After Failing to Find Immortality 1

Chapter 1: Life After Failing to Find Immortality

The mountain peak was majestic, shrouded in clouds and mist.

As the sun gradually set, the afterglow was soft and bright, casting a faint red glow across Mount Taiyi.

And on the cloud-piercing peak, a handsome young scholar sat on a stone stool, dressed in a white robe, with an ethereal and elegant temperament, like a figure from a painting.

But upon closer inspection, one could see that the young man’s expression was subtle.

“Unexpectedly, we look exactly the same…”

This young man was named Lin Tianlu.

A transmigrator.

As soon as he woke up in this place, a flood of memories rushed into his mind. After digesting them for half a day, he finally understood why he had transmigrated into this young man’s body.

The previous owner had been orphaned since childhood, relying solely on the support of relatives in the village to barely survive. Deeply aware of the harsh realities of the world, he studied diligently at night, hoping to pass the imperial examinations and change his fate.

However, he failed the examination in the capital, and more than ten years of hard work became a fleeting dream.

Heartbroken and despairing, he finally thought of the rumors circulating among the common folk. It was said that there seemed to be immortal sects on Mount Taiyi. As long as one had a sincere heart and a destined connection with immortality, they could join the sect and find the path to cultivating immortality and live a carefree life. Even their worldly relatives could ascend to heaven and enjoy a life of blessings.

He held onto the last glimmer of hope and gritted his teeth, starting his solitary climb up the mountain.

Mount Taiyi was steep and treacherous, with slippery mountain paths. Even ordinary farmers wouldn’t dare to venture in casually, let alone with the presence of ferocious beasts and insects. But he held onto a firm determination and didn’t hesitate. He braved the wind and slept in the open, gritting his teeth and persevering. After two days and two nights, he successfully reached the summit of Mount Taiyi.

But…

What greeted him was not the legendary ethereal and dreamlike immortal sect.

But a desolate wasteland overgrown with weeds.

—The immortal sect did not exist.

Or rather, it might have existed decades or centuries ago, but now it had long since vanished into history.

Overwhelmed by great joy and sorrow, the exhausted scholar, who had already depleted his energy, suddenly gasped for breath and collapsed to the ground, dying in regret and unwillingness.

“A pitiful man…” Lin Tianlu’s expression was tangled.

Although the scholar’s life experience was quite tragic and even bore a striking resemblance to him, suggesting a deep connection, he didn’t have the heart to dwell on it.

The reason was simple, purely because his current situation was equally dire.

He… couldn’t get down the mountain.

Mount Taiyi soared into the clouds, with an altitude of at least a thousand meters. The scholar was able to reach the summit purely by sheer willpower, and along the way, it was as if he was divinely aided, repeatedly escaping danger. The mountain paths and cliffs he had traversed were easy to ascend but difficult to descend. Forcing his way down was no different from jumping off a cliff to his death.

And now that he had transmigrated…

How was he supposed to get down?

He couldn’t possibly live on this barren mountaintop, could he?

There was no water, no food, no shelter, and no immortals or sects. With his frail body that had just been resurrected, he probably wouldn’t even survive the night. A gust of cold wind could freeze him to death on the mountaintop.

Even if this mountain was a so-called immortal mountain, and even though he, a modern man, was quite interested in cultivating immortality, it had all been shattered, leaving only ruins. It was pointless to continue hanging around here.

He had already wandered around the peak and confirmed that descending from any direction was extremely dangerous. One misstep would send him tumbling down the cliff, leaving no trace behind. As for the ruins of the sect, forget about any immortal inheritance or heavenly treasures. After searching for a long time, he only found half a rotten plaque and a broken jade pendant… which he had discovered accidentally by stepping on them in a pile of dirt.

No blood recognition, nothing worked.

No supreme secrets, nothing at all.

Lin Tianlu was also helpless.

“Couldn’t transmigration have sent me to a better place?”

“Even if not, at least give me some kind of system, some kind of space, some kind of chatroom, even an old immortal popping out of a crack in the ground would do!”

Lin Tianlu felt frustrated and simply spread his arms, shouting at the sky.

“Hey! God, can you send me a beautiful girl?”

‘Beautiful girl’ ‘Beautiful girl’ ‘Beautiful girl’

But only the indistinct words ‘beautiful girl’ echoed through the mountain mist, gradually fading away.

“…”

After a moment of silence, Lin Tianlu shouted again, “If not a beautiful girl, a handsome young man will do!”

“…”

He sat back down with a dejected look on his face.

In this desolate mountain, who could hear his nonsense?

Perhaps within these vast mountain ranges, he was the only living person still alive and kicking.

Boom!

Suddenly, dark clouds gathered in the sky, and thunder roared.

Lin Tianlu stared blankly at the sky for a moment, then hurriedly got up to find a place to shelter from the lightning.

He had just found a cliff cave to hide in when a continuous drizzle began to fall outside.

Looking at the puddles gradually forming outside, Lin Tianlu sighed repeatedly.

He wanted people, but what came down was thunder and rain?

Could it be that he had summoned the Thunder God and the Lightning Goddess?

“Sigh, forget about going down the mountain, now I can only huddle in this broken place and leave it to fate.”

He casually brushed off the raindrops that had landed on him, hugged his cold and stiff arms, and leaned against the cold cave wall with a helpless expression.

He was hungry and thirsty, the surrounding temperature was as cold as winter, and his whole body was weak.

Although Lin Tianlu wanted to try to light a fire to warm himself, after moving his limbs, he gradually felt fatigue wash over him. His breathing became shallow, his eyelids fluttered, and finally, he unknowingly collapsed back into his original position and drifted off to sleep.

And before his consciousness faded, Lin Tianlu could only muster a faint self-mockery.

He was probably the transmigrator who died the most absurdly…

Not only did he not make a name for himself or witness the wonders of this world, but he didn’t even get to see another person before dying alone on a solitary mountain.

He hoped that in his next life, he would be reborn into a simpler and more stable life.

…

Morning.

The sun after the rain bathed the sacred mountain, casting a faint glow on the desolate mountain range, making it appear both ethereal and divine.

And in the cold and damp cave, a pale hand reached out, gripping the stone wall tightly and slowly pulling the body out.

Lin Tianlu was dumbfounded.

He had been terrified and afraid all night, even experiencing his life flashing before his eyes and composing his own eulogy in his head.

How come when he woke up in the morning…

Hey, he wasn’t dead?

Even his previously cold body was no longer stiff, his body temperature had returned to normal, and his rumbling stomach no longer felt the stabbing pain of hunger.

On the contrary, he felt a little comfortable?

“Could it be that this immortal mountain really has something special?”

Lin Tianlu crawled out of the cave and took several deep breaths.

Hmm…

He couldn’t smell any so-called spiritual energy or immortal energy, only the subtle scent of the earth after the rain.

It smelled a little bit…

“I can’t figure out the current situation… but at least I’m still alive.”

He stretched his creaking body and returned to the ruins on the mountaintop.

After a night of heavy rain, the place was still desolate and lifeless.

But looking around, Lin Tianlu’s mood was calmer than yesterday.

After all, he knew that he wouldn’t starve or die of thirst for now… well, for now.

Sitting back on the familiar crooked stone stool, Lin Tianlu pondered silently.

Since he couldn’t go down the mountain for now and wouldn’t starve or die of thirst, what should he do on this desolate and deserted immortal mountain?

Farming? Scavenging? Reciting poetry?

Or… counting the stars?

The second day, Lin Tianlu spent in a daze.

…

The third day.

Lin Tianlu was still alive, still alive and kicking.

Out of boredom and frustration, he simply started making tools and began to excavate and collect the relics in the ruins. Even if he could only dig up some moldy and decaying lumps, it was a way to pass the time.

…

The fourth day.

Still digging.

…

The fifth day.

It seemed like he had almost dug up everything in the ruins.

Lin Tianlu rummaged through the pile of things he had dug up, picking and choosing for a long time. In the end, he only picked out a rusty broken sword and a jade flute… Although the flute had a chipped corner, and only two or three tassels remained of the ornament, it looked rather comical.

But out of his yearning for the artistry of the immortal sect, he washed the jade flute with interest and brought it close to his lips, blowing a note.

“Pfft, pfft pfft pfft—”

Alright, it was better to use this flute as a decoration.

…

The sixth day.

Lin Tianlu discovered a treasure!

A complete Go board!

The black and white stones were stored in two jade boxes, perfectly preserved without any damage.

He eagerly set up the board, carefully placing the two boxes of stones on either side. He picked up a black stone, pondered for a long time, and then placed the first stone.

Then he moved to the opposite side, picked up a white stone, and after agonizing contemplation, slowly placed it down.

The game went back and forth, and it was quite intense.

In the end, Lin Tianlu successfully connected five black stones and won the game. Congratulations.

—Well, he didn’t know how to play Go.

…

The fourteenth day.

Lin Tianlu was still sitting at the stone table he had built, silently pondering the game with a black stone in his hand.

Playing Gomoku against himself… was one of the few sources of entertainment on this lonely mountaintop.

As for other entertainment, it included mountaintop karaoke, creating his own text-based RPG, and so on, which were quite interesting.

“These five stones… it won’t work.”

Looking at the crisscrossing black and white stones on the board, Lin Tianlu was troubled.

But he wasn’t impatient.

He was now slowly convinced that he wouldn’t starve or die of thirst on this mountain. As long as he maintained a regular schedule, he would wake up every day feeling refreshed and energized. Instead of panicking and shouting at the sky, it was better to cultivate himself and maintain a calm and detached attitude.

Pitter-patter.

But at this moment, Lin Tianlu faintly heard a strange sound.

He turned his head to look…

A beautiful young girl in a silver-white cloak immediately came into view.

Her delicate and dignified face was slightly agape with surprise, her beautiful eyes filled with astonishment, as she froze in place, speechless.

Lin Tianlu stared blankly for a moment, then silently looked up at the sky adorned with colorful clouds.

“God…

It seems I’ve wronged you.

It turns out you really did hear what I said, it’s just that the distance was too far, and the wifi signal was a bit unstable.”