Chapter 1: Hongmeng Treasure Mirror

「The ancients who understood the Way modeled themselves on yin and yang, harmonized with the arts of calculation, ate and drank with moderation, rose and rested with regularity, and never indulged in needless exertion; thus body and spirit remained together, and they were able to complete their natural lifespan, passing away only after a hundred years. 」

「People of the present age are not so: they take wine as soup, take recklessness as routine, enter the chamber drunk, exhaust their essence through desire, and dissipate their true nature; they know not how to preserve fullness nor govern the spirit at proper times, seeking only to gratify the heart, acting against the joy of life, rising and resting without measure—thus they decline before fifty. 」

Jiang Xuan flipped through a volume of the 《Suwen》, his expression slightly sighing.

It was said that people of antiquity could easily live past a hundred years; though he did not know what era the ancient years referred to, bearing the title of antiquity they must surely be extremely distant. Yet those among modern people who live past a hundred are few and far between; human life is but a few short decades, and the final years are spent upon the sickbed.

「A great fortune, a great fortune not encountered in endless ages; immortality and eternal vision are no longer mere fantasy. 」

Jiang Xuan slowly closed the 《Suwen》 in his hand, his gaze lowering slightly, his thoughts returning to the past.

He was not a person of this world; simply put, he was a transmigrator, having transmigrated in body, from Earth of a parallel world, and the current world was a god-demon xuanhuan world, the Zhetian World.

As for why Jiang Xuan was certain this world was the Zhetian World, the reason was simple: he had lived an ordinary life, attended school, and finally discovered that among his classmates were Ye Fan, Pang Bo, Li Xiaoman, and others.

The reason for his transmigration was simple: he had not encountered a truck-kun, nor saved a beauty heroically, nor been struck by lightning. He was merely walking down the road when he was struck by a single thread of flowing light, and thus he transmigrated, taking on the appearance of his ten-year-old self. Afterwards Jiang Xuan feigned amnesia as a child, found himself an orphanage, and registered his household.

In his mind, an ancient and mysterious treasure mirror of primordial yellow appeared like a dream or illusion, seeming illusory yet also substantial; when Jiang Xuan immersed his mind and spirit into the treasure mirror, he knew by sudden inspiration the name of the treasure mirror——the 《Hongmeng Treasure Mirror》.

The 《Hongmeng Treasure Mirror》 had only three functions: first, the absorption of treasures from all heavens; second, the imprinting within the treasure mirror of countless magic treasures, divine weapons, and Dao patterns; third, it could be used for storage. Apart from this, the treasure mirror had no other functions.

Jiang Xuan had so far performed only two absorptions: the first was the absorption of a secret manual named the 《Ten Thousand Prisons Furnace Classic》, which took the form of flowing light that imprinted itself into his mind in a manner Jiang Xuan could not understand; the second was the absorption of the coordinate of the Tian Long Ba Bu World. It was not that he did not wish to continue absorbing, but the cooldown time for the treasure mirror's absorption of treasures seemed random, with no pattern.

The 《Ten Thousand Prisons Furnace Classic》 was a cultivation art that relied on devouring magic treasures to refine and cultivate; practicing this art would make one's magic power incomparably vast and profound, and the art itself was also a method of refining treasures. Those who practiced this art could devour all magic treasures in the world; as their cultivation level rose, the grade of treasures they could devour would rise as well. Whether treasures for proving the Dao or imperial extreme weapons, all could be devoured and refined; even theoretically, this art could devour and refine immortal artifacts!

Yet Jiang Xuan dared not cultivate it; he seriously suspected that this art came from that terrifying world, and if it truly came from the world where that Great Heavenly Venerable resided, then practicing this art to the end would turn his flesh into a furnace, and his soul would be erased.

So Jiang Xuan temporarily fixed his gaze on the Tianlong World.

When he transmigrated, it was seven years ago when he had just entered his first year of university, coinciding with the beginning of the Tian Long Ba Bu plot; Jiang Xuan's goal was simple: the North Ming Divine Skill and Lingbo Weibu in the Wuliang Mountains.

Even though he had reviewed it countless times in his mind, when he was truly there, Jiang Xuan still felt that no amount of preparation could outpace the changes of plan.

In the greenwood, the law did not exist, human lives were like grass and straw; he had faced several life-and-death crises, and the hardships were not something to be spoken of to outsiders.

Fortunately, he had followed Duan Yu all the way; though there was risk, he had turned danger into safety.

When he obtained the North Ming Divine Skill and Lingbo Weibu, Jiang Xuan was just sighing that bitterness had ended in sweetness; then, when he opened the secret manual, he was stunned. He recognized every character on it—though they were traditional characters, he could generally read them—but though he recognized each character individually, when put together he did not understand them.

So Jiang Xuan asked Duan Yu for explanations all the way, and with his own prior preparations in ancient literature before transmigrating, he finally fully understood these two secret manuals.

Afterwards Jiang Xuan immediately transmigrated back to the Zhetian World, leaving the dazed Duan Yu with a face full of confusion.

He did not want to stay in the Tianlong World for even a moment longer.

Galloping through the jianghu, traveling with a sword—all of that was fake; that was for experts. For an ordinary person like him, he'd better slip away.

Only after the North Ming True Qi had achieved minor success did Jiang Xuan transmigrate to the Tianlong World again.

When he rose to read, it was still the mao hour, and the sky was dim. As time passed, the sun slowly rose; Jiang Xuan returned the 《Suwen》 to the bookshelf, walked to the balcony, assumed the posture of five hearts facing heaven, and began to cultivate.

As one of the three great martial arts absolute learnings of the Xiaoyao Sect, the North Ming Divine Skill was orthodox Daoist martial arts, consisting of thirty-six diagrams, with thirty-six methods of practice, naturally allowing one to independently cultivate true qi. As for Duan Yu being able only to simply absorb others' internal energy, that was because he had only cultivated two diagrams; regarding this, Jiang Xuan only wanted to say that fools have fool's luck.

In the next moment, the rising sun came; the first ray of morning sunlight accompanied by a wisp of purple qi rose; Jiang Xuan changed his hand seals, from the Bagua Finger to the Supreme Old Lord Finger, paused slightly, then quickly changed to the Three Pure Ones Finger; a wisp of purple qi slowly entered his nostrils, like a hundred rivers and the sea, following the circulation route of the North Ming Divine Skill, finally gathering into his dantian, cycling back and forth thus.

After an unknown amount of time, Jiang Xuan suddenly trembled; his hair and clothes moved without wind; he slowly opened his eyes, a gleam of brilliance flashed, and his whole person appeared spirited and radiant.

Exhale!

He exhaled a breath of clear qi; the doors and windows several meters away shook unceasingly as if encountering a violent storm.

「The beginning of the extraordinary, entering the Innate Realm! 」

Since obtaining the North Ming Skill, it had taken seven years; Jiang Xuan had practiced diligently without cease, finally reaching the Innate Realm. Perhaps it was because Jiang Xuan himself had peerless martial talent, or perhaps because he had been transformed by the 《Hongmeng Treasure Mirror》; seven years from first learning martial arts to the Innate Realm was one in ten thousand in any wuxia world, especially since Jiang Xuan had already passed the age for learning martial arts.

Jiang Xuan himself belonged to the type of extraordinary appearance; from the start of his cultivation, his whole person became increasingly handsome and graceful; now having cultivated to the Innate Realm, he was even more unworldly and refined, like an Exiled Immortal descending to the mortal realm.

If Jiang Xuan were to become an actor at this moment, he would probably directly become the most popular star of the present day.

「Hmm, the Innate Realm; true qi is more condensed, the damage is several times that of the Posterior Heaven Realm, and the aura is more enduring. 」Jiang Xuan carefully sensed the North Ming True Qi within his dantian.

「It's about time; Jiu Long Hao Xing Ji Che, don't let me down. 」

Time flew by.

Drip drip.

Jiang Xuan took out his mobile phone.

Here it comes, the grand gathering of comparison!

In the class group, classmates chatted with one another about their recent situations, from amusing stories at school to the pressures after entering society, from the happiness and troubles brought by family, to complaints and bitterness about work.

「Time really flies; in the blink of an eye, three years have passed. How is everyone lately? 」

「How else could it be? Sigh, working overtime day after day, yet I can't afford the cheapest house in this city. 」

「Indeed, I originally thought that after graduating from university, working hard for two or three years would let me put down roots in the city. Hehe, the times have changed. 」

「Speaking of which, we haven't seen each other in three years; why not find a time to get together? What does everyone think? 」

「It really has been a long time; count me in for the gathering! 」

「Me too. 」

「I'll attend!

「I'll attend! 」

「I'll attend! 」

The class group chat was lively; all classmates replied indicating they would attend the gathering. Actually, Jiang Xuan himself was not very interested in classmate gatherings; it was well known that graduate classmate gatherings equaled a show-off scene, showing off one's development after graduation, satisfying one's vanity in front of old classmates.

But this gathering he had to attend; Ye Fan's turning point in fate lay in the Mount Tai trip. If he did not attend the gathering, obtaining a breakthrough in cultivation might require waiting for the 《Hongmeng Treasure Mirror》 to unlock more powerful worlds.

Jiang Xuan continued to sit in meditation, slowly waiting for the day of the gathering to arrive.

Time quickly passed to the appointed day of the gathering.

He slowly rose and walked toward Hai Shang Ming Yue Cheng at the foot of Mount Tai; the crowds were dense, but every step Jiang Xuan took always cleverly avoided the pedestrians coming and going.

Lingbo Weibu!

Merely the simplest application; while Jiang Xuan carefully savored the mysteries of the true qi circulation within his body, he couldn't help but look forward to today's Mount Tai trip.

(Chapter End)