Chapter 3

The Xiao family had been shrouded in gloom recently. Just the day before yesterday, Xiao Cheng, who had just turned eighteen, was struck by lightning. By the time he received treatment, it was already too late. Generally, for a large family like the Xiao family, the death of a descendant would not shake the foundation of the family. However, Xiao Cheng was the only surviving heir, with his four elder brothers all having died young, leaving behind four beautiful and childless widows.

One can imagine the scene when a family that has been passed down for hundreds of years suddenly loses its only heir. The news spread, and the Xiao family fell into a state of turmoil. The old grandmother, with tears streaming down her face, was furious, declaring that the family was finished.

Of course, some were happy while others were sad. The vast majority of people were delighted by Xiao Cheng's accidental death, and even many within the family secretly rejoiced, wishing to celebrate the death of this evil person with fireworks.

The reason was simple: Xiao Cheng was truly detestable, bullying men and women, and committing every kind of evil deed. His wickedness was so extreme that it was almost inhuman. He even blocked an ambulance to watch a pregnant woman give birth out of curiosity. If it weren't for the timely arrival of the family head, Xiao Fusheng, who knows what kind of tragedy might have occurred.

Such evil deeds were not few. He committed rape, extortion, and beatings as if they were daily occurrences. A person who had reached such a bizarre level of wickedness could not be described merely as a troublemaker.

Xiao Fusheng had already lamented countless times how such a monster could appear in the Xiao family. Not only had his cultivation remained at the first stage of Foundation Establishment, but he also committed every kind of evil deed, disgracing the family.

He constantly consoled himself that although this monster was unambitious, at least he could carry on the family line. In Xiao Fusheng's heart, Xiao Cheng was merely a tool for continuing the family line. Once this monster completed his mission, he would definitely not hesitate to purge the family.

When the news of Xiao Cheng's death by lightning strike came, Xiao Fusheng had the same thought as others: "This monster is finally dead!" Only after this thought did he remember that Xiao Cheng was the family's only heir, and he then fell into a state of grief. He was not grieving for Xiao Cheng's death but for the potential downfall of the family.

However, a turn of events occurred. Today, he suddenly received a call from the hospital, saying that Xiao Cheng had come back to life. Xiao Fusheng was momentarily unsure whether to be happy or sad. He simply said, "I know," in a calm voice, leaving the hospital director on the other end of the line puzzled.

...

It took Xiao Cheng a long time to digest the fact that he had been reborn. It turned out that he had failed to transcend the lightning tribulation, and the Three Lives Jade Slip had allowed him to be reborn eight years in the past.

Eight years ago, he had indeed been struck by lightning and had died, but for some unknown reason, he had come back to life. This rebirth happened at that exact moment.

At this time, all the family members he cared about were still alive, and the family had not been destroyed. Although he had lost all his previous cultivation, this was insignificant compared to the well-being of his family. He felt no disappointment, only happiness.

In his previous life, he had lived a chaotic and wicked existence, never giving his sisters-in-law or great-grandmother any peace. Now that heaven had given him a second chance, he could not continue to be a tyrant.

Although it was eight years ago, he was no longer the same person. After the family's destruction, he had reformed and started anew.

In the past five years, he had experienced too much and had seen through the coldness of the world. The only people who truly cared for him were his sisters-in-law, great-grandmother, and master. Therefore, after being reborn, he was determined to prevent the tragedy of his previous life from happening again.

"Sisters-in-law, great-grandmother, sister, I, Xiao Cheng, am back!" Xiao Cheng looked at the bright moon outside the window and murmured to himself.

Although he had lost all his previous cultivation, as long as his family was alive and well, what did it matter?

... What he wanted was not the return of a celestial being but the return of a prodigal son!

Not long after Fang Yujia left, several sisters-in-law, the great-grandmother, his sister, and the old patriarch all came to see him. Although they did not particularly like Xiao Cheng, they were all happy that he had come back to life, as he was the only male descendant of the Xiao family in this generation.

The old patriarch's expression was stern as he coldly looked at Xiao Cheng. His eyes showed no emotion, like those of an executioner looking at a death row inmate or a butcher looking at a pig ready for slaughter, as if he had already decided Xiao Cheng's fate.

Xiao Cheng did not pay much attention to the old patriarch's attitude. The old patriarch had always detested him and might even have hoped for his early death.

Among them, only the great-grandmother was genuinely happy for Xiao Cheng. She was Xiao Cheng's great-grandmother, and she was very old, born in the 26th year of the Guangxu era, and was now 113 years old, a true relic of the past.

The great-grandmother had always doted on Xiao Cheng. Even after he became a monster, she did not change her attitude. Being from the Guangxu era, she did not see anything wrong with a young man being promiscuous and womanizing. In her youth, she had seen many successful men who had multiple mistresses and several wives.

The great-grandmother said, "It's good that you're alive. It's a good thing you weren't cremated. I always said that Xiao Cheng is a lucky person and wouldn't die easily."

The great-grandmother had lost all her teeth and was not used to wearing dentures, so her words came out with a puff of air. Xiao Cheng almost cried, knowing that she only had two years left to live. He said he would have a set of gold dentures made for her.

The great-grandmother smiled, liking vulgar things and appreciating her great-grandson's filial piety. She said, "This lightning strike has made you more filial." Xiao Cheng rolled his eyes, thinking, "Do I have to be struck by lightning a few more times?"

After the great-grandmother and others left, the distant uncles and aunts also came to see him, expressing their concern for his condition and saying that surviving a great disaster would bring good fortune.

It was not until late at night that the ward finally became quiet, but Xiao Cheng's heart remained unsettled. Looking at the familiar smiling faces and thinking about how these family members would fall one by one in a pool of blood in three years, he felt a chill in his heart. His resolve to prevent the tragedy became even stronger. He had to become strong enough in these three years to stop the disaster.

However, becoming strong enough was not easy. The enemy was a cult, and their strength far exceeded his imagination. Even though he had once reached the peak of the Innate stage, the gap was still significant, and he only had three years to prepare.

How could he become strong quickly? Xiao Cheng fell into deep thought but could not find an answer. It seemed he could only take one step at a time. A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Instead of spending time thinking, he should start cultivating and improving his strength now.

Deciding to start cultivating immediately, he faced a difficult choice.

"What cultivation method should I practice?" Xiao Cheng stared at the Three Lives Jade Slip in his hand, lost in thought.

In his previous life, he had practiced the family's secret technique, the Songyang Heart Sutra, which was said to have been passed down from a living Buddha on Mount Song. When practiced to perfection, it could create an indestructible golden body. However, the highest level anyone in the family had reached was the Golden Core stage.

Moreover, this Heart Sutra was a kind of child's practice, and one must not approach women during the Foundation Establishment stage. Once one did, the cultivation would be lost, and only after reaching the Condensation stage could one be free from this restriction.

One can imagine the scene of a young man who constantly thought about seducing women and young girls practicing a child's technique. It was like a prostitute constantly breaking and re-breaking her hymen, achieving nothing. Thus, he spent his previous life in a cycle of practicing and losing his cultivation, becoming a bizarre joke in the world of hidden cultivators.

Now, recalling this, Xiao Cheng found it somewhat amusing.

Later, after the family was destroyed, he became a disciple of Wuhe Daoist, who taught him the Wuhe Heart Sutra. This Heart Sutra was an excellent cultivation method, said to allow one to reach the Void stage when practiced to perfection.

However, he now had the Three Lives Jade Slip, which contained the Nine Profound Immortal Sutra. Xiao Cheng naturally chose the Nine Profound Immortal Sutra without hesitation. Since it was an immortal scripture, it might even allow him to become an immortal, making it far superior to the previous two Heart Sutras.

"Don't let me down!"

To practice a different Heart Sutra, he had to discard his current cultivation and start from scratch, or there would be conflicts later.

Having made the decision, he had no reason to hesitate. He gathered his true qi in his palm and struck his dantian fiercely.

"Spit~" Xiao Cheng spat out a mouthful of blood, instantly discarding all his cultivation.

Xiao Cheng subconsciously released his divine sense to inspect his dantian and found that it was indeed undamaged, which slightly reassured him.

However, the next moment, he was stunned. He could still use his divine sense after discarding his cultivation. How was this possible? Even before discarding his cultivation, he did not have the ability to use his divine sense, which only became possible at the Innate stage. Could it be that, although he had lost his previous cultivation, he had not lost his divine sense?

Xiao Cheng slowly released his divine sense, covering a radius of a hundred meters around him.

Feeling the range of his divine sense, his expression became complex. The divine sense was no different from when he was at the peak of the Innate stage. Could it be that this divine sense was the same as his previous one? But if he had lost his cultivation, why was his divine sense still intact? It should have been lost as well.

Could it be that because his soul and divine sense were one, and his soul had been reborn, he did not lose his divine sense? Xiao Cheng nodded, finding this explanation reasonable.

The fact that his divine sense was still at the peak of the Innate stage was undoubtedly a good thing, although it was strange. Xiao Cheng was extremely happy.

The divine sense could be used to sense changes in the surroundings, acting like a small radar.

Since he still had his divine sense, he did not need to use meditation to open the jade slip. He simply used his divine sense to delve into the jade slip. Xiao Cheng felt a loud boom in his mind as the vast information in the jade slip flooded his consciousness. In an instant, his mind was filled with a myriad of contents, including immortal scriptures, Daoist techniques, immortal arts, alchemy, and talisman techniques.

If this information were stored on a hard drive, it might not even fit on a terabyte.

Xiao Cheng roughly examined the contents, his eyes growing brighter. The immortal scripture was indeed worthy of its name!

This immortal scripture was completely different from the Heart Sutras he had practiced before. Compared to the previous two, they were merely methods of absorbing spiritual energy and converting it into true qi.

The Nine Profound Immortal Sutra was not just a cultivation method; it was a comprehensive cultivation system. It absorbed external spiritual energy to form true qi while also enhancing the practitioner's divine sense and physical strength during the cultivation process.

Xiao Cheng had practiced two Heart Sutras and knew how precious this immortal scripture was. The previous two methods were incomparable. In the past, he had to practice the Heart Sutra, constantly train his body, and strengthen his divine sense to improve his overall combat power. The Nine Profound Immortal Sutra, however, achieved everything in one step, eliminating the need to waste time on physical training and strengthening his divine sense.

This undoubtedly greatly increased the cultivation speed, even three times faster than ordinary Heart Sutras. Wasn't this exactly what he needed?

---

Xiao Cheng's eyes grew brighter as he examined the contents. The immortal scripture was indeed worthy of its name!