Monsters also need to cultivate immortality scientifically (14): The Son of the World is furious

After Si Qi exposed the truth that the Son of the World was a heaven-favored individual laden with treasures, the cultivators present chased him for thousands of miles before he barely managed to escape.  

Though he survived, every precious artifact, disposable talisman, and elixir he used during his desperate flight was witnessed by his pursuers.  

This only confirmed their suspicions—the Son of the World was even wealthier than they had imagined. After dispersing, they casually mentioned the incident to their acquaintances in conversation.  

Many of these acquaintances had heard of the once high-profile and infamous Zhou cultivator (the Son of the World). Immediately, they mentally branded him as a “fat sheep” ripe for the taking.  

Unlike Si Qi—who flaunted his status as the personal disciple of Immortal Venerable Chu Feng and the Lingxiao Sect, making even the greediest think twice before targeting him despite his rumored riches—the Son of the World had no sect backing him and was known to be “orphaned and alone.”  

To those in the know, this made him no different from “a child carrying a bar of gold through the streets.” Unable to resist temptation, many began secretly searching for traces of the Son of the World, hoping to ambush him in seclusion and seize his treasures for themselves.  

A silent storm of assassination plots began spreading, targeting the Son of the World. Sensing the danger, he had no choice but to grit his teeth and hide, his hatred for Si Qi growing fiercer by the day.  

One day, holed up in a cave, he finally took out the treasure he had snatched in the secret realm. Back then, in the heat of the moment, he had hastily stored the glowing object in his storage pouch without examining it. After leaving the secret realm, everyone had gone their separate ways, and no one had asked him about his gains. Now, the treasure was his alone.  

But when he pulled out the mysterious item, his heart sank slightly—it was just an old, slightly tattered piece of paper. Disappointed, he tried to console himself: I’m the Son of the World, favored by the heavens. There’s no way I’d be unlucky enough to end up with trash.  

Patience wearing thin, he forced himself to inspect it carefully.  

Then, moments later—his fingers clenched around the paper, pupils contracting in excitement, face alight with ecstasy—he realized the truth.  

What he held was a pillsmithing formula.  

Anyone familiar with Si Qi had heard the rumors—somehow, the demonic cultivator Si Qi possessed an endless supply of supreme-grade elixirs. It was how he had first amassed wealth, connections, and power!  

And now… he had gotten his hands on that very formula!  

The heavens truly did favor him!

The Son of the World held the alchemy recipe in his hands, unable to suppress waves of quiet, delighted laughter.  

No wonder Si Qi had so many pills—it turned out he was the one refining them!  

What’s more, in his past life, he had never heard of Si Qi having any talent for alchemy. It seemed the refining process recorded in this recipe was extraordinarily effective, allowing even someone with no prior experience to produce top-grade pills with a high probability!  

“Hahaha…” The Son of the World excitedly clenched the paper in his hands. He rummaged through his storage pouch but found none of the spiritual herbs listed in the recipe, frowning in frustration.  

It looked like he’d have to risk returning to where the cultivators gathered to buy a cauldron and some spiritual plants…  

These things would cost a considerable amount of money. He had many treasures, but spirit stones were in short supply. Would he have to sell some of his valuables?  

But doing so might expose his whereabouts and raise suspicions. More importantly, he couldn’t bear to part with these treasures.  

Better to borrow some from Si Qi’s old friends instead.  

—  

“You want to borrow spirit stones from me?” The young man who had once affectionately called him “Brother Zhou” now stared at Zhou Junyi with an indifferent expression, his tone cool. “You’ve never mentioned being skilled in alchemy before. Asking for such a large sum at once—you must be very confident in your abilities.”  

Seeing Zhou Junyi’s expression of ‘Of course I’m skilled, so don’t worry about me repaying you’, the young man felt an indescribable mix of disappointment and bitterness. He couldn’t help but let out a cold laugh. “Ah, how could I possibly know what you’re skilled in? After all, I never truly understood you. I didn’t even know about all those hidden trump cards you had… I suppose alchemy is just one of your many secrets.”  

The Child of the World frowned, sensing the sarcasm in his words. “I’m just asking to borrow some spirit stones. There’s no need for such a mocking tone.”  

“That’s not some.” Zhou Junyi, accustomed to grand ambitions, had casually named an astronomical sum—something this young man, a rogue cultivator, wouldn’t even dare dream of. Every bit of wealth he’d gained since arriving in the cultivation world had been earned through life-and-death struggles, and he treasured even a single spirit stone.  

Back when the Child of the World had saved him, it was only because he had discovered a spiritual herb, only for it to catch the eye of a disciple from a major sect. Outnumbered, the disciple had immediately tried to kill him to seize the herb. Knowing that surrendering it wouldn’t spare his life, he had fled desperately, barely escaping until the Child of the World intervened. The two of them had “barely repelled” the attackers together, and in gratitude, he had given the herb to the Child of the World…  

Now, the Child of the World had come to borrow spirit stones. Without hesitation, the young man handed over everything he had, then said, “You don’t need to repay this.”

The Son of the World raised an eyebrow, catching the underlying meaning in the other’s words, and said displeased, “What do you mean by that?”  

Confident that he could earn an endless stream of spirit stones in the future by selling top-grade elixirs, he looked down on the meager amount before him. Seeing the other party trying to use such a paltry sum to completely settle the debt of his past life-saving favor, he felt deeply resentful—back then, this guy had become Si Qi’s right-hand man, risking life and limb for him and achieving great merits!  

But now that it was his turn to be the lifesaver, this person thought he could just offer a few spirit stones to sever ties and repay the debt. It was nothing more than a cowardly attempt to distance himself, afraid of being associated with someone who had offended Chu Feng and was coveted by countless cultivators in the cultivation world. What an ungrateful wretch!  

The Son of the World made no effort to hide his displeasure. Seeing him so insatiable and obsessed with leveraging favors, the young man inwardly sighed, feeling he had truly been blind in the past.  

He said, “It doesn’t matter if you think I’m ungrateful. My conscience is clear—I’ve done all I can with utmost sincerity.”  

With that, he gestured for the Son of the World to leave. Furious, the latter sneered and said, “Don’t you dare regret this!”  

Blessed by the fortune of heaven and earth, only those who stayed by his side could receive his protection. Since this fool was so blind as to betray him like this, once he achieved greatness in the future, he would make sure this guy suffered!  

Yet the other remained oblivious to his thoughts and coldly replied, “I certainly won’t regret it.”  

Even if Zhou Junyi acted as though he was destined to make a fortune from alchemy, the young man couldn’t care less.  

He wanted nothing more to do with such a scheming individual. Just recalling the group of people who once gathered around Zhou Junyi, obeying his every word, was enough to show how many others he had deceived just like him.  

With someone so cunning and manipulative, who knew when they might be sold out while still counting the money for their betrayer?  

The best course was to stay as far away as possible.  

Zhou Junyi, seething with anger, let out a few cold laughs before turning and leaving.  

Later, he sought out other “friends.” Those who had accompanied him to the secret realm treated him with indifference. Though they were willing to lend him spirit stones, each ended the conversation with some variation of “let’s leave it at that,” making the already hunted and aggrieved Son of the World nearly lose his temper.  

Carrying the borrowed spirit stones, he approached other friends. These people were unaware of the specifics of what had happened in the secret realm—those who knew hadn’t gone around exposing just how despicable the Son of the World had been. Hearing Zhou Junyi’s half-truthful version of events, they indignantly exclaimed, “I never thought they’d be like this!”

“Afraid of offending the Immortal Venerable Chu, they cut ties with you and even insulted you with those measly spirit stones—I am truly ashamed to associate with such people!”  

“Brother Zhou, don’t grieve over those petty individuals. We all understand you.”  

“That’s right. Since Brother Zhou wishes to refine pills but cannot easily show himself outside, why not let us help gather the herbs and the alchemy furnace for you?”  

Seeing that this group was completely unaware of the truth, Zhou Junyi felt a flicker of secret delight. He inwardly mocked those who had exited the secret realm with him, thinking, As expected of Si Qi’s friends—just as foolish as he was.  

Still, he didn’t trust handing over so many spirit stones for others to handle the purchases—what if they ran off with them?  

So he said, “Thank you for your kindness, but selecting herbs is delicate work. I must personally inspect them.”  

The others, suspecting nothing, nodded. “That makes sense.”  

Then they added, “But Brother Zhou, traveling alone is still unsafe. Why not let us accompany you into the city? That way, we can watch out for each other.”  

Zhou Junyi thought this was just as well—if danger arose, these fools could serve as human shields. With a moved expression, he said, “Your kindness moves me deeply, Fellow Daoists. I am endlessly grateful!”  

The group quickly replied, “Brother Zhou, you’re too polite.”  

“Compared to the help you once gave us, this is nothing.”  

Someone with close ties to the Beast Taming Sect even suggested, “If Brother Zhou is skilled in alchemy, why not consider joining the Beast Taming Sect? The sect is vast and wealthy, and every alchemist there is highly valued. No one would dare covet your treasures like those other cultivators.”  

“Once you become a disciple of the Beast Taming Sect, no one would dare trouble you. After all, the sect holds great prestige in the cultivation world.”  

Zhou Junyi, however, was disdainful.  

What did the Beast Taming Sect even amount to? Back when Si Qi rose to power, all the demons of the world revered him as their master. His status was equal to Chu Feng’s, and no one dared provoke him.  

As Si Qi’s subordinate, even the sect leader of the Beast Taming Sect would greet me with a smile, asking how Si Qi’s mood was lately.

Reborn into this life, yet they expect me to become a disciple of the Beast Taming Sect? That sect wasn’t even worthy of him! 

More importantly, having grown accustomed to the deceit and treachery of the cultivation world, Zhou Junyi was deeply wary. The alchemy formulas he possessed were far too exquisite—what if other alchemists took notice and tried to forcibly seize them from him during the refining process?  

So he said, “I’m used to being unrestrained—let’s just forget about it!”  

Seeing his refusal, the group had no choice but to drop the matter. Instead, they kindly accompanied Zhou Junyi to purchase herbs and refine pills, bustling around him for over half a month. Finally, Zhou Junyi successfully produced a batch of pills and proudly showed them off.  

“So many supreme-grade pills?!” 

The group stared in awe at the three supreme-grade pills before them. “Brother Zhou truly is a prodigious alchemist!”  

“Haha, it’s nothing, nothing.” Zhou Junyi, knowing full well that he was favored by the Heavenly Dao, wasn’t the least bit surprised. He boasted, “I’m still a bit unskilled now, but in the future, even producing one supreme-grade pill per batch won’t be impossible! When that time comes, I’ll be sure to remember your generous support and gift each of you one.”  

The group was deeply moved. “Brother Zhou is truly magnanimous!”  

“Then we’ll humbly accept!”  

Last time, they had pooled together over 1,300 spirit stones to buy a large stock of herbs.  

As the Son of the World, Zhou Junyi spent a month refining them, eventually producing over a hundred low-grade pills, forty mid-grade pills, twelve high-grade pills, and three supreme-grade pills. A single supreme-grade pill sold at auction could easily recoup their initial investment, while the rest were pure profit—an incredibly lucrative venture.  

Seeing just how formidable the Son of the World was, the group was in high spirits. They left the remote forest where they had been hiding and headed toward a nearby city with Zhou Junyi.  

Eagerly, they arrived at the auction house and smugly handed over the supreme-grade pills to the staff.  

In their minds, they could already picture the scene—the auctioneer would stare at them in shock, asking how they could possess such treasures, then respectfully usher them into a VIP room, treating them as honored guests.  

Zhou Junyi even deliberately wrapped himself in a cloak, determined to establish a mysterious alchemy master persona from now on. Once he achieved fame and success, he would reveal his true identity, forcing all those who had looked down on him or tried to steal his treasures to regret their actions—before redirecting their fury toward Si Qi and Chu Feng…

As he was thinking this, he handed the pill to the cultivator across from him with a proud expression, deliberately feigning nonchalance as he said casually, “Take it.”

The cultivator opposite him glanced down and noticed it was a supreme-grade pill—and only one at that. His expression seemed slightly peculiar. 

He said, “One supreme-grade pill?”  The Son of the World’s lips curled slightly. “Yes, a supreme-grade pill. You’re not mistaken.”  

The cultivator confirmed again, “Just one?”  

Just??  

The Son of the World was a bit displeased. “Is one not enough? This is a supreme-grade pill!”  

Having said that, he assumed the other must have mistaken him for someone who had merely stumbled upon a rare treasure out of luck and was now forced to auction it off due to desperation. With a cold laugh, he pulled out another pill and said, “I’m the one who refined these pills. I can produce as many as you want! The question is whether your auction house can fetch a good price for them.”  

The implication of his last sentence was clear: I’m amazing, I’m powerful—you’d better treat me with respect, or I’ll take this golden opportunity to another auction house.  

Unexpectedly, the cultivator across from him didn’t follow the script. Upon hearing the Son of the World’s veiled threat, he simply replied with a bland “Oh,” and said, “Then you’d better give me more. At least ten to make a full vial—otherwise, it’s hard to auction just one pill.”  The Son of the World and his companions widened their eyes in disbelief, hardly trusting their ears.  

What nonsense was this? This was a supreme-grade pill! A single one would have countless people clamoring to buy it with spirit stones. How could this person act as if supreme-grade pills were nothing special?  

Instantly, the Son of the World felt deliberately slighted. His tone turned furious and resentful as he snapped, “What do you mean by this? I’m an alchemist capable of refining supreme-grade pills!”  

“Yeah, yeah, I know—supreme-grade pills,” the cultivator replied helplessly, shrugging. “But the market’s changed. The Spirit Taming Sect has already discovered a method to refine supreme-grade pills reliably. Many independent alchemists have been impacted by this. Complaining to me won’t help—it’s not my fault you can’t compete with the Spirit Taming Sect.”  

The Son of the World’s eyes bulged, his voice rising several octaves. “What did you say? The Spirit Taming Sect can refine supreme-grade pills reliably???”  

The cultivator gave him and his group a baffled look, as if they were hopelessly backward bumpkins, and said flatly, “Yeah, that happened half a month ago… You’re just finding out now?”

Nowadays, the market was flooded with top-grade elixirs. Although the prices remained high, at least they were no longer as scarce as before, when even money couldn’t guarantee you’d get one. Given that all of them were top-grade elixirs, wasn’t it perfectly normal for cultivators to trust products from the Spirit Taming Sect more than those concocted by rogue alchemists? Who would want to buy small-batch elixirs from some unknown workshop that only had one or two pills to offer?

Because of this situation, the days when a single top-grade elixir from a rogue cultivator would trigger a frenzied bidding war were long gone. Cases like the Son of the World’s—where they shamelessly try to auction off just one pill—were easily ignored or ended up with no bids at all.  

The Son of the World stood there in a daze, swaying unsteadily, muttering to himself, “Impossible… It wasn’t supposed to be like this…”  

“How could this be… I can even refine top-grade elixirs now… How did it come to this?!”  

“Thousands of spirit stones… gone just like that…”  

The Son of the World was utterly devastated, a suffocating frustration clogging his chest, nearly overwhelming his composure.  

The few cultivators who had accompanied him were equally dumbfounded, never imagining such an absurd turn of events could happen.  

To make matters worse, they had entrusted all their spirit stones to Zhou Junyi out of trust. Now, in front of so many people, they couldn’t even scrape together enough to cover a night’s stay at a city inn. It was just…  

The auction house cultivator spoke nonchalantly, “So, are you consigning it or not? If you are, we’ll take it off your hands for 300 spirit stones.”  

“Three hundred?!” The Son of the World was livid. “You might as well rob me!”  

The cultivator remained unfazed, crossing his arms with an air of take it or leave it.  

“Three hundred is still better than letting those pills rot in your hands.”  

The Son of the World was seething with humiliation. Sensing the silent stares of his so-called “friends,” he knew they were waiting for him to repay them. Furious as he was, he couldn’t bring himself to outright refuse to sell the pills and openly default on the debt in front of them.  

After a quick mental calculation, he realized that selling the three top-grade elixirs would barely cover what he owed these people. The few hundred extra spirit stones—well, those ungrateful traitors wouldn’t get a single one more. It was just enough…  

But the injustice of it all burned inside him!  

What should have been a surefire, massively profitable deal had suddenly turned into this disaster. Damn it all!  

With a face like thunder, he handed over the three top-grade elixirs, then pulled out a few more high-, medium-, and low-grade pills. “These should fetch some money too, right?!”

The cultivator across from him casually took the pills, glanced at them, frowned, and said disdainfully, “How dare you bring such trash here to sell?”  

The Son of the World exploded in rage: “There are high-grade pills in here!”  

“High-grade? So what? This stuff isn’t worth much now.” The cultivator tossed the vial back to him and rolled his eyes. “Top-grade elixirs are flooding the streets. If our auction house started selling high-grade pills, we’d be a laughingstock! I’d never stoop to such disgrace!”  

The Son of the World trembled with fury, gritting his teeth to stop himself from cursing aloud in someone else’s territory.  

After receiving the nine hundred spirit stones from the auction house, he immediately handed them over to his companions. His fleeting moment of wealth vanished in an instant, leaving him penniless once more. After a month of toiling in secrecy, refining pills day and night, he had gained nothing—instead, he was stuck with a pile of unsellable elixirs. Even consuming them himself felt humiliating. Why should he, the favored child of the heavens, be forced to swallow low-grade pills while everyone else feasted on top-grade ones? The injustice burned like fire in his chest.  

He couldn’t help but ask, “How did the Spirit Taming Sect suddenly discover such a method?”  

In his past life, nothing like this had ever happened!!  

The cultivator, figuring this wasn’t some big secret—many in the cultivation world had heard of it—explained, “Rumor has it that Immortal Venerable Chu recently took in a new disciple. This disciple is extraordinarily talented, praised by elders and sect leaders across the major sects. Some say he was the one who devised this method for consistently refining top-grade elixirs—and he figured it out within just a month of joining the sect. Tsk tsk, to think such a prodigy exists in this world! No wonder Immortal Venerable Chu took him in. Only a supreme expert like him is worthy of being such a genius’s master!”  

The Son of the World shuddered, his eyes turning bloodshot as he let out a roar like a cornered beast: “Si Qi… It’s Si Qi again!!!”  

What sin had he committed in a past life to be constantly thwarted and sabotaged by Si Qi? That man was clearly his nemesis! Why else would Si Qi follow him into secret realms, steal his inheritances, turn his allies against him, and incite the entire cultivation world to hunt him down? And now, he was even blocking his path to wealth through alchemy!  

Si Qi had to be doing this on purpose. He absolutely had to be!  

When he voiced these grievances to his so-called friends, they exchanged bewildered looks.  

“Brother Zhou, I can understand you saying Si Qi framed you and made you a target…”  

“But claiming that Si Qi invented a method to effortlessly refine top-grade elixirs months ago just to ruin your money-making plans is…” a bit delusional.  

Who was Zhou Junyi? In the vast cultivation world, he was just a minor rogue cultivator who happened to have some luck—barely worth mentioning.  

Meanwhile, Si Qi was a disciple of the Lingxiao Sect, the sole true successor of Immortal Venerable Chu, a prodigy revered by the wealthiest pill and artifact refining sects in the world. Would someone like that really invent a revolutionary alchemy technique—one that benefited the entire cultivation world—just to target some nobody like Zhou Junyi months later? He really needed to get over himself!  

But saying that out loud would be too cruel, so the group stayed silent, letting the Son of the World vent his resentment.  

To console him, they pooled their money to treat him to a private meal in an upscale tavern, a small comfort for his month of sleepless, frantic alchemy training (all for nothing).  

After the meal, they escorted him out, planning to ensure his safety before returning to rest in the city—sleeping in the wilderness every night was exhausting, both physically and mentally.  

But then, a monstrously powerful demonic cultivator suddenly blocked their path.  

The overwhelming demonic aura emanating from the figure made them all feel as if they’d been plunged into an icy abyss, staring death in the face.  

The demonic cultivator lazily scrutinized Zhou Junyi, still cloaked in black robes, and let out a mocking laugh. “So you’re the human cultivator who wants revenge on me?”  

Zhou Junyi’s blood ran cold, his voice trembling. “Y-you…?!”  

In his past life, Si Qi had heard that a murderous demonic cultivator slaughtered his family. To help him “avenge” them, Si Qi had scoured the demon realm, hunted down this Integration-stage demon, and delivered him to Zhou Junyi.  

But now, without Si Qi’s help, the demon had found him first—and was talking about him seeking revenge?! Damn it all, he didn’t dare seek revenge! He’d only said those things offhandedly back then!  

“Tch. So you do recognize me.” The demonic cultivator’s cultivation was so high that he easily saw through the black robes, taking in Zhou Junyi’s pale, terrified face. He smirked. “With how pathetic you are, you actually thought you could take revenge on me?”  

The other cultivators paled in horror, turning to Zhou Junyi in disbelief. “Brother Zhou! What’s going on?!”  

Why would Zhou Junyi provoke such a terrifying demonic powerhouse? And how did the demon even know Zhou Junyi wanted revenge? Had he been bragging about this publicly?!  

Zhou Junyi stood frozen, his mind blank with terror—until suddenly, his entire body jerked violently. With a howl of pure rage, he screamed:  

“SI QIIII—!!!”  

It had to be Si Qi again!!!