The post-rain weather was cold and damp, with the earth smelling of mold.
In a bamboo grove, drops of dew formed on the emerald leaves and slid down the green surface.
Beneath one of them, a young man lay on the ground.
He, who had kept his eyes closed, suddenly shuddered from head to toe when a colorless drop fell onto his face, giving him a chilling sensation.
Opening his eyelids and seeing the sky, Li Jue's eyes almost popped out of their sockets from how startled he was.
"W-where the hell am I?" he murmured, his voice barely audible, trembling with fear.
Li Jue, with no idea of what was happening, placed his hands against his head and began to force his memories. But before he could manage to do so, letters appeared in the empty space he could see in his field of vision.
[Bamboo Peak. Vermilion Country. Dragon Abyss Continent.]
"..." Li Jue, speechless, simply opened his mouth in reaction, wondering if he was going insane.
[No]
The letters changed. Li Jue blinked, dispelling his previous thought.
"So I transmigrated? Why the hell did I transmigrate???"
[Heavenly Pendant. After you let a drop of blood fall on it, you were teleported to an immortal plane.]
This reply made Li Jue glance down at his chest and see the pendant hanging from his neck. The object at the end of the cord was a blue jade shaped like a rhombus, resembling a diamond carved by a jeweler.
'Isn't this just a decorative item passed down from generation to generation?'
[Of course not! You idiotic descendants of the Heavenly Emperor never understood the magnitude of the Heavenly Pendant.]
This mockery made Li Jue's eyes roll inside their sockets. And at the same time, it made him wonder who the Heavenly Emperor was, what the Heavenly Pendant was, and why the hell he could see these letters answering everything.
[The Heavenly Emperor is a man who transmigrated from Earth to the Ancient Heaven. After sweeping away all opponents, he became the strongest of antiquity.
The Heavenly Pendant is a treasure he sent through time and space to his Li family on Earth, hoping that one day someone of his original bloodline would find him in the heavens.
And you were born with omniscient eyes, which can verify all information under the heavens. On Earth they were inactive due to a lack of Qi, but in this immortal plane they can be used. The letters you see are the manifestation of the answers.]
"Holy shit! My ancestor was a transmigrator? The pendant passed down through generations is a divine treasure? And my eyes… Do they have limitations?"
Li Jue truly wanted to know the answer to that last question. So, to find out, he stared deeply at the letters in the void.
[You don't have a clear limitation, but keep in mind that cause and effect is strong. Many times, knowing too much can put you at risk. Especially researching Emperors—they know instantly when someone has checked their information. And in response, they may kill you for being a threat.]
Gulp.
Li Jue swallowed hard after reading this limitation, clearly understanding it. Even though he was omniscient, he could not act recklessly—especially when seeking information about transcendent existences.
Thinking of them, Li Jue wondered about his ancestor. Did the Heavenly Emperor know that he had looked into his information?
[Yes]
"..." That "yes" was terrifying! Absolutely terrifying! Thank goodness he was his ancestor, or he might have been erased from existence already.
"Caution, caution, be cautious."
'Can my ancestor see me here?'
[No]
'Why? Isn't he powerful? Then why can't he see a mortal?'
[He is trapped in the Eternal Tower]
'Cease thoughts!'
Li Jue immediately blocked all rational thoughts. If he thought any further, cause and effect would activate. And the ones who imprisoned his ancestor might come after him.
'Forgive me, ancestor, but I'm just a poor, humble soul. I can't know too much. It's not good for me. If I become strong one day, maybe I can save you. But that day is far, far away.'
Li Jue thought, without seeking any additional information. He merely made a junior's promise. Then he sought information on how he could cultivate—after all, he was in an immortal plane.
[Use your spirit to enter the Heavenly Pendant]
'Spirit?' Li Jue froze, completely confused.
[Spirit is mind.]
'But isn't it the soul that commands the mind?'
[Soul is an individual's consciousness, the thinking aspect that gives life. Spirit is purely a spiritual form that controls the body.]
"I understand. The soul is the form of life, the spirit is the control of life, and the body is what allows life."
These three points were extremely philosophical for Li Jue, who couldn't stop thinking about them, leading him to an existential collapse. A wave of astonishment flooded every part of him, and he instantly began trembling in shock, his mind echoing thoughts like:
'Who am I? Why do I have omniscient eyes? Am I truly a soul born on Earth?'
[You are you, Li Jue, sixteen years old. Your soul is normal, with no alterations. The eyes are cause and effect of the heavens, which owe a debt to your ancestor. And the will of heaven is also placing its hopes on you to stop the great crisis.]
This message calmed Li Jue, who sighed in relief and didn't investigate further. He knew what he should know and what he should avoid. The great crisis was one of those things that should remain in the dark.
Li Jue had the feeling that, if he tried to uncover it, he would die—and not just him; everyone under the heavens would disappear along with him.
'I'm involved in something big, a scheme involving all the heavens.'
Li Jue understood this, but he felt no fear. The only thing that scared him was becoming some sort of unknown outer deity.
Being the savior of a great crisis didn't make Li Jue nervous.
"A great crisis can be overcome with strength. I will become strong, uncover the secrets of the heavens, and save these sentient beings from extermination."
This was Li Jue's destiny, one he had to fulfill if he wanted to survive. After all, if everyone died, so would he.
"Time to cultivate."
Wasting no more time, Li Jue straightened his spine and sat upright. Once seated, he grabbed the pendant and plunged his spirit into it, aiming to enter the jade.
It worked.
He felt the pendant in his hands pulling his soul with an invisible thread. Before he could even blink to think, he lost consciousness and fell into the sea of consciousness—or not…
Li Jue didn't see darkness, but instead a small world, with a small lake ahead, surrounded by several beautiful and radiant leafed trees shaped like swords. The water was also unusual, bluish, perfectly reflecting Li Jue.
He was a young man of above-average appearance, with short black hair falling gently over his forehead like a small fringe. His pupils were crystalline like snowflakes. He had no irises—anyone looking from afar would see only globes of a single color, something that made him even more striking.
"I'm so handsome. The most handsome youth of the Li Family."
[You aren't—at least not yet. The Heavenly Emperor is. No wonder he had seven celestial wives.]
"..."
'Ancestor really lived the life, huh?'