Chapter 1: Rebirth

Lin Tian opened his eyes to the smell of cheap medicine and damp wood, and his head throbbed like someone had split it open with an axe.

The ceiling above him was cracked and stained yellow in several places. A small spider had built a web in the corner. For a long moment he just lay there, staring at the tiny spider while trying to piece together how he had died. He couldn’t remember properly at first.

The last clear memory was the Pure Yang Stone burning its way down his throat.

The Heavenly Fortune Scroll turning into golden dust around his body.

The colorless Reincarnation Stone shattering in his palm...

After that, all he could remember was the darkness, well at least for now. It was so heavy, like being pressed under water and not being able to move at all.

He sat up slowly. The body that moved was thin and weak, really weak , his arms looked like they belonged to a half-starved youth. The skin was rough from outdoor work. When he lifted his hand, he could see the faint outline of veins that had never carried real spiritual energy.

It looked fragile, like it would snap if he tried to circulate anything.

Ughh ... My head it hurts ! I can’t remember many things , my memories. Will my memories return? Maybe I’ll regain my memories a little by little, or not...Wait , there should be the dual core now !

He closed his eyes and turned his senses inward, and there it was. Sitting quietly in the center of his dantian was the Chaos Dual Core.

There were two forces, one blazing hot and one cold, like two polar opposite forces, rotating against each other like a pair of living stars. Even in this pathetic body the dual energy felt clear and pure. It was still dormant though, and still sealed by the weakness of the flesh, but it was definitely there , rotating slowly at a steady pace.

"So it actually worked," he muttered to himself.

If only I could remember my cultivation techniques... but they won’t be of any use for me , because of this Chaos dual core. Should I really have to dual cultivate?

Just then the door of the small wooden room slid open with a soft scrape. A girl stepped inside, carrying a porcelain bowl. White steam rose from the bowl, carrying the bitter smell of medicinal herbs. She looked about eighteen, or maybe a little less.

Long black hair tied loosely with a simple white ribbon fell down her back. Her face was delicate, the kind of soft beauty that did not try to stand out but still drew the eye of men. She had fair skin, clear eyes the color of spring water, and a worried frown between her brows. It made her look smaller somehow.

The moment she saw Lin Tian sitting up, her eyes widened.

"Tian-ge... you’re awake?" Her voice was quiet and caring, as if she was afraid he might collapse again if she spoke too loudly.

Lin Tian stared at her, but then suddenly memories that did not belong to him rose up.

Is this the previous owner’s memories ?it’s so clear like my own ! It seems that seeing things , bring back memories related to it.

So her name is Su Qingxue, and the childhood sweetheart of the original owner of this body.. The memories from before getting unconscious and dying, showed that she was the only one, who kept coming every day with medicine and soft words to help and comfort him; no matter what people said.

She walked closer and set the bowl down on the small wooden table beside the bed. The sleeves of her plain blue robes brushed against his arm as she leaned in to check his forehead with the back of her hand.

Her skin was a little warm. The dual core in his dantian gave a small restless turn, like a beast that had caught the scent of something it wanted. It reacted on its own.

Lin Tian kept his expression calm though, but his eyes followed the line of her neck down to the soft shape of her chest under the simple clothes. He tried not to, but failed a little.

She noticed the direction of his gaze. A light pink color spread across her ears, yet she did not pull her hand away immediately.

"You know, Tian-ge? You, you’ve been unconscious for three days. The doctor said your body was too weak and that your life was hanging by a thread. I thought....."

She did not finish the sentence. Her fingers curled slightly against his skin before she finally withdrew her hand, when she remembered that she shouldn’t be touching so long.

Lin Tian reached out and took the bowl. Their fingers touched for a second. The contact was brief, but the dual core reacted again, sending a thin thread of heat through his lower abdomen.

"It’s fine, don’t worry , I’m good now, thanks to you..."

I shouldn’t talk too much ,she’ll be suspicious!

Su Qingxue looked down, a relieved smile appearing on her lips. She sat on the edge of the bed, close enough that Tian could smell the faint lotus scent that clung to her clothes and hair.

Lin Tian drank the medicine slowly. It tasted terrible, bitter enough to make his tongue numb, but he forced it down anyway. While he drank, he studied her from the corner of his eye.

It wasn’t the kind of beauty that made people stop and stare from across the street, but the kind that made a man want to keep looking once he had started.

Soft lips, long lashes, the gentle curve of her waist where the robe cinched. When she shifted slightly on the bed, the fabric tightened across her chest for a moment and the dual core inside him pulsed harder, and he felt it clearly.

Eventually he looked away before she noticed again. In his previous life he had been cold and focused, chasing immortality with almost no room for desire. No time for anything else, just cultivation. This new path was different, because dual cultivation required desire , It needed it.

It fed on it, and the first suitable partner was already sitting right beside him, full of pure, gentle Yin energy that his dual core was already reaching toward. She was unaware completely unaware..

Su Qingxue watched him finish the medicine with quiet concern. "So Tian-ge ... does it still hurt anywhere?

"It doesn’t hurt anywhere. My body, it’s just a little weak."

She nodded and took the empty bowl from his hands. Their fingers touched again, but this time she was the one who hesitated before pulling back.

"Okay, I’ll make porridge. You need to eat something warm, and don’t try to get up yet, as you know you’re still weak. Just rest a little."

Then she left the room, the door sliding shut behind her.

Outside the room, behind the shut door, a girl with beads of water in the corners of her eyes just stood there for some time... Then her feet started moving.

Lin Tian leaned back against the wall and closed his eyes. So the original owner of this body had been a minor outer disciple candidate, from a small clan that had already declined. Well, nothing special , maybe the kind they don’t even write down.

His talent was average at best. In this remote corner of the Eastern Profound Region, even reaching Foundation Establishment was considered decent, like a big deal here. Most people lived and died without ever seeing a real Nascent Soul cultivator.

He turned his attention back to the Chaos Dual Core. In his previous life he had prepared everything for this moment. The Pure Yang Stone had given his new body the foundation for extreme Yang. It burned the trash meridians clean.

The dual core itself was the result of years of research into the old man’s dual cultivation technique, improved and fused with the Dao of Chaos.

All he needed now were the right partners, and the first one had already shown up with medicine and worried eyes, sitting on his bed like she belonged there.

A faint smile touched his lips. He would not force her. Instead he would slowly make her body start to react. He would make her want it as much as he did there’s no rush.

For now he simply sat there and listened to the soft sounds of Su Qingxue moving around in the outer room.

....

She returned a while later with a bowl of thin porridge and a plate of pickled vegetables. Lin Tian ate the porridge while she sat nearby, occasionally glancing at him as if to make sure he was still real, like he might vanish.

"Tian-ge.. the village head came by yesterday," the soft voice came after a while. "He said if you don’t recover soon they’ll stop sending the monthly grain, and.. your uncle already told them not to waste food on a dying person."

The chopsticks in his hand stopped for a second. Oh, so.. that was the kind of life the original owner had lived. As expected, alone and ragged, well except for this girl.

"I’ll recover soon, I think. Maybe a month or two."

Su Qingxue’s fingers tightened slightly on the edge of her sleeve.

"I know ! And that’s exactly why I didn’t listen to them. I told the doctor to keep coming again and again, " She looked at him then, really looked at him, and something soft and stubborn shone in her eyes.

"You’re not allowed to die, Tian-ge, not after making me take care of you for so long."

The words were light but there was real fear underneath them, and he could tell just by looking at her face.

Lin Tian set the bowl down. He reached out and brushed a loose strand of black hair away from her face. His fingers lightly traced the side of her cheek. Her eyes widened and the pink color returned to her ears fast.

"I won’t die. In fact, I’m going to live for a very, very long time , long enough that you’ll get tired of seeing my face."

Su Qingxue’s lips parted, but words didn’t come out. She stared at him, caught between embarrassment and something warmer. She didn’t know what to say.

The dual core in his dantian stirred again, reacting a little strongly to the pure Yin energy that had started to leak from her body in tiny unconscious waves because she was flustered.

She felt it too. He could see it in the way her breathing changed, and she found it hard to meet his eyes. She looked away at the window, at anywhere but him.

After a moment she stood up, almost knocking the empty bowl over.

"I... I should go wash the bowls... you should rest. I’ll come back in the evening."

She fled the room with quick steps. Lin Tian watched the door close and then looked down at his own hand. A faint dual-colored gold and violet light flickered across his palm for a second before disappearing. The Chaos Dual Core had taken its first real breath in this new life!

Outside, the sun was beginning to set. The light that came through the small window turned the dusty room a soft orange, and somewhere in the village a child was crying and being comforted.

He leaned his head back against the wall and closed his eyes, letting the two opposing forces inside him slowly rotate in slow circles with a hot and cold feeling.

Su Qingxue’s face floated up in his mind .The worried eyes, the soft mouth, and the way her body had reacted when he touched her cheek.

He thought with a shameless smile before the daylight faded from the room,

Dual cultivation... heh no matter what, this time I will not climb the path of immortality alone.