Su Ming slowly opened his eyes.

The whole world was completely reconstructed within his perception.

In the courtyard corner, a late-returning black beetle, its six tiny segmented legs scraping the rough ground, produced an extremely faint “rustle,” which registered clearly in his ears.

Under the moonlight, the air was no longer empty. Countless tiny dust motes drifted and spun slowly before his eyes.

He could even feel the cool spiritual energy wafting from the old well, circling him like a wanderer who had finally found a home.

This was the world of Qi Refining.

“Hmph.” From inside the ring, Lin Yu’s voice carried a just-right weariness and an inability to hide his satisfaction, “Finally, not completely hopeless.”

Finally finished guiding this kid through the newbie stage! My golden-bodyguard-cum-mobile-power-bank has finally booted up! The retirement fund plan has taken a solid first step!

Su Ming stood and walked a few casual paces in the courtyard. The Aura Concealment Art moved with his intention, and his entire presence instantly quieted, as if he were a stone in the yard, a speechless blade of grass.

Lin Yu’s soul body drifted inside the ring and gave a small “eh.”

Strange, for a moment just now it felt like this kid’s presence had totally vanished. His Aura Concealment Art combined with his own spiritual energy works even better than I imagined.

“Master.” Su Ming returned to the room and closed the door.

The exhilaration and novelty from the breakthrough slowly faded, replaced by a deeper bewilderment rising in his chest.

He looked at his empty hands and asked softly, “The disciple has already stepped through the gate of cultivation, but… where does the road beyond the gate lead? I feel like a blind man who has touched the leg of an elephant yet does not know what the elephant truly looks like.”

Lin Yu nearly burst out laughing inside the ring.

Good kid, learned to infer and now thinking about philosophy. Not bad, not bad, he has one percent of my old style. Knowing how to ask for directions is better than blindly running headfirst.

He cleared his throat and adopted the seasoned, world-weary tone of someone who had been through it: “Disciple, the fact you can ask that question means your mind has opened. You’re no longer that foolish kid who only buries his head in practice.”

“You think cultivation is what? Find a deep mountain forest, dig a cave-dwelling, then seclude for a thousand years and come out invincible?”

Su Ming said nothing. The novels he had read before had mostly been written that way.

“Wrong!” Lin Yu’s voice was decisive, “That path leads to the fool’s grave! The real world of cultivation is far more complex than you imagine, and far more… practical.”

“Ordinary life and cultivation seem like two entirely separate worlds, but they coexist under the same heavens. They are like water and oil—immiscible—yet bottled together.”

“This bottle is the rigid barrier of class and information.”

Lin Yu’s voice deepened, carrying the wisdom of someone who sees through affairs: “Think about it. If the methods to become an immortal were available to everyone, wouldn’t the world already be in chaos? Would the emperor’s dragon throne remain stable? Could the noble lanes of the old families keep their prestige?”

A chill ran through Su Ming. He thought of Zhou Wenhai, of Professor Liu, and of those teachings about power and methods.

“If you want to enter the circle of cultivation, there are two paths: first, let people of the immortal way come to you; second, you go to them. I can’t help you much now. I’ve been trapped in this ring too long. A thousand years changes seas and mountains; the country I once heard of might not even exist.”

“The real secrets might be hidden in a deep mountain cavern, or locked away in the highest halls of power, written in the oldest family genealogies, or kept in the emperor’s private library.” Lin Yu guided him patiently.

“A peasant’s son could kneel at a sect’s gate until he dies, but an immortal will barely glance. Yet if a high official who holds sway, or a renowned scholar openly shows even a hint of longing for longevity, believe me, ‘immortal fate’ will come knocking on their door.”

Those words split the chaos in Su Ming’s mind like a lightning bolt.

He grasped it at once.

What he lacked was never rare materials or peerless methods.

What he lacked was an identity — a qualification that would let him access the world’s true secrets.

“So, disciple.” Lin Yu’s tone carried a concluding ring, “the imperial examinations are the only ladder you can climb right now.”

“You are in the County School; what you see is only the sky at the bottom of a well. When you pass the provincial-level exam and become a Provincial Graduate, you can enter the prefectural city; when you pass the metropolitan exam and become a jinshi, you can stand in the court. The people you meet, the books you read, and the things you hear will be worlds apart.”

Su Ming exhaled a long breath, and all the confusion and doubt in his chest cleared away.

He bowed deeply toward the ring.

“Disciple understands.”

His gaze was clearer and firmer than ever.

From that night on, the top scorer Su Ming at Qingshi County School seemed changed, and yet seemed the same.

He still attended school on time, listened attentively, and showed respect to his teachers. Only now, he was no longer satisfied with the syllabus carved out by the scholars.

The County School library became his true home.

Manager Sun was surprised to find that this top scorer read at an inhuman speed. A thick Prefecture Records volume that would take others ten days or more, he could finish in an afternoon, and seemed to remember it all.

Stranger still, his reading tastes broadened.

Besides classics and histories, he became fascinated with dusty corners.

Records like Studies of Southern Strange Objects, Chronicles of Western Mountain Spirits, Biographies of Odd Figures from Former Dynasties, and The Geomancy Maps and Sayings of Daliang…

Those idle or banned books other students dismissed as distractions, he consumed avidly.

With memory and mental power far beyond ordinary people from his time in Qi Refining, he functioned like a tireless machine, feverishly scanning and organizing oceans of information.

He no longer merely hunted for the words “immortal” or “spirit.”

He began to build an enormous database centered on times, places, and events.

“Year thirty-four of Yong’an, a tiger in the northern mountain spoke human words. The county lieutenant led three hundred men to surround it with no result, found huge claw prints three inches deep.”

“First year of Kaiping, fishermen in the East Sea saw a dragon-shaped shadow in a storm, a hundred zhang long, scales glowing gold, vanishing into clouds. Next day three dragon scales were found on the shore, unbreakable.”

“Seventh year of Jingtai, an odd person calling himself ‘Cloud Wanderer’ performed a rite atop Mount Tai, drew lightning to refine his body; thousands watched, then he drifted away, vanished without trace.”

…

Two years slipped by quietly amid the rustle of pages and the cicadas’ song in the courtyard.

Autumn wind rose again, yellowing the old locust tree in the Jia-designated Small Courtyard.

In Zhou Wenhai’s study, Zhou Yulin wore a brand-new official robe, radiating vigor. Three years earlier he had passed the autumn provincial exam, last spring he ranked among the top three in the metropolitan examinations and, though he did not enter the Hanlin Academy, he was appointed outwardly to a neighboring county as an eighth-rank Assistant Magistrate.

“Junior Brother Su, I will take up my post soon. We will part, and I cannot say when we will see each other again.” Zhou Yulin looked at the now tall and upright junior he had taught and felt many emotions.

These past two years, Su Ming’s brilliance at the County School had no rival. Zhou Wenhai had almost taken him as his heir to the craft, pouring out all he knew. Everyone knew that in three years’ provincial exam, Qingshi County’s top scorer would surely be him.

“Senior Brother, may your path be bright. Travel safely.” Su Ming bowed, his expression calm.

After Zhou Yulin left, Zhao Rui stood in the small yard sighing as he clutched his bundle.

“Su Ming, what do you think my father is thinking? He insists I go to the Prefectural School. With my ability, wouldn’t I just be the bottom there?” Zhao Rui had grown taller over the two years, but his nature remained the same—lazy and inconsistent, making no progress in scholarship.

Su Ming merely smiled and said nothing.

Zhao Rui was off to the prefectural school, while Su Ming would stay at the County School. Because here was a “root” he could not leave.

At night, Su Ming sat cross-legged by the well.

His spiritual energy had filled considerably; the Qihai in his dantian rotated slowly, and at its center a light shone several times brighter than two years ago.

Qi Refining, second layer.

Over these two years he had almost drained every drop of spiritual energy from the well.

Yet he keenly sensed the well’s recovery slowing. The well felt like a pasture overgrazed, moving toward exhaustion.

“Master, this cannot last long-term.” Su Ming thought to himself.

“I told you so long ago.” Lin Yu replied lazily, “This well is only enough for your newbie village. To level up, you must change maps. Don’t worry, once you obtain your ‘qualification,’ there will be plenty of pocket dimensions and blessed lands for you to absorb from.”

Su Ming suppressed his anxiety and sank his mind deeper.

There, a vast map composed of countless fragments of information was slowly taking shape.

In two years he had almost combed through every book with the character ‘strange’ in the library.

The result left him disappointed.

Official histories were evasive; all supernatural incidents were categorized as either ‘auspicious signs’ or ‘calamities,’ laden with political interpretations.

Unofficial histories were muddled with truth and fiction, full of exaggeration and speculation. He found over three hundred records mentioning “immortals,” “demons,” “spirits,” and “monsters,” but careful analysis showed most were mythic tales like those in Classic of Mountains and Seas, or isolated local events that could not form a coherent system.

As for organized cultivation forces, such as sects or old families, he could not even find a single clear name.

“Master, you were right.” Su Ming said in the study to the pile of thick notes on the table, speaking to Lin Yu, “The world’s core information is monopolized. Below a certain level, you don’t even have the qualification to know.”

“Now you realize? Not too late.” Lin Yu’s voice carried some relief, “Not finding them is the right outcome.”

Still, it wasn’t all fruitless.

That afternoon Su Ming went again to the ancient locust tree in the western city corner.

Xu Qing’s used-book stall had grown larger than two years ago. He was still thin and quiet, but his brow held a bit more maturity.

The Su family’s paper workshop in Su Family Village had improved under the officially supervised, privately operated model. No foolish person dared to cause trouble. Xu Qing’s stall benefited from being an angel investor of the paper workshop and from his connection to Su Ming, obtaining copied paper below market price; his family’s situation had likewise improved.

“Brother Su, you are hunting for those strange things again?” Xu Qing watched Su Ming rummage through a pile of old books and shook his head with a smile.

In these two years, Su Ming had become his oddest customer, always choosing strange tales and absurd notes.

“Brother Xu, heard any fresh rumors lately?” Su Ming asked without looking up.

This had become their new tacit understanding.

Xu Qing’s used-book stall was a local hub of information; merchants from all directions always left scraps of gossip.

“Fresh rumor?” Xu Qing thought, then lowered his voice, “There actually is one.”

He leaned closer and said, “A while back a caravan escort driving southern goods said when their convoy passed by the southern Fengming Mountain, they encountered a strange thing.”

Su Ming froze mid-action.

“They traveled three days, and each night they saw a valley deep in Fengming Mountain emitting seven-colored radiance, like a rainbow after rain but far brighter. The light wasn’t glaring; it was very soft.”

“The local guide turned pale and begged them not to approach, saying it was an ‘immortal’s residence’ protected by a ‘prismatic guardian.’ Any mortal who enters would instantly turn to ash.”

Su Ming’s heart leapt.

Fengming Mountain! Seven-colored radiance! Immortal’s residence!

Those words combined made his spiritual energy ripple uncontrollably.

“What happened next?” he asked, forcing down his excitement.

“What next? There was no next.” Xu Qing shrugged, “The escort, after hearing the guide’s warning, skirted the valley for dozens of li and fled before dawn. It became nothing more than tavern talk; nobody took it seriously.”

Su Ming quietly memorized the place name.

He knew this might be the first real clue he had found in two years that could be truly related to immortals.

After leaving Xu Qing, Su Ming walked back to the County School.

“Master, Fengming Mountain…”

Lin Yu was silent in the ring for a moment, neither denying nor affirming, then let out a meaning-laden chuckle.

“Disciple, do you know why I often say that below a certain level you lack the qualification to know?”

“If that’s truly an immortal residence and not some phosphorescent gas or swamp light, mortals who see its radiance feel awe and turn away, thus surviving. But a Qi Refining cultivator who has only just touched the threshold like you, if rashly entering, will fare worse than a mortal.”

“Why?” Su Ming asked, puzzled.

“Because of rules.” Lin Yu’s voice grew stern, “High-level cultivators’ dwellings or mysteries often do not exist in space as we usually perceive. They may be attached to the main world like a bubble on the water, but with their own entrance and laws.”

“To mortals the seven-colored radiance seems anomalous, but to the cultivation world it might merely be an ordinary spatial ripple or leaked energy from an array. Its real entrance might require a specific time, a particular incantation, or even a designated ‘token’ or ‘bloodline’ to open.”

“If you go now, it’s like an ant crawling beside a treasure map. To you the map is just a smelly piece of paper — you cannot even understand that it is a map, let alone follow it. You will fumble around in that area pointlessly, and in the end you will either be crushed by a defensive array or… even worse, find nothing at all and waste your time.”

“So, disciple, what you lack now is not a place but a ‘key’ and a ‘manual.'”

“This ‘key’ might be the identity of a Provincial Graduate or jinshi, allowing you access to old families or imperial institutions that guard these secrets. That ‘manual’ is the systematic knowledge of cultivation, letting you understand the true meaning behind those ‘wonders.'”

“Going to Fengming Mountain now with a mortal’s mindset to solve a cultivation puzzle is destined to fail. Only when you acquire higher qualifications can you contact those who can decode these riddles and the knowledge behind them.”

“Use this world’s rules as the ladder to explore the other world — that is what the wise do. Blind force is the road to death.”

“Until then, your most important task is the Provincial Examination in three months.”

Su Ming returned to the Jia-designated Small Courtyard and shut the door.

He looked out the window, his gaze as if piercing a thousand mountains and rivers, resting on that distant Fengming Mountain.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep