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

What is the most basic thing in cultivating immortality?

Is it innate talent? Is it comprehension? Is it spiritual root? Is it lineage? Is it cultivation technique?

For Qi Fei, it meant being able to read.

In this world, after waking up and getting through the most difficult initial period, Qi Fei found the scroll of "Shadow God Technique" in a hidden compartment by his bedside.

The object was neither leather nor silk, but as thin as a cicada's wing. When folded, it was no bigger than a handkerchief, but when unfolded, it was as large as a cloak.

At that time, he didn't even recognize the three characters "Shadow God Technique," let alone the densely packed tiny characters that followed.

He had no idea at the time that it was a cultivation practice manual.

Because he doesn't recognize any of the characters in this world that resemble seal script.

Later, he saw with his own eyes a cultivator flying away on the wind, leaving a long trail of clouds behind him.

After hearing many folk tales about immortals, I gradually realized that this world might be a world of cultivation, and that thing might be related to cultivation.

Regardless of whether that thing is a cultivation technique or not, to survive in this world, one must first be literate.

Knowledge is expensive in every world!

In order to learn to read, he was willing to work like a slave for Kong Mingyun at Mingchun Academy.

He would get up before dawn to chop wood, fetch water, and start a fire to cook. At first, the old man looked down on him, but he had to beg and plead to finally get the job.

After that, he took care of Kong Mingyun's daily life perfectly. During the day, he also cleaned the school and served him writing materials, taking on all the dirty and tiring work.

If it weren't for Mr. Kongming Yun's appreciation of his exceptional intelligence and quick wit, his ability to remember every word he was taught and grasp it immediately, he probably wouldn't have taught him even a single word.

Even so, it still took Qi Fei a whole year to learn the characters and understand the "Shadow God Technique" before he officially embarked on the path of cultivation.

Now, in order to find out exactly where "Nanshan" is, he visited Kong Mingyun again after three years.

This time, he specially bought some meat strips as tuition, cut some cooked beef, and bought a pot of wine before arriving at Mingchun Academy.

Just as I reached the door, I saw Kong Mingyun walking out.

Mingchun Academy was not large, consisting of only two courtyards. When the teacher, Kong Mingyun, looked up and saw Qi Fei, his expression changed. He immediately turned around and walked back, raising his hand to close the door.

Qi Fei reacted swiftly, rushing forward and shouting, "Master, I've come to see you!"

He pressed down on the door with one hand, and the door could no longer be closed.

Kong Mingyun, his face stern, said coldly, "Who are you? Why are you stopping me? Do we know each other?"

Qi Fei knew that Kong Mingyun was still angry with him.

During his year at school, he worked like a slave, carefully serving others, and endured countless hardships. In particular, when Kong Mingyun had nothing to do, he liked to tease and make things difficult for him, seeing that he was just a teenager.

Being a cow or horse in a past life is self-deprecating humor, but being a cow or horse in that year is a realistic portrayal!

So three years ago, after he learned to recognize characters and understand the "Shadow God Technique", he never came to Mingchun Academy again.

According to people at the school, Kong Mingyun was very angry that Qi Fei didn't come that day.

Qi Fei never imagined that he would one day have to ask Kong Mingyun for help. However, he was, after all, someone who could shamelessly audit classes at Mingchun Academy.

He immediately stepped forward, grinning, and said, "Master, Master, it's me, Xiao Qi!"

"...Who is Xiao Qi? I don't know him." Kong Mingyun said with a straight face, not even raising his eyelids.

"Master, I used to serve you for a long time." Qi Fei took a step closer. "Sometimes you had to get up seven or eight times a night because you couldn't pee. I knew all that."

As people get older, their prostate glands become less capable.

This is the aging of bodily functions, which no one can avoid.

Kong Mingyun's expression changed: "You!"

Qi Fei continued, "And what about all that nonsense rambling in the middle of the night, about Liu Xu'er of Cuihong Tower having a supple waist and a body more beautiful than a peony..."

"Shut up!" Kong Mingyun blushed and quickly waved his hand. "Come in!"

If we don't come in soon, the whole city will probably know about this tomorrow.

"Alright!" Qi Fei followed in with a smile, placing the strips of meat, cooked beef, and wine in his hand aside. "Now that I can eat a little better, I'll make up for the tuition I paid before."

Kong Mingyun sat back down at the head of the table, gave a cold snort, and didn't even lift his eyelids:

"Those who tell stories and show off their glib tongues on the street, do they deserve to be my students? I have countless students, all of whom are famous scholars and officials in the imperial court."

Tianlan City belongs to the Great Yan Dynasty, and indeed some of Kong Mingyun's students hold official positions in the court.

Qi Fei replied sarcastically, "But they were all killed."

He had heard Kong Mingyun boast about this, how some students became censors and prefects, but one after another they were beheaded and their homes confiscated. The old man sighed whenever he mentioned this.

Kong Mingyun's face turned cold, and she was too lazy to argue with him anymore.

He also knew Qi Fei's personality; he was like a piece of chewing gum, impossible to shake off or get rid of.

"What brings you here today?" he asked with a stern face.

"It has been a long time since I last saw you, Master. I have missed you dearly and have come to pay my respects." Qi Fei smiled sincerely.

"It's not a holiday or festival, you must have something to say to come here. If you don't want to say, then forget it." Kong Mingyun made a gesture to serve tea and see the guest out.

"Master, please don't be hasty," Qi Fei quickly pressed his hand down. "May I ask, Master, do you know of Beishan?"

"What Beishan? Never heard of it."

"Then... what about Nanshan?"

"Nanshan?" Kong Mingyun pondered for a moment. "Three thousand miles southeast of Tianlan City, there is a Ghost Mountain, which was called 'Nanshan' a hundred years ago."

"Why is it called Nanshan? Are there any other places called Nanshan?" Qi Fei asked sincerely. "Master, you are learned and talented, you must know the answer."

Kong Mingyun enjoyed Qi Fei's flattery and stroked his beard slowly, saying, "That Ghostly Nether Mountain was called Southern Mountain a hundred years ago."

"A hundred years ago, some cultivators fought in the mountains, causing the mountains to collapse and the earth to crack. After that, strange things often happened, and even ghosts howled at night. Gradually, no one dared to go there, so it was renamed Ghost Nether Mountain."

He paused, then stroked his beard and said, "As for the origin of Nanshan, there is a fragment of a passage in the *Classic of Mountains and Seas*: 'Nanshan has plums, Dongshan has thorns,' which refers to this mountain."

Qi Fei listened attentively and nodded inwardly.

This trip was worthwhile.

That old bastard Kong Mingyun is indeed very learned. Nanshan is actually an ancient name from a hundred years ago, while Guimingshan is a name that was only changed in the last hundred years.

As time goes by, some places have changed their names without anyone noticing.

His adoptive mother and Zhu Yixin were both cultivators, who must have been people from a hundred years ago. The Nanshan they mentioned was naturally the Ghost Mountain of today.

Thinking about it that way, it makes sense.

Qi Fei pondered for a moment, then asked, "Recently, many people from other places have come to Tianlan City. I've noticed they often mutter something like 'Believe in the Shadow God, and you will gain eternal life.'"

"Does the Master know of this Shadow God Cult?"