Immortal Realm’s Smuggling Kingpin

Chapter 9: Gifting Is Also a Type of Knowledge

Translator: Atlas Studios

Editor: Atlas Studios

During his 500 years in the Human Realm, Thunder was a yellow-bellied white-eye with an emerald-green back. Of course, this was a cloak that he used to conceal his true colors. Thunder was a wide-back thunderbird. Not too long after birth, he was caught and locked in a birdcage. People who raised birds were mostly bird lovers. Thus, they naturally gave great care to such a beautiful white-eye. In addition, Thunder was incredibly intelligent and often did acts that pleased his owner. As such, all eight owners of Thunder treated him very well.

Demon cultivation was not easy. Ascending after 1,000 years of cultivation could already be considered outstanding. However, blending into the Human Realm and witnessing the fickleness of human nature had instead allowed Thunder’s mind to be immensely developed. It was also of great help to his cultivation. Within a mere 500 years, he ascended to become a Demon Immortal.

Thunder’s actual form was a wide-back thunderbird. Although Demon Immortals were a weak Immortal type—their spiritual power and talent being nothing like that of Spiritual Immortals—Thunder used his actual form’s lightning spells really well. His lightning spells could rank in the top five amongst the younger generation of Immortals.

Despite being leisurely and carefree in the Immortal Realm, Thunder often recalled his time in the Human Realm, when every owner fed him personally and tenderly stroked the feathers on his head. He also reminisced about the delicious bird food in the Human Realm.

Thunder stretched himself in his cave abode; a streak of blue lightning cackled as it flashed between his hands. He murmured with some regret, “Sigh. I’ll never get to taste it again…”

“Thunder! Little Thunder?” A series of calls sounded.

Thunder poked his head out of his cave abode and looked down.

Two people stood beneath his cave abode; one of them looked a little familiar, as if he’d seen him somewhere before. The other was dressed in a full black suit, but he had zero impression of him.

Thunder’s cave abode was high above the ground. In accordance with his nature of being a thunderbird, it was built on a cliff that was 30,000 feet tall. Also thanks to his actual form being a thunderbird, he had really sharp eyesight. Otherwise, how would he have gotten a clear look at the two people 30,000 feet below?

“Hehe. Brother Thunder, it’s me, Du Lengning of Faraway Hall. We’d attended Immortal Li Feng’s wedding banquet together the year before the last. Do you still remember?”

The memory came to Thunder abruptly. This Du Lengning is the young hall master of Faraway Hall!

Immortal Li Feng’s actual form was a beautiful thousand-tail phoenix. In Immortal form, she was naturally incomparably stunning and was the number one beauty amongst the Demon Immortals. In the younger generation of Demon Immortals, Thunder was also, more or less, considered to be a prominent figure. Thunder had a secret crush on this gorgeous Immortal Li Feng.

Unfortunately, before he had expressed his feelings, Immortal Li Feng had already found a great catch and married into a rich and powerful clan of the Immortal Realm, the Ocean Tide family, and became a madam. The Ocean Tide family ruled the Broken Dreams dimension, one of the Immortal Realm’s nine dimensions.

Thunder attended her wedding banquet after being invited. The number of silently dejected young talents at the banquet wasn’t in the minority. Thunder was not the most prominent one, just like Du Lengning. The two sat next to each other, and with some mutual sympathy between fellow sufferers, they began confiding in one another after just a few glasses of wine.

When the two got wasted that very same night, they had held each other’s shoulders and shared some words. Their admiration for Immortal Li Feng—who had become another’s wife—naturally became the center of their conversation. After sobering up, the two of them were extremely remorseful, and they never connected anymore since then, as if they had a tacit agreement.

The Immortal Realm was split into nine dimensions to make it convenient for the Immortal Emperor to manage. The entire Immortal Realm was divided into nine parts and conferred to nine aristocratic families and Immortal Kings. The Broken Dreams Dimension was in the northwest of the Immortal Realm, facing the Buddha Realm across the ‘Six Metaphors Wilderness’. Within the Broken Dreams dimension was the Heaven and Earth Spring—one of the Six Springs—and the Autumn Water Cave, one of the Upper Three caves of the Upper Three Lower Ten. It also contained five Immortal peaks of the Thirty-six Mountains in the Realm. The Broken Dreams dimension was one of the three strongest dimensions in the Immortal Realm.

“Oh, it’s Young Master Du! Please, come up!” Thunder muttered to himself inwardly, This rascal must be up to no good if he suddenly came to visit me. However, he’s the young hall master of Faraway Hall, while I’m just a loner. I shouldn’t make him look bad.

Du Lengning flew up to Thunder’s ‘Layers of Sky Cave Abode’ with Luo Qian in tow.

Thunder took a glance at Luo Qian and asked, Young Master Du, this is…”

Du Lengning quickly introduced him, “This is my good friend, Luo Qian.”

He’d never heard of this name, but on Du Lengning’s account, he still cupped his hands together very courteously. “Brother Luo!”

Luo Qian returned the greeting while Du Lengning said from the side, “Brother Thunder, one never visits unless they need something. We are here today because we need a favor from you.”

Thunder thought to himself, Here it comes…

“Haha, Young Master Du is too polite. You’re the young hall master of Faraway Hall. What is it that could have you asking the lonely Demon Immortal that I am?” Thunder did not dare agree right away. He’d hung around in the Human Realm for 500 years, and he did not use all of his cultivation attainments on eating bird food.

When it came to scheming, Du Lengning naturally wasn’t Thunder’s match; thus, he didn’t realize that Thunder was trying to avoid having to help. Instead, he thought that Thunder was being polite to him. He could not help but explain with a serious look, “No need to be too humble, Brother Thunder. Your lightning spells are outstanding in the Immortal Realm. Today, we have something that requires the help of your lightning spells.”

Thunder bowed his head, and within a moment of thought, he’d come to a decision. “Hehe, Young Master Du has flattered me. Feel free to say what you need. If I can be of help, I definitely won’t refuse.” And if I cannot, you can’t blame me either, right?

Du Lengning said, “It’s better to have this Brother Luo tell you about it.”

Luo Qian raised his cupped hands with a smile on his face. However, he had already learned that this Thunder was extremely sly and not easy to deal with. He wasn’t a rich man’s son like Du Lengning, who had so much leisure time that he could game at home every day. In both the Human Realm and the Immortal Realm, Luo Qian had committed a good share of both good and bad deeds. He had also seen all sorts of people. Thus, he naturally had his own trump card that would certainly get Thunder on the hook.

“Brother Thunder, I need a treasure that can provide stable electric current for a sustained period of time. Would Brother Thunder be able to build it?” Luo Qian stated his own request.

Thunder instantly became suspicious. A treasure that can provide stable electric current for a sustained period of time? Isn’t that an electric generator? Where is this Luo person from, that he can convince the young hall master of Faraway Hall? What does he want an electric generator for?

Leaving the Immortal Realm in private was a serious crime that called for beheading. Thunder never expected that the young hall master of the huge Faraway Hall would be caught up with a smuggler who secretly left the Immortal Realm. However, he was still careful. Not to mention that Luo Qian’s request was very difficult to fulfill. Even if it could be refined easily, he could not agree right away.

Thunder frowned instantly. “Brother Luo, Young Master Du, this is no easy task. You also know the power of lightning spells lie in their explosive force. To make them stable and sustained is not easy to achieve. Tell you what, allow me to think about it. I will send a communication talisman to inform you guys if there’s any progress.”

Du Lengning wanted to continue speaking, but Luo Qian was already pulling him and taking their leave. “If that’s the case, we’ll be troubling Brother Thunder. We will take our leave now. There will definitely be great rewards for you when the deed is done!”

Thunder raised his cupped hands. “I shall not see you out then; have a safe trip.” Once the two turned around, a packet fell from Luo Qian’s body.

Thunder faltered. When he picked it up and was about to return it to Luo Qian, the two of them were already at the bottom of the cliff, and their figures vanished in a flash. Thunder revealed a sly smile as he thought to himself, Parading these cheap tricks of such level in front of me? If I was taken in by such an act, the 500 years I spent in the Human Realm would’ve been in vain.

Thunder initially didn’t want to open the packet. Instead, he wanted to head over to Mountain Ning Yao and return it to Du Lengning. However, a familiar aroma came from the packet, causing his distant memories to be evoked. Ever since he ascended, it’d been close to a few hundred years that he had not smelled this familiar fragrance…

Du Lengning grabbed onto Luo Qian—who was hurriedly flying away—and complained. “I still had more that I wanted to tell him, but you left so hastily. If things fail, you can’t blame me. Of the people I know, only this bird’s lightning spells are considered good. If he refuses to help, I have no other way to help you either.”

“Young Master Du, don’t you worry. So long as the rumors you heard are true, this Thunder would definitely be on our pirate ship… cough cough, definitely be in the same ship as us.”

Du Lengning commented, “I don’t quite understand him. He has become an Immortal, so why is he still constantly thinking about the bird food in the Human Realm?”

“This is a quirk. It’s inevitable for immortals too. Compared to these small things, what I’ve seen is much more than what you have back when I was in the Human Realm…” At the mention of the Human Realm, Luo Qian seemed to be extremely nostalgic, his gaze full of remembrance. He didn’t continue speaking and only stared into space blankly and dazedly.

Du Lengning gave him a shove. “Old Luo, what’s with you?”

Luo Qian came back to his senses and gave a wry smile, his eyes a little red. “Excuse me. Sigh… I didn’t want to become an Immortal. Perhaps this is also considered a quirk.”

The two of them only parted when they arrived at Mountain Ning Yao. Du Lengning returned to the mountain while Luo Qian still had some way to Fushan; thus, he got on his way alone.

Sure enough, as Luo Qian had expected, Du Lengning received Thunder’s communication talisman in less than three days, inviting him to Layers of Sky Cave Abode for a chat. Du Lengning still needed to invite Luo Qian, but Thunder had impatiently come to his doorstep before he had set off.

Gift-giving called for particularity in method and extent, Luo Qian knew this very well. That packet of superior-grade bird food was not too little and not too much. It was just enough for Thunder to satisfy his cravings, yet not make him too full.

After finishing it, all sorts of produce delicacies were completely tasteless in Thunder’s mouth for three days. After holding out for three days, he could not take it anymore and quickly sent a communication talisman to Du Lengning. The communication talisman had just been sent out when he simply decided to use his immortal arts and flew to Mountain Ning Yao himself. Once his cravings were aroused, he could no longer suppress them.

Before Luo Qian had reached Mountain Ning Yao, Thunder was already there. Du Lengning sent a communication talisman to invite Luo Qian over.

Thunder knew that he had fallen for Luo Qian’s scheme. During the three days, he’d also abruptly come to realize that such bird food belonged to the Human Realm only. That Luo Qian could get his hands on it; thus, he must have broken the heavy laws of the Immortal Realm.

But before the cold sweat which he’d broken out in had dried up, he recalled the wonderful taste of the bird food on his tongue again. Hence, Thunder thought self-deceivingly, Since he hasn’t been caught during his first trip, it will be difficult for him to be caught in the future.

Moreover, he’d only eaten food from the Human Realm; he didn’t actually leave for the Human Realm secretly. Even if Luo Qian’s crimes were exposed and Thunder was implicated, he would be exiled to the Carefree Sea of Clouds between the Immortal Realm and Divine Realm for a few decades at most.

Still in Rock View House on Mountain Ning Yao, Du Lengning and Thunder brewed a fresh pot of Huayu Peak as they waited for Luo Qian. The door sounded, and Luo Qian came in with a smile as he apologized. “My apologies, my apologies. I must have kept you two waiting.”

Thunder laughed. “Haha, Young Master Du and myself have also just sat down; the chairs aren’t even warm yet. Brother Luo, I already have an idea about that treasure you spoke of a few days ago. Thus, I came here first to inform you both.”

Luo Qian secretly swore, You sly bird beast. If you didn’t have the bird food in mind, would you have come to me? If I were to get you to say our initial idea right now and you are able to speak in detail, that would be what’s odd.

Thunder really did not have much of an idea on how to build the electric generator. For the past three days, his entire mind had been occupied by that delicacy. How would he be in the right state of mind to think about the treasure? If Luo Qian wanted him to share his ideas, he really wouldn’t be able to say much. As such, he also secretly heaved a sigh of relief upon seeing Luo Qian only grinning and not probing further.

“This is something I bought from a friend. I heard that Brother Thunder likes it, so I’ll gift it to you.” As he spoke, Luo Qian pushed a box of packed superior-grade bird food to Thunder. Coincidentally, the lively little bird on the packaging happened to be the image of the yellow-bellied white-eye with an emerald-green back, which had been Thunder’s form long ago.

Thunder accepted this gift with no change in countenance. Such a big box was enough for him to enjoy for a few months.

The three of them already had a tacit agreement. After they decided on the next meeting time, Thunder stood up and took his leave. He knew that he had to bring out a semi-finished product at least in the meeting; otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to bluff it out in front of the two of them.

After sending Thunder away, Du Lengning gave Luo Qian a pat on his shoulder. “Alright Old Luo, you really managed to guess it!”