Chapter 1 — Prologue

Time: unknown, though it must have been very, very long ago.

Place: the vast land of Shenzhou.

Heaven and earth are ruthless; they treat all creatures as straw dogs!

In this world there were, properly speaking, no immortals or gods—yet since the remotest antiquity, humans had witnessed all manner of strange things in the world around them: lightning and thunder, violent storms, and natural disasters that left countless dead and the land strewn with wailing, all far beyond any human power to cause or withstand. And so they came to believe that above the nine heavens dwelled all sorts of gods and spirits, and that below the nine depths lay the resting place of the dead, the halls of Yama, King of Hell.

Thus the tales of immortals and gods spread through the world. Countless human souls bowed in sincere worship, prostrating themselves before the various deities they had conjured from their own imaginings, praying for blessings and pouring out their sorrows, and the incense burned thick and unceasing.

Since ancient times, no mortal has escaped death. But the people of the world all loathe death and cling to life, and the tales of Yama's underworld only added to their suffering and fear; and so, from beneath that shadow, arose the notion of a life without end.

Compared with other living things, humans may be at a disadvantage in bodily constitution, but as the paragon of all creation they are beyond any doubt. Driven by the primal urge to pursue immortality, generation after generation of the clever and the talented pressed forward, one after another, devoting their entire lives to bitter study. To this day, true immortality has still not been found; yet some cultivators who practice the Dao have glimpsed certain workings of heaven and earth, and with mortal bodies have mastered formidable powers—by means of all manner of secret treasures and arcane instruments, they can shake heaven and earth with the authority of thunder. And some elders of profound attainment are said to have lived a thousand years and more without dying. The people of the world took them for immortals who had attained the Dao, and ever more souls set foot upon the path of cultivation.

The vast land of Shenzhou stretches boundless and wide. Only the Central Plains are the fairest and most fertile, and there the greater part of the world's people are gathered. But in the desolate lands to the east, south, west, and north, the mountains are perilous and the waters cruel; fierce beasts and savage birds abound, as do noxious miasmas and poisonous creatures, and many barbarian tribes and foreign folk who drink blood and eat raw flesh—and so few ever go there. And since ancient times the world has handed down tales of remnants of the primeval age that survive among men, hidden in deep mountains and secret valleys, their lives stretching past ten thousand years—though no one has ever seen them.

In these present days, the cultivators of the world are as numerous as fish crossing a river, beyond all counting. And given the vastness of Shenzhou and the multitude of its wondrous and extraordinary people, the methods of cultivation are manifold and all different from one another. The secret of immortality has yet to be found, yet among the cultivators there have gradually arisen divisions into schools and sects, into the orthodox and the heretical. From these have sprung sectarian prejudice, intrigue and scheming, and outright strife and slaughter, all in great abundance.

When immortality seemed so distant and elusive, the power that came from cultivation gradually became the goal of many.

In the present age, the orthodox path flourishes greatly, and the demons and heretics retreat. The Central Plains, with their numinous mountains and lovely waters, their teeming people and abundant produce, are firmly held by the various orthodox schools. Among them, the Canglan Sect, the Fanyin Temple, and the Fragrance Valley stand as the three great pillars and serve as their leaders.

And this story begins with the Canglan Sect.