A second life, An Eternal journey to Immortality

... Jiang Cheng stood amidst the blood-soaked battlefield, his robes fluttering slightly in the night breeze. Three corpses lay around him—one beheaded, one shredded into pieces, and one missing a hand but no longer needing it.

Jiang Cheng let out a breath, his gaze indifferent as he looked at the bloodied corpses around him.

"It's not that I'm being ruthless," he muttered to himself, brushing nonexistent dust off his sleeve. "But if I had let them off, they would've just teamed up and gotten rid of me along with the flower thief."

His expression remained calm, but his mind was sharp.

"The human heart is fickle. Trusting them would've been the real mistake."

He glanced at his sword, still gleaming with fresh blood, and sighed. "Rather than waste time fighting them head-on and making unnecessary noise, isn't it much easier to send them west before they even react?"

With that, he flicked his sleeve and continued looting the corpses, as if nothing had happened.

Jiang Cheng chuckled as he admired his handiwork. "Now that the job is done, trouble is bound to come knocking soon. That Qinglin Sect disciple's death won't go unnoticed. Better clean up before nosy people start sniffing around."

He took a deep breath, scanning the battlefield. "The fight with that damn flower thief covered a whole mile… We need to be quick."

His gaze fell upon the three corpses strewn across the ground. With a flick of his wrist, he activated a spell he had learned from studying the Art of Spiritual Farming—the Corruption Technique. It was a technique designed to infuse the land with vitality by using corpses as fertilizer.

The result?

The three bodies vanished instantly.

In their place, the surrounding spirit grass grew wildly, lush and vibrant, as if they had just received the blessing of heaven itself.

Jiang Cheng admired the thriving greenery, then casually cast a few cleaning spells to erase any lingering traces of battle.

Fifteen minutes later, the scene was completely pristine. Birds chirped, the wind rustled gently through the grass, and the area looked like it had never been touched by violence.

Jiang Cheng nodded in satisfaction. "Even if a Foundation Establishment cultivator comes to investigate, it'll be useless. They'll probably just blame the flower thief for being reckless and attacking a sect disciple."

He laughed, rubbing his chin. "What a good person that flower thief was! Not only did he leave me his inheritance and skills, but even in death, he's taking the blame for everything! Rest in peace, fellow Daoist… Enlightened Pervert!"

He clasped his hands together solemnly, putting on a face of righteous mourning.

Meanwhile, deep in the underworld—

The flower thief, who had just arrived in the afterlife, watched this scene unfold from the void.

His eyes bulged, his body trembled, and his breath hitched.

"PUAH!!"

He spewed blood violently, his soul nearly exploding from anger.

"Shameless Villain"

Before he could curse any further, his vision darkened, and he fainted on the spot.

_

Jiang Cheng dusted off his hands, "Now that everything's cleaned up, let's see what treasures our dear Enlightened Pervert left behind."

With a light step, he vanished into the distance.

A few breaths later, he arrived at the entrance of the cave. His gaze briefly flicked toward the unconscious woman lying on the ground nearby

Her breathing was steady. Too steady.

Jiang Cheng smirked. Still pretending to be unconscious?

He ignored her.

Without hesitation, he stepped into the cave.

Inside, a mess of scattered spiritual stones and pills littered the ground. It was clear that the flower thief had been living in luxury—at least by Qi Refining standards. Among the items, a faint glow caught his eye.

A jade slip.

Jiang Cheng picked it up and probed it with his divine sense.

A moment later, his eyebrows lifted slightly in surprise. "A first-grade formation inheritance? Not bad. Sure, you can buy something like this in the market, but getting it for free? That's a lot of spirit stones saved."

With a satisfied nod, he finished looting the place, then casually destroyed the cave, reducing it to a pile of rubble. Now, if anyone came looking, it would seem like nothing more than an abandoned ruin.

Finally, he turned his gaze back to the woman.

Jiang Cheng fell into deep thought.

Jiang Cheng stood still, his gaze fixed on the woman. His mind weighed the situation with cold precision.

What should I do with her?

If he let her go, everything he had done to cover his tracks would be meaningless. The flower thief had a long history of murder—there was no reason for him to have spared her. If she suddenly reappeared unharmed, claiming that someone attacked the cave before she lost consciousness, it wouldn't take much for people to put the pieces together.

Trouble would come knocking.

A flicker of killing intent flashed through his eyes.

"Should I kill her?"

Jiang Cheng took a step forward. Then another. His movements were slow, deliberate, his presence growing heavier with each step. The night air was still, save for the distant rustling of leaves in the wind. The moon cast a pale glow over the forest floor, illuminating the woman's fragile figure.

Meanwhile, Liu Ying, who had barely woken up moments ago, lay frozen in terror.

In the heart of the Dali Dynasty, She had been raised in the peaceful city of Shangyun, where her parents had showered her with warmth and love. Though her spirit root test had revealed her to be a mere mortal, they had never blamed her—everyone had their own destiny.

For fourteen years, her life had been simple, eating and drinking and playing with maids and having fun, free of fear.

That all changed when her family fell into financial ruin and was forced to move to Yanzhou City. There, dark rumors circulated like a plague—whispers of the "flower thief," a monster who preyed on noble daughters, abducting, defiling, and murdering them.

Fear had driven her into seclusion, but fate had not been kind.

Desperate to rid the city of the menace, the local lord had struck a deal with her family. In exchange for his aid in capturing the criminal, her parents were pressured into offering her as bait. They had resisted with all their might, but in the end, circumstances had swallowed their protests whole.

And so, she had been taken. She remembered the flower thief's chilling laughter, the suffocating scent of incense in the cave, the feeling of cold iron shackles against her skin. She had thought it was the end.

But then—chaos.

The cave had erupted in violence. A battle raged. Explosions. A sharp pain. Darkness.

And now—this.

She was lying half-naked on the cold ground, the rough dirt clinging to her skin. The forest was eerily quiet, save for the approaching footsteps. She didn't dare move, didn't dare open her eyes.

The presence was near. Overwhelming. Suffocating.

Was it the flower thief? Or… someone worse?

Liu Ying barely cracked her eyes open, her vision blurry with fear. Under the pale moonlight, she saw a man standing before her, his dark robes flowing slightly in the night breeze. A long sword hung at his waist, his hand resting lightly on its hilt—ready to strike at a moment's notice.

Her heart pounded violently against her ribs. Was he going to kill her?

A lump formed in her throat, and her breath came in shallow gasps. Tears welled in her eyes, blurring the already shadowed figure before her. She wanted to scream, to plead, to run—but her body refused to move.

Then, his voice cut through the silence, low and indifferent.

"Still pretending to be unconscious?"

Cold. Uncaring.

Liu Ying's blood ran cold.

Liu Ying trembled, her breath uneven as she stared up at the man before her. The dim moonlight barely illuminated his face, but she could feel his piercing gaze locking onto her like a predator sizing up its prey.

Her throat was dry, but she forced herself to speak, her voice barely above a whisper.

"P-P-Please… d-don't kill me…"

Jiang Cheng raised an eyebrow, his grip still resting lightly on the hilt of his sword. His lips curled slightly, amusement flickering in his eyes.

"Oh? You can talk now? I thought you were unconscious."

Liu Ying flinched, her fingers clutching at the torn fabric of her dress. "I-I… I just woke up…"

Jiang Cheng let out a small chuckle, his voice carrying a trace of mockery. "Really? That fast? It's almost as if you were awake the whole time."

Liu Ying's face turned pale. "N-No! I swear! I-I just—"

Jiang Cheng took a slow step closer, and she let out a small squeak, shrinking back. Her wide, tear-filled eyes made her look like a frightened rabbit caught in a hunter's trap.

He tilted his head, watching her tremble.

"Are you afraid of me?" he asked, as if genuinely curious.

Liu Ying furiously nodded, her shoulders shaking. "Y-Yes!"

Jiang Cheng let out a low chuckle, finding her reaction somewhat entertaining. "Good. That means you're smart." He crouched down slightly, leveling his gaze with hers. "Now, tell me—why shouldn't I kill you?"

Liu Ying's heart nearly stopped. "W-Wait! I-I won't tell anyone! I-I didn't see anything! I don't even know who you are!"

Jiang Cheng smirked. "Oh? But you did see me. You even know I was the one who attacked the cave. Sounds like trouble to me."

Liu Ying frantically shook her head, her hands waving in desperation. "N-No, no! I-I'll forget everything! I swear! I-I don't even remember what happened! I-I hit my head—yes! I don't remember anything!"

Jiang Cheng couldn't help but chuckle again. This girl… she was truly hopeless at lying. But watching her stammer and tremble was oddly amusing.

He sighed, straightening up and tapping his sword hilt. "Relax. If I really wanted to kill you, you'd already be dead."

Liu Ying blinked, her breath hitching. "T-Then… y-you won't…?"

Jiang Cheng exhaled slowly, shaking his head. "Depends. If you're useful, I won't. If not…" He let the sentence hang in the air, watching as she gulped audibly.

Liu Ying nodded so fast she nearly made herself dizzy. "I-I'll be useful! I can do anything! J-Just tell me what to do!"

Jiang Cheng gave her one last glance before turning around. "We'll see about that. For now, get up. Unless you like lying there half-naked in the cold?"

Liu Ying immediately scrambled to her feet, clutching her torn dress tightly around her. Her face burned with embarrassment, but she dared not complain.

....

After a while, Jiang Cheng cast a glance at Liu Ying, intending to assess her condition while also taking a careful look at her.

She was a young girl with long, flowing silver-white hair that cascaded down her back and over her shoulders. Her hair had a silky, smooth texture, with a few strands falling in front of her face. She had striking red or pink-tinted eyes, a soft expression, and slightly flushed cheeks, giving her a gentle yet alluring look.

Jiang Cheng couldn't help but sigh. "What a beautiful little girl."

But suddenly, his eyes narrowed.

"Huh?"

A faint ripple of spiritual energy pulsed within her body—weak, almost imperceptible, but undeniably present. He focused his senses, sharpening his perception to the limit. As he peered deeper, his gaze pierced through her mortal shell, tracing the delicate currents of energy within.

What he saw left him slightly surprised.

"This isn't just some defective spirit root… It's the Void?"

As he peered deeper, the faint trickle of spiritual energy within Liu Ying's body became clearer. Unlike normal spirit roots, which were tied to elements—fire, water, earth, wind—hers had no distinct presence. Instead, it was an eerie emptiness, a quiet abyss that devoured rather than generated energy.

The weak strands of qi inside her didn't flow like a stream, nor did they pulse like a flame. Instead, they flickered in and out of existence, as if trapped in a cycle of appearing and vanishing. It was as if her meridians were pathways leading into an endless void, swallowing the spiritual energy that tried to nourish them.

"A Heavenly Void Spirit Root…"

Jiang Cheng had heard of it before—an extremely rare and mysterious constitution. Unlike elemental spirit roots, which harmonized with the world's qi, the Void Spirit Root rejected it. It didn't cultivate by drawing in energy but by consuming it, eroding all forms of external qi into nothingness before reshaping it into its own.

This kind of spirit root was both a blessing and a curse. If awakened, it granted terrifying power—an affinity for spatial techniques, void arts, and even laws beyond mortal comprehension. But if left dormant, it remained a useless husk, an empty shell that could never cultivate.

Jiang Cheng's smile deepened as he pieced it together.

"A delayed awakening, huh?"

Some rare and heaven-defying spirit roots didn't manifest at birth. Instead, they required a dramatic turning point—an event that forced the body and soul into transformation. A near-death experience, extreme emotional turmoil, or the realization of a grand truth—only under such circumstances could they awaken.

Liu Ying had lived a peaceful, sheltered life. No hardships, no desperate struggles—nothing to ignite the potential slumbering within her. But now? She had been kidnapped, thrown into terror, and was staring death in the face.

Jiang Cheng could already sense faint fluctuations within her meridians, as if the Void Spirit Root was beginning to stir, reacting instinctively to the crisis.

Jiang Cheng stroked his chin, his gaze deep in thought as he looked at the trembling girl.

"This girl was deemed a mortal… yet she carries the foundation of something extraordinary. If she had been born in a proper Sect, Or In a developed area, she would have been revered, held up as a saintess. In a prestigious holy land, people would be fighting to take her as a disciple. Where would that pervert have gotten the chance to lay his filthy hands on her? Or my turn to rescue her

His thoughts turned sharper.

"Maybe she's a Daughter of Destiny, like those cliché heroines in the old records. Even if I wasn't here, some passing expert would've taken notice of her. Or perhaps, in the moment of true despair, she would have been teleported away by some hidden power buried deep in her bloodline. Maybe, the moment that flower thief touched her, her power would have erupted, instantly obliterating him.

and his spiritual stones and techniques would have conveniently become her starting capital for cultivation."

Jiang Cheng couldn't help but chuckle at the thought.

"People with great luck and destiny never die in such unknown ways. And if I'm right… those books I looted earlier definitely contain something related to space or void techniques. I might have just stumbled upon a walking treasure trove."

Jiang Cheng though for a moment

Since she's suspected to be one of those "chosen ones" with plot armor thicker than a dragon's scales, I definitely can't kill her. I've read enough novels in my past lives to know how this goes. If I so much as lay a finger on her, the heavens themselves will probably throw a tantrum and smite me with the most ridiculous, over-the-top karma ever. I mean, I could choke on my own saliva while eating a grape, or a random divine chicken might fall from the sky and peck me to death. Or worse—some OP expert passing by might glance at me, decide I look "too evil," and slap me into the next dimension for absolutely no reason. Who knows? The universe has a sick sense of humor when it comes to messing with people who mess with the protagonists.

Nope, nope, nope. I'm not risking it. I've seen how this plays out in " Reincarnated as the Villain's Goldfish and I Accidentally Killed the Heroine and Now the World is Ending. Spoiler alert: it never ends well for the guy who tries to off the lucky one. Instead, I'll play it smart. I'll befriend her, laugh at her jokes (even the bad ones), and maybe even help her out when she's in trouble. That way, when she inevitably becomes the most powerful being in existence, she'll remember me as the "nice guy who didn't try to murder her" and not the "idiot who got turned into a toad for his troubles."

Besides, if I play my cards right, I might even get a slice of that protagonist luck. Maybe I'll stumble upon a hidden treasure or accidentally invent bubble tea. Either way, it's a win-win. No choking on saliva, no random slaps of doom—just good vibes and maybe a few free meals. Destiny's a fickle thing, and I'd rather ride its coattails than get run over by its karma bus.