"Such a strange place."
Wang Jixuan was flipping through the memories of this body, feeling a bit lost. What kind of odd little world had he entered? There were no tales of immortals here, nor any signs of cultivation. Humans, referred to as the human race, lived on this blue planet, struggling to survive after a great disaster.
Disaster? Blade Beasts?
What was going on? Had the demon realm come here?
Wang Jixuan's lingering soul was merging with this body. To be precise, the young man named Mu Liang had just ended his life by hanging himself a moment ago. Wang Jixuan's soul had arrived here and was gradually taking over this body.
Taking over?
No, no, no, that was something only demons could do. Wang Jixuan preferred to think of his current situation as...
A new beginning!
Wang Jixuan thought to himself, "The heavenly tribulation couldn't do anything to me?"
He wanted to laugh out loud, but he still couldn't feel his body.
While he was grateful to have survived the heavenly tribulation, he couldn't help but reflect on his long yet short life.
Wang Jixuan felt like a joke. He was called a once-in-a-millennium genius in the cultivation world, and in his previous life, he had worked hard to fulfill his potential. He lived for one hundred twenty-six years, spending one hundred twenty of those years in arduous training in the mountains.
He didn't show up when his parents passed away in the mortal world; he only sent some gold and silver to his siblings through a fellow disciple. His master died in battle against demon cultivators while he was still in seclusion, and he didn't have the chance to avenge him before the demon was killed by righteous cultivators.
To focus on his cultivation, Wang Jixuan turned down the romantic advances of his spirited junior sister and gentle senior sister. He refused to enjoy the blessings of being a high-level cultivator for three thousand years after reaching the peak of his cultivation. Instead, he boldly challenged the heavenly tribulation, which had less than a ten percent chance of success.
And then... he was struck dead by lightning.
Wang Jixuan thought he would be scattered into nothingness, that all his hard work would amount to nothing. But unexpectedly, there was a twist of fate. His lingering soul drifted in the darkness and, for some reason, ended up here, occupying this young man's body.
Wang Jixuan sighed deeply.
"If I could do it all over again, I would definitely leave my secluded training place and see the colors of the world."
Of course, things were pretty good now.
No need to say "if," he was already alive.
In this world, he would strive to become an immortal and face the heavenly tribulation again!
He had to see the rumored immortal realm!
Suddenly, he felt the suffocating sensation of the rope tightening around his neck.
Wang Jixuan felt dizzy, stars dancing in his vision, and he couldn't muster any strength. Instinctively, he began to struggle, but his efforts were too weak.
Something was wrong!
Very wrong!
He had taken over a young man who had just hanged himself! If he couldn't escape this predicament, he would soon be dead too!
Moreover, his lingering soul had already fused with this body. If he really died here, he wouldn't even have a chance to escape!
What to do?
The suffocating feeling and intense dizziness surged repeatedly. Wang Jixuan's soul was in a panic, his face turning red again, and the blood in his body flowed more quickly. He thought of various complex spells and formations, but none of them were of any use at this moment!
Although Wang Jixuan had rarely fought with others in his cultivation career, he was skilled in various techniques. In this life-or-death situation, he quickly came up with an idea. He used the last of his strength to grab the rope made from a bed sheet and gritted his teeth to chant:
"Heaven and earth... the nine laws... fire of separation..."
Whoosh!
Two small flames burst from his palms.
Wang Jixuan held his breath, afraid he would extinguish the flames.
The flame on his right side lasted only two breaths before going out.
The left side of the cloth rope began to burn, and this body’s fingers were already scorched!
His neck suddenly loosened, and his feet hit the ground first before he fell down weakly, feeling dizzy and disoriented.
Wang Jixuan squeezed his eyes shut and took deep breaths of the somewhat murky air. His ears buzzed, and his heart raced erratically.
The pain from his new body was intense, but it couldn't ruin his good mood.
He was alive.
Though it was quite a mess.
Wang Jixuan felt a mix of relief and suspicion.
Even though his lingering soul had little spiritual power, how could he only summon two small flames with the simplest fire separation spell?
When he was just a young disciple, he had successfully summoned flames the size of bowls...
Wang Jixuan performed a calming technique to quickly regain his composure, at the cost of amplifying the pain in his body several times over.
The first thing he needed to do was check his surroundings.
His lingering soul was too weak to release any spiritual awareness. He lay on the ground for a while before he could barely sense the presence of spiritual energy.
The amount of spiritual energy in the air was very low, about one-tenth of what he was used to in his original world.
"This little world not only has strange clothing and buildings, but the very nature of the world isn't suitable for cultivation."
Wang Jixuan sighed inwardly.
Being alive was already quite good.
Besides, although the spiritual energy was scarce, it wasn't completely impossible to cultivate. He remembered his insights from the Foundation Establishment stage to the Great Ascension stage. He just needed to gather some spiritual stones or materials rich in spiritual energy, and he could gradually progress and face the heavenly tribulation again!
This failure in the tribulation forced Wang Jixuan to reflect on himself.
Was his foundation in the last life not solid enough?
Was his understanding of the path not deep enough?
Only true immortals could give him the answers to those questions.
Now that he had been reborn and was starting over, he had to work even harder than in his previous life, to forge a more perfect foundation and deepen his understanding of the path and laws.
He had to step into the realm of immortals and see what the so-called immortal world was like, how it differed from the mortal realm!
"I should check this body's memories."
"The language they speak and the characters they use seem quite similar to what I knew in my last life."
"Mu Liang? From now on, I will live as you and take care of your family... Wait, you don't seem to have any family..."
Wang Jixuan kept mumbling to himself, and the pain throughout his body eased significantly.
He still lay on the ground without moving, his furrowed brow gradually relaxing, as he repeatedly recited a calming spell.
The calming spell was meant to help him enter a meditative state quickly, and it also helped clear his mind and improve his memory.
At this moment, Wang Jixuan didn't notice that as he focused on the spell, faint specks of dust began to gather in the air around him, converging towards his head.
Slowly, the childhood memories of this body, which had been fuzzy, became clear and coherent.
After a moment of thought, Wang Jixuan chose to observe from this body's early years, quickly grasping the language and characters of this world through Mu Liang's memories of learning to speak and read as a child.
"The language is quite similar to what I knew, and the characters seem to have the same origin, evolving from simple drawings, so it's not hard to understand."
Wang Jixuan smiled slightly, eagerly studying the many new words and fully understanding their meanings.
This world, which seemed so strange to him, was about to reveal its secrets...
Bang!
The locked iron door was smashed open.
Seven or eight men in orange uniforms looked inside, and the leader shouted, "Quick, save him!" Three team members rushed in immediately.
Wang Jixuan quickly made a decision, continuing to pretend to be unconscious while speeding up his reading of this body's memories.
He could already understand the general meaning of what these people were saying.
"He's fine! Just passed out!"
"There are marks on his neck!"
"Take pictures first, preserve the scene. He has seriously violated the self-harm law!"
"Alright, let's get him to the medical room first. We'll sort out whether he broke the law later! That's for the court and doctors to decide."
"Someone who attempted suicide needs to have brain tissue removed, right?"
"Another young person breaking down today, how many is that now? Mu Liang, what an interesting name. A level three ordinary citizen, a mid-level technician, worth saving."
"Use a stretcher! A stretcher! Don’t carry him directly! Follow the manual to avoid secondary injuries!"
"This is actually my first time moving a living person. Before, every rescue was just moving corpses... I mean, how did this guy survive? There are no lighters here? His rope looks like it was burned through, with scorch marks on the edges, Captain."
"Thanks to the damn human rights protection law, we can't install public recorders in private spaces. Who knows how he got down! Don't get caught up in the details, just save him."
The team members carefully lifted Wang Jixuan onto a stretcher.
Wang Jixuan felt a bit confused.
What was this self-harm law?
From what these mortal officials were saying, it seemed that hanging oneself was a serious crime, and he might face imprisonment?
Interesting.
Wang Jixuan felt a bit more excited inside.
He continued to read this body's memories so he could play the role of Mu Liang well and not raise any suspicions with these people.
(End of Chapter)