Starting Cultivation During a Trip

From Chapter 01, Zhang Fan Sightseeing, all the way to Chapter 106, the Birth of a New Human Xiao, in total there are 300,000 words—this makes for a complete volume, and I’m fairly satisfied with the degree of completion for this stage of the story.

However, since it’s interwoven with many timelines, some readers might find it a bit confusing. So today, I’m going to lay out a proper chronological order for everyone.

In fact, right from the start, when Zhang Fan went on a trip to Zhenwu Mountain and first encountered cultivation, he was instantly able to experience Primordial Spirit Emergence. By comparison, Xia Weisheng—an acknowledged genius—needed forty-nine days of diligent practice to achieve this, so our protagonist is basically a total cheat; but behind this, there must be logical justification.

Anyone reading should know, before Zhenwu Mountain, Zhang Fan’s Primordial Spirit had already awakened. It was only later, after entering Great Night, that he became an ordinary person and forgot many things.

So, if the first volume has a theme, it should be [Seeking the Lost Self] or [Rebirth]. The whole volume revolves around Zhang Fan coming down from the mountain, stepping into the cultivation world, gradually discovering how he’s different, how his father is different, how so many people around him are different...upending the past, retrieving his lost self, and uncovering the truth from ten years ago.

Next, I’ll lay out Zhang Fan’s ”return and recovery” timeline for everyone, in its proper sequence.

...

During the Eastern Han Dynasty, Great Zhenren Zhang Daoling, at He Ming Mountain, was enlightened by Taishang Laojun. Secretly imparted with the Celestial Book, he founded the Zhengyi Alliance Mighty Dao, and later opened a sect at Dragon Tiger Mountain, kickstarting the current of Daoism.

At the end of the Eastern Han, the world was in chaos. The Wuwei Sect seized the moment, claiming, ”With techniques of action and impermanence, we seek non-action and immortality.” They built temples on mountains and set up viewing platforms along rivers, subjugated all the world’s demons and ghosts, amassed incense far and wide, swept the six realms, and shook the Daoist world—their influence rippled through every Daoist Sect under heaven.

For the next two thousand years, led by the Dragon Tiger Mountain Zhang Family, the world’s best Daoist masters united to launch nine [Breaking Mountains and Attacking Temples], slaughtering Wuwei Demon cultivators. Their motto: Zhengyi’s mighty alliance, decrees of the Supreme. United under the sky, slay ghosts, give life to humans. Destroy evil, punish pretenders, and bring order to all ghostly qi.

A hundred years ago, the Wuwei Sect’s [Three Corpses Daoist] mastered one of the Nine Great Inner Elixir Methods: [Three Corpses Illuminating Fate], becoming the most powerful figure in the world.

Eighty years ago, calamity befell Middle Earth, mortals met with disaster, and the world’s Daoist masters all gathered at Dragon Tiger Mountain to perform the [Universal Sacrifice]. Spiritually summoning three thousand six hundred heavenly deities to bless the mortal realm—yet this inadvertently triggered the [Great Daoist Sect Catastrophe]. From then on, Daoist masters declined; many dharma lineages were severed. One of the Ten Great Daoist Sects—Dragon Tiger Mountain—closed its gates, and for eighty years, its incense went cold. That year, only one young man survived the calamity on Dragon Tiger Mountain, Zhenwu Mountain’s Chu Chaoran. He returned to Zhenwu Mountain carrying his master’s severed hand and the Zhenwu Jade Scroll, and never spoke of it again.

Sixty years ago, Zhenwu Mountain’s Chu Chaoran entered the [Pure Yang Wuji] realm and fought the Three Corpses Daoist atop East Peak of Mount Tai—three days and nights of magical combat. Only Chu Chaoran descended alive. The world’s number one master became a myth thereafter. The Wuwei Sect withdrew utterly, leaving no further trace in the world.

Twenty-four years ago, Great Spirit Sect King Zhang Lingzong mastered one of the Nine Great Inner Elixir Methods: [Divine Demon Holy Embryo], and, together with Nine-Fingered Talisman Demon Liu Fusheng, Yin Mountain Ghost King Xiong Sanqi, Beidou Wanderer Wang Zhenhuang, and other companions, visited famous mountains and Daoist Temples, sweeping across the Seven Eastern and Southern Provinces, utterly undefeated and unrivaled. In the same year, he met the Wuwei Sect’s Thirteen Zodiacs’ leader—Human Xiao, Li Linglong. The two became a couple, and the following year their child was born, named [Zhang Fan].

Eleven years ago, Zhang Fan himself mastered one of the Nine Great Inner Elixir Methods: [Divine Demon Holy Embryo]. That same year, White Crane Temple’s successor Li Changgeng mastered another: [Heaven and Earth Stealing Fortune].

Ten years ago, Zhang Lingzong reopened the Dragon Tiger Mountain Sect gates, entered, and brought out the Three-Life Coffin—something bound up with the [Great Daoist Sect Catastrophe] from eighty years back. This attracted the greed of the Wuwei Sect and the attention of Daoist Sects everywhere. Disaster erupted—war broke out below Dragon Tiger Mountain.

That night, Zhang Fan and Li Changgeng fought for the first time; the latter was gravely injured, near death. Zhang Fan fell into the [Great Night] tribulation. At the point of crisis, he used the [Divine Splitting Technique] to split his Primordial Spirit into three: the Evil God hid in the shadows, the Malignant God entered the Dao, the Kind God returned to the body. From that moment on, only the Kind God’s Zhang Fan remained; his Primordial Spirit faded into silence, his Dao Practice regressed, past memories were lost—he became an ordinary man.

That same night, Thirteen Zodiacs’ leader—Human Xiao, Li Linglong—died. In Zhang Fan’s later memories, his mother Li Linglong perished in a car accident ten years ago. Zhang Lingzong used the Heaven-Stealing Technique to hide the father and son’s [Lifebound Yuan Chen], feigned their deaths, and went into hiding in Yujing City, working like a laborer on construction sites. Nine-Fingered Talisman Demon Liu Fusheng became a security guard at Hongfu Garden, secretly watching over them.

That year, Zhang Fan graduated university, heartbroken after a breakup. Dragged by friend Li Yishan, he went sightseeing at Zhenwu Mountain to pray and clear his mind. (The story opens here.)

Zhenwu Mountain’s ancestral master once said: ”Zhenwu transmits the Dao for seventy-three generations, and after Ordinary Tribulation, ginseng appears.” This is now the seventy-third generation. By chance, Zhang Fan is exposed to the Daoist Path’s cultivation, his Primordial Spirit awakens, and he befriends the young girl Jiang Lai. With her help, he dodges several calamities, fuses with the Zhenwu Jade Scroll, awakens Samadhi True Flame, and re-enters the cultivation world.

Returning to Yujing City, Zhang Fan joins Night is not bright, meets companions—such as Zhenwu Discard Bai Buran, Maoshan disciple Jiang Hu, Divine Evil Inheritor Wen He, and Yu Fu, among others—thus unveiling the hidden Daoist Jianghu within the mundane city. Through multiple clashes with the [Thirteen Zodiacs] (Taoyuan Square Dragon Fang incident—Hai Pig King Tao; Shen Family Profound Mirror Treasure Talisman incident—Wu Ma Wuqilu; Divine Evil Sect inheritance incident—Rooster Day of the Metal Mao), Zhang Fan gets ever closer to the truth of ten years ago, gradually regaining power and recovering those most crucial memories.

Until the Thirteen Zodiacs reunite and a new Human Xiao is born, marking the end of this volume.

This volume is 300,000 words long, dug quite a few holes, but most have been filled. Of course, some remain...

For example, the origins of the Zhang father and son, the past and background of his mother Li Linglong, the true nature of the Great Daoist Sect Catastrophe, Jiang Lai’s secrets, the Nine Great Inner Elixir Methods, the Three Corpses Daoist, Zhang Fan’s Malignant God, Zhang Fan and Li Changgeng, and so on.

These mysteries will all be filled in as the main plot unfolds. No need to worry.

Finally, to address some of the more hotly discussed issues—

First, some are speculating that Jiang Lai is an artifact spirit. That... well, there really won’t be artifact spirits in this novel, so Jiang Lai is NOT an artifact spirit.

Second, Zhang Fan has cultivated the [Divine Splitting Technique], but he has not practiced [Three Corpses Illuminating Fate]. In other words, [Divine Splitting Technique] is only the basic entry-level skill for [Three Corpses Illuminating Fate]. Each of the Nine Great Inner Elixir Methods is extremely difficult to accomplish; at least, in the current setting, no one can master two or more of them at the same time.

This is also why in each generation, only one person—or sometimes none—can manage to achieve any of the Nine Great Inner Elixir Methods.

Of the Nine Great Inner Elixir Methods seen so far are [Three Corpses Illuminating Fate], [Divine Demon Holy Embryo], [Heaven and Earth Stealing Fortune], [Five Elements Mistaken King] (only mentioned, no cultivator has appeared), and the other five will appear later.

Lastly, as for Li Yishan... forget it, let’s not talk about Li Yishan for now.

Let me organize the story threads for the forthcoming plot.

Thank you all for your support!!