Chapter 1

A thousand years later, deep in the Changbai Mountains, a child, no more than ten years old, rode on the back of a massive Siberian tiger, speeding through the forest at an incredible pace.

In the forest, the tiger, the king of the beasts, moved as gently as a large cat, bounding through the woods with remarkable lightness, careful not to upset the child with any sudden movements.

At the edge of the mountain, the child leaped off the tiger's back, patted its head, and said with a hint of satisfaction, "Xiaohei, you can go back to being the king of the mountain. I'm leaving the mountains. I've been here for twelve years, and I'm about to go crazy from boredom."

The tiger's large head nodded frequently, emitting a low growl, seemingly excited to regain its freedom. As it left, its eyes were even slightly moist.

If the tiger could speak, it would have roared in relief: "Finally... I don't have to serve this troublemaker anymore... My tiger beauties, I'm coming..."

The child's name was Su Yang. Actually, calling him a child was a huge mistake. Although he looked like a ten-year-old, his true age was already 1,466 years old, a seemingly immortal old monster.

Over 1,400 years ago, during the late Sui Dynasty, Su Yang, the only son of a peasant family, met a strange old man who was a master of the Dao. The old man was on his deathbed and said that Su Yang had an extremely rare and excellent constitution, and wanted to take him as his disciple.

At the time, Su Yang was only seven years old, a peasant child who had never seen the world. He naturally followed the old man without question. After a few months, the old man suddenly passed away, leaving Su Yang a book called "The Great Law of Daoist Heart and Demon Seed" and informing him of a hidden treasure in Chang'an.

It was then that Su Yang learned the old man's name—Xiang Yutian.

As the chaos of the warring states began, when Su Yang returned home, his parents had already died, and his relatives had scattered. Fearing the chaos would bring disaster, Su Yang hid in the deep mountains, dedicating himself to the study of "The Great Law of Daoist Heart and Demon Seed." After several years of cultivation, he re-emerged into the world.

At that time, he joined Zhang Xutuo's army under the pseudonym Luo Shixin, and that year he was fourteen.

Later, the first leader fell to Li Mi's trick and died in battle. After several twists and turns, Su Yang eventually led his troops to join the Li Tang Dynasty, fighting in battles and earning the title of Governor of Jiangzhou and Duke of Tan.

At the age of twenty-eight, as the Li Tang Dynasty gradually gained control of the country, Su Yang grew tired of the bloodshed. With his free-spirited nature, he faked his death and escaped.

He then went to Chang'an alone to retrieve the treasure. At that time, he already knew that the treasure he was to retrieve was the Yang Gong Treasure, which was said to bring the one who possessed it the power to rule the world.

In the Yang Gong Treasure, Su Yang discovered "The Nine Transformations of the Azure Heavens," which allowed him to undergo nine transformations and rebirths, and the Evil Emperor's Sarira, the legacy left by the old man. He did not take any of the vast treasures inside.

Because from the beginning, Su Yang had only a playful attitude towards the world and never intended to vie for power.

With these two items, Su Yang, remembering the kindness of his former master, secretly informed the Qin King of the location of the Yang Gong Treasure. He then fled to the Western Regions, abandoning "The Great Law of Daoist Heart and Demon Seed" and instead cultivating "The Nine Transformations of the Azure Heavens," the world's first great technique that promised immortality.

This "The Nine Transformations of the Azure Heavens" technique indeed lived up to its reputation as the world's first great technique, surpassing the highest treasures of both the Daoist and demonic paths. Over the 1,400 years, it gave Su Yang nine opportunities to transform and be reborn, making him virtually immortal.

The only thing that frustrated Su Yang was that "The Nine Transformations of the Azure Heavens" had a very troublesome side effect: each time he reached the peak of cultivation, he would revert to a child and be reborn, taking anywhere from thirty to a hundred years to awaken.

If that were the only issue, it would be manageable, but the most frustrating part was that each time he transformed and awoke, Su Yang was reborn as an infant.

In Su Yang's memory, the last time he transformed and reached the peak of "The Nine Transformations of the Azure Heavens" was during the middle of World War II.

At that time, he was traveling in Europe and America. Realizing he was about to transform again, Su Yang immediately went deep into the Changbai Mountains, finding a secluded area to wait for his ninth and final transformation.

Sixty-six years later, Su Yang completed this transformation. Although he was just a newborn, it did not stop him from ruling the deep mountains and forests.

Following the habit from his previous eight transformations, Su Yang did not rush to leave the Changbai Mountains but instead focused on cultivating "The Nine Transformations of the Azure Heavens." He only left the mountains after reaching the third level of the technique.

This time, his cultivation speed was much faster than after his previous transformations, taking only twelve years.

This made Su Yang very happy, as his earliest transformation took twenty-four years to reach the third level.

Now, after his ninth transformation, Su Yang still maintained the habit he developed after his fourth transformation. He let out a long roar to the sky and vowed, "Lingbo, my wife, I will find you."

With this shout, Su Yang's thoughts flashed back to a scene from a thousand years ago.

Qiantang River, August flood season, the tide rises.

That night, the moon was high in the sky. A man and a woman stood on the crest of the tide, unthreatened by the towering waves.

The man was exceptionally handsome, with eyes full of deep emotion, like boundless stars.

The woman wore a white dress, exuding a transcendent and ethereal aura, like a celestial being.

"Lingbo, have you really decided to take that step?"

A huge wave approached but could not get within a few feet of the man, a testament to his mastery of innate energy, which was truly astonishing.

The white-clad woman's eyes flashed with a hint of reluctance but finally made up her mind. "Su Yang, breaking through the void is my master's last wish. As the only successor of the Sword Pavilion, I carry more than just my own burden..."

"Breaking through the void? Is it that important?"

A hint of loneliness appeared on Su Yang's face as he said, "So far, I have killed more than ten half-step void breakers, none of whom could last a hundred moves against me. If you wish, I can teach you 'The Nine Transformations of the Azure Heavens,' which is a thousand times more powerful than breaking through the void."

Nie Lingbo's heart tightened as she looked at Su Yang's face. She said, "If I were not the Holy Maiden of the Sword Pavilion, I would stay with you until old age. But unfortunately, you have your path, and I have mine. Different paths make it difficult to plan together."

After a moment of contemplation, tears welled up in Nie Lingbo's eyes, and she smiled beautifully. "Su Yang, if we meet again after breaking through the void, I will be your wife."

Hearing this, Su Yang burst into a wild laugh, raising his arms and causing the waves to shatter and the tide to surge back.

"If I could, I would willingly break through the void with you, regardless of the unknown dangers that lie ahead. The heavens play with us, how laughable, how laughable!"

Since cultivating "The Nine Transformations of the Azure Heavens," Su Yang, even at the peak of his power, could not reach the threshold of breaking through the void, despite his strength surpassing that of void breakers.

After laughing wildly for a long time, Su Yang's laughter turned to tears. With tears in his eyes, he said, "Lingbo, I won't stop you. As you said, you have your path..."

"Tonight, if we meet again, I will not let anything stand in the way of keeping you by my side, because you have used up the last reason to reject me."

"If we meet again, you will be my woman, and no one can stop me!"

With that, Su Yang let out a deafening roar, his body creating over a dozen afterimages as he dove into the surging waves, disappearing in an instant.

On the crest of the tide, Nie Lingbo's tears could no longer be held back. They streamed down her face as she whispered, "Su Yang, a long time ago, I already considered you my husband. Unfortunately, Lingbo cannot live only for herself. If we meet again, Lingbo will never leave you..."

Nie Lingbo, the Holy Maiden of the Sword Pavilion, was the most unforgettable woman in Su Yang's nine transformations and the person he most looked forward to meeting after each rebirth, even though it seemed almost impossible.

Putting aside his emotions, Su Yang looked into the distance, a faint smile on his lips.

It was the coldest month of the year, and snow was falling. Su Yang, naked, looked around the forest. With his body that had undergone nine transformations, he was no longer afraid of the cold, but he did not want to appear in the world naked. His eyes quickly locked onto a large wooden house at the other end of the forest, which had a light on.

"Where there is light, there are people, and where there are people, there are clothes."

Without any visible movement, Su Yang leaped over a hundred meters in just a few breaths, peeked into the wooden house, and boldly pushed the door open.

Inside, a man and a woman were engaged in passionate activity. Seeing a naked child burst in, the woman let out a scream, and the man, after a moment of shock, became furious and jumped off the bed, swinging a large fist at Su Yang.

With a "bang," Su Yang raised his hand and threw the Northeastern man out of the house. He glanced at the messy clothes on the bed, picked out a couple of pieces, put them on, and then left the house, disappearing into the snow.

Only then did the woman, who had been screaming and clutching a blanket, regain her senses, quickly put on her clothes, and run out to find her man.

Wearing a large coat that was completely out of proportion to his body, Su Yang headed south. By dawn, he had reached a small village at the foot of Changbai Mountain, with about a hundred households.

"Find something to eat first, then continue the journey..."

Su Yang never neglected his stomach. Since cultivating "The Nine Transformations of the Azure Heavens," his appetite had increased dramatically. Even at twelve years old, he could eat as much as two adult men in one meal.