The Wandering Immortal

Chapter 28 The difference between immortals and mortals
Mount Luofu was shrouded in clouds and mist, with a small portion of the mountaintop above the clouds, truly exuding an ethereal aura.

Qinghe was still puzzled, "Are there really ten thousand cultivators here?"

"Luofu Grotto-Heaven is one of the ten great grotto-heavens of Taoism. It was a place of immortals in ancient times, but ordinary cultivators could not enter it."

Jiang Yuan naturally didn't dare to hope to enter Luofu Cave Heaven, find Luofu Immortal Market, and earn some spirit stones to improve Qinghe's cultivation. Achieving this goal would probably take more than three years.

Four years have passed since they left Wuling County, moved to Qingyuan Town, and then to Luofu Mountain. Guan Canghai is now a sixteen-year-old boy, and Qinghe is nineteen.

Having experienced so much, and with memories of his past life, Jiang Yuan appears mature, looking to outsiders like a young man in his early twenties.

Qinghe has shed her girlish naiveté and, after many years of considering herself Mrs. Guan, has become a beautiful young woman.

Even though Mount Luofu was right in front of us, after walking for two days, the mountain was still ahead of us.

Most people wouldn't doubt it, but Qinghe could sense to some extent that everything she saw was an illusion.

Not only ordinary people, but even low-level cultivators probably can't reach the territory of the Luofu Immortal Sect.

Jiang Yuan told Qing He that one should never use magic to break through barriers in the orthodox Xuanmen sect, because the mountain-protecting formation was not an ordinary illusion, and one might be harmed by it.

The restrictions around the Immortal Market will definitely be relaxed, since we need to take care of low-level rogue cultivators; we just haven't found a suitable location yet.

What's puzzling is that while most of Lingnan was plagued by starvation, there was a small village here where smoke rose from chimneys, creating a peaceful and serene atmosphere.

The Guan family arrived at the small village, wanting to inquire about some things.

A boy at the village entrance looked on in astonishment and asked, "How did you get in here?"

Qinghe discovered that the young man was a cultivator at the second level of Qi Refining.

Jiang Yuan then stepped forward and cupped his hands in greeting, "May I ask, young man, where is Luofu Immortal City?"

The young man naturally realized that Qinghe was a cultivator, and since everyone followed Jiang Yuan's lead, he guessed that Jiang Yuan's cultivation level must be higher.

“If you are going to Luofu Immortal City, you have taken the wrong road. The Immortal City is on the other side of Luofu Mountain.”

Is it possible to go around to the other side?

“Absolutely not. You all leave immediately. I will pretend I didn’t see anything. But if your elders find out, you’ll be in trouble.”

Jiang Yuan decided not to pursue the matter any further and had to return the way he came. Although the young man did not say it explicitly, Jiang Yuan roughly guessed that the small village must be the village of the outer disciples of Mount Luofu.

In his previous life, Jiang Yuan was a senior elder of a sect on Tianlong Star. He had climbed up the ranks step by step and knew that many people were attached to major sects.

Outer disciples and menial disciples are mostly unable to enter the inner sect in their lifetime, but they can marry and have children and live scattered around the sect.

If a member of the family is fortunate enough to enter the inner sect or become a true disciple, the family will naturally gain prestige and may even develop into a family of cultivators.

Those scions of noble families, if they possess outstanding spiritual roots, will naturally be given priority to join the sect. However, some second-rate scions of noble families like to bully others and frequently cause trouble. Someone as simple and honest as the young man just now is truly rare; perhaps it's because Mount Luofu is extremely strict in managing its subordinates.

The Guan family and their group walked around Mount Luofu for two more days, but still couldn't find the way in. There was no inn nearby to rest, and they were extremely tired.

As Jiang Yuan was pondering, a person suddenly appeared by the roadside. It was the Taoist nun who had given him the alchemy furnace in the Five Ridges Mountains.

Qinghe quickly stepped forward and bowed, "Greetings, senior. Thank you for gifting me the alchemy furnace."

The nun was taken aback. "It's you?" No wonder, Jiang Yuan and Qing He both had blackened faces back then, and so many years had passed.

It turns out that this Daoist nun was an outer disciple of Mount Luofu, with the Daoist name Jingxuan.

The Guan family had been traveling around the outskirts of Mount Luofu for three or four days, so the outer sect of Mount Luofu naturally already knew about it. In the past, there were many independent cultivators like them who came with their families to seek apprenticeship or to try their luck at immortality, and the outer sect members were too lazy to care.

Master Jingxuan was a compassionate person and originally intended to appear and persuade them to leave, but he never expected that he would be an acquaintance he had seen in the Five Ridges Mountains.

What surprised Jingxuan the most was that when she first met Qinghe, Qinghe had only just entered the Qi Refining stage, yet in just four years she had already reached the third level of Qi Refining perfection, and her wood spiritual energy was quite pure and abundant, indicating that she must have been guided by a famous master. Meanwhile, Jingxuan herself was still at the fourth level of Qi Refining, without making any progress.

As they spoke, Jingxuan scanned Jiangyuan with her divine sense several times, but still could not sense a trace of spiritual energy.

Jiang Yuan naturally realized this as well, so he had to make up a story, saying that he had indeed guided Qinghe in her Taoist arts, but he had made a mistake in his practice, resulting in blocked meridians and the loss of all his magical power.

Jingxuan was slightly relieved, but then began to have many thoughts about Jiang Yuan's sect.

Hearing that Jiang Yuan and his wife intended to settle in Luofu Immortal City, Jingxuan dared not act on her own initiative and said she would report to the outer sect elders and await their decision.

"However, even if the two of you can enter the Immortal Market, your families are not allowed to come in."

Jiang Yuan felt a glimmer of hope and quickly bowed, "Of course, as long as the two of us can enter the Immortal Market to trade, our families will be taken care of. I hope you will put in a good word for us with the elders!"

Jingxuan told Jiang Yuan and his wife to wait by the roadside and not to move around, while she returned to the mountain to report.

About an hour later, Jingxuan reappeared. "I will vouch for you two and allow you to enter the Immortal Market. You must not cause trouble in the Immortal Market, otherwise I will not be able to protect you."

The nun Jingxuan said that family members could be settled in villages on the outskirts of the Immortal Market, where there are some houses for rent, managed by the outer sect stewards of Luofu, but a small amount of spirit stones would be charged.

To enter the Immortal Market, one needs a temporary token from the outer gate of Mount Luofu. Jingxuan then gave Qinghe two bamboo tokens, each engraved with the mark of Mount Luofu. By infusing them with magical power, one could pass through the barriers in front of the Immortal Market.

Jingxuan led the Guan family to the outskirts of the Immortal Market. It wasn't actually that far, but the Guan family had been wandering around for a while and missed it several times. Without a token, they couldn't see it at all.

Jingxuan brought Jiang Yuanqinghe to the deacon's office that manages the military dependents' village. Five spirit stones can rent a small courtyard for a year. If you want to renew the lease, you just need to pay the spirit stones on time.

Qinghe immediately paid five spirit stones, took the restriction token for the courtyard, and settled her family in first.

Jingxuan then returned to the mountain gate. Qinghe was extremely grateful and thanked him repeatedly!
The outer gatekeeper emphasized a number of prohibitions, such as not engaging in magical battles in the military dependents' village, not entering or leaving the village at will, and especially not bringing unfamiliar mortals into the village.

After all, there is a difference between immortals and mortals, and it is already quite difficult to enter this place, so Jiang Yuan gave his family some instructions.

Fortunately, they still had some copper coins and spirit stones, enough to buy some daily necessities in the military dependents' village. They also had enough food for the time being, so there was nothing to worry about.

Jiang Yuan looked around at the terrain. This military dependents' village was on a small mountain. All the courtyards were half cave and half bamboo houses. There was a small courtyard in front of the door, which could easily accommodate more than a dozen people. It was even quite spacious.

Qinghe felt refreshed as soon as she entered the military dependents' village, sensing that the place was rich in spiritual energy, ten times better than Qingyuan Town.

Jiang Yuan thought to himself that the spiritual energy in Luofu Cave was probably a hundred times richer than that in the military dependents' village.

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(End of this chapter)