Cultivating To Immortality

Chapter 730: Dream

"Twenty or thirty years ago, the villagers of Shutang and Zhengjiagou both lived on the mountain. Wu Mountain was very big, big enough to support both of our villages."

The old man speaking was Shu Yang, one of the two village chiefs of the current Changfeng Village.

"But I don’t know when, some young men who went up the mountain to cut firewood and hunt said they encountered something... uh, a ’ghost wall’ on the mountain."

"Alas..."

"At first, we thought they were drunk and talking nonsense. But later, more and more people said the same thing. Back then, Zhengjiagou was still managed by people named Zheng. I discussed it with them, and we had the men from both villages take their tools and go up the mountain to investigate."

Song Yan listened to the old man speak, as if he were hearing a folk tale of the bizarre.

"As a result, one young man from Shutang and one from Zhengjiagou each died on the mountain."

"Those who returned all said there really were ghosts. They couldn’t get out of Wuzhiping and Lotus Grave, always circling in that one area."

"Some said this was a warning from the mountain ghost."

"There was nothing we could do. Our ancestors had always been common folk, how could we endure such torment? We had no choice but to discuss with Changfeng Village at the foot of the mountain, and both Zhengjiagou and our village moved, settling at the foot of the mountain."

"The original villages were abandoned."

The old village chief showed a look of reminiscence: "Later, Old General Xiao was stationed here. Hearing about the mountain ghosts and demons, he went up the mountain to investigate..."

What followed was the storyteller’s segment about General Xiao’s bravery and his slaying of the tiger demon.

"Although the tiger demon had been eliminated, by then, the people from both villages had already settled at the foot of the mountain and didn’t move back up."

Song Yan nodded. For Mortals, such a large-scale village relocation was too exhausting.

Moreover, people and demons had died on the mountain.

The old village chief leaned on his cane, shakily pointing to the dilapidated straw hut: "That’s where the traveling doctor stayed back then. It’s been over twenty years, through wind and rain, but it hasn’t collapsed yet."

"Fortunately, our villagers are lazy, and no one cares to tear down this broken hut, haha."

Song Yan walked forward. Weeds grew everywhere, and faint traces of human habitation could still be seen.

Is this where his grandfather used to live?

He looked around, truly not knowing what was special about this place.

It was similar to the Green Mountain Thatched Cottage, far from the village at the foot of the mountain, with almost no one coming here.

Why did his elderly relative live here, and why did he deceive him?

After exchanging a few pleasantries, the old village chief left.

Xiao Ju saw Song Yan staring blankly at the straw hut and quietly formed a Dao spell, a hint of spiritual light appearing at her fingertips.

With a gentle flick of her wrist, years of accumulated dead leaves and spiderwebs inside the hut were swept out, piling up in the distance.

The decaying beams and pillars were also reinforced with Spiritual Qi, barely able to provide shelter from wind and rain.

For some reason, ever since Song Yan came up the mountain, he felt extremely drowsy.

"Strange."

Before this, he thought it was an illusion, but now his eyelids felt heavier and heavier, as if a thousand-pound weight was pressing down on them.

He hadn’t done anything special these past few days.

Could it be that the Body Refining with the tiger demon’s essence blood and the refining of the sword spirit were only now showing their fatigue?

He struggled to support himself as he entered the straw hut, took some futons from his qiankun bag, casually laid them in a corner, and lay down fully clothed.

He mumbled to Xiao Ju, "Xiao Ju, I..."

Before he finished speaking, he fell into a deep sleep.

Seeing this, Xiao Ju quietly retreated to the doorway.

She looked at Song Yan’s tightly furrowed brows, thinking he was simply feeling depressed.

Sitting on the threshold with her sword bag, she thought: "Senior Song must be incredibly sad, having found his ancestral land with such anticipation, only to find it empty."

Dusk gradually settled, and the mountain wind whistled through the gaps in the straw hut, making a wailing sound... "..."

"Thump."

There was a faint sound in his ear, like a small stone falling into a pond.

A warm breeze, carrying a hint of sweet floral fragrance, brushed past his nose.

Isn’t it winter now... why is it so warm?

Song Yan opened his eyes.

"..."

Where is this?

Song Yan found himself by a huge pond, under bright sunshine. Lotus flowers in the pond were in full bloom, and lotus leaves stood elegantly.

A man in a straw raincoat sat by the lotus pond, a fishing rod in front of him, seemingly fishing.

But he rested his hands on his knees, not touching the fishing rod, allowing the fish in the pond to shake the rod without him making a move.

Suddenly, the Old Man in a Straw Raincoat spoke.

"Where are you from?"

"Me... me?"

Song Yan was bewildered, but a strange sense of daze made him honestly answer the question.

"I’m from Qizhou..."

"Where did you get that pearl?"

Pearl?!

A strong sense of alarm rose in Song Yan’s heart. Could he be talking about the liangyi pearl?!

He subconsciously took a step back, only to realize that he was merely treading in place!

He looked at the Old Man in a Straw Raincoat in front of him with a wary expression.

"Why so nervous..."

He remained seated, not turning his head, and spoke unhurriedly: "I won’t harm you."

"If I wanted to harm you, you would have been dead long ago."

"..."

Song Yan frowned, feeling a little relieved, but still somewhat wary.

The liangyi pearl remained still, not infused with Spiritual Qi. He wondered how the other party had discovered it.

This person was unfathomable.

"Answer my question, where did you get that pearl?"

"..."

A strange feeling surged in his heart, and Song Yan subconsciously spoke the truth.

"I picked it up from the Sect’s discarded items area."

The old man was a little puzzled: "Hmm? How did this button pearl end up in such a place..."

He seemed not to consider the truthfulness of the statement at all.

"Who is the Sect Master?"

"Chen Linyuan."

"Sounds familiar... Never mind, it doesn’t matter."

He suddenly laughed at himself: "Whoever holds this pearl, I’ll let him enter the Sect. Other matters are irrelevant."

"..."

Song Yan didn’t understand. At this moment, he was in a daze, not knowing what this person was saying.

"Tomorrow at Yin hour, come to Wu Mountain Valley."

After the Old Man in a Straw Raincoat finished speaking, without waiting for Song Yan to ask, he waved his sleeve.

Song Yan immediately felt dizzy.

He suddenly opened his eyes and found himself still on the futons in the Wuzhiping straw hut.

"...Hmph."

He let out a long sigh.

His mood was very complex.

A dream message?

The dream just now was very clear. He closed his eyes, as if he could still feel the warm wind and the faint floral fragrance.

A dream... In the dream, Song Yan didn’t even doubt the reality of his surroundings. All his attention was on the Old Man in a Straw Raincoat.

He recalled what the old man had said.

"Whoever holds this pearl, I’ll let him enter the Sect, enter what..."

Emerging from his sleep, Song Yan’s dazed mind gradually cleared.

"Sword Sect!?"

He instantly sobered up.

If there was a Sect related to the liangyi pearl, it was undoubtedly the Sword Sect!

His heart pounded, but then he suppressed his emotions.

Previously, the letter left by the Sword Sect Sect Master in the liangyi pearl stated that if he had the opportunity to advance to the Golden Core Realm in the future, he could enter the Sect’s secret realm on his own, officially become an Inner Sect Disciple, and rebuild the Sword Sect.

But let alone Golden Core, he hadn’t even reached Foundation Establishment yet... Moreover, who exactly was this Old Man in a Straw Raincoat, and how did he know all this?

A Sect elder?

Unlikely. If he were a member of the Sword Sect, it would be better to just give him the pearl and let him recruit Disciples himself.

Furthermore, from the tone of the Old Man in a Straw Raincoat, he didn’t care who the fated person to inherit the Sword Sect’s Dao lineage was, or what kind of person he was.

He only cared that someone came here and then entered the Sect.

He couldn’t guess anything. He would know when he went up the mountain tomorrow.

This concerned the liangyi pearl, which was almost the most important treasure to him, so Song Yan couldn’t not go.

"..."

He was silent, but another question was on his mind.

Would his grandfather know about this?

Who exactly was he... He looked at the sky. It was probably past Chou hour, and the time was almost right.

Xiao Ju was meditating and Cultivating not far from him.

Song Yan stood up and walked out of the straw hut.

"Senior Song?"

Xiao Ju had just finished a round of Qi circulation. Noticing the movement, she opened her eyes and saw Song Yan about to leave the straw hut.

She quickly tried to stand up, but Song Yan patted her shoulder, and she sat back down.

"You Cultivate well here. I’m going to Wu Mountain Valley and will be back soon."

"Hmm." Xiao Ju nodded obediently.

She didn’t know what Senior Song was going to do, but since he didn’t say, it was better not to ask and just do her own thing.

"Watch Xiao He closely, don’t let her run around."

Although the other party indeed had no ill will, the Old Man in a Straw Raincoat’s origin was unknown, and Xiao Ju’s strength was still relatively shallow. For safety, it was better for her to wait here for him to return.

Originally, he wanted to take Xiao He with him, but Xiao He was still in a deep sleep.

He wasn’t very familiar with the details of demon Cultivation and worried that interrupting rashly would affect her Cultivation, just like a human Cultivator’s Qi reversing, which severely damages their Foundation.

After instructing Xiao Ju, Song Yan immediately went up the mountain.

When he went to the straw hut, the village chief had told him that the deepest part of Wu Mountain was Wu Mountain Valley.

Following the mountain path upwards, he passed a huge, empty field, and Song Yan felt a sense of familiarity.

"This place, why is it so similar to the lotus pond in last night’s dream..."

Only, the soil in this field was dry and cracked, without the beautiful scenery of the dream.

He didn’t stop, continuing upwards. He also didn’t investigate the surrounding Fork in the Road, but walked towards the cliff in the direction of Wu Mountain Valley.

"This is it..."

It was deep winter now, and the mountain was bare, with nothing left but some fir trees and plum blossoms.

Beyond Wu Mountain Valley were even higher mountains, but those were not places the villagers of Changfeng Village could go.

This place originally seemed to be a mountain stream valley, but the severe cold had covered the small stream with frost and snow.

There was a waterfall not far away.

He slowly climbed up along the stream valley, and before long, reached a small hill.

Suddenly looking up, beneath a flat-topped stone cliff, sat a young man dressed similarly to himself. If one looked closely, the young man’s appearance also bore some resemblance to his own.

Song Yan thought, could it be some mischievous prank of the Senior?

He was undoubtedly not a Mortal, and Song Yan couldn’t discern his Cultivation Realm.

"Last night I told you to come up the mountain at Yin hour, and you really did come at the appointed time."

The young man spoke, and even his voice resembled Song Yan’s, only his tone carried a condescending air.

"Are you the Senior from last night?"

He had thought it would be a white-haired old man.

However, on second thought, this should just be the Senior’s transformation technique. This old immortal transforming into his appearance was probably just for fun, having not seen anyone for a long time.

"Asking the obvious." The young man retorted.

Song Yan was a little confused: "Senior, who exactly are you...?"

"Who I am is none of your business."

He casually tossed over a small Jade Chapter, which Song Yan carefully caught.

"Align this Jade Chapter with the patterns on that stone platform, and a teleportation Formation will send you into the Sect."

"Once you enter the Sect, my agreement with that person will be complete, and I won’t have to stay in this broken place anymore."

"Yes."

A teleportation Formation... Song Yan had never tried such a thing before.

But this Senior didn’t seem very patient, so he had to suppress his curiosity.

Following the direction the person pointed, he saw the stone platform in that corner.

He dared not delay and quickly stepped forward.

On this stone platform, there was indeed a groove, and the patterns within it were identical to the patterns on the small Jade Chapter.

Song Yan held the Jade Chapter in his hand, aligned it with the patterns on the stone platform, and gently pressed it down.

It fit perfectly.

However, nothing happened.

"Hmm?"

The young man frowned, then suddenly realized something.

"Your Cultivation Realm, how is it so low!?"

To the Old Man in a Straw Raincoat, whether it was Foundation Establishment or Qi Refining, they were all pretty much ants.

He hadn’t paid any attention to this person’s Cultivation Realm at all.

This Sword Sect Jade Chapter was like a Disciple token, but to activate the Sect Entry Formation, one needed at least the Foundation Establishment Realm Cultivation Realm.

Now that the Sect was empty, the Formation had not been repaired for a thousand years, and the threshold requirement had dropped to Level 9 Qi Refining.

But the Cultivation Realm of this young man in front of him was still not enough.

"Tsk..."

Song Yan was about to ask for the reason when he saw the young man suddenly raise his hand and wave his sleeve.

A wave of the same exhaustion and drowsiness as yesterday came over him like a tide.

In an instant, the world spun, and the scene before his eyes twisted and shattered like a reflection in water. The sound of trickling stream water came to his ears.

When his vision cleared again, Song Yan found himself standing in an unfamiliar mountain valley.

Ancient trees towered all around, and in the distance, a waterfall plunged into a deep pool, with mist swirling.

"This is..."

Song Yan looked into the distance with uncertainty and surprise.

The young man had, at some unknown point, transformed back into the appearance of the Old Man in a Straw Raincoat, sitting cross-legged on a rock by the pool, just like by the lotus pond in his dream.

"This is the true appearance of Wu Mountain Valley." The old man cast his fishing rod into the pool, stirring up ripples: "Your Cultivation Realm is too low; you cannot enter the Sword Sect’s mountain gate."

"Hmph, this lord merely has to exert some effort to help you."

Upon hearing this, Song Yan’s last remaining doubts vanished.

It really was the Sword Sect... Before he could ask for the reasons, the old man suddenly flicked his wide sleeve, and the entire mountain valley was instantly filled with mist.

Song Yan was incredibly shocked.

Upon closer inspection, these mists were actually Spiritual Qi, so dense that they had solidified!

"A hundred or a thousand years in the dream, but only a flick of a finger in the outside world."

The mist rushed towards him, and Song Yan immediately felt his Divine Soul swaying.

"Cultivate well in this dream!"

Dream?

His heart was still filled with astonishment, but now was not the time to explore the mysteries.

Song Yan sat cross-legged amidst the Spiritual Qi-condensed mist, trying to circulate the Qi Condensation Chapter.

With each breath and refining of Spiritual Qi, the airflow around him would gather the flowing clouds on his clothes.

At first, he marveled at the wonder of Cultivating in this dream and wondered why this Senior would help him.

Occasionally, he would even be Divided Soul, pondering whether the Cultivation Realm gained between this illusion and reality could be retained.

But then he thought, such methods were beyond his imagination and conjecture, and such an encounter was a rare opportunity.

The Old Man in a Straw Raincoat’s phrase, "only a flick of a finger in the outside world," also put him at ease somewhat.

Thereafter, he devoted himself wholeheartedly and completely immersed himself in Cultivation.