Eternal Life Begins with Learning

"Brother Mu."

Before long, an excited shout echoed from among the rice paddies.

"Brother Mu!"

Then, Xu Yuan came rushing excitedly down a path between the fields.

The worry that had been weighing on Chu Mu’s mind finally lifted.

"You’ve been living here this whole time?"

Chu Mu asked, pointing toward the city ahead.

Xu Yuan scratched his head and chuckled.

"I have a warrant out for my arrest, so I didn’t dare go to the Marketplace. I’ve been hiding out in the city instead."

"Most of the people in the city are Xie Family members without Spirit Root Talent, along with some descendants of Cultivators who settled in Water Heaven Workshop."

"They’re all mortals, so it’s pretty safe..."

Chu Mu asked again, "You weren’t hunted on your way here, were you?"

"I ran into a few Evil Cultivators. It’s a good thing I had those Talismans you left for me, Brother Mu... Oh, right, Brother Mu, Wangcai..."

"Something’s not right with Wangcai!"

"What’s wrong?"

"Take me to him."

A hint of alarm on his face, Chu Mu hurried toward the city with Xu Yuan leading the way.

They finally came to a stop before a residence in the southwest corner of the mortal city.

Entering the courtyard and pushing open a closed door, the first thing they saw was Wangcai, lying asleep in the room.

Its body, the size of a calf, already took up nearly half the room.

"That day I was being chased, after I used a Talisman to kill that Evil Cultivator, Wangcai ran over and devoured the corpse..."

"And then it became like this..."

"I checked on him. It looks like he’s having a breakthrough, but I’m not entirely sure..."

Xu Yuan explained from the side.

Chu Mu’s expression turned grave. To his Divine Sense Perception, Wangcai was like a volcano constantly accumulating energy—not yet at its limit, but seemingly ready to erupt at any moment.

"I’ll set up a Spirit Gathering Array first!"

"He should be on the verge of a breakthrough."

Chu Mu wasn’t entirely certain either.

Creatures like Demon Beasts were extremely rare within the Great Chu Territory.

After all, a Demon Beast’s entire body—its Divine Soul, flesh, and blood—were all top-quality Spiritual Materials for Cultivators.

The Great Chu Cultivation Immortal World had existed for a long time. The Spirit Vein Lands had long since been carved up, and any surviving Demon Beasts in the deep mountains and ancient forests had been hunted to extinction.

The only ones available on the market were Spirit Beasts specially bred and raised by certain factions. Compared to Demon Beasts, one was domesticated while the other was wild. Spirit Beasts were easier to tame and better suited to meet the needs of Cultivators.

Although it was said that Demon Beasts still caused trouble in the Great Chu’s distant Southern Sea Territory, the legendary Vast Sea, the sheer size of the Great Chu Territory meant that little news traveled from the south to the north.

Forget him; most Cultivators in the nearby Cultivation Immortal Realm probably knew very little about Demon Beasts.

As these thoughts ran through his mind, Chu Mu’s hands never stopped moving.

Artifact Refining Array Prohibitions shared the same origin as Arrays.

Although he had never formally studied Arrays and couldn’t set up large-scale ones, creating simple, small Restrictions was quite easy. It was merely a matter of combination and arrangement.

Using Spirit Stones as a base, he ignited a Spiritual Fire on the spot to melt Spiritual Materials and directly inscribed the Array Prohibitions. In the end, a crude but simple Spirit Gathering Array took shape in the room.

However, this Spirit Gathering Array didn’t gather the Spiritual Qi from the heavens and earth like a common one.

Instead, it was a gathering Array Prohibition that used an Array Prohibition to release the Spiritual Qi from within Spirit Stones and another to seal the area, preventing the Spiritual Qi from escaping.

It was very crude and simple, but also very effective.

As Spirit Stones were consumed one by one, the Array Prohibition activated. The Restriction enveloped the area, and the concentration of Spiritual Qi in the room visibly increased.

"Brother Mu, there’s movement."

Xu Yuan excitedly pointed at the sleeping Wangcai.

As the Spiritual Qi grew denser, the sleeping pup’s body began to rise and fall rhythmically with each breath, instinctively inhaling and exhaling the Spiritual Qi.

"You’re saying Wangcai changed like this because he devoured a Cultivator’s corpse?"

Chu Mu turned his head and asked.

"Yes. As soon as I killed that person, Wangcai rushed over."

Xu Yuan nodded repeatedly.

Chu Mu frowned, his gaze fixed on Wangcai, a trace of doubt in his eyes.

It was true that a Cultivator’s corpse and Divine Soul were extremely versatile Spiritual Materials.

But they were still just Spiritual Materials.

Any item refined using a Cultivator’s Qi Blood and Divine Soul as Spiritual Materials would have negative side effects, big or small.

For example, a Qi and Blood Pill would be tainted by the residual consciousness and the seven passions and six desires of the original person.

Artifact Creations like the Ten Thousand Souls Banner would also have a significant mental impact on their wielder.

’Does a Demon Beast suffer no negative effects from devouring a Cultivator’s corpse?’

’Or could it be that the negative effects of devouring the corpse were precisely what allowed Wangcai to cross the threshold?’

’Back in Jade Emperor Valley, look at what happened with Miaoyu. All those mortals forced to take Qi and Blood Pills crossed the threshold of Divine Appearance with ease...’

"Is it safe here?"

Chu Mu turned to look at Xu Yuan.

Xu Yuan immediately replied, "It should be fine. I’ve lived here for a few months. The neighbors are all ordinary mortals, and Cultivators rarely come into this city..."

"Alright."

Chu Mu nodded. "I’ll stay here and observe. You go stand guard outside. Let me know immediately if anything unusual happens."

As he spoke, Chu Mu took out an Upper Grade Flying Sword and a Lower Grade Magical Artifact Shield he had refined himself and handed them over.

"For you."

"This... this is too valuable..."

"Just take it!"

"Hehe, alright then."

"I’ll head out then, Brother Mu. Just give me a shout if you need anything."

The door then closed. Under the effect of the isolating Restriction, all sounds from the outside were completely cut off.

Chu Mu watched Wangcai, who was inhaling and exhaling Spiritual Qi, a thoughtful expression on his face.

Suddenly, as if remembering something, he extended his Divine Sense into his Storage Talisman, and a booklet appeared in his hand.

The booklet wasn’t thick, only a dozen or so pages. He had no idea which unlucky soul’s Storage Talisman it had come from.

It had no title, but it recorded some information about Demon Beasts.

In just a moment, he finished flipping through the dozen pages, and the memories from his previous cursory glance became much clearer.

According to the book, the Cultivation path of a Demon Beast was completely different from that of a human.

A human’s Immortal Path was built upon the Essence, Qi, and Spirit System. It relied on one’s Spirit Root, was based on absorbing and refining Spiritual Qi, and was a process of gradual transformation.

A Demon Beast’s Cultivation, while also part of the Essence, Qi, and Spirit System, and while also involving absorbing Spiritual Qi and undergoing gradual transformation...

...was not based on the self, nor did it rely on a Spirit Root. Instead, it was built upon its bloodline.

As the book described, the Cultivation of any Demon Beast was a path of bloodline Cultivation.

Any beast that stepped onto the path of Cultivation would awaken the bloodline and inheritance corresponding to its race.

All of a Demon Beast’s knowledge and inheritance were contained within its bloodline.

The higher the purity of the bloodline, the higher the Demon Beast’s aptitude, and the more inheritance it would contain. Some Demon Beasts even possessed innate Divine Techniques passed down through their bloodline.

The book’s description was limited, but it was enough for Chu Mu to form a general understanding of Demon Beasts.

The bloodline Cultivation of Demon Beasts was clearly a completely different concept from the Qi Cultivation of humans.

’What I thought were drawbacks might not be drawbacks at all for a Demon Beast.’

As he pondered this, Chu Mu’s thoughts inexplicably drifted to the Vast Sea Chen Family.

He had lived in Jade Emperor Valley for several years, witnessing all of its changes and personally experiencing most of its turmoil.

He had heard the names of the other major clans frequently, but the Vast Sea Chen Family was a name that never seemed to come up.

News about the Vast Sea Chen Family was also extremely rare in the Longevity Sect’s Imperial Gazette.

And yet, almost all the Spiritual Materials and even flesh related to Demon Beasts on the market came from the Vast Sea Chen Family.

There were many rumors in the Cultivation Immortal Realm. Some said the Vast Sea was endless, home to countless Demon Beast Races, and that the Chen Clan was stationed at the Sea Border by order of the first Sect Leader of the Longevity Sect to defend against the Demon Beasts.

Others said the Chen Clan was a family of beast tamers who raised Demon Beasts in captivity...

Still others claimed the Chen Clan was profiting from the chaos, using the Demon Beast threat as an excuse to operate with autonomy—following direct orders but ignoring general edicts, effectively becoming a kingdom unto themselves...

Even in the Cultivation Immortal Realm, with such vast distances involved, it was difficult to tell which rumors were true and which were false.

The Great Chu Cultivation Immortal World was clearly far more vast than he had imagined.

Just Water Heaven Workshop alone was nearly five thousand li from Jade Emperor Valley, and this was merely a small corner of Great Chu, on the fringes of the East Lake Xie Family’s territory.

"The Vast Sea..."

Chu Mu was lost in thought. He couldn’t be sure if the rumors were true, but there was one thing he was certain of.

The Vast Sea Chen Family was definitely a world unto itself, and this self-containment was different from that of the Longevity Sect and the other major clans.

Theirs was a closed, self-contained world!

This much was clear just from looking at the Longevity Sect’s Imperial Gazette.

There was plenty of news about the other clans, and plenty about the Longevity Sect itself, but news about the Vast Sea Chen Family was conspicuously absent. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

It was as if the Chen Family didn’t belong to the Great Chu Cultivation Immortal World, but to some other Cultivation Immortal Realm entirely.

Besides, pure Demon Beasts were extremely rare inland, to the point of being nearly extinct.

Chu Mu looked at Wangcai, now the size of a calf, a complicated expression on his face.

It had started as a mere hobby in his spare time, and now, a common Mortal Beast was truly beginning an extraordinary transformation...

Under the perception of his Divine Sense, the changes in its undefended body were crystal clear.

Chu Mu could also sense its instinctual, deep reliance on him, and even a hint of excitement. It was as if, upon seeing him arrive, it wanted to excitedly run in circles and wag its tail to curry favor...

The corners of Chu Mu’s mouth lifted slightly. After a moment of deliberation, he seemed to make a decision.

With a wave of his hand, two Elixirs appeared in his palm.

One was a Body Tempering Pill, and the other was a Qi and Blood Pill refined from a Cultivator’s corpse.

The moment he took them out, his Divine Sense perceived Wangcai’s intense, instinctual craving.

Chu Mu flicked his wrist, and the two Elixirs flew into Wangcai’s mouth.

The Elixirs’ effects were immediate. In just a moment, the terrifying accumulation of power, which had been like a volcano on the verge of eruption, seemed to have gathered sufficient energy.

In the unseen world, a rumble seemed to sound.

It was followed by the continuous sound of grinding bones.

A faint Spiritual Pressure flickered within the sealed room.

Wangcai’s sturdy body, lying on the ground, began to visibly transform.

Its fur grew darker and glossier, its rugged muscles rippled, and its bones seemed to stretch and expand. Its calf-sized body, at this moment of extraordinary transformation, began to grow once more...