Chapter 65: Dao Never Come Easily.

Afterward, Chen Fan rented a house and settled in with his companions. Although Mr. Shi was not worried that Chen Fan would run away by himself after he had obtained the Spirit Medicine, Miss Zheng had assigned bodyguards standing guard outside of Chen Fan's house, monitoring his every move.

Chen Fan didn't mind the surveillance. As soon as he got the Essence of Thousand Pinewood, he started to brew an elixir called the Essence Gathering Pill.

Like the Essence Enhancing Pill, The Essence Gathering Pill was one of the most common pills used by cultivators to enhancing their Qi.

Without reaching the Connate Spirit level, Chen Fan would still have to rely on earthly food for survival. The earthly elements in the day to day food posed a hindrance to his progress of cultivation.

Therefore, instead of feeding on earthly food, most cultivation sects used the Spirit Pills and Spirit Dew to supplement their diet. These pills and elixirs could provide not only daily sustenance but also improve their cultivation.

After consuming one Spirit Pill, one would not need to eat anything, other than drinking water for ten days. In addition, these pills could also quickly replenish the cultivator's body and balance the elements in the system after an exhaustive battle.

Thanks to the abundant supply of herbs in the Jiu Ding City, Chen Fan had finished creating the pills very quickly.

He was able to create over a hundred Essence Gathering Pill using the Essence of Thousand Pinewood. It should be enough to last for two years.

"With these Essence Gathering Pills, I have more confidence in reaching the fifth stage of the Void Mortal Refinement Art." Chen Fan was very satisfied with the outcome.

He was convinced that with the aid of the Essence Gathering Pills, he would be able to materialize plans that were previously impossible.

Time flew by, and in the last seven days, Chen Fan did not leave his house as he was focusing on creating the elixirs.

On the seventh night, Chen Fan had finally finished his work.

He walked out of his room for the first time in a week and sat in a patio chair in the backyard. He made himself a cup of tea and started drinking.

He had used the leftover elixir in the tea, and therefore the fragrance of the tea was strong and wholesome. Master Wu stood behind Chen Fan while gawking at the cup of tea.

As a beginner in cultivation and being deprived of Qi, the cup contained more Qi than Master Wu could ever imagine.

Master Wu would have to work years in order to harness just a fraction of the Qi in the cup, yet Chen Fan wasted all that leftover elixir in making this cup of tea as if they were useless scraps.

"A'Xiu, come out, stopping hiding." Chen Fan said lightly.

From behind the back door of the house, a small figure emerged.

A'Xiu plodded toward Chen Fan. She gave Chen Fan a guilty look and then lowered her head in silence.

"We are about to go on a dangerous trip. You have heard from Master Wu yourself that there is a snake demon living under the pond and the demon was capable of injuring Master Wu's master. I suggest you go home and not to come with us. I can not guarantee your safety.

"I will make arrangements when I am back so that you can either work in Xu Ao's office or go to University in the city. It's up to you.

"I want you to live a happy life, find someone you love and make a family in the city. That is your dream, isn't it?"

"No!"

A'Xiu's eyes lit up with indignation after hearing Chen Fan's words.

She looked up and at Chen Fan, softened her face a little and pleaded.

"I have missed one chance; I don't want to make the same mistake again. Don't send me away, please."

She sneaked a glance at Chen Fan's face; however, she saw nothing but indifference.

Suddenly, A'Xiu felt a chill down her spine.

She felt that the person in front of her was no longer the caring and loving Brother Chen, but someone, or something that was beyond human's sentiments and emotions.

For the first time, she was scared.

Then, out of nowhere, she heard Chen Fan's voice coming down at her from above.

"I know what you are thinking, you have been warned, the journey you are about to embark on will be tortuous. Without a heart of gold and a will of iron, you will never reach enlightenment.

"And remember this: "Dao never comes easily."

Chen Fan spoke the last few words with every ounce of the seriousness of a Celestial Lord, and he pressed them into the young girl's mind.

"Dao never comes easily?" A'Xiu repeated after Chen Fan. She knew that Chen Fan had already seen through her mind.

She was more than just fascinated after seeing Chen Fan's incredible power at the tournament; she wanted it for herself. If she had thatpower, she would no longer be dependent on other people like she always had been.

"Excellent."

Chen Fan sat under the moonlight; his skin reflected the cold moonlight as he peered into the mind of the girl with a pair of deep and thoughtful eyes.

"In addition to resolution, you also need a bit of luck to become a competent cultivator.

"If anyone anywhere is able to access the power of Dao, the world would have already fallen into disarray and chaos. Just ask Master Wu."

Hearing Chen Fan's words, A'Xiu looked to Master Wu.

Master Wu straightened his back and nodded. He spoke in a serious tone as if he was speaking to his own disciple. "Your teacher was the only person who was able to teach you the method of cultivation.

"For the first two years of a martial arts disciple's life, all he or she does is sweeping the floor, the next two years is serving tea, and in the two years that followed, he or she will have to look after the daily life of his master personally. Then and only then, the master would start to teach the disciple the basics of cultivation. However, even that came with a time limit; if one didn't show signs of enlightenment, the disciple would be kicked out from the sect. Only the most diligent and the brightest disciples are chosen by the teacher as the 'Inner Circle Disciples' who would one day inherit the master's real power, most often beside the mater's dying bed side.

"When I was a disciple, my teacher had tested my determination and resolution for ten years before he started to trust me fully.

"Mind you that my sect has abysmal power compare to that of Master Chen. If you can obtain just a fraction of his power, you would be revered by the world as an immortal. With power as deadly as his, Master Chen must have even more stringent requirements for his disciples."

A'Xiu gritted her teeth and kneeled in front of Chen Fan. She kowtowed deeply and then said: "Master, take me, please. I don't mind hard work; even if I have to work as a slave for ten or twenty years, I still want to learn from you."

"Rise, now." Chen Fan said calmly.

"I can take you in and be your teacher. However, I need to make it clear to you that as soon as you become my disciple, your life belongs to me. If you ever think of betraying me, I will hunt you down even if you hide in the deepest cave of the underworld."

Chen Fan's voice was calm, but every word he spoke had the chilling intent to kill.

A'Xiu's body trembled slightly and then she spoke under her breath.

"Yes, master. "

"Don't call me master. You are not my real disciple yet." Chen Fan refuted.

A'Xiu's face hardened and then she said: "Maybe I am not worthy just yet, but I will improve myself through hard work. "

As soon as the girl stood up, Master Wu bowed to Chen Fan and congratulated him: "Congratulations, Master Chen. You have snatched up a good one."

"Hehe." Chen Fan shook his head.

A'Xiu was not his disciple, not yet.

No one could imagine what he had gone through as the disciple of Cangqin.

Every few thousand years, Cangqin would tour the universe and look for young people with a great aptitude for cultivation. After he had picked his candidates, he would toss them into the dimension he had created and let them fight with each other in a battle royale.

After Chen Fan was chosen by Cangqin, he had fought for his life in the Changmin Immortal Dimension for ten years. After several near escapes, he had finally become the seventh official disciple of Cangqin.

No pain no gain, such as the way of cultivation.

Cangqin had chosen well over billions of candidates, but only a handful could succeed and was worthy of learning from him.

"Dao never comes easily; those that do are not real Dao."

As such, even though A'Xiu had kowtowed to him and showed him the respect as a master, Chen Fan would not teach her the method of cultivation right away. He would start with the basics such as the Foundation Establishment methods. After that, he would teach her the first three forms of the True Martial Thirty-Six Forms.

Even that material should be enough to take A'Xiu into the level of Ethereal Enlightenment. By then she would be nearly invincible in the mortal world.

If she was talented, she might be able to reach the level of Divine Sea, then and only then, Chen Fan would consider her as an official disciple.

"Let's rest after I am done this cup of tea together; we have a hard journey ahead of us."

Chen Fan poured a cup of tea and handed it over to A'Xiu.

Without thinking too much, A'Xiu poured the content down her throat. Suddenly, she felt a coldness from her throat all the way to her stomach. The chill quickly turned into a burning sensation; soon, steam rose from her skin as if she was on fire.

"BOM! Kaboom!"

A wave of popping sounds erupted from her skin. In a blink, her body was covered with a layer of black substance that oozed out from her skin.

Suddenly, A'Xiu felt much lighter and more energetic.

"This is Marrow Washing!"

Master Wu exclaimed.

Master Wu had spent years to reach this stage while A'Xiu had done it after just one cup of tea.

Once she had cleansed herself from inside, her enlightenment would not be too far.

Feeling the incredible change inside of her, A'Xiu dropped her knees and kowtowed to Chen Fan respectfully.

Chen Fan accepted her gratitude readily. This cup of tea might have changed A'Xiu's life. Now she was no longer a weak little girl. Instead, her physic rivaled that of the top athletes.

A strong and resilient body was the prerequisite for their task ahead.

Seeing Master Wu's envious look, Chen Fan remarked: "After we are done at the Yin Dragon Pond. You will have your cup of tea as well."

Master Wu hurried to kneel in front of Chen Fan and announced: "Thank you, Master Chen. I will not disappoint you."

Chen Fan cracked a smile and kept his silence.