1: Chapter 1 Qingxuan Taoist

[Cultivation Realms are divided into Refining Essence into Qi (Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment), Refining Qi into Spirit (Golden Core, Nascent Soul), Refining Spirit to Return to Void (Soul Transformation, Void Refining), Refining Void and Integrating with Dao (Body Integration, Undergoing Tribulation), and Mahayana (Earth Immortal).]

[Immortal Dao Realms include Heavenly Immortal, True Immortal, Golden Immortal, Grand Unity Golden Immortal (Daoist Sect - Grand Unity Heavenly Immortal, Buddhist Sect - Great Enlightenment Golden Immortal, Loose Cultivator - Taiyi Immortal).]

[Magic Treasures are divided into Divine Weapons, Treasure Artifacts, Spiritual Artifacts, Immortal Artifacts, Spirit Treasures, and Supreme Treasures.]

"Boom, boom," the loud noise jolted Ye Qingxuan awake. Was that thunder? It seemed like there was also the sound of fighting?

"Junior Brother, I picked up this child, so he should naturally be my Disciple," a very gentle voice came over.

"Senior Brother, you have already taken a final-closing Disciple, so please let this child be given to me." This voice sounded somewhat urgent, and why did it sound a bit aggrieved?

"What is wrong with a final-closing Disciple? Can this poor Daoist not take another door-locking Disciple?" This was the gentle voice from just now, and it sounded a bit angry?

"Two Junior Brothers, stop fighting. The child seems to have woken up. Why don't you ask for his opinion?" This voice sounded a bit aged. The sounds of fighting stopped.

Several footsteps came from afar and approached closely, very lightly. Ye Qingxuan 'saw' four Daoists whose faces were unclear walking up to his side.

Ye Qingxuan forced his eyes open, only to see four large faces appear in his field of vision. Four pairs of eyes stared at him as if looking at some rare, peerless treasure. No, wait, why were there two pairs of panda eyes?

"Child, are you awake? Do you feel any discomfort anywhere?" The gentle voice heard at the beginning spoke up, its tone extremely soft, as if afraid of scaring someone.

'Child? Are they calling me? Didn't I have terminal liver cancer and already die?'

Ye Qingxuan prepared to get up, but suddenly noticed something was wrong. Why was his body so small? He raised his hands; they were not the withered, skin-and-bones palms from his memory, but a pair of a child's hands, tender, white, and carrying baby fat.

Just as he was about to say something, a sharp pain shot through his brain, and he rolled his eyes and passed out. This completely frightened the four Daoists; they had finally encountered an immortal sprout, so they must not scare him.

Two streams of memories were blending in Ye Qingxuan's mind, and he remembered everything. He had indeed died; to be precise, his past life had already died.

In his past life, after Ye Qingxuan died, his Soul left his physical body, watching himself on the hospital bed, watching his parents weeping bitterly while holding him, and his clueless younger brother standing to the side.

He wanted to say something, but they were separated by Yin and Yang. They couldn't see him, nor could they hear him speak. This was also for the best, as it saved him from dragging them down while half-dead. With his younger brother around to accompany his parents, he could provide for them in their old age in the future.

A gust of wind blew, sending him into a narrow space. Before he could think much, a suction force pulled him out. Before he could say anything, he lost consciousness, and then came what happened just now.

After sorting through his memories, Ye Qingxuan summarized that his past life had died, but he had undergone Rebirth, specifically transmigrating in the womb. Born in the year 2000, he was five years old this year. This world was similar to Earth in his past life, except it was called Blue Star, in Huaguo.

That suction force in his memory was the feeling of leaving the maternal body. For unknown reasons, in this lifetime, he did not know who his parents were and had been abandoned in the mountains.

His grandfather, an old herb-gathering man named Ye Lin, had adopted him and given him a childhood nickname, Little Leaf, originally planning to give him a formal name when he started School.

However, half a month ago, the old man went into the mountains to gather herbs and never returned. At that time, he ran into the mountains to look for the old man, ending up fainting from hunger in the mountains. Fortunately, he was discovered by Master Yuanxin and brought back to Mount Mao, otherwise, he would have turned into animal waste by now.

'This lifetime really has a bond with the mountains. First abandoned in the mountains by parents, and later fainting in the mountains. The key is that I survived both times; novel protagonists are probably just like this.' Ye Qingxuan thought to himself.

After a short while, Ye Qingxuan completely integrated his memories, and his body no longer felt any discomfort. At this time, the four Daoists walked over.

"Child, are you awake? This poor Daoist is Master Yuanxin, the Sect Head of the Shangqing Sect. Today, I wish to take you as my Disciple to pass down the Legacy. Are you willing?"

"Shangqing Sect? Taking a Disciple?"

Ye Qingxuan was somewhat puzzled. After integrating his memories, he also recalled that while he was unconscious earlier, it seemed he heard talk about taking a Disciple, accompanied by thunder and fighting sounds.

It seemed they were fighting to take him as a Disciple. Could it be that his current self was some kind of Genius?

"Daoist, how long have I been unconscious? My grandfather went into the mountains to gather herbs and went missing. Can you help me find him?"

Ye Qingxuan did not ask why they wanted to take him as a Disciple; he only wanted to find his grandfather, because after all, grandfather was the only person in this world who treated him well.

"Sigh, your grandfather… This poor Daoist has already buried him," Master Yuanxin sighed.

"What?" Although Ye Qingxuan was mentally prepared, upon hearing these words, sorrow welled up from the bottom of his heart, and tears unconsciously fell.

"Child, grieve not," Master Yuanxin stroked Ye Qingxuan's head and comforted him.

"Child, do you have any other relatives?" Master Yuanxin asked.

"None left. I only have my grandfather as a relative," Ye Qingxuan wept bitterly. This was not putting on an act, but genuine emotion. An old man with no blood relation raised him through all hardships, and this affection was even closer than that of biological parents.

"Since that is the case, are you willing to take this poor Daoist as your Master?" Master Yuanxin asked.

"I am willing. Greetings, Master." Ye Qingxuan immediately knelt on the ground and respectfully kowtowed three loud times. A look of gratification appeared on Master Yuanxin's face, and he reached out to help him up.

"Starting today, you are a Disciple of the Shangqing Sect, my fifth Disciple, and I bestow upon you the Daoist name Qingxuan."

'The Innate Dao Body, which is rare in several hundred years, has finally been accepted under this poor Daoist's sect.' Master Yuanxin was also ecstatic in his heart.

The three Elders who had previously fought over Ye Qingxuan nearby, although feeling somewhat regretful, also successively congratulated Master Yuanxin on acquiring an excellent Disciple.

Master Yuanxin looked at the extraordinarily talented little Disciple before him and instructed gently, "Qingxuan, from now on, I will step by step impart to you the orthodox Shangqing Qi Refining Technique, helping you shed your Mortal body and ascend to the immortal path."

Ye Qingxuan raised his eyes, all sorrow fading from the depths of his eyes, leaving only incomparable firmness and enthusiasm, "Thank you, Master, for your cultivation! This Disciple will definitely practice diligently in seclusion, not failing Master's expectations and not failing my own Dao Heart!"

Huge waves had long since stirred up in the bottom of his heart.

Cultivate! Cultivate immortality!

In this ordinary modern world, there actually truly existed a cultivation Great Dao that transcended Mortals!

In the following days, Master Yuanxin personally led Ye Qingxuan to walk through the Shangqing Sect's mountain gate, familiarizing him with the School's halls, rules, and scenery, and arranged a clean, elegant, quiet, and secluded single-person hut for him.

Sitting alone in the room, Ye Qingxuan's emotions were complex.

There was both the desolation and sadness of painfully losing his closest relative, and the infinite yearning for stepping onto a brand-new immortal path.

He silently made a Dao vow: In this life, I will definitely practice diligently, forge ahead unceasingly, carve out my own Peak of the Great Dao, not live up to Master's meticulous teachings, and comfort Grandfather's spirit in heaven.

That night, Ye Qingxuan rested early, banished all distracting thoughts, and looked forward with full anticipation to the path of cultivation starting tomorrow.

The next day at dawn.

Master Yuanxin brought Ye Qingxuan to the dilapidated room, imparting the Shangqing Qi Refining Technique.

"Ordinary people take three to four months to sense Qi, and entering the threshold in a month counts as a Genius. Qingxuan, you must remember, under no circumstances should you be overly eager for quick success."

Master Yuanxin maintained his patience, dissecting word by word the essentials of the Cultivation Technique and the methods of circulating Qi, being meticulous and imparting everything without reservation.

About an hour or so later, Master Yuanxin sensed his little Disciple's Qi Refining First Stage aura, and Master Yuanxin closed himself off.

'How long did it take this poor Daoist to Breakthrough to the Qi Refining First Stage back then? It seemed to be half a month. Is this the Innate Dao Body?'

"Master, it seems I have successfully practiced it?"

Hearing Ye Qingxuan's uncertain words, Master Yuanxin closed his eyes and remained silent. Why was this little Disciple's Cultivation as simple as eating and drinking water?

Not long after, Mount Mao folks' address for Ye Qingxuan changed from Genius to freak and monster. They had seen Geniuses, but a Genius to this extent—even Patriarch Lü back then was probably just like this?

The Elders also felt sour in their hearts; if they had persisted a bit more back then, this monster Genius might have been their own Disciple.

———— The dividing line of time, ten years later.

Master Yuanxin looked at the fifteen-year-old Ye Qingxuan with twitching corners of his mouth: ten years, Foundation Establishment Late Stage.

"Qingxuan, what did you say? You want to go down the mountain for experiential training?" Hearing his little Disciple's words, Master Yuanxin was somewhat surprised and somewhat pleasantly surprised.

In these ten years on Mount Mao, Ye Qingxuan practiced cultivation the most diligently, and his cultivation Realm far surpassed his Senior Brothers and Junior Brothers, and even the older generation were no match for him.

At the same time, it also drove the cultivation atmosphere of the entire School. Ye Qingxuan, who was such a Genius, was still cultivating so diligently; what reason did you have to slack off?

Now in the Shangqing of Mount Mao, except for the Old Ancestor in secluded cultivation in the back mountain, everyone had been beaten one by one by Ye Qingxuan. And Master Yuanxin, as Ye Qingxuan's Master, had not been his match since a year ago.

However, this was not a bad thing either. After all, the blue comes from the indigo and outperforms it; the Disciple surpassing the Master meant that the Master taught well. What? You disagree? If you have the ability, you train one out too? Otherwise, shut up!

Moreover, Ye Qingxuan was not only profound in cultivation Realm, but his Dao Heart was also extremely high. Everyone in Mount Mao except the Old Ancestor had been beaten by him all over, yet he never showed the slightest arrogance.

The only somewhat worrisome thing was that Ye Qingxuan was too focused on his Dao, treating people and matters perfunctorily, neither taking the initiative to build friendships with people nor distancing himself too much from others.

Only his four Senior Brothers could truly connect with him heart-to-heart. He was like this towards his School's Senior Brothers and Junior Brothers, let alone those of other Schools.

The cultivation world is not about endless fighting and killing, it is about worldly sophistication.

Now in the Age of Dharma Decline, breaking through to the Golden Core was nearly hopeless, and all Schools and sects had laid aside their prejudices, solely to find a path to the heavens. Even if it was just maintaining surface-level work, one could not be too unsociable.

"It is also good to go down the mountain and walk around. Look at you on this mountain, every day you only know how to Cultivate and Cultivate immortality. What is an immortal? An immortal is a person on the mountain. Look at you, your cultivation is almost losing all human flavor."

"Go down the mountain, and go witness the methods of various families."

"There are people beyond people, and heavens beyond heavens; do not be overly complacent."

Ye Qingxuan was also speechless. Was there something wrong with practicing cultivation diligently?

The next day, Ye Qingxuan quietly left Mount Mao and began cultivating in the Mortal world.

Following Master's words, he visited them one by one to witness the methods of various families. However, along the way,

he saw quite a few outstanding Geniuses among his peers: Zhang Yuzhuo, the Genius of Longhu Mountain; Duyuan of Lingyin Temple; and Yun Huan of the Heavenly Demon Palace.

However, Ye Qingxuan only felt that those messy methods were all flashy bells and whistles. His peers could all be slapped away with a single palm, and even the older generation required just a little more effort.

After traveling down the mountain for a year, Ye Qingxuan only felt it was insipid and uninteresting, so he decided to return to the mountain.

However, this trip down the mountain made a bit too much commotion. The Geniuses that various Schools took pride in were either slapped flat by him or rubbed against the ground. To avoid being nagged by Master, Ye Qingxuan notified his Third Senior Brother to cover for him and went straight to the back mountain to Cultivate in seclusion.

Cultivating in seclusion for three years, on the day he turned eighteen of adulthood, Ye Qingxuan's cultivation Realm reached the highest Realm of the Age of Dharma Decline: Foundation Establishment Perfection, half-step Golden Core.

In the Age of Dharma Decline, the Heavenly Dao was not manifest, and Spiritual Qi was insufficient. Without the Golden Core tribulation descending, there was no way to Breakthrough.

However, being unable to Breakthrough did not strike a blow to Ye Qingxuan. He had confidence in his talent, because at first he thought he was just an ordinary Genius, but after walking a circle down the mountain, he found that not a single person could put up a fight.

Originally wanting to see the world, he ended up becoming the world himself.

In the next few years,

Ye Qingxuan's cultivation Realm was restricted by the heaven and earth environment,

so he began to delve into the hundred arts of immortality cultivation: alchemy, artifact forging, array formations, and talismans, practicing whatever there was. He also created various interesting Spells and Moves based on the many novels and animations he had read in his past life.

Just like that, another seven years passed.

The secluded cultivation place in the back mountain of Mount Mao.

"My strength has advanced quite a bit, but my cultivation Realm is still Foundation Establishment Perfection. It seems the path of Breakthrough is indeed locked dead by heaven and earth. In that case, I might as well go down the mountain and walk around."

He then stood up and walked out of the quiet room.

Only to see a young Daoist looking about twenty years old walking over. Looking closely, a green hairpin bound his hair, his brows and eyes were calm, and his pupils were clear.

His figure was slender and upright, looking over 1.8 meters tall, his spine straight as a pine, with broad shoulders and a slender waist. A set of moon-white Daoist robes draped over his entire body, his steps light and slow, and an otherworldly aura emanated around him. Wow, what a handsome Daoist, just a little bit worse than the readers.