The story told in this book took place in a parallel world. Please do not connect it to the real world or draw parallels. Any resemblance was purely coincidental.
March in the city still carried a slight chill. The morning mist was filled with the freshness of the spring breeze turning willows green. Tree branches along the riverbanks had sprouted tender new buds, while verdant grass exuded the fragrance of earth and spread across the land. The sights of spring had already covered the entire city, as if turning it into a green ocean. Yet the air was also mixed with haze, greatly diminishing the beauty of the scene.
With a creak, the door to a rental room in the outskirts of Shangshi was pushed open, and a young man walked out wearing an ordinary jacket, somewhat worn athletic pants, and a pair of Cloth Shoes.
His name was Chen Mo, and his appearance was ordinary. There was nothing particularly eye-catching about him; he was simply an utterly ordinary youngster. If he were thrown into a crowd, you might not even be able to find him. Ordinary looks, ordinary clothes. If he had any merit worth mentioning, it would be those large, bright eyes, which shone with such spirit that they were difficult to forget after one glance.
Looking at the early morning scenery, his heart was filled with disappointment. He took a deep breath of the morning air, but halfway through, he began coughing uncontrollably. The pollution had become rather severe. Even the outskirts were no exception, merely a little better than the city proper, but not by much. What a pain!
He stretched lazily, then moved his numb, sleepy legs. Although the air was poor, his night of cultivation had still brought limited progress. Yet it had refreshed his mind, leaving him without the slightest fatigue.
He raised his head and looked at the sky. It was a murky gray, a fitting match for his mood. He did not know what was going on. Nearly four years had passed, yet he still had not entered Qi Refining Layer One. It left him deeply discouraged. At times, he wanted to give up, but he had persisted for so many years. Besides, if he had not entered the Qi Induction stage so early, he might already have been crushed into giving up. He raised a hand and clenched it hard, as though he wanted to crush the air itself, venting his frustration. With that grip, his mood gradually improved somewhat.
If anyone had been beside him and seen that movement, they would have been utterly shocked. This was definitely not something an ordinary person could do. The strength of that grip, along with the soft pop! it had produced, showed just how powerful it was. His physical condition had already far surpassed the limits of ordinary people.
No one knew what secret Chen Mo carried. Nor could he tell anyone. He could only hide it carefully, even from his parents and his biological younger brother.
Cultivators of Immortality, dressed in ancient robes and standing atop Flying Swords, soaring between mountains and rivers. With a single hand, they could stir clouds and overturn rain. They could stand by the East Sea at dawn and reach the Gobi by evening, crossing a thousand miles in an instant. Such figures had always existed only in novels and films, yet he had encountered one.
He remembered that it was after his senior-year Graduation Exam. During those more than two months of vacation, he had practically played himself crazy at home.
One day, he and several companions from his village went exploring on the Back Mountain. After venturing deep into it for an entire day, he accidentally lost his footing while crossing a ridge and fell into a shallow ravine.
Fortunately, the ravine was not very deep, only about five meters. It was also filled with dead branches and leaves that cushioned his fall, so he was not seriously hurt. Only his arms, the backs of his hands, and a few other places had been scratched by Tree Branches, and he had bled quite a bit.
Seeing that he was not badly injured, his companions told him they would go look for something to pull him up with. The ravine was not deep, but it was long and nearly vertical. He could not climb out on his own.
Chen Mo could only sit in the ravine and wait for them. While idly looking around, he spotted a cave not far away. It was more than half the height of a person, and curiosity drove him to walk over and see what was inside.
The cave was not deep. Once his eyes adjusted to the change in lighting, he was so frightened that he ran out at top speed. He had seen the withered bones of a dead person lying at the very back of the cave. Though it was noon, it was still terrifying. He was only a young man who had just graduated high school and had never seen real human bones before.
Only after standing outside in the sunlight did he gradually calm down. He gave a snort of laughter, feeling annoyed by his own cowardice. He had never expected that after boasting so much to his companions about how formidable and brave he was, he would be frightened by a pile of withered bones.
After thinking it over and seeing that his companions had not returned yet, he went back and found a somewhat thicker tree branch. Since the person was already dead, it would be best to let him rest in peace. He planned to dig a pit and bury the withered bones.
After entering the cave again, he silently paid his respects to the withered bones. He had learned this from watching his parents visit the graves of his grandparents. Before doing anything, one should first greet them and explain oneself.
He muttered, "I don't know how you ended up here, but judging by the circumstances, it's been many years. You should rest in peace. If your spirit remains, please do not blame me for moving your body..."
Chen Mo prayed earnestly for a while, then used the tree branch to dig a hole beside the withered bones. Fortunately, the soil inside the cave was not too hard and was easy to dig. Although the wounds from his fall began bleeding again as he dug, it did not stop him. The dead deserved respect above all else. Besides, the scratches were not deep, only somewhat long. What village child had never been injured? He was not that delicate.
After spending more than ten minutes, he dug a pit that was not particularly deep. Then he tore off one sleeve of his upper garment, wrapped it around his hand, and carefully placed the withered bones into the pit one by one. Once he had arranged them neatly, he began filling the soil back in. However, while moving the withered bones, he discovered a palm-sized Cloth Pouch, a White Bead about a centimeter in diameter, and a Green Jade Piece covered in patterns. It was about one finger long, two fingers wide, and not very thick.
When he picked up those items, he accidentally got his blood on them, leaving him rather dumbfounded. Things stained with one's blood should not be placed into a pit and buried with withered bones. He had heard that from the village elders when he was young. So he hurriedly pressed his both hands together and prayed, placing the three items aside before burying the withered bones.
While Chen Mo was burying the withered bones, he did not see that after being permeated by his blood, the three items he had set aside each flashed with light. The White Bead and Cloth Pouch showed no further change after that, but the Green Jade suddenly shone brilliantly. Light seeped from it and grew stronger and stronger, filling the entire cave with an inexplicable, dazzling radiance.
This was sensed by Chen Mo, who was busy nearby. When he turned to look, the Green Jade instantly flew from the ground to his forehead and pressed tightly against the spot between his brows.
Chen Mo felt a tremendous boom! explode within his mind, and he immediately lost consciousness.
Only when he faintly heard someone calling did Chen Mo slowly wake up. The Green Jade had fallen beside his head. His companions were calling for him, though he did not know how long he had been unconscious.
He shook his head, which seemed to ache faintly and feel swollen. He also caught a foul stench coming from his body. Looking down, he saw that every patch of visible skin was covered in a thick layer of Black Oil. It was this Black Oil that emitted the indescribable stench, making him feel like vomiting.
A great deal of information had also appeared in his mind, but this was not the time to examine it. His head still felt muddled, and he could clearly hear his companions shouting nearby, so he quickly shouted back to answer them. But his voice echoed back and forth through the earthen cave, making his own ears buzz. Even the mixture of soil and stones above began falling down.
Chen Mo was startled. What was going on? Why was his voice so loud? It had definitely exceeded 120 decibels. He had just graduated high school, and he had studied acoustics quite well. His voice had never been this loud before.
He straightened and stood up, but he did not know what happened. Not only did he rise instantly, but he also lost control and rushed several steps forward. When he realized something was wrong, he turned and retreated, only to stop instantly.
Chen Mo was astonished. He quietly sensed his body and discovered that he was now incredibly strong, as though he possessed inexhaustible power. More than that, he could also feel that his reaction speed had changed drastically—it had become much faster.
He immediately punched toward a rocky spot. He was not asking for pain; he simply felt that he could definitely do it.
With a boom, a clear fist mark about an inch deep appeared in the rock, while his hand remained completely unscathed. What was going on? Chen Mo thought in shock. Could it be related to his earlier unconsciousness? And there was so much information in his mind, as though many things were waiting for him to think about and understand!
After staring blankly for a moment, he turned back and finished burying the withered bones. They had not been completely buried when he lost consciousness. Though Chen Mo's heart was in turmoil and he was beginning to feel afraid, he had always been a person with firm convictions since childhood. Once he decided on something, he would see it through. So he forced himself to finish burying the withered bones, piled up a small grave mound, and kowtowed three times before it. Then he gathered the three items scattered on the ground and tucked them into his clothes, carefully controlling his body as he walked out. Because of the changes in his body, he was not yet accustomed to it. He feared that if he walked too fast or used too much strength, he might crash into something or trip.
He silently thought, Once I have money, I'll come back and properly repair this grave. The contents transmitted into his mind by the Green Jade had been extensive, but they had also revealed the identity of this person to Chen Mo. That was why he had kowtowed three times before walking out of the cave.
Before you continue