Chapter One: Earth Seal, Awakening

Near dusk, a streak of blood-red lingered in the sky.

Crows called out.

A thin mist began to rise.

Within the mountain forest, deep in a ravine, Yang Fan opened his eyes. His mind buzzed with confusion, and a sharp pain throbbed at the back of his head.

“Where am I?”

“What happened to me?”

Yang Fan looked around. The vegetation was lush, the woods shadowy and chill. He shivered, and suddenly, memories surged forth in his mind.

“So, I’ve transmigrated.”

After absorbing this realization, Yang Fan examined himself and the environment, finally accepting reality with resignation.

In his previous life, he had been utterly ordinary—a well-behaved student with excellent grades, the model child in the eyes of others. After graduation, he worked diligently and honestly, never currying favor, always striving with quiet determination. Yet, he was sidelined, his achievements stolen, his efforts suppressed.

Eventually, he awakened—refusing to accept defeat, he fought back.

Only to be struck down even harder.

Finally, he understood and chose to give up the struggle. That night, to mourn his lost youth and the self who had fought so hard, he went for a footbath and a massage. But when he awoke, he had crossed into another world, inhabiting the body of a fifteen-year-old boy who shared his name.

His only regret was being unable to fulfill his filial duty to his parents.

Yang Fan rubbed his brow.

His past life had been a failure.

This new life, or rather, its previous owner, had it even worse.

The boy lived in Nanshan Town, lost his mother in childhood, and last year his father disappeared into the mountains on a hunting trip, never to return. He became an orphan.

Nanshan Town nestled against the vast Cloud Mist Mountains, which stretched thousands of miles, serving as a haven for hunters and gatherers. The town bustled with travelers coming and going.

There was a Hall of Benevolence in town, which bought wild herbs, spirit fruits, mountain treasures, rare minerals, and even beast fangs and claws from those returning from the mountains.

To encourage more to venture into the mountains, the hall freely taught people to recognize medicinal plants and distributed illustrated guides.

Some, by chance, found rare spirit fruits and became wealthy overnight; others unearthed mountain treasures and could boast about it for years.

So, despite frequent reports of deaths in the mountains, people still flocked to them.

For survival, the boy had become a herb gatherer.

The mountains teemed with wolves, tigers, leopards, venomous insects, snakes, and ants. Plagues and miasma lurked, and occasionally, bizarre and terrifying beasts with supernatural powers appeared—danger abounded.

Yang Fan never dared venture deep inside, only skirting the outer ridges, gathering medicinal herbs and sometimes hunting small game—just barely scraping by.

Recently, news spread that the Hall of Benevolence would recruit a group of apprentice herb gatherers for training. Those selected would learn advanced herbal lore, medicine, and even martial arts.

This drew a crowd—countless youths signed up. The hall only accepted boys between fifteen and eighteen, but even so, the town and surrounding villages had many applicants.

Yesterday morning, they gathered and entered the mountains for a three-day trial. Only the ten who collected the most valuable items would be chosen.

The mountains were perilous—especially at night.

But for the chance, Yang Fan gave his all, teaming up with several others from town.

They survived the first night, barely escaping death by venomous insects. Today, each went their separate ways—after all, they were competitors. Yang Fan managed to gather a fair amount—jointweed, wolf grass, snake orchids—nothing too valuable, worth perhaps two hundred coins.

At dusk, he discovered a golden-line centipede over seven inches long. Elated, he knew it was a rare treasure, worth at least five taels of silver. But just as he captured it and placed it in his bottle, he heard faint footsteps behind him. Alert, he turned, only to be struck on the back of the head.

As he lost consciousness, he glimpsed a foot.

Now, past and present memories fused—indistinguishable from one another.

Yang Fan surveyed his surroundings: a deep mountain ravine, the ground below him littered with fallen leaves and wild grass.

He looked up. The slope was steep, dozens of meters high, with clear signs of a fall. It was a miracle he wasn’t crippled.

“I found the golden-line centipede not far from here. After I was knocked out, I must have been thrown down. In this situation, death was almost certain.”

Judging by the sky, he hadn’t been unconscious for long.

He winced at the sharp pain at the back of his head. When he touched it, his fingers came away sticky with blood.

Rustle, rustle, rustle…

He suddenly heard a faint sound, and looked over to see a snake about the length of a chopstick slithering nearby.

Its body was yellow, encircled with black rings.

“A black-ringed snake—highly venomous. One bite, and you’re dead within ten steps!”

His face paled. He sprang up, scrambling awkwardly up the slope, finally collapsing, gasping, against a tree.

His stomach rumbled with hunger.

His head throbbed, his vision swam.

The mountains were high and the forest dense; night had fallen completely. The crows’ cries chilled him, and he sensed shadows flitting behind him, unease gnawing at his heart.

“In this state, can I survive?”

Yang Fan gave a wry smile.

Even with the fusion of memories, he could not suppress his fear of the darkness.

Just then, a gentle warmth welled up in his mind, followed by a surge of information, as if countless visions appeared before his eyes.

He seemed to see mountains towering a million fathoms, nurturing myriad beings; he saw the earth, vast and boundless, bearing all things.

Strange phenomena churned in his mind, gathering and dispersing like clouds, then vanished. He “saw” a great seal floating within his consciousness.

The seal was dark yellow, exuding an aura of boundless weight.

Strange, intricate patterns adorned its surface.

He felt a faint familiarity—as if, in his former life, he had once bought a trinket at an antique market, attracted by a sudden impulse.

He never imagined it would follow him here.

“Earth Seal.”

Suddenly, he understood—this was his golden finger.

The Earth Seal trembled faintly, and lines of text appeared before him.

[Seal Master: Yang Fan]

[Destiny Acquired: Mountain Warden…]

[Awaken?]

[Mountain Warden: Guardian of the mountains, protector of beasts, shepherd of the earth’s spirits; able to consume arcane energies, sense the land, subdue all spirits, commune with the earth, shatter mountains, and more.]

“Seal Master? Destiny?”

“Mountain Warden?”

Yang Fan felt numb. He finally understood: by some mysterious cause, he had become the master of the Earth Seal, about to be granted a unique destiny.

But the destiny was rather peculiar.

Was he meant to become a mountain god?

Despite his doubts, he did not hesitate and chose to awaken.

In an instant, he felt the Earth Seal vibrate gently. A strange current of energy surged forth, coursing through his body, suffusing his limbs and bones.

Fatigue vanished, hunger faded.

Pain disappeared, dizziness subsided.

Even the wound at the back of his head healed without a trace.

Yang Fan felt as if he had just soaked in a hot spring, then lay down in bed while soft, delicate hands kneaded his body.

He nearly moaned from the comfort.

The sensation came quickly and passed just as fast, but in the depths of his mind, he sensed new, special abilities.

At that moment, lines of information appeared before his eyes.

[Seal Master: Yang Fan]

[Destiny: Mountain Warden]

[Awakening: 1%]

[Awakened Powers: Arcane Consumption, Earth Sense]

[Earth Essence: None]