Transmigration: The Peerless Immortal Husband

Ten years may not seem long for the cultivators on the Tianlin Continent, but the previous decade was the most tumultuous and transformative period, shaking the continent with the most significant changes and uncertainties. Cultivators from all over the land eagerly rushed to Shifang City, filled with high hopes for the future, wondering if another person would emerge in the next decade, someone capable of altering the entire continent’s landscape like the previous influential figures.

A shopkeeper selling pills was desperately promoting to the incoming cultivators: “The famous Pill Master Gu Yao once hid his identity and came to our shop to sell his pills, just to raise money for the registration fee to attend the Tianfu Academy. Master Gu Yao’s pills stayed in our shop for quite some time. As long as you take our pills, you are sure to gain a little of Master Gu Yao’s good fortune, and you’ll surely walk the broad road to success in the future!”

The shopkeeper was spewing spittle as he bragged, while the shop assistants inside covered their faces, unable to watch. The assistants who had worked there for over ten years knew very well that, back then, the shopkeeper had even mistaken Master Gu Yao for the second son of the Cuiyan Valley, and had reported him to the major sects. Although Master Gu Yao’s status was vastly different now, and he would not seek trouble with a small shop, who knew if one of his admirers might find out about the past? The shopkeeper using Master Gu Yao’s name to attract business—wasn’t he worried someone would come and smash the shop?

Unfortunately, the people from the three families of Yuanyang Town happened to be visiting at the same time, with members of the Gu family among them. Upon hearing the shopkeeper’s words, their faces twitched with discomfort. The younger generation looked upset as well.

When Master Gu Yao left ten years ago, they were only children and didn’t have much familiarity with him. Originally, the Gu family should have been proud of such a talented individual.

However, as they grew older and interacted more with outsiders, they realized that the halo surrounding Gu Yao had nothing to do with them, and it had instead become a source of ridicule for the Gu family.

The Gu family members hurriedly left the shop, almost fleeing, while the shopkeeper continued calling after them, hoping to keep them as customers and sell more pills. The pill business had been struggling recently due to the impact of Alchemist’s Cauldron City, and with the increased taxes, if things didn’t improve, the shop would have to move elsewhere. The shopkeeper regretted not being as smart as other merchants who had already gone to Alchemist’s Cauldron City and seized the opportunity.

Seeing the Gu family members looking so dismal, the young members of the Tian family directly scoffed, laughing out loud as they said, “I wonder if we’ll have a chance to meet Master Gu Yao this time. Oh, and also Senior Chi. My father said I must enter Tianfu Academy this time, and I must join the Sword Peak of Tianfu Academy. Both Master Gu Yao and Senior Chi are there!”

“If only we had been born a few years earlier, back then it was easier to enter Tianfu Academy. Now, the standards must have increased,” someone lamented.

“Yeah, exactly! Like Second Brother Tian, Second Brother Tian has already established his foundation! He’s amazing!”

“The best thing about Second Brother Tian is his foresight. He must have realized that Senior Chi and Master Gu Yao would have extraordinary futures, which is why he made sure to befriend them early on and helped them out. Unlike some families whose members were blind, they actually drove these two great figures away. Ha ha!”

The Tian family members were the most excited. Among the three families of Yuanyang Town, the Tian family was the most influential. Not only did they have Tian Feirong, a new foundation-building cultivator, but everyone also knew that he had a close relationship with both Gu Yao and Chi Changye. He could represent Gu Yao in business dealings involving pills and spirit herbs. Because of Tian Feirong, many forces now viewed the Tian family in a favorable light. Additionally, Brother Tian’s status in Tianhai Sect was not weak. According to news from Tianhai Sect, Tian Feiyang had reached the peak of Qi Refining, and his breakthrough to foundation-building was imminent.

The Gu family, which could have been the most powerful family in the town, was now the lowest-ranked among the three. The Lu family still had Lu Minzhu supporting them in Beixing Sect, and even the Tian family had to show some respect to Beixing Sect. As long as the Lu family didn’t cause trouble, the Tian family wouldn’t deliberately make things difficult for them.

If it weren’t for the fact that Gu Yao still had blood ties to the Gu family, and if there weren’t someone in the family at Changxian Sect, the Gu family might have already been driven out of Yuanyang Town by the combined forces of the Tian and Lu families.

“They won’t be in any danger. Maybe Big Brother Gu Yang will come from Changxian Sect to visit the family. Once Big Brother Gu Yang shows up, just watch how these guys will keep being arrogant. Even if Gu Yao and Chi Changye…”

The sentence was left unfinished, because there was another possibility: that these two might be chosen by Changxian Sect to join. They couldn’t be sure if, after Gu Yang went to Changxian Sect, his cultivation would skyrocket and surpass both Gu Yao and Chi Changye.

“It’s all the fault of the second branch of the family. They offended Gu Yao too harshly. Afterward, we realized that Gu Yao actually has a very good temper, especially with those close to him. He’s very generous. If it weren’t for…” If it weren’t for offending Gu Yao so badly, the Gu family would have been the ones to benefit the most. Seeing how everyone around Gu Yao was rising, how could the Gu family not feel envious and jealous?

But once the arrow is released, it cannot be retrieved. Although Gu Yang was there to offer comfort, the Gu family members still returned to their temporary base in dejection. After leaving Yuanyang Town, they could hear others talk about how famous Gu Yao had become—his reputation was even greater than what they had known in Yuanyang Town. They only felt even more frustrated. And then there was Chi Changye, the number one person on Tianlin Continent, who also came from the Gu family.

After they left, two cultivators with extremely ordinary appearances, who would blend into a crowd without being noticed, turned their eyes away. One of them tilted his head and smiled, “I just remembered, the Gu family is also going to participate in the Ascension Conference this time. I didn’t expect to run into them so soon.”

Seeing the Gu family made them feel a mix of emotions. It felt as though all those past events were from another lifetime. The younger generation didn’t even recognize them, but perhaps their parents might still know some things.

These two were, of course, Gu Yao and Chi Changye. They hadn’t come with the main group, but had stayed behind at a distance, entering the city as ordinary Qi Refining cultivators after the Tianfu Academy group entered. They were on a mission. With the immense changes in the landscape of Tianlin Continent, especially with their own emergence and the successive successes of other Golden Core cultivators passing their tribulations, they weren’t sure what measures Changxian Sect would take.

They were keeping an eye out for any cultivators dispatched from Changxian Sect or any sudden moves by the City Lord’s Manor targeting the city’s cultivators. Their main goal was to ensure the safety of the Tianfu Academy group. If there was an opportunity to further investigate the City Lord’s Manor, that would be even better. They had discussed with Dean Yu and agreed that the person surnamed Hong was very likely hiding in the City Lord’s Manor. His soul tablet hadn’t shattered, so he was still alive, though it was unclear whether he was living well or poorly.

“Second Brother Tian and Big Brother Tian didn’t come, it’s as if they had planned it,” Gu Yao said with a smile. The four of them had too big of a goal for their trip, so this time it was just him and Chi Changye acting alone. Tian Feirong and the chubby boy stayed at the academy, and Big Brother Tian had recently messaged Tian Feirong to prepare for seclusion in order to break through to foundation-building, so he wouldn’t be leaving his seclusion anytime soon.

The two of them arrived outside the City Lord’s Manor, where they observed from a distance. Chi Changye wasn’t eager to enter, as the formation and restrictions inside had been set up by Changxian Sect, some of which might specifically target Golden Core cultivators. Triggering any of these formations could easily alert others.

“Let’s go back to the inn first and see which people from Changxian Sect will be coming this time,” Chi Changye said to Gu Yao.

The two turned and began walking back. There were many cultivators around, so no one paid them any attention.

As they walked, both of them recalled the conversation with Dean Yu.

Dean Yu had said, “The Changxian Sect is also a cultivation sect. As long as they are cultivators, even if they are demon cultivators, they must follow certain constraints and cannot act recklessly. Therefore, the cultivators sent by Changxian Sect have never exceeded the Golden Core stage. No Nascent Soul-level experts have ever appeared on the Tianlin Continent.”

At the time, both of them had sensed that Dean Yu was about to reveal something secret, and sure enough, he continued, “Look at how tightly guarded the teleportation array is at the City Lord’s Manor. Do you think that teleportation array was built by Changxian Sect? Wrong. Changxian Sect only took over the array and built the City Lord’s Manor around it.”

“It’s an ancient teleportation array. Since the great changes in the world and the separation of our continent from the outside world, the Heavenly Dao left a slim chance for survival to the cultivators here. The ancient cultivators who survived that period built this teleportation array, which can send cultivators who reach the Golden Core stage out. Those who haven’t reached that stage are naturally escorted by Golden Core cultivators. And those who come here are also restricted.”

“Here, reaching the Golden Core is the peak. The environment and spiritual energy here limit cultivators from breaking through further. If a Nascent Soul cultivator were to come, it would shatter this balance. That’s why the ancient cultivators didn’t leave this kind of power.”

“But then, something unexpected happened. The other side of the teleportation array fell into the hands of Changxian Sect, and they also discovered the secrets of Tianlin Continent. From then on, the Tianlin Continent became the private property of Changxian Sect. As you’ve seen, if it weren’t for the Cangkun Secret Realm, it would be hard to find any treasures here to aid in breaking through to Golden Core. Changxian Sect has already drained these resources and controls their circulation, all to limit the emergence of Golden Core cultivators on the continent.”

“Our advantage is that Changxian Sect has always underestimated our continent. In their view, even with the help of the Cangkun Secret Realm, our continent can never escape their control. They believe that they can send anyone from their sect, and they’ll easily deal with the rebellious ones. I’m sure City Lord Meng thinks the same, so since the Pill Master’s Guild was established, this hidden force behind the continent hasn’t made any major moves. They’ve just been waiting for someone to come from the other side. Once someone arrives, all the problems here will be resolved.”