"Shut up! I have my own ways to confirm your identity." Yuan Wu's expression grew increasingly ferocious. "Demonic cultivators have always been skilled at deceiving minds. I don’t know how you managed to fool the Grandmaster, or even the Sect Leader… But I finally released that demonic cultivator, and I won’t let this opportunity slip away!"
Damn, so he was the one who tampered with the seal! Was it really worth it? Just to kill her, he’d endanger his own sect?
"Do you know where this place is?" Suddenly struck by an idea, he glanced down the cliff with a smug expression. "This is the Demon-Slaying Cliff. Legend says there’s an ancient Soul-Annihilation Array at the bottom. No matter how powerful someone is, falling down here will shatter their bones and scatter their ashes. My loved ones were pushed down here by the Demon Lord. Today, you’ll pay with your life."
"Hey, hey, hey, kid, that’s not how debts work." What kind of logic was this?
"What? You think I shouldn’t seek revenge?"
"You say the Demon Lord killed your loved ones, so you want to kill me in return. But what did I ever do to you? If you kill me, how is that any different from what the Demon Lord did?"
"The sister pays for the brother’s sins—that’s the way of the world."
"Bullshit!" Shi Xia’s temper flared, all the pent-up frustration from her unfair experiences since transmigrating bursting forth. "What ‘sister pays for the brother’s sins’? That’s just an excuse for your own cowardice. You couldn’t find the Demon Lord, couldn’t defeat him, so you’re targeting me—someone with no cultivation—because you’re afraid to die. And yet you hide behind some ‘way of the world’ nonsense. The ‘way of the world’ is probably crying right now! What ‘eliminating evil,’ what ‘demoness’ title? It’s all just an excuse for you to kill indiscriminately. What did I ever do? Have I harmed a single person? You’re just using revenge as a cover to avoid facing the real enemy. If I were your loved one, I’d rise from the grave out of sheer anger! Flaunting righteousness while committing despicable acts—aren’t you ashamed?"
"Silence!" Yuan Wu’s face turned pale, then green, his expression betraying guilt. "Still making excuses even at death’s door?" With a flick of his hand, as if tossing away a hot potato, he let go.
"Damn it, you little—"
Yamete!
Shi Xia felt her body plummet, the wind howling louder and louder in her ears as Yuan Wu’s face—twisted with malice, panic, and guilt—grew smaller and smaller until it vanished entirely. All that remained was the endless sky shrinking above her.
Could her luck get any worse?
Was she really going to die like this?
She’d only just barely learned to read this world’s script—couldn’t she at least get a chance to put it to use?
What happened to the transmigration trope where falling off a cliff never kills you? What happened to good people living safe lives?
She’d never done anything bad! As a kid, she’d often helped old ladies cross the street (though she stopped after growing up). She’d donated blood and money for disaster relief. Heck, she’d even saved a little girl from a big cat once! These were her lifetime achievements!
Wait—why was she talking like she was already dead?
The point was, she didn’t want to die!
Speaking of which… she’d already mentally ranted for 196 words. Why hadn’t she hit the ground yet? Just how deep was this cliff?
Were they giving her time to mentally prepare before being smashed to pieces? If so, this was way too long!
But the relentless whooshing wind confirmed she was still falling, as if any second now, she’d go splat and turn into mush.
Her entire body tensed, fists clenched, teeth gritted, bracing for the impact.
One minute later…
She unclenched her hands.
Ten minutes later…
She relaxed her body.
Half an hour later…
She rolled over.
Two hours later…
She fell asleep.
Well, this was the most stress-free cliff-fall she’d ever experienced. Since the bottom never came, she just… got used to it.
(⊙?⊙)
Shi Xia had no idea how long she’d slept, but when she woke up, everything was still pitch black, the wind still roaring in her ears. Looking up, only a third of the sky was visible—a perfect blue with fluffy white clouds.
At this point, her sense of danger had completely evaporated. Lying on her back, she casually pulled a radish from her storage pouch and took a bite. The pouch was a special gift from her cheap brother—usable without spiritual energy, with a huge capacity. Maybe due to past starvation trauma, she’d made a habit of stuffing it with snacks.
After finishing the radish, she had no idea what to do. Had she reached the bottom yet? Could they just get this over with?
Staring blankly at the slice of sky above, she found it oddly mesmerizing against the surrounding darkness.
The scene reminded her of a song.
"The vast horizon is my love, flowers bloom beneath the rolling hills…"
Yep, that one—the same as her phone’s ringtone.
Phone ringtone…
Holy crap, her phone was ringing! (⊙?⊙)
Shi Xia bolted upright, yanking open her storage pouch to pull out the phone she’d tossed in half a year ago.
The screen displayed: "Unknown Caller."
Her heart clenched with a foreboding sense of something major about to happen. After a brief hesitation, she answered.
"Hello?"
Static crackled on the other end, mixed with a faint, fragmented male voice.
"Lis… don’t come… nothing… absolutely not, I…"
"What? Hello? Hello?" The static grew louder before cutting off with a sharp bzzt.
Staring at the darkened screen, Shi Xia’s mind reeled.
Ever since that self-proclaimed "system" uninstalled itself, she’d ignored the phone. The battery should’ve died months ago.
And who was that caller? How did they reach her? The phone showed "No Service," yet the call went through. What did those broken warnings mean? "Don’t come"? Come where?
The urgency in that voice was unmistakable—a clear warning.
Shi Xia tried calling back, but the screen only flashed: "Invalid Number." Dialing other numbers, even 110, returned "No Service" errors.
Definitely a phone issue. Scrolling through her apps, she froze.
On the last page was a new, unfamiliar app. Like the "Transmigration" delivery app from before, its icon was a red character inside a circle—but this time, it read "Immortal."
Her stomach dropped. Hadn’t the system uninstalled? Why was there a new program?
Tapping it open, the character flashed, revealing a map labeled "Twilight Abode Immortal Manor" in simplified Chinese.
At the bottom: "Quest Progress 0/1."
Shi Xia’s eye twitched. She immediately hit the power button.
Yeah, right. Like she’d fall for this again.
True Story of Shi Xia:
- Zero spiritual roots
- Illiterate (until recently)
- Universally despised transmigrator
Eight months into her new life, she’d just discovered she actually had a quest. But given the "system’s" negative credibility, she hesitated to accept.
Two hours later, hesitation seemed pointless.
There was no way out anyway. Accepting the quest or not made no difference. She’d considered climbing, but with no idea how deep the cliff was—since she was still falling, the wind never stopping—it was hopeless.
This continued until nightfall. The next morning, something changed.
Because…
A Lin… old man fell from the sky.
And not just any old man—one covered in blood, with a gaping hole in his chest, barely clinging to life.
Shi Xia gasped, blurting out the obvious: "Hey, hey, hey—you okay?"
The man looked like a dissection lab cadaver. Panicking, she wanted to help but had no idea where to start—he was bleeding everywhere.
"You..." The old man gasped, blood streaming freely from the corners of his mouth. With what seemed like his last ounce of strength, he turned his head to look at her. "I never thought... there’d still be a living soul here..."
"Don’t speak yet—you’re badly hurt!" Regardless of the situation, stopping the bleeding came first. Shi Xia tore a strip of cloth from her sleeve, intending to bandage his wounds, but his body was covered in injuries. "Do you have any elixirs or miracle medicines? How can I save you?"
"No need..." The old man coughed up more blood, his breathing labored. "This old man... is beyond saving. Meeting you here... must be the heavens’ will, ensuring the legacy of the Heavenly Star Sect." With great effort, he pulled a jade token from his side and tremblingly handed it to her. "Young lady... take it."
"Okay." She hurriedly accepted the bloodstained token with both hands.
"I am Lin Xie, leader of the Heavenly Star Sect. This... is our sect’s highest cultivation manual. It seems fate has decreed... that I pass it on to you." His voice grew weaker, as if he might depart at any moment. "Once your cultivation reaches the Great Completion stage... remember to avenge... the Heavenly Star Sect."
"But I don’t even have a spiritual root!"
"What?!" The old man sat bolt upright in a sudden surge of vitality—only to collapse the next instant.
Pfft—
A mouthful of blood sprayed forth, and his head lolled to the side, lifeless.
