157: Chapter 155 Luo Xiling's Striving to Seek Immortality

With the old car, it became much more convenient for Zhang Mu to travel around Blue Star.

Most importantly, he didn't have to spend money on plane tickets.

Although the old car required regular replacement of the magic crystal stones that provided its energy, those things were worth very little on the Saul Continent.

Happily driving home, Zhang Mu put the car away and took out his phone to scroll through videos.

Don't get him wrong; he wasn't just killing time because he was bored, but rather wanted to use the internet to understand the current situation within the country.

Sitting on the sofa, his thumb swiped across the screen.

Whether due to official suppression or other reasons, the various versions of the tribulation videos that had been widely shared across major platforms a few months ago were now almost nowhere to be seen on the homepages.

Opening his favorites, he saw a video filmed by a Su City local, where the comment section was almost filled with arguments.

After scrolling down for a while, he found that the massive amount of bickering could actually be divided into two groups of people.

One side firmly believed that immortals were non-existent and that it was all a rumor fabricated using software.

Those with the opposite opinion adamantly insisted that immortals truly existed.

The latter were mostly people from Su City, along with a few outsiders who had come to Su City for the excitement and encountered the "Immortal Bottle Incident" in the deep mountains of the outskirts.

The former, naturally, were Chinese people who had not witnessed a "Cultivator."

Zhang Mu wasn't in a hurry about this.

Once the first batch of Hogwarts freshmen enrolled and he found the time to stir things up, he would guarantee they'd have to believe it even if they didn't want to.

Speaking of Hogwarts, Zhang Mu suddenly remembered the freshmen busy with their exams and wondered how their progress was going.

Although twenty-three people had been selected in total, Zhang Mu didn't think everyone would be able to pass smoothly.

Under favorable circumstances, it would be good if half of them made it.

Shaking his head to himself and setting the matter aside for now, his gaze returned to his phone, and his finger continued to swipe.

"Eh?"

After skipping through a few videos, an officially recommended livestream room caught Zhang Mu's interest.

Searching for Immortals to Become a Disciple.

This was the title of the livestream room.

Clicking in and seeing the streamer climbing a mountain while holding a selfie stick, Zhang Mu's mouth dropped open in shock.

"Luo Xiling?"

Zhang Mu remembered her; she was the outdoor female streamer he had met on the rocky beach by the small river during his first trip to the mountains in the outskirts.

Later, they had another chance encounter at the site of a gemstone auction.

After that, he had forgotten about her.

He didn't expect such a coincidence, to actually stumble upon her livestream room.

"Speaking of which... that was around August, right?

It's January now, almost Chinese New Year, so what is she still doing in the mountains?"

He stared at the livestream screen in confusion.

Withered yellow leaves covered the ground, and the warm midday winter sun cast a vast expanse of golden light, making the usually dim dense forest look exceptionally bright.

Isn't she going home for the New Year?

Or did I see it wrong?

Scratching his head, Zhang Mu sent a bullet comment: "The outskirts of Su City?"

The livestream room was quite lively, and Luo Xiling, wearing a windbreaker, didn't see the scrolling small text.

Fortunately, a helpful viewer mistakenly thought he didn't know about "Cultivators" and typed an explanation, detailing Luo Xiling's experiences over the past five months.

First of all, the mountain she was climbing was indeed in the outskirts of Su City.

As for why she was still in the mountains with Lunar New Year's Eve fast approaching, it all started five months ago with her chance encounter with Zhang Mu at the auction.

At that time, with the intention of promoting "Cultivators," Zhang Mu had casually made up a folklore story for her.

Although Luo Xiling had rushed out of the exhibition hall in a hurry after hearing the story, he hadn't paid much attention to it.

He thought that after searching for a few days without success, she would naturally head home.

As it turned out, he never expected this girl to be so stubborn; she had actually spent five months climbing mountains in the outskirts.

She even specifically looked for the peaks Zhang Mu had described—not very high, but steep.

Isn't she afraid of something happening?

His eyes twitching a few times, Zhang Mu tucked his phone into his pocket; if something really happened to her from a fall, it would be his fault.

Muttering to himself, he had originally planned to go to the Special Investigation Bureau's temporary station, but instead, he activated the Shadow Technique and headed straight for the outskirts.

...

On a mountainside in the outskirts of Su City.

Luo Xiling, who had started climbing before dawn, had already been at it all morning.

Although she had solid outdoor skills and didn't feel particularly tired leaning on a wooden stick in her right hand and holding a selfie stick in her left, a person isn't made of iron, and one's stomach will always get hungry.

Slowing her pace, she straightened her back and turned to look down toward the foot of the mountain.

"I've been up this one, and this one, and this..."

Scanning the area and finding that all the peaks in sight had already been climbed, she couldn't help but sigh deeply. "What exactly is the problem?"

Stepping back a few paces and leaning against a tree trunk, she frowned.

She had climbed most of the nearby mountains that met the criteria, but she hadn't seen even a single hair of an immortal.

Because of this, she couldn't help but suspect that perhaps it wasn't the target that was wrong, but rather a flaw in her process.

Could it be that her climbing posture was wrong?

Recalling her five-month climbing journey, she felt she hadn't done anything disrespectful to the immortals.

Then what was the reason?

Brushing away a withered leaf that had landed on her head, she looked at the phone on the selfie stick; the scrolling bullet comments almost covered the entire screen.

"The hype is over. Playing the same gimmick for five months—if you don't come up with something new, I'm unfollowing!"

"Exactly. You've been searching for immortals for so long; it's time to change the subject."

"A couple of days ago, I heard from my cousin studying abroad that some magicians have appeared over in Ying Country."

"Maybe the streamer should check that out?"

"Idiots, it's been five months since the videos of Chinese immortals leaked, and only now are you talking about magicians?"

"You're a bit behind on the meta."

"Magicians?"

Luo Xiling tilted her head and asked in confusion, "What magicians?"

After a dozen seconds, the bullet comment from that same viewer appeared again: "I heard they're magicians from Hogwarts, and the headmaster is called Dumbledore."

"Dumbledore?" Having witnessed an immortal and maintaining a heart of awe for the extraordinary, her expression was originally serious, but after seeing "Hogwarts," she rolled her eyes immediately.

"Isn't that a movie?"

"It's a novel; the movies were adapted from the novels," a viewer reminded her.

"It's all the same."

"I think it's worth learning from.

My cousin said that the official media in Ying Country personally sent reporters to livestream on the streets, and then the magicians appeared. They're going all out!

You're out here climbing mountains alone every day, using safety ropes, parachutes, and all sorts of insurance gear. It's definitely not attractive enough."

Luo Xiling, who had found the bullet comments uninteresting, suddenly felt a jolt of inspiration upon seeing this message.

"Could it be because I'm not sincere enough?"

Thinking of the various mythological stories she had read growing up about mortals encountering immortal fate, which always involved undergoing layers of trials, she clenched her fists, feeling that she might have found the problem.

"That's right! It must be so!

It's because I've prepared too many safety measures, so the immortals think my heart for seeking the Dao is too weak!"

"I'm going to do something big!" Luo Xiling gritted her teeth. She had originally planned to go to the mountaintop to use the height to find unclimbed mountains, but now she had no heart to continue.

"Yo, the streamer is taking advice. What kind of stunt are you planning?"

She glanced at the bullet comments but ignored them.

Fortunately, I didn't plan on climbing today and left my gear at the hotel; otherwise, my eldest and second brothers would definitely have followed.

If they knew my plan, they would definitely stop me.

Thinking of this, Luo Xiling checked the time on her phone—11:33 AM.

There were still over five hours until dark; it was still early.

But for climbing, it wasn't quite enough time.

But her heart, anxious to find immortals, couldn't wait any longer, and she started jogging down the mountain.