Courtyard House: Time Traveler Not Yet a Ghost

The flying saucer glided silently through the starry sky, the stars outside the window appearing like elongated ribbons of light, slowly flowing backward. He Damin nestled in the cockpit seat, his fingers unconsciously tapping the armrests, his gaze fixed intently on the deep darkness outside the porthole. He didn't know how long he had been flying; it felt like several hours, or perhaps days and nights—time seemed to have lost its meaning here.

He stretched, his bones cracking slightly. Then, his divine sense, like an invisible net, silently spread out, carefully sensing the surrounding energy fluctuations. The atmosphere here was completely different from that of the Xuan Tian Continent. While the spiritual energy of the Xuan Tian Continent was abundant, it possessed a more untamed, vibrant energy. The spiritual energy here, however, carried a purer, more powerful quality, interspersed with wisps of indescribable high-level energy—the legendary immortal spiritual energy.

He Damin could clearly feel that this immortal energy, like the gentlest stream, was slowly seeping into his limbs and bones, nourishing his newly formed immortal body. Under this subtle nourishment, his cultivation was gradually becoming more stable and solid, moving from the somewhat unstable early stage of the Heavenly Immortal realm. It was like a newly built dam being slowly filled with cement, becoming indestructible.

"Brother Da Min, have we arrived?" A clear voice rang out in the cockpit.

He Damin turned his head and saw Chen Xueru rubbing her eyes as she walked out of the small storage bracelet on his wrist—their "little world." She was wearing an elegant dress, her long hair casually draped over her shoulders, and she looked languidly as if she had just woken up. She sat down next to him and looked out the window with curiosity.

He Damin shook his head and pointed to the still deep starry sky ahead: "Not yet. But soon." He paused, his eyes becoming somewhat solemn, "I can feel a very powerful and vast energy fluctuation not far ahead, like a huge ocean of energy."

The UFO continued flying towards the direction of the energy fluctuation. After about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, a magnificent nebula appeared ahead, vibrant with seven colors, like an overturned palette. The UFO flew through it without hesitation, and the moment it passed through the nebula, the view before them opened up, causing both of them to hold their breath.

It was a vast continent beyond description, silently suspended in the boundless starry sky, as if it were the center of the universe. A faint golden light enveloped the continent, its gentle glow protecting it from the coldness and emptiness of the starry sky.

From the flying saucer, the landscape of the continent was clearly visible. Rolling mountain ranges snaked like giant dragons, dotted with clear rivers and lakes, like silver ribbons and emerald mirrors. Countless cities and villages were scattered across the land like stars, grand in scale and imposing in their grandeur. Wisps of ethereal mist swirled among the mountains like light veils, and occasionally, rare and exotic birds could be seen fluttering their magnificent wings, soaring through the clouds and uttering melodious calls.

"This...this is..." Chen Xueru's beautiful eyes widened, her small mouth slightly agape, her face filled with shock and disbelief. She had seen many wonders on the Xuan Tian Continent, but compared to this continent before her, they were nothing but a drop in the ocean.

"The Immortal Realm." He Damin's voice carried a hint of barely perceptible excitement as he stared intently at the continent. "The legendary Thirty-Three Heavens, this is the first one. Each level is higher and more difficult to climb than the last. We are currently at the very bottom."

The flying saucer slowly descended, heading towards a seemingly desolate wilderness in the Immortal Realm. As it passed through the pale golden light barrier, He Damin felt a slight resistance, but quickly passed through. Inside the barrier, the air was fresher, and the immortal energy was even more concentrated.

The flying saucer finally landed smoothly on a lush meadow. He Damin, with a thought, stored the flying saucer in his storage bracelet. He and Chen Xueru landed gently on the soft grass.

As soon as they landed, the two couldn't help but take a deep breath. The air was filled with the fragrance of fresh grass and an intensely rich, ethereal aura. With each inhale, they felt every pore on their body open up, their spirits lifted, and the fatigue from days of flight vanished. On the distant mountain peaks, ancient pavilions and towers could be faintly seen, appearing and disappearing in the mist. They could also hear ethereal music drifting on the wind, making them feel as if they had entered a legendary fairyland.

"Brother Damin, this place...this place is even more beautiful than the Xuan Tian Continent." Chen Xueru's eyes sparkled with excitement as she reached out to touch a small grass with a spiritual glow on its leaves.

He Damin nodded, but his face didn't show much relaxation; instead, it held a hint of wariness: "It is indeed beautiful, but also dangerous. We're new here and don't know anything about this place, the rules, or any hidden dangers. So, we must be very careful."

Chen Xueru nodded obediently: "Okay, I'll listen to you."

The two straightened their clothes, determined their direction, and then walked along a winding mountain path. The path was lined with exotic flowers and plants, some of which even emitted a faint glow. Occasionally, they could see fist-sized, snow-white rabbits or brightly colored squirrels darting through the grass. They weren't afraid of them; they would just look at them curiously for a few moments before hopping away and disappearing.

After walking for about an hour, the view suddenly opened up ahead. A huge city appeared before them.

The city walls were extremely high, reaching several tens of feet in height, and were constructed from a type of jade that was entirely emerald green, shimmering with a warm luster under the sunlight. The walls were covered with densely packed runes, which were not static but rather slowly flowing, emanating a powerful defensive aura, clearly indicating a formidable defensive formation.

Above the city gate hangs a huge black plaque with two powerful characters written in ancient gold seal script: "Qingmu City".

On either side of the city gate stood a guard clad in blue armor, wielding a long spear. They were tall and imposing, like two iron towers, their eyes sharp as eagles, scanning everyone entering or leaving the city.

He Damin secretly activated his divine sense, trying to probe the cultivation levels of the two guards, but found their auras as unfathomable as a deep pool. His divine sense was immediately repelled by an invisible force. He was startled and muttered to himself, "At least at the True Immortal level. It seems this Earthly Immortal Realm truly harbors hidden dragons and crouching tigers; even a mere city gate guard is this powerful."

Just as they reached the city gate, one of the guards stepped forward, extended his spear, and held it in front of them, shouting in a deep voice, "Halt. Identification token."

He Damin paused, his heart skipped a beat, and he froze. An identity token? Where in the Xuan Tian Continent would he find such a thing? Let alone an identity token, he had never even heard of it.

He quickly put on a smile, cupped his hands in greeting to the guard, and said politely, "Sir, we are cultivators who have just ascended from the lower realm. We are new here and do not yet have identity tokens."

The guard sized up He Damin and Chen Xueru, his gaze lingering on them for a moment, seemingly confirming the truth of their words. Seeing that their aura was indeed that of an early-stage Celestial Immortal, and carried a rawness unique to cultivators from the lower realms, the guard's expression softened slightly.

"Ascension from the lower realms?" The guard frowned, a hint of doubt in his voice. "According to the rules, ascending cultivators are always guided by a celestial official. How come you weren't brought here?"

"The Guide Immortal..." Upon hearing these four words, He Damin immediately pictured the face of the middle-aged immortal who had assigned him to the immortal mine. He cursed inwardly, but put on a helpless expression. "Sigh, it's a long story. We encountered a bit of an accident on the way with the Guide Immortal and accidentally got separated." He couldn't very well say that he had beaten up the Guide Immortal and then ran away.

The guard clearly didn't want to delve into the reasons, though perhaps this wasn't an unprecedented situation. His furrowed brows relaxed, and he pulled out two palm-sized, pure white jade tokens from his robes, handing them to He Damin: "Since you're a newly ascended cultivator, go to the Immortal Register Office in Qingmu City to register. With these temporary passes, you must register within a month. Failure to register within the deadline will be considered illegal entry, and you'll bear the consequences."

"Yes, yes, thank you, sir, thank you, sir." He Damin quickly took the jade token and examined it carefully. The jade token felt warm to the touch, with some simple runes engraved on it, along with the words "Temporary Passage to Qingmu City." He bowed to the guard again and led Chen Xueru through the city gate.

Upon entering Qingmu City, an even more bustling and vibrant atmosphere immediately greeted us.

The street was very wide, enough to accommodate more than a dozen carriages side by side. On both sides of the street were all kinds of shops, one after another, almost stretching as far as the eye could see. The shop signs were also very diverse, including "Bai Cao Tang" with a picture of an alchemy furnace, "Shen Bing Ge" with swords on display, "Xuan Ji Lou" with talismans drawn on it, and "Cang Jing Ge" with "Cultivation Techniques and Secret Manuals" written on it.

The streets were teeming with pedestrians, shoulder to shoulder. There were cultivators in Taoist robes, exuding an air of otherworldly grace; there were immortals clad in armor, radiating a powerful aura; and even some men, women, and children who appeared to be ordinary people. But upon closer inspection, He Damin discovered that even these so-called "mortals" possessed cultivation levels above the Qi Refining stage, and those seemingly unremarkable cultivators were at least Golden Immortals. Someone like him, at the early stage of the Celestial Immortal realm, was like a drop of water in the ocean, utterly insignificant, practically at the very bottom of the social hierarchy.

He Damin and Chen Xueru exchanged a glance, both seeing a hint of seriousness in each other's eyes. The level of strength here was even higher than they had imagined.

Following the guard's instructions, they inquired along the way and headed towards the Immortal Register Office in the north of the city.

The Immortal Register Office is not hard to find. It is a three-story building that looks very ordinary. The walls of the building are made of gray stone, and there is a wooden sign with the words "Immortal Register Office" hanging at the door. It looks somewhat old-fashioned.

He Damin and Chen Xueru entered the attic. There weren't many people inside; only a few officials in uniform were busy with their own tasks. A middle-aged official who seemed to be in charge saw them enter, raised his eyelids slightly, and asked expressionlessly, "Here to register?"

"Yes, sir." He Damin quickly stepped forward.

"Name, origin, cultivation level." The official took out a jade slip and a jade pen, preparing to record.

"He Damin, from the Xuan Tian Continent, is at the early stage of the Celestial Immortal realm."

"Chen Xueru, from the Xuan Tian Continent, is at the early stage of the Celestial Immortal realm."

The official quickly made notes on the jade slip, then took out two new jade tokens from the drawer. The tokens were light blue and more exquisite than the previous temporary passes. They were engraved with their names and the words "Residents of Qingmu City".

"Alright, registration complete." The official handed them the jade tokens, then held out his hand, "Registration fee: five immortal coins per person, ten immortal coins in total."

"Immortal coins?" He Damin was stunned. He subconsciously touched his pockets. He did have a lot of gold, spirit stones, and some pills and magical artifacts that he had brought from the Xuan Tian Continent, but he really didn't have any immortal coins. "Sir, we just came up from the lower realm and we don't have any immortal coins on us."

The official seemed to have anticipated this situation, his face remaining expressionless. He pointed to a counter nearby: "If you don't have immortal coins, you can exchange them with items. There are appraisers over there. If you have any valuable rare herbs, elixirs, or magical artifacts on you, you can have them appraised and exchanged for immortal coins."

Helpless, He Damin had no choice but to pull Chen Xueru to the appraisal counter next to him. Behind the counter sat an elderly man with gray hair, dozing off with his eyes half-closed.

"Sir, excuse me." He Damin gently knocked on the counter.

The old man opened his eyes, glanced at them, and lazily asked, "Exchange for immortal coins? Take out your things and let me see."

He Damin thought for a moment, then took out a heavy piece of gold from his storage bracelet. It was about the size of a fist, a considerable amount of hard currency in the Xuan Tian Continent. He placed the gold on the counter: "Old sir, how many immortal coins do you think this can be exchanged for?"

The old man glanced at the piece of gold as if it were a stone, shook his head, and said with a hint of disdain, "Gold? This stuff comes from the lower realms and is worthless in our Earthly Immortal Realm. It just has some metallic properties and is pretty useless. A piece like this is worth at most one immortal coin."

"One...one?" He Damin almost popped his eyes out. He had a full hundred tons of gold in his storage bracelet. At this exchange rate, wouldn't that only get him ten immortal coins? That wouldn't even cover the registration fee. He couldn't help but smile bitterly. It seemed that the value systems of the Immortal Realm and the lower realms were indeed worlds apart.

He put away the gold, then carefully took out a jade bottle from his storage bracelet and poured out a perfectly round pill that emitted a rich fragrance. This was a ninth-grade top-quality pill he had refined in the Xuan Tian Continent, called the "Return to Origin Pill." In the Xuan Tian Continent, this single pill was enough to cause a bloodbath and was priceless.