Eternal Life Begins with Learning

Gazing at the horizon, the water and sky merged into one.

Chu Mu had inquired about the Water Heaven Marketplace and gathered a good deal of information.

He had also made many conjectures about this Cultivation Immortal Marketplace, which was one of the largest for thousands of miles around.

But... seeing it for himself was better than hearing about it a hundred times.

The Marketplace was situated on a lakeshore, but this shore was rather unique—it was a massive peninsula extending out into the water. The Water Heaven Marketplace sat upon this huge landmass, surrounded by water on three sides.

It was wreathed in a thin mist, a simple Illusion Array designed to confuse ordinary mortals.

Cultivators, by infusing their eyes with Magical Power, could see through it clearly.

At a glance, it looked like a marketplace on the water, nestled amidst clouds and mist. The water and sky were a single color, like something from a scroll painting—real, yet seemingly illusory.

From what Xu Yuan had told him, Chu Mu now had a better understanding of the Water Heaven Marketplace.

Unlike Jade Emperor Valley, Shuiyun Workshop had long been developed as the Xie Family’s core Marketplace, and it had already formed its own ecosystem unique to the Cultivation Immortal Realm.

In Shuiyun Workshop, besides the large number of resident Xie Clan members, many Loose Cultivators had also settled here.

The Xie Clan had a rule: descendants who did not possess a Spirit Root were not allowed to live within the clan’s main residence. Instead, villages, towns, and cities were built around the Marketplace for these descendants with no Spirit Root Talent to live in, with the Clan providing them with care and support.

As for the other Loose Cultivators who settled here, the Xie Family placed no restrictions on them, which led to the mixed immortal-mortal ecosystem of Shuiyun Workshop.

The villages, towns, and cities surrounding the Marketplace were naturally inhabited by the descendants of Cultivators. Therefore, the existence of Cultivators was no secret within this several-hundred-mile radius, but rather common knowledge.

If a mortal descendant was fortunate enough to be born with Spirit Root Talent and wished to walk the Immortal Path, it was clearly a very simple matter.

It was, at the very least, far easier than the bitter and fruitless pursuit of his own past.

This well-established ecosystem undoubtedly made the Shuiyun Marketplace all the more prosperous.

According to Xu Yuan, within a few hundred miles of Shuiyun Workshop, there were eight major cities and countless towns and villages, home to at least several million descendants of Cultivators.

This huge population base, combined with the advantage of living next door to immortals, meant that new Cultivators just starting on their Path to Immortality were constantly emerging, providing Shuiyun Workshop with a steady supply of cheap labor and consumables.

Moreover, compared to the chaos outside the Jade Emperor Valley Marketplace, Shuiyun Workshop was clearly different.

The bonds of clan and blood, after all, still carried some measure of sentiment.

Within a five-hundred-mile radius of the Marketplace, fighting was strictly forbidden.

Even from a considerable distance away, Chu Mu could clearly see teams of Cultivators from the Law Enforcement Team patrolling outside the Marketplace.

In Jade Emperor Valley, at such a distance from the Marketplace, there would have inevitably been prying eyes lurking in the shadows. Here in Shuiyun Workshop, however, the Cultivators along the road were all well-behaved.

This prohibition, under the binding ties of clan and blood, was evidently enforced far more thoroughly than in Jade Emperor City.

After all, the mortal population surrounding Shuiyun Workshop was still predominantly made up of Xie Clan members.

"Peach Blossom Spring..."

Looking around, Chu Mu couldn’t help but feel a little emotional.

’From what I’ve seen and heard so far, for the ordinary mortals around Shuiyun Workshop, this place is truly a Peach Blossom Spring that should only exist in fantasy. Human survival boils down to the four basic needs: clothing, food, shelter, and transportation. For the most important need, food, they have rice stalks tall enough to provide shade and the care of Cultivators who can summon wind and rain. For shelter, Cultivators can turn stone into walls with a touch, effortlessly creating fine mortal dwellings. As for clothing and transportation, they are also well taken care of. The roads are all wide, straight avenues, clearly hardened and maintained with Earth Attribute Magic. Fine steeds, a rare sight in the outside world, can be seen everywhere here. And clothing is even simpler. Along the way, I’ve seen many plants that have clearly been cultivated specifically for making clothes. With the profound depth of the Cultivation Immortal Realm’s Hundred Skills of Cultivation Immortal, even the scraps that slip through the cracks are enough to let mortals live unimaginably wonderful lives. And here, around Shuiyun Workshop, thanks to the bonds of blood and kinship, those scraps truly fall into the hands of the common people.’

’Remembering the hellish suffering back in Nanshan Town, my awe is inevitably tinged with sorrow.’

’People’s lots in life really are different.’

Upon reaching the Marketplace and paying an entrance fee of one Broken Spirit, the first thing he saw was a long street stretching as far as the eye could see.

The entire Water Heaven Marketplace was laid out in a traditional grid pattern.

The streets were bustling with people coming and going, and the clamor was every bit as intense as Jade Emperor City’s, if not more so.

As for the shops lining the street, they weren’t much different from those in Jade Emperor City.

Wares from the Hundred Skills of Cultivation Immortal and all sorts of other creations were on dazzling display.

The prices, however, were considerably cheaper than those in Jade Emperor City.

The soaring price fluctuations seemed to have had little effect on this Marketplace, located far from the eye of the storm.

After scanning his surroundings, Chu Mu looked down at the book in his hand. Every Cultivator who entered the Marketplace could receive a copy of the Xie Clan’s Laws.

It contained all the rules and laws for the marketplaces governed by the Xie Family.

He opened the cover and was met with a series of prohibitions, much like the Sun Family’s old Jade Emperor Laws. They were all compulsory rules enforced by power, with no pretense of being reasonable, let alone just.

After glancing through a few pages, Chu Mu put the book away. The bustling crowd once again filled his vision.

He pondered for a moment before finally heading to the end of the street, where he stopped in front of a large hall.

Inside the hall were the familiar sights of various recruitment notices, mission bounties, and even... rows of Wanted Orders.

After a moment, Chu Mu slowly withdrew his gaze.

’The only good news is that the Longevity Sect’s Wanted Order hasn’t been posted in Shuiyun Workshop.’