Debt Collection

Western Mist Continent.

Lesser Cloud Mountain, Green Pine Dao Academy.

A stone stairway barely wide enough for one person wound up from the foot of the mountain. Amid the lush green woods halfway up the slope, patches of green tiles and dark bricks peeked through.

The noon sun blazed mercilessly, while cicadas chirped listlessly.

Inside a small tiled house in a remote corner of the academy, a youth lay stiffly on the floor. He used his trembling arms to push himself up, then leaned against the wall and panted heavily.

"Gah!"

The youth suddenly clutched his head in both hands and let out a pained groan.

It felt as though a red-hot iron awl had been driven into his skull and was endlessly stirring it. The piercing agony forced him to grit his teeth. His clenched knuckles turned faintly white, and cold sweat soaked the hair at his temples.

An unfamiliar set of memories desperately forced its way into his mind. His body began to convulse violently, and every pore seemed to scream and wail beneath an unbearable burden.

He had originally lived in a modern society like a forest of steel. As an insurance salesman for An Insurance, his greatest pastime after work had been staying home and losing himself in novels, films, and computer games.

His only hobby that did not involve staying home was searching mountain streams for stones. His motive was hardly refined—he merely hoped to find rare stones he could trade for money to improve his life.

In the other set of memories, he had lived in a world of immortal cultivation. His ancestors had once belonged to a cultivation family, but the family had later declined until they became wandering cultivators. Now, only he and his father remained, dependent on one another.

His father, who knew full well how difficult life was for wandering cultivators, had wanted to devote everything he had to raising his child into a sect cultivator. Perhaps one day, he might even rebuild their family.

The academy was an institution under the immortal cultivation sect known as the Golden Spirit Sect, supplying fresh blood to the sect.

The once-every-three-years sect assessment was approaching, and he had been making his final effort to become a true immortal cultivator.

The past spun through his mind like a mad revolving lantern, frame after frame flashing past. The utterly different memories slowly merged like two drops of blood of the same type.

Who knew how much time passed before the youth felt the pain gradually fade? He swept his eyes over the room's furnishings and slowly grasped his present situation.

He had transmigrated. While deeply asleep, he had vaguely sensed a flash of light in the room. When he opened his eyes again, he was here.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Just as his thoughts ran wild, someone hammered heavily on the wooden door. A rough voice roared from outside.

"Ji An, your secret's out! Open the door!"

The tangled memories in his mind swiftly separated into layers, and the memories of the immortal cultivation world gradually became clear.

The original owner of this body was called Ji An. He was seventeen years old, and this was his final year at the academy. No sect would accept Qi Condensation Stage cultivators over eighteen.

In theory, anyone could cultivate immortality. Some people were born with their Dantian Ancestral Aperture open and their immortal meridians revealed. Such people were natural seeds of cultivation, always fought over by every sect. They began life where others ended.

The ancestral apertures of most people closed before they were born, while their immortal meridians vanished as well.

If such people wished to set foot upon the path of cultivation, they could only practice the Meridian Cultivation Method, circulating their qi and blood to temper their spiritual potential. Once their qi had reached perfection, they would consume a Meridian Opening Pill to reopen their immortal meridians.

"Open up! I know you're in there!"

The pounding on the door grew louder and louder. Dust sifted down from the doorframe and walls, as though the man outside would smash his way in if the door remained shut.

Ji An bared his teeth and staggered over to open it.

With a creak, the door opened. Before him stood a somewhat youthful-faced yet broad-shouldered, thick-waisted young man, raising a fist as large as a sand bowl.

He had rolled up his sleeves, exposing solid, powerful muscles. His loose black Daoist robe had somehow been worn like tight-fitting clothing.

The man's eyes shone brightly, and a gentle jade-like sheen faintly showed on his exposed skin. This was the sign of having entered the Qi Condensation Stage.

Looking farther outside, Ji An saw a tall, straight-backed youth dressed in splendid brocade standing behind the man, along with a graceful girl in a blue gauze dress.

Information about all three surfaced in Ji An's mind. They had all been the previous owner's creditors. Now, they were his creditors.

For Ji An's family, the cost of purchasing a Meridian Opening Pill was an enormous sum. Even after years of saving, his father had failed to gather enough.

Three months ago, his father had visited him and said that, at the soonest, it would take half a month, and at the latest, a month. He would certainly gather enough Spirit Stones.

Before leaving, his father had handed over all their possessions. The sect assessment was drawing near, yet there had still been no word from him. Ji An understood that something must have happened to his father.

After agonizing over it, the previous owner had made a bold decision.

He claimed that the Spirit Seeking Rat raised by his father had become pregnant with young, promising to sell the offspring to the three wealthiest people in the academy. In total, he borrowed nine Spirit Stones.

Together with the twenty-seven his father had left behind, he had exactly thirty-six, enough to purchase one Meridian Opening Pill from the academy.

Ji An laughed bitterly inwardly, but forced himself to remain calm on the surface. Cupping his hands, he said, "Senior Brother Chu, Senior Brother Zhang, Senior Sister Zhao, may I ask what brings you here?"

All of them were younger than him, but cultivators did not honor age. Seniority was determined by cultivation.

The three of them had already become Qi Condensation Stage cultivators, so naturally, he had to address them as senior brother and senior sister.

"And you're still pretending!"

Chu He lowered his fist. Though he was burly, he was only fifteen.

"Your father went deep into the mountains to gather herbs and hasn't returned in three months. He's probably already dead. Don't tell me you don't know. Return our Spirit Stones!"

"Otherwise—"

As Chu He spoke, he raised his sand-bowl-sized fist again.

Ji An's bitterness deepened. The previous owner had long expected that this could not be concealed.

The moment he borrowed the Spirit Stones, he had immediately exchanged them for a Meridian Opening Pill and swallowed it that very night.

The previous owner knew that if he failed to seize this opportunity to enter the path of immortality, he had no idea how many years it would take to save enough Spirit Stones for another Meridian Opening Pill.

Besides, he might not even be able to keep the Spirit Stones. After leaving the academy, there was a good chance that certain wandering cultivators eager to advance would target him.

Such was fate. The previous owner had suffered qi deviation and died, his Dao extinguished. The Ji An now inhabiting this body was a different user entirely.

"Wait," the girl spoke. Her eyes were lively, and she was lovely as a peach blossom.

"I see that Junior Brother Ji's qi is in disarray and his steps are unsteady. Could it be that he already exchanged for a Meridian Opening Pill and consumed it?"

"What? You took a Meridian Opening Pill, yet still failed to open your meridians?"

Chu He's eyes widened. A Meridian Opening Pill could not guarantee the opening of immortal meridians with absolute certainty, but the chance of success exceeded seventy percent.

In his eyes, though Ji An was dull and quiet, he cultivated diligently. Moreover, he had remained at the academy for several years without being expelled down the mountain, which meant the Venerable Masters must have seen some merit in him.

Ji An forced out a smile and cupped his hands again. "Something went wrong, but please rest assured, fellow Daoists. I will definitely repay the Spirit Stones."

"How will you repay them?"

The youth in brocade spoke coolly, then continued, "You must know very well that the only reason we were willing to lend you Spirit Stones was out of consideration for your father.

"After all, even if we did not obtain the young demon beasts, it would not be especially difficult for an Eighth Layer of Qi Condensation cultivator with a Spirit Seeking Rat to acquire Spirit Stones. At worst, he could stop cultivating and devote himself entirely to repaying the debt."

He took a step forward, his gaze sharp and pressing.

"But you have not even entered the Qi Condensation Stage. What do you have to repay us with?"

Ji An fell silent. The other party was right.

Even if he entered the path of immortality, he might not pass the sect assessment.

Even if he entered the sect by some stroke of luck, he could not produce nine Spirit Stones within a few years.

The main currency used by Qi Condensation Stage cultivators was Spirit Crystals. They were currency cut from fragmented Spirit Stones, each the size of a one-yuan coin. It took one hundred Spirit Crystals to exchange for one low-grade Spirit Stone.

In Early Qi Condensation, cultivators had few means of earning Spirit Stones. In a year, they might not even save half a Spirit Stone unless they gave up cultivation.

He knew he had to say something. Otherwise, he would certainly die an ugly death. After this year's sect assessment, he would no longer be permitted to remain at the academy due to his age.

When that time came, these people would have plenty of ways to deal with him.

Ji An exhaled softly. His mind raced as he searched for words. Though panic filled his heart, his expression remained composed. The instincts of an insurance salesman were still there.

He coughed lightly, cupped his hands, and solemnly said, "Senior Brother Chu He, Senior Brother Yuanshan, Senior Sister Mengyao.

"Although I do not have another Meridian Opening Pill, if one can comprehend the divine intent within the Meridian Cultivation Method, one can naturally open the immortal aperture and reopen the immortal meridians.

"Though Ji is untalented, when I took the Meridian Opening Pill, my mind was in turmoil and I nearly suffered qi deviation. Yet in that Desperate Situation, I glimpsed a trace of the divine intent within the Meridian Cultivation Method.

"Before the sect's Venerable Masters come for the assessment, I will certainly enter the Qi Condensation Stage."

Ji An's face brimmed with confidence, without the slightest trace of his earlier dejection.

What confidence did he have? But if he could not get past the present, how could there be any future? Though his heart was in turmoil, not a trace of it showed on his face.

"The sect assessment is almost here. I hope the three of you will give me a chance for the sake of the years we spent studying the Dao together.

"If Ji fails to set foot upon the immortal path, I will certainly give you all a satisfactory explanation."

"We have studied the Dao together for years. How could there be no friendship between us?

"Since Brother Ji is so sincere, we may as well wait a little longer."

As Zhao Mengyao spoke, she looked at the other two.

"The assessment is the day after tomorrow. It is only two nights more.

"Senior Brother Zhang, Junior Brother Chu, what do you think?"

Just as Chu He was about to speak, Zhang Yuanshan gave a subtle shake of his head. Then he turned and said, "Then we shall wait until after the sect assessment. If Junior Brother cannot enter the sect, our account must be settled!"

Ji An nodded calmly. "A word given is a word kept."

Zhang Yuanshan gave him a deep look and said slowly, "I trust Junior Brother will honor his promise. Let's go!"

"Take care of yourself," Chu He snorted coldly before following the others away.

"Then I wish Junior Brother Ji success in opening his meridians, and may your immortal path flourish ever onward!"

Zhao Mengyao nodded at him kindly before turning to leave as well.

Once the figures of the three vanished down the path, Ji An's composure disappeared. Distraught, he walked back into the room.

After they had gone far away, Chu He lowered his voice and said, "Senior Brother, Senior Sister, why didn't we directly demand the beast-taming technique? Ji An's father must have some secret method."

"Heh." Zhang Yuanshan laughed.

"You think you can buy a beast-taming secret art for a few Spirit Stones? What a spring-and-autumn dream!

"My uncle once saw Ji An's father's Spirit Seeking Rat and knows that it truly has some skill.

"If it was not raised by sheer luck, then the other party's beast-taming method must have something exceptional about it. If the method is complete, it could even serve as a legacy.

"We will pressure him a little first. Once he has nowhere left to go, we can slowly discuss terms. If we demand the secret art from the start, we would look far too greedy."

Chu He scratched his head. "But what if Ji An truly succeeds in opening his meridians and enters the sect? Then it will be difficult to keep him in hand."

"You believe that?" Zhang Yuanshan frowned slightly.

Zhao Mengyao smiled faintly and said gently, "Junior Brother, anyone capable of comprehending the divine intent of the Meridian Cultivation Method on their own before turning eighteen must possess astonishing comprehension.

"If Ji An had that level of comprehension, he would not have wasted five years at the academy without successfully opening his meridians."

The divine intent within the Meridian Cultivation Method had to be comprehended. Hearing others explain it would instead impose limits upon one's thinking.

Cultivating immortality was a struggle against Heaven for one's fate. Without sufficient accumulation, how could one comprehend divine intent?

Yet wasting too much time comprehending the divine intent of a cultivation art would cause one to miss the best age for entering the Dao. This was why most people could only rely on Meridian Opening Pills to step onto the immortal path.

"What if the brat suddenly attains enlightenment?"

Chu He muttered softly, then added, "We have to stop him from running away."

"Can he escape our grasp?

"But to avoid unnecessary trouble, go down the mountain now and send people to guard the academy's entrances, exits, and every hidden trail."

A new book sets sail. Investment is welcome.