A Mortal's Journey to Immortality

Tianxing Peak, atop a towering cliff.

Qin Lang stood obsequiously behind Qin Changqing, his face full of flattery, his eyes revealing undisguised envy.

The number of Qin family members who can cultivate in seclusion on Tianxing Peak can be counted on one's fingers; it's just a few direct descendants of the Tianxing Ancestor. Others can forget about it.

If one could receive even a word or two of guidance from a Core Formation Ancestor in cultivation, that would be an immense blessing. Even Foundation Establishment stage senior uncles might not have such treatment, so how could one not be envious?

"You've come to see me, is there something important?"

Qin Changqing looked displeased. His cultivation at Tianxing Peak had finally brought him to the threshold of advancing to the ninth level of the Qi Refining stage. If nothing unexpected happened, he could strike while the iron was hot and spend a few more months cultivating diligently to break through to the ninth level of the Qi Refining stage in one fell swoop.

Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned. The mission assigned by the sect forced him to stop cultivating, and he had to find another opportunity to break through.

Within the sect, everyone says that the Qin family patriarch wields immense power and protects his clansmen. But only the direct descendants know that, in the face of the sect's rules, they are no different from everyone else, and the patriarch shows them no favoritism whatsoever.

Therefore, even though Qin Changqing was about to break through, he had to stop cultivating and prioritize completing the tasks assigned by the sect.

Qin Lang happened to arrive at this time, clearly having offended Qin Changqing, so naturally he wouldn't give him a friendly look.

"Brother Changqing, do you remember Zhou Ping, whom I mentioned last time?"

"Zhou Ping? Which Zhou Ping?"

Upon hearing Qin Lang's words, Qin Changqing frowned and unconsciously asked a question in return.

"It's Zhou Ping, the one who went on the mission with you. I mentioned him to you last time."

Seeing that the other person seemed to have a bad memory, Qin Lang quickly reminded him.

"Oh...it's him. What do you need me for?"

Qin Changqing nodded slightly, as if he remembered this person, but then changed the subject and questioned the other party's purpose again.

"Brother Changqing, you don't know this, but Zhou Ping is a very arrogant kid. My original intention was to have him come and pay his respects to you, so that he would become familiar with you in the later missions and it would be convenient for him to help you out."

"Who would have thought that this young man would flatly refuse my kind offer and set off alone? Isn't this a slap in your face?!"

Qin Lang embellished Zhou Ping's various unreasonable behaviors, raising his voice slightly for fear that Qin Changqing wouldn't hear him clearly.

Upon hearing this, Qin Changqing slightly raised his hand to stop Qin Lang from speaking freely, then rubbed his temples and asked in return,

"Who said I wanted to see him? Stop bothering me with these pointless things, it's ridiculous!"

After saying that, Qin Changqing turned and walked back, leaving Qin Lang standing there bewildered in the wind, looking embarrassed.

........

"Huaxi Valley".

Zhou Ping looked up at the cliff face not far away, read the three prominent characters on it aloud, then closed the map in his hand and found a relatively soft patch of grass to sit down.

"This should be it. According to the map, after passing through this canyon, we will be in the territory of Luoyun Prefecture."

Zhou Ping let out a soft breath and leaned against the tree.

After traveling for more than half a month, he finally arrived at the border between the two states, having traveled all the way from the Middle Ancient Mountains.

To avoid causing unnecessary disturbances, Zhou Ping only used his flying boat at night to travel, and spent the rest of the time on foot.

As he walked, he familiarized himself with the various basic spells of cultivators, flipping through the several cultivation manuals he had obtained from Fang Miao again and again, striving to memorize them so that he could master them in the future.

After studying for a period of time, Zhou Ping finally figured out some of the problems that had been bothering him.

After learning about his spiritual root attribute, he felt disappointed but also had some doubts.

Why is it that he, with his four elemental roots, is able to cast a wind-attribute spell like Wind Blade, even though he doesn't have a wind elemental root?

It turns out that these low-level spells are just a rudimentary application of the spiritual energy of heaven and earth by cultivators. They do not require refining and absorption at all; one only needs to use one's own spiritual energy to simply knead and shape them.

This is the simplest use of spiritual power in the cultivation world, which everyone can learn, and therefore it is also the weakest basic spell in terms of destructive power.

Compared to these simple, basic spells, the Luo Sheng Lotus Shield that Zhou Ping learned was undoubtedly on a much higher level.

Not only does it require the practitioner to possess a wood-attribute spiritual root, but it also requires specific spiritual power to cultivate. The conditions are undoubtedly much more demanding, but the defensive power after cultivation is a pleasant surprise to him.

Recalling the Fiery Talisman that Tongxin Daoist unleashed, which was equivalent to the full-force attack of a ninth-level Qi Refining cultivator, the Luo Sheng Lotus Shield was able to protect it without a scratch. Its defensive power was truly astonishing.

Although Yuan Zhengze, a Foundation Establishment cultivator, was involved, the defensive capability of a single lotus leaf of the Luo Sheng Lotus Shield is undeniable.

After thinking all this through, Zhou Ping looked inward at the Azure Lotus Leaf floating in his dantian, a satisfied smile appearing on his lips.

Then he took out a dark brown pill from his storage bag, tilted his head back and swallowed it. Afterwards, he began to meditate and regulate his breathing, so that he could be in the best state of mind and energy when he entered the valley.

When traveling, Zhou Ping was extremely cautious. He could not be careless and could not encounter any unexpected situations while traveling in this unfamiliar territory.

The dark brown pill he swallowed was the Bigu Pill obtained from the Qinglian Xuanzong sect. With this pill, it was undoubtedly much more convenient for the sect disciples when they went out on missions, and they would hardly be troubled by their appetites anymore.

Of course, these fasting pills are not free to obtain in the Azure Lotus Profound Sect. Only new disciples who have just entered the sect will receive a certain number of them as a gift. After these pills are used up, they will need to exchange them for merit points.

After entering the canyon, Zhou Ping finally understood why the place was called "Huaxi Valley".

The entire canyon is enormous, and the forests at the entrance block out 99% of the view, so its true landscape can only be discovered once inside.

The entire canyon is like a huge basin naturally carved out, covered with flowers and grasses, and on both sides are vast forests that stretch into the clouds. Looking into the distance, it is difficult to see the end.

Only now did Zhou Ping understand why the sect had given him a two-month deadline to reach Jiyun City.

At first, he was quite pleased with himself for reaching the border between the two states in just half a month, but now it seems that he was undoubtedly too complacent.

"It seems that maps aren't entirely accurate..."

Zhou Ping glanced down at the blueprints in his hand, then looked at the massive canyon, and sighed helplessly.

------------

I'm trying to get back into the swing of things lately, so I'll try updating a few times first. I expect the updates will be inconsistent, so I suggest you all take your time and don't rush to read them.