Chapter 1: The First Breath of Dust

Chen Mo opened his eyes to a sky the color of bruised peaches, his lungs burning as if he'd inhaled liquid fire. The scent of blood and iron clung to his tongue—a far cry from the sterile hospital room he'd last remembered.

"Truck-kun really did a number on me", he thought blearily, fingers clawing at damp soil.

A boot slammed into his ribs.

"Pathetic," sneered a voice dripping with venom. "Even after death, you're still groveling in the dirt."

Chen Mo rolled onto his back, squinting up at a sharp-faced youth in silver-trimmed robes. The boy couldn't be older than eighteen, yet his eyes held the cold malice of a seasoned killer. Behind him loomed a mountain range of impossible peaks, their summits piercing clouds that shimmered like abalone shells.

[System Initializing…]

[Host Detected: Chen Mo (Soul Compatibility: 99.9%)]

[Loading "Immortal Taoists" Core Data…]

The world froze. Silver-robed boy mid-sneer, a leaf suspended in its fall, even the distant cry of a hawk cut short. Blue text scrawled across Chen Mo's vision:

[Welcome to "Immortal Taoists: Ascension"]

[Current Identity: Outer Disciple of Frost Cloud Sect (Deceased)]

[New Identity Assigned: Chen Mo, Outer Disciple (Living)]

[Note: Try not to die again.]

Chen Mo choked on a laugh. Truck-kun hadn't killed him—it had *isekai'd* him into his favorite mobile game. Or a twisted version of it. The Frost Cloud Sect was supposed to be a beginner-friendly faction, not…

He glanced down at his body. Raven-black robes hung loose on his frame, threadbare at the elbows. A jade token stamped with a snowflake lay cracked beside him—the mark of an outer disciple. His hands were calloused but unmarked, unlike the scarred veteran avatar he'd painstakingly leveled to Rank 97.

Reality snapped back into motion.

"—ing deaf now too?" The silver-robed youth aimed another kick. "Answer me, trash!"

Chen Mo caught the boy's ankle mid-air.

[Name: Lu Tao

Cultivation: Qi Condensation (Early Stage)

Affiliation: Frost Cloud Sect (Inner Disciple)

Karma: Wrathful (97% Sin)]

The system's text hovered like ghostly subtitles. Chen Mo tightened his grip, feeling fragile bones grind beneath his palm.

"Release me!" Lu Tao shrieked, face purpling. "You dare lay hands on an inner disciple?!"

Chen Mo almost complied—old instincts from a life of avoiding conflict—when new text flashed crimson:

[Quest Alert: "A Rat's Dignity"]

[Objective: Survive the initiation beating]

[Reward: Auto-Qi Function Unlocked]

He sighed. So this was the game's infamous "Disciple Welcome Ceremony." In *Immortal Taoists*, new players had to endure ten minutes of NPC beatings to unlock cultivation. Apparently, reality wasn't kinder.

"My apologies, honored senior." Chen Mo released Lu Tao's leg with a placid smile. "This humble one thought you were… someone else."

The lie tasted bitter. Lu Tao scrambled back, eyes narrowed.

"You've gone mad from the ascension ritual," he spat, drawing a dagger from his sash. "Let me remedy that."

Chen Mo didn't flinch as the blade plunged toward his throat.

[Auto-Qi Activated]

[Remaining Qi: 100/100]

Time slowed. The dagger's edge gleamed, its path tracing golden trajectories in Chen Mo's vision. He shifted half an inch left.

Lu Tao stumbled forward, dagger embedding itself in the training post behind Chen Mo's head. Outer disciples gasped. A girl with lotus-petal scars across her cheeks stifled a laugh.

"Lucky bastard," Lu Tao hissed, yanking his blade free. "But luck runs—"

A gong shook the air, its vibrations humming in Chen Mo's molars. Elder Guo materialized on the training ground's stone dais, his beard coiled like a sleeping serpent.

"Initiation concluded," the elder intoned. "Those still breathing, follow."

Lu Tao froze mid-lunge. With a final glare, he melted into the dispersing crowd.

[Quest Complete: "A Rat's Dignity"]

[Reward Claimed: Auto-Qi Function (1 Qi/hour)]

Chen Mo wobbled to his feet, adrenaline fading. His robes clung to him, soaked with another man's sweat and blood. The girl with lotus scars fell into step beside him.

"You're either very brave or very stupid," she whispered. "Lu Tao's uncle controls the outer sect's ration hall."

Chen Mo studied her through the system's lens:

[Name: Xia Ling

Cultivation: Mortal (Peak Stage)

Affiliation: Frost Cloud Sect (Outer Disciple)

Karma: Benevolent (63% Virtue)]

"Stupid," he said. "Definitely stupid."

Xia Ling's laugh was cut short as Elder Guo led them into the Hall of Whispers. Rows of jade slips glowed faintly on stone shelves—the Frost Cloud Sect's foundational cultivation manuals. Chen Mo's fingers itched. In the game, these held basic skills like "Frost Palm" and "Mist Step."

"Choose wisely," Elder Guo warned. "Your manual will shape your path."

The outer disciples surged forward. Chen Mo hung back, watching. When the crowd thinned, he plucked a dust-coated slip from the highest shelf.

[Manual Identified: "Breath of the Fallen Phoenix" (Damaged)]

[Rank: Unknown

Cultivation Requirement: None

Effect: Unknown]

Xia Ling peered over his shoulder. "That one's cursed. Killed three disciples last year."

"Perfect." Chen Mo tucked the slip into his sash. Cursed manuals meant privacy—no one would disturb a dead man walking.

As they filed out, the system flickered:

[Heavenly Dao Anomaly Detected]

[Source: Hall of Whispers (Sublevel 3)]

[Recommended Action: Investigate Within 30 Days]

Chen Mo filed the warning away. First, survival. Then, curiosity.

---

That night, in a ramshackle hut that reeked of moldy straw, Chen Mo activated the manual. The jade slip dissolved into his palm, its knowledge flooding his mind—not cultivation techniques, but a single looping phrase:

*To rise from ash, one must first become cinder.*

["Breath of the Fallen Phoenix" Compatibility: 100%]

[Auto-Qi Generation Doubled: 2 Qi/hour]

Chen Mo exhaled. Golden sparks danced in his breath before fading.

[Current Cultivation: Mortal (Peak Stage)]

Xia Ling's voice floated through the paper-thin wall: "Still alive, cursed one?"

"Unfortunately," Chen Mo said.

"Good. Lu Tao's planning to 'accidentally' burn your hut tomorrow."

Chen Mo stared at the rotting ceiling. In the game, he'd have grinded mobs for EXP. Here, survival meant playing a different sort of RPG—Role Playing Ghost.

He closed his eyes, Auto-Qi humming in his veins.

*Let them think me weak. Let them think me broken.*

The phoenix always rose.