"Changshou, do you still remember the mantra I taught you yesterday? Recite it for me once."
"Li Changshou! How can you be so afraid of death while pursuing Qi Refinement? If you don't go all out, how can you obtain your chance?!"
Pui, why is Master always changing his attitude so quickly?
These two memories are only tens of years apart. When I just entered, Master was so warm and affectionate. Tens of years later, Master is now—extremely fierce!
Li Changshou could not hold in his laugh. A while later, he discovered that his Dao Body seemed to still be in a deep sleep. The exhaustion that developed because of his continuous training could still be felt.
Is this a dream?
He had not dreamt in a long time. The higher one's cultivation, the less they would sleep. Each time they slept, it would feel like this. Since they spent more time training harder, they would accumulate more exhaustion. Their Dharmic powers might still be full, but they would still require a good sleep to recover and alleviate the accumulated stress in their souls.
"Old Tian, Old Tian, don't act like you're freaking sleeping! Wake up, Old Tian!"
Once again, he heard that fellow shouting with all his might. The wailing sounded far away, but it was still crystal clear.
Li Changshou smiled bitterly. He seemed to turn around in the dark, to face the mess of memories.
As the memories came, he felt as if he was appreciating flowers while riding a horse—it was like he was watching another person's life story.
In this story, no cultivators were flying around, nor were any spirits in the sky. Perhaps there were spirits, but they were not known to man.
The main lead of the story was Tian Zuguang, and the story took place on an azure planet called Earth.
One could tell from Tian Zuguang's name that the person who named him had high hopes for him. They hoped that he would obtain honor and glory for his ancestors.
He had tried his best already. Before he turned 28, his life was quite smooth-sailing. However, once he turned 28, he was diagnosed with an incurable disease.
Just before he died, he was seated in a wheelchair, breathing gently. He felt as if the last bit of energy was being plucked out of his body. In his subconscious mind, he was falling into a bottomless abyss.
From the bottom of his heart, he felt an intense indignance. It was like the fire he felt for life had erupted all of a sudden. He held onto the arms of his wheelchair and used all the energy left in his body to stand up. However, before he could take a single step, he fell face-first onto the ground.
That was the origins of this saying, which his best friend in his previous life was now shouting, "Old Tian, Old Tian, don't act like you're freaking sleeping! Wake up, Old Tian!"
The memories stopped. What followed was a little break. That break lasted for about three years. The image that came after that became even clearer.
It was of a little boy dressed in open-crotch pants. His hair was braided, and he ran across the field. Very quickly, he matured. When he was seven or eight years old, he bumped into an old immortal. The old immortal took him in as his disciple—that was probably ill-fate!
Ill-fate!
Li Changshou sighed softly. He sealed this memory and kept it in the deepest recesses of his mind.
No matter what, these were the memories he treasured the most—that was true even though the memories were slowly being rubbed away by time.
He could not slack or relax. The environment around him was not as peaceful and stable as it looked.
That was all Li Changshou could think. He turned around in the dark and felt the exhaustion slowly leave his body. He expanded his spiritual awareness from his body and found that there was nothing out of the ordinary. At that moment, he did not want to wake up.
The inertia, which he had not felt in a long time, finally appeared.
It was good that he had gotten another chance to live. He was also extremely grateful to the person who had opened the backdoor for him. He did not know if he was a real 'great god', but…
Couldn't he have given Li Changshou the entirety of modern life?
Although he could not return to modern life now, he could at least have had a good, stable life if he had been sent back to the prosperous Tang Dynasty or the strong Ming Dynasty. He could have lived his life happily and married three or four women in the process.
In a split second, he discovered he had been sent to a world of cultivation and immortals. What's more, this world seemed to be the most ruthless, emotionless, and ridiculous of its kind—the Ancient Primordial World!
Fifteen years after his Master took him in, Li Changshou relied on the classics in the Immortal Du Sect as well as the various little stories from his Master to understand the environment he was in.
From that day onward, he lit the green 'self-isolation' button.
That's right. He came to the ancient world of the afterlife. It was the legendary Primordial World—the short period between two calamities of the Primordial World.
Looking down the path of the history of the Primordial World, the effects of the Great Magi-Demon War were still continuing. The humans were celebrating, but the remaining power that the demons held was still immense. What's more, with the mother of all mankind—one of the six saints, Nuwa—as their security, the demons remained in the various parts of the world. They continued to dream of their resurgence while they fought against the Qi-refining human warriors.
The six saints had already taken their places. What's more, they schemed against one another and caused countless lives to be lost for their little pride.
The two elders of the Western Sect had taken over and practically controlled the West Continent, where there were few spirit meridians. They spread their Western teachings all over, trying to undermine the foundation of Dao Sect non-stop.
The three schools in Dao Sect—Ren, Chan, and Jie—had already risen. The twelve Gold Celestials of the Chan School had just made a name for themselves. They were now the hot topic of discussion in the recent thousands of years among cultivators.
The 10,000 Celestials of the Jie School were gaining momentum as well. From various paths, strong men were rising up and gathering under the seat of Grandmaster of Heaven. They quarreled with those of Chan School daily, but they did not start any fights.
These were the Dao Sect's best years. The three schools were rising, and bringing the human race up together with them. There were Dao sects all around the Middle Continent. The footsteps of disciples of the three schools could be found all around the Trichiliocosm. As Dao Sect's Dao heritage spread throughout the Three Realms, Essence Soul Dao and the human race's cultivators became the mainstream of the Primordial World.
This was also when ordinary cultivators were at their worst. The competition on the path to ascension was extremely fierce. The Heavenly Courts had only just been established a while ago. They acted only in ways that would please the immortals of the three schools. There was no order at all in the five continents and in the entire Trichiliocosm. Cultivators who wanted to grow had to depend on their own hard work and pure luck.
Luck played a much bigger part, too!
The only thing Li Changshou could celebrate was that while his own Master was not strong—more accurately, he was not strong at all—he had some background in the Ren School.
Still, Li Changshou strongly suspected that the Immortal Du Sect's true founder was just Perfected Du'e's disciple in name.
As for West Kun Lun's Perfected Du'e, the only thing Li Changshou could recall was that this immortal had nurtured disciples during the Great God-Conferment War. He was then named General Heng of the Heng-Ha Generals. The rest were just irrelevant rumors.
Li Changshou was also 80% sure that Perfected Du'e was just Grand Pure One's disciple in name. Among all the celestials, he did not rank highly at all.
As for Li Changshou, he had no background, no mystical abilities, and no luck. How could he make a name for himself in this age?
What a joke. It would be good enough if he could survive.
Thus, from that year, Li Changshou had set a goal for himself: to survive. He had to live for as long as he could. He wanted to avoid all kinds of calamities and seek peace and stability. He needed to live a good second life, which had not come by easily.
It was not in his destiny to stand out from the crowd and become famous.
Even if he worked as hard as he could to cultivate, would he be able to overtake the three schools' leaders?
Even if he placed his life on the line to look for chances for himself, would he be able to avoid those so-called sons of misfortune?
The next calamity was going to be the Great God-Conferment War. He had to stay as far away from it as possible. Rather than trying to be named a Celestial in the Heavenly Courts, Li Changshou might do better cultivating on his own as quickly as he could. He would rely on the Heavenly Courts while it was in decline. Then, he would be made a Heavenly Court Elder…
Civil Servant of the Primordial World? That was possible.
Who cared if he would not be able to obtain a Longevity Fruit? As long as he could peacefully and stably live as long as he was meant to, he would be able to answer to his resurrected self in this life!
Thus, from that day onward, Li Changshou's ultimate goal was to live until he died of old age!
For the sake of this goal, he…
"Senior Brother?"
"Senior Brother!"
"Senior Brother, why are you sleeping here? People have started gathering at the main peak. If we don't head over now, we will be late!"
Li Changshou heard a sweet voice in his ear. He stopped letting his imagination run wild and slowly opened his eyes.
The person in front of him was a young girl. She had a delicate face, with bright eyes, willow-leaf eyebrows, beautiful ears, and thin lips. These were outstanding features, which went perfectly with her bright-orange face. Her beautiful eyebrows were pulled down in a slight frown, which made her extra loveable. Each eye movement of hers was also filled with spirit.
"Beauty, who are you?"
"Senior Brother!"
The young woman reached out and pinched Li Changshou's nose. Then, she lightly rubbed it. "You're dazed again!"
"Ah, Ling'e. In the blink of an eye, you have grown up!"
Li Changshou yawned. His body floated above the grass and out. Thirty feet away, he stood upright.
"I've already been on the mountain for ten years!"
Lan Ling'e stomped her foot, pouting slightly. She looked unbelievably cute at that moment.
It was not just her beautiful face. Now, even her body had matured completely. Her slim legs were very well-proportioned compared to her waist. She had a fairy skirt on, which perfectly complemented the charming curve in the middle of her body. Her skin was white as snow and smooth as silk. She was intoxicating.
Ding~
The sound of the bell echoed throughout the clouds. Lan Ling'e hurried him. "Senior Brother, quick, ride the clouds! If we don't go now, we'll be late!"
Li Changshou frowned. "Don't you know how to ride the clouds yet?"
Lan Ling'e stuck her chest out and raised her chin. Indignantly, she replied, "I don't fly fast!"
"Alright," Li Changshou replied reluctantly. He summoned a cloud and hopped on it.
Lan Ling' e's eyes displayed a little slyness. She tapped the grass with her pink cloth shoes and floated next to Li Changshou. She was just about to reach out to grab her Senior Brother's arm when Li Changshou avoided her.
Li Changshou gave her a straight face as he said, "We already made a pact. Don't forget."
"I know! Senior Brother, you are really petty!"
Lan Ling'e whined as she moved half a step to the side, angrily.
"That's the way. We have to keep a three-foot distance.
"You're Immortal Du Sect's rising talent. You're the Fairy Ling'e in thousands of men's hearts. Senior Brother doesn't want to be cursed by their black magic."
Li Changshou reached out and stretched his back. Then, he turned around to look in the direction of the thatched cottage. "Is Master still in seclusion?"
"Yes, Master is focusing in seclusion. He might emerge to endure the Immortal Ascension Heavenly Tribulation at any time! For all we know, by the time we return, Master might be an immortal already!"
Lan Ling'e laughed softly, her eyes filled with hope. She turned to her Senior Brother and fell into a daze. Suddenly, she blushed slightly. She pursed her lips, and then said in a soft voice, "The sect has brought together several groups of disciples to go out and train, but Senior Brother, you have never joined a single one of them. Are you coming this time because you're worried about me?"
A big hand appeared in front of her face. Behind it was Li Changshou's numb and emotionless expression. Very quickly, he spat out a string of responses.
"No.
"Please pardon me for rejecting you.
"You're a good girl.
"I've just always seen you as a little sister."
"Hmph, I didn't say anything! You're so irritating! I'm not going to care about you anymore!"
Black lines filled Lan Ling' e's forehead. Her lips were pouted so that they resembled a little bun. She turned around and showed her angry back view to her Senior Brother, her fists clenched by her side.
Li Changshou smiled peacefully. He looked up to the clouds in the sky, calculating which angle they should travel at, and how long it would take for him and his Junior Sister to arrive at the gathering point.
However, calculating was useless. With this outstanding Junior Sister by his side, hoping to minimize her presence—it was getting more and more challenging!