Volume One: Gaining the Earth Dragon by Slaying the Mountain God

Prologue

White clouds drift, immortal mist shrouds.

Beyond the thirty-three heavens, ninety-nine palaces.

Deep within the heavens, inside the Purple Cloud Palace.

Within the alchemy chamber.

Inside the chamber, the firelight cast a vast crimson glow, heat surging like waves, scorching hot.

At the very center stood a pill furnace, with a Bagua diagram appearing beneath it.

Atop the furnace were eight fire dragons, lifelike and vivid, spewing flames from their mouths, each positioned at one of the eight directions of the furnace, corresponding to the Bagua diagram on the ground: Qian, Kan, Gen, Zhen, Xun, Li, Kun, and Dui.

The eight fire dragons were similar in form, all crimson in color, their scales distinct, whiskers lifelike, yet each breathed a different kind of fire.

One breathed celestial fire, one fire from within stone, one fire from wood, one the Samadhi fire, one was heavenly fire, one was subterranean fire, one breathed earthly fire, and the last one the natural spiritual fire of the five elements.

The eight types of flames converged in one place, passing through the Eight Dragon Bagua Immortal Furnace, combining into the immortal fire within the furnace.

Beside the alchemy furnace stood a Daoist acolyte, about fifteen or sixteen years old, with delicate features and an aura of Daoist energy.

This was one of the acolytes under the great immortal, named Brian Carter.

The great immortal of the Purple Cloud Palace did not take disciples, only passed on teachings to acolytes. Coming and going was not restricted; those willing to enter became acolytes, those wishing to leave could do so at will. It was all a matter of fate—once gone, there was no return.

Brian Carter watched the Eight Dragon Bagua Immortal Furnace, the firelight reddening his cheeks, holding a fire-stoking rod in his hand, occasionally stirring beneath the furnace.

The rod was pitch black, seemingly made of iron, yet even under the scorching immortal fire, it did not glow red, remaining cool to the touch.

This fire-stoking rod was made of extraordinary material; if it were made of anything else, it would have been reduced to ashes by the eight types of flames in an instant.

Unfortunately, though this black iron rod was of fine material, it was not a treasure—just something picked from the pile of discarded items in the storeroom. Aside from being hard and fireproof, it had no other remarkable qualities. It was simply of a suitable weight and feel, which was why it was chosen as the fire-stoking rod.

Brian Carter watched the furnace fire, knowing that what was being refined inside was not some immortal elixir, but a dough figurine, shaped like nine oxen and two tigers.

He rested his smooth chin on his hand, somewhat lost in thought.

According to many stories, if he broke the rules and ate these dough figurines, he might gain the strength of nine oxen and two tigers. For example, in one legend, a certain acolyte broke the rules, ate a few beans, and grew three heads and six arms; in another, a disciple secretly ate two apricots and sprouted a pair of wings.

But Brian Carter had always been well-behaved, never daring to break the rules, and had no such mischievous thoughts.

Just two years ago, there was an acolyte who stole a pill from the great immortal and secretly swallowed it.

That pill was a precious treasure, but how could an immortal treasure be so easily consumed?

The acolyte suffered terribly, nearly dying. In the end, the great immortal, out of compassion, saved him, but ultimately expelled him from the Purple Cloud Palace, sending him back to the mortal world to fend for himself.

With this precedent, Brian Carter dared not break the rules.

"Huh, where's my fire-fanning fan?"

Brian Carter reached to his side, only to find the fan missing. He clearly remembered bringing it earlier.

"Seems I remembered wrong. Well, I've been studying the Yellow Court Immortal Sutra lately, pondering it constantly—no wonder my mind is a bit weary."

While the furnace fire remained steady, he hurriedly left the alchemy chamber and rushed toward the immortal hall where he had just attended a lecture.

...

After a short run, he arrived outside the hall.

The great immortal was not inside, and the hall doors were wide open, unattended. He could see the fire-fanning fan inside.

Brian Carter apologized softly, then hurried in, retrieved the fan, and was about to leave when his eyes caught sight of a scroll on the desk.

The scroll was spread open, its edges inlaid with gold patterns, the fabric a pale golden hue, noble and imposing. At both ends were jade rods, and the center was blank, with only three characters written at the top.

The List of Deified Gods!

These three characters carried a profound charm, each stroke as if crafted by heaven, with an indescribable aura, flowing like drifting clouds and flowing water, deep and tranquil as a lake or sea.

Brian Carter could tell this was the great immortal's handwriting. As for the purpose of the List of Deified Gods, he had heard of it in passing.

In the present heaven and earth, the time was ripe for maturity; the proper gods of the heavens must be established, dividing the departments of thunder, fire, plague, battle, the three mountains and five peaks, the constellations, the clouds and rain, the netherworld of good and evil—eight departments of proper gods to govern the order of heaven and earth.

This was decided by all the immortals together, but as things were not yet ready, the List of Deified Gods remained blank.

Brian Carter did not care much for these matters. His sole focus in cultivating immortality was to attain the Dao, to transcend the blue heavens, enter the nine netherworlds, leap beyond the three realms, exist outside the five elements, and roam free, unrestrained. He did not wish to become a god bound to the list after death, subject to restrictions.