I rely on learning to achieve immortality.

The year Xu Zhou became the top scholar in the imperial examination, he met an immortal.

On the eve of my return to Beijing after returning home for the funeral, I suddenly saw someone walking away from the clouds. I saw it with my own eyes, there was no mistake.

In that instant, he almost turned to stone, frozen in place for a long time.

"So this is a world of cultivation."

Xu Zhou murmured to himself, and it wasn't until dawn that his family brought him back to his senses.

But what he saw that night had already profoundly changed him.

He traveled through nineteen years, lost his parents at a young age, and was raised by his uncle from the same clan. He tried to return to Earth many times without success, and finally settled down to face reality.

As a child, he desperately sought an opportunity to study within his clan, and from then on, he studied diligently and eventually achieved academic success.

He passed the county-level imperial examination at the age of fourteen, became a scholar at the provincial level at the age of nineteen, and topped the list in the palace examination the following year.

The new top scorer!

That same year, his uncle passed away. Xu Zhou was devastated and returned home to handle the funeral arrangements. Only after everything was settled did he set off back to Beijing...

Unexpectedly, on the eve of their departure, they witnessed the power of immortals.

"It turns out that all my efforts in life were nothing more than the struggles of a frog at the bottom of a well."

After ten years of hard study, he finally became the top scholar in the imperial examination. He should have been able to make great strides, but he discovered that the official career he had valued for half his life was nothing more than a game in the mundane world.

Above the mortal realm, there are those who cultivate immortality.

Xu Zhou absolutely could not accept this outcome.

"If I had known this would happen, why would I have studied so hard for nineteen years, wasting my time for nothing?"

"Now that we know that immortals exist in this world, how can we continue to be content with a mediocre life here?"

He made his decision and resigned from his official post, citing the grief and illness of his family members.

After that, he sold his ancestral home and traveled all the way in search of immortals. He almost encountered bandits along the way because he took the wrong path. He finally found the location of the Golden Flame Sect, passed the test, and arrived at the gate.

Surrounded by clouds and mist, it had an ethereal, otherworldly air.

Xu Zhou scanned his surroundings and saw that besides him, there were many other people scattered around, all of whom were seeking immortality and enlightenment, and each of them looked excited.

Not long after, a cultivator arrived from the sky and shouted:

"quiet."

Everyone was startled, and the noise immediately stopped.

The cultivator glanced at the crowd, paused for a moment, and then slowly said, "Now that you're here, you're disciples of my Golden Flame Sect."

"Come forward."

"Testing bone age reveals spiritual potential."

Those with superior aptitude may enter the inner sect.

"The rest of you shall remain in the outer mountains."

As each person stepped forward, their individual qualifications and arrangements were explained by that person.

"Inferior spiritual root, age twelve, go to the outer sect."

"Medium spiritual root, age twenty, go to the outer sect."

"Medium spiritual root, age thirteen, not bad. Stand over here, I'll take you to the inner sect in a bit."

This allocation quickly divided the group into two. The vast majority of people had inferior spiritual roots and were assigned to the outer sect regardless of age. The remaining few with medium-grade spiritual roots, as long as they were not too old, were assigned to the inner sect.

When Xu Zhou stepped forward, the cultivator grabbed his wrist, sensed it briefly, and reported the result:

"Inferior spiritual root, age fourteen, go to the outer sect."

Xu Zhou was taken aback.

I am already over twenty years old, so how come the other person says I am only fourteen?

How could a cultivator of immortality misjudge someone's age?

However, he did not inquire about this matter. After all, regardless of his age, with his spiritual root aptitude, he would not be able to enter the inner sect.

After testing the spiritual roots, the cultivator gave a few instructions and then departed on a cloud with a few inner disciples. A moment later, several younger cultivators led the remaining outer disciples into the outer sect courtyard.

Everyone was taught a set of Qi-guiding techniques, and it was said that once they guided Qi into their bodies, they would be considered to have embarked on the path to immortality.

Several days have passed in the blink of an eye.

After many days of unremitting efforts, Xu Zhou finally exhaled a wisp of spiritual energy, which returned to his dantian, and officially became a Qi Refining cultivator.

Upon learning the news, his senior brother came to him and taught him the basic techniques.

"This is the 'Cultivating Vitality Method'."

Upon picking up the cultivation manual, Xu Zhou was momentarily stunned.

This so-called basic exercise manual is actually a thick book. A cursory glance reveals densely packed text, probably more words than a dictionary.

Not to mention that the words and sentences in the classics are obscure and difficult to understand; even just reading them once would probably take two or three days.

So this is how difficult it is to learn cultivation techniques.

The senior disciple scoffed, "New disciples, why are you talking so much? Just read it carefully, understand it, and start cultivating."

It seems that the outer disciples are not well-liked, and Xu Zhou felt helpless.

Just as he put away his cultivation technique, someone outside the door suddenly let out a cold laugh.

The man's clothes were tattered, and his breathing was disordered; it was clear at a glance that he was in poor condition.

"You lot really think you're safe just because you've joined a sect?"

He pointed towards the distant mountain gate, his tone laced with sarcasm:

"See that path down the mountain? People walk that path every year. If they don't learn the techniques, they're sent down the mountain a year later."

"By then, without having learned any cultivation, you'll be even worse than a mortal."

The senior brother who delivered the cultivation manual frowned slightly but didn't say much. He simply told Xu Zhou, "Do your best," and then left.

Xu Zhou remained silent for a moment.

He didn't take what the man had just said to heart. Since choosing to go up the mountain to seek immortality, he had never thought of giving up.

Anyway, let's learn it first.

He still had some confidence in practicing this "Neiyuan Gongfa" (a method for cultivating vital energy).

Having studied diligently for many years, he was already accustomed to reading. While he couldn't say he was entirely confident in comprehending this cultivation technique, if he found it difficult, then probably very few of the other new disciples would be able to learn it.

Xu Zhou opened the book and quickly realized its profound mysteries. He could only grit his teeth and persevere, forcing himself to memorize and understand the words and phrases.

He spent most of the day reading, managing to get a rough start. He found it quite obscure and had to start over to understand it again.

Having learned from his first experience, he was able to absorb some of what he read the second time and gained some insight.

However, just to be on the safe side, he reread the opening chapter to make sure he had truly grasped it.

However, after a third reading, Xu Zhou discovered that his previous insights contradicted those recorded in the book. It was as if what he had read before was completely different from the words before him.

"He's got some skills after all."

Feeling the difficulty of studying the material, Xu Zhou also developed a fierce determination.

If he were the kind of person who would back down at the first sign of trouble, he wouldn't have become the top scholar in the imperial examination before he was even twenty.

He relit the oil lamp and continued studying the manual, determined to fully understand the opening chapter.

Once you get immersed in it, you quickly forget the passage of time.

The candle on the table went out and was casually put back on, continuing like this for an unknown amount of time.

At one point, he suddenly came to his senses.

Upon closer inspection, he realized that he had thoroughly studied and mastered the opening of the cultivation technique, and could recall every line and sentence even with his eyes closed.

Xu Zhou's heart sank.

"This is bad!"

"How many days have passed?"

He stood up abruptly, wanting to find something to eat immediately.

"I haven't eaten or drunk anything these days, and I'm afraid my body is starting to give out. I mustn't let myself get too hungry and damage my health."

But after taking only a few steps, he realized something was wrong.

I tried moving my arms, and my body moved quite nimbly. I stood up and took a few steps, feeling incredibly agile, unlike someone who hadn't eaten for days.

"What happened?"

"I don't feel hungry at all?"

Xu Zhou found some bread and water, but while eating it, he didn't feel particularly hungry or thirsty, which made him suspicious.

Something's not right.

"How much time has passed exactly now?"

He walked a few steps from his residence and soon encountered another outer disciple who lived nearby.

Upon seeing him, the other person immediately greeted him warmly: "Junior Brother Xu? It's been so long! I thought you had come down the mountain."

Xu Zhou's heart skipped a beat, and he said, "So it's Senior Brother Li Zelei, it's been a long time..."

I've been engrossed in studying the cultivation technique these past few days, so I haven't been out much.

"Oh, I see."

Speaking of the cultivation method, Senior Brother Li couldn't help but sigh, "I never expected the 'Cultivation Qi Cultivation Method' to be so difficult. It's been a month since I started absorbing Qi into my body, and I still haven't understood much..."

One month!

Xu Zhou's pupils dilated sharply.

The other person absorbed Qi into their body around the same time as me, and their understanding of the cultivation technique was also similar. I didn't expect that a month has already passed!

He was deeply shaken and didn't even know how to say goodbye to the other person. He only remembered that when he came to his senses, he had already walked away for a long time.

After calming down, he didn't immediately go back to the house, but instead went to find a few other acquaintances.

After making inquiries, it was finally confirmed that more than a month had passed since he first started learning.

Back in the cabin, Xu Zhou's face showed a look of horror.

Why is this happening?

"I actually sat at the table for a month, reading cultivation manuals, and I haven't starved to death yet?"

"This is definitely not because you can achieve fasting after drawing in qi. I just heard someone say that they were woken up by hunger halfway through because they were too focused. I haven't eaten or drunk anything for a month, and nothing happened to me?"

Xu Zhou felt a sense of dread and even began to suspect that there might be something wrong with the Golden Flame Sect.

Suddenly, a scene from the introductory test flashed before my eyes.

At the time, the sect's steward tested his aptitude, saying he was fourteen years old. But in reality, he was already twenty.

Xu Zhou originally thought it was a minor mistake made by the steward, and since it was nothing serious, he didn't argue about it.

Looking back now, it's like the mystery suddenly had an answer.

Xu Zhou stood there, stunned.

"I'm afraid that the deacon's prediction at the time was not wrong."

"The problem... is with me."