“The resources in this world are extremely scarce, even spirit stones are non-existent.”
“When I crossed over, I had a few dozen spirit stones on me. Unfortunately, I used them all to restore my cultivation while I was in the wilderness.”
“Even if I had kept them, I wouldn’t dare to exchange them for Good Deeds.”
Upon reading this, Chen Mobai could sense Liu Yanpei’s helplessness between the lines.
Being a stranger in a strange land, especially in a highly modernized society like the Immortal Gate, without an identity card, one could hardly move around, let alone purchase or apply for the spiritual energy needed for cultivation.
“I pretended to be an amnesiac villager, concealed my age, and fainted at the temple gate. I was taken in by the kind-hearted abbot and started doing chores in the temple.”
“Although the spiritual energy in this temple is weak, at least I can continue my cultivation. I meditate secretly under the statue of the deity at night. But after a year, when I opened my eyes, I was still within the territory of the Immortal Gate. I’ve searched the statue and the entire temple inside and out, but found no secrets. How can I get home?”
“My cultivation at the ninth level of Qi Refining makes me the strongest in the temple. At the same time, through the magical tool of the internet, I learned more about the Immortal Gate, this superpower.”
“The Immortal Gate offers all kinds of teachings, even the Deification technique can be exchanged. Unfortunately, I don’t have an identity card and can’t register for a national library account. But for me, even if all the Deification techniques were in front of me, none would be as important as a Foundation Establishment pill.”
“Poor me, I was almost able to exchange for a Foundation Establishment pill with my sect contribution points. I wonder how the suppression of the sect rebellion is going on in the Tianhe Realm? I wonder if my junior brothers and sisters have survived this rebellion…”
Chen Mobai finished reading the second notebook, which was filled with Liu Yanpei’s fragmented records of his exploration of the Immortal Gate, his life in the temple, and his longing for his sect and hometown.
Towards the end, the notes became more and more hasty. On the last page, it all turned into a single conviction.
“I must establish my foundation!”
Liu Yanpei had been lurking in the Taixu Temple on Di Yuan Star for ten years and had a thorough understanding of the Immortal Gate.
He knew clearly that there were no Foundation Establishment pills here, and the three types of pills that could replace them were precious items that he, a rogue cultivator, could neither afford nor obtain.
Seeing his age increasing and soon reaching the peak age of 60 for vitality, he could no longer bear it.
He decided to take a risk and try to break through the Qi Refining realm without a Foundation Establishment pill.
“I told the abbot about this, and he was very supportive, allowing me to retreat in the main hall of the temple where the spiritual energy is the most concentrated.”
“I read the experiences of a dozen successful Foundation Establishment cultivators from the Immortal Gate, and reached the step of liquefying spiritual power, but failed at the last moment due to insufficient spiritual consciousness. My meridians broke due to the rampage of spiritual power, resulting in a failed Foundation Establishment. But I also succeeded.”
“My realm fell to the eighth level of Qi Refining, but when I woke up, I found myself back in the Tianhe Realm.”
Chen Mobai opened the third notebook, and the first line made his eyes widen, eager to read on.
“This rich spiritual energy, the dilapidated small temple, without a doubt, this is the place I was before I crossed over to Di Yuan Star.”
“I couldn’t wait to return to my sect, but found that I had been expelled from the Five Elements Sect. The charge was fear of war and desertion, not responding to the sect’s call to fight ten years ago. Even my junior brothers and sisters thought I didn’t want to share the difficulties with the sect, considered me a disgrace, and tried to kill me to cleanse the sect.”
“I was already injured due to the failure of Foundation Establishment and the fall of my realm. Fortunately, I had a second-order spirit talisman to save my life. The sect was fighting with the Shenmu Sect and the Golden Cliff, and had no energy to care about me, a small character. I barely escaped.”
“I returned to the Bi Bo Lake, feeling life was bleak. I wanted to end my life, but didn’t have the courage.”
“Under the second-order spiritual vein of Bi Bo Lake, I spent a year recovering from my injuries and broke through to the ninth level of Qi Refining again.”
“But after my breakthrough, I found myself back in the Taixu Temple on Di Yuan Star.”
“What on earth is going on!?”
In the third notebook, Liu Yanpei wrote about his sadness after failing to establish his foundation, his surprise at returning to the Tianhe Realm, his despair at being expelled from the sect and being pointed at by relatives and friends, and his disillusionment after returning to Di Yuan Star.
“I think I understand. Perhaps every time I break through a realm, I will cross between the two realms. But what causes this behavior?”
“Never mind, why think about these things? Anyway, I can’t break through anymore. Since I’ve been abandoned in the Tianhe Realm, I might as well spend the rest of my life in this small temple.”
“At least, the abbot and my fellow disciples here don’t consider me a disgrace.”
What followed was Liu Yanpei’s simple yet fulfilling life in the Taixu Temple on Di Yuan Star.
He wrote about the abbot’s aging, the arrival of a junior brother, the departure of his fellow disciples, the expansion and reconstruction of the temple, and the admission of the next generation.
In this way, another ten years passed.
“The abbot passed away, and my fellow disciples all came back. After the funeral, the four of us started discussing who would take over.”
“The eldest brother disliked the poverty here and didn’t plan to stay. The second sister always followed the eldest brother. In the end, only the junior brother and I were left in the temple. The junior brother also wanted to leave, but I didn’t want to be the abbot.”
“After some persuasion, the junior brother finally reluctantly inherited this broken temple. After the officials came to confirm, they issued him a certificate of appointment.”Time in the notes flashed by, and thirty years had passed. Liu Yanpei finally wrote about something that Chen Mobai was familiar with.
【Today, a mother and son came from Qingshan Village. They arrived early in the morning, wishing to offer incense and pray for good luck in the college entrance examination.】
【When the child was offering incense, I happened to be sweeping the floor in the main hall. I don’t know what happened, perhaps it was due to my old age, but I accidentally bumped into him.】
【He staggered, the incense in his hand was thrown away. His hands flailed uncontrollably, touching the tortoise shell held by the right hand of the Taixu statue. His palm was cut, and blood flowed freely.】
【After the abbot learned the truth from me, he asked me to go to the mountain to gather herbs and leave for a while, and he would deal with the troublemaking shrew.】
【When I came back, I heard that the abbot had compensated the mother and son with the tortoise shell. It’s strange, although I’m old, I still have control over my body. How could I have bumped into the child?】
【Since then, I suddenly felt that my body was getting worse day by day. After calculating, I realized that I had been living on this Earth Star for fifty years and was already a hundred years old. Qi Refining cultivators can live up to 120 years under conditions free of disaster and disease. I spent the first half of my life in the Tianhe Realm, fighting countless battles, severely injured several times, and failed in Foundation Establishment. I’m afraid that reaching a hundred years old is already my limit.】
【Before I die, I suddenly felt a bit unwilling, and decided to attempt Foundation Establishment again at the last moment of my life.】
【Even if the probability of success is less than 1%, I want to die in the breakthrough.】
The notes ended abruptly here.
But Chen Mobai had already understood Liu Yanpei’s seemingly ordinary yet turbulent life.