The Decision, Cloudmist Mountain

Jing Kingdom, Cloud Prefecture, Cangyun City, Wangjiang Tower.

Cangyun City was a mortal city in Cloud Prefecture, southern Jing Kingdom. It had been built along the banks of the Cangyun River, with flourishing water transport and a large population.

Wangjiang Tower was the tallest restaurant in Cangyun City. It had five floors, and from the top floor, one could look down through the windows and take in the entire city.

Not long after leaving that stretch of mountain forest, Zhou Chun arrived in Cangyun City, where he stayed for more than a month.

And Wangjiang Tower was the place he visited most often.

Immortals did not live among mortals. Although Cangyun City had a permanent population of over a hundred thousand, Zhou Chun had spent half a month observing the city and had barely seen any Cultivators.

Even when he occasionally spotted a Cultivator, it was usually someone merely passing through and taking a brief rest while traveling. They had no intention of remaining here for long.

Thus, Zhou Chun was undoubtedly very safe here.

However, a mortal city like Cangyun City had a chaotic mix of people and scant spiritual energy. It was completely unsuitable for cultivation.

Even with the stone jar, which allowed Zhou Chun not to fear the erosion of Turbid Fiendish Energy, he could not stay here and cultivate for long.

In truth, the main reason he had stayed here for more than a month was to recuperate and organize and digest the memories of his predecessor.

Now that more than a month had passed, he had nearly finished digesting and organizing all of his predecessor's twenty-one years of memories.

Zhou Chun had also formed a rough idea of how he would proceed in this Cultivation World.

I came, I conquered.

That was the thought of a chuunibyou youth.

But since he had arrived in such a magnificent Cultivation World and had happened to become one of the Cultivators, Zhou Chun naturally wanted to properly witness the wonders of this world.

If possible, he wanted even more to know and see whether immortals truly existed in this world, and whether anyone could really live forever!

To accomplish such things, it would undoubtedly be extremely difficult to remain a Rogue Cultivator alone.

Thus, after thinking for several days, Zhou Chun decided to follow his original body's established plan and head to Black Earth Ridge in Misty Prefecture, Jing Kingdom, returning to the embrace of the Three Absolute Sect.

However, if he traveled from Cangyun City to Black Earth Ridge in Misty Prefecture, there were still a thousand li of road ahead, and the journey might not be peaceful.

Zhou Chun still had to consider how he should make the trip.

Two days later, several cargo ships traveling by water to Yushan City in Misty Prefecture departed from Cangyun City's wharf, slowly making their way upstream and leaving Cangyun City.

On the lead ship, a large vessel serving both cargo and passengers, Zhou Chun stood on the deck in white robes with a sword at his side, his sleeves fluttering as he gazed at the river scenery with his arms crossed.

"Young Hero Zhou, although this route is generally safe, we cannot rule out the possibility that some river bandits may harbor ill intentions toward the fleet."

"If we truly encounter such trouble, we hope Young Hero can draw your sword and lend us a hand. The fleet will naturally provide compensation afterward."

Behind Zhou Chun, a short, sturdy bald man with a short blade hanging from his waist gazed at him reverently and quietly conveyed the fleet owner's request.

"I understand."

Zhou Chun did not turn around and merely gave a brief reply.

Having received that answer, the bald man dared not ask anything more. He merely cupped his hands toward Zhou Chun, then turned and went back to report.

That was right. Zhou Chun was currently posing as a martial-arts hero, preparing to travel to Misty Prefecture to challenge other martial experts.

The bald man's reverence toward him was because, earlier, when Zhou Chun was trying to gain the fleet's trust, he had subdued the man with a single move.

At the time, Zhou Chun had merely cast a First-grade Low-tier spell, "Light Body Technique," on himself.

Because the first half of the journey was against the current, the fleet did not travel quickly, covering less than a hundred li each day.

Only after traveling for more than ten days and entering another waterway that flowed downstream did the fleet's speed pick up, aided by favorable wind and current.

Half a month after Zhou Chun boarded, the fleet finally left Cloud Prefecture, which was mainly plains, and entered the mountainous Misty Prefecture.

During this time, the river bandits mentioned by the bald man never appeared.

That afternoon, as the fleet passed a bend in the river, a whistle suddenly sounded from the reed beds on both sides. Seven or eight small boats burst out from within and charged straight toward the fleet.

"Not good, river bandits!"

When the bald man on the cargo ship saw the men holding bows and knives on the small boats, his expression changed dramatically and he cried out in alarm.

Because of that shout, several arrows immediately flew toward him in a concentrated volley. Frightened, he hurriedly dropped flat, rolled away, and scrambled back into the cabin.

Zhou Chun had been resting in the cabin. When he heard the bald man's shout, he quickly walked out.

He raised his eyes toward the river. When he saw that there were actually thirty or forty river bandits, he could not help frowning.

There were so many enemies, and they were armed with powerful weapons like bows and arrows. If he did not use magic, he would probably have difficulty dealing with them.

But once he used magic, it would inevitably become difficult for him to remain aboard the fleet.

Forget it. We are already in Misty Prefecture. Even if I switch to traveling by land, it will only take a few days to reach Black Earth Ridge.

As his thoughts raced, Zhou Chun quickly made his decision.

He immediately formed hand seals and cast a spell. Soon, a blazing ball of flame appeared in his hand. With a flick of his sleeve, the flame transformed into a fist-sized fireball and shot toward one of the small boats.

A booming explosion rang out. The entire small boat was directly blasted into fragments, while the six or seven river bandits aboard it fell screaming into the river, their bodies wreathed in flames.

The sight left the remaining river bandits so terrified that their souls nearly fled their bodies.

"It's a spell! A spell! There's a Cultivator aboard the fleet!"

One river bandit who appeared fairly knowledgeable could not help shouting in alarm. He then hurriedly knelt and kowtowed toward the cargo ship from which the fireball had come.

"Immortal Master, spare us! Spare us! We had absolutely no intention of offending you!"

As soon as he said this, the remaining river bandits also hurriedly knelt and kowtowed.

"Please spare our lives, Immortal Master!"

Terrified by the mighty reputation of Cultivators, they did not even dare to flee.

Seeing this, Zhou Chun shouted coldly, "Get lost, all of you. Don't let me see you again!"

He did not want to create more bloodshed than necessary.

After the river bandits left with countless words of thanks, the merchants, guards, and boatmen on the cargo ship, who had been equally stunned, gradually came back to their senses. Then they all could not help looking toward Zhou Chun.

Soon, the fleet's owner, a merchant surnamed Wu, came before Zhou Chun with the bald man.

"I did not know Immortal Master was aboard. If we have been negligent or offended you in any way, I ask that Immortal Master forgive us."

The portly Merchant Wu hurriedly bowed to Zhou Chun and repeatedly expressed his gratitude for what had just happened.

"Boss Wu is too polite. I was able to cultivate peacefully along the way because of the care your caravan provided. This was merely a small effort on my part in return."

Zhou Chun waved his hand lightly, indicating that he did not mind.

Then he looked at Merchant Wu, a strange glint flashing through his eyes, and suddenly said, "Boss Wu, have you seen other Cultivators before? You don't seem to show the kind of reverence ordinary people have toward Cultivators."

His words directly exposed the insincerity in Merchant Wu's earlier speech, causing panic to flash through the man's eyes. He hurriedly cried out, "No, no, Immortal Master, please forgive me! I had not the slightest intention of disrespecting you!"

After saying this, he even knelt before Zhou Chun on the spot.

Seeing this, Zhou Chun shook his head. "Boss Wu, there's no need for this. I was merely asking casually. If you don't wish to answer, you needn't."

How could Merchant Wu take his words at face value? After wiping his forehead, though there was no cold sweat there to wipe away, he hurriedly replied respectfully, "I would never dare deceive you, Immortal Master. I have traveled far and wide and indeed met several Immortal Masters. I have even seen Immortal Masters cast spells."

Zhou Chun's eyes immediately lit up at this. He could not help asking, "Oh? Do you know where there might be a Cultivator Market nearby?"

He had only asked on impulse and did not actually expect Merchant Wu to answer.

After all, only Cultivators knew about Cultivator Markets and could enter them. How could mortals possibly know where they were?

Unexpectedly, after hearing his question, Merchant Wu hesitated briefly before replying in a low voice, "I once happened to hear a rumor that Immortal Masters can often be seen in Cloudmist Mountain of Misty Prefecture. Perhaps that is where the Cultivator Market you seek can be found."

"Cloudmist Mountain? Is it far from here?"

Zhou Chun's eyes brightened, and he looked intently at Merchant Wu.

"Not far. After going ashore here, travel more than two hundred li northeast and you'll arrive."

Merchant Wu made a rough calculation before quietly giving his answer.

"More than two hundred li is indeed not far."

Zhou Chun nodded slightly, then said directly to Merchant Wu, "Thank you for the information, Boss Wu. I'll no longer travel with you all. Until we meet again."

Without waiting for Merchant Wu to respond, he immediately formed hand seals, chanted an incantation, and cast a First-grade Mid-tier spell, "Wind Riding Technique." With his robes fluttering, he rode the wind forward, flying over the water's surface without his feet touching it and crossing the river, which was more than ten zhang wide, in a single bound before landing on the bank.

Then he lightly pushed off from the grassy riverbank, his body soaring once more and leaping more than ten zhang into the woods. He soon vanished completely from the mortals' sight aboard the ship.

"Riding the wind, crossing ten zhang in a single step—truly an immortal's means!"

On the cargo ship, Merchant Wu gazed enviously in the direction where that figure had disappeared and sighed with feeling.