Mountain Venerable and Sea Immortal

Mount Lao, majestically situated on the shores of the East China Sea, is a towering and imposing mountain, shrouded in a misty, ethereal atmosphere year-round. Its verdant peaks and valleys are rich in spiritual energy, and its myriad valleys exude an aura of immortality, making it a renowned immortal mountain for cultivation in the Eastern Wilderness. Outside the mountain gate, spiritual energy ripples and ethereal music lingers, but the further north one travels, the thinner the spiritual energy becomes, until near Qingdao Bay, only a faint trace of residual earth energy remains.

Qingdao Bay Fishing Village is a remote village at the northernmost end of the Laoshan mountain range. It is isolated on the coast of Beihai, more than 100 miles away from the foot of the main peak of Laoshan. It is separated from Laoshan by a world of heaven and earth.

The lingering stench of the spiritual mist from the secret realm still clung to Lin Yan's clothes. He stood at the crossroads of the official road outside Laoshan, dressed in plain, coarse cloth, a stark contrast to the Laoshan disciples beside him, all clad in matching cloud-patterned Daoist robes and standing tall and straight. The young man's expression was calm, his brows still bearing the slight weariness of the battle in the secret realm, yet his back remained straight, showing no sign of slackness.

Lin Yan spoke in a calm and humble tone, raising his hand to give a slight bow to the people from Laoshan: "Everyone, the three of us still have worldly matters to attend to and need to return to the fishing village. Once everything is settled, we will proceed to Laoshan to fulfill our appointment for accepting disciples and conducting assessments."

Having said that, he bowed again in farewell, turned around, and stepped onto the path heading north. The sea breeze blew in his face, carrying saltiness and a slight chill. The clouds and mist of the immortal mountains behind him gradually receded, while the smoke from the fishing village in front of him grew closer. A mix of emotions welled up in his heart.

Before long, the familiar seaside stone house came into view. Pushing open the door, the interior was simply furnished, the walls cold and still, with only the sound of the waves accompanying them day and night. Lin Yan looked at this small world that had witnessed his mundane years, let out a long breath, and the tension in his heart, which had been taut for days, eased slightly.

Although the opportunities and good fortune in the secret realm allowed him to steadily reach the fifth level of Qi Refining, the struggles and battles within the realm left his spiritual power, though sufficient, with some mixed and violent energy mixed in. His state of mind was also unstable due to the constant travel.

Lin Yan made a hand seal with his fingertips, setting up a simple concealment and soundproof array that he had learned from the fragments of the secret realm scroll, completely isolating the noise of the waves from the smoke of the fishing village.

He sat cross-legged on the stone couch, his eyes slightly closed, his expression serene as still water, circulating his spiritual energy and practicing the breathing technique. The spiritual power of the fifth level of Qi Refining flowed slowly through his meridians, like the ebb and flow of the tide, gradually cleansing away the remaining ferocity and stagnation from the battle. His breathing was long and even, subtly in sync with the rhythm of the waves outside the window, and a faint, shimmering white light gradually rose around him.

With a stick of incense burning in quiet contemplation, the restless spiritual energy became increasingly harmonious and smooth, all blockages in the meridians were cleared up, and the originally stable fifth level of cultivation became indestructible. The spiritual power circulated smoothly and freely, becoming even stronger.

Once his cultivation was completely stable, Lin Yan calmed his mind and, with a slight thought, took out all the treasures from his storage ring. In an instant, the room burst forth with spiritual light, illuminating the stone house as bright as day.

Scattered across the ground are rare and precious treasures, each one enough to stir the soul with a single glance: a broken deep-sea coral staff, its veins winding like waves, its rough edges overflowing with warm, water-attribute spiritual energy; a pile of shattered seashell armor, its plates white and fine, retaining extremely strong water-based defensive power; several pale blue round beads, smooth and translucent, sealing in pure and ancient spiritual essence; and scattered throughout are spiritual herbs, materials, and ancient runes.

Suddenly, a small, dark green shadow darted out from Lin Yan's clothes and leaped into the pile of treasures. The spirit turtle, originally no bigger than a palm, was now firmly attracted by the water-elemental spiritual energy of the coral staff and the light blue beads. It first rubbed its head against half of the coral staff, absorbing the rich water spiritual energy from the staff, and then opened its mouth and swallowed all the light blue beads into its belly.

In a short while, the spirit turtle was enveloped in a dazzling blue-green light, and its body rapidly expanded at a visible speed, returning to its original height of about half a zhang (approximately 3.3 meters) when it was in the Sea God Temple. The originally blurry patterns on its shell quickly unfolded, transforming into a complete deep-sea map. The iron-hard shell shimmered with spiritual light, its spirituality greatly enhanced.

Lin Yan suppressed the excitement in his heart, reached out and gently stroked the warm shell of the spirit turtle, feeling its evolution, before putting away these rare treasures one by one, taking out two scrolls of cultivation techniques, and concentrating on comprehending them.

The "Laoshan Sea Viewing Manual" was originally a basic method of Laoshan. With the help of the spiritual energy of the secret water and the earth energy of the Qingdao Bay waves, he gained a new perspective when he studied it again. He not only thoroughly understood the entire manual, but also comprehended a trace of the true meaning of "entering the Dao through the sea and suppressing people with power". When he used it, the circulation of spiritual energy was more in line with the tides of heaven and earth, and its power far exceeded that of before.

The "Canglan Sea Emperor's Manual" is far more profound and domineering than the former. Lin Yan forced himself to comprehend it with his fifth level of Qi Refining cultivation. Although he failed to reach the core, he initially mastered the method of drawing and gathering water spiritual power and forming waves. As a result, his dantian and sea of ​​qi became more powerful, and the purity of his water spiritual power increased another level. There were faint signs that he was climbing towards the sixth level of Qi Refining.

Inside Yunxi's house, however, was a completely different scene, full of the warmth and life of everyday life.

The fisherwoman was sitting in front of the stove, tending the fire. The iron pot was bubbling and cooking seafood porridge, filling the air with its aroma. The honest fisherman had just finished cleaning the fishing nets and was covered in the smell of sea salt.

"Xi'er, take a rest. Your mother has cooked your favorite porridge. You must be exhausted from this trip, right?" The fisherman's father said in a rough voice, his tone full of heartache. Yunxi's parents were ordinary villagers in the fishing village, relying on the sea for their livelihood. They knew nothing about cultivating immortality and only hoped that their daughter would be safe, well, and have a peaceful life.

The other stone house was cold and empty, without a trace of warmth from a stove, and a thin layer of dust covered the tables and chairs. By the window, an old wooden table sat forlornly with half a piece of dried food, a picture of desolation and neglect.

Yi Azhu sat alone on the bluestone steps outside the house, her arms tightly wrapped around her knees, her small body curled up in a ball, tears welling in her eyes. The sea breeze, carrying the coolness of sea salt, swept by, ruffling the stray hairs on her forehead, making her appear even more lonely and desolate.

The Jiang family, located on the west side of the fishing village, had long lost its former arrogance. Jiang Hu and several of the Jiang family's trusted henchmen had been abandoned deep within the secret realm and had not been seen for several days. The large courtyard was deathly silent, filled only with panic and decay, devoid of any former clamor.

As night gradually descends upon the fishing village of Qingdao Bay, it first darkens the scattered stone houses and thatched eaves, then covers the messy fishing nets and oars on the shore, and finally slowly spreads across the sea.

Nearby, waves of water washed over the fine sand, then slowly receded, the sound of the tide growing louder as it lapped against the rocks with a deep, resonant echo. The sea shimmered, moonlight shattering into a cold, silvery glow on the crests of the waves, and where the water met the sky, clouds churned and billowed.

"Woof...woof..."

In the unusually quiet fishing village, a few sparse barks of dogs suddenly broke the silence at the village entrance, piercing the night and echoing through the empty village before being quickly swallowed up by the sound of the waves.

A faint, almost imperceptible aura of antiquity, carried by the sea breeze and the lingering warmth of the earth, swept lightly across the fishing village from the depths of Laoshan's clouds and mist, lingering briefly above Lin Yan's stone house before vanishing in an instant, as swift as an illusion.

In Lin Yan's arms, half of an old inkstone left behind by his "mentor" Guanhai Daoren trembled slightly unnoticed within the dark lapel. The hidden patterns on the bottom of the inkstone seemed to quietly echo the earth veins of the distant Laoshan Mountain.