Casting immortality in the furnace

Chapter 3 The Burning House

"Hahaha...!"

Hong Bin was so excited that he danced with joy and said to Hong Shunzhi:

"Grandpa, I won! I won!"

"It's truly a blessing from our ancestors...!"

Tears streamed down Hong Shunzhi's face, and he was so happy he could hardly breathe: "Bin'er, Grandpa knew...you would definitely amount to something!"

Seeing his grandfather sobbing uncontrollably, Hong Bin couldn't help but shed two lines of tears as well.

He turned to look at his father, Hong Gang, his heart filled with pride, and patted his chest as he shouted to him:

"Father! Your son has not let you down!"

Hong Gang had been slaughtering pigs in the village for many years and had always been a cold-hearted man, but at this moment, even this rough man had tears streaming down his face, and he nodded heavily, saying:

"Father saw it! Father has always believed in you!"

The villagers around him quickly flattered him, saying, "Don't cry, don't cry! This is a joyous occasion; you should be smiling!"

Some elderly people gently patted Hong Shunzhi on the back, comforting him:

"Yes! Bin'er has now been blessed with a destiny to become an immortal! This is a blessing he has accumulated over eight lifetimes!"

Others joined in the joke:

"Grandpa Gang, I've heard that immortals don't eat meat. You can't slaughter pigs anymore, or Bin'er won't dare to get close to you when he comes back!"

Hong Gang laughed heartily, "Why would I still slaughter pigs! With such a promising son, I would never dare to do that lowly profession again!"

Everyone burst into laughter, offering their congratulations to Hong Shunzhi and his son, and seizing the opportunity to curry favor.

Suddenly, a shout rang out, "Silence!"

It turned out that it was that Master Tian who spoke.

Everyone remembered that it was a celestial being in front of them, and immediately dared not utter a sound; the scene instantly fell silent.

Tian Youliang frowned and waved his hand in annoyance:

"Next!"

The villagers were taken aback. What was going on?

Aren't they all glowing?

Hong Bin was also confused. In his desperation, he couldn't care less about anything else and shouted, "Immortal Master, didn't I already win?!"

"What did you even get?" Tian Youliang looked at him speechlessly. "You're completely unqualified!"

"I had no idea what you were crying about just now. I thought you'd gone crazy."

"What?"

Hong Bin was incredulous. The dough, still covered in snot and tears, kept changing colors, from green to white to red to purple, as if several vats of dye had been overturned.

"No! This is impossible..." Hong Shunzhi cried out in despair. He could not accept the sudden ups and downs. He felt a pain in his chest, rolled his eyes, and fainted.

His father, Hong Gang, had a dark complexion, and cold sweat poured down his face, soaking his clothes.

This is utterly shameful!

"Pfft!" Uncontrollable laughter erupted from the crowd.

Especially the young men and women behind Hong Bin, they all covered their mouths and chuckled.

Those who had just flattered Hong Shunzhi and his son blushed with embarrassment, buried their heads in their chests, and cursed inwardly, blaming Hong Bin for his recklessness and causing them to lose face.

The farce is over, the testing continues.

Hong Bin didn't even know how he got down there. He knelt blankly beside the old, dark-faced Hong Gang, watching as one by one the others placed their hands on the compass.

There weren't many children in the village, so the test ended quickly.

Apart from Hong Bin, no one else could make the compass shine.

Of course, no one else has ever been as humiliated as him.

"Sigh~." Tian Youliang sighed and shook his head.

"It seems there isn't a single person of any worth in this place."

He was about to put away the compass when a clear, melodious voice came from not far away:

"Who says there's no potential talent? Here's one."

Everyone turned to look, and saw a dark-skinned boy walking towards them on the path at the village entrance.

He was young and thin, wearing a straw hat, a linen shirt and trousers, and a wood-chopping knife at his waist.

It was Fan Zhou.

Hong Gang was taken aback when he saw Fan Zhou running over. Hadn't he sent someone to keep an eye on him?

He glanced around and sure enough found the two guards, which made him furious.

He also needed Fan Zhou to take Hong Bin's place in the corvée labor. If Fan Zhou ran away, his son would have to go to work in the mines!

He was furious, but with the immortal in front of him, he dared not make any further moves, lest he offend the immortal.

"Fine, I doubt this kid has the talent for cultivation anyway. Let him run wild for a while."

"You think you're so promising? You dare call yourself a prodigy!"

The sudden roar shattered the silence of the scene.

Hong Gang was startled, almost wondering if he had accidentally blurted out his innermost thoughts.

When he looked up, he saw that it was his son, Hong Bin, who had stood up, his face contorted with rage as he pointed at Fan Zhou and began to curse:

"So many of us weren't selected, and you dare to call yourself a promising talent! Aren't you afraid of being laughed at?"

"A lowly bastard like you deserves to spend your whole life obediently farming in the mountains until you die! How dare you even dream of some immortal destiny? Don't you even take a piss and look at yourself in the mirror!"

Hong Gang stared in shock at his eldest son, never expecting that he would dare to be so presumptuous in front of the immortal.

"Has he really gone mad?"

Tian Youliang also turned his gaze to Hong Bin. Before he could say anything, Hong Gang quickly stood up and slapped the big idiot to the ground.

"You beast! What nonsense are you spouting!"

Hong Bin's eyes cleared instantly, and he covered his face, not daring to say another word.

Hong Gang kowtowed repeatedly to Tian Youliang, saying in fear, "My son has suddenly suffered a hysteria, please forgive him, Immortal."

Tian Youliang glanced at them and asked Fan Zhou:

"What's your name?"

Fan Zhou's expression brightened, and he cupped his hands in reply:

"My name is Fan Zhou. Since childhood, I have deeply admired the path of immortals. Today, I am fortunate to have encountered an immortal, and I humbly beg the immortal to guide me!"

Tian Youliang was quite surprised. The young man in front of him looked no different from a country bumpkin, but his manner of speaking and demeanor was completely different.

Perhaps he truly possesses extraordinary talent.

A glimmer of hope rose in his heart, and he pointed to the compass, saying:

"Place your hand on the compass. If you have some talent, it wouldn't hurt to give you a ride."

"yes!"

Ignoring the gazes of Hong Gang and his son, Fan Zhou strode to the floating compass.

In truth, he had no confidence at all, but he wasn't afraid of losing face; he was only afraid of missing his only chance.

I hope I also possess some of the qualities of an immortal.

Fan Zhou reached out and pressed his hand on the compass, feeling a cool sensation in his palm.

The next moment, the compass emitted a ring of five-colored light, which shone brightly!

All the villagers of Hongjia Village stared wide-eyed.

"He's really talented!"

Someone whispered something that startled everyone, turning them pale.

It should be noted that they had previously joined forces to devour Fan Zhou's entire family.

If he is chosen by the immortals now, what will happen when he returns with immortal powers to take revenge?

The villagers looked at each other, their eyes filled with terror.

Hong Gang turned ashen-faced and felt dizzy, unable to accept the outcome.

"Impossible! This is absolutely impossible!" Hong Bin stood up abruptly again, his eyes bloodshot, staring intently at Fan Zhou.

"You definitely don't qualify!"

Fan Zhou was feeling uneasy when he heard this. He frowned and glanced at him, not understanding where he got such malice from.

Hong Bin cautiously approached Tian Youliang and asked in an almost pleading tone:

"Is he also unqualified, Immortal?"

Tian Youliang ignored him, only looking at the colorful light on the compass, and couldn't help but shake his head and sigh:

"Sigh, inferior talent."

"Haha! I knew it!" Hong Bin's eyebrows curved into a smile.

The humiliation of making a fool of himself in public vanished instantly. He straightened his back, swaggered over to Fan Zhou, and mimicked Fan Zhou's previous tone, saying:

"They said, 'There's a promising talent here,' but what happened? It's utterly shameful!"

Hong Gang breathed a sigh of relief, and a mocking smile crept onto his face.

"I think you've lost your mind, kid. You actually dare to dream of cultivating immortality? I advise you to pack your things and get ready to go mining tomorrow!"

The villagers who had been prepared to eat Fan Zhou's blood and property were finally relieved, and they chatted and laughed in small groups:

"That silly boy really dares to dream! He actually thinks he's destined to become an immortal!"

"I knew he was a good-for-nothing since we were kids, and sure enough, I was right, wasn't I?"

"He probably thinks his ancestors' graves are emitting auspicious smoke, allowing him to rise to a high position like a phoenix!"

"Hahaha...!"

Everyone burst into laughter, taking the opportunity to vent their feelings of inferiority, anger, fear, jealousy, and so on.

Hong Bin laughed the loudest, and he kept making all sorts of exaggerated and funny gestures, determined to nail Fan Zhou to the pillar of shame so that everyone would forget his previous embarrassment.

"What a pity..." Fan Zhou lowered his eyes, feeling truly bad upon hearing these words.

"Shut up, all of you!"

Tian Youliang suddenly stood up and let out a thunderous roar that silenced all the murmurs around him.

When the villagers saw the immortal's anger, they trembled like frightened quails and kowtowed, begging for mercy.

With his hands behind his back, Tian Youliang glanced at everyone around him and roughly understood the situation.

He let out a heavy, cold snort, "You lowly commoners, so ignorant and arrogant, mocking others without even considering whether you have the right!"

"I shook my head and sighed only because his aptitude wasn't as good as I thought, not because he couldn't cultivate immortality!"

Tian Youliang was truly angry and no longer wanted to pay attention to these country bumpkins. He turned to Fan Zhou and asked:

"Fan Zhou, would you be willing to come with me to the boundless mountains and wilderness to cultivate the art of immortality?"

Fan Zhou was overjoyed and excitedly bowed down in reverence:

"Thank you, immortal, for saving me!"

"Alright!" Tian Youliang smiled and nodded, raising his hand to help Fan Zhou up.

He put away the brass compass and then waved his hand to take out a white handkerchief.

The handkerchief fell to the ground, causing a large cloud of white mist to rise and swirl, lifting him and Fan Zhou into the air.

Hong Bin stared blankly at the scene before him, then suddenly collapsed to the ground, groaning, "I succeeded! I did it..."

Hong Gang was terrified, his liver and gallbladder about to burst. He frantically kowtowed to the boy who was disappearing further and further into the sky, shouting as he did so:

"Please forgive me, Immortal Fan!"

"Please, have mercy on us! We're so magnanimous!"

The other villagers quickly followed suit, bowing repeatedly to Fan Zhou's figure.

But no one responded.

Suddenly, someone shouted again:

"The village is on fire!"

"Help! Fire!"

The series of dramatic changes panicked the villagers. Some ran back as fast as they could, while others knelt on the spot, shouting for the departing immortals and begging them to bring rain and extinguish the fire.

Fan Zhou stood in the clouds, looking down.

A house was engulfed in flames, and people scurried about the small village like ants. Some carried buckets and kettles to put out the fire, while others knelt on the ground, praying for divine help.

The flames were reflected in his eyes, but an indescribable feeling welled up in his heart. All his previous resentment, anger, and fear vanished at that moment.

For some reason, tears welled up in my eyes.

Tian Youliang looked at him strangely. Weren't those people in the village bullying you? Why are you crying for them?

He asked疑惑地问道, "Whose house is that?"

Fan Zhou's expression was somber, his tone a mixture of crying and laughing:

That's my home.

After a long silence, Tian Youliang patted his shoulder and said softly:

"You now have a new home called [Sword Furnace]."