Immortal Opportunity

After walking for a full quarter of an hour, the three finally arrived at a secluded corner of the Heavenly Baleful Gang.

The place backed against the mountains and contained an independent courtyard.

More than a hundred guards armed with steel sabers and crossbows stood watch around the courtyard. Their faces were cold and their builds imposing, radiating an invisible yet tremendous pressure.

Upon entering the courtyard, they saw rows upon rows of side rooms.

Behind the side rooms, at the foot of the mountain, stood an independent two-story building.

The area around the small building had been cleared and divided into neat, staggered plots of land, where some unknown medicinal herbs were growing.

A burly man pointed at the side rooms and spoke in a commanding tone.

"Find an empty room and stay there. Meals will be delivered three times a day. Until someone calls for you, you are forbidden from leaving your room."

After speaking, the burly man stared coldly at Song Wen, as though urging him to hurry up and choose a room.

Song Wen casually picked an empty room and walked inside.

There was a table and chairs, a bed with bedding on it, and a teapot on the table. There was nothing else in the room.

After surveying the room, Song Wen turned and shut the door.

As he closed the door, he took the chance to look outside.

The two burly men had already left the courtyard. Heavy guards stood watch outside, and they clearly were not worried that Song Wen might try anything reckless.

Once the door was shut, Song Wen's expression twisted with rage.

He had been suppressing the anger in his heart all this time.

The Heavenly Baleful Gang's overbearing strength and his own weakness filled him with humiliation and hatred.

At that moment, Song Wen was consumed by a desire for power.

Yesterday, while begging for food outside a teahouse, he had learned from the diners' conversations that this world had martial artists capable of running across roofs and leaping over walls.

At that moment, he desperately wished he were a formidable wandering hero, strong enough to slaughter his way through the entire Heavenly Baleful Gang.

Song Wen was locked in the room for seven whole days.

For the first two days, Song Wen was filled with hatred toward the Heavenly Baleful Gang's tyranny and brutality.

The feeling of being meat on the chopping block, utterly unable to resist, was truly terrible.

Fortunately, meals arrived punctually every day, and the food was not bad. There were vegetables and meat.

After the first two days passed, Song Wen gradually calmed down.

By the final two days, Song Wen had figured it out. Being confined to the room and forbidden from going out was probably deliberate on the Heavenly Baleful Gang's part. They wanted to grind away their resistance and make them face reality.

On the eighth day, Song Wen finally heard someone shouting outside.

"Everyone, leave your rooms immediately. Anyone who delays will be severely punished."

Soon afterward, the sounds of doors opening rang out one after another nearby.

Song Wen opened his door and walked out as well.

Before him, roughly a hundred youths in their teens were scattered throughout the courtyard in front of the side rooms. More than ten Heavenly Baleful Gang members carrying sabers stood at a distance.

The youths gathered in small groups of three or five. Clearly, like Song Wen, most of them had been forced here, and many were quietly voicing their dissatisfaction.

These youths were all locals from Salt City and knew how powerful the Heavenly Baleful Gang was. Though they were filled with anger and unwillingness, they could only point at the guards and mutter under their breath, daring to be angry but not daring to speak out.

Among the mostly impoverished and thin youths, one chubby boy dressed in luxurious clothes stood out conspicuously.

The chubby boy roared furiously.

"You Heavenly Baleful Gang bastards have some nerve! You dare kidnap me? My father is Zhang Erhe, the Assistant Magistrate of Qingyuan County! Hurry up and send me back!"

His loud rebuke drew everyone's attention.

Song Wen's gaze was drawn to the chubby boy as well.

Qingyuan County was a county under Salt City's jurisdiction, only a little over a hundred li away from Salt City.

In the Gan Kingdom, an Assistant Magistrate of a county wielded considerable power.

Song Wen was curious how the Heavenly Baleful Gang would deal with this chubby boy.

Was the chubby boy merely the foolish son of a wealthy family, unable to see reality? Or had the Heavenly Baleful Gang made a mistake and kicked an iron plate?

Though the guards hesitated upon hearing this, they remained unmoved. Clearly, this was not the first time they had heard the chubby boy mention his identity. Still, they found it somewhat troublesome to decide how to deal with him.

Just then, a figure stepped out from behind the guards.

The newcomer was around forty, thin in build, with a small mustache above his lip.

When he saw the chubby boy roaring in the courtyard, his eyes were full of impatience.

He raised his right hand, pinching a yellow talisman between his fingers, and gave a soft shout.

"Go!"

The talisman in his hand abruptly turned into ashes, and a fireball the size of a human head appeared out of thin air.

The fireball radiated terrifying heat, and even the surrounding air seemed to twist and distort.

The fireball streaked forward like lightning, accompanied by a wild howl. In the blink of an eye, it reached the chubby boy.

The chubby boy stared at the fireball that had suddenly appeared before him, his eyes filled with terror. The moment he thought of running, the fireball struck his chest.

The chubby boy's fat body was instantly hit as though by a massive blow, sending him flying into the air.

"Ah!..."

Amid his shrill cries of agony, the blazing flames rapidly spread over his entire body.

Before his body even hit the ground, he had become a human torch.

Fat crackled as it burned, and soon the foul stench of a burning corpse filled the air.

In barely more than a dozen breaths, a living person had turned into a pile of ashes, not even a trace of bone left behind.

Everyone was stunned by the sudden change. The hundred or so youths watched the chubby boy turn into a human torch in horror, their faces pale and the courtyard deathly silent.

Song Wen, who had lived two lives, was equally horrified by the sight before him.

He was terrified by the Heavenly Baleful Gang's audacity. They had publicly murdered an Assistant Magistrate's son, clearly showing no regard for the Gan Kingdom's court or the hundred youths before them.

He was also frightened by the mustached man's methods. With a single yellow talisman, the man had summoned a fireball. No matter how he looked at it, this was not the method of a martial artist. It was more like the abilities of immortal cultivators from the legends of his previous life.

Could this world be a world of immortal cultivation?

Just as Song Wen was filled with uncertainty, one of the youths in the courtyard answered his question.

"He's an immortal!"

A plainly dressed young man with several patches on his clothes suddenly dropped to his knees, his face full of terror and yearning as he shouted.

The young man's cry instantly roused everyone. More and more youths fell to their knees and kowtowed to the mustached man.

The mustached man's miraculous and ruthless methods instantly wiped away most of the youths' thoughts of resistance.

Song Wen followed the majority and knelt as well.

Stormy waves churned in his heart.

This was true power, power far greater than those martial heroes who leapt across rooftops and walls.

One day, I too will possess such power.

After suffering injustice for days, Song Wen's eyes were filled with determination.

The power of immortals would surely allow him to become one of this world's strong, no longer manipulated and bullied by others.

Not only were the youths intimidated by the mustached man's immortal technique, even the Heavenly Baleful Gang guards revealed deep fear in their eyes.

Seeing this, the mustached man curled his lips into a satisfied smile.

The effect of killing a chicken to scare the monkeys had met his expectations.

His gaze swept over the kneeling youths, his eyes lofty and disdainful as an air of supreme confidence and total control naturally rose from him.

"I am an immortal cultivator, known as High Person Extreme Yin. I cultivate orthodox and righteous Daoist techniques, so there is no need for you to fear."

"I gathered you here to grant you a great opportunity, an opportunity to become immortals and seek longevity."

"For the next month, I will personally teach you the immortal cultivation technique, the Longevity Art. Anyone who successfully draws qi into their body within one month may become my personal disciple."

"I hope you cherish this immortal opportunity. Anyone who can draw qi into their body, even if they cannot attain longevity, will gain great power, and glory and wealth will be within reach."

As soon as Extreme Yin finished speaking, the youths responded fervently. All of them gazed at Extreme Yin eagerly, their eyes full of anticipation and longing.

Song Wen was also rather excited. He had not expected to obtain an immortal opportunity so easily.

At the same time, he became even more vigilant.

Extreme Yin's ability to manipulate hearts was truly formidable. He first intimidated everyone with thunderous methods, then used an immortal opportunity to win them over.

It was the classic approach of first beating someone with a stick, then giving them a date. In this way, every youth present would surely devote themselves wholeheartedly and do their utmost while cultivating the Longevity Art.

Things were probably not as simple as Extreme Yin made them sound. Who would grant others an immortal opportunity for no reason and expect nothing in return? Extreme Yin must be plotting something! This immortal opportunity probably would not be so easy to obtain.