Silver Sword Peak

Shushan, Silver Sword Peak.

Chu Liang opened his eyes, his gaze bright.

He checked the time outside. It was still early. The fiery sun had just climbed over the mountains, and the morning glow had dyed half the sky red.

After more than half a year in this world, he had completely gotten used to rising early.

That was right. He had not originally belonged to this world. He had been a graduate who had just finished the college entrance exams. One day, he learned that he had achieved the excellent result of third place in the entire province; the next day, the moment he stepped outside, he was sent flying to the heavens by a drunk driver.

When he woke again, he found himself in this bizarre and fantastical world.

The reason it was bizarre was that demons and devils ran rampant here, dragons and serpents rose from the land, the powers of ghosts and gods reached the heavens, and ordinary human lives were worth less than grass. Fortunately, numerous immortal sects led by the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands kept them suppressed, preserving peace in the mortal world.

Human cultivators were powerful as well. Martial artists could split mountains and shatter stone with their fleshly bodies, scholars' lofty spirits could stand against armies of thousands, Daoist Celestial Masters could summon wind and rain, and eminent Buddhist monks had once subdued dragons with a single finger...

Chu Liang's predecessor had been an orphan whose entire family was slaughtered by demons. Only he himself had been saved by his master, who brought him back to the mountain after discovering that he possessed cultivation talent.

Thus, his predecessor had especially hated evil beings and desperately wanted to master divine abilities as soon as possible, so he could descend the mountain to slay demons and eradicate evil. Yet because he had been too impatient and his Dao heart unstable, he suffered a qi deviation during one breakthrough, and his soul scattered away.

All one could do was sigh that life was truly unpredictable.

After Chu Liang's soul arrived in this world, the first thing he felt was actually panic. As a youth raised in peaceful times, he felt deeply unsettled by this age where demons roamed unchecked.

Especially because among the memories he had inherited were the horrific scenes of his predecessor's parents and relatives being killed by demons. The impact on his mind was immense.

But he soon thought it through. Fear came from insufficient firepower.

The weak were destined to live in fear every day. If he wanted to cast off this unease completely, the only way was to become stronger. He possessed cultivation talent, and he had arrived within a top-tier immortal sect like the Shushan Sect. That was already an exceptionally good start.

Better still, after crossing over, he discovered a change within his soul.

It was the appearance of that tower.

Whenever he meditated, a giant white tower appeared in his mind. After he slew demons, it would grant him treasures as rewards. This had not existed in his predecessor's memories. It seemed to have come along with him—perhaps it was the legendary golden finger?

At first, Chu Liang did not dare seek out great demons. Instead, he searched the villages and towns around Shushan for places such as mass graves and cemeteries, where he slew Lantern Monsters.

Lantern Monsters were evil beings formed when the resentment of the dead clung to lanterns and turned into ghostly fire. They drifted about at night and rammed into living people. The moment they struck someone, the Lantern Monster itself would immediately vanish into smoke, while the person struck would at most fall ill for a spell. Against cultivators, they could be said to possess no combat strength whatsoever.

They were so weak it was almost endearing.

The reward for refining a Lantern Monster was a Qi-Gathering Pill that aided cultivation. Though not particularly precious in itself, there were enough of them to greatly increase his cultivation speed.

Once, he happened upon a bulky Stone Statue Spirit with formidable defenses committing evil deeds. After a long, grueling battle, Chu Liang successfully ground it to death.

Only then did the White Tower grant a magical treasure for the first time: the golden brick that made the Spider Spirit reveal its true form.

Demon-Exposing Brick: Strike a person's head with this brick. If that person is a demon in disguise, they will immediately reveal their true form; if they are not a demon in disguise, they will feel pain, with a certain chance of triggering a stun effect. True or false, one strike tells all.

Chu Liang's assessment of this treasure was that it was extremely practical.

Pills, magical treasures, divine abilities, cultivation techniques... These were all exceedingly precious things in the cultivation world. Even Shushan disciples had to complete tasks for the sect before they could exchange them for resources and treasures.

Yet Chu Liang only had to slay demons to acquire them. Moreover, as the strength of the demons he killed increased, the grade of the treasures he obtained would rise as well, naturally bringing even greater improvements to his combat strength.

Thus, Chu Liang was now caught in a logical closed loop: "Because I fear demons, I kill demons." From a certain perspective, he had instead fulfilled part of his predecessor's wish.

He slowly dressed and tied up his hair, fetched water and washed up, and only then could he be considered properly out of bed.

He pushed open the door and stepped out of the little wooden cabin. Before his eyes stretched high skies and pale clouds. It was late spring in April, and the wind carried the fragrance of grass and trees. Following a path filled with birdsong and blossoms, he rounded half the mountainside and arrived before a pavilion at the peak.

He had come to see his master.

The pavilion doors stood open. As soon as he entered, he saw a graceful figure sprawled carelessly before the altar ahead.

She was a woman with long hair scattered loose, half her cheek veiled by strands of hair. The exposed half of her face was smooth and lustrous as jade, her features outlined like an ink painting, faintly flushed, while the line of her neck was exquisite as fine porcelain.

She wore a black cross-collared robe. Even lying down, the fullness of her chest was obvious, like twin full moons rising and falling with her steady breaths. A jade pendant containing Red Light lay nestled between them, exceptionally eye-catching. Her waist was drawn tight by a sash, her hips widening beneath it, while two long legs were flung out before her, pale and softly full.

A huge wine gourd dangled beside her hand. Even from the doorway, he could hear her faint snores. She truly had not the slightest bit of decorum.

Though she slept soundly, the woman still became alert at the sound of Chu Liang's footsteps and abruptly opened her eyes.

"Master," Chu Liang called softly from the doorway.

That was right. This woman was Chu Liang's master, Empress Feng, the peak master of Silver Sword Peak, one of Shushan's thirty-six peaks.

"Ah, it's already light out." Empress Feng flipped over and sat up. Her clothes were in disarray, one shoulder blade exposed, making the scene look like a crime scene.

She did not bother fixing her clothes. Instead, she scratched at her hair first, then looked at Chu Liang through bleary eyes. "What are you here for?"

She was still somewhat dazed.

"Um..." Chu Liang looked up. "Master, you sent me a paper crane message telling me to come find you after I returned."

"Did I do that?" The hungover woman scratched her head, then suddenly gave an oh. "I remember now!"

Only then did she tug her clothes into place a couple of times and stand up. She had not looked too exaggerated while lying down, but once she rose, her tall figure and astonishing curves became even more apparent.

"Didn't the Sect Leader gather the peak masters for a discussion yesterday? They said we were starting preparations for the once-in-a-decade Shushan Summit. You know, the one where disciples from every peak compete to choose the chief disciple."

"This disciple knows."

"Then I got into another argument with that old bastard Wang Xuanling. I couldn't stand his arrogant face, boasting there that the chief disciple position would definitely be Jade Sword Peak's prize in its pocket... Pah!" At the mention of it, Empress Feng was still so angry that her chest bounced twice. "Of course I snapped back at him. We argued for a while, then made a bet."

"If a Jade Sword Peak disciple wins the chief disciple position, I'll give him the Phoenix Blood Jade. But if a disciple of our Silver Sword Peak can take the chief disciple position, he'll yield the position of Chief of All Peaks to me."

As she spoke, Empress Feng glanced at Chu Liang. "I called you here to ask: who do you think our Silver Sword Peak should send to participate in the Shushan Summit?"

"..." Chu Liang was speechless for a moment before quietly saying, "Master, isn't Silver Sword Peak's only disciple me...?"

"Good!" Empress Feng clapped her hands. "I'm very pleased that you volunteered for the task!"