Immortal Master

Tu Shan Jun stood blankly in the open ground at the village entrance.

He had only just transmigrated here. Before the original body's injuries could even heal, he had been driven to the village entrance like a duck being herded.

Under the scorching heat of the dog days, even gold would melt and stones would crack.

After standing for only a short while, he felt too weak to remain upright.

As he swayed, cold sweat poured down him like rain.

In the end, it was still the original body's injuries that had dragged Tu Shan Jun down.

Touching the wound on his head, Tu Shan Jun could not help but sigh.

The rider had fled, and since no one could be found, he could only grit his teeth and endure on what little he had.

He had grown up eating from a hundred households and had no savings. Now that he could not work as a hired hand, he lived off the charity of his neighbors.

The village chief had said there was something very important to announce today, and even the injured had to attend.

Tu Shan Jun had come to the village entrance for the sake of a bowl of thick porridge and half a white-flour bun.

What major event could there possibly be in this ancient era? He was just there to make up the numbers.

Sacrifices, conscription, taxes... all of that was still far away.

What he needed to think about now was how he would survive in the future.

As the saying went, a half-grown boy could eat his father poor.

If he kept relying on his neighbors' aid, it would not be long before he ate them into resentment and enmity.

They were all old farmers scraping food from the soil. No household had much surplus grain.

Tu Shan Jun swept his gaze around.

Every household in the village had come. Not a single person was absent. The old village chief's prestige was truly quite solid.

Of course, that white-flour bun the size of a child's fist had done great work.

"Cough. I called every household to the village entrance today because there is a heaven-shaking matter to tell you about." The village chief cleared his throat before beginning.

The village loafer stood with his hands tucked into his sleeves, curiosity written all over his face. What could possibly be important enough for every household to receive a white-flour bun?

"Old Village Chief, don't beat around the bush. Since we're all here, let everyone hear what kind of big matter this is."

"Yeah, yeah."

What knowledge could villagers possibly possess? Gathered together, they made a dense, dark mass.

Still, it was lively enough.

The old women clustered together and chatted about household matters, while the farmhands greeted one another.

Even the loafer who usually lay around at home had come out to move about.

It was not easy to find an excuse to gather together. If he could take the chance to find himself a wife, that would be wonderful.

"An immortal master has come to stay in our village. It was the immortal master himself who asked me to gather every household." The old village chief finally revealed the secret, his gaze shifting toward the locust tree not far behind him.

Following the old village chief's gaze, the villagers only then noticed a pitch-black figure in the tree's shadow.

It was as though they had deliberately ignored him before, never noticing that someone stood there.

Tu Shan Jun revealed a startled expression, and his wandering gaze gained a touch of sharpness.

His weakened body unconsciously straightened.

An immortal master?!

That meant this world might be a world of cultivation, a world with supernatural power.

He had very likely transmigrated into a world with cultivators.

Cultivation. Immortality. The Great Dao.

After the confusion came helplessness, shock and joy, as well as a trembling hidden deep in his heart.

Tu Shan Jun's already weak body trembled faintly.

Under the blazing dog-day sun, cold sweat seeped from his spine and soaked his short shirt.

He was not sure whether it was real, whether this truly was a world of cultivators.

In fact, deep down, he was afraid.

All it took was thinking of the law of the strong devouring the weak to understand that cultivation was fundamentally about "eating people"!

Could someone like him, who had not been among the best even in his previous life, truly walk this road that seemed broad and open but was actually covered in thorns?

"Can I really do it?"

In a new world, with his life beginning anew, could he really become one of those at the very top?

"I can!"

Tu Shan Jun firmly encouraged himself, as though he feared he would shrink back if he did not use words to pin himself in place.

He had never desired anything so intensely. Like a starving beast yearning for food, it was pure enough to be instinct.

When one's life was not held in one's own hands, fear would grow.

Fear was humanity's most primitive emotion, but it could also drive people to become stronger.

No matter what kind of society it was, becoming stronger was never wrong.

Panel not activated

Tu Shan Jun stared in astonishment at the pale-blue interface that had appeared before him, locked in chains.

It resembled the panels in video games, yet it displayed that it had not been activated.

"A cheat!"

Tu Shan Jun was overjoyed. Sure enough, ninety-nine percent of transmigrators came with cheats.

Since he had a cheat, the hope in Tu Shan Jun's eyes diminished somewhat, while his expression became steadier.

He did not rashly approach the immortal master, who looked difficult to deal with.

That face did not look like a good person's face.

The immortal master who stepped out of the shadows was about five feet eight inches tall, with a face like gold paper and deeply sunken cheeks.

His fierce eyes were dim.

He was injured.

Gravely injured!

His black robe was tattered and still bore bloodstains that had not dried.

His inverted triangular eyes narrowed slightly, and he bared his teeth in a smile.

Tu Shan Jun shuddered. His wandering gaze focused, revealing a faint gleam and vigilance.

Something felt wrong. The immortal master looked at them as though they were livestock or prey.

When the man's gaze swept over him, Tu Shan Jun's left eyelid twitched incessantly, making panic rise in his heart.

What immortal master looked like this?

Shouldn't they be immortal in bearing, with crane-white hair and the face of a child? Even if not, they ought to be refined and elegant.

If the man before him truly was an immortal master, then he was definitely not a righteous cultivator.

There was no difference between Rogue Cultivators and Demon Cultivators. Both were vicious fiends.

"Three Pure Ones, bless me. Bodhisattvas, bless me. Keep me safe and sound."

Tu Shan Jun forced down the fear in his heart and took several deep breaths to calm himself. He told himself not to scare himself.

He had already begun to think of retreating.

With a cheat, he did not need to take risks by dealing with cultivators. Even if he did, he should seek out a righteous immortal master. The one before him was clearly no good person.

Tu Shan Jun's expression turned grave as he quietly retreated behind the crowd.

He lowered his head and used the corner of his eye to observe the black-robed immortal master.

If something really happened, the crowd could serve as a buffer and buy him some time.

Of course, the first priority was still to learn why this immortal master, who looked nothing like a good man, had come.

"So he's an immortal master. I never thought an immortal master would come to our village."

"An immortal master from the legends..."

"It truly is a major matter. If we gain an immortal opportunity..."

The villagers were immediately both shocked and delighted, their faces full of disbelief.

After all, they had only heard rumors and had never truly seen an immortal master.

Some village boys who traveled into the city often bragged that they had seen immortal masters in great cities. Everyone treated it as entertainment, nothing but boasting.

If he truly was an immortal master, then perhaps inviting him could help them clear out Chaos Burial Mound.

Because it had existed for so many years, filthy things had been born within Chaos Burial Mound.

"You've worked hard."

The immortal master with inverted triangular eyes patted the old village chief on the shoulder. With a cruel smile, he turned to face the villagers. "You have all worked hard as well."

"I came to bestow upon you all a great fortune."

Tu Shan Jun clearly saw the old village chief freeze where he stood, as though a body-freezing spell had been cast on him.

His eyes were vacant, and his thin body was like withered wood.

"There's a trap!"

Tu Shan Jun's expression changed drastically. Without hesitation, he turned and ran.

With a bang, he crashed into something unknown. The impact left him dizzy and seeing stars.

There was clearly nothing before him, yet Tu Shan Jun felt as though he had slammed into a wall of copper and iron.

"Formation."

"Rise!"

The Demon Cultivator with inverted triangular eyes cast a glance over.

With a sweep of his sleeve, a small black banner with red trim flew from his cuff.

It expanded in the wind, transforming into a banner more than a zhang long and wide above everyone's heads. The transparent walls around them were gradually stained gray by black smoke.

The Demon Cultivator swung the longsword in his hand. Blood was drawn the instant it left its sheath.

The old village chief's head separated from his stooped body. His fine head flew up and rolled away, while blood sprayed more than a zhang high, filling the formation with a sickly sweet stench.

"Ah!"

The terrified screams jolted the frozen villagers awake.

"Murder!"

"The village chief has been killed!"

The villagers were horrified. Panic and turmoil erupted as they shoved and surged about like scattering poultry and headless flies.

They crashed wildly into one another, squeezed together, and piled up.

But they could not escape.

Tu Shan Jun had already tested the way for them. The transparent walls had sealed off every path to life.

The black banner above their heads spun rapidly, and gray shadows surged out of the corpses before vanishing into it.

What followed was a one-sided slaughter.

The sword-wielding Demon Cultivator killed the villagers inside the formation as though slaughtering chickens.

Before long, blood formed a trickling stream, while corpses piled into a small hill.

Nearly two hundred villagers had not even lasted the time it took for one incense stick to burn.

The Demon Cultivator's face became increasingly savage. Blood splattered over his face, yet it only revealed a morbid madness.

Tu Shan Jun leaned against the transparent wall in terror, his chestnut-brown pupils shrinking uncontrollably.

Curling up, his mind raced wildly as he tried to find a way to defeat that Demon Cultivator.

"System, do you have a beginner's gift pack?"

"The kind that can quickly raise my strength."

"What about a starting lottery draw?"

"Any miracle pills that can get me through this crisis directly?"

"Damn system, I'm going to die!"

"..."

No amount of calling could activate the pale-blue panel.

While Tu Shan Jun stared wide-eyed and desperately thought of a solution, the Demon Cultivator had already killed every villager and walked up to him.

A shadow fell over him as the man looked down from above, revealing a crazed face.

Savage and terrifying.

"Your turn."

"You are rather special."

"Perfect. My Soul Banner still lacks a Main Soul."

"You're so clever. I hope you can endure it." The Demon Cultivator smiled cruelly and raised his longsword.