At his sickbed, grandfather bestowed his final treasures

"I have."

Taiping nodded, then said with a look of longing:

"Uncle Zhao at the village entrance said there are immortals on Cloud Cottage Mountain, not far from our village. A few years ago, an immortal came down from the mountain and slew that serpent demon in Clearwater Town. They can soar through the heavens and burrow through the earth. How magnificent!"

The old man chuckled at this, then asked:

"Then, Taiping, do you want to be like those immortals, never growing old, soaring through the heavens and burrowing through the earth?"

"Yes, of course I do."

Little Taiping nodded without hesitation, but immediately scratched his head and gave an embarrassed smile.

"But Uncle Zhao said you have to be born with a spirit bone to cultivate. If you're born with one, your name automatically appears on the Immortal Register. Then an immortal will come down in person to take you up the mountain to cultivate. Otherwise, with nothing but mortal bones, you can't become an immortal."

There was a trace of disappointment in Taiping's voice.

"Taiping..."

The old man hesitated, then looked at Taiping earnestly and lowered his voice to ask:

"If an opportunity could earn you a place on the Immortal Register, but you had to risk your life for it, would you be willing?"

"Earn me... a place on the Immortal Register?"

Little Taiping first looked stunned, then began to consider it seriously.

"Grandfather, if there really is such an opportunity, I'd like to try."

After a moment, he raised his head and looked firmly at the old man on the bed.

"Why? You could lose your life, you know."

Smiling, the old man gazed into little Taiping's clear eyes.

"If I became an immortal, I could cure your illness, couldn't I?"

Little Taiping answered as though it were the most natural thing in the world.

The old man froze for a moment, then smiled again.

"Taiping, take... take this."

Then he struggled to raise his hand and placed a somewhat battered wooden box in Taiping's hands.

"Grandfather?"

Taiping looked at the wooden box in puzzlement.

For as long as he could remember, his grandfather had guarded this wooden box carefully, never letting anyone see inside.

"O... open it."

The old man spoke with great difficulty.

"All right..."

Though puzzled, Taiping nodded obediently and opened the wooden box.

Inside, little Taiping saw only a vermilion wax ball and an ordinary soybean seed.

"This red wax ball was given to me ten years ago by a Daoist I happened to meet. It's called a Spirit Bone Pill. Once swallowed, it can transform mortal bones into spirit bones and make your name appear on the Immortal Register."

Before Taiping could ask, the old man pointed at the red wax ball in the box and explained.

"Such miraculous medicine really exists?"

The little boy, Taiping, had a look of disbelief on his face.

"The world is vast, with wonders beyond counting. What is a single Spirit Bone Pill compared to all that?"

The old man nodded solemnly.

"If this Spirit Bone Pill is so miraculous, why didn't you take it, Grandfather?"

A question suddenly occurred to little Taiping.

"That Daoist said the Spirit Bone Pill only works on children between nine and eleven years old. I was already sixty-three when I received it, and your father and your second and third uncles had all reached forty, the age of no doubts. It would have been useless for us to take it."

The old man gave a bitter smile.

It was clear that he harbored regrets.

Who would willingly pass up such a chance at immortality?

"Besides, after you take this Spirit Bone Pill, its effects last only half a year. If you fail to reach what the immortals call the Qi Transformation Realm within that time, the sect will discover that you have only mortal bones. Your name will be struck from the Immortal Register. At best, you'll be expelled from the Mountain Gate. At worst, your soul's memories will be erased, leaving you a witless child."

The old man continued with a frown.

Taiping was startled by these words.

But after pondering them seriously for a long time, he still nodded and looked earnestly at the old man.

"Grandfather, I still want to try."

To his mind, once he entered the Immortal Gate and learned immortal arts, he would be able to cure his grandfather.

That made it worth the risk.

"Good."

Seeing how resolute Taiping was, the old man nodded in satisfaction. Then he took the wax ball from Taiping's hand, peeled away its wax coating, and personally held it to little Taiping's lips.

"Eat it."

Without hesitation, little Taiping swallowed the Spirit Bone Pill.

As the pill entered his stomach, Taiping felt a warm current pass through him, like a warm hand stroking his entire body.

Apart from that, however, there was nothing unusual.

"Is that... all it takes?"

Little Taiping asked the old man in surprise.

"In a few days, an immortal will come down from the mountain to fetch you."

The old man nodded with a smile.

His expression was conflicted, his heart filled with both joy and worry.

His joy needed no explanation. Taiping was his favorite grandson, and naturally he was delighted that the boy could embark on the road of seeking immortality and the Dao.

His worry came from knowing that this road would be fraught with hardship. Little Taiping might not even last half a year before being expelled from the Mountain Gate and reduced to a witless child, condemned to a miserable life.

"Along the endless road of mortal dust, mortal bones seek their destined chance at immortality. Without tasting the thousand perils of this world, how could the heavenly gate open even a sliver amid those jade towers?"

The old man suddenly recalled those words, spoken leisurely by the old Daoist beggar before he left.

At the thought, his gaze grew resolute once more. It was right to set Taiping on this road!

"Grandfather, what is this bean for?"

Feeling somewhat uneasy, Taiping suddenly picked up the soybean from the wooden box.

"That was left by the old Daoist too, but he never explained exactly what it does. He only said that if you were ever fortunate enough to enter the Immortal Gate, you should plant this soybean in the mountain's spiritual soil. Then you would gain another great opportunity..."

The old man answered weakly.

"Cough, cough, cough..."

After saying this, he began coughing violently.

"Grandfather, have some water. Don't talk anymore."

Taiping stepped forward anxiously to support him.

"Taiping... keep that bean safe... what Grandfather told you tonight... you mustn't... mustn't tell... tell anyone..."

The old man gripped little Taiping's wrist tightly.

"Don't worry, Grandfather. I won't tell anyone!"

Little Taiping nodded emphatically.

"Taiping, though you're wise beyond your years, the world is treacherous. You must be exceedingly careful..."

Blood seeped from the corners of the old man's mouth as he coughed. Suddenly, he seized little Taiping's shoulders with both hands, fixed his eyes on him, and shouted with all his remaining strength:

"Taiping, I spent my whole life searching for the Path to Immortality, but in the end, these mortal bones held me captive. You must prove your worth! Prove the worth of all the mortal bones beneath heaven!"

With those words, the old man's body stiffened, and he fell rigidly back onto the bed.

"Grand... Grandfather?"

Little Taiping's heart turned cold.

His small hand trembled as he held it beneath the old man's nose. Finding that his grandfather was no longer breathing, the light in his eyes dimmed.

"I... I don't have a grandfather anymore..."

Little Taiping stood there in a daze, tears welling endlessly in his eyes. In the end, he let out a wail and burst into tears.

He had not cried when his parents died a few years ago. He had not cried when he tumbled down a hillside while gathering herbs. He had not cried when jackals trapped him in a cave for days and nights without food or water.

Because he had known he was not alone. He still had his grandfather.

That night, little Taiping lost his grandfather.

That night, a new name appeared on the Spirit Bone Stele of the Azure Profound Sect of Cloud Cottage Mountain—Xu Taiping.

"A boy named Xu Taiping in Green Ox Village at the foot of Cloud Cottage Mountain has developed a spirit bone. Notify the master of the Seventh Peak at once and have him send a disciple down the mountain to escort the boy here."

The elder guarding the Spirit Bone Stele placed a letter in the beak of a white crane standing outside the door.

"This disciple obeys."

The white crane spoke in a human voice, then spread its wings and soared away.