I Became an Immortal in the Mountains - Chapter 1 — I Just Wanted to Be a Carefree Rich Man
Beiquan Mountain—six hundred li from the capital of the Da Qian Empire.
The mountain was treacherous, with cliffs on three sides and only one narrow path leading down, guarded by imperial soldiers. Once home to the Beiquan Sword Sect, the mountain had become a desolate ruin ever since the sect was annihilated forty years ago.
“By His Majesty’s decree, Beiquan Mountain shall be your place of residence. Without imperial permission, you are forbidden to descend. If you disobey… execution.”
A pale, sickly young man coughed painfully a few times but forced himself to bow despite the discomfort.
“Gu Yuanqing receives the decree.”
The eunuch in charge added in a low voice, “Young Master Gu, a word of advice—some matters are better taken to the grave. Speaking of them helps no one. You’re lucky to still be alive. That alone is a grace from His Majesty.”
“I understand. Thank you, Eunuch Xu,” Gu Yuanqing replied bitterly.
He was a concubine-born grandson of the Gu Prince’s household. Orphaned young, he had grown up as a dependent in the main estate. With no talent for cultivation, he had hoped to simply reach adulthood, receive his fief, and live a carefree life backed by the Gu family.
But fate took a cruel turn on the day his estate was to be established.
The heir to the Gu lineage, Gu Yuanxuan, had encountered a lone woman dining at a roadside tavern on his way to the ceremony. Her accent marked her as a non-local, and on a whim, he abducted her—intending to offer her to Gu Yuanqing as a “gift.”
After the banquet, a half-drunk Gu Yuanqing was dragged by Yuanxuan to a bedchamber, where he discovered the woman wearing a five-clawed dragon pendant—the symbol of imperial bl00d.
Realizing the grave mistake, Gu Yuanxuan concocted a vile plan: he knocked Gu Yuanqing unconscious and forced down their throats a mixture of Hehuan Powder, Longyang Pill, and Drunken Immortal Wine. These three substances combined would result in sudden death within two hours. If he then killed all witnesses and pinned the blame on Yuanqing’s supposed lust, he could escape unscathed.
He thought the scheme flawless.
But how could such a clumsy trick fool the imperial family?
Days ago, Gu Yuanxuan was stripped of his cultivation on a minor charge and exiled to the frontier. Before he even made it three hundred li, he was killed by bandits.
His father, the Prince’s heir, was implicated and lost his title.
The Gu Prince himself was demoted by one rank, from Prince to Regional Lord.
As for Gu Yuanqing—he had narrowly escaped death. What right did he have to complain?
“As long as you understand,” Eunuch Xu said. “Beiquan Mountain is a restricted zone. No one will bother you here. Every two weeks, provisions will be delivered. If you have any requests, speak to them—so long as they don’t violate imperial orders.”
“Many thanks.”
Xu led the soldiers down the mountain, leaving only three people behind.
Gu Yuanqing looked at the two remaining figures—an elderly man and an older woman—and asked, “How should I address you?”
The gaunt old man opened his mouth, revealing a tongue severed at the root. The woman pointed at her ears and opened her mouth, but no sound came.
“How… considerate,” Gu Yuanqing sighed. He cupped his hands. “I’ll be relying on you two from now on.”
The servants immediately knelt in reply.
The old man led Gu Yuanqing to a small, still-intact courtyard. It was modest but tidy.
After dismissing the servants, Gu Yuanqing sat alone in a chair. A wave of coughing passed, followed by a helpless sigh.
“One misstep, and now I’ll be stuck here for the rest of my life.”
He lived by the rising sun and rested at dusk.
Ten days passed in a blur. His health had improved somewhat. While strolling through the mountains, he spotted a group of soldiers and a young eunuch—barely fifteen or sixteen—delivering supplies. The two silent servants were receiving the goods from the soldiers’ backs. Gu Yuanqing hurried over.
“Wait, Little Eunuch.”
The youth turned without a word.
Gu Yuanqing bowed politely. “Could you bring some books next time? Biographies, storybooks, miscellaneous classics—anything will do.”
The eunuch gave a nod and departed with his men.
Gu Yuanqing opened his mouth, wanting to say more, but in the end, fell silent. Truthfully, he just wanted someone to talk to. Ten days in this silent mountain had nearly driven him mad.
Back in his courtyard, he sat and recalled that night’s events. But the woman’s face was now a blur in his mind.
Even now, he didn’t know her name or identity—only that she wore the five-clawed dragon pendant of the imperial family. He had no right to resent her; she too had been a victim. But still, being imprisoned here for life for something beyond his control—how could he not feel bitter?
As the sun rose to its peak, a soft ding echoed in his mind, followed by a line of text slowly appearing in his consciousness:
“Detected: host has remained in an unclaimed location for ten days. Criteria met for establishing a permanent domain. Bind to this location?”
Gu Yuanqing froze.
At first, he thought he was hallucinating. But when the message appeared again, his heart raced in disbelief and joy.
Is this it? After twenty years… has my system finally arrived?
He took a deep breath, suppressed his excitement, and silently thought, Bind.
Light surged through his mind. It felt as if his soul had left his body, rising higher and higher. His vision expanded until the entirety of Beiquan Mountain unfolded before him.
A moment later, his awareness returned to his body. A translucent image of Beiquan Mountain now hovered in his mind’s eye, accompanied by a display of information:
***
Host: Gu Yuanqing
Title: None
Cultivation Talent: Utterly Mediocre (Best among the worst)
Swordsmanship Talent: Utterly Mediocre (One in a Hundred)
Comprehension: Best among the worst (Exceptional)
Domain: Beiquan Mountain (Mortal-Grade Mountain)
Domain Buffs: +1 to Cultivation Talent, +2 to Swordsmanship Talent, +2 to Comprehension. Gains one
wisp of spiritual energy daily.
***
Gu Yuanqing twitched.
“Utterly mediocre? Is there any rating worse than that…?”
“At least my comprehension is passable.”
No wonder—despite being born into the Gu Prince’s house, with access to endless techniques and resources, after ten years he had only reached the third level of Lesser Cycle Energy Warrior.
“Good thing I gave up on cultivation. Otherwise, twenty years would’ve been completely wasted.”
“But now… I finally have a chance.”
With the domain now linked to spiritual energy, the mountain could become a proper cultivation ground. If he progressed far enough, even becoming a Master, what would he have to fear from the soldiers guarding the base of the mountain?
Hope returned to Gu Yuanqing’s heart. A smile crept onto his face.
In his previous life, he died suddenly from overwork. In this life, born without talent, he just wanted to live comfortably under the Gu family’s protection. But to be imprisoned in a remote mountain, with his fate no longer his own?
Absolutely not.
He examined the system once more, then couldn’t resist sitting down cross-legged to begin cultivation.
The change was immediate.
Previously, his energy flow had been sluggish, his meridians blocked. One cycle would leave him exhausted, with no improvement to show. But now, the energy was light and smooth—his body completely transformed.
He was practicing Mystic Heaven Technique, one of the Gu family’s top five Foundation Arts. It refined thirty-six acupoints into a Mystic Heaven Formation, a pathway to the True Martial realm.
With a thought, a stream of spiritual energy from the mountain’s image flowed into his body. His inner energy surged and nourished his body, especially the damage done by the toxins days before.
Cough! Cough!
A burst of black bl00d sprayed from his mouth. He instantly felt lighter, his body refreshed.
But he didn’t stop.
Guided by his will, his stagnant cultivation began to loosen. The Chest Central Acupoint flickered with light, resonating with the six others he had opened. Energy circulated freely among them.
“Fourth Level, already? Is this the power of enhanced talent? No wonder Princess Li Miaoxuan of Da Qian reached True Martial by age ten…”
The stages of Da Qian’s cultivation path were: Body Tempering, Energy Warrior, True Martial, Master. Each major realm had nine minor levels.
In his youth, Gu Yuanqing had trained diligently. But the gap between him and his peers only widened. It was why, even after reincarnation, he had resigned himself to a peaceful, idle life.
“But now… everything’s changed.”
He opened his eyes, leapt to his feet, and burst into a series of martial forms. Sweat poured down his brow, but he felt alive for the first time in years.
At the edge of his courtyard, he gazed at the distant horizon.
His heart soared.