Jin Buque's handsome face reappeared from the window, full of smiles.
"The once-flourishing little Prodigy is actually living such a hard life. As his older brother, my heart aches, it truly aches. I'm about to go into secluded Cultivation for a few months, but I can't stop thinking about you. To spare my Junior Brother from suffering, the Jail food will be stopped starting tomorrow. Eating a few less meals and reaching the Pure Land sooner, wouldn't that be wonderful?"
Jin Buyong took over, "Senior Brother has thought of everything. I'll arrange it right away."
Qian Duoduo suddenly turned his head, looking directly at that handsome face, "You can't stop my food!"
Even though he knew Liu Boli still had Spirit Chicken legs hidden, food was Qian Duoduo's weakness. Just the mention of stopping his food infuriated him.
Qian Duoduo's roar startled Jin Buque.
Soon, he smiled again.
"That's more like it. A bug has to squeak a few times before it's stomped to death. If you died without a sound, it would feel like I stomped on nothing, and there'd be no fun. Do you still remember that competition in the Outer Sect small tournament? You were Ningqi Level 4, I was Ningqi Level 5, but you actually won against me."
"As the young Clan Chief of the Jin family, because of you, this wild child Prodigy, I was almost crippled. Thanks to you, Junior Brother, I lost face more than ever in my life. My nightmares are filled with you stepping on my face. You are my biggest concern."
Jin Buque's face glowed.
"Before going into secluded Cultivation, I need to cure my concern, solidify my Cultivation, prepare for the Inner Sect Grand Tournament, and then step by step, Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, take over my father's throne, and firmly control the Jin family. As for the Refining Spirit Sect, it is the big mountain that my Jin family relies on, and it is managed by a group of Prodigy Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters, which is beyond my consideration."
Two crisp claps echoed outside the window; Jin Buque had clapped himself.
It was so brilliant, he clapped twice for himself.
"Junior Brother Buyong, I'm entrusting the matter of curing my concern to you."
Amidst Jin Buyong's continuous affirmations, the two gradually walked away.
"Old Liu, I want to win!"
After sitting silently on the ground for a long time, Qian Duoduo said softly.
As a small Prodigy, Jin Buhuan Cultivated to the Ninth Level of Qi Condensation, but he still couldn't win against Jin Buque.
He was a Mortal, bearing Jin Buhuan's name, he couldn't even defeat Jin Buyong, let alone Jin Buque.
However, even if there was no chance of winning, he had to fight with all his might.
Silence fell in the Jail. Liu Boli didn't emerge from the Golden Toad, but Qian Duoduo knew he could hear him.
"Isn't it Evil Teacher, Old Liu? How did it become Old Liu?"
After a long while, Liu Boli floated out.
Qian Duoduo bowed deeply, "This junior is mischievous, Master, please don't mind me."
Liu Boli looked at him, paused for a long time, then spoke: "We'll talk after you've Cultivated to Ningqi Level 1."
"What if I can't Cultivate it?"
"Can't Cultivate it?" Liu Boli laughed.
"In the Immortal Cultivation World, if you don't know immortal arts, tell me yourself, who can help you, who can save you? Only those who save themselves can be saved by heaven."
The implication was clear: if he couldn't Cultivate to Ningqi Level 1, he would just be a Mortal.
A Mortal, no matter how you try to save him, cannot be saved.
"Good."
Qian Duoduo assumed the posture of the first level of Golden Light Technique. Before long, a wisp of Spiritual Qi was generated.
With each breath, he guided the Spiritual Qi to move along the lines drawn in the Cultivation Technique, opening up Acupoints one by one.
However, the Spiritual Qi was like a thin stream, and the Acupoints were like huge rocks in the stream, unmovable no matter how much it rushed against them.
Qian Duoduo counted, to open the first Spiritual Vein, which meant reaching Ningqi Level 1, he needed to open eighteen Acupoints.
And the Spiritual Qi in his body now couldn't even open a single Acupoint.
What was more critical was that frequently activating Spiritual Qi made Qian Duoduo's stomach grow hungry very quickly.
If Jin Buyong truly stopped his Jail food, the remaining nine Spirit Chicken legs could only fill his stomach; they wouldn't provide enough Spiritual Qi for him to Cultivate to Ningqi Level 1.
What to do?
Qian Duoduo looked at the Golden Toad.
The Golden Toad remained still; he didn't know what Liu Boli was doing inside.
"If I can't Cultivate to Ningqi Level 1, he won't help me, right?"
Thinking of this, Qian Duoduo gritted his teeth, maintained the Golden Light Technique posture, and used his meager Spiritual Qi to repeatedly wash over the Acupoints around the Spiritual Vein.
"Water drops can wear through stone, so can I!"
After a long while, Qian Duoduo suddenly heard a "creak," opened his eyes, and saw that the Jail door had opened automatically!
"Today is Sect Founding Day. Jail inmates are allowed two hours of fresh air."
An old and majestic voice echoed from the cave ceiling.
"The boundary is one hundred zhang outside the main Jail gate. Those who cross the boundary will die, those who do not return on time will die, and those who escape from Jail will have their Clan annihilated."
"Sect Founding Day? Fresh air?" Qian Duoduo was still pondering what these meant when Liu Boli's voice softly entered his ear:
"The opportunity has come. Get up quickly and go for a walk outside."
His words carried a hint of a smile, but Qian Duoduo was still a bit unclear and hadn't yet gotten up from the ground.
Liu Boli urged him again.
"Stubborn disciple, today is the Refining Spirit Sect's festival, allowing those in the Jail to go out and move around. Let's go find something to eat nearby. Listen to my instructions, the Jail is covered inside and out with Formations."
Qian Duoduo scrambled up, standing.
"If you had said that earlier, it would have been fine. It's just a holiday, time for a good meal."
Qian Duoduo's mind flashed with such a beautiful scene: a plump chicken, strutting with two sweet and delicious chicken legs, head held high...
He let out a long breath, stood up, and walked towards the door.
Stepping through the Jail door, there were already many people outside.
Among them, those who looked familiar were likely the spectators from the stands last night.
Outside the door, the passage slanted upwards to the right.
From there, natural light streamed down, and it seemed there was a free breeze and the fresh scent of leaves blowing in.
Kang Shenjun and Gongsun Zheng stood with their arms crossed, leaning against the stone wall, one on each side of the main entrance inside the Jail.
Qian Duoduo, holding his waistband, half-ran out of the main Jail gate.
Several majestic peaks appeared before his eyes.
Halfway up the peaks, immortal mist swirled. The snow-capped peaks pierced straight into the azure sky.
White clouds rolled in the sky, so high that the highest points of the peaks were invisible.
On the mountain slopes, giant trees reached for the sky, and fragrant grasses covered the ground.
Countless pavilions with golden roofs and red walls, built along the contours of the mountains in places where Qi gathered and wind was concealed, were magnificent and beautiful.
The air was filled with that wonderful Spiritual Qi.
"If this isn't a fairyland, what is it?" Qian Duoduo was dumbfounded, completely captivated.
As a true Mortal, he had never even dreamed of such a beautiful place.
Composing himself, Qian Duoduo looked back.
The Jail was a huge cave in the big mountain.
On the cave ceiling, two large red characters, "Jail," were deeply carved into the rock, as if by sword and axe.
Qian Duoduo instantly returned from the clouds to the ground. Now was not the time to admire the scenery.
"Two hours, within a hundred zhang," he recalled the rules for fresh air.
"What could there be within a mere hundred zhang? What could be done in just two short hours? And the people around are all Immortal Cultivators; their ears and noses are much more sensitive than a dog's."
About a hundred people came out of the Jail. Yan Qi, whom Qian Duoduo had knocked down yesterday, was not among them.
These hundred or so people were male and female, old and young, in gray, blue, and orange robes; he didn't recognize any of them.
But among them, perhaps some recognized Jin Buhuan.
Just speaking would easily expose the truth that Qian Duoduo was not Jin Buhuan.
To be safe, Qian Duoduo put on a mournful face and stayed far away from the others.
"Go east, one hundred steps."
Suddenly, Liu Boli whispered at Qian Duoduo's waist.