Chapter 1

This mountain is called Qingxia Mountain. The path up the mountain is a winding and twisting stone staircase, with a few patches of green moss still slightly damp on the steps.

A middle-aged man in his thirties, with sweat beads as large as beans constantly dripping onto the stone steps beneath his feet, appeared extremely tired.

He paused for a moment, wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve, and looked ahead. The forest was dense, with lush branches and leaves. Through the gaps, a corner of a flying eave could be seen, with dark green tiles swaying with the branches, appearing and disappearing, exuding an ancient charm.

After about a quarter of an hour, the view opened up. The ancient building deep in the mountain finally revealed its complete appearance, no longer hidden.

Behind was a deep bamboo path, and in the distance was a cold and distant pine slope. In front, however, was a somewhat dilapidated Taoist temple.

Although the temple was simple, standing alone in the world, it had a transcendent and ethereal aura. Upon reaching here, the middle-aged man felt his spirit refreshed, and the fatigue from the journey had dissipated considerably.

The man took a slight breath, the fresh air entering his lungs with a sweet taste, giving his tired legs a boost of energy. He quickly approached the entrance, where the red paint on the door pillars had peeled off in many places. However, the temple's signboard, made of an unknown material, had not faded.

The three characters "Qingxia Temple" in small seal script were simple and neat, with each stroke combining strength and suppleness, depicting the distant and independent nature of a Taoist.

On either side was a couplet: "Heart like white clouds, always free; Mind like flowing water, going east or west."

The ink was still fresh, clearly added recently, with a graceful and flowing style, evoking the feeling of clouds and flowing water.

The middle-aged man, not well-versed in calligraphy, found the couplet somewhat appealing but could not fully appreciate its profound and elegant meaning.

He grabbed the iron ring on the door and first forcefully slammed it against the old door, making a loud noise that startled him. Then, after hesitating, he knocked again, more gently and politely.

Not long after, perhaps less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the door slowly opened.

Inside was a very young Taoist, about thirteen or fourteen years old. A faint, not unpleasant smell of herbal medicine emanated from him.

The young Taoist had very regular and even somewhat delicate features, but his body was rather weak. Even with the wide Taoist robe covering him, his slender figure was still visible. His face was slightly yellowish, indicating poor health and a frail condition.

His name was originally Li Feng. To be precise, his soul did not belong to this world but came from Earth, where he was a small doctor running a clinic, with a decent income, a house, and a car. He was not a life winner, but he was getting by.

However, such a mediocre life had become tiring over time.

One day, while driving home, he was involved in a car accident at a crossroads. When he woke up, he found himself in a new body.

Only after truly experiencing the穿越 (穿越 means "穿越" in Chinese, which can be translated as "穿越" in English, but in this context, it means "transmigration" or "reincarnation") did he realize that not every transmigrator was so lucky.

Three months ago, he became the new owner of this body named Shen Lian. It seemed to be a matter of fate. Since he had taken over someone else's body, Li Feng decided to accept the identity of Shen Lian, as a way to make up for and show respect to the previous owner.

Speaking of this body, it was not without its background. His mother came from the wealthy Shen family in Qingzhou, which was a hundred miles away. In her seventeenth year, she became pregnant out of wedlock, and no one knew who the father was. She refused to reveal the father's identity even under duress.

Despite this, she insisted on giving birth to the child.

His mother's father, Grandfather Shen, was so angry that he nearly died of rage. However, since the Shen family had only one daughter, he could not bring himself to sever ties with her, no matter how angry he was.

Two years ago, his mother passed away at a young age.

Without his mother, he felt a strong sense of alienation in the Shen family. Many people in the family secretly called him a bastard, and he could not imagine how he would get through the days ahead.

He then offered to become a monk to pray for the Shen family, a common practice among wealthy families. Usually, they would choose a family-born child for this. Despite the unclear origins of this body, it still had half of the Shen family's bloodline, so this task did not need to be assigned to him. However, Grandfather Shen still agreed to the previous owner's request.

After all, the Shen family had vast assets, and this body had half of the Shen family's bloodline. According to local customs, daughters had the right to inherit part of the family's assets, which would be included in their dowry and managed by them.

The dowry was typically handed over to the young lady when she reached the age of fifteen and would be registered in her name when she got married.

When his mother became pregnant out of wedlock, she was not expelled from the family. This was partly due to Grandfather Shen's love for his daughter and partly because if she left, the family's assets would be taken with her, which, despite the Shen family's wealth, was still a significant loss.

After his mother's death, the previous owner naturally inherited that part of the assets. Given his young age, even though Grandfather Shen and his two uncles treated him well, it was uncertain whether the two aunts would have any ulterior motives. After all, if he died, that part of the assets would naturally revert to the Shen family.

Both uncles had their own children, and even though they treated the previous owner well, they would naturally want to leave more for their own children.

Of course, the previous owner did not think about these things when he decided to become a monk. After all, he was still young at the time. He just did not want to live in someone else's house and had a strong sense of self-respect. Additionally, there was another reason: his unknown father had left a cultivation manual, which he found while sorting through his mother's belongings, but for some reason, his mother had not given it to him.

To cultivate this manual, the previous owner naturally preferred a private place.

The Shen family was very wealthy, and Qingxia Temple, along with the entire Qingxia Mountain, belonged to them. Sending the previous owner here made the Shen family feel at ease.

If the previous owner became addicted to cultivation and never returned to secular life, that would be even better.

During ordinary times, the villagers at the foot of the mountain helped maintain the temple. After the previous owner arrived at Qingxia Temple, the villagers also provided him with food and clothing.

On important holidays, the Shen family would send servants to bring some items, showing that they had not forgotten him.

Living alone on Qingxia Mountain, he had the help of the villagers for cleaning and even had the option to hire someone to cook for him. Since the Shen family was not short of money, he had the time to thoroughly study the cultivation manual he had found.

This cultivation manual, called "The Supreme Clarity Spirit Treasure Natural Heart Locking and Spirit Stabilizing True Explanation," consisted of thousands of characters, mainly explaining how to sense the soul, strengthen soul power, and make the mind more sensitive and responsive. Once the soul power reached a certain level, it could break through the 'Baihui' acupoint on the top of the head, allowing the soul to leave the body, with various incredible and mysterious effects.