"Boom-boom-cha! Boom-boom-cha!"
"Good news, good news! Lin Ping'an of Lin Family Village, Master Lin, has passed the provincial examination and become a Juren!"
The county yamen runners, beating gongs and drums all the way, soon arrived at Lin Family Village.
Lin Family Village and even the entire ten-mile radius were in an uproar!
Countless villagers came to Lin Family Village to watch the excitement.
"Alas! That young Lin boy is only fifteen, and he's already a Master. When will my Gouwa ever make something of himself!"
"Lin Ping'an... bah, bah, Master Lin, was born intelligent, a literary star descended to earth, and he has a good uncle. Your Gouwa... there's no hope for him in this life!"
"Sister-in-law Lin has finally endured her hardships and is about to enjoy a life of ease..."
"..."
"Excuse me, is that Master Lin's house?"
"That... that's the one! The one with the open door!"
The yamen runners rushed to the small courtyard, where both the inside and Outer Sect doors were wide open.
"Master Lin, come out quickly, you've become a Juren!"
But no matter how the yamen runners shouted, there was no movement from the small courtyard.
"Stop shouting, there's no one home! The Master Lin you're looking for ran away. I heard he's going to cultivate to become an Immortal!"
"What... he's not going to be a Juren, but cultivate to become an Immortal instead?"
"He went to Leize in the east. I heard he hasn't returned for three days and three nights. Sister-in-law Lin and her son's uncle have already gone up the mountain to look for him."
The yamen runners looked bewildered. What were they supposed to do about this assignment?
Lin Ping'an was currently wandering in Leize. He still remembered the day the Fairy descended from the sky.
That Fairy, with her Immortal robes fluttering, seemed like a Nine Heavens Fairy descending to the mortal world. Her appearance and demeanor instantly captivated him.
He wanted to apprentice himself at that time, but the Fairy asked him why he wanted to cultivate to become an Immortal.
He replied that Immortals could reverse life and death, bringing the dead back to life.
He wanted to revive his father!
Before he was born, his father fell off a cliff while gathering herbs, and there had been no news of him since.
The mountains were full of jackals, wolves, tigers, and leopards, so there was basically no chance of survival.
This meant he was born without a father, missing his father's care.
The Fairy, however, said that the Great Dao was emotionless, and cultivating to become an Immortal required abandoning all emotions. Parents and relatives would always leave you, only the Dao would endure!
He did not agree with the Fairy's view, so he resolutely left.
But after the provincial examination, he felt a bit of regret.
He didn't know what the Dao was, but what did it matter? As long as his will was firm, he would one day achieve his wish.
Unfortunately, this time he came, the Fairy was nowhere to be seen.
He had been out for three days, his dry rations were all gone, and he was too tired to walk.
He found a ruined temple to rest and quickly fell into a deep sleep.
There were many such ruined temples in Leize, all left behind by ancestors who worshipped Dragon Gods millions of years ago.
But this ruined temple was different; it enshrined a divine statue.
Although the divine statue had collapsed and its paint had peeled off, one could still feel a sense of majesty.
In his dream, Lin Ping'an felt himself arrive in a golden hall.
This hall seemed somewhat familiar, like the ruined temple he was in, but now it looked solemn and majestic.
The huge divine statue stood in the center of the hall, majestic and imposing, like a living Heavenly God.
Lin Ping'an's attention was clearly not on the divine statue, because he discovered something even stranger.
In the center of the hall, directly in front of the divine statue, a golden glow hung high.
The golden glow was dazzling, and he squinted his eyes to barely make out that in the center was a strange copper coin.
The copper coin was identical to the copper coins they used now, but the square hole in the middle seemed to be a pitch-black abyss, drawing Lin Ping'an's gaze into it, unable to extricate himself.
He felt as if he was sucked into that abyss, and endless nothingness and darkness enveloped him, plunging him into endless fear.
"Ah..."
Lin Ping'an screamed and opened his eyes, only to find himself still in the ruined temple, and outside, the sky was gradually darkening.
He unconsciously looked up towards the top of the ruined temple, precisely where the copper coin from his dream had been.
"That is!"
His pupils constricted; he couldn't believe his eyes.
A small copper coin hung there on a red string.
"It definitely wasn't there before!" Lin Ping'an murmured, "Could this be the Immortal Opportunity that storytellers talk about?"
His eyes lit up. He climbed up the pillar of the ruined temple and easily took the copper coin into his hand.
The copper coin was tied with a red string. Besides the four strange characters on the copper coin that he didn't recognize, he couldn't see anything else unusual.
He looked into the square hole in the middle of the copper coin, but the scene from his dream did not occur.
"Was it really just a dream?" Lin Ping'an couldn't help but scratch his head.
"Ping'an! Little Ping'an!"
"Lin Ping'an!"
"..."
At this moment, shouts came from outside.
The voices were full of anxiety.
"Oh no!" Lin Ping'an's expression changed, and he inwardly cursed.
He quickly put the copper coin into his bosom and rushed out of the ruined temple.
In the distance, torches glowed, heading towards the ruined temple.
"Uncle! I'm here!" Lin Ping'an heard his uncle's shouts and quickly responded loudly.
"You child, you're going to worry your mother to death!" His uncle heard his voice, rushed over, and slapped him on the backside.
Though his hand was heavy, there wasn't much force left when it landed on his backside.
"Uncle, I was wrong!"
Lin Ping'an thought of his mother's weathered face, remembered how she had painstakingly raised him, and how he had caused her such worry. He bowed his head in shame.
Thanks to the few yamen runners who hadn't left on their own, after Lin Ping'an returned, even though it was late at night, they still put on flowers and red sashes, beating gongs and drums, and walked a circle through the village.
Everyone in the village was awakened. Envious glances and congratulatory words finally brought a smile to Lin Ping'an's mother's face.
After this matter, Lin Ping'an stayed at home with his mother for a few days, being very obedient and well-behaved.
He had been pondering the copper coin, trying all sorts of methods, but couldn't make it show any divine power.
He had heard storytellers say that treasures had spirits and that perhaps the Opportunity hadn't arrived yet. In helplessness, he could only hang it around his neck, temporarily using it as an ornament.
These past few days, villagers from all over the ten-mile radius came to congratulate them, bringing countless gifts.
Matchmakers almost wore out their doorstep. These matchmakers all came from the county, speaking of young ladies from prominent families, merchant Young Misses, and even the county magistrate's daughter was among them.
Although his mother was delighted, Lin Ping'an felt as if he had become a monkey.
One by one, the matchmakers, dressed in colorful attire, had eyes that seemed to have hooks, wishing they could just snatch Lin Ping'an away.
"Mother, I want to stay at Uncle's house for a few days." Lin Ping'an finally couldn't bear it and pleaded.
"Child, go! I know you can't sit still. Go find your uncle! Just send a message back when you get there." His mother also knew that Lin Ping'an was not a restless young man, so she nodded and agreed.
Just as Lin Ping'an went to the county town, this area underwent earth-shattering changes.
Overnight, centered around Leize, villages within dozens of miles were all shifted hundreds of miles away.
Where Leize used to be, there was now a continuous mountain range, shrouded in white mist.
People also heard rumbling sounds from within the mountains from time to time, as if it were thundering.
Some people, curious, wanted to approach the mountain range, but felt dizzy and were sent dozens of miles away in the blink of an eye.
It was also at this time that the imperial court issued an edict designating the mountain range as a forbidden zone, forbidding anyone from approaching.
"Uncle! I want to become an Immortal." Lin Ping'an said this the first time he saw his uncle.
"Still want to be an Immortal?" His uncle looked astonished, then smiled bitterly, "Is your little brain ever normal? You're a Juren! You're going to enter the imperial court and become an official in the future."
"Uncle! I really want to become an Immortal! I heard that Immortals can bring the dead back to life, they can bring Father back to life! I've never even seen him... Can you help me think of a way?" As he spoke, Lin Ping'an's eyes couldn't help but redden.
"Alright! Alright! Uncle will go and inquire!"
When his uncle heard Lin Ping'an's words, his heart also ached. The child had never seen his father since he was little, and now that he had such a hope, how could he bear to extinguish it?
"Ping'an, come, Uncle has something to tell you!"
After dinner, his uncle beckoned to him, and the two went to the inner room.
"Uncle, is there news of Immortals?" Lin Ping'an followed him into the room, asking anxiously.
"I heard news from my friend who works for the government. Our Da Yu Dynasty really has two more Immortal Schools, and they are preparing to recruit Disciples recently! But..."
"But what?"
"But for now, they only recruit children from wealthy families and descendants of princes and nobles. It's probably... difficult for us ordinary people!"
"I'm a Juren, not an ordinary person..."
Lin Ping'an was first overjoyed, then his face filled with disappointment.
In front of those people, a Juren was just an ordinary person.
"Don't worry! It's said there's still some time. Uncle will help you think of another way!" His uncle patted him on the shoulder, comforting him.
"Then I'll trouble Uncle!" Lin Ping'an nodded.
He knew his uncle's capabilities; everything still depended on himself.
"Have you heard? Leize in the north is gone?"
"Gone?"
"Really, if you don't believe me, you can go and see. There's a mountain range there now, all covered in mist, and no one can get close."
"How is that possible?"
"I heard it's Immortals..."
Lin Ping'an, who was strolling on the street, heard such discussions.
Immortals!
It must be Immortals!
He remembered that the Fairy had appeared in Leize, and his eyes suddenly lit up.
He found someone to send a message to his uncle, and then he rushed out of the county town in a hurry.
The sky gradually darkened, and he finally arrived at Leize.
However, this place had now become a continuous range of giant mountains, shrouded in mist, making it impossible to see the true situation within.
The surrounding terrain had all changed, and many of the original low hills had disappeared.
Even some nearby villages were gone!
"Moving mountains and filling seas, shifting stars and changing constellations, these are Immortal methods! There must be Immortals within this mist!" Lin Ping'an's eyes were bright; he felt that his Opportunity had arrived.
With the Heart-Nature of a youth, he moved forward bravely, and a huge curiosity also urged him to resolutely walk into the mist.