Chapter 1: A Cup of Tea at Azureleaf Peak

The early morning sun spilled golden light over the quiet village of Jiǔshān Town, nestled at the foot of the towering mountain known as the Heavenly Crest. Mist curled gently through the valley, weaving among the ancient trees like silver ribbons.

Atop the mountain’s highest peak, far above the mundane world, Yùn Xiāo moved silently among his vast garden of glowing plants and ethereal creatures. His calm eyes swept over each delicate leaf and shimmering petal with practiced care.

Here, in the secluded sanctuary he called home, the world felt pure and eternal.

A soft breeze carried the scent of blooming Primordial Lotus and the faintest hint of frost from the Tiānhán Skychill Cat lounging lazily on a stone nearby. Yùn Xiāo’s hands brushed over the leaves of the Wúhuí Shū, a tree said to hold the wisdom of no regrets.

He smiled faintly, serene and unshaken, though beneath his tranquility, the air thrummed with a tension only a cultivator like him could perceive.

Deep within the mountain, hidden beneath layers of stone and spirit seals, an ancient prison weakened. A faint but unmistakable glow pulsed in the darkness—a sign the cosmic balance was shifting.

Yùn Xiāo closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. The world was changing.

In his past life, Yùn Xiāo was not a loser.

He was a hyper-intelligent, calm, and independent young man in the modern world — a brilliant botanist and philosopher, living on the edge of society with no real attachments.

He lived on a remote mountain, cultivating rare flowers and writing strange poetry online that no one read.

One stormy night, he discovered a strange glowing seed buried inside a dead, petrified tree. When he touched it—

> A thunderclap shook the heavens.

Time and space shattered.

He blinked—and the sky was purple.

In the next instant, he was standing in a mist-covered realm with ten suns, silver trees, and a scroll floating before him that read:

> "The One Leaf Chooses You. Tend the Realm. Rule the Cosmos."

Instead of panic, Yùn Xiāo smiled faintly.

He patted his sleeves and said:

> “So this is it, huh?

A new world...

Let’s see what kind of garden I can grow.”

Thus began his peaceful life atop the Azureleaf Divine Mountain, tending immortal plants, raising divine beasts, and gradually becoming a figure feared and revered by all — the living embodiment of the Dao, a god hidden in plain sight.

When Yùn Xiāo touched the strange glowing seed in the petrified tree, it wasn’t just a seed — it was a fragment of the Dao itself, left behind by a forgotten creator who transcended all reality.

The moment he was transported to Wújí Tiānyuán, a voice echoed in his soul:

> [Initializing system...]

Welcome, Host.

You are now bound to the [Dao Seed Archive]. This world is your field. Grow well.

He gained no flashy skills. No immediate strength.

Instead, he received something far more mysterious, slow, and infinite—a system that allowed him to:

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📜 System Abilities

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🌱 1. Plant Anything, Grow Everything

By planting seeds or spiritual remnants, he could cultivate anything — divine herbs, weapons, beasts, or even laws.

Each successfully nurtured item grants Dao Resonance, empowering him slowly over time.

Example:

He planted a rusted sword in divine soil → it sprouted into a Sword Tree, each leaf capable of severing karma.

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⛰️ 2. Heavenly Comprehension (Passive)

Every time Yùn Xiāo grows something successfully, he gains insight into the Dao it contains.

He didn’t learn by fighting—he learned by watching the world grow.

Example:

Cultivating the Heavenly Frost Lotus granted him mastery over Ice Laws without meditation.

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💠 3. One Leaf, Ten Thousand Realms (Core Law)

This is the foundational law of the system.

“A single leaf reflects all of creation.”

Yùn Xiāo can imprint any realm, concept, or Dao into a leaf. The more he cultivates, the more reality he understands.

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📈 His Training Path (From Mortal to God)

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Yùn Xiāo never trained like a normal cultivator. He:

Never joined sects

Never entered battle arenas

Never fought to survive

Instead, he lived peacefully atop his peak. He spent:

🌅 Morning watering divine sprouts

📚 Afternoons observing clouds, talking to the deer

🌌 Nights writing Dao poems and sipping tea

Each plant he grew whispered secrets of the cosmos.

Each animal he tamed embodied laws older than stars.

Each moment of stillness pulled him closer to the Infinite Source.

Mist curled lazily around the cliffs of Azureleaf Peak, wrapping the ancient mountain in a gentle silence. A young man sat on a wooden porch beneath a sprawling divine tree whose leaves shimmered like stars. His robes were simple, yet embroidered with quiet elegance, and his long black hair spilled down his back like flowing ink.

He lifted a porcelain teacup, steam rising into the morning air. With every sip, the world seemed to quiet further — as though the mountain itself held its breath.

This was Yùn Xiāo, the Immortal of the Peak.

Once, long ago — or perhaps only a few years back — he was an ordinary modern man.

And now,

🌿 Behind him…

Rows of divine plants bloomed:

A Crimson Moon Orchid, glowing gently like a blood moon at dusk

A Jade Mist Willow, whose leaves whispered in forgotten tongues

Two spirit beasts lounged nearby — a snow-white fox with nine tails and golden eyes, and a lazy panda chewing on cloud bamboo that hovered midair.

Further down the stone path, a simple wooden house stood surrounded by colorful trees. The peak seemed like paradise — untamed, yet perfect.

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🏞️ Today was different.

Yùn Xiāo opened his eyes slowly, watching the clouds drift by.

> “Mm. Someone’s coming.”

He didn’t look surprised.

For a long time, mortals, sect disciples, even rogue cultivators avoided this peak, believing it cursed, or sealed. But today, someone had broken the silence.

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👣 Down the mountain path…

A girl was climbing with trembling steps. Mud stained her sky-blue robes. Her sword was chipped, her breathing uneven, but her eyes were full of stubborn light.

Her name: Lán Yīng — a disciple of the fallen Azure Cloud Sect.

Behind her, two children limped along — her younger siblings.

> “Just a little higher…” she whispered. “They said… a strange immortal lives here… maybe he can help…”

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💧 Back at the peak…

Yùn Xiāo poured another cup.

> “It begins.”

He rose slowly, his voice like a calm stream flowing over stones.

> “I suppose I should clean the teacups.”

The rain had passed, but the air still smelled of sorrow.

A girl in torn sky-blue robes climbed the steep path, her hands scraped, her knees trembling. Her hair stuck to her face, soaked with sweat. Her sword, once gleaming with sect pride, now rattled at her waist — chipped and dulled.

Behind her followed two children, a boy and a girl, both no older than ten. The boy limped; the girl clung to her older sister’s sash, crying softly.

This was Lán Yīng, the last senior disciple of the Azure Cloud Sect — a sect destroyed just three months ago in a midnight raid.

She had no money. No master. No sect.

Her siblings were all she had left.

She had begged. Fought. Sold her own blood pills just to feed the two little ones. But when her younger brother fell ill with a spiritual poison after drinking cursed springwater…

She turned to a story. A rumor.

> "Up in the northern ridges," an old beggar whispered,

"there lives a man who walks with deer and pours tea for flowers. They say if he glances at your wounds, they vanish. But beware… he sees everything.”

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Most dismissed it. A child's tale.

But Lán Yīng had no one else to turn to.

So she climbed. With nothing but a sliver of hope in her chest and her siblings' tiny hands in hers.

🏞️ The First Sign

As they neared the top, her vision blurred. Her legs buckled. The spiritual energy here was too dense—too ancient. She couldn’t breathe. Her brother coughed blood.

> “No… not now… we’re so close…”

She collapsed, gasping on the path.

That’s when she heard it.

A soft breeze. A voice carried by the wind.

> “The child is poisoned by a water wyrm. The cure blooms to the east of your hand.”

She turned her head.

There it was — a glowing Azure Vein Flower growing from the moss, unnoticed. A heavenly herb. She barely had the strength, but she reached and crushed it into her brother’s lips.

Within seconds… he stopped convulsing.

Her tears fell freely.

> “Is… someone watching us?”

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🌸 When She Finally Reached the Top…

A garden greeted her. So radiant, it made her forget her wounds. A deer with silver antlers looked at her with curiosity. Divine butterflies fluttered by. She heard laughter — not mocking, but gentle — and followed it.

There, beneath a massive tree, sat a man in white, pouring tea for an empty cup across from him.

He looked up with warm, unfathomable eyes.

> “You brought guests,” he said with a small smile.

“Good. I made enough tea.”

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