At that moment when Chen Jing fell into the river, his heart finally relaxed, and his brief life experience flowed quietly by like the moonlight on a windowsill.

  Since he can remember, he has been wandering with an old swordsman. He clearly remembers that when he had a sword, it was not as tall as him. Then settled in Bailing City, met many people, the old swordsman left... then killed, escaped, and was taken to Qianluo Mountain, dazed for three years... finally turned into Li Muxian's dull fist...

  His eyes slowly closed, feeling extremely tired, wanting to sleep well. He knew in his heart that once he fell asleep, he might never wake up again. Wanting to struggle, but already lacking the strength. In the moment his eyes closed, he thought: Am I going to die now? It turns out it's still going to be death, and the feeling of dying is actually very comfortable...

  The river waves surge, the endless mud and sand, the cycle of fate turns, the unfinished chaos of human life.

  The river is called Jinghe River, originating from Kunlun Mountains and winding its way to the sea.

  Among them is a section of Embroidered Spring Bend, where the water flows gently.

  There are fishing boats coming and going in the river, most of them are from the villages along the river.

  Yan Luoniang sat at the back of the boat and put the fish from the net into the fish basket, when she suddenly heard her father's happy laughter.

  Oh... A big one has gone online.

  Yan Lao Die pulled the fishing net excitedly, saying something. Yan Luo Niang saw her father struggling to pull the net and hurried over to help. However, Yan Lao Die wouldn't let her, only telling her to steady the boat instead. She didn't retreat but disobeyed by helping to pull the net, and Yan Lao Die said nothing more.

  Haha, really a big deal... catching a big fish just in time for your dowry.

  Yan Lao Die's face, which had been weathered by the river wind for a long time, broke into a smile. Yan Luo Niang felt a little shy in her heart, but she didn't avoid it like other women would.

  Just as the voice fell, Old Man Yan's movements suddenly stopped, because what was caught in the fishing net was not a big fish as imagined, but a person, to be exact, a dead person.

  Yan Lao Die was stunned for a moment, then quickly pulled the people in the net up, and hastily called out to the surrounding fishermen to come over.

  Yan Luoniang was a little afraid in her heart, but her eyes stared unblinkingly at the person picked up by her father, seeing that his face looked only a few years older than hers, with scars on his body, holding a sword in his hand, and his clothes were already tattered.

  What kind of person will he be?

  Soon, all the fishermen on the river came around. When they saw a dead body, one of them said: We must report to the authorities immediately.

  What's the point of reporting to the authorities? You might end up getting into trouble for nothing.

  Why don't we just throw it back into the river and pretend we never picked it up.

  This won't do, this person isn't breathing, but doesn't look like he's dead either. What if he's not dead and we throw him back into the river? Wouldn't that be murder?

  No one had any idea what to do, no one wanted to take him home, and no one was willing to invite a doctor to come and see him, for fear that the trouble would fall on their own heads. In the end, they all called on Old Man Yan to deal with it himself, and each went his separate way.

  Yan Lao Die looked at the person lying on the boat, unconscious and possibly dead, and silently cursed his bad luck. He looked around and saw the River God Temple by the riverbank, so he immediately rowed the boat to the shore.

  Arriving at the river god temple's dike, Yan Luoniang wanted to help her father lift it together, but was stopped. Old Man Yan said that a person who is about to get married cannot touch such an inauspicious thing.

  When Old Man Yan had carried the person from the net into the River God Temple, he immediately shouted for Yan Luoniang to leave, afraid of causing trouble. However, Yan Luoniang did not leave immediately. She looked at the person with a mixture of fear and curiosity. The person's body was pale from being soaked in wax, but their hand still grasped a sword that looked very sharp.

  She crouched down and secretly pulled the sword held by the man, feeling that he was holding it extremely tightly. Suddenly, she felt that he was going to come back to life, so she immediately turned around and ran out of the River God Temple.

  The temple of the river god is in ruins, with spider webs everywhere. The statue of the river god only has half a body left, and the ground is covered in dust. In the center lies a person, without breath or heartbeat.

  Three days passed and he still didn't wake up. At first, people would come to visit him every now and then, one after another, and the villagers nearby all knew that someone had been fished out of the river but was neither dead nor alive.

  This phenomenon is quite strange, and all kinds of speculations have emerged. Some people say that this is a river monster who has cultivated human form and suffered heavenly punishment, while others say it is a celestial god who has committed a heavenly crime and been beaten into the mortal world. There are also those who say that perhaps the river god died in this river fifty years ago and still hasn't rotted away.

  As time passed, people in their hearts felt increasingly strange about the person lying in the River God Temple, at least no one would think he was an ordinary person.

  At last, he woke up seven days later.

  Yan Luoniang saw him at dusk, standing in front of the River God Temple, gazing into the distance. The sunset shone on the river's surface, casting a reddish glow on the waves and stretching his shadow to an extreme length. As the river breeze blew by, his tattered clothes barely covered his body, but Yan Luoniang didn't feel that he was dirty; instead, she sensed an otherworldly aura about him.

  No one asked him why he fell into the river, and no one asked his name. At the same time, they warned the children not to approach the River God Temple. But how could those children control their curiosity? For several days, the children from Heqian Village surrounded and watched from a distance.

  And he just stood in front of the River God Temple at dusk every day, gazing into the distance. At other times, someone saw him sitting on the ground in the River God Temple, wiping his sword with his hand.

  Yan Luoniang couldn't help but satisfy her curiosity, and after observing for a few days, she found that he wasn't dangerous at all. She avoided her father and came to the entrance of the River God Temple, asking the person inside the question she had been holding back: Are you a hermit from the mountains?

  Behind her stood a group of children, each with curious eyes staring at the person inside who had been submerged in water for an unknown amount of time and slept for seven days before waking up.

  Which mountain did you cultivate?

  He remained silent and didn't answer.

  What's your name?

  Chen Jing

  She found that he spoke very briefly, but was not cold. She was no longer so afraid in her heart and began to ask: I heard that cultivators can fly and drive fog, can you?

  I won't.

  So you must know the magic of scattering beans to become soldiers?

  No.

  What's all this fuss about?

  Chen Jing shook his head, with both hands supporting the sword, and his posture didn't change at all.

  Yan Luoniang's gaze fell on the sword in his hand, and she suddenly said: I understand, you are a Sword Immortal.

  This time Chen Jing did not shake his head, but he also did not answer yes.

  These were Chen Jing's first words after waking up from the line between life and death. He had been following an old swordsman since he was aware, and at the age of fifteen they settled in Ba Ling City, but not long after that the old swordsman left.

  He had just intended to say that he was a monk of Qianluo Mountain, but at this time, the Qianluo Gate in Qianluo Mountain might have already become a piece of ruins. He was afraid that if he said it out loud, it would bring trouble, so he didn't say it.

  He didn't think he could survive, having been shocked before falling into the river, and then exchanging a punch with Li Muxian, injuring his internal organs. At this time, he was recuperating from his injuries and nourishing his sword with spiritual energy.

  As soon as his injuries heal and his sword regains its spiritual energy, he will leave this place. He doesn't know how far it is from here to Mount Qianluo, but he must go back to Mount Qianluo to take a look.

  The next day, Yan Luoniang brought a group of children to the front of the River God Temple again, always curiously asking some strange questions. After chatting, Chen Jing knew that this was Heqian Village, Junling Town, Baoling City, and this river was called Jinghe, and this section of the river was Xiuchun Bay.

  For several days in a row, Chen Jing devoted himself to meditation and recovery. His injuries were not life-threatening; otherwise, he would not have been able to survive in the river water.

  The children felt that Chen Jing didn't seem so scary after all, and they all asked him questions one by one, asking about legendary things. Finally, one of the children said he also wanted to follow Chen Jing to learn Taoist magic, and suddenly they all vied with each other to indicate their desire to follow Chen Jing to learn spells. He just shook his head and said: I myself haven't even touched the gate of longevity, how can I possibly teach others?

  The sun sets in the west, the sky gradually darkens, and these children all go home, the Riverside Temple returns to calm.

  The moon has just risen, and the river's surface is rippling with wavelets, amidst which are scattered fragments of moonlight.

  Chen Jing walked out of the River God Temple, gazing at this peaceful and serene scene. His mind seemed to follow the waves, extending far away. For some reason, he suddenly thought of when he was very young, wandering with Old Sword Guest everywhere, and had also been to a riverbank. Only that river seemed red, blood-red. Now thinking back, he felt that he was too young at the time and hadn't seen clearly, the red color in the river must have been the reflection of the red flowers blooming on both banks.

  This is also a good place for quiet cultivation and introspection. Chen Jing thought to himself.

  He is now wearing a coarse linen garment brought by Yan Luo's daughter, which is slightly too large for him, but still has an unconventional air about it.

  The moon in the sky is not round, but the moonlight is very good. There are no clouds for thousands of miles, and the river surface is especially beautiful. In the moonlight, the river surface has misted up without knowing when.

  A thin fog shrouded the river surface, and a huge fish suddenly appeared on the river surface. The fish was as big as a fishing boat, with golden scales on its forehead shining brightly in the moonlight, inhaling and exhaling mist towards the moon. In the mist, a red inner elixir led the power of the moon's splendor.

  Chen Jing's eyes narrowed, he hadn't expected to find a carp spirit here. Just as he was about to take a closer look, the carp spirit also discovered him and instantly swallowed its internal elixir, angrily shouting: "Where did this wild Taoist come from, daring to spy on this deity's method of longevity?"

  The sound fell, stirring up a huge wave, and when it reappeared, it was already in the waters near the River God Temple.

  Chen Jing stood still, although it was the first time he saw a spiritual and intelligent demon cultivator, but he didn't show any fear. Although beasts had opened up their spiritual intelligence for cultivation, they didn't have a great dao law gate, only relying on instinct to swallow and spit out yuanqi, especially not being proficient in spells, even if their magical powers were deep, they couldn't be fully displayed.

  Haha, you call this a longevity technique? It's just a superficial method of absorbing the heaven and earth's primordial energy.

  This deity can swallow clouds and spit out fog, stir up the wind and create waves. How could you, a minor Daoist, possibly understand? The carp spirit in the river has golden eyes that shine brightly in the moonlight.

  Swallowing clouds and spitting out fog? Hehe, all you're swallowing is the water vapor on the river's surface, and all you're spitting out is demonic energy. You dare to say you're swallowing clouds and spitting out fog? It's just a common trick of the aquatic spirits, stirring up waves in the water. What's there to brag about? Chen Jing continued to speak calmly, standing still under the moonlight, his long sword unsheathed, seeming to swallow and spit out the power of the moon's halo.