Exploring Immortality Cultivation-Chapter 567 - 319: Chen Feng’s Story

"I actually met Sister Lan quite some time ago," began Chen Feng with an astonishing revelation, "I've known her for over a decade, since the day I was born."

"A childhood sweetheart?" Wang Qi geared up his powerful imagination, "And then, what, an arranged marriage since you were kids? And then Senior Sister Ai pursued her own freedom by running away from the marriage..."

"Completely wrong," Chen Feng shook his head, "We grew up together. She's three years older than me, so she looked after me when we played with other children—you know, as a child, it's easy for a well-behaved one to get bullied."

Wang Qi felt a bit embarrassed. He had completely forgotten about his previous life's childhood, and as for this life... his adult mind didn't really fit in with kids, so he honestly didn't know what a good child in this world was like.

However... he seemed to be able to imagine it after all. Acting all pedantic and scholarly at such a young age, aside from being the "child of someone else," surely wouldn't win any popularity contests with the other kids.

Chen Feng narrowed his eyes, his thoughts seemingly drifting far into the past, "As a child, I occasionally found her incredibly annoying. I just wanted to stay at home and read some books, but she'd drag me out of the house to run wild in the fields, catching bugs, picking wildflowers and grass—she was eight and I was five at the time. Looking back, we were lucky not to have encountered any kidnappers..."

Wang Qi held his forehead, "That sounds like the mindset of someone destined for a lonely life..."

"Anyway, that's how the two of us played together," Chen Feng carried on, unphased by Wang Qi's comment, "Yeah, our parents were both major merchants in the mortal world and had the intention of joining families through marriage. I first learned about this when I was about ten, and my initial reaction was... Sister Lan was too annoying and too dumb, what a hassle."

With a slight smile, Chen Feng went on, "At the time, I thought, 'Ah, from today onwards I'll have to look after Sister Lan for life, feels so tiring'."

Brother, it turns out you were tightly hooked since you were ten...

Chen Feng continued, "But it was also that year that Sister Lan discovered a new hobby—the lectures at the Immortal Alliance Branch. To mortals, the teachings shared by the cultivators of the Immortal Alliance were like a Heavenly Book, difficult to understand and obscure, hardly practical. Even though everyone knew mastering it could lead to becoming an immortal, few could persist—certainly not in my hometown anyway. It was only because we lived comfortably that Sister Lan could go to study every day."

"Then... somehow, the girl who never loved to study was proclaimed a genius by the immortals. And then, an immortal took her away. Since our families hadn't formally agreed on the marriage... I remember my elder brother consoling me, telling me not to be sad, saying Sister Lan had become an immortal, and I wouldn't have to worry about her in this lifetime."

"Actually, at that time, I really didn't have such thoughts. What I was thinking was, 'Whew, what a relief,' and 'Damn it, that dummy just left like that.' Then she started sending me letters, telling me about her experiences over there. My parents occasionally intercepted the letters, probably to spare me the sadness. But I got curious and insisted on reading those letters."

"Sister Lan was clueless about writing letters; she'd scribble down whatever came to her mind. And so, to understand her letters filled with bizarre drawings and all kinds of incomprehensible symbols, I had to resort to asking for help from low-level cultivators who answered questions for ordinary people next to the lecture hall—she was actually writing down the problems she was thinking about! As a result, about two years later, just to understand those darned letters, I somehow made a breakthrough in heavenly communication. At that point, I hadn't undergone a single day of systematic study, and the only visualization method I'd been exposed to was some half-baked one Sister Lan had come up with herself."

Wang Qi was mildly amazed. Being able to break through in heavenly communication in a single breath, aside from his exposure to the authentic Visualization Method, was due to the formidable foundation he had built up in his past life. This foundation surpassed that of many Grandmaster-level figures in Shenzhou. And yet, Chen Feng had self-taught himself to success just to understand Ai Qinglan's letters? Incredible.

"The local Immortal Alliance leader was struck with awe, as if witnessing a heavenly person. They insisted on taking me with them to the Immortal Institute," continued Chen Feng, "It took me a long time to decide before I finally wrote a letter back to Sister Lan—oh, I almost forgot to mention, though the Immortal Alliance did offer mail services for families of substitute cultivators, they charged quite a bit, and I hadn't used it much before. Then, about five days after I sent the letter, she skipped her sect's classes and came to find me. And that night, she was taken back because of Youjia."

"However, it was only because of that one night that I realized, oh, she was more than just my sister to me."

Wang Qi interjected, "And then you made every effort to get into Tianling Ridge for Senior Sister Ai?"

"I would have aimed for Jiyin Valley and not the Yangshen Pavilion if that was the case—can you guess right for once?" Chen Feng's gaze held a dash of contempt, "I truly enjoy this path. Moreover, to understand her letters, I ended up focusing the most on the Life Path too."

"After joining Yangshen Pavilion, we both returned to our hometown once and got engaged. Life at Tianling Ridge was very carefree."

Indeed, how could it not be carefree?

Wang Qi was growing weary of Chen Feng's unintentionally smug demeanor of a successful life.

"Sister Lan is beautiful with a nice figure, and since we grew up together, we know each other inside out. According to you, we're nearly at the optimal solution," said Chen Feng with a wry smile, "The only thing not so good about Sister Lan—she always thinks we're still three or four years old, and that I should obediently follow her around to be taken care of."

Wang Qi responded, "So you're saying you got into a fight with her over who wears the pants in the relationship... all right, looking at your face, I guessed wrong again."

"I actually don't think that way. It's not a problem for me that Sister Lan is stronger than me; even if she's much stronger, it doesn't affect our relationship. I don't really care what others think—though being labeled as 'kept' is a bit unpleasant, it doesn't matter as long as it's not said to my face," Chen Feng said as he casually picked a slightly green blade of grass, "But Sister Lan keeps saying 'Xiao Feng, don't be busy,' 'I'm here, Xiao Feng doesn't have to do anything,' 'Focus on your cultivation, come ask me if you don't understand.' It's really annoying."

"In the end, I really had my own thoughts, but everyone thought I was being pushed to the brink by Sister Lan," Chen Feng said with a wry smile, "My master even told me, 'there's no need to compare yourself to Qinglan, some people are born standing where others have to struggle to reach.' Other senior brothers also came to persuade me."

Then, Chen Feng fell silent for a moment, "The most infuriating thing is that Sister Lan thought so too."

"She ran over to me and said, 'Xiao Feng, you don't have to do this. I'll never leave you.' At that moment, I was really angry, and a little heartbroken. I thought she, of all people, wouldn't see me that way... We grew up together, she should understand me. I just wanted to prove that 'being good is better than being bad.' That's truly what I think! How could she take it as me being petulant?"

"After that, we had our first fight ever."

Chen Feng spread his arms toward Wang Qi, "Look, this is the result. Everyone in Shenzhou thinks I've gone mad. Barely relying on past achievements to establish an Empirical Department. Nothing else—oh, it seems Youjia still believes in me." In the end, Chen Feng asked, "So, do you believe?"

Wang Qi patted Chen Feng's shoulder and gave a thumbs up with a nod, "Don't worry, I believe—'Behind every successful man is a woman.'"

Chen Feng sighed, "You don't have to use such a rigid expression to make a point about having a lover..."

"Your trip down memory lane has blinded me, I need to lighten the mood myself."

After unloading his troubles onto someone else, Chen Feng felt a sigh of relief. He then asked, "Why so serious this time?"

Wang Qi pointed to the farmers tilling the fields in the distance, "What do you think of these mortals?"

"Sun up to sun down they work, unaware of hunger or cold, isn't that pretty good?" Chen Feng recognized the crops, "The rice variety can be renewed every ten years, ten bushels per acre, the cotton is similar. The people of the land are neither hungry nor cold."

Wang Qi knew Chen Feng was correct and understood the hint of pride in his words. The high-yield crops all over the land came from Tianling Ridge, and the fertilizers that went with them from Burning Gold Valley. Apart from not absorbing nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium from depths below eight thousand meters, everything planted with Burning Gold Valley's fertilizer thrived. When he thought about it, he had grown up eating fine rice and flour; this would be a luxury even landowners on ancient Earth might not have had.

But still...

"They are also pitiable," Wang Qi said, "The limited tools they can use have set a ceiling on their earnings and living standards. For us, that limit is quite low."

"And, they could be casually killed by a passing powerful cultivator or demon creature."

"My hometown was destroyed by an Ancient Method Practitioner. Then, there was a fellow student from the Immortal Institute who sought revenge because his village was annihilated by demon beasts, so... he walked the path of evil. And there were the cultists I met last year. Even the lowest level cultivator could ignore that spell cast by the West Sea Dragon King, but the Shenzhou Land had already become desolate."

"Do you have to do this?" Chen Feng asked.

"As long as it succeeds, there will be no more such tragedies in the Mortal World, and everyone will be able to soar like a dragon," Wang Qi replied, "Moreover, I am very confident that this can be achieved." ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm

If one considered Spiritual Energy as a resource and Mana as a labor product, then every cultivator would be a self-sufficient natural economic entity. This economic system has great stability and could satisfy the minimum needs of all cultivators. In this scenario, cultivators always own the means of production and are representatives of advanced productive forces. In this world, the commodity economy and capitalism aren't an unstoppable historical wheel but an optimal solution with certain risks.

Evolution often just needed a satisfactory solution. Wang Qi could use a thorough proof to convince the Immortal Alliance, but he didn't know how long such a transformation would take.

"How long do you plan to work on this?" Chen Feng asked.

"I can only guarantee to plant the seed," Wang Qi replied, "According to my calculations, the participants have a high chance of gaining great power, but who knows whether that will happen in decades or centuries—actually, I privately think that maybe if I wait until I'm among the top Carefree Practitioners to push this, it might be faster."

Chen Feng's eyes lit up, "Have you already done it?"

"Mhm, just waiting for you..."

Chen Feng extended his hand, "Why not? This is a good cause... and honestly, I don't think any criticism is worse than 'being kept by a woman.'" (To be continued. If you like this work, please visit qidian.com to vote for us with recommendation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)

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