I've already become an immortal lord, and only now is the spiritual energy reviving?

Winter is here.

In the western suburbs of Hewanji, a lonely house huddles in fear.

"Bang!"

The wooden gate was wide open, letting in a blast of cold air.

A burly, tiger-headed figure was swept into the house by the wind and snow.

The child was about six or seven years old, carrying a large hardwood bow that was disproportionate to his size, holding two frozen pheasants in his hands, and a gray rabbit hanging at his waist.

"Mom! I'm back!"

The woman on the bed had a face as pale as paper, deep-set eyes, and each breath sounded like a broken bellows being pulled.

"Xiao Wu... is back?"

Xu's voice was as faint as a whisper, dissipating in the wind.

Ignoring the snow-covered face, Chai Wu grinned and, leaning against the wall, unloaded his wooden bow and ran to the stove with his prey.

With swift, practiced movements, the knife fell with a skill so adept it was almost heartbreaking.

"Oh! Mother, I'm here!"

The young child threw pheasant meat into the chipped earthenware pot without looking back.

"Let me tell you, I've been incredibly lucky today! I ran into a whole litter of silly rabbits as soon as I stepped out the door. I'm thinking of taking them to the market later; I can probably get a lot of copper coins for them. Didn't Doctor Li say that your illness is just missing a few expensive medicines?"

"Don't worry, once I've raised enough money, I'll take you to the biggest pharmacy in town! I've heard the doctors there are incredibly skilled; they could cure anything, even a quasi-miracle worker!"

The firewood crackled and popped under the stove, and the aroma of meat filled the small room.

Xu turned her head and, by the dim firelight, greedily gazed at her young son's back.

Without anyone noticing, that thin back had grown as broad as a man's, ready to single-handedly support the crumbling family.

A gentle smile played on her lips, yet it couldn't hide the bitterness in her heart.

A short while later, the earthenware pot was empty, and the hot soup was brought to the bedside.

Chai Wu propped up the broken wooden table and carefully helped his mother lean against the straw mat.

"It's hot, please take it easy."

He scooped up the soup, blew on it gently, and brought it to his mother's lips.

"Mom, eat more. The doctor said that if you can eat, you'll recover faster."

Ms. Xu pursed her lips; the soup contained little salt, yet it tasted better than any delicacy in the world.

Looking at the remaining pheasant meat in the jar, she said softly, "Xiao Wu, you eat some too."

"I'm full!"

Chai Wu patted his round belly, which was taut with his belt.

"When I caught the rabbit on the mountain earlier, I roasted and ate it right away! It was a big, fat rabbit; I'm so full I keep burping!"

Just then, a rumbling sound came from his stomach, which he covered up with a dry cough.

Xu did not expose the truth.

He calmly drank the soup, and under the watchful gaze of her clear, large eyes, he reluctantly swallowed a few pieces of clear water and green vegetables.

After helping his mother to bed, Chai Wu busied himself, carrying firewood back from outside to make the stove fire burn brighter, fearing the night's chill might seep into her body.

The flickering firelight illuminated the child's face.

"Xiao Wu."

"Hey, Mom, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"

"Do you...hate your mother?"

The movements were sluggish.

At the next moment, Chai Wu shook his head like a rattle drum, appearing both simple-minded and sincere:

"What nonsense are you talking about, Mother? You are the best person in the world! I could hate anyone but you! Others may not have a mother's love, but I do! That's good enough!"

"Good...good boy..."

"It's my fault for being incompetent. This illness has been a burden to you. If it weren't for me, with your strength, you could have learned blacksmithing and would have been living a good life long ago."

Why bother wallowing in this quagmire with me, we can't even get into a proper immortal gate...

"Mother! Don't mention cultivating immortality! I don't want to!"

Chai Wu grew anxious and tried to interrupt.

Xu murmured incoherently, as if in repentance, before finally letting out a long sigh and falling into a deep sleep.

All sounds are silent.

Chai Wu sat on a small stool at the foot of the bed, gazing intently at his mother's aged sleeping face.

a long time.

The young hunter, who never trembled even when facing a tusked wild boar, buried his head deep in his palms.

Hot tears rolled down silently.

......

Making a living is difficult.

The children who used to run wild all over the mountains are nowhere to be seen, and Chai Wu has become increasingly somber.

All that remained in my mind was the phrase "earn money to buy medicine".

The snow had just stopped and the sky was clear in the afternoon.

Inside the time-honored liquor store, Chai Wu exchanged animal hides for a few coins of silver, which he hadn't even warmed up yet.

The idle man next to me lowered his voice, his expression smug:

"Wow, the world changes so fast."

"Who says otherwise? I heard that Qiyun Mountain, which used to govern our Hewanji, was wiped out overnight!"

"It seems that a deity called 'Guanhuamen' has taken over the territory."

Moreover, this new sect is quite strange. They said they're recruiting disciples in town tomorrow, regardless of background or wealth, as long as they have that so-called "spiritual root"!

Chai Wu's hands, which were counting money, suddenly froze.

Guanhua Gate? Recruiting apprentices?

Half a year ago, a dream that was rejected by Qiyun Mountain because of the word "useless" and lost its hope has come back to life.

"Mother! Mother!"

He rushed into the house, a genuine smile on his face, the first one he'd had in six months.

"There's hope! There really is hope this time! The world has changed, and that new immortal sect is recruiting! I want to try again. If I can really get in, I'll beg the immortal master for a dose of medicine, and your illness will definitely be cured!"

Xu leaned against the headboard without speaking, and stretched out her withered hand to stroke Chai Wu's head repeatedly.

Chai Wu assumed his mother was overjoyed.

After happily cleaning up the dishes, I was already planning to get up early tomorrow to queue up and make my mother proud.

"Mom, go to sleep, I'm going to sleep too!"

in the dark.

Xu stared at Chai Wu's hopping and skipping figure for a long time.

He reached out and extinguished the last flicker of the candle by the bedside.

"Pfft."

......

The next day.

The ancestral hall square was bustling with people.

The old Taoist master was simply dressed and had a kind face.

The cries and cheers coming from ahead struck Chai Wu's heart like a heavy hammer.

It was his turn.

Chai Wu closed his eyes, gritted his teeth, placed his hand on the spirit-testing bead, and prayed to every god and Buddha in the heavens in his heart.

"laugh."

A disdainful sneer descended upon him.

Chai Wu felt a chill in his heart.

The next moment.

"Those scoundrels from Qiyun Mountain!"

The old Taoist priest's voice was filled with anger, and his curses were harsh:

"A five-inch spiritual root, with an affinity for earth—how could Qiyun Mountain have overlooked such talent? They deserve to be wiped out!"

"Open your eyes, kid! If you're willing, from today onwards you're a disciple of my Guanhua Sect!"

Chai Wu suddenly opened his eyes.

done?

It really worked?!

I was so overwhelmed with joy that I almost lost my mind.

He didn't even have time to kowtow a couple more times before turning around and running home.

At dusk, the setting sun was like blood.

Chai Wu, carrying a box of osmanthus cakes he had specially bought, ran breathlessly, his mind filled with nothing but wanting to tell his mother this wonderful news.

Push open the door.

"Mother! I've been taken away..."

The sound was cut off.

The room was unbelievably clean.

In the center of the main room, the gray rabbit he couldn't bear to kill somehow overturned its cage and started hopping around.

"mother......"

The pastry box fell.

He rushed towards the kitchen in the inner room like a madman.

Lift the curtain.

There was no smoke from the chimneys, and no dinner.

On the roof beam, an old, faded belt was stretched taut.

......

The scene is broken and then reassembled.

Time and again he carried the heavy bow home, and time and again he watched his mother hang herself from the roof beam so as not to be a burden to him.

"Mother... I'm not going... I'm giving up cultivating immortality..."

He cried out and knelt on the ground, kowtowing.

He hated his own greed, and hated the thought of "becoming an immortal".

Nightmares linger, inner demons take deep root.

I don't know how many times it has looped.

The snowstorm started again.

Chai Wu pushed open the door and entered, carrying neither a bow on his back nor a pheasant in his hand.

"Thump!"

puff.

Kneel heavily on the muddy ground.

"Mother, this time I'm not going to cultivate immortality or seek medical treatment. Let's just live like this."

He stood up, ignoring his mother's astonished look, and resolutely turned away.

We faced the open doorway and the swirling snow.

The world was a vast, pale white.

The thin figure stumbled along, his limbs gradually stiffening, his consciousness fading.

But he's still walking.

Until the end of the snowstorm ahead, a lone figure stood.

He wore an old gray Taoist robe, and his beard and hair were covered in frost.

That was his mentor who led him into the path of Taoism and treated him like his own child.

Huayangzi.

He looked at his foolish apprentice, whose face was filled with despair and who was determined to die, sighed, and slowly stretched out his hand.

"Fool."

"What's wrong with you? Why aren't you returning to your sect? Do you have to wait for your master to carry you on his back?"

......

Guanhua Gate, side hall.

Hua Yangzi sat cross-legged, his old eyes cloudy, tears falling silently.

Beside him, Chai Dingwei rested his chin on his hand, listening to his grandmaster recount the story of his biological father.

"Later? Grandmaster?"

Hua Yangzi inhaled, then slapped the child on the forehead with his backhand, laughing and scolding:

"And then? That simpleton had snot and tears streaming down his face, completely soiling the old Taoist's robes! What a complete idiot!"

"But he is indeed a first-rate... hero."

......

"Click—"

The icy illusion crumbled.

The countless fragments transformed into golden totems, which poured into Chai Wu's brow.

The mountain is named Sumeru.

Unwavering and steadfast, suppressing all ages, bearing the weight of all living beings.

The so-called "Mount Sumeru King View" does not rely on physical strength to attain enlightenment.

It is truly a matter of using one's own body as a boat to resist, to carry, and to bear the suffering that cannot be shirked even if it breaks one's spine!

Bearing the expectations of their parents and the righteousness of their fellow students.

The heavier the burden, the more stable the foundation!

Beneath the surface of the Dry Wind Valley, within the array's restrictions.

Chai Wu's body trembled violently.

Open your eyes.

What came into view was a young girl in a white dress, waiting quietly for her protector.

Upon seeing her awaken, Shu Yan's usually aloof face revealed a relieved smile.

"Good morning, senior brother."

Chai Wu exhaled a long breath, as if waking from a deep dream.

This feeling is too profound, yet also too clear.

"Yes, good morning."

He rolled over and stood up.

The old skin mixed with stone chips on his body exploded, making a crunchy sound that made your teeth ache.

Looking around, he saw the soldiers and assassins lying haphazardly, still unconscious.

His lips curled into a wide grin, exuding an aura of dominance.

Draw your breath into your dantian and shout:

"You little brats! Wake up! Come with me and return to our clan!"

......

"call."

In the rented room, Qingyuan let out a long breath, his palms sweating.

The plot has a strong aftereffect.

Who would have thought that the seemingly silly, big guy who only knew how to lead the charge actually harbored such a tragedy in his heart?

on the screen.

The effigy representing Chai Wu grabbed an unconscious disciple in each hand and rushed out.

Qingyuan picked up the half-finished Coke, shook it, and offered a toast to the screen from afar.

"Chai Wu".

"You idiot... I take back what I said about you sleeping like a pig."

"If we lose a fight in the future, it's my fault as the patriarch for not giving proper orders, not yours."