Mortal: The Path to Immortality

On this day, Li Feiyu took Lu Nanzhu to the Chuan Gong Hall to take up their new posts. The two chatted about the recent situation within the sect along the way, and the atmosphere was quite harmonious.

The two crossed a wooden bridge, passed through a bamboo grove, and arrived at a set of steps. Above the steps was a four-story wooden tower, almost entirely surrounded by bamboo. Because it was perpetually obscured by the dense bamboo forest around it, the tower was only partially visible from a distance.

"We've arrived. That's the Hall of Martial Arts Transmission." Li Feiyu stopped and pointed to the tower partially obscured by swaying bamboo shadows. "Any task within the sect involving martial arts manuals, assessments, or promotions must be completed here. I came here quite often when I participated in the inner sect martial arts assessments."

The two climbed the steps, and as soon as they stepped through the gate, a strong scent of ink wafted towards them. Before they could even stand still, a young disciple of about twenty years old quickly came to greet them.

"Junior Brother Li, what brings you here today?" The young man first politely cupped his hands to Li Feiyu, then turned his gaze to Lu Nanzhu beside him, sized him up, and smiled, "This must be Junior Brother Lu Nanzhu, personally selected and assigned to our hall by the sect leader, right?"

Li Feiyu returned the greeting. Lu Nanzhu also stepped forward at the opportune moment, adopting a very humble posture, and bowed gently, saying, "Senior Brother is too kind. I am Lu Nanzhu, a newly promoted inner disciple, and I will need your guidance in the future."

"Haha, Junior Brother Lu, you're too kind. My name is Wu Qing, a few years older than you, just call me Senior Brother Wu." Senior Brother Wu was quite warm, taking Lu Nanzhu's wrist and saying, "Junior Brother should have come a few months ago, but it just so happened that the sect's disciples' grand examination was underway, and everyone in the hall was so busy that they couldn't spare anyone to mentor the new disciples. That's why Junior Brother Lu stayed in the External Affairs Hall for a few more days. Please don't take offense, Junior Brother."

"Senior Brother Wu, you flatter me. Public affairs come first. Wherever Nanzhu is, he will serve the sect." Lu Nanzhu replied with a smile.

Seeing that Lu Nanzhu was quite adept at handling people, Li Feiyu decided not to linger any longer. After a few simple farewells, he turned and descended the stone steps, disappearing into the bamboo forest.

Senior Brother Wu watched Li Feiyu leave, then turned back, his smile growing even more friendly. As he led Lu Nanzhu into the tower, he began to introduce the place familiarly:

"Junior Brother Lu, although our Transmission Hall sounds impressive, as we control the lifeline of the entire sect's martial arts, in reality, it's just three jobs."

Senior Brother Wu held up three fingers, reciting them as if they were his own treasures:

"The first task is to record and register the martial arts techniques. Whether it's a newly acquired martial arts manual or a secret technique that is not passed down from one of the various halls, a copy must be kept here. This task is the most demanding and can only be done well by someone with a very meticulous mind."

He pointed to the rows of densely packed bookshelves on both sides of the hall, and then said:

"The second thing is the teaching and assessment of cultivation techniques that your senior brother Li just mentioned. Every month, we are responsible for guiding the newly entered disciples and regularly evaluating their progress. That is a busy and troublesome job that can offend people."

Lu Nanzhu nodded slightly, appearing as if he was humbly accepting instruction.

"As for the third item," Senior Brother Wu lowered his voice, his tone becoming lighter, "it's the safekeeping of the relics of the sect's past high-ranking members. Although they're called relics, most of them are just miscellaneous items left behind by our predecessors, old weapons, or some indistinguishable fragments. This job is neither demanding nor requires dealing with those impetuous assessment disciples; it's the most leisurely task imaginable."

Senior Brother Wu led Lu Nanzhu through the front hall and down a slightly dimly lit corridor. Along the way, they occasionally saw a few disciples hurrying along, carrying heavy scrolls, each with a tense expression.

"Junior Brother Lu, I see you have a calm and steady temperament, and Junior Brother Li specifically asked me to take care of you. How about this, don't get involved in those tedious assessments and registrations for now. The safekeeping of the relics in this pavilion is in dire need of a meticulous person to oversee it. You stay there for now, familiarize yourself with the environment of the hall, and once you're more comfortable, we'll transfer you to the front hall to gain more experience. What do you think?"

"It's all thanks to Senior Brother Wu's arrangements. I'm new here and just wanted to find a quiet place to learn more." Lu Nanzhu bowed and thanked him, but a slight thought stirred in his heart.

Senior Brother Wu laughed heartily, clearly very pleased with Lu Nanzhu's "sensible" behavior. A moment later, he led Lu Nanzhu to a secluded registration counter, where two senior brothers were checking accounts.

Senior Brother Wu greeted one of them, saying, "Old Liu, take the new Junior Brother Lu to the top floor to familiarize yourself with the rooms and check the keys to those rooms."

Old Liu was a man nearing fifty, with a slightly sallow complexion. Upon hearing this, he silently put down his calligraphy brush, got up, took a heavy bunch of keys from the wall, nodded slightly to Lu Nanzhu, and gestured for him to follow.

The two climbed the stairs one after the other. The higher they went, the narrower the stairs became, and the dimmer the light grew. By the fourth floor, the air was thick with the musty smell of stagnant ventilation. Old Liu led him to a stop at the end of a narrow passageway, where several heavy, tightly closed wooden doors stood before them.

Watching Old Liu skillfully fiddle with the keys, Lu Nanzhu casually asked tentatively:

"Senior Brother Liu, this top floor looks secluded, and it seems that few people walk around here on weekdays. Why should our hall go to the trouble of preserving these old items left behind by our predecessors? If they are divine weapons or powerful cultivation techniques, wouldn't it be better to make the most of them? But if they are just useless items, why lock them in this secluded and towering pavilion and waste manpower guarding them for nothing?"

Old Liu's hands didn't stop moving; the brass key made a screeching sound as it went through the lock. He was silent for a moment, then finally uttered a few hoarse words:

"It's about inheritance, and it's about reputation. People who have made great contributions can't just throw their things away; that's a rule in our sect."

He pushed open the heavy wooden door, kicking up a cloud of fine dust:

"If we leave them in the front hall, they'll tempt those ambitious young men and ruin their health. We moved them here so they won't have to see them. As for making the most of them..." He snorted and looked at the pile of inanimate objects. "Things that can't be used are a keepsake if you keep them, but a sin if you throw them away. Lock them up here and wait for them to rot away, then the job will be done."

"Come up and patrol once a day, keep the fires away, and make sure nothing is missing." After saying that, he stuffed the key into Lu Nanzhu's hand, said no more, and turned to go downstairs.

Holding the key, Lu Nanzhu listened to Old Liu's footsteps fade into the distance before eagerly searching the rooms. After several attempts, he suddenly slapped his forehead and muttered to himself, "If these are truly items usable by cultivators, they could be detected simply by activating divine sense. Why go through all this trouble?"

He then began to hold his breath and concentrate, his spiritual energy slowly circulating within him, and a divine sense pierced through his eyes, permeating the entire pavilion. When his divine sense swept over a pile of tattered cushions in the corner, the previously steady fluctuations suddenly froze.

He strode over and dragged a badly worn wooden box, some of which had even chipped paint, from under the pile of clutter. The box was about an inch long, and most of the vermilion lacquer had peeled off. In his spiritual perception, a few faint wisps of extremely dim blue light flickered at the lock of the box.

"Just as I thought! I found it." Lu Nanzhu picked up the wooden box and examined it carefully. "The wooden box is under a restriction, but judging from the situation, the restriction is not very profound. In addition, it has been worn down over time, so it can be broken with a little practice."

He suppressed his excitement and calmly put away the wooden box. "Now that we've opened, who knows, there might still be some who slipped through the net?"

For the next hour, he didn't rush to leave. Instead, he patiently continued to search the remaining two side rooms. Unfortunately, the immortal treasures weren't like roadside weeds; what remained were just ordinary items of little use.

"One shouldn't be too greedy. Having the wooden box is already a stroke of good fortune." Lu Nanzhu smiled with a hint of self-deprecation and helplessness.

Afterward, he tidied up the old things, then found a bald broom behind the door, and, enduring the musty smell, hastily swept the top floor.

After the bell rang signaling the end of his shift, he slowly locked each door, then calmly went downstairs to return the keys.

Back at his residence, Lu Nanzhu closed the doors and windows tightly. He took a deep breath and retrieved the wooden box from inside his clothes. He then began to examine it.

It circulated its cultivation technique, and after a period of time, a "crack" was heard, and the restriction that had been soaked in spiritual energy for a long time finally collapsed completely.

He slowly lifted the lid, and the first thing he saw was a silk scroll. He then reached out and picked it up, unfolded it, and saw four sharp characters on the far right: "A Letter Left by a Seven-Character Quatrain".