Chapter 1: The Unrestrained Genius

  "Brother Linfeng, be gentle, it will hurt."

  "For the first time, can't grasp the intensity..."

  "Oh no, it really went in!"

  "It feels warm inside..."

  "Yes, it's so comfortable."

  In the huge tree hole, I remembered the scene when I drilled into the tree hole just now. The boy and girl's mouth corners simultaneously showed a bright smile full of childishness.

  "I didn't expect that this ancient pine tree would have a secret world inside, it's much warmer than outside, it's really a great private place, hehe, this is a secret, only Brother Lin Feng and Little Cloud can know......" The girl suddenly stretched out her white and tender little finger, with a serious expression.

  The boy first looked up at the entrance of the tree hole, which was only a few feet in size and about 20 feet high, then smiled and said: "This is a little secret between you and me, I won't tell anyone."

  After that, the two children hooked their little fingers together and made a promise that only existed in the innocent and romantic era of childhood.

  ——————————————

  Time flies, and it's another two autumns and winters. At the time of severe cold, the ancient pine that once witnessed a pair of young lovers stood still on the top of Purple Cloud Peak.

  In the warm and vast tree hole, only a handsome boy in a green shirt remained.

  "It's been two years since I fell from being the first among the third generation disciples of the Xuan Yuan Sect to becoming a waste among them!"

  "Chu Linfeng, these three words are no longer the pride of Xuan Yuan Sect. They can't even be considered shameful. After all, someone who doesn't even have the strength of a first-level Heaven stage cultivator, someone who has been demoted to being a miscellaneous disciple within the sect, doesn't even have the qualifications to shame Xuan Yuan Sect."

  Looking back on the experiences of the past two years, Chu Linfeng's fists were clenched tightly, and a pair of pitch-black eyes shot out a perseverance that was completely inconsistent with his fifteen-year-old age.

  He was expected to be a great talent from the third generation of disciples within the Xuan Yuan Sect, and as he possessed the physique of the Xuan Yang Spirit Body, he was personally accepted as a disciple by the sect leader. However, he has now become the lowest-ranking odd job disciple in the sect, and it can be imagined how much bitterness and heartache he must have endured along the way.

  From the peak fell into the endless deep valley, countless white eyes and shame were added to Chu Linfeng's body. Even if it was an adult, I'm afraid he might not be able to bear it, but he did.

  "These two years if it wasn't for Xiaoyun taking extra care of herself, she probably wouldn't have made it through."

  He let out a long sigh, and the corners of his mouth revealed a rare smile. He looked up at the entrance to the tree hole two meters above him, and many past scenes floated into his mind.

  Seven years ago, Chu Linfeng was just a mortal young master, until he was brought to Xuanyuan Mountain by an old Taoist with a long eyebrow who was revered as a celestial being in the mortal world, and finally embarked on the path of cultivating immortality.

  It must be mentioned that the Cultivation Realm is not something that can be accessed by just anyone, only those who are born with a spiritual body have the opportunity to embark on the path of cultivation.

  Apart from the seven major spiritual bodies of metal, wood, water, fire, earth, wind and thunder, there are also the rare Xuan Yang spiritual body and Xuan Yin spiritual body that can be found in only one out of a million people.

  Chu Linfeng was one of the million lucky ones, relying on his unparalleled Xuan Yang spiritual body talent. In just five short years, Chu Linfeng achieved a shocking cultivation speed, reaching the fifth heaven of the Human Realm. This is almost the fastest cultivation progress in the history of the Xuan Yuan Sect.

  The boundary division in the Xiu Zhen realm is divided into three stages: Tian, Di, and Ren. Each stage is further divided into nine layers of heaven. It is said that once one cultivates to the ninth layer of the Tian stage, they can ascend to the immortal realm. However, in the past thousand years, not to mention ascending to the immortal realm, even those who have set foot in the Tian stage are extremely rare throughout the four continents.

  Chu Linfeng reached the fifth stage of adulthood at the age of thirteen, a cultivation speed that can be described as shocking and enviable, with an unlimited future prospects.

  He became the first person among nearly a thousand disciples of the Xuanyuan Sect, and was also accepted as a disciple by Tongxuan Zhenren, becoming his only personally taught disciple.

  Chu Linfeng's extraordinary talent is such that even if you look at the four major states, there are only about a hundred people who can surpass him. In a sect like Xuan Yuan Zong, which is considered to be of medium size in the Dao lineage, it is extremely rare to discover a disciple with such astonishing talent among the younger generation.

  It is precisely because of this that Chu Linfeng's status in the Xuan Yuan Sect has risen with the tide, and even compared to Tongxuan Zhenren's granddaughter Youqin Yunshang, she is only higher, not lower.

  Two years ago, Chu Linfeng was the next successor of the Xuan Yuan Sect, although he was only the youngest of the three generations of disciples in the sect. Even the elders of the sect showed extreme courtesy to him, and what's more, Chu Linfeng's extraordinary talent had even shocked Tongxuan Zhenren, the current leader of the Xuan Yuan Sect and the strongest cultivator in the sect, who had been in seclusion in the Xuan Yuan Secret Tower for thirty years.

  He personally bestowed upon Chu Linfeng a Silver Mystic Emblem, which only the most exceptional disciples of the second generation within the sect could obtain. Within the sect, the Silver Mystic Emblem symbolized an extraordinary status and came with numerous special privileges.

  Gu Zhenren also stated that if Chu Linfeng could break through to the Earth Stage before the age of twenty, he would spend a hundred years of cultivation to open the Xuan Yuan Secret Tower for him and let him choose one of the treasures stored inside.

  Everything is so good, if not for the experience of accidentally entering the "Great Extinction Demon Array" two years ago, I believe that until now, Chu Linfeng would still be held in high esteem by everyone in the Xuan Yuan Sect.

  There is a place of absolute confinement within Xuanyuan Mountain, which has been strictly forbidden to outsiders since the founding of the Xuanyuan Sect and remains so to this day. Not even successive generations of sect leaders have dared to take half a step beyond its boundaries.

  At that time, Chu Linfeng was a young man with a heart full of vigor and had been spoiled by the big shots in his sect. Having just reached the fifth heaven of the Human Realm, he obtained a quasi-divine technique from Tongxuan True Man and, driven by excitement, dared to steal the secret key to open the Demon Sealing Gorge and ventured into it alone.

  The name of Demon Sealing Valley was obtained over 3,000 years ago. According to legend, it sealed a peerless demon cultivator who had reached the eighth heaven of the Heavenly Ladder.

  At that time, in order to seal this peerless demon cultivator, the five major sects of the Dao lineage, which were renowned for their prestige, jointly launched a siege and paid a terrible price before finally sealing him. They also laid down the "Great Annihilation Demon Array" to refine the demon's head, but whether it was successful or not is unknown.

  Because the "Great Annihilation Demon Array" does not have a method to break the array, once it is laid out, it will exist forever. This is also the key reason why the Sealing Demon Valley was isolated as a forbidden land.

  Chu Linfeng paid a terrible price for his ignorance and recklessness. With his cultivation strength, he couldn't even set foot in the "Great Annihilation Demon Array", but the mysterious dark demon nets surrounding the array's periphery would not let him off.

  When Chu Linfeng woke up from his coma, he had already been rescued back to the sect. However, his cultivation was completely destroyed due to the invasion of the Xuan Yin Demon Array, and he even lost his proud Xuan Yang Spiritual Body, becoming a complete waste of a person.

  What followed was predictable. After confirming that Chu Linfeng had become a useless person, he was first expelled by the sect leader Tongxuan Zhenren, and as the only disciple of the sect leader, how could he be a useless person who couldn't cultivate? Later, he was demoted to a miscellaneous disciple, his glory lost, leaving Chu Linfeng with countless humiliation and cold shoulders.

  Sitting cross-legged at the bottom of a tree hole, Chu Linfeng was operating the familiar "Xuanyuan Decision" that had been practiced to the point where it couldn't be practiced any more, repeating the same movements he had made thousands of times over the past two years.

  "A desolate and empty lower abdomen, without any sensation..."

  An hour later, Chu Linfeng gave up the futile attempt to refine his energy. At this moment, the sky was already near dusk. Several creatures crawled out of the tree hole and trotted through the snow, heading towards the wooden house at the back of the mountain.

  Xuanyuan Mountain is over two thousand zhang high, and it's in the midst of a harsh winter season. Without the protection of true yuan energy, ordinary people would find it extremely difficult to endure the cold weather for an extended period.

  Returning to his own small cottage, which had been built with great difficulty and effort, Chu Lin quickly lit a fire in the stone stove, huddled up his thin body, and leaned against the stove to warm himself.

  "I really want to go home! Even if it's just living an ordinary life, it would be much better than the current days..." Although he had been through two years of hardship, which made Chu Linfeng possess a perseverance that was completely inconsistent with his age, on this cold night, thinking about home was not unreasonable.

  Looking at the flames rising in the fireplace, Chu Linfeng seemed to see his beautiful and loving mother gently stroking his head as he drifted off to sleep. Then, he appeared to see his tall and majestic father standing together with his mother, intimately chatting with him...

  "Is the young master in?"

  Just as Chu Linfeng was about to fall asleep, a sudden knock at the door rang out.

  "Little Master?" Memories of childhood flashed through his mind, Chu Linfeng sprang up with a "whoosh", and rushed to the door in three strides.

  Opening the door, in the midst of a flurry of heavy snow, an old man with white hair and beard, with a layer of frost on his clothes, his face purple from the cold wind, was seen stomping his feet and hugging himself, shivering.

  "Old housekeeper..."

  Chu Linfeng rubbed his eyes hard and stared blankly. Being able to see the old steward in Xuan Yuan Mountain had already exceeded Chu Linfeng's imagination.

  "Little master, go in and talk first." The old steward shook off the snow on his body, saying this with a tremble, which made Chu Linfeng realize how much harm the terrifying cold air would cause to an elderly person like him who was already over 70 years old.

  The old steward sat by the fireplace, Chu Lin added a few more pieces of firewood, and then asked with some excitement: "Old steward, how did you come to Xuan Yuan Mountain?"

  As early as when Chu Linfeng was a child, Li Bin had already been the steward of the Chu family. When he was young and at home, Chu Linfeng liked to pester the old steward to tell him stories. In fact, Li Bin seemed more like a member of Chu Linfeng's family than just a steward.

  Before Chu Linfeng was taken into the Xuan Yuan Sect, he was a young master of the Chu family, one of the top ten aristocratic families in the Great State of Nan Zhou, and his status could be considered quite noble.

  Since being taken in by the elder of the Xuan Yuan Sect at the age of eight, Chu Linfeng had never seen his parents or relatives again, including Li Bin, the old steward.

  If it weren't for the tragedy two years ago, Chu Linfeng would have been able to descend the mountain and gain experience as long as he could cultivate up to the sixth heaven of the Human Realm. He could also rely on his status and identity as a third-generation genius in his sect to bring great benefits to his family.

  Since being invaded by the demonic energy, Chu Linfeng lost his Xuan Yang spiritual body and became a useless person. He forever lost the opportunity to go down the mountain for training. The rules of the Xuan Yuan Sect were strict, if one did not have the strength of six realms, even if they died in the mountains, it was impossible to let them leave the mountain.

  The stiff body warmed up a bit, and the old housekeeper looked at his young master, a line of turbid tears flowing down, "Young master, something happened at home..."

  Chu Lin's eyes narrowed slightly as he heard the words, trying his best to suppress the urgent emotions in his heart. He slowed down his tone and said, "Uncle Li, please speak slowly..."

  After the old steward finished speaking with a sob, Chu Linfeng had already clenched his fists so tightly due to extreme anger that he pierced through his palm, and bright red blood dripped onto the ground, appearing exceptionally eye-catching under the fiery glow.

  "Mother was banned, father was seriously injured, life and death uncertain, the emperor ordered the Chu family to be exiled to the barbarian land..."

  If it weren't for the experiences of the past two years that had tempered Chu Linfeng's will to be extremely resilient, even an adult would have been unable to withstand such terrible news.

  The old steward was clearly shocked by Chu Linfeng's current appearance, he could deeply feel the incomparable sadness and anger of his young master, but from start to finish, he had not seen Chu Linfeng shed a single tear, nor even a hint of facial expression. It was a kind of depth that was completely inconsistent with his age, a kind of accumulation of all emotions buried deep in his heart.

  "Heavens! What has this young master been through all these years? Why is he like this?"

  The old steward suppressed the unease and terror in his heart, wanting to say something, but when his gaze met Chu Linfeng's pitch-black pupils, he found himself unable to utter any comforting words. In fact, he had already reached a point where he was too exhausted to speak.

  After a long silence, Chu Linfeng slowly spoke out one sentence, "Old steward, you go rest first, tomorrow I will go ask the head teacher to help me out..."

  The old steward did not know that Chu Linfeng was in a precarious situation in the Xuan Yuan Sect, and this time he risked his frail body to climb the high Xuan Yuan Mountain, which was thousands of feet tall, just to make one last effort for the Chu family.

  At this moment, Chu Linfeng finished speaking and with his last bit of energy, he slowly lost consciousness, his eyes gradually losing their luster. With the last thread of strength, he forced out a smile and softly said: "Young master, this old bones finally has some use, I've told you everything that needs to be said. Master is currently on his way to Jiuzhang Marsh, it's a harsh and cold place, Master's body may not be able to withstand it, you must hurry..."

  From then on, there was no sound. At the moment when the flames were dancing, the old steward's body suddenly softened and fell to the ground, and he had already died.

  The old steward was just an ordinary mortal, and at the age of seventy, he strongly climbed a thousand-meter-high peak in this cold winter. He was able to hold on until now, relying solely on his stubborn will to do his best for the Chu family for the last time. Now that he has handed over the sudden disaster within the clan to Chulinfeng, he has also fulfilled his last wish.

  Chu Lin Feng knelt down in front of Lao Guan Jia's body, gritted his teeth and hugged the stiffening corpse, then walked out of the small hut, advancing alone into the wind and snow.

  In the howling cold wind, Chu Linfeng was digging with his head down, regardless of the snow covering him. His thin clothes were no match for the freezing cold on the mountain top at midnight. Before long, Chu Linfeng's face had turned purple and his lips white from the cold, but to him at this moment, this chill was nothing compared to the cold in his heart.

  When a rather large pit was dug out, Chu Linfeng's hands were already bleeding profusely.

  "Uncle Li, for the kindness you have shown to our Chu family, I, Chu Linfeng, can never repay. One day, I will definitely treat your descendants like my own kin, but when I, Chu Linfeng, rise to power, I will not forget."

  After burying the old steward, Chu Linfeng returned to his small hut and began to sort out everything. Encountering such a sudden change, yet able to recover calmness in such a short period of time, this can only be described as terrifying. However, this does not mean that Chu Linfeng is cold-blooded and ruthless, but rather he has already learned to hide his negative emotions very deeply. But the more it is so, the greater the explosion will be when it comes out in the future.

  The Chu family is one of the top ten aristocratic families in the Great Sui Dynasty, based in Qingzhou. Although they do not participate in court politics, they have a huge influence that is not inferior to that of a provincial governor.

  These years, the Chu family has been thriving under the management of Chu Chenhan, the father of Chu Lianfeng. This is also inseparable from the contribution of Chu Chenhan's wife and Chu Lianfeng's mother, Mu Qingwen. However, no one knows about Mu Qingwen's past, and regarding this point, Chu Chenhan has issued a strict order that no one is allowed to inquire about it.

  In Chu Linfeng's memory, his mother was a gentle and beautiful woman whose beauty left all the men who saw her for the first time infatuated. As a child, Chu Linfeng loved to nestle in Mu Qingwen's arms and fall asleep listening to her sing nursery rhymes.

  Even though it has been seven years since he left home, whenever Chu Linfeng thinks of his mother, he still reveals a rare bright smile. Especially in the past two years, apart from Qin Yunxiang, his mother's gentle and beautiful appearance has become one of the main pillars that support Chu Linfeng's perseverance.

  It's just such a gentle and kind woman who is content with her place in the world, a good wife and mother, yet she would be called a traitor to the Taoist sect by the Taicheng Sect.

  Taiqing Sect, ranked first among the five major sects of Daoism, with a reputation as the leader of the Daoist lineage, an existence that even the Xuan Yuan Sect can only look up to, actually took drastic measures against a mundane secular family.

  "Abducting his mother and injuring his father, using the power of the Taoist sect to force Emperor Yang of Sui to exile the Chu family..."