Chapter 45: Ascending to Immortality

This beggar seemed to be in a deep sleep, but his expression was tinged with pain. While they still had to wait for Qin Ying, Li Qingfeng gently nudged the beggar.

“Uncle, wake up… Uncle!”

The beggar awoke, coughing dryly, his cloudy eyes opening to reveal a vacant stare as he remained slumped on the ground.

“Uncle, why are you lying here? Are you from the village?” Li Qingfeng gestured toward Peach Blossom Hollow nearby.

The beggar slowly turned to him, his expression still vacant, simply fixing his gaze.

“Uncle? Do you know if anything has happened in Peach Blossom Hollow?”

“Peach Blossom Hollow…” The beggar finally spoke, but his words were muddled, muttering indistinct phrases.

“Immortal’s Village…” As he spoke, he grew increasingly agitated. Pain contorted his filthy face.

Struggling to rise, he slapped his muddy hand against the inscription on the stone tablet.

The two stepped back, exchanging a glance. “Madman?”

At some point, tears began to stream from the corners of his eyes, his breathing quickening as he coughed violently.

A sudden weakness made him collapse.

“Hey!” Li Qingfeng jumped in alarm, rushing forward and probing with spiritual energy.

“Nothing serious, just exhausted—he’s fainted.”

“Strange…” Li Qingfeng felt something was amiss, instinctively reaching for the “cleaver” at his waist.

There was still a short walk from here to Peach Blossom Hollow, the path flanked by farmland.

Yet for some reason, the fields nearby were long abandoned—not a soul tending crops or even gathering grass.

Li Qingfeng suddenly looked up. “Senior Sister Qin is back.”

A cold, vibrant streak fell from the sky as Qin Ying landed, not pausing for a moment, striding past the village’s stone tablet toward Peach Blossom Hollow.

“The nearby villages show no abnormalities. Junior Sister Qingqing must be trapped here.”

Song Yan and Li Qingfeng followed Qin Ying into the village entrance.

“Huh?”

“…”

Entering the village, their pace slowed, then stopped altogether.

It was a spring afternoon, villagers bustling about, the riverside fish market lively.

A scene of thriving rural life.

“This…”

Before coming here, Li Qingfeng and Song Yan had steeled themselves for any manner of horror: rivers of blood, corpses strewn for miles…

Yet to their surprise, the village seemed perfectly normal.

A sweep of their spiritual sense revealed no abnormalities among the villagers—everyone appeared robust and healthy, with no fluctuations of spiritual energy.

Villagers passed by, fishermen on the riverbank chatted, paying no mind to the three unfamiliar faces at the village entrance.

Li Qingfeng frowned, sending a message to Song Yan and Qin Ying.

“Senior Brother, Senior Sister, does Peach Blossom Hollow have a martial instructor?”

“What do you mean?”

“Robust, healthy men are one thing…” Li Qingfeng said, “But how is it that even the elderly, women, and children here all seem so full of vigor?”

Song Yan nodded in agreement—it was indeed odd.

An elder walked over, accompanied by several villagers, both men and women.

“Immortal masters, have you come to share in our village’s happy occasion?”

A celebration…

A middle-aged man stepped forward, bowing. “My son is marrying tonight. The banquet begins at the first quarter of the evening hour. Since you’re here, why not stay for a cup of wedding wine?”

Qin Ying withdrew her spiritual sense, frowning slightly, not responding, but asked directly, “Have you seen a female cultivator?”

“A female cultivator?” The old village chief and the man looked confused, asking around and whispering among themselves.

Then they shook their heads.

“To answer the immortals, we’ve not seen anyone like that…”

“There is a Daoist from Jiangyun Prefecture attending the banquet, but…” They looked around, unable to find him. “He likes to wander about; who knows where he’s gone now.”

Song Yan and Li Qingfeng found the villagers increasingly strange.

Beside the old village chief, several strong young men looked at Qin Ying’s graceful figure with undisguised lust.

Was it just their imagination, or did all the villagers of Peach Blossom Hollow regard the three of them with unusual excitement?

Ordinarily, such subtleties would go unnoticed.

But in other villages and towns, commoners who saw cultivators would never dare not to kneel, always addressing them as immortals.

By contrast, these villagers were remarkably bold.

“If you three immortals don’t mind, why not come to the Jiang family? Tonight, their immortal guest will also attend!”

Immortal?

Song Yan frowned, glancing at Li Qingfeng’s suspicious gaze.

Before arriving, they had heard nothing of any renowned wandering cultivator or patron stationed nearby.

“Is it some charlatan, pretending to be a deity or spiritual medium?”

In remote villages, such frauds were common, claiming to channel spirits or descend from the heavens.

Qin Ying said nothing and walked on.

The two followed, as villagers crowded around, displaying enthusiastic hospitality.

“That Jiang family boy is truly fortunate.”

“First, Immortal Jiang recognized his spiritual aptitude and took him as a disciple. Then, fate brought him his destined goddess.”

“Ah, why can’t I be so lucky…”

Li Qingfeng laughed, clapping a nearby speaker on the shoulder with easy familiarity. “Some people are simply lucky. No need to envy—fortune is heaven’s gift, don’t you agree?”

“Indeed, well said.”

“Brother, which Immortal Jiang are you talking about?”

Li Qingfeng chuckled. “I’ve been stuck in that shabby temple, cooking and cleaning—can’t stand it anymore. If you could introduce me to this immortal, it’d be better than wandering as a mountain ghost, right?”

“Hahaha, you’re a straightforward fellow…” The man laughed heartily, slapping Li Qingfeng’s plump waist and back, clearly pleased.

“Immortal Jiang is truly remarkable.”

“In his youth, he went to the Immortal Mountain to seek the Dao, but the sect failed to recognize his talent and expelled him.”

“Later…” Talking about Immortal Jiang, the villagers spoke at length, sharing every strange tale and rumor as if reciting family history.

“This Immortal Jiang sounds impressive… Where is he?”

“He usually cultivates in seclusion at Incense Burner Peak, rarely descending the mountain. You’re in luck to be here today!”

Incense Burner Peak was a small mountain south of the village.

Qin Ying paid little mind. With her early-stage Foundation Establishment spiritual sense, she could already cover much of Peach Blossom Hollow.

She sensed no spiritual energy fluctuations…

The only unusual thing, as Li Qingfeng noted, was the villagers’ vigor, but not to a degree that seemed problematic.

The Jiang family appeared to be the village’s leading household, their courtyard standing out amid the earthen homes.

The wedding banquet would begin that evening, and the idle villagers were all busy helping.

Tables and chairs were arranged for the feast.

Behind the house, livestock were slaughtered—so far, the bloodiest scene the three had witnessed in the village.

“Come, sit here for a while. I have things to attend to; rest here for now.”

“Hey, Er Lengzi! What are you dawdling for? Come entertain the guests!”

“Yes.”

A young man in rough hemp clothes, his trouser legs rolled up, moved with a wooden expression.

He set a pot of hot tea before them.

Song Yan and Li Qingfeng, both outer sect disciples, sat as soon as Qin Ying did.

With a Foundation Establishment senior present, they naturally followed suit.

Song Yan, having faced the power of Foundation Establishment cultivators, trusted his senior sister completely.

“Honored guests, this is our Jiang family’s special spiritual tea. Please enjoy.”

“Oh?”

Spiritual tea…

Song Yan had never tasted anything like it even in the Dongyuan Sect.

He examined it carefully—ordinary leaves, but a unique fragrance.

“Immortal Jiang developed the recipe. Daily drinking calms the mind, sharpens vision, and enhances aptitude!”

The youth seemed wooden, but when mentioning this, his eyes suddenly lit up.

“Every day?” Li Qingfeng ignored the nonsense about “enhancing aptitude,” a fantasy to any cultivator.

“Brother, however fine the tea, drinking too much might keep you up at night…”

“No one tends the fields—why does everyone drink tea every day?”

Li Qingfeng was puzzled, and the youth looked equally bewildered.

For Li Qingfeng’s question, he seemed to find it odd.

“Of course, we follow Immortal Jiang’s teachings, together with all the villagers…”

The youth’s demeanor was wooden and stiff, his eyes bloodshot as he stared at the three.

“To ascend to immortality!”