The mountain winds dispersed the clouds and mist, revealing a range of mountains stretching for thousands of miles. Among these mountains, nine stand out as the most majestic, with most of their slopes soaring into the clouds, their peaks invisible.

Even from thousands of miles away, when the clouds and mist are thin, one can still see these nine majestic mountains that seem to support the sky.

These nine mountains, with their interconnected and undulating terrain, have sculpted countless breathtaking and magnificent peaks.

At the very edge of this vast mountain range, a stream flows from the mountains, meandering through the landscape, its misty spray rising and enveloping a tranquil little village.

Moo~

At dawn, as all things come to life, a shepherd boy with his hair in a bun leads a gentle old yellow ox out of the village. He meets his playmates along the way and greets them with laughter.

When the shepherd boy saw a girl sitting on a large blue stone at the village entrance, gazing into the distance, he instinctively shrank back. But he quickly realized his mistake, and the stubbornness of a child compelled him to speak at that moment.

"Wang Shu, what are you looking at?"

The shepherd boy, knowing full well what was going on, followed the girl's gaze and naturally saw the towering mountain in the distance, faintly visible in the morning mist.

If a stranger who has never seen this scene before were to witness it, they would probably be unable to contain their excitement and shout. However, for the shepherds of this place, this is something they have seen every day since birth, so their reaction is quite calm.

"Wang Shu, are you still dreaming of becoming an immortal? My father said that the people living on that mountain are all immortals. If you want to become an immortal, you have to go to the foot of the mountain yourself first. Only then will the immortals accept you as their disciple."

"But even though you can see that mountain now, in reality, even if you brought all the soles of shoes sewn by every aunt in the village, and they all wore out, you still wouldn't be able to reach the foot of the sacred mountain."

When the shepherd boy saw that the girl didn't reply, he proudly boasted about the anecdote he had heard from his father.

"Will you be accepted as a disciple by an immortal as long as you reach the foot of the sacred mountain?"

Seemingly touched by the shepherd boy's words, the girl named Wang Shu turned her head and quietly looked at her peers, but her gaze had a calmness that should not be in her age.

"Yes, but people like us can't possibly reach your feet. It would take a hundred years to walk from our village to the nearest sacred mountain, and along the way there are tigers and leopards, man-eating mountain demons, and soul-stealing mountain spirits."

The young shepherd boy racked his brains to recall his daily experiences and described to the girl, who was about his age, the hardships he would have to endure on the path to immortality. But the girl just listened quietly, without a ripple in her eyes.

"Thank you, I understand."

“Wang Shu, don’t dream of becoming an immortal. It’s very difficult to become an immortal. A girl like you only needs to be like my mother, able to sew, mend clothes, do laundry and cook, and be a good wife and mother. That’s enough.”

The shepherd boy tirelessly persuaded the girl to give up her dream of seeking immortality.

In fact, neither he nor his friends understood why Wang Shu, who was about the same age as them, had such different ideas.

Although they occasionally fantasize about becoming legendary immortals and slaying demons, they don't spend all their free time gazing at the immortal mountain like Wang Shu does.

Although they were young, they knew that becoming immortals was almost impossible. They would take over the hoes and carrying poles from their fathers and live the same life day after day, year after year, generation after generation.

"Um!"

The girl gave a perfunctory response, and in the end, the shepherd boy could only shake his head and continue leading the old ox toward the riverbank, where the grass was lush.

"Shu'er, come back for dinner!"

At midday, accompanied by a call, the girl who had been sitting on the blue stone gazing at the distant fairy mountain finally got up and returned home. Under her mother's helpless gaze, she walked to the dining table.

After finishing her meal, the girl almost turned back the way she came, heading towards the large blue stone outside the village entrance.

Watching her figure, the woman in simple clothes and a plain hairpin, who was clearing the table, sighed and looked at the man who was carrying a hoe, preparing to go to work in the fields.

"What are we going to do about Shu'er being like this all the time?"

"What do you mean, what to do?"

The man, who was about to go to the field to weed, paid no attention.

"Shu'er is always absent-minded, haven't you noticed?"

The woman said angrily.

"Really? She seems to be doing quite well. After dinner, she went to play with those boys. After your baby is born, she'll have to take on the responsibilities of an older sister, and things won't be as easy for her as they are now!"

As they spoke, the man glanced smugly at the woman's belly. Although it wasn't outwardly apparent, he had already consulted a doctor who diagnosed her pregnancy; it was a positive pregnancy, and there was a very high chance it was a boy.

"What are you going to play? You don't care about Shu'er at all. Nobody in the village plays with her!"

"How come there's no one here?"

The man frowned immediately, instinctively thinking that some kid was bullying his daughter. He put down the hoe he was carrying on his shoulder and held it at an angle.

"Don't overthink it. It's just that your daughter doesn't like playing with them. Ever since she went to the county town with you, she's been staring at that sacred mountain all day long."

"Hey, I thought it was something big. It's just this. I took her to listen to a storytelling performance. It's nothing. Is that little girl always talking about wanting to become an immortal? We all went through that when we were kids. She'll be fine in a while."

Upon hearing this, the man became even less concerned. He remembered that after listening to the storyteller's tales of gods and demons, his little girl had told him that she wanted to become an immortal, which made him and the people around her laugh for quite a while.

Looking up, you can see the celestial mountain that seems to support the sky. It's truly astonishing. Among the people around who can see the celestial mountain, who didn't dream of becoming an immortal when they were young? It's just that as they grow older, they gradually come to terms with reality.

The man didn't intend to shatter his daughter's beautiful dream right now; he'd let her keep watching for a while, because he wouldn't have so much free time later.

"An immortal!"

On the bluestone at the village entrance, the little girl looked up at the towering fairy mountain. As the water mist rose in the sunlight, she could vaguely see that there were other fairy mountains around that one, but they were too far away to see clearly.

Are there really immortals on the mountain?

I think there probably is.

A gentle voice rang out, and the girl's question was answered. When she turned her head to look in the direction of the voice, she found a very handsome older brother standing by the blue stone, his gaze also fixed on the distant fairy mountain.

"Big brother, how do you know there are immortals on the mountain?"

"That's Mount Jiuwei!"

Feng Bingwen pointed to the majestic mountains that, despite being thousands of miles away, still appeared imposing, and introduced them.

"Even if you look across the entire Donghua Continent, Jiuwei Mountain is one of the top Taoist sects. Although I have never been there, I think that if someone can occupy such a sacred mountain, there must be immortals there."

"I see!"

The girl's gaze shifted from the distant fairy mountain to the young man in brocade robes nearby. The calmness in her eyes gradually faded, replaced by the curiosity that a child her age should have.

"How did you know so much, big brother? And how did you get here, big brother?"

"I flew down from the sky. You were so engrossed in looking at the mountains that you didn't notice me."

Feng Bingwen smiled and pointed to the sky.

He had found this place a few days ago by following the senses of his Dao body. Based on his unseen intuition, he quickly confirmed that the reincarnation of the ancient immortal was the girl in front of him who seemed ordinary in every way.

He had been observing her for the past few days and could basically confirm that the girl only had the knowledge of a village child, and apart from that, she only had a longing and obsession with immortals.

But look at the family of this reincarnated immortal; they are all worse off than him. His father was just an ordinary farmer, and he had a younger brother who was about to be born.

With such family circumstances, what use is it if she yearns for immortality? Her impoverished background is enough to bind her firmly to this land, making it impossible for her to move an inch.

"Is big brother an immortal?"

The girl's eyes sparkled. This reincarnation of an ancient immortal was now just an ordinary girl who was exceptionally devoted to the path of immortality. In her mind, those who could fly in the sky were probably immortals.

"I am not an immortal; I am still a cultivator, a seeker of the Dao!"

Feng Bingwen replied with a smile. He roughly understood his role and function: to guide this girl onto the path of immortality. Otherwise, without external intervention, even if she were a reincarnated ancient immortal, she would probably only live an ordinary life.

"What's the difference?"

The girl asked curiously.

“The difference is huge, but you don’t need to know that right now.”

"And then what?"

Wang Shu blinked, her eyes clear and bright.

"In the future? Who knows!"

"Big brother, are you going to take me as your disciple?"

The girl asked abruptly, and Feng Bingwen was taken aback for a moment, then smiled.

Why would you say that?

"That's what it says in the books. When powerful immortals see disciples with excellent aptitude, they will give them all sorts of tests. Once the disciples pass the tests, the immortals will take them as their disciples."

"But you haven't passed my test yet, so why should I accept you as my disciple?"

Feng Bingwen jokingly told this reincarnated ancient immortal that it was a rare opportunity and not to be missed.

"Big brother, please hurry up and set a test for me. I'm sure I can pass it!"

The little girl urged impatiently. The scene she had been dreaming of was now a reality before her eyes. But how could a seven-year-old girl be patient?

"I never said I wanted to take you as my disciple!"

Feng Bingwen looked at the girl, shook his head, and with a gentle breeze, his figure vanished from the spot. The girl rubbed her eyes; there was no one in front of her, and everything she had just experienced seemed like a dream.