Immortal Travel of Longevity

It was just a mountain.

Such a simple statement.

Yet, those words carved themselves deeply into Jiu Fengchun's heart.

Was it not important?

He was more important than this mountain.

He had simply always believed himself inferior to such an Immortal Mountain.

But now, because of that single sentence, he no longer thought that way.

One day, someone would care about him. He would no longer be a person of no consequence, someone nobody even bothered to consider.

Jiu Fengchun suddenly felt like crying. Before he knew it, tears were streaming down his cheeks.

Such complex emotions played openly across his face.

He laughed and cried with wild abandon.

Even Jiu Fengchun did not quite understand it. He had been hunted down, left to barely scrape by in the Cultivation World, and had nearly lost his life countless times. Throughout all that miserable past, he had rarely shed a tear. Yet now, a few short words had broken the dam.

Seeing him like this, Zhang Zhengdao did not know what to say.

Though he could not always understand Jiu Fengchun's strange bursts of emotion, as a friend, he gladly shared in the laughter.

Seeing him laugh, Jiu Fengchun laughed even harder.

Blinking away his tears, he said, "Priest, I truly am a fool."

Zhang Zhengdao just smiled and silently shook his head.

From then on, Jiu Fengchun never left the mountain.

They meditated and shared their discourse on the Dao. As the seasons turned, they gathered flowers for their beauty and fruits for their meals. They planted trees for tea and gathered firewood to keep warm.

Jiu Fengchun had never known such peace. Never.

"Fellow Daoist, watch my Divine Abilities."

Zhang Zhengdao pinched his fingers together to conjure a fire spell and casually tossed it into the stove, where a bright blaze instantly sprang to life.

Jiu Fengchun thought for a moment. "Let me try."

He raised a hand and casually tossed one out.

A massive fireball suddenly erupted, nearly scaring Zhang Zhengdao out of his wits.

Startled, Jiu Fengchun hastily summoned a water spell.

"Water, come forth!"

With a wave of his hand, a torrent of water crashed down as if the heavenly river had burst its banks.

The fire was extinguished, but the resulting flood completely washed away the bamboo hut.

"Priest, this..."

Looking highly embarrassed, Jiu Fengchun said, "I didn't mean to do that. It just..."

Zhang Zhengdao burst into loud laughter. "Fellow Daoist, what remarkable Divine Abilities! Truly remarkable."

Jiu Fengchun stared blankly for a moment before joining in the laughter.

Stroking his beard, Zhang Zhengdao said, "Perfect timing. We can rebuild the house now."

"Excellent!"

Zhang Zhengdao's easygoing nature rubbed off on him.

Jiu Fengchun thought he had gone too far, but in the Priest's eyes, it was just a trivial matter not worth mentioning.

Perhaps that was why he felt so at ease staying here.

Since childhood, he had never been afforded the chance to make mistakes. Yet once he grew up, he did nothing but make them. Very few had ever forgiven him—not even his Master.

Such forgiveness was incredibly rare.

The two got along perfectly, and Zhang Zhengdao cherished this single friend of his twilight years.

They drank wine, chatted idly, and discussed the Great Dao. It was a joyous existence.

Jiu Fengchun frequently relied on the Spirit Spring to satisfy his hunger. Consequently, the mountain's Spiritual Energy dwindled by the day. And it was not just this mountain—the Spiritual Energy across the entire Mortal World was gradually thinning out.

Yet Jiu Fengchun did not notice a thing. He had no direct gauge for the density of Spiritual Energy.

He assumed these peaceful days would last forever.

But one day, several uninvited guests arrived at the foot of Hidden Immortal Mountain.

"Fellow Daoists, you have returned."

The cultivators from the Mortal World cupped their hands in greeting. "We pay our respects, Senior."

Zhang Zhengdao gave a slight nod. After a brief hesitation, he chose not to invite them up the mountain.

"What brings you here this time?"

"Senior, it is still about the Spiritual Vein."

"Recently, the Spiritual Energy of the world has continued to steadily decline. We suspect there truly is an issue with the Spirit Spring, so we wish to station a few Fellow Daoists here to guard the area."

Zhang Zhengdao paused. "Guard this area?"

"Exactly."

"Since this is your domain, Senior, we naturally had to seek your permission first."

Zhang Zhengdao shook his head. "This Priest prefers peace and quiet. I do not wish to be disturbed."

The cultivators exchanged uncomfortable glances.

"Then we will simply set up camp nearby. We may occasionally cause a slight disturbance, but we hope Senior will not take offense."

Since they had put it like that, Zhang Zhengdao had no choice but to agree.

The cultivators took their leave, and Zhang Zhengdao returned to the mountain.

Jiu Fengchun was tending to the fire. Seeing the Priest return, he asked, "Were those your friends?"

Zhang Zhengdao shook his head. "Just some juniors. However, they came because of the Spirit Spring."

Jiu Fengchun clearly stiffened at those words.

Zhang Zhengdao waved it off, unconcerned. "Just keep your distance from them, Fellow Daoist. You do not need to worry too much. They will not be able to guard the Spirit Spring constantly. With their level of Dao Cultivation, they cannot withstand the eroding effects of the Spiritual Vein's Spiritual Energy for long."

Jiu Fengchun opened his mouth, but no words came out. He simply nodded in response.

After a moment of thought, he still had to ask,

"Will this cause trouble for you, Priest?"

Zhang Zhengdao shook his head. "What trouble could it cause? This is my territory. Who would dare cause a scene here?"

Jiu Fengchun smiled and nodded. "Then I will be careful."

Zhang Zhengdao nodded, putting the matter out of his mind.

From then on, Jiu Fengchun began to endure starvation. He gradually reduced his visits to the Spirit Spring, acting carefully each time to ensure no one spotted him.

But how could the appetite of a Taotie be satisfied so easily?

Jiu Fengchun vividly remembered the period when he had lost his mind; he clung to that memory, trying to use it to keep himself sane.

Yet the gnawing hunger in his belly constantly urged him to eat.

There were inevitably moments when his mind grew hazy.

He managed to slip away out of sheer luck once or twice, but such good fortune would not last forever.

Eventually, that day came.

He crept down to the Spirit Spring. After checking his surroundings for a long time, he bent over and began to drink the spiritual liquid.

"Who's there?!"

A voice suddenly rang out.

Jiu Fengchun froze, his hazy mind instantly clearing.

He tried to flee, but the man was already right in front of him.

The cultivator stopped dead in his tracks when he saw this man with spiritual liquid dripping down his face.

This person...

He was actually swallowing the Spiritual Vein raw!

But an instant later, a vicious glint flared in Jiu Fengchun's eyes.

In a split second, he made his decision!

He refused to go back to a life of running and being hunted. Most importantly, he did not want to leave the Priest.

Opening his mouth wide, he lunged and clamped his teeth onto the cultivator's throat.

"Spurt..."

"You..."

With a choked scream, the cultivator lost his breath and collapsed completely to the ground.

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