Chapter 001

Chapter 1: A Mysterious Crossing

In the western region of the Lofty Cosmos realm, within a finely furnished bedchamber in the Wei family estate of Emerald Jade City, a young girl of about five suddenly opened her eyes. She felt dazed for a moment, staring blankly at the delicate pink canopy above her bed. Just then, she heard voices nearby, and uncertain of her situation, quickly closed her eyes again, pretending to sleep.

“Elder Sister Chun Yu, what do you think will become of our young miss in the future? Mistress has just passed away, and Master is already rushing to elevate the concubine. Do you think we’ll have to leave the Splendid Blossom Court?”

“Xia Mo, quiet!” Chun Yu scolded softly, “Is that something we mere maidservants can gossip about?”

Xia Mo seemed startled into silence, and after a long pause, meekly responded, “I don’t want to either, Elder Sister Chun Yu, but it concerns our future.”

Another lengthy silence fell before Chun Yu finally spoke again, her tone gentle yet firm, “Whether we have a good future depends entirely on whether our young miss has talent for cultivation. As long as she can cultivate, even if Master dislikes her, he won’t openly mistreat her. Besides, our young miss still has her maternal uncle’s family behind her. My only worry is that she’s too young and naïve; if she obediently follows Master’s every word, she’ll suffer greatly.”

Xia Mo echoed softly, “Young miss was overly sheltered by Mistress.”

“We’ll have to wait and see,” Chun Yu sighed, “Qiu Tao and Dong Mei have already gone to inform Mistress’s younger brother. If someone from her uncle’s family comes, at least young miss won’t suffer openly.”

“For now, that’s our only option,” Xia Mo sighed. “Young miss cried herself to sleep, and Master didn’t even spare her a single glance after we brought her back. Truly pitiful!”

“Shh! No matter how pitiful, she is still our master.”

Wei Yun Xi could no longer hear clearly. Wasn’t this precisely the second chapter opening of the trashy cultivation romance novel “Ascending Clouds,” the one she’d just given a scathing five-hundred-character review to? No wonder the names and conversations seemed so familiar!

At that moment, the door creaked open softly. Still unsure of how to handle things, Wei Yun Xi continued feigning sleep. She felt a gentle touch on her forehead and the covers being tucked carefully around her, then the quiet sound of the door closing once again.

Wei Yun Xi waited a little longer, making sure no one else would enter, before opening her eyes. She stared upward, recalling every plot detail and character from the novel. The more she remembered, the colder her heart felt, realizing she had transmigrated only to become cannon fodder.

Before her transmigration, the novel was still ongoing. She had just read up to the chapter where the villainess—Wei Yun Xi herself—had her spiritual root drained and her golden core dug out by the protagonist, Wei Yun Qing, and the male lead, Sheng Yu Hong, resulting in her death.

The novel, set in the Lofty Cosmos realm, seemed on the surface a tale of cultivation and ascension, but underneath was merely a romance where the female protagonist, aided by abundant resources and protected by the male lead, rose to prominence and eventually ascended with him hand in hand.

Wei Yun Xi, sharing her name with the story’s most prominent villainess, was the elder half-sister of the heroine Wei Yun Qing. Both sisters were extremely talented: the heroine had dual water-and-wood spiritual roots, but the villainess was even more exceptional, possessing a rare lightning single spiritual root. Eventually, both sisters were sent by the Wei family to cultivate at Grand Righteous Sect.

After joining the sect, they met Sheng Yu Hong, the sect’s most celebrated disciple and future leader. Due to her exceptional talent, Wei Yun Xi became the direct disciple of the sect master, thus becoming Sheng Yu Hong’s junior sister. Inevitably, her heart soon belonged to him.

But Sheng Yu Hong belonged to the heroine. Wei Yun Qing entered the sect under the Pill Hall Elder’s mentorship and quickly gained fame for her exceptional pill-refining abilities, capturing Sheng Yu Hong’s interest.

Wei Yun Qing then sought to use her elder sister as a stepping stone, subtly slandering and sabotaging Wei Yun Xi. Unable to guard against such hidden schemes, Wei Yun Xi’s every retaliation only propelled the heroine higher, unknowingly turning herself into a source of riches for Wei Yun Qing.

Finally, during a sect-organized secret realm expedition, the heroine manipulated her followers to attack Wei Yun Xi. When Wei Yun Qing stepped forward to play peacemaker, Wei Yun Xi inadvertently wounded her younger sister’s spiritual root and golden core. Sheng Yu Hong promptly arrived, rescuing his beloved Wei Yun Qing and capturing Wei Yun Xi. To restore his love’s damaged cultivation, he ruthlessly extracted Wei Yun Xi’s spiritual root and golden core, effectively ending her life.

Her memories ended abruptly there—that was the last chapter she had read just before dying in a gas explosion.

Wei Yun Xi abruptly sat up, fiercely slamming her hand against the mattress. To hell with all this! [I refuse to be cannon fodder any longer!] She wasn’t about to become the heroine’s stepping stone or source of wealth. Of the thirty-six strategies, running away was the best option.

She tossed off the covers and prepared to leave the bed, but embarrassment quickly caught her up short. Due to her limited height, her feet dangled helplessly from the edge, unable to touch the floor. With this tiny five-year-old body, how far could she run? She doubted she could even leave the Wei estate.

Hearing the commotion from inside, Chun Yu and Xia Mo gently pushed open the door, only to see their young miss awkwardly hanging halfway off the bed. Quickly exchanging glances, they rushed forward.

“Young miss, do you need the toilet? Chun Yu will carry you there,” Chun Yu spoke gently, before instructing Xia Mo, “Bring in the chamber pot.”

Wei Yun Xi, possessing an adult soul, quickly gathered herself, putting on a sad, teary-eyed look. “Chun Yu, I miss Mother! I want to see Mother!”

Chun Yu and Xia Mo paused in their movements, realizing their young miss was asking for her late mother again. Chun Yu softly coaxed, “Young miss, Mistress has already passed on…”

Wei Yun Xi summoned memories of every hardship she’d ever faced, forcing out tears as she sobbed, “You’re lying! I don’t believe you. Take me to Mother’s room—I’ll wait there until Mother comes back!”

“Young miss…”

“I don’t care! Take me there, I know Mother will return!”

Leveraging her childlike advantage, Wei Yun Xi continued fussing and crying until the two maidservants could do nothing but wrap her in a thin blanket and carry her to the main courtyard where her mother, Feng Jia Yun, had lived.

As the two servants emerged from the side courtyard carrying Wei Yun Xi, they unexpectedly encountered Wei Ling Yue, Master of the Wei family, standing outside the Mistress’s chambers.

Wei Ling Yue wore a brocade robe embroidered with clouds and a white jade crown upon his head. His face was ordinary, yet being a cultivator lent him a dignified air.

Spotting the trio, a fleeting shadow of displeasure crossed Wei Ling Yue’s face, though he still addressed them, “Why have you brought young miss here?”

Chun Yu and Xia Mo, surprised to encounter their master here, quickly bowed before Chun Yu responded softly, “Master, young miss refused to sleep. She insisted on coming here to wait for Mistress.”

Wei Yun Xi, fully an adult at heart, clearly saw the dissatisfaction in her father’s eyes, yet she was now a child and could only reach out her tiny arms towards him, sweetly pleading, “Father, hug!”

Wei Ling Yue’s eyes flickered slightly, yet he didn’t immediately reach out.