Chapter 1 Memory of the Dan Emperor

"Who am I? I am Long Chen." "I am the unparalleled Dan Emperor, looking down upon the world and the heavens—Long Chen? Or am I just a useless waste, bullied by everyone and unable to cultivate—Long Chen?" In his mind, everything was chaotic, and his body was in excruciating pain. Long Chen couldn't help but stop the tumultuous thoughts in his head and let out a groan of pain. "Chen'er, you finally woke up? That's great, your mother was so worried! Why did you insist on dueling with others?" A gentle voice rang in Long Chen's ears, filled with joy and comfort, but as she spoke, there was a hint of choking. Long Chen slowly opened his eyes, and everything around him was blurry. As the images gradually became clearer, he saw the face of a woman before him. The woman appeared to be in her thirties, strikingly beautiful, but deep lines of worry etched at the corners of her eyes, which seemed inconsistent with her age. At that moment, the woman looked at Long Chen with tears in her eyes, filled with love and indulgence, warming his heart. "Child, you scared me to death," the woman said, her eyes reddening further, and tears fell freely. "Mother?" Long Chen looked at the familiar yet somewhat strange face, confusedly uttering this word, a hint of astonishment on his face. "Child, don't scare your mother. Do you not recognize me?" The woman's face immediately showed panic. Beside the woman, an old man appeared, looking at Long Chen and said, "Madam Long, Young Master Long Chen's head has suffered a severe blow, and his mind may still need to recover. Please don't worry too much; I've just given the young master some medicine, and the effects haven't fully taken effect yet. Let him rest a bit more." Madam Long looked at Long Chen with great concern and reluctantly nodded, leaving the room with the old man. Long Chen faintly heard the old man quietly advising the woman, "Madam Long, this time Young Master Long has been fortunate to survive. It's already a blessing; we shouldn't force anything." Madam Long trembled as she replied, "Does the Master Pharmacist mean that my son..." The old man, who was called the Master Pharmacist, sighed and said, "The young master's head has suffered a violent shock; to be honest, it's already a blessing that he has awakened. However, the aftereffects are still quite serious, and amnesia is within reason..." At this point, the two figures were moving farther away, and Long Chen could hear the faint sound of Madam Long weeping. Long Chen stared at the ceiling above, feeling the intense pain throughout his body, especially at the back of his head, which throbbed and ached. "What on earth is happening? I am Long Chen; Madam Long is my biological mother. Why do I feel such unfamiliar emotions towards her? Where did all these chaotic memories come from? I seem to be an incredibly powerful figure, yet here I am, a miserable waste? Dan Emperor Long Chen? Useless Long Chen? Which one is the real me? Is it the Dan Emperor reincarnating, or is it the waste who fused with the Dan Emperor's soul?" Endless question marks swirled in Long Chen's mind. Forget it, no matter what, I am Long Chen. Whether as a waste or a Dan Emperor, the most important thing is that I am still alive. Since the two memories have merged into one, why should I be entangled in such a foolish question? What I need to do now is to recover as quickly as possible. Feeling his body, Long Chen realized he had multiple fractures, three broken ribs, and two broken sections of one arm, especially at the back of his head, where a significant portion of his skull had caved in. What a brutal method. "Oh, I may not be able to gather qi, but my spiritual power seems very strong. I can sense the area within ten zhang around me!" Long Chen couldn't help but feel pleasantly surprised. According to his chaotic memories, he knew that spiritual power was incredibly precious, especially for a Dan Master. What a gain, what a gain! Whether it is the Dan Emperor reincarnating or merging with the memories of the Dan Emperor, it is a huge profit for me. The former means a reincarnation, living another life, while for the latter, it means possessing the soul of an extraordinary powerhouse. How incredible is that? However, upon carefully examining his body, Long Chen's expression changed: "The spiritual root has been siphoned away, and there is a missing piece of spiritual bone in my chest as if it has been dug out, and I have a hole in my heart? Who is so vicious? The spiritual root, spiritual bone, and spiritual blood have all been taken away. No wonder I can't cultivate!" Long Chen's heart was filled with anger. Now, his spiritual power was incredibly strong, allowing him to introspect and discover the secret of why he had become a waste. The spiritual root is a mass of root energy located in the dantian, the foundation of cultivation. Without a spiritual root, one cannot sense the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, let alone absorb it for cultivation. Spiritual blood is the innate blood carried at birth, and nearly everyone has it; however, most cultivators are oblivious to it. The spiritual bone is located in the chest, slightly protruding, and normal people do not have spiritual bones. Even among cultivators, it is a rare sign of extraordinary talent. And the place where Long Chen's spiritual bone should be was clearly missing a piece, indicating that it had been excavated by someone. Long Chen's face turned extremely ugly. If it weren't for the fusion of memories, he wouldn't have known that someone had tampered with his body. Logically speaking, although these three items are precious, once they leave a person's body, they become useless. Why go to such lengths to harm oneself? Such methods are simply worse than death. But anger aside, these three items are already gone, and being angry is meaningless. "I hope I don't find out who did this." Long Chen couldn't help but grind his teeth in anger. It was too vicious; if he had the spiritual bone, even using his mind, he would undoubtedly be a genius. Now, however, due to this despicable bastard, he had become an incapable waste, bullied and looked down upon by others. Just as Long Chen was boiling with rage, the door creaked open, and a pretty girl who appeared to be thirteen or fourteen years old walked in. This was Long Chen's personal maid, named Bao'er. "Young Master, it's time for your medicine." "Medicine? What kind of medicine do you have in your hand?" Long Chen sniffed and asked. "This is the Tiger Bone Pill that Madam obtained at a great price. It can heal your external injuries very quickly," Bao'er replied. As she spoke, she opened a delicate little box in her hand, revealing the pill inside. "It is said that this pill comes from Master Dan Master Yunqi, and its medicinal power is extremely potent. Young Master, let Bao'er assist you in taking it." Long Chen looked at this object in his hand with a strange expression. This thing can even be called a pill? It was irregularly shaped, resembling a meatball. Not to mention its shape, the color was completely black, lacking any luster. If it weren't for the faint fragrance, Long Chen would even suspect it was a sheep dung pill. After staring at it for a long time, Long Chen sighed. To waste over eighty percent of a pill's medicinal properties is quite an achievement for this so-called "Master." Long Chen wondered how he managed to do that. It was impressive to be this bad. Pills are divided into five grades: low-grade, medium-grade, high-grade, supreme-grade, and perfect-grade. But the one in his hand clearly did not belong to any of the five grades. Long Chen suddenly realized that this was a defective product. This was a waste pill that Dan Masters would never sell as it would ruin their reputation. They often turn it into medicinal liquid or simply discard it. "Young Master, don't be dazed. Madam sold her jewelry for this precious pill. You should take it quickly," Bao'er urged. Long Chen felt a pang in his heart. In his memory, his mother loved him dearly, to the point of indulgence. She would rarely refuse him anything he wanted. For him, his mother had worried endlessly. In her youth, Madam Long was a beauty of her time, and now in her thirties, just looking at the deep crow's feet at the corners of her eyes showed how much she had sacrificed for Long Chen. Looking at the pill in his hand, although it was a defective product, the medicinal materials were still good. Even if impurities accounted for eighty percent, it would still be sufficient to heal his injuries. After taking the pill, Long Chen instructed Bao'er not to disclose his condition to anyone, including his mother. Although Bao'er was puzzled, she nodded obediently due to her trust in Long Chen. After taking the medicine, although Long Chen could not use his cultivation to refine its power, he guided the medicinal power to his injuries through his formidable spiritual power, and the healing effect was remarkably quick. The next day, Long Chen slowly opened his eyes, a smile appearing at the corners of his mouth as he stretched his limbs. "Very good! Although the pill wasn't great, the quality of the medicinal materials was excellent. Except for the back of my head, most of my injuries have healed, and treating external wounds is more than enough." He slowly walked to the mirror. Looking at the handsome youth with sword-like brows and bright eyes in the mirror, Long Chen said solemnly, "From today onwards, I, Long Chen, will no longer be the old Long Chen. I will rise!" Although his body was still somewhat weak, he had no problem walking. Long Chen stepped out of the room, and outside, the sun was already rising. After contemplating for half an hour, he called Bao'er over, writing down a long list of medicinal materials for her to fetch. However, Bao'er looked a bit troubled. Long Chen's heart stirred, and he immediately understood. The Long family was currently in dire straits, and Bao'er couldn't get any money from the accounts. Otherwise, his mother wouldn't have sold her jewelry, which was her dowry and extremely precious. The Long family was indeed too destitute now. Feeling in his pocket, he found over eighty silver coins. Though not much, it was enough to buy the medicines he needed. Bao'er was very diligent, and in less than an hour, she returned with the medicinal materials. Long Chen immediately set to work, mixing the herbs in different proportions and boiling them in a pot. Three hours later, a strong medicinal fragrance wafted from the boiling pot. Long Chen looked at this bowl of cheap medicinal liquid, a smile appearing on his face. "I, Long Chen, will rise, starting with this bowl of medicinal soup!"