“Hmph, as if you need to say it—Geoffrey Quinn’s appearance is clearly that of a dragon among men, and now he’s soared to the heavens, embarking on the path of immortality. Truly enviable.”

  “What’s the use of envy? That ‘Immortal-Seeking Manual’—didn’t you and I also try it when we were young? Yet the moment we circulated our energy, it felt like being devoured by ten thousand ants—such agony is not something ordinary people can endure.”

  “That’s why it’s so rare. Only those who can endure the bitterest hardships can rise above others. As the saying goes, ‘When Heaven is about to place a great responsibility on a person, it must first distress their mind, exhaust their muscles and bones, starve their body, impoverish them, and frustrate their actions…’”

  A pale-faced scholar in blue robes began to quote classics, but his face was also full of envy. It’s said that the two greatest joys in life are the wedding night and passing the imperial exam, but in terms of achievement, how could they compare to gaining the qualification to cultivate immortality?

  Time is merciless; fame and beauty will eventually return to dust. Only by stepping onto the path of immortality does one have a chance to seek the road to eternal life.

  With the promotion of the various immortal sects, the ‘Immortal-Seeking Manual’ has long since spread to every corner of the world. Every year, countless mortals determined to pursue the immortal path practice the Qi-cultivating techniques recorded within.

  Yet, let alone cultivating a strong inner breath, ninety percent of mortals give up as soon as they start. Of the rest, the best can persist for three to five days; the less determined, only an hour or two before shelving it.

  It’s not that they lack the will for the immortal path, but that this ‘Immortal-Seeking Manual’ is simply too difficult to cultivate. On the surface, there’s no threshold—anyone can try—but if you follow the incantations as written, you’ll experience pain like being devoured by ten thousand ants.

  It’s simply not something ordinary people can endure. Even if you’re a person of strong will, and you force yourself through such pain, what awaits you next is walking on blades and plunging into boiling oil…

  Well, not literally, of course, but during cultivation, you’ll feel as if you’re truly experiencing the agony of blades and fire.

  And to cultivate a strong inner breath is by no means the work of a single day.

  Therefore, though everyone yearns for immortality and dreams of riding the clouds, those with the immense perseverance to cultivate the ‘Immortal-Seeking Manual’ to the standards required by the immortal sects have always been exceedingly rare.

  In Weichi City, it has not happened for a hundred years.

  The path to immortality is treacherous—even to gain the qualification to set foot on it, the hardships involved are beyond what ordinary people can bear. And among the masses, most are mere mortals, so for them, cultivating the ‘Immortal-Seeking Manual’ to the point of being recognized by the immortal sects is nothing but a distant legend.

  For example, a certain wealthy Zhang clan in the city loves to boast that, a hundred and fifty years ago, their great-great-great-grandfather once achieved it.

  But as the years pass, for mortals whose lifespans are but a few decades, this is simply too remote.

  Until a miracle occurred.

  Not long ago, during the immortal sect’s examination, an envoy from the Snowfall Sect left the valley, searching the three northern prefectures and eighty-one cities of the Wu Kingdom. When the envoy arrived here, the city lord led the heads of all the great clans to burn incense and bow in greeting, but it was merely a formality. Weichi City is a remote place; fifteen years ago, a third-place scholar emerged, which was already considered a blessing that exhausted the city’s luck for a century. No one expected that a youth from this city would be recognized by the immortal sect.

  Ian Quinn, an obscure youth from a poor family, suddenly rose to prominence, becoming the focus of all attention and leaving nearly everyone in the city utterly astonished.

  ……

  North of the city, The Quinn Estate.

  To call it a ‘manor’ is purely because Ian Quinn is no longer who he once was, having gained the qualification to cultivate in the immortal sect. People are just trying to add prestige to his name.

  In reality, what meets the eye here are merely two low, earthen huts.

  Ian Quinn’s parents died young, and his family was poor. He was raised by his elder brother and sister-in-law. Yet, unlike the usual stories of harsh and cruel relatives who mistreat the youngest, these two truly acted as a father and mother to him.

  So, though the family was destitute and often lacked food and clothing, Ian Quinn still grew up in warmth and happiness.

  From a young age, he had a dream: when he grew up, he would make something of himself and let his brother and sister-in-law live a good life.

  It’s often said that the poor study literature and the rich practice martial arts, but even studying requires money. When he was a child, his brother gritted his teeth and sent him to private school for two years, but after that, the family could no longer afford even basic meals.

  Ian Quinn was very sensible. Though he was smart and loved to read, he understood that his family could no longer support him, so he helped the landlord herd cattle while reading whatever miscellaneous books he could find.

  But self-study could never lead to real prospects. Even to pass the scholar’s exam and write fine essays, one needs guidance. Until one day, he happened to hear someone mention the Immortal-Seeking Manual.

  This book cost nothing and could be learned for free. If you mastered it and were accepted by an immortal sect, you could soar to the heavens. No matter how many honors you earned or how great your martial skills, none could compare to the prestige of an immortal. It was said that even the emperor of Wu Kingdom treated powerful immortals as honored guests.

  Thus, in his young heart, Ian Quinn set himself a goal: in this life, I must enter the immortal sect and learn the art of longevity.

  As the old saying goes, ‘In poverty, no one asks after you in a bustling city; in wealth, even distant relatives come to visit in the deep mountains.’ In the past, when the The Quinn Family’s brother went to borrow just two taels of rice, he would be met with all sorts of difficulties. But these past two days, the thresholds of their home have nearly been worn down by the visits of the city’s wealthy and powerful families.