Chapter 1 – Third Year of Reincarnation, Finally Became an Immortal

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Translated by Frog in the Well

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net
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“Hahaha!”

Could he have been around fifteen years old?

Jin So-myeong, a grubby boy covered in dirt and wearing patched clothes, burst into a hearty laugh.

He clenched his fists tightly and shouted.

“I have finally entered the first layer of the Qi Condensation Stage!”

It had been three years since he woke up in this damn world of Immortals.

After suffering like a dog, he had finally taken his first step.

He had stepped onto the path of cultivating immortality , flying through the blue sky riding a single flying sword and living for ten thousand years.

At the same time as becoming a Qi Condensation cultivator, which was the stage of entering immortality from a mortal,

Another joy came to him.

“Supreme Great Ability ?”

He realized that he had awakened a divine ability engraved in his soul.

Since it was an innate divine ability, he could handle it as naturally as moving his hands and feet.

The related information naturally floated into his head, and his eyes flew wide open as he realized the specific effects.

This was practically cheating!

The Supreme Great Ability was literally an omnipotent power.

A god-like supreme power that could achieve anything, ‘as long as the quantity was sufficient’!

True to its arrogant name, it was an absurdly great power .

He wondered if only a True Immortal of legends could employ such a divine ability, to the point where he was overwhelmed by the tremendous capability.

It was a distant and majestic power containing all creation.

“Ahaha…!”

His laughter did not stop.

From the life of a lowest-class odd-job worker who had endured day by day,

It was because a ray of hope had finally found him.

***

Going back in time to one day ago.

In the Red Yang Market where cultivators who dreamed of becoming Immortals gathered and lived,

Jin So-myeong woke up from his sleep.

“Ah.”

A cracked voice that had just woken up resounded inside the narrow room, and having habitually woken up at dawn, he pressed between his eyebrows.

In his heart, he wanted to sleep more, but he endured it; laziness was allowed only to those who deserved it.

He stretched lightly to wake up his hazy mind.

He sat cross-legged just like that and circulated the ‘Five Elements Qi Condensation Art’.

Woong!

A subtle wind blew, and according to his breathing, mysterious energy was absorbed and guided to his lower abdomen, the dantian.

It repeated with every breath, causing a weak whirlpool.

How much time had passed?

“Haa.”

Exhaling a turbid breath, Jin So-myeong’s complexion darkened.

‘…Did I fail again today?’

The Five Elements Qi Condensation Art was a cultivation technique of the Immortal Path that could make one an Immortal if mastered.

Even though it was a simple basic technique, it required qualifications; those without talent could not even enter the gate.

Jin So-myeong quietly muttered.

“Status window.”

…

Naturally, nothing happened, and only bitterness drifted in the quiet room.

After a long silence, Jin So-myeong let out a chuckle.

It had already been about three years since he awakened his past life.

This place, called the cultivation world, was surprisingly a world where Immortals existed.

Immortals were transcendent beings that ordinary people could not match.

‘Literally gods.’

As they cultivated the Dao and their realms rose, their lifespans lengthened, and they performed miracles akin to magic.

High-realm Immortals could move massive mountains and fill vast seas with a single gesture.

According to legend, the lifespan of a True Immortal was also astronomical.

There was even a saying that they lived for hundreds of millions of years, meeting the end of the world together.

A god-like being that was immortal and eternal! It was truly a dream-like story.

However, for an ordinary person to become an Immortal, they had to possess a ‘Spiritual Root’.

The Spiritual Root could be called a kind of root that absorbed ‘spiritual Qi’, the source of the Immortals’ power.

Since this was the bare minimum qualification, if one had no Spiritual Root, cultivation could not even begin!

Jin So-myeong was lucky.

He possessed a Spiritual Root, which was said to exist in only one out of ten thousand people, and thus met the minimum qualification to become an Immortal.

However,

That was where his luck ended.

The Spiritual Root was merely a minimum condition, and was divided into grades once again based on talent.

Lowest-grade, low-grade, mid-grade, high-grade, Earth-grade, Heaven-grade, and so on.

The grades varied according to the sensitivity to feel spiritual Qi or the efficiency of absorbing it, and his talent was not very good.

“…Haha.”

Letting out a dry laugh, Jin So-myeong finally admitted it.

‘Is my Spiritual Root lowest-grade or low-grade… I didn’t want to believe it, but it seems to be a Mixed Spiritual Root.’

If one’s talent was good, one could enter the Qi Condensation Stage with just the ‘Five Elements Qi Condensation Art’.

It meant that one could become an Immortal even without special resources.

However, it was not permitted for him.

He had circulated the Five Elements Qi Condensation Art countless times over the past three years, but he had always failed to cross the threshold and could not enter the stage.

Swallowing the bitterness lingering on the tip of his tongue, Jin So-myeong chuckled.

“It doesn’t matter.”

He would not give up just because his talent was lacking.

Even from his past life, he had been highly interested in mysterious and transcendent beings.

He had harbored a kind of longing since childhood; although he had naturally folded the impossible dream upon becoming an adult, this place was different.

Since he had luckily awakened his past life and come to the world of Immortals , he naturally had to challenge it!

Furthermore,

There existed a way even for those without talent who possessed a Mixed Spiritual Root to become Immortals.

That was Spirit Stones .

Mysterious stones where the pure spiritual Qi of heaven and earth condensed and hardened like crystal.

If only one could absorb the spiritual Qi contained in these Spirit Stones, even a Mixed Spiritual Root could enter the Qi Condensation Stage!

‘If I can just gather 110 Spirit Stone shards, I’ll be able to exchange them for a real Spirit Stone. If only that happens…’

He could start the cultivation to become an Immortal .

Someday, he would strike down lightning with a single wave of his hand and soar through the nine heavens riding the clouds.

Just imagining it made his heart tremble.

‘I cannot be satisfied with an ordinary life. I will definitely become an Immortal and embark on the Great Dao of Longevity .’

He re-established the goal that had never changed once since awakening his past life.

Since he had come to the world of his dreams, he had to risk his life and challenge it!

Clench!

Clenching his fists tightly, he made a firm resolve in his heart. After making his silent decision, he brushed himself off and stood up.

Since the circulation of the Five Elements Qi Condensation Art was also finished, it was time to go make money.

Rustle.

He pulled out an old cloth pouch from a secret hole hidden in the floor, and opened the pouch with careful movements.

Clink!

Over a dozen nail-sized blue crystals were visible.

“…Gulp.”

Seeing the gems emitting a brilliant light, his fingertips trembled finely.

This was his entire fortune.

105 Spirit Stone shards, which he had desperately gathered over three years after awakening his past life!

For him to begin true cultivation, he needed a ‘real Spirit Stone’, and he had to have a total of 110 Spirit Stone shards.

“I just need to gather exactly five more.”

Forcing down his boiling excitement, he took out five Spirit Stone shards from the pouch.

In his heart, he wanted to carry them all with him, but he could not do that.

If he met a robber, he would be completely stripped of all the Spirit Stone shards he had gathered with such difficulty.

Even so, he could not hide all of them either.

If there was no bait to throw, he could be beaten into a cripple, or in severe cases, die; it was a common occurrence in this world with hopeless security.

Just as he was packing the five Spirit Stone shards inside his chest pocket,

Bang! Bang! Bang!

He frowned at the sound of someone violently knocking on the door.

‘At this hour?’

An uninvited guest arriving at dawn was not a good omen.

With his expression darkened, he checked outside through a gap in the door; as it was a harsh world, he always had to be careful.

‘…Deacon Beom. Why has that guy come here at this hour?’

Although it was a familiar face, he was not pleased at all; on the contrary, his expression hardened further.

That was because Deacon Beom was a tax collector.

Deacon Beom was none other than a Qi Condensation cultivator who performed tasks such as collecting rent or maintaining public order in the ‘Red Yang Market’ where Jin So-myeong lived.

To Jin So-myeong, who was the lowest of the low, he was a terrifying entity possessing great authority.

‘Sigh.’

Since he was a man famous for having a foul personality, Jin So-myeong wanted to avoid him, but there was no choice; if left alone, he was a fellow who would enter even if he had to break down the door.

He quietly backed away and positioned himself as if he had just woken up from the bed.

“Ahem, ahem… Who is it?”

“Jin So-myeong! Open the door quickly! I know you’re inside!”

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

As if he had waited only a few seconds, the guy’s patience ran out; the knocking sounds grew rougher and rougher.

“P-please wait a moment! I’ll open it right away!”

Stomp, stomp!

He deliberately ran around the room; after making urgent noises, he carefully opened the door.

“Deacon Beom? What brings you here at this hour…”

“Hmph! Of course I came to collect the rent; otherwise, why would I look for the likes of you!”

At the contemptuous gaze as if looking at something lowborn, Jin So-myeong’s face darkened.

“…The rent?”

“Yes! Besides, since you climb the mountain every single day, you aren’t here if I come during the day!”

Although it was true that Deacon Beom’s task was to collect shack rent from the rogue cultivators living in the outer city, something was strange.

Usually, Deacon Beom was famous for being arrogant and lazy.

It was normal for him to sit idly in the Deacon’s Office in the inner city and wait for the rogue cultivators to come pay their rent.

He had never directly come to collect rent like this.

Furthermore,

“Deacon Beom, there seems to be some mistake; I paid three months’ worth of rent all at once last time, so there is still one month left in the rental period.”

“Hmm?”

Frowning deeply, Deacon Beom scoffed.

“Hmph, it doesn’t matter; I will be in secluded meditation for the next year, so I won’t have time to collect rent, so pay one year’s worth of rent in advance; it’s a total of sixty Spirit Stone shards!”

“Excuse me? Sixty shards?”

His eyes almost popped out at the crazy nonsense.

Extorting sixty Spirit Stone shards with just a few words; sixty shards was practically half of his entire fortune.

Although anger surged at the absurd tyranny, he suppressed it.

He spoke in the most polite tone possible.

“Deacon Beom, where would I get so many Spirit Stone shards? I only have five Spirit Stone shards.”

“What?”

“I will pay for one month in advance with these five, and as for the rest, I will go to the Deacon’s Office directly next time and pay another deacon.”

“…”

The moment Deacon Beom, who was frowning in silence, suddenly reached out,

Woong!

Spiritual Qi gathered from all directions bound Jin So-myeong’s entire body, pressing down so that he could not move a single fingertip.

“Only five? Hmph! You’d better not be lying, or else!”

Snatch!

Approaching without hesitation, Deacon Beom took the pouch from his chest.

Since Jin So-myeong was bound by the guy’s spell, he had no choice but to watch.

‘Damn it! For a guy who is supposed to be a deacon to do this kind of thing!’

The deacons also played the role of security officers, similar to police in modern times, but their behavior was no different from thug gangsters.

Rummaging through the pouch, Deacon Beom clicked his tongue, and stared at Jin So-myeong with a contemptuous gaze.

“You really have only five shards? Tsk, I wasted my time because of a beggar like you!”

To curse at him after taking his money arbitrarily; his anger flared, making the back of his neck tingle.

As the saying goes, even a mosquito’s leg is meat. The guy, who had snatched all five Spirit Stone shards, snorted.

He left just like that, without sharing another word.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Deacon Beom went to the next house and repeated the same behavior, and Jin So-myeong grit his teeth while watching that conduct.

‘Dog-like bastard. I will definitely make him regret it someday!’

He pushed down the malice and kept it deep in his heart; since he still had no power, he had to endure.

Returning inside the house, he took deep breaths to calm his mind.

“Let’s calm down.”

Such incidents had occurred countless times over the past three years; if he cared about every single one, he would only die of anger.

Forcing his eyes closed, he meditated for about a minute and regained his composure.

‘Sigh! I barely gathered 105 Spirit Stone shards, and I got five taken away again; to get a Spirit Stone, I have to gather ten more.’

He quietly headed to a corner of the bed, and took out five Spirit Stone shards from the hidden ‘real pouch’.

If he had not handed over those five Spirit Stone shards to Deacon Beom just now, the guy would not have left peacefully.

‘Surely, something would have been broken; he might have inflicted internal injuries on the pretext of searching my body.’

The behavior of those dog-like gangsters was always the same; if not appeased with bait, they would vent their anger and leave.

“Forget it; let’s think of it as paying a month’s rent in advance and go make money.”

Although he could only sigh at the god-awful level of public security, what could he do? Since it was this kind of world, he had no choice but to adapt.

Packing his equipment, he left the lodging.

Currently, it was approximately two in the morning.

Although it was dawn before the sun had even risen, he had to hurry; if he did not leave now, there would be no income for today.

“Ugh!”

Crossing his arms, he shivered, his forearms covered in goosebumps.

The cold dawn air swept over his entire body; as his head, which had heated up from anger, cooled down, his mood improved in its own way.

Despite it being dawn, the streets of the outer city were quite bustling.

It felt like walking through a market on a market day, to the extent that ten or so people could be seen no matter where he turned his gaze.

Of course, there was a reason why there were so many people at dawn.

‘For those who cultivate, there is no distinction between day and night; they say this level of darkness is no different from broad daylight.’

Walking diligently, Jin So-myeong stopped in his tracks without realizing it.

It was because stalls were laid out all over the street, and one of them caught his eye.

[Freshly harvested Three-Color Herb . 10 Spirit Stone shards!]

Looking at the bunch of colorful spiritual herbs, envy welled up within him.

Even at a glance, there were more than ten stalks, which was worth over a hundred Spirit Stone shards.

‘Did they find a habitat of Three-Color Herbs? What good luck.’

If only he had those spiritual herbs, Jin So-myeong could become a Qi Condensation cultivator right this instant.

Just as he was swallowing his envy, unable to take a step, someone approached the stall.

“Let’s see, let me check the condition of the Three-Color Herbs.”

“Mm, go ahead.”

“Hey, the condition is just so-so. Ten Spirit Stone shards is too expensive.”

“Nonsense! If you aren’t going to buy, don’t interfere and just leave; Three-Color Herbs are ingredients for Qi Condensing Pills, so they sell quickly.”

“Ah! How can you do business like that? Don’t be like that, sell them for eight shards each and I’ll buy them all.”

Leaving behind the two who were passionately bargaining, even spitting as they spoke, he departed.

He had no time to waste.

He had to go to his workplace quickly before the sun rose; how long had he walked without resting even for a single moment?

He finally reached the entrance of Mount Red Yang, arriving at his workplace only when he was starting to run out of breath.

‘Hoo.’

Taking deep breaths, he calmed his ragged breathing.

Mount Red Yang was very, very dangerous.

All kinds of beasts with sharp claws overflowed, and venomous insects were too numerous to count.

If he let his guard down even for a moment, he would go straight to the Yellow Springs; he would not even be able to complain about the injustice.

Furthermore, Mount Red Yang did not contain only ordinary beasts.

‘There are demonic beasts as well.’

True monsters that wielded demonic power .

Even the weakest Rank 1 demonic beast could shatter boulders, and was fast enough to be invisible to the eye when running.

If one was unlucky enough to encounter one, resistance was impossible; from that day, one had to walk shoulder-to-shoulder with the Grim Reaper and find the way to the afterlife.

Climbing Mount Red Yang, which was teeming with demonic beasts and wild animals, was literally an extremely dangerous act of putting one’s life on the line.

However, there was no other choice.

‘This is the only way for me to earn Spirit Stone shards.’

Gathering money safely was too slow, to the point that he might not obtain a single Spirit Stone even if it took his entire sixty-year life.

For him, a mortal, to become an Immortal, he had to be prepared for death!

Rustle.

He rolled on the ground, making his entire body muddy; it was a desperate measure to erase the scent of human flesh.

‘It won’t have a major effect, but it’s better than doing nothing.’

Sring!

Drawing a crude broadsword, he pushed through the thick bushes and climbed Mount Red Yang.