A Guide to the Immortal Path

"Waiter, the usual. Pick out a few of your specialty dishes, and bring me a pot of good wine!" Lu Chen said with a smile.

"Of course, young master. Just a moment. Your order will be out shortly."

The waiter, a rag draped over his shoulder, nodded and hurried off to the kitchen.

Lu Chen had been in the little town for almost a month and had already become a regular at its finest restaurant. He was living quite comfortably.

With his terrifying physical strength, any rare or exotic beast in the wilderness was no problem for him, provided it had not awakened spiritual intelligence. Gold and silver were naturally easy to come by.

He might only have been selling animal hides, but for ordinary people, obtaining them meant facing nine chances of death for one chance of survival.

Big Dipper had powerful cultivators who could soar through the heavens, burrow into the earth, overturn rivers, and churn the seas.

But none of that had much to do with the mortals living at the bottom. Commoners in every kingdom led difficult lives. This was a society with an ancient social structure and low productivity; if ordinary people could eat their fill throughout their lives, that alone counted as a golden age.

As for meat and rich, fatty food, they seldom tasted it more than a few times a year. It was no different from ancient societies on Earth.

Thus, Lu Chen could easily hunt fierce beasts and earn money, while ordinary hunters who made their living the same way might well lose their lives when they encountered one.

"Young master, here are all your dishes and wine. Please enjoy." Before long, the waiter brought out his meal.

Lu Chen smiled and gave him a tip, prompting a flood of profuse thanks.

I've learned the spoken and written language. It's time to consider leaving this town. Holding his wine cup and watching the people outside the window, Lu Chen pondered how he should embark on the path of cultivation.

Should he join a small cultivation sect, then seek out resources himself once he had attained a certain level?

Or should he enter one of the Eastern Wasteland's holy lands directly and obtain top-tier ancient scriptures and abundant resources?

With his current aptitude, whether he entered a small sect or a holy land, he would certainly be a favored prodigy they focused on nurturing. Of that, he was confident.

What he was weighing were the advantages and drawbacks of each choice. A small sect would certainly have inferior resources and cultivation methods, but it would also impose fewer restrictions and rules.

If he joined a holy land, resources and ancient scriptures would certainly not be lacking. But before he could become a core disciple, they would first turn his background inside out.

Successors to holy lands and great families, such as the Yaoguang Holy Son, Ji Haoyue, and the Yaochi Holy Maiden, all had clear backgrounds and had been raised and trained from childhood.

If Lu Chen joined a holy land as an adult, then even with his extraordinary aptitude, its holy lord and elders would watch him carefully. They might even place restrictions on him to guard against unforeseen trouble.

Ye Fan and the others might have joined the Yan Kingdom's six great grotto-heavens and blessed lands with ease, but that was because Miss Weiwei had personally seen them emerge from the Forbidden Zone of Desolate Antiquity. That counted as a clear background of sorts. Besides, those six sects were merely bottom-tier organizations with lax rules.

Looking at the holy lands and Desolate Ancient Families, every disciple who cultivated important ancient scriptures or secret arts had powerful restrictions planted within them. Even a cherished jewel of a great family like Ji Ziyue was no exception.

If any of them divulged a cultivation method or suffered an incident such as a soul search, their soul would immediately explode, killing them.

Ye Fan had once tried to search the souls of disciples from holy lands and great families to obtain their ancient scriptures and profound arts. The restrictions within those disciples had instead annihilated them in both body and soul.

A path that placed his life and death in another person's hands was absolutely not what Lu Chen wanted.

"Young man, may this old fellow sit here?"

Just as he was lost in thought, an aged voice suddenly drew him back. A white-haired old man who looked to be seventy or eighty had approached his table.

Lu Chen paused briefly and swept his gaze across the restaurant's main hall. There were few customers, and several tables stood empty. Why did the old man insist on sharing his table? Though puzzled, he still smiled calmly and said, "Please, sir. Make yourself comfortable."

The waiter came over then, his face apologetic, and was about to say something. Lu Chen waved a hand, telling him not to worry.

"You have good manners, young man. You didn't turn your nose up at these old bones," the old man said with a nod before sitting down. Though he looked very old, his voice was full of vigor.

Lu Chen shook his head slightly. "It's nothing. The table belongs to the restaurant. Anyone can sit here."

Soon, the waiter brought over the old man's food and wine as well. After a few cups, he began chatting with Lu Chen.

"Young man, do you know why this old fellow chose to share your table instead of sitting elsewhere?"

"Well... no."

"This old fellow knows a little of the esoteric arts. I sense extraordinary power hidden within you, young master. Would you extend your arm and let me take a look?" The old man set down his wine cup and studied him.

Is this old man no ordinary person? Lu Chen wondered inwardly. After a brief moment of consideration, he nodded. "All right."

"As I thought, blood and vitality like a dragon, with divine radiance concealed within!" The moment the old man laid his fingers on Lu Chen's arm, a faint gleam flashed through his eyes. He exclaimed softly, "To think I would encounter such fine jade, such a gifted talent, when my allotted years are nearly spent!"

Lu Chen's senses now far surpassed those of ordinary people. Seeing the light in the old man's eyes, he felt he might have encountered a cultivator today. He asked quietly, "Sir, are you an immortal cultivator?"

"I have a little cultivation, nothing worth mentioning. I suppose I am!" A sigh colored the old man's words, his tone carrying the weariness of twilight years.

"What good fortune for this junior to meet an immortal master." Though Lu Chen said this, his heart remained largely unruffled. After all, he was unlike ordinary people. He knew far too many of the secrets of heaven and earth to make a fuss over a single cultivator. As long as the man bore him no ill will, that was enough.

"Young man, would you be willing to set foot on the Immortal Path?" The old man looked at him with anticipation. "My realm may not be particularly lofty, but it is enough to guide you through the door."

"Well..." Lu Chen understood now. This old man was a cultivator who had noticed his exceptionally vigorous blood and vitality, so unlike anyone else's, as soon as he entered the restaurant. After examining him, the man had been even more astonished by his aptitude and wanted to take him as a disciple.

After considering it for a moment, he agreed to become the old man's disciple. Though the man's cultivation might not be particularly profound, as long as he guided Lu Chen onto the Immortal Path, Lu Chen was confident that his own aptitude and the advantage of his "foreknowledge" would allow him to find all the resources, ancient scriptures, treasures, and other things he needed.

The old man was delighted by his agreement and told him all about his background.

His name was Gu Ling, and he was an independent cultivator already two or three hundred years old. Because his aptitude was limited, a lifetime of arduous cultivation had only brought him to the Other Shore, the fourth minor realm of the first great secret realm-the Sea of Bitterness.

In fact, his level of cultivation was the norm for the many cultivators at the bottom. The cultivation world was shaped like a pyramid: the higher one climbed, the fewer people there were. At the summit, where one attained the Dao and became an emperor, only a single person could ascend that supreme divine throne and stand alone atop the ninefold heavens.