Seeking the Dao in the Seemingly Mundane Mortal World - Chapter 4
Chapter 4: Don’t Believe in Immortality
Translator: Henyee Translations
Editor: Henyee Translations
After slowly finishing the liquor in the pot, Qin Yi looked up at the moon to determine the time before heading back to the stove. The flame flickered in the wind, so he carefully shielded it and stayed by the stove, keeping his unblinking gaze on the fire.
It seemed like forever before the pot on the stove swayed a little. Something seemed to be shimmering inside. When an aroma began to rise out of the pot, Qin Yi quickly put a lid over the stove to extinguish the fire.
He then carefully removed the lid, and there it was. At the bottom of the pot lay a blue pill with a fleeting glow coming out of it.
“Is it done?” Qin Yi asked.
“Yes,” Liusu said. “For someone who doesn’t have much desire, you’re surprisingly patient. Medicine refinement is such a boring process, so how did you do it?”
“Give me a PC game, and I’ll show you how long I can sit there for.”
“Is that what medicine refinement is to you? A game?”
“You can say that. They both involve levelling up…”
“Forget about it,” Liusu said in a resigned tone. “The pill you’ve been giving out can only spare one from being affected by the resentful energy, and it’s not really an antidote. This one, however, is a genuine elixir that can neutralize all toxins. Of course, it’s only a 9th grade one, which is the lowest grade of all elixirs. It only works on common poisons, and the effect will depend on how severely the person has been poisoned. But it’s safe to conclude that you’ve learned the basics.”
Qin Yi’s face remained expressionless, but he was quite excited deep down.
Holding the pill in his palms, he could sense some energy circulating in the air, but the meaning of it was too profound for him to comprehend.
Two months had passed before he finally made an elixir that was no longer considered a “common medicine”.
He had used no cultivation technique nor any spiritual essence. The stove was a common one, along with the fire and materials. He had made a spirit pill just by following the recipe and controlling the fire well!
“Now you see that I wasn’t lying to you,” Liusu said coldly.
Qin Yi walked over to the corner of the room and picked up the spiked club. It had a blackish color, but it seemed to shine a dark red color under the moonlight, as though the blood had seeped into it after thousands of years. It looked rather hideous if one thought about it. He then sighed and said, “Since I could set up formations and create spirit pills without becoming a cultivator, the things you’ve been trying to teach me have to be very advanced.”
“That’s because cultivation suits you. I’ve never seen anyone who fits the criteria better than you.” Liusu had stopped arguing with him and began to praise him instead. “You’re very perceptive, patient, and open-minded. Even some self-proclaimed advanced cultivators don’t have those qualities.”
“Stop trying to make me cultivate. I still want to live for a few more years, and having my body stolen by you is the last thing I want. There’s just too much risk.”
“You’re just too afraid of death,” Liusu said coldly. “You’ve taken none of the pills I’ve taught you to make, and I know what you meant by calling that one ‘Sooner or Later’. So, what are you going to call the new pill?”
Qin Yi didn’t answer and only stared at the pill. He suddenly asked, “You’ve been trying to teach me how to cultivate so that I can help you with rebuilding your physical form. Is that it?”
Liusu said grumpily, “Yes.”
“But you won’t let me give you away to someone else. All the immortal-seekers out there will worship you, so why do you insist on sticking around here? What will you get from repeating the same words over and over again?”
Liusu said coldly, “You’ve kept your guard up around me for the past few months, but I’ve been observing you as well. Although you’re very suspicious and way too afraid of death, you’re a kind person, which I can’t say for other people. I’m only a fraction of a soul that has no power to protect myself. I fear that I may end up in the wrong hands and meet my own doom.”
Qin Yi grinned. “I didn’t know that a vicious spirit of a weapon like you would be afraid of falling into the wrong hands as well.”
“I’m not a sp… You know what? Forget about it,” Liusu said casually. “Because I’m a kind of… weapon spirit, I know exactly what would happen to me if I ran into someone of my own kind.”
“You’ve got a point.”
“Of course, I do,” Liusu said. “I’ve waited for tens of thousands of years in the mountains, haven’t I? I think I’ve proved my patience already. Since you’re interested in pill refinement and formations, it’s only a matter of time before you give in and start cultivating with me. Just admit it. You can’t bring yourself to throw me away.”
The corners of Qin Yi’s mouth twitched, and he didn’t reply.
Liusu snorted. “It’s just like the story you told me. It’s human nature to go back on your word.”
“Have I told you something else about human nature, then?”
“Which is?”
“Humans are repetitive machines,” Qin Yi said solemnly. “You don’t know what that means, but that’s okay. All you have to know is that we’re just the same as you.”
…
“Whoosh!” Li Qingjun hurled her spear at a giant green snake, nailing it onto a cliff. The teenage girl dressed up like a young man turned out to have mastered some very advanced martial arts skills.
A faint streak of poisonous gas was released into the air. She frowned and waved it off.
Li Qinglin seemed to be very confident in his sister’s capabilities. Instead of helping her, he was attentively studying the surrounding area. Clouds lingered in the air around them, but they weren’t thick enough to affect their visibility. He tried to scoop out some of the clouds with his hand but they dissipated, as though avoiding him.
“Qingjun, how have you been feeling since we came to this mountain?”
“I’ve been getting goosebumps all over, and there’s this numbing sensation on my skin…” Wrapping her arms around herself, Li Qingjun shuddered. “It’s like when you hear two blades scraping against each other…”
Before she could go on, the hair on the back of her neck stood up and her scalp tightened. Turning around, they saw a blood-red boar jumping out of some rocks, and it had fangs as long as 30 cm. Even meters away, they could smell blood in its breath.
Li Qinglin picked up his spear as well.
“Roarrr!” The boar charged at them, kicking dust everywhere.
The two teenagers dodged to either side and the boar stopped abruptly, its front hooves digging deeper into the ground.
Li Qingjun was about to strike down with her spear when another spear attacked first. The shiny blade jabbed right into the boar’s head and pierced through it. The beast struggled and growled, but it didn’t die instantly. Instead, it tried to fight back with its fangs as though it had been possessed by some spirit. It was such an eerie scene.
Li Qingjun made a little cry, leaped up, and struck her spear into the boar’s mouth. The boar struggled for a few more minutes before it finally lay still.
The siblings didn’t seem to be surprised by this efficient kill, and it seemed like the most natural thing for them to do. Looking at the dead boar, Li Qinglin suddenly said, “I’m impressed by the villagers here. How can they live merrily when such beasts are roaming on the mountain? That Qin Yi is living right at the foot of the mountain. Isn’t he afraid?”
Li Qingjun hesitantly said, “Is it possible that some master cultivator has been living as a recluse on the mountain while helping the villagers…”
“No,” Li Qinglin said decisively. “There’s no such thing as immortals in this world!”
Low wails rang out all around them behind the thin mist, as though responding to his words. There was something very resentful about the voices, and they seemed to go on and on.
Li Qinglin wasn’t affected by the wailing sounds at all. He pondered and said, “I don’t think this red mist is immortal energy at all. It’s more likely that it was created by some resentful energy from wandering souls. I think that boar has changed into that form because of this energy.”
He was 50% correct. The mist was indeed a resentful energy, but the change in the boar had nothing to do with it.
Li Qingjun was amazed. “Then why is it red and why does it look so immortal-like?”
Li Qinglin said coldly, “Why does a red mist remind you of immortals? Have you forgotten what color blood is?”
“Well…”
“That’s why it ran away from me. I’ve fought in wars, and I probably have more resentful energy lingering around me than the one here, since it’s been wandering the world for countless years so it’s almost dissipated.”
Li Qingjun had always trusted her brother, so she said, “So are you saying that many people died here many years ago?”
“I have no idea, but I think it’s about time that it’s going to disappear.” Taking out Qin Yi’s pill, Li Qinglin shook his head and smiled. “The so-called miasma around the mountain is nothing but resentful energy, and that’s why some random herbalist’s pill works better than actual antidotes. That’s the reason Qin Yi claimed that his pill could solve all problems.”
Li Qingjun’s eyes widened. “Is that why you’re here? Just to…”
“There are monsters in this world and skills to fight against them, but immortality is nothing but a dream. Otherwise, why haven’t any of the emperors or kings who’ve sought it achieved their goals? With our advanced martial arts skills, we can live longer than common people and defeat monsters if we want to. Why do we have to look for immortals?!” Li Qinglin said decisively. “Since Donghuazi has swindled our father into cultivation and violated the laws of our court, I’m going to take someone like Donghuazi back to the place and expose him of his lies!”
“That’s why you’re here! For that Qin Yi!” Li Qingjun stomped her foot. “You said you were going to look for immortals with me, but you’re only here to confirm the rumor you heard and find out if he’s the man you need!”
Li Qinglin turned to her and repeated once more: “There are no immortal men in this world.”
Li Qingjun stormed off, yelling, “I’m going to expose that Qin Yi of his lies, too! Let’s see if you want to bring a liar like Donghuazi back home!”
Li Qinglin watched her run off, shook his head, and smiled. He looked around at the mist and kept moving his way up the slope.
He wanted to check out that strange tiger Qin Yi talked about—the one that wouldn’t chase people.
