Immortality by Merit and Sin Coins

Just as Lin Shu was about to push the door open, the childish voice from behind him sounded again, stopping him in his tracks.

The porcelain doll on the bed seemed to have accepted her fate. She opened her eyes, her gaze full of sorrow. "I’m not kidding. Stop your reckless cultivation. For a Cultivator, a Spiritual Qi Rushing Meridian caused by a deranged Divine Soul is truly fatal."

Although an Immortal Descendant acknowledging a Cultivator as their master sounded a bit like the world had been turned upside down, this was how things were. ’I’ve already lost all face,’ she thought, ’so I have to at least save my own life.’

The young child looked a bit puzzled. "I don’t really understand. It’s normal for the other Cultivators in Black Water City to be anxious—after all, they could actually die. But you have my Life Essence Blood. What do you have to be anxious about?"

"What do you mean?" Lin Shu turned around, a confused look on his face.

It was still early. Since the Immortal Descendant was making a rare offer to talk, he didn’t mind taking the opportunity to learn more about this world.

Hearing this, the young child said matter-of-factly, "These people are being kept like livestock in Black Water City. Most likely, some Immortal Descendant has taken an interest in them and wants to get something from them. But you’ve already formed a bond with me, which makes you practically one of the Yu Family. In the future, you’ll be able to enter an Immortal Sect as a matter of course."

"No matter who that Immortal Descendant is, they’ll give the Yu Family some face and let the two of us leave."

...

Lin Shu fell into deep thought.

He understood every word she said, but when put together, it was all rather baffling.

’"Kept like livestock"... as far as I know, that’s a term for farm animals.’

’And what in the world is this Yu Family?’

"AHH—"

Seeing the young man’s expression, the child on the bed suddenly lost her will to live.

Her body, which had just struggled to sit up, flopped back down with a THUD. She stared blankly at the ceiling.

’Just the thought of my life being tied to such a country bumpkin... makes my future seem inexplicably bleak. So bleak!’

The young child let out a long sigh and said listlessly, "To put it simply, people like them who start Cultivation by relying on Immortal Relics aren’t considered proper Immortal Sect Cultivators at all."

"They lack both Formulas and backing, and their lives are held in the palm of some Immortal Descendant’s hand! That’s why they resort to those unorthodox methods."

"But you’re different. You can use my life—this little chick’s life—as your ticket to enter and cultivate under the Yu Family of Li Province. Our Yu Family has a Half-Life Immortal, who is the Mountain God! We have prestige!"

The porcelain doll-like Immortal Descendant seemed to be at her wit’s end. She shook her head forcefully. "So you don’t need to overthink things. As long as you stay alive, once we leave Black Water City, there will be no shortage of Immortal Techniques."

"When can we leave?" Lin Shu frowned slightly, not letting her pie-in-the-sky promises go to his head.

Although he was indeed curious about Immortal Sects, he couldn’t possibly entrust his life and death entirely to this Immortal Descendant.

"That’s hard to say. Given the current situation in Black Water City, it’s likely that the Immortal Descendant hasn’t smoothed things over with certain connections in the Court yet, which is why we’re at a stalemate. It could be a few years, or it could be a few decades. There will be an outcome eventually."

The young child sighed in relief internally. ’He’s finally listening to reason.’ Given how that brute had slapped her without a moment’s hesitation the other day, she had almost thought his mind was controlled by some malevolent energy.

"I’m an Immortal Descendant; my lifespan is long. You’re a Qi Cultivation Stage Cultivator; you should live for two hundred years at the very least. Waiting a little while longer is nothing."

The young child patted her belly-covering and said with complete confidence, "Don’t worry. As long as we don’t keep running into mere mortals, my life—Yu Sheng’s life—is still worth something. I guarantee I can get you out."

As she spoke, a confident smile couldn’t help but spread across her face.

But very quickly, that tender little face went rigid.

Not far away, Lin Shu calmly pulled open the front of his robes, revealing a hideous scar and the empty space where his heart should be.

Yu Sheng’s face went from rigid to trembling, until it was twisted in terror.

She stared fixedly at Lin Shu’s chest, at the malevolent energy that was almost impossible to conceal, and the phantom-like figure hidden within it.

"It’s about to wake up..."

Yu Sheng couldn’t comprehend what kind of technique this was.

But she understood in an instant that the only reason Lin Shu was still alive was because that phantom figure remained in his body.

Now, that phantom was clearly showing signs of stirring.

’As for when it will wake up... even measuring the time in years feels like an overestimation.’

At this thought, a sob suddenly entered Yu Sheng’s voice. "Give me back my Essence Blood!"

...

「In the courtyard.」

Lin Shu pushed the door open and straightened his clothes slightly.

Miss Yun seemed to have figured out his habits. Every day, she would heat water in advance so that when he got up to wash, the temperature was just right.

But today, the water in the basin was clearly a bit cold.

"Did you not sleep well? Please wait a moment, I’ll go heat some more."

Miss Yun looked at him with some confusion. Not only had her benefactor woken up a little late today, but his complexion also seemed a bit off.

"It’s fine. This will do."

Lin Shu scooped up the cool water and vigorously scrubbed his face a couple of times.

He shook the water from his hands and looked up, his expression having returned to normal.

’It’s a good thing I kept the Immortal Descendant. Otherwise, I would’ve never known my condition had become so critical.’

The situation was a headache, but Lin Shu had no intention of giving up.

At least he had learned a great deal more about Cultivation today.

He learned the reason Black Water City was sealed off, more about the White Wolf in his chest, and even how to enter an Immortal Sect if he managed to survive.

So many things rushed into his mind at once, making his head spin.

But in Lin Shu’s view, as long as one could cultivate, any problem could be temporarily attributed to a lack of strength.

And if that was the case, he just had to find a way to get stronger.

However, judging by the sheer misery in Yu Sheng’s sobbing voice at the end, the time he had left was likely running short.

Lin Shu’s eyes narrowed slightly. ’Still short on Merit Coins,’ he sighed to himself.

’No matter how powerful an Immortal Technique is, my Realm has to keep up.’

’At the very least, I need the strength to escape this city. Only then will I have a chance to deal with whatever it is that shocked even an Immortal Descendant.’

Just as his thoughts were drifting, three figures arrived at the Old Woodshed.

In the lead were Bai Feng and Yan Jin, as usual, followed by a lean man dressed in blue robes.

"I’ve brought you the young wolf from Sifang Street, and I’ve also got some good news for you."

Bai Feng’s expression was clearly much more enthusiastic, acting as if the two of them had known each other for a long time. He also casually and intentionally used his body to block Yan Jin from view.

"..." Yan Jin clearly couldn’t be bothered to argue with him and simply stood off to the side.

"I am Dong Cheng. You can just call me Xiaodong. From now on, I’ll be following Master Lin to make a living." The lean man cupped his fists and took over the conversation.

"The good news Master Bai mentioned is that to congratulate you on your promotion, Senior Yin Ling specifically arranged to have the two alleys at the entrance to this courtyard transferred over to you. They’re now under your name."

As he said this, the way Dong Cheng looked at Lin Shu clearly changed.

For a Fierce Wolf, the most important thing was territory.

Although the one surnamed Yin had been in the wrong, the fact that he would take the initiative to offer two alleys as an apology was enough to show his fear of this newly promoted Fierce Wolf.

This was on a whole different level than that mountain-squatting wolf from a few days ago.