The mountain was mysterious.

  Mist hung thick in the air.

  Before I knew it, the sun was rising.

  Light glimmered faintly through the dense fog, a beautiful sight. The spiritual energy pouring out from the mountain itself refreshed my chest.

  I scanned my surroundings and recalled the starting point of the game ‘Fresh Immortal’.

  Characters usually began as disciples of cultivation sects, children of long-established cultivation clans, or in remote cultivation villages.

  Sometimes there were people who even posted screenshots to prove they’d started in demonic sects.

  Thinking about that made my heart skip a beat.

  Yeah.

  At least I hadn’t started in a demonic sect.

  That place was truly a hellhole.

  Since I’d awakened in a cultivation village, this place was probably Sacred Spirit Mountain.

  Looking at the terrain, it definitely seemed to be Sacred Spirit Mountain.

  For beginner players starting in cultivation villages, Sacred Spirit Mountain was a mandatory gateway they had to pass through.

  But the memories of the original body, Yun Xian, were different.

  This Sacred Spirit Mountain was, for cultivators, a place as awkward as chicken ribs—hard to give up, not worth keeping.

  Low-level cultivators had trouble coming here, while higher-level cultivators found absolutely no merit in it.

  It was a small mountain without any major demonic beasts likely to possess demon cores.

  There was always a reason why Qingyun Sect left it unattended.

  Which meant that, for me, there was no better choice than this place.

  The rough layout of Sacred Spirit Mountain formed clearly in my mind.

  Deep within the mountain.

  There was a valley hidden in a place that rarely caught human eyes.

  The valley was cleverly concealed so that it couldn’t be easily discovered from the outside.

  Even flying through the sky, it was hard to find—perfect as an early-game hideout. That also meant… finding it on foot wouldn’t be easy.

  Damn life….

  Grumbling again, I moved forward.

  As I walked, I kept glancing around.

  I spread my divine sense as widely as possible.

  Soundproofing technique was already deployed over my body.

  The spirit stone in my hand was rapidly losing its glow. Ugh. What a waste.

  Why not just go underground using Earth Escape Technique?

  …Because I’d died multiple times doing exactly that in the game.

  This was a rugged mountain range.

  For a low-level Qi Refinement cultivator like me, there were plenty of demonic beasts that could swallow me in one bite.

  They weren’t worth hunting since they lacked demon cores, but even so, they were still a threat to me. If I happily dug underground and accidentally trespassed into a demonic beast’s territory, that would be the end. I didn’t want to die such a pointless death.

  Because I had to become a Great Luo Immortal.

  I looked around again.

  If someone harbored malicious intent toward me, a red aura would rise around them.

  So I had to keep observing my surroundings.

  It felt like my eyes were going to pop out, but even so, I was grateful.

  It meant I had one more danger-detection method than others.

  That alone greatly increased my chances of survival.

  Even if someone approached me with a smiling face while harboring ill intent, it would be useless.

  As I walked along the mountain path, familiar terrain came into view.

  It was the habitat of Jade Ear Rabbits, which I’d hunted countless times before.

  Jade Ear Rabbits were rabbits whose ears shone like jade. Selling them fetched 3 spirit stones per 5 rabbits.

  That might be fine in a game, but in reality, it wasn’t worth the effort.

  Which meant I wouldn’t run into other cultivators while hunting Jade Ear Rabbits.

  Should I try catching one?

  Jade Ear Rabbits. They tasted good and were good for the body.

  They even raised spiritual power, albeit slightly.

  I was tempted.

  But I forced myself to shake my head.

  I couldn’t afford to waste time on things like this.

  It definitely wasn’t because Jade Ear Rabbits’ hind-leg kicks were scary.

  A true man was supposed to cherish his own body.

  …I’d come back once I could practice Spirit Sword Technique and hunt them from afar.

  With that mindset, I also passed by a patch of Flying Immortal Grass.

  Its fragrant scent, tempting to humans, assaulted my nose.

  With a stiff expression, I silently walked along the mountain path.

  The spirit stone that had been flickering finally lost all light and crumbled dry.

  I lightly applied force, crushed it, and took out a new spirit stone from the storage pouch.

  “Geez….”

  Spells really consumed too much spiritual power.

  [As spell levels increase, spiritual power consumption decreases.]

  The system rattled off information as if it were giving me a tip.

  I didn’t even feel like scoffing.

  So what?

  You want me to invest more points bought with 100 spirit stones?

  Not buying, not buying.

  Absolutely ridiculous.

  It had been dangerous before, so I had no choice, but if proficiency increased just by repeating actions, why would I waste points?

  The system fell silent.

  Tch. Trying to upsell me with useless marketing.

  The mountain was much deeper than I’d expected.

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  Trying to find in reality a place I’d once traversed with a few mouse clicks in the game was pure agony.

  There was even a heart-stopping moment where I nearly wandered into the territory of a powerful demonic beast. A vivid red aura erupting from the ground saved me from the brink of death.

  This, too, matched exactly what I’d experienced in the game.

  When you approached the territory of an overwhelming demonic beast, the entire screen would turn red like a warning. I let out a sigh of relief and carefully searched for the path again.

  After wandering for a long while like that, I finally arrived at the place from my memories.

  The entrance to a valley shrouded in thick mist.

  Here and there, faint sunlight seeped through.

  This was it.

  Looking around, bizarre rock cliffs lined both sides like folding screens.

  The grass and trees growing around the valley entrance were utterly ordinary.

  The spiritual energy was no different from elsewhere.

  I cautiously stepped inside.

  Dense trees blocked out the sky.

  The mist began to slowly lift.

  One side of the valley was a perfectly vertical cliff, as if sliced by a blade.

  The other side slanted and was half-collapsed.

  Below that collapsed cliff lay a heap of fallen rocks.

  Between the pile of rocks, I spotted a narrow gap just wide enough for a person to squeeze through.

  No demonic beasts or spirit creatures approached this place.

  Not even wild animals came near.

  They were probably afraid the rocks might collapse again.

  Contrary to appearances, the pile of fallen rocks wasn’t dangerous.

  A decisive cultivator from a previous generation had used Petrification Technique to prevent further collapse. But I was the only one who knew that.

  Why?

  Because it was a setting from the game.

  A laugh escaped me.

  This would be my new hideout.

  ***

  Without hesitation, I dropped to my knees and crawled into the gap.

  The passage was quite long.

  I had to crawl for a good while.

  Just as my face began to twist in discomfort—a small space inside revealed itself.

  Entering an enclosed space on all sides calmed my heart.

  Yes, this was it.

  The narrowness of the space wasn’t a problem at all.

  I could simply widen and refine the interior using Earth Escape Technique.

  With a bit of disguise to reinforce security, it would be even safer.

  It was truly a perfect personal fortress.

  Before digging out the cave, I first disguised the entrance.

  I transplanted nearby bushes and young trees.

  Digging the earth with Earth Escape Technique and watering them with Water Escape Technique, vitality returned to the leaves.

  I arranged everything so it blended naturally with the existing surroundings, avoiding an artificial look.

  Then I installed every type of protective formation I had.

  Concealment formations, defensive formations, even alert formations.

  Yun Xian’s parents must have been quite meticulous—they possessed all kinds of protective formations.

  They’d given them to Yun Xian before heading off to subjugate demonic beasts.

  After finishing installation and checking from outside, there wasn’t a single giveaway.

  Unless a Foundation Establishment cultivator came close and examined it, no one would notice.

  My heart felt incomparably at ease.

  Yes, people needed a home.

  The next task was dividing the space.

  I immediately began designing.

  I planned to divide the cave into three sections.

  One would be a bedroom and rest area.

  Another would be a cultivation chamber for serious training.

  The last would be a small plot for growing medicinal herbs.

  There was another good thing about becoming a cultivator.

  I didn’t need a bathroom or toilet.

  Waste was naturally expelled from the body along with turbid qi.

  The might of a Core Formation immortal was astounding.

  No matter how brutally I dug, not even debris fell.

  It was fortunate he’d stabilized the fallen rocks—otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to dig a cave at all.

  A spiritual vein branching off from the mountain range passed through the cultivation chamber on the left.

  It was weak, but a spiritual vein was still a spiritual vein.

  I carefully engraved a cultivation formation in the center of the chamber.

  I really did have talent with formations in this body.

  On the right, while carving out the bedroom, I made sure to leave stones in appropriate positions.

  Those stones would later be shaped into furniture.

  One bed, one table, two chairs—no, one chair.

  No one else would be coming here anyway.

  I placed the herb cultivation room in the center.

  If an intruder ever got in, they’d probably harvest the herbs first. That would buy me at least a little time to escape.

  As I always said, safety came first.

  I headed toward the cave entrance.

  I planned to find suitable stones and polish the interior smooth.

  …Then I remembered I had to crawl to get in and out.

  Damn life….

  I’d left it that way to guard against potential intruders.

  Since escaping would be hard for me too, I decided to create a separate escape route in the back later.

  Still, I found a pillar-shaped stone I liked.

  I also learned that crawling while hugging a stone wasn’t a pleasant experience.

  Since I liked the cave, I decided to accept it.

  But why had I bothered carrying this thing all the way here?

  I could’ve just put it in the storage pouch.

  Damn it. My mindset was still stuck on Earth.

  From now on, I needed to act more like a cultivator.

  Anyway, rubbing the floor with the stone I’d brought worked perfectly.

  The furniture was ground down nicely as well.

  I had no idea what kind of material this stone was to be so hard.

  After working for quite some time, hunger finally set in.

  Come to think of it, I hadn’t eaten anything since the last time I’d had spirit rice.

  Pathetic. Everything people do is just to survive……

  With tears mixed in, I swallowed a Bigu Pill.

  It was dry and crumbly.

  I also drank water using Water Escape Technique.

  It didn’t taste good, but it quenched my thirst.

  I spent some time frantically arranging the hideout and organizing items.

  Now it finally felt like a place someone lived in.

  Extreme fatigue washed over my entire body.

  I collapsed onto the newly made stone bed.

  Staring at the smooth ceiling, sleep overtook me.

  How long had I slept?

  After resting well, my mind felt clear.

  I headed to the cultivation chamber.

  Perhaps due to the cultivation formation, spiritual energy swirled densely in the air.

  Clear and refreshing. I recalled the cultivation method the original body had been practicing.

  To become a cultivator, one needed a spiritual root.

  Without a spiritual root, you couldn’t sense spiritual energy.

  Yun Xian possessed a quad-spiritual-root with wood, fire, earth, and water.

  Fortunately, considering his age and spiritual roots, his aptitude wasn’t bad.

  Basically bold, with a strong sense of adventure.

  Recalling Yun Xian’s temperament, I shook my head.

  In the end, he’d suffered qi deviation.

  This was why people needed to be laid-back.

  Look at turtles.

  There was a reason they lived long.

  My basic cultivation method was Nourishing Wood Art.

  Among the four innate energies, wood suited me best.

  The primordial energy that spread vitality.

  Wood was life—gentle yet strong, growing in silence.

  I carefully regulated my breathing.

  My palms rested on my knees, back straight.

  I drew up my qi sensation.

  Slowly, I adjusted my breath.

  I gathered my consciousness in the lower dantian.

  Spiritual energy was drawn in like strands of thread.

  To avoid losing that flow, I focused even harder.

  Cultivation for a low-level Qi Refinement cultivator was simple.

  Just absorb spiritual energy and circulate it within the body.

  Currently, my cultivation stood at late-stage Qi Refinement Realm Level 2.

  To advance to Level 3, I had to reach my limit.

  I needed to draw in qi until spiritual power permeated all my meridians.

  With eyes closed, I continued cultivating.

  ***

  “Hoo.”

  I opened my eyes while expelling turbid qi.

  My entire body felt sticky.

  I cleaned myself using Water Escape Technique.

  Why hadn’t the original body learned something this convenient?

  Well, that was probably why he’d only reached late-stage Qi Refinement Stage 2 at his age.

  Let’s think positively.

  Now it was time to train Spirit Sword Technique.

  I extended my hand and focused my mind.

  I formed hand seals as they appeared in my head.

  Spiritual energy moved, taking the shape of a small dagger.

  Success! I succeeded on the first try.

  Though it was a point-guzzling monster, the system was undeniably useful.

  Especially when I thought about how long Yun Xian had invested in learning Flame Technique.

  The spirit sword shimmered as it slashed through the air.

  Now it was time to test its power.

  The target was already decided.

  The stone pillar that had kindly allowed me to polish the cave.

  It was solid enough to make a good opponent.

  Sorry. And thank you.

  Focusing my mind, I launched the spirit sword.

  The spirit sword collided with the stone and vanished uselessly.

  The stone showed no abnormalities at all.

  Not even a scratch.

  Even when steel struck stone, stone usually lost. But this was a spirit sword infused with spiritual energy—how was nothing happening?

  What kind of rock-headed stone was this?

  What the hell kind of stone is this…?

  At that moment.

  The stone began to glow.