The Quest for Immortality

When Yan woke again, he found himself lying in a cave. The space was tidy and free of strange odors.

Seeing him stir, the Mountain Lord swayed over. He straightened up, assuming human form, his face slightly flushed—clearly, he'd been drinking alone all night.

"You have a human form?" Yan sneered, his tone unkind.

"Kid, the stories your father told weren't the whole truth. I pride myself on having never harmed a human. I meant to chase off those jackals, to repay the savior who once saved my life. But then a group of people came up the mountain. I was away, and they... they killed my wife and child." The Mountain Lord swayed, picking up a wine cup and draining it in one gulp.

"We built this home together. She was an immortal, yet she fell for me. She taught me transformation, how to be human, the rules and ways of mankind. The reason I've never hurt anyone isn't kindness—it's because I, a tiger turned spirit, am danger itself." The Mountain Lord let out a cold laugh.

"Kid, how many tigers—so-called 'Mountain Lords'—do you think are in these mountains?" he suddenly asked, a tone of self-mockery in his voice.

Yan gasped in surprise.

"The other one normally doesn't show itself because I'm here. That day, I was driven away. It came out. I couldn't rest easy; I returned once I sensed it was safe, only to find... that tragedy. To protect their bodies from scavengers, I marked the area with my scent." Seeing Yan's lingering doubt, the Mountain Lord rose and unleashed his aura.

"Kid, I know you don't believe me. Believe it or not, this aura doesn't lie. You can sense it too—that wasn't my presence!"

Yan was instantly struck speechless. Only then did he realize he'd accused the wrong tiger.

"Things are quite lively down the mountain," the Mountain Lord mentioned casually.

"Mountain Lord, what if I try to lure that false Mountain Lord out, and you expose it before everyone..." Yan started to suggest, but was cut off before he could finish.

"I am a tiger. Whether I've eaten humans or not, in their eyes, I'm a murderer, a threat! Even in human form, I'm a monster! Why else would she have died?!"

"Kid, I'm tired. Here's a map to his lair. Take the people and kill him. This mountain no longer has a Mountain Lord." The Mountain Lord took a bitter sip of wine, then walked out of the cave dwelling alone. Once Yan followed, the Mountain Lord completely destroyed the place with a blast.

Standing at the cave entrance, the Mountain Lord took out a small pouch and handed it to Yan. "This was on that fellow. It looked valuable, so I kept it safe, worried it might be stolen."

"You want me to give it to my uncle?" Yan was at a loss.

The Mountain Lord shook his head with a sigh. "Weren't you his friend? Don't you know his family's situation?"

Yan shook his head. "I only know my father always invited him over for meals. Nothing else."

"Fate hasn't been kind to his family. Perhaps they interfered too much in the fates of others." The Mountain Lord sighed.

Yan said nothing, simply accepting the pouch.

"Oh, right. There's also a token inside—probably yours. It fell out when you were drunk last night," the Mountain Lord added.

Yan took out the token, examining it front and back. It just felt old; he had no idea what it was.

"This might be proof of an Immortal Seed some senior planted within you. That's a tremendous opportunity. But this token... I can't see through it. It feels mundane. This bead, however, might be something." He pointed to a pitch-black bead on it. "It draws spiritual energy on its own. Likely has great uses."

Gazing at the bead, the Mountain Lord seemed to remember something and sighed. "Kid, this token is a liability for you now. You must hide it well. If you join an Immortal Sect, no one must know about it unless it's a Sub-Institute!"

Yan didn't understand why the Mountain Lord reacted so strongly, but he nodded silently in agreement.

Afterwards, Yan took the map down the mountain and gave it to the village chief. The false Mountain Lord was killed, and the mountain was left lordless.

From that day on, Yan drove himself even harder. His goal was simple: to fulfill the old man's dying wish by entering an Immortal Sect.

The Mountain Lord lived in seclusion, posing as a woodcutter. During this time, he trained Yan daily, teaching him the Qi Circulation Method and many fundamental principles of cultivation.

The Immortal elder returned as well. After examining his sister's remains and hearing Yan's account, he understood the details and helped the Mountain Lord perfect his human form to better conceal himself.

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, the day of the recruitment trials arrived.

The Mountain Lord and the Immortal elder together saw him off to the trial's entrance.

"Kid, if you're truly cornered, channel all your power into that token of yours! It must hold many mysteries and might just save your life in a pinch!" Having long since determined the Immortal meant no harm, the Mountain Lord had already discussed the jade slip with him. He clapped Yan on the shoulder and handed him a brocade pouch. "Open this when your life's on the line."

The Immortal also offered some reassurance, simply giving Yan a branch. He told him if shadows blocked his path, to burn it. If thorns barred the way, to use it to clear a road. If faced with a legion, to fight with it!

Only after Yan entered the trial grounds did the two exchange a look, shake their heads, and chuckle. "Weren't we supposed to have him take the commoner's route?" they said in unison. "Isn't this path reserved for those freaks of nature?" Sharing another glance, they laughed heartily before heading off to drink at the sect.

Yan stepped into the secret realm. The first thing he saw was a massive canyon; he was standing right inside it.

"Wow..." Having grown up in a village, Yan had never witnessed such a magnificent sight.

Bitten by his past training mistakes, he didn't rush forward. Instead, he took his time to observe his surroundings. After all, he'd never seen scenery like this, and everything felt wondrous and new.

He wandered idly, ambling along and glancing left and right. He picked a flower because it was pretty, snapped off a twig from an elegant tree... It wasn't until evening that he finally meandered to the end, having encountered no dangers along the way.

Yan was feeling quite pleased with himself—until he saw the teleportation array at the finish line and the ranking board...

He was dead last. Any later, and he would have been declared a failure.

Yan jolted in shock, hastily discarding all the trinkets he'd secretly pocketed. He smoothed his clothes and hurriedly stepped into the teleportation array.

This was only the first stage.

There were no specific tasks and no major restrictions. The only rule: no killing.

Yan quickly shook off his dizziness, looked around, and sprinted forward as if nothing was wrong. "Crap, crap! I fooled around too much!" His regret was gut-wrenching.

He maintained a decent pace, briefly wondering why there were no traps. Suddenly, the ground gave way beneath his feet, and he tumbled into a cave.

"Sss..." Clutching his head and squinting, Yan gritted his teeth in pain. A sudden chill ran down his spine. He turned to look—a spider the size of a compact car was watching him menacingly from behind.

Only then did he realize the surroundings were coated in sticky webs, with a few skeletal remains hanging here and there.

"No wonder..." In his panic, Yan whipped out the branch the Immortal elder had given him and flailed it wildly at the spider.

It didn't hurt the creature, but the aura emanating from the branch frightened it into retreat, revealing a passageway behind it.

Staring at the branch in disbelief, Yan waved it at the giant spider again. The spider backed off further.

Grinning widely, Yan brandished the branch triumphantly and strode forward with a swagger.

No creature dared obstruct his path. Flushed with overconfidence, he deliberately traveled at night, lighting the branch to see. Upon spotting the endpoint, he didn't rush in. First, he confirmed his ranking was near the top. Then, he turned back into the woods, making sure to loop through every nook and cranny.

When arrogance sets in, a humbling is never far behind.

Sure enough, when Yan passed through the spider's cave again, the branch proved ineffective. The giant spider feinted retreat, then glared at him, baring its fangs.

A sudden sense of danger struck Yan; he barely dodged to the side in time.

"Huh?!" Yan glanced at the spider, then at the branch in his hand, and waved it forward. The spider pretended to be startled, then immediately lunged the moment Yan let his guard down.

"Wasn't I told holding this meant I had nothing to fear? How can it just stop working?" Yan wailed as he sprinted desperately toward the endpoint.

The beautiful scenery along the path had changed. The creatures he had bullied while relying on the branch now saw it had lost its power. They swarmed forward, eager to tear him to shreds.

"Wasn't this supposed to be the simplest trial path? Why... why are there so many monsters?!" Yan yelled, running forward as the horde of creatures behind him closed in faster.

Along the way, vines erupted all around, and various hidden weapons flew at him intermittently. Fortunately, Yan's years living in the mountains had made him agile, and his subsequent training helped. Having scouted the area thoroughly earlier, he was familiar with the terrain and managed to avoid being hit.

The closer he got to the endpoint, the denser the ambushes and the more frequent the attacks became.

"No! Please no! I was wrong, honored beings!" Yan felt his legs beginning to go numb. The moment he thought to slow down, he heard the relentless pursuit closing in from behind.