Immortal and Ageless

Early morning.

Bamboo Mountain Immortal Market.

Strands of sunlight spilled down from high above, faintly illuminating the entire Bamboo Mountain Immortal Market.

As the sun rose, the whole Bamboo Mountain Immortal Market gradually came "alive."

Figures crisscrossed one another.

On the not-so-wide streets.

Cries of merchants hawking their wares came from all directions.

"Low-grade Thick Earth Talismans, essential for home defense and personal protection! Five Spirit Stones each!"

"Spirit Rice! Homegrown Spirit Rice, ten jin for one Spirit Stone!"

"Low-grade demon beast meat, two jin for one Spirit Stone!"

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The spring breeze carried a trace of chill, and pedestrians hurried back and forth along the streets.

Only the stallholders watched the crowd with eager eyes, hoping business would come their way.

He Song tightened his sleeves and swept his gaze over the surrounding crowd. After lingering briefly at the Spirit Rice stall, he reluctantly shifted his eyes away and looked toward the Mortal Rice set out nearby.

Spirit Rice was delicious, and it could also increase one's cultivation.

But his purse was light right now. Filling his stomach came first.

"Senior, please weigh out twenty jin of Mortal Rice for me," He Song said as he arrived at the rice stall.

"Fine. Two Spirit Sand."

Spirit Sand was a smaller currency than Spirit Stones. One Spirit Stone could be exchanged for a hundred Spirit Sand.

As for mortal silver and gold, they were worth less than a single coin in the cultivation world.

In the cultivation world, so long as something contained spiritual energy, the smallest unit of currency was Spirit Sand.

The rice seller was an old man who looked frail and aged, yet the spiritual pressure emanating from him made He Song's heart quietly tremble.

Seeing that He Song was only buying twenty jin of Mortal Rice, the old man said nothing. He merely placed the rice into a bundle and raised his hand to pass it over.

He Song pulled the two Spirit Sand he had prepared long ago from his sleeve. Money in one hand, goods in the other.

With twenty jin of rice in hand, a stone in He Song's heart finally settled.

He did not even glance at the other stalls.

Turning around, he headed straight for the exit of the Stall Area.

"My first time going out went fairly smoothly."

Carrying the rice as he walked, He Song secretly let out a breath of relief.

Although he had already learned from the previous owner's memories that killing was forbidden within Bamboo Mountain Immortal Market, knowing was one thing. Having just arrived in an unfamiliar world, he could not help feeling uneasy.

He Song was a transmigrator.

Three days ago, he had transmigrated into this world and taken over the body of a Qi Refining Layer 1 cultivator.

Fortunately, the previous owner of this body had also been named He Song. After obtaining the former owner's memories, He Song had stayed home for three full days before flawlessly reproducing the former owner's habits and every little mannerism.

This was the cultivation world.

Body-snatching happened often.

With his life and possessions at stake, He Song naturally could not step outside without making some preparations.

If anyone discovered that he had seized another's body, he would probably be branded an evil cultivator and hacked to death in an instant.

Now, after three days of imitation and reinforcing his memories, once he had confirmed that no one would notice anything unusual, He Song finally went outside and, for the first time, used his own eyes to observe this familiar yet unfamiliar cultivation world before him.

The place where He Song lived was not far from the Stall Area.

After walking for a while with the rice and finding no one following him, He Song finally returned home.

He shut the door.

He locked it.

He leaned his back against the door.

He Song slowly exhaled.

"A society ruled by law is still better. At least you don't have to worry about losing your life for no reason."

"Though... if I hadn't transmigrated, I should probably be figuring out how to turn myself in for the best possible protection by now, right?"

"Immortality and agelessness wouldn't be easy to hide in modern society."

He casually set the bag of rice aside. Suddenly, a black panel with white words appeared before him, visible only to himself.

"Name: He Song."

"Lifespan: Unlimited."

Transmigrators came with cheat abilities.

There was nothing unusual about that.

He Song had read plenty of novels, so he was naturally no stranger to cheat abilities.

However, the black panel with white words before him did not give He Song the kind of cheat ability that could crush heaven, earth, and air alike.

Instead, in He Song's eyes, its function seemed somewhat useless.

Unlimited lifespan.

Immortal and ageless.

It sounded wonderful.

How many mortal emperors and illustrious nobles had pursued immortality in their old age?

But... obtaining such an ability while standing at the very bottom of the cultivation world, with only Qi Refining Layer 1 cultivation, made it seem rather useless.

Since ancient times, what kinds of people pursued immortality?

Mortal emperors.

Illustrious nobles.

Wealthy merchants.

Millennia-old clans.

These people all had something in common.

Their status was lofty. They could savor all the splendors of the world and wield great power over all beneath heaven.

If they continued living, they could continue enjoying their wonderful lives.

But had there ever been an ordinary person at the bottom of society who wanted to pursue immortality?

An elderly beggar pursuing immortality, so he could keep begging for ten thousand years?

A courtesan pursuing immortality, so she could keep receiving clients in a brothel for ten thousand years?

A farmer working the fields pursuing immortality, so he could keep plowing for ten thousand years?

An office drudge pursuing immortality, so he could keep grinding away like a brick-hauling laborer for ten thousand years?

Was their masochistic streak really that severe?

After becoming immortal and ageless, with an unlimited lifespan, one still had to live.

Injury could kill you, poison could kill you, and hunger and illness could kill you too.

On top of that, food cost money, medical treatment cost money, rent cost money—everything cost money.

Under such circumstances, an Immortal at the bottom of society would not actually have a life as wonderful as imagined.

Of course.

If one were born into royalty or nobility, that would be another matter entirely. Those who pursued immortality were almost all royalty and nobility.

With that in mind, this cheat ability truly did seem rather useless to He Song.

But He Song was not discouraged.

This world possessed something that his previous world had lacked, something capable of defying fate and changing one's destiny.

Cultivation!

Cultivation was unlike anything else.

So long as one had time and could continually draw spiritual energy into one's body, one's cultivation would gradually increase.

Once cultivation began to rise.

One's status, social standing, and strength would gradually improve as well.

At this moment, He Song's cultivation was at Qi Refining Layer 1, and his status placed him at the very bottom of the cultivation world.

But if his cultivation broke through to the Foundation Establishment Realm, He Song's status would instantly undergo an earth-shaking transformation.

Higher still, and his status would naturally continue changing.

This was what could truly defy fate and change one's destiny!

So long as you lived long enough, your status could keep rising. No one would question it, and no one would dare suppress you.

Strength was the foundation of all status and standing!

"Sigh. Right now, the most important thing is still earning Spirit Stones."

Shaking his head and casting aside those thoughts, He Song sighed softly. Then he grabbed the bag of rice beside him and rose to his feet.

He poured the rice from the bag into the nearly empty rice jar.

He Song looked around the room, which had already become extremely familiar to him. This would be his home from now on.

The home was rented.

Ten Spirit Stones per month. It was not cheap.

For the current He Song, it was very expensive.

Immortal Markets never cared whether Rogue Cultivators could afford to rent a house.

Such exorbitant rent was also a test used by the Immortal Market to "screen" qualified cultivators.

If you could not even afford rent, then leave the Immortal Market and become a Rogue Cultivator.

Though the spiritual energy outside was somewhat thinner.

Though the outside world was somewhat more dangerous.

Though the death rate outside was somewhat higher.

At least, there was no need to pay such high rent.

After searching his body and the house for quite some time, He Song finally stared at the more than thirty Spirit Stones laid out on the table before him and fell into deep thought.

If he only paid rent.

These Spirit Stones could cover three months.

But if food and drink were added in, along with the cost of learning a trade, He Song felt he would probably be swept out the door before long.