Brian Smith tightened his clothes and followed Old Priest out of the room.

The wind and snow outside were fierce, with goose-feather snowflakes swirling down. Inside the temple, a thick layer of snow had already accumulated, and the tall pines and cypresses bowed their heads.

“Master, the guest room has been cleaned.”

At this moment, a Young Priest emerged from a nearby doorway.

“Rest well, young friend.”

Old Priest nodded and said to Brian Smith.

“Master, you’re already advanced in years, there’s no need to look after me.”

Brian Smith smiled and walked into the guest room.

The guest room was not large, containing only a bed, a table and chair, and two braziers. On the table were several ancient books, and in the corner, some miscellaneous items were placed.

“My body is getting weaker and weaker. Ten years of martial arts practice are about to fade away…”

Brian Smith sighed, took off his shoes, and lay flat on the bed, relaxing his whole body.

His right leg was underneath, bent at the knee like a bow, while his left arm stretched out, pressed tightly against his thigh—precisely the posture for the Hibernating Dragon Sleeping Elixir Technique.

The Hibernating Dragon Sleeping Elixir Technique, as the name suggests, is a skill for sleeping.

Legend has it that this sleeping technique is a true Daoist method passed down by a master of the Quanzhen lineage, an unparalleled way to regulate body and mind.

Brian Smith had practiced this sleeping technique for several years, and the twenty-four movements had long since become second nature.

As soon as he lay down, he naturally assumed this posture.

It was said that the version of the Hibernating Dragon Sleeping Elixir Technique he had learned was the true transmission, somewhat different from what most people practiced.

In fact, this sleeping technique really did reduce his suffering.

“I really can’t accept this…”

Brian Smith closed his eyes, a sense of melancholy welling up inside.

A year ago, he was diagnosed with a terminal illness, beyond the help of any medicine. At first, he sought treatment at several major hospitals, and even after all of them issued critical condition notices, he refused to give up.

It wasn’t until his attending physician tentatively discussed the naming rights of his disease with him that he finally gave up seeking medical treatment.

At this point, most people would probably just wait for death.

But he believed that there must be powers in this world that transcend the ordinary!

Because he had broken through the mystery of the womb and gained partial memories that seemed to be from a previous life!

That planet called Earth was even more advanced than the Xuanxing he lived on. The two lives might have overlapped, but that was a world encompassing finance, politics, culture, language, science, and a glorious five-thousand-year history—something no individual could possibly imagine!

A parallel world?

Transmigration?

Reincarnation?

Or something else?

Brian Smith didn’t know, but he believed that if even such things could happen, why couldn’t there be supernatural powers?

He absolutely refused to let his body waste away day by day without doing anything, only to die helplessly in a hospital bed!

This was also why he had traveled all over the country these past years—not just out of desperation.

Unfortunately, he had already taken a year off from school.

Over the past year, he had visited countless temples and monasteries.

Yet he still found nothing.

“A year has passed, and I’ve gained nothing. It’s time to make arrangements for the end. At the very least, I must ensure my parents are well provided for in their later years, so they won’t be left destitute and lonely…”

Brian Smith’s eyes were half-closed, hiding the glimmer of tears.

The territory of the Great Xuan was vast; a year was not enough for him to travel it all. But he was running out of time, and his increasingly frail body could no longer support him.

He sighed softly in his heart and silently recited the formula for the Hibernating Dragon Sleeping Elixir Technique:

“Dragon returns to the primordial sea, yang hides within yin. People speak of the hibernating dragon, but I hibernate my heart…”

He soon drifted into a half-sleep.

Whoosh~~~

Brian Smith’s chest rose and fell, his breathing rhythm ever-changing.

The Hibernating Dragon Sleeping Elixir Technique was, after all, a method of adjusting one’s breath, nourishing vital energy, and regulating body and mind while asleep.

Since practicing it, Brian Smith had slept less and less, yet felt more and more energetic.

Unfortunately, this sleeping technique could only ease his pain, not cure his diseased body.

Gradually, a flush of color appeared on Brian Smith’s previously pale face, and even the occasional stabbing pain seemed to vanish.

Darkness!

Nothingness!

All-encompassing!

Brian Smith felt his spirit completely at ease, the surrounding darkness enveloping him like water.

Buzz, buzz, buzz~~~

Suddenly, Brian Smith seemed to hear something.

“Am I dreaming again?”

This thought arose in Brian Smith’s mind.

Boom!

It was as if a bronze bell in a temple had been struck, like thunder echoing from the mountains, exploding in Brian Smith’s heart.

Startled by this, Brian Smith actually “opened his eyes” within his dream!

Opening one’s eyes in a dream!

The sensation was extremely strange. He clearly hadn’t woken up, nor had he opened his eyes, yet Brian Smith could clearly “see” the wooden beam stretching across the ceiling in the darkness!

And the old, leaky roof, as if snowmelt had seeped through!

He could even see the spider spinning its web in the corner of the beam!

“Huh?!”

Brian Smith was startled and instinctively tried to get up, but it felt as if a mountain was pressing down on him—he couldn’t move at all.

Dreaming?

Sleep paralysis?

Or something else?

Lying on his back, staring at the beam, Brian Smith was surprisingly calm, without the panic he should have felt. Instead, there was a faint sense of anticipation.