ITOTIABSAM | The Immortal on Liuyun Mountain | 136
Rustle.
A gentle breeze brushed past as Gu Cong made an effort to stretch his leaves and anchor his roots into the ground.
This was his new body, or rather, his new-new body. If memory served him right, he should have died twice in a row now, the last time being just a few minutes ago.
"No death, just the soul leaving the body." Suddenly, a mechanical voice echoed in Gu Cong's mind, though he wasn't sure if he still had a brain.
Just a few minutes ago, he learned for the first time about the existence of the Quick Transmigration Bureau and the Quick Transmigration System. Then, he was promptly sent into the grass.
The one speaking now, according to his self-introduction, was designated as 0028. Despite the subtle mechanical tone, he sounded like a weary middle-aged man.
Being able to casually read his thoughts, this intelligent lifeform seemed extremely dangerous no matter how you thought about it. Guardedly, Gu Cong cleared his mind and silently observed his surroundings.
He seemed to be in a mountain.
The absence of even insect sounds made it feel more like dead silence than quiet. Nearby, rows of grass similar to him stood under the sun. Despite the tranquility, one could still see faint glimmers of light swirling around the branches and leaves, like stars, beautiful yet defying logic.
"Logic? These are called Starlight Grass. This is the cultivation world," 0028 said, bored of his monologue. Then, he provoked, "Are you really just eighteen?"
Why was he more cautious than any of the previous hosts?
As expected, mentioning his age finally caused some fluctuation in his otherwise stable mental state. Gu Cong emphasized, "Second year of college."
"Of course, I know you're a sophomore, skipped a grade, and your name is Gu Cong. Eighteen years old, just celebrated your birthday two months ago. Cheerful personality, excellent grades, harmonious family," 0028 shrugged indifferently. "But what's the point? You're already dead."
Everything, good or bad, that he had once possessed, scattered with the crash of the private car driven by the drunk driver.
It had said similar things to too many hosts, too many times, and had long lost patience for gentle persuasion and helping them adjust.
However, the anticipated breakdown, retaliation, or uproar did not occur. The youth merely extended his dehydrated roots deeper into the soil.
Punching the cotton, 0028 suddenly felt like a villain bullying a child out of frustration.
"Someone will come to take you away later," it reminded after a few moments of silence. "It's a plot mentioned in the original story. Without interference from a transmigrator like you, it's difficult to change."
Like pure data being copied and pasted, a novel abruptly appeared in Gu Cong's mind, each word clear.
"Transcending Immortal."
An atypical cultivation novel, peculiar and eccentric. Its ultimate goal was to defeat the antagonist, and he, in the end, provided assistance as a supporting character.
As for why Gu Cong could be so certain of his identity, it was because the book explicitly stated that the supporting character, Song He, was born with a wandering soul syndrome. Once unconscious, regardless of his cultivation level, his soul would randomly transfer and possess animals, plants, and even stones.
The first night after falling to the ground, he lost his soul. Thankfully, there were elders in the clan who could project their souls, and they managed to save his life. Since then, Song He had never slept again until he met the protagonist, Shen Qingshu.
Yes, this was a BL novel. Although Gu Cong excelled academically, he disliked burying himself in studies. He was familiar with the topics popular among boys and girls in his class.
He had never liked anyone, so naturally, he couldn't determine his own sexual orientation.
However, it was clear that in the book, Song He had deep feelings for the protagonist. Upon learning that Shen Qingshu was about to be forcibly taken by the antagonist, Song He volunteered to go undercover by the antagonist's side.
There was no other choice. The antagonist in this story was simply too powerful. Until the protagonist broke through his cultivation realm, confronting Xie Ye head-on would only lead to defeat.
This antagonist was the Transcendent Immortal on the Liuyun Mountain, Xi Ye.
It was strange that the author chose an antagonist to set the stage, and even gave him a name that wasn't too ancient-sounding. Legend had it that he was an indescribable being. Just one glance from him could drive anyone, no matter how powerful, mad, irrational, and ultimately become a puppet manipulated at his will.
Gu Cong who instantly associates various deep-sea tentacles:...
"It's indeed a similar setup," satisfied with the quick response, 0028 continued, "Relax, he's just an antagonist, not as strong as you think."
Otherwise, the author wouldn't be able to bring about a happy ending.
"For example, you can call him by his name as you please. Even if you're rooted on his mountain, so close to him, he won't notice you, let alone find you," 0028 explained.
Gu Cong: Good idea.
But right now, he was just a blade of grass, how could he call out to anyone?
"Besides, Xie Ye's ability only works on humans—or humanoid creatures. The higher the cultivation, the stronger the resistance," 0028 added, considering the other party was still a novice. "You, as Song He in the original work, probably exploited a loophole, which is why the protagonist's group sent you."
After all, looking at the entire cultivation world, it's hard to find a second fool willing to offer their primordial spirit for others.
The most important point is that Song He's wandering soul is a talent, an innate "defect." Unlike other out-of-body stage cultivators, he can blend his breath, perfection, and living or dead things that his primordial spirit possesses, seamlessly lurking around the villains.
When Gu Cong crossed over, he happened to find the original owner standing in a formation, ensuring that his primordial spirit would be sent to Liuyun Mountain. The finger that hit Gu Cong's brow wasn't a fatal attack, but a spell that made the protagonist break the restriction set by Shen Qingshu and fall asleep.
【Your real body is being carefully kept by Shen Qingshu, taken away from Liuyun Mountain, of course, in the appearance of Song He.】The most basic explanation finally came to an end, and 0028 yawned, "Mission accomplished, assisting the protagonist in achieving a happy ending. From now on, it's up to you how to spend your time. Gu Cong, the newly appointed quick transmigration agent, I have high hopes for you."
The next moment, Gu Cong, who wanted to ask more questions, held his breath.
He heard something brushing over the grass.
Rustle. Rustle.
Due to the excessively small view of the starry grass, although he could survey the surroundings in a 360-degree angle without any blind spots, the information he obtained was indeed limited.
Could it be a snake?
Understanding that fear was useless, Gu Cong calmly analyzed the situation. In the mountains, even if Xie Ye raised some pets, it wouldn't be an octopus.
Who would have expected that what slowly came into his sight was actually a person?
With wide sleeves and a broad robe, the snow-white garment hung down, yet it was extremely clean, causing Gu Cong's alertness to stem from this. Above that, there were fingers holding an umbrella handle, with tangled puppet strings.
【I've reported it. The time flow rates between the main world and the small world are different, so it may take a few days to get a response.】Despite searching through the database, 1101 couldn't find a similar bug and pressed the send button with confusion.
The small world before Xie Ye's awakening should have reached its conclusion and evolved into a complete existence no longer affected by the plot. And a complete world couldn't possibly be rebooted at will.
Could there be chaos within the organization?
Unable to make sense of it all, 1101 had to give up and shrugged. "Strange, I clearly sensed a familiar aura nearby just now."
Xie Ye asked, "Is it him?"
1101 carefully chose their words, "Doesn't seem quite like him."
Instead, it seemed more like a life form similar to it.
But this was obviously an illusion. In front of him, besides a large patch of star grass swaying in the wind, there was nothing else. His own host's divine sense, suppressed to the Nascent Soul stage by the world consciousness, couldn't possibly miss any traces.
―― There are no two identical leaves in the world, and there are differences between systems. As one of the earliest quick transmigration systems to be born, 0028 inevitably had some privileges that had been precipitated over time.
Yet it also failed to detect 1101:
At this node, 1101 came from the future, carrying the firewall of the Quick Transmigration Bureau that had been upgraded countless times, making its security top-notch.
Gu Cong.
His left hand hanging by his side tightened, his fingertips almost turning white. Xie Ye considered suicide for a moment, immediately thinking of moving on to the next world. However, his reason, mixed with cold cruelty, told him that he had to figure out the reasons for the changes in the transmigration rules. The most prudent way was to play out his past self again, relive the plot, and find out what was strange about it.
Otherwise, in the next world, it might still be a "memory" flowing backward.
【Star Grass, in the original work, you went out to pick Star Grass,】 the waves in the sea of consciousness rose and then calmed down again, 1101 cautiously said, "You like to plant Star Grass in flowerpots as night lights."
Xie Ye's eyelashes drooped, looking towards the weakest and dimmest Star Grass among the entire patch. Vague memories resurfaced.
With one hand supporting the umbrella, the white-clad youth squatted down.
It was because of this movement that Gu Cong finally saw the face of the legendary antagonist.
Snow-white skin, lips so red they were dazzling, yet only those slightly upturned phoenix eyes were dark and abyss-like, as if capable of swallowing all light, suppressing the enchanting allure with endless coldness, exuding boundless chill.
Seemingly overflowing with power to the point of having nowhere to use it, every movement of the other party emitted spiritual energy. Only he could see the virtual panel shining brightly: "Half-step Ascension."
【Capable of becoming an immortal.】
However, Gu Cong completely missed the point and was instead surprised that no one mentioned the beauty of the "antagonist" below Liuyun Mountain.
"It's indeed a remarkable person," not blaming Gu Cong for his distraction, rubbing his chin, the knowledgeable 0028 affirmed, then cut to the chase, "But besides you, who dares to look at him?"
【Control the leaves well, and don't shake. You need to be smoothly dug out by him and planted in the pot.】
The fingertips, casually dangling with white threads, reached out to him. According to rumors, it was these hands that turned countless people into walking corpses like puppets. However, despite the dire situation, Gu Cong felt strangely unafraid:
His intuition had always been accurate, and at this moment, the antagonist showed no intent to kill.
Unexpectedly, just before the other party was about to touch him, the young man suddenly stopped.
"I remember it," as if stating an utterly ordinary fact, Xie Ye said lightly, "The last time I touched it, it died."
The original body withered, and the little trace of intelligence that had just emerged dissipated completely.
He didn't mind changing minor details unrelated to the main plot.
So, the white threads, which could still clearly see colors and shapes, suddenly extended, as fine as silk. They deftly climbed up the small Star Grass like snakes, gently winding around the leaves.
The roots trembled, and the body lost control in an instant. Gu Cong watched in horror as he, himself, pulled himself out of the ground.
Author's note:
Thanks for waiting so long, here's the true "Little Gu" at last.
PS: Xie Ye didn't "kill" Gu Cong's Star Grass. It will be explained later.
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Thanks for the update
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