Yue State, Changning Prefecture, Prince Fu's Estate.
The front hall.
A crowd held their breath, gazing toward the center of the hall.
"Scarlet Flame Divine Palm!"
With a low shout, the handsome young man in green robes standing in the middle had palms turning crimson, and a ball of flame materialized out of thin air.
Before him stood a bronze bell. He gently pushed his palm upward.
Buzz!
The bronze bell seemed as though it were made of tofu; the flame pierced right through it without the slightest resistance, easily carving a large hole.
Then, with undiminished momentum, firelight appeared inside the bell, the metal began to glow red, and within moments it had melted halfway, leaving a puddle of molten bronze on the floor.
"A Xiantian martial skill! He is a Martial Grandmaster!"
Exclamations broke out from the crowd, especially the martial artists present, who were filled with deep awe toward the young man.
Seeing the fuss the crowd was making, Yu Xian raised his chin slightly to put on the air of an expert, though inwardly he was complaining to himself.
"The spiritual energy in the Mortal Realm is truly pitifully thin. A single Fireball spell consumed nearly half of my mana. Pity me, a dignified Immortal Cultivator, actually feeling a tiny surge of pride just from intimidating a bunch of mortals."
Three years ago, Yu Xian had transmigrated here, replacing the original owner and effortlessly inheriting the cultivation base of Qi Condensation Layer 3.
At first, Yu Xian had been thrilled.
This was cultivation! It meant sword immortals, roaming the northern sea in the morning and the Cangmang Sea by evening, taking a man's head from a thousand miles away with a flying sword...
But as time went on, Yu Xian gradually began to sense that something was wrong.
The first major realm of immortal cultivation was the Qi Condensation Realm, divided into nine layers.
He was already past thirty, yet stuck at Qi Condensation Layer 3, with his future looking pitch black.
Although Qi Condensation cultivators were nourished by spiritual energy, their lifespan was only ten or twenty years longer than an ordinary person's, capping out at a hundred years at best.
Should something go wrong during cultivation, he might hit his limit at seventy or eighty; if he sustained hidden injuries from dueling, fifty or sixty wasn't out of the question either. And if he ever crossed paths with a demonic cultivator or a rogue cultivator, he'd be dead on the spot.
The more Yu Xian pondered, the more panicked he became.
Since immortal cultivation was a dead end, he might as well decisively lie flat and check out!
Yu Xian chose to retire to the nearby Mortal Realm to live out his days.
The Mortal Realm referred to regions with extremely thin spiritual energy and severely depleted cultivation resources. Cultivators who stayed here not only made zero progress, but after long enough, their cultivation would even regress.
Over time, as no cultivators were willing to linger there, it became a domain inhabited solely by ordinary people.
Exhausting his meager savings, Yu Xian crossed the Sea of Death—which isolated the Mortal Realm from the Immortal Cultivation World—and arrived in Yue State.
Traveling along the way, he happened to pass through Prince Fu's fief just as the prince's estate was publicly recruiting consorts.
Prince Fu was the biological younger brother of the Emperor of Yue State, enfeoffed in Changning Prefecture. Sometime prior, he had somehow offended a Martial Grandmaster, who had broken into the estate in the dead of night to assassinate him. Two of the estate's three top martial experts were killed, and the prince himself had nearly been finished off.
In the end, the estate's retainers fought to the death to beat back the intruder, though Prince Fu was left severely wounded.
Presently, the estate's strength was depleted. Prince Fu's estate was not only petitioning the imperial court for powerful reinforcements, but also offering lavish rewards to recruit consorts from the civilian world.
Yu Xian instantly found a direction for his retirement plan: find a good employer and attach himself as a dependant to live out his old age.
Thus, claiming to be the second-generation worldly successor of the secluded Fire God Sect, he tore down the recruitment notice and entered the estate, leading to the scene before them.
Yu Xian's gaze turned to the Princess Consort seated at the head of the hall, and he cupped his fists.
"A mere trick, this Yu has made a fool of himself."
He did not reveal his identity as an Immortal Cultivator, instead disguising himself as a mortal Xiantian martial artist.
Spiritual energy was the seed of the extraordinary. While the Mortal Realm had thin spiritual energy, that didn't mean it had none.
Consequently, mortals with great perseverance tapped into the potential of their blood and vital energy, forging true qi to become Houtian martial artists, and then drew upon the heaven and earth spiritual energy to temper their bodies, advancing to become Xiantian Grandmasters—a path similar to the body-refining methods of Immortal Cultivators.
At the head of the hall, the Princess Consort of Prince Fu possessed delicate and pretty features. Dressed in a light pink palace gown with a plump figure, she was presently sizing up the handsome Yu Xian.
People in this world placed great importance on outward appearances.
Moreover, Immortal Cultivators, nourished day and night by spiritual energy, naturally came with a beauty-enhancing effect; barring congenital deformities, almost none were ugly, and they could always pass for refined and attractive.
"Grandmaster Yu is too modest. With just that single palm strike alone, Grandmaster Yu is fully qualified to serve as a Heaven-grade Consort of Prince Fu's Estate. I only wonder what Grandmaster Yu desires?"
Once martial cultivation reached the Xiantian Grandmaster stage, one gained a preliminary foundation to look down upon the nobility and stand proudly before princes and marquises; ordinary wealth and honor could no longer easily sway them.
"This Yu has practiced diligently for half a lifetime and cannot endure the loneliness of quiet cultivation in the mountains, so I ventured out into the world in search of wealth and status. Meeting the estate's recruitment today is truly a matter of fate."
Yu Xian stared into the Princess Consort's beautiful face, his gaze open and his expression composed.
"This Yu loves fine brocades and exquisite food, fine carriages and beautiful women, and luxurious indulgences above all—beauties most of all. I wonder if the Princess Consort can grant this wish of mine?"
Perhaps Yu Xian's words were too direct; the Princess Consort's cheeks flushed slightly, and she covered her mouth with a light chuckle to conceal her composure.
"Consort Yu is certainly open and straightforward. However, the one thing Prince Fu's Estate lacks least is wealth and status. Since Consort Yu is willing to exert himself for the estate, whatever the Consort desires shall naturally be provided in full."
"Yulan."
"This maid is here."
"From now on, you belong to Consort Yu. You must serve the Consort well from this day forward and must not slack off."
"Understood, Your Highness."
A delicate young woman stepped out from beside the Princess Consort. She was in the springtime of her youth at sweet sixteen, petite in stature with fair skin. Though not quite as stunningly gorgeous as the Princess Consort, she possessed the fresh charm of a girl next door.
Seeing Yu Xian sizing up Yulan, the Princess Consort introduced her: "Yulan entered the estate five years ago and has always stayed by my side to serve me. Not even the Prince has laid a finger on her.
She is the most obedient girl by my side, and Consort Yu can have her attend to whatever you need on a daily basis."
Without putting on any modest pretense, Yu Xian directly accepted the young woman and bowed in thanks to the Princess Consort.
"Your Highness is decisive; this Yu will certainly not let Your Highness down and will henceforth devote himself heart and soul to the estate!"
Having secured her promise, the Princess Consort beamed with a smile, blooming like a hundred flowers opening at once, causing Yu Xian to momentarily stare blankly, a mutter rising in his heart.
Could it be that I possess the heart of Cao Cao after all?
The Princess Consort was unaware of Yu Xian's mischievous thoughts; she merely felt that with the addition of a Xiantian Grandmaster, the estate had gained an extra layer of backing.
"Yulan, take Consort Yu to rest at Building Number Two of the Heaven Section in the Consort quarters. Right, the estate is hosting a banquet tonight to welcome Consort Yu, and I ask that the Consort please not decline."
Hearing the words "free food and drink at public expense," Yu Xian naturally had no objections.
"Please rest assured, Your Highness; this Yu will definitely attend the banquet on time."
...
That night.
The estate's evening banquet concluded with hosts and guests thoroughly enjoying themselves.
The Princess Consort made a brief appearance before leaving under the pretext of taking care of the Prince.
As the guest of honor, Yu Xian received no end of attention, and he took the opportunity to get acquainted with quite a few estate consorts—though they were all Earth-grade consorts, a rank below him.
The estate maintained Heaven and Earth grades of consorts.
The requirement for a Heaven-grade Consort was very simple: a martial Xiantian Grandmaster who could fight.
The standards for Earth-grade Consorts were more varied, encompassing peak Houtian martial artists or fellows possessing specialized unorthodox skills, such as hidden weapons, poisons, medical arts, tomb robbing, Gu cultivation, or beast taming.
The estate kept them around precisely because they might prove useful one day.
Yu Xian's eyes were truly opened, and he silently marveled that the various arts of mortals were equally diverse and all-encompassing.
After the banquet.
The Consort quarters, Building Number Two of the Heaven Section.
"I can't drink anymore, really can't drink another drop."
Reeking of alcohol and draped over Yulan's petite frame, Yu Xian muttered as he staggered toward the bedroom.
Yulan laboriously supported Yu Xian onto the bed and sighed.
"Sir, you were just too easy-going tonight. How could you just keep drinking every time someone offered you a toast?"
She had attended to Yu Xian throughout the entire banquet, observing that his interactions with others were exceedingly gentle; even when drunk, he didn't hit or curse people, but simply liked to hug people and talk nonsense, making him rather endearing instead.
It was just that, exactly as he had claimed during the day in the hall, he was particularly fond of beauties.
Over the course of the evening, her hands had practically been rubbed raw.
Yet this could hardly be considered a flaw.
Now that the Princess Consort had bestowed her upon Consort Yu, she was his person from here on out. The more fond her master was of her, the better her treatment would naturally be in the future.
"Sir, get some good rest. Just call this maid if you need anything."
After tucking Yu Xian in, Yulan was about to leave when a large hand grabbed her.
"Don't, don't go."
...
Once it was over.
Yu Xian felt thoroughly refreshed and invigorated, as if his entire being had been unburdened.
Pitifully for someone living through his second life, his first time had still left him quite embarrassed.
Having abandoned the slimmest hope of immortal cultivation and longevity, and having crossed the Sea of Death at the risk of his life to come to the Mortal Realm, his new life would begin starting today.
Suddenly, his spiritual awareness stirred, and he detected a newborn stream of mana circulating within his body.
What was this?
Yu Xian froze.
The golden finger he had shouted for in vain at the very beginning of his transmigration was actually going to unlock in this manner?!
Damn it, you've got to be kidding me!
Yu Xian drew a heavy breath, suppressing his excitement.
Before his vision, a green panel materialized.
[Name: Yu Xian]
[Cultivation: Qi Condensation Layer 3 (28/30)]
[Dao Companion: Yulan (1/1)]
At this moment, the gaze Yu Xian cast upon Yulan was akin to looking at a rare, peerless treasure.
She was already his Dao companion; although there had been no matchmaker's words or parents' orders, this moment carried a profundity far greater than any promise.
...
The next morning.
Having spent the night excited and lacking any sleep, Yu Xian stared unblinkingly at the mosquito net above the bed.
Before his eyes hung the brightly glowing green panel, confirming to him that all of this was no dream.
[Name: Yu Xian]
[Cultivation: Qi Condensation Layer 4 (1/50)]
[Dao Companion: Yulan (1/1)]
At the mid-stage of Qi Condensation, spiritual sense entered the microscopic realm, allowing one to look inward at one's own body.
Yu Xian's spiritual sense probed into his Dantian, revealing it to be brimming with mana. Compared to yesterday, not only was its quality much purer, but its volume had also increased by roughly thirty percent.
As for yesterday's Fireball spell, which he could previously cast at most three times, he could now manage at least five, and with greater power.
Furthermore, his limbs felt light, his body nimble, and his speed and strength had seen minor enhancements—roughly equivalent to the level of a Houtian martial artist.
However, an Immortal Cultivator's methods had never relied on sheer physical strength.
At present, he could be considered a solid, genuine mid-stage Qi Condensation cultivator.
Naturally, he possessed self-awareness; among mid-stage Qi Condensation cultivators, he belonged to the weaker batch.
Regarding cultivation techniques, what he practiced was the ubiquitous "Xiantian Qi Condensation Manual" of the Immortal Cultivation World, which offered no elemental bonuses; its sole advantage was being balanced and upright, making future technique changes convenient and theoretically allowing one to cultivate all the way to the Foundation Establishment Realm.
Regarding spiritual techniques, apart from the Lesser Cloud-Rain Spell for farming and watering, the Lesser Golden Needle Spell for pest removal, and the Lesser Withered Wood Spell for weeding, his only offensive spiritual technique was the Fireball spell.
As for Dharmic Instruments and spiritual talismans, they were not things a pauper could dare to wish for.
Yet Yu Xian was thoroughly satisfied; any cultivation technique would do as long as it worked.
If he wanted high-grade techniques, he would have to return to the Immortal Cultivation World to take risks, with no guarantee of success.
Although he had accidentally awakened a golden finger, Yu Xian's resolve to live in the Mortal Realm only grew firmer.
Prodigies and monstrous talents ran amok across the heavens and earth of the Immortal Cultivation World, while grand-ancestors and mighty figures suppressed entire eras. A small fry like him couldn't even withstand the shockwaves of their battles.
Staying in this small pond of the Mortal Realm—small though it might be—was safe!
Yu Xian planted a light kiss on the cheek of the person in his arms. Drowsiness gradually washed over him, and cradling sweet dreams, he drifted deeply into sleep.
From this moment onward, his once-lifeless, ash-like existence suddenly sparked with a tiny flame...