A Mortal's Journey to Immortality

Looking at Zhou Ping's curious expression, Chen Dafu felt a little smug. No one could imagine that the Chen family's collection contained as many as three items related to cultivation, which was simply unimaginable for a secular family.

This is all thanks to the Chen family's extensive trade and distribution capabilities, which allow them to reach as many as several states. Naturally, they can acquire all sorts of rare and precious treasures, so it's only natural that a cultivation item might occasionally appear among them.

"Senior Brother Zhou, I'll give you a brief introduction to these three items, but to understand their specifics, you'll need to come back to the Chen family with me. After all, my description alone may not be enough to fully explain their unique characteristics."

Chen Dafu paused slightly, then began to speak slowly.

"These three items..."

After listening intently to the explanation of the Chen family's three extraordinary treasures, Zhou Ping's expression gradually became serious.

According to Chen Dafu, the three items were a tattered animal hide book, a pale blue rhombus-shaped gem, and a damaged suit of armor made from an unknown material.

The pale blue gemstone was so extraordinary that it was obvious at a glance that it was not worth distinguishing. As for the animal skin book and the broken armor, it was impossible to determine what they were. However, after Chen's experiments, it was discovered that both of them had the magical property of being impervious to water and fire. Therefore, they were regarded as items for cultivators and were secretly sealed together with the blue gemstone.

At this moment, Zhou Ping had gained some understanding of the cultivation world from several books and was no longer as ignorant as before.

Therefore, after listening to Chen Dafu's description, he already had a vague guess in his heart. This guess made him very excited. If it was as he expected, the Chen family really did have something extraordinary hidden away.

"Senior Brother Zhou, is it convenient for you now? I'll take you to the Chen family to see some of their treasures."

Seeing that Zhou Ping was very interested, Chen Dafu directly extended an invitation.

"No rush. Since I have already promised Junior Brother Chen, I will not go back on my word, so there is no need to rush for a moment."

Zhou Ping rejected Chen Dafu's suggestion without hesitation. Firstly, the suggestion was a bit too hasty, which was not to his liking, given his meticulous nature.

Secondly, he still needs to clarify some details, so it's not advisable for him to set off immediately.

There was actually a deeper reason, which was just Zhou Ping's subconscious reaction: one should not have the heart to harm others, but one should not be without the heart to guard against others.

He and Chen Dafu had only met a few times, and to expect him to completely trust him based solely on their shared background as fellow disciples was nothing short of a pipe dream.

Seeing that Zhou Ping decisively rejected his suggestion, Chen Dafu blushed, seemingly realizing he had been somewhat rash, and quickly apologized.

"I was being presumptuous, and I hope my senior brother will forgive me."

"It's alright. I just have some important matters to attend to and can't get away for the time being. Junior Brother Chen, there's no need to blame yourself."

"Alright then, if Junior Brother Chen trusts me, you only need to tell me your exact location within the Chen family residence. When I have time, I will personally go to the Chen family. To avoid unnecessary trouble, I will go secretly and only meet with Junior Brother Chen."

"What do you think of this idea, junior brother?"

Zhou Ping thought for a moment, then shared his thoughts and quietly observed Chen Dafu's reaction.

"This... I originally intended to welcome Senior Brother Zhou with the highest family honors, but it seems that Senior Brother may not like noisy scenes with many people."

"Very well, let's do as Senior Brother says. Da Fu will go back and wait for your arrival."

After thinking about it, Chen Dafu had no choice but to suppress his thoughts. He had originally wanted to use Zhou Ping's identity as a cultivator to gain face in front of the family elders and his father, but he did not expect that this senior brother Zhou was so meticulous in his work that he did not give him the slightest chance to show off.

"Let's skip these formalities. I don't want too many people to know my whereabouts right now. I hope Junior Brother Chen will understand."

Zhou Ping chuckled and laughed it off, unaware of what the other person was thinking. He simply didn't want to expose himself too much to the world.

After all, it concerned his own and his family's safety. Even though this place was far from Qingyang Town, he naturally declined Chen Dafu's offer, thinking it was better to avoid trouble.

Chen Dafu didn't press the matter further, but since it involved the Chen family's cultivation treasure, there were some things he still needed to clarify with Zhou Ping.

"Don't worry, senior brother, I understand your meaning and will do my best to keep your whereabouts a secret."

"However, there is one thing I hope you will understand, senior brother. There is one person whose transaction regarding cultivation treasures is unavoidable. I hope you will not blame me then."

"Your father?"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Ping naturally replied.

"That's right, it is my father, the current head of the Chen family. Although I can make the decision on the transaction of these cultivation treasures, it must be carried out under my father's witness."

"Therefore, my father will probably find out about my whereabouts, so I would like to tell you about this in advance."

"It's alright, Junior Brother Chen can inform your father. With Junior Brother Chen acting as a mediator, I, Zhou, am naturally at ease."

Given Zhou Ping's understanding of cultivation artifacts, he naturally knew that his transaction with Chen Dafu would inevitably involve the head of the Chen family, who was in charge of the Chen clan.

That's why he seemed so composed. But after saying all that, he changed the subject, his expression turning serious as he gave a warning.

"However, I do not wish for more people to know about my deal with the nobles. Furthermore, given your father's extensive influence in Tianyan Town and even this region, I do not wish for the Chen family to conduct any form of investigation or covert investigation against me."

"If this happens, I will unilaterally terminate all agreements with the nobles."

"I'm being upfront about this because I don't want anything to go wrong for either of us. I hope Junior Brother Chen can understand."

Seeing Zhou Ping's unusually serious expression, Chen Dafu was secretly startled, immediately realizing that this was the other party's sore spot. He quickly bowed and solemnly promised,

"Don't worry, senior brother. If the Chen family does anything out of line, you are welcome to leave immediately!"

Then, under Zhou Ping's satisfied gaze, Chen Dafu told him in detail the location of his home in the Chen family mansion before leaving contentedly.

After Chen Dafu left, Zhou Ping slowly rubbed his chin with his index finger, a strange light flashing in his eyes.

Recalling the former's description of the treasures for cultivating immortality, he hurriedly took out the "Record of Rare and Exotic Beasts" from the book and quickly turned to a page he remembered.

Staring intently at the crystal illustration on the page, and then carefully reviewing the annotations below, a burning desire gradually welled up in Zhou Ping's eyes...