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

Lu Zaian and Lao Haitou, looking obsequious and trembling, walked up to the two butchers from the slaughtering gang.

A strong smell of blood hit Lu Zaian's nose.

The lead butcher was obese, shirtless, wearing a leather skirt stained with dark red blood, and had two boning knives hanging at his waist.

"What are you doing, dawdling like that!"

Upon seeing Lu Zaian and the other person approach, he grumbled and cursed.

Upon closer inspection of the fish caught in the baskets behind the two men, the fat butcher's triangular eyes, visible through the fleshy crevices of his cheeks, immediately revealed greed and cunning.

"Oh, good, good, good! The gang is looking to buy a batch of good goods, and I think your big blue bass is pretty good!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the fat butcher reached out and grabbed the fish basket on Old Hai's back without saying a word.

"No, no, you mustn't!"

Sir, didn't we just pay the taxes at the beginning of the month?

"This blue bass took me a lot of effort to catch; the fishing net is even torn!"

Old Hai hurriedly took a few steps back to avoid the butcher's dirty hands, groaning in pain.

"Screw you! I'll make sure you give it to me!"

A murderous glint flashed in the fat butcher's eyes, and he kicked Old Haitou hard in the stomach!

"what!!"

Old Hai was kicked to the ground, clutching his stomach and letting out a painful scream.

The large perch was also thrown aside from the fish basket.

The fat butcher picked up the large blue bass.

He was still not satisfied and was about to kick Lao Hai a few more times.

"Hey, wait a minute, Boss Zhu, you haven't taken my fish yet."

Why are you arguing with Old Hai?

As people get older, they inevitably become confused.

What if we kick him so badly he can't go back into the sea? Next time we come, we might catch less fish!

Lu Zaian quickly spoke up to stop him, bowing and scraping as he handed over his fish basket.

It conveniently blocked the fat butcher's foot.

"Oh? Hmph, you're quite sensible, Old Lu. We don't want to see any blood either..."

The fat butcher stopped, and with his large, fat hand, he patted Lu Zaian's shoulder heavily, speaking with a forced smile.

Lu Zaian hunched over even more, nodding hurriedly in agreement, but inwardly he felt contempt:

"Go to hell with not wanting to see blood, that son of a bitch's stench makes me want to vomit..."

The fat butcher took the spotted pufferfish and other miscellaneous fish from Lu Zai'an's fish basket and put them in his bag before leisurely returning home.

"Haha, guys, pack your things and let's go! Good haul today, the guild will be very generous with rewards!"

Several gang members cheered and hauled a large pile of fish onto a cart before leaving satisfied.

The villagers parted to make way, watching the fruits of their hard-earned labor disappear into the distance along with the backs of the slaughtering gang, but dared not utter a word of anger...

They watched as the members of the slaughter gang completely disappeared from sight.

Then a little girl with pigtails emerged from the crowd and ran crying toward the fallen old man.

"Waaaaah... Waaaaah, Grandpa, are you alright?!"

It turned out to be Old Hai's granddaughter, Hai Yue'er.

At the same time, a hunched old woman hurried over with small, quick steps.

"Honey, are you alright?"

Why are you arguing with those beasts in the slaughterhouse gang at your age?

"Are you out of your mind?"

The old woman helped Lao Haitou from Lu Zaian's arms, nodding repeatedly to thank him.

"Old Lu, thank you, thank you."

If you hadn't stopped me, I, the head of the household, would probably be dead by now..."

"Thank you, Grandpa Lu."

Hai Yue'er rubbed her red, tear-filled eyes and gently tugged at Lu Zai'an's sleeve to express her gratitude.

"Little Yue'er, it's Grandpa Lu who wants to thank you for taking care of me before."

What an adorable yet heartbreaking little girl.

Lu gently stroked Haiyue'er's pigtails, then said to the old woman:

"Sister-in-law, you should take Old Hai back to rest as soon as possible, lest he develop any health problems."

Old Hai was still muttering incoherently about the big blue bass.

It was as if that kick had landed on his head.

The old woman quickly agreed, thanked him again, and helped the old man walk home.

Hai Yue'er tugged at her grandmother's clothes and followed closely behind, secretly turning back to wave at Lu Zai'an.

The surrounding fishermen sighed and cursed the slaughter gang's atrocities, lamenting their losses that day.

"This slaughtering gang is getting more and more outrageous. They paid their taxes at the beginning of the month, came back again at the middle of the month, and are coming again at the end of this month!"

"If they come to rob us every few days, how are we supposed to live?"

"Exactly! Don't the big officials in the city care about this? Why are they letting these gangs run rampant in the countryside?"

"Heh? Do you think they care whether we fishermen live or die?"

"Who knows, maybe fifty percent of the fish plundered by the slaughterhouse gang will be turned into tribute to these high-ranking officials?"

"Poor old Hai Tou, and that big blue bass, they could have made a lot of money selling it in the city."

"Now I'm afraid I can't even afford a new fishing net..."

The crowd dispersed, each returning home.

Although the fishermen were filled with resentment, they had no intention of resisting the slaughtering gang.

Lu Zaian also returned to his residence carrying an empty fish basket.

The small shack on the far west side of the village is not large, but it is quiet and secluded.

Lu Zaian was already single, so it suited him well.

Lu Zaian closed the doors and windows and sat quietly on the bed for half an hour.

After confirming that there was nothing unusual around him, he leisurely pulled a yellowed book out from under the bed.

The cover has three large characters: "The Water Element Technique".

Water Movement Technique is a low-grade, first-tier cultivation technique in the world of immortal cultivation.

The only thing my predecessor took with him when he fled the cultivation world.

If Lu Zaian hadn't awakened his spiritual root after transmigrating...

It's likely that its predecessor could only ever be used as a bedpost.

It's all about timing and fate...

"Unfortunately, the spiritual energy in the mortal world is scarce. According to the book, it is only enough to cultivate up to the third level of Qi Refining, and the cultivation speed is slow."

One must seek out spiritual veins of heaven and earth to cultivate in order to break through the bottleneck.

Lu Zaian flipped through the formulas and tips in the book, his dark face showing a mixture of emotions.

The path to Qi Refining is fraught with difficulty, each step more challenging than the last.

Not to mention the need to overcome the minor bottlenecks in the early, middle, and late stages.

Having a longevity body, even if the spiritual energy in the mortal world is scarce, one can still endure the first three levels of Qi Refining in the mortal world.

And after that?

Those spiritual veins of heaven and earth have either long been occupied by cultivation sects and aristocratic families, or they are inhabited by demonic beasts.

Being alone, it would be difficult to compete; I can only proceed slowly.

It's best to join a faction first and make long-term, comprehensive plans...

"But before that, we have to get back to living our lives in the mortal world."

"Go to hell with the Slaughter Gang! I was exploited and oppressed by you for fifty years when I was a mortal. There's no reason why I should still be exploited and eaten by you now that I'm cultivating immortality..."

Thinking of this, Lu Zaian's face darkened. He touched the still unhealed wound on his lower abdomen and cursed under his breath.

The leader of the slaughterhouse gang that came to steal the fish today, Boss Zhu, is actually named Zhu Bin.

He was considered a major leader of the slaughtering gang.

Lu Zaian was in charge of collecting slaughter taxes in Fengyu Village, where he lived.

A month ago, Lu Zaian had just transmigrated here and returned to the dock with his seriously injured body.

They happened to run into Zhu Bin and his men who came to collect taxes.

Because he had just finished merging his memories, Lu Zaian was still in a daze. In addition, he had originally caught a lot of fish that time, and he was unhappy that it was all taken away, so he complained to his face.

Unexpectedly, Zhu Bin also delivered a powerful punch to Lu Zaian's stomach without saying a word!

At that time, Lu Zaian was already old and frail, and with his serious injuries, he was left with only a sliver of blood.

After taking that punch, the penetrating wound in his abdomen was torn open.

Blood gushed out immediately, and he lost consciousness.

If it weren't for the fact that I had the strength to survive through the longevity of my body, and the meticulous care of Old Hai's family, I probably wouldn't have made it past Chapter Two.

After waking up, Lu Zaian restrained himself and spent a month recuperating from his injuries, not daring to leave the house.

He hid at home and devoted himself to studying the cultivation technique "Water Element Technique," barely managing to learn two minor spells.

Now that his injuries have healed, he still hasn't gotten his revenge.

Then the slaughter gang came to bully them again.

Do they really think no one can control them?

Lu Zaian silently circulated his magical power, familiarizing himself with the incantations and hand gestures for casting spells, conserving his energy and waiting for night to fall...