Eternal Life Starts from Tai Chi-Chapter 72: The Purse Grew Fatter

Yang Chan’s cultivation of the Tai Chi Health Cultivation Skill made his perception far superior to that of an ordinary person. The Ox Demon Martial Seal enhanced it even further. This wasn’t a simple additive improvement; the effects stacked, multiplying his senses several times over.

Therefore, he sensed everything happening outside the T-shaped Room. The faint, almost imperceptible premonition of danger was especially clear.

Someone wanted to kill him.

After noticing someone tampering with the paper on his window, Yang Chan activated a mechanism on his two-tiered bed and dropped into the fruit of his last three days of labor.

It was a simple tunnel, its exit leading outside the T-shaped Room’s courtyard. Only the astounding stamina of an External Refining Copper Skin expert allowed him to dig it in such a short amount of time.

Upon sensing the danger, Yang Chan didn’t shout or scream. He slipped away in silence. The better he hid himself now, the safer he would be.

As for alerting people to the assassins hidden in the T-shaped Room, that was an easy problem to solve. Once he was outside, he just needed to create a disturbance that would draw attention to the room. He, meanwhile, would remain hidden in the shadows.

Just as he had predicted, the assassins were waiting for the knockout smoke to take effect. In that time, he had already escaped through the tunnel. After deliberately making a small noise to draw attention to the T-shaped Room, he hid in the adjacent Room Bing.

He didn’t run around aimlessly; that would have been even more dangerous. Paradoxically, hiding right next to the danger was the safer option.

He had also swapped his Pharmacist robes for an Official Disciple’s uniform. Now, he was just another Cyan Yuan Sect Official Disciple inside Room Bing.

Meanwhile, Yang Chan kept his eyes on the situation at the T-shaped Room. After the commotion began, many disciples started converging on the room. He took the opportunity to blend into the crowd, posing as one of the responding Official Disciples.

"There are assassins over here, too!"

Yang Chan’s gaze, however, was mostly fixed on the tunnel he had escaped from. With so many people now surrounding the T-shaped Room, the assassins inside had virtually no chance of escape.

The tunnel he had left behind was their only hope.

Although he had activated the traps he’d set before leaving, there was no guarantee they would kill anyone who entered.

Sure enough, two figures scrambled out of it.

The moment Yang Chan spotted the two, he pointed right at them. The other Cyan Yuan Sect disciples saw this and immediately moved to surround them.

The two men in black saw the closing circle and tried to flee, but more disciples were closing in from the other direction. There was no escape.

Seeing this, the leader of the men in black gripped his long sword as specks of starlight materialized around his body. It was somewhat similar to the Martial Seal Yang Chan had seen on Qian Tu, but this one was much weaker.

This leader’s cultivation was at the External Refining Steel Realm, not yet at External Iron Bone Refining. Naturally, the Martial Seal he manifested was a bit weaker.

In an instant, the nearest Official Disciple was wounded. Then, the Elite Disciples charged forward to surround and kill them. Assassins who delivered themselves to your doorstep were also a gift-wrapped opportunity for merit.

Yang Chan had considered launching a sneak attack from the shadows, but he abandoned the idea after watching three Cyan Yuan Sect Elite Disciples use their Ox Demon Martial Seals to steadily push back the assassin.

’There’s no need to snatch this merit. I might as well observe the Ox Demon Martial Seal’s practical combat abilities.’

As for the other man in black, he had already been subdued. All the teeth in his mouth were shattered to prevent him from committing suicide by poison; his captors wanted to extract more information—and thus, more merit—from him.

The three attacking Elite Disciples were all experts who had reached Great Success in the External Refining Steel Realm. Their Ox Demon Martial Seals had also clearly reached the Great Success stage, making them a cut above what Yang Chan had mastered, though they were still a far cry from Elder Lü Zhenghai’s.

Empowered with the strength of an ox, their power increased immensely. Whether it was a heavy punch or the slash of a long sword, each blow left a deep gash, a testament to their incredible strength.

’Martial Arts Marks really are the key to cultivation,’ Yang Chan thought. ’They’re even more formidable than Body Refining Techniques.’ 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

Watching them fight, Yang Chan could sense the power of the Martial Arts Mark. It could at least double a person’s combat power—a terrifying enhancement.

If a Martial Arts Mark were cultivated to the Perfection Realm, the boost would be even greater.

Take Direct Disciple Liu Shengyu, for instance. Empowered by his Nine Oxen and Two Tigers Strength, he was terrifying. His combat power was so immense it could make sturdy houses collapse.

Yang Chan watched as the Elite Disciples made their move. Before long, the assassin at the External Refining Steel Realm was subdued, revealing the square-jawed face of a middle-aged man.

The three Elite Disciples seemed to recognize the man and were overjoyed.

Yang Chan was also happy to see this. He had survived yet another assassination attempt. He refused to believe the Three Major Sects had that many operatives left in Taiyu City.

Anyone whose cultivation reached the External Refining Realm was considered Elite Level within a sect. It took several years, sometimes even more than a decade, to nurture such an individual.

The higher the cultivation, the more difficult the training, and the fewer such experts there were.

When Yang Chan returned to the T-shaped Room, the bodies of those who had died were laid out inside, including the two from the tunnel.

Direct Disciple Luo Yu rushed back, and when he saw the black-clothed men lying on the ground, the look he gave Yang Chan was strange.

It was the first time he had met someone as prudent as Yang Chan. He had laid so many traps in his courtyard and house that the assassins from the Three Major Sects gained nothing. Instead, thanks to him, they were all rooted out one by one.

This had been Elder Lü Zhenghai’s goal, and Yang Chan had performed even better than the Elder could have hoped.

"These are the items we found on the assassins. They all belong to you, Junior Brother Yang," Luo Yu said. "I’ll be taking the bodies."

The Hidden Weapon traps had all been laid by Yang Chan, so the kills were credited to him. According to the rules of the Cyan Yuan Sect, any spoils of war—such as the assassins’ valuables—naturally belonged to him as well.

Yang Chan accepted the items. It was a collection of silver notes and weapons. All told, it was enough not only to recoup his expenses but also to fatten his coin purse a little.

This was an unexpected windfall.

He had assumed that since they were here to assassinate him, they wouldn’t be carrying anything of value besides their weapons. It was a pleasant surprise.

But since the spoils were rightfully his, he pocketed them. It made all the effort of the past few days feel worthwhile.

With more money in his purse, Yang Chan could continue concocting new medicines. He needed to get his daily gain of Potential Points above two.

1.8 Potential Points wasn’t bad, but it meant he could only allocate points once a day. He’d have to wait until the next day to have enough for two allocations. ’This is very inefficient.’

If he could raise his daily gain to over 2.0, he could allocate points twice a day, which was a much more comfortable pace.

After the assassins were taken away, the T-shaped Room gradually grew quiet again. A few disciples had been injured in the fray. After helping to treat them, Yang Chan went back into the courtyard to reset his traps. They were still usable, but they needed to be put back in place.