Holding the Sword to Carry Away Senior Sister (Transmigration) - Chapter 1

“Achoo!”

Fu Yan woke up from her dream in a daze, involuntarily letting out a massive sneeze. Perhaps because the movement was a bit too sudden, she felt her entire body shudder.

Rubbing her nose, she realized her skin was ice-cold, as if she had just been hauled out of a refrigerator.

“Why is it so cold? Where’s my blanket?”

Without thinking too much, she began frantically rubbing her arms and legs, trying to warm up. However, after less than thirty seconds, she realized something was wrong. This wasn’t her room. She looked around, and the scene that met her eyes gave her a genuine fright.

“My god, where am I?”

She was surrounded by dilapidated buildings. In the center of the room sat a Buddha statue with a broken arm, covered in thick spiderwebs. No matter how she looked at it, this was a deserted little temple.

Fu Yan was currently lying on a pile of straw beneath the statue. In front of her was a campfire that had nearly burnt out, leaving only a tiny glimmer of warmth. Her first reaction to this strange environment was: Was I kidnapped?

She clearly remembered sleeping soundly at home last night. How could she wake up kidnapped and dumped in the middle of nowhere? Fine, dump her in the wild, but couldn’t these wicked kidnappers at least bring her blanket along?

She had almost frozen to death.

Just as Fu Yan felt the urge to start cursing, a sharp pain shot through her brain, followed by a sudden flood of information. After sitting blankly on the straw for half an hour, she finally had to accept the reality: she hadn’t been kidnapped.

She had transmigrated into a book!!!

Recently, a cultivation novel titled Seeking the Way of Immortality had been sweeping the charts of male-oriented literature. Fu Yan had checked it out due to its reputation. After binge-reading two hundred chapters, she had to admit the author’s pacing was excellent—passionate and satisfying.

However, as the male lead’s second wife appeared, Fu Yan realized belatedly that this was yet another harem novel!

Having stepped into a “landmine,” Fu Yan felt disgusted. After cursing both the author and the male lead in her heart, she had promptly dropped the novel.

But now, the reality was that—by some stroke of terrible luck—she had transmigrated into that very book.

Fu Yan: “Holy sh—”

The only silver lining was that she hadn’t become one of the male lead’s wives; otherwise, she would have rather bashed her head against a wall. She also hadn’t become a villain or a malicious supporting female.

Instead, she was a “Passerby A” with the same name as her own.

Yes, she was a nameless extra who never even showed her face in the original plot. This “Fu Yan” was an outer disciple of the Shui Ling Sect. And as far as she knew, the Shui Ling Sect would eventually be wiped out by the male lead single-handedly.

This…

For a moment, Fu Yan didn’t know whether to be happy or worried.

After digesting the fact of her transmigration, she let out a mournful sigh. Since it was a done deal, she could only adopt the mindset of “since I’m here, I might as well make the best of it.” Once she calmed down, she sifted through the original owner’s memories.

In short: She, Fu Yan, was barely sixteen. She came from an ordinary background with mediocre cultivation talent. She had been with the Shui Ling Sect for five years and had only become an official outer disciple two years ago.

As for her cultivation level… she had been stuck at the 9th Layer of the Qi Refining Stage (Foundation Building) for over half a year. Truly… mediocre. Everything about her was as average as could be.

Fu Yan thought: The “Passerby A” persona really doesn’t lie.

In this novel’s world, the first step of cultivation is the Qi Refining/Foundation Building Stage, which is divided into nine layers. After that, one must open their “Qi Sea” to enter the Opening Light Stage (Enlightenment). Subsequent realms are divided into Early, Middle, Late, and Great Circle phases.

However, the Foundation Building stage isn’t considered “true” cultivation. Since ancient times, cultivation has been a feat of defying heaven for mortals, an extremely difficult path.

For a cultivator, only by drawing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth into the body, opening a Qi Sea, and converting that energy into true essence can one be considered a “true” cultivator.

But opening a Qi Sea is easier said than done.

Countless mediocre cultivators spend their entire lives failing to open their Qi Sea, their cultivation staying forever at the 9th Layer of Foundation Building. One could say the Qi Sea is a filter for the path of cultivation, shutting out the masses and remaining an unreachable dream for most.

The original owner had been stuck at the 9th Layer for over six months with no signs of a breakthrough. Naturally unwilling to give up, she took a sect mission and descended the mountain to gain experience. After all, besides comprehending the Dao, actual combat experience is vital.

For reasons unknown, the original owner felt a bone-deep chill throughout her journey down the mountain. Ultimately, she froze to death in this deserted temple, allowing the modern Fu Yan to take over.

“…”

After organizing the memories and recalling the plot of the novel, Fu Yan could roughly estimate the current timeline.

The male lead had likely just obtained his “Golden Finger” (cheat) not long ago and hadn’t started to shine yet. His cultivation might not even be as high as her 9th Layer. As for the destruction of the Shui Ling Sect, that was still several years away.

“Whatever. My appearance doesn’t conflict with the male lead’s storyline anyway, so there’s nothing to worry about,” Fu Yan muttered to herself.

Since she was in a cultivation novel, she naturally had to cultivate. In a world where human life is as cheap as ants, she knew that only great strength could ensure her safety—that was the eternal law.

As for the male lead, she couldn’t be bothered with him. He had his protagonist aura and massive cheats; she certainly wasn’t going to go out of her way to be cannon fodder. She had no intention of rushing to “hug his thigh” (curry favor) while he was still weak. After all, he was going to collect a harem later. If she hugged his thigh, wouldn’t she just end up in his harem?

Thinking of that image, Fu Yan felt goosebumps all over her body.

Having made up her mind, she relaxed quite a bit. She slowly climbed out of the straw. Her cold body was finally beginning to warm up.

The sky outside the window was turning the color of a fish’s belly; dawn was coming. The campfire in the temple had finally died out, and the last bit of warmth vanished.

Perhaps because she had just transmigrated, her limbs felt stiff as she took a few steps. To adapt to the body quickly, she decided to perform a set of Radio Calisthenics (school exercises) in the middle of the temple.

“One, two, three, four…”

“Two, two, three, four…”

Fu Yan, panting for breath, naturally didn’t notice that in the sky above the temple, someone was flying on a sword. As that person passed by, they involuntarily slowed down.

This person was none other than the inner disciple of the Shui Ling Sect, Bai Yueli.

Bai Yueli had been in secluded cultivation for two months. Upon emerging, she decided to take a walk down the mountain, only to witness this scene in the ruined temple.

For Bai Yueli, whose cultivation had already reached the Late Opening Light Stage, the image of Fu Yan doing calisthenics entered her vision even without her trying to investigate.

The “dance” Fu Yan was performing was something she had never seen before. Finding it novel, she stopped her pace to watch for a moment.

“This dance… is quite interesting.” Bai Yueli couldn’t help but let out a small, suppressed laugh.

At that thought, the identity plaque tied to Fu Yan’s waist caught Bai Yueli’s eye: “Fu… Yan? So she’s an outer disciple of my Shui Ling Sect. A pity her aptitude is a bit mediocre.”

With that, Bai Yueli shook her head.

She could see through Fu Yan’s cultivation at a glance. Although she was at the 9th Layer of Foundation Building, there were no signs of an impending breakthrough. Without a lucky break, it would be difficult for her to successfully open her Qi Sea and enter the Opening Light Stage.

On the path of cultivation, such opportunities are things that can be sought but not guaranteed.

Inside the temple, Fu Yan seemed tired and stopped to rest. Above, Bai Yueli didn’t think much more of it and quickly flew away on her sword.

“Whew, I’m exhausted!”

Fu Yan had no idea her calisthenics had been watched. She was huffing and puffing. However, she finally felt life returning to her body; her limbs moved smoothly, and she felt refreshed.

To better adapt, she rested for a bit and then did another round. It wasn’t until the sun was high in the sky that she prepared to leave.

After tidying herself up, she picked up the original owner’s iron sword and walked out of the temple.

“Let’s see what kind of sect mission the original owner took for this trial.” Fu Yan pulled a “Sect Mission Guide” from her robe.

The mission was located in a place called Heiquan Town, about 1,500 miles east of the Shui Ling Sect. Apparently, a notorious “Flower-Plucking Thief” (rapist/kidnapper of women) had appeared there recently. The women of the town were afraid to leave their homes, fearing they would be snatched away.

Because of this unscrupulous thief, the entire town was in a state of panic. Thus, they had sought help from the nearest sect, the Shui Ling Sect, hoping someone could eliminate the thief.

Reading this, Fu Yan twitched her lips. “Even in a cultivation novel setting, there are still these kinds of low-life thieves.”

According to the information provided to the sect, the thief’s cultivation was roughly at the 9th Layer of Foundation Building; he hadn’t opened his Qi Sea yet. Thus, the mission was given to outer disciples for experience.

Fu Yan was also at the 9th Layer. She needed a clash with someone of the same level, so the original owner had accepted the task without hesitation. Generally speaking, it wasn’t a particularly difficult mission, so she had chosen to come alone rather than in a team.

To Fu Yan, a “Flower-Plucking Thief” was just a common criminal. She had always loathed such people.

“Fine. A thief, huh? Consider yourself the first sharpening stone for my journey here,” Fu Yan tucked away the guide and said with a faint smile.