Chapter 2: The Decision, Yunlan Mountain

Jingguo Country, Yunzhou, Cangyun City, Wangjiang Tower.

Cangyun City is a mortal city located on the banks of the Cangyun River in the southern part of Yunzhou in Jingguo Country. It has a well-developed water transport system and a large population.

Wangjiang Tower is the tallest tavern in Cangyun City, with up and down five floors. Sitting on the top floor and looking down through the window, you can have a panoramic view of the entire Cangyun City.

Zhou Chun had left the forest and soon afterwards, he arrived in Cangyun City, where he had been staying for over a month.

And Wangjiang Tower was the place he visited the most.

Immortals do not dwell with mortals, and although Cangyun City had a permanent population of over a hundred thousand, Zhou Chun, after observing for half a month, hardly saw any cultivators.

Even when he occasionally caught a glimpse of cultivators, they were mostly just passing through the area while traveling, with no intention of staying for long.

Therefore, Zhou Chun was definitely very safe staying here.

However, Cangyun City, being a city inhabited by mortals, had a mix of all sorts of people and thin spiritual energy, which made it far from suitable for cultivation.

Even if Zhou Chun had the stone jar that allowed him to resist the erosion of Evil Qi, he couldn't possibly stay and cultivate here for long.

In fact, the main reason he had been here for over a month was to heal his body and integrate and process the memories of his former life.

Now that more than a month had passed, he had almost completely integrated and processed the memories of his previous life's twenty-one years.

Zhou Chun also had a general idea of how he should proceed in this cultivation world.

I've arrived, and I will conquer.

That's the thought of a young adolescent.

But since he had arrived in such a vast and magnificent cultivation world, and had become one of its cultivators, Zhou Chun certainly wanted to fully experience the wonders of this world.

If possible, he even wanted to know, to see for himself whether immortals truly existed, whether there were really people who could achieve eternal life!

To achieve these goals, being a lone loose cultivator would undoubtedly be very difficult.

So after thinking for several days, Zhou Chun decided to follow the plans of his original self and head to Black Earth Ridge in Lanzhou, within the borders of Jingguo Country, returning to the embrace of the Sanjue Sect.

However, the journey from Cangyun City to Black Earth Ridge in Lanzhou was still a thousand miles away, and peace was not guaranteed along the way.

Zhou Chun still needed to think of a way to get there.

Two days later, several cargo ships bound for Yushan City in Lanzhou via the water route left the docks of Cangyun City, moving against the current and slowly departing Cangyun City.

On the leading vessel—a cargo and passenger ship—Zhou Chun, dressed in white and wielding a sword, stood on deck, clothes fluttering in the wind, arms crossed, gazing at the scenery on both banks of the river.

"Young Master Zhou, though the journey is generally safe, it is not impossible that water bandits might harbor malicious intent toward our fleet."

"Should we really encounter such an event, we would hope for the young master to draw his sword and assist. Of course, the fleet will naturally offer a reward afterwards," said a short and sturdy bald man with a short blade at his waist, who looked at him with reverence and quietly relayed the fleet owner's request.

"Zhou understands," Zhou Chun responded briefly without turning around.

Hearing this, the bald man did not dare to ask further; he simply bowed and turned back to report.

Indeed, Zhou Chun was currently playing the role of a martial arts hero, ready to travel to Lanzhou to challenge other martial experts.

The bald man revered him because, to gain the trust of the fleet, Zhou Chun had subdued him with a single move.

At that time, Zhou Chun had only strengthened himself with a minor first-tier spell—"Light Body Skill."

Because the first part of the journey was sailing upstream, the fleet's speed was not fast, covering less than a hundred miles each day.

It wasn't until after more than ten days of travel, when they entered another stream with a downstream current, that the fleet's speed finally increased due to favorable wind and current.

Half a month after Zhou Chun boarded the ship, the fleet completely left Yunzhou, which was mainly plains, and entered Lanzhou, which was more mountainous.

During this time, the water bandits mentioned by the bald man did not appear.

That afternoon, as the fleet was passing a river bend, a whistle suddenly sounded from the reed marshes on both sides. Seven or eight small boats burst out and charged straight toward the fleet.

"No good, it's the water bandits!"

On the cargo ship, the bald man's face turned pale and he exclaimed in shock as he saw the people on the small boats wielding bows and swords.

Because of his shout, several arrows were immediately shot towards where he was, prompting him to quickly drop to the deck and roll into the cabin for cover.

Zhou Chun, who had been resting inside the cabin, quickly came out upon hearing the bald man's cry.

He looked up to the water's surface, and when he saw that the number of Water Bandits was actually around thirty or forty, he couldn't help but frown.

With so many enemies, coupled with bows and arrows as their weapons, it would be difficult to deal with them without using Spells.

And once he used Spells, it would inevitably be impossible to stay among the fleet any longer.

"Forget it, we've already reached the territory of Lanzhou. Even if I take a detour by land, it would only take a few days to reach Black Earth Ridge."

As thoughts flashed through his mind, Zhou Chun quickly made a decision.

No sooner had he made up his mind than he began to cast a spell, and soon a blazing flame appeared in his hand. With a flick of his sleeve, the flame turned into a fist-sized fireball that shot towards a small boat.

In an instant, a "boom" sounded, and the small boat was directly blown to pieces, with six or seven Water Bandits aboard screaming as they caught fire and fell into the river.

This scene, witnessed by the remaining Water Bandits, terrified them to the point where they felt as if their souls were leaving their bodies.

"It's a Spell, a Spell, there's a Cultivator among the fleet!"

A seemingly knowledgeable Water Bandit couldn't help but shout loudly, then hurriedly knelt down toward the merchant ship from which the fireball came and begged, "Immortal Master, spare our lives, please, we meant no offense to the Immortal Master!"

As soon as he spoke, the rest of the Water Bandits were also scared into kneeling and kowtowing endlessly.

"Please, Immortal Master, spare our lives!"

Intimidated by the formidable reputation of Cultivators, they didn't even dare to run away.

Seeing this, Zhou Chun coldly commanded, "All of you, scram! Don't let me see you again!"

Clearly, he didn't wish to commit unnecessary killings.

After the Water Bandits left, offering endless thanks, the merchants, guards, and boatmen on the merchant ships, who were equally stunned, slowly came to their senses. They couldn't help but look towards Zhou Chun.

Soon enough, the fleet's owner, a merchant surnamed Wu with a shaven head, approached Zhou Chun.

"I was not aware that the Immortal Master was aboard; I apologize for any negligence or offenses. Please forgive me, Immortal Master," he said with a bow, profusely thanking Zhou Chun for the earlier events.

The portly Boss Wu, upon seeing Zhou Chun, hurriedly bowed and said his thanks for the earlier events.

"Boss Wu is too kind. I have been under the care of the merchant convoy all this way, which has allowed me to focus on my Cultivation. Today, I merely wished to offer a token of my gratitude in return," Zhou Chun said with a gentle wave of his hand, indicating it was of no matter to him.

Then, looking at Boss Wu in front of him, a glint of curiosity in his eyes, Zhou Chun suddenly asked, "Has Boss Wu encountered other Cultivators before? You don't seem to hold the common reverence for Cultivators that Mortals typically have."

With those words, Zhou Chun pointed out the insincerity in Boss Wu's earlier speech, causing a flicker of panic in his eyes. Boss Wu hastened to reply, "No, no, no, please forgive me, Immortal Master. I meant no disrespect."

After speaking, he even knelt before Zhou Chun.

Zhou Chun saw this and shook his head, saying, "There's no need for that, Boss Wu. It was just a casual question. If you do not wish to answer, you are under no obligation to do so."

However, Boss Wu didn't dare to take his words at face value. After wiping the non-existent cold sweat from his forehead, he quickly responded respectfully, "I dare not deceive you, Immortal Master. I've traveled far and wide and indeed have seen several Immortal Masters and even witnessed them casting Spells."

Zhou Chun's eyes lit up upon hearing this and he asked, "Oh? Then do you know where there might be a Marketplace nearby where Cultivators gather?"

It was a casual inquiry; he didn't really expect Boss Wu to be able to answer.

After all, only Cultivators knew and were able to enter the Cultivators' Marketplaces; how could a Mortal possibly know?

To Zhou Chun's surprise, after hearing his words, Boss Wu hesitated for a moment and then replied softly, "I've heard a piece of news once, saying that Immortals can often be seen in Yunlan Mountain within Lanzhou. Perhaps that's where the Marketplace you are seeking might be found."

"Yunlan Mountain? Is it far from here?" Zhou Chun asked, his interest piqued as he looked intently at Boss Wu.

"Not very far. After disembarking here, if you head to the northeast for more than two hundred miles, you will reach it," Boss Wu replied in a low voice after doing a quick mental calculation.

"More than two hundred miles isn't far indeed."

Zhou Chun nodded slightly, then addressed Boss Wu directly, "Thank you for the information, Boss Wu. I shall not accompany you any further. We shall meet again in the future."

Without waiting for a response from Boss Wu, Zhou Chun immediately began to form hand seals and chant to cast an intermediate first-grade Spell, "Wind Control Skill", then took to the air, flying effortlessly over the riverbank without touching the water surface, landing more than ten yards away.

He then leaped powerfully, elevated another ten yards into the air into the woods, and was soon completely out of sight of the Mortals on the ship.

"To move with the wind, a stride of ten yards; truly it's the method of the Immortals!" Boss Wu, filled with envy, muttered as he watched Zhou Chun vanish into the distance.