A Mortal's Journey to Immortality

Three days later

A flying magical vessel soared into the sky from outside Jiyun City, carrying three cultivators—two men and one woman—and sped towards the Hidden Thunder Mountains in the northwest.

The two male cultivators were naturally Qin Changqing and Zhou Ping. One stood at the front of the flying boat, while the other stood quietly at the stern, creating a somewhat subtle atmosphere.

Zhou Ping stood somewhat awkwardly at the back, constantly looking around at the scenery, his eyes wandering.

When his gaze occasionally swept across the front of the flying boat, he saw a lovely woman in a yellow dress, charming and beautiful, standing close to Qin Changqing, eagerly waiting. An unnatural expression unconsciously appeared on his face, and he felt that he was somewhat superfluous at the moment.

This woman's name is Gu Caiwei. She is a disciple of the Bihua Xuanzong sect in Donglin Prefecture, and her family is another cultivation family in Dianyun Prefecture, the Gu family.

The Qin and Gu families were old friends, so Gu Caiwei and Qin Changqing had known each other since childhood and were somewhat like childhood sweethearts.

However, whenever Zhou Ping's gaze swept over Qin Changqing's ashen profile, he felt a strange mix of curiosity and amusement.

It is unknown how Gu Caiwei learned of Qin Changqing's arrival. After learning about his mission, she immediately begged her master to find Uncle Yun and ask to go with him to hunt demons.

Out of consideration for the relationship between the two sects and feeling that it was a relatively safe mission, Uncle Yun had no choice but to reluctantly agree to the matter after being pleaded with by the young girl.

Thus, the strange scene we see at this moment came about.

"Brother Qing, you haven't been back to the Qin family in Dianyun for many years. I haven't seen you for almost three years. I didn't expect you to reach the ninth level of Qi Refining so soon. You're much faster than my brother."

Gu Caiwei tugged at Qin Changqing's sleeve, speaking with a mixture of complaint and admiration.

Qin Changqing, standing quietly to the side, had a livid face and his eyebrows twitched slightly. He was secretly annoyed by Uncle Yun's attempt to shift the blame, which had made the originally simple demon-hunting mission suddenly become a painful ordeal.

Although he and Gu Caiwei had known each other since childhood, he only regarded her as a girl next door and never had any other thoughts.

But as the girl grew up, her feelings for Qin Changqing changed. She went from calling him "Brother Changqing" to calling him "Brother Qing," which made him feel a headache every time he saw her.

"Sister Caiwei, may I ask what realm Brother Xiujie has reached now?"

The "Brother Xiujie" he mentioned was Gu Caiwei's older brother, Gu Xiujie. Qin Changqing, quick-witted, hurriedly changed the subject.

"My elder brother has only recently advanced to the eighth level of Qi Refining, and he is four years older than you, Brother Qing. He is really quite inadequate."

Gu Caiwei's bright eyes kept blinking as she stared at Qin Changqing, making the latter feel secretly uncomfortable.

Finally, unable to bear it any longer, he turned and walked towards Zhou Ping at the back of the flying boat.

"Junior Brother Zhou, I have a question I'd like to discuss with you regarding this mission."

Zhou Ping, who was forcing himself to look at the scenery, looked over in surprise after hearing the other person speak.

If he remembered correctly, this was the first time the other party had taken the initiative to communicate with him since arriving in Jiyun City. However, when Zhou Ping heard the words, he could clearly sense that they were not entirely sincere.

......

More than two hours later,

After passing through a low thicket, the blue flying boat landed smoothly on the soft, damp ground.

"We can only fly this far. If we fly any deeper, our actions will be completely exposed to the monsters hiding everywhere, and we will easily attract a large number of monsters to attack us."

Qin Changqing waved and put the flying boat into his storage bag, then turned back and whispered to the two of them.

Gu Caiwei seemed to have known this all along, and her face did not show any unusual expression. However, her bright eyes would occasionally glance at Zhou Ping, who stood indifferently beside her, while closely following the figure of the young man in the brocade robe.

Upon catching a glimpse of his slightly aged face, an expression of disbelief would appear in his eyes.

Zhou Ping ignored the woman's gaze, his face slightly pale as he stared at the Hidden Thunder Mountains that were right in front of him, his mind filled with detailed information about the place.

The Hidden Thunder Mountains stretch for tens of thousands of miles, and their area is large enough to be equivalent to a small mortal country. Due to their special location, half of them are adjacent to the Great Liang Kingdom, while the other half are located to the west of the Tianyun Kingdom.

The area is home to a large variety of demonic beasts and clans, with many at the Core Formation stage (level 5 or above) lurking in its depths. It has become a forbidden area for cultivators from both countries and a natural barrier between them. Similar to the Misty Sea on the other side, no cultivator has ever been known to travel between the two countries from within it.

As for the Nascent Soul elders in the major cultivation sects, they are mysterious figures who are rarely seen, and it is unknown whether any of them have ventured deep into the Hidden Thunder Mountains.

However, according to some cultivators' speculations, the high-level demons deep in the Hidden Thunder Mountains must have some kind of secret agreement with the major sects, and the two have always maintained a state of non-interference with each other.

All of the above refers to the deepest part of the Hidden Thunder Mountains. In the surrounding area, a vast number of low-level demonic beasts live, and various precious spiritual materials are abundant. It is a rare resource treasure land for the cultivation world of both countries.

Like most mountain ranges, the Hidden Thunder Mountains are shrouded in fog of varying thickness throughout the year, although most of this fog is ordinary, non-toxic, and odorless mist.

However, it does hinder the cultivator's ability to probe their spiritual senses, and it also greatly reduces the cultivator's five senses, causing cultivators who are new to this place to feel very depressed due to their inability to adapt.

"Judging from your reaction, this is your first time in the Hidden Thunder Mountains, isn't it?"

After the three entered the outer area, Gu Caiwei felt extremely bored along the way, so she asked Zhou Ping, whose face was slightly pale, her tone carrying a hint of the haughtiness unique to young ladies.

"Your discerning eye is truly remarkable. This is indeed my first time visiting this place."

When Zhou Ping saw that the other person was looking at him and spoke in a tone that suggested she was from a high-class family, he felt a little disgusted, but due to her status, he could only reply calmly.

As the three ventured deeper, they gradually noticed more signs of cultivator activity in the surrounding area.

Most of these cultivators, like them, formed small hunting teams of three to five, and very few acted alone. They were probably aware of the dangers of this place and hoped to obtain the cultivation resources they wanted by joining forces with others.

After these cultivators meet on the outskirts of the Hidden Thunder Mountains, they usually observe each other from a distance before departing.

Unless they discover some rare spiritual material or monster, they might be blinded by greed and unleash a bloody massacre.