I have Immortality In The Cultivation World

Winter passed and spring came again.

Serpentine Mountain was covered in snow that was on the verge of melting.

Thousands of able-bodied commoners, driven by soldiers, searched each peak for any possible auspicious signs.

Zhu Kang, wearing straw sandals, tread unevenly through the snow, earnestly sweeping around with a wooden stick in search of something.

If he failed to find an auspicious sign to report, he would likely freeze to death on the mountain, and his family line would end.

"The land of my family was taken by Master Sun, and if not this generation, the next one will surely end! Either way, we're headed for extinction, so why suffer this torment? Better to risk it all for once..."

These thoughts were only in his mind, as Zhu Kang glanced at the soldiers at the foot of the mountain and the commoners who were shot dead attempting to escape. He could only curse quietly in his heart.

"Dog Emperor!"

The cold wind howled, his clothes offered little warmth.

Zhu Kang's face turned purple from the cold as he leaned on his wooden stick to catch his breath and grabbed handfuls of snow to stave off hunger, continuing to lift and set his feet mechanically.

Perhaps because he had been hungry for too long, a surreal glow appeared before his eyes. Then, the world seemed to spin as if he were falling into a dream, and he seemed to step on something soft, white, and plump.

"Ouch!"

A child's cry of pain rang out, and Zhu Kang felt himself being lifted, turned upside down in the air.

Zhu Kang shook his head vigorously to clear the dizziness and regain his senses. When he opened his eyes, he saw a three-foot-long white radish.

There was a muddy footprint on the radish's face, and it grimaced angrily, waving a hoe around.

"Child, don't be mischievous."

A gentle voice, as warm as a spring breeze, floated over. The Red Blood Vine binding his feet loosened, and he fell to the ground flutteringly.

Zhu Kang followed the voice and saw a Taoist in a green robe sitting in a pavilion nearby, holding a scripture and greeting him with a smile.

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"I am Xuan Yi. May I ask where you come from, sir?"

"I'm Zhu Kang from Depend-on-Mountain Hamlet."

Zhu Kang, having regained his clarity from the confusion, saw the ginseng-shaped like a child and thought he had encountered a demon. He spilled everything like a bamboo tube pouring out beans: "I'm the eighth in my clan, with no money or land at home, not even a wife."

"I usually eat leftovers, live in a cattle shed, and smell bad all over…"

"I certainly don't eat humans."

With a flick of his fingers, Zhou Yi cleansed Zhu Kang's body with mana, healing his hidden wounds and frostbite.

"This is Kunlun Mountain. It is rare for outsiders to come here. You may stay for a while, or you can choose to leave immediately."

Having spent a year cultivating in Kunlun Mountain, Qin Zheng made a great commotion upon leaving, fulfilling his promise to right the name of Xuan Xiao, but he also created significant karmic obstacles. Thus, Zhou Yi lost interest in enlightening mortals.

"Kunlun?"

Zhu Kang was astonished and murmured, "There really is a Kunlun Mountain in this world? I thought it was a fabrication by the storytellers."

Zhou Yi invited Zhu Kang to sit down and smiled, "Could you tell me, sir, how do they compile stories about Kunlun?"

"The storytellers..."

Just as Zhu Kang began to speak, his stomach growled thunderously.

"It is my fault for not offering food. Eat while you talk."

With a wave of his hand, Zhou Yi filled the stone table with dishes, all rare delicacies in the mortal world.

"Thank you, Taoist priest, thank you, immortal!"

Zhu Kang, already famished, disregarded any reverence for an immortal and dug into the food. Once his stomach was soothed, he said, "The stories told by the storytellers usually start with a hero returning from learning arts on Kunlun Mountain..."

As his family owned no farmland, Zhu Kang could eat his fill during busy farming seasons, but resorted to working in the town during quieter times.

More often than not, unable to find work, he would squat at the entrance of inns and taverns begging for food, where he heard numerous stories.

"So Kunlun Mountain has become the origin story for the heroes in these tales."

Zhou Yi found it interesting and further asked, "Having been in seclusion for a long time, I am unaware of the current date. What year and month is it now?"

"It's the twelfth year of Emperor Yongyan's reign."

Zhu Kang put down his rice bowl, knelt on the ground with a thud, and begged, "Immortal, may I stay here forever? I can serve tea, fetch water, farm the land—anything. All I ask for is a meal to eat!"

"You may only stay for a year at most."

Zhou Yi said, "When you leave, I will give you some gold and silver, so you won't have to worry about food and drink."

Zhu Kang shook his head, "I dare not accept it. Someone from the neighboring village dug up some gold, and the very next day, bandits killed his entire family!"

Zhou Yi frowned slightly, "Is it very chaotic outside now?"

"The Imperial Court says there's peace everywhere, but I've heard many places are suffering from war and no one has it easy."

Zhu Kang was a true commoner, who couldn't recognize many characters and judged the emperor and the Imperial Court simply by whether life was easy or hard to bear.

He couldn't specifically say what wrong the emperor or the Imperial Court had done; the only corruption he'd encountered was from greedy officials.

Zhou Yi did not continue to question him. He placed his palm on Zhu Kang's forehead and directly read his soul.

From corners of his memory that Zhu Kang himself couldn't recall, he glimpsed snatches of conversation from travelers, gathering a general understanding of the changes that had befallen the Qing Kingdom over the last century.

Emperor Jiading was diligent in his rule, but Emperor Tai Shi lived so long that the damage he caused was profound, and the dynasty faltered before it could fully recover.

After him, two mediocre emperors succeeded one another, and now Emperor Yongyan claimed to emulate his ancestors. Sadly, he had not learned the martial arts or how to strengthen the military; he was solely focused on seeking immortality, bestowing titles upon seven or eight Buddhist and Daoist masters as national preceptors.

"Two hundred years since the Qing Kingdom was established, the underlying issues caused by Qin Zheng can no longer be contained. It seems we are in the dynasty's final days!"

Zhou Yi sighed softly, having grown accustomed to this. Since the time of Fengyang Country, he had seen through the rise and fall of the National Dynasty over three generations.

When the Soul Searching Technique ended, he left a few strands of soul power within Zhu Kang's soul.

Zhu Kang felt his soul become more perceptive and clear. His life experiences of the past twenty years were visible in every detail, and the characters he'd learned and forgotten were now etched in his memory at the slightest recall.

"I thank you, Immortal!"

"For the next year, you will take care of the spirit fields with the children, and you may visit the Scripture Pavilion to read in your spare time."

Zhou Yi pondered for a moment before saying, "I can't keep you here long, nor can I pass on the Immortal Law to you, but I can teach you a skill that will keep you from starving once you leave."

Zhu Kang repeatedly kowtowed in gratitude, "For the guidance of the Immortal, the Zhu family shall be in your debt for generations to come."

Zhou Yi nodded slightly and pointed to the Scripture Pavilion as he spoke.

"The method is stored in the nineteenth book on the third shelf of the seventh row. I only have some theories about it; you will need to comprehend how to create it."

"I will not disappoint you, Immortal!"

Zhu Kang didn't know what he would learn. Based on the development of stories, it should be a long-lost secret formula of the immortals. With it, he might make a fortune once he left the mountains.

After being well-fed and watered, he went to bed.

The next day.

Zhu Kang spent half the day hoeing the ground, and upon learning that the large white radish was in fact a Myriad-Year Spirit Ginseng come to life, he knocked his head on the ground in respect several more times.

In the afternoon, he went to the Scripture Pavilion. As instructed by the Immortal, he fetched a book from the shelf, whose cover bore no words but an odd illustration instead.

"It looks like a spinning wheel? It's somewhat different from what I've seen in workshops."

While working in the county town, Zhu Kang had seen spinning wheels that were mostly similar to each other wherever there was a need for labor.

Upon opening the book, each page showed a drawing with annotations beside it. Thanks to the enhancement of his soul by the Immortal the previous day, he recognized most of the characters.

"The Immortal wants me to build this; there must be a significant reason!"

About two months later.

Zhu Kang discovered that his memory was unusually strong and that he had a natural gift for craftsmanship, enabling him to quickly build a new type of spinning wheel.

After testing, the new spinning wheel's efficiency had increased tenfold.

Zhou Yi nodded in satisfaction, "Those who are destined to enter Kunlun do indeed possess extraordinary qualities."

Zhu Kang received further guidance from the Immortal and fetched another book from the Scripture Pavilion with an even stranger cover illustration.

A boiling teapot!