Even though Wei Shi Lan had woken up in a familiar face, he quickly discovered that his body was very different from what it had been after he first reincarnated. He remembered being gifted with the White Pearl Jade Constitution Art, and that had made his body refining easier than expected at the Foundation Stage when he first began walking the path of a cultivator.
But this time it was different — and much worse. He also didn't remember being beaten black and blue like this before.
He had made up that entire story to take advantage of Xia Xia's kindness in order to gain shelter. The real owner of this body ought to have come from a home, but this was Wei Shi Lan's body now, and Wei Shi Lan didn't give a damn about the poor guy's home. He didn't even know his damn name.
Aside from that, there were many other things that worried him, and he asked Xia Xia as they walked home. The young girl was sharp-witted and even said things like:
"Brother Lan, maybe because you were beaten you hit your head hard. Or is Brother Lan a bird brain like my sister? Of course we're in the Year of the Earth Dragon. This is the twenty-fourth day of the Peach Blossom Month, the eleventh year of the Heavenly Bloom."
It was the last words that grabbed Shi Lan's attention. They made him forget all the sharp remarks the young girl had been spitting.
"Heavenly Bloom?"
'There was no Heavenly Bloom era back in my time…'
"Yes, Brother Lan. The Heavenly Bloom era began eleven years ago, opened by the death of the Heaven-Defying Demon. They say it's an era of peace and harvest, but I haven't seen any harvest yet. Well, Mother says to trust in our hard work and in the profound grace of Heaven, so I guess I'll just… Brother Lan? Brother Lan?"
Lan stood frozen, and Xia Xia's voice blurred into background noise in his head.
'It has been ten years since I died… I didn't regress… I simply reincarnated ten years later? Into the body of a familiar person? What coincidence is this?'
It was difficult to explain, but Shi Lan wasn't going to bother with explanations right now.
Because this was a golden reincarnation for him.
If he had reincarnated eleven years after his death, then all the goddesses he had conquered were still somewhere out there. All the elders of the higher realms who had connived to kill him were still out there, thinking they had won. And Star Mother — she was there too, somewhere in the higher realm.
There was no doubt that this was the Mortal Realm, the lowest realm. If he dedicated himself to cultivation, he would cross all nine stages of the Mortal Realm and ascend to the Spirit Realm, and then he would be able to enter the Martial Realm.
In his past life, it had taken him forty years to achieve this. After that, Wei Shi Lan had broken through the Spirit Realm and entered the Comprehension Realm, after which he could ascend further until he reached the Heaven Realm. Across all those realms, he had stolen countless peerless cultivation scrolls, constitution arts, and martial techniques.
Many of them he could not practice because he had a rigid foundation that forbade flexibility. But now he could utilize all that knowledge in this world, bide his time, and grow into the strongest.
And with the Primordial Dark Sea, things were certainly going to be different.
He could continue his pursuit of the goddesses this time and even double down on those elders. He would not only steal their wives, but their daughters and their granddaughters. He would even conquer their mothers.
At the same time, Xia Xia shivered slightly as she stared at Shi Lan. He was emitting an aura that made her uncomfortable, and his eyes looked truly evil right now.
"Uhm… Brother Lan?"
She immediately began to rethink her decision. It seemed she had made a very big mistake.
'This Brother Shi Lan is finally letting his fangs out because he's close to my house. Is he going to kidnap my sister and me?'
However, at that moment, Shi Lan suddenly vomited blood and fell to one knee.
His jaw and even his collar were stained red. His sight swam, and the last thing he saw was Xia Xia running toward him.
He cursed between his teeth as he struggled to stay conscious.
'What shame is this? Did I receive internal damage from being beaten? Truly shameful… this should never be spoken of…'
Shi Lan fell face-first before he could finish his thoughts.
*
*
*
An earthy but sensual scent drifted into his nose the moment he regained consciousness. Shi Lan felt his entire body aching terribly.
This was not ordinary pain. Whoever had beaten him like this either had a profound martial constitution or was naturally gifted at beating people up.
He had underestimated the injuries and kept moving with all his strength, causing the wounds he had sustained to rupture.
Shi Lan sent his consciousness through his body. He had done it so many times that it felt like a reflex. But his body had not yet circulated Qi, so there was no way he could reach each injury and mend them with his healing arts.
All he could do was make a guess based on the parts of his body where he felt the damage.
'I'm going to need a medicine expert.'
At the same time, Wei Shi Lan felt a touch on his skin. The touch was soft like tofu and carried a warmth of care. It almost reminded him of the first time he had felt Star Mother's touch—before she became a shameless slut.
The touch moved across his skin. Two fingers pressed into certain areas, releasing pressure points and helping his meridians flow more smoothly.
'This is the touch of a woman… and she's healing me?'
For a moment, Shi Lan feared that it was Xia Xia touching him, but that was impossible. He could tell a woman's age from her touch, and this lady felt to be in her early forties.
Shi Lan flung his eyes open, grabbed the woman's hand, and pulled her closer, staring deeply into her dark eyes. The woman's head tie loosened with the sudden movement, and her deep black hair fell across the side of her face, spilling down.
Both of them froze, staring into each other's eyes.
At the same time, Shi Lan heard a familiar voice.
"Mother!"