“Cheating in a game… that’s not a capital offense, is it?”
Li Zhuo lay on the grass, his arms pillowing his head, gazing up at the blue sky and white clouds in the wilderness.
A blade of grass dangled from his mouth.
After a while, he scratched his bottom, shooed away a mischievous spider, and mumbled again:
“Even using cheats in a single-player game can lead to such good luck…”
Despite not having explored his surroundings, Li Zhuo knew he had transmigrated.
Both the jumbled memories in his mind and the large bird that had just spewed a ball of fire indicated that this was not his original world.
This was the world of cultivation.
Li Zhuo was panicking.
As someone who even cheated in single-player games, he had a very clear understanding of himself.
—A total noob!
Secluded cultivation, trials in secret realms, debates and duels…
For geniuses in the cultivation world, this was the path to immortality.
But for Li Zhuo, this was absolutely life-threatening.
He didn’t want to do it, and he didn’t dare to do it.
After lying on the ground for a long time, Li Zhuo finally sorted through the memories in his mind.
This was indeed the cultivation world.
And his original body’s experiences were quite a familiar story.
The original “Li Zhuo” was a member of a small cultivation family, deeply doted upon.
If he wanted stars, his father would give Li Zhuo a punch, making his eyes see stars.
If he wanted the moon, his grandfather would punish him by making him kneel under the moon all night.
If he wanted a beauty, his great-grandfather would put aside the Star Spirit Fruit and Moon Dew he had painstakingly found, and even swallow his pride as a seventh-level Qi Condensation master to protect a mortal power.
All to secure a marriage contract for Li Zhuo.
With Jiang Caiwei, the only daughter of the Northern King.
Then came the clichéd plot.
His fiancée was noticed by a passing Grand Cultivator, who declared Jiang Caiwei to have a destined connection to immortality and be a promising talent for cultivation.
To sever Jiang Caiwei’s mortal ties, the Grand Cultivator teleported Li Zhuo away, informing the Li family and the Northern King’s manor that Li Zhuo also had a destined connection to immortality.
The path of immortality was vast, and they would meet again when fate allowed, or so he said.
But in reality, the Grand Cultivator had teleported Li Zhuo to this remote, uninhabited deep mountain and shattered all his divine sense.
Putting aside his own position, Li Zhuo deeply agreed with the Grand Cultivator’s actions.
To cut the grass, one must certainly remove the roots; only death can extinguish the Dao.
Of course, this incident also served as a warning to Li Zhuo.
That is, shattering divine sense was not enough; one must be utterly annihilated to ensure nothing was left behind.
Flipping over on the grass, Li Zhuo pondered his future path.
He definitely couldn’t go home.
Firstly, he didn’t know the way; tens of thousands of miles, it would be impossible to find his home.
Secondly, his reappearance would be a slap in the face to the Grand Cultivator.
If the Grand Cultivator became enraged, the small Li family would no longer have any reason to exist.
Therefore, for his own safety and that of his family, Li Zhuo could only stay in this remote, uninhabited deep mountain.
This was also good, as it completely severed all his karmic ties.
Hiding and living in this mountain should keep him far away from the conflicts of the cultivation world.
But the problem was, Li Zhuo’s aptitude also fit the “noob” persona.
It was truly terrible.
A fifth-grade miscellaneous spirit root, barely meeting the minimum requirement for Qi entry into the body.
His comprehension was also a mess.
He couldn't even get started with the unranked, completely low-tier body-refining technique, “Brute Ox Body Tempering Art.”
Even with this kind of aptitude, in his great-grandfather’s eyes, he was an absolute immortal seedling, destined to soar to great heights in the future, and so on.
Nonsense!
According to Li Zhuo’s judgment.
If he really overestimated himself and dared to venture into the cultivation world.
That would essentially be lighting a lantern in an outhouse.
A denominator in good things, a numerator in bad things.
Opportunities would be beyond his grasp, while calamities would befall him first.
Ultimately, he would die completely, becoming nourishment for the cultivation world.
Turning into spring mud to protect the flowers.
But Li Zhuo didn’t want to die; it’s better to live poorly than to die well!
“Difficult, difficult, difficult.”
He spat out the grass root and smacked his lips.
Li Zhuo felt a headache coming on.
There were still dangers in the deep mountains; even if he only wanted to eke out an existence, he would have to live a life of “avoiding fierce tigers in the morning, and long snakes in the evening.”
On tenterhooks!
He felt very insecure!
This conflicted with his philosophy of “living.”
Besides that, Li Zhuo also had his own little secret desire.
He wanted to cultivate.
Li Zhuo had a very clear understanding of his own aptitude.
“Immortality” was like a flower in the water or the moon in a mirror to him; there was no way he could even conceive of it.
Rather than drooling over the “path to immortality” every day, it was better to give up that thought early.
It would also make him feel more at ease.
Aside from immortality, cultivation could truly bring him one benefit!
—A sense of security!
In a foreign world of cultivation, what could be more important than a sense of security?
Goo-goo-goo.
His stomach growled.
Li Zhuo sat on the grass, glanced at the “Brute Ox Body Tempering Art” in his arms, and gently shook his head.
“Cultivation isn’t urgent; I should find something to eat first.”
Standing up and looking at his surroundings, Li Zhuo’s head hurt again.
Ever since he opened his eyes, he had been on a flat patch of grass halfway up the mountain.
The dense green grass everywhere indicated that this area held little value.
The occasional ants, ground spiders, and other small insects suggested that there were likely no dangerous predators here.
It was barely a safe zone, which was why Li Zhuo hadn’t dared to move.
But beyond the grass was a different story.
To the south was a large lake, shimmering with ripples, likely containing food, but certainly danger.
To the east was a dense jungle.
Thorns on the ground and rustling sounds occasionally from the bushes, with unknown snakes, insects, rats, and ants occasionally popping out.
The tree branches above crisscrossed, offering no clear path.
The north was similar to the east, but it was the direction up the mountain, even more rugged and difficult to traverse.
“Only the west is left…”
Perhaps because the tall trees blocked out the sun, there were no thorns or bushes to the west.
It was a relatively easy path to walk.
Moreover, within sight, there was a low tree with quite a few fruits growing on it.
Squirrels gnawing and birds pecking indicated that the fruits were likely not poisonous.
Looking at the fruit tree not far away, Li Zhuo swallowed.
He was a little scared.
If he were in a familiar world, this environment wouldn't be much, but this was the cultivation world after all, full of unknown dangers.
He might lose his life at any moment.
He rubbed his stomach, then glanced at the fruit tree again.
Li Zhuo steeled himself and quietly walked over.
Stepping on dry branches, the quiet forest made creaking sounds.
Li Zhuo could clearly feel his heart pounding.
As he got closer and closer to the fruit tree, he became more and more nervous.
Fortunately, he finally reached the fruit tree.
“Phew—”
Letting out a long breath, Li Zhuo smiled, “It’s more… Holy crap?!”
Ahead, a fierce tiger with piercing eyes and a white forehead had appeared at some point, staring at him intently, a foul stench emanating from its mouth.
From behind, a hissing sound came, and an arm-thick, red-striped, pointed-headed snake flicked its tongue, blocking his retreat.
Li Zhuo opened his mouth, completely unable to speak.
He only knew that his transmigration journey was over.
The two ferocious beasts scared Li Zhuo so much that his legs trembled, and he could barely stand.
Subconsciously, he reached out and grabbed a nearby banyan tree, which was extensively charred and damaged by a lightning strike.
Then.
The cheat from his previous life’s single-player game appeared in his mind!