Chapter 1: First Entry

Lu Jiangxian had a very long dream, dreaming of rice fields, the clash of swords, and the Immortal Sect, a woman, and a large lake.

"Hand over the 'Yin Qi Cultivation Technique' and the 'Secret Essentials of Moonlight,' and we will only cripple your cultivation."

A pleasant yet cold female voice echoed in his ear, and Lu Jiangxian vaguely saw a blurred face, but he couldn't make it out clearly.

...

"Clang!"

A violent jolt suddenly woke Lu Jiangxian.

Strange and bizarre colors flashed in his mind. Lu Jiangxian tried to open his eyes and stand up, but his body, as if under a spell, ignored his commands.

At that moment, a brilliant white light pierced through the dense darkness in front of him. Although the darkness surged like a tide, the beam of light stood firm, eternal like the sun.

Dense golden runes burst forth from it, stretching out in the darkness like stars scattered across the sky.

"Beautiful," Lu Jiangxian thought in a daze.

As the runes multiplied, reaching a certain limit, he heard a sound like shattering glass.

The world lit up.

Lu Jiangxian saw a sky as vast as the sea, an endless expanse of dense primeval forest, and not far away, a crescent-shaped small lake. In that direction, a white streak of light fell into the shimmering lake.

Below, a small cluster of thatched-roof huts and vast rice fields were nestled.

In the turbulent view, he felt like a light sparrow flying over the small, brown village and the smoke, gliding over the clear river.

In a fleeting glance, Lu Jiangxian saw his reflection in the river.

"It seems to be a round, glowing thing," Lu Jiangxian thought in confusion, a vague premonition rising in his heart:

"Am I no longer human?"

" Splash!" Another violent jolt came, and Lu Jiangxian quickly sank into the water. The river was too shallow to cushion the impact, so he lightly hit the green stones at the bottom.

The impact felt like a punch to the chest, making him feel short of breath and chest tightness. However, his body, using the turbulent river and the force of the impact, steadily flipped over, facing the sun on the water's surface.

"Wasn't I staying up late in my rental apartment to revise a proposal?"

Lu Jiangxian silently watched the sun on the water's surface, the ripples causing the light patterns at the bottom to twist continuously.

Recalling the past, Lu Jiangxian's head ached. He only remembered collapsing on the bed, the smoke and neon lights in the rental apartment passing by his side.

Opening a bottle of beer, he sat at the dim computer desk, feeling a dizzying sensation and a rapid heartbeat, making it hard to breathe.

"I think... I died?"

"Maybe this is for the best, no need to worry about the future, no need to worry about life."

Perhaps due to long-term suppression, such thoughts floated in Lu Jiangxian's mind, and he even felt a bit elated.

Observing his surroundings, the dark green tree branches with hanging aerial roots, the agile fish occasionally darting past, and the faint sound of water splashing.

Lu Jiangxian sighed:

"But this way, I'll go crazy from boredom."

So he stared blankly as the sun slowly slid from above, the brilliant sunset filling the sky, and the water under the tree branches gradually darkening.

During this time, two fish curiously circled around him, and even a crab tried to flip him over.

Until the moon moved to the treetops, the clear moonlight gently fell on the river, and Lu Jiangxian felt a cool breath seep into the river bottom, bringing a faint sense of comfort.

Watching the moonlight gradually gather above his body, forming a pale white halo as if it had come to life, Lu Jiangxian was greatly alarmed, his mindset changing completely:

"What is this, absorbing the essence of the sun and moon? Are there really immortals, divine powers, monsters, and ghosts in this world?" he thought in shock, "What have I become, a spirit of an object?"

A sense of curiosity and joy rose in Lu Jiangxian's heart, and the pale white halo seemed to have gathered enough strength, floating onto his body.

He felt a cool sensation all over, falling into a state of meditation between sleep and wakefulness.

After an unknown amount of time, the air currents became thinner, and Lu Jiangxian suddenly woke up. The crescent moon had faded from the sky, and the sun rose above the treetops, warm morning light spreading over the river.

"So fast."

Lu Jiangxian was overjoyed. Upon careful examination, he indeed felt a faint current of energy circulating around his body, moving in a circular path along the edges.

Even when he focused his mind, he could vaguely see a gray-green mirror lying quietly at the bottom of the river, surrounded by various colored stones, with a few fish foraging at the bottom.

The crab was digging nearby. The visible range was about a meter around him, not very clear, like an old, thick-headed TV.

"This is me now, I guess," Lu Jiangxian said with a bitter smile. Then he deliberately made the energy current stop at the center of the mirror, and the gray-green mirror emitted a faint glow.

"Besides glowing, I don't see any other use."

"First, I'll focus on absorbing the moonlight; maybe there will be a qualitative change," he planned: "I don't know what the mirror is made of, or how the outside world views intelligent objects. I hope no cultivator discovers me and casually extinguishes my consciousness."

A white bird stands in the mirror, a painted boat travels in the sky.

(End of Chapter)