A useless person awakens: I am the reincarnation of the Chaos God.

Winter was not yet over, and Qingya Mountain was still shrouded in a vast white mist.

The cold pool on the shady side of the mountain never freezes, its surface shrouded in a faint, ethereal mist, its chill biting and piercing. Ordinary birds and beasts passing by are often frozen stiff and unable to move, which is why this place has always been sparsely populated.

At that moment, a young boy stood alone by the pool.

He was only fifteen or sixteen years old, wearing a faded gray cloth shirt, and his figure was thin and frail. The boy tightly clutched a piece of ancient jade in his palm. The patterns on the jade surface had long been blurred and indistinct, leaving only a faintly discernible character "灵" (spirit).

This is the only keepsake his parents left him.

Three years ago, a sudden bloodbath swept through his village, killing everyone. In the critical moment, his parents risked their lives to push him into a dry well, and he miraculously survived.

When he awoke, his home was destroyed, his family was dead, and his peaceful life had crumbled. He became a homeless orphan, wandering from place to place, until he was picked up by an outer sect elder and made a lowly servant.

Let alone an inner disciple or a true disciple, he doesn't even qualify as an outer disciple.

The boy's name was Ling Chen.

"With mediocre talent and ordinary aptitude, how dare you dream of cultivating immortality?"

Three figures in green robes approached slowly. The leading outer disciple glanced at him sideways, his eyes filled with disdain, his tone extremely sarcastic, "I've also heard you come here to meditate every day. Even if the spiritual energy at the bottom of the pool is abundant, it's all wasted effort on a piece of trash like you!"

Ling Chen didn't turn around, but just pursed his lips and remained silent.

The other party was right. Ordinary disciples could successfully draw in spiritual energy within three months of entering the sect, but his dantian was as barren as an abandoned well. No matter how he circulated his inner energy, he could not absorb even a trace of spiritual energy. The outer sect elders had already concluded that he was destined to be forever barred from cultivating immortality.

"Still pretending to be deaf and dumb?"

Seeing this, the other two disciples stepped forward and shoved him hard.

Ling Chen was already thin and frail. He stumbled and lost his balance, falling backward. His palm loosened, and the spirit jade slipped from his hand, falling straight into the depths of the icy pool with a "thud".

Ling Chen's pupils suddenly contracted.

That's my parents' only keepsake; I absolutely cannot lose it!

He rushed to the edge of the pool almost without thinking. The water was icy cold; the moment his fingertips touched it, a bone-chilling cold instantly swept over his body, making him numb.

Without the slightest hesitation, he steeled his resolve and leaped into the pool.

The disciples on the shore were terrified.

"Has he gone mad? Even a cultivator at the third level of Qi Refining wouldn't last long in this icy pool!"

The instant he plunged into the water, an extreme chill surged through his limbs and bones. Ling Chen felt his whole body stiffen and his consciousness gradually blurred.

"Am I... going to die here?"

Resentment and grievance welled up in his heart, and his vision gradually blurred. Just as he was on the verge of death, he vaguely saw a faint white light shining from the bottom of the pool—it was the spirit jade that had just fallen.

At this moment, the shattered jade was frantically absorbing the surrounding spiritual energy, and golden light flowed from the cracks, just like a spiritual vein that had been dormant for thousands of years, awakening in an instant.

A vast, ancient, yet exceptionally gentle aura flowed into his body along with the pool water, rushing straight to his dantian.

"Buzz—"

It felt as if thunder had exploded in my mind, booming endlessly.

The once lifeless and barren dantian suddenly exploded at this moment!

A massive amount of spiritual energy surged into his body like a river overflowing its banks, forcefully opening up blocked meridians. The lost ancient technique began to operate on its own within him at an astonishing speed, propelling his cultivation level skyrocketing.

One layer of Qi Refining...

Second level of Qi Refining...

Refining Qi to Level 3...

His cultivation level continues to break through, showing no sign of stopping.

The outer disciples on the shore were already dumbfounded, their faces filled with disbelief.

Above the icy pool, spiritual energy gathered into a visible vortex, spinning wildly around the center of the pool. The spiritual energy of the entire Green Cliff Mountain seemed to be drawn in by an invisible force, restless and agitated.

"What extraordinary treasure has appeared?!"

On the main peak, the outer sect elder who was in seclusion suddenly opened his eyes, his expression changing drastically.

At the bottom of the pool, Ling Chen gripped the spirit jade that had returned to his hand and slowly opened his eyes.

A cold glint flashed in his eyes, his sharp aura intimidating. He looked down at his hands, feeling the surging, boundless power within him, and a cold, sharp smile slowly curved his lips.

Waste spiritual root?

Mediocre talent?

Is there no hope of cultivating immortality in this lifetime?

From now on, these words are no longer valid.

The vortex of spiritual energy spun wildly, a fierce wind swept in all directions, the water surface of the pool churned, and the faint sound of a dragon's roar could be heard.

The three outer disciples on the shore were already pale with fright, their legs trembling, and they had even forgotten how to run away.

The leading disciple, who had previously made sarcastic remarks, stared intently at the center of the pool, his voice trembling: "That...that's a spiritual energy phenomenon? How is that possible...how could a lowly servant who can't even guide qi cause such a commotion!"

The other two turned deathly pale and retreated hastily, shouting, "Run! This commotion will definitely attract the elders. If they find out we forced him to jump into the pool, we're dead!"

The three dared not linger any longer and turned to run away in a panic, leaving behind only a mess of footprints on the ground.

Bottom of the pool.

Ling Chen was surrounded by golden light. His once barren dantian was now filled with spiritual energy, his meridians were being cleansed and expanded time and time again, and his bones were making soft cracking noises.

The spirit jade hovered before him, golden light flowing through its cracks, and a profound message surged into his mind—

Eternal Spirit Emperor Technique.

This is actually a long-lost supreme emperor-level martial arts technique!

"I see... My dantian is not a useless spiritual root, it just needs a sufficiently abundant spiritual energy to break the shackles and awaken the spiritual root."

Ling Chen felt a surge of turmoil in his heart and clenched his fists.

Three years of humiliation, three years of ridicule, three years of despair—all vanished in an instant.

He slowly lifted his foot and stepped out of the pool.

Without splashing a single drop of water, the chill dissipated automatically, and my clothes remained dry as before.

Ling Chen stood by the pool, his eyes gleaming with a sharp light. The spiritual energy within his body surged like a vast ocean, and his cultivation level continued to rise slowly, now firmly at the fifth level of Qi Refining, without any sign of slowing down.

In the distance, several figures broke through the air, their auras powerful; they were the sect elders and inner disciples who had been alarmed by the strange phenomenon of spiritual energy.

"Such abundant spiritual energy! Was the strange phenomenon just now triggered here?"

"The water temperature in the pool suddenly rose, and the spiritual energy almost solidified. What exactly happened?"

As everyone landed by the pool, their gazes all fixed on the lone boy in the center of the pool.

Wearing a gray cloth short shirt and with a thin figure, he was clearly the most inconspicuous servant in the outer sect.

However, the spiritual energy surrounding him made many Qi Refining stage disciples present feel wary.

An elder with a white beard frowned, stepped forward, and asked sharply, "Who are you? Is this strange phenomenon related to you?"

Ling Chen raised his eyes, his gaze calm, yet carrying a sharp edge that should not be underestimated.

He bowed slightly, his voice clear and resonant:

"Outer sect servant, Ling Chen."

"As for the unusual phenomena..."

Ling Chen smiled slightly and gently exhaled a breath from his palm.

In an instant, the surrounding air trembled slightly, and a wisp of extremely pure spiritual energy swirled at his fingertips.

"From this day forward, there will be no more useless Ling Chen on Qingya Mountain."

As the words fell, atop the distant main peak, the sound of bells suddenly resounded through the heavens—

That's a warning bell that only rings when something big happens in the sect!