Early morning.
Bamboo Mountain Immortal Pavilion.
Threads and rays of sunlight fell from the sky, faintly illuminating the entire Bamboo Mountain Immortal Pavilion.
With the rise of the sun, the whole Bamboo Mountain Immortal Pavilion gradually "came to life."
Figures interweave.
On the not-so-wide streets.
The sound of hawkers could be heard from all directions.
"Lower-grade Thick Earth Amulets, a must-have for home protection! Five spirit stones each."
"Spirit rice! Home-grown spirit rice, ten catties for one spirit stone!"
"Lower-grade demonic beast meat, two catties for one spirit stone!"
"..."
Spring breeze carrying a hint of chill, pedestrians hurried through the streets.
The stall owners were all eagerly looking at the crowd, hoping for business to come their way.
He Song tightened his sleeves, his eyes scanning the crowd. He lingered at the spirit rice stall for a moment, before reluctantly shifting his gaze to the mortal rice placed next to it.
Spirit rice was tasty and could even increase cultivation.
But he was currently short on funds, so he must focus on satisfying his hunger first.
"Sir, please give me twenty catties of mortal rice." He Song said when he arrived at the rice stall.
"Alright, two spirit sands."
Spirit sand was a smaller currency compared to spirit stones. One spirit stone could be exchanged for a hundred spirit sands.
As for the mortal world's silver or gold, they were worthless in the Cultivation World.
In the Cultivation World, as long as it contained spirit power, the smallest currency unit was spirit sand.
The rice seller was an old man who appeared aged and weak, but the spiritual pressure emanating from him still made He Song feel anxious.
Seeing that He Song only bought twenty catties of mortal rice, the old man didn't say much, only putting the rice into a package and handed it to He Song.
He Song took out the two prepared spirit sands from his sleeve, and the exchange of money and goods took place.
Carrying twenty catties of rice, He Song finally felt somewhat relieved.
He didn't even glance at the other stalls.
He turned around and walked towards the exit of the Stall Section.
"The first time out went quite smoothly."
Carrying the rice, He Song walked and breathed a sigh of relief in his heart.
Although he had learned from his previous life's memories that killings were prohibited in the Bamboo Mountain Immortal Pavilion, knowing was one thing, and arriving in a completely unfamiliar world still made him feel uneasy.
He Song was a transmigrator.
Three days ago, he had transmigrated into this world, taking over the body of a first-tier Qi Refining cultivator.
Fortunately, the previous owner of the body was also named He Song. After acquiring the previous life's memories, He Song spent three full days at home, perfectly reproducing the previous life's habits and various customs.
This was the Cultivation World.
Action of seizing bodies were quite common.
Concerned for his own life and property, He Song naturally wouldn't step out of his house unprepared.
If he were discovered to have seized a body, he would probably be immediately hacked to death as an Evil Cultivator.
Now, after three days of imitating and reinforcing his memories, being certain that he wouldn't be discovered, He Song finally went out to take his first proper look at the familiar yet unfamiliar Cultivation World before him.
He Song's residence was not far from the Stall Section.
Carrying the rice, he walked for a while and returned home without finding anyone following him.
Close the door.
Lock it.
Leaning against the door.
He Song slowly exhaled.
"A lawful society is still better, at least I don't have to worry about losing my life for some inexplicable reason."
"But... if I hadn't transmigrated, I should be thinking about how to surrender myself to get the best protection right now, right?"
"Eternal life isn't easy to hide in modern society."
Putting the bag of rice aside, a panel with black background and white text suddenly appeared in front of He Song, visible only to him.
"Name: He Song."
"Lifespan: Infinite."
Transmigrators have Golden Fingers.
This was an ordinary occurrence.
Having read a lot of novels, He Song wasn't unfamiliar with the concept of Golden Fingers.
However, the panel with black background and white text in front of him wasn't the kind of Golden Finger that could dominate the heavens, earth, and air.
Rather, its function seemed somewhat mediocre to He Song.
Infinite lifespan.
Eternal youth.
It sounds wonderful.
Many emperors and nobles in the mortal world have pursued longevity in their later years.
But... being at the very bottom of the Cultivation World and having such an ability with only first-tier Qi Refining seems somewhat useless.
From ancient times to the present, who are those who pursue longevity?
Emperors of the mortal world.
Renowned nobles.
Wealthy merchants.
A thousand-year-old aristocratic families.
These people have some things in common.
They hold high positions, enjoying the world's finest, and wield great power.
As long as they continue to live, they can continue to enjoy their wonderful lives.
Has there ever been an ordinary person living at the bottom of society seeking longevity?
An elderly beggar seeking immortality, begging for ten thousand years?
A brothel woman seeking immortality, receiving guests in the brothel for ten thousand years?
A farmer seeking immortality, plowing the fields for ten thousand years?
A corporate worker seeking immortality, working hard and laying bricks for ten thousand years?
Are they so masochistic?
Even with immortality and infinite lifespan, one still needs to live.
One can die from injuries, poisoning, hunger, and illness.
And, eating costs money, medical treatment costs money, renting a house costs money, everything costs money.
Under such circumstances, an immortal being at the bottom of society would not be as wonderful as imagined.
Of course.
If they were royalty and nobles to begin with, it would be a different matter, as those seeking immortality are mostly royalty and nobles.
As such, this Golden Fingers seems somewhat useless in He Song's eyes.
However, He Song is not discouraged.
In this world, there is one more thing that is heaven-defying compared to his previous life's world.
Cultivating immortality!
Cultivating immortality is different from other things.
As long as you have the time and can continuously absorb spirit Qi into your body, your cultivation will gradually increase.
When your cultivation starts to increase,
Your social status, class, and strength will gradually improve.
At this moment, He Song's cultivation is at the first-tier of Qi Refining, and his identity is at the very bottom of the Cultivation World.
But if he breaks through to the Foundation Establishment Stage, his status will instantly change dramatically.
As he moves up, He Song's status will naturally change as well.
This is the truly heaven-defying thing!
As long as you live long enough, your social status will keep increasing, and no one would question or suppress it.
Strength is the foundation of all social statuses!
...
"Sigh, the most important thing now is to earn spirit stones."
Shaking his head to cast away his thoughts, He Song let out a light sigh, then grabbed the rice bags and stood up.
He poured the rice from the bags into the nearly empty rice jar.
He Song looked at the now exceedingly familiar room before him. This was to be his home from now on.
The house was rented.
Ten spirit stones a month, which was not cheap.
For He Song right now, it was quite expensive.
The Immortal Pavilion never cared whether Loose cultivators could afford to rent a house.
Such expensive rent was also an Immortal Pavilion's test for screening out qualified cultivators.
If you can't even pay the rent, then leave the Immortal Pavilion and become a Loose cultivator.
Though the spirit Qi outside is thinner.
Though the outside world is more dangerous.
Though the mortality rate is higher outside.
But at least, there's no need for such high rent.
After searching his person and the house for a while, He Song finally stared at the thirty-odd spirit stones on the table and fell into deep thought.
If he just paid the rent,
These spirit stones could be enough for three months.
But if he added food and drink, along with the expenses of learning a skill, He Song felt that he might be kicked out right away.