Once, Zhuangzi dreamed he was a butterfly, joyfully fluttering about, unaware he was Zhuangzi. Then he suddenly awoke, surprised to find he was Zhuangzi. He didn't know if he was Zhuangzi dreaming he was a butterfly, or if he was a butterfly dreaming he was Zhuangzi. Zhuangzi and the butterfly must be different. This is called 'the transformation of things'.
A rare sight; never before in history had an earthquake erupted in the desert. The result of the seismic activity was the appearance of the deepest and largest fissure in the world.
Half a year later, an expedition team formed from multiple nations went to explore the depths of that fissure. But at that moment, magma suddenly erupted, burning most of the explorers to death. The remaining people, in a state of panic, also lost contact.
At the moment the magma erupted, Xu Ziyan was unknowingly pushed into a cave. That cave suddenly suffered a landslide, and Xu Ziyan tumbled down, spinning. She didn't know how long she rolled, but eventually, she lost consciousness.
Faint crying sounds woke Xu Ziyan, but her heavy eyelids couldn't open. In her ears, she heard the sound of a woman weeping and a man sighing sorrowfully.
Xu Ziyan's head ached terribly. She tried hard to recall what had happened. She remembered continuously tumbling down from the cave until she finally lost consciousness. When she vaguely regained consciousness, it seemed she was lying on a plaza, in front of a tall statue of a woman. Then the statue's eyes suddenly glowed, shining upon her. In her consciousness, something called 'inheritance' suddenly appeared, and after that, she immediately fell unconscious again.
So, where was she now? Who were the weeping woman and the sighing man?
Xu Ziyan wanted to open her eyes, but her entire body had no strength. She lay there for a long time before she could open her eyes to a slit. The room was very dark; she couldn't see anything clearly. She could only vaguely make out a middle-aged woman sitting in front of her, head bowed, weeping.
With a 'creak,' Xu Ziyan felt the door open. Next, a figure entered, then an old voice spoke: "Xu Guang, Ziyan is dead now. According to the clan rules, the three *mu* of land allocated to Ziyan must be returned to the clan."
The man who had just sighed said softly, "Just follow the village chief's words!"
"Alas~" The old voice let out a sigh of lament, shook his head, then turned and left the room.
"Ziyan? And the surname Xu? The same as my name? Are they talking about me?"
A few fragmented memories suddenly appeared in Xu Ziyan's mind. These were memories that did not originally belong to her. After processing these memories, Xu Ziyan realized she had transmigrated, entering the body of a fifteen-year-old girl.
This continent was different from her world; this was a cultivation world. The girl whose body she now occupied was also named Xu Ziyan. The Xu family was a super cultivation clan on the continent. However, even super clans had their own sorrows. Xu Ziyan's parents were both unable to cultivate, so their status was naturally extremely low. They had no choice but to leave the clan's central area and live in an extremely remote village. Once they arrived at the village, they were essentially abandoned by the clan. Even if a descendant emerged who could cultivate, no one would care, nor would anyone know. Who would bother caring about the descendants of ordinary people without spiritual roots?
A memory surfaced: the Hứa Tử Yên of that time had been crossing the bridge when a golden dog startled her, causing her to fall into the river. When she was pulled out, she was already dead. Unbeknownst to anyone, her own soul had then taken possession of the body. A moment later, Hứa Tử Yên had recovered some strength and slowly opened her eyes. She slightly turned her neck and saw a middle-aged woman weeping by the bed and a middle-aged man sitting on a chair not far away.
Hứa Tử Yên turned her head and shifted on the dilapidated bed. The bed frame creaked, startling the weeping middle-aged woman. The moment the middle-aged woman looked at Hứa Tử Yên, her body stiffened. After a long pause, she softly called out, “Yen’er?”
Hứa Tử Yên felt a wave of embarrassment. She didn't know how to address the person in front of her, so, with some effort, she managed to curve her lips into a smile.
“Yen’er!”
The middle-aged woman suddenly lunged forward, embracing Hứa Tử Yên tightly and bursting into loud sobs. Her cries were so profound they seemed to darken the heavens and earth, tearing at the heart. The weeping filled Hứa Tử Yên with a bitter ache, her heart utterly broken. In her previous life on Earth, Hứa Tử Yên had been an orphan, never having experienced parental love. Now, being embraced and wept over by the woman before her, she felt the profound love emanating from the other's heart, and her eyes couldn't help but well up slightly.
“Yen’er!”
The man had, at some point, appeared by the bed. His large hands trembled uncontrollably, and two streams of tears ran down his face.
Hứa Tử Yên was overcome with waves of sorrow at the sight of the two weeping. She was just about to open her mouth to offer some words of comfort, but her body was too weak. Her eyes fluttered, and she fainted once more.
When she awoke again, someone spoon-fed her a bowl of porridge in a daze, and then she drifted back into unconsciousness. When she next awoke, the sky was bright.
The room was quiet. Hứa Tử Yên figured her parents must have already gone to work in the fields. Hứa Tử Yên struggled to climb out of bed, feeling that her body had recovered significantly. She looked around, and a bitter feeling welled up in her heart. The room was bare, save for the dilapidated bed. One glance was enough to tell how utterly impoverished they were. Holding onto a sliver of hope, Hứa Tử Yên pushed open the door and stepped out, looking into the room opposite, which was equally empty. At this moment, only four words echoed in Hứa Tử Yên's mind: dirt poor.
With a ‘creak,’ the courtyard gate opened. The middle-aged couple entered. The moment they spotted Hứa Tử Yên standing on the ground, they hastily dropped the tools in their hands and rushed forward. Hứa Tử Yên's mother wrapped her arms around Hứa Tử Yên, her voice filled with heartbroken reproach: “Yen’er, you’re still not well. What are you doing out of bed? Get back on it and lie down at once.”
Feeling a protectiveness she had never known, Hứa Tử Yên's heart warmed. She softly said, “Mother, I’m fine!”
“Yen’er, you fell into the water and caught a cold. You must rest well and not let your body weaken.”
Hứa Tử Yên's father also stood by her side, supporting her shoulder. Hứa Tử Yên felt only warmth in her heart. She gently bowed her head and replied, “Yes.”
Days passed, and Hứa Tử Yên's body soon made a full recovery. On normal days, she would help her parents with some chores, then seclude herself in her room to cultivate.
Could Hứa Tử Yên cultivate? The answer was a resounding yes. Within Hứa Tử Yên's consciousness, besides her original memories, an additional memory fragment had appeared. It was the inheritance Hứa Tử Yên had acquired from another dimension, found within a great rift in the desert on Earth. Through this inheritance, Hứa Tử Yên learned it was left behind by a sect called 'Danfu Sect'. Aside from a cultivation technique named 'Water-Ice Art', the rest of the inheritance consisted of methods for alchemy and talisman crafting.
Hứa Tử Yên did not lack spiritual power; her spiritual power from two lifetimes allowed her to quickly begin cultivation. What made Hứa Tử Yên feel fortunate was that she could actually cultivate the 'Water-Ice Art'.
This confirmed that Hứa Tử Yên possessed a spirit root, and specifically, a water spirit root. Otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to cultivate this water-attribute technique, the 'Water-Ice Art'. What delighted Hứa Tử Yên even more was that her spirit root's quality seemed to be quite high, as she found her cultivation progressing very rapidly.
In just three months, she had successfully guided qi into her body, reaching the first level of the Qi Condensation stage.
One day, Granny Wang from the village came to their house and spoke with her mother in the room. After Granny Wang left, her mother came to Hứa Tử Yên's room, her expression heavy as she held her hand and said, "Yen'er, the village chief asked Granny Wang to be a matchmaker. He wants you to marry his second son."
Hứa Tử Yên's heart was filled with dread. She looked up at her mother in front of her, then at her father standing in the doorway, and a wave of sorrow welled up inside her. She knew what kind of person the village chief's second son was: a mentally challenged young man, no different from an idiot.
"Are they really forcing me to marry an idiot, to live out a wasted life in this village? No! I won't stand for it!"
Thinking this, Hứa Tử Yên's gaze became resolute. She softly said to her parents, "Father, Mother, I don't want to get married!"
"Sigh~"
Hứa Shi sighed softly. Hứa Guang's expression also darkened. How could the couple agree to marry off their beloved daughter to an idiot? But as people living at the bottom of society, how could they resist their own fate? Seeing her parents' gloomy expressions, a thought suddenly flashed through Hứa Tử Yên's mind. She remembered that she possessed a spirit root, and was now at the first level of the Qi Condensation stage. On this cultivation continent, strength was revered. Everyone in their village was an outcast, abandoned by their clans, unable to cultivate. Even the village chief only had a cultivation of the eighth level of the Houtian stage. Should she tell her parents that she had a spirit root, and then leave this village with them?
But Hứa Tử Yên's heart wavered. She had come to this world and suddenly gained a pair of parents. Although their love for her moved her, deep down, she hadn't truly acknowledged them as her own. She thought, why not use this incident to test how much her parents in this life truly loved her? Thus, Hứa Tử Yên's expression became resolute, and she softly declared, "Father, Mother! I won't marry!"
Silence suddenly fell in the room, and the atmosphere became incredibly oppressive. It felt as if the air had solidified, making it hard to breathe. Finally, Hứa Shi stammered, "Her father, what do you say?"
"Sigh! If Yen'er doesn't want to, then she won't marry! It's just that, from now on, I'm afraid we won't be able to live in this village anymore."
"Does the village chief dare to expel us from the clan?" Hứa Shi asked in surprise.
Hứa Quang replied bitterly, his face grim: “I’m afraid it won’t be as simple as just being expelled from the clan. Have you forgotten what happened to the Zhang family next door?”
“Could he really kill us over this?” Hứa thị began to tremble all over.
“Alas! Those of us who cannot contribute to the family are fundamentally unworthy of life. Here, the village chief’s word is law. Whatever he wants, who would dare say a word against it? All right, quickly go pack our things. We’re escaping the village today.”
“But what if the village chief finds out we’re fleeing?” Hứa thị asked worriedly.
“Let’s wait until midnight to escape. As for whether we’ll succeed, that’s up to fate.”
Having said that, Hứa Quang pulled Hứa thị out of Hứa Tử Yên’s room to pack their belongings. Hứa Tử Yên watched the backs of her parents suddenly hunch over, her heart deeply moved. She had fully accepted her parents in this life, but her heart was also filled with trepidation for the future.