Eternal Life Begins with Learning

「Three days later.」

In the Marketplace, Chu Mu, just like the other Cultivators, was wandering among the various stalls.

However, compared to three days prior, he now looked completely different.

The Illusionary God Mask had altered his face, and he had changed his clothes. As for his physique, altering it was hardly a difficult task for any Cultivator—it was simply a matter of contracting muscles and bones.

He now looked so ordinary that he would be completely lost in a crowd.

No distinguishing features, drawing no attention at all...

"I have people watching all four exits like hawks. That kid definitely hasn’t left the Black Market!"

"Find him! I refuse to believe he got away!"

Several Cultivators hurried past him, their angry shouts clearly audible.

By changing his appearance and physique, he could step back and observe the Black Market as a bystander, noticing many things that were difficult to perceive when he was the center of attention.

For example... the Cultivators who were targeting him.

He had originally thought they were all lone-wolf desperados.

But observing as a bystander, he realized that wasn’t the case.

Every place has its Local Tyrants.

And Fengming Mountain was no exception.

The ones after him appeared to be a gang of Local Tyrants from the Fengming Mountain Black Market, likely a powerful group. There were also some scattered desperados, but they seemed to have switched targets after he changed his appearance and disappeared.

Only this group of Local Tyrants was still searching for him.

Chu Mu glanced at the hurrying Cultivators and felt a surge of relief. ’Thankfully, I left myself a fallback plan.’ He had only bought a damaged Lower Grade Pill Furnace.

This had saved him a good number of Spirit Stones, allowing him to remain in the Black Market for quite some time and giving him much more breathing room.

’Next, I need to plan how to leave safely... and...’

Chu Mu glanced at a low house in the distance. Its door remained half-ajar. For days, it seemed no one had entered or left, and there had been no sign of movement.

’Blood Killing Pavilion...’

Chu Mu pursed his lips, indecision still lingering in his eyes.

’There was one very obvious problem. If I don’t go to that Blood Killing Pavilion contact point now, my next chance won’t be for a very, very long time.’

He now understood firsthand just how dangerous the Black Market was.

’Until I’m strong enough to protect myself, I will absolutely never set foot in this Black Market again!’

’And it would undoubtedly take a very long time to get that strong.’

’Improving one’s Cultivation doesn’t happen overnight.’

’By the time that happens, it’s another question whether the Fengming Mountain Black Market will even still exist.’

After a moment of contemplation, Chu Mu stopped hesitating and strode decisively toward the low house.

Stopping before the door, Chu Mu knocked lightly, but there was no response from within.

He hesitated for a moment, then tried pushing the door. Though it was half-ajar, it didn’t budge an inch.

Chu Mu didn’t try again. He scanned his surroundings, saw that no one was paying attention, and then took out the Blood Killing Order from his Storage Talisman.

The very instant he produced the Blood Killing Order, the unmoving door swung open on its own.

The room was pitch-black, making it impossible to see anything. When he tried to probe with his Divine Sense, he found it severely restricted, confined to a radius of about half a meter around him and unable to extend any further.

Faced with such a scene, Chu Mu couldn’t help but feel his heart pound. After hesitating for a moment, he finally gritted his teeth and stepped into the room.

SLAM!

The moment he stepped inside, the door slammed shut behind him.

Chu Mu whipped his head around, only to see the door was closed. Then, before he could react, the room was suddenly filled with light.

Chu Mu instinctively took a step back, pressing his back against the door, his body tensed to the absolute limit.

The darkness dissipated, and the scene within the room came clearly into view.

The room was small, no more than ten square meters. An empty space stretched before him, with only a counter directly ahead. Behind the counter stood... ’A Human-shaped Puppet?’

Chu Mu frowned and scanned the room again. Besides the Puppet behind the counter, the room’s contents were visible at a glance; there was nothing else.

The Puppet behind the counter was different from the Human-shaped Puppets in the Marketplace. It was the size of a normal person, and its whole body was silver-white.

His Divine Sense Perception revealed that its runes were dim and emitted no Spiritual Qi fluctuations. The Puppet was clearly inactive, in some sort of standby mode.

He approached tentatively, but nothing happened. When he reached the counter, he saw a conspicuous, diamond-shaped indentation on its otherwise empty surface.

Chu Mu took out his Token and compared it. The indentation on the counter was a perfect match for the size of his Blood Killing Order.

After a moment’s hesitation, he placed the Blood Killing Order into the indentation. A light flashed. Before his eyes, the runes on the once-inanimate Puppet’s body began to glow, and its dim eyes turned a startling crimson.

WHIRR... CREAK...

The Puppet seemed to be waking up. As it moved, a series of grating, metallic scrapes echoed through the room.

Chu Mu instinctively retreated a few steps, and then saw the Puppet’s crimson eyes instantly lock onto him.

Then, a voice that sent a chill down Chu Mu’s spine sounded from the Puppet’s mouth.

"The client has confirmed the target is deceased. Your mission contribution has been tallied. You have now been promoted to Yellow Tier Middle Grade and can accept missions of the same rank."

The voice was flat, yet its tone was utterly incongruous with the Puppet, as if a living person were hidden inside.

"This mission’s reward is at this location. Same as before, go get it yourself."

Before Chu Mu could react, the Puppet handed over a card.

Chu Mu was slightly startled, but he forced himself to remain calm and took the card.

The Puppet seemed completely unconcerned with Chu Mu’s reaction, continuing on in a business-like manner as if simply following a script. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

"As it happens, there is a mission available in Jade Emperor Valley. Yellow Tier Middle Grade."

"Your last mission was in Jade Emperor Valley, so you’re familiar with the situation. The Longevity Sect has now taken over Jade Emperor Valley, and the Sun Family has completely withdrawn. It shouldn’t affect you much. Do you want to accept it?"

Chu Mu pondered for a bit, then asked tentatively, "Can I see the mission details?"

The Puppet nodded, a strangely eerie sight. "You can, but you must first swear a Dao Heart Oath, guaranteeing you will not leak the mission’s contents."

"Alright."

Chu Mu nodded.

The Puppet raised its hand and waved, and a screen of light appeared before Chu Mu.

Yellow Tier Middle Grade Assassination Mission: Infiltrate Jade Emperor Valley, assassinate any two Law Enforcement Disciples from the Longevity Sect stationed there, and frame the Sun Family for the deed.

Mission Reward: One hundred Lower Grade Spirit Stones, one bottle of Qi Cultivation Pills.

Looking at the mission before him, Chu Mu’s mouth twitched. The reward was truly tempting, as was the mission itself. The word ’any’ meant there was no restriction on the targets’ Cultivation.

The Cultivators in the Sun Family’s old Law Enforcement Team in Jade Emperor Valley had varied Cultivation levels. After all, even Cultivators are not immune to nepotism; it was normal for people to pull strings and place a few incompetents on the team.

He hadn’t seen the Longevity Sect’s Law Enforcement Team, but Cultivators were still human, and humans were susceptible to the same old patterns.

That meant even if he just took out two team members at the Qi Cultivation First Layer, he would still get one hundred Lower Grade Spirit Stones and a bottle of Qi Cultivation Pills.

The Qi Cultivation Pill was an Elixir that aided one’s Cultivation during the Qi Cultivation Stage. In the Marketplace, a single one sold for more than ten Spirit Stones.

A bottle usually contained ten pills.

In other words, this mission’s reward was worth over two hundred Spirit Stones.

’But no matter how tempting it was, how much his heart stirred, this was obviously not something he could accomplish right now...’

Chu Mu took a deep breath, suppressing the impulse to accept. "Can I see the other missions?" he asked.

"Only after being promoted to Profound Tier can you view and choose missions yourself."

The Puppet shook its head. His question seemed to make it realize that Chu Mu was not the original owner of the Blood Killing Order. It then added, "The Blood Killing Pavilion has no mandatory rules. You can do the missions if you want. It doesn’t matter if you don’t."

"The only condition is that you do not reveal any of the Pavilion’s affairs to outsiders."

"Violators will be hunted by the Pavilion relentlessly, to the death!"

"I understand."

Chu Mu nodded and couldn’t help but size up the Puppet before him again. After their continuous conversation, he was almost certain that he was talking to a person, not a Puppet.

’But... how is this possible?’

’Is there someone hidden inside the Puppet?’

’Or is it something else?’

Just as Chu Mu was pondering, the Puppet spoke again:

"There is also a standing mission that can be accepted regardless of one’s Grade. You can take a look."

As its voice fell, the light screen changed, and lines of information appeared in Chu Mu’s vision.

Standing Mission: Submit Spirit Medicine over three hundred years old or Spiritual Materials of Tier Three or higher. Type is not restricted. Mission Reward: Calculated based on the value of the submitted Spirit Materials and Spirit Medicine.

"If you submit Spirit Materials and Spirit Medicine, the reward can be tailored to your preference. For example, if you were to submit a Thousand-Year-Old Spirit Medicine, you could request any reward of equivalent value."

"As long as your request is within reasonable bounds, it will generally not be refused."

Chu Mu listened silently, and finally couldn’t help but ask: "Are you a person, or a Puppet?"

The Puppet stared at Chu Mu, its crimson eyes flickering. "It is a type of channeling Magic Technique from the Puppetry Skill. This Puppet is merely a vessel."

Chu Mu instantly understood. The Puppet was just a vessel, which meant this contact point held none of the Blood Killing Pavilion’s secrets.

Even if this outpost were destroyed, the Blood Killing Pavilion would only lose a single Puppet. And for all he knew, the Puppet might even have a self-destruct mechanism that could be triggered remotely, annihilating everything in a flash.

The Puppet continued in its business-like tone. "The Cultivation Immortal Realm in this area hasn’t been peaceful lately, so there should be no shortage of missions. By the way, what is your Cultivation realm? I’ll register it to help arrange future missions for you."

Chu Mu was a bit embarrassed. After a moment, he managed to choke out a lie: "Qi Cultivation Third Layer."

"You dare to come to the Black Market at only the Qi Cultivation Third Layer?"

The Puppet seemed incredulous, its crimson eyes fixed on Chu Mu. "You’ve got some serious nerve!"

Chu Mu gave an awkward smile. ’Good thing I didn’t tell it I’m only at the Qi Cultivation First Layer,’ he thought. ’That would’ve been even more embarrassing.’

"Alright, what can you even accomplish at the Qi Cultivation Third Layer? Go ahead and swear the Dao Heart Oath, then figure out a way to get out of the Black Market, and fast."

"Don’t get killed right after leaving the Black Market. Then another newcomer will show up, and I’ll have to waste my breath all over again."

Chu Mu silently swore the oath. The moment the words left his lips, the Puppet before him dimmed. Evidently, the so-called "channeling" had ended, and the Puppet had reverted to an inanimate object once more...

...