The midnight rain carried with it the taste of loneliness that only a city could hold.
At the street corner, neon lights flickered in hues of red and blue, their glow reflected upon the rain-soaked ground.
Ye Qiu held an old umbrella as he walked quietly through the deserted street.
He was twenty-five this year, three years after graduation, still wandering aimlessly.
Work, rent, overtime, heartbreak — his life was as ordinary as dust.
He could no longer remember when he last looked up at the sky.
Until tonight.
A low rumble of thunder tore through the heavens.
Instinctively, he looked up — in the depths of the clouds, a strange streak of silver light was slanting downwards, like a rift tearing across the firmament.
That light drew nearer and nearer, carrying a pressure so intense it made his very soul tremble.
"A meteor?" Ye Qiu murmured blankly.
The streetlamp beside him suddenly burst apart, scattering shards of glass.
The next instant, that silver radiance plunged straight towards him—
Boom!
He had no time to evade. A sharp pain pierced his chest, and a dazzling white light swallowed his sight.
The world shattered into countless fragments; time itself seemed to freeze at that instant.
Through the blur, he saw the jade pendant on his chest crack open.
From within, a black-gold token emerged, its surface inscribed with ancient runes that glimmered like the motion of stars.
At that moment, heaven and earth fell silent.
Ye Qiu's consciousness sank completely into the void.
He did not know how long he remained unconscious.
When awareness returned, the first thing he heard was the wind —
A cool breeze carrying the fragrance of grass and trees.
He opened his eyes.
What entered his sight was no longer the city of steel and concrete, but a lush green forest alive with dew.
High above, a golden sun broke through the clouds, spreading a cascade of light across the valley.
"I… am still alive?"
He looked down. His body was intact, but his clothing was unfamiliar.
Beneath his feet, the earth pulsed with spiritual energy so dense that even breathing felt rejuvenating.
The surroundings were silent; only a few wisps of mist-like aura lingered in the air.
It was a kind of Qi he had never seen — it seemed alive, gently moving across his skin.
"This… could it be…"
Ye Qiu whispered, a wild and absurd thought flashing through his mind.
—He had crossed over.
As he tried to steady his breath, a sudden heat flared from his chest.
A surge of black-gold radiance burst forth from within.
It was the Chaos Token.
It hovered quietly before him — ancient, weighty, dusted with the traces of time.
Across its surface ran a single crack, within which a faint light flowed, exuding the aura of primordial chaos.
Ye Qiu looked at it, and his mind roared.
He saw not runes, but the collapse and rebirth of countless worlds.
Stars falling, ancient realms rising; creation and destruction entwined within a single breath.
He stumbled backward, breath quickening.
The token seemed alive, slowly floating to his brow and touching it lightly.
"Wong—"
A torrent of vast information surged into his consciousness.
Fragmented images flashed before him:
The dawn of chaos, the birth of the Hong Meng energy that gave rise to all things;
The fall of myriad gods, leaving only a single token behind.
Then, a deep and ancient voice resounded in his mind — distant, solemn, and eternal:
"Chaos is eternal; the Token shall endure through all ages.
He who is fated to possess it shall wield the heart of all Dao, and reverse the heavens themselves."
Ye Qiu stood frozen.
The wind swept through the forest, rustling the bamboo leaves,
Yet that voice seemed to echo across aeons, reverberating from the depths of heaven and earth.
"The Chaos Token…?" he whispered softly.
The token quivered, as if responding to him.
Then it dissolved into a stream of light and sank gently into his chest.
Ye Qiu felt it — merging into his flesh and blood, intertwining with the rhythm of his heart.
Within him, a warm current flowed, calm yet boundless in power.
Time passed.
Following the valley path, he finally encountered people as dusk fell.
At the foot of the mountain, a group of youths in azure robes were harvesting spirit bamboo.
One of them noticed him and exclaimed, "Eh? A stranger!"
The group approached warily.
"Which sect are you from? How did you come down from the mountain?"
"I… got lost," Ye Qiu answered hesitantly.
"This is the rear mountain of the Tai Xu Sect! How could an outsider enter?"
"Never mind who he is. Bring him to the Servants' Quarters. Let the senior brothers decide."
They spoke all at once, soon escorting Ye Qiu to a modest courtyard halfway up the mountain.
—Tai Xu Sect.
When the name left their lips, it carried a natural tone of reverence.
Ye Qiu looked up. Amidst the rolling clouds, golden palaces floated faintly atop the peaks.
An ancient pressure descended from above, causing his breath to catch.
For the first time, he truly realised —
This was no dream.
He stood within a true world of cultivation.
Night fell.
The Servants' Quarters were simple; the wooden windows glowed with dim yellow light.
Ye Qiu was assigned to a small, dilapidated room in the corner.
"A mortal body, without a spiritual root."
The old caretaker sighed. "Let him handle chores. If he survives three years till the sect's assessment, we'll see then."
The door closed, and silence returned.
Ye Qiu sat on the edge of the bed, his hands trembling slightly.
He tried to sense the energy within him —
Indeed, deep within his heart, a black-gold light pulsed faintly, as if breathing.
He tried to draw upon it.
Immediately, a thread of Qi from the heavens and earth entered his body — slow, yet undeniably real.
Spiritual energy.
It was no illusion.
But pain soon followed.
The Qi rampaged through his body like a wild dragon.
He nearly fainted from the agony, gritting his teeth to endure.
Then, the Chaos Token trembled softly, releasing a gentle force that guided the chaotic energy into his dantian, calming it gradually.
Ye Qiu was drenched in sweat, yet he smiled.
He now knew — the token was not lifeless.
It was protecting him.
Perhaps this was the very reason he had crossed into this world.
He looked up at the moon beyond the window.
It shone with a serene brilliance, perhaps the same moon that had once illuminated his world.
"Since I am here, I shall embrace it," he murmured.
"If the path of immortality truly exists… then I, Ye Qiu, shall walk it."
The wind brushed softly against the window frame.
Deep within his chest, the Chaos Token trembled faintly.
A whisper, ancient and distant, drifted across eternity—
"From mortal flesh, chaos arises.
Blood shall be the key, and the heart the furnace.
Thus begins the Path of Chaos."