Chapter One: Misunderstanding

Leaving the Scripture Repository where he had spent thirteen years of his life, Wang Li was deeply troubled.

Especially now, with his circumstances far from favorable, he found himself longing for those monotonous days spent in the company of books. As he looked around, he found himself in a subterranean workshop, its walls lined with countless restrictive formations. Dust covered the scattered objects, and at a glance, it was clear this ruin had been abandoned for untold years, desolate and eerie.

Wang Li could not fathom why the Pure Yang Temple, respected as the upright leader of the cultivation world, would possess such a place that made anyone entering feel distinctly uneasy.

As a disciple of Pure Yang Temple, he had always regarded it as an ethereal, dignified institution, one that would never imprison someone without cause. Yet, for the first time, sixteen-year-old Wang Li began to harbor doubts about the temple’s nature.

He had been confined here for seven or eight days already. In that time, aside from Granny Zheng bringing him food a few times, no one else had shown any concern. He felt as if he had been forgotten, just like the fallen leaves he used to sweep into the trash, their fates no longer anyone’s concern.

The reason for his imprisonment was absurd. Liu Wanjin, the menial officer who locked him up, had said: “Seizing a body for rebirth is a means of survival, but to take another’s flesh without permission is indefensible.”

“We cannot yet confirm your identity, so we cannot deal with you directly. But the Headmaster will soon return, and your identity will be discovered sooner or later.”

“You’d best stay here quietly and not attempt escape. The Headmaster will decide your fate.”

Upon hearing the words “body seizing for rebirth,” Wang Li knew he had been misunderstood. Unfortunately, his explanations were met with disbelief.

The matter began half a month ago.

He remembered well—it was his sixteenth birthday. His mother, Madam Liu, had journeyed from the capital of the Great Wei to see him. Having not seen her for years, Wang Li’s emotions surged, triggering a reaction to the Soul Stabilizing Charm his master had cast upon him. His soul, already on the verge of collapse, began to scatter. Despite his master’s efforts, his soul could not be stabilized, not even with the intervention of the Headmaster, Master Liuguang of Pure Yang Temple.

After exhausting a century of cultivation, Master Liuguang declared, “A person has three souls and seven spirits. Wang Li was born missing one soul and one spirit, and by rights should not have survived past three years old. Only through the sacrifice of the Wang clan and Sister Chu Xuan was he kept alive until now. Yet the decree of Heaven is not to be defied by mere mortals. Now, all we can do is help him depart in peace.”

Master Liuguang, whose cultivation had reached the Earth Immortal realm, spoke with authority. His pronouncement was a death sentence, leaving all in despair.

Wang Li, unable to cultivate due to his soul’s condition, had spent over a decade in the Scripture Repository, reading countless classics and Daoist texts. He knew that Master Liuguang, a supreme cultivator, possessed myriad miraculous means; if even he could not save Wang Li, then Wang Li’s fate was sealed.

He despaired—not because his life was ending, but because he had spent his entire existence confined to the Repository, never witnessing the world’s wonders. He’d listened to senior brothers and sisters speak of the outside world, describing it as dazzling and extraordinary. He often imagined himself, sword in hand, traveling the world and contributing to the righteous cause, earning the respect of the masses as an immortal.

He had not yet seen this world, nor fulfilled his duty as a disciple—to uphold justice and rid the world of evil. He had not made those in the Wang clan who looked down on him see him in a new light…

He did not want to die silently, like a flower that withers before it blooms.

In the depths of his agony, he made a solemn vow to Heaven and the temple’s ancestral masters: if he could survive, he would eradicate all evil and restore clarity to the world.

Perhaps Heaven and the ancestors heard his resolve, or perhaps fate would not let him perish. As his soul was about to dissipate completely, Lord Sheng appeared unexpectedly within his soul, supplementing it with his own remnant, not only saving Wang Li’s life but bestowing upon him a remarkable ability—data analysis.

With this skill, he could complete incomplete techniques or synthesize higher-tier techniques from numerous lower-grade ones, thus circumventing the usual limitations faced by cultivators regarding their methods. He could cultivate without being hindered by the quality of available techniques.

His soul restored, everyone was pleased. Master Liuguang inspected his soul and left in haste, and Master Chu Xuan returned to her retreat. All seemed normal.

The real trouble began seven days ago.

With Lord Sheng’s remnant soul, Wang Li recovered and, under Lord Sheng’s guidance, completed and practiced the Yellow-rank inferior technique “Purple Aura Rising from the East.” In just a few days, he advanced to the third level of the Qi Refining realm.

Excited, he forgot Lord Sheng’s warning. When absorbing purple aura from the morning sun, he failed to restrain himself, allowing uncontrolled spiritual energy to flood his body and causing a powerful surge.

At that moment, Liu Wanjin appeared behind him and, without explanation, locked him in this abandoned workshop.

He pleaded with Liu Wanjin to let him see his master. His master had always treated him kindly, and Wang Li believed he would be given a chance to prove he had not been possessed. Liu Wanjin, however, informed him that Master Chu Xuan was in seclusion.

Within Pure Yang Temple, his only supporters were his master and Granny Zheng. With his master in retreat and Granny Zheng powerless, she could only offer small comforts in daily life.

Granny Zheng believed he had not been possessed, but what good did that do?

So Wang Li was anxious, his nerves frayed for days, so much so that he neglected his cultivation—otherwise, he would have discovered there was not even enough spiritual energy here for training.

Lord Sheng, for reasons unknown, had not appeared in days, leaving Wang Li without even someone to talk to.

In this confined space, a sixteen-year-old boy sat alone, filled with confusion and fear.

More than anything, he wanted to leave, to see his master, to explain everything—even if it meant returning to the Repository to sweep floors once more.

The sound of the old workshop door opening echoed through the gloom. Liu Wanjin, tall and upright, entered.

He looked at the dazed Wang Li with a conflicted expression. “The Headmaster sent me with a message: If you wish to leave, you must swear an oath—an oath never to harm Pure Yang Temple. The Headmaster says if you can prove your worth, the temple may consider not pursuing the matter of you seizing Wang Li’s body.”

“For the Pure Yang Temple to tolerate your existence is a great fortune for you!”

Liu Wanjin’s tone was troubled, tinged with dissatisfaction. He had never imagined that one of the Eight Great Pillars of the righteous path, Master Liuguang, would bargain with a demon who seized bodies at will. As a man of upright character with a deep hatred for the demonic path, Liu Wanjin found the Headmaster’s actions contrary to the sect’s principles, and felt considerable resistance in his heart.

But Master Liuguang was the Headmaster, and as a mere menial officer, Liu Wanjin could not sway his decisions. Thus, he delivered the message reluctantly.

Wang Li, oblivious to Liu Wanjin’s displeasure, replied listlessly, “I truly have not been possessed. This is all a misunderstanding.”

PS: The contract for the new book has passed. Feel free to invest and add it to your collection. The new book is launching; please recommend and collect. The first few chapters have been heavily revised. This is my first attempt at a cultivation novel. If there are any errors or omissions, I ask that my benefactors forgive me. Thank you!