Chapter 1: Ambush

Hya! Hya! Hya!

The blazing sun was scorching. The dirt on the wide official road had been baked a pale white. With each step, a puff of gray dust rose. The dust kicked up by horse hooves soared like smoke signals.

Three robust horses, each measuring ten feet in length, eight feet in height, and as black as dark dragons, sped along the road in a triangular formation. Riding the lead horse was a massive, burly man.

The man stood over nine feet tall. His muscles were knotted like forged steel. His square face was as still as water, yet faintly troubled.

Behind the horses was an ornately decorated carriage. Under the burly man’s control, the carriage moved as if on flat ground, without the slightest bump.

However, the notches on the broadsword on the burly man’s back, the strong scent of blood, and the glaring blade marks and sword scars on both sides of the carriage all told of an uneasy journey.

Inside the carriage, a fifteen or sixteen-year-old boy in a white robe reclined on a tiger skin couch.

The boy had long, narrow phoenix eyes and eyebrows shaped like crescent moons. His features were exquisitely delicate, making him a truly handsome youth.

Yet, his face was sickly pale, and a deathly gray tint lingered in his eyes.

The youth held a handkerchief in his palms. At its center was a small patch of black, congealed blood. Staring at it for a long while, he couldn’t help but show a bitter smile. “Seventy-seven types of Spiritual Medicine, including supreme-grade ones like the Dragon Whisker Icefire Fruit, the Buddha Flame Root, and the Black Heart Demon Soul Flower… Were they raising me like a medicine jar?”

“But the person feeding me these Spiritual Medicines completely misunderstood the principles of mutual generation and restraint among the five elements. Among these seventy-seven herbs, at least eleven have violently conflicting properties. They offer no help whatsoever in stabilizing my meridians; instead, they might kill me…”

The white-robed youth carefully tucked the handkerchief into his wide sleeve. A flicker of exhaustion, hard to hide, passed through his starry eyes. Yet, in his mind, the bizarre events that had happened to him flashed by like a revolving lantern.

It had been half a month since he arrived in this world. After the initial shock, fear, and confusion, Mu Xian had completely understood the world he was in now and had accepted the fact of his transmigration.

Mu Xian was the name in this body’s memories. He had another name in his previous life, but that name held no meaning for him here and now.

In his past life, Mu Xian was an orphan raised by the Danding Sect. He was the youngest and most outstanding Alchemist of the sect, deeply favored by the Sect Master.

Mu Xian hadn’t grown arrogant from his talent and achievements in Alchemy. In addition to studying the path of medicine, he seized every spare moment, devouring all the ancient texts and collections within the Danding Sect. He excelled in both literary and martial arts, and his cultivation was not weak. Even the Sect Master, known for being extremely picky with disciples, couldn’t find a single fault in him.

However, Mu Xian had devoted almost all his energy to Alchemy and scholarship. As a result, he had no understanding of the ugliness of human nature. He never noticed the envy and venom hidden behind the amiable face of the sect’s First Senior Brother. In the end, he was betrayed by the very senior brother he trusted and respected most.

Although Mu Xian managed to counter-kill the First Senior Brother just before his death, the regret and resentment in his heart remained unresolved.

What Mu Xian never dreamed of was that when he opened his eyes again, he had come to a time over twenty thousand years in the past. This was an era where a hundred disciplines were being revived and a hundred schools of thought contended—a desolate age for the martial path. Yet it was also a strict, hierarchical era of survival of the fittest, where sages emerged one after another.

In this life, Mu Xian was the young master of the Mu Family in Shitang Town, under the jurisdiction of Yunmen County. After birth, he was found to have Inherently Blocked Veins. His meridians were dozens of times more fragile than an ordinary person’s. He needed to be fed medicinal concoctions via secret methods from time to time just to stay alive, with absolutely no possibility of embarking on the path of cultivation.

To prolong Mu Xian’s life, his parents had poured almost all the family’s resources into him. Even after over a decade of cultivation, Mu Xian had only reached the early stage of the Flesh Body Realm, with physical strength slightly better than an average person’s.

In truth, Mu Xian’s parents hadn’t expected him to achieve anything in the martial path. They never forced him to practice martial arts. Instead, they sent him to the Yunyang Academy in the county seat to study the teachings of the various schools of thought.

The reason Mu Xian was rushing back from the academy this time was that news had returned saying his father had died in the Poison Mist Swamp while searching for life-extending Spiritual Medicine for him, and the family was becoming unstable.

However, as soon as Mu Xian left the academy, he was met with a fierce ambush. Although all the enemies were dealt with by Ling Tian, the burly man outside the carriage who was at the high stage of the Condensed Essence Realm, Mu Xian’s Divine Soul was too weak. The excessive shock caused him to faint directly, giving his future self from twenty thousand years later the opportunity to take over.

“Go in peace. I will fulfill the dreams you could not. I will treat your parents and loved ones as my own kin!”

After softly uttering these words, Mu Xian’s body suddenly straightened a little. An elusive, mysterious aura emanated from him, adding a hint of sharpness and ethereality to the previously frail-looking youth.

Just as Mu Xian snapped out of his deep thoughts, he heard a sharp whistle from outside. Immediately after, the carriage he was in came to a swift and steady stop.

“Xian’er, stay seated steadily inside. No matter what happens outside, do not come out.” Just as Mu Xian was about to ask what was going on, Ling Tian spoke first to warn him.

Mu Xian stretched out his pale, slender hand and gently lifted a corner of the beaded curtain. He then noticed that the official road ahead was gradually disappearing. What lay before him was a not-so-wide dirt road, stretching straight into a dark, seemingly endless forest.

From the memories he had sorted through, Mu Xian knew this forest ahead was Shenduan Mountain, not far from Shitang Town.

To be precise, Shenduan Mountain was a mountain range, and a very ancient one at that. Its towering peaks stretched continuously, connecting the Poison Mist Swamp with Yunmen County. Shitang Town was located between Shenduan Mountain and the Poison Mist Swamp.

Shenduan Mountain was the only route from Shitang Town and the Poison Mist Swamp to Yunmen County. Generations of adventurer teams had long since carved out a path through it.

The road through Shenduan Mountain and its flanks were typically controlled by the Fire Wolf Gang. Now, with night approaching, it was no wonder Ling Tian was being so cautious.

Mu Xian had no time to respond to Ling Tian, for as soon as Ling Tian spoke, Mu Xian felt as if a venomous snake had targeted him. His body suddenly became rigid.

At the same moment, three loud twangs of bowstrings tore through the air. Arrows shot like falling stars toward the carriage—more precisely, they were aimed at three vital points on Mu Xian’s body: upper, middle, and lower.

In that split second, Mu Xian felt his heart being wrenched. His throat went dry, and his eyelids twitched uncontrollably.

“Wait, the enemy’s target isn’t me!” At the critical moment, Mu Xian realized the arrows shot at him carried no killing intent. His body, which had been about to roll away like a stubborn donkey, steadied in time.

“How dare you, scoundrels!” Mu Xian had seen through the arrows’ trick, but Ling Tian, blinded by concern, had not. With a furious roar, Ling Tian leaped from his horse. His broadsword cut a phantom arc through the air, successfully slicing the three arrows aimed at the carriage in half.

After intercepting the three arrows, Ling Tian’s heart sank. His expression changed drastically. Immediately, the mournful whinnies of horses reached his ears.

“They say that Mu Yuanshan’s sworn brother, Ling Tian, is peerless in combat. It seems he’s just a reckless brute after all.” As the three robust horses fell to the ground, a man in red emerged from the dense forest some two hundred paces away. He looked at Ling Tian with a face full of mockery and eyes full of disdain.

Hearing this, veins bulged on Ling Tian’s forehead. He took a deep breath before coldly demanding, “Red Wolf, this place is only a little over ten miles from Shitang Town, and you live right next to our Mu Family. Are you sure you want to offend us?”

The red-clad man let out a scornful laugh upon hearing this. He didn’t bother with Ling Tian. Instead, he turned his gaze toward the large tree behind him.

Under the puzzled gazes of Mu Xian and Ling Tian, a hunchbacked old man slowly walked out from behind the tree.

Once they saw the old man’s face, both Mu Xian and Ling Tian froze. The old man was none other than the Mu Family’s Sixth Elder, Mu Guitu.

After Mu Guitu emerged, the red-clad man immediately stood respectfully behind him, clearly taking his lead.

Seeing this, the hearts of both Mu Xian and Ling Tian sank further.

“Mu Xian, for the respect you’ve shown me on ordinary days, I won’t make things difficult for you today. Come down from the carriage obediently and return home with me. I guarantee no one will lay a finger on you or your mother.” Mu Guitu glanced indifferently at Ling Tian before turning his gaze toward the carriage.

Hearing this, Mu Xian paused for a moment, then remembered that the body’s original owner had always held Mu Guitu in high esteem, even treating him like a beloved grandfather. The original owner’s father, Mu Yuanshan, and mother, Tang Qiluo, had also shown Mu Guitu great respect.

Recalling these things was fine, but once he did, the image of the Danding Sect’s First Senior Brother involuntarily surfaced in Mu Xian’s mind.

Similarly kind-faced, similarly amiable and approachable, similarly honey-tongued and dagger-hearted, similarly repaying kindness with malice. How similar this Sixth Elder before him was to that First Senior Brother. How similar the unfolding scene was to what he had experienced in his previous life.

The only difference was that the First Senior Brother of his past life had feared his strength, so he only dared to ambush him secretly. This Sixth Elder before him now wore an air of superiority, not taking Mu Xian seriously at all.

But having barely snatched a second life from fate, how could he repeat the same mistakes and allow tragedy to replay itself?

“You old cur! The Family Head and Madam have treated you well. Xian’er has always respected you. Now, with the Family Head’s fate unknown, you not only fail to help stabilize the family but actually lead a rebellion? Has a dog eaten your conscience?” Seeing Mu Guitu completely ignore his presence and speak to Mu Xian in such a condescending tone, Ling Tian’s lungs nearly burst with rage as he angrily questioned.

“Ling Tian, Mu Yuanshan may have treated you, an outsider, like a brother, but I have never considered you part of the Mu Family. With your meager cultivation, you dare to chatter incessantly before me? Do you think you’ve lived long enough?” Mu Guitu had initially been calm, but upon hearing Ling Tian call him an “old cur” repeatedly, his face twisted into something hideous. A murderous aura suddenly radiated from him. If Ling Tian dared utter one more word against him, he was prepared to strike him down.

“Sixth Elder, have you come to take me home?” Just as Ling Tian was about to retort, a clear voice suddenly rang out from behind him. It was Mu Xian, who had emerged from the carriage. His face was full of eagerness and hopefulness, as if he hadn’t yet grasped what was happening.