Chapter 269.1: You Yin Spirits Are Nothing But Fame-Seeking Hypocrites
Qi Yuan felt rather helpless. The game hadn't even begun, yet his character had already died.
He sighed morosely. "This Primordial Seed really isn't good. Its gaming skills are terrible. Probably only Bronze rank?"
The seed sounded impressive on paper, but reality was disappointing. He might as well do it himself. Casually glancing at the game icon, he saw that it had already downloaded about two-thirds of the way.
He groaned. "Judging by this time flow, by the time I get inside, my bones will probably have already turned tao dust."
Choosing not to dwell on it, he remained seated on the stone stool, waiting quietly.
***
Fenglin Town was a mortal town. Many maple trees grew there, their red leaves resembling fire. Every season, wealthy families from the city would often bring their children here to sightsee.
Inside a carriage, Chen Xiyu curiously lifted the curtain. "Apparently, there’s a strange man in red in the Beiye Forest? I heard he’s playing chess in the mountains?"
The maid replied, "Yes, Miss. Some woodcutters passing by saw him. The man's clothing and appearance were too strange, so no one dared approach him."
Chen Xiyu's eyes lit up. "Xiao Xi, could he be one of the legendary immortals?"
Within a thousand-li radius of a mortal world, there had always been rumors about immortals, but Chen Xiyu had never actually seen one. From a young age, she had a penchant for strange tales and legends, so she was particularly drawn to them.
The maid, Xiao Xi, hurriedly advised, "You can’t, Miss! What if he's a bad person?! Recently, there have been many skin-flaying incidents in the city again. Miss, you shouldn't casually go into the deep mountains!"
Fenglin Town had never been particularly peaceful. In a nearby village, two hundred households woke up one night to a gruesome and horrifying sight. More than half of the villagers had been flayed alive in their sleep!
Everyone from Fenglin Town and the surrounding cities had been panicking. After all, in the Fei Kingdom, skin-flaying incidents occurred periodically. The king had once even paid a great price to invite an immortal master from ten thousand li away, but there had been no solution. Thus, the skin-flaying incidents continued without end.
Chen Xiyu firmly shook her head. "I want to go take a look."
Four hours later, she went to Beiye Forest, accompanied by several guards. The forest was full of shrubs and thorny vines. Even with guards clearing the path, several bloody scratches inevitably grazed her tender white arms, yet she remained excited and full of enthusiasm.
"Miss, look over there!"
At this moment, the maid Xiao Xi pointed ahead, her face showing excitement.
Chen Xiyu looked over with curiosity.
Deep in the forest ahead, a red-robed man sat upright on a stone stool, his eyes closed. Even from his silhouette, one could see how handsome his features were.
"There is actually such a handsome man in this world..." Chen Xiyu couldn't help but stare. Her once fair arms now seemed rough by comparison. Nevertheless, her heart leaped with excitement. "He definitely isn't an ordinary person!"
She wanted to seek immortal fate and find the real culprit behind the skin-flaying incidents!
Xiao Xi asked, "Miss, should we go over and ask?"
Chen Xiyu quickly shook her head. "We shouldn't disturb him. He seems to be busy with something."
She hesitated and only dared to look at the red-robed man from afar.
About two more hours passed. The man remained seated, occasionally placing a black stone onto the chessboard. His demeanor only affirmed her belief that he was no mortal.
Chen Xiyu had made a decision. "Let's go back."
She had to seize this chance. However, she doubted an immortal would casually grant immortal fate. Especially to an ordinary person with nothing special like her. She wasn't the protagonist of the world. Therefore, she would return home and offer him all the gold and silver she had saved over the years, along with every rare and strange item she had collected, just for a sliver of immortal fate.
Thus, she made a hasty return and gathered everything she had accumulated. However, this action drew questioning from her family.
Her cousin came upon hearing the news and said bluntly, "Second Uncle isn't home, and you're just giving away the family's wealth like this? Little Sister, the world is chaotic right now. Don't be fooled by fraudsters. It may be just some random countryside bumpkin pretending to be mystical. Do you really believe him?"
Chen Xiyu did not explain much. "This is my money."
With that, she turned and left.
Her cousin gazed at her departing back with pity. "Little Sister is still too naive. There aren't that many immortals in the world. Even if there were, why would they just hand out an immortal fate? More often, they simply take everything and leave. Human hearts are dangerous, and immortals are even more so."
Such things happened frequently in the country. Some lord would meet an "immortal" and offer half his fortune, seeking immortal fate. Those immortals usually took the wealth and gave some meaningless trick in return.
"Hopefully, after being cheated this time, she'll calm down and stop daydreaming."
***
Meanwhile, Chen Xiyu carried gold, silver, and all kinds of rare treasures back toward Beiye Forest. Despite knowing her cousin had a point, she didn’t want to give up and live a muddled life like this.
Eventually, night fell, and Chen Xiyu arrived at a spot dozens of meters from the chessboard. Her heart pounded at the sight of the red-robed man. Seeing that the man was still resting with eyes closed, she didn't disturb him.
Two days passed. The man still sat motionless. If he didn't occasionally place a chess piece, Chen Xiyu would have thought he was dead.
Finally, he opened his eyes on the fourth day.
Chen Xiyu, who had been sitting nearby, lit up. The immortal has finally awakened!
She quickly tidied herself and instructed the guards to carry the treasures forward.
The immortal gazed at Chen Xiyu with an unreadable expression. From the beginning, he had noticed her arrival. He just didn’t care.
Chen Xiyu stepped forward respectfully and was about to speak when the immortal said, "Do you wish to seek immortal fate?"
His words were simple and direct, his voice reminiscent of a jade-green lake—clear yet dark.
Chen Xiyu's heart tightened. She lowered her head, extremely devout. "Daoist Master, I am willing to offer everything. All I ask in return is a chance at immortal fate."
Behind her, the guards opened the small treasure chest, filled to the brim with dazzling jewels. The other chest contained ancient books and various strange trinkets she had collected. Honestly, these items would be enough to move some Qi Refinement cultivators into granting a crude "immortal opportunity."
The immortal glanced at the items curiously. Most of the strange objects Chen Xiyu collected were useless, except for one that carried a faint fluctuation of spiritual energy. It would be an unexpected delight even for a mid-stage Qi Refinement cultivator.
He smiled calmly. "If you had come half a year earlier, it would have been interesting."
