Immortality begins with raising apprentices

Chapter 22 Three Thousand Mountains
The "three thousand" in "three thousand mountains" is not an exact number.

Rather, it is a symbolic reference, indicating an extremely large and inexhaustible quantity.

The Three Thousand Mountains stretch across the Lingxu Realm, occupying one-third of its area.

The Lingyin Sect is located near the Three Thousand Mountains and is one of the five major sects of the Yan Kingdom in the Lingxu Realm.

Fifty years ago, a war was launched to open up Yunxifang in the Three Thousand Mountains.

"I've heard that deep in the mountains, there are also demonic beasts at the Golden Core and Nascent Soul levels lurking."

"Yunxifang is said to be rich in resources and relatively stable in environment, but this is based on the premise that it is deep in the mountains and there are few outside cultivators. Once the monsters go on an rampage, this place will be the most dangerous place."

Chen Ye walked along the winding path trodden by his predecessors. Old bones were scattered everywhere along the roadside, and occasionally he could see one or two rotting corpses. His heart pounded with unease.

In his past life, he had never seen so many corpses!
The corpse bore traces of magic and swords.

There are few demonic beasts in the outer area, and most of these cultivators are killed by robbers.

Near Yunxifang, the Lingyin Sect still maintains order, but in the desolate wilderness, everyone has to rely on their own abilities.

Ironically, in the Three Thousand Mountains, the threat of demonic beasts is secondary; the real threat often comes from demon-hunting cultivators.

In the distance, the mountains are towering and the valleys are deep and treacherous.

The mountains stretch endlessly, resembling layers of wisps of smoke when viewed from afar.

The path, which extends into the mountains, is overgrown with weeds that eventually reach up to your calves.

Occasionally, the weeds rustle, whether from the wind or from animals roaming beneath them, it's hard to tell.

Chen Ye felt a chill run down his spine. This sense of the unknown filled him with panic, fearing that he might accidentally step on a demonic snake.

But he understood that the cultivation world would only become more and more chaotic.

Born in hardship, die in comfort!
Chen Ye gritted his teeth and braced himself to remove the iron sword.

Like a blind man searching for his way, he uses an iron sword to probe the weeds in front of him.

As they ventured deeper, the dense forest obscured Chen Ye's view, making it feel like he had entered a primeval forest.

Occasionally, the cries of monstrous beasts echoed through the vast mountains.

It sounds like a baby crying, or a nightingale singing sweetly.

Sometimes east, sometimes west; sometimes north, sometimes south; sometimes near, sometimes far.

The location and distance are unknown.

In the vast mountains and forests, Chen Ye's steps were stiff. Looking around, all he could see were lush trees.

It seemed that at any moment, a monster would leap out of the jungle.

"We can't go any further. If we go any further, we'll encounter monsters. There's no order around, and the wild beasts on the outskirts are good enough to test our skills."

Chen Ye cautiously stopped, wiping his sweaty palms repeatedly.

……

The mountain wind swept through the bare branches, making a sound like tearing silk.

Chen Ye squatted behind the beech tree, his fingertips condensing half an inch of Geng metal energy.

A gray shadow darted about three zhang away; it was a plump rock rabbit nibbling on moss.

"Effective within ten steps..."

His raincoat was already soaked through by the melting snow, and the fierceness he had shown when chopping at the wall had now turned into hesitation.

Living things can move, escape, and even fight back in their death throes; they are not the same as a rigid wall.

This is one of the reasons why Chen Ye wanted to practice his skills in the wilderness.

The gray rabbit suddenly stood up on its forelegs, its pink nose twitching as it turned to the left.

Chen Ye's expression tightened, and he activated his Geng metal energy. The sharp light grazed the rabbit's ear and pierced the rock wall, causing the beast to kick its hind legs violently in fright.

The second golden ray struck hastily, barely severing half of the rabbit's tail, causing a few drops of crimson to bloom on the snow.

"unlucky!"

Chen Ye spat, feeling extremely annoyed.

In fact, after mastering the Gengjin Technique, he had become extremely proficient in this art.

But I got nervous just now and accidentally lost my aim.

Otherwise, we could definitely kill him with one blow!
Just as Chen Ye was about to get up and give chase, he suddenly heard the sound of a dry branch breaking from the southeast.

He immediately ducked and hid in the bushes.

Two masked monks walked together, the one in the lead carrying a blood-dripping sack at his waist.

Upon seeing this, Chen Ye held his breath, his back instantly covered in cold sweat.

"There was some noise around here just now, and there was a bloody smell in the air."

The tall, thin man twitched his nostrils, smelled the rock rabbit's blood, and scanned the surrounding area with his eyes.

"There are plenty of cultivators around here, let's ignore it." The cultivator with the sack kicked aside the frozen crow carcass at his feet and hurried away.

"We must hurry to the ravine to the east and guard it. We must intercept those outsiders who are harvesting the Ice Soul Grass today!"

The two were unfazed and left directly.

After the aura had dissipated, Chen Ye shook off the pine needles covering his head, still shaken.

"This time I was too reckless. I should have had someone I know accompany me to be safer."

He shook his head with a wry smile, then suddenly noticed that the injured rock rabbit was curled up in a tree hole five steps away, shivering, its red eyes fixed on the direction the two cultivators had left.

This time, Chen Ye used the Evergreen Technique to harmonize his meridians, and the Geng Metal Qi condensed into a fine needle, precisely piercing the rabbit's eye.

He tied the rabbit's feet with straw rope and hung the rock rabbit behind him.

He cautiously changed his position and continued to carefully search for nearby living creatures to practice the Gengjin Technique.

"call out!"

"call out!"

"call out!"

Next, the golden aura condensed even more rapidly, relentlessly reaping the lives of small animals in the forest.

Chen Ye was surprised to discover that the increase in proficiency was not simply a matter of raising one's cultivation level.

Instead, we genuinely instilled experience and insights in him during each demonstration.

Chen Ye was having a great time.

At first, I was very nervous, worried that it might attract the attention of the Jiexiu.

However, they encountered several groups of independent cultivators afterward, but no conflict occurred between them, and they lived in peace.

Chen Ye then realized that he had been overly nervous.

The cultivators in this area mostly make a living in Yunxifang and generally don't kill people indiscriminately.

Especially since this place is located on the outskirts of the Three Thousand Mountains, there are many cultivators coming and going, so it is not a deserted place.

Moreover, killing someone is no easy task either; who knows what methods the other party might have?
Even if you go to great lengths to kill the other party, you may not necessarily gain anything.

Ordinary cultivators do not carry their belongings with them when they are out and about, lest they be killed and benefit the other party.

As the sun sets, the rain and snow intensify.

Countless small animals have lost their lives at Chen Ye's hands.

Despite getting engrossed in the training, Chen Ye always kept his spiritual energy at half capacity, practicing while resting, which resulted in slow progress.

He roughly estimated that at his peak spiritual power, he could cast the Gengjin Technique ten times.
"Wow--"

A small hummingbird flapped its wings and flew swiftly through the forest.

As it passed over Chen Ye's head, a golden light suddenly pierced through its body.

Feathers flew everywhere, and the hummingbird collapsed to the ground, convulsing and bleeding profusely.

[Gengjin Formula Complete: 3/400]

After a day of hard training, it's finally done!

Furthermore, through continuous experimentation, Chen Ye discovered that although the level of proficiency gained in practice was slightly higher, the time cost was also significantly higher.

After the Gengjin Formula was perfected...
He can now skillfully manipulate the Geng metal energy at his fingertips, constantly improving his proficiency.

"Practicing outside is too risky, and you have to go to great lengths to find animals. I'd rather play it safe and practice slowly on my own. The difference between the two isn't actually that big."

"The main problem is insufficient spiritual energy, and I need to reserve some spiritual energy just in case... If I had enough Qi-restoring pills, I could just level up and enjoy it!"

Chen Ye was helpless; a Qi-restoring pill cost one spirit stone, which he simply couldn't afford.

In the world of cultivation, the importance of money is equally undeniable.

He stared at the golden light at his fingertips, its color changing from pale gold to golden, becoming even sharper.

It can be quite lethal within 30 meters, easily piercing tree trunks!
This distance should not be underestimated.

In my previous life, even a trained gunman would have an accuracy rate of no more than 30% when shooting at a target 30 paces away with a pistol.

A perfect Gengjin Technique is equivalent to Chen Ye having a pistol that never misses!

They wouldn't kill anyone, but they'd be more than capable of protecting themselves.

The mountain wind, carrying bits of snow, brushed against Chen Ye's cheek.
The indistinct outline of the Three Thousand Mountains appeared and disappeared in the snow and mist, like a crouching beast revealing its white fangs.

"It's getting dark, I need to get out of here quickly. This awful weather, it's freezing cold..."

The white mist he exhaled instantly condensed on the collar of his raincoat, and the Liuhe boots he bought at the market were now soaked with snow water, and he could feel the friction of ice shards between his toes with every step he took.

Chen Ye roused his body, which was almost frozen stiff. He tightened the dead rabbit on his back and his steps were three times heavier than when he came.

(End of this chapter)