Transmigration

The first day of the Apocalypse.

The rooster Ye Xing Zhi raised was the first animal to mutate.

Its comb was brilliantly colored, its large, pea-like eyes bloodshot. It stared fiercely at the fluffy chicks, suspicious drool trickling from its sharp beak.

It was clearly ravenously hungry.

But at that very moment, the gate of the chicken coop behind the house gently swayed. A breeze passed through, and the gate creaked shut.

The rooster immediately turned into an obedient quail, dejectedly running towards the hens, secretly swallowing a few plump worms.

Ye Xing Zhi was somewhat amused by its change. He used his Divine Sense to scrutinize his rooster from head to toe, scaring it so much that its feathers stood on end, no longer daring to covet the lives of other poultry.

Quite intelligent.

He raised an eyebrow slightly, picked up the porcelain cup on the table, and took a sip of cold tea.

His life was very good now, but he couldn't deny a cruel truth.

This world was truly not an illusion or a Heart Demon during his Tribulation Transcendence; he had indeed transmigrated into a book... No, it should be said that he had settled down and returned to the world where he should have been reincarnated.

At least, that's what the Heavenly Dao had told him.

Since his failed Tribulation Transcendence, Ye Xing Zhi had lived in this world for nearly a year.

According to his observations, this place seemed to be in the Era of Dharma Decline, with sparse spiritual energy. Within a thousand miles, there were no fluctuations from Cultivators, hence technology had developed very rapidly, with humans using machines to compensate for the deficiencies of their weak bodies.

Ye Xing Zhi had seriously studied the structure and functions of mobile phones, and even traveled by plane and high-speed train a few times, unable to help but marvel at the boundless wisdom of humanity.

But initially, there were many "customs" that he found difficult to adapt to: his hair was shockingly short, summer clothes were tattered, everyone casually exposed their arms and legs, and there were even a few colorful shorts in the wardrobe...

Not even the disciples of the Hehuan Sect dressed like that.

What was more terrifying was that, as a supporting character, he had a fictional identity in the book: a movie star.

Occasionally, walking on the street, he would be called by name, even surrounded by fans. Without sunglasses and a mask, Ye Xing Zhi couldn't move at all.

Compared to the impending Apocalypse, this caused Ye Xing Zhi even more distress.

Ye Xing Zhi had immersed himself in cultivation for over a thousand years; the thing he lacked most in both his lives was communication with others. After all, those with higher cultivation than him wouldn't condescend to chat with him, and Cultivators who were too weak didn't dare approach.

But here was different; although there was still distance between people, they had never truly experienced life and death, nor did they possess the caution and vigilance deeply ingrained in the bones of Cultivators.

Thus, Ye Xing Zhi had been curiously surrounded and watched many times, until his manager saw passersby's photos and called to ask what crazy things he was doing.

He couldn't casually harm others, to avoid affecting his subsequent plan for a peaceful life.

Indeed, the moment he was struck down by heavenly lightning, Ye Xing Zhi had secretly planned his future life of seclusion. Although there was a slight dissatisfaction in his heart...

Ye Xing Zhi was always a man of action. After reluctantly adapting to the new world and digesting all the memories in his head, he immediately went to his agency to request sick leave. He even intentionally forged a diagnosis of early-stage stomach cancer.

Then, he quickly sold all his luxury belongings for cash, and his various houses changed hands one after another. He then asked an acquaintance to introduce him to two mountains on the outskirts of distant City A, which he rented.

Because there was a mysterious, undeveloped ravine between these two mountains, and it was said that there were wild boars and tigers in the mountains, the surrounding residents dared not approach.

But Ye Xing Zhi had thoroughly inspected it with his Divine Sense and was very satisfied. This way, he could avoid being disturbed by others and gradually build an ideal place for closed-door cultivation.

After renting the mountains, he hired a construction team to build a large bluestone courtyard by the small stream in the valley, raised chickens and ducks, transported several truckloads of food into storage, installed solar panels and a diesel generator, and bought two puppies from the bird market...

Using the excuse of living alone to recuperate basically fooled everyone. A year passed, and Ye Xing Zhi was not discovered to be anything unusual by his acquaintances.

The profession of a celebrity was indeed very easy to make money from.

At least after taking care of these matters, Ye Xing Zhi still had a lot of money, enough for him to buy a large quantity of jade, bury it in pits, and transform the mountain valley into a giant Spirit Gathering Formation, incidentally adding some defensive functions.

Because this body temporarily had no cultivation base, and the spiritual energy of this world was too sparse, he could only rely on the power of his Soul to set up the formation. Ye Xing Zhi spat out several mouthfuls of blood, and cracks even appeared on his arm due to the unbearable immense energy.

This accident made Ye Xing Zhi very uneasy. Moreover, his Spatial Ring required him to reach the Foundation Establishment Stage to open even a corner, so his life-saving magical treasures couldn't be taken out. He rarely worried about his own safety like this.

After all, the Heavenly Dao was an unreliable fellow, having inexplicably struck him down once before.

Ye Xing Zhi completely ignored how powerful his Soul was, only feeling that this body was too weak, looking as if it had never been properly fed... He needed to cultivate urgently.

Therefore, after the courtyard was built, he immediately began a life of arduous closed-door cultivation.

This body possessed a Dual Water-Wood Spiritual Root, superior aptitude, and was extremely compatible with his familiar Everlasting Life Art. Starting again from Qi Condensation, Ye Xing Zhi naturally progressed even more smoothly.

If he had possessed such a compatible Spiritual Root in his previous life, perhaps he wouldn't have needed a thousand years to Ascend.

Of course, overthinking was useless. Ye Xing Zhi had no time for lamentations. In the past year, he hadn't even cooked a proper meal a few times, successfully advancing to the Foundation Establishment Stage before the Apocalypse officially began.

The heavenly lightning that once stalked him did not appear; instead, the spiritual energy after his advancement made the vegetation in the mountain valley even greener.

In recent days, it seemed even the fish in the small stream had visibly grown fatter, and the chickens, ducks, and puppies were all plump, vaguely on the path to awakening spiritual intelligence.

This also led to the small animals being very afraid of Ye Xing Zhi; all creatures instinctively seek benefits and avoid harm.

They eagerly and proactively guarded their master's home, dividing into several patrol teams each day, then returning home to dig for food and eat, self-disciplined and working without pressure.

Especially his enthusiastic little Golden Retriever, which wanted to help with everything, only lacking two hands to carry water and water vegetables for Ye Xing Zhi.

These scenes might seem strange to ordinary people, but to Ye Xing Zhi, they were very normal; after all, the Spirit Beasts and Spirit Pets he raised in the Cultivation World were all exceptionally outstanding.

It was a pity that the Heavenly Dao was an unreliable fellow.

But currently, he couldn't be too demanding. That leading mutated rooster could barely be further cultivated; even his two chubby dogs were very afraid of it. This little fellow had great potential to become a general.

Ye Xing Zhi felt the faint spiritual energy moving through his meridians and sighed softly. He wanted to quickly live a carefree and peaceful life.

He brewed another pot of hot tea, meditating peacefully while recalling the plot of the book.

If his rooster was mutating, then the city must be in chaos by now.