A hidden gem in the ordinary-protagonist genre for readers tired of searching! No golden finger, fragments of magical treasures, an exciting plot, a clever protagonist, spiritual qi revival, an unhurried pace, subtle character development, deduction, the uncanny, and a mood that shifts between lighthearted and suspenseful, with both joy and sorrow. The Misty Forest!
The autumn wind rustles bleakly. The mist cares nothing for those who come to admire the scenery. The winding path is still not half explored, yet not a soul is in sight.
Jian Li, dressed in coarse clothes and straw sandals, stands beside a bridge of jumbled stone. A three-foot broken sword hangs at his waist. He draws it and wipes it clean. The sword is called Dragon's Cry, its silver edge gleaming as it hums.
A burly man, the leader of a group, crosses the bridge sideways, holding a spiked club.
“How bleak it feels; my bones ache through meridians and channels.”
“I’m even more vexed by the dew that washes my wan face!”
“...”
“What is the hour? The night is not yet over,
The stars shine bright, and the river lies bleak!”
An old white-haired man follows behind, holding a wine gourd and chanting as he drinks.
The white-haired rogue cultivator murmurs gloomily: “Our kind are fading away. Among all living beings, not one shares a single heart. There is no way to overcome this calamity.”
“This place rose to prominence ten thousand years ago and fought demons for three thousand autumns. It has stood for more than six thousand years, yet in just a few years it has fallen to this.” The old man laments.
“Times have become strange. We give no thought to what came before. We let ourselves grow weak and become slaves, and make no plans beyond following the crowd.” The old man sighs.
The old man walks away from the side of the bridge. Jian Li watches him turn his head and says:
“These are the signs of a people on the verge of extinction!”
“What does that have to do with me? I do not belong here, yet I am also of this place!”
The writing is so good and so powerful. A masterpiece of cultivating immortality, I saw a treasure.