The Path to Immortality

Great Zhou calendar, year 432 of Heaven's Mandate.

Qingzhou, Anping County, Azure Cloud Academy.

Afternoon sunlight slanted through the carved wooden window lattice and cut across the lecture hall, casting shafts of light through the dust-filled air.

The hall was not noisy. It was so quiet that only the rise and fall of breathing could be heard.

More than thirty youths sat cross-legged on cushions. The oldest were only fifteen or sixteen; the youngest had barely reached the age of tying up their hair.

Their eyes were closed in concentration, their expressions as solemn as clay statues in a temple.

"Inhale—three long breaths."

"Exhale—two short breaths."

"Keep your mind on your dantian. Guide your qi through every limb. Do not rush!"

Tutor Liu, who was teaching the lesson, wore a blue scholar's robe washed nearly white. Holding a disciplinary ruler, he surveyed the rows with hawk-sharp eyes.

In the stifling air, the youths fared differently.

The wealthy young masters in silk at the front looked quite at ease, even somewhat distracted. Faint white mist could be seen passing through their mouths and noses as they breathed.

The poor students in coarse hemp at the back, meanwhile, were red-faced, the veins at their temples bulging.

Chu Bai sat in a corner, dressed in a short, rough-spun tunic washed gray.

Unlike the others, he had not strained until his face turned red. His eyes were half closed, and his chest and belly rose and fell in steady rhythm with Tutor Liu's commands.

When he inhaled, his belly swelled slightly, like a toad swallowing the moon. When he exhaled, his chest sank, like an old tortoise breathing out.

He was practicing the Minor Qi Gathering Technique.

It was the foundation of all cultivation and the most basic method in the Dao Enlightenment Scripture issued by the Great Zhou Celestial Court.

But Chu Bai knew perfectly well that what he was doing was only an empty form.

Without the corresponding mental formula, this breathing could do no more than strengthen his body.

Clang—clang—clang—

The bell outside the academy rang three times, its dull echoes lingering over Anping County.

"That is all for today." Tutor Liu put away his ruler. "Class dismissed."

The tension in the hall vanished at once. Without even wiping away their sweat, the youths rose, bowed, then streamed out through the doors in twos and threes.

Chu Bai rose with the crowd and was about to leave with his head lowered when Tutor Liu called from behind him.

"Chu Bai, stay."

Chu Bai stopped, his heart sinking slightly. By the time he turned around, his expression was respectful. "Tutor, did you call for me?"

Tutor Liu stood at the lectern and looked the thin youth up and down.

"During practice, your breathing was long and your rhythm steady. Of all these students, you are the least likely to suffer qi deviation." Tutor Liu spoke evenly, giving no hint of pleasure or displeasure.

"It is all thanks to your excellent teaching," Chu Bai replied, lowering his head.

"You have been studying reading and writing at the academy for two years now, haven't you?" Tutor Liu changed the subject and walked to the window, looking out at the old locust tree. "In another six months, the county's Dao Academy selection will begin."

At the words "Dao Academy," Chu Bai's fingers tightened slightly inside his sleeves.

In this world, every pursuit ranked beneath officialdom. And the only path to becoming an official lay through the Heavenly Examination set by the Celestial Court.

The first stage of the Heavenly Examination tested not literary talent, but cultivation.

To sit the imperial examinations, a mortal first had to enter an officially recognized Dao Academy and obtain Dao registration.

And the threshold for admission to a Dao Academy was Qi Refining.

"This student... understands." Chu Bai's voice was a little hoarse.

Tutor Liu turned around, a glint flashing in his clouded eyes. "Your comprehension is good. Unfortunately, your family has no cultivation inheritance. Rely on nothing but the common methods taught here, and you still won't sense qi after another ten years."

At that, the tutor paused, finally revealing the dagger hidden in the map.

"I have a place available in the academy's special Inner-Door Instruction course, which runs for three months. It teaches the complete mental formula for the Minor Qi Gathering Technique, and you may also choose a basic spell to practice, such as the Spirit Eye Art or the Light-Body Formula."

"Give me three months, and I guarantee you will reach the first level of Qi Refining and gain your ticket into the Dao Academy."

Chu Bai's heart gave two hard thumps.

The complete formula!

It was the only key to the gates of immortality.

He looked up and swallowed. "Tutor, may I ask... what is the tuition?"

Tutor Liu held up one bony finger, his expression placid, as if discussing something trivial.

"Ten taels."

The lecture hall fell deathly silent.

Even the dust drifting through the air seemed to freeze.

The hope on Chu Bai's face stiffened, and bitterness slowly spread across his lips.

Ten taels of silver.

In Anping County, a pound of fine pork cost only twenty copper coins. Ten taels of silver would let a family of five live comfortably for three years.

"Ten taels..." Chu Bai repeated under his breath.

Tutor Liu seemed long accustomed to that expression. He did not press him, merely said, "That is an honest price, given your decent comprehension. At the other academies in town, twelve taels would barely get you through the door."

"Go home and discuss it with your parents. The immortal road is long. If you cannot cross this first step, a hundred years from now you will be nothing but a handful of yellow earth."

Chu Bai took a deep breath and bowed deeply. "Thank you for your guidance, Tutor. This student... will consider it carefully when he gets home."

Outside the gates of Azure Cloud Academy, the world was full of noise and bustle.

Cries from stalls sounded on both sides of the street. Peddlers carried their loads, farmers pushed wheelbarrows, and constables in dark uniforms patrolled with regulation sabers at their waists.

Chu Bai looked at the constables, envy flickering in his eyes.

They were low-ranking clerks, without official posts, but at least their wages came from the Celestial Court.

"Ten taels of silver..."

Chu Bai walked along the dirt road home, his steps heavy.

He had run through the sums countless times.

The Chu family had farmed for generations. His father was their only able-bodied worker, yet he also had to support Chu Bai's sickly mother and younger siblings.

After a full year's work, once the land tax and assorted levies were paid, the family could save two taels at most.

Ten taels was five years of savings if the whole family went without food or drink.

But what if I don't pay?

Chu Bai kicked a stone from the roadside.

Without paying, he would have no formula.

Without the formula, he could not draw qi into his body.

Without drawing qi into his body, he could not enter the Dao Academy.

Without entering the Dao Academy, he would have no Dao registration, no official seal, and no cultivation resources.

Then he would spend his life like his father, with his face to the yellow earth and his back to the sky, praying that the lofty agricultural officials would cast a Spring Breeze and Gentle Rain Art that year and grant mortals a mouthful of food.

As for finding a private tutor?

Chu Bai shook his head. The Great Zhou Law was strict: privately teaching Daoist arts was a grave crime.

Outside officially registered places like the academy, the "wild cultivators" who dared teach in secret either charged ruinous fees or were desperate outlaws with their heads hanging from their belts. A farmer's son like him had no way to reach them.

It was a dead end.

And the first dragon gate the Celestial Court had set before mortals.

Before he knew it, the sun had slanted westward.

The setting sun was red as blood. It stretched Chu Bai's shadow far across the cracked field ridge, making him look especially lonely and frail.

In the distance, several shabby thatched cottages came into view, wisps of cooking smoke rising from their roofs.

Chu Bai stopped on the ridge and stared at that thread of smoke for a long time.

"Ten taels of silver..."