Chapter 1: Master

Chapter 1 The Master

Li Huowang raised the pestle in his hand, bringing it down into the mortar with listless, repetitive thuds, slowly grinding the luminescent cyan stones mingled with silt into a fine powder.

Though the cavern was damp and freezing, he wore nothing but a coarse cloth garment, yet his face betrayed utter indifference, as if he cared nothing for his surroundings.

He was not alone in the cave; other men and women were present, their hair tied up in the same manner, bound by the same rough hemp ropes.

The only difference between them and Li Huowang was their glaring physical deformities, ranging from albinism to polio.

Every manner of congenital and acquired bodily deformity could be found here, turning the modest ingredient cavern into a veritable museum of grotesqueries.

Their work was the same as Li Huowang's—pounding and grinding—though the materials differed, some crushing minerals and others herbs, yet it was clear that a few were not devoted to their tasks.

"Ah!" A woman's terrified shriek drew everyone's gaze.

Off to one side of the cavern, a chubby boy with a harelip wore a lecherous grin, trying to pull an albino girl into his embrace.

"I'll just do it once, I swear just once, hehehe~"

Ignoring the clamor, Li Huowang closed his eyes and continued his rhythmic pounding.

As the woman's weeping grew ever more pitiful in his ears, an irritated Li Huowang cursed under his breath, hoisted the stone mortar with one hand, and stood up.

"Thud." Stone met bone with a muffled crack.

The harelipped fatty, his head split and bleeding, plopped onto the ground in a daze, clearly stunned by the blow; two seconds later, his face twisted in agony as he clutched his wound and began to wail.

The white-haired, pale-skinned girl, having escaped a fate of defilement, clutched her clothes and cowered fearfully behind Li Huowang.

"Let me tell you! You're done for! Do you know what kind of disciple I am to the Master? If the old man finds out, he'll kill you!" the harelipped fatty threatened, his face contorted with extreme fury.

"What is he even worth? He's less than a fart!!" Li Huowang's words shocked the entire cavern into a deathly, stunned silence.

None of the others present had ever imagined this man would dare utter such words.

Looking at the expressions of these so-called senior and junior martial brothers, Li Huowang took a deep breath, suppressing the rage in his heart.

"What is wrong with me? Why am I getting angry at these things? My personality isn't supposed to be this brash. I can't let these things affect my nature. That wasn't the real me just now. Calm down, calm down."

Just as Li Huowang was trying to steady his mood, he heard someone calling him from the entrance.

"Junior Brother Li, Junior Sister Wang, the Master summons you." The tall youth who called out clearly held a different status from Li Huowang, clad as he was in a cyan Daoist robe.

Though the robe looked quite old, its cuffs washed pale, it was still infinitely finer than the tattered hemp Li Huowang wore.

Cradling a horsehair whisk in one arm, the youth looked upon the juniors before him with a hint of arrogance in his eyes.

Seeing the young Daoist appear, the bleeding fatty immediately wore a gleeful expression. "Haha! You're done for!! Today it's your turn."

But Li Huowang ignored him completely, turning to follow a crooked-mouthed, drooling woman toward the entrance, her sallow face looking terribly unhealthy.

He had taken only two steps when he felt someone tugging at his sleeve, holding him back. Li Huowang turned to see the albino girl he had just saved.

Tears welling in her eyes, she shook her head repeatedly, her gaze filled with terror.

The cold Li Huowang remained unmoved, violently shaking off her grip with a flick of his sleeve and striding forward with long, purposeful steps.

Beyond the ingredient room lay a much larger cavern, its walls dotted with smaller caves serving various purposes; judging by the pitted, uneven surfaces, the craftsmanship of those who built this place was clearly subpar.

The main cavern was vast, with tunnels of all sizes branching out in every direction, resembling a magnified anthill.

Rotten pieces of peach wood were nailed above each small cave entrance, carved with deep, forceful strokes bearing the names of the grottoes: Linggong Hall, Laolu Hall, Qingzu Hall, and Siyu Hall.

A naturally formed cavern had actually been dressed up to look remarkably like a Daoist temple.

As the two continued walking through the cavern, the crooked-mouthed woman pulled a blackened lump from her pocket and suddenly held it out to Li Huowang, saying in a dull, foolish voice, "Eat... sweet candy?"

Li Huowang frowned slightly, seemingly aware of her simple-mindedness, and impatiently took it, shoving it straight into his sleeve.

Seeing him accept it, she pulled out another piece and popped it into her own mouth, continuing with a silly giggle, "Master is good... get candy with Master..."

Li Huowang had no intention of saying anything to this, and the two walked on; after about a quarter of an hour, an antique, entirely blackened, towering alchemy furnace appeared before him.

The smoking cauldron reached straight to the cavern roof, so massive it looked like a small mountain of metal.

Watching the furnace grow larger as he approached, its shadow eventually swallowing him whole, Li Huowang felt an overwhelming sense of oppression.

What oppressed him, besides the gigantic five-tiered furnace, was the figure standing with its back to him before the cauldron.

Seen from behind, the figure wore a cyan-blue Daoist robe, hair pinned up and crowned, with white streaks at the temples, looking every bit the ethereal immortal.

Seated cross-legged on the ground, he seemed to be doing the exact same thing Li Huowang had been doing, bringing a pestle down rhythmically, though his pestle was vastly larger, resembling a massive pillar.

With every rise and fall, the clashing sound of metal and stone echoed endlessly through the cavern.

"Mas... Master!" The crooked-mouthed woman clumsily pinched her left thumb with her right hand, placed the four fingers of her left hand over those of her right, and held her hands to her chest in a bow toward the figure, her eyes full of reverence.

The moment she spoke, the grating sound of pounding ceased.

The figure turned around, and though Li Huowang was mentally prepared, his pupils still contracted slightly in shock.

The front of the Daoist was entirely different from his back; from behind he looked like an ethereal immortal, but from the front, he was a repulsive, scabby-headed old man, his underbite exposing a few sparse, yellowed teeth to the air.

"You're here? Good disciple, you've kept me waiting."

With a sweep of his filthy robe, the old Daoist levitated into the air, grabbing the crooked-mouthed woman by the neck with one hand and retreating.

Before the foolish woman could utter another half-word, she was instantly hurled into a waist-high stone urn; the next moment, the ferocious-looking master gripped the massive stone pestle with both hands and brought it crashing down.

A tragic scream was abruptly cut short, echoing from within the stone urn.

Flesh and blood spattered across the old Daoist's face and body, but he remained unfazed, his expression ecstatic as he chanted something in a rhythmic cadence.

"Dingchou extends my lifespan, Dinghai protects my soul, Jiazi shields my body, Jiaxu preserves my form, Jiashen secures my life, Jiawu guards my soul, Jiachen trues my spirit!"

When the contents were thoroughly mashed, he lifted the stone urn, weighing several hundred catties, with one hand and poured it all into the alchemy furnace before him, then thrust both hands violently into the air in extreme ecstasy.

"Fire the furnace, refine the elixir!"

Two Daoist acolytes wearing exaggerated rouge stepped out from the shadows, fanning the flames and pouring various ingredients into the furnace, including mineral powders and many living, wriggling things.

Before long, a bizarre, rich fragrance permeated the air.

At this moment, the scabby-headed master closed his eyes and took a deep breath, stroking the sparse whiskers on his chin, a satisfied expression spreading across his filthy, ugly face.

As he slowly opened his eyes and clasped his hands behind his back, he turned his head toward Li Huowang. "I heard you called this Daoist master a fart? Is that true?"

In an instant, the air around them seemed to freeze.

Looking at this so-called master who killed without blinking, Li Huowang remained unmoved, slowly closing his eyes to calm his somewhat rapid breathing, silently repeating in his heart, "You can't fool me, this is all fake, all fake."

"Speak! Are you mute? Huh?!" As the master's footsteps drew closer, the foul stench of blood and filth radiating from him hit Li Huowang like a solid wall.

Trembling, Li Huowang clenched his jaw tight and, summoning every ounce of strength in his body, forced his eyes open.

The dim, oppressive cave temple vanished in an instant, replaced by a bright, clean, fresh-aired hospital room, his lower half tightly bound to the bed with cloth straps.

(End of Chapter)