I use my future dreams to prove immortality.

Chapter 2 Premonition

The family's food, clothing, and daily necessities all depended on money, and the meager income from the pulp mill was barely enough to make ends meet.

In Black Swamp City, taxes and rent are mandatory expenses. If a family cannot pay these expenses, they will be evicted from the city.

Shen Wanwang looked to Zhou Qiuyuan and said, "Son, give up on the Spirit Awakening."

The awakening of the spirit was just the beginning; the subsequent expenses were a bottomless pit. With no end in sight for the mine's recovery and the family's breadwinner gone, they had to tighten their belts to get through the current crisis.

Zhou Qiuyuan remained silent and nodded quietly.

If a family is in dire financial straits and can only offer limited support, emptying their savings will leave the entire family unable to cope with risks and ultimately plunge them into an abyss.

However, he has no intention of giving up the path of body refinement and immortal cultivation.

The rest of the journey depends on myself.

Zhou Chengwu looked down and examined his rough, calloused hands.

He risked his life working in dangerous mines outside the city, barely managing to feed his family throughout his life.

Cultivating immortality and refining the body are the hopes of ordinary people, as they are the paths to upward social mobility. If the son fails to become a body refiner, he will repeat his old path and struggle to live a life at the very bottom of society.

He gave up back then, and now he wants his son to give up too. Will he have to make his grandson give up in the future?

The mutated egg was originally an opportunity for rise, but because it lacked the ability to protect itself, it could only benefit outsiders.

How could Zhou Chengwu not harbor resentment?

He wanted to take a gamble!

Zhou Chengwu said firmly, "Son, I will not go back on my promise to you. The family will raise money to help you with the spirit awakening."

Shen Wan knew her husband's temper well; once he made up his mind about something, nothing could change it.

"My lord... so be it."

This is a high-stakes gamble that requires the entire family's resources.

Zhou Qiuyuan was moved and felt an even greater sense of belonging to this family.

He used to fail, but things are different now. This time, he will only win.

……

Darkness swallowed the last rays of the setting sun, and lights began to illuminate hundreds of homes throughout the city.

Three boys and a girl walked down the main street. The vendors who used to hawk their wares along the street had dispersed, and the road was much wider.

At the end of the road was a tall, closed city gate, above which was a transparent, thin-film barrier that enveloped the entire Black Swamp City, blocking out the impenetrable darkness from the outside world.

Qi Lingchuan, who was at the front, stopped first and turned to look at Zhou Qiuyuan: "The meat of the strange snake is very nourishing, and ordinary people may not be able to withstand it, so I can't bring it to you."

Qi Lingchuan had originally promised to give Zhou Qiuyuan a portion of exotic snake meat, but was severely reprimanded by his master and father.

"The meat of this exotic snake is precious and extremely valuable; how could we possibly give it away to outsiders?"

"Zhou Qiuyuan has no chance to cultivate his body; he will remain at the very bottom of Black Swamp City for his entire life. He will have fewer and fewer social interactions in the future, so why waste the snake meat on someone insignificant? Minimize your association with people who won't benefit you."

Temporary face is nothing compared to real gold and silver.

Zhou Qiuyuan was not surprised by this and replied, "The meat of the strange snake is of great use in body tempering. I feel ashamed to accept it, so let's not talk about it."

Ultimately, one must rely on oneself; how can one expect others to give them charity?

Liu Mei, dressed in a clean cloth dress, with her dry, yellow hair carefully combed, said with admiration on her face, "Brother Chuan's progress is astonishing. One day he will surely be appreciated by a benefactor and rise to prominence."

"Brother Chuan won't be able to cultivate immortality for long, right? The four of us made a vow to cultivate immortality back then, and only Brother Chuan has a chance to realize it." The short and stocky Cao San quickly chimed in, his tone revealing a hint of flattery.

Qi Lingchuan arrived as agreed. Liu Mei and Cao San, who lived in the same courtyard and were also old friends, came after hearing the news, which led to the four of them taking a walk together at night.

"Aside from those born with innate spiritual roots, how easy is it for ordinary people to cultivate immortality?" Qi Lingchuan shook his head and said, "The price of acquired spiritual roots is rising year by year, and I'm powerless to help myself..."

Those born with spiritual roots are one in ten thousand; having no spiritual roots is the norm.

It is unknown which powerful immortal created the method of refining acquired spiritual roots, which enabled ordinary people without spiritual roots to cultivate immortality.

Unfortunately, acquired spiritual roots are extremely expensive, and there are far more monks than porridge. Ordinary cultivators don't even have enough spirit stones to buy acquired spiritual roots for their descendants. Ordinary people rarely see spirit stones in their lifetime, let alone enter the inner city to buy spiritual roots.

Body refiners originated from immortal cultivation. By using spiritual tools crafted by immortal cultivators, they can also unleash a small amount of immortal power. Some powerful body refiners are even no weaker than low-level immortal cultivators.

Some high-level body cultivators in Black Swamp City used the spirit stones they earned to purchase acquired spiritual roots, thus embarking on the path of cultivation.

"Qiuyuan, do you want to participate in this year's Spirit Awakening?" Qi Lingchuan said to himself before Zhou Qiuyuan could answer, "The expenses for body cultivators are beyond your imagination. Even if you succeed by chance, without sufficient financial support, you won't go far in the future."

"Learning a skill will secure your livelihood, and you can get married and have children. Perhaps some of your descendants will become successful."

These words were spoken to Zhou Qiuyuan, and Liu Mei and Cao San listened with complicated expressions.

Most of the people in the courtyard were poor and could not afford the huge expense of spiritual awakening, so Zhou Qiuyuan's parents' desire to awaken their son's spirit was enviable.

Cao San rolled his eyes and advised Zhou Qiuyuan, "Your father lost his job at the mine. Find a suitable job to ease the burden on your family."

"Stop trying to compare yourself to Brother Chuan. He's a genius. You have to face reality eventually."

Hearing the contrasting words, one complimentary and one derogatory, Qi Lingchuan's lips curled into a slight smile.

The four of them grew up in the same large courtyard. In their early years, Zhou Qiuyuan was strong and healthy, and his appearance was always more outstanding than Qi Lingchuan's. The four-person group was led by him.

Qi Lingchuan's father took a risk and took over a tavern, making a fortune every day. The family moved out of the tenement and even bought a small, detached house in the southern part of the city.

From then on, Qi Lingchuan had everything go smoothly and was no longer on the same level as them.

Zhou Qiuyuan said loudly, "Since we have come to this world, we should try to cultivate immortality, so as not to have lived in vain."

Immortality, flying through the sky and escaping the earth, plucking stars and grasping the moon... Since there is a way to become an immortal in this world, he cannot miss it no matter what.

"Ah Yuan, what nonsense are you talking about?" Cao San was taken aback, then couldn't help but sneer, "Even Brother Chuan has difficulty cultivating immortality, what makes you think you have a chance?"

Liu Mei glanced at Zhou Qiuyuan, then turned to look at Qi Lingchuan.

In her early years, she had a crush on the handsome Zhou Qiuyuan, but as she grew older and gained more experience, she seriously doubted her judgment back then.

What good is being good-looking? If your family is dirt poor and you have unrealistic ambitions, you're destined to be a lowly laborer in Blackswamp City for life.

Qi Lingchuan frowned, too lazy to waste words on someone who was still living in a dream and couldn't recognize reality.

"It's getting late, I need to go back to cultivate." Qi Lingchuan ignored the three people's reactions and strode towards the South District.

Cao San and Liu Mei came for Qi Lingchuan, but without their leader, they both left one after the other.

Nightlife in the outer city was extremely scarce, so Zhou Qiuyuan went to bed early after returning home.

Before long, he felt his head lighten, as if it were being detached.

Zhou Qiuyuan lay on the kang (a heated brick bed), gazing at the semi-transparent, slightly ethereal body.

Looking around, the surrounding scenery was shrouded in a hazy gray light, as if covered by a thin veil, giving it an unreal, dreamlike quality.

I've entered a dream again.

This is his cheat code: future dreams. He can experience the future firsthand through dreams, although only for a brief day.

The dream about the future almost perfectly matched reality. Zhou Qiuyuan used the dream to foresee a part of the future, unexpectedly learned about the mutated egg, and changed his father's fate of dying in the mine outside the city.