The heart that sought the Dao

The night was deep. Dressed entirely in black, Du Xingyi blended into the darkness.

"I don't really have any plans."

Meng Yuan sighed and gave a desolate smile. "Pill toxins have damaged my body over the years, and then there was that candlestick a while ago... Now that I've seen you succeed, Fairy, my wish is fulfilled. I plan to travel around and broaden my horizons. Perhaps someday I'll go to the Starsea Alliance's Main Mountain, find some way to make a living, and muddle through the rest of this wretched life."

Du Xingyi had now reached Foundation Establishment and was riding high on the spring breeze of success. She could not bear to hear such dispirited words.

But then she recalled that, although supporting this man over the past few years had brought her plenty of trouble, it was precisely those troubles that had made her temperament more resolute, her methods more flexible, and her heart for the Dao more steadfast.

Whatever else might be said, she owed her present achievements to this man's willingness to stake his future on the Great Dao.

Besides, his Life-Bound Divine Ability was extraordinary and might prove useful someday.

And his disposition was decent. He knew when to advance and retreat, and understood proper limits. He could just about be considered talented at managing affairs.

"Back then, I promised to do you a favor. Tell me what you want," Du Xingyi said.

"You jest, Fairy." Meng Yuan did not take her up on it. "Being able to serve you has already been the good fortune of a lifetime! Though my path along the Great Dao has stalled, I'm at least in the late stage. I ask for nothing more."

Du Xingyi paced back and forth before saying, "How about this? I'll point you toward somewhere to go. It'll be better than drifting around outside."

Another month passed. Once Du Xingyi's Qi had stabilized, she swept Meng Yuan up and left Deer Island.

In just two hours, a large island came into view.

This was Longstone Island, the foremost island in the western Starsea Alliance. Its location was critically important, incomparably better than Deer Island, where even birds would not stop to shit.

Longstone Island had always controlled the surrounding area. Cultivators came and went frequently, supplies were largely transshipped here, and Flying Vessels traveled directly to Main Mountain. Naturally, it was much livelier.

The island lived up to its name, narrow from north to south and long from east to west, roughly ten Deer Islands in size. A continuous range of tall mountains stood along its northern side, where cultivators came and went, while mortals mostly lived on the flatlands to the south.

Longstone Island's master bore the surname Dong and the given name Bai. She was at the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage, and word had it that she was extremely capable.

Moreover, this Island Master Dong Bai was the very teacher who had first guided Du Xingyi onto the path and imparted the Dao to her.

It was precisely because of this relationship that Du Xingyi had been able to move all her mortal relatives from Deer Island here.

Du Xingyi brought Meng Yuan down onto Clearwind Mountain on Longstone Island, where Island Master Dong Bai's cave abode was located.

"Wait here," Du Xingyi instructed. She patted the young girl guarding the cave abode, then went inside.

Meng Yuan waggled his eyebrows at the girl guarding the entrance, only for her to turn her head away in disdain.

He waited a full two hours before Du Xingyi emerged. She summoned an elderly cultivator, gave him a few instructions, then told Meng Yuan, "Remember, you're one of mine. And help me look after the Du clanspeople."

With that, Du Xingyi tossed him a token and simply left.

"Foundation Establishment at twenty-seven. What a triumphant life." The elderly cultivator watched Du Xingyi's departing figure, filled with emotion.

Meng Yuan hurriedly greeted him, and they exchanged names.

The elderly cultivator's name was Gong Xiangxian. A Late Qi Refining Stage cultivator and a relative of an old friend of Dong Bai's, he had always enjoyed her trust and handled Longstone Island's miscellaneous affairs on her behalf.

"If Fairy Dong hadn't picked me back then, I might still be plying the seas as an independent trader. Of course, there's nothing wrong with that, but working on Longstone Island gives you broader seas and skies!" Gong Xiangxian was a chatterbox, and Meng Yuan deliberately flattered him, so once he started talking, there was no end to it.

One respected the other as the island master's confidant, while the other respected him as the rising star's favored subordinate. They hit it off and actually talked the entire night away.

The following day, Gong Xiangxian personally took Meng Yuan to have him registered. From then on, Meng Yuan counted as a member of the Starsea Alliance.

"We're too far from Main Mountain, so registration can be handled here as well. Later, we'll send your background and origins to Main Mountain, and that'll be that," Gong Xiangxian explained.

Meng Yuan received his Starsea Alliance identification plaque, then followed Gong Xiangxian to Goldstone Market.

Goldstone Market was Longstone Island's only cultivator market, as well as the largest market in the northern Starsea region.

People bustled through the market, all of them Qi Refining cultivators.

Since coming to this world, Meng Yuan had never seen so many cultivators at once.

"Our island master has a shop here selling local specialties from all over. You can serve as its managing steward!" Gong Xiangxian assigned him the position offhandedly.

"Won't this give people the impression that... I've been handpicked? Becoming the shopkeeper as soon as I arrive?" Meng Yuan had not expected Du Xingyi to carry so much weight.

"My dear younger brother, Fairy Du was taught by our island master, which makes us family! You're a late-stage cultivator, too. You're qualified! If anyone objects, let him step forward!" Gong Xiangxian was magnanimous, then explained, "Actually, that shop was given to Fairy Du by our island master. Fairy Du dislikes mundane affairs, and none of her relatives have embarked on the immortal path. You're her confidant, younger brother. If you don't do it, who will?"

"If you hadn't enlightened me, elder brother, I wouldn't have understood!" Meng Yuan said.

"Remember this: you'll be fine going about your daily business in Goldstone Market, but if you go outside, keep your wits about you. There's no shortage of murder and robbery here!" Gong Xiangxian cautioned him carefully. "Over half a year ago, a shopkeeper went out carrying Origin-Opening Pills and was killed by a Bandit Cultivator. The killer was never found afterward. Our island master sent Fairy Du to investigate. This shop was the reward."

Over half a year ago, Origin-Opening Pills... Wasn't the killer simply Du Xingyi herself? Dong Bai sent Du Xingyi to investigate the killer? Could Dong Bai have known her disciple had gone mad with poverty and given her a shop to help her out?

From then on, Meng Yuan settled on Longstone Island and became the shopkeeper of White Deer Pavilion in Goldstone Market.

Since Du Xingyi did not concern herself with the business, Meng Yuan held all the authority as shopkeeper. Purchasing, sales, and every Spirit Stone that came and went-all of it fell to him.

Another half year passed. Meng Yuan not only familiarized himself with all of White Deer Pavilion's local specialties, but also got to know the managers of many shops in Goldstone Market.

He discovered that those who managed shops were either elderly cultivators with no hope of progressing along the Great Dao, or young men and women out gaining experience.

Another year passed. Meng Yuan got involved with the female manager of a Profound Clarity Sect shop, tried out the methods of Dual Cultivation, and asked about the lands overseas.

Another three years passed. Meng Yuan ran White Deer Pavilion with great success, quadrupling its profits. He manipulated transactions, bought and resold goods off the shop's books, and ate until his mouth dripped with grease. Du Xingyi had not visited even once, let alone inspected the accounts.

Meng Yuan saved up money and sought instruction in pill refining and artifact refining, but unfortunately never learned to do either properly.

Whenever outsiders entered the market, Meng Yuan invited them into the shop for tea and asked about the world beyond. If they had explored secret realms or the like, he even paid them to recount the details.

But when it came to secret realms, even those already explored, most people were unwilling to talk. Even when they did, their stories were all meant to fool people.

Of course, Meng Yuan's heart still sought the Dao. He spent a fortune on Origin-Opening Pills, yet his cultivation could no longer advance even a fraction.

Meng Yuan sought help from every worthy person he could, practiced Dual Cultivation, and took pills, but none had much effect.

Moreover, this tiny market had shallow waters but plenty of turtles: social obligations, covert harm, and schemes. Though it was a gathering place for cultivators, it reeked of money, and Meng Yuan found it deeply tedious.

Ten years hurried by. Meng Yuan navigated Goldstone Market like a fish in water, yet his heart gradually grew weary.

That year, Du Xingyi appeared, and the two spoke of old times.

"He died." Du Xingyi actually sighed. "Three years after you left Deer Island, he put on new clothes and used that to break through to perfected Qi Refining. Then he went out to seek his opportunity for Foundation Establishment and died out there."

Du Xingyi sighed with feeling. "He was already seventy-three then, and his Qi and Blood had long since declined. At that age, fewer than one in a thousand can successfully reach Foundation Establishment."

"Then why did he still insist on..."

"The Great Dao! Scrabbling like flies and dogs, scheming and calculating-it's all for the Great Dao."

"Yes... Old Brother Huo's heart that sought the Dao..."

"Now look at yourself. You buried yourself in Goldstone Market, and what have you done? Written journals, drawn maps, befriended outsiders, and asked about secret realms and ruins already explored. One female pill refiner, one female artifact refiner, and three shop managers-you aren't picky in the slightest! Yuanyuanzi, I know you want to learn things from them, but you ought to spare some thought for my dignity. Everyone calls White Deer Pavilion the Loose Women's House now!"

They had not seen each other in ten years. Du Xingyi still had her slight baby fat, while life in the market had worn Meng Yuan's face with dust and frost.

After being thoroughly scolded, Meng Yuan suddenly recalled his second life. Back then, he had possessed nothing, yet instead of thinking about preparing for his next life, he had stepped straight into the wind and waves.

Yes, should I spend a peaceful lifetime here preparing for my next life, or go out and see the boundless seas and skies?

His face covered in dust, his temples frosted, Meng Yuan had also tired of Goldstone Market's peaceful days.

"Giving up this magnificent realm?" In a daze, Meng Yuan recalled Yang Dayong's words.

"It is precisely because this realm is so magnificent and wondrous that my resolve grows firmer." Meng Yuan heard his own reply once more.

That year, Meng Yuan, now forty-two, cast aside his position as White Deer Pavilion's managing steward, abandoned the embraces of his many female fellow cultivators, and left Longstone Island with unwavering resolve.