In Shixi Town, where spiritual qi revival has begun, the boy Ye Feixiang is an utterly ordinary herb gatherer. Every day, before dawn, he slings a bamboo basket over his back and heads into the hills behind town. Relying on his knowledge of medicinal plants, he gathers common spirit herbs to sell, just to support his father, the "Old Drunkard," who is addicted to alcohol. But two young bullies in town are always after his hard-earned money, stealing his herbs and shoving him around. These daily indignities weigh on his thin shoulders along with the burden of making ends meet, while a spark of resentment smolders inside him.
One day, fleeing their harassment, he runs blindly into the misty valley outside town, a place rumored to be one-way in and no way out. By a cold pool at the bottom of the valley, he unexpectedly finds a white-robed female cultivator named Meimeizi, gravely injured and stained with blood. Her breathing is faint, yet a subtle spiritual aura, imperceptible to ordinary people, surrounds her. Despite the danger, Ye Feixiang uses the few medicinal herbs he has left to treat her wounds as best he can, then brings her food and clean water every day.
It turns out Meimeizi is a cultivator from a great sect who was ambushed and fell here. Grateful for the boy's kindness, she recognizes his ordinary origins and, to repay him for saving her life, decides to take him as her disciple once she has recovered. She teaches him basic breathing techniques and gives him a beginner's magical artifact.
From then on, the herb-gathering boy who struggled in the mud finally holds the key to another world. He must balance the arduous practice of cultivation with caring for his father, face the revenge of those who bullied him, and, under Meimeizi's guidance, gradually uncover the mysteries of the cultivation world. An ordinary boy's path to immortality begins with this encounter in the valley, quietly unfolding...
