Chapter 62

"Sir, just by looking at your full forehead and square jaw, I can tell you are no ordinary person." A thin man in his thirties, upon seeing Fang Ling, immediately approached him with a smile on his face.

Fang Ling found the thin man's smile somewhat familiar, but he couldn't recall where he had seen this man before.

When the thin man smiled again and said, "If I'm not mistaken, Sir, are you here to participate in the Ascension Path?"

This smile made Fang Ling realize why the thin man seemed familiar. It was because the thin man's smile reminded him of something familiar.

In his previous life as a tour guide, weren't the people who recommended products always smiling like that?

Although he had only been in this world for half a year, it already felt very distant to him.

"You guessed right." Fang Ling, whose memories were stirred, became interested in talking to the thin man for a few more words.

The thin man, of course, had no idea that he was lucky because of his smile. He then whispered, "With your cultivation, passing the Ascension Path should not be a problem. However, this time, the number of Immortal Masters participating in the Ascension Path has increased, and there are also many talented individuals, so it has become a bit more difficult."

The mention of talented individuals made Fang Ling's heart skip a beat, and he asked softly, "Which talented individuals are you talking about?"

"For example, the Xu family, one of the three major cultivation families, has a member with a Thunderfire Body. And the Zhu family has a pair of twin sisters, one with a Water Elemental Body and the other with an Ice Elemental Body!"

"Elemental Body?" Fang Ling's voice carried a hint of surprise.

For cultivators, advancing to the seventh level of Qi Cultivation and converting their true qi into spiritual qi is like a formidable barrier.

Out of a thousand people, only one or two lucky ones can cross this barrier and become cultivators.

Fang Ling himself, if not for the help of the Nine-Transcendence Dao Pill, would also find it difficult to cross this barrier. However, for some people, this barrier does not exist.

These people's constitutions are called Elemental Bodies.

Bodies that are naturally close to the Dao, not only cultivate quickly, but also have a much higher chance of breaking through bottlenecks compared to ordinary people.

Some even say that more than half of the cultivators who can become Golden Core True Humans possess Elemental Bodies. Major sects are particularly fond of accepting talented individuals with Elemental Bodies.

"Yes, Sir, with more talented individuals taking up spots, the competition for ordinary cultivators becomes even more intense." The thin man rubbed his hands and whispered, "I have something that can help you pass this Ascension Path."

"Oh, what is it?" Fang Ling looked at the thin man and asked casually.

Seeing Fang Ling's indifferent reaction, the thin man hurriedly said, "Sir, this is not an ordinary item. It's a map left by cultivators who have previously passed the Ascension Path of Mount Mangqing!"

A map!

Fang Ling's heart stirred. Although his rational mind told him that such a map might not be very useful, the maps he had seen before had helped him a lot, making him instinctively like maps.

The thin man took out a crumpled, old-looking leather scroll from his pocket and chuckled, "The cultivator who drew this map is my ancestor. Although he did not pass the Ascension Path, he did reach the end."

"Hehe, if it were just me, I would have no problem giving this map to you, but it was something my ancestors struggled to obtain, so..."

Fang Ling understood that the thin man was asking for money. He smiled and said, "How much?"

"Five hundred gold taels!" The thin man flipped his hand and said a number.

Fang Ling pondered for a moment, then took out five hundred gold taels from his storage bag and threw them to the man.

Taking the map, Fang Ling asked about the location of the inn in the town and then left.

He had not taken twenty steps when he heard the thin man loudly say, "Young man, I see you have a full forehead and a square jaw..."

He really is a professional map seller! Fang Ling shook his head and laughed.

Following the direction the thin man had given, Fang Ling found an inn and settled in. He then took out the map he had bought for five hundred gold taels and started to look at it.

The map was simple, showing only one route.

According to the annotations on the map, the Ascension Path is divided into three stages: the Path of Seeking Immortality, the Path of Life and Death, and the Heavenly Stairs.

The Path of Seeking Immortality mainly tests the willpower of cultivators. The Path of Life and Death is not explained on the map, but from its name, one can guess what it is for.

As for the Heavenly Stairs, the map says it mainly tests the root bones of cultivators, with 999 steps.

Each step is harder than the last, and the better the root bones, the easier it is to climb the Heavenly Stairs.

The final annotation on the map reads, "The Heavenly Path is difficult; be cautious of everyone!"

Fang Ling looked at the map a few more times and felt that it was worth the five hundred gold taels. Although it was a lot for ordinary people, for a cultivator like him, five hundred gold taels was not much.

Just as Fang Ling was about to put the map away, a line of small text on the Heavenly Stairs caught his attention.

It read, "Those who can pass the Thousand Buddha Mountain are the Immortals above Immortals!"

Thousand Buddha Mountain, Immortals above Immortals!

What does this mean?

Thousand Buddha Mountain, that name...

"Knock, knock, knock"

A gentle knocking sound suddenly rang out!

This startled Fang Ling, who had been lost in thought. Since becoming a cultivator, he had rarely been so unalert.

After composing himself, Fang Ling said in a deep voice, "Come in."

A young cultivator, who looked to be about seventeen or eighteen, walked in. He had ordinary features and, before even reaching Fang Ling, greeted him with a smile, "Hello, Sir. I am Cheng Lin from Qingyuan Continent."

Seeing Cheng Lin's friendly smile, Fang Ling naturally did not frown. He returned the greeting and observed Cheng Lin.

Cheng Lin's cultivation was about the same as his, at the seventh level of Qi Cultivation, but he had a faint misty aura around him.

Cheng Lin must be someone who practices water-based cultivation techniques.

After inviting Cheng Lin to sit down, Fang Ling heard him say, "Young Brother Fang, to reach the seventh level of Qi Cultivation at such a young age is truly impressive!"

"I was just lucky," Fang Ling smiled faintly and replied calmly.

Cheng Lin was not lying. Achieving the seventh level of Qi Cultivation at eighteen naturally gave him some pride, but seeing that Fang Ling looked two or three years younger, he was shocked.

Of course, if he knew that Fang Ling had advanced from the second level of Qi Cultivation to the seventh level in just half a year, he would be even more surprised.

"Young Brother, since you are here, you must be participating in the Ascension Path. It is extremely dangerous, and I wonder if you would be willing to join a few of us on the journey, so we can look out for each other!" Cheng Lin asked straightforwardly.

"Look out for each other?" Fang Ling's eyes showed a hint of confusion.

"Brother, you may not know, but the greatest danger on the Ascension Path, besides the array's restrictions, comes from those around us!" Cheng Lin said in a low voice, "The disciples of the major cultivation families have many people. If we scattered cultivators do not unite, we might not even be able to protect our lives, let alone compete for the opportunity to become immortals."

The idea of sticking together for warmth instantly came to Fang Ling's mind. With the Suburban Smoke Map in hand, and the Golden Saber Formation and some treasures from Jingyang Ridge that he had moved into the map, Fang Ling was not afraid of others.

However, having a few more people to travel with and avoid trouble was not something he opposed.

Since Cheng Lin was running around for this, he might be the organizer. Fang Ling smiled and said, "Thank you, Brother Cheng, for thinking of me. How could I not join such a good opportunity?"

Cheng Lin was delighted and chuckled, "With Young Brother joining, our chances of success on the Ascension Path have increased by a lot."

They exchanged a few more polite words, and then Cheng Lin left, apparently to find new companions.

Before leaving, he invited Fang Ling to the largest tavern in town that evening to meet a few companions.

After seeing Cheng Lin off, Fang Ling thought to himself, wherever there are people, there is a world of intrigue.

After a moment's thought, Fang Ling sat cross-legged on the bed and took the opportunity to practice his cultivation!

...

At the foot of Mount Mangqing, there was an old temple, its age unknown. Now, the temple contained only a statue whose face was unrecognizable and a single incense burner.

Even the temple's door had been used as firewood by someone.

The temple was usually deserted, except for the occasional passerby who would rest there.

However, as night was about to fall, a figure appeared in the temple like a ghost.

The figure glanced around the temple and then sneered at the statue, "A mere ghostly illusion, do you think you can deceive me? Qu Er, you are underestimating me, the Crimson Heart Feathered Scholar!"

"Ha ha ha, Brother Crimson Heart, you flatter me. I, Qu Er, am not trying to deceive you; it's just a habit." A voice with a hint of darkness rose from behind the statue, and a wisp of green smoke slowly formed into a short man about four and a half feet tall.

The Crimson Heart Feathered Scholar snorted and said coldly, "Qu Er, the five major sects are gathering here to recruit disciples. What are you doing at Mount Mangqing? Could it be that you, Qu Er, also want to join the five major sects?"

"Hehehe, joining the five major sects, I would like to, but would they dare to accept me?" Qu Er laughed sinisterly.

"Then you didn't come here to enjoy the scenery, did you?" The Crimson Heart Feathered Scholar crossed his arms and said coldly.

Qu Er waved his sleeve, and two stone stools appeared in front of them.

As he invited the Crimson Heart Feathered Scholar to sit down, he smiled, "I came to Mount Mangqing this time because I have something..."

The night fell, and the wind blew.

Their conversation, however, could no longer be heard.

PSP

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