Fortunately, this city was indeed free of any shitty adventures. It wasn''t as if thecityhad a highly developed infrastructure, but at the very least, it was livable.


    The most important thing was that there were many guards! The city was well-guarded.


    "Damn it! Couldn''t they have done this with all the cities? The Dynasty has a pond of cultivators, but they leave them in the capital! Tsk, soulless!"


    Of course, one couldin endlessly, but Xie Qing was not herefor that.


    After asking several locals, he finally reached the teleportation formation. And...


    "Oh fuck..." he cursed under his breath, looking at the sight in front of him.


    A crowd! More than a hundred peoplewere lined uphere. The end of the line was almost a hundred meters away from the formation itself!


    "A line... how I hate lines..."


    If these were ordinary people, it would have been possible to use a temporary false identity certificate, but the problem was that there were also representatives of other sects here.


    There was an option to reveal himself, but then the journey would have turnedintohell. He wouldn''t even be able to catch his breath!


    So, all he could do was stand in line. Hours passed...


    "Ah, what beautiful birdsong... oh, what a beautiful sunset!" thought Xie Qing, and he twisted the corners of his mouth: "Indeed! Sunset! Damn, I hate lines!"


    ***


    "Is everything all right with you?"


    The cultivators in charge of teleportation looked puzzled at Xie Qing, who lookedas ifhe hade from the battlefield.


    Under his mask, he had ahaggardface, hewas all sweaty and felt exhausted and irritated. So, in response to the cultivator''s question, hesimplywaved his hand.


    Aftera brief check ofthe token and payment, hewas finally teleported.


    "Finally... the Southern Continent... Now I want to study teleportationformations,soI can travel directly from home..."


    Formations were veryplex, especially the teleportation formation...so one could only wish him luck.


    ***


    "Nauseous..."


    Teleportation formations were expensive and just as ufortable. After this, no matter how strong you were, you would feel nauseous.


    You could get used to it, buteven so,there would still be obvious difort.Nevertheless, Xie Qing did not linger and yielded his ce to other people who were waiting for teleportation.


    Nanmei City - a city on the Southern Continent.It was home to the most luxurious beach, and thanks to its ess to the sea, seafood was abundant.


    The air here was slightly salty - ifit could be describedthat way. The humidity was also higher.


    It wascurrentlythe rainy season, and in a month or two, it would be the dry season,which would bringunbearable heat.


    "Hahaha!"


    "Stop running, Liupiao, I''ll catch up with you!"


    "No, you won''t! Hahaha!"


    "Little rascal, heh..."


    Xie Qing narrowed his eyes. His hair was blowing in the wind, and the hem of his hanfu was swaying due to the gust of wind.


    He looked at theughing children, at the adults conversing. It was a warm feeling.


    "Oh..."


    He was a cultivator. And they were mortals. They did not have a long life, theywere limitedin their desires, and they often died without fulfilling their dreams and goals.


    "Being mortals... I suppose their lives will be more interesting than mine," thought Xie Qing, sitting on a free bench.


    He was in the main square. In the center stood a fountain. Highjets of watercreated the illusion that they would reach the heavens at any moment.


    Even though the city was simple...Xie Qing felt an extraordinaryfort. But he also felt difort.


    "But... this will disappear one day."


    A subtle sense of mncholy made him sigh. All these children, who now looked so innocent andughed so happily, would one day grow up.


    "And, growing old, they will die... leaving behind a cold corpse."


    A hundred years for a cultivator of his level was the same as a month. So, he could not be satisfied with such a short lifespan.


    Xie Qing looked at the children and adultswhowere smiling brightly.


    "Although I surpass them in strength... they surpass me in their inner world," he thoughtand narrowedhis eyes: "I wonder if, on the threshold of old age, I will also be able to smile, knowing that I will soon cease to exist?"


    His eyes narrowed even more. He knew the answer to this question.


    "No. I would nevere to terms with it. I would do everything to live longer. BecauseI don''t want to die. I want to be a true immortal.To look down upon the world of mortals,tohold hundreds of thousands of worlds in my palm, andto control the life and death of all beings."


    He had unmistakable ambitions. As a cultivator, he also wanted to attain immortality. After all, it was for this that he became a cultivator.


    Life is beautiful. Even ifthere is reincarnation, what is the point of living again without memories? And how long can he exist like that?


    The day wille when he will tire of everything. And then only boredom wille. The world will lose its colors.


    "Funny... I can''t surpass mortals. How funny. And how did I n to be immortal with such a mindset?" he smiled at himself. In this solitary journey, he learned a lot: "Fear of wolves - don''t go into the forest. So should one fear Death?"


    Xie Qing could not answer this question.


    "Death is the end of everything or the beginning? Thenislife the beginning of everything or the end? Thenshouldone fear Death or Life? After all, in the end, they are somewhat simr to each other...then which Dao is correct? The Dao of Life or the Dao of Death?"


    "Heh, it''s not in my spirit to think about such things..."


    Xie Qing smiled and looked up at the bright sky.


    "Hundreds of thousands, or even millions ofyearswill pass. But the Heavens will remain unchanged...the only correct Dao is the Dao of Heavens."


    His eyes sparkled, and threatening Qi began to emanate from him. However, the young man managed to restrain its influence in time.


    But when he blinked and looked forward, he saw that many of the residents had knelt and were trembling with fear, worshiping him.


    "W-wee, Immortal!"


    "Hm..."


    Xie Qing twisted the corners of his mouth. For the first time in so long, hewas disheartenedby the breakthrough.


    And before he could rx, the guards rushed up to him. The strongest of them was at the peak of the Soul Nascent stage.


    They looked at himwithobvioushostilityand pointed the spear tip directly at Xie Qing.


    "Vitor! You have vited the city''sw by using Qi! For this, you must go to prison for two years!"


    "Pfft!"


    Xie Qing snorted with obvious displeasure and stood up from his ce. He narrowed his eyes and felt a strange sensation.


    And in thesamesecond...


    "Kh-kh-kh..."


    The strongest of the guards clutched his throat as an illusory hand appeared behind him and squeezed his throat, lifting him into the air.


    "This is..."


    Ding!


    [A new technique hasbeen learned...]


    Ding!


    [Expert Control] | [Rank: Elite] | [Description: A basic Dao technique that allows you to use Qi to control objects and even people.Under control meansthat you usethe gravitational field to your advantage andmoveobjects through space.Therger the object, the greater the consumption of Qi. And what the hell, you, freak, mastered it at the Soul Nascent stage? Abnormal!]


    "Expert Control? So that''s what it was...this technique saw my thoughts and gently strangled this guard?" the young man was surprised, and then he smiled: "System, how I love to shock you."


    However, there was no time to admire. The other cultivators also began to rush over and interfere in the situation.


    So, he snorted and retracted the technique. With a crash, the guard fell to the ground, clutching his throat. His face turned blue.


    "So that you don''t behave arrogantly in my presence anymore. Understood?"


    "Y-yes..." the guard barely croaked.


    Xie Qing narrowed his eyes and walked past. No one dared to stop him, so hewas able tocontinue on his way without any problems.


    Everyone looked around.Expert Control was not an unfamiliar technique,andit waseven widespread, but...


    This technique could onlybe usedby cultivators at the Spiritual Ascension stage. There were no exceptions.


    And that was why everyone thoughtthat XieQing was a cultivator at the Spiritual Ascension stage. And it was never wise to offend them.


    ***


    "An amusing sight..."


    Xie Qing looked curiously at the stone floating in the air and could not help but be surprised.


    "Expert Control... this is damn convenient. In a battle with a crowd, I cansimplysweep them aside. If I had unlocked this technique earlier, I would have shoved that beam up the Three-Legged Crow''s ass as quickly as possible."


    However, it was a sin toin. He had already gained agoodtechnique that could help himin the future.


    Boom.


    The stone fell to the ground, and XieQing''s breathing became heavy. He shook his head.


    "I can''t control it for a long time. Well, no wonderit''s only masteredat the Spiritual Ascension stage. It requires too much Qi to control."


    To keep the stone in the air,Xie Qing had to drain 25% of his Qi.And on that guard, he spent almost all his Qi. Only a little was left.


    So, if therewasa battle, it would not have been easy for him.


    "Ah! Bluffing is our everything...I need to use this technique more often in difficult situations."


    ...although, knowing you, you willjustuse this technique to show off in front of women.