"Lin Chuan, are you seriously refusing to go down the mountain?!"
"Not going! Even if you beat me to death, I'm not going!"
At the edge of a mountain valley cliff, nine men and women dressed in purple Taoist robes stood proudly, exuding an extraordinary, immortal aura.
Before them, a handsome and delicate young man clung desperately to a stone pillar, locking himself in a standoff with them.
"Disciple, you have already mastered the ultimate teachings of all nine of your masters. Even if you stay on the mountain, there is nothing left for us to teach you! If you want to advance further, you cannot simply walk the old paths of your masters. You must go down the mountain to temper yourself, forge your own path, and surpass us! Go down the mountain, my disciple!"
"I've already forged my own path, haven't I? Aren't you old codgers still studying the techniques I created?"
"Little Chuan! The delicacies of the outside world are countless! Especially in Lvteng City, where I'm sending you—that place is a veritable food capital! Braised duck, spiced crayfish, pig's blood with dragon fat, stinky tofu... Tsk tsk, a hundred times better than the takeout your senior brothers occasionally bring back for you! You can eat them whenever you want once you go down the mountain."
"As cultivators of our generation, how could we succumb to mere gluttony? Not going!"
"Little Chuanchuan! You're eighteen years old this year, aren't you? A grown young man now. Could it be... that you don't want to cuddle and kiss pretty young maidens? Your master's wife has already arranged it for you: Su Qingxue, the number one beauty in Lvteng City! As long as you go down the mountain, she'll be your wife!"
"The bald donkeys at Dafu Temple next door said that women down the mountain are like tigers! I'd rather stay on the mountain and practice my boxing."
"You brat! Are you saying your master's wife is a tiger, then?! If you keep staying on the mountain, see if I don't beat some sense into you!"
"Come on, hit me! I've stuck my butt out, master's wife, hit me all you want!"
"Third Senior Sister, Third Senior Sister! Don't be impulsive! Lin Chuan, hasn't you always wanted Fifth Senior Brother's Bugatti sports car? Here, take Master's thumb ring, go to the Jiang family's firm, and make them buy you a hundred Bugattis!"
"Not going!"
"Good disciple, if you don't like Su Qingxue, your little master has a few other candidates here. All of them are betrothed to you, just pick whichever one catches your eye!"
"I don't want any of them! Women will only hinder my cultivation!"
The stalemate had lasted for half an hour.
No matter how the nine of them appealed to emotion and reason, using threats or enticements, Lin Chuan maintained only one attitude: go down the mountain? No way in hell!
"Enough, stop bickering!!"
Among the nine, an elderly man with white eyebrows and beard who had remained silent all this time finally spoke up.
The other eight immediately shut their mouths, trembling like cicadas in winter.
"Chuan'er, you've stayed on Qingliang Mountain for the past eighteen years without stepping foot off it even once. It's only natural that you'd resist so much when suddenly told to go down."
"Everything your master does is for your own good. Have you recently hit a bottleneck with the new Wuji Formula you created?"
Lin Chuan nodded. Since childhood on Qingliang Mountain, he had studied medicine, martial arts, feng shui, and various other disciplines under his nine masters. Gifted with extraordinary talent, it took him only ten years to master all of his masters' lifelong teachings to perfection.
Ten years later, Lin Chuan began creating his own techniques. Within a few years, he had developed several sets of peerless arts, even causing his own masters to turn around and practice them instead.
Yet in recent years, while practicing a brand-new "Wuji Formula," Lin Chuan had encountered an unprecedented bottleneck, his physical condition almost regressing due to his inability to achieve a breakthrough.
"After deliberation among us masters, we believe it's best for you to go down the mountain to temper yourself. Walk among the mortal world, experience all its hardships, and only then can the tier of your technique ascend to the next level. At that point, the Wuji Formula will no longer be an issue."
"Holy shit, Master, why didn't you say so earlier? I'm going right now. When I finish perfecting my technique, I'll come back and teach you. Make sure to call me master when that happens."
"You brat, completely lacking any sense of propriety."
Lin Chuan turned around, grinning brightly as he sprinted wildly down the mountain.
"Senior Brother, you really know how to handle him. This kid is truly obsessed with cultivation; so easy to fool."
"Those nine girls, though unrelated to his technique, are tied to his own true identity. One day, he will understand our painstaking efforts."
...
On National Highway 311.
On a truck loaded to the brim with watermelons, the middle-aged driver and a Taoist-robed youth sitting beside him chatted cheerfully.
This youth was none other than Lin Chuan.
Seven days had passed since he left Qingliang Mountain.
Having lost his way no less than ten times on his very first trip down the mountain, Lin Chuan had finally encountered this kind truck driver, and Lvteng City was now close at hand.
"You kid really don't use a draft when you brag, do you? Too hilarious! Come on, keep going—what was it you said you came to Lvteng City to do?!"
"I'm here to find my third master's wife and the fiancée she arranged for me, Su Qingxue."
"Hahaha, hahahaha!" The watermelon-selling driver burst into loud laughter once again.
"Kid, haha, you're going to kill me. It's one thing to claim your master is an enlightened immortal, but who did you say your wife was... Su Qingxue, haha!"
"Do you even know who Su Qingxue is? She's the eldest young miss of the Su family, the number one beauty in Lvteng City, and the CEO of Zhongshang Entertainment, a star-studded talent agency!"
Lin Chuan asked with some confusion, "What does a live streamer mean?"
"You don't even know what a live streamer is, yet you still claim Su Qingxue is your wife? I'd say you're out of your mind!"
As they spoke, the truck reached the outskirts of Lvteng City. From here on, their routes diverged.
The driver parked the truck on the roadside, got out, picked up a watermelon, and handed it to Lin Chuan. "Kid, this is Lvteng City. Take this watermelon to eat on the road."
"Since you've just come out of the deep mountains, honestly find yourself a factory job. As long as you work hard and diligently, you'll always make money and be able to get a wife! Let me advise you to stop daydreaming about Su Qingxue being your wife! I'm off!"
The driver waved his hand and prepared to climb back into the truck.
At that exact moment, a red sports car ahead suddenly veered out of control and charged directly toward the truck.
"Look out!!"
With lightning-quick reflexes, Lin Chuan grabbed the driver by the collar and swiftly pulled him out of harm's way.
CRASH!!!
With a deafening roar, the sports car smashed violently into the side door of the truck.
The truck driver was left shaking with lingering fear, cold sweat pouring down his body. If Lin Chuan hadn't intervened just then, he likely would have met a grim fate.
Staring at the sports car, its front end completely unrecognizable, the truck driver flew into a furious rage and roared at the top of his lungs.
"What the fuck is wrong with you?! Can you even drive, or are you in such a rush to get reincarnated?!"
As the curse left his lips, the door of the sports car was pushed open with great difficulty.
A tall woman dressed in a red dress and black silk stockings stumbled out of the vehicle.
The moment he saw that woman, the truck driver was struck completely speechless, his jaw dropping to the floor.
"W-What the... Su Qingxue!?"