Lying Low While Cultivating Immortality in Two Worlds

Ancient Shu.

Xituo Commandery, Zeng Family Town.

Fang Yixin wore a bamboo hat and a straw rain cape, sleeves rolled up high as he worked with practiced ease in the spirit fields, harvesting the crop while cursing inwardly.

‘This damned rain has poured for three whole months. If not for the array protecting the fields, the spirit seedlings would have drowned long ago.’

Ever since that ugly crow cry sounded in the night, heavy rain had fallen without pause for three months straight, leaving the common folk miserable beyond words.

Cultivators fared slightly better. The Zeng Family kept their spirit fields shielded by arrays and held on until harvest time, then immediately mobilized everyone to rush the reaping.

After all, maintaining an array also consumed vast amounts of spiritual materials. Time waited for no one.

Fang Yixin had overheard other cultivators chatting and guessed that some great figure must have perished, causing this unnatural heavenly phenomenon. He did not dare voice any curses aloud and could only grumble inside his heart.

When the last of the spirit rice was finally gathered, his hands were covered in countless tiny cuts despite the protective layer of mana.

Along the way he met spirit farmers from various families. Seeing the rare sunshine, they all greeted one another with smiles.

“Wasn’t easy…”

“Let’s grab a few drinks together tonight…”

“I heard a couple of pretty girls showed up in the market, real charming ones.”

“Dream on. They charge too much. The spirit stones needed for a night are no small sum.”

“I also heard that a Dao Foundation battle broke out over at Luohe Mountain. A big cultivator died and dropped a whole pile of Azure Origin Stones, Nearby cultivators made off like bandits. Want to team up and try our luck? Maybe we can pick up some scraps.”

Fang Yixin glanced at the speaker and recognized him as a Lu Family tenant who had registered at the same time he did. The man was at mid-stage Qi Ingestion yet still dared to suggest such things. With Xituo Commandery growing more chaotic by the day, even news of a Dao Foundation cultivator’s fall had reached them. How could someone as weak as Fang Yixin, only at early-stage Qi Ingestion, risk venturing outside?

What if others teamed up with bandit cultivators and lured him out to be killed?

The Lu Family cultivator did not look at him. Instead he turned to an elderly man with white hair and beard, thin as a bag of bones. “Old Tian, what do you say?” Old Tian looked unremarkable, yet he possessed sixth-layer Qi Ingestion cultivation, making him a minor expert among rogue cultivators.

He was not a Zeng Family tenant but a short-term laborer for the Yue Family.

The Yue Family, like the Fang and Hu families, had fled here during the chaos yet still possessed deep foundations. They had an ancestor at late-stage Qi Ingestion, and more importantly, they owned an ancestral Azure Mulberry Date Tree. Every few years it bore a crop of dates that could aid cultivation even when eaten raw.

In Zeng Family Town, such status placed them among the upper tier of tenant households, which was why they could afford to hire short-term workers.

Old Tian had only drifted into town recently. Rumors said his background was shady, so despite his higher cultivation no one wanted him as a regular tenant. He could only pick up odd jobs. The Yue Family happened to have more spirit fields than hands, so they hired him.

“The younger generation of the Yue Family are all sharp. They’re eager to cultivate right now, of course they need people to handle the fieldwork for them.”

‘That Yue Mingxue is quite a beauty too. I wonder if my Wuchen or Wujiu have any chance?’

Thinking of the Yue Family, Fang Yixin could not help feeling a twinge of envy.

Only a family like theirs truly counted as a proper Qi Ingestion clan. His own family and the Hu family were barely better than ordinary rogue cultivators.

On the way back to Zeng Family Town he spotted a dwarf elder carrying a goods box on a shoulder pole, hawking his wares as he walked from street to street.

Fang Yixin, the Lu Family youth, and Old Tian all greeted him respectfully. “Elder Xu…”

The old man’s surname was Xu and his given name Hei. He claimed to be a wandering merchant who had arrived in town only a few days earlier, yet even the Le Family ancestor treated him with great courtesy.

In Fang Yixin’s estimation, the man was most likely a late-stage Qi Ingestion expert.

‘In times as chaotic as these, anyone bold enough to travel and trade must be a ruthless character.’

Recalling Hu Quanan’s assessment, Fang Yixin dared not show the slightest disrespect to the dwarf elder.

“Heh heh heh… no need for such formality. If you all help look after this old man’s business, I will be endlessly grateful.”

Elder Xu Hei returned the greeting with a beaming smile, every bit the polished merchant. “This old man is heading to the Le Family today to discuss the purchase of a few spirit fruits. If any of you have freshly harvested rice, feel free to trade with me as well.”

Xu Hei lifted his goods box and was about to leave when something seemed to occur to him. “Oh, right. I heard that Ancient Shu is recruiting soldiers to reclaim lost territory and is also enlisting us rogue cultivators. The rewards are said to be extremely generous: Dao Foundation techniques, pills that boost mana, magical artifacts, talismans, even Dao Foundation Pills are on offer! If any of you want to gamble on a stroke of fortune, you might consider going.”

“Ancient Shu, recruiting rogue cultivators?”

The news left Fang Yixin momentarily stunned.

Beside him, the Lu Family youth’s breathing grew heavy. “Dao Foundation Pills? They’re actually offering Dao Foundation Pills? Those are miraculous medicines that open the path to Dao Foundation… A Dao Foundation ancestor lives two hundred years, rides the clouds and flies through the mist like an immortal. If I could reach Dao Foundation, I would die without regret.”

How could Fang Yixin not understand the prestige of Dao Foundation?

Ancient Shu.

The ancestor of the Zeng Family was a Dao Foundation cultivator!

‘This Lu Family youth harbors ambitions for Dao Foundation. Could it be that he swallowed a true qi of third rank or higher?’

Fang Yixin felt a stir in his heart. Watching the Lu Family youth grow restless once more, he thought to himself, ‘This fellow will probably get a beating from his elders tonight.’

He turned to Old Tian. “Old Tian… you just came from Ancient Shu recently, right? Have you thought about going back?”

“Going back?”

Old Tian’s face filled with bitterness as he shook his head. “This old man traveled far and wide, only to see wailing everywhere, common folk trading their children for food, a scene straight out of the Yanmo hells. After finally finding a bit of peace, why would I go back? I ingested a lower third-rank true qi. How could I possibly forge a Dao Foundation?”

“Old Tian, that’s not right.” the Lu Family youth said. “Even if you cannot reach Dao Foundation, obtaining a miraculous pill to break through to late-stage Qi Ingestion would still be good. Look at the Le Family ancestor and that wandering merchant Elder Xu. they live far more comfortably than we do.”

“This world is too cruel. Even Dao Foundation cultivators have many unspeakable hardships, let alone true freedom and joy. We are simply struggling to survive.”

Old Tian shook his head and said no more.

Fang Yixin, however, felt a stir in his heart. He sensed that Old Tian likely carried some story of his own.

‘But it has nothing to do with me… Even if there is trouble, it will fall on the Le Family.’

He headed straight home. His wife, Lady Hu, came forward to meet him. “Grandfather has gone several days without taking even a sip of water or a grain of rice.”

“What?”

Fang Yixin’s heart twisted with pain. He hurried to Fang Jingchun’s room and found the old man lying on the bed, his face the color of gold paper.

He quickly channeled a thread of mana into the elder, only to discover that the old man was already at the end of his oil and lamp, beyond saving.

The faint chill of [Ji Water] mana actually brought Fang Jingchun back to clarity. Seeing his grandson, he managed, “Yi…”

“Grandfather, I am here.”

Fang Yixin quickly took his grandfather’s hand.

“To see you enter the path and hear that our enemies have been wiped out, this old man has no regrets in this life. There is only one thing left.”

In a final burst of clarity, Fang Jingchun grew much more lucid. Recalling the past, he found that many scenes from his childhood in Three Waters Hollow had grown blurry. The memory that stood out most clearly was instead the time he encountered an Immortal all those years ago.

He gasped a few times and instructed, “After I die, bury me facing east.”

Before he could finish, his eyes widened and he breathed his last.

“Grandfather…”

Fang Yixin felt dazed and numb. Two clear lines of tears rolled down his face.

Before long, white funeral banners were hung throughout the Fang residence and the sound of weeping filled the air. Hu Quanan also rushed over in a flurry to pay his respects.

Yue Family.

Xu Hei, having just completed a transaction for some Qi Ingestion spirit materials, stepped out of the grand residence. He glanced toward the direction of the weeping, his eyes calm as an ancient well, and left Zeng Family Town on his own.

Wusheng Temple.

Fang Qing let out a long sigh. “Jingchun has passed. His two younger siblings had shallower inner force than him and died even earlier.”

“From now on, my connection to those families will grow fainter and fainter.”

In truth, this was actually a good thing for him.

The more distant the bloodline, the smaller the chance of it being traced back.

Moreover, the three Fang siblings had all been cautious people and had left behind no portraits or paintings.

In other words, everyone who had seen him in Three Waters Hollow during his childhood or after he began cultivating immortality was now deceased.

Even if Fang Yixin saw him face to face in the future, the other party would only treat him as a stranger.

Dong! Dong!

Just then, the sound of a bell rang out.

Fang Qing emerged from seclusion at an unhurried pace and saw the four Bright Sons and Wisdom Consorts, including Miaofeng.

Miaofeng’s eyes shone with a trace of smugness. “Master sensed that the spiritual qi shock has dissipated and is about to enter seclusion… We are going to see him off.” Fang Qing looked up and caught a sliver of daylight.

He calculated with his fingers. The spiritual qi shock caused by the Silver Crow’s failed attempt to attain Golden Core had indeed passed. There was no more room to delay; it was time to enter a life-and-death seclusion.

He followed the Bright Sons to the underground palace of Wusheng Temple. Trailing behind were the other disciples accepted by Sangji, along with higher-ranking monks of the temple and external protectors.

Sangji still wore his ferocious, wrathful appearance, draped in a tiger-skin kasaya with palms pressed together. “The spiritual qi shock has passed. This monk is about to enter seclusion to attain the position of Dharma King. Cultivate diligently. Should you witness earth piling into mountains, the temple emitting treasured light, heavenly flowers and golden lotuses blooming, or the appearance of mysterious and wonderful Buddhists soil formed from countless rare treasures and hundreds of thousands of fragrant incenses, adorning the scene in unparalleled splendor that surpasses all heavenly realms, then celebrate for this monk!”

“As the Dharma commands.”

Miaofeng and the others obeyed with solemn respect. They watched as Sangji sealed the underground palace. One after another, protector Vajras descended, patrolling the mandala ritual grounds.

A tiger-skin kasaya transformed into the Tiger Demon Wisdom King, standing guard at the center of the mandala.

‘This array was just delivered from the Hidden-Treasury Domain and already possesses Purple Mansion rank.’

‘With Sangji in seclusion protected by a Purple Mansion grand array, even if Purple Mansion cultivators attack, it could hold them off for some time. Of course, only his cave residence has such protection.’

‘Moreover, the moment an attack begins, these protector Vajras will immediately report to Great Snow Mountain, which would be tantamount to declaring war on the Hidden-Treasury Domain, a fight to the death.’

‘That is why entering seclusion here in Xituo Commandery is quite safe.’

Fang Qing mused to himself. Watching Miaofeng and the others beaming with delight, he could not be bothered to pay them any mind. ‘They are about to face a great catastrophe, yet they remain completely unaware.’ He had once been ignorant about Purple Mansion, but after subduing Sangji and broadening his horizons, how could he not understand the difficulty of attaining Purple Mansion?

Once one achieved Purple Mansion, it was like being reborn. From then on, in Ancient Shu one would no longer be a mere chess piece but a player moving the pieces.

Precisely because the position stood above the mundane world, it was extraordinarily difficult to prove.

‘As for the Dharma King position, it is even more different. It requires the assistance of fate and fortune. Although Sangji has swallowed Purple Mansion spiritual items, his fate carries a massive deficiency. One can only say, it will be exceptionally difficult, with only the faintest hope.’

Fang Qing swept his gaze across the monks laughing and chatting happily and thought to himself, ‘Better to pack up my things and run while I still can.’

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