In a small country in the southern border, called Nanli, there is a mountain on the western edge known as Xianji Mountain. The mountain is often surrounded by red clouds, giving it a mystical air. The peak is rocky and rugged, as if stones from the sky had fallen there, making it look even more unique among the red clouds.
Old tales say that there are immortals in this mountain, but no one has ever found even a single hair from one. The red clouds have become a topic of conversation among villagers, and aside from a few stubborn seekers of immortality who occasionally visit, it’s just an ordinary little mountain.
At midnight, a young boy slowly climbed to the top of the mountain and stood lost in thought outside a pile of rocks. He wasn’t a seeker of immortality, just a villager from the foot of the mountain.
Strangely, ever since he turned sixteen this year, he often felt a strange impulse, as if something in the mountain was waiting for him. Unable to resist, he would come to the top to daydream, but he had never found anything.
The rocks at the top were rough and had some ancient patterns on them, though they were chaotic and disorganized. The boy reached out to touch them and felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity, something he couldn’t quite place. He had seen these rocks every day since he was a child, but he had never felt this way before…
“I wonder if it has something to do with my parents… When I ask Uncle Xu and the others, they all say I’m just dreaming.” The boy looked up at the stars and the moon, which was high in the sky. Through the red clouds, the moonlight strangely had a hint of red.
At that moment, he suddenly heard voices coming from the pile of rocks: “How unlucky! I came all this way to this broken mountain, and I don’t even know which scoundrel got to Little Taohong from Yihong Courtyard first.”
Someone replied, “Shut up, the national master said…”
As the conversation continued, two people emerged from the pile of rocks. When they saw the boy, they paused in surprise, and the man’s half-finished sentence was swallowed back. Then, they broke into sinister smiles and lunged at the boy with two long swords.
The country boy was simple-minded and had little experience. He had seen some seekers of immortality before, and they were always polite to the local villagers. He never imagined that these people would attack him without a word. Even when the two swords pierced through him, he didn’t understand why it was happening.
The two men laughed as they walked away. The boy lay in the middle of the rocks, blood gushing from his chest. He stared wide-eyed at the direction the two had gone, wanting to ask why even as he was dying.
They had underestimated the boy’s will to live, thinking he would surely die. In reality, he had trained in martial arts since he was young, and if he hadn’t been caught off guard, it wouldn’t have been so easy for them to kill him. As he lay there, he slowly noticed that the rocks he had grown accustomed to were starting to change as his blood soaked into them.
Under the moonlight, the stones began to shine with a ghostly blue light, mixing with the bright red blood, creating a strange sight. Then, the glow seemed to spread, and soon the surrounding rocks started to shine blue as well. In no time, the entire rocky area at the mountain peak was glowing blue, and the dying boy suddenly vanished.
Before him was a twisting scene, followed by a vast sea of blood-red, like a world dyed in blood. There was no end in sight, no boundaries, only countless white bones scattered on the ground, giving off a terrible stench.
Along with the bones, there were fragments of stone tablets, various broken weapons, and sword handles scattered everywhere. In the surrounding red mist, it seemed like countless faces were twisting, screaming, and wailing.
“Is this… hell?” The boy’s consciousness was fading. “I hate this…”
Unbeknownst to him, in this special place, there seemed to be a unique spiritual energy gradually repairing his body. Although he should have bled to death, his body was slowly healing. Unfortunately, his soul was already too weak, and his consciousness was dissipating; he wouldn’t be able to survive.
Deep within his soul, amidst the cries of despair, a vague voice suddenly spoke: “This bloodline… no wonder you can come here…”
“Bloodline?”
“Are you about to die?” The voice sounded pleased. “Such a weak soul, just perfect!”
Before the boy could react, a cold presence surged from somewhere, piercing through his soul and reaching deep into his consciousness. He could only feel a terrifying ghostly face grinning at him from the depths of his soul, as endless darkness surrounded and swallowed him.
“Possession…” was the boy’s last thought.
He was so unlucky, first killed by someone, then possessed… Well, since he was going to die anyway, the boy’s soul let out a final roar: “If you take my body, then go ask the national master why!”
At that moment, an unknown soul suddenly broke into this twisted space-time.
As if sensing the shell that had just lost its soul, the new soul aimlessly entered the boy’s body.
The ghostly face that was trying to possess him seemed surprised, but then realized the new soul wasn’t strong either. So, it decided to go all out and swallowed the new soul along with the boy’s, trying to digest it.
With a loud bang, an overwhelming amount of information flooded in, catching the ghostly face off guard. With a muffled groan, the new soul was completely rejected.
It seemed that this setback was quite serious; the ghostly face immediately weakened, unable to maintain its form, and was pushed back like a tide, leaving the boy’s body.
Only the new soul remained in the boy’s body.
The boy opened his eyes, feeling confused.
“So, hell really exists? Is this what hell is like?”
Silence.
After a moment, a voice floated up: “What are those computer and phone videos you have in your soul?”
The boy replied, “Huh? You’ve been in hell for so many years and you don’t know about these?”
“…” The voice paused for a while before helplessly saying, “Who are you?”
“My name is Qin Yi.”
The voice sounded somewhat mocking: “What a coincidence, from the soul I just swallowed, it seems that the person you’re possessing is also named Qin Yi.” Hearing this, the boy immediately became alert: “Wait, this isn’t hell… Who are you?”
“You can call me Liu Su,” the voice said slowly. “This isn’t hell, but it can be considered hell. Do you… want to go out?”
“How do I get out?”
“Pick me up, and you can go out.”
“Pick you up?”
“There’s a wolf tooth club leaning against the ground next to you. That’s me.”
Qin Yi: “…”
Just as Qin Yi pulled out the wolf tooth club, the space twisted, and the entire area suddenly disappeared. When he opened his eyes again, he was back on the mountain peak, with the moon bright and the red clouds swirling around.
Meanwhile, at the foot of the mountain in the small village.
An old farmer sat up from his bed.
A woodcutter opened the door to look at the moon.
A yellow dog at the village entrance turned to look at the mountain top.
“The door opened?”
“No, it didn’t.”
“That’s because I’m guarding the door, and you’re just guarding a grave.”
“Actually, I don’t want to guard a grave.”
“Then why don’t you leave?”
“It left, so this isn’t a grave anymore.”
“I never thought you’d make so much sense.”
…
In the Nanli royal palace.
“Father, may you be well.”
“Qinglin, Qingjun, you’ve come at the right time. I took the national master’s golden pill last night and feel a bit younger. Do you see? Has my white hair lessened a bit?”
The young prince remained silent for a moment and quietly said, “Father, there’s no…” Seeing his father’s expression darken, the prince changed the subject: “Last night, the general reported that the Western Wilderness Kingdom is gathering troops at Shicheng. There seems to be some movement.”
The king waved his hand impatiently: “You handle it.”
“Yes.” The prince quietly retreated.
After leaving the palace, he turned back to glance for a moment, then shifted his gaze toward the splendid Daoist temple in the west of the city, where worshippers were bustling, bowing in reverence. Amid the lingering sounds of celestial music, the temple, surrounded by smoke and fire, looked like a palace of immortals.
The prince’s gaze gradually turned cold.
“Does brother also dislike Dong Huazi?” A clear voice rang in his ear.
“Also?” The prince looked at his sister. “Aren’t you very fond of the immortal?”
“I admire the immortal, but aren’t immortals supposed to be free, wandering in the clouds? How could they come to this mundane world to be a national master?”
The prince chuckled softly: “True.”
“Hey, actually there are many places that say there are immortals. Let’s go find a real immortal. If we really find one, I’ll follow them to cultivate…” The prince stared at the temple for a while, then smiled back: “Sure, when I have some free time, I’ll go with you to find one.”
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(End of chapter)