Cultivating Immortality in Two Realms: Sunflower Lord

The Great Yu Dynasty, Qingzhou Prefecture, the Thirty-Seventh Immortal Academy.

The fine rain, like needles, pierced the bluestone-paved training ground.

One hundred and twenty-three young men and women stood in neat rows, their standard gray robes faded from washing, with rough threads showing through the worn cuffs.

Ji Ruchang stood in the seventh position from the left in the third row, a position he had held for nine years.

From age six to fifteen.

From an innocent child to a thin teenager.

From a transmigrator who knew nothing about this world to a Qi Refining Stage 3 cultivator who barely stepped into the threshold of cultivation.

"Today, you graduate." On the high platform, the white-bearded instructor's voice was dry, like sandpaper rubbing against rotten wood. "For nine years, the court has provided you with food and clothing, taught you martial arts, and imparted knowledge to you. Now, the Great Yu is in peril, and the Netherworld is encroaching. It is time to repay your kindness."

The instructor paused, his cloudy gaze sweeping over every young face below the stage: "Those who have reached the third level of Qi Refining may serve as night patrolmen, guarding the county town and protecting the region. Those who have not reached the third level... shall be exiled to the border army to build the Yin Pass."

A soft gasp rose from the audience.

Ji remained expressionless.

Three months ago, he broke through to the third level of Qi Refining—or rather, he finally cultivated the "Longevity Manual," a "popular cultivation method" that doesn't discriminate based on spiritual root attributes, to the perfection of the first stage.

Nine years, three floors.

One floor every three years on average.

This speed is considered extremely slow in the resource-rich world of cultivation, but in this immortal academy where yin energy permeates, spiritual energy is scarce, and each person can only receive one low-quality spirit stone per month, it is considered above average.

At least, we don't have to go to the border to repair that supposedly perilous "Yin Pass".

"Those whose names are called, step forward to receive your identity tokens." The instructor unfolded a roster. "Zhang Ergou."

"Disciple is here." A dark-skinned, sturdy young man stepped forward quickly and took a black iron token.

"Li Xiu'e".

"Wang Tiezhu".

……

"Ji Ruchang".

Ji Ruchang took a deep breath and stepped forward.

Nine years have passed, and he still isn't used to this ancient-sounding name—in his previous life, he was called Ji Bai, an ordinary office worker who died from overwork and opened his eyes to find himself a six-year-old child in this world at the end of a dynasty.

The instructor's fingers trembled slightly as he handed him the token.

Ji Ruchang looked up and saw a complex look flash across the instructor's eyes—pity?

regret?

Or something else?

"The night patrolmen of Qinglan County, report for duty within three days," the instructor said in a low voice. "Take care of yourself."

"Thank you, Instructor." Ji Ruchang bowed and returned to the ranks.

The token felt cold to the touch. The front was engraved with the words "Night Patrol" and the back with "Azure Mist" and a series of numbers.

He infused a trace of true essence, and the token emitted a faint blue light, indicating that his identity had been bound.

This is what his future life will be like.

Night Patrolman is the lowest-ranking cultivator position in the Great Yu Dynasty, responsible for patrolling the county town at night and dealing with low-level evil spirits and wandering ghosts.

The salary is meager, the risks are extremely high, and the average lifespan is no more than thirty-five years.

But at least his family can get a 20% tax reduction – when he was six years old and was found to have the lowest-ranking spiritual root, his family's taxes were reduced by 10%; now that he has become a formal night watchman, they will get another 10% reduction.

In this world where human life is as cheap as grass, this is already considered a good way out.

After receiving their tokens, the graduates were allowed to stay one last night in the Senjuku dormitory.

Ji returned to the eight-person dormitory room where she had lived for nine years.

Of the other seven, three were taken away before reaching the third level, two at the second level of Qi Refining dejectedly packed their belongings, one at the third level of Qi Refining sat silently in meditation like him, and there was one more...

"Brother Ji," Wang Xiaoshi from the opposite bunk leaned over and whispered, "I heard things aren't going well in Qinglan County..."

Wang Xiaoshi was also at the third level of Qi Refining, and was assigned to the neighboring county.

"Where has peace ever been?" Ji Ruchang asked with her eyes closed.

"It's different." Wang Xiaoshi's voice was even lower. "My uncle works in the prefecture. He said that three night patrolmen died in Qinglan County last month. They were all veterans at the fourth level of Qi Refining. Evil spirits... they're a bit fierce."

Ji Ruchang opened her eyes.

Wang Xiaoshi felt a little uneasy under his gaze and chuckled dryly, "It might be a rumor. Brother Ji, your skills are solid, maybe you can..."

"Get some rest," Ji Ruchang interrupted him, closing her eyes again.

Late at night.

The other seven people gradually fell asleep. Ji Ruchang, however, couldn't calm down no matter what she did.

Nine years have passed.

Nine years of traversing, nine years of struggling, nine years of arduous cultivation.

There are no cheat codes, no old man, and no system notification sounds.

All he had was a widely available, outdated book called "The Secret of Immortality," a meager talent, and the perseverance to grit his teeth and keep going day after day.

Sometimes he wondered if he had traveled through time in the wrong way.

Or is it that there are actually many transmigrators in this world, and I am just an insignificant one?

He looked inward at himself.

Within the dantian, three strands of pale blue true essence slowly rotated, a sign that the "Longevity Manual" had reached the third level of perfection.

There is still a sparse amount of true essence circulating in the meridians, which can barely form a layer of light on the body surface—enough to illuminate the night and dispel the weakest wandering souls.

Fourth level of Qi Refining?

He attempted to overcome that hurdle seven times, but failed each time.

Each time, I feel that my true essence has reached its limit, but when I try to break through the bottleneck, a cold and obscure force always seeps out from the depths of my body, hindering the circulation of my true essence.

The teachings have stated that this is "yin, turbid, and malevolent energy," the accumulation of filth permeating the world within the practitioner's body.

Those with abundant resources can use elixirs to refine themselves, but these poor children can only rely on painstaking effort to gradually wear themselves down.

Maybe another three years? Five years?

But does he still have that much time?

Three Qi Refining Level 4 experts died in Qinglan County last month...

"That's enough." Ji Ruchang sighed inwardly, preparing to end her meditation.

Just then—

Without warning, a cloud of gray mist appeared deep within the sea of ​​consciousness.

Ji Ruchang froze.

A thick, swirling gray fog obscured the view, and something could be vaguely discerned hidden within it.

He stared intently, and the gray mist gradually cleared, revealing a corner... the courtyard?

It really is just a small part.

A seven-foot-high brick wall, two narrow alleyways at the corner, and the northwest corner formed by the wall and a house at the intersection of the alleyways.

Looking further down, in the deepest corner, a dry well is faintly visible.

Strangely, no matter how Ji Ruchang "rotated" her perspective, this corner of the courtyard always remained in the northwest direction.

It's like there's an invisible gyroscope that locks its position.

Within the dry well, a faint golden light pierced through the gray mist.

The light was faint, yet it carried a strange warmth, a stark contrast to the pervasive chill of the world.

Ji Ruchang's heart began to race.

Nine years have passed.

at last……

He forced himself to calm down and observe carefully.

The golden light emanates from the bottom of the well—at the bottom of the well is a plant.

It was three feet tall, with a stem only as thick as a little finger, so thin that it looked as if it would break with a gust of wind.

At the top is a small flower disc, the petals are a dull gold, gathered into a half-open sphere.

A sunflower.

As Ji Ruchang's attention was completely focused on the sunflowers, a line of illusory text appeared out of thin air:

[Level 1 Sunflower: Golden Sunflower (Weak)]

Status: Not yet recognized as a master

[Tip: Blood can be used to identify a master]

Goldfinger!

Ji Ruchang could barely control her breathing.

He suddenly opened his eyes and looked around—his roommates were all fast asleep, their snores rising and falling.

Not a dream.

He closed his eyes again, his mind sinking into his sea of ​​consciousness.

The gray fog, the corner of the courtyard, the dry well, the sunflowers... they're all still there.

Go outside the dormitory? No, that's too conspicuous.

right here.

Ji Ruchang bit her right index finger and squeezed out a drop of blood.

Then, he tried to "send" the drop of blood into his sea of ​​consciousness—a delicate operation that could only be performed by those in the Foundation Establishment stage, but at this moment, he was inspired and with just a thought, the drop of blood disappeared from his fingertip.

In the gray mist of the sea of ​​consciousness, a drop of bright red blood appeared out of thin air, slowly drifting down and dripping onto the slender flower head of the Golden Sunflower.

Blood seeped in.

In an instant, a wonderful connection was established.

Ji Ruchang "senses" the sunflower—its weakness, its longing, and a sense of closeness and dependence emanating from its depths.

At the same time, wisps of cool air emanated from the darkness and entered his body.

The turbid and malevolent energy that had accumulated deep within his meridians and hindered his breakthrough seemed to have met its nemesis and quickly dissolved!

Moreover, the sunflower sent a clear message:

[Requirement: Defeat demons and monsters, and devour their bodies to grow stronger]

[Ability: Absorbs turbid and malevolent energy and transforms it into the power of the sun's essence (weak)]

Transform the power of the sun's essence!

Before Ji Ruchang could think about it in detail, changes had already occurred inside her body.

The Yin energy that had been hindering the breakthrough was swept away, and the three strands of true essence in the dantian suddenly spun violently, expanded, and merged!

The original pale blue true essence was tinged with a very faint gold.

boom!

A silent roar resounded within his body.

The barrier between the third and fourth levels of the Qi Refining stage melted instantly, like thin ice exposed to sunlight.

The vital energy surges forth, breaking through the shackles and flowing through a wider range of meridians.

In the center of his dantian, the fourth strand of true essence slowly condensed—though small, it was exceptionally solid, carrying a faint golden warmth.

Fourth level of Qi Refining!

Breakthrough.

The threshold that nine years of arduous training could not overcome was easily crossed in this instant.

Ji Ruchang opened her eyes, a barely perceptible golden glint flashing in them.

He raised his hand, and with a slight thought, a ball of true essence the size of an egg appeared in his palm—no longer a pure pale blue, but a blue with a barely perceptible golden halo, its light warm and stable.

Mid-stage Qi Refining.

From today onwards, he has officially entered the mid-stage of Qi Refining, with both the quality and quantity of his true essence improving, allowing him to learn some simple spells.

All of this stemmed from that frail sunflower in my sea of ​​consciousness.

Ji Ruchang closed her eyes again, her mind sinking into the gray mist of her sea of ​​consciousness.

The sunflower seemed to have perked up a bit, its flower head slightly raised, conveying a mix of longing and hunger.

It needs "food"—the corpses of spirits and monsters, or dense, turbid yin energy.

Ji Ruchang looked at the rest of the courtyard, which was shrouded in gray mist.

Such an opportunity has arisen in just the northwest corner. If only more of the gray fog could be dispelled, allowing us to explore the entire courtyard...

"Qinglan County," he murmured to himself, a slight smile playing on his lips, "seems like a nice place."

Outside the window, the night was deep, and the drizzle continued.

But in Ji Ruchang's heart, there was already sunshine.