(The mysterious space has appeared. The mysterious space in this story isn't some ridiculously overpowered cheat, just something that gives cultivators an advantage. The path to immortality is treacherous; without a cheat, it's hard to get by.)
In a hazy space, a formless consciousness drifted about like a headless fly. A thin mist shrouded everything, and there was no end in sight.
"Who am I?"
"Where is this? How did I get here?"
The formless consciousness wandered through the mist, floating around for who knew how long. There was nothing but white fog.
It felt terribly lonely and wanted to scream, so it instinctively opened its mouth—only to find that it couldn't make a sound.
A golden bolt of lightning, thick as a barrel, streaked across the sky. A moment later came a shock that seemed to shake the mountains and rattle the earth, as though the massive bolt had split the mist apart.
At last, it saw something besides fog, and the sight filled it with indescribable delight. But the golden lightning radiated solemn majesty and an overwhelming power capable of destroying heaven and earth. It felt that if it went near, the bolt would strike it and reduce it to ashes, leaving nothing behind. This was a fear born of instinct.
The earth-shaking tremors continued, and the tremendous din and sound waves left it dazed.
After an unknown length of time, Lu Xiaotian awoke from his haze. He stared in amazement at the clear world before him. It looked vaguely like the canyon he'd been in before, except the ground was bare, without trees or grass—only rocks and soil.
A thin mist hung all around him. It wasn't as thick as before, but he still couldn't see very far.
How had he suddenly returned to the canyon? Hadn't he been on the small ledge by the cliff? The question struck Lu Xiaotian, and he found it utterly baffling. But when he looked down, he suddenly realized that he was several zhang above the ground. He was floating.
Was he dead, and now in a disembodied state? Lu Xiaotian was startled. At a thought, he drifted more than ten zhang away, moving rather quickly.
He decided to find out what kind of place this was. But after floating for a while, he encountered a barrier like a transparent membrane. It didn't seem to stop him at all; he passed straight through. Yet the moment he crossed it, an enormous force began pulling at him. A pain that seemed to reach down to his bones made Lu Xiaotian scream. It felt as though the force would tear his body apart, but it was too powerful for him to resist.
Am I really going to die? Despair welled up in Lu Xiaotian's heart. Just then, the mist around him churned and streamed toward him, wrapping around his Primordial Spirit and forming a round, cloudy shield. Only then did the pulling force vanish completely.
What a terrifying power. Lu Xiaotian was shaken to the core. Once the shock passed, he wondered what the cloudy shield was and how it had protected him. Where had it come from? He racked his brains, but naturally found no answer. Since he couldn't figure it out, he stopped trying. Surviving was a good thing, after all.
"Achoo!" After who knew how long, Lu Xiaotian shivered and opened his eyes. He found that his clothes were soaked through.
"What was that mysterious space just now? I was floating the whole time."
Lu Xiaotian scratched his head and thought it over, but couldn't make any sense of it. He only remembered eating a green fruit before he passed out, then feeling so bloated that he thought he would burst. He must have fainted, and perhaps fallen asleep afterward. So he chalked everything that had just happened up to a dream.
His wet clothes clung uncomfortably to him. With no one around, Lu Xiaotian quickly stripped, intending to hang his clothes on the vines and let the mountain breeze dry them. That was when he noticed that the vines on the cliff had all withered and turned yellow, without a trace of life left in them. He looked up at the top of the cliff. The canyon, which had once been shrouded in clouds and mist, was now under a clear sky, with not a trace of fog.
"What on earth happened to this canyon? How strange." Lu Xiaotian muttered.
Half an hour later, his clothes were dry. He quickly put them on. Though there was no one around, he still wasn't used to being naked.
His stomach was growling again. Rubbing it, Lu Xiaotian glanced up at the cliff and thought that he must have slept for at least the better part of a day. There was nothing to eat here. If he waited any longer, then even if the wolves above had left, he might be too weak from hunger to climb up.
After all, the small ledge was still nearly twenty zhang below the top, and the vines ended five or six zhang short of the rim. Getting up there wouldn't be easy.
Once he'd thought it through, he decided to take a risk. He tucked the short sword into his belt, tied one end of the broken rope around his waist, then coiled up the rest and looped it over his shoulder.
When he was ready, he tugged on the vines with both hands to test their strength, then climbed upward, using his hands and feet.
Some of the vines had been withered for a while, while many others had still been green just yesterday. Yet for some reason, they had all turned yellow overnight. Even the few trees on the cliff had lost their vitality and withered in a single night.
After cultivating the Primordial Unity Scripture, Lu Xiaotian's constitution was several times stronger than before. He didn't feel tired, even after climbing more than ten zhang.
He hooked his legs around a sturdy vine, tied one end of the rope to the short sword, and hurled the sword toward the nearest withered tree on the cliff. He missed several times. On the fifth try, the sword attached to the rope caught on a branch and spun around. Lu Xiaotian tugged hard. The sword was wedged securely in the branches and didn't fall. Delighted, he climbed up the rope and nimbly leaped onto the ground. There were no wolves in sight, but the scene before him still left him stunned.
He had spent nearly a year in this canyon and had long since grown familiar with everything in it. It had always been shrouded in mist, with the roars of tigers and cries of apes ringing without end, and weeds and trees growing everywhere.
But now the sun blazed overhead, its rays pouring down. Not a trace of mist remained, and all the flowers, grass, and trees in the canyon had withered. He couldn't sense a shred of life. Everything seemed so eerie and unfamiliar.
Since he couldn't figure out what had happened, Lu Xiaotian couldn't be bothered to keep thinking about it. The canyon had become a barren wasteland, so he'd better leave first.
He untied the short sword from the rope and hurried away with his only weapon. He had gone at least dozens of li from the canyon entrance the day before yesterday. On foot, it would take him a while to get back. That day, he had channeled his qi into his eyes, greatly improving his vision. Would channeling his magical power into his legs have a similar effect?
Curious, Lu Xiaotian tried circulating the magical power in his dantian down into his legs. His legs suddenly seemed several times stronger. One stride carried him nearly half a zhang. He was delighted. Even among the Thunder Blade Sect's disciples, few could move that fast.
He had discovered another use for his qi, which greatly heartened him. One success after another filled him with ambition. Even if the black-robed old man refused to teach him, he could still figure out how to use his qi himself. This had to be the so-called immortal arts.
Lu Xiaotian thought that after nearly two days away, there were probably hardly any green ants left. He might as well escape the canyon while the black-robed old man was still gone. Otherwise, when the old man returned, he'd beat him to death.
But when he was only three or four li from the cave abode, and just a little farther from escaping the canyon, Lu Xiaotian suddenly came to a halt.
Before you continue