Yang Ji shook his head and ceased practicing the cultivation technique.
He couldn't help but recall the words Luo Xiong had once told him.
"With a lower-grade spiritual root, without the aid of medicine pills or a spiritual spring to assist in cultivation, it's absolutely impossible to break through to the Foundation Establishment Realm."
It was a limitation of his congenital condition.
Once his lifespan reached its limit and his life exhausted, his legs would kick out, and he would breathe his last.
From then on, immortality would be out of reach, and the path to becoming an immortal would become hopeless.
"This time, I realize that my cheap master must have deliberately said those words for me to hear. It seems he was disapproving of my slow cultivation due to my lower-grade spiritual root and couldn't help but reveal his true thoughts," Yang Ji mused, supporting his chin, a glint in his eyes, "He was quite subtle, not directly saying that a lower-grade spiritual root is useless."
At this moment, looking at his two attributes [Spiritual Root: Lower-grade] and [Lifespan: 18/100], he pondered for a moment and then decisively got to his feet.
"No, it won't do. Each subsequent level of cultivation is harder than the last, and I can feel that if I continue to cultivate in this cave, it will be impossible to break through to the Foundation Establishment Realm before my time runs out. Besides, I don't even have the method for Foundation Establishment.
It seems I must go out and look for cultivation resources, and ideally, I should join a powerful sect."
"I had my cheap master to shoulder the burdens before, but from here on out, I must rely on myself."
With that, Yang Ji abandoned his plans to continue cultivating inside the cave.
He packed the useful items into his storage bag and walked towards the entrance of the cave.
Following the light, he stepped outside, only to see three young girls, each with graceful figures, fair skin, and beautiful faces.
As soon as they saw Yang Ji emerge, the three resting girls were startled. They hastily grabbed the food tray that was placed to one side, lifted it over their shoulders, and bowed, saying,
"Great, great sir, you haven't eaten for many days!"
Though they hadn't seen Yang Ji before, they figured calling him "sir" was the right choice since he had come out of the secret cave.
"What's this? Servants responsible for meals and daily life? Each one so beautiful, my cheap master really knew how to enjoy himself. Seems there's no need to arrange a Dao companion for him."
Looking at the three girls trembling slightly, the word "afraid" floating above their heads, Yang Ji smiled and said, "You all can go. Go home. You're free from now on."
"Ah~" The three girls were shocked, all of them raising their heads, the "afraid" above them slowly turning into "surprise."
"Great, great sir! Is it true?" They looked at the young man they had never seen before with excitement, their eyes brimming with hopeful light, and asked with trembling voices.
"I yearn for longevity. Women are like a passing breeze to me. You can go now, you're free," said Yang Ji, waving his hand.
"But, but!" The three seemed hesitant, fearfully glancing towards the cave.
"My master is in seclusion. He won't come out for ten or eight years. You should all go," Yang Ji said.
"Thank you, great sir, thank you," the girls said excitedly, falling to their knees and kowtowing three times.
They, like Yang Ji, had been abducted by Luo Xiong as children and now finally saw hope.
Next to "surprise," a new word appeared, "grateful to the point of weeping."
Yang Ji smiled gently and, without waiting for them to look up, he activated his Light Body Skill and soared into the sky.
"I'll ride the wind to the heavens, in pursuit of the Great Dao on my path to longevity!"
His feet stepping on the breeze, his heart soaring with pleasure, he flew higher and higher, looking down upon the entire land.
On looking back, he discovered that for the past eighteen years, he had been living on a desolate mountain peak.
This place was encircled by undulating mountain ranges and lofty peaks, the scenery picturesque, enveloped by auspicious clouds—a true retreat from the mortal world.
However, he had no time to spare observing more; the pressing matter was to determine where he was.
After looking around, Yang Ji continued to fly higher.
As he vanished into the clouds, the world below him shrank to the point where he could take it all in at a glance.
He saw an endless sea, and just below him, he made out the edge of a massive island.
It dawned on Yang Ji that he was indeed on a massive island, and below was the mountainside at the island's rim.
It was likely that Luo Xiong had chosen to place his cave mansion on the edge of the island to elude prying eyes, making it easier to carry out his plans for cultivating and seizing bodies. Perhaps, it was also to hide from enemies.
But all that was now in the past.
Yang Ji, from his high vantage, could also make out the general layout of the island.
Scattered around the perimeter were numerous small towns, with a larger city-state situated in the middle of the island.
After some thought, Yang Ji headed toward the central area.
He continuously performed the Light Body Skill as he flew, admiring the beauty of the island along the way.
Beaches, sunlight, palm trees, sea breeze—it was all there, just like he had imagined.
[You use the Light Body Skill to fly and continue to gain insight, increasing the skill proficiency of your Light Body Skill by +1.]
[You continually apply the Light Body Skill to fly, skill proficiency +1.]
[You kept using the Light Body Skill for flying, and as clarity filled your mind and thoughts became lucid, your understanding deepened. You comprehended the true essence of 'Treading the Breeze', proficiency +1.]
[You kept using the Light Body Skill for flying, proficiency +1]
...
[Light Body Skill (Entry Level): 6/10.]
After half a day of flying, the proficiency of the Light Body Skill had reached 6, and it wouldn't be long before he reached [Mastery].
Yang Ji realized that the Golden Finger would not let him make mistakes; it quantified all his efforts.
As long as he put in the effort, progress was guaranteed. This was simply terrifying.
For others to comprehend the Light Body Skill, they might spend days or even weeks scratching their heads and stumbling through the process before understanding a bit and gaining some proficiency.
But Yang Ji was different. His path ahead was clear: just keep striving, and leave the rest to longevity.
With such a Golden Finger by his side, Yang Ji might have inferior Spiritual Roots, but he was destined to have extraordinary talent and could compete with geniuses from all over the world.
Yang Ji was in high spirits. Light as a swallow, he continued flying forward.
Two days later, in the early morning, he finally arrived at the central region of the island.
Ahead lay a plain, and on the plain stood an ancient and simple city.
Strands of morning mist and the sounds of crowing cocks heralded the start of a brand new day for the city before him.
Yang Ji relaxed his mind as he stepped towards the city.
There were no guards at the city gate, and he walked in directly.
"Superior Artifacts forged from millennium-old Sinkstones here, come take a look!"
"Deep-sea corals from the depths of the ocean, capable of prolonging life and curing all diseases, come and see for yourself!"
Inside the city, the streets bustled with people and activity.
Shops lined the streets in neat rows, creating an orderly scene.
On the streets, numerous stalls were set up, their hawkers' voices never ceasing.
Yang Ji sensed briefly and discovered more than a dozen Cultivators.
He inwardly sighed; he had come to the right place. The presence of Cultivators meant there were cultivation resources available.
Curiously gazing at everything, he found it all quite novel.
"Fellow Daoist, care for some Immortal Tea?" an elderly man offered him with a smile.
"This tea looks pretty good," Yang Ji glanced at the stall and responded casually.
"This is called Immortal Tea. It comes with a rich and refreshing fragrance, can invigorate the mind, and even increase one's cultivation. How about a pound, fellow Daoist?"
"No thanks, no thanks," Yang Ji smiled and quickly waved his hand to leave as he saw the words [Unscrupulous Merchant] hovering above the man's head.
"Fellow Daoist, I have a piece of ore here that even mid-grade Magical Artifacts can't break, and it's unbelievably heavy. Come take a look."
[Deep Sea Sinking Stone, suitable for forging Low-grade Magical Artifacts.]
Seeing the information above the ore, Yang Ji was tempted and inquired tentatively, "Fellow Daoist, how much for this ore in Spirit Stones?"
"Three thousand Spirit Stones, take it or leave it."
Yang Ji nodded nonchalantly. It was his first time venturing out in eighteen years, and he was not too familiar with the prices of this world. He wouldn't act rashly.
Of course, the main reason was that he was flat broke, not even a single Spirit Stone to his name; even if he wanted to make a purchase, he couldn't.
"Young brother, I have a seed here that came from a dried-up Spiritual Spring on Nine Saints Island. Come take a look."
[Silver Spirit Fruit Seed, well-preserved, with a 98% chance of growing a Silver Spirit Tree, which will produce Superior Spiritual Fruits when it blossoms and bears fruit.]
Looking at the prompt, Yang Ji was also moved.
The seed was silvery throughout and radiated a strange luster, appearing quite extraordinary at first glance.
"Brother, I have an Immortal Spirit Peach Sapling here. It blooms in three years, bears fruit in three, and matures in another three, with fruits comparable to Divine Medicine. Take a look, will you?"
[Immortal Spirit Peach Sapling, well-preserved.]
"Fellow Daoist, how about some Superior Fire Spirit Fruit?"
Along the way, Yang Ji encountered seeds, ores, Spiritual Seedlings, cocoon filaments, broken artifacts, Spiritual Liquids, and many more peculiar and rare items.
These items were talked up by the sellers, each sounding more extraordinary than the last.
Although Yang Ji knew that most of them were exaggerating, there were still some genuine and valuable items among them.
He thought that if he could use his Golden Finger Ability to flip some of these oddities and earn some Spirit Stones from them, that would be great.
Alas, without initial capital, even a clever woman can't cook without rice!
Yang Ji shook his head, took a walk around the city, and finally stopped in front of the Myriad Treasures Tower, the most "luxurious" looking establishment in the entire city.