Eternal Life Begins with Learning

"It wasn’t easy at all..."

Chu Mu sighed again, shook his head, and walked out of the room, clutching the Spirit Stone Bag.

After wandering around the Marketplace for a while, he finally entered Huichun Pavilion, a shop run by the Longevity Sect, using the identity of Li Gang.

A moment later, Chu Mu walked out of Huichun Pavilion. Of the hundred-odd Spirit Stones he carried, one hundred and five were gone, exchanged for seven Vein Nourishing Pills valued at fifteen Spirit Stones each.

Pausing at the entrance, Chu Mu glanced back at the notice recruiting Alchemists posted in front of Huichun Pavilion. His eyes flickered, and he seemed lost in thought.

With his Pseudo Spirit Root talent, he was essentially destined to be a Loose Cultivator in the Cultivation Immortal Realm.

He had long since made his inquiries. Cultivation Immortal Clans were out of the question; aside from recruiting Honored Guest Elders with specific skills, they were closed systems that had nothing to do with outsiders.

The Longevity Sect, on the other hand, opened its gates to recruit disciples every five years. The minimum requirement for Spirit Root Talent was Three Spirit Roots.

One needed a Spirit Root Talent of at least Three Spirit Roots to even have a chance of joining the Longevity Sect.

Of course, if one possessed a particular expertise, that was another matter entirely.

In other words, in the past, it would have been impossible for him to use the Longevity Sect’s name for protection, even if he’d wanted to.

But now that he had stepped through the door of Alchemy, one of the Cultivation Immortal Techniques, it wouldn’t be difficult for him to join the Longevity Sect if he truly wished to.

He wouldn’t even need to wait for the Longevity Sect’s disciple recruitment held every five years. He could probably become a member of the Longevity Sect just by stating his intentions right here at Huichun Pavilion and refining a batch of Grain Avoidance Pills.

However, now that he had a steady source of income and his Cultivation path was about to get on track, he saw no reason to make things difficult for himself unless absolutely necessary.

The protection of the Longevity Sect’s name was useful, but it would inevitably come with significant constraints.

But...

Still, it wouldn’t hurt to have it as a backup plan.

Chu Mu pursed his lips, pondering silently.

’The Li Gang identity is one layer of insurance. If that identity is compromised and it traces back to me, Chu Mu...’

’...then the Longevity Sect... is my fallback.’

As his thoughts swirled, Chu Mu couldn’t help but shake his head and smile.

’A clever rabbit has three burrows, as they say. I suppose this counts as being cautious.’

Thinking back now to his recent trip to the Fengming Mountain Black Market, he couldn’t help but feel a little impressed with himself.

’To think a mere Qi Cultivation First Layer like me would actually dare to plunge headfirst into the Black Market on a whim, procure several hundred Spirit Stones, and even leave Fengming Mountain unscathed in the end.’

Whether it was luck or a convincing act, he never wanted to experience that terrifying feeling of being completely at the mercy of others ever again.

As his thoughts drifted, Chu Mu strolled leisurely through the Marketplace, a sense of unprecedented peace settling in his heart.

’This Cultivation Immortal Realm really isn’t so different from my past life.’

’Having money versus not having money, or in this case, having Spirit Stones versus not having them—it’s the same fundamental concept.’

’Now that I have a source of income, I’m not short on Spirit Stones anymore.’

’I no longer have to waste my days, toiling and worrying over a few insignificant Broken Spirit stones.’

Now, he could face everything with a much calmer state of mind.

He continued to stroll, taking in the sights, and even bought over a dozen recent issues of the Imperial Gazette. As he passed a tavern, Chu Mu slowed his pace.

"Yuelai Inn."

He looked up at the inn’s signboard, then glanced at the scattered diners inside. Chu Mu felt the pouch inside his robes. With several dozen Lower Spirit stones, he had a bit of confidence.

Without much hesitation, Chu Mu stepped into the inn—a place he had passed countless times before but had only ever dared to peek into from the outside.

"Are you here for a meal, or a room, Sir?"

As soon as he entered the inn, a man dressed like a common waiter approached him.

Chu Mu glanced over. ’Good heavens, even the waiter has a Cultivation at the Qi Cultivation Fourth Layer!’

"Just eating."

Chu Mu averted his gaze and casually rubbed his nose.

"Very well, this way, Sir."

The waiter gestured for him to follow, and Chu Mu eventually sat down at a table by the window.

"Sir, if you’d like some privacy, you can activate the sound-proofing Restriction."

The waiter pointed to a shimmering Array Pattern on the corner of the table, then handed over a menu. "Sir, take a look. Just give me a call when you’ve decided."

With that, the waiter walked away to attend to his other duties.

Chu Mu glanced at the shimmering Array Pattern on the table corner, and his gaze fixed on the menu.

Every item on the menu was a Spiritual Object, and the prices were staggering.

There was Spirit Grain Rice, Demon Beast Flesh, Spirit Fruits, and Spirit Wine.

"A pot of Fiery Flame Fruit Wine, and a serving of Qi Deer Flesh."

Chu Mu beckoned the waiter over and ordered the two items, totaling sixteen Lower Grade Spirit Stones.

"Right away, Sir. Please wait a moment."

The waiter took the menu and hurried off.

Chu Mu leaned back in his chair, pulled out one of the Imperial Gazettes he had just bought, and started flipping through it.

The heavens over Jade Emperor Valley had changed. The Imperial Gazette, once published by the Sun Family, had naturally been replaced by the Longevity Sect’s own.

Compared to the Sun Family’s version, the Imperial Gazette published by the Longevity Sect contained significantly more information.

From what he’d heard, the Longevity Sect’s Imperial Gazette was distributed simultaneously throughout all of Great Chu.

This meant that anywhere within the Longevity Sect’s sphere of influence, the gazette’s content would be identical to the copy in his hands.

Chu Mu slowly leafed through the gazette, compiling the various pieces of information in his mind.

The most eye-catching story in the latest issue was the Longevity Sect’s decision to increase the tribute required from its various vassal Clans.

According to the gazette, the annual tribute that each Cultivation Immortal Clan had to pay to the Longevity Sect would be increased from twenty percent to thirty percent.

Chu Mu picked up an older issue of the gazette and flipped it open. The headline story was about the Longevity Sect’s Leader, Li Changqing, hosting a grand banquet for all the major powers to celebrate his thousandth birthday.

’Flipping through the gazettes page by page felt just like watching the state news broadcast from my previous life.’

’Full of grand pronouncements and official-sounding reports, but you could still read between the lines to see the shifting political winds and pick out a few subtle details.’

Chu Mu picked up the jug of wine the waiter had brought, filled a cup, and took a sip. The Spirit Wine felt like a blazing fire as it slid down his throat, the heat spreading through his entire body.

When the burning sensation faded, his entire body felt a bit lighter.

’So it tempers the body...’

Chu Mu raised an eyebrow. He downed the rest of the wine in his cup, then picked up a piece of the deer meat with his chopsticks to try it. Only then did his gaze return to the stack of closed gazettes on the table.

From the political climate hinted at in the gazettes, it was clear that things hadn’t reached the breaking point yet. All the factions were still engaged in open and secret struggles, but all within the framework established by the Longevity Sect.

And from the information across these dozen-plus issues of the Longevity Sect’s gazette, he could roughly piece together the current political landscape.

Simply put, it was a situation of one sect and five major clans.

The "Sect," of course, was the Longevity Sect. The figure mentioned most often in the gazettes was its Sect Leader, Li Changqing—a legendary existence at the Nascent Soul Realm. He was said to be the final, personally-taught disciple of the Sect Leader from two generations prior.

As for the "Five Clans," they were the Langya Wang Family, the East Lake Xie Family, the Vast Sea Chen Family, the Changping Zhao Family, and one Chu Mu was familiar with—the Nanshan... Li Family!

Clans affiliated with the Longevity Sect were as numerous as the hairs on an ox, but these five were singled out because each was home to a legendary Nascent Soul Realm existence.

Furthermore, these legendary Nascent Soul Realm experts were also all Supreme Elders of the Longevity Sect.

As for the Sun Family, which had once ruled Jade Emperor Valley, it seemed they didn’t even make the list.

Moreover, how far was Jade Emperor Valley from East Lake?

Merely a thousand li.

And to Nanshan?

Two or three thousand li at most.

For any Cultivator, neither of these distances was significant.

And according to rumors in the Cultivation Immortal Realm, wasn’t the Dao Companion of the Sun Family’s Golden Core Ancestor supposedly the youngest daughter of the East Lake Xie Family’s Nascent Soul Ancestor?

As his imagination ran wild, Chu Mu suddenly shook his head and tossed the stack of gazettes aside. The struggles between legendary Nascent Soul Realm experts were still far too remote for him to worry about.

’Even if Jade Emperor Valley is the center of the storm’s vortex, as long as no one has completely torn away all pretense of civility, then this place represents the face of the Longevity Sect. It’s probably safer than anywhere else.’

Pushing the distracting thoughts from his mind, Chu Mu took a sip of Spirit Wine and a bite of Demon Beast Flesh, savoring them slowly.

This meal, worth sixteen Spirit Stones—the equivalent of his Monthly Stipend for four months—was the most extravagant thing he had ever done in this life or his last.

It was late at night when he finally walked out of the inn.

With a source of income secured, a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

A man gets drunk not on wine, but on life...

...