Seeking Immortality 01

"What are you two whispering about?" Li Zhenni had come back to her senses by now, watching the two figures whispering nearby, a sense of panic rising in her heart.

Was this the power of a Hunter? That system which had forcibly bound itself to her had been killed just like that? So what would happen to her now? Would they kill her?

As her mind raced with chaotic thoughts, Fang Zhiyi finally turned around. "Here, later it will send you back to your world." He pointed at Little Hei beside him, but Little Hei looked worried. "Are you sure..."

"It's not a big problem," Fang Zhiyi said. "Rather than hiding and running all the time, it's worth a try."

Little Hei glanced at Li Zhenni. "But if I do this... I won't be able to take you with me."

Fang Zhiyi nodded. "I know."

Seeing him like this, Little Hei didn’t waste any more words. He reached down and pinched his own belly, and soon a miniature version of Little Hei appeared.

"Let it follow you."

"What can it do?" Fang Zhiyi asked with interest.

"Nothing much. It's about the same as I was back then..."

"Then you’re just wasting your time bringing it out."

"Otherwise, how would I find you after I’m done? It may not have any abilities, but it also has no aura. Those things shouldn’t be able to detect it."

The tiny Little Hei looked at its original body, then turned to look at Fang Zhiyi. After receiving some silent command from Little Hei, it suddenly grabbed Fang Zhiyi’s hand and dragged him into a passage.

Little Hei watched Fang Zhiyi disappear into the passage and let out a long sigh. "I know you’re in a hurry, but this is way too risky..."

He turned to look at Li Zhenni. "You want to go home? How about considering a job at my company?"

Li Zhenni was full of caution. "I just want to go home."

Little Hei shrugged. "Fine, fine, I’ll send you off right now... Suddenly acting like a good person, it’s really a pain..."

When Fang Zhiyi opened his eyes, the story was simultaneously transmitted into his mind.

The original body had no proper name, only a nickname called Gousheng. He was raised by Widow Li at the edge of the village. Of course, Widow Li wasn’t kind-hearted; she was just planning to make him do heavy labor once he grew up a bit. Gousheng was often scolded by Widow Li, and as a result, he had a sullen personality.

Unlike him, Widow Li’s household also had a little girl. Widow Li never made her do any work, only teaching her to dress well and study. Gousheng envied her greatly. The girl’s name was Mengdie, with the surname Xu. Widow Li took her everywhere she went, but she was a child who seemed incapable of smiling.

Gousheng remembered Mengdie’s kindness because she often gave him leftover food she couldn’t finish.

But one day, after Gousheng was sent out by Widow Li to chop firewood, Mengdie disappeared by the time he returned home. When Gousheng tried to ask about her whereabouts, Widow Li cursed him out.

"She was taken by wild dogs, eaten by bears, or snatched by demons!" Widow Li scolded. "It’s none of your business—stop poking around! Are your chores done?"

Gousheng was naive at heart, and he kept the matter in his mind.

He had heard the old men in the village say that there were immortals and demons in the world. One old man even claimed to have seen a dragon, saying it reeked of a foul stench and had tried to eat people.

But others said the old man was spouting nonsense. The Dragon King was a protector of the people—how could it be both smelly and want to eat people?

After Mengdie disappeared, Widow Li went out for several days. Soon, she brought back another dirty little girl from somewhere, excitedly bathing and dressing her up.

Gousheng didn’t know what she was thinking, but seeing this timid girl, he couldn’t help but think of Mengdie. She had even promised to give him a proper name.

Finally, one night, Gousheng sneaked away. He took a few flatbreads, a hatchet, and an axe. He thought that if a demon had taken Mengdie, he would have to rescue her.

Perhaps it was because of Gousheng’s simple-minded luck that, after walking through the mountains for many days, he actually encountered an old man in a remote, rarely visited part of the mountain range. Gousheng assumed the old man had been abandoned there to die by his family, so he kindly gave him his last half of a flatbread and offered to carry him down the mountain.

Unexpectedly, the old man burst into laughter and guided Gousheng to the hidden path leading to the Immortal Mountain.

It was then that Gousheng realized the old man was a legendary immortal.

Indeed, on that Immortal Mountain stood a grand mansion. Its gate was carved from a single block of black jade, soaring several stories high. The gate was etched with lifelike auspicious beasts—dragons, phoenixes, and qilins, all in various postures, as if they were about to burst out of the stone. Even the door knockers were two massive night pearls.

Gousheng knocked on the door and kowtowed countless times to the boy who opened it, until the boy, taking pity on him, let him inside.

So Gousheng went from being a servant in Widow Li’s home to a servant in an immortal’s household. He still did rough work like chopping firewood and boiling water, but every time he saw the immortal and his disciples engaged in lofty discussions, Gousheng would fantasize about one day learning magic and rescuing Mengdie.

But as days passed, the immortal never seemed to notice him, which made Gousheng panicked. Finally, he summoned the courage to do something he had never dared to before. As the immortal passed through the corridor on his way to the garden, Gousheng blocked his path and immediately fell to his knees, kowtowing.

"You... what do you want?" The smile on the immortal’s face gradually faded, replaced by a look of great authority.

Gousheng spoke honestly, telling him his whole story.

As he listened, the immortal’s expression grew strange, but in the end, he agreed to teach Gousheng magic.

Thus, Gousheng learned the art of passing through walls from the immortal. To him, that was already enough. Next, he needed to find out where Mengdie was. The immortal seemed to know what he was thinking, but he made a request.

"Mortal seekers cannot find the path to the immortal sect. Bring more mortals to join my sect, and I will perform a divination for you, surely revealing where your Mengdie is."

Gousheng believed him. That very night, he went down the mountain and returned to the village. He first went to Widow Li’s house, but she had already moved away. When he tried asking the villagers, they all looked disgusted and refused to say anything.

Helpless, Gousheng had to perform his wall-passing technique for the villagers. Amid their gasps of amazement, he stated that he had been sent by his master specifically to look for people with a destiny for immortality.

Suddenly, the village’s young people became wildly excited, signing up one after another to follow Gousheng and learn the immortal arts.

The blacksmith Zhang’s only son, Hunter Yu’s youngest son, and the blind old woman at the village entrance’s grandson... Even if their families objected, having witnessed Gousheng’s magic, they eventually sneaked out anyway.

Gousheng thought that would be enough, but when he brought these people before his master, the master shook his head and said it was still not enough.