System Bestows me with Immortality, Living on to Eventually Become Invincible

"Bull, ranking 478, that's solid! 500 contribution points, more than what we've earned in two years in just two days!"

Chen Xun lay on Black Bull's back, examining the yellow talisman in his hand. As soon as the grand competition ended, he could exchange it for contribution points at the main hall of the sect.

"Moo~" Black Bull turned its head, looking at Chen Xun with concern.

"Bull, what's the big deal? When we were in Panning City, who had it easy? Weren't we all just scraping by?"

Chen Xun said nonchalantly, chuckling, "A few injuries in exchange for so many contribution points, we've made a profit. We should thank the sect for giving us this opportunity."

"Moo moo~" Black Bull nodded, wishing in its heart that it could take the injuries for Chen Xun, with its thick skin and flesh.

Back in Medicine Valley, Chen Xun perked up, applying ointment to his wounds while Black Bull stayed by his side, doing nothing.

"This Inedia Pill is only for emergencies; we can't spare the time for meals."

Chen Xun took out a clay-yellow pill. He had tried refining pills last year, and after consuming one, he indeed felt no hunger, but also no sense of fullness, utterly bland.

"Moo moo!" Black Bull empathized; the Inedia Pill was nothing compared to the wild flavors of the mountains, like having a pile of dry grass in the stomach.

"Bull, get to work, tidy up Medicine Valley."

Chen Xun had finished applying the ointment and smiled, "They couldn't really hurt me; I just didn't dodge on purpose."

"Moo moo~"

Black Bull looked back three times with each step, the garden indeed neglected for two days; it needed to check on it.

Once Black Bull was out of sight, Chen Xun grimaced in pain. Although there were no internal injuries, the external wounds truly hurt.

Days later, after the grand competition of the sect ended, Chen Xun and Black Bull rushed towards the main hall of the sect. The yellow talisman wasn't taken by the sect, said to be kept as a memento for the disciples.

"Junior Brother Chen!"

A familiar voice called out from behind Chen Xun, who brightened up, "I didn't expect it to be you."

"Senior Brother Ji!" Chen Xun was also pleased, looking at Ji Kun, his face more resolute, yet still as skinny as ever.

Chen Xun couldn't help but feel emotional; even within the same sect, it took a full two years for a chance encounter.

"Junior Brother Chen, didn't you go to the Steward Hall?"

"I'm managing the Medicine Garden; my family used to do this."

They walked to a secluded tree and started catching up, with Black Bull following behind, lying down when they stopped.

"Junior Brother Chen, the Medicine Garden isn't a good place; it's known as the land of lost dreams."

Ji Kun looked frustrated, advising, "It's where those old members of the sect who believe they can't achieve Foundation Establishment go."

"We still have our prime years; we can't slack off, Junior Brother Chen!"

"Senior Brother Ji, I appreciate your concern, but I really don't like fighting and killing."

Chen Xun also looked troubled; he understood Ji Kun's point, the Steward Hall offered many opportunities, and it was definitely beneficial for increasing one's strength.

"Alas, Junior Brother Chen, you don't know how the disciples within the sect view us independent cultivators."

Ji Kun's face showed resentment, one hand behind his back, the other clenched into a fist.

"I really don't know." Chen Xun shook his head; he thought his fellow disciples were quite nice and had never felt discriminated against.

"They call us... stepping stones, even the Foundation Establishment elders look down on us."

Ji Kun had spent the last two years in the Steward Hall, where factions were numerous and intrigue was constant, sometimes even contributions were embezzled.

"Senior Brother Ji, what do you mean?" Chen Xun asked calmly. If it had been before, he would have pulled out three Mountain-axing axes and caused a scene.

"In three years, the secret realm of Nandou Mountain will open, but most of those who go are independent cultivators."

"Yes, I know; otherwise, how would we have had the chance to join the sect?"@@novelbin@@

"Do you know how many people can go every twenty years, and how many survive?"

Ji Kun took a deep breath and said solemnly, "Seven hundred go, less than a hundred return. If you don't harvest any Foundation Establishment spiritual herbs, you get nothing."

"That dark?!"

Chen Xun exclaimed, already aware they were being used as cannon fodder, but he didn't know it was to this extent.

"Of course, we are the independent cultivators left over after the ten great immortal sects' selection. On the surface, it seems fair, but which elder truly values us."

Ji Kun's eyes dimmed; these two years had shattered many illusions, and he had become much more cynical.

Those independent cultivators with the potential for Foundation Establishment had long been taken by the ten great immortal sects. If they wanted to achieve Foundation Establishment, they had to walk that bloody path.

"Senior Brother Ji, you mean to go to the secret realm of Nandou Mountain?" Chen Xun looked him over; still at the eighth level of Qi cultivation, his strength might be insufficient.

"Exactly!" Ji Kun nodded firmly, "I have enough contribution points now and plan to go into seclusion to cultivate hard. If I break through to the ninth level of Qi cultivation, my chances of survival will be greater."

"Senior Brother Ji, you could wait for the next twenty years; you're still so young, and you could focus on increasing your strength first."

"Junior Brother Chen, twenty-three years later, my vitality will wane, my strength will plummet, what will I fight with then?"

Ji Kun's clenched fist tightened, his eyes filled with unwillingness; he truly couldn't accept it.

Chen Xun was struck by these words; indeed, the Qi cultivation phase lasted only a hundred years, fleeting in an instant. How many twenty years did cultivators have?

"Junior Brother Chen, today the sun shines brightly, a good day for farewells."

Ji Kun smiled peacefully; he liked Chen Xun, feeling he never had any malice and was always easy to get along with.

After working in the Steward Hall for two years, he found that friends like Chen Xun were even more precious. Perhaps Chen Xun's choice to go to the Medicine Garden was right.

"Senior Brother Ji, wait a moment."

Chen Xun quickly took out his Storage Bag and pulled out two Heavy Feather Pills and a bottle of Inedia Pills, "Senior Brother Ji, these Heavy Feather Pills I bought from Nine Stars Valley, I still have two left, the medicinal properties intact."

He now understood the principle that too great a favor could breed enmity and dared not offer too much, lest it spoil their friendship.

Explore the extended edition on .

"Is that a Heavy Feather Pill?"

Ji Kun was surprised; it was a precious Qi cultivation pill, expensive, "Junior Brother Chen, I have no ulterior motives, please take it back, you need it too."

"Senior Brother Ji, take it, you need it more than I do. We manage the Medicine Garden well now, earning a fair amount of contribution points each year."

Chen Xun sincerely smiled, quickly placing them in Ji Kun's hand.

"I can't refuse such generosity, but I'll only take one Heavy Feather Pill, the rest you should keep." Ji Kun accepted solemnly, his words leaving no room for argument.

"Alright, fine." Chen Xun sighed softly, putting the other items back in the Storage Bag.

"Junior Brother Chen, Brother Bull, I'll be off then, take care of yourselves."

Ji Kun bowed and then looked at Black Bull, which promptly stood up on all fours, letting out a moo.

Under the tree, as Ji Kun left, Chen Xun and Black Bull watched his solitary and resolute figure recede.

"Senior Brother Ji will definitely achieve Foundation Establishment, right, Bull?" Chen Xun murmured.

"Moo~~"

Black Bull nodded too; in the sect, only Ji Kun treated it as a junior brother, and the merit on its body would bless him.

"Let's go, Bull, we still have hats to weave."

"Moo~~"

The man and the bull headed back to Medicine Valley, a breeze blowing through, countless leaves fluttering under the tree, a beautiful sight.