“Father, Mother... Can Yueli really avenge you?”
At the lakeside outside a remote mountain village, a soft sigh drifted in the air.
The water reflected a slender figure. Despite her thin frame, she possessed skin like jade and bones like ice, with a face of ethereal, transcendent beauty.
A teardrop mole sat beneath her clear eyes. Even her coarse, hemp clothes could not hide her picture-perfect features.
The young girl's name was Su Yueli, and she had transmigrated into this world from the womb.
This world was vast and boundless, where cultivators could move mountains, drain seas, and shift the stars with a single thought.
Unlike other transmigrators, Su Yueli had no cheat system. Carrying a blood feud, she lived in exile in this remote little village.
Furthermore, she had transmigrated into a girl.
Yes, her “little brother” was gone. But if she could cultivate, what did a mere two ounces of flesh matter?
Otherwise, at the bottom of this cultivation world where human life was treated like grass... without strength, beauty was only a curse, making one mere meat on a chopping block.
“A-Li, I knew you'd be here.”
As Su Yueli was lost in thought, a boy's voice sounded behind her.
It was Shen Qing'an, a youth from the village. It was said that his father was a merchant in a big city who had placed him in the village chief's home to escape trouble. He also had a younger brother named Shen Huai'an.
Shen Qing'an's gaze immediately fell on Su Yueli's arms. He had heard that she went into the mountains to practice her punches two days ago and ended up with bloody fists, which had kept him tossing and turning all night.
Seeing that the wounds were almost healed now, he felt much more at ease.
He said testily, “A young girl like you, always fighting and training, getting yourself covered in wounds every day.”
Su Yueli glanced at him but did not reply.
Anyone would want to cultivate and practice martial arts. Without power in this world, one was no different from an ant. If an immortal wanted you dead, you died.
Shen Qing'an and his brother had arrived in the village the same year she did. Though he was a bit of a chatterbox, Su Yueli knew in her heart that they had helped her immensely over the past three years.
“Back to business.”
Seeing her silence, Shen Qing'an's expression suddenly turned serious, and he lowered his voice. “Come with me. Immortals have arrived in the village. They're testing Bone Talent at the village entrance.”
“Testing Bone Talent? Right now?”
Hearing those words, Su Yueli's eyes brightened.
Was her fate finally about to turn? Given her current situation of having absolutely nothing, there was a high probability she would test positive for a Heavenly Bone.
“Let's go! I'll definitely have Bone Talent!” Su Yueli cheered herself on and dashed toward the village entrance.
Shen Qing'an followed behind, sighing softly.
He didn't share Su Yueli's fanaticism for immortals. He only knew that immortals viewed mortals as grass.
Testing one's Bone Talent was like a carp leaping through the dragon's gate. Yet, geniuses were as numerous as crucian carp crossing a river, and stepping into an immortal sect meant endless killing.
In his view, earning enough money and living a peaceful life with the person he liked was more than enough.
But seeing Su Yueli's curved eyes, a smile unconsciously crept onto his face.
Along the way, Su Yueli was in an excellent mood. She turned to Shen Qing'an and said, “Once I test positive for Bone Talent and become an immortal, the first thing I'll do is give you a few immortal pills! I'll fly you around on a flying sword, ensuring you live in luxury.”
Shen Qing'an had helped her a lot over the years. If she struck it rich, she ought to repay him.
Hearing this, Shen Qing'an stopped in his tracks.
He quietly gazed at her bright, beautiful face in the sunlight. Her eyes were clear and serene, like the mountain moon reflected in water.
A ripple of emotion indeed stirred in his heart, but it was mostly complex and heavy.
He hoped Su Yueli would get her wish and no longer suffer in this remote village.
But the paths of immortals and mortals were different; they were two entirely separate worlds. The moment Su Yueli stepped onto it, a chasm of life and death would be drawn between them.
After a moment, he withdrew his gaze and shook his head. “I'm afraid of heights. I won't fly.”
“If you really become an immortal, you'll live for hundreds or thousands of years. Just don't forget what this old man looks like by then. I hear immortals are the most cold-hearted.”
Su Yueli smiled, her eyes crinkling. “Are you so sure you don't have Bone Talent?”
Shen Qing'an said no more. He didn't need Bone Talent; he only wanted to live a simple life.
Before long, the two arrived at the village entrance.
The village children waiting to test their Bone Talent and their families had already packed the entrance, leaving no room to move.
Su Yueli scanned the crowd. The villagers' faces were filled with excited smiles, and chatter erupted everywhere.
“Niuwa, when you see the Immortal Master, you must kowtow hard! If you get chosen as an immortal servant, our Li family's ancestral graves will practically smoke with blessings!”
“Eryatou, you too! If you have Bone Talent and get chosen, keep your head down! The Immortal Masters have bad tempers, so don't anger them!”
“As long as we can enter the immortal sect, even sweeping the floors is fine. At least we'll get a bite of spiritual food and live a long life!”
Various emotions played across the villagers' faces. At the very edge of the crowd, Shen Qing'an's younger brother, Shen Huai'an, was waving.
The two brothers looked very similar, with sharp jawlines. Unlike Shen Qing'an, who had no desires, Shen Huai'an possessed an innate, stubborn determination.
Yet with just a single glance, one would never mistake them.
The moment he saw Su Yueli, Shen Huai'an's eyes lit up.
“Sister Yueli!”
Shen Huai'an quickly walked over, pulled a paper-wrapped package from his chest, and stuffed it into Su Yueli's hand.
“Freshly bought meat buns.” Shen Huai'an stared into Su Yueli's eyes, his gaze burning. “They just came out of the steamer when I tucked them into my clothes and ran back without letting them catch any wind, so eat them while they're hot.”
Walking half a step behind, Shen Qing'an's pace faltered slightly.
Looking at his brother's slightly flushed face, he looked down at the small handful of wild berries clutched in his own rough palm.
He had secretly picked them on his way back to the village, intending to quench Su Yueli's thirst.
Pursing his lips, he slipped his hand back into his sleeve and even took half a step back, yielding his spot to his younger brother.
Su Yueli held the buns. She had expected this, as these two brothers cared for her a lot.
She smiled, her eyes curving. “Thank you. Once I test my Bone Talent, I'll definitely repay you tenfold.”
Shen Huai'an wanted to say more, but a sudden pressure descended from above.
“The Blue Moon Sect is recruiting disciples! Anyone with Bone Talent will have the chance to embark on the immortal path!”
Su Yueli looked up. Two cultivators wearing blue Taoist robes were looking down, their expressions indifferent.
The villagers knelt one after another, kowtowing repeatedly.
“Immortals, the immortals are really here! Thank you, immortals!”
“Immortal Masters, how do we test if we have Bone Talent?”
“Yes, yes! My Niuwa was born on a day of thunder and rain. His immortal bone must be extraordinary!”
...
The villagers were incredibly excited, their chatter and questions flying like artillery shells, making the two cultivators frown.
“Quiet!”
Annoyed, one of the cultivators waved his hand. A wave of pressure rippled out, instantly causing everyone's legs to tremble. The crowd finally fell silent, their expressions filled with panic and unease.
Su Yueli watched this scene, her eyes burning.
“This is a cultivator... This is power...”
To them, mortals like her were no different from ants. A single thought could decide their life or death.
Su Yueli clenched her fists in secret. No matter what, she had to embark on this immortal path!
“Cultivation depends on aptitude, which is your Bone Talent. It is divided into Mortal Bone, Low-grade Bone, High-grade Bone, Immortal Bone, and the once-in-a-millennium Supreme Heavenly Bone.”
The cultivator spoke with his hands behind his back, lightly tapping his foot to activate a glowing array.
“Those under the age of twenty, step forward for the spirit test.”
Hearing the age limit, many villagers in the back who had been eager to try clenched their fists.
If not for the lingering, suffocating pressure in the air, they would have rushed forward to take a gamble.
The testing began, and the village youths lined up in excitement.
The first person stepped up, but the pillar of light remained dead silent.
“No Bone Talent. Next.”
More than a dozen went up in a row without any reaction. The cultivators' expressions grew increasingly impatient.
It wasn't until the twentieth person stepped up that the pillar of light finally emitted a faint white glow.
“Mortal Bone.”
A commotion rippled through the crowd. Over the next half hour, the village youths were filtered through like sand.
In the end, only three Mortal Bones were found, and the blacksmith's daughter, Erya, was tested to have a Low-grade Bone.
Soon, it was Shen Qing'an's turn. He stepped onto the array, but there was still no reaction.
Shen Qing'an didn't seem particularly disappointed or surprised, as if he had long expected this result.
He stepped down, turned, and walked off the high platform, returning to Su Yueli's side.
“Your turn.”
Shen Qing'an looked at Su Yueli's slightly nervous profile, a faint smile playing on his lips. His voice was very soft. “Go on. I hope you have a Heavenly Bone.”
Shen Huai'an also cheered her on from the side. “Sister Yueli, it will definitely be a Heavenly Bone!”
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