Martial Immortality: Starting with the Spirit Beast Scroll

Spiritual Qi didn’t actually have a taste, but Zhao Lin could clearly feel his entire body bathing in it. Compared to the Primordial Qi of his original world, this was on a completely different level.

’A person’s destiny depends not only on their own efforts but also on their environment.’

’Cultivating in a place like this, it’s no wonder arts of longevity could develop. If I’m given enough time, I should be able to figure out the path of Qi Refining on my own, even without a teacher.’

’Right, how is the Spirit Beast Scroll doing?’

As the thought crossed his mind, Zhao Lin looked inward and discovered the Spirit Beast Scroll trembling slightly in his sea of consciousness. It seemed to have sensed the changes in the outside world and was eager to absorb the Spiritual Qi.

However, the Spirit Beast Scroll trembled for a long time without any change, and eventually, it fell silent.

’It seems the Spirit Beast Scroll can’t absorb Spiritual Qi directly from the surroundings. Its reaction was so intense last time when I was holding a Spirit Stone... do I have to feed it Spirit Stones?’

Zhao Lin pondered this as he followed the crowd off the Han Red Ship.

The Han Red Ship had landed in a mountain clearing, where a massive stone platform stood, apparently built specifically for docking Flying Vessels.

Another Flying Vessel was parked on the platform, though it was only half the size of the Han Red Ship.

Seven or eight cultivator-like figures were currently walking about on the smaller vessel, occasionally patting its hull as if conducting inspections and repairs.

"Are we switching to that Flying Vessel?"

"Doesn’t look like it. Can’t you see it’s being repaired?"

Just as the crowd was wondering what was going on, the Han Red Ship suddenly let out a loud *KLUNK*. A wide opening split open in its belly, and a "small boat" slid out.

The small boat was a little taller than a person, about seventy-five feet long and over twenty feet wide. It wasn’t actually small, but it was completely dwarfed by the Han Red Ship.

Junior Martial Uncle Wu came down from the ship, exchanged greetings with the few cultivators on the neighboring Flying Vessel, and then pointed to the small boat, addressing the crowd, "Everyone, please come aboard this air-skiff."

With that, he was the first to board the air-skiff. He sat down wherever he pleased and rubbed his temples, seeming somewhat weary.

’This little boat?’

The youths exchanged surprised glances, but since their junior martial uncle had spoken, they had no choice but to obey and climb aboard.

The air-skiff was rather crude. It was single-level with no deck, so everyone sat directly on the floor between the sides of the hull.

At the front of the skiff was a control platform with room for two. Two cultivators in green robes exchanged a few quiet words with Junior Martial Uncle Wu before walking to the platform and sitting down.

"Everyone, hold on tight! We’re taking off!"

The cultivator on the left shouted, then formed a Spell with his hands and directed it at the Array on the control platform.

The air-skiff shuddered a few times and then lifted off. It made a wide circle in the air, climbing to the height of the surrounding peaks before heading away from the mountains.

Since the seating was open to the elements and he was so close, Zhao Lin could feel a turbulent, water-like airflow swirling around the skiff. He couldn’t help but guess the cultivators were using a Wind Attribute Array.

Then, one of the piloting cultivators cast a second Spell. A green light immediately enveloped the air-skiff, enclosing everyone within it.

Zhao Lin reached out and pressed outward, touching an invisible barrier. It was firm yet elastic, and a gentle force pushed his finger back.

’This Array not only offers protection but also blocks the wind. Otherwise, at this speed, the wind alone would be enough to knock a person out.’

Using the scenery on the ground as a reference, Zhao Lin estimated their speed to be slightly slower than an airplane from his past life, and their altitude was much lower. He guessed they were only about six hundred zhang above the ground—which converted to just under two thousand meters.

Although the air-skiff was fast, it was far from stable. It frequently lurched and shook violently for no apparent reason, leaving the young disciples thoroughly disoriented.

At times, the skiff would even tilt completely sideways or spin in place, causing a few of the younger disciples to clamp their hands over their mouths, barely suppressing the urge to vomit.

"What’s going on? Is the wind really this strong?"

"The big ship was so much steadier. This little thing is shaking so much I’m about to puke, and it doesn’t even have a proper protective array."

The moment the air-skiff stabilized, the youths began to mutter amongst themselves.

Junior Martial Uncle Wu had rested for a while, and his complexion had returned to normal. Hearing the disciples’ mutterings, he suddenly smiled. "Since you all have questions, allow me to test you."

"The previous ship was large, stable, and faster. So why did we switch to a small skiff midway?"

’Weren’t you the one who arranged this?’ the youths thought. ’How are we supposed to know?’

Someone made a wild guess: "Is it because we’ll be passing through a narrow area later, and the smaller skiff is more maneuverable and easier to control?"

Junior Martial Uncle Wu shook his head. "There are no narrow passages in the sky. If we come across a tall mountain, we can just go around it."

Another person guessed, "The big ship broke down and needs urgent repairs?"

Junior Martial Uncle Wu shook his head again. "The large ship is perfectly fine."

The disciples pondered for a long while but couldn’t come up with the reason. Just as Junior Martial Uncle Wu was about to give the answer, Zhao Lin suddenly asked, "Did we switch Flying Vessels because of the cost?"

Junior Martial Uncle Wu clapped his hands softly in approval. "You’re correct. It’s precisely because of the cost."

He scanned the group as he spoke. "You only see that the ship is stable and fast, but you have no idea how many Spirit Stones it takes to power such a massive Magical Artifact."

"The ship is enormous and fitted with numerous Arrays, so its resource consumption is immense. We only used it at the start of our journey because it is capable of crossing the boundary between worlds."

"Now that we have arrived on the Xuanyuan Continent, there is no need for such extravagance. For the same distance, this air-skiff is much more economical, even if it is a bit slower."

The youths finally understood, and they felt too embarrassed to complain any further.

Zhao Lin still had another question. Seeing that Junior Martial Uncle Wu was in a talkative mood, he seized the opportunity. "Junior Martial Uncle Wu, the giant ship flew at such a high altitude that we couldn’t see the ground, yet this small skiff is flying among the clouds."

"The difference in altitude is significant. Is it because this skiff can’t fly any higher?"

A flicker of surprise showed in Junior Martial Uncle Wu’s eyes. Zhao Lin’s question seemed simple, but it touched upon a detail most people would easily overlook.

"You are very observant. The skiff is indeed flying among the clouds. But the reason we’re not going any higher isn’t because it’s incapable, but because of the Evil Qi!"

"Evil Qi?"

"What’s that? Is it related to Spiritual Qi?"

Hearing this, the youths’ curiosity was piqued, and they all started chiming in with questions.

Junior Martial Uncle Wu smiled faintly and began to explain the details.

It turned out that while the Xuanyuan Continent was rich in Spiritual Qi and ideal for cultivation, it wasn’t the only thing in abundance. There were also large amounts of Evil Qi and Gang Qi.

Evil Qi is fierce and scorching; it burns the meridians and boils the spiritual pathways, causing immense harm to a cultivator’s body.

Gang Qi is even more potent. It directly erodes the physical body and damages one’s Dao foundation. Other than Divinity Transformation Realm cultivators who can barely withstand it, Low Tier cultivators dare not even come into contact with it.

Fortunately, Evil Qi and Gang Qi are lighter and only appear at high altitudes. Spiritual Qi, being heavier, sinks to the bottom. Thus, cultivators normally only interact with Spiritual Qi and don’t have to worry about their cultivation being harmed.

Spiritual Qi, Evil Qi, and Gang Qi are distributed throughout the atmosphere in distinct layers, from lowest to highest altitude. Because of this, the atmosphere of the Xuanyuan Continent is divided into five layers.

The Spiritual Energy Layer, the Cloud Layer, the Evil Qi Layer, the Gang Qi Layer, and the Void Layer.