Chapter 20 You Are No Match for Him

Chu Tianfeng knew there were tails following him, but he hadn’t expected there to be two.

When he got into the car, he saw the square-faced young man hurry out of the shop after him.

His mind was a turmoil, turning over countermeasures. Among the Thirty-Six Stratagems, escape is best! No matter what, the first thing was to shake off the tails.

Thus, he embarked once again on a whirlwind tour of Jianmen City, switching taxis ceaselessly, wandering the streets without pause.

This method was clumsy, but undeniably effective.

After two hours and four hundred yuan spent, Chu Tianfeng finally succeeded in shaking off both pursuers.

Seeing no suspicious characters nearby, he walked briskly into the Jianmen branch of the Great Benevolence Hall.

This time, he directly requested from the clerk the spiritual herbs needed to refine four batches of Foundation Pills.

He had calculated it roughly—by his current pill-refining skills, each batch would yield about five pills; four batches would produce twenty pills. Yet the efficacy of these pills was only half that of a normal Foundation Pill, meaning these twenty were equivalent to ten regular pills, a full furnace’s worth.

Of course, to show he was “researching” Foundation Pills, the four sets of herbs were identical in type, but varied in quantity.

Each set of herbs was valued at four or five thousand, totaling eighteen thousand for all four. However, when Chu Tianfeng presented his Supreme Gold Card, the price dropped from eighteen thousand to eighteen hundred, leaving the clerk dumbfounded.

The clerk, quite frustrated, reported to the branch manager. The manager, not daring to delay, quickly referred the matter to Du Sancai’s chief disciple, Fang Han, who was stationed at the shop.

For a mere ten or twenty thousand, Fang Han wasn’t overly concerned; what made him uneasy was the Supreme Gold Card.

He knew about Chu Tianfeng’s previous purchase. He also knew his master, Du Sancai, held that young man in high regard, repeatedly emphasizing before leaving Jianmen that if the young man bought herbs again, Fang Han must notify him at once.

So, Fang Han immediately called Du Sancai, seeking instructions.

Du Sancai, hearing the youth had returned so soon for more herbs, was at first troubled, then intrigued upon learning the herbs purchased were entirely different.

He ordered Fang Han to discreetly photograph the prescription, sell the herbs to Chu Tianfeng at the usual discount, and try to find out as much as possible about Chu Tianfeng’s background.

Half an hour later, Fang Han finished consulting and calmly emerged from the back, personally handing the herbs to Chu Tianfeng.

“May I ask your surname, young man?” Fang Han inquired casually.

“No need for formalities. My surname is Chu.”

Chu Tianfeng swept his spiritual sense over Fang Han, discovering the other’s true energy swirling vigorously. Alarmed, he quickly withdrew his sense.

“Oh, Brother Chu, how old are you?” Fang Han had the air of a father sizing up a son-in-law for his daughter.

“Twenty-one.”

Chu Tianfeng wanted to ignore him, but thinking of Fang Han’s formidable cultivation, he lacked the courage.

“Where are you from, Brother Chu?” Fang Han asked, still friendly.

“Uh… Tianhai.”

Chu Tianfeng felt as if caterpillars crawled all over him, his hair tingling.

“So young, and already researching herbal formulas—who is your esteemed master?”

After circling around, Fang Han finally reached the question he most wanted answered.

“Uh, well…” Chu Tianfeng meant to say he had no master, but felt that wasn’t quite right.

He sensed the middle-aged man before him was probing for his background, so he chose not to speak the truth.

After bidding farewell, Chu Tianfeng left the Great Benevolence Hall, once again circling Jianmen City several times.

The tactic worked; he successfully shook off Fang Han, who had been trailing him.

He hailed another taxi, spent two hundred yuan, and returned directly to the film crew’s lodgings.

After dinner, he went again to the lakeshore.

Since his last cultivation spot had been discovered by Peng Yongliang and the others, Chu Tianfeng chose a new place.

It was still by the water, still among rocky cliffs, but set a little farther back. Crucially, it was just as secluded.

He cultivated all night, his true energy growing thicker, finally able to clearly sense the barrier of the second level of Qi Refinement. With Foundation Pills, he should easily break through to the second level.

Early next morning, after a quick wash, he eagerly unpacked all the spiritual herbs.

This time, with ample ingredients, he planned to refine several batches of Foundation Pills.

Unfortunately, he had overestimated his pill-refining skills. Though he now possessed cultivation and could summon true fire, his pill furnace was rather inadequate. Combined with insufficient spiritual energy in the environment, the first batch of herbs was completely wasted.

Afterward, Chu Tianfeng adopted a more serious attitude, proceeding cautiously through each step, focusing intently on every stage. At last, the second, third, and fourth batches were all successfully refined.

However, the second batch yielded only three pills, the third four, the fourth five—matching his achievements from his previous life.

Twelve pills in total, far short of the twenty he had hoped for.

Still, Chu Tianfeng was content. After decades without refining pills, this result was quite satisfactory.

Immersed in pill refinement, he lost track of time.

Only when hunger became unbearable, and he glanced up at the setting sun in the west, did he realize he had spent the entire day refining pills.

He hurried back to the crew’s lodgings, heading for the cafeteria to reward himself with a good meal.

Just as he entered the cafeteria, he spotted three familiar figures.

“Chu Tianfeng, you’re only just coming? We’ve already eaten,” Jiang Ziyue shouted the moment she saw him.

Chu Tianfeng smiled, nodded to the trio, and finally let his gaze rest on Xiang Yanping. “How’s your health?”

Xiang Yanping had once asked him to get Wu Bai’s autograph. Wu Bai had claimed he wasn’t prepared, and simply tore off a few sticky notes, signing them flamboyantly.

But Chu Tianfeng had been so busy the past couple of days that he left them in his dorm, forgetting to give them to Xiang Yanping.

“I’m fine—last night I started dying again,” Xiang Yanping replied.

Jiang Ziyue and Xu Yan snickered, and even Chu Tianfeng couldn’t help but smile.

“You may have missed a lot,” Xiang Yanping met his eyes. “Peng Yongliang was beaten so badly he ended up in the hospital. Did you know?”

There are no secrets in this world; word of Chu Tianfeng’s lesson to Peng Yongliang and his group had already spread among those paying attention.

Xiang Yanping had heard, though he wasn’t sure he believed it.

“Oh.” Chu Tianfeng neither confirmed nor denied.

Seeing Chu Tianfeng unwilling to admit it, Xiang Yanping didn’t press further, sighing, “Peng Yongliang’s family reportedly has criminal connections. They probably won’t let this go.”

“Is that so?” Chu Tianfeng’s eyes narrowed.

He hadn’t heard that before; clearly, he wasn’t the only one with a story.

“I don’t know the details. I only found out recently. If I’d known earlier, I wouldn’t have gotten involved for anything,” Xiang Yanping said helplessly.

Chu Tianfeng remained silent.

“You’d better be careful too,” Xiang Yanping patted his shoulder. “There’ve been a lot of unfamiliar faces coming and going in the crew lately—it’s making me nervous.”

Chu Tianfeng fell into thought.

After eating, Chu Tianfeng found the cook and retrieved two bottles of Foundation Pill liquid.

He suspected those people might already be moving against him, so he needed to be prepared.

With the two bottles, he could use one at most, but he’d rather pour the rest away than let anyone else have it.

After handing Wu Bai’s autographs to Xiang Yanping, Chu Tianfeng returned to the lakeside to continue his cultivation.

But as soon as he sat cross-legged, six figures suddenly emerged from the surroundings.

Six men, all young.

The leader was about thirty, his face covered in pimples, which made him quite unpleasant to look at. Beside him stood a man with a scar running from his right ear to his right cheek—under the moonlight, it was rather unsettling.

The other four appeared to be in their twenties, features decent enough.

The six stood in a triangular formation, seemingly casual, but in fact encircling Chu Tianfeng on three sides.

The fourth side was open to the vast lake.

“Let me introduce myself. I’m Hu Changde, and the brother beside me is Scarface, named Wu Jin. We’re all from the Salt Society’s Hangzhou branch,” Hu Changde, the pimply youth, cupped his hands to Chu Tianfeng.

“Is there something you need?” Chu Tianfeng knew that if they had come to find him so late at night, it was surely not for anything good.

But it was his first time hearing of the Salt Society, and he didn’t think he had any prior conflict with them.

“Brother Chu, we’re very curious—what are you doing at the lakeside every night?” Hu Changde was barely keeping his emotions in check.

They had two teams: Scarface’s team went to investigate Chu Tianfeng’s background in Shudian, while Hu Changde himself led another team to follow Chu Tianfeng.

Yet after three days, Scarface’s group had found nothing, and his own team had been repeatedly shaken off. They’d tried to tail Chu Tianfeng several times, only to be lost each time.

It was understandable to lose him in Jianmen, but even in the small confines of the crew’s lodgings, they had been left behind repeatedly!

One rainy night, believing Chu Tianfeng would visit the lakeside, they waited in the downpour all night, nearly catching colds.

Last night, they followed him again, but as soon as Chu Tianfeng left the lodgings, he vanished like a wraith, leaving them behind yet again!

It was no wonder Hu Changde was frustrated.

Tonight, he had gathered both teams and stationed everyone around the crew’s lodgings, finally managing to corner Chu Tianfeng.

“You know me?” Chu Tianfeng was startled.

Clearly, they had investigated him and knew quite a bit, while he knew nothing about them—this put him on edge.

“Of course. We also know you’ve been coming to the lakeside every night,” Hu Changde nodded. “We’re really quite curious.”

“If I said I was here to enjoy the scenery, would you believe me?” Chu Tianfeng slung his satchel over his shoulder and stood up slowly.

He truly didn’t understand why they cared about this, or why they kept bringing it up.

“Hahaha!” Hu Changde burst out laughing, as if hearing the funniest joke in history. “Brother Chu, you’re very witty, but I advise you to be honest.”

“What a joke. Where I go is none of your business,” Chu Tianfeng could hear the threat in the other’s tone.

His spiritual sense was still weak, able to extend only a meter or so, while the six men stood four or five meters away—he couldn’t probe their cultivation.

He didn’t know if he could defeat them.

But he wanted to try.

“Let’s not beat around the bush, Brother Chu. Tell us where the treasure is, and we won’t make things difficult for you. How about it?” Hu Changde got straight to the point.

“Treasure? What treasure?” Chu Tianfeng asked, genuinely puzzled.

He truly had no idea.

“Haha!” Hu Changde obviously didn’t believe him. “So you won’t say? Fine!”

He waved his right hand, and the young man on his right dashed toward Chu Tianfeng.

The man was airborne, fist already swinging.

Chu Tianfeng leaped up, throwing his right fist as well.

Since the opponent wasn’t using spells, neither would Chu Tianfeng.

Bang!

Their fists collided in midair!

Chu Tianfeng felt his right arm go numb—he regretted only using half his strength.

Both men stepped back.

Chu Tianfeng retreated two steps; the youth staggered back four or five meters, his face twisted in pain.

Clearly, Chu Tianfeng had the upper hand.

“Step back,” Hu Changde said quietly to the youth. “You’re no match for him.”

Then Hu Changde swaggered toward Chu Tianfeng. “Early stage of Internal Force, no wonder you’re so arrogant!”

Chu Tianfeng was momentarily confused—he didn’t understand what Hu Changde meant.

To him, that youth was obviously third level of Qi Refinement!

Yet the opponent’s true energy was less robust than Chu Tianfeng’s own at the first level.

When they collided, he was actually superior.

Hu Changde’s body trembled, his right fist cracking audibly.

Chu Tianfeng grew even more puzzled.

He didn’t understand why the other refused to use spells, preferring such childish, primitive fist-to-fist combat.

There was no time to ponder—Hu Changde’s fist shot toward Chu Tianfeng’s chest with a whoosh.

With that momentum, Chu Tianfeng realized the man was at least fifth level of Qi Refinement!

There was no way he could block that punch.

He quickly dodged aside, simultaneously forming hand seals—Wind Manipulation Technique!

As soon as he cast Wind Manipulation, his figure turned into streaks of gray shadow.

Normally, Hu Changde would also have to use Wind Manipulation, or he’d never keep up with Chu Tianfeng’s speed.

Yet Hu Changde seemed tense; not only did he not use Wind Manipulation, he jumped out of the circle, gazing at Chu Tianfeng in bewilderment.

“What kind of movement technique is that?” Hu Changde’s expression was grave.

He was even more convinced Chu Tianfeng had obtained treasure—this strange movement art was too suspicious.

“Hmm?” Chu Tianfeng was surprised that the other didn’t even recognize something as basic as Wind Manipulation.

“Hmph! Speedy footwork is useless!” Hu Changde snorted, gesturing to the other five, “All of you, go get him—I want to see how he runs now!”

The five didn’t respond, but swiftly encircled Chu Tianfeng from both flanks.

Chu Tianfeng was now almost certain the group didn’t know spells—perhaps they didn’t even understand them.

He remembered a kind of cultivator he’d encountered in his past life—Martial Cultivators!

Strictly speaking, Martial Cultivators were a type of cultivator, too.

Their entry requirements were low, with no limitation on spiritual roots. Even without spiritual roots, they could cultivate. At the highest levels, they could attain physical sanctity.

Martial Cultivators focused on physical training, mainly tempering the body. Their resilience to attacks far exceeded that of ordinary cultivators at the same level.

But Martial Cultivators had a fatal weakness.

Without spiritual roots, low-level cultivators couldn’t absorb spiritual energy from nature, nor could they awaken spiritual sense, meaning they couldn’t use spells.

Of course, once they reached a certain realm, they could borrow spiritual energy and awaken spiritual sense, but they would still be much weaker than ordinary cultivators of the same level.

With this realization, Chu Tianfeng was even less inclined to fight head-on.

His opponents were much stronger—a fifth level Qi Refiner, a third level, and the others hardly weaker than third level.

Such strength could easily crush him.

Unless Chu Tianfeng dared to use other attack spells.

But even then, he wasn’t sure he could overpower them.

His cultivation was shallow, his spells not very potent, and their range limited.

Moreover, he spotted two figures moving in the distant trees, their intentions unclear—he didn’t want to expose his abilities too soon.

Run!

If he couldn’t win, he could escape!

They didn’t know spells; they couldn’t possibly outrun him.

Chu Tianfeng darted back toward the lake.

Hu Changde and the others saw his intent, but were powerless to keep up.

Within moments, Chu Tianfeng reached the lakeshore, leaping forward.

With a splash, the water exploded in a great spray, sending ripples across the surface.