The village of Dahe was beautiful. Under the scorching sun, a bare-chested man was diligently tilling the fields.
"Three full years!" Ye Tiancheng grumbled as he swung his hoe, his thoughts drifting to his marriage with the Hou family.
Nominally husband and wife, they had sent him to the Hou family's ancestral land to till the soil right after the wedding.
The Hou family didn't take this poor boy seriously.
He was clearly relegated to the cold palace.
Of course, they feared he might get his hands on the Hou family patriarch's inheritance after his death.
To put it bluntly, Dahe Village was nothing but weeds, except for bird droppings.
It was as good as letting Ye Tiancheng fend for himself…
There was nothing he could do. He hadn't found a job after graduating from college. He met the Hou family's young lady by chance, got married inexplicably, and was then assigned to the Hou family's ancestral hall in the countryside to guard their ancestral property.
Not only was he unpaid, but they hadn't contacted him in three years.
They didn't treat him as a Hou family son-in-law at all.
With no salary and no source of income, he had to rely on this barren land for a meager living.
From then on, he transformed from a college student into a farmer.
"Damn it!" Ye Tiancheng grew angrier the more he thought about it, swinging his hoe down hard onto the ground. With a crisp "crack!", the hoe chipped.
"Hit a rock. The hoe is broken too." Ye Tiancheng secretly lamented. It would cost twenty-odd yuan to repair the hoe.
Farming earned him less than ten yuan a day on average.
Life in the countryside was tough, but with hard work, one wouldn't starve. Catching rabbits in the wild, hunting pheasants, netting frogs, and fishing in the ditches could fill one's stomach.
But he had no money to spend. His daily savings were only a few yuan.
This life was a world apart from the city.
He had once thought of leaving the Hou family.
But the Hou family had warned him that if he dared to leave, they would break his legs upon recapture.
He lowered his head to look at the hoe, then at the chipped rock. He pondered, "Since the stone is so hard, I must dig it out. Otherwise, I'll chip another new hoe next time."
Thinking this, he squatted down and used his hands to dig out the stone from the soil.
As soon as he dug it out, the world changed color.
On a clear sunny day, a dark cloud suddenly gathered directly above Ye Tiancheng.
The black cloud hung low, almost pressing down on Ye Tiancheng's head.
Ye Tiancheng, bent over, didn't see it.
Some distant relatives of the Hou family nearby saw a strange black cloud above Ye Tiancheng's head. Seeing that it was about to rain, they all ran home.
At that moment, with a crackle and pop,
Then came a torrential downpour.
Ye Tiancheng was struck by lightning. In a dim world, blood splattered, and the scene was like a hell of Asuras…
"Am I dead? Have I gone to the underworld?" Ye Tiancheng was filled with endless distress. He had lived over twenty years, never held a girl's hand, and hadn't truly enjoyed a woman! He died just like that, what a wasted life!
Unwilling, with lingering thoughts!
"Little Ye family boy, your years have been truly miserable!" a deep, powerful voice sounded in his ear.
Ye Tiancheng immediately turned to look in the direction of the voice.
He saw an old man with white hair and a youthful complexion floating in the air.
The visitor was dressed in snow-white linen, carrying a strange gourd at his waist, and riding a green ox.
Judging by his attire, he was a cultivator.
"Old man, who are you?" Ye Tiancheng asked, picking his ear.
"I am your ancestor's ancestor's ancestor. Our Ye family bloodline is passed down through a single heir. You, descendant, have stumbled upon the Bloodthirsty Ghost Shark Seal Stone. If I hadn't come, you would have truly severed our Ye family bloodline, you unfilial descendant!"
"What are you talking about? You come here and claim to be my ancestor's ancestor's ancestor. That's too far-fetched! I remember our ancestor's ancestor was a cultivator who, driven by fleeting earthly desires, committed a sinful deed and left behind a bloodline. After the old man ascended to heaven, our Ye family has been poor for generations. Fortune tellers say our family's bad luck is due to our ancestor's misconduct, and we are punished by the Jade Emperor. Therefore… we have to bear this fate for generations…"
Ye Tiancheng chattered on about his ancestor's faults.
"Respect me. If I hadn't had fleeting earthly desires, you wouldn't exist. You should thank me for that impulse."
"The punishment for your impulse has fallen upon us who suffered undeserved disaster. You, on the other hand… why don't you save your descendants?"
"Aren't I here now? After much effort, I finally convinced the Fate Fairy to change your name, and I myself have been demoted to a loose immortal, no longer a true immortal."
Hearing the desolate tone of his ancestor's ancestor, Ye Tiancheng felt that dwelling on it further was pointless. So he asked, "Since that's the case, give me some powerful techniques, and I'll go back and sweep across the land, taking all the spoils, and charming all the women in the world. From then on, I'll marry a rich and beautiful woman and reach the pinnacle of life."
"That's your ambition!"
"Otherwise? If I don't do this, how can I continue our Ye family's lineage?" Ye Tiancheng said with a look of disrespect.
Hearing Ye Tiancheng's words, his ancestor stroked his goatee and said, "It seems you are truly fated to be without the immortal path. In that case, I will pass down cultivation techniques and the skill of healing. You should do more good deeds to absolve my sins."
"Why do I have to do it? Don't you do anything?"
"How dare you speak to me like that, unfilial descendant? Do as you're told and don't talk nonsense!" The Ye family's old ancestor finished speaking, struck a jade slip into Ye Tiancheng's body, then grabbed him by the waistband, lifted him like a basket, and threw him to the ground!
"Aiyaaa… I'm going to be smashed to death!"
Ye Tiancheng struggled, trying to break free, but his meager strength was no match for his immortal ancestor. As a result, he was slammed into the ground, and his vision went dark…
"Wake up, please." A clear voice reached him. It was Hou Qing'er. The distant relatives of the Hou family all lived here.
The branch that had prospered was the one his wife belonged to.
When they became rich, they forgot their birthplace.
They almost forgot this place. Except for coming to sweep graves during the Qingming Festival, the prosperous branch of the Hou family never returned.
They didn't invest here either.
It was truly incomprehensible how these people could forget their roots!
After waking up, Ye Tiancheng saw familiar faces: aunts, uncles, and his neighbor, young Hou Qing'er… they were all there.
"You were struck by lightning. We all thought you were dead. We were just about to call your wife, Hou Mingzhu, to arrange your funeral," said an uncle.
"What are you talking about? I'm not dead." Ye Tiancheng scratched the back of his head and smiled sheepishly. He knew that even if he died, he would probably not be able to be buried in the Hou family's ancestral grave. A son-in-law who was unknown and completely overlooked. His death would likely not even warrant a thought from Hou Mingzhu's pet dog. Thinking of this, he couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness. But outwardly, he acted as if nothing had happened.
"Alright, it's good that you're okay. We're all going back!" an aunt said, pulling her uncle away to attend to their work.
It was the season for autumn sowing, and the villagers were rushing against time. Otherwise, they would have nothing to eat in the spring.
After they left, Hou Qing'er said, "It's great that you're alright, Brother Ye." She then placed a pear in Ye Tiancheng's hand.
Ye Tiancheng felt that this girl was truly kind. But he didn't know that this girl liked him.
This was because Ye Tiancheng was the handsome guy in the village. Everyone has a love for beauty. Although he was married to Hou Mingzhu, he had no status. He was no different from an unmarried man.
The girls in the village were all eyeing him…
"Here, take this. I think you should rest for a few days. There are no good doctors here. Why don't you go to Victory for a check-up? What if there are after-effects, Brother Luo?"
"It's fine, look, I'm full of energy…" Ye Tiancheng stood up and hopped around energetically.
Hou Qing'er quickly said, "You should still be careful. I'm leaving now, I have to go home and feed the pigs."
"En… goodbye." Holding the pear, Ye Tiancheng walked out the door, taking bites of the pear as he headed towards the fields.
He remembered that the stone he had touched was no longer there. It must have been left in the field.
After all, they didn't know how hard the stone was, so they probably ignored it…
When he reached the field, he indeed saw the stone. He happily rushed towards it and picked it up, only to find that the stone was very heavy and he couldn't move it at all.
"What's going on? I could lift it so easily before?" Ye Tiancheng found it very strange.
This was natural. His ancestor had slammed him into the ground, using his bloodline to suppress the stone and make it take root.
He and the stone had formed a life-bond.
His destiny was now tied to this stone.
As Ye Tiancheng couldn't move the stone, it spoke, "Kid, I am your guardian stone, also known as your natal stone."
"Wow, a monster! The stone is talking." Ye Tiancheng almost fainted from fright.
The stone suddenly speaking was enough to scare him to death.
"So timid. This stone comes from ancient times. It's a leftover piece from Nuwa mending the sky. Speaking of which, our destinies are the same; we are both useless talents. Your Ye family ancestor infused his bloodline into me. From now on, I will accompany you on your journey through the mortal world, laugh proudly at life, and create a legendary adventure."
"Doesn't that sound like the story of the Stone?" As someone who had attended college and read "Dream of the Red Chamber," he naturally recalled the opening passage where the Empty-Void Daoist saw the stone's recorded story.
"That Stone Story is nonsense. It was originally a wild guess by Scholar Cao. I am a genuine Nuwa stone."
"Nuwa stone? I also have the Fuxi Qin, the Demon Suppressing Bell, the Yellow Emperor's Sword, and the Bagua Sail!" Ye Tiancheng thought this stone was really something. To prove its identity, it brought up the ancient divine stone Nuwa stone. Anyway, he was in his twenties and had never seen anything. Whatever it claimed to be, he couldn't refute it.
Besides, some people, to glorify themselves, would often claim famous historical figures with the same surname as their ancestors.
Chinese people were good at many things, but this tendency to falsely claim ancestry was truly not good.
"What an idiot!" The stone was furious. It was a genuine Nuwa stone, damn it! If he didn't believe the truth, then it could only speak lies.
"Hmph! You'll understand later, kid. Stone… cough cough, I won't mention it anymore. Hurry up and cultivate that book. After reaching the third level of Qi refinement, you'll be able to pull me out. Then I will protect you. I'll kill gods who block us and Buddhas who block us. Whether you want to go to the Nine Netherworld or the Upper Pure Divine Land, it's all possible. If you still wish, even becoming the Jade Emperor is not impossible."
"You're exaggerating too much. Even the Monkey King couldn't become the Jade Emperor back then. That position is a hot seat, coveted by many immortals. If I sit there, it's like putting myself on a fire. Do you have any conscience?"
"What's so difficult about that? The immortal realm now is not the immortal realm of the past. The current immortal realm is a mob, all driven by self-interest. It's time for us to cleanse the universe and sweep away the filth!"
"Are you crazy?" Ye Tiancheng thought this stone had gone mad. "I'm not as great as you. What happens to this world, what happens to this immortal realm… has nothing to do with me. I just want to marry a rich and beautiful woman and possess mountains of gold and silver."
"Pfft!" The stone felt like it had chosen the wrong person.
It cursed the Ye family ancestor who had betrayed it in its heart: "Ye Huantian… you scoundrel, you promised to fulfill my wish! I was abandoned by Nuwa back then, powerless to mend the sky! The one who gave me his bloodline is so pragmatic, only caring about chasing girls and having his mind filled with the smell of copper."