Volume One: Seeking Immortals and the Dao, Crossing the Mountain Pass

Chapter One: Transmigration

Ryan Clark awoke from darkness, feeling as if his head was splitting open, and could vaguely recall the immense pain of being hit by a ten-wheeled truck. He saw sunlight shining on his chest, warm and comforting. Gradually, he became aware of his body’s existence, and couldn’t help but marvel at his own luck—after being sent flying so far by a truck, he was still alive. At that moment, many fragments of memory surfaced in his mind, making his head throb even more.

It turned out he had already died, but the antique bead he had bought as a protective charm suddenly emitted a brilliant light at that moment, enveloped his soul, tore open a rift in space, and brought him to this world, possessing the body of this unfortunate fellow.

The current body belonged to a young Daoist, one with a bit of magical power. His original name was Brian Foster. Ten years ago, there was a severe drought in Qingzhou. His parents took him, then only eight years old, and fled south to escape famine, but both died by the roadside. Brian Foster was lucky; before starving to death, he was noticed by the passing Old Brooks, who took him in as a disciple. Brian Foster himself was quite talented, and in just ten years had cultivated to the stage of nourishing his qi and strengthening his soul, earning the deep regard of Old Brooks.

In his memories, Old Brooks often said that in the two capitals and thirteen provinces, there were only about a dozen people with real magical power, and those with power like his, including those who lived in seclusion, could be counted on one hand. It was only because he had spent his life seeking the Dao of immortality that he remained unknown in the world.

Ethan Brooks had a fortuitous encounter in his youth and received true teachings. He cultivated diligently and was deeply devoted to seeking the Dao, never marrying, and by the age of thirty had reached the stage where his soul could leave his body. But in the following ten years, though his power deepened, he found no further breakthroughs. Thus, he traveled far and wide, visiting famous mountains and mystical waters, and places with all sorts of supernatural legends in search of immortals, but all proved to be illusions, unattainable. Upon reaching the age of one hundred, though there were still a few places he hadn’t visited, he became disheartened and decided to return home.

On his journey home, he realized that though his family still existed, all the relatives he knew from his branch had passed away over the decades, and he didn’t recognize the few younger ones who remained. So he simply bought a small courtyard in the west of the city and settled down, focusing on nurturing Brian Foster. He taught him Daoist arts and recounted his own experiences of traveling the land, slaying ghosts and demons. Ten years passed in this way, and when the old Daoist’s time came, he fell asleep one night and never woke again.

Brian Foster and the old Daoist had depended on each other for ten years, so naturally he was deeply grieved. After burying the old Daoist, during a meditation session he was unable to clear his mind of distractions, developed inner demons, went astray, and died, his soul extinguished.

Ryan Clark slowly sat up, stood by the bed and moved his limbs to calm himself, then sat cross-legged and began to circulate his qi according to the methods in the memory fragments. After one cycle, he opened his eyes, thinking he was somewhat lucky—if this kid had gone astray while circulating qi instead of during meditation, who knows how badly his meridians would have been damaged. Even if he had possessed the body, he might not have survived long, and whether he could transmigrate again would be uncertain. As it was, the body’s meridians only suffered minor damage, which could be healed with medicine and rest within half a month.

As for the little bead that brought him here, he wanted to examine it as soon as he regained his memories, but having just accepted the memories, his thoughts were chaotic, and his emotions unstable after transmigrating. Forcing himself into meditation at this time might result in the same disaster as that foolish boy—being attacked by inner demons.

Relying on his memories, Ryan Clark found three sticks of incense in the bedside drawer. This was a type of sandalwood incense that calmed the mind, made by Old Brooks himself from collected materials, and was quite precious. He placed the incense by the censer on the wooden table, picked up a copper basin, opened the door, and drew a basin of water from the small well in the courtyard, reminiscent of his past experiences drawing water in the countryside.

Carrying the copper basin back to the room, he set it down and locked the door. Then he washed his face with the cold water and dried it. Ryan Clark immediately felt refreshed, then slowly changed into a new Daoist robe. These actions were merely a means to an end—the purpose was to use these solemn rituals to gradually settle his emotions and unify his mind. This is why many religions have so many rituals; one reason is to calm emotions and clear the mind. Of course, in religious settings, with many people performing the same actions, it’s even easier to create an atmosphere conducive to preaching.