First Entry

Lu Jiangxian had a long, long dream. He dreamed of planting rice in the fields, of flashing blades and clashing swords, of immortal sects, women, and a great lake.

"Hand over the Great Yin Breathing Technique and the Moonlight Essence Secret Decree, and we can merely cripple your cultivation."

A pleasant yet icy female voice rang beside his ear. Lu Jiangxian vaguely saw a hazy face, but he could make nothing out.

Clang!

Violent shaking jolted Lu Jiangxian awake.

Bizarre, kaleidoscopic colors surfaced in his mind. Lu Jiangxian wanted to open his eyes, wanted to rise, but his body ignored his commands as though pinned down by a ghost.

Then a brilliant white light tore through the dense darkness before him. Though the darkness surged in endlessly like the tide, that pillar of light stood firm, as eternal and unchanging as the sun.

Densely packed golden incantations burst from it, stretching through the darkness and scattering across the sky like stars.

So beautiful, Lu Jiangxian thought blankly.

As more and more incantations appeared, as if some limit had been reached, he heard a sharp crack like shattering glass.

The world lit up.

Lu Jiangxian saw a vast sky like the sea, a dense, boundless primeval forest, and a crescent-shaped lake not far away. In that direction, a streak of white light fell into the sparkling lake.

Below lay a small cluster of huts roofed with bundled straw, along with broad stretches of rice paddies.

As his viewpoint spun wildly, he drifted like a weightless swallow over a tiny brownish-yellow village and its cooking smoke, skimming above a clear little river.

In that fleeting glimpse, Lu Jiangxian saw his own reflection in the river.

It seems to be some round, glowing thing, Lu Jiangxian thought in confusion. A faint premonition arose within him. I'm not human anymore?

Splash! Violent shaking struck again, and Lu Jiangxian quickly sank into the water. The river was too shallow to absorb all the Impact Force, so he lightly struck the blue stone at its bottom.

That bump made Lu Jiangxian feel as though someone had punched him squarely in the chest, leaving him tight-chested and short of breath. Yet with the churning river water and the recoil of the collision, his body steadily turned over, leaving him face-up toward the sun rippling on the river's surface.

Wasn't I staying up late in my rented apartment, revising a proposal?

Lu Jiangxian silently watched the sun on the river's surface. The rushing water made the patterns of light on the riverbed twist without end.

As he silently recalled his past, Lu Jiangxian's head throbbed. He only remembered collapsing onto his bed in exhaustion, cigarette smoke and neon glow passing by his side in the rented apartment.

He had opened a bottle of beer and sat before the dim computer desk. Then dizzy vertigo had risen as though heaven and earth were spinning, his heart beating frantically as breathing gradually became difficult.

I think... I died?

This is fine too. No need to worry about the future, no need to worry about making a living.

Perhaps he had been repressed for too long. Such thoughts actually surfaced in Lu Jiangxian's mind, and he even felt a flicker of delight.

He surveyed his surroundings: dark green treetops overhead with aerial roots dangling down, nimble fish occasionally darting past above him, and the faint, intermittent tinkling of splashing water.

Lu Jiangxian sighed. "If this keeps going, I'll be bored insane."

So he blankly watched the sun slowly slide down from overhead. The brilliant setting sun crept across the sky, and the waters beneath the treetops gradually dimmed.

During that time, two fish curiously circled around him, and one crab even tried to turn him over.

Not until the moon moved above the treetops, its clear light softly drifting over the river's surface, did Lu Jiangxian delightedly sense a cool Aura seep down to the riverbed, faintly bringing a sense of comfort.

Watching the moonlight gather bit by bit above his body, seeming to come alive as it formed a pale white lunar halo, Lu Jiangxian was greatly alarmed. His state of mind changed completely. What is this, drawing in the essence of the sun and moon? Are there truly immortals in this world—mystical Divine abilities, demons, ghosts, and gods? he thought in shock. Then what have I become, a spirit of an artifact?

Curiosity and joy rose from the depths of Lu Jiangxian's heart. That faint lunar halo seemed to have gathered enough strength as well, drifting down onto him.

He only felt a chill spread throughout his body before falling into a meditative state, neither asleep nor awake.

After an unknown amount of time, the flow of Aura grew thinner and thinner. Lu Jiangxian suddenly woke. The crescent moon had faded from the sky, and the sun had leapt above the treetops, warm morning light scattering over the river.

"So fast."

Lu Jiangxian was overjoyed. Upon careful sensing, there truly was a faint current of Aura lingering within him, circling around the round edge of his body.

When Lu Jiangxian gathered his Aura and focused his mind, he could even vaguely see a gray-blue mirror lying quietly on the riverbed. Multicolored pebbles carpeted the ground beneath him. Several fish were foraging along the bottom, while that crab was digging in the soil nearby. His visible range was roughly one meter around him. It was not very clear, like the thick-headed televisions he watched as a child.

"So this is what I am now." Lu Jiangxian smiled bitterly. Then he deliberately controlled the current of Aura to stop at the center of the mirror. Threads of faint light immediately shone from the gray-blue mirror.

"Other than glowing, I haven't found any use for it."

"I should first properly draw in the moonlight. Perhaps a qualitative change will come." He secretly made his plans. I don't know what material this mirror is made of, nor how the outside world treats artifacts with intelligence. I mustn't be discovered by some cultivator and have my consciousness casually wiped away.

A white bird stood within the mirror; a painted boat sailed through the sky.