Chronicles of the Green Vine: A Mortal’s Path to Immortality

“Four second-rate experts.”

Hiding in the shadows, Zhang Ling coldly watched the fight, inwardly astonished.

The four men in black were all second-rate experts who had cultivated supple劲, and the old man was even more powerful, far surpassing the four who were besieging him, possibly a first-rate expert.

Zhang Ling secretly assessed the old man's strength, as he had never seen a first-rate expert in action. However, the old man seemed to be injured. Although his swordsmanship was superb, his stamina was lacking, which was why he was being besieged by the four.

The nearby medicinal herb field was undamaged, but he didn't believe that these people hadn't noticed the rare medicinal herbs within. They were just too busy fighting to care.

Their appearance here seemed to be a common Jianghu vendetta.

Zhang Ling was in no hurry to act, but watched their fight calmly, while secretly evaluating his own strength.

At that moment, a new development occurred in the fight. One of them suddenly threw out something the size of a fist. With a muffled thud, it released a layer of purple smoke, instantly enveloping the old man.

The four men in black retreated quickly as if they had planned it. The one with the dagger had several silver needles in his hand, which he shot into the fog with a whooshing sound.

When the purple mist dissipated, the old man lay disheveled and motionless on the ground.

“Haha, this man is finally dead!” One of the figures in black burst into laughter.

“Be careful. This Elder Li is a first-rate martial artist. Don't be careless.” The black-clothed man with the knife stared at the old man and said in a low voice. “Madman, try again.”

The dagger-wielding man silently took out two silver needles and aimed them at the old man's body.

The man was very insidious, aiming the two silver needles directly at the old man's head. Just as the silver needles were about to pierce the old man's head, the old man suddenly flipped over. With a light chime, the long sword in his hand was flung out, directly stabbing the black-clothed man with the knife.

Although the black-clothed man was prepared, he didn't expect this thrown sword. He was instantly struck by the force of the long sword, spitting blood and staggering backward. If he hadn't blocked it with the steel knife in his hand, this attack would have killed him.

The old man immediately took out a black stone from his pocket. The stone was only the size of a fist, but it had many small, dense holes emitting a faint red light.

The old man's expression turned ferocious as he took out the stone. “You lackeys, all of you die!” He shouted madly and threw the stone into the air.

He struck the stone with a palm, and cracks appeared on its surface. Then, the stone emitted a red light.

The stone gradually turned into powder in the light, and a buzzing sound was heard. Dozens of small red insects flew out.

As soon as these insects appeared, they flew towards the people around them.

The red insects were very fast, and they quickly climbed onto one of the black-clothed men. Before he could figure out what was happening, his body burst into flames and turned into ashes in an instant, without even a scream.

The other three men saw this scene and scattered in panic. However, the red insects caught up with them in a few breaths. These second-rate martial artists didn't even have a chance to react before being burned to death.

The old man looked at everything with a pale face. There were also a few red insects around him, but he didn't move, as if he had resigned himself to his fate.

Suddenly, a strange tearing sound came from behind him.

A person had appeared behind him at some point. This person had a black-green vine growing from his hand, which he wielded like a whip. It created gusts of wind, and the red insects flying in the air were swept into it.

Zhang Ling's expression was very bad. These red insects were very strange and could turn into flames. This was where he lived, and if he allowed these insects to destroy it, it would cause a lot of trouble.

That was why he took action. The insects hit by the vines exploded and turned into fireballs.

“You, you are a cultivator!” The old man looked at the person behind him and shouted in shock.

The old man's shout caught Zhang Ling's attention. The vine stretched out and arrived in front of the old man in an instant. It wrapped around him a few times and burst the insects surrounding him.

“Cultivator?”

Zhang Ling wouldn't have let them off for fighting in his residence. The red insects released by the old man didn't distinguish between friend and foe. Being burned to death by these insects saved him the trouble of doing it himself.

But when he heard the word “cultivator,” Zhang Ling's heart tightened for no reason, as if he had grasped something he had longed for, which was why he saved the old man.

After dealing with the red insects, the ground in the backyard was full of pits and a mess. If there weren't so few people nearby, the explosions would have attracted the attention of others.

“Do you know cultivators?”

Zhang Ling deliberately waved the vine in his hand a few times and even controlled it to emit a faint green light. He looked at the old man with cold eyes.

At that moment, the old man was disheveled and looked like a mess, but he stared at the vine in his hand with a very surprised expression.

“Immortal Master, this humble one was fortunate enough to witness a battle between Immortal Masters a few years ago.” The old man was stunned for a moment, then quickly got up from the ground.

“Is that so?”

“I am Li Changfeng, thank you, Immortal Master, for saving my life.” Seeing that Zhang Ling was still looking at him coldly, the old man quickly bowed respectfully.

“This is my place for secluded cultivation, yet you are fighting here. Do you have an explanation?” Zhang Ling looked the old man up and down. He sensed that the old man's aura was weak. This man posed no threat to him.

But the old man had just mentioned cultivators. Could they be immortals?

“Misunderstanding, it's all a misunderstanding. These people chased me here, I really didn't mean to offend Immortal Master.” The old man's face paled and he quickly said.

“Chasing, hehe... what were the insects you just released?”

Zhang Ling frowned and directly asked about the origin of the insects. He saw that this man seemed to be very afraid of the cultivator he mentioned. He had mistaken him for a cultivator.

After asking this, the old man remained silent for a long time. Zhang Ling's face immediately darkened. Could it be that those strange insects had an extraordinary origin?

The vine on Zhang Ling's left hand stretched out and danced quickly in the air. If the old man didn't know what was good for him, then he wouldn't hold back.

Seeing that he seemed about to attack, the old man quickly took a breath and said, “This humble one witnessed a battle between two Immortal Masters a few years ago. At that time, those two people had strange methods. One person conjured fireballs out of thin air, and the other, like you, could control vines.”

“As for those insects, this humble one obtained them from a dead Immortal Master. At the same time, I also obtained a few other things from the dead Immortal Master.”

“Battle?”

Zhang Ling frowned. The ability to control fireballs and vines, was this the basis for this person calling him a cultivator?

“And this time, this humble one's misfortune was also because of these things. If Immortal Master needs them, I can offer them with both hands.” The old man looked at Zhang Ling's expression and seemed to have made up his mind.

Zhang Ling just looked at the old man silently and pondered.

The red insects were actually the things of cultivators. This kind of strange method was beyond what martial artists could compare to. Zhang Ling also realized that he might have come into contact with another realm.

Could it be that there really are immortals in this world? He wondered to himself.

……

Two days later, Zhang Ling left Ming City, accompanied by the old man Li Changfeng. After thinking about it, he decided to go with this man to retrieve the things left behind by the cultivators.

According to Li Changfeng, there were cultivators in this world. He had encountered them more than once. Under Zhang Ling's careful questioning, this man recounted his experiences.

This man was indeed a first-rate martial artist. When he was young, he had reached the level of a second-rate martial artist. After that, he roamed the Jianghu and traveled through most of the Cangyun Kingdom.

The first time he encountered a cultivator was in a small town in Nan County. It was one afternoon when a strange bird with two heads flew across the sky, with a man and a woman on it. Many people saw it at the time.

After seeing this scene, Li Changfeng, like most people, thought he had encountered immortals, and secretly inquired about it, but there was no news.

Several years passed in the blink of an eye, and he gave up the goal of seeking immortals. At that time, he was already a first-rate expert, and he had gained some fame in the Jianghu.

After becoming a first-rate expert, he came into contact with more Jianghu secrets. Only then did he know that there was another group of people in the world. They were powerful, could use magic, and had the ability to move mountains and seas. They were cultivators.

With this information, he rekindled the idea of seeking immortals. He traveled throughout the Cangyun Kingdom for decades, visited many famous mountains and rivers, but did not find a cultivator.

It wasn't until a year ago, during a trip to Jingzhou, that he saw cultivators again.