The path in the Death Forest, near a river leading to the Stone Village, was being walked by a figure with the silhouette of a woman. She was wearing a beautiful cloak of black and purple, which covered her face as she made her way toward the village.
That woman, undeniably Vheena, walked absentmindedly, not paying attention to her surroundings as she was lost in thought, contemplating something she considered extremely important.
‘Ugh, is it really a good idea to go to Stone Village and find out if the person who gave me this ragged cloak is a great cultivator or an immortal? After all, if the one who gave me the cloak, which RuanRuan claimed to have incredible power, turns out to be a cultivator or an immortal, would they even want me as a disciple? Would they still accept me once they saw my face? What if instead of becoming their disciple, they ask me to take them as my disciple? I-i really hope that doesn’t happen.’
‘W-well, at the very least, if they refuse to be my master because of my deceiving appearance, I could try to ask for some rare treasure from them so I can protect myself in this world. But what if they find out I tricked them? That would be dangerous—maybe even deadly! They might kill me for fooling them. N-no, I won’t get caught, right? Ugh, this is too risky. I should’ve brought RuanRuan when she wanted to come with me, but if I did, I wouldn’t be able to beg them to take me as their disciple.’
‘Because I was lost in thought while walking, I didn’t even realize Stone Village is already right ahead. What should I do? Should I stick to my plan and find the person who gave me this ragged cloak? M-maybe it’s better if I turn back and go home. No, I can’t go back! As a man, I have to be brave! Even though I’m now a woman, I still need to be courageous! Who knows, there might really be an immortal hiding in this village. I’d be so lucky if they agreed to make me their disciple. Yosh, I have to go for it!’
With newfound resolve, Vheena headed towards the gates of Stone Village. As she got closer, she noticed a large group of villagers gathered near the entrance, discussing something intently. One of the villagers saw Vheena approaching and quickly alerted the others, causing the entire group to rush towards her.
As they drew near, she recognized the village chief, Li, in the middle of the crowd. Without hesitation, he pleaded for her help, his face full of anxiety.
“Miss immortal, please, I beg you to help us.”
‘What is this? I came here to find out who gave me the ragged cloak, but now the village chief is suddenly asking for my help? What’s going on here? Judging by his anxious face, something serious must have happened. I’d better ask why he’s asking for help before bringing up the cloak.’
“What do you need help with? Has something happened?”
“Yes, something has happened, Miss immortal. A child from our village named Liang San has fallen into the Death Pit, and we don’t know whether he is still alive. Please, we beg you to save him.”
‘Save a child who fell into the Death Pit? Is the village chief trying to get me killed? Just from the name, "Death Pit" it already sounds dangerous, and now he’s asking me, an ordinary person, to rescue a child who fell into it? W-well, I shouldn’t jump to conclusions just yet. Maybe the name is more dramatic than the actual danger. Perhaps it’s just a really deep pit. I’ll ask for more details first.’
“…I’ll help you, but tell me first, how did the child named Liang San fall into the Death Pit? And what exactly is the Death Pit?”
"Alright, Miss Immortal, one of the villagers who was fetching water at the river saw the boy, Liang San, being chased by a huge monster. The villager immediately reported it to me so that we could help him. So, we gathered and rushed to save the boy. But as we followed his trail, we never expected that Liang San had run into the direction of the Death Pit while fleeing the monster. When we got there, we saw the wooden board covering the pit—meant to prevent villagers from falling in—completely destroyed, as if crushed by a tremendous force. At first, we thought maybe only the monster had fallen into the pit, and the boy was just hiding somewhere nearby, possibly injured. However, even after shouting and searching everywhere until nightfall, we couldn’t find him, and by the next day, the boy still hadn’t returned. That’s when we started to suspect he may have fallen into the Death Pit. Luckily, you arrived, Miss Immortal, so we can ask for your help to rescue the boy who fell into the pit."
'This village chief sure has a long-winded explanation, but where’s the actual story about the Death Pit? All he’s done is tell me how this kid, Liang San, fell in. Even after hearing his story, I still don’t know how to save the boy. What should I do? If I use a rope, they'll definitely get suspicious of me. What now? Come on, brain, think of a way out of this! Ugh, it’s no use—I can’t think of another way. M-maybe it’s better if I just have them show me where the Death Pit is. Who knows, I might come up with an idea when I see it.'
“…Alright, show me the way to the Death Pit now. It’s time for me to rescue the boy.”
“Yes, Miss Immortal.”
Following the villagers, led by Village Chief Li, they crossed a wooden bridge over the river and entered a dense forest. Finally, Vheena arrived at the location of the Death Pit.
“This is the Death Pit, Miss Immortal. Please save the boy, Liang San, who fell in,” the village chief pleaded.
“…”
'Damn it! I’m in serious trouble! T-this pit is like the deepest hole on Earth, though it's narrower, but its depth is terrifying! I can’t even see the bottom! I-if I fall, I’ll definitely die! W-what do I do? I never should’ve come here! If I run, they’ll surely get suspicious! Come on, brain, think of a way to survive this! Think—'
"Miss Immortal…”
“…”
‘Damn it! He’s not giving me time to think! M-my whole body is trembling. Hold it together; don’t let them see! Damn it! I’m terrified. What should I do? They’re all watching me. If I don’t move, they’ll definitely suspect me. W-what should I do? Rope and torches won’t help. I-I have to jump! If I don’t, they’ll suspect me! Oh no! Oh no! My body is frozen in place. Move! Move!’
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Gathering all her strength, Vheena forced her rigid body to approach the edge of the Death Pit. Once close enough, without thinking any further, she threw herself into the abyss, her mind only realizing the stupidity of her actions after she was already falling deep into the pit.
‘What a fool I am for throwing myself into the Death Pit! I regret not thinking this through. Now what? I’m falling deeper and deeper, and the light from the world above is getting farther away. Haaaaah… it seems I’m going to die here, just after gaining a second life. Will I reincarnate again after this? Since my second life was as a woman, will I have no gender at all next time, like a slime? Or will I reincarnate as a creature, like a spider? Ugh, forgive me, RuanRuan, Linglu, Xianxiu, and Lanting. It looks like I’ll be leaving you all behind.’
Resigned to her fate, Vheena closed her eyes, awaiting death as she imagined slamming into the ground. However, as her eyes were shut, she suddenly felt her body hitting something hard repeatedly, accompanied by strange, loud sounds. Yet, oddly enough, she wasn’t dead, which confused her.
Bruk!
Bruk!
Bruk!
‘W-what? M-my body is hitting something solid, b-but why doesn’t it hurt? W-what is this? It feels fragile, like I’m crashing through thin plywood. W-what is it that I’m colliding with?’
Bruk!
Bruk!
Bruk!
Bruk!
‘I-if this keeps up, I might survive because my fall is slowing down! Yes! I might not die after all! I’m going to make it!’
Bruk!
Bruk!
Bruk!
Bruk!
Bruk!
*
**
***
****
*****
Bruk!
‘How long am I going to keep falling like this? I even stopped counting after I hit the 40th impact. D-don’t tell me this Death Pit is so deep it reaches the end of the world? I-if that’s true, I’m doomed after all! Damn it! What do I—‘
Hiss!
BAM!
With a different sound of impact, Vheena felt her body land on solid ground, no longer falling. Quickly, she checked her body for injuries, trying to figure out if she was hurt or if this was some illusion before death.
Slap! Slap!
‘I’m not hurt. I slapped myself and felt pain. Am I really still alive? I can feel the texture of the ground beneath me, though it feels strange, like there’s something soft and some kind of weird liquid. Could that be why I survived the fall?’ Vheena thought as she examined her body and felt the ground with her hands.
Vheena, still unable to believe she was alive, kept checking her body and the ground beneath her. She slapped her face repeatedly until her cheeks swelled before stopping. Through this experiment, she became certain she was still alive, making her immensely happy as she hadn't died, even after falling from such an unimaginable height.
“Hahahaha! I survived! I didn’t die, even after my body hit all those unknown objects over and over! Hahahaha—bfft! Blech! Blech! Ptui! What is this liquid that got into my mouth? It tastes sour and spicy! Blech! Ptui! I can’t even see its color because it’s so dark in here!”
While Vheena was laughing in joy and spitting out some strange liquid that had gotten into her mouth, she realized how dark it was around her—so dark that she couldn’t even see her hands.
'Damn it! I just realized, even though I survived, I’m still inside this death pit! H-how do I get out of here? It’s so dark, I can’t see anything! Ugh, I-I'm scared here. I-I hope there aren’t any weird monsters that attack me! W-where do I go? There’s not even a bit of light! C-calm down, I can't panic! I-I need to move slowly and find a wall—damn! T-the ground I’m standing on is clearly wet and mushy, like mud. Am I in a swamp? I-I hope there aren’t any weird monsters like leeches, worms, or slugs attacking me here. I-I'm terrified of them in this darkness! D-don’t panic, I-I have to keep moving! Otherwise, I might die if some weird monster attacks me in the swamp!'
Though Vheena was terrified, she rushed forward, wading through the liquid, which she assumed was water, up to her waist. Whether by luck or something else, she unknowingly headed toward what appeared to be an open ancient temple. On the floor were strange, ancient array, the purpose of which was unknown.
As she hurried along, she noticed that the ground beneath her feet had turned solid, no longer the soft, wet mud from before, which brought her some relief.
'F-finally, the ground I’m walking on feels solid and dry. Thank goodness! Does this mean I’ve made it out of the swamp? Ugh, this darkness really makes it impossible to see anything. I have no idea where I am now.'
Unbeknownst to Vheena, who couldn’t see in the dark, she had already entered the ancient temple. As she wandered aimlessly inside, her foot accidentally stepped on the ancient array, causing them to light up with a bright, blinding glow.
Shing!
"W-what is this light? I can’t see! I need to get away from it—"
Panicked by the light blinding her, Vheena tried to escape, but before she could run, the light from the ancient array intensified, enveloping her entire body. Her body, now engulfed in light, vanished from the temple as if she had never been there.
Once Vheena disappeared, the light from the ancient array dimmed, and the markings themselves seemed to fade slightly for reasons unknown.
__________
After Vheena vanished from the death pit, at the topmost floor where a small hole in the ceiling allowed light to enter and exit the death pit, a young boy, whose cultivation level was at the Golden Core stage despite his age, stared at a large hole in the floor that appeared to have been created by an incredibly strong force.
The boy, named Liang San, seemed deep in thought as he examined the large hole in the floor. Whatever he was contemplating, he suddenly made up his mind and leapt into the hole after steeling his resolve, as shown on his face.
Passing about fifty floors, each with holes in them, Liang San, who could see in the dark thanks to his clan’s secret technique, spotted a vast, towering room below him, which he believed to be the final floor as there were no further holes leading downward.
Using a technique that allowed him to hover, the boy scanned the surroundings to assess the danger of the final floor. His instincts were proven right when he saw how dangerous the room was, filled with poisonous gases. He also noticed the massive corpse of a scorpion, which he identified as the Emperor Scorpion due to its black-purple shell. He deduced that the lethal poison in the room was caused by the Emperor Scorpion, which had released miasma and toxic fluids from its body to protect the area.
Flying cautiously toward the Emperor Scorpion’s corpse, Liang San saw that the monster core had fallen from the shattered head of the scorpion. His entire body was cloaked in qi to shield himself from the deadly toxins capable of killing even Mahayana cultivators. After retrieving the core, the boy flew away from the scorpion’s corpse, skimming over the pool of its toxic fluids, and headed toward the ancient temple he had spotted from a distance.
Landing on solid ground, which he determined to be free of poison, he walked toward the temple. Entering the temple, he noticed ancient array on the floor, their purpose unknown to him. After carefully examining whether the array posed any threat, he concluded that the array had become inactive, no longer functioning.
Venturing deeper into the ancient temple, Liang San eventually came across a sword emitting a mysterious aura, embedded in the ground. He pulled it out without any resistance and examined it to determine its grade. Overjoyed, the boy discovered the sword was a divine-grade treasure, as confirmed by the tests he conducted.
What Liang San would do next after obtaining both a monster core of a level beyond Mahayana and a divine-grade sword was uncertain. However, one thing was clear: if he managed to escape the death pit, he would surely shake both the small and great continents with the divine treasure he had acquired.