I Shall Be Everlasting In the World of Immortals

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One year later.

In the depths of the Liang Kingdom, within the dense forests to the north of Fox Valley.

Huff! Huff!

A muscular man with a broad back and bear-like stature was gasping for breath as he held a stealth talisman, hiding among the thick foliage.

"Qi Feng! There's no point in resisting!"

"According to the sect’s summons, a wanted criminal like you can redeem yourself by fighting on the frontlines. If you're fortunate enough to make a meritorious contribution, you might even be rewarded, it's a blessing in disguise!"

A man and a woman’s voices echoed from above the forest.

They were two disciples of the sect, wearing uniforms of black robes embroidered with gold, riding on flying weapons. Their sharp gazes carefully monitored the movements within the forest below.

His hair was scorched and disheveled, and his body was littered with wounds. Gritting his teeth against the pain, he focused on treating his broken ribs.

"Qi Feng, if you don’t come out soon, don’t blame us for setting the forest on fire."

The two sect disciples exchanged a glance, their expressions impatient, though neither dared to recklessly enter the woods.

Qi Feng was at the eighth layer of Qi-Refining, similar in cultivation to the pair. However, with his rich combat experience and status as a Martial Innate in the mortal world, his battle prowess far exceeded that of ordinary loose cultivators.

Boom! Boom!

A few fireballs descended from the sky, igniting the forest, and filling the air with thick smoke.

Thud!

A loud crash came from within the woods, followed by a surge of magical energy, and a large tree toppled over.

"His position’s exposed!"

The female sect disciple’s eyes lit up, and together with her companion, they flanked the location, slowly closing in.

"Wait, it's a trap!"

Using a flying weapon, they cut through the branches, only to freeze in surprise. There, lying beneath the crushed trees, was nothing but a damaged humanoid puppet.

Meanwhile, at the far end of the forest...

Whoosh!

A large, agile figure darted through the smoke and sprinted a good distance. Then, standing atop a black blade weapon, he shot into the sky.

"After him!"

The two sect disciples hurriedly turned in pursuit, but the black smoke obscured their vision, preventing them from catching him right away.

"Qi Feng! Why are you so stubborn? Do you really want to live your life as a fugitive, hiding in the shadows like a rat?"

The female sect disciple yelled in frustration.

"Guarding the Liang Kingdom’s borders and redeeming yourself—this is the sect's mercy, giving you a chance at rebirth!"

"Redeeming myself?"

Qi Feng smirked mockingly. Ignoring his injuries, he pushed his magical power to the limit, speeding up his escape.

He had read history books in the mortal world and learned that criminals sent to the frontlines were often used as cannon fodder, thrown into suicide missions. The sect forcing wanted criminals to fight in defense of the Liang Kingdom—how was that any different from the mortal dynasties?

Most importantly, he hadn’t committed any crime at all.

He had been wronged!

"I'm injured. With my current magical reserves, I won’t be able to run for long. If I run into other sect patrols..."

Flying over a hundred li, Qi Feng’s body ached, and his face grew grim.

Recalling the map of the Liang Kingdom in his mind, he desperately sought an escape route.

"Fox Valley... if I head northeast, there’s the Huanglong Immortal City. To the northwest is..."

Suddenly, a familiar location flashed in his memory, causing both relief and hesitation to appear on his face.

"Aunt Guan! Qi Feng is incompetent, I’m afraid I’ll have to go against your wishes."

Taking a deep breath, Qi Feng gritted his teeth and adjusted his flight path.

Aunt Guan had once warned him that unless it was a life-or-death situation, he must never go to that place.

If she ever passed away, only then could he take her ashes there for burial.

...

"Ha! That criminal's mana is depleting!"

An hour later, the two sect disciples had gradually closed the distance.

Just ahead loomed a mist-shrouded mountain range, teeming with spiritual energy.

Qi Feng, barely managing to control his flying weapon, wobbled as he plunged into the mist.

"Senior Brother Yue, that criminal has fled into Wuqi Mountain."

The female disciple hesitated for a moment, then spoke.

"Wuqi Mountain? That’s where the spiritual vein of our Jin Yun Valley lies! Get the cultivators on the mountain to assist us in arresting him. If they refuse..."

Senior Brother Yue stopped mid-sentence, suddenly considering something.

"Let’s go in first. We can handle this ourselves."

Senior Brother Yue, at the ninth layer of Qi-Refining, was the first to pierce through the fog and enter the mountain range.

Within Wuqi Mountain.

It wasn’t long before they spotted Qi Feng again. He was struggling, flying toward a relatively low, flat peak.

Suddenly!

Qi Feng seemed to hit an invisible wall of wind. His body stumbled, rolling down the mountainside.

Senior Brother Yue and his companion laughed, speeding up to capture their target.

Just as they approached within a hundred zhang...

Both sect disciples' expressions changed drastically, their flight interrupted by a powerful tremor.

"What is this..."

They sensed an overwhelming spiritual pressure emanating from the mountain peak, accompanied by turbulent waves of spiritual energy.

Under this immense pressure, they felt as insignificant as small boats in a storm, one wrong move away from being utterly destroyed.

"Foundation Establishment-level spiritual power! It seems they are at the final stage of breakthrough!"

"This pressure rivals that of Elder Dongmen! Could it be someone who’s just advanced to the late Foundation Establishment stage?"

The two sect disciples were filled with dread and hesitation, too afraid to approach any closer.

They feared disturbing the late stage great cultivator breakthrough.

If it were an ordinary Foundation Establishment loose cultivator, they wouldn’t be so intimidated.

But a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator was an entirely different matter—one of the rare elites in Liang Kingdom’s cultivation world, capable of dominating several cultivation families.

Moreover, this was the famous Wuqi Mountain, home to three exceptionally powerful peak masters who kept the surrounding loose cultivators in check and commanded significant influence.

...

"Senior Brother Yue, that criminal seems to have fallen onto Little Turtle Peak—the cultivation site of the 'Turtle Talisman Master.'"

The female disciple lowered her voice.

"How do you know?"

Before Senior Brother Yue could finish his sentence, a massive, deep green turtle, glowing with blue water light, descended from the top of Wuqi Mountain.

"A second-rank spiritual turtle?"

"Could it be the rumored Profound Water Turtle?"

Under their watchful eyes, the dark green turtle flew to the mountainside, where it caught the fallen Qi Feng with its enormous body.

"Is it really the Profound Water Turtle?"

Qi Feng was overjoyed, seated on the wide back of the turtle as it ascended smoothly toward the mountaintop, with the wind and the late Foundation Establishment spiritual pressure enveloping them.

The turtle in front of him was much larger than what Aunt Guan had described, and its shell was at least eighteen feet wide.

Qi Feng glanced back.

The man and woman remained far behind, their expressions complex, unwilling to take another step forward.

Qi Feng let out a sigh of relief. The weight in his heart lightened, and he felt a surge of respect for the renowned ancestor on this mountain.

"Senior Brother Yue, what should we do now? Should we go to Little Turtle Peak and negotiate?"

The female disciple was visibly uneasy.

Seeing that the Profound Water Turtle had come to rescue Qi Feng, it was clear that he had some connection to Little Turtle Peak.

"Let’s go."

Senior Brother Yue hesitated for a moment before flying away from Wuqi Mountain.

Watching his clenched fists, the female disciple suddenly understood.

Negotiating wasn't the problem.

The issue was that they weren’t qualified to speak to a late-stage Foundation Establishment great cultivator.

After a brief pause, Senior Brother Yue took out a green talisman with gold markings from his storage pouch and infused it with mana.

The green talisman glowed faintly as an invisible ripple passed through the air.

...

At the top of Little Turtle Peak.

The Profound Water Turtle landed by a pool, and Qi Feng climbed off its back without needing to be told.

"Senior, thank you for saving... Ah!"

Without warning, the Profound Water Turtle bumped Qi Feng, knocking him to the ground.

He gasped in pain, his vision swimming.

The turtle gave him an innocent look, then stretched its large head, nuzzling his chest.

A moment later, Qi Feng seemed to realize something. He fumbled with his robes, revealing a smooth, dark pendant hanging around his neck, shaped like a half-oval.

Upon closer inspection, the sheen and texture of the pendant were almost identical to the Profound Water Turtle’s shell.

"What’s your relationship with Qi Jingyun?"

A calm, gentle male voice echoed in Qi Feng’s ear.

At that moment, the spiritual energy that had been in turmoil above Little Turtle Peak finally began to settle.

Startled, Qi Feng quickly straightened up and bowed deeply toward the cave.

"Replying to senior! Qi Jingyun is my great-great-grandfather."

The gentle voice asked only one question, then fell silent.

Just as Qi Feng was growing anxious, a poised maid in a blue robe approached him.

"Young Master, please stay on the mountain and tend to your injuries. Here are some healing medicines."

"What is your name, miss?"

"My name is Lan Rou." The maid, seemingly around thirty-five or thirty-six, was no longer in her prime, yet her beauty and grace remained undiminished.

Qi Feng thought to himself, "Even a maid on Little Turtle Peak has an air more refined than most female cultivators outside. And her cultivation isn’t weaker than mine."

...

"He really does resemble him..."

Inside a secret chamber on Little Turtle Peak, a low murmur echoed.

Lan Chang'an's spiritual sense lingered on the broad-shouldered man for a moment.

This Qi Feng bore at least a seven-tenths resemblance to his adoptive father in his youth, according to his memories of this life.

It had been more than thirty years since Guan Qiaozhi left Wuqi Mountain.

In the early years after her departure, Guan Qiaozhi occasionally sent letters.

In one of those letters, she mentioned a boy named Qi Feng with spiritual roots, said to be a descendant of Qi Jingyun, the leader of the Angry River Gang and Lan Chang'an's adoptive father.

This boy with spiritual roots had, by some twist of fate, begun cultivating Lan Chang'an's Origin-Opening Scripture. By the time Guan Qiaozhi discovered him, he had already been practicing for several years.

Guan Qiaozhi had noted the boy’s background, talent, and temperament, all of which bore similarities to Lan Chang'an. As a result, she had taken on the role of his immortal guide, offering him some instruction and care, much as the Daoist Guan had once done for her.

"One hundred and forty years old, at the seventh level of the Foundation Establishment Realm!"

Three days later, Lan Chang'an concluded his cultivation session. Sensing his magical power had doubled, he was in high spirits.

As his cultivation advanced, his spiritual sense had also grown significantly, now rivaling that of a Fake Dan cultivator.

He could now extend his spiritual sense to cover an area of two or three li.

It was worth noting that an ordinary peak Foundation Establishment cultivator’s spiritual sense could only extend a hundred or so zhang.

With the rise in both his magical power and spiritual sense, Lan Chang'an could now utilize techniques that far surpassed what he had been capable of before.

For example, the prototype magical treasure he had been nurturing within his body for years was now ready to be used as a powerful offensive weapon.

Its destructive potential would far exceed that of the Night Fisherman from years past.

"Now, with my refined body and enhanced spiritual sense, I’ve reached the Fake Dan stage. Even my weakest point—my magical power—has now surpassed the inner disciples of Jin Yun Valley, nearing the level of their core disciples."

Even in these times of war, Lan Chang'an felt a sense of security.

Putting aside his talisman treasures and the Nine Seal Stele, his raw strength alone was now comparable to a Fake Dan cultivator.

In the broader context of Liang Kingdom’s cultivation world, the majority of wandering 'Immortals' were Fake Dan cultivators.

These Fake Dan experts could even safely travel to neighboring countries.

...

After coming out of seclusion.

Lan Chang'an summoned Qi Feng to his cave.

"This junior, Qi Feng, pays respects to Grandfather Lan..."

Qi Feng’s sturdy figure, with his broad shoulders and thick waist, made him appear to be in his mid-thirties, though his actual age was over fifty.

At this moment, he resembled a clumsy bear cub as he knelt, prostrating himself on the ground.

Qi Feng was overwhelmed with shock. He could hardly believe that this young man, dressed in elegant white robes and appearing so youthful, was his 'half-ancestor.'

Lan Chang'an was the adopted son of Qi Jingyun. In terms of seniority, this made him Qi Feng’s non-blood-related great-grandfather.

"Stand."

After the customary bow, Qi Feng didn’t dare to sit. He repeatedly claimed that he had brought trouble upon Wuqi Mountain by being wanted by the sect.

"Tell me about your situation first."

Lan Chang'an smiled faintly, reserving judgment.

"Grandfather Lan, I’ve been wanted by the sect since a certain escort mission a few months ago..."

Qi Feng’s expression darkened as he recalled the events, his eyes filled with bitterness and resentment.

Over the past decade, Qi Feng had been cultivating around the markets controlled by the Jiang Family, one of the seven great families in the southwest of the Liang Kingdom.

His primary source of spirit stones came from two avenues.

First, he was skilled at processing materials for talisman crafting, making talisman paper and spirit ink.

This was a low-threshold skill passed down to him by Aunt Guan.

Qi Feng wasn’t as deft as Aunt Guan, so he didn’t earn much from processing materials alone.

Thus, he occasionally took on work as a "guard-for-hire," providing his second source of income.

This job had its risks but paid well.

As a guard, Qi Feng worked under legitimate escort organizations, mostly undertaking collective missions to provide protection and escort services.

"That escort mission to Liaoyuan Immortal City... all the merchants and the dozen or so guards were killed by rogue cultivators. Even the Foundation Establishment leader of the team perished!"

As he spoke, Qi Feng shuddered.

"You were the only survivor?"

Lan Chang'an looked at him thoughtfully.

"Yes." Qi Feng braced himself to answer.

"I survived thanks to a combination of luck and two main factors."

"First, I’m a martial arts grandmaster. From the mortal world to the cultivation world, I’ve been through countless battles, and I have ample experience in escaping. Second, Aunt Guan had given me life-saving talismans, which allowed me to narrowly escape death."

Lan Chang'an nodded, not pressing further.

He had already used his Fake Dan spiritual sense to scan Qi Feng earlier and found no obvious signs of extraordinary fortune or lucky encounters.

Qi Feng’s advantage lay mainly in his strong martial foundation and natural talent for combat.

In the cultivation world, fighting was also a form of talent.

Some cultivators were inherently better at combat than others, with sharper instincts and stronger adaptability in battle.

Qi Feng might just be one of those cultivators, naturally suited for the profession of an escort.

"So, you were suspected of colluding with rogue cultivators and became wanted by the sect?"

Lan Chang'an smiled.

"Yes! They didn’t care about evidence at all. They just put me on the sect’s wanted list, branding me a criminal."

Qi Feng clenched his teeth, deeply aggrieved.

"Do you have any evidence to clear your name?"

"Uh..."

Qi Feng hesitated, shaking his head.

Lan Chang'an found it amusing. In these troubled times, it wasn’t unreasonable for the sect to put someone like him on the wanted list.

In the cultivation world, there was no presumption of innocence.

After all, there are far too many ways to investigate suspected crimes.

...

At this very moment, the Liang Kingdom's borders were under siege by the Feng Kingdom, led by Golden Sun Sect’s army of cultivators.

In just one short year, the Liang Kingdom had transformed from an opportunistic invader a few years ago to the invaded party, now a weak cultivation nation.

No one could have predicted that after over twenty years of warfare, Feng Kingdom would suddenly engage in peace talks—and with unexpected ease.

The Nascent Soul realm True Monarchs of Feng Kingdom, Yan Kingdom, and Chen Kingdom had reached a secret agreement, even signing a fourth-rank soul blood pact.

The details of how and why this happened were unclear.

But the final result was that, while the broader power structure remained unchanged, the Golden Sun Sect was moving northward.

Of course, Feng Kingdom’s Golden Sun Sect branded this move as a "counter-attack in self-defense."

This was all information Lan Chang'an had gathered over the past year through his connections with Zheng Centipede and friends from other sects.

Golden Sun Sect had deployed only one Nascent Soul True Monarch for this campaign, while another remained to guard the sect.

Along with a massive force of affiliated cultivation factions, the Golden Sun Sect was steadily advancing toward the Liang Kingdom's borders.

In the small skirmishes along the frontlines, Liang Kingdom had suffered several defeats, losing one True Dan stage cultivator and four or five Fake Dan experts.

To resist the Feng Kingdom’s "counter-attack in self-defense," the frontlines in the Liang Kingdom were desperate for reinforcements. The sects were conscripting cultivators from every major immortal city, family, and business, with methods far harsher than in previous campaigns.

A few disobedient cultivation families had been severely punished.

One Foundation Establishment family that attempted to flee had been accused of colluding with the enemy and was completely eradicated.

Even Lan Chang'an’s Little Turtle Peak, though a loose cultivator’s cultivation site, was assigned a quota of talisman-making tasks each month. Fortunately, the sect provided the materials.

Essentially, it was free labor for the war effort.

However, Lan Changan's success rate in drawing talismans was very high. While other talisman masters struggled just to break even on their assigned quotas, Lan Chang'an could even make a small profit.

Given this backdrop of war...

Who would care about a loose cultivator like Qi Feng being wrongfully accused and wanted?

Liang Kingdom's sects would love nothing more than for more criminals like him to exist, so they could all be conscripted to fight on the frontlines.

(End of chapter)