Pei Ruyi’s Spirit Pill had been repaired for a long time, and she could gradually sense the Spiritual Qi fluctuations.
However, due to excessive consumption, she soon fell into a deep sleep.
Wen Zhengxin and Ban Yangshu had actually been holding on as well, and now finally relaxed, beginning to recover their Spiritual Qi.
At this moment, the depths of the ruins were utterly silent, with only the crackling of the bonfire.
Yuan Chen now rose from in front of Pei Ruyi, glanced at his brother-in-law, who had finished recovering and opened his eyes, then after a moment of silence, he went towards the other heavily injured Disciples.
“Brother-in-law, I might be busy until midnight.”
“You’ve worked hard. Once they leave and pay me the consultation fee, I’ll give you twenty percent.”
The Disciple currently receiving treatment looked up upon hearing this, thinking, “What’s this about? You want money? Can’t I just not get treated…?”
Yuan Chen’s mouth twitched: “Forget it, you value money more than your life. I don’t believe you’d give me twenty percent. Why don’t you just read that book to me? It was just getting exciting.”
“?”
Ji You turned his head to the right of the broken wall and saw *Immortal Ascension*, which Yuan Chen had been reading non-stop throughout their journey.
The story was about a Young Master from an Immortal Sect, who was extraordinarily gifted from a young age and garnered immense attention, seemingly very similar to the first half of Chu River’s life.
He entered the Upper Five Realms at ten years old, his cultivation speed advanced by leaps and bounds, and he was the center of attention wherever he went.
Whether it was the Immortal Gathering or the Sword Inquiry Gathering, he won every Dao discussion assembly he participated in.
Ji You slowly read, and before long, countless Immortal Sect Disciples pricked up their ears and listened silently, even Wen Zhengxin and Ban Yangshu opened their eyes.
The satisfying plot of this book was extremely simple; it was always the protagonist winning, winning, winning, but it indeed fulfilled the fantasies of all the Immortal Sect Disciples present.
A character with a prominent background, exceptional talent, and highly valued by their Sect—who wouldn’t dream of such a life?
Just as everyone was engrossed, Ji You’s voice abruptly stopped in the night: “Almost got you hooked. The trial listen is over; I recommend subscribing to VIP.”
“What?”
“Pay up.”
“Brother-in-law, you really are a money grubber…”
Ji You chuckled, thinking, if it weren’t for money, I would have finished the establishment ceremony of my mountain stronghold. Who would come to this cursed place?
After he finished laughing, he silently read a few more lines and couldn't help but shake his head.
This book being circulated on the market must have received the approval of the Immortal Sects.
After all, in a Qingyun World where Immortals and Mortals are so distinct, it's difficult for novels about cultivation to be privately published.
The Seven Great Immortal Sects probably allowed this novel to become popular to promote the extraordinary and transcendent nature of Immortals to the outside world.
The content of the story was fine, but what made Ji You uncomfortable was the tone of the writer.
Throughout the book, the protagonist referred to himself as an Immortal, always speaking of “this Immortal” doing this or that.
And when it came to encounters with Mortals, the descriptions would use terms like Mortal, ant, or even Human slave to refer to them.
Undoubtedly, this was a highly subjective and poisonous textbook.
The story elevated the status of Immortals to great heights, while demonizing Mortals to the extreme, likening them to cattle and livestock.
He didn't know if this was an established custom or a standardized writing style.
But undoubtedly, as these storybooks circulated among Immortal Sect Disciples, they would subtly divide cultivators and Mortals into two different races.
Demonizing Mortals and portraying cultivators as lofty and superior would cause cultivators to lose their sense of belonging to the “Human” identity, only seeing themselves as Immortals.
After one or two generations, passed down through the ages, the Disciples of Immortal Families would no longer see themselves as Human.
This could explain why the people of Yuyang County, regardless of the Realm of the cultivator they encountered, would respectfully address them as Immortal.
It also explained why Fengxian Mountain Manor used Humans for alchemy without any pangs of conscience.
Because the spread of this ideology had already severed the connection between Humans and cultivators; those Immortals on the mountain would look at Mortals as if they were looking at cattle, completely devoid of any sense of kinship.
Ji You held *Immortal Ascension* and decided to revise it, so he spoke softly.
“The Young Master of the Immortal Sect fought in all directions, defeated all the direct Disciples of the Immortal Sects, earned the applause of the entire world, and finally entered the Linxian Realm, reaching the pinnacle of the Immortal Dao.”
“Whenever people spoke of his name, it would be accompanied by the highest praise.”
“So he continued to cultivate towards the goal of Immortal Ascension, cultivating for a hundred years.”
“Later, he suddenly began to ponder, what exactly am I cultivating for?”
“Is it for Immortal Ascension and proving the Dao? For eternal life?”
“He always felt that he was just one step away from Ascension, but suddenly he seemed to have lost his direction, especially when he looked back on his life, he felt a deep sense of emptiness and boredom.”
“He had spent almost his entire life cultivating the Dao, day after day, seeing the same mountains, hearing the same praises. A hundred years of cultivation felt like living only a single day.”
“He had no beloved maiden by his side, no closest friends, and didn’t know where to go…”
Upon hearing the last sentence, the surrounding Immortal Sect Disciples were slightly stunned, and their brows began to furrow.
They seemed to have a friend who wanted to ask him to stop talking.
And Yuan Chen turned his head, looking at Ji You with some surprise.
He had actually read this part of the plot before and knew that the Young Master of the Immortal Sect successfully ascended later, proving the Dao as an Immortal Saint, and there was no such twist.
At this moment, Ji You’s voice continued to echo softly in the night.
“Since he temporarily didn’t know where to go, the Young Master of the Immortal Sect thought of seeking his origins. So, he searched and searched, and he discovered that his ancestors were in a remote small town, and his Family had once been a blacksmith who had stumbled upon an Immortal edge .”
“So, I was once of Mortal Bloodline.”
“The Young Master of the Immortal Sect decided to go down the mountain and went to the small town where his ancestors lived. There, he met a Fellow Daoist named Ji Bochang.”
“This Fellow Daoist Ji was elegant and unrestrained, with an ethereal Immortal demeanor, and already possessed a supreme Realm, yet he served as a small county official here.”
Surrounding Disciples: “?”
Someone seemed to have slipped in some private goods, a little bit saucy, flashing by.
Ji You continued calmly: “The Young Master of the Immortal Sect saw him and asked, ‘Brother Ji, do you know what we cultivators are truly cultivating for?’”
“Ji Bochang then asked him, ‘How did others tell you?’ The Young Master of the Immortal Sect replied, ‘My father once said that cultivating is for Immortal Ascension.’”
“But… what happens after Immortal Ascension? What exactly is an Immortal? Everyone wants to become an Immortal, but who has ever seen what the Immortal Realm truly looks like?”
“Ji Bochang then chuckled softly and pointed to the ground.”
“The Young Master of the Immortal Sect seemed to understand, yet not fully, so he decided to live there permanently, working at sunrise and resting at sunset every day.”
“Everyone thought he was a Disciple from a fallen Family and got along well with him. Some even offered to introduce him to a maiden.”
“But the Young Master of the Immortal Sect’s Family didn’t understand him and sent people to invite him back, admonishing him that his goal was Immortal Ascension, so he returned to the mountains and continued cultivating the Dao.”
Upon hearing this, the Disciples began to scratch their heads, looking dispirited.
For some reason, this story was no longer as exciting as the previous one about fighting in all directions; its blandness made people feel bored.
But at this moment, Ji You’s narrative style suddenly shifted.
“Until one day, a peaceful evening, countless black clouds surged from the west.”
“The next second, hideous Demon Race members swept through the sky, burning, killing, looting, and committing every evil imaginable. In just one day, the land was devastated, with corpses stretching for a thousand miles.”
“?”
Ban Yangshu couldn’t help but ask, “Ji *Shidi* (Junior Brother Ji), what is the Demon Race?”
Ji You thought for a moment: “They are another race, stronger in physique and more bloodthirsty than the Human Race.”
“Isn’t that just the Barbarians from the Northern Plains? These ugly creatures, always coveting our territory!”
“Artistic creation should not be taken as reality!”
Ji You withdrew his gaze and said, “At this time, the Seven Great Immortal Sects closed their mountain gates, activated their protective formations, and fended for themselves. The Young Master of the Immortal Sect was originally cultivating in seclusion, not concerned with worldly affairs, but one day, he suddenly descended the mountain and confronted the Demon Race.”
“No one knew why, and no one could understand.”
“However, some later said that on that day, he had actually received a letter from Ji Bochang, which stated that Yang Wa’s head had been cut off, Granny’s heart had been dug out, and Xiuxiu had been nailed to the wall.”
“On the day he entered the small town, Yang Wa had led him.”
“Granny lived next door to him, saying he was handsome and wanted to introduce him to a good maiden.”
“And that maiden was Xiuxiu, a farmer’s daughter, of average appearance, rustic, and without any Immortal grace.”
“He had seen countless Fairies in his life, so naturally, he didn’t fancy such a farm girl, and feeling that Immortals and Mortals were different, he politely declined in every way.”
“Xiuxiu wasn’t sad, but seeing him squatting in the fields all day, pondering why he cultivated, she was worried and had secretly given him cakes several times, thinking he couldn’t afford food.”
“And when the Young Master descended the mountain, Xiuxiu had already been nailed to the city wall, like withered grass, swaying in the wind.”
“Run…”
“Xiuxiu was not yet fully dead. Seeing him, her last words lingering in the Human world were, ‘Run…’”
Ji You paused at this point and saw Bai Rulong in the crowd biting his lower lip, his eyes filled with tears, almost tearing out all the surrounding grass.
He empathized deeply, but after a long time, he realized that he didn’t know such a maiden at all.
Yuan Chen also froze upon hearing this, feeling as if a huge piece was missing from his chest, and the light from the Spirit Pill in his hand slowly dissipated.
The Disciple he was treating looked pale, “Am I beyond saving?”