A Thought Through Eternity

In the middle of its eastern side, at the end of a side path, was a yard an acre large, surrounded by trees and flowers. It was quite picturesque. A cabin was built in the yard. Within it, all the furniture was made from deep-purple coloured wood, filling the cabin with the faint scent of sandalwood. This house looked much better than any of the Handyman Department’s houses.

A part of the yard was used as a field, and a well was located in a corner of the yard. At the moment, Bai Xiaochun was basking in the moonlight, surveying the surroundings, his eyes showing satisfaction.

“Outer sect disciples are officially recognized by the sect as their disciples, naturally they get treated a lot better than handymen. This house is really nice, but, I’ve heard from Big Brother that, if we become inner sect disciples, we could live in ‘caves’…I wonder what that would look like?” murmured Bai Xiaochun as he raised his head to look at the Scented Cloud Mountain’s peak.

Only inner sect disciples were qualified to live in the upper half of the mountain.

Soon after, he turned his head, lazily stretched his body, and took out a storage bag, then gently patted it. Following this movement, a bottle of round pills and a stick of cyan coloured incense instantly appeared in front of his eyes.

“Good~ stuff~.” Bai Xiaochun couldn’t resist fiddling with the storage bag. After a while, He fixed his eyes on the bottle of round pills and the cyan incense. There was a sticker on the bottle, with the words - ‘spirit condensation’ - written on it, while the cyan incense was embossed with ‘ascending cyan’. When he first became a handyman, he had received things like these; after he swallowed those pills, his cultivation showed some slight improvement. Incenses would have the same effect after the user lit them and breathed in their fragrance

“It’s a bit of a waste if I just swallow them like this. Why not save them until after spirit refinement? They can probably help me to break through the higher levels.” Bai Xiaochun thought for a bit, then made a decision. At the moment, he didn’t have the type of wood that could produce single-coloured flame, so he planned to go downhill and get some tomorrow.

After thinking up to this point, Bai Xiaochun sat down cross-legged and began to cultivate. He never gave up on cultivating, not even a little bit. Despite his slow progress all this time, he never stopped cultivating.

He was doing this to attain immortality, therefore, he was extremely dedicated towards cultivation.

The night passed silently, the glow of the sun spilled onto the morning mist and dispersed into beams of multicoloured light, which glimmered like precious gems. Bai Xiaochun, who had cultivated the entire night, felt very energetic after opening his eyes. He put on his outer sect disciple’s uniform and swiftly left the cabin to head for the Scriptures Pavilion that Brother Hou told him about yesterday.

The Scriptures Pavilion was located on the other side of the mountain, far from where he lived. After walking for half an hour, he finally managed to see a tall tower in the distance. Streams of lights were swirling around the tower, along with spiritual pressure which was emitted by the tower, layered on the surrounding area.

He saw a lot of outer sect disciples on his way, most of whom seemed to be in a hurry. After sensing that Bai Xiaochun was only at the third level of Qi Condensation, they disregarded him.

Bai Xiaochun didn’t mind this, but he did start to tread more carefully. All of the outer sect disciples he had passed on the way had a cultivation level higher than his. A few of them had an immeasurable cultivation and were surrounded by other outer sect disciples. They laughed and talked as they walked past Bai Xiaochun.

The closer he got to the Scriptures Pavilion, the more outer sect disciples he saw. When Bai Xiaochun was about to enter the pavilion, a rainbow streak darted over from a far away mountain peak, lapped over the Scented Cloud Mountain and then flew away.

Within the rainbow streak, a young man was barely visible. He was standing on a wheel which was moving quickly.

“It’s Qian Dajin from the Law Enforcement Department, Brother Qian!”

“Brother Qian is an inner sect disciple that has joined the Law Department. He has become incredibly famous now! It’s said that he has already reached the eighth level, which is the Great Circle of Qi Condensation, and with the help of magic treasures, he is able to fly for a short while, so enviable!”

Bai Xiaochun too, gazed at the rainbow streak with envy until it disappeared from sight, and sighed in his heart.

“One day, when I have learned how to fly, I’ll fly circles around this Scented Cloud Mountain, when this place is crowded, everyday!” he said to himself with determination. He then made his way through the crowd and got into the Scriptures Pavilion.

The Scriptures Pavilion tower was gigantic. The first floor was almost empty, only a single table was placed in it. An elderly man was sitting behind the table with his eyes closed and legs crossed. Every disciple who walked past him would put the plate that showed their status on the table, and wait until the plate gave out light, before politely walking ahead.

Bai Xiaochun walked to the elderly man like the others and placed his plate on the table. Soon, it shone. Bai Xiaochun hastily picked it up and followed the other Brothers upstairs, to the second floor of the Scriptures Pavilion.

Many bookshelves had been placed on the second floor. They contained large amounts of jade tablets and a few bamboo scrolls. Every single one of them was wrapped up in a faint and soft light, which made the entire second floor seem extraordinary.

Not far away from him, was a staircase. Bai Xiaochun looked around first, then walked to it. When he was about to head up, a screen of light suddenly appeared, causing him to bounce back.

A young man, with a straight unibrow, who had been reading bamboo scrolls, glanced at Bai Xiaochun when he noticed what had happened.

“Brother, what qualifications do we need to go up to the third floor?” Bai Xiaochun acted like a good child and asked curiously.

“You must be a new disciple. Only disciples at the fifth level of Qi Condensation or above can go up there.” said that young man blandly. After which, he stopped talking, looked down and continued reading.

Bai Xiaochun, realising that this young man didn’t want to be disturbed, gave up on accessing the third floor and started to look around the second floor. He randomly chose some jade tablets and bamboo scrolls, then browsed through the many techniques in them. Every single one of them was attractive to him.

He especially fancied a fire-related magic that had been introduced in one of the books.

After a short while, he found the jade tablet of the Purple Qi Cauldron Manipulation Technique that contained the method and pictures corresponding to the cultivation of fourth to eighth level of Qi Condensation. Bai Xiaochun hurriedly grabbed it in his hand and continued walking around.

Time passed by quickly and, in the blink of an eye, dusk had arrived. Bai Xiaochun had only finished going through seven areas in the Scriptures Pavilion’s second floor. By now, only a few people were still in the Scriptures Pavilion.

“Seven or eight techniques look great…” while he was still wondering which one to choose, he randomly picked up another bamboo scroll, this one was a bit dilapidated. However, after a single glance, Bai Xiaochun’s eyes popped out. They were overflowing with excitement and enthusiasm.

“The Unending Longevity Technique!”

He took a deep breath, carefully read through the introduction of this technique, and learned that this was a body-cultivation technique, claiming to be capable of making whoever reached its pinnacle live forever.

His breathing became rapid. After taking another glance at the name of this technique, he made the decision. He was going to choose this technique!

The very reason he started cultivating was so that he could to attain immortality, therefore, he instantly felt that this technique was meant for him, and that he was destined to find it. He laughed out loud and took the bamboo scroll before going downstairs.

In the first floor’s hall, the elderly man was still seated behind the table with his eyes closed, just the same as this morning. However, when Bai Xiaochun put the jade tablet for the Purple Qi Cauldron Manipulation Technique and bamboo scroll containing The Unending Longevity Technique on the table, the elderly man slowly opened his eyes and threw a glance at Bai Xiaochun.

This glance made Bai Xiaoxhun’s body instantly shake, he felt that this glance was like lightning, making him tremble with fear. Bai Xiaochun hurriedly put on a polite face.

Fortunately, the elderly man soon stopped looking at Bai Xiaochun, and instead, took a glance at Bai Xiaochun’s identity plate.

“New disciples are allowed to copy the instructions for the first eight levels of the Purple Qi Cauldron Manipulation Technique, as well as one other technique.” said the elderly man slowly, in a hoarse voice. While speaking, his eyes were fixed on the bamboo scroll of The Unending Longevity Technique and frowned slightly.

“Although this technique is described as amazing, only a part of it remains. Additionally, the cultivation of this technique is extremely difficult, it will bring you great pain that no ordinary person can bear. Very few cultivators have choosen this one, and most of them eventually gave up. This book has been burried in the Scriptures Pavilion for a long time, are you sure you want to cultivate it?” said the elderly man while looking at Bai Xiaochun.

“Respected elder, disciple is very sure.” Bai Xiaochun hurriedly responded. Hearing the elderly man’s words, Bai Xiaochun had a feeling that, the reason this technique had been left in the corner of a bookshelf for so many years, was because it had been waiting for him. When he thought about the words ‘unending longevity’, he felt his blood boil.

The elderly man stopped trying to advise Bai Xiaochun. He then raised his right hand and waved it in the air; after which, two blank jade slips flew out, and after copying the information, dropped in front of Bai Xiaochun. The elderly man then closed his eyes again, not paying any more attention to Bai Xiaochun.

Bai Xiaochun took the two jade slips, turned around and left, his eyes filled with anticipation. He went directly back to his cabin.

Night had fallen before he returned. In the cabin, Bai Xiaochun sat down cross-legged. After taking a deep breath, he took out the jade slip containing the Unending Longevity Technique and activated his Qi. After his Qi merged with the jade slip, the instructions instantly emerged in his mind.

Half an hour later, Bai Xiaochun opened his eyes, as if he was thinking of something.

Just as the elderly man had said, the manual for The Unending Longevity Technique was incomplete. According to it, the cultivation method for this technique was divided into two parts. The internal refinement and external refinement. The external refinement was composed of three chapters: skin, flesh and tendons, while the internal refinement had two chapters: bones and blood.

This incomplete book only had the cultivation method for the skin, which indeed seemed very difficult; besides, the book also mentioned that the cultivation of this technique would consume great amounts of energy. However, the book had mentioned a few secret techniques which seemed a bit exaggerated; for example, one of them was called ‘throat-crushing grasp’, which the book claimed to be unbeatable.

Bai Xiaochun hesitated for a second, but after looking at the words ‘Unending Longevity’, his eyes instantly burned with determination. According to the manual, he stood up, raised his hands and started smacking every single area on his body.

He had an insurmountable desire for immortality, which was stronger than what ordinary people had by hundreds of times. It was the same for cultivation, so he wholeheartedly followed the manual’s instructions, and smacked his body during the course of the entire night.

“Ouch, ouch…loose first, then tight…ouch…ouch…tight…then loose!” Bai Xiaochun gritted his teeth while repeating a sentence from the The Unending Longevity Technique’s manual. He had been jumping around the yard while constantly screaming, on the verge of tears. In the end, he made up his mind, took his spirit stones, and walked out of the yard, then went down the mountain.

He thought that if he was going to train, then why not go down the mountain and buy the medicinal materials instead, and trade them for the life-prolonging pill. That would be much better than just jumping around the yard.

Therefore, at the top of Scented Cloud Mountain, many outer sect disciples saw a white and tender young man, who was hopping in a strange manner, rather than walking. He let out strange screams from time to time. From afar, these screams sounded extremely creepy…as if Bai Xiaochun was an extremely depraved person having his wedding night…….

[ED NOTE: RAWs said ** which suggests sexual activity]

“Ah…ouch…oh…oh…ah…ah……ah……ah……”

Bai Xiaochun didn’t want to make those sounds either, but it was just too painful. It was so painful that even when he didn’t move, he still felt that he was being tortured. However, every time he thought about the words ‘unending longevity‘, he would steel himself and continue. Eventually, he made his way from the mountain top to the market located outside the sect’s entrance.

After he unsteadily acquired enough of the required medicinal materials, he bought some wood that could produce one-coloured flame. As for wood that could produce two-coloured flame, it was very expensive so, he could only purchase a single piece before using up all his spirit stones.

After purchasing everything he needed, he gritted his teeth in pain and went to the mission-monument. There, he completed the mission that he had taken when he was still a handyman, and obtained a life-prolonging pill.

This pill was only the size of a thumbnail, it was all yellow, and emitted a special fragrance. Looking at the round pill, Bai Xiaochun was in so much pain that he couldn’t say a single word. Sweat was pouring down his body in streams, completly drenching him.

Gritting his teeth with all his strength, Bai Xiaochun climbed up Scented Cloud Mountain’s stairs step by a step, leaving a trail of sweat on the road behind him. Quite a few outer sect disciples were shocked after they saw Bai Xiaochun, some of them even showed disgust. After all, the sweaty stench emitted by his body was extremely strong.

Even Bai Xiaochun didn’t know how he made it back to his courtyard. By the time he arrived at the yard, one step at a time, it was already late at night. As soon as he stepped into his courtyard, he just fell on the ground, and passed out from the pain.

During the night, he had been woken up then knocked out by the pain multiple times. At dawn, he opened his eyes and discovered that the pain was gone.

“This is only an incomplete small cycle…”

Bai Xiaochun thought of what was written in the Unending Longevity Technique’s manual. A day and a night like this, without passing out, could be counted as a complete small cycle, and it required eighty-one small cycles like this to achieve a small circulation. This was equivalent to reforming the skin. When the skin became tough enough, the cultivator wouldn’t feel such great pain.

“If this technique was easy, anyone could cultivate it, and then everyone would be immortal. The more difficult it is, the more I should continue cultivating it. If I stick with it, I can definitely gain eternal life!” Bai Xiaochun’s eyes burned with determination. His abnormaly strong obssesion with eternal life could shock anyone.

Now that he finally didn’t feel any pain from his body, Bai Xiaochun hurriedly took the life-prolonging pill out. After giving it a closer look, he was about to swallow it. However, he suddenly thought of something, looked at the surroundings to make sure that nobody was around, then rushed into his cabin and made a gesture with his right hand; following his gesture, the turtle-shell pot instantly appeared.

“Just swallowing it would be a waste, I should wait for after the spirit refinement.” murmured Bai Xiaochun while licking his own lips. He then took out the two-coloured flame wood piece, placed it under the turtle-shell pot, then lit it. The piece of wood started to burn quickly, and in the blink of an eye, became ashes. After which, the two patterns on the surface of the pot lit up.

Bai Xiaochun hesitated for a moment, then put the life-prolonging pill into the pot. The instant the pill was put inside, an eye-piercing silver light suddenly gushed out. Bai Xiaochun, having experienced this before, stayed calm as he fixed his eyes on the pot.

A short while later, the silver light dissipated, and in the pot, two silver patterns had appeared on the surface of the life-prolonging pill. The pleasant scent of medicinal materials, far denser than before, was being emitted by the pill. Just by breathing in that fragrance, Bai Xiaochun felt much more energetic than before.

“What a shame, I couldn’t find any wood that produces three-coloured flame.” Bai Xiaochun grabbed the pill and threw it into his mouth. As soon as it entered his mouth, the pill transformed into heat and diffused into his body.

Bai Xiaochun heard a boom from inside his head, then he felt as if his entire body was in an oven, everything inside was blazing. He even saw the white hair near his forehead instantly turn back to black, as if his life-force was being replenished. Quite a while later, this feeling hadn’t weakened at all, on the contrary, it kept growing stronger, to the point where his nose started bleeding.

“Too much!” Bai Xiaochun said as his eyes widely popped out. He hurriedly activated the Purple Qi Cauldron Manipulation Technique, however, that didn’t help at all, because what had been replenished by this pill was life-force, not Qi. More and more blood gushed out of his nose, and the hot stream of life-force inside his body started to expand, making him feel like he had become a balloon which was about to explode. He was instantly frightened.

In fact, after this pill went through two spirit refinements, its effects and value were hundreds of times more than what they used to be. Bai Xiaochun was only in the third-level of Qi Condensation, it was impossible for his body to handle the effect of this pill.

In this moment of crisis, Bai Xiaochun suddenly thought of The Unending Longevity Technique. He hurriedly leapt up and started smacking his own body with both of his hands using all of his strength.

Muffled popping sounds resounded about the room. Along with his movements, he felt that the hot stream inside his body started to cool down. However, he did not dare to stop. After smacking himself for half an hour, he finally felt the hot stream of life-force inside his body dissipate. His entire body was aching to the point where he immediately collapsed, panting. However, he felt better than he ever had before. An intense light could be seen flashing in his eyes.

“Although it’s partially related to spirit refinement... it’s still mostly the spirit medicine itself. Spirit medicine…is surprisingly miraculous…some can improve Qi, some can prolong the life…so, there might be one that can make people immortal!” thinking of this, Bai Xiaochun became more and more excited as his eyes shone even brighter.

“The Scented Cloud Mountain is exactly for raising Medicine Masters…”

“I’m going to become a Medicine Master, and make... an immortality pill!” Bai Xiaochun yelled to himself while panting.

At this moment, an incomparable and unprecedentedly strong interest in spirit pills had grown in his heart.