Swords emerge from the human world

Chapter 1, Section 1: A Desolate Temple in the Mountains, Kui Xing Kicks the Dipper
(A new book launches, a new author embarks on a journey, and the world of martial arts is about to be conquered once again!)
Late at night, in a desolate mountain, at a wild temple.

The cool moonlight shone through the gap in the temple roof, illuminating a broken statue of a deity.

The statue had red hair and a green face, and its clay eyes suddenly moved, looking down.

Below is a long stone altar table. There are no incense or offerings on the table, but several old books, as well as straw paper, writing brushes, and inkstones.

A bronze lamp with an ancient and simple design stands on the table. It has a name: "Kui Xing Kicking the Dipper Lamp".

Kui Xing is the first star deity among the seven stars of the Big Dipper, in charge of literary talent and academic success, and is therefore deeply revered and worshipped by scholars and literati throughout the land. Almost every household with the means would have such a lamp, though the materials and designs varied depending on the craftsmanship of each family.

The main body of this lamp is a black-faced deity with a solemn expression and slightly closed eyes. He wears a sword at his waist, holds a pen in his hand, and stands on one foot on the back of a giant turtle. His left foot kicks out, and the tip of his foot is cleverly cast into a lamp, which is then fitted with a semi-enclosed lampshade.

The lamp oil was almost gone, the lamp was just a tiny flame, and it looked like it was about to go out, but no one came to add oil.

There are people inside the temple.

The man collapsed to the ground, face up, eyes closed, his face deathly pale.

At the age of thirty, he was poorly dressed, sallow-faced and thin, with a swollen forehead that looked like a chicken egg.

call!
A sudden gust of wind swept across the ground, and the already dim lamplight could no longer hold on, flickering and going out, plunging the temple into darkness.

giggle!
Suddenly, a chilling sound rang out, and the red-haired, green-faced mountain god statue suddenly moved, slowly raising its only remaining arm and reaching forward.

The single arm stretched out, changing shape with the wind, and strange black hairs sprouted from the mottled paint surface; the five fingers spread out, the fingertips like knives, slowly clawing at the head of the person on the ground.

hum!
The eyes of the Kui Xing kicking the Dipper lamp, which were originally slightly closed, suddenly opened, and the eyes, like stars, shot out with a cold light, as if the light of a sword was flickering.

With a "click" sound!
The outstretched, hairy arm was instantly severed, fell to the ground with a sizzling sound, and turned into grayish-black dust in an instant.

"what!"

A roar that sounded like pain came out, filled with anger and resentment.

After the strike, the statue of Kui Xing looked exhausted. Its eyelids drooped and closed again, perfectly intact.

"what!"

The person who had fainted on the ground was startled awake, sat up abruptly, and looked on with a mixture of surprise and confusion:
"This, this is..."

……

Chen Jin was born in Datang Township, Maoxian County, into a poor family. He studied hard from a young age, and at the age of sixteen, he passed both the county and prefectural examinations, becoming a student of the lowest rank, with the prospect of becoming a scholar in the near future.

He was immediately showered with praise and was hailed as a "child prodigy".

Unexpectedly, the subsequent provincial examinations seemed to be cursed, with bad luck and misfortune. He took the exam nine times in a row, but failed to make the list each time and returned home empty-handed.

This exam lasted until he was thirty, turning him from a child prodigy into an "old student."

If you haven't established yourself by thirty, you've accomplished nothing!
Chen Jin lost both his parents at a young age and relied on his uncle Chen Tan and his elder uncle Chen Yuan for financial support. Originally, with his status as a scholar, he could have distinguished himself and embarked on an official career as long as he passed the imperial examinations.

Unfortunately, he failed the imperial examinations repeatedly, and his situation plummeted, turning him into a "useless scholar."

He was a man of great pride, and unable to bear the gossip of the villagers, coupled with his own depression and melancholy, he chose to live a secluded life, hiding away in these desolate mountains. He envisioned building a hut there and becoming a hermit, oblivious to the world around him.

However, how easy is it for a weak and frail man to live alone? He couldn't even build a simple thatched hut.

With no other option, they had to settle down in this dilapidated mountain god temple for the time being.

This temple has long been in ruins, and has long lost its incense offerings. The doors and windows are dilapidated, and the roof leaks wind.

The scholar had no right to complain. He tidied up the place inside and out, cooked porridge at dusk, and began his simple and quiet life of seclusion. As night fell, living alone in a desolate mountain temple, he couldn't help but feel uneasy.

He then took out the Kui Xing kicking the Dipper lamp and lit it on the stone table; he also took out the Four Treasures of the Study, preparing to study by lamplight to pass the long night.

This lamp is an heirloom passed down through three generations. The patina on the lamp body is calm and lustrous, and it faintly reveals a layer of precious light.

Whether it was due to bad feng shui or an incorrect orientation of the house, the family had been scholars for three generations, but only one person had ever passed the imperial examination at the county level. This person was Chen Jin's father, who was only forty years old when he passed the examination, making him an old scholar.

The year after he passed the imperial examination at the county level, he died young due to heart failure.

Chen Jin's generation had hoped to have some talent and make a name for themselves, but they were late to the party and their future remained uncertain.

At night, birds and beasts roam the mountains and fields, and there are even legends of spirits and monsters.

The scholar was restless. He saw the statue of the mountain god, so he came over, wanting to bow in respect, offer water instead of tea, and pray for the god's protection.

For some reason, when he met the eyes of the mountain god statue, his mind suddenly went blank, he felt dizzy and unsteady, and he lost his footing and crashed headfirst into the stone altar. He was so disoriented and confused that he fainted on the spot.

But it was precisely because of this collision that it seemed to open up a new world, awakening his innate wisdom, and revealing that everything had changed.

When I woke up and looked around, it felt like a dream.

In that bizarre and fantastical dream, there was an extraordinary scene of activity, with all sorts of incredible and novel things running on the ground and flying in the sky, beyond imagination...

After what seemed like an eternity, I exhaled a breath of stale air and finally accepted it.

Looking up, he saw that the oil was exhausted and the lamp was out of oil. He endured the pain and rummaged through his old books and luggage to find the little oil left. He poured it into the lamp and then used a flint and steel to light it.

The light brought a sense of peace.

He breathed a sigh of relief, placed his hand on the stone altar, and looked at the mountain god statue again, letting out a soft "Eh?"
The mountain god statue's one arm is missing, leaving the two sides empty. At first glance, it actually looks somewhat harmonious.

Could it be that I misremembered before, and that I had actually lost both arms?

Chen Jin rubbed his forehead, feeling a splitting headache. Without thinking, he quickly took out a herbal plaster, applied it to the swollen area, and then bandaged it with a cloth.

Calm yourself down, put away the books and scraps of paper, leaving only a lamp on.

The night is long, and I am accompanied only by a solitary lamp.

This is the last bit of lamp oil. It should be enough to get through the first night, but what about after that?
He suddenly realized how incredibly foolish his idea and practice of living in seclusion had been; it was as if he'd had his brain slammed in a door. He'd probably read some essays and miscellaneous notes and thought that being a hermit would make him seem carefree and happy, even better than an immortal.

Little did they know that reality was cruel and completely different from what was described in the book.

Living alone in the mountains and fields not only presents a major problem of food and warmth, but also makes one vulnerable to danger and unrest.

But since things have come to this, we can only wait through the first night and then make plans.

After waking up, Chen Jin's temperament and thoughts were no longer dull and pedantic, but became sharp and clear-headed.

There have been big changes.

However, the change in mental attributes could not make up for the physical weakness in a short time, especially after the solid impact. His head was dizzy, so he lay down on the stone table and quickly fell into a deep sleep.

He had another dream in which a black-faced deity appeared, with a beard as hard as iron, thick eyebrows, and leopard-like eyes, and said in a loud voice: "Your acupoints have been opened, and your Niwan point has been reached. You may now learn swordsmanship... Behold the sword!"

The sword was drawn and unleashed.

The swordplay was exquisite, the sword light swirled, and the sword energy soared straight to the heavens!
(End of this chapter)