The First Immortal of Destiny

「More than half a year later, on the west coast of the Heaven Patrolling Zone.」

A gathering place for rogue cultivators known as Wangxian Mountain teemed with countless cultivators’ escaping lights streaking back and forth, creating a very lively scene!

This place was adjacent to the West Sea. Looking far to the west, one could even see the River of the Dead stretching from heaven to earth. Combined with its beautiful scenery and a decent Spirit Vein, it had, over time, become a place where treasure-hunting cultivators resided, cultivated, and traded.

Inside the gathering place, amenities such as rental cave mansions and immortal markets were all available. Nearby, millions of mortals made a living serving these treasure-hunting cultivators, either by selling their physical labor or their charms.

As long as one had enough spirit stones, whether for indulgence or cultivation, nothing would be delayed on Wangxian Mountain.

Similar gathering places were scattered across the entire west coast, numbering at least eighty, if not a hundred.

Yet, among all these gathering places, Wangxian Mountain likely ranked in the top five in terms of scale, reputation, and the number of resident cultivators.

The reason was simple: this place was under the jurisdiction of the LiMountain Elixir Sect. Most disciples of this sect were either engrossed in cultivation or immersed in alchemy. Their relatively lax governance had inadvertently contributed to Wangxian Mountain’s prosperity.

Recently, a Grade IV Alchemist named Shen Qingyun had gradually been making a name for himself on Wangxian Mountain.

This person was a high-ranking rogue cultivator at the Golden Core Realm. His attainments in the Alchemy Path were extraordinary, as he was capable of refining Grade IV and Grade V Elixirs, which were quite rare on the market.

More importantly, the fee he charged for alchemy services was much more reasonable than other Grade IV Alchemists and Elixir shops.

His methods of accepting payment were also relatively flexible.

Rare flowers and herbs, spiritual medicines and ores, secret intelligence, magic and cultivation methods, Elixir recipes, talisman scrolls, and even various ’junk’ salvaged from the River of the Dead...

As long as ’Master Shen’ took an interest in an item, he would exchange it for Elixirs of equivalent value. If the person seeking Elixirs didn’t have anything he desired, he might even, depending on the circumstances, fire up his cauldron to refine Elixirs for them!

One day, an elderly rogue cultivator, who had once managed to fish out a Demon Soul General, brought his nephew to visit Master Shen’s cave mansion.

Outside the cave mansion, more than a dozen cultivators were already waiting, a mix of independent rogue cultivators and disciples from immortal sects. However, most of them were cultivators who made their living off the River of the Dead.

Seeing so many people queued up ahead, the young rogue cultivator couldn’t help but complain to his uncle, ”I heard Master Shen only completes three transactions a day. With so many people here today, I doubt he’ll even be interested in the ’treasure’ we fished out!”

The elderly rogue cultivator took out an animal bone covered in peculiar ancient script from his robes, wiped it thoroughly on his clothes, then grinned at his nephew. ”So what if he’s not interested? It’s not like we have anything to lose.

”It’s rare for a proper Alchemist to come to Wangxian Mountain, let alone a senior expert of the Golden Core Realm. It’s a good opportunity to get acquainted with him!

”Besides, look at this animal bone—it has naturally formed Dao runes. It’s clearly not an ordinary item.

”Perhaps it will catch Master Shen’s Dharma Eye. If it does, then the Elixir you need to break through to the Spirit Sea Realm will be secured!”

The conversation between the uncle and nephew naturally drew the attention of the other Elixir-seekers. They all looked over, and upon seeing the animal bone in the elderly rogue cultivator’s hands, expressions of amusement appeared on their faces.

”Old Man Ma, isn’t that animal bone in your hand the piece of junk you fished out of the River of the Dead last month?”

A treasure-hunting cultivator who knew the uncle and nephew teased, ”Even the treasure merchants aren’t interested in that thing. What makes you think Master Shen would want it?”

”What do you know! Even if this animal bone isn’t some great treasure, it’s definitely not an ordinary item! If your eyesight is poor, then don’t spout nonsense here!” Uncle Ma retorted, his face flushing red.

This immediately drew a wave of derisive laughter from the crowd, making his nephew, Ma Pingkang, so embarrassed he wished the earth would swallow him whole.

Just then, a clear sword chime resonated from within the cave mansion.

Instantly, those familiar with Master Shen’s rules took out their respective ’treasures,’ holding them respectfully above their heads for Master Shen to examine closely with his five senses.

A moment later, three jade tablets flew out from the cave mansion, landing in the hands of three individuals.

And Uncle Ma, still holding the animal bone, had remarkably also received a jade tablet!

”This...”

Not only was his nephew, Ma Pingkang, dumbfounded, but the other Elixir-seekers who had ridiculed Uncle Ma were also stunned speechless, unable to believe that the animal bone was actually some kind of treasure.

”HAHAHAHA!” Uncle Ma couldn’t help but roar with laughter. ”My dear nephew, what did I tell you? This bone is definitely a treasure! See? Hasn’t it caught Master Shen’s eye now?”

Inside the cave mansion, Shen Mo, who had altered his appearance, physique, and soul aura using the *Three-Heads Six-Arms True Immortal Technique*, listened to Uncle Ma’s shameless boasting, finding it rather amusing.

The animal bone in the old man’s hand, though it originated from a Class IV Demon King, had long since lost all its origin power. The so-called ’Dao runes’ were merely traces of magic patterns left after an injury, inflicted by a powerhouse of the same level, had healed. In other words, the ’junk’ that those treasure merchants had disdained was, in fact, just a worthless piece of bone, not a treasure at all. Apart from being somewhat sturdy and fortunate enough not to have been annihilated by the turbulent currents of space-time, it possessed no mystical qualities whatsoever!

The reason Shen Mo had given a qualification jade tablet to Uncle Ma was, in fact, due to a previous encounter.

He had wandered in the River of the Dead for a long time. Eventually, a minor Heavenly Demon Soul General had managed to find an exit, only to be caught in Uncle Ma’s net as it was leaving.

After Shen Mo used the Sword Escape divine ability to flee the chaotic currents of space-time, he employed a Soul Curse to erase parts of the uncle and nephew’s memories. It was also from their memories that he learned of Wangxian Mountain, this gathering place for rogue cultivators.

After some deliberation, Shen Mo decided to use Wangxian Mountain as his temporary base of operations.

Although the Heaven Patrolling Temple’s surveillance of foreign creatures in this domain wasn’t as strict as it once was, the sudden appearance of a middle-stage Golden Core Realm cultivator parading around openly would undoubtedly attract the attention of the Temple’s powerhouses. More importantly, Shen Mo himself cultivated a divination-type magic, the *Divination Treasure Mirror*. He knew that experts who suddenly appeared in this domain without leaving many prior traces were easily susceptible to having their backgrounds divined.

Therefore, after changing his appearance, he had established himself on Wangxian Mountain in the guise of a rogue Golden Core Realm cultivator and a Grade IV Alchemist.

On one hand, this allowed him to earn spiritual items and other resources, gather extensive intelligence about the Heaven Patrolling Zone, and help Mi collect mother stocks of various spiritual plants. On the other hand, by interacting with a large number of local cultivators, he could blend in and obscure heavenly secrets, making it impossible for even a Heavenly Monarch-level entity to divine his true origins!

In the short time it took to drink a cup of tea, the first two Elixir-seekers had successfully acquired the Elixirs they desired. After thanking ’Master Shen,’ they departed from the cave mansion.

When it was the turn of Uncle Ma and his nephew, Shen Mo merely glanced at the ’Dao rune animal bone’ before casually tossing it into a corner of his Universe Bag.

”Based on this item’s value, you two can exchange it for five Grade IV Elixirs or twenty-five Grade III Elixirs. What type of Elixirs do you require?”