Editor: Feng Yu Xue Xue
Chapter 1: A Thousand Years Later
An Xian stood on the small island, gazing at the boundless, deep blue expanse of the sea. A mix of doubt and bewilderment appeared on her face.
Strange. Wasn't she cultivating in seclusion on Mount Cangquan? How did she wake up on this small island? The spiritual energy that originally flowed through the heavens and earth had also become incredibly thin. Could she have transmigrated again?
An Xian couldn't be blamed for this conjecture, because she had transmigrated once before. Due to an aerial accident, she had traveled from 21st-century Earth to the cultivation civilization of Tianyao Star, where her benevolent master took her into the Lingyuan Sect. Starting as a humble medicine apprentice, she underwent more than a hundred years of arduous cultivation, finally becoming a somewhat accomplished immortal alchemist.
Unfortunately, during her final tribulation, she mistakenly consumed a top-grade Origin Reversal Pill, causing her spiritual energy to reverse, returning to its original state, and inadvertently triggered the wrong heavenly tribulation, falling into a deep slumber.
When she awoke again, the world had transformed; seas had turned to mulberry fields, and stars had shifted.
Not only had her surroundings changed, but her cultivation had also drastically declined. The spiritual energy in her body was depleted; she could barely even perform basic spells.
Furthermore...
An Xian touched her own chest; it was flat. Her female characteristics were gone, replaced by an ambiguous gender. Strange. If not for the storage ring on her hand, she might have thought she had changed bodies.
As she was lost in thought, a faint whistling sound drifted from the horizon. She looked up, only to see, far away in the clouds, the appearance of... a fleet of aircraft?
These were products of technology; how could they appear on the advanced cultivation civilization of Tianyao Star? Tianyao Star certainly wasn't without technology, but it was definitely not the kind that involved machines made of metal. The shape of these was almost identical to Earth's airplanes, only they looked even more advanced. Their wings were crescent-shaped, carrying a golden halo, streaking across the sky like sharp arrows.
Huh?
Their flight path seemed a bit strange?
Not just "a bit" strange, but truly very strange! It was hurtling down towards the sea!
An Xian watched, wide-eyed, as it immediately plunged into the vast sea, then collided with the surface, emitting a thunderous roar. The explosion sent up a massive plume of air, and the chaotic fragments of the machine suddenly burst outwards in all directions. Even from over ten miles away, she could feel the terrifying force of the impact.
In just a few tens of seconds, the sea surface returned to its calm state, as if everything that had just happened was merely an illusion.
It wasn't until she faintly heard cries for help drifting from afar that An Xian snapped back to reality. Without much thought, she immediately leaped, dashing across the waves. But before she had even gone ten meters, she plunged headfirst into the vast sea, sending up many splashes of foam.
A moment later, An Xian surfaced from the water, rubbing her forehead in annoyance. She had completely forgotten that her cultivation had diminished, and she was temporarily unable to perform spells like aerial flight or treading the waves.
After soaking in the water for a while, An Nhàn's mind stirred. She took out a Water Scale Pill from her storage ring. This type of pill could permeate the pores, reacting with external liquids to form a thin protective layer on the skin, allowing one to adapt to the deep-sea environment and move about like a fish.
In the years she had cultivated at the Lingyuan Sect, her greatest achievement was combining the chemistry knowledge she had learned in her previous life with alchemy techniques, creating a unique method of pill refinement. The pills she had refined had unpredictable effects, not only capable of greatly enhancing cultivation but also useful for everyday life and entertainment.
Although her spiritual power was restricted, her storage ring still contained a dazzling array of colorful pills, enough to help her resolve many issues.
As the Water Scale Pill took effect, a faint blue glow immediately appeared on An Nhàn's body, gently rippling in waves, swirling around her, like a transparent silk robe draped over her.
With a twist of her body, An Nhàn channeled the meager spiritual energy within her and swiftly swam towards the collapse site, leaving a faint blue streak in the vast ocean.
The Water Scale Pill's effect lasted only three hours. At An Nhàn's speed, she could probably make ten round trips.
Currently, fewer than ten survivors could be found. All of them exhibited extremely chaotic spiritual fluctuations, as if they had just suffered from qi deviation. Yet, An Nhàn found no signs of cultivation on any of the survivors.
Temporarily suppressing the doubts in her heart, An Nhàn began rescuing people in an orderly manner. To avoid unnecessary trouble, she would always render the person unconscious before rescuing them.
Given the current situation, and being in a completely unknown environment, it was better to be cautious...
Xia Lin drifted in the boundless, vast ocean. The icy seawater relentlessly pressed down on his body. His limbs were almost numb, his vision blurry, and waves of throbbing pain in his brain made it impossible for him to concentrate.
Xia Lin originally had his own private jet, but it was undergoing inspection and maintenance, so he had taken this commercial airliner. Who knew he would encounter a psychic mutant? The psychic mutation caused everyone inside, including the pilot, to instantly lose their sight and senses, and the plane simultaneously lost control, plummeting from the sky.
Thanks to his powerful psychic abilities and superior physical constitution, Xia Lin managed to preserve his life amidst the accident. He had also done his best to protect the lives of several others. But his psychic power had suffered significant damage, and in such an unfavorable environment, he didn't know if rescue would arrive in time.
Waves of dizziness assailed him. Xia Lin gritted his teeth and held on. In his daze, his peripheral vision suddenly caught a flash of light.
A faint blue light, like a shooting star streaking across, formed a beautiful and dazzling beam in the gloomy depths of the ocean.
What was that?
Just as Xia Lin wanted to get a closer look, the beam of light vanished. Immediately after, he felt a sharp pain in his brain, and his consciousness completely plunged into darkness...
After An Nhàn rescued the last survivor to shore, the Water Scale Pill's effect had almost worn off.
On the sandy shore, nine people lay sprawled. Six men and three women, aged from around ten to just under fifty, their clothes clearly different from the ancient cultivation era style.
None of them were cultivators, but their spiritual power was exceptionally vibrant, and within their bodies, they harbored a type of innate spiritual energy. One person among them possessed particularly immense spiritual energy.
Just then, two vital signs suddenly vanished. Among the nine people, two had sustained injuries too severe and ultimately could not survive.
An Nhan’s gaze inadvertently swept over one of the deceased, and she discovered his face bore a striking resemblance to her own.
An Nhan walked over, and from his pocket, she found an ID card, on which his basic information was recorded.
Luo Yi, male, born 3177, citizen of the Tianchong Free Federation, Level 3 Healer, Spiritual Power Rank D.
The writing on the card was identical to that on Tianyao Star, leading An Nhan to deduce she must still be on Tianyao Star. Considering the birth year of the deceased, roughly over a thousand years had passed since she fell into slumber.
Although cultivation made one lose track of time, a thousand years was still somewhat beyond her imagination.
An Nhan pondered for a moment, then placed her hand on Luo Yi's forehead, beginning to read his memories. This method would cause certain damage to a living person's brain, but for the deceased, there was no longer any need for concern.
The memories were somewhat hazy, but enough for An Nhan to generally understand Luo Yi's life. He was an orphan; although his spiritual power was only Rank D and his talent quite ordinary, he was diligent and studious. By the age of 21, he had already graduated from Bellevue Medical Academy, becoming a Level 3 Healer. His return this time was to find a stable job and work hard to earn money, so he could help the orphanage that had raised him.
Unfortunately, fate is unpredictable. Just as he finished his studies and returned full of hope, an aerial accident snatched away his young life.
An Nhan looked at the ID card in her hand, and a decision suddenly formed in her heart.
“Luo Yi, I hope you won't be surprised, but I might need to borrow your identity for a while.” An Nhan stood before the deceased young man and said softly, “In return, I will fulfill your wish and help that orphanage on your behalf.”
An Nhan bent down, then removed the clothes from the young man's body. From her storage ring, she took out a brand-new set of clothes and dressed him in them. These clothes were made from special materials, impervious to water and fire, and would not decay for a thousand years, ensuring the corpse remained perfectly preserved. As for her, she changed into the clothes Luo Yi had originally been wearing.
Next, An Nhan found a suitable spot on the small island and properly buried Luo Yi, only then returning to the sandy shore.
By this time, dusk had fallen, and the sea surface was pitch black, with only tiny points of light reflecting off the seashells on the shore.
After an unknown period, the remaining seven survivors successively woke from their coma. Upon realizing they were still alive, they all wept with joy.
Xia Lin sat alone to one side, quietly observing the celebrating crowd, his mind recalling the blue light he had seen before losing consciousness. If he wasn't mistaken, that must have been a person, or perhaps, a mermaid?
This small island was at least several dozen miles from the incident site. Without external assistance, these people, mentally exhausted, physically injured, and in a coma, would not have been able to survive and make it to shore.
Xia Lin's gaze swept over each person, as if searching for something.
An Xian noticed Xia Lin's gaze sweeping over, but didn't pay it any mind, focusing instead on the watch Luo Yi wore on her wrist. This was likely an electronic device with internet capabilities, but it was broken. Aside from illuminating, none of its other functions could be activated.
However, the watches of the others were still quite intact, and had already sent out urgent distress signals.
A few faint beams of light appeared in the sky, and several rescue teams, following the source of the signals, successfully located everyone on the small island.
More than ten aircraft landed on the island one after another, and hundreds of armed soldiers disembarked in succession. An officer walked up to Xia Lin and saluted him militarily: "Mr. Xia, I am extremely sorry that the rescue arrived late and caused you distress."
"No need for formalities. Let's leave this place first, then we can talk." Xia Lin's peripheral vision swept over, seeing a middle-aged man, around forty years old, hurrying towards him, his face showing a mix of joy and concern: "Master Xia, it's truly wonderful that you're unharmed!"
Xia Lin said in a deep voice: "My bodyguards and assistants have all lost contact. You continue to lead people to search the sea, and see if there are any other survivors."
"The search is underway, please rest assured, Master Xia."
Xia Lin nodded, and said nothing more. Although he had just gone through a dangerous ordeal, the sharpness in his eyes had not diminished in the slightest. His posture was straight, like a towering pine tree, steady and proud.
An Xian and the others, escorted by soldiers, registered one by one, while Xia Lin boarded a separate aircraft.
It was clear his identity was extraordinary, but An Xian had little interest in this. What needed to be done now was to quickly understand and adapt to this era, which was both familiar and strange.
Over a thousand years had passed, and the spiritual energy in heaven and earth had become so thin. She wondered if there were still other cultivators in existence.