Chapter 041: The Legend of the Immortal River

After bidding farewell to Yang Xiaoqian, Xu Xuan carefully examined the wooden box in his hand. The twenty inferior-grade spirit stones, along with the spirit ginseng worth seven or eight thousand, were of great use to him at this moment. Especially the grade-two spirit ginseng—it could be taken directly to aid his cultivation, far more valuable than the Bluestar Lotus he had previously sold to the spirit materials shop. This must have been something Yang Xiaoqian intended to use as strong support to accelerate her breakthrough to the sixth or even seventh stage of Body Refinement.

That night, as always, Xu Xuan persevered in cultivating the "Nine Transformations of Dragon and Serpent." Even after falling asleep, he continued his cultivation within the sea of memories, training through his consciousness.

The next day, he rose early and began hauling the black iron used for constructing the Spirit Tower, making five trips back and forth. Afterwards, he collected his wages from Steward Jia.

"Not bad, you’re much faster than yesterday," Steward Jia remarked with a trace of a smile as he handed over ten spirit coins.

"Many thanks for your care, Senior Brother Jia," Xu Xuan replied, pocketing the coins. Each day, he completed his assigned tasks above and beyond expectations—not for the paltry wage, but because the exercise greatly benefited his practice of the "Nine Transformations of Dragon and Serpent."

"There’s something else you should know. This Spirit Tower will be completed in about ten days," Steward Jia said with a meaningful look.

"Ten days?" Xu Xuan’s heart tightened and he nodded. "I understand."

He naturally grasped the implication: once the Spirit Tower was finished, Steward Jia would have no reason to keep him on, leaving him exposed to the malice of Wan Fushan, who would then have another opportunity to find fault with or frame him.

Collecting his wages, Xu Xuan hurried to the back mountain. Ten days—that was all he had.

On the way, he drew a deep breath, his eyes flickering with determination. If he could reach the seventh stage of Body Refinement within these ten days and significantly increase his strength to become an inner sect disciple, even Wan Fushan would be hard-pressed to trouble him. Yet, Xu Xuan was only confident in mastering the sixth transformation, the “Poison” technique. The seventh transformation, the “Steel” technique, marked a whole new level, and to reach it within ten days was not realistic.

Returning to the back mountain, Xu Xuan recalled the plan he’d made with Yang Xiaoqian the night before.

“There’s still time,” he thought, wandering through the area designated for outer sect disciples. The back mountain was merely the fringe of the sect’s influence, far from its core.

Xu Xuan entered the outer sect library and browsed for a while, but soon felt disappointed. Most of the scrolls were low-grade body-refinement techniques or miscellaneous knowledge of the cultivation world, such as arrays, herb gathering, spirit field cultivation, and spirit beast husbandry—little more than side pursuits. As for true immortal cultivation techniques, there were precious few, and those were of the lowest grade, nothing outstanding. Compared to the "Twelve Discourses on Immortal Arts" and the "Origin Scripture of Martial Dao" from his previous life, they were on an entirely different level.

It was clear that the sect placed little hope in these outer disciples of mediocre talent.

After a while, Xu Xuan strolled past various areas—the spirit fields, medicinal gardens, spirit beast pens, and granaries. As he walked halfway up a mountain, he suddenly saw over a dozen outer disciples hurrying excitedly toward a certain direction.

“Hurry! I heard an inner sect elder is teaching immortal arts atop the Immortal Dao Platform!”

“Such chances are rare. Normally, the elders have no leisure to bother with outer disciples like us.”

They were running, some even using lightness techniques to speed their way.

“Teaching immortal arts?” Xu Xuan’s interest was piqued, and he followed the crowd to the Immortal Dao Platform.

Soon, he could see, atop the mountain’s white jade summit, an ancient white-haired elder sitting cross-legged in old robes, his face deeply lined but warm and kind. His voice was both sonorous and powerful, carrying clearly for a mile around:

“…The path of immortal cultivation begins with gathering and refining essence—this is entry level, the first glimpse into the great hall of immortality. Those who reach minor accomplishment in the immortal path can maintain youth, preserve life, and command myriad transformations of the immortal arts, soaring through the heavens, traversing the void. The truly accomplished become immortal in both body and spirit, comprehend the Dao’s laws, and may one day ascend as Pure Yang True Immortals. Beyond that, legends speak of undying True Gods who can reverse yin and yang—there is nothing in the world they cannot do…”

The outer disciples listened, entranced. The path of immortality, with its promise of supernatural powers and eternal life, was a dream to which all aspired.

Xu Xuan listened with a faint smile, marveling at the profound and boundless wonders of the immortal arts.

After some time, the white-haired elder clapped his hands and smiled, his gaze inviting questions from below.

“May I ask, Master, does our Windfeather Sect have any true immortals who have achieved the Dao?” one disciple inquired.

“To become a Dao-accomplished immortal, truly eternal and transcendent, is the ultimate dream of all cultivators—yet in the entire ‘Lesser Fish Realm,’ there are none of such stature,” the elder replied with a smile.

“Then does the sect have any who have reached even minor accomplishment in the immortal arts?” the disciple asked, excitement in his voice.

“Heh, even a minor accomplishment is enough to stir seas and traverse the skies, to wield the power to destroy or create worlds. In all the countless years of the Lesser Fish Realm, such people have been vanishingly rare, and in this era, they have faded into legend,” the elder answered.

"Lesser Fish Realm?" Xu Xuan was startled—this was his first time hearing the name.

Sure enough, someone quickly asked, “Master, how vast is the cultivation world? Is the Lesser Fish Realm all there is?”

“The cultivation world contains countless spaces, the so-called Three Thousand Worlds. The Lesser Fish Realm is but a part of this vastness—the world in which we reside,” the elder explained.

Xu Xuan frowned. Back in his village, the furthest place he knew was Yellow Dragon City; he had no notion of grander territories.

“Our Yellow Dragon City is merely a small region. Beyond it are greater ‘Major Cities.’ This land, stretching eighty thousand miles, is ruled by the mighty Kunyun Nation, which has endured for three thousand years,” the elder patiently continued, his tone ever kind.

Hearing all this, Xu Xuan felt humbled yet secretly thrilled at the enormity of the cultivation world.

“Of course, though there are many worlds, and the Lesser Fish Realm rarely interacts with others, there is a legend—a myth—passed down through countless generations,” the elder said, his eyes shining for the first time.

“A legend?” Xu Xuan was quietly astonished. This elder, surely at least a Qi-Refining cultivator, still believed in such things?

But the old man’s expression grew unaccountably solemn as he gazed into the distant sky. “This legend is revered by all—humans, demons, even ancient monsters, by all the myriad races who walk the path of cultivation.”

Xu Xuan felt a chill, and silence fell across the gathering.

“It is said… at the center of the countless worlds lies a mysterious Immortal River, leading to the Ancient Era’s sealed Immortal Realm!” the elder intoned, almost reverently.

The Immortal River!

A river that leads to the sealed Immortal Realm!

“Immortal River… the sealed Immortal Realm…” Xu Xuan was inexplicably moved.

It ought to have sounded absurd, yet as those words echoed in his mind, he felt an awe he could not dispel—a reverence that demanded solemnity.

Immortal River!

He was not alone: everyone who heard those words felt as if struck by lightning, their very souls stirred by an involuntary awe and yearning.

—It was a primal instinct, rooted in the soul and the heritage of all living beings.

At that moment, the residual soul from Xu Xuan’s previous life stirred in his mind, as if startled awake.

“What kind of existence is the Immortal River that leads to the Immortal Realm?” Xu Xuan subconsciously asked the remnant soul.

“Immortal River? So familiar…” The soul’s voice was first dazed, then trembled strangely, and fell into a stupor, as if straining to recall something.

“Ah—!” Suddenly, the soul shrieked in agony. Xu Xuan felt his mind reel as if the world were collapsing, and a dim starry sky from his dreams unfurled before him. For the first time while awake, the sea of memories erupted with thunderous chaos, as if the end of days had come. The remnant soul writhed and screamed, clutching its head in madness.

Ah… hiss!

The agony threatened to tear Xu Xuan’s mind apart; he nearly fainted.

Only after a long, torturous while—when he forced himself to set aside the words “Immortal River”—did the pain gradually subside, the remnant soul quieting, and the starry sky vanishing abruptly.

“I sense the Immortal River is somehow familiar, yet I cannot recall anything about it. But one thing is certain: in my past life, the Immortal River was of utmost importance—a forbidden memory…” The remnant soul’s voice was weak and regretful, then faded away.

Meanwhile, atop the Immortal Dao Platform, the elder continued, “It’s said that river is composed of pure immortal essence, containing the laws of the Dao. A single sip of its water would allow a mortal to ascend as an immortal on the spot. It leads directly to the Immortal Realm, sealed since ancient times—the true paradise of cultivators!”

“One sip of Immortal River water makes you an immortal?” The crowd’s eyes shone with longing.

“That’s enough for today. Consider this an opening of your horizons,” the elder said with a gentle smile. With a ripple of spiritual power, he floated into the air, stepping onto a rusty iron fan. With a swish, he soared through the sky, disappearing into the clouds.

Xu Xuan was moved: this was true flight upon an artifact!

True flight upon an artifact was only possible for Immortal Masters at the Spirit Refining stage or higher. Before that, whether it was the young master of the Zhang family who came to Pinghua Town, or Senior Brother Yun who rode a gourd days ago, they merely relied on magical artifacts to drift slowly through the air.

The difference between the two was immeasurable.

As the lecture ended, the outer sect disciples dispersed, discussing animatedly, oblivious to the twilight gathering at the horizon.

Xu Xuan, full of wonder, pondered the legend of the Immortal River. In his former life, perhaps he had touched upon that realm…

But why was knowledge of the Immortal River a forbidden part of his memories?

Unconsciously, Xu Xuan found himself back at his quarters, eating dinner as usual.

By now, night had deepened. Many outer disciples, tired from the day, were already asleep.

Gazing at the stars in the night sky, Xu Xuan suddenly remembered the matter entrusted to him by Yang Xiaoqian, and his heart leapt. “Damn! I actually forgot about it?”

According to their plan, Yang Xiaoqian would move into the empty residence tonight—most likely to be “visited” by Wan Fushan!

“Hopefully, I’m not too late!”

Taking a deep breath, Xu Xuan moved like a swallow, leaping four or five meters at a time, darting over rooftops and hurrying into the depths of the back mountain…

(End of chapter one…)