Eternal Life Begins with Learning

The dead of winter.

Another year had come to an end.

Wind and snow raged, and the bustling Commandery City was now draped in a blanket of white.

In the courtyard, Chu Mu, dressed in thin green robes, leaned back leisurely in a lounge chair. With a book in hand and a pot of hot tea beside him, he read intently under the eaves.

As he turned the pages, he took a sip of hot tea. A faint fluctuation of Spiritual Qi surged through his abdomen, spreading a pleasant warmth that was incredibly comfortable.

Putting down the book, Chu Mu glanced up at the swirling snow outside. He picked the book back up and headed into his room.

The room’s layout was as simple as ever:

a wooden bed, a desk, and a bookshelf that occupied an entire wall.

Countless books were packed neatly onto the shelves, forming what looked like a wall of books.

Some were books he had acquired in the mortal world, while others represented a vast collection of knowledge he had spent a fortune in Spirit Stones to gather after entering the Cultivation Immortal Realm.

In this secular world where cultivators were a rare sight, he didn’t have many reservations and simply did whatever was most convenient.

Of course, the main reason was that most of his Storage Talismans had expired.

He still had a few unopened spare Storage Talismans, but those were reserved for items with distinct Spiritual Qi fluctuations, such as Elixirs, Jade Scrolls, and Spirit Medicines.

After glancing around the room, Chu Mu returned the book to its place on the shelf.

He had been recuperating for nearly a year. With his Divine Soul injured, it was difficult to use his Divine Sense, so he had spent the better part of that time reading.

Fortunately, he had previously traveled to several Black Markets and spent thousands of Spirit Stones on a good number of books and Jade Scrolls, so at least he wasn’t idle.

Pausing before the bookshelf, Chu Mu’s gaze shifted as he looked at the Light Curtain Panel that had appeared in his field of vision.

[Name: Chu Mu.]

[Skills:

Basic Blade Technique (Peak of Perfection) 9999/10000

Fireball Skill (Returning to the Essence) 5530/10000

Flame Barrier (Returning to the Essence) 2538/10000

Fire Snake Skill (Peak of Perfection) 6239/10000

Cleaning Skill (Beginner’s Practice) 600/1000]

[Blazing Fire Technique Tenth Layer (123/4000)]

[Wild Bull Technique Third Layer (569/3000)]

[Alchemy:

Grain Avoidance Pill: Peak of Perfection (8953/10000)

Vein Nourishing Pill: Peak of Perfection (7325/10000)

Soul Cleansing Pill: Initial Glimpse (899/1000)

Body Tempering Pill: Beginner’s Practice (99/100)

Vajra Pill: Beginner’s Practice (99/100)]

[Artifact Refining:

Long Rainbow Sword: Refined Skill (2358/5000)

Moonlight Blade: Beginner’s Practice (99/100)

Breaking Saber: Beginner’s Practice (99/100)

Iron Wall Shield: Beginner’s Practice (99/100)

Divine Fire Tube: Beginner’s Practice (99/100)]

[Spiritual Radiance Value: 8932.6%]

After nearly a year of recuperation, his progress was slowed by his Divine Soul Injury. His Qi Cultivation had only advanced a single layer, from the Qi Cultivation Ninth Layer to the Qi Cultivation Tenth Layer.

According to the conventions of the Cultivation Immortal Realm, the Qi Cultivation Tenth Layer was considered a breakthrough past the Late Stage of Qi Cultivation, marking his entry into the Qi Cultivation Perfection Stage.

Qi Cultivation has thirteen layers in total, so calling the tenth layer ’Perfection’ was undoubtedly counterintuitive.

But that was indeed the case.

This was because after reaching the Qi Cultivation Ninth Layer, a cultivator could already attempt to break through to Foundation Establishment and had a chance of succeeding.

Of course, for the vast majority of cultivators, this chance was rather low.

Most would choose to continue refining their Magical Power in the Qi Cultivation Realm, raising their level to increase their odds of a successful Foundation Establishment.

Of course, if one had enough Foundation Establishment Pills for support, or possessed the legendary Celestial Spirit Root Talent, it was a different story entirely.

Now that his cultivation had reached the Qi Cultivation Tenth Layer, Chu Mu could faintly sense the opportunity for Foundation Establishment.

It felt as if he could attempt the leap to the next Grand Realm just by following that wisp of an opportunity.

But it was obvious that if he actually tried, success would be virtually impossible.

After all, setting aside factors like his own talent, he was still somewhat unclear on the concept of Foundation Establishment itself.

Meanwhile, his Body Refining Cultivation had smoothly advanced to the Third Layer, which was equivalent to the Late Stage of Qi Cultivation.

His physical functions had risen to another level.

The descriptions of "Ice Skin and Jade Bone" and blood as thick as magma were fast becoming his reality.

Using Divine Sense Internal Observation, he could see his viscous blood rolling like lava. His bones had taken on a jade-like luster, and a majestic life force pulsed from his internal organs. Everything about his body radiated an indescribable sense of power.

And this was merely the progress he’d made incidentally while recuperating.

After all, with his Divine Soul injured, he could only use his Divine Sense sparingly and dared not do so for long. As such, his actual Cultivation had been sporadic.

Over this past year, his main goal had been recuperation, so he had spent most of his time studying the inherited knowledge he’d acquired.

The most direct result of this was the appearance of two new Pill Recipes and four new Artifact Refining Formulas on his Light Curtain Panel.

Though it was only six formulas, each one corresponded to an entire system of knowledge.

This was especially true for the Artifact Refining Formulas. Each formula contained different Array Prohibition Patterns. When combined with the Artifact Refining Manual he possessed, they were like puzzle pieces filling in the vast and complex system of the Artifact Refining Skill.

This was on top of the other foundational knowledge he had purchased from various Black Markets, such as ’A Compendium of One Hundred Spirit Ores,’ ’Basic Array Prohibition Combinations,’ and ’An Illustrated Guide to Artifact Pattern Construction.’

After nearly a year of diligent study while recuperating, he had thoroughly digested and understood most of this information. All that remained was to put it into practice.

’Practice...’

Chu Mu grew contemplative. He closed his eyes, focusing inward to perceive the state of his Divine Soul injury.

After nearly a year of recuperation, the injury had mostly healed. A full recovery shouldn’t be far off.

Moreover, perhaps due to that battle, the illusory long saber rooted within his Divine Soul seemed to have changed.

Immediately after the injury, it had become weak and almost transparent. Now, after his long recuperation, it had slowly returned to its former illusory state. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

But upon closer inspection, even as it flickered, it seemed to have gained a hint of substance.