Chapter Five: Cultivating Immortality Begins with Strengthening the Body (Part One)

Through his interactions with these three senior brothers and sisters, Mo Bufan began to question his years of reading those insidious and scheming xianxia novels; these three were nothing like the reprehensible characters depicted in those stories.

Second Senior Brother Song Yuchen, though somewhat unserious and a little henpecked, was by no means a cunning or malicious man. In fact, after chatting for a while, Song Yuchen even explained to Mo Bufan why they had gone to such lengths to bring him into the family. Among the eighteen true immortals of the Heavenly Profound Sect, aside from the sect master, Song Yuchen was the most fond of orchestrating affairs, his unconventional style even outmatching that of the reclusive sect master.

The grand spectacle of Mo Bufan’s marriage had two reasons. First, in the Divine Continent of the Eastern Lands—especially within the four great sects—there were no real secrets. Anything concerning Song Yuxuan would be known by the other sects by the next day if she truly intended to become involved with Mo Bufan. Keeping things hidden or making a public display would yield the same result, so the Law Enforcing Elder simply made a grand show of it, inviting the other sects to investigate as they pleased.

Second, this was the result of Song Yuchen’s careful consideration. While the two were not exactly a match made in heaven, at least a joyful union would increase the chances of producing offspring and reduce Mo Bufan’s resistance. After all, as true immortals, they would not stoop to using underhanded means against a mortal from a minor family; it would be beneath their dignity.

Of course, the most important factor was that Song Yuchen wanted to keep the other three sects busy, sitting back to enjoy the spectacle, confident that they would find nothing. He had already relocated Mo Bufan’s father to a secret immortal estate.

Sixth Senior Sister Song Yuxin was also warm-hearted and generous with her gifts to Mo Bufan, leaving a far better impression than her husband did.

As for Ge Nie, though taciturn and somewhat led astray by Second Senior Brother, he was not an evil man either.

Of course, these were just first impressions; time would reveal more.

After a few more casual words, the two laid-back senior brothers gave Mo Bufan a subtle nudge to work harder, and then finally departed.

Mo Bufan sighed in mild exasperation, but his attention was soon captured by the pile of gifts left behind.

After leaving Celestial Maiden Peak, Song Yuchen suddenly grabbed Song Yuxin and asked, “Yuxin, why did you give him so many treasures? You know his constitution—they’re of no use to him.”

“That’s right, Senior Sister,” Ge Nie chimed in. “All of us brother disciples carefully checked his constitution. As Emperor Wuchen said, it’s the Pure Yang Physique. No matter how hard he trains, he won’t achieve much. Even if the Grand Elder emerged from seclusion, there’s little he could do.”

The Grand Elder naturally referred to the reclusive supreme elder of the Heavenly Profound Sect.

Song Yuxin pursed her lips. “What? Should I be like you two and just hand over a bunch of random pills?”

The two men exchanged an awkward glance, coughed, and fell silent.

Song Yuxin continued, “I don’t care about his constitution. Once you enter the Heavenly Profound Sect, you’re one of us—and he’s my little junior sister’s brother-in-law. How could I mistreat him? Besides, are you so sure he’s fated to be useless forever?”

“But there isn’t much recorded in the histories about Emperor Wuchen’s father,” Ge Nie insisted. “If his father had been a mighty immortal, there would be some mention. I think we should focus on the childbearing matter, right, Second Brother?”

He looked to his senior for agreement.

Song Yuchen was about to nod, but catching his wife’s murderous glare, he coughed and said, “Anything is possible. Let’s just wait and see.”

“Hmph!” Song Yuxin snorted and vanished in a flash.

Song Yuchen gave Ge Nie an awkward glance, cupped his hands, and left as well.

Ge Nie sighed helplessly, glanced at Mo Bufan’s courtyard, shook his head, and finally made his way back to his own cultivation ground.

…

After this episode, Mo Bufan’s days quickly settled into tranquility. No disciples or elders came to disturb him, and his new wife made no appearances at all.

He had expected, having just married the deputy sect leader, that he would suddenly find himself very busy, but instead he felt as if he had been forgotten entirely.

Though puzzled, Mo Bufan did not dwell on it; the peace suited him well.

Over the next month, he dedicated himself to adapting to the monotonous life of a cultivator.

In some ways, this world did resemble the xianxia novels he’d read before—everyone spent every day cultivating with utmost dedication, striving for progress on the path to immortality. This, above all, explained why no one bothered with him: no one had the time.

Thrown into this environment, where everyone he met was either cultivating or on their way to cultivate, and with customs so alien to his own, Mo Bufan found himself unable to even make small talk. He couldn’t help feeling lonely.

The only way to remedy that loneliness was to immerse himself in this world, to become one among these immortals. Moreover, his current circumstances and constitution demanded that he quickly understand his situation, so as to devise an effective cultivation strategy.

Thus, after only three days of idle leisure in his courtyard, Mo Bufan began focusing on cultivation.

The first thing he sought to understand was the essence of immortal cultivation.

At its core, cultivation was about comprehending the laws and energies of heaven and earth, gathering spiritual essence through breath and meditation, and using oneself as a conduit to harness the resonance of the Dao.

This resonance of the Dao, the so-called “qi rhythm of heaven,” was nothing less than the laws of the world. To master these laws meant not only to summon wind and rain, but to attain longevity and become one with the cosmos—a true immortal.

Once he grasped this, Mo Bufan tried to cultivate.

He knew his own body well; it was a sieve that could not retain spiritual energy.

Drawing upon the fragmentary “Celestial Derivation Technique” from his host’s memories, he attempted to absorb spiritual energy. Soon he sensed faint threads of energy in the air, but just as in the host’s memories, the energy flowed in only to leak out immediately through his meridians and dantian, not a trace remaining.

Mo Bufan found this frustrating. Clearly, this method would not work; his predecessor had spent years on it to no avail, so there was no reason it would work for him.

So he mounted a crane and made his way to the Scripture Repository.

The first time he rode a crane, he was nervous, but as soon as he settled on its back, a gentle aura enveloped him. With a clear cry, the white crane soared into the sky—smooth and swift, with not a hint of turbulence or wind on his face. Compared to driving a car in his past life, this was far more exhilarating.

Dismounting, he arrived at Xuanwu Peak, the highest mountain of the Heavenly Profound Sect. An imposing aura greeted him. Six towering stone pillars, each over thirty feet high, supported two stone dragons spiraling into the air. Between them floated a massive plaque inscribed with three characters: Scripture Repository.

At the entrance, hundreds of sect disciples came and went in silence, the atmosphere reminiscent of a university campus.

Among them, apart from a few blue-robed core disciples and some disheveled outer sect members, most wore green robes, marking them as inner disciples.

Clad in white scholar’s robes, Mo Bufan inevitably stood out as he entered the Repository. Remembering scenes from those “live-in son-in-law” novels where the protagonist faced scorn, he scratched his head and muttered, “Am I about to face something like that too?”

Apprehensive, yet determined, he steeled himself and stepped into the Scripture Repository.