Aspiring to Immortality

Compared to Li Ji'an's surprise, the other four were utterly shaken!

Even Zhu Linxian, the quiet little girl who had barely spoken along the way, couldn't help asking in disbelief, "Brother Li, this... are we really in the right place? Is this really the world of cultivation? Tell me it isn't like this. It isn't, right?"

Only five Immortal Seeds remained in this group. Besides Li Ji'an and Zhao Shuyao, there were Dong Jiangling, Zhang Tie Zhu, and Zhu Linxian.

Dong Jiangling was the adopted son of a fellow clansman of the eunuch who held the imperial seal of the Immortal Bestowed Dynasty. He had grown up steeped in the ways of the imperial family, and so felt a special attachment to the royal clan. That was also why, ten years ago, when he entered the Immortal Palace at thirteen and first laid eyes on Ninth Princess Zhao Shuyao, he fell hopelessly in love with her.

Zhu Linxian was the treasured daughter of the Zhu clan, a clan of vital-blood cultivators that had risen to prominence only after Prince Yun ascended the throne of the Immortal Bestowed Dynasty. But her beloved mother had died young, leaving Zhu Linxian quiet and withdrawn. She had rarely voiced her opinions along the way.

Zhang Tie Zhu was the most unusual of this year's Immortal Seeds: a farm boy who had been discovered by chance to possess the strength of a dragon and an elephant, then recruited into the Immortal Palace. He had cut through every obstacle and lived up to everyone's expectations.

Li Ji'an had already seen that, among the other four, Zhu Linxian was the most devoted to cultivating immortality.

And so, at this moment, she felt the greatest disillusionment.

"What did you think the world of cultivation would be like?" Li Ji'an didn't answer. Instead, he asked her a question in return.

Zhu Linxian looked a little lost and ventured, "The clan says there's a difference between immortals and mortals. Immortals... immortals..."

She trailed off halfway through, not knowing what else to say.

After all, Li Ji'an's slaying of an immortal had already shattered her old understanding into pieces.

Li Ji'an smiled faintly and picked up where she had left off. "Immortals should look down on all living things, treat everything as straw dogs, stand high above the world, and receive the worship of mortals on their knees?"

Zhu Linxian's gaze wavered as she looked at Li Ji'an, proving that he had hit the mark.

It was hardly her fault. Those were the ideas she had been taught since childhood.

Though the journey here had shattered her belief that immortals were untouchable, she still held on to some lingering notions about cultivation.

"A difference between immortals and mortals? Heh.

"They're just cultivators who haven't yet proven the Dao and ascended. What kind of immortals are they?

"Besides, mortals are simply people who haven't set foot on the path of cultivation. If that makes us different, then here in the Immortal Bestowed Dynasty, aren't we who have taken up martial arts different from the common folk who haven't?

"Does that mean we're not the same as those people? Does that mean we're no longer human?"

Li Ji'an laughed freely, feeling lighthearted.

"But... even so, they shouldn't... shouldn't lack the bearing of cultivators so completely. Not out in the open like this..." Zhu Linxian still couldn't quite accept it.

Li Ji'an understood. He knew why they felt so disillusioned.

They had thought they would be able to cultivate immortality, only to find cultivator families still doing such lowly things: recruiting live-in sons-in-law, hiring strongmen, and finding people to test their medicine... There was no mystique to it at all.

What Li Ji'an wanted to say was that not everyone liked wearing a stern expression all day and pretending to be profound and detached. And you couldn't fake profundity or detachment just by keeping a straight face. Besides, if cultivating immortality meant having to look stern every single day, what would be the point of it?

More importantly, profundity and detachment couldn't make a cultivation family thrive or bring in cultivation resources.

But he didn't say it outright. Some things they had to understand for themselves.

If they kept failing to see the point, couldn't lower themselves or fit in, and looked down on these practices that existed for a reason, then their lives would be difficult from here on.

"Hey, what a coincidence, brother! This time I wasn't following you. We really did just happen to meet."

They had just come out of the plaza, and the four were still digesting Li Ji'an's words when a hearty voice, both familiar and unfamiliar, rang out.

This time, Chen Zhao'hu had brought only his thirteen- or fourteen-year-old younger brother.

"Brother Chen, please accept Li's greetings." This time, Li Ji'an didn't keep him at arm's length.

They were strangers in an unfamiliar place. In the end, he would have to fit in and find someone to guide him.

By comparison, Chen Zhao'hu's words and actions put him more at ease.

"Whoa! Brother Li, you... Anyone who can make it out of the Abandoned Land must be blessed with great fortune, and they're bound to be a heaven-gifted prodigy too. You sure know how to adapt." Chen Zhao'hu was quite surprised.

"Brother Chen, you flatter me."

"Good, good! I like people like you. Come on, come on. Better to meet by chance than to invite someone formally. The food at the Hundred Fragrance Tower up ahead is superb. The chef learned from a Spirit Chef. Let me treat you to a meal to celebrate your arrival." Chen Zhao'hu was delighted.

Li Ji'an paused slightly. "Brother Chen, didn't you go hunting today?"

"Ah, I've been hunting for half my life. Can't I take a little time off?" Chen Zhao'hu said carelessly.

"Bull! He's just obsessed with fortune-telling. He has to cast a divination every time he leaves the house, always saying it's an inauspicious day to go out... Hmph, you haven't even solidified your Spiritual Sense, and you want to take up divination, the hardest of the Hundred Arts of cultivation?" His younger brother exposed him at once.

At that, Li Ji'an felt reassured.

What harm could a burly man obsessed with divination and fortune-telling possibly do?

After following Chen Zhao'hu less than a hundred paces, they saw a two-story stone building. Beside the large "Hundred Fragrance Tower" sign at the entrance hung an even larger sign that read: "Trained under Spirit Chef Gao Yue for twenty years."

"Oh, a Purple Gold Sable. Not bad, not bad. Are you looking to sell it, guest?" As soon as they entered the Hundred Fragrance Tower, a server spotted the monster beast slung over Dong Jiangling's shoulder.

Dong Jiangling looked to Li Ji'an.

"Sell it!"

"Right, right, of course. It's been dead for over a day, hasn't it? Oh dear, the pelt's damaged..." The server picked it apart bit by bit.

"Get lost! What, you think you can pull one over on your Tiger Brother?" Chen Zhao'hu had been held up talking by his younger brother and had lagged behind. The moment he caught up, he saw a familiar server trying to cheat them.

The server hurriedly put on a fawning smile. "Oh, forgive me, forgive me. I didn't know him and thought he was just passing through. I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I'll go fetch our manager."

Once the server had run off, Chen Zhao'hu led the five into a private room with practiced ease and showed them to their seats.

"You brothers clearly aren't ordinary people, judging by how you were in the Abandoned Land. You might even think a little eatery like this isn't worth your time, but I bet you've never tasted food like theirs." Chen Zhao'hu seemed to be talking to himself.

In truth, he had noticed the faint disdain in Dong Jiangling and the others' mannerisms.

That made Li Ji'an think more highly of Chen Zhao'hu. He was a strapping man with a keen eye for detail.

But that was understandable. When hunting monster beasts, a careless hunter didn't live long.

"Brother Chen, don't say that. We've been sleeping in the open and eating whatever we could for days. Being able to dine here is already more than enough for us."

"Ah, good, good! Brother Li, I like you more and more. How about it? Come hunting with me." Chen Zhao'hu invited him again.

Li Ji'an couldn't help laughing. "Heh, are you so sure I'll bring you good fortune?"

"Of course! Remember the day we first met? I cast a divination, and the sign showed the Moon Virtue star coming into your life. That means you're destined to meet a Benefactor." At the mention of divination, Chen Zhao'hu grew excited.

"I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you, Brother Chen. Our hearts are set on cultivating immortality. Otherwise, we wouldn't have journeyed thousands of miles to get here." Li Ji'an refused again.

At that, Chen Zhao'hu stared at Li Ji'an and the others in surprise. "Huh? You... don't you know the situation yet? Since you came out of the Abandoned Land, you can pretty much give up on cultivating immortality!"

"???"

"!!!"