Taichu Yandao: Starting from the Villain

“This…” Zhao Rui was speechless and could only say: “Then let’s move our caves closer, that should be fine!”

"No problem!" Yao Yi stretched out a hand and pressed it on the wall of the cave.

The cave trembled slightly, but it only lasted for three or five breaths. Yao Yi withdrew his arm and said, "Okay, go and take a look!"

Zhao Rui was quite surprised, but thinking that the other party was an earth element cultivator, it didn't seem to be a difficult task, so he bowed and said, "Thank you for your kindness, senior."

Yao Yi nodded, grabbed the low-grade spirit stone next to him, and continued to close his eyes to nourish the medium-grade spirit stone.

Qian Xiaoyi was already waiting outside the cave. When he saw Zhao Rui coming out, he immediately went up to him and asked, "How's it going?"

Zhao Rui looked at a place not far away and said, "Senior Yao has cast a spell himself and the cave has been opened."

Qian Xiaoyi followed Zhao Rui's gaze and saw two caves, one above and one below. He smiled and said, "That's great. It saves us a lot of effort."

"Let's go in and have a look."

There was nothing special in the cave, except for a recess for a lampstand.

The two were very satisfied and moved in that same day.

There is no sun or moon in the cave. If there were no one beating the gong every day, many people would not even know the time.

People who have just come in may feel fear and confusion, but as time goes by, the only thing that dominates their nerves is hunger.

Zhao Rui has three magical powers. He removes one of them to nourish the spirit stone every day, and the remaining two still nourish his body all the time.

This allowed him to continue fasting and not eat for half a month.

But it was not the case for Qian Xiaoyi. Hunger was like a shadow, following him every day.

In just three months, he lost a lot of weight, his face was covered with wrinkles, and his hair became sparse.

At the same time, he discovered that his lifespan was almost up. If he had to nourish spirit stones every day, it was doubtful whether he could survive five years, let alone twenty years.

After dinner that day, Qian Xiaoyi came to Zhao Rui's cave. After hesitating for a long time, he finally dived in.

Zhao Rui was meditating under the dim oil lamp. When he noticed someone coming in, he immediately opened his eyes.

Qian Xiaoyi looked worried and asked, "Friend Zhao, how have you been these past two days?"

"We see each other every day... Well, is there something wrong?" Zhao Rui raised his eyebrows and said directly: "Fellow Daoist Qian, you look so worried, what's the matter?"

Qian Xiaoyi sighed and said, "Friend Zhao, we have known each other for almost a hundred years! When I first met you, you were only four or five years old."

"Yeah! I didn't expect a hundred years to pass in the blink of an eye."

Qian Xiaoyi said, "I have always had a question. On that snowy night when the foundation-building pill was completed, your master killed my senior brother silently. Why did he let me go?"

Zhao Rui pondered for a moment and smiled, "I don't remember clearly. You always gave me delicious food at that time. Maybe I mentioned you, and my master thought you were not a bad person, so he didn't kill you."

"That was the first time Brother Zhao saved my life." Qian Xiaoyi said, bowing deeply to the ground with his head down.

Zhao Rui reached out his hand to help him up and said, "Fellow Daoist Qian, what are you doing? If you have any difficulties, just tell me."

Qian Xiaoyi sat up and continued:

"When you returned to Yan State, my life span was already short. It would take at most a few months or at most half a year before I would die. At this time, you gave me a precious technique. This was the second time you saved me."

"Well, that's all because of the countless delicious foods..." Zhao Rui's mind was like a kaleidoscope of food, with countless delicious dishes flashing one by one. He couldn't help but drool, and his mouth dripped onto the ground with a plop.

Zhao Rui was startled, and quickly wiped his mouth with his sleeve, saying: "Fellow Daoist Qian, please stop playing the emotional card, and tell me what you want to say. Don't you need to nourish the spirit stone?"

Qian Xiaoyi squeezed out a tear and cried, "Fellow Daoist Zhao, you also know how bad the environment is in this mine. Not only can I not use my magic power to nourish my body, but I have to use it to nourish the spirit stones. Under such harsh conditions, I can't even survive these few years, let alone get out alive."

Zhao Rui was silent for a while, then said, "From now on, you can eat my food after you receive it. Just send me a bowl of porridge every ten days."

Qian Xiaoyi was shocked, as if he had heard the biggest joke in the world, and asked, "How can this be possible? What are you going to do, fellow Taoist? Aren't you hungry?"

Zhao Rui took out several steamed buns from his sleeve and said, "You know the Five Elements Return to Origin Secret. With three strands of magic power, I only need to consume one strand of magic power to nourish the spirit stone. The other two strands are not affected. With the magic power nourishing my body, I can still practice fasting."

As soon as he finished speaking, he immediately added: "You must not spread this matter. If people know about it, we may be in trouble."

Qian Xiaoyi opened his mouth so wide that he could almost fit his fist inside, and asked, "Daoyou, if I practice now, is it too late? Daoyou, don't worry, there is no way I can dig up my own ancestral grave."

Zhao Rui frowned and shook his head, saying, "You didn't practice before because you were worried that you wouldn't have enough lifespan. The situation is even more difficult now. Without enough spirit stones, it will be a problem to even achieve the Great Perfection of the First Spiritual Root."

Qian Xiaoyi's eyes darkened and he said, "Oh! I am too greedy..."

Zhao Rui took out a black cloth bag and said, "There are thirty spirit stones in here. You can use them first. If you nourish one less spirit stone every day, your cultivation will still increase slowly. When you reach the great perfection of Qi training, your life span will increase again."

Qian Xiaoyi burst into tears and said, "Daoyou Zhao, you saved my life again."

Zhao Rui waved his hand and said, "I can only help you for a while, the rest depends on you."

Qian Xiaoyi nodded repeatedly and said, "I know that I can only rely on myself to practice. The three years in Panlong Valley were indeed wasted."

"We fell into an illusion, there is nothing we can do about it."

Qian Xiaoyi bowed deeply and said, "Fellow Daoist, I can't find any fault with you for treating me well. I won't waste any more time talking nonsense. I will go back to practice now."

Zhao Rui nodded and made a gesture of invitation, but just as he raised his hand, he seemed to suddenly remember something and said, "Fellow Daoist Qian, there is something I need you to keep an eye on for me."

Qian Xiaoyi's expression became serious, and he said, "Fellow Daoist, please tell me what you want. I will definitely do my best."

"My Five Elements Return to Origin Secret still lacks wood and earth attribute skills. Fellow Daoist, you can keep an eye on it. As long as it is complete, the grade doesn't matter."

Qian Xiaoyi said, "Dharma, wealth, companions and land, cultivators have always valued cultivation methods the most, but in this mine, spiritual stones are more useful. Leave this matter to me."

Zhao Rui nodded, said nothing more, and closed his eyes in meditation.

Qian Xiaoyi bowed and retreated, with a spring-like smile on his face, which was completely different from when he first entered the cave.

He had Zhao Rui's spirit stones and food rations, and he no longer had to go hungry. Although his cultivation level increased slowly, it was also improving slowly.