Seed of Dao

The mortal journey in search of Dao begins

"Impossible!"

Ye Chen immediately shouted loudly and couldn't believe what was in front of him.

"You should be dead! I already killed you! How are you still here? A ghost?"

"Tsk tsk tsk..." A mocking smile and cold gaze appeared on the man's fleshless face.

Looking at Ye Chen with anger and a bit of joy, the spirit said, "Fortunately I'm lucky today. With the very great risk of my soul leaving, I couldn't possibly return to my body. But you're truly cautious and decisive—I didn't think you would kill my body."

"Body? Don't tell me...." Ye Chen's brain went blank.

"You're right!" The man confirmed Ye Chen's guess. "Right now I'm using a secret technique called Soul Seizing. I will take your body. Even if you don't have Cultivation talent, I can still live a few more years with your body."

Ghost. Monster. Demon.

Things beyond Ye Chen's logic appeared one by one in his head. He didn't know what was actually happening with this world. He also didn't know how to fight something like this.

Unconsciously, Ye Chen grabbed the previous hammer and threw it toward the ghost in front of him.

The hammer just passed through the transparent figure without giving any effect.

"I am a soul, I have no form. Physical things cannot touch me. Rather than doing futile things, you should obey and let me take your body."

Ye Chen stepped back. His brain screamed to run, but his legs wouldn't move. Years of training, experience in dozens of missions, all were useless in the face of something that couldn't be touched, couldn't be killed.

For the first time since becoming a soldier, Ye Chen truly didn't know what to do.

"Hahahaha... Submit!" The man's soul laughed satisfiedly and began flying toward Ye Chen.

"No!"

Unable to do anything more, Ye Chen could only scream and resignedly watch the satisfied face in front of him approach.

But at that moment, when the distance between them was only a few steps, the man's soul suddenly stopped in the air.

His expression began to change, from satisfaction to confusion, then becoming increasingly wild with a horrified expression.

"Impossible! This—"

This time it was the soul that screamed in fear. His figure was suddenly pulled by something in Ye Chen's chest, as if there was a giant magnet forcibly attracting him.

"What—let go! RELEASE ME!"

Without knowing what was happening, the soul figure suddenly shrank rapidly. Smaller and smaller, until the size of a pinky finger, then penetrated his chest.

It happened very quickly, taking less than one breath. Ye Chen, still maintaining his horrified expression, didn't know what had actually happened.

Silent for a moment, Ye Chen finally turned toward his chest and checked with his right hand. He immediately found something attached to his chest—it was a leather cord necklace with a small worn red cloth bundle.

The family heirloom necklace.

Ye Chen remembered that this necklace was an inheritance from his great-grandfather passed down through generations until it finally reached Ye Chen's current generation.

It was said that the contents of this necklace were something accidentally found by the Ye family's great-grandfather while farming. However, no one had ever known what was inside. Because this necklace brought good fortune and blessings to the family.

And now... It seemed that was true!

With trembling hands, Ye Chen finally decided to open the cloth bundle. Trying to find out what was inside, even though it was a family heirloom.

But what he found inside was just a dark reddish-brown seed, marble-sized, round and wrinkled in shape, looking like peanut skin. Its surface was wavy and cold to the touch.

"Is... this what protected me?"

Ye Chen tried to examine it carefully, but no matter how he tried, he didn't find anything special. Just a dark brown seed that felt very hard.

He tried scratching it with his nail—no marks. Tried biting it but the seed was hard as stone. Even when hitting it with a rock, the skin showed no response at all. Like iron steel. Whatever he did was futile.

This seed was very hard.

But other than that... nothing strange.

Trying to check his body, Ye Chen also didn't find anything different. After checking himself and the seed repeatedly several times, he finally gave up when he found nothing.

"Forget it! As long as I'm still alive, everything will be fine."

Giving up trying to figure out something he didn't know, Ye Chen put the seed back into the red cloth bundle and hung the necklace around his neck. Then he suddenly fell lying on the ground, exhaustion finally hitting him.

Regulating his breathing slowly and carefully preparing for something that might suddenly happen. Fortunately nothing happened for some time, and finally Ye Chen could truly breathe a sigh of relief.

At the same time, Ye Chen's thoughts drifted as he watched the night sky above beginning to show a bit of dawn light that would soon arrive.

What should he do next?

Looking at his current condition, it was estimated that he was the only human still alive in this village. Everyone was dead. Even the two Immortal beings were also dead. He could no longer stay in this remote village in the middle of the forest, and had to start thinking about his future.

"That's right, the future!"

When thinking about his future, Ye Chen was determined not to be a mortal human again. Thinking of tonight's events, he truly didn't want to be a weak being who had to hang his life on others.

With the decision in his heart, Ye Chen immediately stood up and checked his surroundings, looking for something useful for his future. Unfortunately, besides one book, two mysterious pouches from two Immortal beings, and one black dagger that could change size, he didn't find anything else useful. Even the hammer he used before had cracks and could no longer be used.

After making sure there was nothing else, Ye Chen once again looked at the white-clothed young man for a few moments and finally decided to return to where his parents' corpses were.

With the crisis resolved, Ye Chen couldn't just leave his parents' corpses like that. Even if this remote village rarely saw wild beasts wandering, at least he had to bury them both.

Even if his body also wasn't doing well and both his hands were still trembling, Ye Chen had to bury them. That was the only thing he could do.

It took until noon before Ye Chen finally managed to bury both his parents properly. His body almost collapsed several times, but he forced himself. This was the last thing he could do for them.

Initially he also intended to bury the white-clothed young man's corpse, but he finally gave up—his energy was exhausted, and the sounds of wild beasts in the forest began to sound closer. He also had no interest in burying the villagers' corpses. He didn't have enough energy.

After paying respects to both his parents, Ye Chen walked back to Siqing village which was now in ruins. He took a leather bag that belonged to whoever, then began putting in some food he needed for the journey.

According to his memory, there was a village called Dayan south of Siqing village. That village was also larger and could be called a county. According to his estimate, it would take at least a day and night to travel there.

Since it was already noon and he couldn't delay any longer, Ye Chen immediately hurried. Then looking at the destroyed village and for the last time seeing his parents' grave, Ye Chen promised that he wouldn't waste his life.

Starting from now, Ye Chen, a mortal human seeking immortality, began.