Shining down into the lively Crimson Leaf Village, a ray of sunlight highlighted the body of a young man beaten to a bloody pulp by one of the many guards of the Tang Clan's private library for martial skills. The name of the young man was Tang Xiaolong, but despite how pathetic he currently appeared with his torn and worn-out clothing, he was once the heir and most talented cultivator of the Tang Clan. 

"Know your place you incompetent fool, you can't cultivate and you can't help make the basic pill. How dare you attempt to go against the patriarch and try to set foot into our grand library?" Standing before the beaten Tang Xiaolong a guard to the Tang Clan's private library berated him.

But regardless of his previous position within the clan, currently, he was seen no better than a beggar thirsting for the Tang Clan's resources. Yet unknown to the Tang Clan, despite his current pathetic state, Tang Xiaolong still possessed a potential greater than they could ever imagine. Whilst he suffered from a destroyed a Dantian, he awakened the memories of his previous self, a man praised by all, not for his martial arts, but for god-like skills in the art of magic.

S-senior... I- I apologize..." Acting like the pathetic bug the Tang Clan, expected him to be, Tang Xiaolong bowed to the Tang Sect Disciple. "I... am nothing but a fool, p-please forgive me..."

Seeing the pathetic display, the tang disciple let out a soft chuckle before releasing a faint killing intent. "Leave!" He said with a malevolent smile. "If I ever see you try to set foot in this place again, I make sure to send you to the afterlife." 

Hearing that, Tang Xialong, stepped away from the Tang Clan's private library. 

"Damn it..." He said inaudibly. "To think father would even keep me from entering the private library..." Letting out a dejected sigh, he hurriedly made his way to the only place he could now call home, Crimson Leaf Valley. 

"It was only a week ago that I was living in quite the luxurious place, but to think that not even a day after my cultivation was ruined I'd be forced to sleep in a demonic beast infested valley like a beggar." He muttered in a bitter tone.

"Forget it... I can't do anything about my situation right now, nor will I ever be able to do anything until I can awaken more of my memories." He thought. "For now I should just keep my head down, it was foolish of me to try and find the heavenly treasure I hidden in the private library." Addressing his own mistakes, Tang Xiaolong decided to stay hidden and grow quietly.

Leaving the safety of the Crimson Leaf Village, Tang Xiaolong found his way to a discrete cave hidden from the prying eyes of demonic beasts and travelers. 

Inside his body began to eat way at the environments qi. Taking all of it in for his won purposes, beads of sweat fell began to form on his forehead as he concentrated on the energy inside him. 

"To think even with my incomplete memories and my experience in absorbing qi, this would be so difficult." He thought.  

To the eyes of many cultivators, it would appear that he was simply absorbing the environment's qi and was making it his own by circulating throughout his meridians, but to the eyes of a magician, it would appear as if he was attempting to commit suicide by forcibly making his body meet the requirements to wield magic. 

"With my damaged dantian and the different physiology of humans in this world, I need to forcibly modify one of my organs to store mana." He thought. 

To many who belonged to the world of magicians, attempting this without the aid of another was akin to suicide, if he made even one mistake, the organ he wishes to change would rupture before releasing an explosion of mana. 

"It sucks that I couldn't get my hands on the Body Reformation Pill to help with this process, but I guess with the memories available to me, I can at least manage this. 

Concentrating all of the qi that he was taking in, Tang Xiaolong put all of his focus onto the organ he desired to have as his primary container of mana, his heart!

In the world of magician's sacrificing one's heart to act as a mana container was the most dangerous thing to do. Through it, one was at constant risk of losing their lives if they ever lost control over their own mana but in face of such risk the benefits that came completely overshadowed the cons. If one could successfully transform their heart into a mana container, they would receive the chance to evolve past the limits of a human and become an Undead.

"Although it'll be a long time till I can eventually reach the point of becoming an Undead, it'll be easier to create a Mana Heart now rather the late once the time comes." He thought. 

As the qi in his body began to concentrate on his heart and mix with the vital essence of his body, a change began to occur within the qi itself. 

"Great!" Tang Xiaolong thought. "The qi is starting to turn into mana, it shouldn't take long before I can gain a sufficient mana heart." 

As time passed and he had taken in enough qi, his body began to emit a golden glow as the qi changed into mana. "Time for the most difficult step." He thought as he took in a deep breath. 

Although the previous steps of creating a mana heart were difficult, even for someone as experienced as him, the next step would be the most difficult. "I need to slowly fill my heart with mana before reinforcing it little by little." Although this in itself sounded simple, it was beyond difficult when taking into account of qi he had absorbed. If he were to ever rush or accidentally lose control, all of the mana could either spill into his heart and explode, or dissipate into the atmosphere, forcing him to start again. 

"Concentrate..." He repeated to himself. 

As Tang Xiaolong focused on nothing but the formation of his mana heart, a group of bandits loomed over the Crimson Leaf Valley, waiting for any that dare attempted to leave or enter the Crimson Leaf Village without paying their toll.