Mortal: Refining Weapons for Immortality

Chapter 13 The Mind Changes with Circumstances

After doing all this, Lin Changqing seemed to have matured a lot and was more accepting of his identity as a rogue cultivator.

His skill in socializing was merely a helpless act. After all, the cultivation world in Yue Kingdom valued sect background and family connections. As a newcomer to the cultivation world, he had no relatives or friends, so he could only present this side of himself to avoid arousing people's disgust and cutting off his path to spiritual stones.

So his initial idea was simple and ridiculous: to enter Huangfeng Valley through the Chen family's connections and then attempt to reach the Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, and even Nascent Soul stages.

However, a rogue cultivator is just a rogue cultivator. Without a sect's ascension token, one cannot enter a sect. Without a true spiritual root, one cannot even enter a sect. One is not even a cultivator family affiliated with a sect. How can you enter the orthodox path of the Yue Kingdom's cultivation world?

The road ahead was blocked, and there was no way to get in without the necessary conditions, so he decided not to go in.

He cultivates immortality, seeking longevity, peace of mind, and tranquility, not constant fighting and killing. If the cultivation world still follows the same rules as the secular world, or is even more cruel, then what is the point of achieving immortality through cultivation? It's no different from practicing martial arts in the secular world, except that there's more fighting and killing involved.

Theoretically, he could already live forever. He just needs to protect himself, avoid provoking powerful beings, and cultivate slowly. Sooner or later, he will reach the pinnacle of the cultivation world.

As for opportunities and such things, in the end, they are all for the sake of immortality. The main road to immortality is too crowded, so he should just walk his own narrow path, and opportunities depend on luck.

As Lin Changqing left Qingyang Town and entered Jiayuan City, his former dejected demeanor vanished, replaced by a warm and gentle expression.

"Even as a rogue cultivator, I can still reach the Nascent Soul stage!!!"

......

Jiayuan City, located in the central part of Lanzhou, is a bustling city and the premier city in the entire Lanzhou.

Lin Changqing had heard from Qingyang Town when he was very young that the city was very nice and had many good things, but he had never been to Jiayuan City, nor had his parents taken him there. Now he wanted to see what the city was like.

Upon entering Jiayuan City, it was indeed a place of great prosperity and bustling activity. The number of merchants and travelers here was countless, and the architecture had a unique flavor compared to the cultivation world, fulfilling Lin Changqing's childhood fantasies.

Even as night is about to fall, the lights remain on and the night market continues.

As Lin Changqing strolled along the long street, he couldn't help but sigh, "Life here isn't bad at all. If it weren't for the low spiritual energy and the heavy turbidity of the mortal world, I imagine many cultivators would come here to live."

Unlike the small towns with their bridges and streams, Jiayuan City has large rivers and many docks.

"Look! They're releasing eternal lanterns!!" A voice burst from the crowd, excited, as if they had been waiting for this festival for a long time.

Lin Changqing followed the direction of the crowd and looked at the lanterns flying into the sky. The entire Jiayuan City was filled with scattered lanterns, illuminating the night sky.

People were releasing lanterns onto the river.

"Wow!!" Everyone made way for the dragon and lion dance celebration in the distance.

A new year begins, and everything is renewed.

Lin Changqing quietly appreciated everything. It was his first time attending such a grand festival, which gave him a feeling of being detached from the world, as if he didn't belong here.

Lin Changqing, who had been walking without stopping, slowly walked to a relatively quiet place and came to a small bridge. He leaned on the railing and quietly watched the lotus flowers on the water. The lotus flowers were just beginning to emerge, and fish were swimming underwater. With a gentle breeze blowing, it was very pleasant.

Lin Changqing was dressed as usual today, in a light blue robe, exuding an otherworldly aura that made him stand out from the crowd. However, his face carried a coldness that made people hesitant to approach him.

"Sister Fengwu, look! There are fish!!" A clever and mischievous girl of about fifteen or sixteen blinked her dark eyes and stared intently at the fish under the water.

Hearing her younger sister Mo Caihuan's call, another gentle, virtuous, and beautiful woman stepped forward and leaned against Mo Caihuan.

"Caihuan, which way are you looking? Another one is coming."

Mo Caihuan was excited to see another fish swimming in the water, but also a little greedy, and said with pursed lips.

"Sigh! It's a pity there are only a few fish. I wish there were more."

Lin Changqing was not far from Mo Caihuan, only a little over a meter away. In addition, as a cultivator, he was naturally sharp-eared and could hear very clearly.

Upon hearing the woman's idea, Lin Changqing, intrigued, had a sudden inspiration. He used his two fingers to gather spiritual energy from the water's surface, attracting the fish to the area.

Sensing the change in spiritual energy, the fish swam in groups towards the water in front of Lin Changqing, like a dance of fish and dragons.

Just as Lin Changqing was having a great time, he sensed a strange gaze coming from him, and then subconsciously looked back.

If the girl beside him was naturally beautiful, then Lin Changqing was even more extraordinary. After cultivating his Qi, he possessed an otherworldly temperament, his turbid Qi dissipated and his pure Qi arose naturally, and he had a unique fragrance. His handsome face was rare in the world. Dressed in a green robe, his figure was like an ancient tree, peerless and independent, unlike ordinary people.

When Mo Caihuan saw Lin Changqing, who was usually so clever and fearless, she couldn't help but lose her composure.

"Bang! Bang!!"

Beams of dazzling light shot into the sky, breaking the stalemate. Lin Changqing looked up at the sky, and Mo Caihuan was also drawn to the fireworks.

"Slap slap slap!!!"

Suddenly, beams of light exploded, and colorful flowers flew in all directions, like shimmering chrysanthemums, dazzling in their brilliance.

With a loud "bang," even larger fireworks soared into the sky, blooming like shooting stars lingering in the night sky, or like fairies scattering flowers, falling from the heavens and landing on earth.

But the grand fireworks display eventually ended. When Mo Caihuan saw the vibrant fireworks dissipate, she subconsciously looked in Lin Changqing's direction, wanting to take another look, but found that he was nowhere to be seen, and even the fish in the water were gone. Only silence remained all around. At this moment, Mo Caihuan felt as if something had been lost in her heart, leaving her feeling empty, and her eyes lost their previous luster.

The woman beside her, seeing that Mo Caihuan was lost in thought and lacked her usual liveliness, couldn't help but ask with concern, "Caihuan, what's wrong? Are you alright?"

Hearing her sister's concern, Mo Caihuan finally came to her senses and said in a low, dejected voice, "I don't know why, sister, I'm a little tired. Let's go back."

......

Lin Changqing had no idea what kind of impression he had left on others during this grand festival. All he knew was that he was going to start his cultivation anew and become a rogue cultivator.

He didn't want to go back to Qingzhu Market; he planned to go to other, larger markets and cultivate in a completely new environment. He was also fortunate that his weapon-refining skills were now quite good, and he could use them in many places.

However, this time Lin Changqing wanted to learn alchemy. He now had thousand-year-old spiritual herbs and spirit stones to buy medicinal materials. He wanted to improve his alchemy skills, refine pills that could better promote cultivation, and then use the aging process to wash away drug resistance, maximize the effects of the thousand-year-old spiritual herbs, quickly improve his cultivation, and then inquire about the Foundation Establishment Pill.

Therefore, Lin Changqing chose a larger market town as his destination, which was located within Huangfeng Valley.

Huangfeng Valley Market is quite famous, and it is much more prosperous than the markets of other major sects.

I heard that this is related to the legendary Elder of Yellow Maple Valley, who preferred quiet cultivation and believed that harmony brings wealth.

Moreover, because the Taiyue Mountains are located near the Yuanwu Kingdom and there is no hostility between the two cultivation worlds, cultivators from the Yuanwu Kingdom often come here to trade, bringing many special items that the Yue Kingdom does not have, and even Foundation Establishment Pills.

Because Foundation Establishment Pills are monopolized by the sects of the Yue Kingdom, they can only be distributed under their arrangements. However, cultivators of the Yuanwu Kingdom are not affected by the cultivators of the Yue Kingdom. They can obtain Foundation Establishment Pills within the Yuanwu Kingdom and resell them in the cultivation world of the Yue Kingdom. This is a common occurrence, which has shown many people another opportunity.

As a result, Huangfeng Valley Market attracted many independent cultivators and members of immortal cultivation families.