Arriving in Droves

"I want some Immortal Sect Scriptures."

Hearing Chu Zheng's request, Song Lingqing frowned slightly and said slowly,

"You have no Immortal Bone. You simply cannot resonate with Heaven and Earth or draw spiritual energy into your body. You cannot even step into the first realm, the Qi Cultivation Realm. There is no path of cultivation open to you. I advise you to choose something else, such as..."

Freedom, vast wealth, beautiful wives and concubines...

Those were the things a servant ought to desire most.

Trying to reach for the Immortal Dao was somewhat beyond his station.

"I do not want methods for cultivating immortality."

Chu Zheng glanced at Qin Feng beside him and shook his head repeatedly. "Historical records and scriptures, biographies of Supreme Immortals, tales of strange phenomena, maps of mountains and rivers—as long as they concern the Immortal Sect, any texts will do."

Song Lingqing was somewhat surprised. Her brows knitted even tighter as she reminded him,

"Some things, once you learn of them but cannot reach them, may become a lifetime of pain."

The Immortal Sect was right before one's eyes, yet one lacked the strength to push its gates open. To most people, that was an indescribable torment.

If one never knew from the beginning, perhaps one could live more easily.

Song Lingqing's response eased Chu Zheng's heart. It seemed these things were not some critically important secret; at the very least, they could be told to him.

After a moment of silence, Chu Zheng said, "I merely want to open my eyes and see this world. I ask for nothing else."

"Alright."

Song Lingqing nodded in agreement. Originally, she had intended to offer Chu Zheng his freedom, but after weighing it for a moment, she abandoned the thought. In her eyes, the world outside was not as peaceful as Song Manor.

With the Song Family's protection, Chu Zheng could live a little longer.

A windfall that came from nowhere was something an ordinary mortal simply could not hold onto. Instead, it would easily invite great calamity. Within Song Manor, at least no one would bully or secretly harm him.

In the end, Song Lingqing left Chu Zheng four books, a thick stack of them. The paper was made from an extremely tough material he had never seen before.

The contents of Introduction to the Immortal Path, Travels of the Long Rainbow Sword Immortal, Hundred Manifestations of the Heavenly Stars, and Annals of the Northern Snow Heavenly Lord satisfied Chu Zheng immensely.

After leaving the Filth Room, Song Lingqing was somewhat downcast.

She had only stepped onto the immortal path a short while ago and had yet to experience many things. Yet upon returning home this time, so much had already changed.

Her father's politeness, her elder sister's distant restraint, and Xiao Cai and Chu Zheng as well.

All of their attitudes had changed, leaving her at a loss.

For the moment, the vexation in her heart found no outlet. Song Lingqing subconsciously looked toward Qin Feng behind her. "Martial Uncle Qin, did you experience such circumstances back then as well?"

"No."

Qin Feng shook his head. "My father died when I was young, and my mother died in my youth. Before entering the sect, I survived by begging. If I had not grown an extra bone compared to ordinary people, even my corpse would have turned to ash by now."

Song Lingqing's fate was already better than that of ninety-nine percent of the people in the world. It was precisely because of this that her temperament still lacked tempering.

"Martial Uncle, I acted on my own and gave those books to Chu Zheng. Will it cause any trouble?"

Only now did Song Lingqing consider the consequences. Immortal and Mortal did not intermingle. All news regarding Hidden Immortal Sects was sealed away and could not be known by mortals. This was an unspoken rule.

"It is nothing serious, merely a few miscellaneous books. That boy has a steady temperament and knows when to advance and retreat. He has already gained some skill at reading expressions and judging the situation. Though he was speaking with you just now, he secretly looked at me no fewer than ten times, constantly observing my reactions."

Qin Feng shook his head. "When I was sixteen, my temperament was inferior to his. Even with only a Low-grade Immortal Bone, he should have been able to achieve something. What a pity..."

The affairs of the world had never been fair. Without an Immortal Bone, one was destined to have no affinity with the Immortal Dao.

"Martial Uncle is nearly three hundred years old, with such a firm Dao heart. Would you still feel pity for a mere mortal?" Song Lingqing was somewhat surprised by Qin Feng's evaluation of Chu Zheng.

"Even at three thousand years old, one is still human. The immortal road is long and endless, the Dao blocked and the journey far. If I were to let go of everything, then what would I still be cultivating immortality for?"

After Song Lingqing left, Chu Zheng did not waste today's repair attempts.

After repairing the two Essence Pills, he used the remaining three attempts on the Grand Cycle Qi Circulation Compendium.

From beginning to end, he had never considered asking Song Lingqing for methods of cultivating immortality. Instead, he placed his hopes on the Pre-Qin Qi Refiners.

Since the Immortal Sect cultivators of this world believed he could not cultivate immortal methods, then he certainly could not. There was no need to waste effort studying them.

The Immortal Sect's inheritance had existed for who knew how many tens of thousands of years. They surely possessed a complete set of methods for determining whether someone had the aptitude to cultivate.

Chu Zheng did not believe himself to be some special existence capable of breaking, through his own strength, the shackles of rules formed over tens or even hundreds of thousands of years in an entire world. He might as well save his strength.

In those Handwritten Notes left by Qi Refiners from his previous life, Chu Zheng had never seen any mention of "Immortal Bones." It was worth trying.

Chu Zheng no longer spent time on the breathing method of the Body-Fitting Fist. After swallowing an Essence Pill, he began reading Introduction to the Immortal Path on his couch, seeking to understand this world's true secrets of immortal cultivation.

In this world, every cultivation method, regardless of its school, required an Immortal Bone as a medium. Immortal Bones were further divided into four grades: low, middle, high, and super-grade.

A Low-grade Immortal Bone's bitter cultivation for a hundred years could not compare to three months of secluded cultivation by a Super-grade Immortal Bone. The gap between them was like the heavenly abyss.

To enter the Immortal Dao, one had to rely on the Immortal Bone to receive the Spiritual Energy of Heaven and Earth, opening the Baihui point atop the skull and thereby nourishing the body. Thus, this realm was called the Qi Cultivation Realm.

The Qi Cultivation Realm was divided into nine stages. At the ninth stage, one possessed ten thousand catties of strength in every gesture. Even without consuming life-extending Spirit Pills, one could live beyond one hundred and fifty years.

When the body had been nourished to its limit, a surging spring would naturally arise within the dantian, producing mana. One could then control and activate magical artifacts, flying through the air. This second realm was called the Spiritual Spring, and one's lifespan would exceed three hundred years.

Once one's mana became sufficiently vast and vigorous, one could attempt to condense a Dao Foundation. This third realm was also called Entering the Dao.

Only when the rooster crowed and dawn broke did Chu Zheng reluctantly set down the book in his hands, his anticipation swelling further.

He wanted to know whether the Pre-Qin Qi Refiners had been the same.

Less than two days after Song Lingqing left the manor, a convoy arrived at Song Manor. Zhao Character Royal Banners flew from the carriages, while gold, silver, jewels, rare treasures, and precious herbs filled them to the brim.

Zhao was Great Zhou's imperial surname, and Wuyang Commandery was Prince Guangyun's fief. These things were a lavish gift sent by Prince Guangyun.

Where things were abnormal, there had to be a demon lurking beneath.

In the past, the Song Family had never had any dealings with Prince Guangyun. For him to suddenly send such lavish gifts, he clearly had some scheme in mind.

Following close behind were gift lists from the great clans and numerous gangs throughout Wuyang Commandery.

The news of Song Lingqing's return home had ultimately leaked out.

Regarding the Song Family's Immortal Seed, many people had originally remained half-believing and half-doubting.

Immortals were simply too mysterious. Very few had personally witnessed Song Lingqing enter the Immortal Sect.

But now things were entirely different. Song Lingqing had returned to the manor, carrying herself with the air of an immortal—a sight many had witnessed with their own eyes.