A Mortal's Journey to Immortality

On a high peak of the Songzhu Mountains, the Taoist Master Tongxin sat quietly cross-legged on a bare boulder, his face terribly gloomy.

He had been searching this place for several days, scouring almost every mountain and river nearby, but still hadn't found any trace of Liu Feng, which made him increasingly worried.

If something were to happen to Liu Feng, the Tongyang Temple would truly be doomed to extinction.

With his current lifespan, he has long since given up hope of reaching the Foundation Establishment stage, and has placed almost all his hopes on his only successor, Liu Feng.

Furthermore, they entrusted him with all the precious Golden Light Talismans and the secret techniques passed down by the Bronze Sheep Temple. If anything went wrong with him, everything would be over.

With his remaining lifespan, it would be difficult for him to find another child with spiritual roots and start teaching them from scratch.

Tongxin Daoist stared at Jinyuan below with a gloomy gaze. Since the turmoil a few days ago, Jinyuan was now in a state of panic and paranoia.

Guards could be seen patrolling the area everywhere, and even outside the Golden Garden, there were sentries every three steps and guards every five steps, making the defense measures to the extreme.

These things alone are not enough to embarrass Daoist Tongxin so much. If he wanted to, these mortals would not be able to threaten his safety, and might not even be able to detect his movements.

What puzzled him was that the old man who controlled the Golden Clan's war puppet actually carried the war puppet with him at all times.

Wherever he went, four guards carrying huge boxes followed behind him, giving him no chance to launch a sneak attack.

Aside from his own residence, he would go to the council hall of the Jin clan every day. The enclosed environment, coupled with the guards at the entrance who were practically human shields, provided him with a secluded environment.

The moment he makes a move, the old man inside will immediately notice.

Once the battle puppet is activated, he has absolutely no chance of killing it.

Tongxin Daoist still had several low-grade spirit stones in his hand, but the driving core of the other party's mid-grade spirit stone made him lose all interest in trying.

If his tortoise-shell golden shield were shattered in battle, he would be in dire straits.

Now there is only one way to go: to rush back to Tongyang Temple immediately and see if his disciple Liu Feng has already retreated alone.

But thinking about this, a sense of unease began to rise in his heart, as if he had already vaguely sensed the outcome.

Tongxin Daoist was unwilling to believe that outcome. After staring intently at Jinyuan for a moment, he finally sighed heavily, turned around, and glided towards Tongyang Temple and Tianyan Town.

.........

On the second floor of Guiyuan Pavilion, in an ordinary quiet room, Zhou Ping curiously played with a metal token in his hand. Looking at the two large characters "Guiyuan" on it, a satisfied expression appeared on his face.

This is the check-in token he just received from the manager's office at Guiyuan Pavilion. Only this token can unlock the door to this quiet room, allowing him to freely enter and exit.

Recalling the brief question from the manager of Guiyuan Pavilion, a sly glint flashed in Zhou Ping's eyes.

Guiyuan Pavilion conducts a brief inquiry and records the information of each cultivator who stays here temporarily. This is merely to gain a general understanding of these cultivators from all over the world and has no real practical effect.

Over the years, only a handful of cultivators have dared to cause trouble at Guiyuan Pavilion, which is their confidence. Therefore, they are not worried at all about what waves these cultivators can make here.

During the previous questioning, Zhou Ping did not reveal his real name to the other party, but instead gave the name of his friend Duan Yu, just as he had done at the Green Bamboo Sect.

Anyway, Duan Yu will never appear here, so it's no big deal for him to borrow the other party's name. It certainly won't have any impact on him.

After thinking it over, Zhou Ping nodded to himself, then took out several items from his package and placed the token in a specific location.

Then, the restrictions in the quiet room began to ripple like water, and then an arc-shaped light gate appeared before Zhou Ping's eyes.

He curiously observed for a moment before looking left and right as he passed through. After watching the barrier close in his eyes, he turned and walked reassuredly towards the trading square downstairs.

........

"Achoo!"

On a huge merchant ship, Duan Yu, lying in his room, sneezed violently.

Ma Liuyun, standing to the side, reluctantly opened his eyes, his aged eyes filled with bloodshot veins.

"Young man, are you ever going to stop?! This old man is about to be driven crazy by you!"

"You started causing trouble the moment you boarded the ship, either vomiting or fainting. How can you be so spineless?!"

Duan Yu's sallow face was filled with worry as he spoke weakly.

"I wonder which damn bastard is talking bad about me behind my back, ah... achoo!"

"Master, where are we going? We've been climbing mountains and crossing valleys, and now we're on a boat! I can't take it anymore!"

Ma Liuyun rolled over, turning her back to him, and said irritably,

"Naturally, we should go to a place we should go. We can't go back to Qingzhu Sect, so we need to find a place to stay."

"Settle down? You call this settling down? You could say you want to fly to the moon, and I wouldn't doubt you for a second!"

Although Duan Yu's tone was weak, the resentment within it was palpable.

He never imagined that his trip to Qingyang Town with this cheap driver would become his final journey.

After leaving Qingyang Town, he only had time to briefly visit his family in his hometown. After secretly leaving behind a considerable sum of money, he began a life of wandering and hardship.

Seeing that he could no longer return to the Green Bamboo Sect, he went from being an elite disciple of the Green Bamboo Sect to his current state.

Even now, he still finds it hard to believe that this tragic experience actually happened to him.

"Go to heaven? If only you could go to heaven. With you as a burden, I can't even travel properly."

"So young, yet so frail. I really don't know if this old man owed you something in his past life, how could I have taken such a deformed and ugly child as my apprentice!"

Ma Liuyun, with his eyes closed, retorted irritably.

"You were the one who wanted to stop once you saw I had mastered the Floating Shadow Step! Why are you blaming me now?"

"Back when I mastered the Floating Shadow Step, who said I was a prodigy, a gifted genius? Have they all forgotten?"

Duan Yu retorted defiantly, and still feeling unsatisfied, he continued...

"You should have taken Zhou Datongzi in back then. He's even more skilled than me, saving me from suffering with you now!"

Upon hearing this, Ma Liuyun's eyebrows shot up immediately, and he turned around to begin cursing.

"You don't know anything! Among those who have mastered the Floating Shadow Step, only you have achieved it through your own talent. The rest, including your good friend, all relied on their physical condition and considerable martial arts skills to hone it through sheer hard work."

"Your constitution is fundamentally different from mine. Otherwise, would this old man even look at you? Why don't you take a piss and look at yourself in the mirror!"