Chronicles of Daoist Fan

True Phoenix Mansion was designed in a western way. It was four-story tall and had a look that seemed to be refined over time. There was a peaceful silence in the courtyard that we walked on. The whole area 200 meters around the mansion was the property of the Sheng family.

The mansard roof was golden and black, a symbol of authority and wealth befitting a high-ranking Qi gathering cultivator. 

There were peach blossom trees planted on the courtyard and as we walked between those, their shadows covered us. Birds chirped over us and insects crawled beneath. I breathed in the fresh air of this place.

The servants that came to greet us followed in silence. When we reached the mansion doors, Sheng Shao was there to greet us.

''You decided to came here after this long time.'' He said and led us in. There was some surprise in his expression that he couldn't hide from me. I was already at Viserca Purifying rank 3 and that was a speed abnormal to even a rich and talented boy such as him.

The hall which we stepped on to had old paintings on its walls. Inside had a more traditional feel but everything looked furnished and clean.

The reason I came here today was to inform him that someone was targeting their father. Of course, there had to be the basis on what I was about to say and that was the fang given to me by the Blood Fang mafia group.

After some formalities and the usual chitchat later, I put the matter forth. In this whole mansion, only Sheng Shao and his servants lived. It was actually given to his eldest brother by their father but Sheng Hao was not here and had gone to breakthrough. It had been a year now.

''I must inform our father of this.'' Sheng Shao looked extremely serious holding the fang in his hand. His eyebrows were furrowed. He recognized this group and I didn't have to tell him who was behind them.

''Wang family! They must be after lord Long. They always want trouble with the city protector.'' He seethed in fury.

''Brother Shao,'' I called while internally thinking, 'I mean, brother-in-law Shao…'

''Now that I have killed one of their members, the one that escaped has seen my face and he must have already told about me to his higher-ups. I will be in trouble if this matter isn't done secretly. So I ask the brother of this one favor to not stir up too much trouble while punishing these criminals.'' Another string of hot bullshit caused worry to appear in Sheng Yin's face after hearing me.

Her brother gave this matter some thought and answered, ''I have no power over what father decides to do after I tell him of this. The Protector is fierce and it isn't up to us how he will handle this matter. If brother really thinks those criminals would come back to trouble you, you can stay here and practice for the duration.''

That wasn't what I was expecting him to say but it wasn't too bad. However, if I stayed here, Qin Mao would target the girls at the CangGong courtyard. I also couldn't bring them here, especially since I told Sheng Yin that Ling'er was no longer my girlfriend and had left me for someone else.

It was all because Feng Yi spouted that bullshit that it took so long for me to hook up with Sheng Yin. She didn't want to 'force me to love her' and 'respected my choices.'

I just wanted to make the most out of everything that was happening around me. And I had just captured Sheng Yin in my net, I still haven't 'eaten' her yet. That would further make her fall for me.

''I'll stay here for two days. I have my friends in this city and I cannot leave them alone.'' This sounded quite virtuous of me in their opinion. Sheng Shao's impression of me solidified and he agreed.

''Don't hesitate to ask the servants of anything. You can stay here for longer if you wish,'' he said.

I was then led outside by Sheng Yin who took some of my time with the ruse of showing me around the mansion. First love for a girl, she wanted to be with me most of the time. That would slowly disappear as she and I would interact daily. However, I could be interesting when I decided to be and it was hard to get bored around me.

The mansion, of course, was luxurious in design, with there being many intricate glyphs on the wall, painted by renowned artists of the city. We passed through halls and corridors, went to see the fountain, and played around the garden, all hiding from the eyes of servants.

It was evening by the time we finished looking through this mansion. I didn't get to practice at all today but there was no rule to practice every day. If hard workers would be rewarded on the basis of the work they had done, they would have become gods or goddesses by now.

When the night came, we had a sumptuous dinner, served by the maids of this mansion. Practitioners such as us required lots of carbohydrates and fat to keep up with the practice we did. Sheng Shao was still at Viscera Purifying rank 4 even with all these benefits.

Well, my rapid rise was due to the dormant potential of my body which I planned to make divine one day. Maybe next year, I would be reaching the Meridian Opening. It got harder to advance once reaching the higher ranks, which was basic knowledge for any practitioner.

…

At around midnight in the room that they gave me. I was pacing around while thinking deeply. During this time, I didn't just seduce Sheng Yin but also learned about Bina's habits.

I took every advantage of the mafia group's identity token, that fang had given me. Visiting black markets, I got a special discount on buying and it was cheaper than buying outside.

However, wherever I went, Bina followed me there like a silent shadow. It was almost unnerving. Even when I entered a brothel, I saw her there. Even a master stalker would bow down to her.

I was suspicious. She could be here. This mansion had guards, I could sense them. I was also sure that at least one or two Meridian Opening practitioners were hiding here. Protecting their Eighth young master from any harm.

Yes, Sheng Shao was the eighth son. I almost didn't believe when Sheng Yi said there were 17 siblings in her family and that she was the tenth daughter. It seemed that having 10 or 11 concubines was nothing to a Qi gathering cultivator. It was… normal.

I mean, I planned to make a much bigger harem of my own, but it was still shocking to hear from Sheng Yin herself how ordinary it was to keep 'just ten' women around and still have a wife.

''My father is actually modest,'' she had said. ''A cultivator such as him would have hundreds of beautiful women in line. But he dotes on our mother the most.''

My thoughts had reached another dimension. It was just a minute ago that I was pondering about Bina and now I was thinking about harems. I stopped pacing around and sat on my bed.

Even if Bina came here, what could she do now? I was at rank three and was pretty confident in defeating her. Also, the guards hiding here wouldn't just watch when she came.

Still, I couldn't sleep. I had brought my flute with me here. Going near the window, I started playing it while closing my eyes. Over me, the stars shone brightly. I had put out the lamplights so my room was dark.

As I was practicing, I didn't know how much time passed but when I opened my eyes, I suddenly found something fascinating happening to me. There was starlight all over my body and an enormous amount of Yang energy was entering inside me through my acupunctures.

'This is…' I thought, 'I'm going to break through!'

This was totally unexpected. I reached the middle success stage in practicing 16 breaths of stillness. That suddenly triggered my Star Pagoda technique which I didn't realize.

It happened quickly but methodically. I could feel a hot sensation pass through my heart and lungs. It disappeared reaching my stomach.

"Haah…" I exhaled a long breath. "Fourth rank of Viscera Purifying."

All night, I didn't sleep but stabilized my new rank. I felt my heart beating at a slower but more powerful rate than before. Breathing became more natural and even my senses were improving. Like my sight or hearing.

The very next day, when I met with Sheng Yin and her brother, they couldn't keep themselves from asking questions. This speed was unprecedented.

I had to be modest but still tell them that I was 'extremely talented'. More like, inherited the talent of my father.

It went without saying that they would be sceptical of what I said as there was no such thing as hereditary talent, at least not in this lower mortal world.

Still, with no other explanation at hand, Sheng Shao reluctantly accepted that it was indeed such a case.

Sheng Yin, however, didn't care so much.. She was happy that I was improving and that's all it mattered to her.