Junior Sister Grows Up

"Changshou, do you still remember the mnemonic I taught you yesterday? Recite it for me."

"Li Changshou! How can a Qi Refiner be so afraid of death? If you never dare to take a chance, how will you ever obtain opportunities?"

Tsk, how had Master changed faces so quickly?

Those two memories seemed to have been separated by decades. When he had first entered the sect, Master had been so kind and amiable; yet decades later, Master...

Was terrifyingly fierce.

Li Changshou laughed soundlessly, then realized that his Dao body seemed to be asleep. The exhaustion from his previous continuous cultivation was still lingering.

Was this... a dream?

It had been a long time since he had dreamed. After his cultivation rose, he slept much less often. Whenever he did sleep, it was like this—after prolonged, intense cultivation had accumulated too much fatigue, even if his dharmic power remained full, he still needed sleep to ease the strain on his soul.

"Old Tian, Old Tian, stop fucking pretending to sleep! Get up, Old Tian!"

That guy's hoarse, desperate shouts reached him again. The sirens approached from afar, still so clear...

Li Changshou wore a bitter smile, as though he had turned over in the darkness to face the flood of memories rushing toward him.

He reviewed scene after scene as though watching flowers flash past from horseback, as if he were watching someone else's life story.

There were no cultivators flying through the heavens or escaping underground in this story, nor were there gods seated high above. Or perhaps there had been gods, only no one had ever known of them.

The protagonist was named Tian Zuguang, and the story took place on a blue planet called Earth.

From his name alone, one could see the deep hopes of the person who had named him, hoping he would bring glory to his ancestors.

And he had worked hard. Everything had gone smoothly for him before he turned twenty-eight, but at twenty-eight, he was suddenly diagnosed with an incurable illness...

At the very last moment of his life, he leaned against his wheelchair and softly exhaled. He felt the last of his strength being drained from his body, his consciousness seeming to fall into an endless abyss.

A profound unwillingness suddenly rose within him. Like the final flicker of life's flame, he gripped the wheelchair's handles and stood with all his strength. Yet before he could take even one step forward, he fell straight to the ground...

And so came this shout from his closest friend in his previous life:

"Old Tian, Old Tian, stop fucking pretending to sleep! Get up, Old Tian!"

The memory came to an abrupt halt, leaving a small gap.

That gap lasted about three years, and the scenes afterward became much clearer.

A little boy in split-crotch pants, his hair tied into horn braids, ran across a meadow. Then he rapidly grew up, until at the age of seven or eight, he encountered an old immortal and became his disciple...

This was probably karmic fate. Ill-fated karma.

Li Changshou sighed softly and sealed away those memories, placing them in the deepest part of his heart.

No matter what, these were the things he treasured most, though time had slowly worn away their traces.

He could not slack off. He could not relax. The environment around him was not as stable as it appeared.

Thinking this, Li Changshou turned over in the darkness. Feeling that the fatigue in his body had gradually faded, he spread his spiritual awareness around himself and found nothing unusual. For a moment, he did not wish to wake.

The laziness he had not seen in so long had surfaced, perhaps.

Being able to live another life was certainly good, and he was grateful to that "great god," whether one truly existed or not, for opening a back door for him, but...

Couldn't he have been given a modern life?

Even if he could not return to the modern age, some ancient era like the prosperous Tang or powerful Ming would have been fine. He could have muddled through life peacefully and happily, perhaps with three wives and four concubines besides.

Instead, he had been sent straight into a cultivation world—the coldest, most ruthless, most unreasonable kind of cultivation world...

The ancient Primordial Wilderness!

Fifteen years after becoming a disciple, through the Du Xian Sect's Classics and the little stories of sights and experiences told by his master, Li Changshou had finally understood the broader world he inhabited.

That was also the day he lit up the green button labeled "social withdrawal."

That was right. He had arrived in the ancient era spoken of by later generations, the Primordial Wilderness from Mythological Stories and legends, born in a small era between the Primordial Wilderness's two great calamities.

Looking ahead along the course of Primordial Wilderness history, the effects of the War of the Ancients still lingered. Though the Human Race was flourishing, the remnants of the Demon Race remained quite powerful. With Nuwa, the Human Race Holy Mother and one of the Six Saints, guaranteeing them, the Demon Race lingered at the borders between the Five Continents, dreaming of restoration while fighting the Human Race's Qi Refiners year after year.

The Six Saints had long since taken their places and schemed against one another, willing to let countless living beings die for the slightest matter of pride.

The two great figures of the Western Teachings, Jieyin and Zhunti, effectively controlled the spirit-vein-poor Western Ox Continent. They preached the Western Teachings' doctrines everywhere and constantly poached from the Dao Sect.

The Daoist Sect's Three Teachings—Human, Chan, and Jie—had long since risen. The Chan Teachings Twelve Golden Immortals had only recently gained great fame and become a hot topic among Qi Refiners for the past several thousand years.

The momentum of Myriad Immortals Come to Court from the Jie Teaching had also already been established. Powerful figures of every origin gathered beneath Lord Tongtian, arguing endlessly with the Chan Teaching, though fortunately they had not yet truly come to blows.

This was the best era for the Dao Sect. The Three Teachings flourished, as did the Human Race protected by them. Dao Sect mountain gates stood everywhere across the Central Divine Continent. Throughout the Three Thousand Great Worlds were traces of Three Teachings disciples. Dao Sect lineages spread across the Three Realms, and the Nascent Soul Dao and Human Race Qi Refiners had become the mainstream of the Primordial Wilderness.

This was also the worst era for ordinary Qi Refiners. Competition for advancement was exceptionally fierce. The Heavenly Court had only recently been established and acted entirely according to the moods of the Three Teachings Immortals. There was virtually no order in the Five Continents or Three Thousand Worlds. Whether a Qi Refiner could grow depended wholly on personal effort and luck.

And luck accounted for an enormous part of it!

The one thing Li Changshou felt fortunate about was that although his master was not very strong—more accurately, not strong at all—he at least had some connection to the Human Teaching behind him.

Though Li Changshou seriously suspected that the Du Xian Sect's true founding ancestor might have been merely one or two registered disciples of True Lord Du'e.

As for True Lord Du'e of Western Kunlun, the only thing Li Changshou could think of was that during the Investiture of the Gods, this immortal had trained a disciple who became the Heng General among the Heng Ha Generals. Beyond that were only a few far-fetched rumors.

Most likely, True Lord Du'e had also been a registered disciple of the Grand Pure Sage. His ranking among immortals was not high at all...

Back to himself.

No background, no divine abilities, no fortune—did he still want to make a name for himself in this era?

What a joke. Staying alive would already be good enough.

Thus, from that year onward, the goal Li Changshou set for himself was to survive. To live as long as possible, work hard to avoid every kind of calamity, and peacefully live out this second life that he had obtained with such difficulty.

Standing out from the crowd or winning fame and glory had absolutely nothing to do with him.

No matter how diligently he cultivated, could he surpass the great figures of the Three Teachings?

No matter how desperately he sought opportunities, could he compete with those so-called Children of Calamity Karma?

The next great calamity would be the Investiture of the Gods. The farther he stayed from that calamity, the better. Rather than undergo the Investiture and become a Heavenly Court God, he would be better off cultivating quickly and voluntarily joining the Heavenly Court while it was still weak, becoming one of its founding elders...

A Primordial Wilderness civil servant?

That could work.

Even if he failed to obtain an Eternal Life Fruit, as long as he peacefully lived out his natural Lifespan, this second life would not have been wasted!

Thus, from that day onward, Li Changshou's ultimate goal was—

To live until he died of old age!

For this goal, he...

"Senior Brother?"

"Senior Brother!"

"Senior Brother, why are you sleeping here? They've started gathering at the main peak. If we do not hurry over, we'll be late!"

A pleasant voice called by his ear. Li Changshou stopped his wild thoughts and slowly opened his eyes.

What entered his sight was a delicate young woman's face: bright eyes, willow-leaf brows, a fine nose, lovely ears, and soft pink lips. Those already exceptional features were perfectly arranged on her pale yellow face. A slight furrow of her elegant brows made one pity her, while the shifting light in her eyes brimmed with liveliness...

"Who are you, beautiful?"

"Senior Brother!"

The young woman reached out, pinched Li Changshou's nose, and gently rubbed it. "You're still half-asleep!"

"Ah, Ling'e. How did you grow up so much in the blink of an eye?"

Li Changshou gave a dry laugh. His body drifted out along the grass, and three zhang away, he rose stiffly to his feet.

"I've already been on the mountain for ten years!"

Lan Ling'e stamped her foot, her lips puffing out slightly. She was indescribably cute and charming.

She did not merely have a beautiful face. Her figure had fully matured as well, with slender legs and a slim, well-proportioned waist. Her immortal dress perfectly outlined the alluring curves of her midsection. Her skin was fairer than frost and snow, and her black hair was soft and intoxicating.

Dong—

A bell drifted down from the clouds. Lan Ling'e urged, "Senior Brother, hurry and summon a cloud! We'll really be late if we do not leave now!"

Li Changshou frowned. "Can't you fly already?"

Lan Ling'e lifted her chest and raised her chin, replying with perfect confidence, "I'm not fast enough!"

"Fine." Li Changshou seemed somewhat reluctant as he summoned a white cloud and jumped onto it first.

A trace of slyness flickered in Lan Ling'e's gaze. Her pink cloth boots lightly tapped the grass, and she floated to Li Changshou's side. Just as she raised a hand to take his arm, Li Changshou casually dodged away.

With a stern face, Li Changshou said, "Do not forget the Three Chapters of Agreement."

"I know! Honestly, Senior Brother! What a miser!"

Lan Ling'e complained and angrily moved half a step to the side.

"That's more like it. Keep a distance of three chi in public.

You are now the rising star of our Du Xian Sect, Fairy Ling'e, admired by thousands of male disciples. Senior Brother does not want to be cursed to death by their witchcraft."

Li Changshou stretched and glanced back toward the thatched cottage. "Master has been in seclusion this whole time?"

"Mm. Master is calmly cultivating in seclusion. He could attempt the Heavenly Tribulation for Becoming an Immortal at any time! Perhaps by the time we return from this outing, Master will already be an immortal!"

Lan Ling'e chuckled, anticipation in her large eyes. Then she stared blankly at her senior brother for a while. A faint blush appeared on her cheeks, and she pressed her lips together before softly asking:

"Normally, you've never participated in these sect-organized training outings. This time, you came... was it because... you were worried about me...?"

A large hand suddenly appeared before her, followed by Li Changshou's "utterly impassive" face and a rapid-fire series of clear responses:

"No.

Please allow me to refuse.

You are a good girl.

I have always treated you as my own little sister."

"Hmph, I did not even say anything! You're so annoying! I'm ignoring you!"

Black lines filled Lan Ling'e's forehead. Her cheeks puffed into little buns as she flung her head around, presenting her senior brother with a resentful back. Her little fists clenched and unclenched.

Li Changshou smiled calmly and gazed at the white clouds on the horizon, calculating the timing and angle at which he and his junior sister would enter the gathering grounds.

But the calculation was pointless. With such a dazzling junior sister at his side, trying to keep a low profile...

Was becoming harder and harder.