Chapter 02: The Cruelty of a New World
Xie Bailu felt a wave of dizziness, her vision blurred, and when she opened her eyes again, she was in a different place.
She was still holding the Five-Star Cauldron, her heart pounding from the high-stakes escape. The pain in her already injured abdomen intensified.
All of this was a stark reminder that what she had just experienced was not a dream.
The white bun hopped out of the Five-Star Cauldron, chirping triumphantly. “Hmph, that madman wanted to dismantle me? In his dreams!”
Xie Bailu ignored it, kneeling on the ground in silence for a long while, her long hair falling forward to hide her face.
Her life had been hanging by a thread just moments ago, leaving no room for thought. She had desperately seized every chance to survive. Now, with a moment to breathe, the reality of her transmigration finally sank in.
She wasn’t on good terms with her family. Ever since she was old enough to understand, she had studied hard, aiming for self-reliance through education. While she had decent relationships with people, she never had time for close friends. Having just graduated and started working, she had no savings to speak of. Transmigration wasn’t a life-or-death tragedy for her; as long as there was a path to a better life through her own efforts, that was enough.
But to be thrown into a fantasy world, right into the middle of a massacre… that was a bit much!
Xie Bailu was thankful she was a novel reader; otherwise, she probably wouldn’t have been able to react as she did. Outside of studying and working, she needed entertainment, and reading was a relatively cheap hobby. To keep from getting too stressed, she read fiction alongside non-fiction, and over the years, she had read her fair share of cultivation novels.
Xie Bailu was used to the pressures of school and work, so she didn’t allow herself to relax for too long.
She took several deep breaths to steady her racing heart and began to assess her situation.
Her pale blue dress was stained with dirt and dark red blood, and torn in several places. A dusty cloth pouch hung from her belt, likely a storage bag of some sort. Other than that, she had nothing. Her hair was a mess, without even a ribbon to tie it.
Xie Bailu lifted the outer layer of her dress and, along the torn edge of her white undergarment, ripped off several strips of cloth of varying widths. Using her hands as a comb, she tied her hair into a high ponytail.
Not far away was a small, shallow pond. Ignoring the white bun’s incessant cursing of the madman, she walked over, squatted down, and washed her face.
As the ripples in the water settled, she saw the reflection of this body’s face. The girl looked to be about her age, with delicate and beautiful features that gave her a fragile air.
The white bun finally finished its tirade and bounced over, urging, “We’ve only traveled a hundred li. We can’t relax yet. You need to meditate and recover. We have to get much farther away.”
Xie Bailu turned to look at it. The escape had completely drained her Dantian, and the artifact spirit wasn’t in good shape either. The white bun itself looked somewhat translucent.
She guessed that she had borrowed the Five-Star Cauldron’s power to travel so far so quickly, and they had split the “travel expenses.”
Xie Bailu took the cloth pouch from her waist. When she found she couldn’t open it, she asked, “Can you tell me how to open this?”
The white bun finally remembered that the person before it, though a soul possessor, was a mortal who knew nothing. It could only instruct her, “You need to use spiritual energy to open it.”
Xie Bailu said, “I don’t have a single drop of spiritual energy left in my Dantian. Can you help me open it?”
A wave of sorrow washed over the white bun. It had been so picky before, looking down on this person and that, only to end up with such a master…
As an artifact spirit, it couldn’t directly use spiritual energy. If it could, it would have escaped long ago. Why would it need to acknowledge a master? It could only lend Xie Bailu a bit of its power to help her open the storage bag.
Xie Bailu took everything out of the storage bag. There wasn’t much, which suggested the original owner was quite poor. Inside was a half-empty bottle of low-quality healing pills, a change of clothes, a fairly sharp ordinary dagger, a handful of low-grade spirit stones, some gold and silver, and some dry rations with a leather waterskin.
The white bun identified the pills, dagger, and spirit stones, its tone dripping with the disdain one would use for trash.
She figured the dagger, not being a magical treasure, couldn’t serve as a cultivator’s weapon. The original owner’s primary weapon was probably left at the scene of her death.
For now, all she could do was take out the dagger and tie it to her calf, hidden from view. It was better than nothing.
Xie Bailu wanted to live a good life in this new world, but with no memories, she would have to rely on this artifact spirit to help her adapt. She spoke politely, “My name is Xie Bailu. You’re the artifact spirit of the Five-Star Cauldron, right? What should I call you?”
The white bun replied listlessly, “You can call me Xiao Xing.”
Xie Bailu said, “Xiao Xing, I know you look down on me, but since you chose me, I hope we can get along in the future.”
It had already said the connection couldn’t be broken unless she died, so her only choice was to build a good relationship with it. For an artifact spirit, any master was fine, as long as it didn’t fall into that man’s hands.
Xie Bailu knew she was the weaker party and wanted to mitigate the spirit’s resentment at being forced to choose her. She said gently, “To be honest, before I ‘possessed’ this body, I was just an ordinary person. I had never seen a cultivator, let alone practiced cultivation. But in that short time just now, I learned everything you taught me.”
Xiao Xing shifted slightly. Xie Bailu knew it was watching her and continued with even more sincerity, “I’m a very fast learner. Give me some time, and I will do my best to become the kind of master you hope for.”
Xie Bailu was worried that after escaping the madman, the artifact spirit would abandon her for a new master because it found her useless. She had to maximize her own value.
Xiao Xing remained silent, its thoughts unknown.
Xie Bailu paused, then, remembering this was a cultivation world, she smiled. “Besides, I don’t think you’ll find a more suitable master than me.”
Xiao Xing’s round body trembled with indignation. “You think too highly of yourself! Any random cultivator I find would be stronger than you!”
Xie Bailu didn’t get angry. Her tone was calm as she said, “If I hadn’t possessed this body today, you would have been caught and dismantled by that man, right? If the possessor hadn’t been a quick learner like me, if I hadn’t been able to stall for that little bit of time, we wouldn’t have lasted until someone came to interrupt him. This shows that I have excellent luck, that the heavens favor me. A series of coincidences allowed me to live. You might not have such good fortune with someone else.”
Xie Bailu understood it was all just a combination of coincidence and a little effort, but this was a cultivation world. Concepts like karma and fortune were surely taken seriously. Framing the facts this way made her argument very persuasive.
Xiao Xing fell silent. Xie Bailu could feel its hesitation.
Xie Bailu sighed. “Xiao Xing, I’m actually very grateful for your help today. Otherwise, I would have died at his hands. If we hadn’t met, we both would have been finished. But we did meet, and we survived together. Perhaps we are each other’s fated opportunity.”
With that, Xiao Xing was finally convinced. Its original plan had been to get far away from the madman and then find a high-level cultivator to protect it. But now it thought, cultivators stronger than that madman had been killed by him, and it was uncertain if it could even find someone stronger. Yet, this uncultivated mortal before it had survived. It seemed she really did have some luck on her side.
It finally relented. “Fine. I’d like to see if you’re truly favored by the Heavenly Dao.”
Xie Bailu secretly breathed a sigh of relief. She knew the artifact spirit wouldn’t truly see her as its master and would likely replace her if a better opportunity arose. But at least she had bought herself some time. Once she was familiar with this world, she might find a way to make it obey her.
She paused and confirmed, “You said before that you can only change masters if I die… Are you sure there’s no other way?”
Xiao Xing denied it. “Of course not! I’m just an artifact spirit!”
Xie Bailu scoffed inwardly. From your arrogant attitude earlier, you certainly didn’t act like ‘just an artifact spirit.’
She didn’t dwell on it. After changing out of her dirty clothes, she took the healing medicine as instructed by Xiao Xing and began to meditate and recover. At her request, Xiao Xing explained some of the things it knew.
This cultivation world had five major families, and the Ling family was one of them. The man who had tried to kill her, Ling Song, was from the Ling family. With his background and his reckless fighting style, even those with higher cultivation levels tried to avoid him, let alone those weaker. Relying on his cultivation and family status, he had killed many cultivators, yet few dared to cause him trouble. They didn’t even dare to speak his name, referring to him secretly as “the madman.”
Xiao Xing said, perplexed, “That madman is clearly very talented, a Golden Core cultivator at such a young age. If he cultivated properly, he would surely become a top figure. I don’t know what’s wrong with him, fighting so desperately. And his family doesn’t even try to control him!”
Xie Bailu recalled her brief encounter with Ling Song and thought his personality was indeed problematic—a standard villain archetype.
Just then, she felt a sharp, bloating pain in her Dantian, a sign that her spiritual energy circulation had reached its limit. She had to stop.
According to Ling Song, the original owner had died at his hands, and her Dantian had been severely injured. It wouldn’t heal anytime soon.
But under Xiao Xing’s life-or-death urging, and with Xie Bailu’s own fear of Ling Song catching up, she could only gather the little spiritual energy she had managed to accumulate and use the Five-Star Cauldron to travel another hundred li.
Two days passed in a cycle of meditating to recover, running for their lives, recovering again, and running again.
Xie Bailu slowly began to learn some common knowledge about this cultivation world, but Xiao Xing was just an artifact spirit. Much of what it knew was from overhearing others, so her understanding of this world remained partial.
As for the origin of the Five-Star Cauldron, Xiao Xing held nothing back, even speaking with great pride.
According to Xiao Xing, the Five-Star Cauldron was originally the most divine of divine artifacts, but with three of its five elemental essence stones missing, its brilliance was hidden. It had been resting peacefully in a place with abundant spiritual energy until it was discovered by a group of cultivators. Since then, it had known no peace, constantly being fought over.
Normally, it didn’t care who its master was; it had changed masters countless times over the years. But then it encountered the madman, Ling Song.
Ling Song didn’t care about its status as a divine artifact. What he wanted were the materials it was made of. He wanted to dismantle it to refine his life-bound sword!
It wouldn’t stand for that, so of course, it had to escape with all its might.
Xie Bailu felt nothing upon hearing about its divine status. What did its power matter to her when she barely knew how to use it?
According to Xiao Xing, her cultivation level was mid-stage Foundation Establishment, and she had not yet reached the stage of Bigu, which was why there were dry rations in the storage bag. Fortunately, cultivators seemed to have a slower metabolism than mortals, and their absorption of food was more efficient, producing waste slowly and in small amounts. She had only relieved herself once since transmigrating.
The cultivation realms, from lowest to highest, were Qi Refinement, Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, Nascent Soul, Soul Division, Void Interpretation, and Tribulation Transcendence. Xie Bailu remembered Xiao Xing saying that Ling Song was at the mid-stage Golden Core realm. The original owner was an entire major realm below him, yet she had dared to fight him for a treasure?
Xie Bailu asked Xiao Xing, “Do you remember how the original owner of this body died? Did she provoke Ling Song, or was she an innocent bystander?”
Xiao Xing and Xie Bailu were now in the same boat. After their “heart-to-heart,” it had gained a sliver of recognition for her and answered all her questions. It thought for a while before saying, “I don’t remember. Anyway, that group of people was trying to snatch me from the madman. With such a gap in realms, how could they possibly succeed?”
Xie Bailu had wanted to learn about the original owner in case she ran into her friends or family in the future. But since she couldn’t get any information from Xiao Xing, she had to let it go.
More than the state of the world, she was concerned about cultivation. Seeing how Ling Song killed without hesitation, and hearing that he was from one of the five major families, it was clear how dangerous this world was. The so-called major families did not restrain themselves.
In her original world, she had studied desperately to survive. In this world, to avoid being killed, she had to cultivate desperately. Her cultivation level was the only capital she had to rely on.
Xiao Xing, as a divine artifact spirit, could not only teach Xie Bailu how to meditate and cultivate spiritual energy but also swordsmanship. However, without a weapon, she could only practice with a tree branch for now.
As for the Five-Star Cauldron itself, because it was incomplete and Xie Bailu was a novice cultivator, she couldn’t use it for anything other than escaping. She couldn’t even absorb it into her body. To keep Xiao Xing, a native of this world, around to advise her, she couldn’t put it in her storage bag either. She could only wrap it in cloth and hang it tightly at her waist.
Xie Bailu didn’t feel much regret. She had received little parental love growing up and had always strived with limited resources. Her current situation didn’t feel difficult.
Having a teacher to guide her in cultivation was already a great fortune.
On the third day of her transmigration, Xie Bailu finally encountered another living person.
She was meditating to recover her spiritual energy when a demonic beast that looked like a wild boar, but was larger than an elephant, suddenly charged at her. She leaped up in fright and ran.
Using the Five-Star Cauldron to escape required circulating qi and performing hand seals, but the beast was charging ferociously, in hot pursuit. She had no time and could only flee blindly as the beast crashed through the trees behind her.
Xiao Xing shouted anxiously, “This demonic beast is only at the Qi Refinement stage! Don’t run, fight it!”
Xie Bailu was just as anxious. “Fight it with what! My Dantian isn’t healed, and I don’t even have a sword!”
The dagger hidden on her calf was an ordinary weapon. This beast looked thick-skinned. She would probably be sent flying by its charge before she could even get close. She needed to adapt to this new world, but it should be a gradual process. An elementary school student should stick to addition and subtraction, not challenge calculus!
As a divine artifact spirit, Xiao Xing had never seen a cultivator run from a demonic beast. But Xie Bailu had been a mortal who couldn’t cultivate just a few days ago. It was perfectly normal for her to be scared and run.
Still, it was indignant. Even if it was temporary, how could its master be scared off by a mere Foundation Establishment demonic beast?
Just as Xiao Xing was about to push Xie Bailu again, a flash of sword light appeared, momentarily halting the beast. A figure in white leaped onto the beast’s head and plunged a sword into its neck. The longsword was almost completely buried in the beast’s body. It let out a tragic howl and gradually fell silent.
Xie Bailu heard the commotion behind her and turned just in time to see the beast’s massive body collapse, kicking up a cloud of dust that obscured her vision.
From within the dust, a man’s voice called out, “Miss, are you alright?”
The voice was young and pleasant. As the dust settled, a handsome man appeared in Xie Bailu’s view. He had a faint smile on his face and looked approachable.
Xiao Xing fell silent after the male cultivator appeared. Xie Bailu acted as if it didn’t exist and said gratefully, “Thank you for your help, Young Master. I was separated from my elder brother. I’m lucky you were here, or the consequences would have been dire. May I ask for your name?”
The young male cultivator had a warm smile. He said loudly, “You’re too kind, Miss. My name is Qian Lang, a rogue cultivator. And you are?”
Xie Bailu replied, “My name is Xie Bailu, also a rogue cultivator. Young Master Qian, I will never forget your kindness in saving my life. But I’ve been separated from my brother, and he must be worriedly looking for me. I must find him first. In the future, we will visit your residence to thank you. Could you please tell me where you live?”
Although he had saved her and was likely a good person, she was in a completely unfamiliar world, and she was too weak to trust anyone too much. As for her name, no one in this world knew her, so using her real name would prevent her from not reacting when called.
Qian Lang smiled. “It was a small matter, Miss Xie. Please don’t worry about it. I see that you seem to be injured. Why don’t I do a good deed all the way and help you find your brother?”
Xie Bailu politely declined. “How could I trouble you so? I don’t want to delay your business.”
Qian Lang laughed. “I have nothing else to do. Miss Xie, you don’t have to worry about troubling me.”
Xie Bailu noticed him walking toward her as he spoke. A sense of unease rose in her heart, but she kept her expression neutral. “Since Young Master Qian insists, then I will have to trouble you. I was separated from my brother not long ago, so he should be nearby…”
Before Xie Bailu could finish, Qian Lang suddenly rushed at her. A wave of spiritual pressure washed over her, and a sharp pain flared in her injured Dantian. She felt a heavy weight on her, and she was pinned against a rough tree trunk, unable to move.
Qian Lang, who had looked so gentle and kind a moment ago, now had one hand around Xie Bailu’s throat, a malicious smile on his face. “Miss Xie, your brother must have protected you well, right? Remember this for your next life: you should have run the moment I killed that beast.”
As he spoke, his hand moved to Xie Bailu’s waist and snatched her storage bag. He paused, then said with disgust, “Is this all you have?”
Xie Bailu felt his killing intent and was momentarily speechless. Hearing his words, she understood. Without strength to back it up, no amount of cleverness mattered. He had only tested her with a few words and had seen right through her. Without a high cultivation level, she could only feign compliance. The more she spoke, the more she exposed her powerlessness.
Then, she saw Qian Lang’s gaze fall upon the Five-Star Cauldron hanging at her waist.
The Five-Star Cauldron was wrapped in cloth, so its appearance was hidden. But it was a divine artifact, and according to Xiao Xing, everyone knew of it… If Qian Lang saw it, he would surely want it for himself, and he would definitely kill her, its current master.
Under his chilling killing intent, her survival instinct screamed. The feeling of suffocation as he choked her made her head spin. She thought, I can’t die here. I even escaped that madman Ling Song. There’s no reason to die at the hands of an ordinary cultivator like this…
Xie Bailu’s gaze suddenly shifted to a spot behind Qian Lang’s side, and her expression filled with pleasant surprise. “Brother…”
In reality, her vision was already blurring from the lack of air. She couldn’t see anything clearly and didn’t realize that someone was actually standing there.
Qian Lang naturally noticed the terrifying aura. He whipped his head around, his heart filled with terror. He had attacked because he had judged from the female cultivator’s plain clothes and lack of magical treasures that she had no background or strength. But how could her brother possess such terrifying power?
The moment Qian Lang’s attention was diverted, Xie Bailu lifted her leg, drew the dagger hidden on her calf, and plunged it into his unguarded neck with all her might.
Cultivators were, after all, just more powerful humans. Qian Lang was only at the Foundation Establishment stage; his body hadn’t been tempered by heavenly tribulations. He was only slightly better than a mortal. A fatal blow to the neck was still deadly.
He let out a pained cry. At the same time, the figure in his field of vision became clear.
It was a man in red robes, so handsome he was almost demonic.
Qian Lang’s eyes widened in shock. It was that madman, Ling Song! He had seen him from a distance once before and would never mistake him!
Spiritual energy surged into his body through the dagger. As it was pulled out, gushing blood carried his life force away. In the final moment of his life, Qian Lang was filled with extreme anger and unwillingness—why didn’t she just say that the brother she spoke of was that madman? He would have run as far as he could