"The ancients of old, those who truly understood the way, harmonized with yin and yang, mastered the arts of numerology and fate, ate and drank with moderation, followed a regular routine, and never overexerted themselves. Thus, their body and spirit remained in harmony, allowing them to live out their natural lifespan, reaching a hundred years before passing on."
"But people nowadays are different. They treat wine as water, act recklessly as if it were normal, drunkenly stumble into their chambers, exhaust their essence through desire, and dissipate their true energy. They do not know how to conserve fullness, nor how to guard their spirit in due time. They seek only fleeting pleasures, defying the natural joy of life. Their routines are irregular, and thus they begin to decline at fifty."
Jiang Xuan flipped through a scroll of the Su Wen with a faint sigh.
It was said that the ancients could easily live beyond a hundred years. Though he did not know exactly which era "ancient times" referred to, the very title suggested a time long, long ago. Nowadays, those who live past a hundred were few and far between. Life was short, only a few decades, with the final years spent bedridden.
"A great opportunity… a rare chance that doesn't come even after endless years. Immortality and longevity are no longer just fantasies."
Jiang Xuan slowly closed the Su Wen in his hands. His eyes closed briefly as his thoughts drifted back.
He was not from this world. Simply put, he was a traveler—transmigrated from Earth, a parallel world. This current world was one of gods, demons, and fantasy, known as the Zhà Tiān Realm.
Why was he certain this world was Zhà Tiān? The reason was simple: he lived an ordinary life, attending school, and discovered classmates named Ye Fan, Pang Bo, and Li Xiaoman.
His crossing over was just as simple. No mud truck incident, no hero rescuing a beauty, and no lightning strike. He was just walking down the street when a streak of light struck him—and he was transported, appearing as his ten-year-old self. Later, Jiang Xuan pretended to have amnesia, found a welfare home, and registered his household there.
In his mind, a rustic, ancient, golden-yellow mirror—the Treasure Mirror—appeared like a dream, both intangible and yet seemingly real. As Jiang Xuan immersed his spirit in the mirror, he suddenly knew its name—The Primordial Treasure Mirror.
The Primordial Treasure Mirror had only three functions:
First, it could absorb treasures from the myriad heavens;
Second, it imprinted countless magical treasures, divine weapons, and Daoist patterns within itself;
Third, it served as a storage device.
Beyond these, the mirror had no other functions.
So far, Jiang Xuan had only used it twice to absorb treasures. The first time was a secret manual called The Ten Thousand Prison Furnace Sutra, which appeared in his mind as a flow of light in a form he could not understand. The second time, he absorbed the coordinates of the Tianlong Babu world. It wasn't that he didn't want to absorb more, but the mirror's absorption cooldown seemed random, without any clear pattern.
The Ten Thousand Prison Furnace Sutra was a cultivation technique based on devouring magical treasures. Mastery of this technique would grant immensely powerful spiritual energy. The technique itself was also a method of refining treasures. Practitioners could devour all magical treasures in the world; the higher their cultivation, the higher the grade of treasures they could absorb. Whether it was treasures that proved the Dao or supreme imperial weapons, they could be devoured and refined. In theory, even immortal-grade artifacts could be consumed and refined!
But Jiang Xuan dared not cultivate it. He strongly suspected this technique came from a terrifying world. If it truly originated from the world of the Great Celestial Sovereign, then mastering the technique to the end would turn one's body into a furnace and erase the soul.
Thus, for the time being, Jiang Xuan focused his attention on the Tianlong world.
He had crossed over seven years ago, when he was just starting university and the Tianlong plot was just beginning. His goal was simple: to obtain the Northern Darkness Divine Skill and the Lingbo Weibu technique from the Infinite Mountains.
Though he had reviewed the situation countless times in his mind, when actually living it, Jiang Xuan still felt that no amount of preparation could keep up with the changes.
In the green forests where laws did not exist and human life was worth less than grass, he faced numerous life-and-death crises, hardships that were beyond telling.
Fortunately, he followed Duan Yu, who, despite the risks, helped him turn danger into safety.
When Jiang Xuan finally obtained the Northern Darkness Divine Skill and the Lingbo Weibu, he sighed in relief—only to be dumbfounded when he opened the manual. He recognized every character, although in traditional script, but while he knew each individual character, he did not understand them combined as a whole.
So he asked Duan Yu to explain, and combined with his prior studies of classical texts before transmigrating, he eventually fully understood the two manuals.
Jiang Xuan then immediately returned to the Zhà Tiān world, leaving a dumbfounded Duan Yu behind.
He did not want to stay even a moment longer in the Tianlong world.
The galloping across rivers and lakes and wielding swords—those were for masters. For an ordinary person like him, better to just slip away.
Only when his Northern Darkness True Qi had made slight progress did Jiang Xuan dare to cross back into the Tianlong world.
When he rose to read, it was still the hour of Mao, the sky dim. As time passed and the sun slowly rose, Jiang Xuan put the Su Wen back on the shelf, walked to the balcony, formed the Five Hearts Facing Heaven posture, and began to cultivate.
The Northern Darkness Divine Skill was one of the three supreme martial arts of the Xiaoyao Sect, an orthodox Daoist martial art consisting of thirty-six diagrams, with thirty-six corresponding cultivation methods. It allowed practitioners to cultivate true Qi independently. As for Duan Yu, who could only absorb others' internal power, that was because he had mastered only two diagrams—Jiang Xuan could only smile and say, "Fools have their blessings."
At that moment, the rising sun broke the horizon, the first rays of morning sunlight accompanied by faint purple mist ascended. Jiang Xuan's hand seals changed—first the Eight Trigrams Finger, then the Taishang Laojun Finger, then swiftly to the Three Pure Ones Finger. A wisp of purple Qi slowly entered his nostrils like a great river flowing into the sea, following the circulation route of the Northern Darkness Divine Skill, finally gathering in the dantian, cycling again and again.
Time passed unknowingly, until suddenly Jiang Xuan trembled. His hair and clothes stirred as if moved by an unseen wind. Slowly, he opened his eyes. A sharp gleam flashed across them, and his entire demeanor brightened with radiant spirit.
Hoo!
He exhaled a clear breath, and the doors and windows several meters away rattled violently, as if caught in a fierce storm.
"The beginning of transcendence, entering the Innate Realm!"
From the moment Jiang Xuan began practicing the Northern Darkness skill, seven years had passed. Through persistent and diligent cultivation, he had finally reached the Innate Realm. Perhaps it was due to his exceptional aptitude for martial arts, or perhaps the transformation brought by the Primordial Treasure Mirror, but to progress from a beginner to the Innate Realm within seven years was a rarity in any martial world—especially given Jiang Xuan had long passed the typical age for starting martial training.
Jiang Xuan had always possessed an extraordinary appearance. Since he began cultivating, his bearing had become increasingly graceful and handsome. Now, having reached the Innate Realm, he seemed otherworldly and ethereal, like an immortal cast down to the mortal world.
If Jiang Xuan were to become an actor now, he would undoubtedly become the most popular star overnight.
"Hmm, the Innate Realm. The true Qi is denser, the damage several times that of the Acquired Realm, and the aura far more enduring," Jiang Xuan carefully sensed the Northern Darkness true Qi swirling within his dantian.
"Time's almost up. Don't let me down, Nine Dragons Star Express."
Time flew by swiftly.
Beep beep.
Jiang Xuan took out his phone.
It was the site of a large-scale catch-up party!
In the class group chat, classmates exchanged words about their recent lives—from amusing school stories to the pressures of entering society; from happiness and troubles brought by family, to complaints and frustrations about work.
"Time really flies. Three years have passed in the blink of an eye. How's everyone doing recently?"
"How could it be good? Day after day of overtime work, yet I still can't afford the cheapest apartment in this city."
"Yeah, we thought after graduating from college and working hard for two or three years, we could settle down here. Heh, times have changed."
"Since it's been three years since we last met, why don't we find a time to gather? What does everyone think?"
"It's been too long! Count me in for the reunion!"
"Me too."
"I'm in!"
"I'm going!"
"Count me in!"
The group chat buzzed with excitement as all classmates responded affirmatively to the reunion. Actually, Jiang Xuan himself wasn't particularly enthusiastic about class reunions—everyone knew these gatherings were often just shows to brag about their post-graduation success and satisfy their vanity in front of old classmates.
But this reunion was something Jiang Xuan had to attend. Ye Fan's turning point in fate would happen during the trip to Mount Tai. If he skipped it, any breakthrough in cultivation might have to wait until the Primordial Treasure Mirror unlocked even more powerful worlds.
Jiang Xuan resumed sitting cross-legged, cultivating patiently as he awaited the reunion day.
Time flew quickly, and soon the day of the reunion arrived.
Slowly rising, Jiang Xuan made his way toward the Moon over the Sea City at the foot of Mount Tai. The crowd was dense, yet each time he stepped down, he skillfully avoided the bustling pedestrians.
Lingbo Weibu! (The Rippling Step)
Using the simplest application, Jiang Xuan attentively pondered the mysterious flow of true Qi within his body, while his excitement for today's journey to Mount Tai steadily grew.