Cultivating Immortality Through a Hundred Lifetimes: I Possess the Heavenly Book of Merit

The moonlight shone on the mountain path, casting two long, slender shadows.

Yu Yan and Zhou Yan stood behind a rock, gazing at the lonely wonton shop in the distance.

The lights in the shop flickered on for a moment, then went out again.

The hunched figure stood at the door for a long time before slowly turning around and disappearing behind the door.

Yu Yan withdrew his gaze and remained silent.

Zhou Yan watched from the side without saying a word.

After a long silence, Yu Yan finally let out a soft breath: "Let's go."

The two turned around and headed down the mountain path.

The footsteps were so light that they were almost inaudible.

Yu Yan walked a short distance, then couldn't help but look back again.

The shop had already disappeared into the night, leaving only the cloth banner swaying gently in the moonlight, like a powerless hand still searching for something.

He recalled the way Zhang Boyuan had held the longevity lock earlier.

Yu Yan didn't not want to go out.

He just didn't know what to say after he got out.

Zhang Silin is already dead. He was swallowed by the snake demon and left no remains. How can you say "please accept my condolences" now?

After saying these words, how could that old man possibly survive?

Rather than let him die in despair, it's better to give him something to look forward to.

Even if this thought is illusory and can never come to fruition.

At least, this belief allowed Zhang Boyuan to live on.

Yu Yan indirectly caused the deaths of many people. Zhang Boyuan, you must let him live a good life.

…………

A month later.

In the eastern part of Qing Kingdom, there is the Yunmeng Marsh.

Yu Yan stood on a high slope, gazing at the boundless water before him, and remained silent for a long time.

Yunmeng Marsh is very large.

It is so vast that it stretches as far as the eye can see, with clouds and mist swirling where the water meets the sky, and the glow of the sunset appearing and disappearing.

The water was as calm as a mirror, reflecting the clouds in the sky. Occasionally, a bird would fly by, creating a ripple on the surface.

But what left Yu Yan speechless was not this body of water.

It is an island floating on the water.

The island is very large, spanning dozens of miles in circumference, resembling a giant turtle lying on the water's surface.

The island's edge is lined with white sand beaches, upon which rise layers of city walls.

The city walls were not made of ordinary blue bricks and gray tiles, but were built with whole pieces of jade, which gleamed with a warm light in the sunlight.

The city wall ascends layer by layer, becoming narrower as it goes up, until the very top is hidden in the clouds and cannot be seen clearly.

The lower three floors are filled with houses, standing side by side, bustling with people.

The upper three levels are shrouded in clouds and mist, with rosy light scattering in all directions.

Within the mist, a faint, flickering light appeared and disappeared, clearly the spiritual energy dissipating from some kind of large-scale formation during its operation.

Below the island, near the water's surface, countless boats come and go.

There are small boats, large ships, painted boats, and multi-story ships.

Some had sails, some were rowing, and some had nothing at all, just floating quietly on the water, gently swaying with the ripples.

The ship was carrying people, cargo, and all sorts of things.

Someone was trading on the ship, handing over a pile of things to the other person and receiving a few spirit stones in return.

Some people were eating and drinking on the boat, leaning against the gunwale with wine glasses in hand, chatting and laughing with the passengers next to them. Others were meditating on the boat, their eyes closed and motionless, letting the boat drift with the waves.

Above the water, there were also cultivators flying.

The one who rides a sword, with a flying sword beneath his feet, soars through the air, his robes fluttering.

Riding the clouds, they floated slowly on a white cloud, occasionally glancing down at the ships below.

The one riding the bird rode a large bird with brightly colored feathers, whose wingspan was several feet, and whistled over the heads of the crowd.

There are also magical flying boats.

The flying boats were small, seating only two or three people, and were made entirely of some kind of spirit wood, covered with runes. They glided low over the water at an astonishing speed, leaving long trails in their wake.

"How is it?"

Zhou Yan's voice came from the side, tinged with a hint of smugness.

"I told you there was a market town here, wasn't I right?"

Yu Yan turned his head and looked at Zhou Yan's carefree, smiling face.

"Marketplace?"

His voice was calm.

Zhou Yan's smile froze, and he said awkwardly, "Uh... pretty much it. Anyway, since there's no sect, isn't it just a market?"

Yu Yan ignored him and continued looking at the island.

Marketplace?

This is clearly a fairy city.

A true fairy city.

It was more than ten times larger than he had imagined.

"Let's go."

Zhou Yan patted him on the shoulder and walked down the mountain.

At the foot of the mountain is a ferry crossing.

It was called a ferry crossing, but it was really just a few planks laid out on the water's edge, extending into the water. A dozen or so small boats were moored next to the planks, all the most ordinary kind of covered boats, their hulls somewhat dilapidated, and their oars casually resting on the gunwales.

Zhou Yan picked a boat, jumped on, and then reached out his hand to Yu Yan.

"Come up."

Yu Yan glanced at the ship, then at the immortal city in the distance.

"Sit here?"

"Otherwise what?" Zhou Yan said matter-of-factly.

"Fly there? Can you even fly? To fly on a sword near the Immortal City requires the strength of a Foundation Establishment cultivator. We Qi Refining cultivators should just stick to taking a boat."

makes sense.

Even if he could fly, he wouldn't dare to fly recklessly in unfamiliar places. Who knows what rules that city has? If he flew in and broke some taboo, and got cut down with a sword, that would be truly unjust.

He jumped onto the boat.

The boat rocked slightly, but quickly stabilized.

Zhou Yan picked up the oar and gently rowed the small boat away from the ferry, heading towards the immortal city.

The water surface is very flat.

The small boat glided across the water, creating gentle ripples.

There were other ships around, some heading to the Immortal City like them, and others coming out of the Immortal City. When they passed each other, the people on the ships would glance at each other and then look away.

The closer you get to the immortal city, the more ships there are.

When they were still two or three miles from the immortal city, the water was already teeming with boats, like a bustling market. The boats varied in size and speed, weaving back and forth, yet miraculously, no one collided.

Yu Yan noticed that the flying cultivators would slow down and land gently as they approached the immortal city.

Some landed on the water and continued walking forward. Others landed on boats, put away their magical implements, and boarded boats to enter the city like ordinary people.

No one flew directly in.

"You figured it out?"

Zhou Yan said as he rowed the boat.

"This immortal city has an anti-flying formation; no one can fly within three miles of the city. Anyone who dares to fly there is either someone with cultivation high enough to ignore the formation, or someone who has a death wish."

He paused, then added, "However, so far, I haven't seen anyone who can ignore this formation."

Yu Yan nodded and kept this in mind.

The small boat continued on its way.

As they drew closer to the Immortal City, the oppressive aura emanating from it grew increasingly palpable.

That wasn't an intimidating aura directed at any individual, but rather the overwhelming power emanating from the entire immortal city.

It is the aftershocks of the array's operation, the aura formed by countless cultivators, and the foundation accumulated by this city over countless years.

Yu Yan took a deep breath.

There are many cultivators in this city with high cultivation levels.

The Qi Refining stage is probably just the lowest level here; the Foundation Establishment stage is considered the middle level, and as for the Core Formation stage...

He remembered what Zhou Yan had told him on the way.

"This immortal city is called Yunmeng Immortal Marsh, but most people call it Yunmeng Immortal City. It is the only market town in the Qing Kingdom that is presided over by a rogue great cultivator."

"The Lord of the Immortal City, whose Daoist name is Yunmeng Zhenren, is a cultivator at the Pseudo-Core Formation stage."