Chapter 1: Transmigration

"Miss Yunqing, here is your dinner. You look much better today."
"Thank you, Aunt Liu." Yunqing accepted the food parcel from Aunt Liu at the relief station with both hands.
Aunt Liu, whose face was always kind, spoke with concern, "Food at the relief station is getting scarcer. If you ever have extra, please donate some back to us so more people in need can be helped."
This was Yunqing's third day recovering in Ye Family Village. There was a rule in the village: refugees could be given three days of food and lodging free of charge. After that, they must either leave, pay, or work in exchange.
Having received free food for three days in a row, Yunqing was grateful not to have starved after her arrival in this world. Donating any surplus in the future was only right. Holding the food parcel with both hands, she replied earnestly, "Of course! I’ll be able to join the villagers in gathering resources tomorrow. If I ever have more than I need, I will donate to the relief station."
After collecting her share, Yunqing left the line while Aunt Liu handed food to the next villager.
Back in her temporary shelter provided by the relief station, Yunqing eagerly unwrapped her meal. Inside was a fish, weighing a little over a pound.
"Roast catfish. Deliciousness: 1. Restores 40 fullness. Restores 5 health."
Food here had a deliciousness rating and could even boost health—a clear improvement over the last two days. This was the first time Yunqing had seen food that could restore health.
Coincidentally, though her injuries had healed, her health value had stubbornly lingered at 95 out of 100, refusing to return to full. As it turned out, she needed special food with attributes to recover fully.
Her stomach grumbled loudly—she had been hungry for some time. Now, seeing food that would actually benefit her health, she couldn't help herself.
With a thought, she took the chopsticks she’d made from twigs out of her pack, picked up a piece of fish, and brought it to her mouth.
Her teeth met the boneless flesh, which seemed to melt away with each unconscious chew, and she swallowed without thinking.
A gentle warmth rose from her belly and spread outward, an incredibly comfortable sensation.
Taking another piece of fish, Yunqing reflected on her four days since crossing into this world.
She had been a sophomore in college in the 21st century. During winter break, she’d downloaded a fantasy game set in a world of cultivation, eager to enjoy some immersive virtual adventure. Yet before she had played long, she was transported to this world of immortals.
Counting the days, it had now been four since she arrived.
On the first day, she had wandered, badly wounded, struggling for control of her own body. It took her all day to regain command of herself. After that, Ye Xiaolang, a villager out gathering resources, brought her back to Ye Family Village, where she’d been recovering at the relief station for three days.

When she’d first arrived, her injuries were grave. She’d expected to need ten days or half a month to heal, but after only three days, she was nearly well.
The body’s original owner was also named Yunqing, fifteen years old. By the time Yunqing arrived, the soul had already passed on.
She hadn’t received all the original’s memories, only scattered fragments. After several days of careful thought, she managed to piece together a rough outline:
The original Yunqing’s family was influential on the Lingzhou Continent. Both her parents were powerful cultivators, and she was their only daughter—the apple of their eye, raised with endless affection.
Yet despite all this, she had one great sorrow.
At six years old, during the spirit-root testing ceremony, the spirit plate showed no reaction. She was declared to have no spiritual roots—doomed to be unable to cultivate.
Those without spiritual roots could train their bodies, using sheer will to endure pain and develop strength to rival even cultivators.
However, a body refiner’s lifespan could never match a true immortal’s. They had to wring every drop of progress in limited time, and the training was harsher, demanding more resources.
There were other, darker paths to extend life, but ultimately, those with spiritual roots were Heaven’s favored. According to the Cultivator Alliance of Lingzhou, only one in a thousand possessed spiritual roots.
Even so, the original Yunqing grew up greatly cherished. Her memories for nearly ten years afterward were sparse—she lived in comfort, her main trouble being that her parents were often away in seclusion or on missions, so time together was rare.
At fourteen, she developed feelings for a roguishly handsome young cultivator. Hoping to make herself more impressive, she began body refining. Whether or not the young man reciprocated, Yunqing could not tell.
She could no longer recall her parents’ faces or names, but she remembered that young man’s smirk and captivating gaze in fleeting flashes.
The last clear memory was of a trip with several young cultivators aboard a flying vessel; the young man was among them.
While playing hide-and-seek on the airship, she found an excellent hiding spot. At first, she was pleased that no one found her—but as time passed, she realized something was wrong. She was trapped.
She cried out for help, but no one answered. She was caught in an array—a formation she could not escape.

She drifted in and out of consciousness for days, possibly longer. Still, no one found her. Fortunately, she’d taken a fasting pill and could go days without eating; otherwise, she would have starved in the formation.
One day, a shattering sound startled her awake. In the pitch-black darkness, she could sense the flying vessel in freefall, falling apart.
Its destruction broke the formation as well.
In the darkness, unseen dangers seemed to pass through her body. At the brink of life and death, her desperate will to survive awakened her hidden spiritual root.
Light gathered around her, pushing back the darkness so that nothing harmful could approach.
Surrounded by converging light auras, she searched for her companions in the void.
What neither Yunqing nor the original knew was that her entrapment was no accident. After trapping her, the others abandoned ship, flying away on their swords, leaving the vessel to its auto-piloted course toward the Dark Sea—a place few ever survived.
The Dark Sea was not truly a sea, but a void of devouring darkness, impervious even to sunlight.
Desperate, she tried to find her companions, but she had never trained with spiritual energy and had no cultivation. She didn’t know how to gather more light, nor had the strength to maintain her protection.
She lasted only a short while and failed to find her so-called “companions.” In the end, her soul was shattered in the darkness.
When she awoke again, Yunqing from the 21st century found herself stumbling alone in the wilderness.
Before Ye Xiaolang found her, she had managed to clean herself up by the river. Her clothes and skin, once black as pitch, revealed a few patches of their original color. Her skin was fair—well, the small parts she’d managed to scrub clean.
Yunqing judged that the original owner was quite good-looking: an oval face, striking features with a hint of heroism. Unfortunately, her grimy face was mostly black, with a few pale patches like those of a person with vitiligo, perfectly obscuring her true appearance.
There was no memory of actual vitiligo.
She was estimated to be between 165 and 170 centimeters tall, had trained her body for about half a year, and, though not fully developed, her constitution was excellent—evident from how quickly wounds healed.
And as for a cheat from transmigration—yes, she had one: a system.