Chapter 1 - Opportunity

  In a tranquil and dense forest, far away from any civilization, a small contingent of soldiers, dressed in flashy armor that was embroidered with the sun, advanced stealthily. The quiet sound of countless metal boots and weapons was frightening. Everywhere they went, it was filled with sweat, heavy panting and a sense of foreboding.

  The soldiers were moving with great care, as if they were a tiger sneaking up on their prey, ready to pounce at it anytime.

  In between all of these men, there were a few who stood out, but there was only one youth who was not filled with fear. He stood out in this group, mainly because of his white pupils and grand stature. His features didn't seem to be anything special, but he had a certain type of noble aura that made people feel at ease. He was on the frontline and seemed to be the center of attention, not because of his looks, but instead because he was standing upright and blankly staring into nothingness.

  “Lu Jian!"

  The young man whose name was shouted, almost jumped up.

  A soldier on his right, the one who called out his name, looked very unhappy. He was a middle aged man who had a fierce look in his eyes and was staring at him with raised eyebrows.

  “What are you doing!” “You are a disgrace to my household!”

  The man in question, Lu Jian, still startled, couldn't recall when he began, but at some point during the day, he started to daydream about an enormous battle where he was standing on a mountain of slain enemies, bathing in his glory proudly and unfettered.

  He was looking down on a crowd bowing to him, and on the front there was the middle aged soldier, trembling and pleading. But suddenly in this wonderful fantasy, the man stood up and started to yell at him, frightening him greatly.

  When he came to his senses, he just realized that after a days long march, he got more and more tired and bored. He saw the fierce expression on the man and was horrified:

  “Third Master!” “I didn–”

  “How dare you disobey my order!”

  Unexpectedly, a loud shout came from the middle of the formation, interrupting him quickly.

  It belonged to an imposing commander who looked like he was on the verge of killing someone. In the blink of an eye he was already in front of them.

  Seeing this, Lu Jian and even the fierce man beside him were scared out of their wits and knelt down hurriedly.

  “Captain Wang, we wouldn't dare to!”

  Compared to the man beside him, who Lu Jian wasn't really that scared off, the commander surnamed Wang who was in command of their unit was the really frightening one:

  “I heard he is an immortal who is on the same level as the patriarch of the Jin family! He could kill me with a glance!”

  He immediately prostrated himself on the ground, trembling heavily, and even the man who scolded him, did the same at almost the same time. He raised his head respectfully and began to plead:

  “Please sir Wang, he is just an ignorant junior. He recently reached adulthood and is a guest of our Jin family. Please give patriarch Xuan some face!”

  Hearing this, Captain Wang just sneered inside:

  "Patriarch? He is just from a minor clan in this remote area and dares to give himself such big names!”

  But he remained unchanged on the outside, pondering to himself how to properly handle this situation. On a normal day he would have just heavily punished or even killed them for disobeying commands. But sadly he was on an important mission from the count to eradicate the remnants of a buddhist temple here as quickly and efficiently as possible. Angering the local nobles just made this task harder and might possibly displease the count:

  “The faster I come out of this remote backwater the better.”

  Thinking about this, he pretended to give in and shouted angrily:

  “Alright, but he still needs punishment! You! Scout the perimeter for any signs of the enemy and report it back immediately!”

  Lu Jian and third master Jin looked as if they had been pardoned and immediately thanked him heavily for his mercy.

  Wang Jie then turned around and unhappily walked back to the center of the formation, leaving the two alone.

  Only after the man left did two men breathe a sigh of relief. They both felt that they just narrowly escaped death. Lu jian hurriedly turned to the other soldier and tried to apologize:

  “I didn't intend to embarrass the third master or the upper family, I was a fool for disobeying!”

  This third master is called Jin Xuanwan and he is the third son of the current patriarch Jin Tian, a renowned immortal in the town of Jinyan and its surroundings. Lu jian is just a minor servant in the household of Jin Xuanwan and was chosen to go along this campaign for his martial ability and to serve the third master, who was the one currently cursing at him:

  “...you should be grateful! I took you in after your parents died and gave you a place to live. You were able to play with my sons as a child and had a roof over your head! And you repay me with this? When this is over, you will be punished! Useless brat! Now go, before you embarrass our Jin family again!”

  Lu jian acted as if he had been given a new chance at life, but on the inside he just complained:

  “What house, what life? I have been mistreated since I was young, your sons saw me as a personal slave and you never said anything! Just because they are useless and I show some promise, did you take me with you!”

  But to Jin Xuanwan, who got more and more impatient and restless, he just looked fearful. After a few more formalities he sent him away and returned to the frontline.

  —---------------

  In the forest.

  Lu Jian had been walking around endlessly for more than half a day without spotting anything, and he quickly grew bored and began to curse at Jin Xuanwan:

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  “Just you see, in a year are the imperial examinations and until then i will have left the family!”

  He had been planning to join the officials of the empire the day he heard about it 3 years ago. For the poor and ambitious Lu Jian, this was an opportunity to change his life from a poor slave to a respected official, to finally be able to have control of one's own life. So he intended to leave his town and family in half a year to set out for the capital.

  The current mishap unexpectedly interrupted his carefully laid out plan, but that didn't matter much. It just meant leaving the family a bit earlier than originally intended. He would lose out on a few resources but in the overall situation, that wouldn't matter too much. His only pain was leaving without saying goodbye to his teacher, who cared for him and taught him about life since his youth. But he could always revisit his hometown when he was successful.

  He pondered about his new situation for a long time, so long even that he didn't realize that he came to a small creek. Feeling extremely thirsty, he was about to head down and fill his flask, when all of a sudden, he spotted a monk squating on the edge washing his hands while humming a tune.

  Immediately on full alert, Lu Jian quickly got in a fighting stance and drew his sword. The monk on the other side also noticed him and jumped up with a shout. After looking around and seeing that Lu Jian was alone, he seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.

  He asked amicably:

  “What would a soldier of the northern garrison do here in this idyllic place, I wonder?”

  Lu Jian didn't answer and advanced slowly, seeing the monks buddhist clothing, he started to shout rightfully:

  “On the immortal decree of Count Qing of Jingzhou all buddhist practitioners have to obey the Zhou Court or die.”

  "Surrender!"

  When the monk on the other side heard this sentence, he seemed disappointed and just laughed angrily, immediately starting to run barehanded at him.

  Not giving Lu Jian any chance at taking the initiative. He threw out a punch aimed directly at his face:

  “What Zhou Court? Treacherous demons, always scheming and plotting, caged up in their so-called politics without caring about the universal truth!”

  Lu Jian, who didn't expect such a radical action at all, was caught by surprise and hastily dodged the punch that seemed like it would hurt him heavily. He himself was thrown out of rhythm and could only barely muster a counter attack with his sword. Aiming at his upper body from the left, he slashed out in a poor attempt to retaliate.

  Lu Jian cursed inwardly:

  “Crazy bastard, do you have no regard for your life!?”

  Contrary to his expectations the monk did not retreat, but advanced. He punched at his swinging arm, not giving him any chance to breathe. He then somehow skillfully managed to divert the brunt of the attack and was only lightly hurt from the blunt force of the blow.

  Lu Jian felt that his attack was almost of no use and quickly retreated a few steps back to gather himself. Looking up, the shaved head of the monk was spotless and devoid of any sweat or dirt, looking pristine.

  His round black and white eyes stared directly at him and a big smile started to form on his mouth, showing his big white teeth. He had no possessions, except for a set of monk robes that were dirty and haggard, giving him the appearance of a humble buddha who traveled the mortal world to enlighten the common people. Not human at all.

  Just when the confused Lu Jian wanted to pounce back, he saw the monk opening his mouth and the sound of sanskrit prayers filled the air. Immediately, Lu Jian felt that something was immensely wrong with this and his instincts warned him to flee as quickly as possible.

  At this moment, Lu Jian saw something that scared him almost senseless. The monk, who was praying just now, slightly widened his perfectly round eyes and began to glow in a golden hue that spread around him. The Sanskrit prayers were still hanging in the air, but now, instead of otherworldly and holy they seemed angry, as if they were mad at him.

  Lu Jian was immediately enveloped in an intangible glow and felt his movements getting slower and his panic slowing. His sense of combativeness receded like the tide and he began to think randomly of past sins he once committed.

  Lying for his own benefit, deceiving his fellow family or even fleeing from his punishment earlier. He even began to question his ambitions of going to the imperial examination to prove himself and achieve freedom.

  He recognized that his desires took lordship over him, not letting him be selfless and accept enlightenment, binding him to earthly virtues. He got the feeling that it was not fair to attack a harmless monk who was trying to help him to paradise and felt an inexplicable need to discuss and share his ideals with this man.

  Just when he was about to open his mouth and present his sword as a gift for harmony, something he usually treasured with all his life. Did his white pupils lighten up, they got a little bit clearer and brighter, something impossible to detect with mortal perception.

  He suddenly felt his mind becoming clear again.

  Lu Jian was horrified:

  “Oh no, an immortal monk!”

  "I'm doomed!"

  He immediately made the decision to trust his instincts that were screaming at him during the entire time and started to run away as quickly as possible, stunning the monk:

  “Huh? I'm still casting this spell and can't move. Why didn't he get affected!?”

  "Damn it!”

  The monk cursed and could only watch the armored soldier as he ran for his life, waiting for the golden hue to recede. After he finally managed to calm his energy, the soldier was already far gone.

  —-----------

  Lu Jian was panting heavily, he didn't know how far he had come, but he valued his own life and gave it no chances. Especially while facing an immortal. His mind was in disarray, but he still managed to keep a clear perception of his surroundings, spotting an overgrown entrance to a cave on his right:

  “Thank the heavens! I hope I managed to lose him, I need to hide as quickly as possible, lest I run into another bald donkey!”

  He hoped to flee and stay hidden until the tumult was over and then quietly travel north to Jinyan city as quickly as possible, to get to safety. So Lu Jian quickly jumped into the cave with great vigor.

  After entering the cave, Lu Jian instantly felt the weird ambient atmosphere of this place. It was intangible and invisible, but Lu Jian felt strangely comfortable, like he did belong to this environment. It somehow rejected him but also accepted him at the same time and in turn gave him an invisible pressure just standing there:

  “I'm lucky! This has to be some kind of spiritual cave! There must be a treasure somewhere deeper in it. This could change my life forever! I need to get it!”

  Forgetting his earlier encounter, he advanced deeper and deeper into the cave, and at some point saw the air filled with golden light and the ground plastered with turquoise grass.

  These two magical phenomena seemed to be in perfect harmony with another, seemingly both overbearing and accommodating, giving the whole place an immortal feel. Lu Jian just looked at it with wonder and didn't dare to touch these immortal treasures, for fear of the unknown. So he followed the plants and went even deeper into the cave.

  After an unknown amount of time, Lu Jian finally reached a dead end. An unnaturally smooth cavern wall was before his eyes, with nothing but a small crevice in the middle of it. The edge of the hole was filled with ancient and confusing symbols, likely having some miraculous effect once, now they were just like old paint on stone, with even some of it missing. But he seemed to be at a loss on how to proceed, his own fear of immortals and their methods was immense.

  Especially after just encountering one, he was more vigilant about supernatural powers than he ever was in his entire life. But the closer he got, the more this weird feeling attracted him to this place. Like it was consciously guiding him to something beyond this small opening. Calling out to him.

  What made him pause was exactly that feeling, after just being bewitched by that monk, he was on guard:

  “This has to be a trap, there is definitely an old demon hiding there, waiting to devour me whole!”

  Lu jian laughed inwardly at uncovering the demons plot, saving his life, and was about to leave in a hurry, when a thought occurred to him:

  “If he is a demon, why would he lure me inside? He could have just attacked right here and I could have done nothing about it. It has to be weak or even injured!”

  Greed instantly flashed in Lu Jians eyes and he mustered up his courage and went inside the opening warily.

  After crawling a while, he eventually reached a spacious cave. It was a big round space filled with abundant hazy light that was sometimes flashing with a golden color. Dancing around in a mesmerizing way, giving the cave the feel of a recluse of an immortal.

  The whole cave was empty except for a small circle in the middle of the room. There was a humanoid being lying on the ground in a disjointed manner, almost as if it had died in the middle of getting torn apart.

  This horrifying sight made Lu Jians hairs stand up and he felt goosebumps all over his body:

  “How can there be such a monster? I never heard of one so human-like in my life! But it seems to be dead. It hasn't moved an inch since I entered….and it has to have some treasures.”

  Thinking about the creature's belongings, Lu Jians eyes lit up and he quietly went closer to the puppet, reaching out to it, when suddenly all the hazy light in the cave started to boil and move in confusing patterns, frightening him almost crazy.

  “Not again!”

  He was about to run for his life, when he saw the lifeless body of the puppet move on its own and stand up, freezing him in place out of horror. The puppet stood up and immediately locked its head on Lu Jian, instantly moving very fast in his direction while grabbing his stretched out hand.

  Lu Jian, suddenly in a huge dilemma, felt a sharp pain in his hand and could only watch as the puppet held a firm grip on his hand.

  The pain intensified and he could feel the cold and lifeless touch of the creature, tightening around his hand strongly. No matter what he tried, punching, kicking or pulling, he couldn't get himself free or even move the creature a single bit.

  He only saw his blood flowing out of his hand at an alarming rate, but nothing of it touched the ground, it all flowed up the arm of the puppet forming a kind of skin, flowing around every part of its body.

  He felt himself getting weaker and weaker and thought bitterly to himself:

  “So that's it, it was a nice life, it's a pity I didn't get to be free after all….”

  After what felt like an eternity, Lu jian finally lost consciousness and fell limply to the ground.

  The puppet, which was taking a more human-like shape the more the time passed, just continued without a care. After a while it started to form a face, which looked strangely similar to Lu Jians. It still had somewhat of a mechanic look, but it almost seemed like a real human being.

  Barely alive, it finally took its hand away, leaving Lu Jian just laying on the ground. It slowly opened its eyes, revealing them to be just as white as Lu Jians.

  Looking down on the limpless body it started to whisper in a hoarse voice:

  “What is going on?”