"Hahaha!"
The scruffy boy couldn't have been more than fifteen.
Covered in dirt, wearing patched-up clothes, Chen Xiaoming burst into refreshing laughter.
"Finally! I've entered Qi Refinement Level 1!"
Three years since waking up in this godforsaken world of immortals.
After struggling like a dog, he'd finally made it. From a powerless ordinary person to an immortal wielding mysterious powers.
Of course, this was just the beginning.
To become a true immortal who could split seas with a casual wave and live for ten thousand years—that was still a long way off.
But someday.
He swore he'd become a transcendent being who rode flying swords across the heavens.
Right as he clenched his fist, another joy arrived.
"Supreme Great Power?"
Maybe it was because he'd become an immortal, but an ability carved deep in his soul had awakened.
Information about it naturally surfaced in his mind, and when he realized what it was, his eyes snapped wide open.
The Supreme Great Power was literally a fragment of omnipotence.
With enough of it, he could achieve anything he desired—a god-like power.
Living up to its grandiose name, it was an absurd ability.
Perhaps only legendary True Immortals could command such divine powers. The sheer magnitude left him stunned.
"...Ahahaha!"
The laughter that burst out wouldn't stop.
From the life of a bottom-tier laborer barely scraping by each day, finally, a ray of hope had arrived.
* * *
Rewind to the day before.
In the Crimson Sun Market, where cultivators dreaming of immortality gathered.
Chen Xiaoming woke up.
"Ah."
His cracked voice from just waking up echoed through the cramped room. He pressed his brow out of habit, having risen at dawn.
He wanted to sleep more, but he held back. Only those with the luxury to be lazy were allowed such things.
He did some light stretching to clear his foggy mind.
Then he sat cross-legged and circulated the Five Elements Qi Refinement Technique.
Whoooosh!
A faint wind blew. With each breath, mysterious energy was absorbed and guided to his lower abdomen, his dantian.
It repeated with every breath, creating a weak vortex.
How much time passed?
"Haah."
Chen Xiaoming exhaled murky breath, his complexion darkening.
'...Failed again today.'
The Five Elements Qi Refinement Technique was a daoist method that could make you an immortal if you mastered it.
Though it was just a basic technique, it required qualifications. Those without talent couldn't even begin.
Chen Xiaoming muttered quietly.
"System."
...
Of course, nothing happened. Only bitterness floated through the silent room.
After a long silence, Chen Xiaoming let out a bitter laugh.
It had been three years since he'd awakened his past life.
This place called the cultivation world was, amazingly, a world where immortals actually existed.
Immortals were transcendent beings that ordinary people couldn't possibly oppose.
'Literally gods.'
The more they cultivated the Dao and raised their realm, the longer they lived and the more miracle-like feats they could perform.
High-realm immortals could move massive mountains and fill vast seas with a single gesture.
According to legend, True Immortals had tremendous lifespans.
There were even tales of them living for countless eons, lasting as long as the world itself.
An eternally undying divine existence! It was truly a dream-like story.
However, for ordinary people to become immortals, they needed a 'spirit root.'
Spirit roots were a kind of foundation that absorbed spirit qi, the source of immortals' power.
It was the bare minimum qualification—without a spirit root, you couldn't even start cultivating.
Chen Xiaoming was lucky.
He had a spirit root, something found in one out of ten thousand people. He possessed the minimum qualification to become an immortal.
But.
His luck ended there.
Spirit roots were just the minimum condition—they were further divided by grades based on talent.
Lowest-grade, low-grade, middle-grade, high-grade, earth-grade, heaven-grade, and so on.
Grades differed based on sensitivity to spirit qi and absorption efficiency, and his talent wasn't very good.
"...Haha."
Chen Xiaoming let out a bitter laugh and finally admitted it.
'My spirit root is either lowest-grade or low-grade... I didn't want to believe it, but I guess it really is a trash spirit root.'
With good talent, you could enter Qi Refinement with just the Five Elements Qi Refinement Technique alone.
It meant you could become an immortal without any special resources.
But that wasn't allowed for him.
Over the past three years, he'd circulated the Five Elements Qi Refinement Technique countless times, but he always failed to cross the threshold and enter the stage.
Chen Xiaoming swallowed the bitterness lingering on his tongue and smirked.
"Doesn't matter."
He wouldn't give up just because he lacked talent.
Even in his past life, he'd been fascinated by mysterious and transcendent beings.
He'd harbored a kind of longing since childhood. As an adult, he'd naturally let go of that impossible dream, but this place was different.
Lucky enough to awaken his past life and arrive in a world of immortals—of course he had to try.
Besides.
Even those with trash spirit roots and no talent had a way to become immortals.
Spirit stones.
Mysterious stones formed when pure spirit qi from heaven and earth condensed and hardened like crystal.
If you could just absorb the spirit qi contained in these spirit stones, even trash spirit roots could enter Qi Refinement.
'If I can just gather 110 spirit stone fragments, I can exchange them for a real spirit stone. If I can just do that...'
He could start cultivating to become an immortal.
Someday he'd strike lightning with a gesture and soar through the nine heavens riding clouds.
Just imagining it made his heart tremble.
'I can't be satisfied with an ordinary life. I'll definitely become an immortal and step onto the Great Dao of Longevity.'
He reaffirmed the goal that hadn't changed once since awakening his past life.
Having arrived in the world he'd dreamed of, he had to risk his life trying.
Clench!
He tightened his fist and silently made a firm resolution. Having made his decision, he got up.
He'd finished circulating the Five Elements Qi Refinement Technique—time to go make money.
Swish.
He pulled out an old cloth pouch from a hidden hole in the floor. With careful movements, he opened it.
Rustle!
Dozens of thumbnail-sized blue crystals appeared.
"...Gulp."
His fingertips trembled seeing the jewels radiating brilliant light.
This was his entire fortune.
105 spirit stone fragments he'd desperately gathered over three years since awakening his past life!
To truly start cultivating, he needed a 'real spirit stone,' which required a total of 110 spirit stone fragments.
"Just 5 more and I'm done."
He forcibly suppressed his boiling excitement and pulled out 5 spirit stone fragments from the pouch.
He wanted to carry them all, but he couldn't.
If he ran into robbers, they'd steal every last fragment he'd struggled to collect.
But he couldn't hide them all either.
Without bait to throw, he'd get beaten into a cripple or worse, killed. In this world with its hopeless security, it was common.
Just as he tucked the 5 spirit stone fragments inside his chest.
Bang bang bang!
He grimaced at the rough pounding on his door.
'At this hour?'
An uninvited guest at dawn. Not a good sign.
His expression darkened as he peeked through the door crack at the outside. In such a harsh world, you always had to be careful.
'...Steward Fan. Why's that bastard here at this hour?'
It was a familiar face, but not one he was happy to see. His expression grew even stiffer.
That was because Steward Fan was a tax collector.
Steward Fan was a Qi Refinement practitioner who performed duties like collecting rent and maintaining order in the Crimson Sun Market where Chen Xiaoming lived.
To Chen Xiaoming, the lowest of the low, he was a terrifying figure with great power.
'Ugh.'
He wanted to avoid the guy known for his foul temper, but he had no choice. If he ignored him, the bastard would break down the door to get in.
He quietly moved to the bed and positioned himself like he'd just woken up.
"Ahem... Who is it?"
"Chen Xiaoming! Open up quick! I know you're in there!"
Bang bang bang bang!
A few seconds of waiting and the guy's patience was already gone. The pounding grew rougher.
"J-just a moment, sir! I'll open it right away!"
Thump thump!
He deliberately ran around the room. After making urgent noises, he carefully opened the door.
"Steward Fan? What brings you here at this hour..."
"Hmph! Obviously to collect the monthly rent. Why else would I look for scum like you!"
Chen Xiaoming's expression darkened at the contemptuous look, like he was looking at something lowly.
"...Monthly rent?"
"That's right! Besides, you climb that mountain every day, so you're never here during the day!"
It was true that Steward Fan's job was to collect shack rental fees from the mountain folk living in the outer city, but something felt off.
Normally, Steward Fan was famous for being arrogant and lazy.
Usually he'd sit still in the Steward's Office in the inner city, waiting for mountain folk to come pay their monthly rent.
He'd never come to collect rent in person like this.
And besides.
"Steward Fan, sir. I think there's some mistake. I paid three months' rent all at once last time. I still have a month left on the lease."
"Hmm?"
Steward Fan furrowed his brow and snorted.
"Hmph. Doesn't matter. I'll be in closed-door cultivation for a year and won't have time to collect rent. So pay a year's rent in advance. That's 60 spirit stone fragments total!"
"What? 60 fragments?"
His eyes nearly popped out at the insane talk.
Extorting 60 spirit stone fragments with a few words. 60 fragments was nearly half his entire fortune.
Rage surged at the absurd abuse of power, but he forced it down.
He spoke in the most polite tone possible.
"Steward Fan, sir. Where would I have that many spirit stone fragments? I only have 5 fragments."
"What?"
"I'll pay just one month in advance with these 5, and for the rest, I'll go to the Steward's Office myself next time and pay another steward."
"..."
Silently frowning, Steward Fan suddenly reached out.
Whoosh!
Spirit qi gathered from all directions and bound Chen Xiaoming's entire body. It pressed down so he couldn't move a finger.
"Only 5? Hmph! You better not be lying, or you'll be in big trouble!"
Swish!
Steward Fan approached without hesitation and grabbed the pouch from his chest.
Chen Xiaoming was bound by the guy's spell, so he could only watch.
'Damn it! A steward pulling this kind of shit!'
Stewards were like police, maintaining order, but he was acting like a two-bit thug.
Steward Fan rummaged through the pouch and clicked his tongue. He shot Chen Xiaoming a look full of contempt.
"Really only 5? Tsk. Wasted my time on a broke loser!"
Taking the money without permission and then cursing him out. Anger surged, making the back of his neck tingle.
Was it 'every little bit counts'? The bastard who'd stolen all 5 spirit stone fragments snorted.
Without another word, he just left.
Bang bang bang!
Steward Fan went to the next door and repeated the same thing. Watching his behavior, Chen Xiaoming ground his teeth.
'That bastard. Someday I'll make him regret this!'
He pressed down the malice and stored it deep in his heart. He didn't have power yet, so he had to endure.
He went back inside and took deep breaths to calm himself.
"Stay calm."
This kind of thing had happened countless times over three years. Getting worked up over every incident would just give him stress ulcers and kill him.
He forcibly closed his eyes and meditated for about a minute to regain his composure.
'Haah! I'd just gathered 105 spirit stone fragments, and now I've lost 5 more. To get a spirit stone, I need to collect 10 more.'
He quietly headed to the corner of his bed. He pulled out 5 spirit stone fragments from the 'real pouch' he'd hidden.
If he hadn't given Steward Fan those 5 spirit stone fragments just now, the guy wouldn't have left peacefully.
'He definitely would've broken something. Under the excuse of searching me, he might've caused internal injuries.'
Those bastard thugs always acted the same. If you didn't appease them with bait, they'd take their anger out on you before leaving.
"Whatever. I'll think of it as paying a month's rent in advance and just go make money."
He could only sigh at the damn security level, but what could he do? This was the world, so he had to adapt.
He gathered his things and left his lodging.
It was roughly 2 AM now.
Dawn hadn't broken yet, but he had to hurry. If he didn't leave now, there'd be no income today.
"Oof!"
He crossed his arms and shivered, rubbing his goosebumped forearms.
The cold dawn air swept across his body. His head, hot from anger, cooled down and he felt somewhat better.
Despite being dawn, the outer city streets were quite bustling.
It felt like walking through a market on market day. Wherever he looked, he could see a dozen people.
Of course, there was a reason so many people were out at dawn.
'For cultivators, there's no difference between night and day. This kind of darkness is like broad daylight to them.'
Chen Xiaoming, walking diligently, unconsciously stopped.
Stalls lined the street, and one of them caught his eye.
[Freshly picked Three-Colored Grass. 10 spirit stone fragments!]
Seeing the pile of colorful spirit herbs made envy surge.
Even at a glance, there were over ten stalks. Worth over 100 spirit stone fragments.
'Must've found a patch of Three-Colored Grass. Lucky bastard.'
With just those spirit herbs, Chen Xiaoming could become a Qi Refinement practitioner right away.
Unable to move his feet, swallowing his envy, someone approached the stall.
"Let me check the condition of this Three-Colored Grass."
"Mm. Go ahead."
"Ah, the condition's just so-so. 10 spirit stone fragments is too expensive."
"Nonsense! If you're not buying, stop getting in the way and just leave. Three-Colored Grass is an ingredient for Qi Condensation Pills, so it'll sell fast."
"Hey now! Is that how you do business? How about this—I'll buy everything for 8 fragments."
Leaving behind the two haggling passionately, even spitting, he departed.
He didn't have time to waste.
He had to get to work before sunrise. Without resting even a moment, how long had he walked?
Finally, he reached the foot of Crimson Sun Mountain. By the time he was out of breath, he'd arrived at work.
'Whew.'
He took deep breaths to calm his ragged breathing.
Crimson Sun Mountain was very, very dangerous.
It overflowed with all kinds of beasts with sharp claws, and there were so many poisonous insects you couldn't count them.
If you let your guard down for even a moment, it was straight to the afterlife. You couldn't even complain about the unfairness.
And Crimson Sun Mountain didn't just have ordinary beasts.
'There are demon beasts too.'
True monsters that wielded demonic power.
Even the weakest 1st-rank demon beasts could smash rocks and run so fast you couldn't see them.
If you unluckily encountered one, resistance was impossible. That very day you'd have to walk the road to the afterlife arm-in-arm with the grim reaper.
Climbing Crimson Sun Mountain, teeming with demon beasts and wild animals, was literally an extremely dangerous act of putting your life on the line.
But there was no choice.
'This is the only way I can earn spirit stone fragments.'
Making money safely was too slow. Even if you spent your entire 60-year lifespan, you couldn't earn a single spirit stone.
For an ordinary person like him to become an immortal, he had to be prepared to die.
Rustle.
He rolled on the ground, covering himself in dirt. It was a desperate measure to erase the smell of human flesh.
'It probably won't be very effective, but better than nothing.'
Shing!
He drew his crude pudao and pushed through the thick undergrowth, climbing Crimson Sun Mountain.