Chapter 8: A Touch of Immortality
Lin Tianlu was no longer calm.
Mount Taiyi had vanished because he had absorbed it?!
This…
A whole mountain inside his body, wouldn’t that cause some serious “mountain” stones?
His lips twitched as he tried to focus his mind on the mountain within him.
Surprisingly, there was no sense of rejection. It felt ethereal and intangible, as if the mountain was just a phantom image residing within him.
But upon closer inspection, Lin Tianlu noticed faint wisps of spiritual energy rising from the mountain, slowly merging with the energy circulating within his body.
The amount was small, but it undoubtedly benefited him.
…
After repeated confirmations, Lin Tianlu finally breathed a sigh of relief.
At least for now, the Mount Taiyi inside him wasn’t causing any harm. He hadn’t expected Hua Shuya’s casual mention of “immortal means” to actually become reality. He had truly absorbed the mountain unknowingly.
Lin Tianlu felt a bit embarrassed.
But…
He soon looked up and sighed, a hint of excitement in his eyes.
Although he had experienced a near-death experience on the first day of his transmigration, the feeling of freezing and starving to death had been truly awful.
But from that near-death experience, he had been reborn with a touch of immortality, becoming the very ‘immortal’ that the scholar had yearned for.
Life was truly unpredictable, and fate worked in mysterious ways.
“With this opportunity… I have to live this life to the fullest.”
The excitement and joy in Lin Tianlu’s heart gradually subsided.
Perhaps it was due to the spiritual energy within him, or maybe it was the influence of his peaceful life on the mountain, but his mind had been calm and indifferent since he descended.
He opened his eyes and stood up, walking over to the table and gently touching the items he had excavated from Mount Taiyi.
“Since there were immortals on that mountain, these items must be artifacts they left behind.”
He hadn’t noticed anything unusual when using them before, perhaps because he hadn’t been utilizing the spiritual energy within him?
Lin Tianlu pondered for a moment, then tried to channel his spiritual energy.
But to his frustration…
Although the spiritual energy within him was vast and powerful, he could only control it in a fragmented and inconsistent manner. He had to exert all his effort just to gather a faint speck of light at his fingertips.
“I’m still not proficient enough. Although I have a strong foundation, I’ve never learned any cultivation techniques. Controlling this energy is truly… difficult.”
Perhaps he needed to find some cultivation manuals to guide him on his path to immortality.
Right now, he was just a half-baked amateur.
He could probably deal with a few wild ghosts, but that was about it.
Lin Tianlu sighed inwardly, gathering spiritual energy at his fingertips and touching the broken sword on the table.
It seemed there were demons and monsters lurking in this world. He might not encounter another ghost like the one in the forest for decades, but it was always good to have some means of self-defense.
He had to see if he could activate these items with his spiritual energy…
Hum!
The broken sword suddenly trembled.
Lin Tianlu’s eyes lit up.
There was a reaction!
Even though it was broken and rusty, it was still an artifact from an immortal sect. It must still hold some power.
The sword fell to the ground.
Lin Tianlu’s expression froze.
He picked it up and tried again, poking it with his finger.
The sword floated in mid-air, wobbling unsteadily.
Then, it fell back to the ground with a thud.
“…”
Was his finger a magnet or something?
Lin Tianlu was speechless.
He picked up the sword and stabbed it at the stone floor.
Two faint white marks appeared.
Well, at least it proved that the sword was made of metal, not some toy replica.
“I shouldn’t have expected anything from a broken sword.” Lin Tianlu sighed inwardly, putting the sword aside and picking up the jade flute.
An immortal’s instrument, it must require spiritual energy to activate.
With that thought, Lin Tianlu took a deep breath, channeling spiritual energy to his lungs and mouth, and blew gently into the flute.
“Pree, pree, prrrr—”
He put down the flute with a blank expression.
It sounded even worse than before, and there was a strange smell.
The immortal who made this flute must have been tone-deaf.
No, they must have been completely insane.
That left only the broken jade pendant and the Go board.
Lin Tianlu tried to infuse spiritual energy into the stones and the board, but there was no response.
It seemed the Go board was just an ordinary item used by immortals for entertainment. The jade box it was stored in was sturdy enough to prevent it from being damaged.
But the jade pendant…
Tinkle!
The moment he infused spiritual energy into it, the dull jade pendant suddenly lit up with a bright light.
Lin Tianlu’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Finally, a working immortal artifact?”
He examined it closely with excitement.
But after waiting for a while…
Nothing happened.
Lin Tianlu patted the pendant, shook it, tried throwing it at the wall, even imitated hand seals he had seen in movies.
After a while, he hung his head dejectedly.
There were no special effects.
It had absorbed the gray mist from the destroyed ghost, so he had thought it might have gained some special abilities.
But it seemed to be nothing more than a spiritually powered flashlight…
Although he longed for a cool and mysterious weapon, a legendary artifact, looking at the items on the table… he hesitated, then sighed inwardly, suppressing his complaints.
To have gained a touch of immortality was already a great blessing. Asking for more would be greedy. As for these items, keeping them by his side was a good enough memento.
“I’ll find a craftsman in town to see if they can be repaired.”
Lin Tianlu walked over to the window, gazing at the moon obscured by clouds, lost in thought.
He had gradually adapted to the peaceful life in this world. There might still be some regrets and longings in his heart, but he accepted it all with a chuckle.
“It’s just a pity that there’s no one here to play Go with me.”
Lin Tianlu shook his head with a smile, feeling a bit restless.
No…
Now that he was living in Changling County, why not take some time to learn how to play Go properly?
It would be better than playing Gomoku every day. It just wasn’t as sophisticated.
“But besides these leisurely pursuits, the most important thing is finding a cultivation method.” Lin Tianlu held out his hand, staring at the faint specks of spiritual energy floating in his palm.
“To have such abundant spiritual energy but not know how to use it is a waste. If I can truly cultivate immortality in this world, witness the wonders of heaven and earth, then this transmigration wouldn’t be in vain.”
He would have to interact with more people, see if there were any traces of immortals left in this world.
Perhaps, by chance, he might even encounter other cultivators?
“But with my meager cultivation, I’m afraid I’ll be laughed at by other cultivators.” He rubbed his chin and muttered to himself, “Maybe I should just be a scholar for a while and focus on refining my cultural knowledge?”
His conversations with Hua Shuya had almost exhausted his limited vocabulary of ancient Chinese.
If they talked any longer, he would probably start blurting out modern slang. He didn’t want to accidentally say something inappropriate and ruin the mood.
Knock, knock!
At that moment, he heard a faint knocking sound coming from the courtyard gate.
Lin Tianlu was startled, wondering who would be visiting so late at night.
“Coming, coming!”
He hurried through the corridor, into the courtyard, and pulled open the gate.
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