Chapter Text
Shen Yuan's first thought when he woke up was 'What the fuck?!' The thought immediately after that was, 'Holy shit I've been buried alive!'
In a rush of panic, Shen Yuan quickly dug his way out of what was likely a shallow grave. His heart was beating wildly as he gulped down large amounts of air. None of this situation made any sense, in fact, last he checked he had been at home leaving another scathing review online about the newest chapter of the trash novel, Proud Immortal Demon Way. How did he end up buried in the middle of nowhere?!
Not only did he just claw his way out of some sort of murder scene, but he was completely naked. What the fuck kind of situation was this?! He looked around only to find that there was nothing but forest all around him. No matter how he looked at it, he had clearly been kidnapped, thought dead, and put into a shallow grave. Good thing his kidnappers didn't realize he was still alive or that really would've been his grave.
Shen Yuan looked down at himself and grimaced. What he really needed was some clothes right now and maybe a bath. What kind of shitty kidnappers strip their victim naked before burying them? At least leave him with some dignity!
Shen Yuan stood up and looked around his grave sight. Despite the panic, he really needed to figure out more about his situation. There was something off about it, but it was difficult for him to pinpoint what exactly was setting off so many alarm bells. He sighed in dismay. Even if he was clear headed, how was he supposed to know anything when he was a mere second generation, third young master who had never even left the city before, let alone gone anywhere near this much nature.
Luckily there didn't seem to be a soul in sight to see his embarrassing display. No, Shen Yuan, calm down and think! He took in a deep breath and reevaluated. Now that he thought about it, his grave didn't look new at all, and his body didn't show any signs of damage. Plus the surrounding plants were strange.
Look Shen Yuan was by no means a genius, but none of this was adding up. Taking a closer look at the tree right by his grave, it looked quite foreign. They didn't have these kinds of trees in the city which could mean he was quite far from home. As he was giving it a curious look, he noticed something wedged into a hollow in the tree. It looked like a small pouch. He reached inside and pulled it out. Had the kidnappers left this?
Looking inside, the bag held several items. In fact, it shouldn't be physically possible to store so many things inside of something so small. Wait a minute. Holy shit! Was this a qiankun bag, and aren't those clothes designed like it was meant for a cultivator cosplay, and the currency was unfamiliar too. This could only mean one thing, Shen Yuan had hit the jackpot and transmigrated. Sure it was weird to end up in the body of a dead man, but hey, luckily no one was around to see him rise from the grave like a zombie.
Wait, wasn't it common in cultivation stories to have the dead come back as resentful spirits? He quickly checked his wrist, and luckily, he was able to feel his own pulse. However, that left the question of this body's previous owner. How long had they been dead, and had the body healed so he could take over? Also, why would someone take his clothes before burying him and then leave him with a bag full of stuff. If anything, it seemed like whoever this was had prepared a getaway bag, but what would he be running from? Shen Yuan frowned. He had so many questions, but shouldn't there be a system here to help him out like in all those transmigration novels he'd read?
"Hey System."
"Open Menu?"
"Check Inventory!"
. . .
Okay, so that didn't work. Was he really expected to go at this alone? At least tell him what world he had transmigrated into! Hopefully it was a novel he was familiar with. Though if he thought about it, he doesn't remember any character that had risen from the dead like this. Could he have transmigrated into some no name cannon fodder character after he died? Well, as long as he kept to himself and stayed away from any of the main characters, couldn't he just do whatever he wanted? It's not like there's a system giving him missions or forcing to stay in character, so there shouldn't be a problem, right?
If anything, he could just hide his face and even if this body's original owner had stirred up trouble, no one could recognize him. Shen Yuan nodded proudly to himself as a plan started to form. He just needed to find the closest village and figure out what kind of world he's in. If he's lucky, he could find a way to learn cultivation and become a rouge cultivator. Then he'd get to document all kinds of cool plants and monsters. With this get away bag, he could definitely kickstart his new life.
Shen Yuan was really looking forward to getting started, but first things first, he needed a bath.
~
Shen Yuan wanted to cuss out the him from 3 hours ago. He had clearly been too optimistic because what kind of sick joke is this! Shen Yuan groaned and tried not to yank out his own ungodly long hair. If it weren't for the fact that he'd be seen as a criminal, he'd have cut it off by now.
With another sigh, Shen Yuan had no choice but to accept it. He had desperately tried to ignore it or pass it off as coincidence, but there was no denying it now. He had transmigrated into Proud Immortal Demon Way! Of all the trash novels why did it have to be the worst of the worst?!
How did he know this? It's because Shen Yuan had run into not 1, not 2 but 5 different papapa plants while heading down the mountain. If there was one thing he had to admit, it would be the almost brilliant world building of PIDW. The lore and descriptions about the different monsters, plants, and demons was probably the only redeeming quality of that shitty novel. The down side of it all was the fact that about 90% of it involved some sort of ridiculous papapa wife plot like the pollen of the midnight crimson blossom, or the saliva of a 2 headed leopard bear, or the several succubi dens scattered in both the demon and human realms.
Shen Yuan will definitely strangle that hack author if he ever gets the chance. He grumbled in frustration as he trudged through the foliage with caution. Luckily he remembered exactly how to avoid those plants or he'd be in deep trouble. Shen Yuan glared at the red tipped tiger lily as he sketched it into his notebook. Well now that he was out of danger, it was pretty cool that he gets to personally document all of them, though the more detailed information on the less savory qualities will have to be second hand information from the shitty novel. On another note, he could probably make a living selling bestiaries and the plants with medicinal properties.
Shen Yuan felt like his initial plan was already coming together nicely. Now if only he could get his hands on a cultivation manual.
~
Shen Yuan couldn't help but switch between feeling amazement and dread at finding out he was born into this life with a golden finger. Turns out Shen Yuan didn't need to worry about learning to cultivate because his body was not only brimming with qi, but it also came with muscle memory of techniques and martial arts that made cultivating as easy as breathing. All he needed was a sword and he would be set for life.
However, this kind of power also meant that he was born with a glaring neon sign that said 'Canon Fodder' over his head. After all, he had read all 2000 chapters of this trashy stallion novel and knew all too well that any male character with a decent fighting prowess was doomed to either fall at the hands of the protagonist, or sacrifice themselves for the sake of the protagonist's growth. Shen Yuan was very keen on being neither, thank you very much. He knew all about Luo Binghe's track record, and he had no desire to take part in any of it. He would just need to avoid Luo Binghe like the plague.
Luckily, after Shen Yuan took a good look at his new appearance, he could determine that he looked about 75% the same to his old body and 25% of an unfamiliar one. Which means he probably didn't look like anyone important to the story. Either this was a coincidence and there really was someone walking around in PIDW with his face or transmigrating changed the appearance to match him better. Honestly, what were the odds? Besides, the villagers he ran into so far only ever referred to him as Esteemed Immortal Master rather than something identifiable though it still made him sound like some big shot. Well it's probably still a safe bet for him to go around introducing himself as Shen Yuan, so he doesn't need to get used to a new name.
The only problem left is that he had no idea in what point of the story he was in, but as long as he doesn't run into Luo Binghe, he could probably fully enjoy this second chance at life. He'd probably also need to avoid any sects, and women that were pretty enough to end up part of Luo Binghe's harem. After all, any man stupid enough to mess with a harem member never met a good end. Should he avoid largely populated areas just incase? Shen Yuan thought it may be for the best, at least for now while he gained his bearings, and so he proceeded accordingly.
~
Shen Yuan felt like he was truly a natural at this rogue cultivator thing because he'd already established himself as a reliable figure in the eyes of the common people. Sure, they often described him as being on the eccentric side, but that was to be expected when he still had all his habits from the modern world. Despite the severe lack of modern comforts, Shen Yuan was doing well enough for himself as one of the rare cultivators active in what turned out to be the boarder lands, and the qiankun pouch full of money was a nice fall back too.
Shen Yuan had originally planned to stay in the area because of the high density of demons and monsters that leaked into the mortal world. However, he had started hearing stories about a power shift that had happened in the demon realm and in Huan Hua Palace, and that was his queue to get the hell away from there. It was clearly a sign that Luo Binghe had already returned from the Abyss and took over Huan Hua Palace. Which ment that the protagonist had already been thoroughly blackened and there was no way Shen Yuan was going to accidentally provoke him by inadvertently messing with the wrong demon. It was disappointing sure, but there were still plenty of plants for him to find. Maybe he could even find one of the several hundred once in a life time miracle plants that could save his life later on.
Despite Shen Yuan's initial confidence, he was sorely lacking any type of map or guide that could've helped him along the way. Maybe avoiding the bigger cities wasn't such a great idea, because now Shen Yuan was thoroughly lost. If anything, it was starting to feel like he was going in circles.
At least the plants here were interesting, yet something about them gnawed at the back of his mind. In fact, this whole situation felt a bit familiar, but he couldn't understand why. Had he read about this place in PIDW? Possibly, but that didn't seem quite right. Ugh, this was probably all Airplane's fault.
Suddenly, Shen Yuan's thoughts were interrupted by the distant sound of an explosion like a huge crash. Could it be that a fight was going on around here? Shen Yuan's instincts told him to run as quickly as possible in the opposite direction. After all, there was a non-zero chance that the fight involved Luo Binghe.
He really should get away, but Shen Yuan was both concerned and curious. What if it was another cultivator in need of assistance? Could he really just leave without at least checking? Well, he could just look from a distance and leave if it turns out to be the protagonist. It's not like he was desperate for someone who could give him directions after wandering around alone for so long. Shen Yuan was merely trying to do the right thing by helping a stranger in need. With his mind made up, he made his way towards the sound.
He reached what he thought was a clearing only to realize that it was a huge crater that had leveled part of the forest. Had the crash from earlier actually been a meteorite? Shen Yuan cautiously looked down into the hole and spotted what looked like a bloodied body.
'Is he dead? Did I just witness a murder?!' Shen Yuan ducked behind a tree and frantically looked around incase he spotted whoever had done this, but he soon realized that no other sounds were around to indicate life. It was probably safe to assume they were long gone by now. Well, nothing he could do now other than leave, which he was about to do when he suddenly heard movement from inside the crater.
'There's no way,' Shen Yuan felt dumbfounded as he peered down to see what he presumed was a dead man had forcefully removed himself from the debris. Despite the man's grave injuries he merely spat out a mouthful of blood and shakily got back on his feet. Blood caked his torn clothes and one of his legs was bent at an odd angle, yet the man hobbled forward like a zombie.
Shen Yuan didn't know whether to feel horrified by the man's state or awed at the fact he could move at all. Both, he felt both, but did this guy seriously have a death wish?! Why was he moving around in that state?!
The strange man struggled forward with ragged breaths until his legs gave out beneath him and he toppled to the floor. That snapped Shen Yuan out of his thoughts and had him running down to check on the man. Flipping him over onto his back, Shen Yuan saw he was now unconscious but still breathing. With a sigh of relief, Shen Yuan contemplated what to do next.
The man was so grievously injured that the dirt and blood made his face hard to distinguish. It was hard to say whether or not he was significant to the plot, but either way, could Shen Yuan walk away with his conscious nagging at him? Better question, could Shen Yuan help him? He wasn't a doctor, and his injuries looked serious. Sure he had his knowledge of useful plants, but would that be enough?
He'd try his best for now, and once the man regains consciousness, he would ask for directions as to where to take him for medical aid. If that just so happens to get Shen Yuan a little less lost, then that would merely be a coincidence.