You've only been cultivating for a few years, and you're already talking about cultivating

Qi Fei opened his eyes.

What came into view was not the starry sky, nor warships, nor that gray, densely packed fleet of braised ducks.

It is the mountains, the water, the clouds in the sky, and the light between the clouds.

He lay on a soft, green grass, damp with dew, and a cool breeze blew from the mountain stream.

There is a waterfall in the distance, but you can't hear the water. You can only see it hanging there like a white ribbon, which breaks into a hazy mist when it is illuminated by the sunlight.

He sat up, his mind still a jumble.

Golden armor, twenty sons shouting "For the Emperor!" in unison, the Milky Way burning outside the porthole, a gray fleet swarming in like locusts... What the hell is all this nonsense?

He rubbed his temples and slowly made out the person in front of him.

The man stood three steps away, quietly waiting for him to wake up.

He was tall and slender, dressed in a blue robe, the hem of which fluttered slightly in the mountain breeze, as if it might be blown away at any moment.

As for his appearance, he was extremely handsome, especially with the faint smile on his lips that seemed to come from someone who had seen it all before. It was neither too strong nor too weak, but just right, like the mist in the mountains.

What caught Qi Fei's eye the most was the sword on his back.

The scabbard was made of ebony, extremely simple, without any patterns. Yet, hanging there, it made one feel that the world around them seemed to have become a little heavier.

Qi Fei looked at him, and four words suddenly popped into his mind: a banished immortal.

The man smiled slightly when he saw that he was awake.

"Junior brother," he said, his voice as clear as the mountain breeze, "you are the fastest person in the Jade Bridge Sword Sect to pass the introductory illusion in hundreds of years."

Qi Fei blinked.

"Jade Bridge... Sword Sect? Beginner... Illusion?"

"Everything you just experienced was an illusion." The man stood with his hands behind his back. "The first test of entry is one's character. The purer your character, the faster you break through. You did it quickly; you're a promising talent!"

"Who are you……"

"My name is Yu Xing." The man nodded slightly. "I am the senior brother sent by our sect to guide you."

As soon as he finished speaking, he reached out and put his hand on Qi Fei's shoulder.

Qi Fei then felt a gentle force supporting him, as if he were wrapped in a cloud, light and weightless.

Then, the wind stirred.

It wasn't the soft, gentle wind that blows from the mountain stream, but a wind that rises from your feet, carrying you upwards.

Qi Fei felt his body rising, and the scenery in front of him shrinking. Hills became mounds of earth, rivers became thin lines, and trees became moss.

He looked down and saw a lush green landscape beneath his feet. The mountains that had been so high and unscalable just moments before now looked like pebbles scattered across the ground, as if someone had casually tossed them onto a chessboard.

He raised his head.

The floating island is right above our heads.

It was an upside-down mountain, wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, with a pointed base, like a chess piece that someone threw down from the sky, only to be held up by some force halfway down, and thus suspended in mid-air.

A waterfall cascades down the island, water pouring from its edge, breaking into mist in mid-air, and then, when blown by the wind, scattering into a rainbow.

The white cranes flew around the island, flapping their wings very slowly, as if they were taking a stroll.

At the highest point of the island, the outlines of several palaces can be vaguely seen, with green tiles and white walls, hidden among pine and cypress trees, shrouded in mist and not clearly visible.

Yu Xing led him to land on that floating island.

The moment his feet touched solid ground, Qi Fei heard a sound like jade pieces striking each other, coming from the depths of the island and echoing through the mountains, one sound after another.

Yu Xing said, "The so-called Ghost Mountain, the so-called Southern Mountain, and the so-called Sword Qi Soaring to the Sky are all tests for our Jade Bridge Sword Sect."

"Every hundred years, the Sword Sect holds a trial to recruit disciples from all over the world. Those with the will can sense the sword energy in Nanshan, follow the trail, and enter the illusion."

He turned and glanced at Qi Fei.

"You're the fastest in this batch. The last person to pass this quickly was five hundred years ago."

Qi Fei followed him all the way inside.

The path on the floating island was paved with bluestone, and unknown trees with silvery-white leaves grew along the roadside, rustling in the wind.

Occasionally, monks would pass by them.

Some flew close to the ground on their swords, the tips of the swords scraping the road surface and leaving a thin white trail.

Some walked with their hands behind their backs, taking large strides; with one step, they were already more than ten feet away.

Some sat on stone benches under the trees, with a sword hanging in front of them, its blade trembling slightly and emitting a low buzzing sound.

As Qi Fei looked at those people, a thought suddenly popped into his mind.

So this is what a sword immortal is.

Those who waited for ten years in Nanshan Town, distrusted each other in the valley, and fought for the seven pillars of light, what they longed for—the Sword Immortal's Mansion—was not some treasure cave, nor some secret realm, but a door.

A door leading to the Immortal Sect!

He followed Yu Xing to the "Chengjian Hall". There were already people waiting inside.

The man sat on the prayer mat at the head of the table, dressed in a plain white Taoist robe, his hair casually tied up with a wooden hairpin. There was no table, no incense burner, nothing in front of him.

He looked young, perhaps in his early thirties, but his eyes were deeper than this floating island and farther than this sky.

Following Yu Xing's instructions, Qi Fei knelt down and performed the apprenticeship ceremony.

The man accepted the greeting, then took out a jade-like bamboo scroll from his sleeve and handed it to him.

The bamboo slips were thin, bluish-white, and warm to the touch, covered with densely packed small characters.

Qi Fei unfolded it and saw eight characters written on the first line: "Guiding Qi into the body, establishing the foundation and forming the elixir."

Looking further down, there are eight realms: Qi Induction, Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, Primordial Spirit, Divided Spirit, Mahayana, Tribulation Transcending, and Ascension. It's all clearly defined and straightforward.

Qi Fei frowned slightly as he looked at the eight realms.

"Master," Qi Fei began, "there is something I do not understand."

"explain."

"When I was in the mortal realm, I heard people talk about the Realm of Observation and the Realm of Tribulation. Why is the realm within our sect different from that outside?"

The man smiled.

His smile suggested he had heard something interesting.

"Observing the truth? Experiencing tribulations?"

He shook his head, his tone somewhat dismissive: "Those are just arbitrary rules set up by those rogue cultivators."

"He's just jumping from one thing to another, trying to grasp a principle today and adding another level to his understanding, then encountering a hurdle tomorrow and adding yet another. He's just piecing things together and creating a hodgepodge of a mess."

"Why is spiritual practice so complicated?"

"Guiding Qi into the body, building the foundation and forming the elixir, the elixir gives rise to the primordial spirit, the primordial spirit transforms into a divided spirit, the divided spirit merges with the Mahayana, and upon the completion of the Mahayana and transcending the tribulation, one can ascend to immortality. Each step is clear and distinct."

He looked at Qi Fei and said, "If you cultivate according to this method, and reach the Ascension Realm and overcome the tribulation, you will become an immortal."

Qi Fei looked down at the bamboo slips in his hand.

Qi Induction, Foundation Building, Golden Elixir, Primordial Spirit, Divided Spirit, Mahayana, Tribulation Crossing, Ascension.

There was no observation of truth, no experience of tribulations. It was a straight road, with no forks or detours.

"This is how you become an immortal?" Qi Fei muttered to himself.

Can one become an immortal simply by following the proper steps?

Becoming an immortal... is it really that simple?