It seemed absurd, but it was actually normal.
In this world, traces of Immortals were hard to find. For mortals, they had only ever existed in myths and legends since ancient times.
Mortals traveled far and wide, crossing mountains and rivers in pursuit of the Immortal Dao, searching for their Immortal Fate.
Those without fate could only become dry bones, while not even one in ten thousand of the fortunate ones ever found their Immortal Fate. This was true even for these "fortunate" mortals who lived at the feet of Immortals. Aside from the Immortal Seeds who had a chance to enter the valley, the vast majority of villagers didn't even know where Jinyun Valley was.
Did it not exist?
No, it was because they were on a different level. Even if they saw it, they wouldn't be able to recognize it.
However, the question remained: could he go to this Cave Mansion?
Of course, he definitely could.
Chen Che remembered.
Three li up the river was a huge waterfall, a place he had been to before.
But he had never noticed anything out of the ordinary.
Moreover, he could also assert that the path from the back mountain to the Foundation Establishment Cave Mansion was absolutely safe. Otherwise, staying in the valley, he would have died countless times. The Qing Family's old ancestor wouldn't have had so many opportunities to explore it time and time again either.
Not only could he go, but he had to.
A Foundation Establishment Cultivator's Cave Mansion, even if it didn't contain things like Magical Artifacts or Spirit Treasures, would definitely be a treasure trove for cultivation. This would undoubtedly speed up his own cultivation progress.
Perhaps the method of opening his meridians, which he had originally given up on, could be taken up again.
But, did the Qing Family have any other descendants?
If not, then he would be the only one who knew about this Cave Mansion.
If there were other descendants, would they come looking for it and run into him?
"I can give it a try."
Chen Che pondered for a moment before making up his mind. 'Still, before I do, I need to find out if the Qing Family has any descendants. If they don't, then I can explore it without any worries.'
After all, Yunzhou was not the peaceful Earth Element Star.
An ownerless Foundation Establishment Cultivator's Cave Mansion would absolutely attract the attention of countless Loose Cultivators.
This was something they could strive for their entire lives and never obtain. To fight for even a sliver of a chance at Foundation Establishment, they would never give up.
Even Jinyun Valley might not be able to sit still.
Better safe than sorry!
He glanced at the time. It was already six o'clock. Tomorrow was the weekend, so he had plenty of time.
...
The sun, like an egg yolk, had just begun to peek over the horizon.
The first light of dawn was faint, still tinged with a trace of darkness.
However, the village was already bustling with activity. People were already in the mist-shrouded fields, roosters crowed, dogs barked, and smoke curled up from kitchen chimneys.
"QUACK QUACK QUACK..."
A barefoot child, holding a bamboo pole, herded his family's geese and ducks into the river. The river had its own fish and shrimp, so they didn't need to be fed at home. Their wings were marked with red paint, so even if hundreds of ducks and geese mingled together, they could still pick out their own.
There were also girls with baskets on their backs and sickles in hand, cutting pig feed along the ridges of the fields.
Children this age on Earth Element Star would be at the age for school and play, but here in the countryside, they were already skilled hands at work. Perhaps for those around Chen Che's age, their own children were already crawling on the ground.
"Did the sun rise in the west today?"
The villagers in the fields couldn't help but mutter amongst themselves when they saw Chen Che carrying a hoe.
After all, he used to sleep until the sun was high in the sky.
But they only chatted for a moment before lowering their heads to harvest the grain. They still had to plant soybeans before the Cold Dew. Chen Che wandered around his own plot of land and began to harvest the Spirit Grain. There would be heavy rain in the coming days, so he had to rush to finish the harvest.
CLIP-CLOP~
Riding his ox, Chaoyang passed by on the ridge with a bamboo basket on his back, looking at Chen Che with some surprise.
'The Chen Shan family is on the rise.'
'Mom said I should spend less time with him. If I keep hanging out with him, I'm afraid the Chen Shan family will resent it. When Chen Jiang becomes an Immortal in the future, maybe I can benefit a little too. After all, we're from the same village.'
Just as he was thinking this, Chen Che looked up, and their eyes met. "Chaoyang, herding the ox?"
Chaoyang immediately looked away. He didn't even say his usual 'let's chat when we're free' and hurried his ox past him.
Chen Che didn't call out to him.
SWISH!
With a flick of the sickle in his hand, the head of a water snake hiding in the fields was instantly chopped off.
When Yang Wanli passed by, however, he gave a nod.
The last vestiges of the autumn heat still lingered.
Even though the adults at home had strictly forbidden it, as soon as noon arrived, a large group of children would jump butt-naked into the river, startling the geese and ducks into a frenzy. Seeing this, the girls playing on the bank would spit in mock disgust, blush, and turn away.
The slightly older ones built stone dams along the riverbank to catch fish.
Chen Che sat by the river, holding a fishing rod.
SPLASH~
The float suddenly sank. By the time he lifted his rod, a black carp had been hooked.
The children playing in the river watched with envy. In just a short while, Chen Che had already caught three fish.
"Brother Che'er, how do you catch fish like that?" a child asked, inching closer with longing eyes and pointing at the lively fish jumping in the basket.
Chen Che glanced at him and smiled. "Well, for fishing, you naturally need bait. Different bait catches different fish. Bloodworms, earthworms, river clams, or snail meat will all work. If you sprinkle in some distiller's grains while you fish, that's even better."
Chen Che spoke slowly.
Before he knew it, a large group of children had gathered around him.
Fishing is a skill, too.
In reality, most true fishermen come back empty-handed nine times out of ten. Otherwise, they wouldn't go to the market to buy fish just to save face.
This region was mostly land, so fish weren't cheap either.
Many of the children listened intently, staring at the float and imagining themselves catching a big fish to help support their families.
"But this alone isn't enough. You also have to pick the perfect spot..."
Chen Che paused here and coughed lightly. "Water!"
A child immediately handed him a gourd.
Chen Che took a sip, handed it back, but didn't continue speaking. The anxious children were scratching their heads in frustration. Seeing them urge him on, he finally continued, "If I told you, you'd all just run off. Sit down and chat with me for a while. Tell me some village gossip to pass the time."
"Yesterday, Er Dan's grandpa and Widow Zhao snuck into the fields and didn't come out for an hour! I saw it with my own eyes," a child shouted as soon as he finished speaking.
"You're lying! I'll rip your mouth off!"
Er Dan was already about ten and "understood" things. Hearing this, he immediately pounced on the child who had spoken.
The two of them immediately started grappling by the riverbank, causing a roar of laughter from the others. One chased, the other fled, and in a flash, they were gone from the riverside.
"I'm not interested in that stuff..."
Chen Che shook his head.
"Two years ago, I heard a strange story. Someone said they saw a wolf the size of a water buffalo in the mountains. It bit the Mountain Monarch to death! So scary."
"Really?"
Chen Che asked, startled. "And then what?"
As soon as he said this, the children all started talking at once.
Someone said there was a water monkey hiding in the village pond, and any child who went in would disappear. They even drained the pond once but never found anyone.
Someone else said the reason Yang Lin's family was so prosperous was because he had saved a white fox in his youth, and the fox brought him gold beans at night.
Another said...
Chen Che had already heard most of this village gossip.
He sat there, listening and chiming in, stealthily steering the conversation toward Cultivators and pushing the timeline further and further back. But he still hadn't heard what he was waiting for. Just then, a child suddenly spoke up:
"A few hundred years ago, our Changshan County also produced an Upper Immortal named 'Cyan Cloud Ancestor.' He could summon wind and rain and turn scattered beans into soldiers. So majestic!"
Chen Che's heart jolted.
However, before he could say anything, the other children cried out:
"Don't be ridiculous, how come I've never heard that?"
"Yeah, since when has Changshan County produced such a great figure?"
Seeing that no one believed him, the child began to shout loudly:
"Cyan Cloud Ancestor has been gone for a long time! I only heard about him from my great-grandma. She said it all happened hundreds of years ago, and she only heard it from her grandma. Later on, disaster struck the Qing Family, and there weren't even many descendants left. Of course you don't know!"
"Even your parents have probably forgotten."
In other words, the Qing Family's lineage had been broken for over a hundred years, which meant Qing E was very likely the only direct descendant left.
'But from the looks of it, she isn't doing too well, being only at the Qi Refining Fourth Layer.'
Thinking of this, Chen Che quickly said:
"Don't gossip about Immortals behind their backs, you might invite disaster. Let's talk about something else."
After some more idle chatter, Chen Che pointed out a prime feng shui spot for fishing, packed up his rod, and returned to the fields with his fish basket.
And as he watched the children scatter behind him, the stone in Chen Che's heart was finally lifted:
'So they're all dead. Then I have nothing to worry about.'
'It seems this mansion and I are fated to be!'