I Might Be a Big Shot — Chapter 9
“You… you drank such a large dose of ‘Immortal’s Intoxication,’ and yet you’re completely fine?” Scholar Bai’s already deathly pale face drained of all color as he stared dumbfounded at Changkong Zhuoyu, who was still calmly sipping his tea, seemingly unaffected by the drug.
Li Xinglun’s fingers twitched, and a thin line of blood appeared on Scholar Bai’s neck.
Changkong Zhuoyu didn’t even lift his gaze. He toyed with the delicate teacup with his long fingers and said, “Disciple, go easy. If he dies, he won’t be able to talk. Ask where the Three Poison Trials are before killing him.”
His long lashes half-shielded his bright black eyes, and when they fluttered slightly, it left a faint trace in the heart, making one’s chest itch.
Li Xinglun’s anger was real. He didn’t care for such petty tricks of mortals — after all, this was Miaojiang; everything one ate, drank, used, or touched required caution. In fact, he had only lifted the cup but never truly drank. On the contrary, it was Changkong Zhuoyu who found the tea tasty and drank quite a bit with relish. What enraged him was the way Scholar Bai looked at Changkong Zhuoyu — this foolish, naïve master of his was not someone to be coveted by such a man.
That look from Scholar Bai disgusted Li Xinglun, and he snatched up a shard and lunged at the man's eyes, intending to make sure he’d never look at Changkong Zhuoyu like that again.
But just as he moved, Scholar Bai’s hand darted like a spirit snake and struck Li Xinglun’s wrist.
His wrist went numb, and he hurriedly retreated half a step, standing behind Changkong Zhuoyu.
“So you’re no great expert after all — merely a late Foundation Building kid,” Scholar Bai sneered, his demeanor completely changed from the frightened act before. “I suppose you didn’t actually drink this tea. What we served others was just an ordinary, colorless, tasteless sedative. But this ‘Immortal’s Intoxication’ is strong enough to fell even a Soul Transformation cultivator. I really thought two Soul Transformation experts had come, but it turns out you’re just some juniors.”
He addressed Changkong Zhuoyu: “Stop pretending to drink the tea.”
But just as he spoke, Changkong Zhuoyu calmly drank a full cup, poured another from the pot, and finished it as well. Afterward, he even commented to Li Xinglun: “This tea tastes good.”
His exquisite face bore a faintly mocking smile, as if ridiculing Scholar Bai’s words.
“You…” This time, Scholar Bai was truly shocked, cold sweat beading on his forehead. He had assumed they used some trick to avoid drinking, but Changkong Zhuoyu had clearly swallowed the tea without any pretense.
‘Immortal’s Intoxication’ was said to incapacitate any cultivator below Soul Transformation, but that didn’t mean it couldn’t also affect Soul Transformation experts. Given the amount Changkong Zhuoyu drank, even a Soul Transformation master should be powerless, unable to muster even a trace of true essence. Only one at the Great Ascension stage could drink like this so carelessly!
There were only a handful of Great Ascension cultivators in the cultivation world. Even those at Nascent Soul stage were revered as patriarchs and founders of sects. Scholar Bai had cultivated for centuries and had only heard legends of such lofty figures, never seen one in person.
And yet here stood one who could drink the Hundred Flowers sect’s drug as if it were plain water.
“G-Great Ascension…”
Heavens! Had he just flirted with a Great Ascension senior? What had he done!
With a thud, Scholar Bai fell to his knees at Changkong Zhuoyu’s feet, trembling as he begged, “S-senior, have mercy! I… I was merely doing my duty for the Hundred Flowers sect. Every cultivator visiting the sect must pass the Three Poison Trials — this was just the first. You’ve already passed the first trial, but with your strength, do you even need to bother with the other two? I-I’ll take you directly to our sect master. Whatever you desire, just say the word…”
He kowtowed as he spoke, so pitiful that Li Xinglun frowned, finding him repulsive.
Fortunately, Changkong Zhuoyu didn’t even spare him a glance; otherwise, Li Xinglun really might have covered his master’s eyes.
Changkong Zhuoyu continued staring indifferently at the teacup in his hand, as if Scholar Bai was beneath even an ant in his eyes.
Scholar Bai wept and begged until Li Xinglun, irritated, kicked him, and then heard Changkong Zhuoyu softly utter a single word: “Noisy.”
Scholar Bai immediately shut his mouth, not daring to make another sound.
“Mid Golden Core stage — must’ve taken quite some years and effort to reach this level, right?” Changkong Zhuoyu asked.
Scholar Bai promptly replied, “This worthless one… it took me three hundred years to barely form my core. I beg Venerable One to spare me.”
In the cultivation world, reaching the Golden Core was enough to establish a minor clan, Nascent Soul qualified one to found a sect as its patriarch, Soul Transformation meant serving as elder or head of a major sect — but as for Great Ascension, only the title of ‘Venerable’ could express the reverence cultivators had for such a figure.
No matter how much Scholar Bai pleaded, Changkong Zhuoyu stared silently at his cup, impossible to read. Li Xinglun hadn’t expected Changkong Zhuoyu to perform so well, so he didn’t interfere, letting him handle it. But after a while, he sensed something was off — Scholar Bai had been crying and groveling for far too long.
So he sat down beside Changkong Zhuoyu and respectfully said, “Master, we still need him to lead the way.”
Hearing him, Changkong Zhuoyu finally lifted his gaze from the cup to Li Xinglun’s face, looking at him quietly, almost pleadingly.
Li Xinglun: “….”
So he hadn’t been acting deep all this time — he just didn’t know what to do and didn’t dare look at anyone!
Li Xinglun immediately imitated Scholar Bai, adding a slight tremor to his voice: “Master, I-I just want to settle this quickly too.”
“Very well,” Changkong Zhuoyu finally said slowly. “As you wish. Of all my subordinates, you are my favorite.”
Li Xinglun: “….”
“All those subordinates” were just in your imagination!
Realizing he’d been spared, Scholar Bai quickly got up and said, “I-I’ll take senior to see the sect master right away.”
“Wait,” Changkong Zhuoyu said. “This tea is quite good.”
Scholar Bai, being clever, instantly understood his meaning and nodded. “This humble one will fetch it right away.”
He scurried into the back room and soon returned with a jade bottle, presenting it to Changkong Zhuoyu. “Just a drop dissolved in water is colorless and tasteless, enough to incapacitate over a dozen cultivators below Soul Transformation. It can also be catalyzed with true essence, and the mere scent within range of a palm strike will knock people out.”
Changkong Zhuoyu: “….”
He meant the tea was good, not the poison…
Li Xinglun hurriedly took the bottle before Changkong Zhuoyu could embarrass himself further and handed it to him in a way more befitting his lofty status.
Changkong Zhuoyu took a deep breath, eyes full of helplessness, which ultimately condensed into a single sentence: “You keep it.”
He lowered his lashes again, avoiding eye contact, returning to his inscrutable demeanor.
Li Xinglun, seeing that his master wanted nothing more than some humble tea leaves but ended up with a top-grade sedative, felt both angry and amused.
To avoid Scholar Bai noticing their conversation, Li Xinglun slipped his hand inside Changkong Zhuoyu’s wide sleeve and wrote in his palm: [Don’t worry. Once we get the face-changing pill, I’ll buy you better tea in the Central Plains.]
Changkong Zhuoyu wasn’t comforted. Instead, he traced in Li Xinglun’s palm with his slender finger: [Do you have money?]
Li Xinglun: “….”
[I can earn it!] After all, he was a late Foundation Building cultivator — making some money in the mundane world was nothing.
Changkong Zhuoyu brightened immediately.
Though outwardly calm, Li Xinglun could feel his master’s inner joy.
Like a child — delighted by simple pleasures, disheartened by trivial setbacks.
Well, it made sense. Changkong Zhuoyu was just someone who’d barely opened his eyes to the world, even choosing his own name at random — calling him a child wasn’t far off.
Even after writing, Li Xinglun didn’t let go of his hand. The road ahead was long, and this child needed someone to hold onto.
Changkong Zhuoyu didn’t seem to mind being led by the hand either. As Scholar Bai quickened his pace, Li Xinglun had to keep up.
Once they left the town behind, Scholar Bai produced a serpent staff carved with a double-headed venomous snake, its four blood-red eyes glinting with an eerie light.
[This staff contains a yao spiritual core.] Li Xinglun wrote in Changkong Zhuoyu’s palm.
{Yao: various nature spirits — animals, plants, mountains, rivers, even rocks or objects that remained undisturbed for long periods of time — that gained self-awareness due to absorbing large amounts of spiritual energy, often over very long time periods. Such spirits can then consciously choose to cultivate further despite harsh opposition from Heaven's Order, becoming yao cultivators. Two important cultivation stages for yao are the creation of a spiritual core — gaining longevity, magical powers related to its nature, and the ability to influence its environment, and the transcendence of physical form — allowing the yao to transform into a human appearance. }
Those flashing eyes were no illusion — the craftsman had smeared a yao snake's blood into the carved eyes, using it as a medium for sealing the spiritual core of the snake inside. The staff, controlled by the user, could summon the beast’s true form in combat — a powerful weapon.
Having grown up in an righteous cultivation clan, Li Xinglun detested such practices of capturing yaos and refining their spiritual core into pills and artifacts. Of course, even many major sects — righteous or demonic — did the same, as cultivators never really saw yao cultivators as equals.
In the cultivation world, beyond the sacred mountains and rivers occupied by cultivators, there were two independent domains: the Mystic Fog Yao Valley of the yao, and the Four Sacred Mountains of the spirit cultivators. Mystic Fog Yao Valley was protected by a barrier placed by the ancient goddess Nüwa. Any yao who reached the spiritual core stage could enter the valley and within it find refuge from the greedy human cultivators.
As for the owner of the spiritual core in the double-headed serpent staff, who knew what bad luck caused it to become someone’s artifact.
Scholar Bai didn’t brandish the staff to show off, but rather to ride it. Infusing it with true essence, the serpent staff rose into the air, and he balanced on one foot, flying swiftly away.
At the same time, a white mist gathered under Changkong Zhuoyu’s feet, hiding them as he followed effortlessly.
Seeing this, Scholar Bai was astounded. In the cultivation world, even Foundation Building cultivators could fly using artifacts, and some Golden Core cultivators with excellent artifacts could outpace Nascent Soul cultivators. But he’d never seen anyone summon clouds and mist so gracefully — this was beyond Great Ascension; surely on the verge of actual ascension to heaven?
Even among Great Ascension cultivators, many never touched the threshold of ascension before their lifespan ended. While reaching Great Ascension was possible with luck and diligence, ascending to heaven required a true understanding of Heaven's Order.
Cultivators all strove to ascend, but those who succeeded were one in ten thousand.
Scholar Bai immediately grew solemn, all his petty thoughts vanishing.
He had planned to bring them to the Hundred Flowers sect master and then plot revenge for being forced to kneel. The Hundred Flowers sect was famous for its strange poisons, and even a Great Ascension expert could fall victim.
Sometimes hatred was irrational — it was Scholar Bai who had first tried to harm Changkong Zhuoyu, and when defeated, had begged for his life. Yet he still blamed them for his humiliation. Narrow-minded indeed.
But given the strength Changkong Zhuoyu displayed, Scholar Bai could only swallow his resentment.
A Great Ascension cultivator he might dare to scheme against. But someone about to ascend? That he truly dared not provoke.
Suppressing his emotions, Scholar Bai obediently led them to a valley. Although it was already autumn, the flowers in this Miaojiang valley bloomed in full glory.
Upon landing, Scholar Bai swallowed a pill and turned to say, “This is the Hundred Flowers Miasma. Every single flower here is harmless on its own, but together their fragrance forms a poisonous miasma — the protective formation of the Hundred Flowers Valley. Though a senior like you may not fear it, the young man by your side still needs the antidote.”
He handed over two pills.
The Hundred Flowers Miasma was infamous. While a Great Ascension expert could destroy the formation and shield themselves with true essence, others would quickly collapse if exposed. There was even a case of a Soul Transformation cultivator who, after falling into the miasma and lying among the flowers for over a year, emerged with his cultivation reduced to Golden Core.
One’s cultivation stage wouldn’t actually drop, but the years of hard-earned true essence would be drained away.
Li Xinglun frowned as he accepted the pills. He didn’t trust Scholar Bai. Not only was giving the antidote after entering the miasma highly suspect, but he also hadn’t felt any discomfort so far.
In theory, someone at his level — late Foundation Building — should’ve collapsed immediately.
He raised a hand to touch the bamboo hat he wore. From the outside it looked ordinary, but inside it was already full of white mist, shielding his nose and mouth from the miasma.
As for Changkong Zhuoyu, who knew how profound his cultivation truly was — he stood there among the flowers, cool and untouchable, as if the blooms paled in comparison, entirely unaffected.
Apparently, they didn’t need the antidote for now. Li Xinglun pocketed the pills and, under Scholar Bai’s astonished gaze, held Changkong Zhuoyu’s hand and led him deeper into the sea of flowers.
~ Chapter End ~
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