Immortality and Cultivation: This old man seeks enlightenment through mere survival.

Splash... splash...

A dilapidated fishing boat wobbles and rocks on the azure sea.

A hunched old fisherman stood at the bow of the boat, wearing a straw raincoat and a bamboo hat, and was pulling the fishing net in the water with great effort.

Waves splashed on the sea surface.

Three fish, which were frantically thrashing their tails, were forcibly pulled out of the water.

"Hiss, three spotted pufferfish, weighing about twenty-three pounds in total, not bad, not bad."

An old yet hearty laugh rang out.

The seawater reflected the old fisherman's image; his cheeks were sun-dried, dark, and wrinkled, his hair and beard were all white, showing the marks of time, but his eyes remained deep and bright.

Lu Zaian tossed the spotted pufferfish onto the deck and muttered to himself:

"Today's catch is good, we can go home now."

Looking up at the scorching sun in the sky, Lu Zaian sighed, feeling a pang of melancholy.

"It's been almost a month since I transmigrated here, but unfortunately I'm still living at the very bottom of society."

Cultivating immortality, cultivating immortality, how can you cultivate immortality without resources...?

Yes, Lu Zaian is a time traveler from Earth.

In my past life, I was just an ordinary office worker who fell asleep at my desk after working overtime late at night.

I woke up to find myself in this strange world.

A bizarre and fantastical world of cultivation.

However, Lu Zaian possessed the body of a seventy-year-old fisherman with the same name as himself.

That's right, seventy years old!!! That's the age I could have been my grandfather in my past life.

I learned this from the old fisherman's memory.

His parents were also low-level Qi Refining cultivators when he was young, but unfortunately they died unexpectedly in a battle.

The family property left by their parents was coveted by rogue cultivators and robbers.

"Lu Zaian" was just an ordinary person who did not inherit any spiritual roots. He could only survive by abandoning all his inheritance.

After escaping the terrifying world of cultivation.

Lu Zaian settled down in an ordinary fishing village by the sea, where he lived for more than fifty years until he was seventy.

a month ago.

"Lu Zaian" fishing at sea.

A first-tier demonic beast, the Flying Swordfish, suddenly leaped out of the sea, accidentally piercing the creature's abdomen, causing it to bleed profusely...

On his deathbed, he allowed his current self to possess the body of someone from another time.

Perhaps it's because the time travel was so inexplicable.

Lu Zaian discovered that his body had awakened a low-grade dual spiritual root of water and wood.

Moreover, it possesses a body that grants immortality!

Spiritual roots: the ticket to enter the world of cultivation!

After studying the Longevity Body, Lu Zaian found it to be incredibly powerful and defied the heavens.

It can actually make itself live forever!

Furthermore, it possesses abundant vitality and can slowly heal any injury that is not fatal.

This made Lu Zaian both pleasantly surprised and apprehensive.

To my surprise, I was able to cultivate immortality and achieve longevity, no longer having to be a blade of grass or an ant on the ground.

What terrifies him is the fear that his immortal body will be discovered by others, and that he, being weak, will be unable to control his own destiny.

Others spend their entire lives cultivating immortality, seizing every moment, all for the sake of ascending to immortality and achieving eternal life.

And yet, I was already standing at the finish line from the very beginning?

Of course, one's immortality does not mean one is immortal... one can still die from a fatal wound.

Especially during this past month, Lu Zaian, living in the mortal world, was completely unable to obtain any cultivation resources, and his cultivation made no progress, which made him extremely anxious.

"Although the mortal realm is safe, it is impossible to obtain cultivation resources."

"But I'm only at the first level of Qi Refining. Rushing into the world of cultivation would be like offering myself up as food; anyone could bully me. It's too dangerous."

"Let's wait and see. Better safe than sorry. There's always a chance..."

Lu Zaian hoisted the sail, turned the boat around, and headed back, pondering the days to come.

Nothing happened along the way.

Although there are monsters in the sea, they can only be born in places with abundant spiritual energy, either hidden in the deep sea.

After becoming a cultivator, Lu Zaian was able to sense the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.

They are now specifically choosing sea routes with sparse spiritual energy, so they are unlikely to encounter any more monsters.

Lu Zai'an will never repeat the accidental death of his predecessor a month ago.

With his current small frame, even the weakest first-tier demon beast wouldn't be a match for him...

After docking at the pier, Lu Zaian sorted out his catch and went ashore.

At that moment, another fishing boat docked nearby.

An old fisherman, also wearing a straw raincoat, leaned out of the boat's awning:

"Hey, Lao Lu, you had a good day! Are you feeling better now?"

"Haha, the harvest was indeed quite good, all thanks to the care of your family, Old Hai!"

The old fisherman, known as "Old Seahead," grinned, his weathered face instantly becoming deeply lined with wrinkles.

He struggled to drag a large creature out of the boat's awning.

"Hehe... Come on, give me a hand. I caught a big one today. The net was torn up before I could catch it."

"Hiss... a giant blue bass? Judging by its appearance, it must weigh at least 180 pounds?"

Lu Zaian couldn't help but be astonished.

Lying on the deck of the old boat was a four- or five-foot-long bass, its fat body covered with blue stripes.

It was a magnificent creature, but it's completely dead now.

Old Hai looked smugly at Lu Zai'an:

"Aren't you envious? Selling this fish will be enough for my whole family to have a prosperous New Year!"

"I'm so envious! I'll lend a hand and share in the good fortune."

Lu Zai'an stepped forward with a smile and took his hand, genuinely happy for Old Hai.

After all, Lu Zaian had lived in this fishing village for fifty years and was already very familiar with his neighbors.

a month ago.

Lu Zaian returned to the village with a severe abdominal injury. Old Hai's family brought him food and had their granddaughter help take care of him, which allowed him to recover quickly.

The two dragged their catch onto the dock and were about to move forward when Lu Zaian suddenly stopped and frowned.

"What's wrong, Lao Lu?"

Old Haitou, his body hunched over, carried the fish on his back and walked forward with his head down, when he noticed Lu Zaian's shadow ahead had stopped.

Lu Zaian looked ahead and saw several large figures blocking the exit of the dock, surrounded by a group of people queuing up.

"That is?"

Old Hai looked up and glanced, but his cloudy old eyes couldn't see clearly.

However, Lu Zaian was already a Qi Refining Level 1 cultivator, and he could see it clearly from a great distance.

"Slaughter Gang..."

Lu Zaian spoke each word carefully, his tone filled with a cold resentment.

"What? The Slaughter Gang? They're back again??"

Upon hearing those three words, Old Hai's dark face suddenly turned pale, and he instantly broke out in a cold sweat.

The Slaughter Gang—a notorious underground gang in Sea Breeze City, monopolizing the slaughter and sale of fish caught in all nearby fishing villages.

The only way for fishermen to sell their catch in Sea Breeze City is through the Slaughter Gang.

Moreover, profits are severely cut.

However, if they are sold privately, they will suffer a terrible fate if discovered.

At the same time, at the beginning of each month, fishermen also have to pay them a so-called "slaughter tax".

"We...we need to hide!"

Old Hai looked around, trying to find a place to hide.

Lu Zaian narrowed his eyes, watching two of the other party approach, and shook his head regretfully.

"It's no use, they're already here!"

"This...this...this...the damned Slaughter Gang? What on earth are they trying to do?"

Old Hai Tou was anxiously pacing around with the fish basket on his back, his legs trembling uncontrollably.

"Hey! You two old men, get over here right now!"

The fat butcher in the lead gestured and shouted loudly in their direction.

Lu Zaian lowered his head and touched the scab on his abdomen that had not yet healed, and pondered for a moment.

He looked up immediately, his face showing fear, and his body began to tremble slightly.

"Gentlemen, you'll be right there, right away."