"Immortal lady, spare my life! I'm still a child..."
In a dim, ancient, and mysterious space, Lu Tianming - a handsome young man with striking features - lay spread-eagled on an icy metal bed, bound by cold chains. When he saw an ethereal white-robed woman approaching with fairy-like beauty, he cried out in panic.
As the former Kunlun Holy Son and the most dazzling legendary genius of the Wilderness Domain, he had entered the ancient forbidden land Burial God Abyss for a competition. There, he suffered Dao injuries that crippled his cultivation. The holy land demoted him to the lowest rank of miscellaneous disciples, planned to extract his Dao bones, and expel him. In his rage, he accidentally activated a mysterious bronze coffin he once obtained in Burial God Abyss. A strand of mystical power from the coffin pulled his physical body inside, where he encountered this mysterious white-robed woman. In the cultivation world, ancient monsters often sealed themselves in artifacts to possess others. Lu Tianming desperately wanted to avoid such a fate.
"Hmph. This Empress has endured through eternity, impervious to heaven and earth. My true spirit was sealed in this coffin, and dual cultivation is required to heal my Dao injuries. Consider this your great fortune," the white-robed woman said coldly, her flawless face like an icy snow lotus.
"Dual cultivation?" Lu Tianming stared in shock at this most exquisite beauty he'd ever seen - a perfect work of art with delicate features and a slender figure that surpassed any beauty in the Wilderness Domain.
"I refuse!" Lu Tianming protested weakly. His frail body couldn't withstand such "cultivation" - he might be drained dry!
"You dare refuse?" The woman's jade-like face flushed with anger. With a wave of her hand, she tore off his rough disciple robes...
Tears of regret streamed down Lu Tianming's face as he realized - he was being violated by someone else.
...
Ten days later, Lu Tianming awoke in a thatched hut. A wave of soreness nearly made him roll off the bed. "Damn it, that coffin woman really did it..." He glared at the miniature bronze coffin now floating in his dantian, the same coffin that had caused his cultivation loss and now taken his virginity.
But then he froze. His shattered dantian and Dao bones had completely healed, now glowing with golden sunlight-like radiance. "A golden dantian... Could this be the legendary Great Desolate Emperor Body?" His voice trembled. This physique was said to have allowed ancient experts to conquer realms and leave eternal legacies.
"Don't get ahead of yourself," the woman's cold voice echoed from the coffin. "The Great Desolate Emperor Body requires countless trials to reach completion. Moreover, my Dao injuries can't be healed in one session. If you don't reach the Dao King realm within three years, the next dual cultivation will kill you through backlash. Cherish your remaining time."
Lu Tianming's face darkened at being used as a tool, but the benefits were undeniable. With this physique, he might finally settle scores with that treacherous woman who ruined him.
"LU TIANMING! Where are the fifty spirit stones I demanded? If you don't have them, I'll break your limbs and throw you out of the sect!" A vicious shout came from outside. Liu Xuan, an outer disciple who'd been tormenting him since his fall, had arrived.
"Liu Xuan, aren't you afraid I might rise again?" Lu Tianming emerged calmly.
"Rise? Everyone knows Holy Maiden Dongfang Qingcheng has awakened ancient sage memories. Compared to her, you're less than dust!" Liu Xuan sneered. Dongfang Qingcheng - Lu Tianming's former fiancée - was the one who had crippled him.
As Liu Xuan attacked with a Stone Fist technique, Lu Tianming easily caught the blow and crushed his fist. After crippling Liu Xuan's cultivation and looting his possessions, he coldly addressed the terrified followers: "Hand over all your valuables."
That night, while counting his spoils (500 spirit stones, three low-grade combat techniques, and healing pills), the bronze coffin suddenly vibrated. It absorbed an unremarkable iron lump from Liu Xuan's stash and transmitted information to Lu Tianming's mind - the high-grade combat technique "Dragon Elephant Divine Palm." Outer sect disciples rarely saw mid-grade techniques, let alone high-grade ones.
Stroking the coffin, Lu Tianming smiled. Perhaps this misfortune was actually a blessing in disguise.