Eternal Life Begins with Learning

「Three days later.」

「On a mountain peak outside Jade Emperor Valley.」 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

A bonfire blazed, and a whole lamb sizzled as it roasted. Three men sat around the flames.

"Damn it! Ever since the Longevity Sect showed up, more and more people are competing with us for business!"

One of the men, who had a scar on his face, glanced at the scene of a battle at the foot of the distant mountain and spat irritably.

"They all came running, smelling blood in the water!"

"A Tier Three Spirit Vein... Once we save up enough Spirit Stones, we have to go rent a place too!"

Another man to the side pursed his lips, a look of yearning on his face.

The oldest of the men adjusted the whole roast lamb over the bonfire and said slowly:

"The Longevity Sect has just arrived, so their attention is tied up. They don’t have time to clean up the area outside the Marketplace."

"Give it some time. Once the Longevity Sect has a moment to breathe, the more brazen they are now, the more miserably they’ll die later!"

"We need to find a fat sheep to slaughter and then lay low for a while."

"We don’t want to get caught in the crossfire when the time comes. That would be a real shame."

"Boss is right. We do need to lay low."

"By the way, Boss, you’re about to break through to the Qi Cultivation Ninth Layer, right? I remember you mentioning it before."

"Almost. It’ll happen in the next few months..."

"Boss, someone’s coming."

A single sentence immediately drew the attention of all three men, their gazes locking onto an old man and a young boy slowly approaching from the base of the mountain, accompanied by a vicious dog that resembled a black panther.

"That old geezer... something’s strange about him."

One of the men said, rubbing his chin in confusion.

The older man stared for a moment before shaking his head.

"His Cultivation is concealed, and I can’t sense his Divine Soul Aura either..."

"Forget it. That old man looks like trouble. Let’s not be the ones to stick our necks out."

The three men conversed in hushed tones, their attention no longer on the old man and young boy walking up from below.

Among these mountains, there were plenty of other prying eyes gathered as well.

But the old man’s mysterious nature had clearly intimidated them.

After all, in their line of work—a life of licking blood from the blade’s edge—how could they make a move without absolute certainty?

"Brother Mu..."

The boy couldn’t help but speak up.

"Watch your tongue!"

Chu Mu, disguised as an old man, snapped in a low voice, but his heart was already clouded with gloom.

’Returning to Jade Emperor Valley after more than half a year...’

’According to my predictions, even if the Longevity Sect’s takeover of Jade Emperor Valley was chaotic, after so much time, a sect of their size should have stabilized the area by now.’

’Take the Sun Family’s rule for example. When they controlled Jade Emperor Valley, the ban on fighting within a thirty-mile radius of the Marketplace was strictly enforced, with Law Enforcement Teams patrolling daily.’

’Of course, it didn’t completely stop things like murdering for treasure, but the law of the jungle was suppressed to a bare minimum within that thirty-mile radius.’

’And now, over half a year later, outside the Jade Emperor Valley Marketplace...’

’There were prying eyes everywhere. A lawless zone!’

’If he hadn’t confirmed he was heading in the right direction, Chu Mu would have thought he was about to enter the Fengming Mountain Black Market again.’

"Don’t talk, don’t look around. Just follow me."

Chu Mu instructed in a low voice. Just as he finished speaking, he seemed to sense something and stopped abruptly, his gaze fixing on Jade Emperor Valley in the distance.

A beam of sword light shot into the sky. Then, as if it had locked onto a target, it flew straight toward his position.

The soaring sword light was like a meteor falling from the heavens, crashing into the mountain forest not far ahead of Chu Mu.

With a deafening BOOM, a turbulent shockwave swept out. The sword light then circled in the sky, its terrifying might descending like the celestial river inverting its flow.

In that instant, space itself seemed to freeze. Chu Mu strained with all his might but found he couldn’t even blink. Even breathing suddenly became difficult.

At the same time, a majestic voice thundered across the mountain forest.

"Attacking this Sect’s Law Enforcement Team is a crime punishable by death!"

"From this day forward, private battles are forbidden within a sixty-mile radius of the Jade Emperor Valley Marketplace. Violators will be executed!"

As the voice faded, the terrifying Power of Imprisonment vanished abruptly. Chu Mu gasped for air, his pupils filled with an indescribable terror.

’To immobilize an area for miles around with a single sword strike... what level of Cultivation is that?’

"Bro... Brother Mu?"

Xu Yuan swallowed hard, unable to hide his terror.

Beside them, Wangcai had already pissed itself and was still trembling all over.

"Let’s go. It’s safe now."

Chu Mu took a deep breath. In his Divine Sense Perception, the prying eyes had all vanished. He could even see many Cultivators fleeing for their lives in his field of vision.

Although the fear lingered, he was finally able to relax.

’After all, he wasn’t planning on murdering people for their treasures to get cultivation resources. The establishment of order was a good thing for him.’

When he arrived outside the Jade Emperor Valley Marketplace he remembered, Chu Mu stared at the clearly visible valley, somewhat stunned.

He had languished in the Jade Emperor Valley Marketplace for several years and was certainly no stranger to it, but the place before him now was truly unfamiliar.

The valley of the past had completely changed.

The waterfall at the end of the valley was still there, but the great lake it fed into had been filled in and transformed into a massive circular plaza. The river that flowed from the waterfall now circled the plaza before running outside the Marketplace.

When the Sun Family controlled the Jade Emperor Valley Marketplace, they strictly forbade Cultivators from residing privately outside the Marketplace. But now, beyond the range of the Marketplace’s Grand Array, he could see a large area of low-lying houses. They were nestled outside the valley in an orderly fashion, set against the mountain and by the water, resembling a small town hidden deep in the mountains.

With the naked eye, he could clearly see pedestrians walking about in the small town. Evidently, it was already inhabited.

Considering the situation he had just witnessed outside the Marketplace, the residents of this town clearly couldn’t be mortals.

"Brother Mu, are we going to live there from now on?"

Xu Yuan asked excitedly, gazing toward the Marketplace and pointing at the small town outside it.

"Let’s go take a look first."

Chu Mu shook his head. From what he had seen so far, the Longevity Sect’s rules and regulations were clearly different from the Sun Family’s. He would have to enter the Marketplace and ask around to understand the specifics.

With that, Chu Mu started walking toward the Marketplace. Although the small town was right outside, he didn’t go near it, deliberately avoiding its direction to prevent any unnecessary trouble.

"The entry fee is one Broken Spirit. You may stay in the Marketplace for twelve hours."

As soon as he stepped toward the Marketplace entrance, a voice came from the side. Chu Mu turned to look. The leisurely gatekeeper from before had been replaced by someone from the Longevity Sect, who stood ramrod straight at the entrance.

Dressed in white with a sword on his back, he even gave off a stern, murderous aura.

"Hmm?"

Just as he handed over the Spirit Stone, Chu Mu’s brow furrowed as he looked at the slightly mechanical man in white before him.

’This man in white... he’s not human!’

’Is it a Puppet?’

After a moment of observation, he found his answer, and his eyes lit up.

’The texture of its skin, its movements, its expression—they were all human-like. Even its eyes were indistinguishable from a person’s.’

’A bionic Human Puppet?’

’How did they achieve this?’

’If this was combined with the Divine Descent Technique and a Concealing Breath Technique, wouldn’t it be completely indistinguishable from a human?’

In an instant, countless fantastic ideas about this bionic Human Puppet flooded Chu Mu’s mind.

"Brother Mu, what are you staring at?"

Xu Yuan asked, confused, his gaze darting back and forth between Chu Mu and the white-robed Puppet.

"That’s a Puppet, not a person."

"You’ll understand in the future."

Chu Mu didn’t explain further. He suddenly felt that using a Puppet as a gatekeeper was far better than using a person.

’After all, once a Puppet is programmed, it follows its instructions to the letter, without the slightest error or omission.’

’For certain tasks, they are much more reliable than people.’

This bionic Human Puppet, whose strength was comparable to the Qi Cultivation Perfection realm, and that terrifying Longevity Flying Boat both proved that the Longevity Sect’s foundation was something the Sun Family could never hope to match.

For some reason, Chu Mu couldn’t help but feel a flicker of anticipation for this new version of the Jade Emperor Valley Marketplace under its new masters.

’A Sect, which embraces all rivers, should be different, right?’

With this thought in mind, Chu Mu entered the Marketplace. After walking around for a while, the anticipation in his heart slowly subsided.

The Jade Emperor Valley Marketplace under its new masters had changed a great deal, but in some ways, it hadn’t changed much at all.

The biggest change was the Spiritual Qi in the Marketplace. Likely due to the rumors that Jade Emperor Valley’s Spirit Vein had been promoted to Tier Three, the Spiritual Qi was now two or three times denser than before.

Next was the layout of the Marketplace.

Jade Emperor Lake had been turned into Jade Emperor Plaza, and the prosperity of Jade Emperor Valley had expanded from the original main streets to the side with the plaza.

The expanded housing that had been on the other side of the lake was also completely unrecognizable.

In today’s Jade Emperor Valley Marketplace, there were no longer any houses for rent at one Spirit Stone per month.

The cheapest option was three Spirit Stones a month, not much different from the initial rental prices in Jade Emperor Valley.

The small town outside the Marketplace had become the new alternative. The rent was three Broken Spirits a month, but it came with no Array, no Spiritual Qi, and not even the protection of the Marketplace’s Grand Array. It was no different from a mundane residence.

The only thing it had was the Longevity Sect’s ban on private battles within a sixty-mile radius of the Marketplace.

Furthermore, entering the Marketplace required an entry fee of one Broken Spirit, and one could only stay for twelve hours...

Another change was that the Longevity Sect had completely opened up shop rentals. As long as one paid enough Spirit Stones, they could rent a shop inside the Marketplace.

However, renting a shop was just the first step to doing business. One also had to apply for a business permit from the Longevity Sect’s Foreign Affairs Hall stationed in Jade Emperor Valley.

It was similar to a business license from his previous life. Only after a successful application could one start operating, and the scope of business was not allowed to exceed what was specified in the permit.

Previously, under the Sun Family’s rule, shops were also available for rent, but... the Sun Family had so many of its own businesses that very few shops were rented out to the public. Any occasional vacancies were not something an ordinary Cultivator could get their hands on.

But in the current Jade Emperor Valley, Chu Mu walked around and found that the Longevity Sect itself only owned a dozen or so properties in the entire Marketplace. They seemed to control a few key industries and nothing more.

What hadn’t changed was the strict order that had always existed within the Marketplace; it was clearly still in place.

In fact, likely because the Sun Family had completely withdrawn and the Longevity Sect had just arrived, the prices for various goods in the Marketplace were now considerably higher.

Wang Mazi, who used to wander around the Marketplace all day, was also nowhere to be seen. Chu Mu didn’t know if he had been "slaughtered" by the Longevity Sect or had run off with the Sun Family.

...