Shu Mountain, Silver Sword Peak.
Chu Liang opened his eyes, his gaze clear.
Looking outside, it was still early. The fiery sun had just risen, painting half the sky in the hues of dawn.
It had been over half a year since he arrived in this world, and he had completely adapted to early mornings.
He wasn't originally from this world, but a recent graduate who had just finished his college entrance exams. He had learned the day before that he had achieved the third highest score in the entire province, but the next day, he was hit by a drunk driver as soon as he stepped out.
When he woke up again, he found himself in this strange and surreal world.
It was called strange and surreal because it was filled with demons, dragons, and divine powers, where mortal lives were as fragile as grass. It was thanks to the suppression by the many immortal sects led by the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands that peace was maintained in the human world.
The practitioners of the human race are also powerful. Warriors can split mountains and rocks with their bodies, scholars can rival thousands of troops and horses with their determination, Taoist masters can command the wind and rain, and the senior monks of Buddhism are capable of subduing dragons with a single finger...
Chu Liang's predecessor was an orphan whose entire family was killed by demons. Only he was saved by his master and brought back to the mountain due to his talent for cultivation.
As a result, his predecessor had a special resentment towards the evil spirits and was extremely eager to quickly develop supernatural powers to descend the mountain and slay demons. However, because of his overly eager desire, his mind was unstable, and he ended up falling into demonic possession during a breakthrough, causing his soul to dissipate.
All he could do was sigh and lament at the impermanence of life.
After Chu Liang's soul descended into this world, his first feeling was actually panic. As a young man who grew up in a peaceful era, he felt quite uneasy in a world overrun by demons.
Especially since the memories he carried included the gruesome scenes of his predecessor's family being killed by demons, the impact on his mind was significant.
But soon he came to a clear realization. Fear comes from insufficient strength.
The weak will inevitably live in fear all day long. The only way to completely rid oneself of this unease is to become stronger. Being endowed with the talent for cultivation and having arrived at the Shu Mountain Sect, a top-tier immortal sect, was actually a pretty good start.
What's more, after crossing over, he found that there had been a change in his soul.
That was the appearance of a tower.
Whenever he contemplated it, a large white tower would appear in his mind. After slaying demons, it would even reward him with treasures. This didn't exist in his predecessor's memories. It seemed to have come along with him, perhaps it was the legendary 'cheat code'?
At first, Chu Liang didn't dare to seek out major demons, so he would hunt down some wandering lantern monsters in the surrounding villages and towns near Shu Mountain.
This kind of evil spirit, the lantern monster, is the resentful spirit of the dead clinging to a lantern, manifesting as a ghostly fire that would drift and crash into people at night. A single collision would immediately dissipate the lantern monster itself, and at most, the person hit would fall ill. Compared to cultivators, they could be said to have no combat effectiveness.
Weak to the point of being endearing.
The reward for refining a lantern monster was a gathering energy pill to aid in cultivation. Although it wasn't particularly rare by itself, having a large quantity significantly boosted his cultivation speed.
Once, he chanced upon a bulky and heavily defended stone statue spirit. After a lengthy battle, Chu Liang successfully wore it down.
It was the first time the white tower gave a reward in the form of a treasure, a golden brick that could expose the true form of a demon or cause pain and partial dizziness to a non-demonic entity when slapped on their head.
Chu Liang considered this treasure to be extremely practical.
Elixirs, treasures, supernatural techniques... these were extremely precious items in the immortal cultivation world. Even disciples of Shu Mountain had to complete missions for the sect in order to obtain resources and treasures.
Chu Liang, on the other hand, could obtain these items simply by slaying demons. Moreover, as his strength increased from hunting demons, the level of treasures he obtained also increased, naturally leading to a greater enhancement of his own strength.
So, Chu Liang was now in a logic loop of "killing demons because of fear of demons," which in a sense, fulfilled part of his predecessor's wishes.
...
Leisurely dressing and grooming, and then officially got out of bed.
Pushing open the door and stepping out of the small wooden house, he looked up at the high sky with light clouds. It was the time of late spring in April, and the wind carried the fragrance of the grass and trees. Following the path of bird songs and floral scents, he skirted half of the slope and arrived in front of a pavilion at the peak.
He came to find his master.
The door of the attic was wide open. As soon as he entered, he saw a graceful figure lying in front of the altar.
It was a woman with long, flowing hair, half of her face covered by strands of hair. The exposed half of her face was delicate and radiant, with facial features outlined like ink drawings, tinged with red. Her neck had delicate lines like fine porcelain.
She wore a dark robe with a straight collar. Even lying down, her full chest was clearly visible, resembling a full moon, undulating with each even breath. A jade pendant emitting a red glow was nestled among her chest, capturing one's attention. Her waist was slim, adorned by a satin ribbon, with widening hips and long, fair-skinned legs.
Beside her hand hung a large wine gourd. Even as he entered, he could still hear her faint snoring, displaying a complete lack of decorum.
Though deeply asleep, at the sound of Chu Liang's footsteps, the woman became alert and opened her eyes.
"Master." Chu Liang softly called out as he stood at the door.
Indeed, the woman was Chu Liang's master, the Peak Master of the Silver Sword Peak, one of the thirty-six peaks of Mount Shu, Lady Phoenix.
"Oh, it's already bright out." Lady Phoenix turned over and sat up, her clothes disheveled, exposing her shoulders, giving off a rather criminal-like appearance.
Without tidying her clothes, she instead scratched her head, her hazy gaze locking onto Chu Liang. "What are you here for?"
He was a little confused.
"Well..." Chu Liang raised his eyes. "It's the master who sent the paper crane message, asking me to come see you after I returned."
"Is that so?" The groggy woman scratched her head, suddenly exclaimed, "I remember now!"
Only then did she tug her clothes a bit and stood up. While lying down did not seem too extravagant, standing up accentuated her tall figure and remarkable curves.
"Didn't the headmaster summon the peak masters for a meeting yesterday, saying that it's time to prepare for the once-a-decade Mount Shu Summit, where the disciples from various peaks compete for the position of chief disciple?"
"I'm aware."
"As a result, I got into a argument with that old man, Wang Xuanling. I couldn't stand his arrogant attitude, boasting that the chief position belonged to his Jade Sword Peak... I spit!" Lady Phoenix stood up, still visibly angry, her chest rising and falling in agitation. "Of course, I argued with him and made a bet."
"If a disciple from Jade Sword Peak secures the chief position, I will give them the Phoenix Blood Jade. If a disciple from my Silver Sword Peak secures the chief position, he will give me the position of the chief of all peaks."
With that, Lady Phoenix glanced at Chu Liang. "I called you here to ask: who should we send from Silver Sword Peak to participate in the Mount Shu Summit?"
"..." Chu Liang was silent for a while and then said softly, "Master, we have only one disciple at Silver Sword Peak..."
"Good!" Lady Phoenix clapped her hands. "I am very pleased that you volunteered. "