Chapter 1: 1: An Unlucky Soul Transmigrates—Even My Species Has Changed!
Chapter 1: 1: An Unlucky Soul Transmigrates—Even My Species Has Changed!
What could be more miserable than transmigrating into a novel? Transmigrating into three of them at once—and a serialized webnovel universe at that. Chu Yunmian lay flat on her back, staring at the ceiling and silently rolling her eyes.
*Feng Chenlie* had been a textbook stallion cultivation novel—a trashy, plot-hole-riddled web fiction written purely for cheap thrills. Its titular protagonist, Feng Chenlie, was born into privilege, only for his entire clan to be slaughtered. Screaming that his fate belonged to him rather than heaven, he returned three hundred years later in a triumphant blaze of vengeance. Along the way, he gathered minion after minion, amassed a harem of three thousand beauties, and ultimately ascended as a supreme Emperor Venerable, seizing control of half the world.
Why only half? Because the author, "Breezy Buttocks Heat," had jumped on the trend train to write a spin-off featuring a female counterpart named Feng Aotian, who conquered the remaining half. That's right—the heroine of the second book was essentially a gender-swapped dragon protagonist. She followed the exact same cliche setup: a ruined clan, deep-seated blood feuds, leveling up endlessly while collecting handsome men and slapping faces right and left.
Then the author crashed and burned. Perhaps the platform had strictly forbidden reverse harems in female-targeted romance, or perhaps readership collapsed—either way, the revenue plunged, and the story collapsed into a rushed disaster. In the grand finale, Feng Aotian sacrificed every last man in her harem in a blood ritual, refining their cultivation bases into her own before fluttering away into the celestial sunset without leaving a trace behind. Strangely enough, when Chu Yunmian had read that chapter in her past life, she had found it weirdly exhilarating.
That was fine and good—until she woke up to realize her current body belonged to a member of the most tragic sect in the entire series: the Qingfeng Sword Sect. It was a lazy, generic name that practically reeked of cannon-fodder status. And her identity? The sect master's only daughter. Sounds impressive, doesn't it? Except every single member of this sect was destined to be either a tragic villain or immediate cannon fodder.
As for herself, she was slated to become a notoriously brainless beauty in the male protagonist's harem—a stunning face hiding the grim reality that she was a literal simpleton with a fractured soul. Her senior brothers fared no better: half were destined to have their faces smashed in by the male lead, while Feng Aotian swept up and exploited the other half, leaving both groups to perish miserably. Her only senior sister burned like a dying candle in a third book, trapped in a heart-wrenching stand-in romance. Truly, a spectacularly bright future for them all.
In short, the entire sect was thoroughly doomed. May the heavens have mercy. And to top it off, she still had to cultivate this damned immortality!
Agitated by her spiraling thoughts, Chu Yunmian abruptly rolled over on the bed.
While other girls bloomed like fresh flowers at eighteen, she had been hit by a speeding carriage at eighteen. Immediately after dying, a figure claiming to be a Divine Constellation Official had manifested, dropping a massive bombshell on her. After eighteen miserable years as a modern orphan without parents, she was told post-mortem that her soul had simply slipped into the wrong womb. Her original body actually belonged to a cultivation world. And as if that weren't ridiculous enough, her very species had changed in a single breath!
"—To put it simply, you were originally a reincarnated star spirit, but a meteor shower blasted your soul in half mid-transit. One half drifted down to a spiritually barren world—what you call the modern era—while the other half fell into the Canghai Small World, remaining an empty physical husk. Now that your modern self has died, I'm putting things back on track. Once you complete your mortal tribulation here, you can return to the Divine Astral Domain."
A star? Her species had received a glorious upgrade, placing her in the exact same pedigree as Sun Wukong and Jia Baoyu—literally born from a cosmic rock! Chu Yunmian silently clenched her fists. They had agreed on a standard reincarnation tribulation, not a transmigrative trainwreck!
Dazed, she climbed out of bed and paced back and forth across the room. Within the elegant chamber, the young girl stared fixedly into a polished brass mirror, her face entirely expressionless while her eyes overflowed with deep grievance. The good news: she was only thirteen, meaning the main plot had barely begun. The bad news: the Divine Constellation Official's precision work must have been utterly botched, because reuniting her soul left her facial muscles paralyzed and her voice completely mute. Could one file a consumer complaint with the divine realm?
Burdened by her tangled worries, Chu Yunmian slammed her fist against the nearby table. *Crack—* The wooden table protested with a deep, splintering fracture. *??*
She retreated a few paces, mentally reassuring herself: *As a celestial star spirit, possessing absurd brute strength is entirely logical. Nothing to be shocked about. Perfectly normal!*
Hearing the noise, someone outside pushed open the door and stepped inside. "Mianmian?"
The woman appeared to be in her early twenties, boasting crisp features, striking phoenix eyes, and a dashing, heroic presence. The only flaw was her clothes: an eye-searing, clashing combination of neon red and vibrant green. Chu Yunmian's pupils dilated in horror. What an indefensible fashion sense! Could this really be the doomed female supporting character from Breezy Buttocks Heat's third novel—her Third Senior Sister from *The Demon Lord's Stand-In Consort: Ninety-Nine Times Adored*? The tragic soul who loved and hated her scumbag lover to the bone, enduring brutal physical and emotional torture while fleeing pregnant, only to have her spiritual essence drained dry by her own unborn child before perishing miserably to become a dead "white moonlight" trope? The very same cannon fodder who, long after the scumbag lover fell for the true female lead, was still dragged out for nostalgic references during their jealous spats—Yan Jiuge?!
Yan Jiuge stared at the girl. Though Chu Yunmian's face remained blank, her eyes were darting about with vivid life. Joy flooded Yan Jiuge's face. "Mianmian! That master from the Buddhist Sect promised your soul would be fully restored within a month. Are you truly better?"
She swept the young girl—whom she had watched grow up—into a tight embrace, her heart overflowing with emotion. Buried deep within her senior sister's soft, pillowy chest, Chu Yunmian could only think: *...*
This was immensely awkward. Struggling slightly, she tilted her head back, pointed at her throat, and gave her own cheek a gentle pinch.
After studying her actions for a moment, Yan Jiuge finally grasped her meaning. She swiftly funneled a strand of spiritual energy into Chu Yunmian to check her condition, then offered soft, comforting words: "Soul restoration takes time. Perhaps your speech will return in a few days."
Chu Yunmian let out a silent breath of relief, a wave of warmth swelling in her chest as she looked at Yan Jiuge, who was radiant with genuine joy. In her scattered memories, this Third Senior Sister had doted on her since childhood. She was truly a good person.
*[It's just that her taste in fashion is profoundly bizarre.]*
*[Then again, if not for her terrible taste, she never would have fallen for Qian Heyan, the Young Sect Master of the Demonic Sect.]*
Chu Yunmian patted Yan Jiuge's shoulder comfortingly, while inwardly screaming: *[Senior Sister, falling for a scumbag is the absolute start of your downfall! Not only will he ruin your entire life, but the real female lead will sleep with your man and raise your baby!]*
*[Oh, what a tragic end awaits you!]*
Yan Jiuge: "??"
She cast a bewildered glance around the room, her gaze ultimately coming back to settle on the little girl before her. Following her gaze, Chu Yunmian looked around as well, feeling a surge of unwarranted guilt. *[Senior Sister couldn't possibly have noticed that I smashed the table to pieces... right?]*
Subconsciously, Yan Jiuge glanced toward the table: "..."
It really was shattered! A second later, she whipped her head back. That wasn't divine soul transmission. Why on earth could she hear Mianmian's voice inside her mind? And Qian Heyan? Yan Jiuge recalled the man who had sent her fresh flowers just a few days ago. How could Mianmian, who hadn't left the sect in years, know that she had recently befriended the Young Sect Master of the Demonic Sect?
Questions raced through her mind. She opened her mouth to demand answers, only to find her throat mysteriously locking up. Yan Jiuge raised a stylish eyebrow. "Eh? How strange..."
Could it be that heavenly secrets could not be spoken aloud? Was what the eminent monk from the Buddhist Sect had said about Mianmian possessing profound fortune actually true? Precognition? Or perhaps an extraordinary talent for divine deduction?
Completely unaware of the storm brewing in Yan Jiuge's mind, Chu Yunmian remained buried in her internal rant: *[Our entire sect is fated to die a terrible death!]*
*[And in the end, I even get turned into some guy's plaything. Damn it, I'm literally built from the same cosmic star-rock pedigree as Sun Wukong! Isn't that bastard afraid of shortening his own life by touching me?!]*
Yan Jiuge shuddered from head to toe. *A man's plaything?!* Who would dare turn the precious Mianmian—whom they had raised and doted on since infancy—into a plaything? Were her senior brothers' swords no longer sharp, or was she herself unable to wield a blade?! Even in the worst-case scenario, they still had their master and mistress standing as the powerful leaders of the sect!
At that thought, Yan Jiuge reached out, her heart aching with fierce protectiveness as she gently patted the head of the petite girl standing before her.
Chu Yunmian felt a bit confused by the sudden affection, though she leaned into the comforting head pats. *[Sigh, Senior Sister, whatever you do, don't fall for scumbags! Men will only slow down how fast you draw your sword!]*
Lowering her eyes, she glanced at the single-edged saber resting at Yan Jiuge's hip. *[Uh... actually, drawing a saber takes just as long.]*
Yan Jiuge: "..."