Translator: Atlas Studios
Editor: Atlas Studios
…
Splash!
Luo Qian cursed angrily in the pool of icy water. “Damn, this 700 Standard Immortal Jade suit is ruined!”
“Mom, why is that uncle taking a bath in the fountain?” A cute little girl pulled at her mother’s hand and pointed to Luo Qian, who was standing dripping wet in the fountain in the middle of the square. The pedestrian traffic flowed as if being weaved. Luo Qian was in the Human Realm during winter!
…
Luo Qian could freely enter and leave the Immortal Realm without being discovered because he had a special skill that allowed him to enter the Human Realm secretly. Luo Qian was one of the rare unlucky immortals in the Immortal Realm—a Tribulation Immortal. A Tribulation Immortal was also nicknamed ‘Salted Fish Immortal’ in the Immortal Realm. The reason for this nickname was because a Tribulation Immortal was unable to achieve anything for a long period of time after ascending. One would be so useless that they might not be able to become a Third-Order Immortal after staying as a Second-Order Immortal for 300 years.
However, for a Tribulation Immortal, a calamity would arrive 500 years after they ascended. After one survived the calamity, one would be able to turn their fate around. One would become even stronger than an average Immortal who had been training hard for 500 years! The chance to rise again after 500 years of mediocrity did not come easy. The Immortal Realm was not safe. Most Tribulation Immortals’ existences would be extinguished before that fateful moment arrived.
Those who became Immortals through martial arts were Xuan [1. means Dark] Immortals. They were the most talented Immortals in martial arts in the Immortal Realm. Those who became Immortals through Taoist arts were Spiritual Immortals. They were the most talented Immortals when it came to magic in the Immortal Realm. Those who became Immortals as ghosts were Soul Immortals; those who became Immortals as demons were Demon Immortals. The latter two types had inferior talent in both martial arts and magic when compared to Xuan Immortals and Spiritual Immortals.
In addition, there were the legendary ‘Perfected Immortals. They had martial art ability comparable to a Xuan Immortal; their magical skills were also a match for Ling Immortals. They were rare; one might not appear even in 1,000 years!
There were also some other rare Immortal types, such as Tribulation Immortals and De1 Immortals. The origins of Tribulation Immortals were unclear, but they were rarer than Perfected Immortals. Since Tribulation Immortals were almost useless before their 500-year calamity arrived, every Tribulation Immortal would get compensated by the Heavens. They might be given a life-saving immortal art, an immortal weapon to defeat their enemies, or a magical cave.
Luo Qian’s compensation was this secret skill that allowed him to descend to the Human Realm without being discovered. It was precisely because he had this secret skill that he dared to start smuggling with confidence.
De Immortals ascended due to their virtue. People of high moral character could also become Immortals. Since ancient times, there have been many legends and countless stories of those who sacrificed themselves to save others and subsequently brought to Heaven by a golden dragon. De Immortals had extremely high cultivation levels but were extremely weak in combat. However, they were one of the prominent Immortal types in the Immortal Realm because of their high cultivation. In the Immortal Realm’s four-level official system—governance, law, administration, and security—De Immortals controlled one-third of the positions.
…
In City A, at a famous electronics mall.
Luo Qian, who had changed into cheap Yudano brand casual clothes, yelled angrily at the shopkeeper, “This is the latest energy-saving technology you promised? Damn it! It did not even last 4 hours! I want to return it!”
“Return it?” The female stall owner, who looked exactly like Sister Furong,1 looked at him as if he was a visitor from Mars. “Did you not enquire around? In this mall, since when did I, Fierce Fat Sister, ever accept a goods return? Look. Take a look!” Her ham-shaped fingers snapped at a torn paper sign. “Sold goods are not returnable! It’s stated clearly here in black and white…”
Luo Qian was a smuggler, not a shrew who would use abusive language in public. He turned around and walked back and forth in front of her store. He walked in a strange pattern of steps, forming a very simple immortal array in front of Fierce Fat Sister’s store—a Flowing Water Array. Money was like flowing water; once it flowed away, it would not return. This was a simple way of dispersing wealth.
Although in the Immortal Realm, this array could not even get rid of the bones in Lingxiao Palace’s guard dog’s mouth, it was a veritable immortal array in the Human Realm! Was an immortal array something a human should be messing with? Luo Qian spat fiercely. “That’ll teach you to sell me inferior products! Damn, even a smuggler has to be trustworthy, but you actually sell fakes…”
Luo Qian left in a fit of temper. Several invisible air currents circled the originally lively shop twice, and a breeze then blew out of the shop door. The customers who were talking about a few big orders suddenly felt that the products weren’t so good and got up to leave. The fat woman used both hands and feet to stop them. “That was just a misunderstanding just now. That person is a ruffian who often cheats people in the mall. We sell him quality goods, but he will swap it for bad ones when he leaves. He then demands that we accept a return. I’m the only one who can deal with him. I’m speaking the truth…”
Unfortunately, the immortal array had already started to work. Those people weren’t leaving because of her earlier curses, but because they no longer thought her products were good. The bad-tempered shrew angrily cursed, “It’s all that little brat’s fault!”
Luo Qian had no time to get further involved with the fat woman. Every hour he stayed in the Human Realm increased the danger to him. The Imperial Guards were not useless. If he was discovered, he would not even be able to withstand the first attack, the Kun Dragon Whisker, given that he was just a First-Order Immortal.
The nine ranks of Immortal Officials and the nine orders of Immortals… The lower the number, the higher one’s official rank. The higher the order, the more powerful the Immortal. First-Order Immortals… Basically anyone who managed to ascend would become a First-Order Immortal.
Luo Qian had his own real estate in this city. He didn’t have an ID card, but that didn’t matter. There were numerous rebuilt village houses within the city. A person could move in once they paid and collected the key. There was no property deed, but it was cheap. Luo Qian didn’t plan on selling his real estate, so this was a great saving for him.
There was nearly nothing in the room. The most eye-catching thing in the room was a row of quick chargers. Luo Qian took out the large-capacity batteries and inserted them into the row of chargers. Then, hands behind his head, he threw himself onto a comfortable recliner. Although Luo Qian was a profiteer, he was no Grandet [1. a miser from french novel Eugenie Grandet by Honore de Balzac]. He paid attention to his own preferences. This recliner was the latest model, soft and comfortable. The famous concept furniture chain store he bought it from charged him 3,000 yuan for it.
Lying on the S-shaped recliner, Luo Qian stretched out comfortably and said to himself lazily, “Life is good like this. What benefits are there to becoming an Immortal?” Upon thinking of his experience of becoming an Immortal, Luo Qian lost his good mood. Sitting up on the recliner, he sighed. “Forget it, I better think of some more ways to make money…”
Luo Qian’s gaze fell on the chair and had an idea. “How can I be so stupid? I never thought of the good things that are right in front of my eyes.”
Furniture—Furniture in the Immortal Realm was beautiful, but it was far inferior to those from the Human Realm when it came to practicality and comfort. Humans were really lazy creatures. The Immortals needed to cultivate, even more so than the monks. Cultivation required meditation, perhaps years of it. Even an Immortal’s body couldn’t withstand the stress. Backaches had become an occupational disease of the Immortals. If they had a massage chair, the Immortal Realm would be perfect in the eyes of a frenzied cultivator.
Luo Qian felt that this business was doable, but he soon frowned. A very real problem lay before his eyes—he had no way of moving a huge massage chair to the Immortal Realm.