Guixu Realm
Xiaoyao Prefecture
Shenxiao Palace
Great Bamboo Peak
Yun Che wore a tattered Daoist robe and sat on a cold bluestone slab on the back mountain of Great Bamboo Peak, looking toward the setting sun on the horizon and letting out a long sigh.
He had crossed from Earth into this bizarre, fantastical world several years ago.
This world had Confucians, Daoists, demons, monsters, and mages.
At first, Yun Che had been excited. Soaring through the sky and diving through the earth, moving mountains and overturning seas, living forever, and roaming the universe freely… these words had existed only in the fantasies of his past life, yet now they were within reach.
He had thought that he was the chosen one, that the next moment he would pick up a heaven-defying cultivation art, meet some mysterious old master, or be taken in by some peerless expert because of his bones and talent, and from then on soar to the heavens, enjoy revenge and vindication, and reach the summit of life.
But after waiting for so long, time had worn away his edges. There was no legendary old grandpa’s remnant soul, no heaven-defying cultivation art, and no system.
He was like the most inconspicuous speck of dust in Shenxiao Palace, one of the countless ordinary disciples on Great Bamboo Peak.
His daily life never changed: morning class, qi cultivation, meditation, completing tasks, then more qi cultivation and meditation.
He worked day and night, grinding himself harder than anyone else.
But his cultivation improved so slowly that it felt like climbing a thousand-zhang cliff while carrying a mountain on his back; every inch forward drained him dry.
Even after several years, he was still stuck at the Qi Refining stage, and among people his age he was at the very bottom.
Among the disciples of the same generation, those with even a little talent had already broken through Qi Refining and entered Foundation Establishment, and some had even been taken in by the elders as true disciples, leaping over the dragon gate.
“Maybe this is fate.” Yun Che washed his face. His original ambition had long since been flattened by reality.
He began to seriously consider whether he should accept reality, just like many senior brothers who could not see any hope, slowly lie flat, give up cultivating immortality, go down the mountain, find a dao companion, have a child with spiritual roots, and pin all his hopes on the next generation…
“Damn it!” Thinking of this, Yun Che could not help cursing under his breath again, his heart full of unwillingness.
Just as the struggle between dejection and unwillingness reached its peak, and he was almost ready to lower his head and accept his fate…
A voice like celestial music suddenly rang in the depths of his soul without warning:
『Ding! Detected the host’s intense obsession with ‘turning his life around’; conditions met, ‘Immortal Maiden Possession System’ beginning activation… 10%… 50%… 100%! Activation successful!』
Yun Che froze all at once, his eyes widening to the limit and his breathing stopping.
Sys… system?
My… system daddy finally came through?!
Wild joy erupted like a volcano, instantly crushing all his gloom and frustration, making him almost leap straight up from the bluestone slab!
System, do you know how I spent these past few years? I stared at this damn rock every day!
It came!
It finally came!
At this moment of despair, it had finally arrived!
“Hahaha!” Yun Che forcefully suppressed the laughter that almost burst out of him, his body trembling slightly with excitement.
『Greetings, honorable host. The ‘Immortal Maiden Possession System’ has successfully activated.』
『Core function of this system: it can randomly search for an ‘immortal maiden’ in the Guixu Realm and bind to her.』
『After binding succeeds, your consciousness can descend into the bound immortal maiden and temporarily gain control of her body.』
『Special note: after the possession of the immortal maiden ends, once a certain level of intimacy is reached, the spiritual power growth and cultivation technique proficiency gained by the possessed immortal maiden through cultivation will be fed back by the system to the host’s original body after possession ends.』
『May I ask, host, should I begin searching for a possessable target immediately?』
“Immediately! Right now! Search now!” Yun Che screamed wildly in his mind without the slightest hesitation.
This feature… it was simply the ultimate cheat tailor-made for him!
He did not need to cultivate painstakingly himself. He could bind an immortal maiden, train through her body, and keep all the results for himself?
Was there anything more wonderful in the world than this? He loved it! He loved it so much!
『Scanning the current worldline… matching immortal-maiden-level targets… Ding! A qualified immortal maiden has been found!』
『Target locked.』
『Would you like to bind to this immortal maiden immediately?』
“Bind her! Bind her right now! It’s her!”
Yun Che’s heart pounded wildly with excitement, as if he could already see the endless immortal path beckoning to him.
Whoever she was, he would bind her first and worry about the rest later!
『Command confirmed.』
『Binding complete.』
『You are about to possess the bound immortal maiden. Please get ready.』
『Possession duration: 2 hours. When the time is up, you will automatically pop out and return to your original body.』
『Transferring consciousness…』
Yun Che only felt a slight daze in his mind, as if his soul had been drawn into a warm vortex, and his sight and senses were instantly torn away from the familiar bluestone and back-mountain scenery.
The next moment, an indescribably wonderful sensation enveloped him.
He “opened his eyes,” but what he saw was no longer his own coarse Daoist robe or the mountain wilderness scenery.
What came into “view” was an elegantly furnished quiet room full of scholarly air.
It was not the ethereal cave abode of an immortal sect, but a Confucian school academy.
The walls were lined with towering, ancient bookshelves, and neatly arranged on them were bamboo slips and thread-bound books. The air no longer carried a cold fragrance, but instead the faint scent of ink and pine soot.
When his gaze dropped slightly, he saw a snow-white, spotless women’s ruqun dress from the Confucian school.
Its wide skirt and lapels were embroidered with pale green orchid patterns, and it rested neatly on a finely woven meditation cushion.
On the low table beside it, there was also a scroll of regular script with the ink still wet.
The sensation of strength flowing through the body was also different from the sharp, overwhelming force he had imagined for a sword immortal.
It was a force of upright calm, yet continuous and richly mellow righteous qi, flowing slowly through the meridians. With each cycle, it seemed to resonate with some “principle” and “righteousness” between heaven and earth, nourishing the soul and tempering the will.
“I have bound myself to the body of a female Confucian school cultivator. So this is the body of a female Confucian school cultivator?
It feels so strange…” Yun Che was trying to sense more clearly this cultivation method that was completely different from Daoism.
Just then, a clearly startled female voice rang directly in his “ear”…
“How strange? Why is my body suddenly out of control?”
The woman’s voice sounded very gentle, yet it suddenly rang out in this silent environment, clearly entering Yun Che’s mind.
Yun Che was jolted by the voice, and the woman who had spoken seemed even more panicked than he was.
He quickly controlled his vision and looked around the quiet room, discovering that the doors and windows were shut tight, the bookshelves stood solemnly, and there was no one here except “himself.”
Then that clearly startled female voice from just now could only have come from…
The original owner of this body!
Her soul had not been asleep; it was still awake within this body!
Realm Stages in This Book: Qi Refining → Foundation Establishment → Golden Core → Nascent Soul → Jade Uncut Realm → Ascension Realm →???