David Morgan and his wife reluctantly said goodbye to their son. Brian Morgan didn’t show much attachment to his parents; instead, he felt a sense of relief, as if a heavy burden had been lifted. The sky was vast and the birds could fly freely—how exciting the next five years of freedom would be.

Brian Morgan drove the Ford station wagon his father had just bought for him, heading west along the route indicated by Uncle. As they left the city and entered the western highway, they both let out a sigh of relief.

For some reason, they looked at each other and started laughing.

James Morgan said, “My name is James Morgan, I’m forty-seven years old, and I’m single!” He actually introduced himself to Brian Morgan, which surprised Brian Morgan—he never expected his seemingly pedantic Uncle to have a humorous side.

“Uncle! Where are you planning to take me?” Brian Morgan asked curiously.

“Keep heading west, it’s about two thousand kilometers away!”

“No way! That far? Isn’t that a huge desert?” Brian Morgan widened his eyes.

James Morgan nodded. “That’s right.” His eyes closed wearily, ready to drift off to sleep at any moment.

“Uncle! Why are you taking me to a place where not even birds poop or chickens lay eggs?” Brian Morgan couldn’t help but complain.

James Morgan smiled and said, “That’s only halfway through our journey. I promise you’ll get an unexpected surprise!”

Brian Morgan curled his lips in disdain. With no other choice, he had to go along with Uncle, especially when he thought about the tumor in his head that could burst at any moment.

The long journey gradually wore down Brian Morgan’s initial excitement, turning it into resignation. If it weren’t for the chance to save his young life, he would have left long ago.

James Morgan was usually quiet, and since leaving the city, he hadn’t shown much concern for his nephew’s illness.

Just as Brian Morgan was about to lose his patience, they finally arrived at the Taklamakan Desert. The sandstorm ahead made Brian Morgan start to doubt whether it was worth continuing.

James Morgan jumped out of the car, holding a brass compass in his hand. He walked a few steps into the desert, as if searching for something.

From his actions, Brian Morgan could already tell they would have to keep going. Brian Morgan took down the travel bag his father had given him. The road ahead was in terrible condition, completely impassable by car; from here on, they would have to travel on foot.

James Morgan was already trudging through the yellow sand, and Brian Morgan had no choice but to silently follow behind.

Night gradually fell, and the only people in the vast world were Brian Morgan and James Morgan. The fierce wind whipped the sand into their faces, stinging painfully.

“Uncle! Where exactly are you trying to go?” Brian Morgan could no longer keep silent.

James Morgan looked back at him and smiled mysteriously. “Just two more hours, and we’ll be there!”

Two hours later, they finally reached their destination: the ruins of an ancient building. The wind and sand had long since ravaged the place, leaving it in ruins, and only faint traces of past civilization could be discerned among the debris.

James Morgan led Brian Morgan skillfully through the ancient city walls ahead. He whispered, “This is the site of the ancient ‘Kingdom of Jingjue.’”

Actually, even without the introduction, Brian Morgan could tell it was a ruin. As for the so-called ‘Kingdom of Jingjue,’ Brian Morgan knew nothing about it—he had never passed a history class in his life.

The city wasn’t large; all the areas combined were less than the size of a soccer field. According to James Morgan, this was because most of the ruins were buried under the yellow sand.

They stopped at the center of the ruins, where there was a Taiji (yin-yang) pattern made of black and white stones. It looked out of place among the surrounding ruins, clearly a later addition.

James Morgan pulled Brian Morgan to sit in the center of the pattern. “The place I want to take you is a completely new world. Only there can the foreign energy inside you be suppressed, and only then will you have a chance to survive.”

Everything he said sounded like a fairy tale to Brian Morgan, who even began to doubt whether Uncle’s mind was normal.

Moonlight completely enveloped the ruins, and the edges of the Taiji pattern faintly glowed golden. A strong light radiated along the pattern’s outline, surrounding their entire bodies. Brian Morgan had to squeeze his eyes shut, unable to withstand the intense light.

In an instant, Brian Morgan’s consciousness drifted away from his body, as if he had crossed a thousand years in a split second...

When Brian Morgan opened his eyes again, he was lying in a simple, ancient meditation room. The furnishings were very basic: aside from the wooden bed he was lying on, there were only two meditation cushions on the floor.

Brian Morgan looked beside him—his travel bag was still there. He took out clean clothes and changed, then turned on his phone. To his surprise, there was no signal at all. Where was this place? Could the telecom network not reach here? GPS global positioning was also useless. Could the phone have suddenly malfunctioned?

Brian Morgan got out of bed and walked outside. There was a clean courtyard, and a young monk in a yellow robe was sweeping up fallen leaves. A cold wind blew by, and he couldn’t help but sneeze.