Riu Xian closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to calm his racing thoughts. The knowledge he had absorbed from the jade slip was overwhelming, its depth revealing secrets of cultivation far beyond anything he had known in Murim. It was like comparing a puddle to the vast ocean. He carefully placed the jade slip into a hidden pocket inside his robe, a silent vow passing his lips to study it further when he was safe. He rose to his feet and began the journey back to the Cloudspring Sect.
As he walked, his mind replayed Xiao Ming's words, her warnings about the difficulty ahead, and the looming threat of the Bright Snow Sect. This world, with its boundless Qi and intricate cultivation paths, was vastly different from the martial world of his past life. In the Murim, power and influence were the ultimate goals, the driving force behind every conflict. Here, cultivators sought longevity, even immortality, and the chance to ascend to higher realms of existence. It was a world of wonders, but also of hidden dangers.
A faint smile touched his lips as he considered his unique situation. "I don't have to be a saint, nor do I need to embrace chaos," he murmured to himself. His father's strict, orthodox teachings and his mother's forbidden, demonic techniques, both were etched into his very being. Here, in this world of abundant Qi, he could finally explore their full potential, blending them in a way that was impossible in Murim. "This chaotic world may be dangerous," he thought, his footsteps growing lighter, "but it's also filled with possibilities." He was no longer bound by the rigid rules of the Murim, nor the expectations of anyone else. Here, he could forge his own destiny.
The Cloudspring Sect's outer market came into view as he neared the base of the mountain. The usually bustling marketplace was subdued, a heavy tension hanging in the air, thick enough to choke on. Merchants called out their wares, their voices strained and lacking their usual enthusiasm. The aroma of spices and roasted meats, which normally filled the air, was tinged with the acrid smell of fear. Groups of disciples and townsfolk huddled together, their conversations a low hum of anxious whispers.
Riu Xian slowed his pace, his senses on high alert, listening to the snippets of conversation that drifted to him.
"Did you hear?" a young woman, barely older than a girl, asked her companion, her voice trembling slightly. "The Bright Snow Sect's forces are gathering at the border. They say their army is massive, like a swarm of locusts ready to devour everything in their path."
"They've issued an ultimatum," a grizzled old man muttered to a group nearby, his hands gnarled around a walking stick. "Surrender in three days, or they'll raze the Cloudspring Sect to the ground. They say their leader is backed by someone powerful, someone from a higher sect, someone our elders won't dare to offend."
Riu Xian frowned, his jaw tightening. The Bright Snow Sect was notorious throughout the region, known for their ruthless ambition and brutal tactics. Their sudden aggression towards the Cloudspring Sect was more than just a simple land grab. There had to be a deeper motive.
"But what do they even *want* from the Cloudspring Sect?" a young man, his face pale with worry, asked a nearby merchant.
The merchant, a stout woman with shrewd eyes, lowered her voice. "Rumors, boy, just rumors. But they say it's treasure. A rare artifact, something the elders have been hiding for centuries."
"An artifact?" the young man scoffed. "What kind of artifact could cause all this chaos?"
"They say it's a boat," another man interjected, leaning in conspiratorially. He was tall and thin, with a nervous twitch in his eye. "But not just any boat. It can travel *underground*, powered by spirit stones. They say with it, you can move unseen for hundreds of kilometers in an instant, like a phantom in the earth."
"A boat that travels underground?" someone else scoffed. "Come on, that's just a tall tale."
"Maybe," the thin man hissed, glancing around as if afraid of being overheard. "But the Bright Snow Sect believes it. And they're willing to start a war over it. It's also said that the boat is undetectable if you have enough spirit stones to power it."
Riu Xian's mind raced. An underground boat? It sounded fantastical, but in a world where cultivators could fly on swords and manipulate the elements, it wasn't entirely beyond the realm of possibility. Such an artifact would be invaluable, a strategic asset that could shift the balance of power. No wonder the Bright Snow Sect was willing to risk so much to obtain it.
He continued through the market, his steps measured and deliberate, his ears straining to catch every scrap of information. He learned that the Cloudspring Sect's elders were locked in heated debate, torn between surrendering the artifact and fighting to protect their sect's legacy. Disciples whispered nervously among themselves, but most seemed to dismiss the rumors of the underground boat as mere fantasy.
As dusk began to settle, Riu Xian made his way up the winding mountain path towards the sect's main grounds. The once serene pathways were now teeming with activity. Disciples, their faces etched with worry, hurried past, carrying messages, weapons, and supplies. The sect was mobilizing its defenses, but the effort felt frantic, almost desperate, like a cornered animal lashing out in fear.
He reached the central hall, where the sect's leaders were holding an emergency meeting. He wasn't allowed inside, of course, but he lingered near the massive wooden doors, straining to hear the voices within.
"Surrender is the only option!" one elder argued, his voice cracking with desperation. "The Bright Snow Sect is backed by a force far greater than our own. We cannot possibly win. Resistance is futile. It will only lead to our complete destruction."
"And what of our honor?" another elder thundered, his voice filled with righteous fury. "Do you think they'll show us mercy if we simply hand over the artifact? No! They'll slaughter us all, erase us from existence, to ensure there's no one left to challenge them in the future."
"Then what do you propose we do, wise elder?" a third voice, laced with weary sarcasm, interjected. "Fight? With what? Their army outnumbers us three to one. Even our strongest disciples are no match for their elite fighters. We're outmatched, outgunned, and out of time."
Another, older voice sighed heavily. "Even if we decide to surrender, how do we even retrieve the boat? We don't know how to access it. The secret was lost with the Supreme Elder, when he descended from the upper realms 1,200 years ago, wounded and fleeing his enemies. He founded our sect, but he took the knowledge of the artifact's location to his seclusion. No one knows where he went to cultivate, or if he's even alive. And if, by some miracle, we could find the artifact, and decided to fight, we *still* don't know how to retrieve it. Either way, we are doomed."
The argument raged on, a tempest of fear, anger, and despair. Riu Xian clenched his fists, his jaw tight. The sect's leadership was paralyzed by indecision, their internal conflict mirroring the chaos that threatened to engulf them.
By nightfall, a heavy silence had descended upon the Cloudspring Sect, broken only by the occasional hushed conversation or the distant clang of metal as disciples continued their futile preparations. Riu Xian found a secluded spot beneath an ancient, gnarled tree near the outer courtyard, its branches casting long, dancing shadows in the moonlight.
He sat there for a long time, the weight of the situation pressing down on him. The sect was on the brink of annihilation, and the artifact, if it truly existed, was the only thing that could potentially save them. But Riu Xian felt no real loyalty to the Cloudspring Sect, not like the other disciples who had grown up within its walls. He was an outsider, a wanderer, his past life a distant echo in this new world. His priority was his own survival, his own growth.
"This artifact," he mused to himself, his voice barely a whisper, "if it's real, it could be the key to everything. A way to move unseen, to explore this vast world, to gather resources without fear of being hunted." If the Bright Snow Sect desired it so badly, then it was undoubtedly something worth possessing.
A slow smile spread across his face. He would find this artifact, not for the sect's sake, but for his own. In this world of cultivators, power and knowledge were the only true currencies.
With the sect in chaos and war on the horizon, it was the perfect opportunity. Amidst the frantic preparations and the fear that gripped the disciples, no one would notice a low-ranking outer disciple slipping into the library's forbidden archives. Riu Xian's resolve hardened, his eyes gleaming with determination. The artifact was more than just a legend; it was a key, a tool, perhaps even a weapon. And he would have it. "In chaos lies opportunity," he whispered to the wind, a predatory glint in his eye.
But as he stood to put his plan into action, a wave of exhaustion washed over him. He realized that infiltrating the inner sect, with its heightened security and complex spiritual formations, was far beyond his current capabilities. He was still too weak, his knowledge too limited.
Frustration simmered beneath his calm exterior as he made his way to his assigned dorm, a small, dilapidated hut on the fringes of the outer sect. It was a far cry from the bustling heart of the sect, where faint wisps of spiritual energy still lingered in the air. This place, neglected and forgotten, was a reflection of the body's former life - a weak, insignificant cultivator, overlooked and undervalued.
He pushed open the creaking wooden door and stepped inside. The hut was bare, furnished with only a simple cot, a rough-hewn table, and a few meager possessions left behind by the body's original owner. He sat heavily on the cot, leaning back against the cold, damp wall, his mind a whirlwind of conflicting emotions.
"I should've known better," he muttered, running a hand through his hair. "Trying to force my way into the inner sect was foolish, a childish fantasy. The library, the artifact, the Supreme Elder's secrets… they're all out of my reach. For now."
He closed his eyes, the weight of his situation pressing down on him. The Cloudspring Sect was a sinking ship, and staying here was like willingly walking the plank. He didn't belong in this world, and he certainly owed the sect nothing.
"I need to escape," he thought, his resolve hardening, "before the war engulfs everything. This sect means nothing to me. I'm not from this world." The boy whose body he now inhabited was just another orphan, taken in by the sect out of convenience, used for menial labor until he'd somehow stumbled into the Qi Gathering realm.
He opened his eyes, gazing around the desolate hut. The sect had never cared for the boy, and it certainly wouldn't care for him. "He had nowhere else to go," Riu Xian whispered to the silence. "But I do."
A strange mix of emotions welled up inside him, a touch of sadness for the boy whose life had been so bleak, and a surge of determination for his own future. This body, despite its initial weakness, held a hidden potential, a unique constitution that was both a mystery and a burden. "The sect saw him as nothing, a worthless weakling," he murmured. "But this body... it's special. His parents, whoever they were, must have been extraordinary. Or perhaps..." A new thought struck him, a flicker of curiosity in the darkness. "Perhaps it's something else entirely, some secret connected to this world."
The wind howled outside, rattling the loose wooden shutters of the hut, but the sound barely registered in Riu Xian's mind. He was already planning, his thoughts sharp and focused.
"This place isn't my home," he whispered, a steely glint in his eyes. "It never was. I won't die for a sect that couldn't care less about me." He would leave this place, find his own path. And one day, he would return, stronger and wiser. He would uncover the truth about this body, about the artifact, about the very nature of this world. But first, he needed to escape.
He stood up, a newfound resolve filling him. The chaos of the impending war was a double-edged sword. It was a threat, but also an opportunity. With everyone distracted, focused on the looming conflict, he might just be able to slip away unnoticed. He had a long journey ahead of him, but for the first time since his arrival in this world, he felt a sense of purpose. He would survive. He would grow stronger. And he would uncover the secrets that lay hidden within him and this strange, new world.