Volume One, Chapter One: Return Through Rebirth

Look closely, everyone! The girl plummeting off the cliff before your eyes is named Zhao Yan.

Her soul had drifted through the world for over a century, and she had expected it to slowly dissipate into nothingness. Little did she expect to be reborn into the body of a girl named Yun Zhao Yan.

Of course, that is not the most important thing! What matters is that she is currently in a rapid freefall, and she possesses not a shred of spiritual power.

"Ahhhhh!"

Is she really going to fall to her death the moment she is reborn?

Zhao Yan squeezed her eyes shut in despair. With a loud thud, the impact she expected never came. She opened her eyes, bolted upright, and let out a hearty laugh. "Hahahaha! Heaven has not forsaken me! I, Zhao Yan, have survived."

"You are going to die... right now!"

An icy, merciless voice emanated from beneath her. Zhao Yan trembled, struck by the murderous tone, and looked down to find a young man pinned beneath her. Having already been gravely wounded, the impact of her landing had only worsened his internal injuries.

The man’s breathing was ragged. His black robes were stained with blood, and his face, streaked with gore and framed by disheveled hair, suggested he had recently survived a life-or-death struggle. Yet, even in such a disheveled state, his sharp, refined features remained striking. A palpable, invisible pressure radiated from him, and his starry eyes—cold and sharp as an Asura from the depths of hell—stared at Zhao Yan with chilling intent.

Danger. Dangerous, super dangerous!

Coming to her senses, Zhao Yan scrambled to her feet. She tried to run, but found her feet rooted to the spot. She knew this was the man’s doing. Zhao Yan wanted to cry. Only an hour ago, she had been a wandering ghost. She had thought this rebirth was a new beginning, but it turned out to be the end. (She let out a twisted, desperate shriek.) If she had known it would be like this, she would have preferred her soul simply dissipate.

Yes, she had arrived in the Four-Star Continent—a place where spiritual energy was scarce, a wasteland where even stray dogs refused to stay. And she was one of the "trash" of this world—a super-trash, unloved by her father and mother alike.

From the original owner's memories, she knew that the girl was the second young lady of the Yun family, the top clan of the Four-Star Continent, and the twin sister of the eldest daughter, Yun Zhaojun. In this continent, twins were considered an omen of disaster. Though they were born only half an hour apart, the heavens had rained down auspicious signs, glowing clouds, and the songs of a hundred birds when Yun Zhaojun was born. Conversely, when Yun Zhao Yan was born, the sky had turned black, filled with thunder and lightning—a sign of bad luck.

Yun Zhaojun was named the Holy Maiden and enjoyed the treatment of a princess, while Yun Zhao Yan was labeled a harbinger of doom and sent to a remote countryside to be raised. She had stayed there for eighteen years, visited only by the Yun family steward once a year to deliver spirit stones. The only reason the original owner knew this was because she had accidentally overheard her foster family’s conversation.

Lacking spiritual power, she was nonetheless born with immense strength, doing the work of ten people, beaten daily by her foster mother, and forced to stay on guard against her gambling-addicted foster father and lecherous foster brother.

A cruel foster mother, a gambling-addicted father, a lecherous brother, and a broken girl! Zhao Yan shook her head. In one word: miserable. In two words: very miserable.

And she, the most miserable sect leader of the Lingyun Sect on the revered Spirit Continent, had died under a heavenly tribulation after being betrayed by her fiancé and junior sister, becoming a wandering ghost for a century. Well, it seemed she hadn't fared much better herself.

A cold wind blew. Mo Chenlan, who had been lying on the ground, instantly appeared before Zhao Yan. His blood-stained hand clamped tightly around her throat, his dark, gloomy eyes locked onto hers. Zhao Yan’s face turned bright red as she instinctively clawed at his hand. Damn this man—why hadn’t she crushed him to death earlier?

Just as Zhao Yan thought she was done for, the hand gripping her throat loosened. With a thud, Mo Chenlan vomited blood and collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

Zhao Yan: "?"

Did she just curse him to death? No, she was still under his immobilization spell. In the past, she wouldn't have cared about such a thing, but now she was a piece of trash without a shred of spiritual power. Heaven really wanted her dead!

*Hum!*

Zhao Yan felt a wave of dizziness as a palm-sized pagoda appeared in her spiritual consciousness.

This was the Exquisite Pagoda! It was a heaven-defying spiritual treasure gifted to her by her master. The pagoda contained its own world, capable of holding all things. Inside, beyond the dense spiritual energy and supreme medicinal herbs, there were spirit springs that the world would kill to possess. In her past life, she had become a god-level alchemist before the age of two hundred largely thanks to this pagoda. When the heavenly tribulation struck, if not for the pagoda blocking the blow, her soul would have long since dissipated.

However, without spiritual power, she couldn't open the pagoda.

Zhao Yan used her spiritual sense to examine this body. Good heavens, three seals were suppressing her spiritual bones—no wonder the original owner was "trash." It would take at least the cultivation of a Spirit Saint to break these seals. At this, Zhao Yan’s gaze fell upon the unconscious man.

She crouched down and examined him carefully. His gruesome wounds were shocking. Zhao Yan took his hand to check his pulse and frowned slightly. Such a chaotic pulse. She looked at the color of his lips, and the answer hit her at once.

*Gurgle~*

Her stomach let out a protest. Zhao Yan felt a flash of helplessness. A genius turned into trash—who would have thought that a dignified Venerable would be reduced to starving? Perhaps this man had some food on him.

Zhao Yan began to rummage through Mo Chenlan’s clothes. It was the first time she realized how complicated these garments were. She hoped he had food; otherwise, she would truly become a starving ghost. As a warm sensation traveled from her palm to her brain, Zhao Yan froze.

What solid pectoral muscles!

A wave of pressure hit the air. Zhao Yan lifted her eyes, and their gazes locked. Mo Chenlan’s face was dark, his eyes filled with gloom and killing intent.

Zhao Yan swallowed hard and slowly pulled her hands away. "If I said I was just looking for something to eat, would you believe me?"

The next second, the world spun. She was pinned to the ground by the man, his hand clamped tightly around her throat.

"You're courting death!" Mo Chenlan looked at her with cold indifference, as if staring at a corpse.

"Let... go..." Zhao Yan’s face turned purple as she frantically slapped his strong, powerful hand. "I... I can help you... detoxify."

He was sick, and she had the cure. This was her only bargaining chip for survival.

A bloodthirsty, insane, and ruthless smile curled at the corners of Mo Chenlan’s mouth. "Do you think I'd believe you?"

"Yellow Springs Drunkenness... Snow Cherry Fruit!"

*Cough, cough, cough!* Freed, Zhao Yan gasped for air. She had finally survived. What a lunatic!

"Can you really cure Yellow Springs Drunkenness?" Mo Chenlan looked down at her, his tone sharp and arrogant.

"As long as you trust me, I can." Zhao Yan coughed a few times, a bit of color returning to her face.

Mo Chenlan remained silent. He sneered and crouched down, gripping Zhao Yan’s chin. "Even the Ghost Doctor wouldn't dare say such things. Why should I believe you?"

Looking at the peerless face so close to hers, Zhao Yan was momentarily stunned, inwardly calling him a monster. What kind of trash "Ghost Doctor" couldn't even cure the simplest Yellow Springs Drunkenness? He didn't even deserve to be her apprentice. Of course, she only dared to think these words to herself. After all, she was currently a piece of trash without spiritual power; even if she claimed to be a god-level alchemist, others would only think she was a fool.