Eternal Life Begins with Learning

More than a month passed in the blink of an eye.

Every day, Chu Mu was incredibly busy.

His Divine Sense, now manifested in reality, held countless mysteries.

It provided 360-degree observation with no blind spots. When focused, it could effortlessly ignore physical barriers, allowing him to see through objects and even observe the internal workings of the human body. He could also stir and tame Spiritual Qi, and even move objects from afar...

Each of these wondrous abilities was worthy of Chu Mu’s detailed exploration and study, so he could grasp their current limits.

The two Jade Scrolls contained two inheritances. Although he couldn’t yet apply them due to his lack of a Cultivation Method, that didn’t stop him from organizing the knowledge within.

Sorting through the Alchemy Inheritance left by Elder Li was easy enough for Chu Mu. The knowledge was a direct extension of what he already knew; his worldly understanding of the human body and pharmacology was complete, making it a natural progression for him to comprehend and accept.

However, the Puppetry Skill left him completely stumped.

Though its name consisted of only two words, "Puppetry Skill" was in fact a system of knowledge far more vast than that of pharmacology and human anatomy.

It spanned from the most basic worldly Ore Materials to the Spirit Ore system of the Cultivation Immortal Realm, and from there to Arrays, the Rune System, the Spiritual Ability System, and the Divine Soul System...

In terms of his past life, just starting out in Puppetry Skill would be like having to master materials science, mechanics, energetics, design, engineering, artificial intelligence, and more.

Even for a basic, entry-level inheritance in Puppetry, the breadth and depth of the knowledge involved were far beyond the comprehension of a Cultivation novice like Chu Mu.

In fact, just looking at the sheer scale of the system made Chu Mu’s heart pound with apprehension.

Just concocting a single dose of Dragon and Snake Soup in the mortal world had nearly bankrupted him. If he hadn’t used all of Xu Yuan’s assets to cover the costs, on top of his Monthly Stipend of Black Gold from Nanshan Town, he would probably be sleeping on the streets!

So what about higher-level Alchemy? Or Puppetry Skill, which involved a system that was clearly even more vast?

Ore Materials were piled high in the courtyard. Standing amidst them, Chu Mu felt a headache coming on.

Although worldly Ore Materials were regulated, as a former mine Inspector, he was well aware of the loopholes.

By spending a good deal of money, he managed to gather a large batch of various worldly Ore Materials in just over ten days.

He had acquired a sample of every type that could be purchased in Jingmen County.

Of course, for someone like him who had barely left the house since arriving in Jingmen County, he obviously lacked the connections to handle such matters.

It was all single-handedly arranged by that kid, Xu Yuan. He’d always had a knack for this sort of thing.

The fact that the Hundred Herbs Pavilion was growing more and more prosperous, free from all sorts of trouble, was clearly a testament to Xu Yuan’s significant contributions.

Across both his past life and his current one, apart from Iron Ore, this was the first time he had ever seen the raw form of other Ore Materials.

In his previous life, there was materials science; various alloys were essential components of top-tier technology.

The Cultivation Immortal Realm, it seemed, also had its own version of materials science.

The foundation of Alchemy generally lay in understanding pharmacology and the human body: its structure, the changes it underwent through Cultivation, the properties of medicinal ingredients, and how those properties combined.

The foundations of Puppetry Skill and Artifact Refining were much the same.

According to the inheritance, the primary foundation of Artifact Refining lay in mastering the properties of Ore Materials.

Worldly Ore Materials, Spirit Ores from the Cultivation Immortal Realm—every type of ore possessed its own unique properties, much like naturally occurring alloys.

Combining them, much like combining medicinal ingredients, could often produce all sorts of changes in their properties.

It wasn’t that different from the materials science of his past life. The only distinction, perhaps, was that this world held far more possibilities.

Just as there were Spirit Medicines that could grow beyond their natural cycles, there were also countless varieties of Spirit Ore in the Cultivation Immortal Realm.

Chu Mu held a piece of Silver Ore, his Divine Sense enveloping the mineral as he carefully observed its structure.

The Puppetry Skill inheritance contained many descriptions of Ore Materials, but it was clear that the vast majority of them were about Spirit Ores.

According to the descriptions in the Puppetry Skill inheritance, only Spirit Ores possessed a Spiritual nature and various Extraordinary, mystical properties. Only they could effectively conduct Spiritual Power and be of use to Cultivators.

From what he could observe, however, worldly Ore Materials clearly possessed none of these traits.

’In other words, worldly Ore Materials are completely useless to Cultivators.’

’If that’s the case, then why does the Cultivation Immortal Realm collect and control the mortal world’s Ore Materials?’

Slightly puzzled, Chu Mu continued to carefully observe the piece of ore in his hand.

’All things come from a single source,’ he thought. ’Since worldly Ore Materials exist, they must have some purpose.’

The Spirit Ores of the Cultivation Immortal Realm coexist with the ores of the mortal world. It would be impossible for there to be no connection between them.

’It’s probably just like the relationship between worldly herbs and Spirit Medicine—they share a common origin.’

"Brother Mu, I’ve got news!"

Xu Yuan rushed in, his excited voice audible from a distance.

Chu Mu set down the ore in his hand and looked toward the approaching Xu Yuan.

"Brother Mu, I just heard something from Changgang Village. They’re saying a huge bank of white fog suddenly appeared over at Turtle Island a few days ago, and it hasn’t cleared up at all."

"Some fishermen got caught in it by accident. They said you can’t see a thing inside, and you lose all sense of direction. But after a few hours, they’d find themselves out of the fog without knowing how..."

"A place that magical... could it be a gathering spot for Cultivators?"

"Alright, I’ll go take a look. You keep gathering information."

Chu Mu’s expression didn’t change much. Over the past few days of inquiries, he’d received all sorts of strange reports, and he’d already investigated every lead he could.

Most of them turned out to be baseless rumors, twisted with each telling. Forget finding traces of Cultivators; the rumors themselves were usually false.

"Brother Mu, I think this time it’s real."

"I heard that Immortals have been seen on flying swords outside the fog! Lots of people saw them. The whole area is buzzing about it."

Chu Mu nodded. Then, as if remembering something, he stopped mid-stride and turned back to Xu Yuan. "Any news of those two?"

"None."

Xu Yuan shook his head. "The wanted posters are still up in the city. I asked around; the Jingmen Inspectors are still looking, but there’s no word from the Government Office."

"No idea where they’ve hidden themselves. They’ve covered their tracks too well..."

Chu Mu pressed his lips together, a hint of helplessness creeping into his eyes.

’If I can’t find an Immortal soon, I’ll really have to leave Jingmen County and start searching for a needle in a haystack across the entire world!’

He had always tried to avoid relying on sheer luck.

’If I’m lucky, I might find one just outside Jingmen. But if I’m not... am I supposed to search for my entire life?’

His thoughts heavy, Chu Mu left the Hundred Herbs Pavilion and headed straight for Turtle Island.

By the time Chu Mu maneuvered his small boat to Turtle Island, dusk was already falling. He followed the directions until, finally, the boat came to a stop.

As Chu Mu stared at the churning white fog on the lake’s surface, his expression first went blank with surprise, then an intense, wild joy erupted within him.

Before him, white fog billowed, shrouding the surface of the lake as far as the eye could see.

What was strange, however, was that the fog didn’t disperse in the slightest. It was as if some mysterious power was forcefully confining it to that single patch of the lake.

This clearly defied common sense.

And if it defied common sense, it meant an unnatural power was at work.

Chu Mu rowed his boat closer. The white fog was right before him. He reached out to touch it but felt nothing as his fingers passed straight into the mist.

Chu Mu tentatively extended his Divine Sense to probe the fog. While his body met no resistance, his usually unstoppable Divine Sense slammed into what felt like a solid wall. The white fog was right before him, yet his Divine Sense couldn’t penetrate it by a single inch!

’An Array? A Restriction?’

Chu Mu’s eyes gleamed. The descriptions of Array Restrictions from the Puppetry Skill inheritance instantly flooded his mind.

’This has to be the work of a Cultivator!’