Chapter Seven: The Remarkable Friendship Across Generations

Chen Xiang eventually stopped his banter. Who says the more spiritual roots you have, the worse your talent? With the Chaos Technique in hand, if you don’t have seven spiritual roots, you can’t even cultivate!

“Boy, what will it take for you to tell me how you made this roast meat?” The old man had already finished the delicacy in his hands, but the flavor lingered in his mouth, leaving him savoring it. He couldn’t help but ask.

“Old man, if you want to know the method for my super, unbeatable, delicious, and lucrative roast, you’ll need to show some sincerity!” Chen Xiang grinned, rubbing two fingers together in the air. “Let me make this clear—don’t try to fool me with junk. I’ve got a pretty sharp eye!”

The old man’s mouth twitched. He’d never seen anyone so blunt about asking for a handout in front of him. How had this kid survived so long?

But for someone who loved good food and drink, the temptation of this boy’s roast meat was almost on par with a heaven-grade cultivation technique!

“How about this? I’ll help you remove the seal on your cultivation. How about that?” The old man, recalling Chen Xiang’s mention of his cultivation being sealed, thought if he could remove it, the boy would surely be grateful and hand over the recipe willingly.

Seeing the old man’s smiling face, Chen Xiang found it amusing. He hadn’t expected the old man to believe his offhand excuse, and he looked so confident about it.

But he couldn’t reveal any flaws, so he put on a mysterious air. “Old man, you can’t break this seal. You probably can’t even find it.”

The old man’s expression soured. “How would you know if you haven’t tried? Saying I can’t even find the seal—listen here, my sealing skills are famous across the continent!”

“Heh, so what? If you can break it, I’ll call you grandfather!” Chen Xiang sneered inwardly. There was no seal in his body to begin with, so what was there to break?

“Hmph, I wouldn’t want you as my grandson anyway!” The old man glared, then placed a hand on Chen Xiang’s shoulder, releasing his spiritual sense to probe Chen Xiang’s body. Chen Xiang didn’t stop him.

Letting someone’s spiritual sense enter your body was a bold move. If the other had malicious intent, it could damage your cultivation or even destroy your soul.

Chen Xiang let the old man investigate. He didn’t believe the old man could find anything.

Sure enough, the old man’s brow furrowed repeatedly. Chen Xiang’s body was perfectly normal; there was no trace of any seal. That meant either there was no seal at all, or the one who placed it was at least a whole realm above him!

“Well, old man, didn’t I tell you you couldn’t break it?” Chen Xiang sensed the old man withdraw his spiritual sense and said smugly.

The old man was puzzled. The boy seemed happy he couldn’t break the seal—was he out of his mind?

The old man shook his head. He’d only followed out of greed, but ended up meeting such a mysterious youth.

“Sigh, forget it. To have tasted such a delicacy once is fortune enough. I shouldn’t ask for more. Besides, if I eat this too often, how could I stomach anything else?” The old man waved his hand, his face full of regret.

Chen Xiang was taken aback. Seeing the old man about to give up, he was stunned.

Now it was his turn to worry. He’d planned to get something useful out of this mysterious old man—how could he just give up?

“Old man, wait! You have to realize, this roast can’t be found anywhere else in the cultivation world. If you miss this chance, there won’t be another!” Chen Xiang said.

The old man paused, then realized the boy had been trying to take advantage of him all along. Damn it, he thought. He’d always been the one to outsmart others, never the other way around.

He snickered inwardly.

He tugged at his clothes, face full of regret. “Ah, what a pity. Look at me—nothing clean on me at all. Where would I get a treasure worthy of such a precious recipe? Better forget it, I can’t afford it.”

“Impossible! With cultivation as high as yours, you wiped out a beast tide with a wave of your hand. Even a crumb off you would be a great boon to a mere Qi Condensation junior like me! Of course you can afford it!” Chen Xiang smiled, cursing himself for talking too much.

The old man had certainly guessed his intentions. Now it was a contest of who could outlast the other.

“Are you serious?” the old man asked.

Chen Xiang nodded solemnly. “Yes, I am.”

“Alright then.” The old man, delighted, reached into his robe and rummaged around.

Seeing the old man really about to produce something, Chen Xiang perked up. A master above the Nascent Soul stage—anything he took out would be a windfall for a mere beginner like him.

“Got it!” the old man exclaimed happily after rummaging.

“What treasure is it?”

The old man pulled out a pitch-black pellet—it seemed to be a medicinal pill.

Chen Xiang’s eyes brightened. Was it one of those miraculous pills that could raise your cultivation several levels in one go?

“Here, take a look.” The old man handed the pellet to Chen Xiang.

Chen Xiang accepted it carefully, but something felt off. The pill was soft. Before he could bring it closer, an awful stench hit his nose—it was coming from the pellet in his hand.

“Ugh—smelly old man, you’re trying to scam me!” Chen Xiang hurled the black pellet at the old man, cursing and retching.

The old man dodged easily, and the pellet deformed as it hit the ground.

He smiled. “How can you say that, little friend? Didn’t you say even crumbs from me would benefit you? This is my collection of several centuries—how could you not appreciate it?”

“Get lost, you old coot! Do you think that’s some kind of miraculous pill?” Chen Xiang cursed.

“Heh, you said it yourself. Can’t blame me. Now hurry and hand over the roast recipe!” the old man said smugly.

“Why don’t you drop dead?” Chen Xiang wiped his mouth.

His lunch was now a sacrifice to the earth.

“Boy, you can’t go back on your word!” the old man chided.

“Hmph!” Chen Xiang snorted, refusing to respond.

The old man didn’t mind. Hah, trying to swindle me? You’re still too green.

Chen Xiang had already cursed him to death in his heart, but he wasn’t so easy to take advantage of. He had to get back at him.

“System, is there anything that can attract a troublesome beast—a kind that even Nascent Soul cultivators would fear?” Chen Xiang asked mentally.

“Zzt, based on the host's inquiry, this system offers two practical options:

Option one: The Blood Gourd. Fresh blood stored inside acquires a special aroma, luring Bloodthirsty Demon Mosquitoes from a thousand miles around. Even cultivators in the Void Refinement stage will avoid them. Only one hundred and eighty reputation points required.

Drawback: Bloodthirsty Demon Mosquitoes are rare, highly social, and might not exist within a thousand miles.

Option two: Spiritual Essence Honey. Honey infused with dense spiritual energy, attracting all bee-type demon beasts within a thousand miles. Threat level varies. Only twenty reputation points required.”

Chen Xiang pondered these options. He bore no deep grudge against the old man; if the first method worked and the old man was only at Nascent Soul stage, he’d be done for, and it would waste one hundred and eighty reputation points. The second option might not be very effective.

Staring at the demon beast corpses on the ground, Chen Xiang suddenly felt hungry, since he’d thrown up earlier.

Then, an idea struck him—he thought of a way to give the old man some trouble.

He reluctantly spent twenty reputation points and bought a jar of Spiritual Essence Honey.

“Old man, forget it. I’ll teach you how to make the roast, but you should still give me something in return, right?” Chen Xiang said with a smile.

The old man eyed him curiously. He’d been so angry just now—why had he calmed down so suddenly? They hadn’t known each other long, but the boy didn’t seem the type to accept a loss easily.

“Boy, what are you up to this time?” the old man asked.

“Heh, old man, you’re overthinking it. You helped me subdue the demon beasts and loosened my seal a little, so I’ll teach you the recipe. Let’s just call it making friends.” Chen Xiang smiled amiably.

“Tch, you want to be friends with me? If those old codgers found out, they’d laugh me to death!” the old man scoffed.

“Sigh, isn’t it said that true friends remain close across any distance? Old man, you’ve got it wrong. Friendship is about the heart, not age or cultivation,” Chen Xiang said, full of emotion.

In that moment, he seemed like a reclusive master.

The old man looked at him in surprise. What a fine verse! Who’d have thought the boy was so talented? Friendship is about the heart, not age or cultivation—those words struck a chord with him.

“Boy, just for that, I’ll be your friend. Let those old fools laugh if they want. Hahaha!” the old man laughed heartily.

Chen Xiang also smiled, a subtle look flashing across his face as if his plan had succeeded.

“Sigh, brother, never mind my youth or low cultivation. Haven’t we all walked this path? Let’s focus on the present—let others say what they will; their mouths belong to them,” Chen Xiang said, placing a hand on the old man’s shoulder.

“Right, right! Exactly! Haha! Brother, I don’t even know your name. I am—no, I mean, your elder brother, Jiang Tianyi.” The old man found the boy amusing and laughed aloud.

“So it’s Brother Jiang—an honor to meet you. I am Chen Xiang!” Chen Xiang cupped his fists.

“Haha, Brother Chen, a pleasure indeed.”

The two seemed to have forgotten their earlier schemes, looking for all the world like friends who’d met after a long separation.

“Come, brother, look at all these demon beasts. This is the perfect chance for a lesson. To be honest, I’ve never tasted demon beast meat before!” Chen Xiang pulled Jiang Tianyi over to the corpses.

“Demon beast meat isn’t much—almost all lean and tough. That first roast was much tastier. What kind of beast was that?” Jiang Tianyi asked, tugging at his lips.

“Oh, you mean the musk deer? That’s a wild beast—rare and precious. Look, there’s one over there.” Chen Xiang pointed to a nervous musk deer several hundred meters away.

At the seventh level of Qi Condensation, his eyesight could easily spot things over a thousand meters away.

Jiang Tianyi looked where he pointed, then reached out, and in an instant, the musk deer flew into his hand.

“To be continued…”