"A Heavenly Master is taking disciples!"
With this loud shout, all the residents of Xiaoxi Town hurried over, gazing towards the radiance of light.
Within it was an elderly man with a long white beard, wearing a python robe. He walked out from within the radiance, hands clasped behind his back, eyes slightly lowered, looking towards the crowd as he declared in a clear voice.
"We are cultivators from the Heavenly Sect beyond this realm. The Elder has sensed that someone with great fortune has been born in your town, so we have come specially to take on a disciple and welcome them into our Heavenly Sect!"
A heavenly master taking on disciples?!
Upon hearing this, the entire town erupted into an uproar. No one knew who would have such great luck to directly join a sect from beyond the mortal realm!
One must know, this Heavenly Sect was on a level above even the Immortal Sects.
According to the widely knowledgeable and aged storyteller, the Heavenly Sects were established above the Nine Heavens, amidst the cosmos, commanding solitary stars and presiding over the mortal realm.
Compared to them, even the Emperor on earth was probably countless times smaller.
For someone from their insignificant little town to produce a person who could join the Heavenly Sect, this was even more shocking than producing an Emperor!
The Elder swept his gaze across the crowd and reached out a hand that had been clasped behind his back. With a light tap towards the people, it was as if a surface of water appeared above the crowd, reflecting different lustres, as well as shades of depth and size.
This was a simple divination technique to observe one's fortune through water's reflection, that could discern the quality of a person's fortune based on the color and size. But now, it had lost its effect.
Because the fortune of every person, in terms of color and size, was about the same.
The Elder narrowed his eyes slightly. The fortune of the person detected by the Heavenly Order this time was impressive. Based solely on the rating given by the Heavenly Order, it was at the terrifying Great Emperor level!
This meant that if this person did not perish, they would definitely become a Great Emperor in the future, commanding the cosmos and controlling the stars.
A person of the Great Emperor level appearing would allow a sect to establish at least a hundred thousand years of dominance across the myriad worlds. It was comparable to a phoenix suddenly alighting onto a branch.
In the history of the Heavenly Sect, there had only been one Great Emperor before, which was the founding Heavenly Empress. But that was already ancient history from hundreds of thousands of years ago.
The current Heavenly Sect had declined over the years. Let alone Great Emperor characters, even Saints were pitifully scarce, with barely any Elders left. It was only surviving based on the abundant legacy left behind previously.
Now, a chance had appeared for them to become a phoenix alighting on a branch again. How could they not be excited?
The Elder let out a breath, keeping down the nervousness and unease in his heart. He took a step back and bowed towards the back, respectfully voicing,
"Please, Esteemed Elder, show yourself!"
The radiance of light abruptly condensed and swiftly dispersed, revealing a mysterious figure within.
The crowd below had looks of shock on their faces.
Esteemed Elder?
Although they did not know how powerful a character an Esteemed Elder was, just based on the reverence with which the other elder treated the figure within the light, they knew this was an earth-shatteringly huge existence.
To describe it with their meager knowledge, it was like ten thousand, no, a hundred thousand emperors!
The mysterious figure did not speak, but with a raise of his hand, a colorful jade cone swiftly flew out and hovered above Xiaoxi Town, unfurling radiance.
The respectfully waiting Elder had a solemn and reverent expression as he gazed up at the colorful jade cone and sincerely paid his respects.
This was one of the pillar treasures of the Heavenly Sect, the Heavenly Order!
The Heavenly Order was one of the personal treasures of the Heavenly Empress. It had many uses such as detecting fortune and seeking the Great Dao. It was the Heavenly Order that had detected the presence of someone with Great Emperor level fortune here.
Only after the Heavenly Order had fully ascended into the sky did the mysterious figure unhurriedly make a light tap with his finger.
The Heavenly Order flashed with radiance and suddenly dropped down, like a falling star.
It directly stabbed into the ground in front of Xu Zhen!
The respectfully waiting Elder had an expression of pleasant surprise. Pointing at Xu Zhen, he proclaimed,
"The Great Fortune One, found her! This girl is the one!"
The mysterious woman spoke, her clear and sharp voice asking Xu Zhen, "Are you willing to join my Heavenly Sect, and accomplish the supreme Great Dao?"
Xu Zhen had a somewhat bewildered look. Still seemingly unable to believe it, she pointed at herself and said in disbelief,
"Me?"
She was actually the Great Fortune One, and would accomplish the supreme Great Dao?
What joke was this? She had only learned a bit of boxing from Brother Xia.
The mysterious figure nodded. With an utterly emotionless tone, she replied,
"The Heavenly Order has nine forms of transformation based on one's fortune. The first three are for Mortals, white in color. The next three for Saints, golden in color. And the last three for Emperors, chromatic in color.
Your fortune falls into the mid-levels of the upper three tiers, colored a deep chromatic, so you are indeed the Great Fortune One."
Xu Zhen blinked her bright spirited eyes. Still seeming somewhat unbelieving, she shook her head and asked doubtfully,
"Could there be some mistake? I think Brother Xia should be the one with great fortune."
To Xu Zhen's understanding, the all-capable Brother Xia should be the Great Fortune One.
So Xu Zhen asked again in confusion, "Is there some error?"
The mysterious figure shook her head. She was quite patient towards Xu Zhen and continued replying, "The Heavenly Order cannot be wrong. You are the Great Fortune One, destined to accomplish the supreme Great Dao. Do not reject this, you cannot reject this."
"If your fortune was ordinary, our Heavenly Sect could absolutely let you decide whether to join or not based on your own thoughts. But your fortune is too great. If you do not join my Heavenly Sect, you will definitely be coveted by evil cultivators from outside realms, with your life in danger."
Chen Xia frowned and asked, "But how do we know you won't covet Little Xu's fortune? Evil cultivators will harm Little Xu, how do we know your sect won't?"
The mysterious figure shook her head. "Our Heavenly Sect is the protector of this realm. Our fates are interlinked with this realm's fortune. It is absolutely impossible for us to harm the Great Fortune One of this realm."
"I can swear a life oath that I will not endanger the Great Fortune One in the slightest."
After the mysterious figure spoke, she pointed at her chest, then pointed to Xu Zhen. The sky spanning a hundred miles suddenly darkened. Before Xu Zhen appeared a slender thread of light. Looking within, it seemed boundless like the starry sky.
After some time had passed, the sky regained its brightness.
The mysterious woman let out a light pant. She continued, "I have just sworn a life oath. This young lady will sense it. And now, you no longer have the authority to reject. I am only showing this level of respect due to her being the Great Fortune One."
Xu Zhen mulled it over. In her mind was an inexplicable connection, as if the Heavenly Dao was telling her that the mysterious woman spoke no lies.
Moreover, as the mysterious woman said, they currently had no choice.
Xu Zhen asked again, "What exactly is cultivating like?"
The mysterious woman explained, "Our Heavenly Sect's main cultivation method requires immersion and enlightenment towards the Dao. As the Great Fortune One, you have a high chance of accomplishing the supreme Great Dao, but you will also need a long period of time to refine yourself, minimally ten thousand years, or even up to several tens of thousands of years."
"Ah?!" Xu Zhen opened her mouth, seeming very shocked. She looked at Chen Xia, hesitating as she asked,
"Is it possible to bring Brother Xia along to cultivate together?"
Xu Zhen had heard from the town chief that Chen Xia might be resented by people from the Immortal Sects. She hoped to bring Chen Xia along with her to avoid retaliation.
Additionally... she was also reluctant to part from Chen Xia.
The mysterious woman pondered for a moment before replying, "I can let the Heavenly Order check for any shred of talent. As long as there is a bit, I can agree. Otherwise I will need to seek approval."
For a Great Fortune One to join the sect, even tacking on another with low talent would still be an absolute profit with no loss.
But if Chen Xia truly had no fortune or talent, the mysterious woman would not have the authority to decide. She would have to seek judgement from the silent Saints.
However, the mysterious woman felt that even requesting judgement from the Saints, they would likely agree.
After all, for a Great Fortune One with an upper limit at the Great Emperor level to join, even if it meant bringing in a hundred useless people into the sect, it would still be an enormous benefit.
The Heavenly Order hovered before Chen Xia and began probing his fortune.
Three breaths.
Ten breaths.
Thirty breaths.
The Heavenly Order did not flash with any colors for a long time.
This caused the mysterious woman to frown slightly. Reasonably, even a middle-tier Saint with golden-tier fortune would only need ten breaths to detect. Why was this person taking so long with no results?
The Elder at the side was also puzzled and confused, as he had never witnessed such a scene before.
The Heavenly Order spun for a bit before suddenly coming to a halt. The tip of the cone pointed at Chen Xia, and from tip to handle, it started shining brightly!
The appearance for common Mortals was white, for middle-tier Saints was golden, and for top-tier Emperors was chromatic.
Chen Xia actually had all nine colors!
The mysterious woman could no longer maintain her composed expression, and her clear voice contained surprise as she exclaimed,
"A person without fortune?!"
Cultivators throughout history all had fortune accompanying them. The better one's aptitude and prospects, the greater their fortune. This in turn allowed them to accomplish an even higher level of the Great Dao.
But within this, there were also anomalies - people without fortune.
Based on what was currently known, people without fortune had two possible types.
One was the reincarnation of an almighty being from beyond the mortal realms. The implications of this were vast, with complexity exceeding even those at the Great Emperor level.
Furthermore, it had to be an almighty being from a shattered and destroyed realm among the myriad worlds.
Such a reincarnated being in another realm would be without fortune, as their home realm was shattered.
In its tens of thousands of years, the Heavenly Sect had also encountered a few of these powerful beings whose home realms were destroyed.
However, deeply interacting with such almighty beings was forbidden, and even having any connection was prohibited. This was because their karma was too heavy, and would affect cultivators associated with them.
There was once a sect who took in someone without fortune, but as a result, endured the heavenly retribution of that realm. Even when the Saint sacrificed himself to plead for mercy from the Heavens, the sect still could not escape its fate of extermination.
People without fortune of the first type were taboos across the myriad worlds, and would generally be avoided or even hunted down.
People without fortune of the second type were much better. They simply lacked visible fortune and aptitude, and were also called the Rootless Ones.
However, although better compared to the first type, the Rootless Ones were still looked down upon by cultivators.
This was because the Rootless Ones had a trait of unknowingly affecting the fortunes of other cultivators around them.
It was possible that Xu Zhen, as the Great Fortune One, had her fortune obscured for so long due to being affected by Chen Xia.
The mysterious woman frowned and shook her head. "People without fortune are prohibited from joining our Heavenly Sect according to our ancestral precepts. I'm afraid he cannot accompany you on your journey."
Xu Zhen's expression was anxious as her tone clearly became more urgent. "But Brother Xia is truly formidable! He once killed over a dozen bandits..."
“You think you’re powerful, but that’s just because your vision hasn’t opened up yet. When you embark on the path of immortality and your vision expands, you’ll naturally realize how insignificant mortals are...” The mysterious woman interrupted Xu Zhen's words and paused before continuing.
“However, I can compensate this person with treasures, elixirs, immortal techniques and secret arts. My Mount Penglai Sect can bestow all of these upon him.”
“As long as you join us!”
Xu Zhen gritted her teeth, extremely hesitant. She naturally wanted to become an immortal, but was also reluctant to part with Chen Xia. She was in a difficult spot.
“There's no need for such hesitation. After you join Mount Penglai Sect, I'll impart a cultivation technique to him. As long as his aptitude is sufficient, you two will be reunited in the future once you embark on the path of immortality.”
Of course, this was contingent on him having adequate aptitude.
Otherwise, with Xu Zhen's physique as an emperor, as long as she didn't perish on the path of emperors, she would have a minimum lifespan of 100,000 years.
With such a long lifespan, even if Chen Xia cultivated relentlessly, he probably wouldn't even catch up to the tip of Xu Zhen's tail.
Moreover, Chen Xia might not even have the aptitude to cultivate to a high level.
The mysterious woman's words were mainly meant to reassure Xu Zhen. After all, one with heavenly luck and one without were ultimately unable to walk the same path.
This was like the stars in the heavens and rocks on the earth. From birth, they were separated as clear as day.
“You are someone with heavenly luck while he has no luck. Before accomplishing the Great Dao, if you spend too much time together, he will greatly affect your luck. After you’ve attained the Great Dao, you’ll be free of this influence.”
“So you two are fated to part ways initially. For the sake of your future and the Great Dao, if you’re still fated to meet again later, you’ll naturally have tens of thousands of years together.”
The mysterious woman continued persuading. Her words sounded reasonable, but her true thoughts were completely different.
Once Xu Zhen embarked on the emperor’s path and her vision gradually expanded, she wouldn’t continue admiring a mere mortal.
If she wanted to find a companion, it would be best to find someone on the same level, like another great emperor. Nothing less would befit an emperor.
“Brother Xia, I...I want to go.” Xu Zhen clutched her skirt as she spoke to Chen Xia.
She wanted to cultivate, not for the Great Dao, but to protect Chen Xia.
She hoped to stand by Chen Xia's side and protect him if the immortal sects sought vengeance against him in the future.
She also hoped to embark on the path of cultivation with Chen Xia and be together for a very, very long time.
Xu Zhen actually felt something amiss already. Chen Xia's appearance hadn't changed one bit in the last decade and was the same as when they'd first met.
Meanwhile, she was already 23 years old. If this continued, what would happen when she became an old woman in her 50s or 60s while Brother Xia was still so young?
Xu Zhen didn't want this to happen. The opportunity to cultivate now gave her a chance.
She wanted to go.
Chen Xia looked at Xu Zhen and grinned as he nodded, "If you want to go, then go. Everyone has their own path, just walk the one you desire."
"Okay." Xu Zhen nodded before quickly lowering her head. Her sleeves kept wiping her face as she began softly sobbing.
"What's wrong? Are those tears of joy?" Chen Xia asked, puzzled.
Xu Zhen shook her head and sniffed back some mucus before lifting her head. Her eyes were misty with tears as she looked at Chen Xia and replied, "I...I just can't bear to part with you."
"We'll meet again," Chen Xia said with an assuring smile.
Seeing that Xu Zhen had agreed, the mysterious woman was also overjoyed. She added,
"Then I'll give you three days to say your farewells. We'll come receive you in three days."
After saying this, the mysterious woman left with the old man before Xu Zhen could respond.
What remained was the three days Xu Zhen and Chen Xia had to bid each other goodbye.
There wasn't much to say. The days were like normal.
On the night before the parting, Xu Zhen drank a jar of wine and got drunk from her low tolerance. She knocked on Chen Xia's door.
"Brother Xia, Brother Xia."
Chen Xia opened the door and saw Xu Zhen was drunk. He frowned slightly as he supported her into the room. Waving his hand in front of her, he called out,
"Little Xu, Little Xu, are you still conscious? Little Xu?"
Xu Zhen was half-lying on the bed. Her entire body swayed as she struggled to focus her bright eyes ahead. In a daze, she wondered,
"Brother Xia, why do you have two heads?"
"Little Xu, you're drunk," Chen Xia said with a frown.
"No, I'm not," Xu Zhen shook her head. She pouted and stubbornly insisted, "I'm just a little dizzy. I'm not drunk."
"Alright, alright," Chen Xia conceded helplessly.
Xu Zhen rolled her eyes and flopped back. She swung her legs and whined to Chen Xia,
"Brother Xia, help me take off my shoes."
Chen Xia's frown deepened. He asked first, "Little Xu, your feet don't smell, right?"
"No, no, they don't at all," Xu Zhen pouted as she repeated it several times.
Chen Xia could only resign himself to taking off Xu Zhen's shoes, revealing her fair and delicate feet underneath.
Xu Zhen wiggled her feet, looking puzzled as she said, "That's strange, why do I have three feet? No wait, it looks like four now."
"Is it possible you're just drunk?" Chen Xia asked rhetorically as he stood by helplessly.
Xu Zhen blinked her bright eyes curiously and touched her charming face. "Really? My face feels so hot. I really am drunk?"
Chen Xia didn't reply. He was about to go pour her a bowl of vinegar to sober her up.
But Xu Zhen suddenly sat up and grabbed Chen Xia's sleeve, stopping him from leaving. Her face scrunched up pitifully as she said in an aggrieved tone,
"Don't go, Brother Xia, don't leave me."
"Alright, alright," Chen Xia could only acquiesce.
"Sit down," Xu Zhen's gaze shifted to the bed, signaling for Chen Xia to sit.
Chen Xia could only take a seat.
A hot body suddenly pressed against his back as delicate arms wrapped around his shoulders. Xu Zhen's slender fingers interlocked in front of him.
She brought her lips next to Chen Xia's ear, her breath tickling him as she softly asked,
"Brother Xia, do you believe drunk words are sober thoughts?"
Chen Xia glanced back at Xu Zhen and rubbed his nose in vexation. This was a quandary as he repeated,
"Little Xu, you're drunk."
He didn't want to make a choice between being a beast or worse than a beast.
"No, I'm not," Xu Zhen's soft body was fully draped over Chen Xia's back. She stubbornly insisted,
"I'm not drunk. I'm speaking the truth."
"Brother Xia, I...I..."
Xu Zhen's voice suddenly grew urgent. Her lips kept exhaling next to his ear as strands of redness crept up her charming face.
It wasn't the alcohol, but her true feelings.
"I like you," Xu Zhen said throatily.
Her entire head buried against Chen Xia's back as she was too embarrassed to look up. Her face was completely flushed with shyness as she continued,
"I don't know when it started, maybe spring or maybe autumn. I don't know if it was love over time or love at first sight. I don't know anything and I don't understand, but suddenly one day..."
"It was like how spring blossoms and autumn bears fruit, unreasonable yet inevitable. I...I..."
Xu Zhen's charming face turned so red it seemed to drip. Her tone no longer throaty as she loudly declared,
"I like you, Brother Xia. I really, really like you!"
Chen Xia was silent for a while before replying, "Little Xu, you're really not drunk."
Because a drunk person wouldn't be able to say such words.
Xu Zhen hugged Chen Xia tightly with her head against his back. Her eyes were downcast as she softly confessed,
"Without this chance to cultivate, I could probably never say such words. I always felt you and I weren't from the same world, Brother Xia. I lacked confidence and felt unworthy of you, which is why I also wanted to practice martial arts and become stronger."
"But it seems I really don't have any talent in that area. I'm already 23 years old yet Brother Xia doesn't look a day older. I kept worrying about what would happen if I became an old woman while Brother Xia was still so young?"
"Thinking about it always made me very sad."
Xu Zhen wiped away the teardrops at the corner of her eyes, then smiled again as she continued,
"But cultivating now has given me a chance. I think it'll allow me to be with Brother Xia for much longer in the future."
"It's a promise, okay?"
"Mm," Chen Xia nodded.
Not every story would conclude swiftly. He and Xu Zhen both had long paths ahead.
On the third day, Xu Zhen was received by a radiant light and ascended to the heavens before she could even bid Chen Xia farewell.
The white-robed, python-gowned old man from Mount Penglai found Chen Xia to bestow the promised reward.
"You may choose any treasure, elixir, cultivation technique or secret art of the highest quality that a mortal like you can use for life."
The old man's words carried a hint of disdain, looking down on Chen Xia.
But his contempt wasn't directed solely at Chen Xia, it was towards all mortals.
Immortals viewed mortals as ants. This was commonly accepted, even by mortals themselves who would kneel before immortals.
Due to Xu Zhen's close ties with Chen Xia, the old man was actually quite restrained and didn't act too haughtily.
Chen Xia didn't care much about this. After all, he currently wasn't this old guy's match. Give him another 800, 1000 years to mature.
By then, if this old geezer still dared to put on airs in front of him, Chen Xia would make him cough up all his pension!
Of course, the old man didn't know Chen Xia's thoughts. Somewhat impatiently, he urged, "Hurry and choose."
Chen Xia replied, "Do you have any cultivation techniques that sacrifice lifespan to cultivate?"
The old man frowned. "What an odd choice. You actually want a technique that sacrifices lifespan? You should know even cultivators with thousands of years of attainment don't dare casually practice such arts. Yet a mere mortal like you is so bold?"
"I've been gutsy since I was little. I won't practice anything that damages my body," Chen Xia retorted.
"How bizarre," the old man commented with a frown. Not wanting to argue further with Chen Xia, he directly stated,
"Such techniques are rare. I have one called the Turtle Breath Art. Despite the name, it's actually an unorthodox art that burns lifespan to cultivate."
"However, this Turtle Breathing Art is just a golden elixir technique. At most it can only cultivate to the golden core stage. I haven't practiced it before, so I don't know the specific abilities," Chen Xia said.
"But the book briefly describes that once you reach great success in the golden core, you can begin turtle hibernation. Every year, all kinds of abilities in your body will increase," he continued.
"I don't know which weirdo came up with this. If you want, I can give you two more Lifespan Elixirs. The first one can increase your lifespan by 100 years. The second one's potency will be halved, only adding 50 years to your lifespan," the old man said.
Chen Xia shook his head. "I want the Turtle Breathing Art, but I don't want the Lifespan Elixirs. Give me something else instead, preferably something that can directly increase my strength."
The old man thought for a while and gave Chen Xia the Turtle Breathing Art and two Foundation Building Pills.
These items were nothing special, but more than enough to get rid of this mortal Chen Xia. That's what the old man thought as he added,
"From now on, just stay honestly in the mortal realm and live out the rest of your life in peace. Don't have any more unrealistic ideas. From now on, you and the Holy Maiden Xu Zhen are worlds apart."
Ever since Xu Zhen ascended, she had become the Holy Maiden of the Heaven-Supporting Immortal Sect.
Chen Xia neither agreed nor disagreed. He blew out a breath, too lazy to bother with this old fogey. Instead, he looked over the Turtle Breathing Art.
The first chapter made him frown.
300 years of lifespan to seek the golden core, 3,000 years of lifespan to seek great power, 30,000 years of lifespan to seek quasi-sainthood...
300,000 years to cultivate invincibility!
The old man said this was a golden core technique. How did it jump to seeking quasi-sainthood and invincibility?
Chen Xia was puzzled. After reading through it, he understood.
This book was exaggerating.
Because normally people could form their golden core after cultivating for about 500 years. This technique actually required sacrificing 300 years just to form the golden core.
That would leave only 200 years left. What's the point? Might as well fast forward to sacrificing your life for cultivation.
No wonder cultivators looked down on this technique.
But the wrong technique had met the wrong person. Chen Xia actually really liked this technique. According to the book, although it sacrificed lifespan, it would greatly accelerate the cultivation speed.
Before the golden core, it was probably three times faster. That meant it would only take 100 years to form the golden core.
Moreover, Chen Xia could invest points. Now he really could cultivate for 300,000 years to gain invincibility!
He stretched lazily and looked at the distant lake surface. The setting sun had just risen, still blazing hot. It looked like it wouldn't set for a long time yet.
Chen Xia broke into a grin. He would remember this summer.
Time always slipped by unnoticed, never giving people a chance to react. In the blink of an eye, another ten years had passed.
Chen Xia got promoted from the captain of the patrol squad to become the mayor of Weixi Town. The previous mayor had retired.
His appearance still hadn't changed one bit, still looking to be in his twenties.
Many people said Chen Xia had obtained an immortal's technique and increased his lifespan, arousing much envy.
Even some merchants from the city had come asking to buy Chen Xia's technique.
Clearly, the Turtle Breathing Art was not meant for ordinary people to cultivate. So Chen Xia didn't agree.
Gradually, rumors spread that there was an immortal in Weixi Town, known within a hundred miles all around.
Chen Xia paid no attention to all this. Having cultivated the Turtle Breathing Art, he had reached the seventh layer of Qi Refining. He estimated it would take another twenty years or so to reach Foundation Building.
He wasn't in a hurry. After all, cultivation was just a side thing. The main event was investing points.
Over the past decade, he had used an averaging distribution method, splitting points between strength and luck equally.
His strength was now at 20 points, and his luck was at 6 points.
The increase in strength was obvious. With just plucking flowers and leaves, Chen Xia could now pierce through a mountainside 50 meters deep without damaging the petals and leaves.
This meant his strength had reached the terrifying level of effortlessly shattering mountains and breaking rivers.
As for the changes in his luck, Chen Xia didn't quite feel it yet. Other than picking up more money every day, there were no other changes.
He brushed off his sleeves, about to get up and take a walk outside, when a prompt popped up in his mind.
[Luck takes effect. Turtle Breathing Art comprehended as Great Turtle Breathing Art.]
He was stunned.
This works too?!