Is this the immortal cultivation I imagined?

Once again, the crow flew and the rabbit raced: time slipped by.

Wang Quan maintained a pace of three or four volumes a day, steadily increasing his tally of Daoist Scriptures.

But fewer and fewer of those who had arrived with him still studied the Daoist Scriptures. Now only a dozen or so remained.

Wu Yong, however, was still persevering too.

At the first glimmer of dawn each day, the dozen of them went to the dining hall.

Since they had never completed any Lower Court missions, they only had level-zero clearance, so their free meals consisted of red flatbread and vegetable soup.

The flatbread was peculiar: one palm-sized piece kept them full for an entire day.

It just tasted awful and was hard to swallow.

The dozen of them studied from morning until late at night, then returned to their dormitory together.

Occasionally, someone would be occupied with other matters for a day or two, but they soon caught up again.

Because their clearance was low, the dormitory assigned to Wang Quan and the others was a plain wooden coffin each.

Apart from being cramped and oppressive, it had no drawbacks. On the contrary, it had plenty of advantages:

It was quiet, helped them fall asleep faster, restored their spirits, and nourished their bodies.

That aloof Daoist nun had even said that the houses allocated to those with ordinary clearance were inferior to these plain wooden coffins, apart from looking more respectable.

Wang Quan and the others had no idea whether she was telling the truth. Without the clearance to find out, they could only take her word for it for now.

Once he lay down in his coffin, the lid closed by itself, and he fell asleep in less than a minute.

Just four hours later, the preset mechanism opened the lid, and Wang Quan woke naturally.

Though he slept only briefly, the coffin's assistance left him brimming with energy.

February...

March...

April...

That morning, the coffin lid opened, and Wang Quan rose to join the others for flatbread.

In the dining hall, a girl named Zhao Hongyi spoke up. "Starting today, I won't be studying Daoist Scriptures anymore. I'm going to start practicing a cultivation method."

Everyone reacted differently to her words.

Over nearly half a year, they had grown used to studying Daoist Scriptures together. Now that someone was suddenly leaving, they actually felt a little panicked.

A girl named Qian Xiuyue asked anxiously, "Hongyi, didn't we agree to reach six thousand volumes of Daoist Scriptures together before we started practicing?"

Zhao Hongyi smiled bitterly. "Everyone who arrived with us has already started cultivating, doing missions, and raising their clearance."

"They wear Daoist robes now, live in private rooms, and eat delicacies from the mountains and seas."

"Every few days, they even gather at the estates outside."

"They pluck moonlight and turn it into beauties who dance gracefully, then point at wine jars and turn them into potbellied men who slap their bellies and sing at the top of their lungs."

"Some wave a hand, and clouds drift down. They lie on them, soft and snug-a genuine cloud bed!"

"Some plant a fruit seed, and in an instant, it grows into a great tree, blossoms, and bears sweet fruit."

"Some wield their brushes and splash ink, painting dozens of soldiers and horses that pair off and fight!"

"Plenty of seekers of immortality serve as their slaves, gathering resources to support their cultivation."

"I want that too."

At her words, everyone fell silent.

Wang Quan broke apart his red flatbread, softened it in the vegetable soup, and swallowed it mouthful by mouthful.

"Everyone, I'll head off to read the scriptures."

He stood, and Wu Yong rose beside him. "Hongyi, let's keep in touch through our tokens."

Their identity tokens contained a map of the Lower Court and allowed them to leave messages for one another, among many other functions.

After spending so long together, they had exchanged their tokens' contact marks, forming something like a chat group from his previous life. They could leave messages for each other without worrying about losing touch.

"All right!"

That day, Wang Quan noticed that Wu Yong was distracted, as were Qian Xiuyue and the others.

"Everyone, perhaps Hongyi has already completed her planned goal. That's why she's started practicing."

"Besides congratulating her, we should make the most of our time studying Daoist Scriptures and finish our own plans as soon as possible."

"After all, the more Daoist Scriptures we master, the farther we'll travel on the path of cultivation."

Beside him, Qian Xiuyue muttered, "But I've seen plenty of people who keep studying Daoist Scriptures after they start practicing."

"Couldn't we do that too?"

Wang Quan shook his head. "When we first arrived, that aloof instructor said the higher the version of the method we use for our first cultivation, the greater the benefits."

Qian Xiuyue said nothing and buried herself in studying the Daoist Scriptures.

The crow flew and the rabbit raced: time slipped by.

Zhao Hongyi moved out of the coffin dormitory area.

That evening, she left them messages saying that she was progressing rapidly in her cultivation, learning spells quickly too, and had raised her clearance.

Some days later, Zhao Hongyi began telling them that she had joined a small group. With its help, she had established an estate in the mountains outside and invited everyone to visit.

Wang Quan did not go.

Neither did Wu Yong.

Qian Xiuyue, however, took the others there. When they returned, they were all silent.

May...

June...

July...

At first, Zhao Hongyi shared stories of her cultivation and adventures every few days. Later, she spoke only of how many more handsome men and beautiful women had flocked to her, asking for nothing more than to become her slaves.

She had now switched to an eight-step bed: very large, very soft, and very fun.

Later still, at some point, she left the contact group.

After that, fewer and fewer people remained in the group.

In September, lightning flashed and thunder roared as wind and rain swept through.

Inside the dining hall, Wang Quan, Qian Xiuyue, and Wu Yong silently broke their flatbread into their vegetable soup.

After they finished eating, Qian Xiuyue suddenly spoke. "I can't complete my planned six thousand volumes of Daoist Scriptures."

"I'm going to start practicing too."

Wu Yong remained silent.

Wang Quan frowned. "You've persevered for nine months already. Just keep going a little-"

Qian Xiuyue shook her head and cut him off. "I can't keep going!"

"In nine months, I've learned a thousand volumes of Daoist Scriptures."

"But the last volume took me three whole days to learn."

"I've spent ten days on the next volume, and I still haven't learned it!"

"Sister Hongyi said that after she started practicing, she gathered some spiritual medicines that temporarily boosted her intelligence and comprehension."

"Now she's learned six thousand volumes of Daoist Scriptures and analyzed her Fundamental Method anew, without any adverse effects."

"I don't want to chase a higher version of my first Fundamental Method anymore."

"Besides, I've mastered over four thousand volumes of Daoist Scriptures now. My first version of the Fundamental Method is higher than Sister Hongyi's was."

"That's enough!"

Wang Quan fell silent.

Qian Xiuyue left. Before leaving, she quit the contact group.

Now only Wang Quan and Wu Yong remained in the group.

They exchanged a glance, and Wu Yong gave an honest, simple smile. "Are you still going to persevere?"

Wang Quan smiled. "I am!"

His tally of Daoist Scriptures had now reached nine thousand nine hundred volumes. Although it took him two or three days to master a volume now, ten thousand volumes were not far off.

A thought stirred in Wu Yong's heart. If Wang Quan can persevere, so can I!

Both the instructor and the Daoist Scriptures said that the higher the version of the Fundamental Method used for one's first cultivation, the greater the benefits.

I don't need the perfect ten-thousand-volume version, but I should at least get the seven-thousand-volume version. At the very least, I can't let Wang Quan catch up to me.

With that thought, he smiled. "Come on, to the Scripture Repository!"

October...

November...

December...

That day, snow drifted from the sky, its flakes like goose feathers.

Streaks of strange light soared through the air, stirring envy in those who watched.

Zhao Hongyi, whom they had not seen in a long time, descended astride a red-crowned crane. She wore a gray Daoist robe cinched at the waist, her chest full beneath it, and her long hair was piled high.

Holding a fly whisk, she had an air untouched by worldly dust as she invited Wang Quan and Wu Yong to a banquet:

"In a few days, we'll have been here for a year."

"I'm planning to invite everyone to a little gathering."

"My servants have gathered Water Essence and Moonlight Essence to brew fine wine for us. There will be sixteen-year-old beauties and handsome young men singing and dancing."

"I also went into the mountain forests to gather exotic flowers and rare plants for decorations."

"And I bought some spiritual medicines from the medicinal gardens to cook delicacies."

"Now all that's missing is you two."

Wu Yong blushed. After some hesitation, he finally agreed.

Wang Quan politely declined. "I've reached a crucial point in my scripture studies. I don't want to be distracted."

Zhao Hongyi was not annoyed. Instead, she smiled. "All right!"

"In a few days, I'll send my crane to pick Wu Yong up."

"Farewell!"

Zhao Hongyi rode her crane away. Wu Yong gazed after her for a long time before muttering, "A graceful beauty, arriving on a crane and departing on a crane."

"Now that's the immortal cultivation I imagined!"

"Hey... Wang Quan... wait for me!"