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Behind the waterfall, deep pools and ancient woods cling to shadows.

Thick foliage blocks out the sunlight, leaving the forest damp and dim, with a faint mist drifting through.

The waterfall towers ten Zhang, and near the pool, the trees are sparse, allowing golden sunlight to shine down, fracturing through the mist into a spectrum of light.

To the left of the waterfall, a yawn of a cave is concealed by hanging green vines.

Even in broad daylight, the cave exhales a cold breath, an especially chilling sight.

More sinister is the altar in front of the cave.

An octagonal table is covered in red cloth, with pristine porcelain plates heaped with fruit.

Sandalwood incense curls upwards, reaching towards the blue heavens.

In front of the altar stands an old man wearing a blue ghost mask. The elder is dressed in a large red robe, with a yin-yang cap on his head, holding a rooster in his left hand and a ritual knife in his right.

With one swift motion, he beheads the rooster, its fresh blood used to fill a jar of wine.

Immediately after, the wizard picks up a bell and ox horn, and begins a shamanic dance.

Within the swirling blue smoke, the ghost mask seems almost alive.

"We beseech the mighty Spiritual Officer, the Great General, to sweep away the evil spirits with a hundred thousand soldiers, wielding a golden whip to ascend to the heavens and riding a wheel of fire to descend the nine realms, to execute the unfilial with fire and grind them to dust with the golden whip, by the command of the Taishang Laojun, let it be so in haste!"

The disciples on either side, holding gongs, drums, and ox horns, follow the wizard's rhythm as they play their instruments.

Outside the altar circle stand over a dozen solemn figures.

Among these figures are scholars in long robes, hunters in their garb, and barbarians with bold tattoos.

To the right of the wizard is a young man clanging a bronze gong, wearing the azure robes of ritual, with handsome features and an age of probably seventeen or eighteen. In his gaze rests a maturity uncommon for his peers.

This young man is Xu Xuan, the eldest son of the Xu family, who is also the son of the middle-aged man in a scholar's robe in front of the altar.

Moreover, he is not of this world; he comes from technologically advanced Modern Earth, where he was a nine-to-five office worker. After working overtime one day, he awoke in this realm, and eighteen years have passed since.

The ritual goes on until dusk, as the sun sets, darkening the sky.

"Imperative!"

The wizard pinches a yellow talisman and calls out, causing the paper to ignite without flame, drawing amazed gasps from the crowd.

"Banner for summoning souls, gong for guiding spirits, whip for corpse driving!"

At these words, Xu Xuan and two other disciples each grab one of the three magical tools and approach the cave entrance.

The wizard gently shakes the bell.

In this moment, a group of figures emerges from the shadowy cave.

These figures wear pitch-black wide-brimmed hats, with cloths hanging from the edges to cover their heads, draped in loose black robes and marching in a stiff line, following the rhythm of the bell and the bronze gong out of the cave.

The scene is terrifyingly gloomy; these mysterious people do not make a sound, and their bodies exude a strong stench of decay.

They do not resemble the living.

This is the legendary Chenzhou Corpse Driving.

The wizard is the master of corpse driving, and these people are the "corpses."

Under the cover of night, their image grows even more fearsome.

Xu Xuan, holding the banner for summoning souls, feels no disturbance in his heart, and almost breaks into laughter.

Dabbling in trickery!

All of these are living people, without a trace of real magic.

As one of master Li Hu's disciples, Xu Xuan had even helped smear white phosphorus on talisman papers the night before.

The corpses are played by the living, and the reason for this can be seen in the bags of salt hidden under their robes.

Soon, the master of corpse driving approaches the altar, standing before Xu Guangting, the head of the Xu family, and Li Ming, the Barbarian Chief of the Three Mountains of Chenzhou.

"Gentlemen, the preparations are complete. Please provide your instructions."

"Within three days, head to Yiyang, where you will find someone waiting for you," commanded Xu Guangting. "Two carriages will follow you, with coffins on them. The coffins contain goods; make sure the government doesn't get wind of this."

"Understood!"

Li Hu, jingling the bell, leads his people away from the place.

Xu Guangting gives Xu Xuan a glance, emotionlessly instructing, "Go home. After you become proficient, Li Hu can take you on a trip."

"Yes, Father."

Xu Xuan replies.

The exchange between the two contains none of the warmth expected of a father-son relationship. After all, Xu Xuan's body harbors the soul of an adult, and no matter how much he might pretend, he could not feign the deep bond of blood. In addition, his peculiar nature from a young age did not endear him to Xu Guangting, and without opportunities to be together continuously, their relationship never deepened.

Xu Xuan leaves with the group, mounting a pony, while Xu Guangting and another young man climb onto a carriage.

The other young man has a sturdy build and fierce eyes like a wolf.

They all head back to the city.

Along the way, Xu Xuan has no interest in the scenery, his mind heavy with a silent sigh.

"If only there really were immortals," he muses.

Upon first arriving in this realm, Xu Xuan was extremely excited, thinking that his life was on the rise. But reality hit him hard with a harsh reality check.

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Originally seeking a reputation as a child prodigy, he was mistaken for being possessed by a ghost because his behavior did not fit that of a child. His family sent him to a charlatan who forcibly fed him a bellyful of talisman-infused water, and Xu Xuan then decided to conceal his brilliance.

As he grew older, Xu Xuan gained a certain understanding of the world and afterwards became even more cautious and careful.

The identity of the eldest son was too eye-catching, especially in the eyes of the maternal family of that young man just now.

That person was Xu Xuan's younger half-brother, Xu Feng, and the barbarian chief from earlier was his maternal grandfather.

Through this connection, the Xu Family collaborated with the Mountain Barbarians to smuggle salt, and it seemed that the position of future Family Head would belong to Xu Feng.

"The talisman water incident from my childhood must have been orchestrated by the Li Clan."

From then on, Xu Xuan became even more cautious, showing no intention of competing for the position of Family Head since he was a child, and as an adult, he even became a disciple of his teacher.

Unbeknownst to him, this guy was the leader of the smuggling gang of the Mountain Barbarians and the Xu Family.

There was no such thing as immortal techniques.

It took Xu Xuan eighteen years to understand this truth, that even the so-called Inner Strength and True Qi martial arts did not exist; what were known as knights-errant were just individuals versed in physical conditioning and combative techniques.

In terms of his previous life, this was a Magicless World.

Just as he was thinking, a city appeared in front of him.

Chenzhou City.

The city was not large, with low stone walls, and a population he estimated did not exceed thirty thousand. Most of the faces he saw bore the pallor of hunger, altogether fitting the image of a remote frontier town.

"It's fortunate that I was born into a wealthy Chenzhou merchant family, otherwise, it truly would have been a hellish start."

The caravan arrived at the grand Xu Residence.

Thick vermilion gates and stone lions with fierce expressions.

The Xu Family's servants and robust guards stood in stark contrast to the gaunt passersby outside.

"The Family Head has returned!"

"Second Young Master, let this old servant take your belongings."

The servants mostly clustered around the Family Head and Xu Feng, with only two attendants in green by Xu Xuan's side.

Xu Xuan didn't mind. He handed the reins of his horse to a servant and made his way through the corridors to the bamboo garden.

Small bridges over running water, accompanied by bamboo.

A raincoat damp with waterfall mist hung on the wall to dry. Brewing a pot of hot tea, Xu Xuan leisurely savored it.

As a modern person, slacking off was something he'd gotten quite good at; not being the Family Head suited him just fine.

The servility of servants existed indeed, but as for the maltreatment often depicted in novels, that had not happened to him.

If it ever did, the kind-hearted Xu Xuan would at most break their legs. If the Family Head ever found out, those involved might well end up as fertilizer in the back garden.

The relationships between legitimate and illegitimate members of the family were not the same as those between masters and servants.

Setting down his teacup, Xu Xuan sighed again, "Dealing with head-risking smuggling and an intolerant stepmother, slacking off isn't so simple."

But what could he do?

It was true that he was a modern person, but all his experience handling situations came from a world with a sound legal system.

Engaging in intrigues was something most modern people were not good at.

In his past life, he had not even been able to prevail as a minor manager responsible for a dozen people in a company; to say nothing of his failure in dealings with a vegetable-seller—let alone in this large family of several hundred people and the girl from the mountain barbarian family who ruled over thousands.

Annoyed and restless, Xu Xuan put down the teacup and sat cross-legged on the bed.

He pulled out a thin booklet from under his pillow, which had clearly been flipped through many times, with six large characters on the cover: Detailed Explanation of Chenzhou Talisman Method.

The Chenzhou Talisman was a spell passed down by local wizards. Most of its charms were related to daily life, such as Bleeding Stopping talisman water, Stomachache Relief Talisman, Hunting Talisman, Fish Attracting Bait, and so on.

The first chapter of the Chenzhou Talisman was called the Calming Charm.

This was the basic method of the Chenzhou Talisman, settling the spirit to establish a connection with the heavens, which would then allow the spells to take effect.

Xu Xuan silently recited the charm.

After a long time, when he awakened from his meditation, a hint of disappointment flashed in his eyes.

Indeed, it was futile.

"If I wish to settle down and secure my destiny, I will have to rely on this alone."

Xu Xuan looked around to ensure the door and windows were tightly shut, then reached under the bed and fetched an object.

It was a palm-sized bronze mirror, covered in patches of rust.

The mirror's surface was corroded, and the back was etched with designs of dragons, phoenixes, and stars.

Under the dim night light, the mirror emitted a faint yellow glow.

This mirror was the only treasure that had accompanied him through his transmigration; he had bought it at a flea market, and it had somehow come with him to this world, sparking Xu Xuan's pursuit of the Dao.

The way it appeared had been magical—it was suddenly in his room one day.

Xu Xuan had always believed that this world held mystical practices.

After fiddling with it for a while, he was just about to put it down.

Suddenly, the bronze mirror underwent an extraordinary change.

(A new book sets sail. If you think it's good, dear readers, you can follow it. Nowadays, the recommendation system at Qidian is too rigorous; new books struggle to survive. Once the book goes on sale, I will surely write explosively. Thank you for your support.)