Nine Turns Taoist Classic: The Lone Cultivator's Path to Godhood

Chapter 1: The Orphan Assassin and the Mysterious Scripture The wind howled through the jagged peaks of the Black Bone Mountains, carrying the pungent stench of blood and decay. Gu Zhen huddled behind a boulder, his young face streaked with dirt and sweat, but his eyes were as cold and sharp as a blade. At just sixteen, he was already a seasoned assassin in the Nine Rivers Domain—a lawless land where strength ruled and life was cheaper than grass. Tonight's target was a low-ranking cultivator from the Azure Cloud Sect, who had strayed into the Black Bone Mountains to hunt for spiritual herbs. Gu Zhen had been tracking him for three days, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. His right hand rested on the hilt of the rusted short sword at his waist, a weapon he had stolen from a dead bandit three years ago. It was not a Dharma artifact, not even a decent spiritual weapon, but it had tasted the blood of more than twenty men, including his own abusive master. "Come on..." Gu Zhen muttered under his breath, his breathing slowing to a near halt. He had long since mastered the art of hiding his aura—a survival skill honed in the cruel alleys of Bloodwind Town. The Azure Cloud cultivator, a middle-aged man with a potbelly and a complacent smirk, was kneeling by a gurgling stream, cleaning the roots of a glowing green herb. His cultivation base was at the late stage of the Body Tempering Realm, a level higher than Gu Zhen's early stage, but that meant nothing to an assassin who knew how to exploit weaknesses. As the cultivator stood up, wiping his hands on his robe, Gu Zhen moved. He darted forward like a shadow, his body low to the ground, the short sword slicing through the air with a faint whistle. The cultivator's eyes widened in shock, but he was too slow to react. The blade plunged into the gap between his ribs, piercing his dantian—the core of a cultivator's spiritual power. A gurgling sound escaped the cultivator's lips as he collapsed to the ground, his spiritual energy dissipating like mist. Gu Zhen didn't hesitate. He pulled out the sword, wiped the blood on the grass, and then searched the man's body. He found a small bag of spirit stones, a tattered map, and a jade bottle containing three low-grade healing pills. Satisfied, he stuffed the loot into his ragged clothes and was about to leave when his foot kicked something hard under the stream. Curious, he bent down and fished out a black stone tablet, about the size of his palm. The tablet was smooth and cold, with no inscriptions or patterns on its surface. It didn't emit any spiritual energy, yet it felt strangely heavy, as if it contained the weight of a mountain. Gu Zhen frowned. He had never seen anything like it in the Nine Rivers Domain. Most spiritual artifacts glowed or hummed, but this tablet was completely inert. He was about to throw it away when a sharp pain suddenly shot through his head. His vision blurred, and a voice—ancient, deep, and full of power—echoed directly in his mind: "After nine turns, the Dao becomes complete; the spirit returns to the origin, and the body transcends the mortal realm. He who inherits this scripture shall bear the weight of heaven and earth, exorcise demons, and mend the broken order..." Gu Zhen stumbled backward, clutching his head. The voice was overwhelming, as if a god was speaking directly into his soul. When the pain finally subsided, he opened his eyes and found that the black tablet had disappeared. In its place, a golden light was swirling in his mind, forming a series of intricate characters that he had never seen before, yet somehow understood. It was a cultivation method—a scripture far more profound than anything he had ever encountered in the Nine Rivers Domain. The Azure Cloud Sect's basic cultivation techniques were child's play compared to this. It was called the Nine Turns Taoist Classic, a supreme secret left behind by the Nine Dao Ancestors, the legendary beings who had created the world and established the order of cultivation. "So this is... a legacy from the Dao Ancestors?" Gu Zhen whispered, his heart pounding with excitement and fear. He had heard stories of ancient scriptures that could make a mortal a god, but he had always thought they were just myths. Now, one had fallen into his hands—an orphan assassin with no family, no sect, and no future. But the excitement quickly faded, replaced by cold caution. In the Nine Rivers Domain, strength was respected, but a treasure like this was a curse as much as a blessing. If anyone found out he had the Nine Turns Taoist Classic, he would be hunted by every sect, bandit group, and power-hungry cultivator in the land. He had to keep it a secret, at least until he was strong enough to protect himself. Gu Zhen glanced at the dead cultivator's body, then at the darkening sky. Night was falling, and the Black Bone Mountains would soon be filled with ferocious spirit beasts. He turned and ran, his footsteps light and fast, heading toward the only safe place he knew—a hidden cave deep in the mountains where he had lived for the past year. As he ran, he couldn't help but recall his past. He had been abandoned as a baby at the gate of Bloodwind Town's orphanage, where he had endured hunger, beatings, and abuse. At the age of ten, he had been sold to a cruel assassin master, who had trained him to kill or be killed. He had escaped three years later, killing his master in the process, and had been on the run ever since. "Heaven and earth are a chessboard, and all beings are pieces..." Gu Zhen muttered, repeating the words that had echoed in his mind along with the scripture. He had always felt like a pawn, controlled by fate and the cruelty of the world. But now, with the Nine Turns Taoist Classic, maybe he could change that. Maybe he could become the one holding the chess pieces, instead of being moved by others. When he reached the hidden cave, he lit a torch made of pine resin and dried grass. The cave was small but dry, with a pile of straw in the corner that served as his bed. He sat down cross-legged, closed his eyes, and focused on the golden characters in his mind. Following the instructions of the Nine Turns Taoist Classic, he began to circulate the faint spiritual energy in his body. Unlike the crude cultivation methods he had learned before, the Nine Turns Taoist Classic's circulation route was extremely complex, passing through hundreds of meridians that he didn't even know existed. At first, the spiritual energy was sluggish, like a trickle, but as he continued to circulate it, it gradually accelerated, becoming a small stream. A warm current spread through his body, repairing the minor injuries he had sustained during the assassination and strengthening his muscles and bones. Time passed quickly. When Gu Zhen opened his eyes again, the torch had burned down to a pile of ashes, and the sky outside was already bright. He stood up and stretched, and his bones cracked with a series of pops. He felt stronger than ever before—his cultivation base had actually broken through to the middle stage of the Body Tempering Realm overnight! "This scripture is incredible..." Gu Zhen exclaimed, clenching his fists. He could feel the power flowing in his veins, ready to burst out. With the Nine Turns Taoist Classic, he would no longer be a lowly assassin struggling to survive. He would rise, step by step, trampling on his enemies, uncovering the secrets of his origin, and eventually reaching the realm of the Dao Ancestors. But first, he needed to leave the Nine Rivers Domain. The land was too small, too backward, and too dangerous for him to cultivate in peace. According to the map he had stolen from the Azure Cloud cultivator, there was a passage leading to the Heavenly Continent—a vast land where powerful sects and ancient clans resided, and where the real cultivation world lay. However, the passage was guarded by the Black Tiger Bandits, a ruthless group with hundreds of members, led by a cultivator at the Foundation Establishment Realm—a realm that was considered a god in the Nine Rivers Domain. To pass through, he would have to either sneak past them or kill them all. Gu Zhen's eyes turned cold. Killing was what he did best. The Black Tiger Bandits had terrorized Bloodwind Town for years, robbing, r****g, and killing innocent people. He had lost many friends to their cruelty. Now, they would become the first stepping stones on his path to godhood. "Let the stones under my feet be paved with the bones of my enemies," Gu Zhen said, repeating the vow that had formed in his heart when he obtained the Nine Turns Taoist Classic. He picked up his short sword, slung the bag of spirit stones over his shoulder, and walked out of the cave, his figure disappearing into the morning mist. The journey to the Heavenly Continent had begun, and it would be stained with blood.