Prologue

“You’re quite lucky. Aside from astronauts, you’re probably the first person to visit the moon without spending a penny!”
A sinister-looking old man, clad in a ghostly opera-style robe of deep blue, his face twisted in a perpetual sneer, gazed at the young man trapped within a thin, violet barrier and spoke.
The young man appeared to be around twenty, wearing a pair of brightly colored shorts. Of average build, his gaunt torso was bare, and his expression suggested he was owed money by the whole world. Inside the violet shield, he anxiously looked around, clearly agitated.
“Lucky? Lucky for what? You old lunatic, dragging me here—what exactly are you trying to do?”
Han Shuo was furious. In the sweltering summer heat, he’d been about to shower at home when a flash of white light appeared. Barely time to remove his shorts, this strange old man suddenly materialized before him, examined Han Shuo, muttered something about matching birth dates, then, without any explanation, grabbed Han Shuo and leapt out the tenth-floor window. Han Shuo fainted from terror.
When he came to, he found himself surrounded by darkness, barrenness, and silence. The ground was cratered, resembling the scarred skin of a burn victim. Then he was informed he was on the moon.
Perhaps the violet barrier was responsible, but on the moon, Han Shuo and the old man could communicate freely through it. Oddly, there was plenty of oxygen inside, so Han Shuo didn’t have to worry about suffocating.
“I don’t want anything in particular. Soon, I’ll engage in a decisive battle with three others, seeking to break free from the constraints of heaven and earth, and ascend to the pinnacle of demonic cultivation—the Realm of the Heavenly Demon. Each of them alone is no match for me, Chu Canglan, but together, I can’t guarantee my victory.
So, just in case, I found you—someone with the same birth date as mine. If I’m unlucky enough to lose and die, I’ll use the most mysterious seed demon technique of the Demon Sect, planting my consciousness within your body. Then I’ll grow anew, reclaiming your body to restore myself!” Chu Canglan stared at Han Shuo, explaining slowly. A malicious gleam flickered in his bloodshot eyes.
“Um… If you plant your consciousness in my body, what will happen to me?” Han Shuo was dizzy from the explanation, unable to fully grasp Chu Canglan’s meaning, but instinctively seized on the key point and asked.
Chu Canglan paused, then replied with a sinister smile, “Your body will be mine. Naturally, you’ll be dead!”
Han Shuo, enraged, unleashed a torrent of curses, not caring if he was a helpless victim. He fired off an endless barrage of insults like artillery shells, cursing Chu Canglan’s ancestors and creatively mocking every one of his relatives.
“Boy, seize this last opportunity and curse all you want! If I won, I was going to spare your life, but now, even if I win, I’ll send you straight to the underworld!”
At first, Chu Canglan tolerated Han Shuo’s relentless verbal assault with apparent composure. But after half an hour, as Han Shuo’s curses grew ever more vicious, Chu Canglan’s face turned livid. He finally snapped, roaring impatiently.
Han Shuo immediately fell silent, hesitated, then desperately pounded on the thin violet shield and wailed, “Hero—please, great master—I know I was wrong! Please let me go! What you’re doing is illegal—the police will catch you! Technology is advanced now; even if you escape to the moon, it won’t help!”
“The Demon Sect acts as it pleases, never bound by mortal laws. I, Chu Canglan, have dominated the world for years, killed more people than you’ve ever seen, and yet I’m still alive and well.”
Chu Canglan spoke in a grave tone, his expression shifting slightly as he glanced left and muttered, “They’re finally here!”
He pointed his right hand at Han Shuo, and both Han Shuo and the violet shield were lifted into the air. With a flick, Chu Canglan hurled him far away, bouncing like a spring, landing deep in a ravine before finally coming to rest.
Han Shuo found himself completely immobilized, unable to speak, only able to think, hear, and blink. Inside the violet shield, he could do nothing else.
“You three are late. Today, I will face all of you in battle. I hope you enjoy yourselves—if you die, blame only yourselves!”
“Amitabha.” “Boundless Heaven.”
...
Though Han Shuo couldn’t move, perhaps due to the shield, he could hear distant conversation. After the greetings “Amitabha, Boundless Heaven,” he couldn’t make out the rest, but guessed at least a monk and a Taoist had arrived—their TV counterparts always began that way.
From Chu Canglan’s words, it seemed Han Shuo was doomed, whether Chu won or lost.
Han Shuo had been born in YZ City, graduated from vocational school, scraped into a second-rate university, and after graduation, unlike others, didn’t seek a job. Instead, he fiddled around online, running small websites and shops, but made little money—a thorough homebody, and a useless one at that, without prospects.
Years spent online had filled Han Shuo’s mind with wicked thoughts, but with strict laws and ordinary parents—not billionaires or powerful officials—he had enough self-awareness never to act on them.
In his twenties, still accomplishing nothing, his parents arranged a blind date. The girl thought him too unruly, lacking a proper job—it ended badly.
Recently, pressured by his parents, he was reluctantly preparing to submit resumes and find a real job. Yet before he could turn over a new leaf, this catastrophe struck.
Facing imminent death, Han Shuo’s mind slowed, and for the first time he realized his life had truly been wasted—not only had he accomplished nothing, he’d never even experienced romance.
“Ah, I really am unlucky. I was just about to start anew—why not give me a chance? If I survive, I’ll act on every wicked thought in my head. I’ll never let people look down on me again, never have the heart of a thief without the courage…”
Now, only his mind was left active. Han Shuo could do nothing but indulge in wild, regretful thoughts, growing ever more bitter and despairing...
Suddenly, a tremendous upheaval erupted in the distance, earth-shattering explosions echoed, and Chu Canglan’s manic laughter rang out.
After a while, Chu Canglan suddenly shouted, “Despicable!” Another round of thunderous explosions shook Han Shuo’s location, making it tremble as if mountains were collapsing and the earth was splitting. Then came a booming voice, “Chu Canglan, this time you’re doomed!”
“Ah, that’s the Demon Sense Escape technique! He’s trying to use the seed demon spell—there must be a demon seed nearby!”
“Amitabha, for the sake of all beings, even if I die, I cannot let him succeed. Amitabha, Great Extinction Curse!”
“Monk, don’t—!”
Another violent explosion followed. A beam of black light shot toward Han Shuo, swift as lightning, with something indistinct inside, twisting like liquid.
“Excellent! Master Yuan Kong gave his life to stop the seed demon spell. Now we can rest easy; from now on, Chu Canglan will no longer threaten the world of cultivators!”
Han Shuo heard this final voice. The black light surged into the violet shield, something seemed to enter his mind, then a thunderous blast struck. Han Shuo’s pain was excruciating, as if his organs were shattered. He lost consciousness instantly.
...