A Mortal's Journey to Immortality

Since meeting Jin Yan, Zhou Ping has become even more cautious.

He first went to the inner sect, using Duan Yu's name, and secretly bought a large number of small porcelain bottles at the general store.

These porcelain vases were colorful and came in all sorts of styles; he packed them all into a package and took them back to Jinyuan.

Buying so many medicine bottles at once would inevitably arouse suspicion from some people, so he used Duan Yu's name. Even if he was questioned afterward, no one would be able to trace it back to him.

As for Duan Yu, he has even less to worry about. A simple confrontation will reveal that this is an impersonation incident, and it will not have any impact on him.

Zhou Ping bought these medicine bottles to seal and preserve all the large number of pills he had secretly hoarded, then bury them in a secluded place, taking them out little by little when needed.

The previous events had a significant impact on him, making Zhou Ping feel that these pills might not be safe even if they were hidden in the house. If someone sneaked in, they could easily find them in no time.

Then, taking advantage of the fact that no one was paying attention, he found a shady, dark open space behind the bamboo house and buried all the tightly sealed medicine bottles there. After making sure the ground looked exactly the same as before, he returned to the house satisfied.

After doing all this, Zhou Ping put his hands behind his back and paced around the room. He wanted to make sure there was anything he had overlooked, and if so, he would hide it as well.

Before long, he became quite irritable from turning around, so he simply lay down on the bed, looked at the verdant mountains outside the window, and unknowingly fell into a deep sleep.

Perhaps due to the intense stress of the past few days, Zhou Ping was physically and mentally exhausted. He slept exceptionally well and even had a beautiful dream.

In his dream, Zhou Ping returned to Qingyang Town after completing his apprenticeship and spent a fortune to buy a huge mansion in the center of the town.

All the matchmakers in town flocked to the mansion, vying to arrange a marriage for him. In the end, under the father's satisfied gaze, a suitable marriage was arranged for him.

The wedding day arrived quickly, and many relatives and friends were busy running around the house. Zhou Ping's father and elder brother were busy greeting guests.

With everyone's blessings, Zhou Ping finally married his future bride and brought her home.

That evening, after greeting his relatives and friends, Zhou Ping, amidst the teasing and joking of the crowd, drunkenly pushed open the door to the bridal chamber, which was covered with the character for "double happiness."

Looking at the red candles and various festive decorations in the room, Zhou Ping swayed and staggered to the bedside.

The bride before him wore a veil, her shy face half-hidden, and the jade-like neck revealed beneath the veil made Zhou Ping's breathing instantly become heavy.

He suddenly pulled the bride into his arms and took a deep breath of the faint fragrance emanating from her.

That smells so familiar...

At this moment, Zhou Ping was already burning with desire. He quickly took off his clothes and lifted the red veil from the bride's head.

He gazed at the stunningly beautiful face so close to his, now looking at him with captivating charm and her eyes sparkling with spring-like passion.

Zhou Ping's expression froze, and the burning desire within him was instantly extinguished. He stared in shock at the alluring woman in his arms, and tremblingly cried out...

"Jin! Elder Jin!?"

"Call me 'sister'..."

.......

Zhou Ping sat up abruptly in bed, breathing heavily. After looking around and realizing it was just a dream, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Recalling the scene in his dream, he found it hard to believe that he had actually married Jin Yan, an elder of the Jin clan.

The scene in this dream was utterly astonishing. The two were of vastly different social statuses and ages. Even Zhou Ping himself couldn't believe that he could have such an absurd daydream.

He shook his head vigorously, a shiver running through his body, trying to forget the dream he had just had.

He had slammed his hand hard on a hard object by the bed when he got up too suddenly, causing his palm to swell and ache.

Curious, he lifted the covers to see what had caused his hand to look like that.

A moment later, a dark object appeared in his sight, and Zhou Ping suddenly realized and took it in his hand.

It turned out to be something he had forgotten for a long time, a peculiar item that he had brought back to Cuifeng Villa and then forgotten about—that mysterious "iron nail."

Since Zhou Ping brought it back, he had buried it under the bed and completely forgotten about it. If it hadn't hurt his palm this time, he probably would have forgotten about it forever.

Now, under the tutelage of Jin Yuan and Qingzhumen, Zhou Ping has grown for more than three years, and his knowledge has undergone tremendous changes. Jin Yuan's rich collection of books has also made up for his many deficiencies in humanities and geography.

Even so, after bringing the nail back, he still had no clue about this dark thing and had no way to deal with it.

Therefore, after failing to find the answer, Zhou Ping gradually put it out of his mind.

.......

At this moment, Zhou Ping was looking at the black iron nail in his hand with a serious expression, but a faint curiosity appeared on his usually calm and taciturn face.

He noticed that this nail was slightly different from the previous one. Its originally jet-black, round end had become somewhat whitish. Upon closer inspection, one could see a wisp of smoke swirling around it, partially obscuring the black nail head.

"This is......?"

Zhou Ping carefully observed the wisp of mist, his eyes wide open.

After confirming that he wasn't seeing things, he inexplicably blew a breath gently onto the nail head, trying to disperse the smoke obscuring it and see what changes had occurred.

"Um?"

Zhou Ping frowned in surprise, staring blankly at the still-smoky nail head, his expression becoming somewhat dazed, as if he couldn't believe it.

A moment later, defiantly puffing out his cheeks, he blew a powerful breath into the nail, a breath that was both intense and prolonged.

After Zhou Ping exhaled all the air from his chest, he took a breath, feeling a little dizzy. With his chest heaving violently, he once again fixed his gaze on the iron nail.

"This! How is this possible!?"

Zhou Ping stared in shock at the unchanging iron nail, his usually calm and taciturn face now showing a look of horror and bewilderment.

The wisp of mist swirling above it remained completely unaffected by his vigorous blowing, continuing to swirl and drift slowly and naturally.

The wisp of smoke lingered and did not dissipate, remaining constant at one end of the iron nail, looking like a lit piece of sandalwood.

Zhou Ping's mind raced. This bizarre scene captivated him. A wisp of smoke remained perfectly still in the wind, a phenomenon far beyond his comprehension.

"Agarwood?"

A thought suddenly flashed through his mind, as if he remembered something, and he slowly raised the iron nail upright with one hand.