tianfeng felt a sudden urge to sleep. He realized he hadn't rested properly for several nights, having spent them all in cultivation. But he understood his circumstances—now was not the time to rest. The barrier to the first level of Qi Condensation was faintly in sight, and his internal injuries were not fully healed; rest would have to wait.

He still carried the spirit herbs on his back and the alchemy furnace in hand as he made his way to the lakeshore. There, he sat cross-legged, eyes to nose, nose to heart. The spiritual energy of heaven and earth poured into his body through the Baihui, Laogong, and Yongquan acupoints, transforming into true essence, merging with what already lay in his dantian, and then slowly circulating through his small heavenly cycle.

As the small heavenly cycle turned, true essence acted like medicine, swiftly clearing his injured meridians and gradually healing them. In this way, Chu Tianfeng cultivated through the night. At dawn, as the first light crept in from the east, he let out a long, resounding cry and leaped to his feet.

After a night of careful adjustment, his injuries were nearly healed. The true essence in his dantian was thicker too, and he could feel the barrier to the first level of Qi Condensation right at his fingertips.

He was confident that, even without consuming the Qi-Fostering Pill, he could break through to the first level in the near future. But he couldn't wait—he was eager to advance and waste no more time.

He and Peng Yongliang were now mortal enemies. Last night, Peng Yongliang and his men had suffered a humiliating defeat; surely, they would seek revenge. Who knew what form that revenge would take? Moreover, the square-faced youth from the Mojin Sect also bore him a grudge—the next encounter might not end so easily. The shopkeeper who sold him the alchemy furnace had warned that many people like the square-faced youth were active around Thousand Bird Lake—who could say whom he might run into?

In short, advancing his cultivation was the most important thing.

Besides, all was ready—he only lacked the east wind. If he had no spirit herbs, so be it. But now, his stores were plentiful and, best of all, free! It would be a waste not to use them.

Though he hadn't refined pills for many years, the steps were still familiar to him. The standard alchemical process consisted of five major steps. First, extracting the spirit herbs; second, liquefying the herbs; third, refining the medicinal liquid; fourth, condensing the liquid; fifth, collecting the finished pills.

For the first step, the spirit herbs had to be processed according to their attributes, with impurities removed. This step was crucial—stems, roots, branches, leaves, and flowers all held different medicinal properties, each with distinct active ingredients, not all of which were needed for the pill.

Thus, the first step was to eliminate any unwanted properties and extract the useful components as much as possible. While removing impurities, a cultivator's divine sense must remain focused on the herbs; any impurity found must be removed at once, for once an impurity melted into the mix, it could never be extracted.

Now, Chu Tianfeng had neither cultivation nor divine sense. Extracting medicinal components was manageable, but removing impurities relied solely on experience and a rough hand.

Moreover, impurities couldn't be removed from dried herbs—moisture had to be added, and the amount and method required careful consideration.

Of course, the "moisture" to be added was no ordinary water, but spirit spring water—mountain spring water rich in spiritual energy. Spirit springs were graded from low to high: inferior, medium, superior, and supreme quality.

The second step was simpler—just liquefy the herbs, but that required precise control of heat and timing. Again, Chu Tianfeng had neither cultivation nor true fire. True fire was created by fire-element cultivators out of their own true essence; others needed special artifacts to produce it. Without true fire, he had to make do with twigs gathered by the lakeshore, which made controlling the temperature extremely difficult. A moment's inattention could waste a whole batch of herbs.

The third step extended from the second, likewise demanding precision with the heat.

The fourth step required both true essence and divine sense. Divine sense was needed to divide the liquid into ten parts, and true essence to guide each portion into pill form.

The fifth step was also vital—second only to the first. After performing the pill-collection incantation, divine sense and true essence worked together to solidify and collect the pills.

Clearly, to produce a successful batch of pills, both divine sense and abundant true essence were necessary. Any mistake in either could result in failure and wasted herbs.

Chu Tianfeng knew his own situation well—he never planned to refine actual pills. He only aimed to produce medicinal liquid. In other words, he would stop at the third step, without condensing the liquid or forming pills.

This kind of potion was nearly as effective as pills. On Blue Moon Star, many cultivators unable to refine pills used this simpler method. However, it had its drawbacks—the dosage was harder to control, and as a liquid, it was less convenient to carry and store long-term.

But these were minor concerns for Chu Tianfeng. In his previous life, he had consumed more pills than rice and was confident in his ability to judge the proper amount. As for storage, he hadn't given it much thought. The herbs sold at pharmacies had lost much potency from drying, so his batch of potion likely wouldn't yield much after a single dose. He could just find a couple of bottles to hold whatever remained.