Thư Di, with an indifferent expression, jumped down from the cliff.
The young woman bowed her head low, revealing only the smooth curve of her chin and one side of her face.
Her appearance wasn't particularly striking, but her eyes were as deep and vast as the sea.
The cliff was over a thousand *trượng* high, unfathomably deep. Just as she was about to greet Mother Earth, the white-clad figure abruptly stopped in mid-air.
It looked unbelievably unreal.
Her white robes fluttered, her toes touching a protruding rock, using it as a fulcrum to land.
The move was both rigid and yielding, accumulating immense shock. The moment her feet touched the ground, they slammed a deep pit into it.
The young woman pulled a long, dejected face.
Couldn't commit suicide.
How frustrating.
Thư Di was an ordinary high school senior. One idle day, after listening to a friend tell a story, she was suddenly teleported here.
That friend was a web novel author, fickle-minded, with many works that she'd abandon whenever she lost interest.
That day, she suddenly got the urge to write a horror story.
Afterwards, in some miraculous way, she abandoned supernatural horror and switched directly to cultivation and xuanhuan.
Thư Di was also dragged in for ideas. She was afraid her friend was about to switch to something strange and had originally wanted to stop her.
Just a few seconds ago, she had been in class discussing the upcoming novel.
In the blink of an eye, she was standing on a main road.
Thư Di felt a little dizzy.
So, this is transmigration?
How arbitrary.
At this moment, a system appeared in her mind, telling her that this world was built from the script her friend had just talked about, but it was five years earlier than the original plot's timeline.
To transmigrate back, Thư Di had to complete one hundred tasks assigned by the system.
To go home, Thư Di was so desperate she wished she could risk her life to complete the tasks.
She traveled everywhere searching for rare treasures and strange artifacts, elixirs and cultivation techniques. She provoked monsters then fought beasts. She cultivated to level up, bought a house and opened a shop, then continued alone, single-handedly fighting her way through the most dangerous places on the map.
Due to diligent training, she finally reached max level, becoming an unparalleled genius who had emerged in secret. She possessed an overbearing aura, her power suppressing all heroes, one move capable of sweeping across the world.
After struggling to hide herself for nearly five years, she finally completed all the tasks.
The system set off celebratory fireworks, then quietly opened a new interface.
Thư Di: "..."
That fraudulent system said she had to complete another one hundred tasks, and simultaneously go through the entire plot timeline to help it accumulate enough energy to send her back.
And the very first task was several times harder than the tasks on the old list; it had taken three months and still wasn't finished.
Thư Di was speechless.
And she still had to wait to enter the main plot; who knew if zombies or spaceships would suddenly pop out.
She absolutely believed in her friend's bizarre creative abilities.
Thư Di decided to ignore that fraudulent system and try to commit suicide to go back.
In the end, she still chickened out.
Baby is very sad, but baby doesn't want to say.
Time to go back.
Maybe I'll try jumping into a river tomorrow.
However, before she could turn around, the young woman slightly frowned and looked around.
A wave of clanging weapons and shouts intertwined. Chaotic screams simultaneously rang out, coming from far to near.
Thư Di turned her head, looking inquiringly in one direction.
The gloomy aura over there grew increasingly dense.
Such a big commotion, there must be a fight.
At this moment, Thư Di was standing at the bottom of a steep alley at the foot of the mountain. Behind her was the cliff. In front, a group of five or six strangers leaped down from several rocky outcrops, drawing their weapons and slashing backwards.
The group at the front was dressed elegantly but not ostentatiously, composed of handsome young men and beautiful young women, their weapons cool and eye-catching.
Chasing them was an enormous black wolf, charging at high speed.
Its sharp gaze held the unique, awe-inspiring might of a peerless beast. A single claw strike sliced boulders into several pieces, as easily as cutting tofu.
The cornered experts, none of whom noticed Thư Di nearby, focused on unleashing their sword techniques to the limit, using the terrain to set up a formation, desperate to find a way to escape.
In the blink of an eye, they had exchanged hundreds of blows, and it was at this moment that a sudden change occurred.
The wolf spirit suddenly let out a savage roar, unleashing terrifying power that leveled everything around it.
The surging power kicked up sand and stones; it grew stronger and fiercer with every strike.
Those people seemed to be on the verge of exhaustion, their faces etched with terror and despair.
All four sides were sheer cliffs, truly a predicament, unable to advance or retreat.
With a loud crash!
In an instant, a flickering light appeared. One expert shoved the person in front to block the wolf spirit, while simultaneously setting up a teleportation formation, preparing to flee.
The others hesitated for less than a moment. As soon as they saw the fierce beast preparing to charge again, their faces twisted into terrifying expressions, and they quickly circled around the person on the ground and fled.
They even maliciously threw a body-binding talisman at the person pushed out as a sacrificial pawn, rendering him immobile, leaving him to vaguely stare blankly and collapse in one spot.
Thư Di’s eyebrow twitched slightly.
The man struggled to prop himself up, his eyes wide and unfocused, watching in disbelief as those cultivators abandoned him and disappeared one by one.
Compared to an unarmed man like him, the fierce beast clearly had the upper hand. Death awaited him.
A loud roar, carrying a direct attack, struck him, sending him flying several meters backward.
The man clutched his chest, fresh blood spilling from the corner of his mouth, his eyes wide and bloodshot as he stared at the charging wolf spirit.
***
Thư Di had a massive headache.
She had originally intended to just slip away, but seeing the weak, helpless man, betrayed by his companions and about to be devoured by that enormous fierce beast, she still took a deep breath and flew over.
"Bang—!"
Holding a stone, she sent the high-level fierce beast flying with a single blow.
The enormous wolf spirit crashed into the cliff, spat out a mouthful of blood, and slowly slid down.
The young girl, radiating a righteous aura, raised the stone again.
The renowned fierce beast immediately froze in terror, only letting out a panicked shriek a few seconds later, then, scared out of its wits, tucked its tail and ran.
The atmosphere suddenly fell completely silent.
Thư Di: "..."
She overdid it.
She reined in her gaze, observing the sacrificial pawn from top to bottom.
The other party had an ordinary, common appearance, exactly the type that would go unnoticed in a crowd.
His clothes were covered in dust from who knows where, gray, tattered, and miserable, his black hair disheveled. Aside from being a bit disheveled and having spat a little blood, he didn't seem to have any serious injuries.
The body-binding talisman's effect wore off, and he stirred, then stood up.
The man had an ordinary appearance, but when he deliberately stood straight, he was very tall, with a slender yet powerful build, and a somewhat unsettling, mysterious aura.
His eyes were clear, bright, and sparkling, and with an unreadable expression, he stared intently at the young girl, his intentions unknown.
Thư Di touched her cheek, looking at him doubtfully.
The other party rubbed the tip of his nose, then looked up, a hint of grievance in his soft voice, and said,
“My thanks to the kind heroine for lending a hand. This humble one is called A Ngu; may I ask how I should address you, heroine?”
“Shu Di.”
“Alright then, Miss Shu Di. You must have seen that my current situation isn't very good. Would you be so kind as to help me all the way and take me in for a period of time?”
Shu Di blinked twice at him, then instantly did an about-face faster than flipping a page, and ran straight away.
She hadn't even gotten home yet, and she didn't want to bring trouble!
Unexpectedly, that guy was also very fast, and in a flash, he caught her sleeve, frantically offering more benefits.
“I… I can do many things! I’m very useful!”
Evidently, Shu Di wasn't so easily convinced.
Those words had absolutely no effect on her.
A Ngu hung his head, agonizing over it for a long time, then pouted dejectedly.
“I can protect you…”
Shu Di stared at the guy who had just been beaten by a demonic beast until he spat blood.
Shu Di: “…” She wondered who was protecting whom here.
Seeing that the other party wasn't swayed in the slightest, the man tilted his head slightly, lowering his gaze. He probably struggled internally for a bit, before finally biting his lip lightly.
“I’ve read many books; I know everything on this continent, from small details to major events. If there’s anything you want, I can find it!”
The other party paused for a moment, then turned her head, looking slightly suspicious: “Is that so?”
“Do you know about the Heaven’s Punishment Elixir?”
The man’s eyes lit up brightly, and he eagerly replied.
“I know, I know! I know where to find that elixir!”
The Heaven’s Punishment Elixir. Its effect was just like its name: consume it, and heaven and earth would be destroyed.
Who knows what idiot would refine such an elixir.
But precisely because of its uselessness, no one bothered to use it, and its refining formula disappeared over time. This led to the Heaven’s Punishment Elixir becoming a rare item; finding even one pill was harder than ascending to heaven.
And Shu Di’s first quest…
[Quest One: Search for the Heaven’s Punishment Elixir.]
This tough quest had kept her stuck for months because she had no clues whatsoever.
Heartbreaking, truly heartbreaking.
The quest was frozen, impossible to complete. But now, it might be possible to accomplish it…
Shu Di’s face remained expressionless, but she gave the man a meaningful glance.
A Ngu thought she believed he was talking nonsense, and immediately racked his brain, intending to offer more benefits.
However, the young woman only pondered for a moment, then actively reached out and took his hand, and hummed, “Understood.”
Shu Di’s voice was very calm, betraying no joy or anger.
A Ngu immediately brightened, so delighted that the corners of his mouth curved upwards. He followed behind her, beaming with joy.
The sun had already begun to set, the temperature quickly dropped, and with a strong wind blowing, it was time to return.
After walking a short distance out of the gorge, the young woman went to a nearby tree. After a while, she led out a horse, turned and leaped onto it with professional grace, looking very much like a wandering heroine of the jianghu.
She turned around, her long sleeve slightly pulled up, and extended her hand, saying expressionlessly,
“Take hold.”
A Ngu’s eyes darted, he pursed his lips, then flashed her a brilliant, sun-like smile, smoothly took her hand, and agilely leaped up to sit behind her.
The young woman spurred the horse on, heading back. Her serene eyes gazed into the distance, showing no reaction. She maintained her calm demeanor, as always.
Yet, she exuded a sense of security for others.
The man’s gaze wavered, and he stealthily edged closer.
This small movement, of course, did not escape the notice of the person sitting in front.
Shu Di: “… Hmm.”
How interesting.
Man, you’re playing with fire.
To be honest, she was a little intrigued by this A Ngu.
Just bring him back first. Once the mission is complete, I’ll see what I feel like doing next.
After all, he’s quite useful for her goal of returning.