Life Archive System

Hua Ziyan regretted her words as soon as they left her mouth.

"Yu Xi, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. It's just that this secret was suddenly exposed by Su Li... by Master Su, and I, I reacted without thinking..."

Hua Ziyan's face was full of guilt.

The tension and unease on her face made her seem less like the untouchable, otherworldly beauty she had been before and more like a little girl who had done something wrong and didn't know what to do.

"She's young, and her nature is still fairly pure. That so-called aloofness is only a product of her circumstances and status. This is... well, quite rare."

Su Li opened Hua Ziyan and Mu Yuxi's Life Archives and focused on their ages. Only then did he realize that they were both just seventeen.

At seventeen, they already possessed such heaven-defying cultivation. The two of them truly were prodigies.

As Su Li studied their Life Archives, the two quickly made up. If anything, their relationship seemed to have grown closer.

Su Li, meanwhile, simply admired the beautiful scene before him, as casual as a true recluse from the mortal world.

"Master Su, what you said was indeed accurate, but if someone made a point of investigating, they could still uncover this information. Why not deduce something else for us?"

Hua Ziyan was still reluctant to believe him. Just as she had said, the events of her fifth year of life—including her innate divine ability—might well be discovered by someone who took the trouble to investigate.

Her identity and origins were indeed extraordinary. If he had some deeper motive...

As the thought crossed Hua Ziyan's mind, Su Li seemed to see right through her once again. He shook his head slightly and said, "You and I are fated to meet. For Fairy Yu Xi's sake, I won't hold your doubts against me."

Su Li had once again spoken Hua Ziyan's thoughts aloud, making her falter slightly.

Su Li paid it no mind and continued, "Actually, before you came, I didn't know you at all, much less your origins or identity.

"But the moment I saw you, I knew.

"I observed that 'radiance blooms between your brows, and your graceful beauty eclipses the plains of Zichuan.' You must possess the 'Purple Qi Three Thousand' talent, and your name must be 'Hua Ziyan.' That is your destiny.

"At the same time, your destiny is so exalted that it has swung to the other extreme. You are fated to suffer a calamity in this life, and it began when you were five.

"Fortunately, your origins are remarkable enough that the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion Master, Zhuge Wuwei, was summoned to help you avert the calamity.

"Unfortunately, this kind of fated calamity can be delayed, but never truly dispelled. Only someone blessed with the great fortune of a Nine Radiance Glazed Heart can become your Dao companion and truly transform the calamity of all living beings into an endless cycle, allowing you to break free from your cocoon and emerge as a butterfly.

"That is also why most people who have sought to get close to you over the years have met with misfortune.

"The reason Mu Yuxi has been unharmed is that her constitution is highly compatible with yours. But that is precisely what makes it a hidden danger, because it will worsen your calamity.

"What Zhuge Wuwei did was delay it, not cure it. So your fated calamity began when you were five, and now that you're seventeen, it has accumulated for exactly twelve years.

"Now it has reached its limit. I imagine you're trapped at the peak of the ninth Golden Core stage, unable to nurture a Nascent Soul or break through, aren't you?

"Actually, you're close to breaking through. But the day you do, a destructive heavenly tribulation will descend and erupt alongside your fated calamity. When that happens, your soul will scatter and you'll be utterly annihilated."

Most of what Su Li had said came from Hua Ziyan's Life Archive.

The rest, naturally, was just him making things up.

After all, he knew how to find reasons to fit the answer.

"Ah—"

As soon as he finished, Mu Yuxi let out a soft cry, evidently shocked by what he had said.

Hua Ziyan, by contrast, seemed much calmer.

"Then may I ask, Master Su, is there a way to resolve this fated calamity?"

Hua Ziyan asked quietly, her expression composed.

"The Heavenly Secrets Pavilion Master, Zhuge Wuwei, has already given you the solution."

"But where in this world could I find someone with a Nine Radiance Glazed Heart?"

"By sheer coincidence, I happen to possess a Nine Radiance Glazed Heart. Fairy, do I still have a chance?"

"Master Su must be joking. You specialize in divination, but you haven't even begun cultivating. Your qi and blood are depleted, and no spiritual energy or Daoist aura surrounds you. How could you possibly possess a Nine Radiance Glazed Heart?"

"In this world, what you see is often only what others want you to see."

"Master Su speaks the truth, but please allow me some time to consider this." Hua Ziyan pondered for a while before continuing, "Master Su, please don't mention my secret to anyone. Otherwise, even if I don't make things difficult for you, it could still bring down a great calamity upon you."

"We Masters of Heavenly Secrets have never been gossips. Now, let's continue where we left off and deduce your fated calamity."

Su Li put on a serious expression.

Knowing Hua Ziyan had extraordinary origins, he couldn't pass up the chance to latch onto this powerful backer... If he didn't grab hold of this thigh and get some benefits, how was he supposed to survive in this world?

Su Li had been a transmigrator, though he had been reborn in another world. His memories of his past life had only gradually returned after he turned three and a half.

When he learned this was a vast world much like the xianxia novels of his previous life, Su Li had once believed that one day he would soar through the skies, split mountains and seas, and travel a thousand miles on his sword as a carefree sword immortal.

But to his dismay, he had no spiritual aptitude and no heaven-defying bloodline.

He had never even seen his mother after his memories returned—not because she had mysterious origins or was some mighty expert living in seclusion, but because she had simply died of illness.

His father was a half-baked Observer of Trends who studied mountains and rivers, searched for hidden paradises and blessed lands, and located spiritual veins and dragon lairs...

In the terms of his old world, his father was a charlatan feng shui master. He scraped by with a little basic knowledge, swindling and deceiving people. Cough—not that. He just barely made a living.

When Su Li first showed a hint of cleverness after recovering his memories from his previous life, his good-for-nothing father immediately filled his head with all sorts of nonsense about observing trends. The worst part was that most of it was wrong.

Even more outrageous, the old scoundrel made him swallow talisman pills concocted from things like cow dung and horse urine, claiming they were miraculous life-preserving medicines.

Su Li had been too young then. He couldn't get enough to eat or wear. How could he stand up to an adult?

Those days had been the darkest shadow of his life.

So, over the following decade or more, Su Li gave up on many of his ambitions. He spent every day like a fool, recalling the classics and histories, the teachings of the various schools, and all the other knowledge from his past life. He drifted through life in a daze.

At last, after enduring fifteen long years, that unscrupulous swindler finally succumbed to the ravages of time three days ago and passed away.

That day, Su Li finally stepped out of the shadow of his past. After burying the old man in the Luoxia Barren Mountains, he settled in a ruined temple there.

For one thing, he wanted to keep the old man company. For another, he had nowhere else to go. Before dying, the old man had sold the ramshackle house at the foot of the mountain, bought a jug of wine, drank it all, and passed away peacefully.

However one looked at it, the old man's death was a sad thing. After all, Su Li was a fine citizen from Huaxia, raised on the Five Virtues and Four Beauties. He was not only devastatingly handsome but also virtuous and accomplished, with filial devotion enough to move the heavens...

Yet Su Li truly couldn't bring himself to feel sad. Instead, he was overwhelmed by excitement and joy.

Because he had awakened a very peculiar ability!

[Life Archive System (Light Blue)]

The system had no emotions, no intelligent voice, and none of those heaven-defying interactive functions. It was just a special light-and-shadow data panel—the kind that came with "Duang, Duang" sound effects.

Of course, Su Li had tested those effects too. Only he could see them.

The system's greatest ability was to lock onto living beings and access their "Life Archives."

The first layer of a Life Archive gave a simple overview of someone's experiences, but that information could be expanded further.

At the deepest level, he could even learn the details of someone's experiences at a specific time, including their thoughts. Everything was recorded in detail!

And these archives didn't only contain information about the past. They also covered what was happening now and certain things that would happen in the future.

For now, though, the Light Blue Life Archive System seemed to have restrictions on viewing the future, perhaps because of its level. It could only show the next three days of someone's Life Archive, and checking archives that had yet to unfold also required an extra fee.

And that fee wasn't Huaxia currency or Spirit Stones from this world. It was a resource called "Heavenly Secrets Value."

When Su Li accessed an archive, he didn't read it directly. Instead, the information was transmitted to him, like a computer transferring data onto a USB drive.

In other words, if Su Li wanted to learn someone's past in detail, he only needed to spend some time accessing their Life Archive, then take a little more time to digest and absorb the information. After that, he would know everything about them like the back of his hand.

"Light Blue, open the system panel."

Su Li brought up the system panel and took a look.

[Life Archive System (Light Blue)]

Level: 1

Heavenly Secrets Value: 1090 points.

Function 1: Observe Every Detail: View the past and present Life Archives of living beings. Under normal circumstances, this costs no Heavenly Secrets Value.

Function 2: Control Future: Spend a certain amount of Heavenly Secrets Value to view a living being's Life Archive for the next three days. (Note: The amount of Heavenly Secrets Value required depends on the living being's strength and the degree of change in the heavenly secrets over the next three days. Note—The stronger the living being, the more concise the information in their future archive.)

Function 3: Heavenly Secrets Mall (Locked).

Function 4: Reasoning to Convince (Locked).

Function 5: True Void Experience (Locked).

Function 6: ???

...

"Light Blue, lock onto Hua Ziyan and pull up her Life Archive for the next three days."

[This query will cost 300 Heavenly Secrets Value. Confirm?]

"300 points? That's a lot!"

"Confirm!"

Su Li knew Hua Ziyan was extraordinary, but 300 Heavenly Secrets Value was still far too much.

Yesterday, after all, he had spent only 10 points deducing Mu Yuxi's fate!

And the system had given him only 1,000 points to begin with. After using Heavenly Secrets to make a deduction for Mu Yuxi yesterday, he had only earned 100 more!

This time, he was actually losing 300 points!

The moment Su Li confirmed, an extremely mysterious stream of iridescent information appeared on the light screen before him.

Rows of text took shape in sparkling, translucent, seven-colored hues, each character seeming to radiate a hazy glow.

The characters seemed to come alive, like tiny, vivid sprites, surging out toward Su Li's eyes.

At that moment, Su Li's mind gave a BOOM, as if an entirely new world had opened before him.

Scene after scene unfolded before him like a virtual-reality film.

At the same time, those scenes and the words accompanying them flowed through Su Li's mind.

"On August 29, 3030, according to the Yunhuang Calendar, at 3:21:37 p.m., outside Yanmen Pass, thirty-seven li south of Wuyue City, Hua Ziyan and Mu Yuxi were ambushed by Puppet Death Warriors from Yinshang Cave Heaven. They were gravely wounded, triggering Hua Ziyan's fated calamity ahead of time..."

"Mu Yuxi's Golden Core was shattered on the spot. She died, her Dao dissipated."

"On the verge of death, Hua Ziyan forcibly broke through the ninth Golden Core stage. After failing to form a Nascent Soul, she was left on the brink of death."

"Before dying, she finally realized that the true process of transforming the ninth-stage Golden Core and forming a Nascent Soul required the nine Golden Cores to merge into one. Only by forcibly breaking the core and gathering the power of pure yang could she form the chaos of Heaven's Dao and, from it, condense a true seven-colored Spiritual Infant of Yin Yang and the Five Elements..."

"Hua Ziyan died with her eyes open. She took an Exploding Origin Spirit Pill and forcibly triggered the Nascent Soul Tribulation, killing all seven Puppet Death Warriors from Yinshang Cave Heaven. She herself, however, had her soul scattered and was utterly annihilated."

"On August 29, 3030, according to the Yunhuang Calendar, at 3:53 p.m., the Holy Lord of Wanli Holy Land, Yun Wanchu, emerged from seclusion to investigate the truth behind Hua Ziyan's death..."