NOVEL NEXT Chapter 1
Chapter 1: The Cross-Border Stone
In the Immortal Realm.
South Zhan and North Huang, the mining area.
It was the day of the monthly break in the mining area, and the dark-skinned men gathered together to drink and chat.
Among them was a burly man with a curled beard, who claimed to be an ascender, animatedly sharing stories of his carefree days in the lower realm.
“Brother Li, is the lower realm really as good as you say?”
Chen Ansheng listened, captivated.
Especially when Brother Li mentioned the abundance of beautiful women in the lower realm and occasionally threw in some suggestive jokes, it made the inexperienced Chen Ansheng’s heart race and his face flush.
“How could I possibly deceive you? Back in the day, I was known as the Fierce Sun Sword Immortal, dominating for three thousand years, invincible for ninety thousand miles, drinking the strongest liquor and sleeping with the most beautiful women. It was pure bliss,” the burly man boasted proudly.
“Then why did you come to the Immortal Realm to suffer?” Chen Ansheng blurted out.
“Got tricked, of course!” The burly man became somewhat agitated. “Everyone says the Immortal Realm is great, but they’re all liars. They tricked me into coming here as a laborer.”
No wonder the burly man felt unbalanced.
In the lower realm, he was an unbeatable existence, able to command wind and rain at will.
Upon arriving in the Immortal Realm, he discovered that the ranks of the “immortal” were found everywhere, unlike the rare few in the lower realm. Those born in the Immortal Realm automatically entered the immortal ranks as soon as they reached adulthood, without any need for cultivation.
Of course, to continue improving one’s realm, one must at least practice in the Ling Mountain cave.
However, the Ling Mountain caves had long been divided up by various great immortal families, leaving no place for those at the bottom.
After stumbling for several years, the burly man finally submitted and had no choice but to join the ranks of miners to make a living.
“That’s not entirely true,” a lanky old man spoke up quietly. “As far as I know, those ascenders from the lower realm are all unparalleled cultivation geniuses, and every immortal cave is eager to take them in. I reckon you, Li Zhengyang, must have done something shameful or broken a heavenly law to end up like this.”
Upon hearing this, everyone burst into laughter, teasing Li Zhengyang.
Li Zhengyang shot the old man a glare and waved his hand angrily: “Get lost, you old coot! Over four thousand and still a virgin? Just say you’re jealous of me, it’s fine!”
The old man’s face flushed red, stammering for a while but unable to retort.
The Immortal Realm was too competitive.
Individuals like the skinny old man, who was over four thousand years old, were still stuck in the mining area, never having tasted the pleasures of a woman.
How tragic.
Chen Ansheng fiddled with a round black stone he had just dug out, letting out a quiet sigh.
He suddenly wondered, would his future end up like Old Zhang Tou’s?
“Chen Ansheng, you young fellow, why are you so useless at such a young age, working in a mining area? If I were you, I’d become a trial drug boy. That’s much better than this.”
After a moment of silence, Li Zhengyang initiated the conversation again.
Chen Ansheng snapped out of his thoughts and awkwardly smiled, “Mining may be tough, but I can earn sixty immortal crystals a month. That’s much better than being a trial drug boy.”
Li Zhengyang shook his head helplessly: “You fool, there are plenty of fairies in the pill immortal caves. If you don’t mix in there, you’ll end up like Old Zhang — a virgin till death.”
Mentioning this made Chen Ansheng’s face flush again, and he shyly said, “If I work a few more years and save enough immortal crystals to buy a lower-level cave, who would have trouble getting a wife then?”
Li Zhengyang commented sarcastically: “Go ahead and daydream.”
The group couldn’t help but laugh.
A lower-level cave at least required one hundred eighty thousand immortal crystals; Chen Ansheng would need to not eat or drink for two thousand five hundred years to afford it.
Moreover, the idea that having a cave guarantees marrying a wife was a notion from tens of thousands of years ago.
Nowadays, even if you had a mid-level cave, it’s tough to say if you could secure a marriage without the right background.
In truth, Chen Ansheng wasn’t as foolish as he appeared.
He knew how challenging it was to buy a cave and find a wife.
But what could he do?
With humble beginnings, one had to accept their fate; having some hope in his heart was better than just waiting for death.
“Alas, if only I could go to the lower realm.”
Chen Ansheng silently sighed; if he went to the lower realm with his current cultivation of Immortal Level Three, he wouldn’t dare to say he’d be invincible, but at least he’d be a top-tier cultivator, not suffering like this.
So many people in the Immortal Realm hoped for the same, but no one could achieve it.
Because, aside from the Immortal Emperor, no one could cross boundaries.
And who would be foolish enough to go to the lower realm once they reached the state of Immortal Emperor?
“Buzz!”
As he pondered, Chen Ansheng suddenly felt a jolt in his mind, a peculiar force instantly sweeping through his sea of consciousness.
“What’s happening?”
Chen Ansheng was startled; he was about to call out when some unfamiliar information flooded his mind.
“Eh, cross-border stone?”
Realizing this, Chen Ansheng calmed down and quietly examined the black stone in his hand.
That stream of inexplicable information made Chen Ansheng understand the stone’s purpose.
He could actually use this stone to enter other planes!
What a coincidence!
How incredible!
“Chen Ansheng, what’s wrong with you? I just said a few words and your face went pale.”
Noticing Chen Ansheng’s odd demeanor, Li Zhengyang asked with concern.
“N-nothing.”
Chen Ansheng tightly held the black stone in his hand and shook his head repeatedly.
“What a foolish kid.” Li Zhengyang glanced at Chen Ansheng and said, “You’re a Pure Sword Body; it’s such a pity. If you had a way to join the Ling Mountain cave, at least you could become a true immortal, but alas, you don’t have that fate.”
The Pure Sword Body was not considered a top-tier qualification in the Immortal Realm.
To join the Ling Mountain cave, one would need someone to recommend them, which was nearly impossible without connections.
At that moment, Chen Ansheng’s thoughts were not on qualifications. “Um… Brother Li, could you please tell me what tier I would belong to in the lower realm with my current Immortal Level Three?”
Li Zhengyang furrowed his brows and realized he was a foolish kid asking such pointless questions.
Once in the Immortal Realm, it was like entering an eternal prison; who could still go down, right?
However, since he had nothing to do anyway, Li Zhengyang replied: “Not enough to be above, but enough to be above the rest. In our Canglan Realm, you could probably rank in the top five hundred.”
The Immortal realm is divided into Immortal One, Immortal Two, Immortal Three… all the way to Immortal Nine.
Beyond Immortal Nine is the realm of True Immortal, Profound Immortal, and Celestial Immortal, followed by Immortal King, Immortal Sovereign, and Immortal Emperor.
Outside the Immortal Realm, generally speaking, reaching Immortal Level Six allows for ascension, while Immortal Level Nine is the absolute peak requiring ascension.
“Top five hundred!”
Upon hearing Li Zhengyang’s answer, not just Chen Ansheng, but other coworkers were also stirred with excitement.
“Damn it, I’m Immortal Level Four; sure, I’d be a major figure down there!”
“As far as I know, there are trillions of cultivators in the lower realm. To be ranked in the top five hundred at Immortal Level Three is indeed something to aspire to!”
“Old man, if only I could go to the lower realm, I’d get ten or eight beautiful girls. What a life!”
In an instant, everyone began to chatter, imagining scenes of enjoying the lower realm.
At this moment, a representative from the Wang Family, responsible for the 1165th mining area, walked over and shouted in a commanding tone:
“Time is up! Everyone line up for inspection and prepare to leave the mining area!”
Everyone, including Chen Ansheng, immediately stood up and lined up to prepare for inspection.
The so-called inspection mainly checked if anyone was secretly hiding any purple crystals.
Generally, no one dared to do such a thing; if caught, skinning and muscle extraction would be a light punishment.
So, monthly inspections before leaving the mine were just routine affairs.
Dozens of miners lined up and moved forward slowly, all passing without exception.
Soon, Chen Ansheng reached the young supervisor.
“What is this? Who allowed you to take it with you?”
The young man stared sternly at the black stone in Chen Ansheng’s hand, his tone serious.