Eternal Life Begins with Learning

「A year was drawing to a close, and winter had arrived.」

The mountains were draped in a silver mantle, a vast expanse of white snow rising and falling with the stretching mountain range, extending as far as the eye could see.

The cave entrance was covered by accumulated snow. Inside, the campfire had long since died out. Chu Mu’s hair was disheveled, and his once-clean clothes were now filthy and tattered.

At a glance, he looked like a savage who roamed the mountain forests. But the faint, inexplicable aura of power emanating from his body seemed to reveal that the Chu Mu of today was no longer the same man he once was.

’The Immortal Path... I’ve finally stepped onto it...’

At some unknown moment, Chu Mu slowly opened his eyes. They were deep, with the afterglow of Spiritual Radiance still lingering. An indescribable sigh slowly escaped his lips.

The first layer of the Blazing Fire Technique, and a copy of Spiritual Ability Basics.

All told, it was less than two hundred pages of paper.

If he had possessed these fewer than two hundred pages during the Jingmen Divine Appearance, he would have likely stepped onto the Immortal Path long ago.

Yet, these very pages had cost him so much time.

Elder Li had long said that the difficulty of Cultivation differed according to one’s Spirit Root Talent.

He hadn’t even had the chance to experience the differences in Spirit Root Talent before he was confronted with the disparity of background and wealth.

’Qi Cultivation First Layer.’

Chu Mu let out a long breath and slowly rose to his feet. With a slight turn of his thoughts, the flow of Magical Power within his body was reflected in his mind.

Taking this step onto the Immortal Path, no matter how complex, was by no means difficult for him—or for any Cultivator who had experienced a Divine Appearance. It was merely a question of how long it would take.

The difficult part was simply obtaining the knowledge and legacy required to step onto the Immortal Path.

In the past three months, he had spent most of his time pondering the Cultivation Technique, trying to figure out the problems with the Cultivation System of the Blazing Fire Technique.

He had spent less than a month actually engaged in Cultivation.

Although he had entered the Immortal Path and reached the Cultivation of the Qi Cultivation First Layer, making him a true Cultivator...

...there wasn’t much of a difference between the him of now and the him from before he’d started.

The existence of Magical Power hadn’t brought him any profound new abilities.

Strictly speaking, Magical Power itself was miraculous, but he had no methods to unleash it.

After all, he had yet to master any of a Cultivator’s techniques.

He had no Magic, and Magical Artifacts were a pipe dream. As for the Hundred Skills of Cultivation Immortal... he was poor. He was penniless.

’I need to find a stable job, save up to rent a place, buy a car—pfft, pfft, pfft—buy some Magic...’

Chu Mu quickly suppressed the scene from his past life that had surfaced in his mind. In the end, though, he couldn’t help but chuckle. This life of an Immortal Cultivator wasn’t all that different from his previous one.

Shaking his head, Chu Mu habitually summoned his Light Curtain Panel. He glanced at it, his eyes finally settling on the newly appeared Blazing Fire Technique.

[Name: Chu Mu.]

[Skill: Basic Blade Technique (Refined Skill) 680/5000]

[Body Refining Technique (1000/1000)]

[Blazing Fire Technique First Layer (3/1000)]

[Alchemy: Dragon and Snake Soup: Refined Skill (780/2000)]

[Spiritual Radiance Value: 1009.2%]

Several more months had passed. Aside from the steady progress of his Sword Technique, nothing else had changed much, except for the new addition of the Blazing Fire Technique.

’I’ll stabilize my Cultivation for a few days, then head to Jade Emperor Valley...’

As Chu Mu mulled this over, he lit the campfire and roasted the wild boar leg he had hunted a few days prior. After gorging himself, he didn’t even leave the cave, instead focusing on stabilizing his Cultivation, which had just entered the Qi Cultivation Realm.

His Meridians were newly opened, his Dantian newly established, and his Magical Power newly condensed. There were still too many mysteries within for Chu Mu to explore in detail.

「In the blink of an eye, more than half a month had quietly passed.」

The mountains were still covered in vast white snow, and a blizzard filled the sky.

The snow at the cave’s entrance had been completely cleared. A flickering firelight was faintly visible within, and the whistling sound of something slicing through the air was so strong it made the snowbanks tremble, causing chunks to fall from time to time.

The piercing sound continued for almost a full hour before finally stopping.

The blade sank into the ground. Chu Mu exhaled a long, turbid breath, and the sharp glint in his eyes took a long while to slowly fade.

Glancing at the Light Curtain Panel, Chu Mu felt a clear sense of helplessness at the changing numbers.

[Name: Chu Mu.]

[Skill: Basic Blade Technique (Refined Skill) 820/5000]

[Body Refining Technique (1000/1000)]

[Blazing Fire Technique First Layer (20/1000)]

[Alchemy: Dragon and Snake Soup: Refined Skill (780/2000)]

[Spiritual Radiance Value: 892.2%]

Over the past half a month, even with Cultivation under multiple "Spiritual Radiance Blessings," his Qi Cultivation progress was fixed at a mere one point of Skill Level per day.

The speed of his Cultivation was so slow it was comparable to the long, slow grind of his previous Qi and Blood Cultivation.

This time, Chu Mu felt the difference in Spirit Root Talent with profound clarity.

At this rate, it would take him nearly three years just to reach Perfection in the Qi Cultivation First Layer. And what about the Qi Cultivation Second Layer?

One had to know, the Qi Cultivation Realm had thirteen layers in total!

At this turtle’s pace, he probably wouldn’t be able to break through many layers in his entire lifetime!

The only comfort, perhaps, was his Sword Technique. Even after reaching Refined Skill, its progress was still lightning-fast, showing no signs of slowing down.

It seemed his only talent was firmly focused on his Sword Technique.

As for everything else, his Qi and Blood Cultivation was at a turtle’s pace, and his Qi Cultivation was at a turtle’s pace too...

Staring at the numbers on the Light Curtain Panel, Chu Mu ultimately couldn’t help but shake his head and sigh. ’I’ll just have to endure it slowly. I’m bound to make it through eventually.’

Scanning the cave one last time, Chu Mu packed some dry rations, shouldered his bundle, and walked out, heading straight for the Jade Emperor Valley Marketplace.

It wasn’t until he reached the entrance of the Jade Emperor Valley Marketplace that Chu Mu realized he had a very serious problem.

He... was penniless. He didn’t have a single Spirit Stone!

But the first time he’d entered the valley, the man guarding the entrance had made it clear: only those below the Qi Cultivation Realm were exempt from the entrance fee...

Chu Mu was genuinely dumbfounded. Back then, he had been so focused on figuring out the Blazing Fire Technique to step onto the Immortal Path that he had recklessly thrown away all his belongings.

For the past few months, he’d been completely absorbed in the Cultivation of the Blazing Fire Technique and hadn’t thought about this at all.

If he couldn’t get into the Marketplace, what was he supposed to do?

Chu Mu felt genuinely anxious. He paced outside the Jade Emperor Valley Marketplace for a good while. After seeing several other Cultivators enter the valley, he finally had to grit his teeth and follow them in.

The result, however, was beyond Chu Mu’s expectations. He wasn’t stopped as he had imagined. The man who was perennially dozing with his eyes closed at the canyon entrance was, uncharacteristically, nowhere to be seen.

"Even Wang Xiao’Er is gone. Something big must be happening!"

"What big thing could possibly happen in Jade Emperor Valley?"

"You don’t know?"

"Just the other day, the Sun Family’s Changning Marketplace was attacked by Evil Cultivators again. Their losses were devastating!"

"The Sun Family probably doesn’t think Changning Marketplace is safe anymore. I heard they’re preparing to move some of their businesses from there to Jade Emperor Valley. The whole valley has been busy with it these last few days..."

"Doesn’t that mean the Jade Emperor Valley Marketplace will have to expand?"

"It’s already impossible to find a room as it is. If they move over, a whole batch of Cultivators will follow. Won’t the rent just go up again...?"

"Who knows..."

...