Mu Chen tensed up, catching the sharp look on Grandma Si's face as she watched him closely.
Again, even though the two of them seemed kind, Mu Chen had no intention of revealing the Ancient God Cauldron to them.
Their attitude... might change the moment they see that artifact.
"I don't know. I don't know anything about that golden qi energy."
Grandma Si still said nothing, continuing to study Mu Chen's face carefully. He kept his expression normal and calm. Showing any nervousness could raise their suspicions.
"Alright."
"There are far too many mysteries in the world of cultivation. Maybe you are one of them," Grandma Si said, letting out a slow breath.
"The night is getting cold. Come inside and sit by the stove to warm yourself."
"Of course, Grandma Si."
Grandma Si rose from her seat and started walking with slow steps back into the old house. Mu Chen stayed in the front yard, not yet heading inside, his mind still turning something over.
He didn't know how long he could keep hiding the truth about the Ancient God Cauldron. But he understood that he couldn't keep it hidden forever.
There would come a time when everyone would find out about this artifact. Mu Chen just needed to prepare himself for whatever came next.
The only real option he had was to keep getting stronger. That way, when everyone finally learned about the Ancient God Cauldron, he would have the power to face them.
"Mu Chen!" Grandma Si called.
"Coming."
He went inside and began warming himself while resting. His cultivation had advanced to the 4th Layer of Qi Condensation, but the third Heavenly Refinement mission still hadn't been completed.
He had spirit stones, so the third mission could actually be finished without much trouble.
But Mu Chen just needed to find the right moment to bring out the Ancient God Cauldron without raising suspicion from the two Perfect Nascent Soul monsters under the same roof.
I should be patient and not rush. Grandma Si is already suspicious about the Primordial Origin Qi. I can't let Grandpa Tu start noticing the same thing.
***
Three days passed since Mu Chen had broken through. He heard from Grandpa Tu and Grandma Si that more and more cultivators from smaller sects had started joining the search for him.
That news caught Mu Chen off guard. He had originally thought Su Qingyue would give up after getting no information on his whereabouts.
But he was wrong. Su Qingyue was only becoming more determined and more relentless in her search for Mu Chen.
"The Tianyin Sect is a major sect, much larger than Hengyue. Of course they have more resources to hire other sects," Grandma Si said.
The old woman turned and pointed at Mu Chen. Her face was firm, her brows drawn in, her eyes sharp and fixed on him.
"You had better never take off that straw hat. It is effective at keeping the low-level sect people from finding you."
"I hear you, old Grandma."
Grandma Si nodded with a smile, picked up her basket, and said she was heading to the village to buy supplies. Mu Chen nodded. He would stay home and use the time to cultivate.
The old woman left the house. Once she was past the fence, Grandma Si glanced back briefly and directed her hand toward the house. A protective formation appeared, shielding Mu Chen from any intruders.
Realizing he was alone, Mu Chen seized the opportunity and summoned the Ancient God Cauldron.
The object emerged from Mu Chen's forehead, floated upward, and expanded to its full size. Mu Chen tapped his bag of holding and tossed ten spirit stones into the cauldron.
All I need to do is activate it.
Mu Chen raised a finger, drew up his qi light, and channeled his spiritual qi into the Ancient God Cauldron.
Flames appeared beneath the cauldron, melting down the spiritual qi energy trapped inside the spirit stones.
Several qi pulses went off as a few spirit stones cracked apart. Mu Chen worked to control the process with his own spiritual qi.
In under an hour, the Ancient God Cauldron had successfully refined all ten low-grade spirit stones.
[Congratulations! Host has successfully completed Heavenly Refinement Mission Three]
[Reward: 1x Primordial Origin Qi Seed || 100 Low-Grade Spirit Stones]
[Heavenly Refinement Mission Four: Refine one Mortal-Grade weapon]
[Reward: 1x Primordial Origin Qi Seed || Weapon quality upgraded]
Mission three complete. A Primordial Origin Qi Seed rose from inside the cauldron and floated in front of Mu Chen. Along with it, 100 Low-Grade Spirit Stones appeared from within it as well.
"I put in ten spirit stones and walked away with replacements. This is absolutely worth it."
He stored the 100 Low-Grade Spirit Stones and kept the Primordial Origin Qi Seed in his hand.
According to what Grandpa Tu had explained, aside from selling it at a high price, a cultivator could also use this energy to cultivate directly.
Mu Chen wanted to find out whether that actually worked. He immediately summoned the Primordial Origin Qi Seed and let it float above his head.
Both hands formed a hand seal and he began absorbing the abundant Primordial Origin Qi energy pouring from the seed.
The moment he started cultivating, Mu Chen could feel the qi energy flowing powerfully through all twenty open meridians in his body.
Pulses went off repeatedly, pure gold in color, spreading through every corner of the house. Mu Chen coughed, his entire body warming and heating up.
But that turned out to be a serious mistake on his part.
Up on Jiuxiao Mountain, Su Qingyue's eyes slowly opened as she cultivated. The soul essence she had spread across all territories near the sect picked up a familiar energy.
An energy that resembled Mu Chen's. It was unmistakably Primordial Origin Qi.
"Mu Chen! I found you."
Su Qingyue rose from her cross-legged seat and shot through the sky above the Tianyin Sect at full speed, visible to many people watching from below as she left.
A trail of white qi lingered in the sky behind her, punching through the clouds, cutting across the sky.
Yun Tian stepped out of the sect leader's building when one of the elders came to tell him about Su Qingyue.
"It seems Grand Sect Leader Su has found Mu Chen's location."
"Han Lao. We're going with her," Yun Tian said firmly. Han Lao nodded without question.
They flew up into the sect sky and pushed to catch up with Su Qingyue. The direction she was flying didn't point toward any of the large cities near the Tianyin Sect. She was heading straight into the dense forest to the east.
Yun Tian and Han Lao matched her speed. "Grand Sect Leader Su... did you find Mu Chen?"
"I detected Primordial Origin Qi from him. The location is over there."
All three of them kept flying until they were hovering above the forest canopy. Su Qingyue stopped, and Yun Tian and Han Lao stopped behind her.
"He... should be somewhere here."
Su Qingyue swept her hand to the side, activating qi light at her fingertips. If her soul essence had picked up Mu Chen's qi energy here but he wasn't visible, there was only one explanation.
Mu Chen was being protected by a formation.
"Moon Reflection Technique... activate!"
Su Qingyue's qi light burst outward and struck every formation in the forest. Grandma Si's formation took the hit and shattered instantly. Su Qingyue's attention dropped downward, the Primordial Origin Qi growing stronger the closer she got.
"Mu... Chen? I hope you are there."
Su Qingyue landed softly in front of the old house. Through her cultivation sight, she watched Primordial Origin Qi flowing in from outside and into the house.
Her heart beat faster. She was about to see Mu Chen again after days apart. Her slender hand reached out and slowly pushed the front door open.
"Mu... Chen?" Su Qingyue asked.
Mu Chen jolted at the sound of a voice that felt familiar to his ears. He stopped his cultivation for a moment and turned slowly, his heart refusing to settle down.
That voice... don't tell me...
Mu Chen's eyes went wide. A young woman in a white gown appeared in the gap of the doorway, her face and her beauty lit up by the sunlight coming in from outside.
"Master... Su?"