Chapter Twelve: The Beginning of Suffering

Two days later, Xiao Ying emerged from her room with a weary expression, immediately spotting Li Chengzhu slumped nearby, listless and dispirited. She exclaimed in surprise, "Huh? Why do you have so many bumps on your head? Who hit you?"

Li Chengzhu forced an awkward smile, brushing dust from his robes, and instead of answering, he asked, "How's it going? How many have you forged so far?"

Xiao Ying wiped the sweat from her brow. "Not bad. I’ve finished two. It’s all thanks to the ancestral treasured cauldron from the weapon shop owner."

"Only two?"

Xiao Ying shot him a glare. "Brother, this is forging, not cooking! It’s exhausting."

Li Chengzhu struggled to steady his trembling legs and said in a shaky voice, "Keep it up, do your best! I’ll wait for your good news!" With that, he turned and fled without looking back. It really was inconvenient without spiritual power to protect himself; even a casual gesture from Xiao Ying could make him look utterly ridiculous. It took quite some time for Li Chengzhu to calm his racing heart after returning to his room, and he indulged in a thorough daydream about Gu Linglong.

With Li Chengzhu supplying materials and spiritual pills, Xiao Ying began forging flying swords at a rate of about one per day. Most were of excellent quality, with the odd mid-grade blade appearing now and then. Li Chengzhu was more than satisfied with the results—if he’d tried forging on his own with his clumsy skills, he wouldn’t have managed anything above the lowest grade.

Since escape was out of the question, all he could do was hope for a windfall once all the swords were finished.

While Xiao Ying focused on her craft and the City Lord’s residence was sealed by an enchantment as usual, Li Chengzhu, with nothing else to do, buried himself in the manor’s library. After a month of intensive study, his grasp of immortal world forging, alchemy, and formation arts had improved dramatically.

One day, as Li Chengzhu was absorbed in researching the method for setting up an illusion array, his vision suddenly blurred and Gu Linglong appeared before him.

Seeing the ambiguous smile on her face, a chill ran down Li Chengzhu’s spine.

What must come, will come!

He forced a smile. "It’s been a while, Lord Gu. You’re as radiant as ever, ha ha."

Gu Linglong fixed him with a cold stare. "Enough with the nonsense. I’ve already decided how to extract the immortal spirit energy from you."

Li Chengzhu’s body trembled slightly. "So soon? Um... Lord Gu, could you give me another three years? I have some unfinished business."

Gu Linglong sneered. "Three years? You really dare to ask. If I’m not mistaken, the Envoy of Ascension will emerge from the Heaven-Covering Great Array in three years, won’t he?" Then, her delicate face darkened with anger, her eyes wide with fury as she snapped, "Remember, this is not a negotiation. Even if you don’t cooperate, I can forcefully extract it!"

Li Chengzhu jumped up, shouting, "Don’t push me or I’ll self-destruct my Nascent Soul!"

Gu Linglong seemed entirely unperturbed and gave a cold smile. "Go ahead. I won’t stop you!"

Li Chengzhu’s face froze. He really had no way to self-destruct his Nascent Soul! With all his spiritual power blocked, he couldn’t even use the Divine Bow. His bluff exposed, he forced a sheepish smile. "How about a few more days, then?"

Gu Linglong nodded. "Of course. I’d prefer not to wait even a moment longer, but there’s still much preparation to do." With that, she produced a set of radiant, multicolored immortal armor brimming with spiritual energy.

"This set of immortal armor was forged for you. Soon, you’ll need to refine it into your body to protect your Nascent Soul." She handed the armor to Li Chengzhu.

Li Chengzhu accepted it without ceremony, tucking it into his storage ring.

Gu Linglong also released the seal on Li Chengzhu, allowing him to return and begin refining the armor.

Li Chengzhu spent two full days holed up in his room cultivating with the armor. Anything crafted by an immortal was sure to be of the finest quality! Even with his late-stage Nascent Soul cultivation, he struggled to control the armor, and in the end, had to rely on Gu Linglong’s assistance to forcibly merge the armor with his body and cover his Nascent Soul.

Seeing his tiny Nascent Soul clad in the resplendent immortal armor, even its normally sly smile took on an air of dignity.

After consulting with Gu Linglong, Li Chengzhu named his first—and perhaps only—set of immortal armor: The Golden Bell Iron Shirt.

When Xiao Ying learned of this, she mocked Li Chengzhu mercilessly, though she couldn’t hide the envy in her eyes. After a brief meeting with her boss, she quickly returned to her forging.

Bare-chested, Li Chengzhu sat cross-legged within a mysterious formation inscribed by Gu Linglong, her soft hands pressed against his back. Yet, at that moment, he could hardly appreciate the intimacy; he had to focus all his attention inward, using the essence of his Nascent Soul to shield his mind.

Gu Linglong had warned him that forcefully extracting the hidden immortal spirit energy from his body was extremely dangerous—one wrong move and both of them could fall into inner chaos. So, despite his anger, Li Chengzhu had no choice but to cooperate.

After learning more about the ways of cultivation, Li Chengzhu had long wondered why, after being transformed by the Light of Ascension, he had only reached the Revolving Illumination stage. Was that all the power of the immortal spirit energy capable of forging an immortal’s golden body?

Only after Gu Linglong’s explanation did he understand: only about ten percent of the immortal spirit energy he absorbed had participated in transforming his body. The remaining ninety percent was hidden within his spiritual veins.

His vessel was limited, but the force was infinite—the Light of Ascension, after transforming his spiritual veins to their utmost, could not fully infuse him, and so the rest was concealed. Otherwise, Li Chengzhu would have been destroyed by the overwhelming power.

What Gu Linglong needed to do now was to slowly extract that hidden immortal spirit energy, thread by thread.

Fortunately, the immortal spirit energy within Gu Linglong’s body was of the same origin as Li Chengzhu’s. With a touch of her own power, the hidden energy within him would eagerly emerge. This brought Gu Linglong great relief.

Though it sounded simple, in practice it was incredibly difficult. Gu Linglong had to meticulously control the pace of absorption.

Even so, Li Chengzhu’s primordial spirit, hiding within his Nascent Soul, still felt an agonizing pain that shook him to his very core, forcing him to cry out.

Before long, cultivators in the city would plug their ears whenever passing the City Lord’s residence to block out the heartrending screams, all the while speculating about what horrors might be unfolding inside.

Day after day, Li Chengzhu was tormented to the brink of death.

To ensure the quality of the spirit energy she absorbed, Gu Linglong slowed the process even further, unwittingly prolonging Li Chengzhu’s suffering.

He could feel his own power steadily waning, while Gu Linglong seemed to grow ever more enchanting.

Was this the legendary art of draining yang to nourish yin? Li Chengzhu even began to wonder if Gu Linglong was a fox spirit in disguise.

He pitied himself, but under Gu Linglong’s carrot-and-stick approach, he was utterly helpless.

After each extraction, Gu Linglong would present him with a platter of rare, spirit-filled immortal fruits to help him replenish his lost energy.

But Li Chengzhu knew that no matter how much he ate, he could never regain the immortal spirit energy he had lost. These fruits, precious as they were, could only restore the spiritual energy of ordinary cultivators—nothing like the true immortal spirit energy he was losing.

And so the days passed in agony, each extraction leaving Li Chengzhu wishing for death.