Chapter 43: Foundation Establishment Achieved

The young scholar was so engrossed in his reading that he failed to notice a hand reaching out from the dirt not far in front of him.

It wasn't until a series of "spit, spit, spit" sounds broke the silence that his attention was finally drawn.

Before that, his ox had been startled, throwing the young scholar right off its back.

All the scholar could see was a mud-covered boy disdainfully spitting out dirt from his mouth. More crucially, the mud-caked boy's clothes were torn beyond recognition, and he was currently wandering completely exposed in the wasteland without a shred of awareness.

The reading youth widened his eyes, staring blankly at the exposed, mud-drenched boy, forgetting how to react for a moment...

Until the mud-covered boy gave a sudden shudder, all the dirt vanished into thin air, and a dashing azure robe quickly materialized upon his body.

Only then did the scholar let out an "ah," screamed "Ghost!" and turned on his heel to run.

Yet, after running for a short distance, he felt something was amiss. Summoning his courage, he looked back over his shoulder, only to see the newly emerged boy staring longingly at his ox and drooling.

It seemed he wanted to turn that ox into barbecue.

"Who are you? What do you want?"

The young scholar mustered his courage and asked. He possessed a scholarly aura rarely seen in ordinary people, making him look earnest and tranquil.

"I want to eat beef skewers. Would you be willing to sell your ox to me?"

After changing into a set of clean clothes, Qin Changsheng looked somewhat awkwardly at the youth before him. Having slumbered for over a hundred years, he had no idea how long it had been since he last ate anything. Right now, the thing he wanted most was to find something to eat and experience the joy of beginning a brand-new life.

"I'm sorry, my ox here is for plowing the fields, I'm not selling it." The young scholar vigilantly pulled his ox back and stood protectively in front of it.

"If not the ox, that's fine. Could you sell me some chickens? Or give me some food..."

His current plan was to fill his stomach first, then go find that profiteering coffin merchant and demand an explanation: why had the crystal coffin he paid ten thousand for broken after just a single century of sleep?

When he woke up this time, he had taken a huge mouthful of dirt and found himself buried in the earth—where was there even a shadow of a coffin?

After staring for a long time and realizing that Qin Changsheng's behavior didn't resemble that of a ghost, the young scholar slowly let out a breath of relief. "If you harbor no malicious intent, just come to my house for a meal. I suppose it's about time for lunch anyway, and we've prepared some food at home."

"Pardon the intrusion." Qin Changsheng nodded.

Without hesitation, he followed the youth toward his home, while also beginning to size up the boy. This cow-herding youth had nothing particularly extraordinary about him: he was neither a cultivator nor particularly handsome. His only virtues perhaps were his courage and an inner peace rare among ordinary people.

Had anyone else witnessed Qin Changsheng crawling out of the earth today, they would likely have fled in terror, but this young scholar was different. After a mere hint of surprise, he had quickly regained his composure.

To use a scholar's term, he was unruffled by favor or disgrace.

A person with such a temperament was exceptionally well-suited for scholarly pursuits.

Before long, they arrived at the boy's home. Qin Changsheng discovered that the youth also had an elder sister. She was not pretty either, her only virtues seemingly being steadfastness and diligence. Upon seeing the young scholar bring home a stranger, the woman merely showed a brief moment of surprise before fetching an extra set of bowls and chopsticks.

She then invited Qin Changsheng to take a seat and eat. Throughout the meal, neither of the siblings asked where Qin Changsheng came from, nor did they inquire about his purpose here. However, while serving food, the boy quietly slipped into the kitchen to whisper to his sister.

Qin Changsheng heard him clearly: he was saying that seeing Qin Changsheng crawl out of the earth, if the man wasn't a ghost, he must be a legendary cultivator.

The two thought their voices were very low, unaware that a cultivator's five senses were terrifyingly sharp. Qin Changsheng merely smiled faintly and chose not to expose them.

Once the meal was finished, Qin Changsheng raised his eyes to look at the somewhat restrained brother and sister.

"I am Qin Changsheng. Thank you very much for treating me to this meal. To meet is to share a bond of fate. Right now, I possess methods for cultivators to prolong their lives, as well as some cultivation treasures. You may choose one of the two as repayment for this meal."

As soon as these words fell, both siblings were momentarily stunned.

Upon hearing the word "cultivator," the young scholar's eyes instantly lit up.

"I don't want longevity methods, nor do I want treasures. I want the method of cultivation."

The youth's heart was no longer tranquil. In the depths of every boy's heart lies a dream of achieving immortality, and even this calm scholar was no exception.

The boy's sister smiled with a trace of embarrassment. "A single meal doesn't amount to much. If the Immortal truly wishes to repay us, you can skip my share and pass the cultivation method to my younger brother instead."

Such a request left even Qin Changsheng momentarily taken aback.

"For mortals to seek immortality is fraught with perilous hardships. You must understand, while ordinary mortals can live for a century, cultivators are different. Cultivators must contend with the heavens, contend with the earth, contend with other people, and contend with themselves. To lose is to die."

Qin Changsheng had not intended to take anyone into the path of cultivation. Although the boy had treated him to a meal, that meal was not enough to trigger this much karma.

He had expected the boy to retreat in the face of difficulties, but instead, the youth let out a cold, soft chuckle.

"Senior may not know this, but ordinary mortals cannot simply live out a safe century."

"Living in the world of immortals, being unable to cultivate is not a blessing. For it means that anyone flying across the sky can crush you to death like an ant. When immortals fight, mortals suffer. Just like my parents: they were honest, dutiful farmers who worked hard their entire lives. Their greatest dream was to build a house in this wasteland that let in neither wind nor rain, to enjoy the happiness of a full house of children and grandchildren, and to greet everyone with a smile. Yet, right in their own fields, they were cleaved in two by a stray, inexplicable flying sword. The year they died, they were barely thirty-some years old."

"So, from that moment on, I resolved that if I ever got the chance to cultivate, I would practice with all my might so I wouldn't die a helpless and bewildered death like them."

The youth put down the book in his hand and looked at Qin Changsheng with a steady gaze. Strangely, Qin Changsheng seemed to catch a faint, lingering trace of murderous intent in his eyes—not directed at Qin Changsheng, but a murderous intent aimed at all cultivators in the world.

"If I teach you, I will become entangled in a massive karmic debt. I see that you carry quite a heavy intent to kill, young man."

Qin Changsheng gave a wry smile.

"If Senior is unwilling, you may give me some treasures instead. After all, you said earlier that we could choose one of two."

The boy's expression returned to calm.

"Very well. Since I brought it up, I shall gift you a manual on cultivation. Coincidentally, some years ago, I found a book on Confucian cultivation in a certain woman's study. Seeing that you are also a scholar, I shall give you that volume."

With that, Qin Changsheng handed a manual titled *The Grand Aura Formula* to the boy, whose name was Ye Cheng.

The youth dazedly accepted it and murmured a word of thanks.

Qin Changsheng patted him on the shoulder. "The book has been given; whether you succeed or not depends entirely on yourself."

"I must be leaving now. May we meet again by fate in the future."

Having said this, Qin Changsheng departed, leaving behind the youth clutching the book and turning its first page as if it were a priceless treasure.

Outside the house, the brother and sister watched as the departing cultivator summoned a flying sword and actually... took flight.

The flying sword transformed into a streak of light, gradually fading into the distance.

Along with the joyful laughter of the young cultivator soaring upon the sword.

A single sleep lasting nearly a hundred years, and Qin Changsheng had already attained Foundation Establishment.