Demon Immortal

"Ah! The naivety of youth," the old man said smiling and shaking his head.

"Duncan, oh Duncan, your concern truly touches me. But, don't worry, I am fine. Alas, I am afraid that we must part ways here. I am afraid my time in the mortal world has come to an end. With the enlightenment I obtained from your inadvertent words, I am ready to breakthrough into the next realm."

Duncan squinted his eyes and watched the old fool ramble once again. He was now sure that something was wrong with the old fart now. Until afternoon he only used to tell tall tales, but the old fart was now imagining himself to be an expert in cultivation. Even then, his propensity to tell tall tales didn't seem to disappear.

Just because the old fart threw some big words like mortal world, enlightenment, breakthrough, Duncan wasn't going to be fooled. Gritting his teeth, he became determined to drag the old man to Granny Jiao, so that she could sort him out.

"Anyways, our time together has come to an end. Regardless of whether you intended to or not, your words had helped me a lot. So, I need to repay this karma. Hmmm, how about this, Duncan, tell me, do you want to be a cultivator?" the old man asked with a severe expression on his face.

Duncan merely wanted to punch him in the face and drag the old fool to Granny Jiao now. Before he could say anything, the old fart once again went off.

"You have a strong body; your work in the mines has strengthened your body a lot. Hmmm, the spirit qi in the mines have strengthened your muscles, but you have yet to properly cultivate. And you have also missed the best period to start cultivating. It's a pity. Your future accomplishments will be limited. And the spirit qi here is so low that I can barely feel it. Hmmm what to do?" the old fart rambled on as if he was some expert.

Duncan felt his eye start to twitch in annoyance.

"If I belonged to a sect, I can ask someone to take you in. But, I am a loose cultivator. I roam as I please and I do have some formidable enemies. So, bringing you to that world with me would spell your doom. What to do?"

Duncan couldn't stand it anymore. He grabbed the old fool who was deep in his thoughts by his shoulders and shook him. At least, he tried to. But, to his amazement, he couldn't even move him.

Duncan was really confused. He knew he was stronger than the old man. In fact, very few of the miners could match his strength. That is the reason why he was one of the most productive members of the mine. After all, it took strength to swing your pickaxe from morning to evening.

According to his strength, he should have been able to shake the old man. But, strangely enough, Duncan felt as if he was trying to shake a mountain. He looked up at the old man's face to see him smiling at him amusedly.

"So, you still think of me as some old fool who rambles, huh?" the old man asked in a self-deprecating tone.

Duncan wanted to nod, but he didn't want to hurt the old man's fragile heart. He didn't know how the old man would react if he forcefully broke his dream. It would be cruel to do so. As if seeing through his thoughts, the old man began to chuckle mirthlessly.

"Never mind," the old man said shaking his head, "just answer these questions, Duncan. Don't think about anything else. Are you interested in becoming a cultivator?"

"Old man, are you seriously ill?" Duncan asked with a frown etched on his face.

"Just humor me, Duncan," the old man smiled wistfully. "We can end this sooner you answer my questions."

Duncan looked at the old man up and down exasperatedly, before letting out a huge sigh.

"Look, old man, maybe your head has been muddled too much to remember a few things. I will take the liberty to say it to you," Duncan said with an aggravated tone. "You ask whether I want to be a cultivator or not, right? You think becoming a cultivator is that easy. Everyone knows that becoming a cultivator needs countless resources."

"Do you think people like us have the time to sit around and meditate to search for qi? If we don't work, we won't have money to even eat. Let me see try you meditating and search for qi when your stomach pinches in hunger," Duncan sneered.

"Is that all that is stopping you from cultivating?" the old man was unfazed as he asked Duncan curiously.

Duncan took a deep breath to calm himself down.

"Even if I start cultivating by saving up some money, then what? " Duncan asked challengingly. "Don't you know it takes countless other treasures to continue to cultivate? How could someone like me acquire them? Look, old man, it is easy to say these things, but the reality is often hard. All I want is some good drink and fine whores to bed. And one day I will marry some comely wench and continue to live my life in peace."

The old man scrutinized Duncan for a few moments, before giving a strange smile. When Duncan saw that smile, he felt something bad creep up on him.

"Ha ha ha! Interesting, very interesting. I am even more determined to get you to cultivate now. You say you don't want to be a cultivator. But, I don't believe you. Ha ha ha."

The Old man's laughter truly crept out Duncan. Before he could say anything else, the old man pointed his finger at Duncan.

Duncan felt as if his head would explode any moment now. He was truly scared now. He clutched his head and lowered himself to his knees. But, the headache was blinding and he shut his eyes and scrunched his face to withstand it.

"You say you don't want to cultivate, hmmph. So what? I will see whether you will hold on to your view when the temptation is right inside your head. Ha ha ha ha. Remember this Duncan, in this world, might makes right. If you are weak you don't even get to choose what you do," the old man's voice thundered from above causing Duncan to completely collapse as he was unable to bear the pain any longer.

As Duncan collapsed, he felt himself fainting. Before his consciousness could truly shut down, he once more heard the old man speak.

"The karma you have with me ends now, young one. Whether you use what I gave you or not, it doesn't matter anymore. My time here is done. If fate wills it, we will see each other one day."