Chapter 1

Xiang Baiquan glanced at the mountain scenery in the early autumn distance.

He had also become a landscape in the eyes of the ninth-generation disciples of Wudang Mountain.

It was a robust young man with a smile in his eyes, wearing a loose white robe that almost revealed his shoulders, his black hair unbound and flowing down, messy enough to serve as a bird's nest.

"Little Uncle~~~"

"It's Little Uncle!!"

"Where is Little Uncle going?"

A group of ninth-generation disciples waved their hands, shouting, showing their high respect for this uncle who was always at the bottom in terms of strength on Wudang Mountain.

Yes, as long as there was an uncle, their master couldn't scold them for being "incapable of being taught." This would remind their master of Little Uncle, and then he would feel that even the grandmaster was being scolded, which was very bad.

Xiang Baiquan nodded with a smile, walking on a winding mountain path, with the Daoist temple surrounded by a wall in the distance.

If viewed from a high place, the mountain path and the Daoist temple enclosed by the wall resembled a snake and a turtle.

The Taiji Palace enshrines the Great Emperor Zhenwu.

The Great Emperor Zhenwu is also known as the Great Emperor Xuanwu, a water god combining a turtle and a snake, and a demon-slaying celestial.

When Xiang Baiquan arrived at the Daoist temple, two young Daoist boys hurried forward, saying, "Little Uncle, the grandmaster has been waiting for you for a long time."

Xiang Baiquan looked up at the two characters "Zixiao" on the temple's plaque, feeling a bit nostalgic. It had been seventeen years since he had crossed over to this world.

In his previous life, he had flattered the powerful to support his family. Although he was well-connected and respected as "Mr. Xiang" wherever he went, he increasingly didn't know who he was.

Later, just one failure and a serious illness took his life. The money he had worked hard to earn in his life was not even enough to cover the cost of that failure.

Moreover, his serious illness was a bottomless pit of expenses, requiring large daily expenditures, and it only prolonged his suffering.

To avoid burdening his family, he chose to disconnect the ventilator. In the dead of night, he used all his strength to crawl to the window, pulled open the heavy curtain, and shakily stood up, looking at the world outside in the night wind.

He thought to himself, this life was bustling and busy, but what did he gain? If there was a next life, he would certainly break free from the shackles of fame and fortune, live freely and easily, and not waste his life.

He looked at the colorful world in the silent night, and his eyes closed like dust.

Xiang Baiquan closed his eyes as well, the two characters "Zixiao" still hanging above his head.

Then the autumn rain began to fall.

The rain curtain seemed to wash away the remaining prosperity of this world, knocking down every flower and leaf still stubbornly clinging to the branches.

The fierce west wind howled, and the mountain was soon covered with fallen leaves.

In the Zixiao Palace, the old Daoist with white eyebrows had been waiting for him. There wasn't much to say between master and disciple. The old Daoist pointed to two trays on the table.

On the left tray was a sword, and on the right tray was a talisman.

The old Daoist, who always looked drowsy, claimed that this was the form of "the beginning of the great way, before yin and yang were separated, a state of chaos." Seeing Xiang Baiquan, he rambled on, but Xiang Baiquan simply and clearly interrupted him and said, "Go."

Xiang Baiquan knew the procedure, grabbed the sword, put the talisman in his pocket, and respectfully bowed before turning around.

He was very familiar with the procedure. His senior brothers and sisters had often reminded him that this was a ceremony established by the Taiji Palace, which only the direct disciples of the master needed to perform.

He was the old Daoist's last disciple, so he naturally couldn't skip this part.

His senior brothers and sisters had also reminded him, "Using a talisman can not only focus on the path of talismans but also provide an assistant. Using a sword requires going out to train, and slaying demons doesn't bring much benefit."

Yes.

This ceremony is called "Observing the Heart."

In the back mountain, there is a demon that the master has prepared. The demon has reached the transformation stage but is imprisoned in the "Demon Locking Tower."

Each direct disciple must go to the back mountain after three years of joining the palace to meet this demon.

Then, they can either slay the demon with a sword or capture it with a talisman.

Whether to slay or capture the demon, there is no taboo on Wudang Mountain. Even the Great Emperor Zhenwu had captured the water and fire demons to transform them into the turtle and snake generals, so why should they be any different?

This is a test of one's character.

On the mountain path, the young man in the white Daoist robe held a black umbrella, walking over the winding path. The path gradually narrowed, like a sheep's intestine. He paused in front of a stone tablet marked "Back Mountain."

Further ahead was the Prince's Cave, where it was said that the Great Emperor Zhenwu had shed his mortal identity as a prince and practiced Daoism.

But Xiang Baiquan's destination was the peak north of the stone tablet. He walked up the neglected path and began to climb the mountain.

At the mountain peak stood a four-story tower, the Demon Locking Tower. Apart from the dim and dull talismans pasted under the eaves, there was nothing special.

The Daoist guarding the tower recognized the master's last disciple and hurriedly bowed and stepped aside.

At this moment, in the first floor of the Demon Locking Tower, a demon in the form of a seductive woman was sitting. Her hands and legs were shackled, and the talismans on the shackles completely suppressed her demon powers.

The seductive woman heard footsteps, knew who was coming, and knew that today was the day of her fate. The Buddhist saying goes, "Lay down the butcher's knife and instantly become a Buddha," and the Daoist path allows demons to coexist as long as they cleanse their past sins.

The seductive woman hurriedly stood up, respectfully kneeling down, showing a pitiful and heart-wrenching appearance. When a figure stood in front of the cage, she raised her eyes to carefully observe.

It was a smiling, seemingly easy-going Daoist in a white robe. The oversized robe and casually flowing black hair, which would normally look messy, gave him a sense of freedom due to his youth.

The seductive woman bowed and said, "I have already admitted my mistakes. I beg the immortal to take me out... I will do my utmost to cleanse my past sins."

"Girl, look up."

A gentle voice sounded.

The seductive woman, who had already prepared her emotions, let the tears in her eyes fall as she raised her head, looking pitifully at Xiang Baiquan, like a spring apricot with dew or a pear blossom with rain.

But she suddenly noticed something strange, as the young Daoist's gaze was... too lustful.

She felt a surge of joy and puffed out her chest.

However...

"That's not my type." Xiang Baiquan glanced at her, his eyes filled with disdain, and said with a smile, "Too small."

Then, without saying anything more, he drew his sword, gathered his strength, and slashed.

The seductive woman was still in shock when a cold light flashed, and her head was severed.

Her head hit the ground, transforming into a fierce dragon's head, and her graceful body, losing the power to maintain its human form, swelled and transformed back into a dragon's body over ten meters long, lying on the cold, hard ground.

Dragon blood splattered everywhere, a striking sight.

This scene also made the senior brothers and sisters, who were observing through the "Manifestation Talisman," explode in surprise.

"Little Brother actually said it was too small? This perspective is truly a blind spot for me..."

"Little Brother probably doesn't know about the Manifestation Talisman. That's right, Little Brother's Daoist skills are shallow, so it's normal for him not to know about the Manifestation Talisman."

"I always thought Little Brother was hiding his true abilities, but today I realize he is truly shallow."

"Little Brother is really foolish... He didn't even want to capture a free dragon demon. With his current cultivation, it will be hard for him to leave the mountain. If he had the dragon demon's help, it would be much better."

"Hey... Little Brother isn't young anymore. He should consider his future. If he doesn't go out to explore, who will support him?"

"I will support him." A beautiful senior sister with a mole under each eye seriously replied.

The senior brothers and sisters turned their heads to look at her, then their eyes scanned her chest, and they laughed with ambiguous meanings.

The senior sister also looked down and felt very sad. She silently took out a stack of talismans from her pocket...

"Senior Sister Yu, please stay calm..."

"You are a Daoist, you should be calm and detached..."

The beautiful senior sister, hearing the words "calm and detached," thought it made sense and took back one of the talismans from the stack.

But then she thought, "Master said, a Daoist should follow their heart,"

With that, she took out a few more talismans from her pocket, used them, and threw them at her fellow disciples.

The scene became chaotic for a moment.

...

In the Demon Locking Tower, Xiang Baiquan looked at the dragon that had transformed back to its original form.

His mind flashed with the information he had gathered over the past few days.

This dragon had caused havoc in the Qiantang area, often sweeping away fishermen along the river during the largest tides at the end of summer and beginning of autumn.

These fishermen would turn into water ghosts, forever lurking in the waves, pushing the white waves day and night without rest...

Unless these water ghosts could find a substitute, they could not be released to the cycle of rebirth.

The dragon that the master had captured was the most evil demon in the Qiantang River floods, having killed countless innocent people.

If good and evil were not distinguished, how could one's heart be at ease, how could one live freely?

So, how could he let it go?

"I, Xiang Baiquan, am not someone who would compromise myself for benefits."

Xiang Baiquan was not regretful. He sheathed his sword, turned around, and left the Demon Locking Tower, and in his heart, he calmly said, "System, sign me in!!!"