Immortality Begins by Taking Care of Master’s Wife – Chapter 23

Chapter 23: Ghost Child, Source Crystal

“I’ll play with your damn head!”

Zhou Chen’s voice boomed like a bell, resounding like a dragon’s roar or a tiger’s howl, echoing through the silent Da He Village, waking countless villagers from their sleep.

His anger wasn’t entirely feigned to attract Zhang Long, who was staying at Qin Jiang He’s house, he was genuinely furious.

He was enjoying juggling four balls when this little ghost came knocking in the middle of the night, disrupting his fun. Wasn’t that just asking for a beating?

Boom!
The door exploded, splintering into countless pieces as Zhou Chen stormed out, hair standing on end with rage.

A strange child, completely black, flew backward with the door’s wooden shards, rotating 360 degrees in mid-air before landing softly.

His eyes were hollow, his mouth split open to his ears as he stared fixedly at Zhou Chen, grinning,
“Hee hee, big brother, are you coming to play ball with me?”

“I’ll play with your damn head!”

Zhou Chen’s short saber flashed from its sheath as he roared, his entire body’s strength erupting, blood surging, every blood vessel and muscle bulging.

With a bang, the clothes on Zhou Chen’s upper body were ripped apart by his surging Qi and blood.

Zhou Chen took a step forward, swinging his short saber towards the strange child’s head.

The saber was two feet long, yet it unleashed three inches of blood-red saber Qi.

Bang!
Saber Qi and saber struck the strange child’s head, erupting with a terrifying roar, like two small iron mountains colliding.

The next moment.

Both figures flew backward.

Zhou Chen landed, stumbling back nine steps, each step leaving a deep imprint in the stone slabs, before finally steadying himself, his palm numb.

He stared intently at the strange child he had sent flying, seeing a one-inch deep gash appear on its forehead, black blood oozing out, strange and horrifying.

But Zhou Chen felt a slight relief in his heart. Although this strange child was strong, it wasn’t outrageously so.

He could still fight it.

However, Zhou Chen didn’t plan to unleash his full strength to fight it.

He only needed to stall for a while until Zhang Long arrived.

Zhou Chen’s previous roar had woken even ordinary villagers, let alone Zhang Long, who was at the third level of Body Refinement, Tendon Tempering Realm.

Zhang Long jumped out of bed with a whoosh, grabbed his saber, and rushed towards where Zhou Chen was.

He was very fast.

Ten meters with every step, Qin Jiang He’s house wasn’t far from Zhou Chen’s, about a kilometer in a straight line, arriving at Zhou Chen’s house within a few breaths.

“Hee hee!”

“I want to play ball!”

The pitch-black strange child stared at Zhou Chen, his mouth splitting open, emitting strange laughter, as if he was going to pluck off Zhou Chen’s head and play with it like a ball in the next moment.

Whoosh!
Suddenly, the strange child charged towards Zhou Chen again, incredibly fast, like an afterimage, too quick for ordinary people to see, reaching the limit of speed.

Zhou Chen sensed Zhang Long arriving at the door and pretended to panic, barely raising his short saber to block.

Boom!
The ear-piercing clang of metal clashing resounded as Zhou Chen was sent flying.

“Audacious fiend, cease your recklessness!”

Zhang Long, wielding his saber with both hands, struck towards the strange child with a move called “Force Splitting Mount Hua.” Having completed Flesh Tempering and advanced to the third level of Body Refinement, Tendon Tempering Realm, his strength exceeded 10,000 jin.

The three-foot long saber dragged a foot-long blood-red saber Qi that was unstoppable. Having just attacked Zhou Chen, although sending him flying, the strange child also suffered a powerful backlash.

At this moment, its old strength had faded, and new strength hadn’t yet risen. Caught off guard by Zhang Long’s sneak attack, it could only instinctively raise both hands to protect its head.

Boom!
This saber strike was even more powerful than Zhou Chen’s previous one, after all, Zhou Chen hadn’t unleashed his full strength before.

Moreover, Zhang Long’s cultivation was higher than Zhou Chen’s, and his weapon was better. This saber strike, amidst the strange child’s piercing scream, severed both its arms before continuing downward with unstoppable force, splitting its head in half!
“Ahhhh, I’m going to pluck your balls and kick them to pieces!”

Black Qi surged wildly around the strange child, rushing towards Zhang Long.

Zhang Long was fearless, wielding his long saber with airtight defense, exchanging blows with the child, fighting with great enjoyment.

Zhou Chen got up, watching the battle.

Zhang Long had already gained an absolute advantage, it was only a matter of time before he slayed the strange child.

“This ghost child, it’s like a ghost but not quite, it has a physical body, but it’s not like a zombie, it should belong to the category of evil spirits…”

After obtaining Ji Feng Xia, Zhou Chen had crammed a lot of basic knowledge.

He loved to learn, especially with Ji Feng Xia as his teacher. He spent almost all his free time in the Wind and Moon Mirror learning from Ji Feng Xia, exploring new knowledge.

Boom!
After a while, the strange child was slain by Zhang Long, turning into a pile of white powder. However, there was a crystal in the powder, sparkling and translucent.

Seeing the crystal, Zhang Long’s eyes lit up with excitement. He quickly bent down, picked it up, and put it in his pocket, as if afraid someone would snatch his treasure.

“Feng Xia, what is that crystal? What is it used for?”

Zhou Chen asked Ji Feng Xia, who was in the Wind and Moon Mirror.

“Master, that’s a Source Crystal. Ghosts and evil spirits have a chance of dropping them after death. They are very beneficial to cultivators, able to increase cultivation level, even more valuable than Spirit Stones!”

“So that’s how it is!”

Zhou Chen suddenly understood. He couldn’t help but think of Zhang Long personally coming to Da He Village to investigate the man-eating tiger incident before.

At that time, only seven people had gone missing, and it wasn’t certain what had happened.

Zhou Chen was still puzzled, why would Zhang Long, a County Captain, be so enthusiastic about serving the people?
Based on the usual behavior of those officials,

in most cases, they would just send one or two constables to understand the situation, and only if they encountered a truly terrifying threat would someone like Zhang Long be called upon.

Now, seeing the Source Crystal, Zhou Chen completely understood.

At that time, Zhang Long was at the peak of the second level of Body Refinement and needed an opportunity to break through.

After hearing about the incident in Da He Village, he guessed that there might be ghosts or monsters involved, so he came to have a look. If he could obtain a Source Crystal, it would be the best outcome.

Although Zhang Long didn’t obtain a Source Crystal after arriving, he killed a demonic beast, the evil tiger, and also used that to break through.

It wasn’t a wasted trip.

“You have completed Skin Tempering and entered the second level of Body Refinement?”

Zhang Long arrived in front of Zhou Chen, his tiger-like eyes sizing him up, looking at his perfectly sculpted muscles, a body full of masculine strength, filled with surprise.

That ghost child wasn’t weak. If he hadn’t taken the initiative with a sneak attack, it would have taken him a lot of effort to defeat it.

He might even have been injured.

But Zhou Chen had exchanged blows with the ghost child for several rounds, withstood it for a few breaths, and remained unharmed. This was definitely not something that could be achieved by merely cultivating Qi and blood.

At the very least, he must have achieved some success in Skin Tempering, his skin as tough as cowhide, impervious to blades and swords, to be able to remain unscathed.

“Your Excellency has a keen eye. I was fortunate enough to complete Skin Tempering and enter the second level of Body Refinement!”

Zhou Chen said modestly.

“If you’ve achieved it, you’ve achieved it. There’s no such thing as luck!”

Zhang Long looked at Zhou Chen with even more enthusiasm. He himself was only at the peak of the second level of Body Refinement before.

And he was already over thirty years old.

Zhou Chen was only eighteen. His talent was much stronger.

He might even reach the third level of Body Refinement by the age of twenty, which was Zhang Long’s current realm.

Although he couldn’t compare to those geniuses from noble families or sect prodigies, in this small Da He Village, he was a true talent.

“You are excellent. You faced the ghost child without fear. The most important thing for us martial artists is courage. Our Great Qian needs talents like you!”

Zhang Long didn’t hesitate to extend an olive branch,
“With such talent, it’s a waste for you to stay in this small Da He Village hunting!”

“Are you interested in serving the country? If you make great achievements in the future, you can be promoted, marry a noblewoman, and bring honor to your ancestors!”

Zhou Chen wasn’t surprised by Zhang Long’s recruitment, he had been waiting for him to speak.

Zhou Chen looked delighted, cupping his hands in salute,
“Thank you for your kindness, Your Excellency. Chen is honored and willing to serve the country!”

“Good, good, good!”

Zhang Long was overjoyed. Although Zhou Chen was more talented than him, he wasn’t jealous.

He knew his own limitations, this was as far as he could go in this life.

Unless he had a powerful patron.

Zhou Chen had good talent. If he could go far in the future, Zhang Long could also benefit.