A Mortal's Journey to Immortality

Amidst the envious gazes of his servant, Zhou Ping sent most of his monthly salary home from the inner gate's handyman's office.

The servants in the miscellaneous affairs office already knew that this was Zhou Ping, the legendary disciple who had made a name for himself in the outer sect a couple of years ago.

Looking at the unremarkable young man in front of him, the servant's initial doubts turned into envy and jealousy.

You should know that when Zhou Ping first came here to mail a huge sum of money, the servant on duty almost treated him as a thief.

With an ordinary appearance, dark skin, and a mismatched set of gorgeous clothes, plus a huge amount of silver in his hands.

The servant once suspected that some foolish young man had secretly robbed a formal disciple!

After making a huge blunder, Zhou Ping helplessly touched his unremarkable face, feeling both annoyed and amused.

While I may not be particularly good-looking, I certainly don't look like a petty thief...

From then on, whenever Zhou Ping came to mail mail, the servant on duty would be extremely respectful and smile throughout, for fear that this prominent figure in the Jin clan would hold a grudge against him.

Zhou Ping did not object to this, as someone could carefully and thoroughly send the salary home, which relieved him of his worries.

.........

After sending the money, Zhou Ping breathed a long sigh of relief. After becoming a formal disciple, he would regularly send the salary he received home every month.

Thanks to the financial assistance over the past few years, the family's economic situation has undergone tremendous changes.

His father, Zhou Tie, had long been living a comfortable and leisurely life. Apart from occasionally having to work as a blacksmith, he spent most of his time in a very pleasant mood.

Even his older brothers and sisters were taken care of, and their lives got better day by day.

The neighbors in Qingyang Town were all amazed that the Zhou family had produced such a "big shot," and they all came to offer their congratulations.

Upon hearing this, Zhao San, the manager of the Weaponry Pavilion, broke out in a cold sweat. He immediately returned the silver jewelry he had embezzled from Zhou Tie that very night, along with a small gift as a congratulatory gesture.

Afterwards, Zhou Ping was not surprised by Zhao San's behavior at all. The managers of the Qingzhu Sect's branches stationed in various towns were high and mighty in the eyes of outsiders, but compared to formal disciples like Zhou Ping, they were not so impressive.

These managers were not direct disciples of the Qingzhu Sect; most of them were former servants. In order to facilitate the management of its numerous businesses, the Qingzhu Sect selected some quick-witted and perceptive individuals from among them.

Just like the stewards of wealthy families, they do their best to manage household affairs and handle all sorts of trivial matters for their masters.

Although they enjoyed generous rewards, their status was no different from that of slaves.

The stewards of the Green Bamboo Sect are similar; their status within the sect is far higher than that of ordinary outer disciples, but they are still far inferior to the formal disciples who form the core strength of the Green Bamboo Sect.

Not to mention Zhou Ping, a promising new star chosen by the Jin clan. If Zhou Ping wanted to, he could easily trip up Zhao San and make him lose everything.

After leaving the inner gate, Zhou Ping sat cross-legged on the edge of a cliff, closing his eyes and concentrating.

The mountains were shrouded in a thin mist, and the light was dim. Occasionally, a mountain breeze would blow, and the bamboo leaves in the forest would make a rustling sound.

Zhou Ping wasn't in a hurry to return to Jin Yuan. He was waiting for someone, the only friend he still had contact with within the Qingzhu Sect.

"Rustling... Click!"

A gentle breeze blew by, and the bamboo leaves rubbed together with a barely audible "crack" sound, as if a fragile branch had been broken.

Zhou Ping's eyebrows twitched, and he slowly opened his eyes, a smile unconsciously appearing on his lips.

"Come out, I've been waiting for you for ages, and you're still playing tricks on me."

Although the sound wasn't loud, it carried far and wide thanks to the sound of the wind in the mountains.

As soon as he finished speaking, the wind subsided, and silence returned to the cliffs.

A moment later, Zhou Ping pursed his lips, stood up, and dusted himself off.

"If you don't come out soon, I'm going back to Jinyuan."

No sooner had he finished speaking than a dark figure darted out from the bamboo forest a dozen feet behind him.

"No, no, no! Here I come!"

The newcomer was dressed in a black outfit, his figure swift and unpredictable. In just a few breaths, he arrived at the edge of the cliff. His fair and handsome face showed obvious surprise. It was Duan Yu, a good friend that Zhou Ping had made in the outer sect years ago.

At this time, Duan Yu had been promoted to a formal disciple a year ago, and with his martial arts talent far surpassing that of his fellow disciples, he successfully joined the Flying Shadow Hall.

"Senior Brother Duan, I thought you weren't planning on coming out."

Zhou Ping looked at Duan Yu, who was still half a head shorter than him, and teased him.

"Stop with the nonsense! Eldest boy, did you really spot me just now? You weren't just bluffing, were you?"

Duan Yu still had a hint of doubt on his face, and immediately started questioning Zhou Ping.

"With such a big person standing there, isn't it normal to be noticed?"

Zhou Ping shrugged speechlessly, sensing that the kid was acting a bit strange today.

"Impossible! I just mastered the Floating Shadow Step a few days ago! Even some of the senior brothers from the Flying Shadow Hall would have a hard time spotting me from this distance!"

"How could an old man like you, who only knows how to meditate and cultivate, have found me so quickly?"

Duan Yu retorted angrily, his smug satisfaction at having mastered the Floating Shadow Step vanishing instantly.

He had originally intended to take this opportunity to tease Zhou Ping, but unexpectedly, he was caught red-handed as soon as he appeared, which was quite a blow to him.

Zhou Ping slapped Duan Yu's hand away with a look of disgust, then lowered his head and smoothed out the slightly wrinkled collar of his clothes.

"Your Floating Shadow Step doesn't seem to be very skillful. You should try practicing another technique."

"You know nothing! This Floating Shadow Step isn't an ordinary martial arts technique; even in the entire Flying Shadow Hall, very few people have mastered it!"

Duan Yu looked at his dull and rigid friend in front of him, and was so angry that he felt like he was talking to a brick wall.

Zhou Ping naturally knew why he could discover the other party so easily. After reaching the third level of Qingyuan Gong, his five senses became increasingly acute, and he could keenly perceive some unusual sounds and movements around him that were difficult for ordinary people to detect.

Just now, Duan Yu was hiding in the bamboo forest when a very thin branch under his feet was accidentally broken while he was adjusting his breathing. The subtle breaking sound, along with the rustling of bamboo leaves, was instantly caught by Zhou Ping, who was meditating.

This mysterious feeling is something that even if he explains it, the other person may not be able to understand.

Rather than doing that, it's better to play dumb.

Seeing Zhou Ping's composed demeanor, Duan Yu sighed deeply and sat down on the ground, somewhat disheartened.

"Big boy, why do I feel like you're getting more and more strange lately? You clearly don't know any martial arts, but every time I see you, I have this feeling that you're being seen through."

"Senior Brother Duan, have you been so engrossed in practicing martial arts lately that you're having trouble sleeping? Why are you talking nonsense in broad daylight?"

Zhou Ping looked at Duan Yu, who seemed dejected, with surprise, unable to understand why the other man would say such a thing.

"I sleep very well! I can sleep through the night every day!"

Duan Yu's furious voice echoed through the canyon, startling several small birds that were foraging there.

In fact, Zhou Ping himself did not know that after mastering the Qingyuan Gong, he had begun to slowly break away from the realm of "human" and was gradually moving towards another level, a higher and more mysterious level, that of a cultivator.

This change, though slow, is steadily taking place...