Chapter One: Sleeping Beauty Xiao Wu

When the last trace of the sunset burned away, a solitary figure stretched ever longer across the blood-dark horizon.

“Tang San, I swear, the humiliation you inflicted upon me—one day, I, Gu Chen, will repay it a hundredfold!” The young man, his face resolute, struck the ground with clenched fists, his voice brimming with unwillingness.

At the edge of a withered forest, beneath the distant mountains now swallowed by night, a face so beautiful it stunned even the darkness suddenly blossomed into a smile. A girl with her hair braided like a scorpion stood quietly at the edge of the dead trees, her eyes full of tenderness as she watched the boy approaching, step by step.

“Brother San, why didn’t you kill him?”

“Dirty work…”

Gu Chen, struggling to sit upright with fingers digging into the earth, watched the two figures growing distant, arms draped across each other’s shoulders. He wiped blood from the corner of his mouth. Hatred burned in his eyes, as though a volcano that had lain dormant for millennia was about to erupt, ready to scorch everything beneath heaven.

Gu Chen did not originally belong to this continent; he hailed from a cultivation land known as the Southern Underworld.

He was born with a calm disposition, caring deeply only for family. Yet the heavens were cruel, treating all beings as mere fodder, stripping him of everything.

Gu Chen grew up in a humble mountain village. His family was poor, his parents toiling day and night until illness claimed them both. He was raised single-handedly by his elder sister, Gu Qian—a woman of rare beauty and kindness, skilled in needlework, fetching water, chopping wood, cooking; there was nothing she could not do.

She cherished Gu Chen, and though their home was poor, no matter how hard life became, Gu Chen always ate his fill and wore new clothes each year.

Gu Qian was illiterate but determined Gu Chen would not become a simpleton; she often went hungry herself just to save money for his schooling. She would say, “Chen, our family is poor. If you don’t study hard, you won’t even be able to find a wife…”

No matter how bitter life was, Gu Qian never complained. She always told Gu Chen, “Chen, no matter how hard life gets, remember: you must bravely keep living. As long as you’re alive, there’s hope!”

But good times were short-lived. When Gu Chen turned ten, bandits came to King Village. These marauders killed, burned, robbed—committing every atrocity. His sister fell to their bloody blades.

Such devastation for a child of only ten! Yet fate was not finished with him.

It granted him hope, only to cruelly shatter it when he believed heaven might finally spare him.

At twelve, Gu Chen met his master, the famed healer Bai Shou, known as the Sage of Medicine. His master was skilled in healing, humble and benevolent, dedicating his life to saving others, never seeking fame or fortune.

Yet this saintly man, devoted to alleviating suffering, was driven to suicide by the so-called righteous factions of the Southern Underworld when Gu Chen was eighteen.

The reason: his master possessed a legendary artifact, the Heavenfire Pearl, revered as the greatest treasure of the Southern Underworld.

In the years he knew his master, Bai Shou taught him to read and write, imparted moral guidance, and passed on his medical skills without reservation.

Gu Qian had been slain by bandits, so Gu Chen hated them deeply. Besides healing, he learned mystical arts to hunt the bandits, risking his life. But a mere youth, even with cultivated power, was no match for seasoned killers; he was often severely injured and barely escaped.

Yet no matter how gravely wounded he became, as long as he drew breath, his master would save him—thanks to the Heavenfire Pearl.

When word leaked of his master’s possession of the Pearl, Bai Shou was hounded to death. Before dying, he entrusted the Pearl to Gu Chen.

In the years following Bai Shou’s death, Gu Chen pursued ruthless vengeance against those sects—stealing their secret manuals, poisoning their elders and disciples, even bedding many sects’ saintesses…

Ultimately, he was hunted by all the major sects. Mortally wounded and on the brink of death, he swallowed the Heavenfire Pearl and threw himself from the legendary Soul-Severing Cliff, the most mysterious place in the Southern Underworld.

Qingyun Mountain, White Mountain Village—the extreme southern reaches of the Southern Underworld. Not far from the village lay Soul-Severing Cliff, known as the Tomb of Death.

For countless millennia, the number of those who fell from the cliff was beyond measure, including four celestial-level cultivators, none of whom ever survived.

...

When he leapt, Gu Chen was spent and exhausted. The Heavenfire Pearl burned in his belly; he felt as if his organs were aflame, his mind consumed by excruciating pain until he passed out.

He thought death was certain, yet when he awoke, he found himself lying on a soft bed.

Drowsy, Gu Chen sensed something soft beneath his hand. Startled, he opened his eyes and sat up immediately, scanning his surroundings. He seemed to be in a room.

Perplexed, he wondered, Wasn’t I dead? Where am I?

Looking down, he discovered a woman beside him. Her skin was pale, her features exquisitely delicate, and though young, she possessed a beauty that could topple kingdoms.

“Who is this girl? She’s stunning! Could she have saved me? Did she… sleep with me?” Gu Chen mused slyly.

He scrutinized her closely. She looked fifteen or sixteen, her skin fair as snow, her brows slender and long, her lashes casting shadows over her serene, graceful face.

She slept peacefully, her lotus-like arm resting awkwardly across Gu Chen’s body. The soft, warm touch made his lips twitch with embarrassment.

Just as Gu Chen tried to move her arm, her delicate nose twitched twice, as if she were sniffing something.

Her full, supple red lips, smooth and flexible, moved gently as if savoring a sweet dream.

As Gu Chen admired her adorable sleeping expression, lost in thought, there was a sudden knock at the door.

“Dong dong dong.” Then a man’s voice sounded from outside: “Xiao Wu, are you awake?”

Startled by the knock, Gu Chen was jolted back to reality. Seeing the beautiful girl beginning to wake, he told himself that she must have slept with him, but deep down, he knew it was impossible.

After all, their clothes were on, their hair neat—there was no logical explanation.

He glanced quickly around—there was a window, not far away. He decided to escape through it.

Without hesitation, Gu Chen grabbed the blanket and covered Xiao Wu’s head. Before she could scream, he snatched his clothes from the floor and leapt out the window. But to his shock, Xiao Wu’s room was on the fifth floor.

Below was a paved stone courtyard; Gu Chen realized with despair that he was doomed, for he could not channel any mystical power.

He closed his eyes in resignation, and from above came a piercing scream. “Ah…”

Moments later, he heard the sound of whistling projectiles behind him. Just as he was about to hit the ground, several hidden weapons struck him, and pain tore through his body.

“Ah…” Gu Chen groaned, his brow furrowed.

“Looks like this time, I’m truly finished!” he thought.

Yet when he was less than two meters from the ground, a mysterious force surged within him. Green light enveloped his body, and instinctively, he sprawled out, cushioning his landing.

Boom. Gu Chen landed steadily, though the jolt made him feel his bones would shatter.

“Escape… I have to get out of here.”

Ignoring the pain, Gu Chen raced toward the forest ahead.

Library.