A gentle breeze blew through the secluded bamboo forest, and only the rustling of bamboo leaves echoed around, with occasional bird calls making it seem very elegant.
Xia Yu slowly woke up from his slumber. When he opened his eyes, he was greeted by the lush green bamboo forest all around him.
Aside from the sound of the wind and the bamboo leaves, there was no other sound.
"Holy crap?"
Xia Yu sat up abruptly and looked around in astonishment. Where was this? Hadn't he just been sleeping at home?
The atmosphere in the bamboo forest was eerie, as if no one had ever set foot here. Looking at the forest, Xia Yu remained silent.
Had he transmigrated? But where was this?
After thinking for a moment, he had no clue. After all, he hadn't bought any strange jade pendants or performed any weird luck-changing rituals. How did he suddenly transmigrate?
Could he have been struck dead by a Star Destroyer Cannon from the sky while he was asleep? That would be too ridiculous.
Xia Yu shook his head. Thinking about it here wouldn't lead anywhere. He decided to look around; perhaps he could gather some clues.
The bamboo forest still showed no special changes, but upon closer inspection, he suddenly noticed a path.
A path leading into the depths of the bamboo forest.
Hmm, very suspicious, but it seemed he had no choice but to take this path.
Without thinking for too long, Xia Yu followed the path. Not long after, a stone table with a Go board appeared deep within the bamboo forest.
The moment he saw the stone table and Go board, he subconsciously walked over... only to realize upon approaching that an old man wearing a bamboo hat was sitting there. The man's face was hidden in the shadow of the hat, revealing only the lower half covered in a long beard.
"You've come..."
An aged voice sounded from the old man. Seeing this scene, Xia Yu suddenly felt a sense of déjà vu. Why did this look so familiar?
Lanke Qiyuan?
"May I ask who you are?" Xia Yu asked, looking at the old man.
"You may call this old man—Zhang San."
The outlaw?
Looking at the old man's appearance, Xia Yu suppressed the title that had inexplicably surfaced in his mind. Instead, he asked, "May I ask where this is?"
"You may call this place—Ghost Valley."
Ghost Valley? Zhang San? Had he transmigrated into the world of Tale of Immortal?
The stone table, the Go board, the old man Zhang San—wasn't this scene the opening of the game Tale of Immortal?
Although it was just a brief opening scene when he played the game, it was still quite recognizable.
Noticing Xia Yu's gaze lingering on the board, the old man named Zhang San suddenly explained, "This game has been played for three thousand years. It has no beginning and will never end... You may also call it the 'Chart of Mountains and Seas of the Eight Wastelands'."
"Uh..."
Hearing the old man's sudden explanation, Xia Yu was stunned. He hadn't even asked anything yet; why did he answer on his own?
However, this also confirmed that this was a real world, and the old man before him wasn't an NPC who only answered when asked.
Seeing Xia Yu's stunned expression, Zhang San chuckled, "Young friend, do you have any other doubts?"
Hearing Zhang San's question, Xia Yu rolled his eyes internally. He had plenty of doubts, like why he had transmigrated and why into this game.
Wait, could it be because of the 'Transmigrator' innate destiny that he transmigrated?
Xia Yu suddenly remembered a setting in Tale of Immortal. Before starting the game, one could choose three innate destinies. He had chosen 'Transmigrator' just for fun.
Could it really be this innate destiny that caused his transmigration?
At this thought, Xia Yu sucked in a breath of cold air. Ghost Valley Studio was truly terrifying; choosing the Transmigrator destiny actually led to transmigration. Ridiculous!
So, he had transmigrated into the game protagonist he controlled?
Looking at the old man named Zhang San, Xia Yu thought for a moment and decided to follow the game's dialogue. Given the current situation, he likely had no other choice, and any other choice might not be as good as this one.
"Who am I? Where do I come from? Where am I going?"
Just as the three philosophical questions were asked, Zhang San laughed out loud as if he had heard some keywords.
"Hahaha, well asked, well asked!"
"Who are you, where do you come from, and where are you going? Young friend, why don't we have a game first? I can give you a one-stone advantage."
With that, three streaks of light flew out from the stone bowl and hovered before Xia Yu.
Looking at the three divine artifacts emitting different glows, Xia Yu's breathing quickened. These were the three artifacts available at the start of the game: the Sky-Gazing Eye, the twin fish pendant, and the Monster-Refining Pot.
The Sky-Gazing Eye is one of the ancient primordial treasures. It allows the user to see further in the vast world while possessing abilities such as X-ray vision, insight, and comprehension. It can even trigger the protection of the Heavenly Dao to help the user escape when in danger, though all of this requires spirit stones for charging.
Legend has it that in ancient times, Di Jun used this object to observe the various aspects of the human world. Nothing in the world could hide from the Sky-Gazing Eye.
As for the twin fish pendant, as long as one has points, the owner can be resurrected. Furthermore, this item can be split into two and given to another person; both parties can then work together and protect each other.
Legend says that when Pangu created the world, the chaotic breath of the universe gradually transformed into the Qi of Heaven and Earth. The twin fish pendant was a supreme treasure derived from this process!
At the same time, the twin fish pendant contains laws of the heavenly dao that no one can comprehend. Its specific effects are unknown.
Finally, there is the Monster-Refining Pot. It is also one of the ancient primordial treasures, capable of drawing in demonic beasts to refine their ferocity and grant them intelligence to serve the user.
This item was once a Dharma treasure used by the Primordial Lord of Heaven before he attained the Dao, capable of refining monsters for his own use.
Looking at the three divine artifacts floating before him, Xia Yu pondered silently. "Giving a one-stone advantage" meant choosing one of the three. He really wanted to say he wanted them all, but for the sake of his life, he held back.
According to the game's opening, he could only choose the twin fish pendant; the other two artifacts couldn't be claimed without meeting certain unlock conditions.
But this wasn't a game, so at the old man's gesture, Xia Yu could choose any one of them.
However, even though he could choose freely, Xia Yu still leaned towards the twin fish pendant. Not only because it allowed the owner to be resurrected after death, but also because it contained the laws of the heavenly dao.
The difference might not be apparent in the early stages, but in the later stages, the twin fish pendant would definitely be more useful.
Furthermore, the origin of the twin fish pendant was incomparable to the Sky-Gazing Eye and the Monster-Refining Pot. The twin fish pendant was a supreme treasure derived naturally from the chaotic breath, while the other two artifacts were forged.
Of course, the main reason was that the twin fish pendant had no usage requirements. The Sky-Gazing Eye required spirit stones for charging, and the Monster-Refining Pot required the user to capture and refine demonic beasts themselves.
For a handsome man like him who didn't even have the strength to truss a chicken, it was too difficult. Forget capturing demonic beasts; he didn't even have spirit stones.
The twin fish pendant came with nine points, equivalent to having nine lives. How could he not choose such a life-saving tool?