Chapter 1

In the midst of the croaking of frogs and the cawing of crows, a sense of desolation hung over the graveyard.

The sky was dark, and a mass of dark clouds drifted over from the distance, playfully obscuring the bright moon, as if not wanting other living beings to bask in its gentle light. A gust of cold wind swept through the heavens and the earth.

Beneath the dark clouds lay a desolate graveyard, or rather, a cluster of graves. Although it could not be called a chaotic graveyard, one could still feel the sorrow emanating from this cemetery. Regardless of one's status in life, whether poor or rich, strong or weak, after death, one would inevitably turn into a mound of yellow earth, forever silent in this cold ground. Only the cold tombstones stood as a testament to their existence.

The tombstones were not neatly arranged but stood haphazardly on the hillside.

At the edge of the cemetery, a relatively new tombstone stood out.

Crack!

A silver-white lightning bolt suddenly streaked across the sky, piercing the darkness with a ray of light. This light illuminated the ancient characters on the tombstone clearly.

"Wu Muzhi's Tomb, Sister: Wu Xinlian weeps and erects this tombstone!!"

In front of the tomb, there were some ashes from burnt paper, swirling and dancing in the night breeze.

Bang!

At that moment, a golden lightning bolt suddenly tore through the air, appearing out of nowhere, and struck the cemetery without warning. The lightning, fierce and terrifying, like a monstrous beast with bared fangs, directly struck the grave of Wu Muzhi.

A loud boom echoed as the grave was struck, creating a large pit. Clear cracks spread rapidly in all directions, and the golden lightning, after striking the grave, vanished as if it had sunk into the vast earth.

Inside the tomb, a series of green bricks and large stones formed a tomb chamber that, while not luxurious, was not shabby. It was constructed like a house, isolating it from the yellow earth. Underground, it created a space. On the flat green stone floor, a stone coffin made of high-quality stone was placed.

Usually, after a person died, they would be buried in a wooden coffin. For someone to be buried in a stone coffin, it was evident that the deceased's family had deep feelings for them.

On top of this cold stone coffin, a bronze ancient lamp was placed.

The bronze lamp was covered with layers of bronze rust, giving it a sense of age and insignificance, as if it were about to be completely scrapped.

Inside the lamp, there was a wick, but it had been burned down to a mere trace, and the lamp oil had long been exhausted, the lamp having been extinguished for a long time.

Inside the stone coffin!

A tall young man, about 1.8 meters in height, lay cold and motionless, his body devoid of any warmth. He wore a set of neatly arranged green clothes, giving him a sense of resilience even in death. His youthful face suggested he was no more than sixteen or seventeen years old.

He still exuded a hint of innocence!

At this age, to have reached the end of his life, it could be called a premature death.

Thump! Thump!

In the deathly silent stone coffin, a drum-like heartbeat suddenly echoed, each beat making the stone coffin seem inexplicably terrifying.

If someone were there, they would likely be frightened out of their wits!

Heartbeat!

This was the sound of a heart beating.

From the rise and fall of the young man's chest, it was clear that the sound was coming from his chest, from his heart, which was beating.

Moreover, with the passage of time, the heartbeat was increasing at an astonishing rate, growing stronger and more powerful.

As the heart beat, the eyes, which had been closed for a long time, slowly opened. If someone were to see, they would notice a hint of confusion in his eyes.

"Where am I? Why is it so dark around me? Is it night? No, wasn't I in Shennongjia? Yes, I remember, I fell into a sinkhole. Could I be inside the sinkhole?"

The young man in the stone coffin opened his eyes and spoke in a hoarse voice, the confusion in his eyes gradually fading.

His name was Wu Mu, and he was the sole descendant of several generations. It was said that his ancestors were direct descendants of the first female emperor, Wu Zetian. Whether this was true or not was long unverifiable, as even the family genealogy had been lost during a chaotic period. The story of his origins was passed down through generations. The Wu family had always remained hidden in the world, rarely emerging.

However, despite the loss of the genealogy, the Wu family had considerable hidden power in various dynasties of China, though they never entered the imperial court. Instead, they remained hidden in the civilian world and the martial arts community.

Even in the martial arts community, they remained low-key, secretly collecting various martial arts techniques and compiling them into the Wu family's treasured book, the "Wu Canon"!

Speaking of the "Wu Canon," a sense of strangeness flashed through Wu Mu's mind.

The "Wu Canon" was extremely mysterious. According to generations of legends, it was said that after Empress Wu Zetian ascended to the throne, a minister found a piece of extraterrestrial iron in the civilian world. This iron was extremely peculiar, incredibly hard, and the empress, thinking of her Wu lineage, gathered craftsmen from all over the world to forge it into a seal to be passed down as a symbol of the Wu family's nobility.

However, this extraterrestrial iron was even more peculiar. No matter how it was heated or hammered, its shape could not be changed. It remained the same, and countless craftsmen were at a loss.

Later, a descendant of Ou Zhi suggested: "Extraterrestrial iron is a divine object, not to be forged with ordinary fire. It must be tempered with the fire of heaven and earth."

The empress agreed and sought a unique valley, known as Thunder Valley, where lightning would strike during thunderstorms, covering the entire valley. The empress ordered the extraterrestrial iron to be placed in the valley on a high platform, to be tempered by the fire of heaven and earth for months.

For ten years, the massive piece of extraterrestrial iron, under the tempering of lightning and fire, was hammered by countless craftsmen for ten years, eventually forming a palm-sized leaf, similar to an ordinary leaf but with a dull bronze color.

Moreover, it was said that although the bronze leaf appeared to be hammered, it was mostly formed by the lightning and fire, a creation of the heavens.

After receiving the bronze leaf, the empress, finding no special qualities, still bestowed it upon the Wu family as a treasured heirloom.

If that were all, it would have been fine.

However, after the Wu family received the bronze leaf, they carefully preserved it, only allowing the family head to wear and keep it. One day, while the family head was reading a sword manual, he accidentally placed it next to the bronze leaf. Unexpectedly, something extraordinary happened.

The bronze leaf suddenly emitted a bronze glow, enveloping the sword manual.

The family head saw the sword manual mysteriously decompose, transforming into ancient characters and images that entered the bronze leaf. The sword manual then disintegrated, and the bronze leaf's glow faded, leaving some subtle patterns on its surface.

The family head, shocked, kept this a secret.

Upon further investigation, he discovered that when wearing the bronze leaf, practicing sword techniques seemed faster, and insights would occasionally appear in his mind, but only for the sword techniques from the manual that had been absorbed by the bronze leaf.

This discovery delighted the family head.

He immediately sent people to collect various martial arts techniques from the civilian world and the martial arts community. When these techniques were placed next to the bronze leaf, they were indeed absorbed mysteriously.

From then on, the bronze leaf became the Wu family's highest secret, known as the "Wu Canon." They secretly collected various martial arts techniques from around the world. The more techniques the leaf absorbed, the smaller it became, continuously shrinking.

By the time it reached Wu Mu, it was only the size of a thumb.

Unfortunately, the Wu family suddenly declined, seemingly suffering a great calamity. Most of the information about the bronze leaf was lost, and the various martial arts techniques they had collected were also lost. In recent generations, they had not even practiced martial arts, only preserving the bronze leaf as a family heirloom.

After inheriting the bronze leaf, Wu Mu became very curious. After searching through ancient texts, he learned some information about the bronze leaf.

Moreover, he found mentions of Thunder Valley in the ancient texts, which stated that Thunder Valley was closely related to the bronze leaf. After reading this, Wu Mu became truly interested, thinking he might find the secrets of the bronze leaf in Thunder Valley. So, he packed his bags and headed to Shennongjia, where Thunder Valley was said to be located.

However, before he could find Thunder Valley, he accidentally fell into a sinkhole.

When he woke up, he found himself in this strange, pitch-black place.

"This is not the sinkhole."

At some point, Wu Mu realized he could move his hands. Touching the cold stone coffin around him, he realized he was in a confined space.

"Ah!!"

At that moment, as if touching a taboo, a terrible pain surged in his head, and unfamiliar memories suddenly flooded his mind, fiercely impacting his consciousness.