My Journey to Immortality Begins with Hunting-Chapter 123 - A Self-Created Cultivation Technique, A Baby Girl Is Born - Part 2
Chapter 123 - A Self-Created Cultivation Technique, A Baby Girl Is Born - Part 2
Two days later.
In the inner residence of Hundred Lotus Manor, Nian Nian performed a simple ceremony to formally recognize Li Yuan as her godfather. Nervously clutching a teacup, she knelt and offered it to him in her soft, childish voice. “Godfather, please drink tea.”
Li Yuan accepted the cup, took a sip, and set it on the table. He helped Nian Nian to her feet and ruffled her hair, then pointed to Yan Yu’s and Xue Ning’s slightly rounded bellies.
“By this time next year,” he said with a smile, “you’ll be a big sister.”
The little girl remained a bit tense, standing there shyly with a small grin.
Yan Yu beckoned her over. “What’s this? Your godfather gets tea, but your godmothers don’t?”
Flustered, Nian Nian hurried to offer them each a cup. frёeweɓηovel.coɱ
Afterward, Yan Yu pulled her close and let Nian Nian place a hand on her belly. “We’ll all get along, won’t we?”
With curiosity in her eyes, Nian Nian gave it a gentle pat. “Godmother, your stomach isn’t very big yet.”
Yan Yu laughed. “It’s still early.”
“Can the baby hear me?” Nian Nian asked.
“Give it a few more months,” Yan Yu said. “Then come feel again.”
"Mhmm!" Nian Nian nodded happily.
Watching them, Tang Qiu broke into a genuine smile.
Nearby, Xiao Sheng and Niu Niu whispered to each other.
“She’s the master’s goddaughter now. Does that mean Nian Nian will be a young lady, too?” Xiao Sheng muttered.
Hands on her hips, Niu Niu huffed. “I don’t want to be her study companion!”
Yet the moment Nian Nian ran over to join them, all three scampered outside to play together.
Xiao Sheng and Niu Niu had continued with their Blood Blade Sect training, while Nian Nian stuck to her Tang Family techniques.
When everyone had gone off, Li Yuan and Tang Qiu strolled through the estate’s scenic walkway.
At last, Li Yuan spoke in a low voice. “Old Tang, I want to treat your illness, no matter the cost.”
A hint of gratitude flickered in Tang Qiu’s eyes, but he murmured, “It can’t be cured.”
“What exactly is this illness, and why is it beyond help? You don’t look like you’re dying.”
Tang Qiu didn’t reply directly. Instead, he said, “After I’m gone, I’ll have something special for Nian Nian—a gift. But I’ll need you to keep it a secret.”
Li Yuan sighed. “A secret gift?”
Leaning in, Tang Qiu lowered his voice. “This also explains why I’m alive now yet can’t be healed. You see, puppets are usually powered by demonic beast hearts. And there’s a taboo in puppet arts called the Daemonheart. Essentially, it’s a metallic heart. Even with the most intricate craftsmanship, metal can’t naturally function like flesh. But this secret art details how it can.
“Back when I was with the Tang Family, my wife researched this. A few days before our family was wiped out, she happily told me the experiment had succeeded. Still, it required implanting the metal heart in a martial artist of seventh rank or higher, allowing shadow blood to constantly refine it. In short, a heart transplant. The procedure was extremely risky, and even if it succeeded, the metal heart needed ongoing nurturing to integrate.
“But once fully integrated, the puppet fueled by that Daemonheart would have heightened intelligence, unlike ordinary mindless puppets. Then calamity struck our Tang Family. My wife was killed, and I was mortally wounded. Desperate, with my heart failing, I replaced it with the Daemonheart. Somehow, I survived. Without it, I’d be dead already. But once the heart fully matures within me, I’ll die anyway.
“That’s why I say my illness can’t be cured. And once I’m gone, the Daemonheart will be at its peak. I’d planned to trade it to a powerful expert in exchange for revenge. But now...” He paused, letting out a heavy breath. “I’d rather give it to Nian Nian.”
With that, Tang Qiu bowed deeply. “Please, keep this secret. Never tell Nian Nian.”
Li Yuan was silent for a long moment. At last, he patted Tang Qiu on the shoulder. “I promise.”
Then he added, “Old Tang, I never asked; do you drink?”
Tang Qiu managed a small smile. “Of course I do.”
Li Yuan grinned. “I thought maybe you had such a serious illness you couldn’t drink. Come on, let’s go have a jar together and savor the moment while we can. Why don’t you list out what puppets and gear you need too? I’ll see if I can get them for you.”
“All right!” Tang Qiu answered with a touch of bravado.
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The next morning.
Li Yuan had important business to attend to in Silver Creek, so he mounted a swift horse and headed east first thing after waking up.
With the demon dogs guarding the residence and the white finches on patrol, he felt comfortable stepping away briefly.
When Li Yuan arrived at his destination, everyone there clasped their hands in salute, greeting him respectfully. “Greetings to Elder Li!”
A few quick inquiries confirmed what he already knew from the white finches’ reports; this was just a chance to verify it.
The border of the black market’s ghost domain had expanded to 200 meters beyond the island in the center of the lake, then halted.
Most locals nearby hadn’t moved away, choosing to stay rather than uproot themselves from Silver Creek.
After a brief stop, Li Yuan continued straight on into the inner district to find Tie Sha, stating his purpose; he needed to buy some things.
The black market was gone, taking away Li Yuan’s previous trade channels, but Tie Sha surely had connections.
After all, someone had to supply demonic beast meat to the sect leader and elders.
Tie Sha didn’t hold back. “Indeed, there’s a channel. They call themselves the Red Ant Guild, but Old Ding and I can see they’re a branch of some powerful faction.
"Aside from regular goods, they also sell certain special items, like seventh rank and eighth rank demonic beast meat, puppets, private armies, demonic beasts, and even cultivation manuals. It’s likely they handle surplus materials that larger powers don’t need.
“This Red Ant Guild isn’t like other trading firms; they don’t stay in one spot. They come and go as they please and only deal with the biggest force in any given region.
"Back then, we of the Blood Blade Sect were the strongest, so they approached us and established a relationship.”
“Do they deliver?”
“In a manner of speaking. First, they send an envoy with a catalog. You place your order on the spot. Later, they’ll ship it over. This usually happens once a year. By my reckoning, they should arrive sometime soon. If you’re interested, I’ll have someone let you know.”
“I appreciate it,” Li Yuan said, thanking him.
He was eager to obtain some kind of life chronicle technique. That sort of cultivation technique might be common in the Central Plains, but traveling there—into the chaos—just to gamble on finding it was too dangerous. No point risking his life on a slim chance.
On his way back, Li Yuan took a jar of wine to pay respects at Senior Li’s grave. Only afterward did he remount and ride off.
˙·٠✧🐗➶➴🏹✧٠·˙
Another ten days passed.
The ghost domain hadn’t expanded any further, and the Red Ant Guild’s envoy arrived with a new catalog.
Li Yuan, Tie Sha, Old Ding, and the envoy—who looked to be a seventh rank cultivator, slightly weaker than Tie Sha—sat around a circular table together.
Li Yuan carefully read the catalog. He quickly found a number of items Tang Qiu needed and put in an order. Then he started searching for cultivation manuals and, as expected, came away disappointed. There was no sign of anything related to life chronicles.
He looked up. “Do you have any manuals or artifacts above seventh rank?”
“No,” the man said flatly.
Li Yuan pulled out a gold ingot, weighing about 50 taels, and slid it across the table. The envoy eyed it for a moment, hesitating slightly.
Li Yuan then produced a second ingot, making it 100 taels of gold in total—equivalent to 1,000 taels of silver. Not a small sum.
The man pocketed the gold. “We don’t deal in cultivation manuals above seventh rank. As for high-level artifacts, those are one-to-one confidential trades and aren’t listed in our catalog. However, we do have books containing information related to seventh rank and above, which can be bought and sold.”
With that, he tossed over a small booklet. Li Yuan flipped through it, finding a list of book titles—things like So-and-So’s Diary or So-and-So’s Cultivation Reflections.
Arching an eyebrow at the envoy, he asked, “Are these insights genuine?”
“Some might be. Some might not,” the envoy replied. “They’re unverified.”
Li Yuan understood. The texts on this list were likely ones the higher-ups had discarded—maybe worthless, maybe containing a stray piece of valuable info—so they were offloaded to the merchant guild for resale. And the price wasn’t cheap; ten taels of gold per book. It could very well be wasted money.
He decided to test the waters anyway. With plenty of silver on hand from looting the Fragrant General’s bandit camp, he bought 40 books in one go. The envoy didn’t seem surprised, implying that others had done the same before. He confirmed the titles Li Yuan wanted and said, “We’ll deliver them soon.”
Li Yuan asked, “They aren’t just copies, right?”
The man smiled. “Our reputation should speak for itself. The sect master here can vouch for us.”
Li Yuan nodded, reassured.
The envoy added, “Any texts that come into our possession are one of a kind, unless someone made a copy before we got hold of them.”
