The Quest for Immortality

”Old thing, you’re looking for death!”

The old woman clutched the zombie child tightly, shrieking at the pale youth, her long fangs bared.

The pale youth’s expression darkened, and he was about to make a move, but the Sword Box Elder stopped him.

”Don’t provoke her.”

The pale youth seemed to have a tinge of wariness toward the Sword Box Elder, and with a cold snort, he reined in his aura.

The old crone shed her corpse transformation, returning to a normal old woman, holding the child in her bosom, her expression serene and calm.

The Sword Box Elder looked up at the sky and then said,

”It’s getting late, it’s time to set out.”

He turned his head, looked at the other few people, his expression indifferent, but his tone was solemn as he said,

”We do what we must, mind not the rest.”

The elder adjusted the sword box on his back.

The sword box trembled slightly, emitting a bloodthirsty yearning.

”Don’t be hasty...”

The elder thought silently to himself.

”Once we find that person, the real storm will come...”

And it would be a terrifying one, a bloody tempest...

...

The four of them gradually departed.

The old crone also took the zombie child away.

In the following days, many Cultivators with gloomy auras, wearing strange attire, and acting unpredictably arrived at South Yue City,

They all came from the Demon Gate, shocked by the human-fueled Taoist Demon, and lamenting its untimely demise.

But they did not enter the city, nor did they kill or eat anyone, nor did they do anything out of the ordinary.

South Yue City had already entered the cycle of cause and effect.

If they got involved, there was a very good chance their secrets could be exposed, putting themselves at risk.

Undercurrents surged in secret.

Yet these dangerous currents all went around South Yue City, flowing into the distance.

The Cultivators of South Yue City, after several twists and turns, also welcomed a long-missed peace...

The Cultivators lived their day-to-day lives.

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In Elder Su’s cave.

Shuisheng was sprawled over a small stone table Drawing Formation; Elder Su beside him was nattering on as he taught him:

”Why do you use the brush like this? It’s too wasteful of Divine Sense...”

”This Formation Pattern, taught so many times, yet you still don’t get it...”

”Ah, don’t draw it like that...”

...

Shuisheng paid no heed to him, absorbed in his own Drawing Formation.

If there was something he didn’t understand, he would ask, and after receiving an answer, he let Elder Su’s remaining chatter enter one ear and out the other, completely ignored.

All of his focus was on the Formation.

Even if he learned slowly, even if his drawing wasn’t good, he kept on trying.

If one attempt failed, he would try twice.

If two attempts failed, he would try three times.

As he kept on drawing, slowly, he started to get it...

This was what that little Gentleman had taught him.

Shuisheng remembered it well.

Elder Su continued to grumble on the side but suddenly stopped speaking.

Shuisheng’s appearance resembled Shuixian very much, and his present concentrated demeanor was very similar to his own in bygone years...

Elder Su fell silent for a moment, but then his expression became relieved and he smiled contentedly; looking at Shuisheng, his eyes brimmed with tenderness.

”I owe that little Gentleman a huge favor...”

Elder Su mused in his heart.

...

The life of the Mining Cultivator had also improved a lot.

They could feed themselves, support their families, and gradually, even have some Spirit Stones to spare for their own cultivation or their children’s.

The Lu Family, which used to loom over them, had already crumbled and was no longer a threat.

They had also heard some rumors about the Corpse Mine.

”It’s said that that bastard, Lu Chengyun, killed people and then used their bodies for Corpse Refinement, forcing them to mine for him. In the end, he got his comeuppance, eaten alive by the very zombie he created.”

”And that zombie wasn’t just any ordinary zombie—it was the old ancestor of the Lu Family, Capitalist Lu!”

”That goddamned Capitalist Lu, never letting go even in death, turning into a zombie just to bring disaster upon South Yue City...”

”So many zombies, it was horrifying.”

”Even now, thinking about it makes my scalp tingle.”

”On the day the zombies surrounded the city, I stood on the city wall and looked down to see a horde of zombies, snarling and swarming...”

Someone jumped with fear, ”You don’t think there are still zombies in the mine, do you...?”

”Maybe, with so many zombies, how could they have been completely wiped out all at once?”

”What do we do then?”

”I haven’t even got married. What if I get bitten by a zombie? Wouldn’t that be the end for me?”

”I have elderly and children depending on me...”

Some of the people became anxious.

”Why don’t we,” a cultivator suggested, ”make an offering to that little Immortal child in the Corpse Mine...”

Someone didn’t understand, ”Little Immortal child? Who’s that?”

”A reincarnation of a disciple of an Immortal.”

”Who?”

”The one who suppressed the Corpse Tide, subdued the Corpse King, and helped us by drawing Formation Paintings and constructing the mine—that little Immortal child.”

”Really?”

”True, I’ve seen it.”

”You’ve seen it?”

”Mhm.” The Mining Cultivator nodded, ”This little Immortal child, with three heads and six arms, impervious to blades and spears, knocked down the Corpse King with a single punch...”

”What are you blabbering about?”

”Right, who ever looks like that?”

”Exactly, that little Immortal child was really good-looking, so fair and tender, with sparkling eyes and such an adorable smile...”

”You’re talking nonsense too. How could such a young cultivator defeat the Corpse King?”

”Did you see it?”

”Of course, I saw that day on the city wall, amidst the Corpse Tide, this little Immortal child was nine feet tall, broad-shouldered and wide-waisted, with boundless strength. His punches created a gust of wind. Tens of thousands of zombies couldn’t get close to him!”

”You’re talking about a ’strongman’, not an ’Immortal child’!”

”Exactly, make your tall tales believable at least.”

...

The discussions were varied, but in the end, there was no consensus.

Finally, an older Mining Cultivator declared:

”Since it’s an Immortal child, he can’t be very old. Since we don’t know what he looks like, we won’t attempt a detailed representation. Let’s just use ink to paint a silhouette.”

”Since he suppressed the Corpse Tide, it shows the zombies must fear him. By hanging this portrait of the little Immortal child in the mine, we can suppress evil spirits. The zombies should not dare to cause trouble anymore...”

He sighed before finishing, ”This little gentleman has given us immense help. To us Mining Cultivators, he has been a savior. Even if he can’t suppress the zombies, we should bow to him and wish him smooth sailing on his path of Tao Cultivation, a successful cultivation journey, to live as long as the heavens and the earth, and to benefit all living beings!”

”That’s right!”

The Mining Cultivators nodded in agreement.

They commissioned someone to paint several ink paintings of the Immortal child, and hung them around the mines.

From then on, before entering the mine in South Yue City, the Mining Cultivators would bow to the painting of the Immortal child.

On the painting, there was a small ink silhouette.

With clear black and white contrast, the aura was mysterious and profound.

Worshiping the painting of the Immortal child could ward off evil spirits and settle the zombie troubles.

They prayed for their own safety and, in their hearts, they wished for Mo Hua’s safety as well.

At a place that bred such Taoist demons, the cultivators offered incense, and their wishes, blending mysteriously into the karma of Mo Hua’s fate, formed a counterbalance.

But Mo Hua knew nothing of this.

Several hundred miles away, on a mountain path.

Mo Hua rode on Big White, admiring the mountain landscape enveloped in misty clouds, embarking on the road to Foundation Establishment...