Chapter 281 - 276: Seeking Immortality at the Seeking Immortal Tower

Old Jin finally left. Before he departed, he said to Lady Man, "Lady Man, you can’t bear to part with her today, but don’t you realize that one day, she will inevitably leave you? By then, you’ll be frail and decrepit. Even if you manage to get a Foundation Establishment Pill, it will be too late for you to establish your foundation."

Tears welled in Lady Man’s eyes, but she remained silent.

Old Jin sighed. "If you don’t leave today, your path to immortality will be severed. Five hundred years from now, if Xin’Er succeeds in Seeking Immortality, who’s to say she will even remember to burn a stick of incense at your grave?"

Tears brimmed in Lady Man’s eyes. She said nothing, letting them stream endlessly down her cheeks.

Xiaoxin’Er, held tightly in her mother’s embrace, had a face streaked with tears. The little girl tilted her head up slightly to look at Old Jin, her adorable face clouded with terror and unease.

Her small hands clasped tightly around the nape of Lady Man’s neck as she called out in a tiny voice, over and over, "Mama, Mama, Mama..."

Lady Man lowered her head, pressing her cheek against her daughter’s.

Old Jin shook his head and sighed. "So be it."

With that, he lingered no longer, turning to leave.

His figure soon reached the end of the long street.

At the circular plaza at the end of the street, the Martial Artist who had obtained the White Jade Level Foundation Establishment Pill had ceased his wild laughter. He clutched the Jade Box, his eyes cold as he watched Old Jin approach step by step.

In the center of the circular plaza was a high, trapezoidal platform, and atop it stood a tall, octagonal Treasure Tower.

This tower was Yanling Town’s most important structure: the Seeking Immortal Tower!

The Seeking Immortal Tower was a wondrous Immortal Treasure. Anyone who wished to obtain a Foundation Establishment Pill had to go to the tower and receive a Foundation Establishment mission.

Succeed, and they would receive a Foundation Establishment Pill within the tower.

This Great Zhou Martial Artist’s Foundation Establishment Pill had also been obtained from the Seeking Immortal Tower.

Old Jin brushed past the Great Zhou Martial Artist and began to climb the tower’s steps one by one.

The flight of stairs had ninety-nine steps. For every step Old Jin took, he knelt, his piety absolute.

At the other end of the long street, Lady Man departed, clutching her child.

The onlookers on either side shook their heads or sighed.

"It’s Lady Man who can’t let go. Old Jin’s Dao Heart is still steadfast."

"What can you do? She had a daughter late in life. If you ask me, you either have children early or not at all. If her child were grown by now, she could go Seeking Immortality whenever she pleased."

"It’s never that easy. Severing worldly ties, severing worldly ties... There’s always one attachment you can’t bear to cut, yet you must. Heh!"

"True, true. Isn’t that the case for all of us?"

’Isn’t that the case for all of us?’

Hearing this, Song Ciwan couldn’t help but let her gaze sweep over the crowd.

As her eyes swept across the street, she saw a great many people who possessed a kind of immortal air.

There was a street vendor, for example. Though he appeared to be a simple hawker, the wares on his stall were brimming with Spiritual Qi. Naturally, the man behind the stall couldn’t be some mortal peddler. He was an Immortal Seeker.

Then there was a shopkeeper. He sat behind his counter, pot-bellied and waving a Palm Leaf Fan. Though he had the air of a common merchant, his body was actually floating in his rocking chair. He was also an Immortal Seeker.

And the proprietress of the tavern up ahead. A sliver of her waist was exposed, her bare feet tapped lightly, and bells chimed on her wrist. Her eyes were as soft and seductive as silk... she was the very picture of coquettish charm. But she was quite literally dancing atop a series of wine vessels, some exquisite, some ancient. She was also an Immortal Seeker.

Then there was the young woman carrying a flower basket, the old woman making paper funeral offerings at the entrance of a mourning shop, the old man pushing a cart down the street selling griddle cakes...

These people, every last one of them, were Immortal Seekers.

Some of these Immortal Seekers had already achieved Foundation Establishment, yet the vestiges of their mundane lives still clung to them heavily.

Others, like those who rode on cranes or drifted on clouds, looked every bit the part of an Immortal at first glance. But regardless of their external appearances, their fundamental nature was likely the same.

Song Ciwan focused on one question in particular: ’Have every one of these Immortal Seekers truly severed their worldly ties?’

If it were true... she didn’t know what to make of it, but a sudden chill ran straight up her spine.

This was clearly a world suffused with Immortal Energy, one that appeared grand and righteous. Yet, standing within it, Song Ciwan felt as though she were on a cliff edge, exposed to howling winds from all directions.

It was like snow under a scorching sun; everything was melting away, and it was utterly terrifying.

She fell silent. The fisherman beside her, however, suddenly sighed and said, "I, too, severed my worldly ties back in the day. Fortunately, my wife was understanding and supportive. She cared for my parents and raised my children for me. I was much luckier than Old Jin."

Song Ciwan: "..."

There was nothing to say.

The fisherman smiled again. "However, from the moment I renounced my home, my wife was no longer my wife, my children were no longer my children, and my parents were no longer my parents. Let’s not speak of it. Come, young friend, this old one will take you to the Seeking Immortal Tower."

Without a word, Song Ciwan followed the fisherman toward the end of the long street.

The fisherman continued his introduction. "Our Seeking Immortal Tower in Yanling Town is primarily managed by the Red Eyebrow Immortal. Over the past three hundred years, the Great Immortal has given sermons five times. I was fortunate enough to attend four of them. It is a pity, however, that I missed the one a hundred years ago."

He sighed again. "For the last century, the Red Eyebrow Immortal hasn’t held a single sermon. I don’t know when I’ll have the honor of hearing the Great Immortal preach the Dao again."

At that moment, the Heaven and Earth Scale extended, collecting another mass of energy from the fisherman: [Human Desires: The regret, melancholy, and nostalgia of a Golden Core Stage Immortal Seeker. Weight: nine taels and eight maces. Can be traded.]

’Golden Core Stage, and nine taels and eight maces of energy!’

’The fisherman had, after all, reached the Golden Core Stage. His energy was far more condensed and difficult to draw out.’

Song Ciwan now possessed two masses of energy from the fisherman. One, from his time in the Foundation Establishment Stage, weighed over three jin. The other, which had just appeared, weighed over nine taels.

Song Ciwan desperately wanted to trade this energy immediately and see what she would get in return, but doing so on a public street was inconvenient. She could only suppress the urge.

She asked the fisherman, "Senior, you said the Seeking Immortal Tower in Yanling Town is managed by the Red Eyebrow Immortal. Does that mean the Foundation Establishment Pills inside..."

Before she could finish, the fisherman cut in, his voice filled with pride. "Precisely! All the Foundation Establishment Pills in the Seeking Immortal Tower are bestowed by the Red Eyebrow Immortal! Though the Great Immortal hasn’t held a sermon for a century, he has never abandoned us here in Yanling Town!"

"Young friend, you must make a good showing when you go to the Seeking Immortal Tower. Seeing as someone was able to obtain a White Jade Level Foundation Establishment Pill this time, with your comprehension and Dao Heart, perhaps you’ll be able to as well."

Song Ciwan immediately asked a crucial question. "Senior, does the Red Eyebrow Immortal constantly monitor the Seeking Immortal Tower?"

The fisherman shook his head. "How could that be possible? The Seeking Immortal Tower is a supreme Immortal Treasure with its own spirituality; it operates on its own. The only exception would be if someone were to obtain an Immortal Spirit Level Foundation Establishment Pill. Then the Great Immortal would surely descend to bestow his favor, and might even take them on as a personal disciple, haha!"

At this, the fisherman laughed again, as if finding the very idea incredible himself.

Song Ciwan was greatly relieved. If the Red Eyebrow Immortal were constantly watching, she would have no desire to enter the Seeking Immortal Tower at all.

Even so, her intention in entering the Seeking Immortal Tower wasn’t to acquire a Foundation Establishment Pill. She was already filled with countless doubts about the Golden Core Dao, even to the point of dread.

’But if I don’t enter the Seeking Immortal Tower, how can I uncover the secrets of this Spirit Realm? And how will I ever leave?’

’In any case, I should at least go take a look first and plan my next move from there.’

Song Ciwan stood at the bottom of the steps to the high platform in the circular plaza. The Great Zhou Martial Artist holding the Jade Box walked to her side.

He glanced at Song Ciwan out of the corner of his eye and said, seemingly offhandedly, "Starting today, I will achieve Foundation Establishment. From now on, with Immortal Martial Dual Cultivation, where in the world can I not go? Haha!"

As he spoke, he stepped back onto the stairs and began his ascent toward the Seeking Immortal Tower once more.

Seeing the man’s unbridled arrogance, the fisherman let out a dry chuckle and shook his head. "Immortal Martial Dual Cultivation. How impressive. A pity such wild arrogance is hardly a sustainable path."

Song Ciwan offered no opinion. She bid the fisherman farewell, then turned and followed the Martial Artist up the steps.

The moment she set foot on the first step, a pressure suddenly descended, pressing in on her from all directions like a steady, unending wave.