Author's Preface
Far from the commotion at Riverglass Bend, another part of Rivergate slumbered beneath the quiet embrace of night.
The street was almost deserted. Only the occasional hooded pedestrian hurried along the broad stone road before disappearing around another corner, while somewhere farther down the district, two stray beasts fought over scraps, their distant growls echoing faintly between rows of silent homes.
A lonely lantern hanging from a weathered wooden post flickered uncertainly, its flame shrinking until it seemed on the verge of dying before stubbornly springing back to life, as though amusing itself by teasing the darkness.
Beneath its wavering light, a lone woman walked with slow, uneven steps.
Every movement sent a sharp stab of pain through Yu Ji's abdomen. One hand remained pressed firmly against the wound hidden beneath her robes while the other clutched the worn leather satchel so tightly that her knuckles had long since turned pale. She had no destination in mind when the white orb carried her away from the park. It had simply dropped her here, leaving her bleeding, exhausted, and utterly alone.
Her thoughts wandered despite herself.
She couldn't seek help from her parents.
She couldn't seek help from the Guards' Office.
Beyond her captain and the four people who had served beside her every day, there was scarcely anyone she could truly rely upon.
Now, they were all gone. A painful knot formed in her chest.
If only she had reported everything the moment they approached her a month ago. If only she hadn't convinced herself there would always be another chance...
She wouldn't be standing here now. The captain would still be alive, and so would everyone else. The guilt settled over her shoulders far heavier than the wound ever could.
She lowered her head and kept walking.
"...Um."
A hesitant voice pulled her back to the present.
Yu Ji's head snapped upward.
A young man had somehow stepped into her path without her noticing.
He looked no older than seventeen or eighteen. His clothes were plain, somewhere between those of an apprentice and an ordinary townsman, clean but unremarkable. He held both hands awkwardly in front of himself, clearly unsure whether to approach any closer.
"Are you alright, Auntie?"
Yu Ji stared at him. Completely expressionless.
The young man blinked. His eyes drifted beneath the edge of her hood, finally catching a proper glimpse of her face. "Ah..."
He scratched the back of his head. "I'm... sorry. I thought you were..." He hesitated, suddenly looking far more embarrassed than frightened. "...older."
Despite the apology, Yu Ji's guard only rose higher.
Normal.
He seemed far too normal.
After everything that had happened tonight, she no longer trusted normal. Her fingers instinctively tightened around her trusty blade.
"What do you want?"
The young man glanced toward the dark red stain spreading across her robes. "You're hurt. I can call the guards, and they'll take you to an infirmary."
"No." The response came so quickly that even Yu Ji startled herself.
She stepped forward and seized both of his forearms before he could move. "No... don't call them." The street fell silent.
Only then did she realize how suspicious she must have looked. Her grip loosened slightly as she forced herself to smile. "It... It's just an old injury. It flares up sometimes. Not to mention, I really can't afford to spend the night in an infirmary. I'll be fine once I get home and take some medicine."
The young man searched her face for a long moment, and he nodded. "Do you need help getting home?"
Yu Ji looked up and down the empty street.
Ordinarily, this neighborhood was safe enough that she would never have accepted help from a stranger. Tonight, however, every shadow felt dangerous, and keeping this young man within sight somehow felt less frightening than being left alone. It was also good to keep an eye on him. If called the guards...
"Yes." She mumbled. "My house isn't far."
He stepped beside her without another question. "Lean on me."
Yu Ji cautiously rested one arm across his shoulders.
The simple support eased enough of the strain that she could finally breathe without clenching her teeth.
They walked slowly through the sleeping neighborhood. From time to time, the young man attempted to start a conversation, asking simple questions or commenting on the unusually quiet night, but Yu Ji answered with little more than absent nods. More often than not, she wasn't listening at all. Her eyes swept every alley they passed, every rooftop, every passing shadow. She expected danger around every corner.
Fortunately, none came.
Several streets later, they finally stopped before a modest one-story home tucked behind a low stone wall. Two old fig trees stood in the small front garden, their broad leaves swaying gently in the night breeze while the sweet fragrance of flowering jasmine drifted from somewhere near the entrance.
Warm lantern light glowed softly behind the paper windows. Just as safe, pleasant, and warm as she remembered it.
The young man stepped forward and knocked, and for a few moments there was only silence.
Then came hurried footsteps.
The door slid open.
A young woman stood on the other side, tall and slender, her dark blonde hair gathered into a practical ponytail that rested over one shoulder. Her complexion was a shade darker than Yu Ji's, and the puzzled expression on her face quickly shifted between the unfamiliar young man and the hooded woman leaning heavily against him.
She frowned at the two strangers knocking on her door at this late hour. "Yes...?"
Yu Ji slowly lifted her head. A weary smile, barely more than a twitch of her lips, appeared beneath the hood. "Hello, Meimei."
The young woman's eyes widened.
"Yu Ji?"
Only then did she notice the blood. The color drained from her face. "What happened to you?"
"Can... I come in...?" Yu Ji tried to answer, but her knees suddenly gave way beneath her.
Before she could collapse completely, Meimei rushed forward and caught her. Supporting Yu Ji with one arm, she finally looked toward the young man.
"And you are...?"
He shook his head. "Nobody." Before realizing that's no way to talk. "I just happened to see her struggling to walk. So I brought her home."
Relief softened Meimei's tense expression. "Thank you."
He returned a small nod before quietly turning back toward the empty street.
Only after watching him disappear into the night did Meimei close the door behind them.
---
"So," Mark began, "where is this trump card that will change everything?"
"Patience," Leaf said, hands behind his back as he guided him through the chamber. They stopped beside a short flight of stone steps leading up to the platform surrounded by crystals.
Three light-green orbs floated quietly in one corner, while atop a short, unremarkable side table rested a dark scroll adorned with crimson embellishments.
"I worked really hard to get my hands on this." Leaf stepped forward and picked up the scroll. Seeing Mark's confusion, he explained, "Beyond the Void Crossing Realm lies the Mahayana Realm, which many consider the first true step toward immortality. A cultivator's lifespan reaches two thousand years, but more importantly, they gain extraordinary control over the very vessel of consciousness...the soul. This is a forbidden scripture called the Nine Lives Sutra."
Leaf settled into one of the chairs and gestured for Mark to sit beside him. "When a Mahayana expert loses their body in battle, this scripture not only allows them to escape in soul form, but its main, insidious function is body seizing."
"Possession?" Mark asked, goosebumps prickling along his arms.
Leaf nodded. "It allows them to seize the body of someone recently deceased and take over everything they had. Of course, losing their original body means losing their meridians, dantian, core, nascent soul, and integrated domain, so they lose much of their cultivation. But that's not what's important to us. This scripture contains one particularly remarkable technique: Soul Essence Conversion."
Leaf announced it grandly, only to find Mark staring back blankly.
"Ah...truly a case of pearls before swans." He sighed."Although they lose much of their cultivation, they don't lose all of it. This scripture allows them to convert their enormous reserve of Mahayana Soul Essence into nourishment for the new body, thereby recreating meridians, a dantian, and even a core. Someone who seized the body of a Qi Condensation cultivator could raise it to Nascent Soul, perhaps even Domain Integration, depending on how strong they were before."
"That all sounds rather unbelievable," Mark admitted. "But what am I missing? How does this help me?" His fingers interlaced across his lap.
"Patience, patience." Leaf waved him off. "I needed to explain the scripture as a whole so you'd understand the principle. Besides converting soul essence into cultivation, it can also convert it into other things. Some research was done, I don't know by whom or how, but it's accepted as fact that after a person dies, their soul essence remains anchored to the body for exactly seven days."
At first, Mark still looked puzzled, but then the pieces clicked together. "I can use this to convert Old Mark's soul essence into cultivation? Or maybe convert my own soul essence into cultivation? That's the battle-ready preparation?"
Leaf blinked.
"Wait... I didn't even think of that." He fell silent for a moment. "Actually... how does soul transmigration work in this context?" He frowned thoughtfully before shaking his head. "Forget it. That's an interesting question, but that's not it."
He leaned forward, eyes brightening. "You forgot the part where I said it can be converted into other things. What do we need the most right now?"
"Information."
"Yes, exactly!" Leaf exclaimed. "And in this room, living or dead, who possesses the information we need?"
Mark shot to his feet, understanding washing over him. "Convert Old Mark's soul essence into memories? Is that even possible?"
"Of course!" Leaf grinned. "That's one of the primary uses of the Nine Lives Sutra. Do you think someone who reached the Mahayana Realm would seize the body of any random cultivator? No. They target the greatest talents, and those talents almost always belong to great sects, powerful clans, or disciples of powerful masters. On the very first day, they convert most of the remaining soul essence into memories so they can seamlessly continue living that person's life."
Mark stared at him. "That's so..." He searched for the right word before settling on one. "...fucked."
"You forgot something else." Leaf folded his arms. "Can a technique created strictly for Mahayana experts be used by someone as weak as you?"
"I imagine... not? I'd be too low-leveled." Mark offered as he sat back down.
"Correct, my peculiar otherworldly friend." Leaf nodded before smiling again. "However..."
He raised the scroll. "I asked a Saint Realm expert to extract only the portion concerning the conversion of soul essence into memories, then simplify it even further until someone at Qi Condensation might barely be able to comprehend and use it." By the end, he wore an unbearably smug expression, his eyes practically sparkling as he waited for praise.
Mark sighed, pouring a bucket of cold water over the moment. "You have to understand that I only get about one word out of every ten you say. I don't know the standards of this world. I'm still impressed by the storage ring."
"Come on," Leaf complained. "I just told you about Mahayana experts stealing other people's lives, and then casually mentioned I found someone even stronger to modify the technique for you. How is that not impressive?"
"If you say so."
"Forget it." Leaf sighed dramatically before handing him the scroll. "You'll be impressed later. Remember, according to the Saint, when it first connects with you, it'll show Old Mark's most recent memorable event. In most cases, that's death. So prepare yourself, alright?"
Mark's expression hardened. "Got it. Now, how do I use this?"
"This is a Dao Imprint Scroll. Just send a wisp of Qi into it, and it'll imprint everything directly into your mind."
Mark did as instructed. The moment his Qi entered the scroll, something on the other side gripped it. As if a powerful beast were hidden inside. The tiny strand of Qi became a conduit, drawing even more from his meridians until a steady channel formed between the man and the object.
Yet what poured through wasn't information exactly, but pure, vast, unfamiliar energy that flowed somewhere beyond flesh and bone, coursing through his meridians before dissolving.
Suddenly, Mark found himself somewhere else.