Chapter 2: Dao Is Born

“Run!”

Fang Qing did not say another word. He turned his head and ran.

When an individual did not possess any extraordinary power, the difference between strength and weakness was actually very obvious: the skinny could not beat the burly, bare hands could not beat blades, and one person could not beat a crowd.

What was more, he himself knew exactly how capable he was.

In his previous life, he had been a complete weakling who had never learned combat. Who did he think he could fight?

After running for a while, Fang Qing sorrowfully discovered that the pursuers seemed to be getting closer and closer.

‘Damn, this body is too weak.’

‘Hell, someone save me…’

‘Old Uncle deliberately brought me here—wasn’t I brought along specifically to block arrows?’

Fang Qing felt that he was about to meet his end here today.

‘Sure enough… a loser remains a loser even after transmigrating.’

Bitterness filled his heart. Suddenly, his foot caught on something, his vision went black, and he tumbled into a roadside ditch.

“This time I’m really dead…”

Listening to the shouts growing closer in his ears, despair surged in Fang Qing’s heart. Just at this moment, within his mind, he suddenly sensed a pearl.

“This… this is…”

A thought moved through his mind, and his figure instantly vanished.

Moments later, a group of ferocious-looking men chased over, holding long spears and other weapons, waving torches around chaotically. “Where is he? How did he disappear?”

……

Splash!

The great sun hung high, and the wind carried a faint salty stench.

The sea stretched endlessly to the horizon. Fang Qing maintained a posture with both hands pressed tightly to his trouser legs and his head tilted back, floating on the surface of the sea, not daring to move an inch.

That was right—he could not swim…

When he had suddenly appeared in the seawater earlier, he had almost been scared to death.

Fortunately, he remembered the self-rescue guide for falling into water that he had once seen. Maintaining this posture allowed his nose to stay above the surface, preventing him from immediately drowning.

Since he would not drown right away anyway, Fang Qing did not rush. He lay there first to study his own golden finger.

He closed his eyes and saw a strange pearl.

The pearl appeared in a chaotic hue, radiating light on all sides. A hazy aura enveloped its body, faintly giving people the feeling of the universe and star rivers being opened up.

Inside the pearl, the clear and the turbid were indistinct, as if there were a gateway within.

“Dao-Birth Pearl?”

A stream of information arrived, allowing Fang Qing to understand the name and functions of his golden finger.

“Isn’t this the pearl I casually bought online before transmigrating? They even threw in a bracelet back then…”

Understanding dawned in Fang Qing’s heart. This “Dao-Birth Pearl” had three major functions.

The first was “Return to the Origin and Revert to the Source.” This pearl had been born before heaven and earth. It could refine and return all forms of energy, transforming them into the most basic “Primordial Qi.”

This “Primordial Qi” could then give rise to countless things, wondrous beyond measure.

‘Using martial-arts terms, it can turn all heterogeneous true qi into origin true qi, then simulate all martial cultivation manuals under heaven? But I don’t know a single martial art…’

To simulate any kind of true qi or magical power, one naturally had to first obtain the corresponding methods.

Fang Qing shook his head. “The second major function is the ‘transmigration’ that brought me out of danger. It can also be called ‘reaching anywhere,’ but for now it can only shuttle back and forth between this water-region anchor point and the place I came from… basically an extra teleportation gate?”

“As for the third major function, it is the Dao-Birth Pearl’s built-in immunity to deductions of heavenly secrets, divination, and the like… called ‘As If Within Calculation’!”

So-called “As If Within Calculation” meant that the Dao-Birth Pearl could also “weave” a layer of false fate and identity information for him, blending with the dust of the world, thereby deceiving deductions.

If it were merely “Not Within Calculation,” it would be fine for a dead object. But as the owner, Fang Qing would inevitably become an information black hole. At first it might not be obvious, but as interactions with cultivators increased, sooner or later he would stand out amid a pile of abnormal data.

This “As If Within Calculation” was different. The woven false destiny would give diviners a “reasonable explanation.”

“Good! With such a divine object, it is enough to protect my immortal path!”

Fang Qing opened his eyes, his expression uplifted, and then he saw several seagulls flying over his head.

He did not mind. He began to try paddling the water, learning to swim, while checking his surroundings. “The water is salty—could this be the sea? I wonder if there are any islands nearby, or whether any ships will pass by?”

As for dangers like sharks or exhaustion? Fang Qing was not too panicked. He could return to that little ditch where he had fallen at any time.

After half a day.

Fang Qing began to feel tired. He looked in the direction of the sun, squinted his eyes, and suddenly his expression changed.

He saw that not far away, on the originally calm sea surface, trident-like ripples had suddenly appeared, and faint gray dorsal fins could be seen.

Several huge shadows under the water were rapidly approaching.

“Bad luck. Dodge.”

A thought moved through Fang Qing’s mind, and his figure instantly vanished.

Boom!

In a daze, Fang Qing seemed to see the birth and destruction of the universe, the opening of worlds…

Endless chaotic currents rolled, clouds steamed and rosy mists surged. Dao gave birth to One, One gave birth to Two, Two gave birth to Three, and Three gave birth to all things…

Flowers, birds, insects, fish;

the myriad states of the human world…

“So this is… the feeling of reaching anywhere?”

The Dao-Birth Pearl appeared again before Fang Qing’s eyes. Clear and turbid energies churned faintly, like a gateway.

……

The Land of Ancient Shu.

A mountain ditch.

Morning light was faint.

With a flash of light, Fang Qing’s figure appeared. As for those refugees, they had naturally long since left.

“Huff, huff… not in vain that I held on for half a day.”

Fang Qing looked at the sky and estimated in his heart. “The flow of time between the two worlds should be about the same, right?”

Looking at his damp clothes, he could not help but let out a bitter smile. He found an open space and began to make a fire to dry them.

After all, this was ancient times. Catching a chill or falling ill was no joke. He had just seen many clansmen die from sickness.

“Hm?”

While tidying up, Fang Qing touched the immortal calendar on his chest and could not help but cry out in distress.

Opening it, he saw that this already incomplete calendar had been soaked for half a day and was now mostly ruined, leaving only some blurry, barely discernible characters.

“First month [Void Day], Warden of the Year… third day, Dark Star overhead, avoid drawing talismans and refining pills…”

“Third month [Tail Fire], eighth month [Ghost Metal]?”

After organizing the readable information, Fang Qing sighed again. “Why was there no secret script or interlayer after it got soaked? Were the ancients really not deceiving me? No—they were deceiving me…”

As for the few clearly visible “Warden of the Year” entries, they gave him much greater understanding of this world.

“It seems… these great beings are closely connected to daily human production and sacrificial activities, even to the directions of mountains and rivers, the movement of the sun, moon, and stars, and the changes of all things in nature? That is why they are recorded. What terrifying power this is?”

“And it even seems to have some connection to certain ancient knowledge I learned before… the Twenty-Eight Lunar Mansions? Or the Twelve Zodiac Animals?”

“Alas… unfortunately, I don’t even know how to enter the gate of cultivation right now. How could I possibly know the secrets within?”

After pondering for a while, Fang Qing began to think about his future.

“The current me is too weak…”

Possessing a great treasure without the power to protect it was like a child holding gold in a bustling market.

“That refugee caravan definitely can’t be returned to… going alone to the county city or prefectural city? Too many people, too many eyes. Not good for transmigration. If someone sees me, I’m finished…”

“So… I might as well stay in the wilderness for a period of time, explore that other world, and strive to obtain at least a bit of self-protection first?”

“Anyway, that side is the sea. Where there is seawater, there is salt. Supplies won’t be a problem—wilderness survival, right?”

“I must also first make a wooden raft. Being soaked in seawater all the time isn’t an option, and I should learn to swim properly while I’m at it.”

Fang Qing gritted his teeth, then paused. “It seems I forgot someone… forget it. Old Uncle, you’ll have to fend for yourself. If something happens to you, I will definitely avenge you. I won’t change my surname or sever ties with the family…”

……

Three days later.

Outside a cave.

The aroma of roasted meat spread through the air. Over the firepit, several skewers of grilled fish were threaded onto branches.

Fang Qing rotated them from time to time, sprinkling on white crystalline salt.

Moments later, he opened his mouth wide and took a bite, frowning. “It’s a bit burnt… and there are no other seasonings. The taste is very average… at this level, it can’t compare to any street-stall grilled fish from my previous life. Sigh…”

After forcibly filling his stomach, he returned to the cave, blocked the entrance, and with a thought, heaven and earth spun.

In the blink of an eye, he arrived atop a wooden raft.

The raft was damp with water vapor. The dark clouds in the sky were gradually dispersing, clearly having just experienced a storm.

“The sea really is unpredictable. Luckily, our little raft of friendship didn’t capsize.”

Fang Qing knocked his raft with satisfaction and drifted along with the waves.

He gazed into the distance, where sea and sky met at the horizon. Yet his expression was somewhat anxious. “I overestimated myself. I thought that after watching a few seasons of wilderness shows, I could become a wilderness lord… turns out I couldn’t even endure being a savage for a few days. Two more days! If there’s still no hope after two days, I’ll have to go check out a nearby city first…”

Perhaps heaven ultimately treated him kindly. Half an hour later, Fang Qing looked at a black line appearing in the distance and revealed a look of delight. “An island?!”

……

Jade Island.

In the peripheral sea area, Old Man Zha was taking his granddaughter Pearl out to sea in their small boat.

The sea was dangerous.

Sailing too far out could mean encountering demonic beasts. His family could not afford a large ship capable of cleaving waves and slashing through surf.

What they called a small boat was in fact nothing more than a tiny skiff.

They only dared to wander in waters close to the island.

A slightly longer voyage could result in the boat’s destruction and their deaths.

While tending to the fishing nets, Old Man Zha reminded his granddaughter, “There isn’t much grain left at home. Later, catch more sea grain… This time, this old man even brought the ancestral Red Dragon Wood fishing rod. Who knows, we might hook a treasure fish…”

Watching his granddaughter, barely ten years old, busy at work, hope filled his heart. “In a bit over three months, it’ll be time for the Azure Sea Sect to test aptitudes. Maybe Pearl truly has an immortal fate… Even if she doesn’t, eating a treasure fish could also lay the foundation for qi and blood, letting her become a martial master strongman…”

In the overseas cultivation world, islands were few and production was sparse. Cultivators naturally had spiritual rice supplies, but mortals could only live off the sea.

Fortunately, mortals were the foundation of cultivators.

When there were many of them, cultivation geniuses would eventually emerge.

Thus, great spiritual botanists specially cultivated certain seaweeds and marine grasses.

After fishermen harvested them and dried them, they became grain.

Old Man Zha’s children had died early. He only had this one granddaughter, whom he treasured beyond measure. His greatest wish now was to pave a good path for her.

At this moment, as Old Man Zha prepared to cast his line, he suddenly rubbed his eyes, seeming to see something floating over the sea surface.

When they drew closer, he realized it was a youth hugging a plank.

“This is… a shipwreck?”

Old Man Zha hurriedly steered the boat closer.

After looking carefully again and seeing the coarse hemp clothes on the youth, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief and shouted, “Youngster! Are you still alive?”

Fang Qing had abandoned the raft as soon as he saw the island and paddled along hugging a plank.

Sure enough, before long, he saw a fishing boat approach, with an old man shouting from atop it.

“Eh?”

He blinked and discovered that he could actually understand a few words.

Normally, after arriving in another world, being unable to communicate due to language barriers was the norm. Yet he found that this old man’s speech was actually somewhat similar to Ba speech.

“Could it be…”

A thought stirred in Fang Qing’s heart. He shouted loudly in response, “I’m still breathing!”