The fleeting summer rain had just passed, and the scorching sun was already shining brightly again. Linhai City was enveloped by evaporated water vapor, making it unbearably stuffy, similar to a gigantic steamer.
Having just completed a job interview and preparing to return home, Fang Tianming was standing on the street, hailing a ride on his mobile phone.
Despite standing in the shade and wearing a loose short-sleeved t-shirt, sweat still trickled down his face.
Fang Tianming, a recent undergraduate from Huaxia Normal University, is a young man with a tragic past.
At the age of seventeen, his parents died in a car accident, leaving behind only a 90-square-meter house and one thousand yuan in savings.
After suffering the pain of losing her parents, Fang Tianming's elder sister, Fang Yueling, bought the 90-square-meter house next door with the one million yuan compensation from the car accident. She became a landlady and lived off her income from her accounting job to support Fang Tianming.
However, Fang Yueling always faces harassment from her lustful superiors at work. With her stubborn personality, she has changed jobs frequently over the years, leading to an unstable income.
Fang Tianming, who grew up under the care of his sister, always feels a pain in his heart whenever he sees his sister being bullied. His current life goal is to take on the family responsibilities as soon as possible and take care of his sister.
"The weather is so hot, it's unbearable." As Fang Tianming complained, he glanced around, waiting for the car he had hailed online to arrive.
A purple-red Geely car stopped in front of Fang Tianming. A middle-aged man in the car waved at him, "Did you call for a ride?"
Fang Tianming checked on his mobile phone and then got into the car.
The cool air inside the car was a breath of fresh air to the dizzy Fang Tianming.
The driver had a goatee and extremely fair, delicate skin. Fang Tianming thought that even the fair-skinned models in the skincare commercials on television would be jealous of this uncle's white, smooth, and moisturized skin.
"This totally subverts people's perceptions!" Fang Tianming thought to himself.
As the middle-aged man drove, he chatted casually with Fang Tianming. Suddenly, Fang Tianming realized that the car wasn't going along the shortest route.
He immediately yelled out, "Hey, why are you taking this route? It's going to detour us quite a bit! Are you taking the long way on purpose to overcharge me?"
The middle-aged uncle closed his mouth, turned the steering wheel, and drove Fang Tianming out of the city.
"What are you doing?" Fang Tianming exclaimed.
The uncle said with a smirk, "I need to tell you something."
Feeling something was off, Fang Tianming quickly rolled down the window and yelled, "Help! Kidnapping!"
"Even if you scream your throat out, no one will hear you," the middle-aged uncle said with a strange smile.
Fang Tianming suddenly felt numb all over, and his body seemed to no longer be under his control.
Then, an unknown force pulled Fang Tianming back to his car seat.
The middle-aged uncle laughed teasingly, "You might as well save your energy, it's useless to struggle or scream."
Hearing this, Fang Tianming couldn't help but feel a chill and wondered to himself, "Could this uncle be...?"
"Do you want to know who I am?" The middle-aged uncle asked casually.
Fang Tianming nervously responded, "You... Who are you?"
"My surname is Li, my name is Li Changgeng," the middle-aged uncle's tone turned serious, "Have you heard this name before?"
Fang Tianming suddenly mustered courage and yelled at the uncle, "Li Changgeng? I've never heard this name before! Let me go now!"
The middle-aged uncle found it hard to believe that Fang Tianming didn't recognize his name, "You haven't heard my name? Think carefully."
"Li Changgeng, Li Changgeng..." Fang Tianming muttered over and over.
Suddenly, he thought of the mythological stories and ancient divine and demonic novels he had read and exclaimed: "Isn't Li Changgeng the Venus Deity, Taibai Jinxing?"
Upon hearing what Fang Tianming said, the middle-aged driver laughed, "Kid, at last, you remembered it. I thought my fame had already plummeted. I am indeed Taibai Jinxing, Li Changgeng."
"You... you must be joking!" Fang Tianming could not believe that the fair-skinned middle-aged man standing before him could be a character from mythology.
"I am certainly not joking!" As Li Changgeng spoke, the surroundings changed abruptly.
Fang Tianming looked around only to find himself in an empty, mysterious space with only himself and the casually dressed Li Changgeng.
"You…You really are… Really Taibai Jinxing?" Seeing this strange scene, Fang Tianming started to stutter.
Brought up in an atheist environment, Fang Tianming did not believe in the existence of gods. But after witnessing the miraculous transition of space, he had no choice but to accept the fact.
"What do you want?" Fang Tianming pointed at Li Changgeng, shaking voice.
If indeed gods exist, Fang Tianming could reluctantly accept it, suggesting the world is full of wonders, who could deny the existence of the mysterious things? But for a god to find him was unbelievable. He could not understand why he was sought by Taibai Jinxing.
Li Changgeng responded with a casual smile, "I came to you because I have a chance for you."
"Giving me a chance? This…" Fang Tianming gaped, dumbstruck.
"Correct. This opportunity will change your life, causing drastic changes in your fate."
"Change my life? What exactly is going on?" Fang Tianming could not understand why Taibai Jinxing, the legendary god, would find him.
Leisurely Li Changgeng said: "The chance I'm giving you is a heritage, a personal storage space, and a fairy cave mansion."
"Heritage? Cave dwelling?" Upon hearing this, Fang Tianming couldn't help but become excited. Was he on his way to becoming an immortal?
"The cave dwelling can only be opened when your cultivation reaches the Golden Elixir stage. As for the heritage and portable space, I will give them to you now!" said Li Changgeng as he aimed his right index finger towards Fang Tianming's forehead and from the finger tip, a dazzling golden light was fired.
"Ah!" Feng Tianming yelled as he immediately felt an influx of information pouring into his mind like a tide.
The profound principles of Pure Upper Energy, the refined essence of Pure Upper Seal Script, the fine meanings of Pure Upper Array and Spell Scripts, the essential truths of Pure Upper Doctrine...
One by one, these terms were imprinted inside Fang Tianming's sea of consciousness.
"Begin!" Li Changgeng gave a light holler, and Fang Tianming involuntarily sat cross-legged on the ground, as an unfathomable energy started circulating within his meridians.
