Chapter 6: Chapter 6: Coming in Droves
"The lowly one desires some Immortal Sect ancient texts."
Hearing Chu Zheng's request, Song Lingqing slightly furrowed her brows and said slowly,
"You don't possess Immortal Bone in your body, and you are utterly incapable of sympathizing with nature and cannot attract spiritual energy into your body. You can't even step into the Nourishing Power Realm, the first phase of cultivation. There's simply no way for you to embark on the path of cultivation, I advise you to choose something else, such as..."
Freedom, vast wealth, beautiful and lovely wives and concubines...
These should be the things a servant desires the most.
To aspire to reach for the Immortal Path is somewhat overreaching oneself.
"I don't seek the methods of cultivation."
Chu Zheng glanced at Qin Feng beside him and shook his head repeatedly, "Historical texts, autobiographies of Superior Immortals, tales of the strange, maps of mountains and rivers, anything related to the Immortal Sect would suffice."
At those words, Song Lingqing appeared somewhat surprised, her eyebrows knitting together even more tightly as she reminded,
"Some things, once you know about them but are unable to touch them, might become a lifetime of suffering."
To have the Immortal Sect within sight yet lack the strength to open the door is a kind of indescribable torment for most people.
If you never knew of them from the start, perhaps you could live a little more comfortably.
Song Lingqing's reply eased Chu Zheng's mind, suggesting these materials were not critical secrets and were at least things she could disclose to him.
After a moment of silence, Chu Zheng spoke, "I just want to open my eyes to see this world, nothing more."
"Very well."
Song Lingqing nodded in agreement. Initially, she had thought about setting Chu Zheng free, but after weighing it for a moment, she abandoned the idea. In her view, the outside world was not as peaceful as within the Song Residence.
With the protection of the Song Family, Chu Zheng could live longer.
A windfall for an ordinary person is impossible to keep guard over and might easily bring great disasters; within the confines of the Song Residence, at least no one would harm or humiliate him.
In the end, Song Lingqing left Chu Zheng with four ancient texts in a thick stack, made from a type of paper material that was very special, extremely pliable and something Chu Zheng had never seen before.
The content of ancient texts such as "Initial Understanding of Immortal Path," "Chronicles of the Rainbow Sword Immortal," "Heavenly Stars and Phenomena," and "Chronicle of Shuoxue Tianjun" satisfied Chu Zheng immensely.
…
…
After leaving the Filth Room, Song Lingqing felt somewhat dejected.
She had embarked on the path of Immortals not long ago, and many things she had not yet experienced. This time returning home, many things had already changed.
Her father's politeness, her sister's estrangement and restraint, as well as the attitudes of Xiao Cai and Chu Zheng.
The changes in these people's demeanors left her at a loss as to how to comport herself.
With nowhere to vent the irritation in her heart, Song Lingqing subconsciously looked back at Qin Feng, "Uncle Master Qin, have you encountered such a situation before?"
"No."
Qin Feng shook his head in denial, "I lost my father at a young age, my mother when I was older, and lived by begging before joining the sect. If I were not born with an extra piece of bone compared to ordinary people, my bones would have turned to dust by now."
Song Lingqing's life was better than ninety-nine percent of the world, and for this reason, her character still lacked tempering.
"Uncle Master, I took the liberty of giving those books to Chu Zheng. Will there be any trouble?"
Only at this moment did Song Lingqing start to consider the consequences. The worlds of Celestials and Mortals don't interconnect, and all information about the hidden Immortal Sects is sealed, not to be disclosed to mortals; this is an unspoken rule.
"It's fine. They are just a few miscellaneous books. The boy has a steady nature, knows when to advance or retreat, and has some aptitude in discerning words and observing expressions. Although he was talking to you, he secretly looked at me no less than ten times, always observing my reaction."
Qin Feng shook his head and said, "When I was sixteen, my temperament was not as good as his. Even with just a lower quality Immortal Bone, this child could have achieved something. It's a pity..."
In this world, things are inherently unfair. Without an Immortal Bone, one is destined to have no connection with the Immortal Path.
"Uncle Master, who is nearly three hundred years old, has such a firm Dao heart. Would he feel pity for a mere mortal?" Song Lingqing was somewhat surprised by Qin Feng's assessment of Chu Zheng.
"At three thousand years old, one is still human. The path to immortality is long and filled with obstacles. If I were to let go of everything, what would I be cultivating for?"
...
...
After Song Lingqing left, Chu Zheng did not waste his opportunity for repairs today.
After repairing the two Essence Yuan Pills, he used the remaining three opportunities on the Great Circulatory Qi Guideline.
From beginning to end, he had never thought of asking Song Lingqing for the methods of cultivation but rather pinned his hopes on the Pre-Qin Qi Cultivators.
Since the people of the Immortal Sects in this world believe he cannot practice Immortal Laws, it must be impossible to do so, and it would be a waste of effort to research it further.
The Immortal Sects' heritage spanned for tens of thousands of years and surely had a complete set of methods to determine whether someone had the qualifications to cultivate.
Chu Zheng did not believe he was a special existence capable of breaking the chains of rules formed by a world for tens or even hundreds of thousands of years with his own power. It would be better to save his energy.
Among the notes of the Qi Practitioners from his former world, Chu Zheng did not see any description of 'Immortal Bone' that seemed worth a try.
Chu Zheng no longer spent time on the breathing techniques of Integrated Fist. After taking an Essence Yuan Pill, he began to read "Initial Understanding of Immortal Path" on his couch to understand the true secrets of cultivation in this world.
In this world, regardless of which method one practices, an Immortal Bone is needed as a medium, which is further divided into four categories: lower, middle, high, and superior quality.
A hundred years of hard cultivation with a lower quality Immortal Bone is no match for three months of seclusion with a superior quality Immortal Bone—the gap is like that between heaven and abyss.
To enter the path of immortality, one must utilize an Immortal Bone to assimilate nature's spiritual energy, open the crown chakra at the top of the head, and nourish the body with it. This first realm is therefore called the Nourishing Power Realm.
The Nourishing Power Realm has nine levels. At the ninth level of Nourishing Power, one's every move is imbued with the Strength of Ten Thousand Pounds. Even without taking Life Extension Elixirs, one can live past one hundred and fifty years.
When the body is nourished to its limit, a spring will naturally arise in the Dantian, producing mana capable of controlling magic artifacts and traveling through the air. This second realm is called the 'Spiritual Spring', and its practitioners live past three hundred years.
When the mana is sufficiently powerful, one can attempt to condense their Dao Foundation. This third realm is also called 'Entry Path'.
Only when dawn broke and the roosters crowed did Chu Zheng rather reluctantly put down the book in his hands, his anticipation growing even stronger.
He wanted to know if the Pre-Qin Qi Cultivators were the same.
...
...
Less than two days after Song Lingqing left the Song Residence, a convoy arrived bearing the Zhao Royal Flag. The carriages were filled with gold, silver, jewels, and countless exotic precious medicines.
'Zhao' is the surname of the Great Zhou Royal Family, and Wuyang County is King Guangyun's fief. These goods were generous gifts from King Guangyun.
There's something abnormal when the unusual occurs.
In the past, the Song Family had no dealings with King Guangyun. Now that they had suddenly sent generous gifts, it was clear they had an ulterior motive.
Following that came gift lists from various established families and many factions within Wuyang County.
The news of Song Lingqing's return home had inevitably leaked out.
Regarding the Song Family's 'Immortal Seedling', many had previously been skeptical.
Immortals were too mysterious, and very few had seen Song Lingqing being admitted into the Immortal Sect with their own eyes.
But now the situation had changed dramatically. Song Lingqing had returned home, exuding the aura of an Immortal, witnessed by many with their own eyes.