Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Here, the shadows of trees danced, as the fading sunlight pierced through the forest, casting a golden-red shimmer upon a meandering stream.

In the expanse of one's vision, dense foliage lined the path, with endless billows of clouds swirling at the feet. Attentive listening would catch the faint whispers of insect chirps and sporadic roars of wild beasts from afar, echoing out of the darkness that had already enveloped the depths of the woods.

This was undoubtedly an isolated mountain peak, untouched by human footsteps.

Oddly enough, nestled in such a secluded spot was a house.

To call it a house would be overly generous; this structure was, at best, a thatched hut. One could hardly fathom the lack of care its owner had for aesthetics, for it stood in a fashion that bordered on rebellious abandon: emaciated wooden posts, victims of famine, strained to support a disheveled thatch roof that tilted precariously, as if ready to bow and prostrate itself at any moment. The low, squat fence surrounding it was a haphazard affair, with gaps so wide that a wild fowl could waltz through without so much as fluttering its wings. In the midst of this yard, there lay a grotesquely misshapen wooden table, placed with careless abandon. Coupled with the haphazard chopping boards and knives strewn across it, and a stove, barely a meter away, caked with revolting grime, it was evident that this served as both kitchen and dining area.

This peculiar assembly, though unconventional, was not engaged in conflict. Occasionally, other creatures appeared outside the courtyard, all of them intently capturing the strained human voices within with rapt attention.

In the next moment, a rustling sound echoed from the distant foliage.

That faint sound was no less than a roar from a natural predator to the beasts. The creatures peering cautiously from beyond the fence instantly flared their fur and scattered in panic. In the blink of an eye, a slender figure, reeking of thick blood, sliced through the twilight.

The newcomer wasn't particularly tall, with untidy, shoulder-length hair loosely tied at the back with a cloth strip. He wore a patched-up Daoist robe, and his rolled-up sleeves revealed emaciated arms, his skin pale as if devoid of blood. His appearance was extremely frail, like a beggar who had gone three days without food, about to set off from under a bridge to the subway tunnel in search of alms.

Yet in his seemingly frail hand, he was carrying a wild boar that was almost as large as a brown bear.

The boar's throat had been slashed with deadly precision, leaving a long trail of blood behind. As the night breeze swept through, it tousled the hunter's disheveled hair. He impatiently brushed it aside, revealing half of his blood-stained yet undeniably handsome face.

Wei Xi returned with his prey and could tell at a glance what was happening inside the house. With a frown, he kicked open the fence gate. The recitation of scriptures in the straw shed immediately ceased. Soon after, Wei Dedao's aged voice echoed from within, "Apprentice?"

Wei Xi threw the wild boar in front of the hearth, "What did you put in here this time?"

The three animals listening to the lecture inside promptly retreated. Before leaving, the male deer, skilled in reading emotions, nodded respectfully at Wei Xi. The weasel and the wild dog, meeting Wei Xi's gaze, hastily scurried away.

Wei Xi entered the house to wash his face. Wei Dedao, clad in an even more tattered robe, lay sprawled on the bed, sighing, "Your junior siblings have all been scared off by you."

Wei Xi ignored him, washed his face, and then found a pair of scissors to cut his hair. His hair-cutting skills were amateurish; in no time, he had created a pockmarked scalp for himself.

Wei Dedao chuckled, blindly reaching out to pour a cold cup of tea on the table, "Tired? Have some tea, have some tea."

Wei Xi met his gaze, and Wei Dedao's eyes were wide open, staring vacantly into nothingness, completely unaware.

This old man was blind.

In the past, he couldn't have been blind, for Wei Xi had heard Wei Dedao boast about his heroic deeds countless times, particularly the story of him leading his sect's disciples to battle decades ago. Whenever he was in the mood, he would insist on showing Wei Xi the string of human heads hanging in the backyard. Those heads couldn't have been fake, so how could a blind man have fought in battles? Clearly, he hadn't been blind back then.

However, Wei Xi was skeptical about most of Wei Dedao's tales. The old man claimed that his sect was renowned in the cultivation world with hundreds or even thousands of disciples, and that he himself possessed profound cultivation and knowledge. Yet, despite all these years, Wei Dedao had lived in this shabby straw shed, barely surviving on coarse food, and Wei Xi had never seen any of the famous immortal mountain or the multitude of disciples. If the old man truly had such high cultivation, why was he now both blind and old?

Despite his mocking thoughts, Wei Xi didn't bother voicing them. He wasn't one for conversation and generally lacked interest in other matters. When Wei Dedao didn't assign him chores, he would usually sit quietly in the courtyard, lost in thought, only venturing out for food when he was hungry.

His connection with this old Taoist priest was a long story. According to Wei Dedao, he had found Wei Xi as a stray spirit and nurtured him with great care, treating him like his own child. After Wei Xi gained spiritual intelligence, he became the old man's last disciple, an immense kindness that could never be repaid. As for the claim that he had been cared for and treated like his own child, that was clearly nonsense. Wei Dedao spent his days either preaching or sleeping, and if not for Wei Xi's daily labor, the old man would still be digging up roots for food.

Wei Dedao began his familiar tale once more.

"Our Tanchang Sect has been in existence for over a thousand years, respected and renowned in the realm of cultivation. We have countless disciples... You, my last disciple, will inherit my legacy and become the sixty-second sect leader in the future. It will be your duty to uphold our honor and prestige..." The old man rummaged under the bed again, pulling out a dusty cloth bundle filled with chunks and slices of silver. The surface of the silver had turned black, and the once-carved portraits on the round silver ingots were now severely corroded. Wei Dedao separated the ingot-shaped pieces of silver and set them aside. He then blew on the slices and held them up to his ear, listening intently. "I wonder which emperor is sitting on the throne now that the war is over. It doesn't matter, though. As long as the world is at peace, silver will always be useful. You must keep this money safe; it's crucial for our sect's resurrection after we leave this world..."

Wei Xi put down his cup and got up to leave.

"Wait," Wei Dedao called out, discarding the silver coins. "What are we having for dinner tonight?"

Wei Xi replied, "Roasted wild boar leg."

Wei Dedao was often picky about food. "Can't we just have braised pork?"

Wei Xi replied, "No way."

Wei Dedao grabbed him and offered a red envelope with a conciliatory smile. "Cook some braised pork instead. Roast pig's leg is hard to digest, and wild boar should be braised."

Wei Xi took it and realized that Wei Dedao had given him the jade pendant he never parted from. The pendant was pure white and lustrous like congealed fat. Wei Xi instinctively knew it was a valuable treasure – the only evidence over the years that suggested this old Taoist's past might not have been mere fabrication. Now, this stingy old man was casually giving it away for a taste of braised pork.

Frowning, he stared at the pendant. "Isn't this your sect leader's seal?"

Wei Dedao remained unperturbed. "Did you really believe me? I was just bragging."

Wei Xi's gaze locked onto his face, and he suddenly realized something. "You're about to die."

Wei Dedao puffed up his beard. "What a conversationalist you are. I'm over five hundred years old, but I'm still human. Nobody lives forever, do they?"

Wei Xi didn't want to argue and expressionlessly handed back the pendant. "I don't have a physical body and can't leave this mountain. You should find someone more capable."

But Wei Dedao refused to take it, chuckling as he climbed back onto the bed and sprawled comfortably on the straw mat. He tilted his head in Wei Xi's direction, and though his blind eyes seemed to focus for a moment, they gleamed with vitality. "Ever since the collapse of Heavenly Dao 120 years ago, when spiritual energy dissipated and cultivators' realms plummeted, I knew our time would come. But decades ago, I still accompanied your senior siblings and left the sect to return to the world and unleash havoc. Cultivators shouldn't interfere in mortal affairs, so I lost my sight, and your senior siblings vanished...but I've never regretted it. Apprentice, do you know what cultivation is?"

"It's nonsense," Wei Xi asked. "Are you still hungry?"

"Never mind, you'll find out eventually," Wei Dedao said nonchalantly. He looked back up at the sky, his focused gaze losing its sharpness as he muttered with unwavering conviction, "I want to eat braised pork..."

After his antics, he finally closed his eyes, sprawling on the ground in a relaxed manner, as quiet as if he were asleep.

Wei Xi stood there for a moment before turning and stepping out of the house.

He picked up his knife and gazed at the wild boar he had dragged home in the evening.

Ever since he could remember, possibly due to the lack of a physical body, he often felt hungry and had an insatiable appetite, rarely feeling truly full. Thus, with previous hunts like this, after giving one leg to Wei Dedao, he would devour the rest raw in one go.

But today, he didn't even want to touch it.

The hearth burned throughout the night, the fragrance of the braised pork permeating the valley.

As dawn broke, there was no sound from within the house of Wei Dedao urging him to eat. Wei Xi sat cross-legged in front of the hearth, watching the sky until the crackling of the charcoal died down. Only then did he come back to his senses, standing up silently.

He found a spot in the backyard that pleased his eye, dug a hole with a shovel, and then returned to the house to carry the now-cold Wei Dedao out.

Wei Dedao's usually incessant chatter was silenced, and after Wei Xi placed him down, he thought for a moment before digging another small pit beside him. He dragged over the rack from the backyard, tipping into it all the dried human skulls that the old man had been so proud of for who knew how many years.

The skeletons were smooth and rounded, with wide sockets that rolled in the deep pit, appearing utterly appetizing.

But Wei Dedao had never allowed Wei Xi to consume them.

Standing before the two pits, Wei Xi suddenly felt ravenous and lost.

Footsteps rustled behind him, and he turned around to see over a hundred wild creatures outside the fence. There were wolves, leopards, tigers, chickens, ducks, cows, and sheep – all creatures that usually came to listen to Wei Dedao's sermons. Upon seeing them, Wei Xi grew even hungrier. The mountain was uninhabited by humans, so there were many animals with spiritual intelligence. It would be convenient and nutritious to eat them, but Wei Dedao forbade it. Wei Dedao could be very troublesome when he complained, so Wei Xi usually had to hunt far away for ordinary prey.

The leading male deer with robust antlers trembled as their eyes met, but still managed to nod its neck at Wei Xi before sauntering to Wei Dedao's pit and placing the wild grass it carried on the ground.

Staring at them for a while, Wei Xi finally walked away, allowing them to pay their respects.

None of them came empty-handed; even the wild dog carried a pheasant in its mouth. Sitting cross-legged in front of the dilapidated fence, Wei Xi watched the creatures he had been longing to eat for years but never dared touch under Wei Dedao's watch come and go. His heart remained strangely calm, without a ripple of emotion.

Until the weasel that had offered bird eggs approached him.

Leaning against the fence, Wei Xi looked down at it with an idle gaze. "Courting death?"

The weasel's tail puffed up, and it instinctively tried to flee. But after taking two steps, it slowed down, looking back every few steps with a thief's eyes shimmering with endless desire.

This was an invitation to follow, and though Wei Xi initially didn't want to bother, seeing Wei Dedao's tomb filled with fruits and vegetables left him at a loss about what to do. So he got up and followed the weasel.

Behind him, the hungry elder brother weasel ran as swiftly as lightning, soon leading Wei Xi to a mountain wall. Wei Xi recognized it immediately as the edge of this mountain, the endpoint of his hunting grounds for decades. He had been here countless times, but each time, an invisible barrier, due to his lack of physical form, had stopped him from going further.

This mountain's barrier served as a gatekeeper to protect the creatures within from external disturbances and also acted as a shackle that prevented the spirits trapped inside from undergoing a normal cycle of reincarnation.

Isolated from the world, even the grim reapers never ventured here. Thus, if a soul died in this place without someone to preach and guide them, they would be doomed to linger day after day, becoming obstinate earth-bound spirits, perpetually seeking substitutes.

Fortunately, there were few malevolent ghosts in these mountains. In the early stages of his awakening, Wei Xi occasionally caught one or two to feed on, but none since then.

It was truly a pity – malevolent ghosts carried dense yin energy, which provided a more satisfying feeling than wild fowl or boars...

As his thoughts wandered, Wei Xi came back to reality, wondering why the weasel had brought him here.

The weasel suddenly halted and let out a long, concerted cry.

Wei Xi now understood its purpose.

In front of the mountain wall's barrier, where only weeds usually grew, lay a silent corpse.

This must be a precious delicacy found to be offered as tribute to the leader.