Chapter 1: Traveling Through Time

Beyond the cliff, a few miles away, lies a reef cave, gnawed into existence by the relentless tides over countless millennia.

The cave harbors a dilapidated temple, small and crumbling, with only a single ancient hall.

In the center of the hall, where a divine statue once stood, there is nothing but empty space, layered with thick dust.

Outside the hall hangs a bronze lantern, swaying in the wind, while further out stands a withered tree, its trunk hollowed out, dead for who knows how many years.

The sea breeze, laced with fine mist, pours into the cave relentlessly.

Water droplets condense on the jagged rock walls, dripping one by one beside a curled-up figure below.

Xie Qiyang—a young man in his early twenties, his face so plain it could vanish in a crowd—slumps dejectedly on the cold, biting reef stone at the temple’s entrance.

His soaked shorts and short-sleeve shirt cling to his frail frame, drenched by the damp air, not a single spot on him clean.

His eyes are vacant, staring blankly at the churning, lead-gray sea beyond the cave.

He loves the sea.

As a child, he had seen it and cried, begging to live by its shores forever.

But now, gazing at this unfamiliar sea, his face holds no joy—only despair and numbness, etched deeply into his youthful features, unshakable.

He clutches his arms tightly, his teeth chattering uncontrollably, making soft “clack-clack” sounds.

His stomach growls in protest.

Three days?

Or perhaps longer?

He can barely remember the taste of proper food.

He is a transmigrator.

“I was such a fool… If I’d known… I wouldn’t have messed with that damn game during a thunderstorm…”

“So many novels I’ve read, so many protagonists struck by lightning into another world—why was I so stupid?” A regretful thought churns in his mind.

Just days ago, he was an ordinary young man on Earth, resolved to live a laid-back life, free from want.

At twenty-six, a few years out of college, his luck had never been great, but he’d stumbled into a decent job.

The pay wasn’t much, but the workplace was in his hometown, sparing him the cost of rent.

No girlfriend, but he had a cozy little place, sinking into games, novels, and short videos after work.

It was a simple life, but he relished it.

A man without grand ambitions, he was content with such days.

But everything changed on that rainy afternoon.

Bored out of his mind, he was drawn to a cultivation game with rave reviews in the comment section.

Its rich content convinced him to splurge three hundred bucks without hesitation.

The game’s massive fifty-gigabyte size only made him feel it was worth every penny.

As the download bar crept along, he drew the curtains tight, even digging out his dusty “plastic girlfriend” for an immersive “cultivation” experience.

Just as his finger hovered over the tempting game icon, a blinding bolt of lightning pierced through his roof with deadly precision!

When he opened his eyes, his soul had fallen into this vast world called “Tai Yan.”

At first, wild joy surged through him—immortal paths, defeating prodigies, charming goddesses, climbing to the pinnacle!

Countless web novel protagonists’ glorious scenes flashed before his eyes.

Since he’d transmigrated, how could he possibly be ordinary?

Lying flat?

What a joke!

Did he choose to lie flat because he wanted to?

No, it was because he lacked luck and strength.

But the cold reality delivered a crushing blow.

His initial ecstasy was ground to dust.

Days ago, clutching the only valuable thing he owned—a jade pendant—he nervously approached a wandering Body Refining cultivator passing through the town.

The pendant was a gift from his parents, blessed for his protection.

Once, passing a pawnshop, a clerk had chased him down, calling it a peerless treasure, asking if he’d sell.

Hearing of a cultivator in town, he thought the pendant might open his path to cultivation.

The cultivator, surnamed Zhang, had a weathered face, square jaw, and sharp eyes.

Xie Qiyang held little awe for such a man—after all, in the novels he read, these types didn’t even get names.

So, he approached Zhang with the casual attitude of asking a favor from an elder or boss.

But he forgot—elders and bosses can’t toy with your life.

Zhang merely narrowed his eyes, and Xie Qiyang was overwhelmed by his aura, gasping for breath.

With a slight tap of his thumb, Zhang split a wooden table in two.

When Xie Qiyang presented the jade pendant, Zhang’s expression softened slightly.

The test was crude and brutal.

Zhang’s rough fingers pressed into his acupoints with savage force, a faint but tyrannical energy rampaging through his body, tearing at him with pain.

“Hmph.” Zhang withdrew his hand, his face full of mockery.

He said coldly, “Mortal body, useless meridians. Your channels are clogged like rotten wood, your dantian dead as stone. The immortal path is closed to you. Accept your fate as a mortal.”

“I thought you had something special, pulling out that pendant. Tch, just dumb luck.”

His voice was icy, suffocating.

Zhang pocketed the pendant without a second glance, leaving with a final remark: “Deal with this kid as you see fit.”