Chapter 1Mountain Exit and Spectral Calamity
The morning mist of Qingxuan Mountain was thick and icy, winding around ancient pine trees and dilapidated Taoist temples that had stood for millennia.
Lin Wuying tucked the last stack of yellow exorcism talismans into his linen Taoist robe, his slender fingers brushing the worn hilt of his master’s iron sword. The eighteen layers of mountain barrier formations, which had blocked evil spirits for thousands of years, were cracking one after another these days. Faint wails from the mortal world drifted up through the fissures of the barrier, sharp and desolate, piercing the eternal tranquility of the sacred mountain.
His master’s last words echoed in his ears, low and heavy, lingering like a curse. “The Western fantasy realm has fallen. The primordial Specter Dragon has broken its seal. Ordinary magic cannot subdue its darkness, and mortal weapons are useless against spectral aberrations. Only the righteous Tao of our East can balance the void evil. Wuying, go down the mountain. Save the common people.”
At twenty years old, Lin Wuying had spent his entire life on Qingxuan Mountain. He knew all Taoist rituals, could exorcise wandering ghosts and suppress mountain demons, but he had never stepped into the mortal world, let alone the distant, alien Western continent shrouded in legend.
He stood at the mountain’s summit, staring at the far horizon. The clear blue sky was dyed with faint gray-black miasma, spreading rapidly from the west. That was the aura of the Specter Calamity—a filthy, cold darkness that devoured all vitality, twisted all rules, and corrupted every living creature it touched.
According to ancient records, the Specter Dragon was no ordinary magical beast of the Western continent. Born from the void abyss outside the world, it merged with the blood of the ancient dragon clan after breaking free from the gods’ seal. It abandoned all the glory of dragonkind, feeding on mortal fear, mage arcane power, and knight battle will. Wherever it passed, magic went berserk, the land decayed, and living beings turned into bizarre, bloodthirsty specters.
For hundreds of years, the Western kingdoms relied on holy light magic and dragon knight legions to suppress its power, but the seal had completely collapsed half a month ago.
Lin Wuying adjusted his wooden Taoist hair crown, his cold and clear eyes devoid of fear, only filled with the compassion of a cultivator. He recited a purifying mantra under his breath, and the faint golden Taoist light lingered on his robe, offsetting the pervasive cold evil aura in the air.
The mountain road under his feet gradually appeared. The thick mist dispersed automatically under the influence of righteous Tao energy, opening a path leading straight to the mortal world.
Before descending, he glanced back at the empty Taoist temple. There was no more incense, no more morning and evening chants. The entire Qingxuan Mountain had become a pure empty land, a last barrier that was about to be completely broken. Once he left, no one would guard the mountain anymore, but he had no choice.
Salvation was the duty of every orthodox Taoist.
The moment his foot stepped off the sacred mountain’s boundary, a violent gust of dark wind swept over. The warm mountain breeze vanished instantly, replaced by biting cold that seemed to freeze his blood. Countless faint ghostly shadows flitted around him, wailing and roaring, but they dared not approach the golden Taoist light on his body.
The mortal world was already in chaos.
Looking west from the mountain pass, the originally prosperous Western plains were covered in dead gray. Crops withered overnight, rivers turned pitch-black, and abandoned villages were filled with distorted specters. Ordinary low-level evil spirits were everywhere, driven mad by the Specter Dragon’s aura, attacking any living creature frantically.
Lin Wuying raised his sword slightly, the blade humming softly. A simple exorcism formula was activated, and golden sword light swept out, purifying a group of rampaging specters into wisps of smoke.
But this was just the trivial aftermath of the calamity. The real terror lay deeper in the Western continent, where the Specter Dragon lurked in the abyss, waiting to devour the entire world.
