Chapter 1
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Chapter 1: Time Travel
Shi Xuan woke up from darkness, feeling a splitting headache and vaguely remembering the immense pain of being hit by a large truck. As sunlight touched his chest, a warm feeling enveloped him. Gradually becoming aware of his body, he marveled at his luck for surviving being struck by the truck. Memories started flooding back, causing a massive headache.
He realized he was already dead, but at that moment, an antique bead he had bought as a talisman suddenly shone brightly, wrapping his soul and tearing open a crack in space, bringing him to this world and possessing the body of the unlucky guy.
Now in this body, a young Taoist priest with a little bit of magical power. Originally named Du Bai, he was only eight years old when his parents died during a severe drought in Qingzhou ten years ago while escaping to the south. Du Bai was lucky, before starving, he caught the attention of Old Taoist Xu who happened to pass by and took him as a disciple. Du Bai himself had good potential, within just ten short years, he had already cultivated his energy to the level of Strengthening Soul, greatly valued by Old Taoist Xu.
In his memories, Old Taoist Xu often mentioned that out of the numerous priests in the realm, only around ten truly possessed magical powers. And among those with his level of power, there were only a handful who kept themselves hidden from the world. However, due to his lifelong pursuit of the immortal path, he remained relatively unknown.
As a child, Taoist Xu had a series of miraculous encounters and continued his cultivation, reaching the realm of soul projection at the age of thirty. Despite mastering profound skills within the next decade, he found no further breakthrough in his realm. Thus, he traveled far and wide to seek immortals in famous mountains and waters and places with supernatural legends, but it was all in vain. By the age of one hundred, he had yet to visit a few places, but he felt disheartened and decided to return home.
On his way back home, considering his old age of one hundred and the limited years remaining, Xu Taoist did not want the legacy and knowledge he possessed to be lost. Hence, he took on Du Bai as his disciple.
Upon returning home, Xu Taoist discovered that although his family still existed, all the familiar relatives of his generation had passed away over the past century. The few surviving younger generations were strangers to him. He decided to buy a small courtyard in the west of the city, where he could focus on nurturing Du Bai. He taught him Taoist techniques while sharing his experiences of travelling far and wide, hunting ghosts and demons throughout his life. Ten years passed, and on one night, after falling asleep, Taoist Xu never woke up.
Having relied on each other for ten years, Du Bai was deeply grieved after laying Taoist Xu to rest. During a meditation session, he couldn’t clear his mind of distractions and fell into a trance, leading to his demise.
Shi Xuan slowly sat up, stood by the bed to stretch, calmed himself, and then sat cross-legged. He followed the breathing technique he remembered from his fragmented memories, and after completing a cycle of breathing, he opened his eyes. He considered himself somewhat fortunate that Du Bai had succumbed during meditation rather than during a breathing exercise, as the latter could have caused severe damage to his body’s meridians. Although his meridians were slightly damaged, with medication and rest, he would recover within half a month.
As for the small bead that brought her here, as soon as she regained her memories, she wanted to know more. However, with her recent journey and unstable emotions, it was not the right time to meditate and reflect, as it might lead to a tragic outcome like what had befallen the foolish boy.
Shi Xuan found three sticks of incense by memory at the head of the bed, which is a kind of sandalwood that can calm the mind and spirit. Old Taoist Xu collected the materials and made it himself, which is very precious. He placed the incense on the wooden table next to the incense burner, took a copper basin, opened the door, fetched a basin of water from the well in the courtyard. It was like revisiting the experience of fetching water from the well in the countryside.
Carrying the copper basin, Shi Xuan returned to the room, locked the door behind him. He washed his face with cold water, then dried it. Shi Xuan suddenly felt refreshed, then slowly changed into a new Taoist robe. These actions were just a means to gradually calm his emotions and focus his mind through these solemn gestures. This is why many religions have various rituals, one of the reasons being to settle emotions and clear the mind. Of course, in religion, being in a surrounding where many people are doing the same thing makes spreading the teachings easier.
Shi Xuan remembered the method from his memory, moving the body’s energy, then reciting a spell after a few breaths. A flame appeared on his fingertips and lit the three sticks of incense. Shi Xuan felt both amazed and disappointed. In his previous life, he had a special interest in fantasy genres, so crossing over to a world where he could cultivate and use Daoism was fascinating. However, he was disappointed that such a simple fire-starting technique took so long to perform and had such little power.
In the memory, Master Xu once said that in the first stage of body and soul cultivation, one only becomes physically strong and cannot perform magic. It is only in the second stage, the Period of Strengthening the Qi and Soul, that one can use magic, but the power is small, the steps are many, and it is time-consuming. Facing head-on battles and high-level experts in the world of martial arts is not at the same level of combat proficiency. Therefore, symbols and preparations with talismans are often used before actual magical techniques, and if a magical item is available, it is preferred.
Only in the third stage does the soul experience Astral Projection, becoming divine, thus gradually obtaining some Little Divine Power. In addition to a few basic powers, Little Divine Power varies according to each person’s soul and cultivation method. This stage and the masters in the Microcosm Realm in the martial world have their own unique strengths. With proper preparation, those in the third stage can be stronger than martial arts masters in combat. As for the Daoism, while the power increases, techniques like moving energy and reciting spells remain the same. More powerful Daoist techniques require concentration, visualization, and physical movements, which is time-consuming. Therefore, when engaging in combat, symbols, Little Divine Power, magical items, and even physical combat techniques are often used.
Of course, the wonders of Daoism do not always require direct combat to win. In the second stage, with adequate preparation, Daoists can easily defeat high-level experts in martial arts. As for the later stages, Master Xu did not elaborate much. By the time of reaching the Golden Core Cultivation Period, one could perform miraculous feats like destroying cities and rivers, becoming a figure akin to a deity.
Calming his mind, Shi Xuan held the three incense sticks, bowed three times towards the sky, as a way to comfort the soul within the body. Then he set the incense sticks properly, seated cross-legged on the bed. Since this body often entered a meditative state, aided by the sandalwood incense, Shi Xuan gradually entered a deep state of meditation. Soon after, he found his soul being drawn to the purple mansion between his eyebrows, where a small pearl floated, emitting a dim light. A beam of light emerged from it, conveying information to Shi Xuan’s soul.
It turns out that this little pearl is a postnatal spiritual object in this world, called the Mountain-River Pearl, obtained by the ancient powerful being, Green Cloud Master. However, after achieving the status of a Golden Immortal, Green Cloud Master encountered a calamity, perishing alongside others. As he faced death, realizing he was walking a solitary path and his teacher, Daoist Yu Yu, had transcended this world, opening up new realms, he couldn’t let his teachings fade away in this world. So, he embedded the fundamental method of cultivation, “Treasure Record of Yu Yu’s True Transmission of Catastrophe Relief through Dao,” into this newly acquired, yet unrefined, postnatal spiritual object, the Mountain-River Pearl, using his final power to break through the void and send it away.
Unexpectedly, the Mountain-River Pearl encountered a temporal and spatial disruption during its journey and ended up in a different realm, which was the Earth where Shi Xuan resided. Over millions of years, it gradually accumulated power. After Shi Xuan’s soul was stimulated by fresh blood following a car accident, the Mountain-River Pearl erupted with power, using the temporal markers left by Green Cloud Master within it to transport Shi Xuan to the Yu Yu Heavenly Great World, where Daoist Yu Yu once established his path to enlightenment, also known as the home of Green Cloud Master.
After passing on this message, the mysterious book was then fully transferred to Shi Xuan’s soul, which itself was completely dark, appearing to slowly regain strength.
From the message left by Green Cloud Master at the beginning of the book, Shi Xuan learned that the cultivation in this world consists of two main levels: Qi Cultivation and Original Soul. Qi Cultivation is further divided into seven stages: Nurturing Soul, Strengthening Soul, Astral Projection, Breathing Control, Divine Soul, Golden Core, and Yin Spirit. The Original Soul stage consists of Original Soul, Yang Spirit, Celestial Being, Tao Achieving, Taoism, and Eternity.
Of course, the names of the stages mentioned above are just short versions. For example, the full name of the Qi Cultivation stage is: Body Nurturing Soul, Breathing and Soul Strengthening, Psychic Projection, Breathing Control and Soul Tempering, Unity of Divine Soul, Essence Refinement, and Yin Spirit Condensation.
Among these, successfully completing the Body Nurturing Soul and Breathing to Strengthen the Soul stages can reach the limit of one’s own lifespan. Achieving Astral Projection can extend life by thirty years, roughly around one hundred and twenty years. By reaching Breathing Control and Soul Tempering, lifespan can reach two hundred years. Unity of Divine Soul increases lifespan to three hundred years, while Masters of the Golden Core Stage can live up to six hundred years. Yin Spirit Elders can live up to one thousand two hundred years.
After reaching the Original Soul stage, Green Cloud Master briefly mentioned the Immortals who broke through the threshold of life and death, also known as Original Soul Immortal, who can live as long as the heaven and earth. However, they must overcome various tribulations. Green Cloud Master instructed Shi Xuan not to let his physical body suffer irreversible damage, or else he cannot achieve the Original Soul. It was mentioned that only after achieving the Original Soul, the second half of the Treasure Record – the Original Soul section will be revealed.
Shi Xuan woke up from his trance, briefly recalling the content of the first half of “Treasure Record.” It seems that his soul’s memory indeed worked much better. However, now is not yet the time to practice; the most important thing now is to consider his future path and how to proceed.
As a time traveler, without a foundation, it would be hard for Shi Xuan’s mind to settle down without any plans for the future. Having direction, steps, and goals is crucial for inner peace. It is commonly said nowadays that only through this way can one feel secure. It is only after calming the mind that the spirit can be settled. Look at modern society; many people feel restless and anxious due to lack of goals or having goals without a plan.
Of course, the information known at present is limited, so only a rough plan can be made. As more experiences are gained, or when something comes up, adjustments can be made.
This cautious and careful logical thinking is what Shi Xuan, a meticulous engineer, is most accustomed to.
Translator: I will translate it when I have free time, simply because this was the first xianxia novel I read, and surprisingly no one is translating it. We don’t have its translation authorization (owned by Qidian) so we won’t publish it as ebooks on Amazon.