Chapter One: The Path of Immortality Is Fraught with Hardship
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Name: Zhou Changwang
Lifespan: 17/75
Cultivation: Qi Refining, Second Layer (21/100)
Technique: Five Elements Formula (Beginner 85/100)
Skills: Spirit Rain Spell (Proficient 135/200), Cleansing Spell (Beginner 59/100), Growth Acceleration Spell (Beginner 63/100), Geng Metal Finger (Beginner 13/100)
...
Zhou Changwang opened his eyes and saw this very attribute panel before him.
I… am not dead?
At this thought, Zhou Changwang felt a surge of intense emotion rise within him. He had always cherished his life, rarely venturing outside unless absolutely necessary. Even then, he was ever vigilant, eyes scanning all directions, ears alert for any sign of danger—after all, with more and more cars filling the streets and alleys, he had no desire to see his name appear in the news, only to be criticized and condemned afterward.
Especially his superstitious mother, who had once sought out an old fortune-teller to cast his fate, warning him to avoid long journeys and stay clear of vehicles...
Though he hadn’t fully believed it, he was always extra cautious when walking, keeping to the sidewalk whenever possible.
Yet this time, when he had no choice but to go out, he obediently walked on the pedestrian path, only to see a runaway car, heedless of the thirty-centimeter-high curb, crash straight toward him...
“Perhaps some things, whether you believe in them or not, deserve a measure of respect.”
Muttering inwardly, Zhou Changwang wondered if he ought to pay his respects somewhere, when suddenly a jolt ran through him.
Fragments of scattered memories abruptly surfaced in his mind.
A long while passed.
Only then did he return to himself in silence, a complex expression—part joy, part sorrow—crossing his face.
In that moment, he finally understood: he had indeed died before.
And now, he had crossed over.
He had crossed into a world entirely unfamiliar to him.
A world of immortal cultivation!
At present, his name remained unchanged—Zhou Changwang—and he was a rogue cultivator living in Phoenix Song Market.
What is a rogue cultivator?
It means having no roots, no support, relying solely on one’s own efforts to cultivate.
Qi Refining, Second Layer.
He now managed three acres of spiritual farmland on the outskirts of Phoenix Song Market.
His daily work was to tend and guard these three acres, hoping that at autumn’s harvest, he could gather enough spiritual rice to exchange for spirit stones to sustain his cultivation.
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His father was a mortal, trained in martial arts, an innate grandmaster among men—a leader of the Martial Alliance in a mortal nation. For the sake of seeking immortality, he abandoned it all and came to Phoenix Song Market, settling down for twenty years.
Unfortunately, without a spiritual root, he was destined never to cultivate immortality, and so he pinned his hopes on the next generation.
Thus, after much effort, he found a female cultivator with spiritual roots. Their union resulted in Zhou Changwang.
“If we were in the mortal realm, with my father’s status as an innate martial grandmaster, he would surely enjoy endless wealth and glory.
But this is the world of cultivation.”
Zhou Changwang sighed with deep emotion.
Yet in his eyes, a strange light flickered.
A world of cultivation.
“In other words...
One can become immortal?
Live long and free from the bounds of mortality…”
In his past life, he was just an ordinary person, his dreams long worn away by the grind of daily life. Even his grandest fantasies were no more than attaining financial freedom and returning home in honor...
But in this world, one could truly become immortal.
Though he knew well that such a hope was exceedingly slim.
Especially for him—possessing all five elemental spiritual roots: metal, wood, water, fire, earth. While not the worst, his aptitude was merely enough to make cultivation possible.
Without fortuitous encounters, Qi Refining would be his limit.
And in terms of lifespan, a Qi Refining cultivator’s years were not much different from a mortal’s.
This was why his father had abandoned the idea of sending him to a sect, instead placing him in the Spirit Plant Hall of Phoenix Song Market. After five years as an apprentice, and with his father’s support, he finally rented three acres of spiritual farmland at the beginning of this year, barely able to eke out a living in this cultivator’s marketplace.
“Cultivation is difficult indeed.
There’s nothing ethereal or carefree about it—only days spent toiling with one’s back bent to the earth, and even then, it’s barely enough to cover daily cultivation expenses…”
Reflecting on the memories in his mind, Zhou Changwang couldn’t help but sigh.
The life of his predecessor was far from what he had once imagined.
The three acres of spiritual farmland had already been sown with spiritual grain at the start of the year, but their growth required constant attention.
Loosening the soil, weeding, pest control, fertilizing, irrigating with spirit rain… any misstep could affect growth and reduce the yield.
A typical field managed by a spirit plant master could yield over five hundred catties per acre. At the current market rate—ten catties of spiritual rice for one low-grade spirit stone—each acre would produce fifty low-grade spirit stones.
Three acres meant a hundred and fifty spirit stones.
It seemed a lot, but the cost of renting the land was already substantial.
At the time, the Spirit Plant Hall offered two options: one, a fixed rate of thirty low-grade spirit stones per acre—ninety for three acres; two, ten spirit stones per acre plus half the yield, with a guarantee that if the yield per acre fell below forty spirit stones, the difference would be made up to twenty.
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In order to save money, he had chosen the second option.
Which meant that after a year’s hard work, with a yield of five hundred catties per acre, he would actually earn only forty-five low-grade spirit stones.
And that was in a good year. If pests struck or disaster befell, the yield would drop drastically, perhaps even to nothing.
In that case, he would have to make up the missing twenty spirit stones himself.
In short, the Spirit Plant Hall never lost.
His predecessor, toiling in the fields day after day while still trying to cultivate, naturally found life exceedingly hard.
“Fortunately, this time when I crossed over, I brought a little something with me.”
Unable to resist, Zhou Changwang once again fixed his gaze on his attribute panel.
Name: Zhou Changwang
Lifespan: 17/75
Cultivation: Qi Refining, Second Layer (21/100)
Technique: Five Elements Formula (Beginner 85/100)
Skills: Spirit Rain Spell (Proficient 135/200), Cleansing Spell (Beginner 59/100), Growth Acceleration Spell (Beginner 63/100), Geng Metal Finger (Beginner 13/100)
...
He didn’t know where this panel had come from, but after reading three thousand web novels, even if he couldn’t write them, he could certainly understand. He soon grasped its meaning.
Clearly, it recorded all information about him.
Seventeen years old, with a total lifespan of seventy-five.
Qi Refining, Second Layer.
His cultivation technique was the “Five Elements Formula,” and the spells he knew were Spirit Rain, Cleansing, Growth Acceleration, and Geng Metal Finger.
The terms “Beginner” and “Proficient” were easy to understand.
He knew that for any technique or spell, there were different stages: Beginner, Proficient, Adept, Mastery, and Perfection.
Of the four spells he had learned, Cleansing, Growth Acceleration, and Geng Metal Finger were all at the Beginner stage, while Spirit Rain had reached Proficient. From inherited memories, he knew that its effect was indeed better than at the Beginner stage.
The only thing that puzzled him were the numbers associated with these stages.
Were they experience points, or proficiency levels?
How could they be increased?
At this thought, he could no longer sit still.