Cultivators seize the power of creation to attain longevity, steal the Qi of heaven and earth to endure eternally, and refine the essence of the five elements to protect themselves.
In the northern part of Muyun Province stood Heaven Severing Peak, a deadly place in the eyes of countless cultivators.
At the foot of Heaven Severing Peak, near the mountain pass, stood a thousand-year-old village called Little Stone Village.
It was named Little Stone Village because every building was made of stone.
It was said that a thousand years ago, Little Stone Village had been established by a group of descendants of immortals who had come here to live in seclusion. However, so much time had passed that the truth was long since impossible to know.
The Little Stone Village of today was home to nothing more than a group of ordinary mortals.
The village had more than forty households, occupying fertile fields and rich soil. They occasionally went beyond the mountains to Huilong Town to trade for rare goods, and their days passed in relative peace.
Evening.
In the woods east of Little Stone Village, five children around ten years old, dressed in coarse hemp clothing with skin darkened by the sun, were crouching in the grass.
The child in the center held a hemp rope in his hand. The other end was connected to a wooden stick, which propped up a sieve. Some crushed grains of rice had been scattered beneath it.
Nearby, a wild pheasant cautiously stretched its head toward the rice. Before long, it couldn’t resist and ducked beneath the sieve.
The child decisively pulled the hemp rope in his hand. As the wooden stick fell, the greedy pheasant was trapped beneath the sieve.
Seeing this, the other children jumped about excitedly, clapping and cheering for the child in the center.
“Wow, you caught it! You really caught it! Twelve, you’re so clever!”
“Brother Twelve, you’re amazing! When I grow up, can I marry you?”
“Twelve, I heard my ma say that some immortals are going to recruit disciples in Huilong Town in the next few days. You’re so clever, maybe you can become an immortal’s disciple!”
The little boy called Twelve rolled his eyes and laughed. “Forget it! You chubby kid can’t even count to three. What would you know? Do you really think it’s that easy to become an immortal’s disciple? Besides, what’s so appealing about cultivation? Isn’t it better to stay in the village and keep Grandpa company?”
“Enough! You little flatterers, I’ve already taught you the method. Go play by yourselves!”
After saying this, the little boy walked to the sieve and skillfully lifted out the trapped pheasant. Then he turned toward the nearby riverbank.
Twelve’s full name was Su Twelve. He had relied on his grandfather since childhood and grown up eating meals provided by the villagers.
He had been clever from a young age and learned everything quickly. He was the leader of the village children.
Su Twelve arrived at the riverbank and skillfully bled and plucked the wild pheasant. Then he pulled a battered pill furnace, about the size of his fist, from inside his clothes.
The pill furnace was filled with salt. Su Twelve pinched out a little salt and sprinkled it over the prepared pheasant.
Then he tore off a lotus leaf and wrapped the pheasant in it, coating the outside with a layer of mud.
The pill furnace had three legs and a rounded belly, with complex patterns of flowers, birds, insects, and fish carved into its body. No one knew what material it was made from. It was neither metal nor wood, neither jade nor stone. It could withstand both water and fire, and even a blade could not damage it.
He had secretly pulled it from its hiding place in the roof beam at home. His grandfather regarded the pill furnace as a treasure and normally would not even let him touch it. In the past, Su Twelve had not paid much attention to it. After all, in his eyes, it was merely a strange, broken furnace.
However, once, when he was making beggar’s chicken, he had casually used the pill furnace to hold some salt.
As a result, he discovered that salt stored in the pill furnace became exceptionally clear and crystalline. Beggar’s chicken made with that salt was particularly fragrant and crispy. After eating it, his mind became clear and his thoughts grew especially sharp.
Since then, no matter where his grandfather hid it, Su Twelve always managed to find it! Of course, he had taken plenty of beatings for it.
This time, he planned to cook one for his grandfather, too.
“Hehe, that old man has definitely never tasted roast chicken this good. I’ll give him a real surprise this time. Once he tries it, maybe he’ll let me use the pill furnace from now on!”
Su Twelve grinned as he prepared the chicken.
Suddenly, a familiar voice came from behind him. “Old man? Which old man?!”
An old man with completely white hair and beard, his hands clasped behind his back and a wooden stick concealed there, was walking toward the riverbank.
The newcomer was Su Twelve’s grandfather, Su Mingren. He was the only educated person in the village and held great prestige among the villagers.
“Of course, my grandfather… Old man, what are you doing here?!” Su Twelve answered without thinking. He turned, saw his grandfather approaching with a stick, and shuddered. The prepared pheasant slipped from his hand.
“You keep calling me ‘old man’—did all that sage learning go to waste?”
“How many times have I told you that this furnace must never be taken out? You little brat, you dug it out again! Today, I’ll beat you senseless!”
Su Mingren glared at the pill furnace in Su Twelve’s hand, his beard bristling with anger. As he spoke, he revealed the wooden stick behind his back and raised it as if he were about to strike.
Su Twelve had been watching his grandfather’s every move. Before his grandfather could act, he tucked the pill furnace inside his clothes, sprang to his feet, and swiftly dashed toward the village.
As he ran, Su Twelve turned his head and shouted, “Old man, I went to all this trouble to make you roast chicken, and you… you still want to beat me? That’s not fair!”
“Not fair? You little brat, don’t you ever think about who raised you all these years!”
Su Mingren chased after him with the wooden stick, fuming.
“You’re always climbing onto the roof and getting into mischief, and that’s bad enough! But wherever I hide this furnace, you find it. You just can’t leave it alone, can you?!”
Although Su Twelve was young, he could run fast. As he fled, he turned and made a face at his grandfather. “Old man, this pill furnace is a family heirloom. I’ll inherit it sooner or later, so what’s the difference if you give it to me now?”
Su Mingren pursued him relentlessly from behind, his face turning green with anger. “You little brat, if I don’t teach you a lesson today, you’ll never understand how serious this is.”
This pill furnace had been passed down for who knew how many generations. No one knew what it had originally been used for anymore.
Su Mingren only knew that, before his father died, he had told him to guard it carefully and never let anyone find out about it. Otherwise, it would bring death upon him.
He had no intention of telling Su Twelve unless it became absolutely necessary.
Su Twelve kept looking back from time to time. Seeing that his grandfather was truly furious, he began to feel somewhat frightened.
Relying on his youth and agility, he darted around the village a few times. When no one was paying attention, he found a haystack and burrowed inside.
Su Mingren was getting on in years, after all. After running around a few times, his face was flushed and he could not run any farther.
However, he had raised his grandson himself and knew his temperament better than anyone.
After circling the village once, Su Mingren’s eyes settled on the nearby haystack.
Holding the wooden stick, Su Mingren quietly walked to the haystack and grabbed Su Twelve, who was hiding inside and peering out cautiously.
“Hmph! You little brat, you’re pretty good at hiding! Let’s see where you can run today…”
Su Mingren was in the middle of scolding him when a series of surprised cries suddenly rang out nearby.
“Hey, everyone, look! Why is there someone flying in the sky?”
“Heavens, can people really fly in the sky?”
“What person? That’s an immortal master! He seems to be heading toward our village!”
…
Throughout the village, one figure after another looked up at the sky. For a moment, cries of surprise rang out one after another.
Su Mingren also raised his head.
In the sky, a figure entirely clad in black, trailing an arc of light, was flying toward Little Stone Village.
The moment he saw the black figure, Su Mingren’s pupils abruptly contracted and his expression changed. He immediately shoved Su Twelve back into the haystack and said sternly, “Twelve, listen to Grandpa. From now on, hide in here and do not come out, no matter what happens!”
“No matter what happens later, you absolutely must not come out! Do you hear me?!”
Inside the haystack, Su Twelve had been brooding over the fact that he would inevitably be beaten badly today. But when he saw how unusually grave his grandfather looked, he froze, then instinctively nodded.
After hiding Su Twelve, Su Mingren hurried away.