[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-path-of-immortality":3,"chapter-the-path-of-immortality-the-path-of-immortality-chapter-2":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","The Path of Immortality",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2271152,4436,"Chapter 2","the-path-of-immortality-chapter-2",2,"\u003Cp>Chen Hang, a native of Rong State in Dongmi Zhou, is now a disciple of the Xuanyuan Sect on Xiao Gan Mountain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To speak of his former life’s bizarre tale—he was originally a scion of the Chen clan of Rong State, and even as a youth, his striking beauty made him famed throughout the land; all who saw him deemed him a jade figure, and those who had long heard his name would gather in crowds when he rode out, women clutching hands to encircle him, spectators forming walls.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Perhaps because of this very reason.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though Chen Hang’s birth resulted from his parents’ illicit union, the Chen clan never treated him harshly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He never lacked what high-born youths ought to have: expert instruction from renowned teachers, fine horses, and splendid robes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, his biological father died young, and his mother—the Chen clan’s young lady—suffered a lingering blood-tuberculosis after childbirth, rendering her unable to raise him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The clan thus entrusted him to the care of a childless uncle, intending to formally adopt him once he grew older, so he might inherit that branch’s estate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Had things ended there, all would have seemed complete.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The youth rose to fame, his kin lived in harmony; though his father died early, his widowed mother still lived, allowing him to fulfill filial duties at her side.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Alas, three years ago, while venturing outside the city, he encountered Yan Zhen, who had just descended from the Xuanyuan Sect to enjoy spring.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All past joys dissolved like eastward-flowing water.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This beautiful female Daoist, captivated by his beauty, first invited him to be her concubine; when he refused, she flew into a rage and dropped all pretense, using her power to coerce him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though the Chen clan of Rong State was a great family, it was no immortal sect, possessing not a single cultivated True Person; indeed, the entire Rong State was but a mortal dynasty, powerless to defy the Xuanyuan Sect’s edict, and so they bowed and accepted the order.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unexpectedly, the former host’s temperament was cold and unyielding; seeing the situation was irreversible, he first paid farewell to his widowed mother and the uncle who raised him, then that very night threw himself into a well. Had not several astute servants rushed to rescue him, he would have died three years ago.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Upon hearing this, Yan Zhen was furious.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She stationed two hundred armed Daoists within the Chen clan’s compound, tightly guarding it, sealing off every exit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She also assigned several Xuanyuan Sect Daoists to follow Chen Hang day and night, leaving him no freedom.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet after Chen Hang’s suicide attempt, Yan Zhen’s attitude softened somewhat; though she still kept him confined, waiting for him to submit, she dared not press him as harshly as before.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Amid this atmosphere of dread, one Chen clan member finally could not bear it and sent word to Yan Zhen, offering her a plan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The former host had been deeply filial to his parents; since his mother fell ill with blood-tuberculosis after childbirth, he had spent years seeking famed physicians, yet achieved little, with no real benefit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To break his spirit, one need only exploit this matter—and success would come instantly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Upon hearing this, Yan Zhen smiled coldly and that very night obtained a pill from the Xuanyuan Sect, forcing it upon Chen Hang’s widowed mother.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Within three days, the widow’s body grew robust, her face flushed with health.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In this moment, in this place, though Chen Hang harbored boundless resentment and fury, he could only bid farewell to his tearful mother and ascend the mountain with Yan Zhen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Afterwards, the Chen clan youth who devised this plan, Chen Ze, was rewarded by Yan Zhen, granted his wish to join the sect and study the Dao of Qi cultivation under its masters.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Chen Hang’s former self never knew that merely three months after he left home, his widowed mother suddenly died, her body emaciated, her essence and blood entirely drained.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though the pill that nourished spirit and essence was precious, the Xuanyuan Sect did not lack such things.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But she was merely a mortal old woman.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Perhaps in Yan Zhen’s eyes, using such a precious pill to prolong her life was plainly foolish.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The pill the widow consumed that day had no function of extending life; it merely forcibly lifted her fading vitality, holding it in place for a time, with no regard for the damage afterward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This matter eventually reached the Xuanyuan Sect; the former host, heartbroken beyond words, lost all hope.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From that moment on, he was constantly monitored by spiritual sense, deprived of all sharp objects—even the hairpin holding his topknot had its tip ground down before being returned to him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus, the former host was kept like a caged bird for another three years.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>During this time, Yan Zhen went to great lengths to amuse him, learning he had once excelled in music and studied under famed masters.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She thus ordered massive construction: carving through stone and mountain, building halls, palaces, golden towers, naming the complex Yue Shan Fang.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once Yue Shan Fang was completed, she forcibly recruited musicians from surrounding states to fill its ranks, to perform with the former host.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet despite Yan Zhen’s every effort, the former host grew ever more reclusive and cold, his gaze as deep and chilling as a dark pool—anyone meeting his eyes felt their heart tremble.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Such days.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only recently ended when the Western Sea cultivator Xu Chao slashed Yan Zhen with a single sword.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On that day, the former host heard only a thunderous sword sound; blinding light flooded his vision, his skin burned as if splitting, his eyes stabbed as if pierced by needles.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When he finally forced his eyes open, the slender back he had once hated more than life itself lay severed, her jade face still frozen in disbelief, the fading light in her eyes impossible to decipher.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Afterwards, Yan Feichen wept uncontrollably, blaming the Daoists who had been attending her, imprisoning and torturing them all in the water dungeon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though Chen Hang’s former self narrowly escaped being slain by Xu Chao’s sword, he was still wounded by the cold combat true qi within the blade, suffering five labors and seven injuries; compounded by being blamed, he was imprisoned in the damp, cold water dungeon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Within two months, he died one night, laughing aloud, his breath gone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And the Chen Hang who had suffered on a modern hospital bed for six years, by chance, reincarnated into this same-named body, carrying with him the golden cicada he had picked up as a child…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He reviewed the former host’s memories once more.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Hang sat in silence, eyes closed, then after a long while reopened them, sat before the desk, took up a sheet of white paper, dipped his brush in ink.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After an indeterminate time, the paper was filled with the character “still,” no space left to write.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only then did his gaze return to its deep, still, unruffled state.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Now there are only two urgent matters. First: expel the cold combat true qi Xu Chao implanted in me—that is the priority. With this true qi inside me, not only can I not cultivate immortality, I may even die at any moment.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In this world’s cultivation, to enter the path of immortality, one must first attain fetal breathing, refine true qi, establish the Dao foundation, and open the Purple Palace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fetal breathing: continuous, as if existing, yet never exhausted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A person’s greatest treasure is this single breath of true yang.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This is the primordial spark of spiritual light—nature itself. The Buddha said: all beings are equal; the Dao calls it the ultimate good, the source of life and spirit, the principle of creation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fetal breathing is the first step on the immortal path; without achieving this, all subsequent cultivation is in vain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once fetal breathing is perfected and the nature-root appears, one must then seek a method of Qi refinement to transform essence into true qi.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In this world, true qi is divided into nine grades and thirty-six ranks, strictly ordered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only a profound foundation of seventh-rank or higher true qi can establish a superior Dao foundation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To cultivate such true qi, a supreme Qi refinement technique is indispensable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The cold combat true qi within me is surely among the higher ranks; even this single thread is ferociously intense. To expel or subdue it, mere fetal breathing will not suffice—only Qi refinement may suppress it somewhat.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thinking of this, Chen Hang felt a headache coming on.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The former host’s cultivation talent was truly abysmal; he had not even achieved fetal breathing, let alone Qi refinement.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As long as he could not perceive the sensation of “continuous, yet never exhausted,” he remained a mortal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was partly because the former host, after his mother’s death, had died inwardly, his spirit withered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But regardless, the reborn Chen Hang must attain the sensation of fetal breathing—to survive, to seek immortality.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But must one have high-rank true qi to establish an unblemished Dao foundation? The entire Xuanyuan Sect likely lacks a supreme Qi refinement technique.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Hang frowned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though the Xuanyuan Sect currently dominates the surrounding lands, within the vast Dongmi Zhou, it is but a minor sect, a mere grain among a thousand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The former host once overheard Yan Zhen mention that their world was called Xudu Tian, encompassing nine provinces and four seas.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In that light, the Xuanyuan Sect may not even qualify as one grain among a thousand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yan Zhen also mentioned that the Xuanyuan Sect is likely one of hundreds of branches under the Yucheng Sect of the Xuanmen. I wonder if this is true.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pushing aside this idle thought, Chen Hang gripped his brush and erased every “still” on the paper.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Besides expelling the cold combat true qi and preserving my life, the second matter: I must find an excuse to descend the mountain, to avoid Yan Feichen’s wrath.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After Yan Zhen’s death, the former host was imprisoned by Yan Feichen for a hundred days and died in the water dungeon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bound by sect rules.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though Yan Feichen was an Elder, he could only imprison Chen Hang under the charge of mismanagement; he could not directly execute him to avenge his daughter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But it is easy to dodge a spear, hard to avoid a hidden arrow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Hang is still mortal; remaining within the sect, facing Yan Feichen, is foolish—using his weakness against the enemy’s strength.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The former host endured two months in the water dungeon, yet still died helplessly; the remaining forty days, Chen Hang cannot fathom how he gritted his teeth and held on.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The day his imprisonment ended, when he limped out of the dungeon to bathe in the sky’s light, he nearly felt the shock of being reborn.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With this body’s condition.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If I endure another stint in the water dungeon, I too will inevitably follow the former host’s fate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yet though the former host was humiliated by Yan Zhen, thanks to her cultivation technique, he was fortunate enough to retain his primordial yang.” Chen Hang sighed in relief.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This body’s talent is already low; if he lost his primordial yang, the path of cultivation would become impossibly difficult.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment, his expression subtly shifted; he turned his head toward the tightly shut gate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>First came hurried footsteps, then knocking and shouting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Who is it now? Someone from the Officer’s Chamber?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Hang rose, tore the paper covered in “still” into shreds, and tossed them all into the small red-clay tea stove.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Brother Chen, Brother Chen, it’s me! Xu Zhi! Brother Xu! I heard you just got assigned to the Abyss after leaving the water dungeon? Are you mad? Are you insane? Don’t listen to those stinking Daoists in the Punishment Chamber! Open the door! Open it now!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The man, after pounding for a long while without response, grew more frantic:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Brother, I know you haven’t wanted to live since you came up the mountain, but dying isn’t done this way! Why insist on going to the Abyss?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Think carefully—think of the living, think of… think of…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His tone suddenly halted, awkward, then dropped several octaves:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Think of Aunt Wang from the Dining Hall? You liked her lotus seed soup, didn’t you? If you die, you’ll never taste it again…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inside the dwelling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Hang glanced at the door, his brow arching almost imperceptibly.\u003C\u002Fp>",2067,"2026-06-19T22:29:59.276Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","bbdb8a9461969a1c6e632df0963c1650c03d3c0229573f0c1472642968620f42","the-path-of-immortality-chapter-3","the-path-of-immortality-chapter-1",545,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-path-of-immortality-cover.jpg"]