The Immortal Coward: Path of the Aegis Cauldron

Chapter 1: God-Summoning Incense

Thunder roared, shaking the wooden walls of the rickety shack until they groaned loudly. Zarox huddled in the corner of the room, clutching his knees tightly while his face turned deathly pale. All around him, dozens of cheap paper talismans bought from the black market were haphazardly plastered on the walls, the floor, and even the leaking thatched roof. To him, every heartbeat was a countdown to the death he hated with every fiber of his being.

"Don't take me now," Zarox whispered, his teeth chattering, his eyes darting wildly toward a small hole in the roof where raindrops were beginning to leak through. "I don't have life insurance yet, I haven't gotten my immortality pills, and I haven't even had a chance to taste the best fried chicken in this city! Don't die, Zarox! Don't!"

The next crack of thunder boomed even louder, as if the heavens wanted to split the earth right over Zarox's head. The young man flinched, his trembling hand reaching for an old stick of incense wrapped in worn silk, the last inheritance from his great-grandfather who was said to be a mad adventurer. Zarox lit the tip of the incense with a flint striker. A plume of thick purple smoke began to rise, swirling into nonsensical patterns in the air.

"If there really is a God up there, or some arrogant cultivator who needs a sacrifice to save, come now!" Zarox screamed at the ceiling, his voice hoarse with panic. "I have talent! I have resolve! And most importantly, I have a very high fear of dying! Take me to a place where I can live forever!"

Suddenly, the air inside the shack froze. The incense smoke, which had been moving slowly, was suddenly sucked into a single point in the center of the room. The space in front of Zarox seemed to tear open, revealing a blinding golden rift. From that rift, a figure in white robes with a bone-chilling aura stepped out. The man had long silver hair, eyes as sharp as swords, and radiated a spiritual pressure that sent Zarox crashing to the ground, struggling to breathe.

"The Sky-Summoning Incense..." the man's voice sounded heavy, echoing throughout the room. "It has been a hundred years since I last smelled this scent. You are the descendant of the man who saved me when I nearly lost my cultivation, are you not?"

Zarox looked up, his mouth agape. "Are... are you a God?"

The man snorted, his arrogant aura radiating strongly. "I am Master Vaelin of the Heaven's Peak Sect. Stand up, boy. I am bound by an oath to grant one request to that man's descendant. Name it, and I will take you away from this trash heap of a shack."

Zarox's eyes sparkled, even though his body was still shaking violently. "Immortality! Teach me how so that I can't die! No poison, no swords, no lightning, no disease! I want to live forever!"

Master Vaelin furrowed his brow, staring at Zarox as if the youth had just asked for the moon to fall into his hands. "Immortality is a long path filled with death. But, very well. Stand upon my sword. We depart for the Heaven's Peak Sect now."

Vaelin flicked his hand, and a long sword emitting a blue light floated right in front of them, hovering two meters above the muddy floor.

Zarox stared at the sword, then looked at the height outside the shack. His legs immediately turned to jelly. "W-what? Get on that? That's too high! What if I fall? What if this sword stalls out in mid-air? What if I have a heart attack because of the thin air up there? I don't want to! I don't want to die a ridiculous death by falling off a floating object!"

Master Vaelin looked at him with a flat, cold gaze. "You are such a coward. Just a moment ago you were screaming for eternal life, and now you are afraid of heights?"

"That's different! Immortality is the goal, heights are the risk!" Zarox protested, his voice reaching a high pitch. "Can't we just walk? Or maybe take a steel-plated horse carriage?"

"There is no time," Vaelin answered shortly. Without further ado, he grabbed Zarox by the collar.

"Wait! I haven't locked my shack door yet! I haven't.... Aaaaaaaaah!"

Before Zarox could finish his protest, Vaelin had already hoisted him up with one hand. With a swift and rough movement that made Zarox's stomach feel like it was turning inside out, the Master threw Zarox onto his own back.

"Be quiet, or I will drop you into a canyon before we arrive," Vaelin threatened.

Zarox squeezed Vaelin's neck as tightly as possible, his legs wrapping around the Master's waist like a terrified octopus. "Please hold on tight! If I die, you will carry the sin forever! I swear I will haunt you until you go to your grave if I fall!"

Vaelin ignored Zarox's rambling. With one surge of power, he shot into the sky, bursting through the shack's roof which shattered into pieces. Zarox shut his eyes tight, his face buried in the back of Vaelin's robe, while the wind roared loudly in his ears. Nausea and fear mixed together, but behind his terror, there was a glimmer of hope that made his heart beat fast: Immortality.

The journey felt like an eternal torture to Zarox. Every time Vaelin maneuvered between clouds or dived to avoid giant spiritual birds, Zarox screamed as loud as he could, causing chaos along their flight path. Finally, after what felt like hundreds of years under high air pressure, Vaelin landed roughly on a giant stone plaza carved with ancient symbols.

Zarox slumped to the ground, his face so pale it was almost transparent. He tried to stand, but his legs shook so violently that he fell back to his knees. In front of him, the giant gates of the Heaven's Peak Sect loomed high, made of white jade shrouded in thick spiritual mist.

Master Vaelin walked away without looking back, leaving Zarox there. "Wait here. An attendant will come to collect you. Remember, you are a nobody here. Do not cause trouble, or you will die faster than you can imagine."

Zarox didn't hear the threat. His eyes were fixed on the magnificent sect gates. He took a deep breath, inhaling the spiritual energy that felt sweet in his lungs. His fear hadn't vanished, if anything, it had doubled because he was now in a far more dangerous place, but he saw something inside those gates. Something shimmering. Something that promised life.

"Finally..." Zarox whispered, his hands gripping the ground tightly. "The place where I can learn how to make sure my heart never stops beating."

However, just as he tried to stand up, a large shadow suddenly covered his vision. Someone dressed in sect servant attire with a sour face looked down at him, holding a spiritual broom that looked ready to be used as a weapon.

"You're the newcomer? The coward Master Vaelin brought in by carrying him like a sack of rice?" the servant spat to the side, his eyes looking at Zarox with disdain. "Follow me. If you slow down for even a single second, you'll be the first person I beat today before you even get to see the inside of the sect."

Zarox swallowed hard, his fear surging back to the surface. He hadn't even stepped inside, yet he already felt that his life as an immortal candidate might begin in a very, very painful way.