I have Immortality In The Cultivation World

Buddhists and Taoists both speak of methods for cultivating immortality and the path to eternal life, but they have never shown any mystical abilities. When faced with an unreasonable martial artist, they often have to tuck tail and flee in disorder.

Now that he had encountered a true immortal, it was clearly an indication of good fortune shining upon him, and Qin Zheng couldn\'t help feeling excited.

"Then I shall impose upon the immortal for a year, and later I will offer incense morning and evening to repay the kindness of saving my life."

"It\'s nothing."

Zhou Yi flicked his fingers, and a flash of mystical light fell from his hands.

Qin Zheng, entering an unfamiliar realm for the first time, remained vigilant even in the presence of an immortal, his qi-blood circulating in his legs ready to employ his qinggong.

The spiritual light moved even faster, landing on Qin Zheng\'s body. In the blink of an eye, his wounds healed as if they were never there. Even the lingering hidden injuries from martial arts practice disappeared.

Qin Zheng felt his body light and healthy in a way he never had before, and he hurriedly bowed in thanks.

"Many thanks, immortal."

"I am merely a cultivator, and the path to becoming an immortal is still out of reach. Do not call me an immortal again."

Zhou Yi pondered for a moment and then said, "My family name is Zhou, and my Daoist name is Xuan Yi. You may directly use this Daoist name or call me Mr. Zhou."

"Alright, Mr. Zhou."

Upon hearing the word \'cultivator\', Qin Zheng couldn\'t help but ask, "I have seen the term \'cultivator\' in secretive Buddhist and Taoist texts. Could it be the same as what is referred to as a seeker of the path of immortal cultivation?"

"Indeed it is."

Zhou Yi pointed to a pavilion not far away and said, "Let\'s sit down and talk."

The pavilion was built outside the Daoist temple, constructed with several bluestones as supports, and lush grapevines covered the top, providing natural shade from the sun.

Qin Zheng half-sat on the stone chair, his gaze looking towards the date tree beside the pavilion. The branches were strangely shaped, and the tree trunk was half decayed and rotting, half smooth and new, ancient in appearance and somewhat odd.

An immortal\'s domain is only normal if it\'s out of the ordinary!

Zhou Yi ordered, "Child, pick some tea leaves and come here."

A Spirit Ginseng child popped out of the ground, tucked the jade stone hoe into its slanted storage bag, and then pulled out a jade box from inside it. It clumsily climbed up the Spiritual Tea tree and picked nine new buds.

Seeing the strangely shaped Spirit Ginseng, Qin Zheng recalled his recent experience, and his complexion turned slightly pale.

Zhou Yi said, "This child has a naive mind and startled the gentleman. I will certainly reprimand it."

"No harm done, no harm done. It was only my rash intrusion."

Curious, Qin Zheng asked, "This little Daoist child, looking like this, could it be one of the legendary demon race?"

"You could say that."

Zhou Yi smiled as he explained, "Originally, it was just a Spirit Ginseng in the medicinal field, but as it grew over the years, it slowly developed a spirit. Out of kindness, I took it under my wing to serve as a Daoist acolyte."

Qin Zheng thought Spirit Ginseng was like a hundred-year-old ginseng and said, "How long do ginsengs take to develop a spirit?"

Zhou Yi calculated with his fingers and said, "The child\'s age in the medicine field is probably over nine thousand years."

Nine thousand years!

A storm of shock surged in Qin Zheng\'s heart as he tried to calculate the true age of the youthful-looking Daoist before him. If even his servant child was nine thousand years old, he must have been cultivating for at least ten thousand years!

The Spirit Ginseng child flew in the air, holding the jade box above its head, its eyes filled with a plea for mercy.

"Since Mr. Qin has said no harm was done, this time I will spare you. But if you dare to err again, expect no less than a hundred years of labor."

Zhou Yi was always lenient with his spiritual pets, rarely enforcing any hierarchical formalities, but he would not tolerate bullying. If they inadvertently provoked someone like Daoist Xiao, a killer star, even trivial matters could lead to a cataclysmic disaster.

Being entangled in karma is the last thing anyone would want!

These words fell upon Qin Zheng\'s ears as if they were the sound of morning and evening temple bells.

The true nature is revealed in the minutiae. Buddhists and Taoists observed strict hierarchies, even categorizing immortals into different ranks. To Qin Zheng, these seemed merely mechanisms to control the faithful, just as emperors control their subjects.

Having now met an immortal who spoke with gentleness, was approachable, and regarded hierarchical rules as insignificant, he thought this was what true freedom and pleasure were!

Zhou Yi brought out the tea set, waved his hand to draw in the Spiritual Fire and Spiritual Water, and his tea art reached its peak.

"Try this Spiritual Tea I\'ve made."

"Many thanks, Mr. Zhou."

Qin Zheng carefully lifted the teacup, took a gentle sip, and a rich fire spirit energy flowed down his throat to his belly, spreading throughout his organs, limbs, and bones. Using the secret Imperial Clan Inner Qi cultivation technique, he attempted to refine the spiritual energy within his body, only to see it rapidly dissipate.

At that moment,

A voice rang in his ear, piercing into his soul.

"The heaven and earth are born of Yin and Yang, transforming all things..."

Qin Zheng switched to practicing the Body Refining Art, and the Inner Qi in his Dantian quickly dissolved, with the spiritual energy traveling through his meridians, transforming into strands of mana.

Zhou Yi leisurely savored his tea, waiting until Qin Zheng finished his first cultivation session.

"Your comprehension is good."

Qin Zheng rose to one knee, expressing his thanks, "The grace of the immortal, I will never forget for as long as I live!"

"If you have come here, it is also by your own fortune."

Zhou Yi gently waved his hand, lifting Qin Zheng to his feet and said, "I am busy with my cultivation every day. If you feel it\'s too quiet, you can go and read some books in the Scripture Pavilion."

Qin Zheng\'s eyes lit up, filled with anticipation.

Afterwards, they chatted over tea, with Zhou Yi giving pointers for practicing the Body Refining Art, and he also arranged a side room for Qin Zheng to stay in.

The next day.

The early morning sun was just beginning to rise.

Zhou Yi sat cross-legged on top of the Daoist temple, facing eastward and practicing the Purple Sun Scripture, drawing strands of purple energy into his body.

The Purple Sun Scripture, a legacy of the Heaven-Mending Sect\'s Body Refining Techniques, harnesses the purple energy of the morning sun to nourish the body. When fully mastered, one can reach the described state of an "Innate True Person." The Ancient Cultivation World had different divisions compared to today, and whether it equaled the Golden Core or Nascent Soul stage, Zhou Yi was also unclear.

The path of Body Refinement values transmission and persistence, the kind of effort that accrues over time, and this matched well with Zhou Yi\'s own cultivation.

Qin Zheng was too excited to sleep the previous night and only managed to do so at dawn. When he saw Zhou Yi meditating and practicing, he stood by the entrance and waited patiently.

"Mr. Qin, good morning."

Zhou Yi slowly ended his cultivation practice, greeted him, and began to make a fire for cooking.

Washing rice, adding water, lighting a fire…

Qin Zheng expressed his surprise, "It\'s said that immortals dine on the wind and drink the dew, yet a true person like yourself also eats meals."

"Eating is also a form of cultivation."

Zhou Yi didn\'t quite agree with these words at first, until he was tasked with organizing the Wanjuan Daozang. After reading numerous classics of the sages over hundreds of years, he comprehended a trace of their profundity.

Every thread and every strand, every porridge and every rice, contains the ultimate principles of nature in them.

In the inheritances and records of the Pill Cauldron Sect, concerning the legendary Divinity Transformation Realm, it\'s repeatedly described that one should comprehend heaven and earth, the natural order, to condense the Primordial Spirit.

Zhou Yi knew his own aptitude was average, and his sole advantage lay in his longevity. Thus, he started to comprehend from the ordinary actions of walking, sitting, and lying down, planning to ponder the way of the Primordial Spirit after reaching the perfection of the Nascent Soul, amassing a wealth of experience for a future breakthrough.

It\'s always wise to be prepared before it rains, rather than digging a well when you\'re thirsty.

"Thank you for the guidance, True Person."

Qin Zheng didn\'t understand, but he felt that the words of an immortal couldn\'t be wrong, so he ended up eating three big bowls of Spirit Rice.

"The flavor of the rice is unexpectedly sweet and fragrant!"

As the Spiritual Energy circulated within his body, Qin Zheng quickly operated his Body Refining Art, continuously tempering his physical body.

Zhou Yi reminded him, "Once you leave here, there will be no Spiritual Energy to nourish you outside, and your Body Refining Art will no longer improve, so don\'t forget to cultivate the martial arts as well."

Upon hearing this, Qin Zheng\'s face changed dramatically, hurriedly asking, "Does it mean that once I leave here, I can\'t cultivate towards immortality?"

"That\'s generally the case," Zhou Yi nodded and said, "In this world, apart from Kunlun Mountain, there are no cultivators."

Qin Zheng fell silent for a long while and sighed. Having practiced the Body Refining Art, he began to temper his Qi-Blood. The Body Refining Techniques of the Immortal Dao, after tempering with Spiritual Energy, yield a physical body with Qi-Blood far superior to that of ordinary people.

Continuing to cultivate Qi-Blood martial arts yields twice the result with half the effort!

Zhou Yi extended his Divine Sense and noticed that Qin Zheng\'s Qi-Blood martial arts were weaker, but the upside was that his cultivation method became gentler.

This fit the characteristic of transmutation within Cultivation Techniques; from rudimentary to subtle, the core principle was the constant shortage of resources, necessitating putting effort into the finer details.

In the days that followed, Zhou Yi didn\'t make a special effort to pay attention to Qin Zheng.

Occasionally, he would give a pointer or two on the method of cultivation, imparting wisdom from a higher perspective, which Qin Zheng needed several days to comprehend.

Several days passed.

Qin Zheng grew accustomed to the life of the Immortal Realm, eating and sleeping— not much different from common folks, except that there were many mysterious and strange things, like the Spirit Ginseng children diligently farming, and the blood vines that resembled children.

And the Divine Tree that stood towering at the center, reaching straight into the heavens.

The Spirit Ginseng child had never met outsiders since its birth, and quickly started playing along with Qin Zheng.

"Big, big, big!"

The meter-long hoe, upon facing the wind, enlarged to seven or eight meters, perfect for Qin Zheng\'s use.

The Spirit Ginseng child then took out another Jade Stone Hoe. With each adult and child, one human and one spirit, they made noises as they loosened the soil for the Spiritual Medicines.

Qin Zheng looked at the Spiritual Medicines in the field, humbly asking, "Mr. Ginseng, what effects do these strange flowers and herbs have?"

The Spirit Ginseng child, having gained a free laborer and rare words of praise, introduced them generously.

"This is Mystic Pearl Grass, a treasure bead forms every millennium, suitable for Alchemy and Artifact Refining."

"Yin and Yang Spirit Fruit, gathering the energies of yin and yang and condensing into a Spirit Fruit, consuming it can increase the odds of Solidifying Pills."

"This is the Five-colored Auspicious Cloud Mushroom..."

All of these Spiritual Medicines were exceedingly rare, nurtured only by major forces of the righteous and demonic paths. Small sects from the Eastern Sea couldn\'t afford them; after all, with their thousands to tens of thousands of years required to mature, these sects might collapse before the herbs even ripen.

Qin Zheng listened carefully, noting their names and appearances, planning to create a chart once he left. No matter the effort needed, he would find one!

"This Spiritual Medicine is interesting, called Longevity Bamboo. It sheds its skin every hundred years, and after a hundred cycles of decay and bloom, the shed skin becomes comparable to a treasure bead, without the need for further refinement."

The Spirit Ginseng child beckoned Qin Zheng over, saying, "It\'s still three to five months until the next shedding. Take good care of it, and when it sheds skin, I\'ll give you half of a piece."

Qin Zheng suppressed the excitement in his heart, "Won\'t this anger the True Person?"

"What status does the Immortal have? Such things would hardly matter to him," the Spirit Ginseng child replied, "I\'ve kept all the previously shed skins, and offered them to the divine tree."

Qin Zheng, curious as a child, wanted to inquire about everything related to immortals, "What\'s the divine tree? And why does Mr. Ginseng offer tribute to it?"

"That\'s the divine tree; its background is extraordinary!"

The Spirit Ginseng child boasted, "If I offer tribute often, hoping it will sprout branches sooner, the Immortal might break one off and grant it to me, then I could become an immortal myself!"

Becoming an immortal!

Qin Zheng silently noted these words—\'divine tree\' and \'becoming an immortal\'; such top secrets were not even recorded in the confidential scriptures of Buddhism and Taoism.

Half a day was spent organizing the field of Spiritual Medicines, and in the afternoon, Qin Zheng visited the Scripture Pavilion.

Since he lacked Divine Sense and couldn\'t use jade slips, he could only browse through collected paper books—a feeling of leaving empty-handed from a mountain of treasures.

Qin Zheng returned the books he had finished reading to their original place, his eyes scanning over the spine of each book, finally resting on one of them.

"Chronicles of Xuan Xiao Daojun\'s Life."

"Xuan Xiao, this name, why does it feel as controversial as Buddha\'s adversary?"

After skimming through a few pages, Qin Zheng furrowed his brows. Xuan Xiao\'s experiences seemed similar to Buddha\'s adversary, only that their roles and statuses were reversed.

The Buddha entered the demon path, while Xuan Xiao Daojun eradicated demons and upheld the dao!

At dusk.

While eating his meal, Qin Zheng couldn\'t resist asking,

"True Person, is Xuan Xiao Daojun a Demon King, or a savior?"