Chapter One: Light Snow Over the Rivers and Mountains

“Master, the snow is falling heavily. Let us return to the manor.”
A white-bearded elder stood atop the snowy peak, gazing at the sky where snowflakes drifted, his face suffused with a look of remembrance.
Behind him, another elder, whose temples were streaked with gray, stood respectfully, bowing in deference.
Snowflakes settled upon the two, gradually piling up. Strangely, their garments were thin; were they ordinary men, they would have perished from the cold long ago.
After a long while, the elder at the summit slowly withdrew his gaze.
“Xiao Er, tell me, do you believe... a man can truly attain immortality?”
The one called Xiao Er raised his head and replied softly, “Master, that question is too profound for me. But... I think, for ordinary folk, living to a hundred is already a kind of immortality.”
His tone was uncertain, clearly lacking confidence in his own words.
“By that reasoning, having lived over two hundred years, I must be immortal!” the master murmured.
Xiao Er fell silent, sinking into thought.
“Xiao Er, you may return now...” The elder waved his hand, not even turning, and continued, “My end is near. Perhaps... I have indeed lived long enough!”
“Master...” Xiao Er began to speak, but seeing the desolate silhouette of his master, he refrained.
“If I die, bury me here, atop the snowy peak,” the master said quietly. “That way, perhaps I can still watch over the manor.”
His tone was light, as if the one about to die was not himself.
Xiao Er slowly knelt, bowing thrice, his forehead pressed deep into the snow. Then, rising, he turned and descended the mountain.
Only after Xiao Er departed did the master turn around. Though his hair was white, his face showed none of the signs of age, only his eyes betrayed an inescapable shadow of death.
After a while, the master sighed deeply and whispered, “Father, Second Uncle... have I truly become immortal?”
“If I truly am immortal... where are you now?”
A look of longing appeared in his eyes.
His name was Wang Changsheng; in today’s martial world, his name was renowned far and wide.
The Greatest Under Heaven, Lord of the Martial Alliance, Daoist Changsheng—these were the titles Wang Changsheng bore.
A hundred years ago, Wang Changsheng emerged, claiming the alliance leadership with his mastery of the Innate Realm, and established Changsheng Manor atop Snowwatch Peak. Since then, the manor had become the sacred ground of martial arts.
In the world of martial arts, those who could break through to the Innate Realm were few and far between. Wang Changsheng’s achievement had surpassed all others by countless degrees.
Yet Changsheng Manor never opened its doors to guests, nor did it take disciples, save for a single servant.
Even so, no one in the martial world dared defy a command from Changsheng Manor.
People admired Wang Changsheng’s prowess, envied his cultivation, but none knew his origins, nor how many years he had truly lived; from his emergence to now, over a century had passed.
A hundred years gone, Wang Changsheng had reached the pinnacle of the Innate Realm, even his servant, Wang Xiao Er, had attained the same stage. In the current martial world, apart from Wang Changsheng and Wang Xiao Er, none reached this realm before succumbing to age.
Wang Changsheng drew from his robes a piece of brocade. Upon it, no words were written—only the image of a figure sitting cross-legged, with a few lines traced in special threads outlining some obscure paths.
Few knew that this brocade was the secret to Wang Changsheng’s longevity and his mastery of the Innate Realm.
“Changsheng Technique...”
True energy flowed in Wang Changsheng’s hand, and in an instant, the brocade turned to ash. With a casual gesture, he scattered the ashes into the snow, where they vanished.

If the world knew Wang Changsheng had destroyed his own cultivation manual, surely they would grieve.
“If immortality cannot be attained, it is not the Changsheng Technique.”
“If I have already lived long, what need have I for the Changsheng Technique?”
“Father... Second Uncle... Perhaps you did the same...”
Two hundred years ago—
“Changsheng, this is the Changsheng Technique. Train well; it is a manual for immortality.”
“Father... will I truly live forever if I practice it?” the young Changsheng asked, his face full of doubt. “And what does ‘immortality’ mean? Does it mean living forever?”
“Of course!” Second Uncle replied with a smile. “See, your father and I, just over a hundred years old, and we’ve reached the Innate Realm. You may not yet understand what that means, but you will. Once you reach our level, the martial world becomes a mere jest.”
“Alright, then I shall diligently cultivate the Changsheng Technique!”
He trained not for any other reason, but because his name was Changsheng, and the technique was called Changsheng.
“Enough, Changsheng. Train well. Your uncle and I are going somewhere else.”
“When you reach the Innate Realm, we’ll return for you.”
With those words, his father and uncle leapt skyward, immense energy bursting from their bodies. Their true energy surged, and the winds and clouds shifted; even the snowflakes seemed suspended in midair, as if time had stopped.
“Open!”
“Open!”
Their voices thundered as energy exploded. Suddenly, a pitch-black portal appeared in midair, as though it would swallow all.
Yet neither his father nor uncle showed fear; instead, excitement shone in their eyes. “Big Brother, it’s true—the ancient scroll didn’t deceive us!”
“Changsheng, cultivate well. Wait for us to return!” his father called out.
And then, Wang Changsheng watched as his father and uncle entered the dark portal.
“Father, Uncle, I will train hard!”
The young Wang Changsheng did not understand what their departure meant; he thought they were just venturing into the martial world. As he grew, even as he broke through to the Innate Realm, they did not return.
But Wang Changsheng remembered their promise: when he reached the Innate Realm, they would come back for him.
Decades passed in a flash; he waited, and achieved the Innate Realm, but still they did not return. Through his cultivation, he gained insight into their departure.
His father and uncle must have entered another world of cultivation.
For twenty years, Wang Changsheng traversed the surrounding kingdoms, entered rumored forbidden lands, yet found no clue about leaving this world.
He did not know that those forbidden places had long been explored by his father and uncle, leaving nothing behind.
Afterwards, Wang Changsheng entered the martial world, earning his legend.
Not for glory, but so that when his father and uncle returned, they could easily find him.
But now, his fame was widespread; he had waited so many years, near his end, and still they had not returned. Wang Changsheng had lost all hope.
He even wondered whether another world truly existed—
Or whether his father and uncle had perished within the black portal.

Drawing back from his memories, Wang Changsheng looked again to the sky, for his father and uncle had also opened the black portal atop this snowy peak, amid swirling snow.
“I, Wang Changsheng, began training at five, and at eight began cultivating the Changsheng Technique...” he murmured, “Now, more than two centuries have passed. My mastery of the Innate Realm stands at the summit of the martial world...”
“The world calls me Changsheng—have I truly lived long?”
“What is two centuries, if not immortality?”
“What does immortality seek?”
“To live as long as heaven!”
“To shine as bright as the earth!”
“That is immortality!”
His voice grew louder, and as it echoed, the air seemed to still, true energy surging in visible waves, causing all of Snowwatch Peak to tremble.
This was the power of the perfected Innate Realm, able to affect the very world.
Wang Changsheng’s figure left the peak, leaping into the sky, striking with a palm toward the heavens.
“Open for me!”
His roar thundered.
His intent was simple: since his father and uncle would not return for him, he would force open the portal and search for them himself!
Of course, it might not be a portal, but a black hole of death, which was why Wang Changsheng waited until the end of his days to attempt it.
He would risk everything.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Explosive sounds echoed through the sky, like thunder.
When the noise faded, Wang Changsheng slowly descended.
Snowflakes drifted down, landing on his face. He looked up at the unmoving sky, where no portal appeared, disappointment clouding his eyes.
“This cannot be... cannot be...” Wang Changsheng muttered in disbelief. “My father and uncle opened it with mere Innate Realm mastery; I have reached perfection, and even together they would not match me. Why can they open it, and I cannot?”
“I refuse to believe it!”
He roared again, fists clenched, gathering all his energy, striking once more into the sky.
Boom!
The explosion sounded again, but apart from the snow scattered by the shock, nothing changed.
“Hahaha...”
After a long while, Wang Changsheng slumped to the ground, laughter escaping him as he watched the falling snow, his eyes filled with despair.