Dao-Born

"Run!"

Fang Xing did not say another word, turned his head, and bolted.

When an individual lacks supernatural power, the distinction between strong and weak is actually quite obvious: the thin cannot beat the stout, the unarmed cannot beat the blade-wielder, and one person cannot beat a crowd.

What's more, he knew exactly how much weight he was pulling.

In his past life, he was a weakling who never learned to fight. Who did he think he was going to take on?

After running for a distance, Fang Xing realized with sorrow that the pursuers seemed to be getting closer.

"Damn, this body of mine is too weak."

"Hell, someone save me..."

"My uncle brought me here specifically, surely it wasn't just to use me as a human shield, right?"

Fang Xing felt like he was going to meet his end here today.

"As expected... even if a loser travels through time, he's still a loser."

Bitterness filled his heart. Suddenly, he tripped over his own feet, his vision went black, and he tumbled into a roadside ditch.

"This is it, I'm dead for sure..."

Listening to the shouts drawing nearer, a wave of despair washed over Fang Xing. Just then, he suddenly sensed a bead within his mind.

"This... what is this..."

His heart stirred, and his figure vanished in an instant.

A moment later, a group of fierce-looking men chased after him, holding spears and other weapons, waving torches about. "Where is he? How did he just disappear?"

Splash!

The great sun hung high, and the wind carried a faint, fishy tang.

The ocean was boundless. Fang Xing kept his hands pressed against his trouser legs and his head tilted back, floating on the surface, not daring to move a muscle.

Yes, he could not swim...

Appearing suddenly in the seawater had nearly scared him to death.

Fortunately, he remembered the water survival guide he had once read: keep the posture still to ensure the nose stays above the surface, preventing immediate drowning.

Since he wouldn't drown for a while, Fang Xing wasn't in a hurry. He decided to lie there and study his own golden finger first.

He closed his eyes and saw a strange bead.

The bead was chaotic in color, radiating light in all directions. A hazy mist swirled around it, faintly giving the impression of a galaxy being born.

Inside the bead, clear and murky energies shifted, as if there were a gateway.

"Dao-Born Pearl?"

A stream of information flooded in, letting Fang Xing know the name and function of his golden finger.

"Isn't this the bead I bought casually online before I traveled here? It even came with a bracelet back then..."

Fang Xing realized that this "Dao-Born Pearl" possessed three major functions.

The first was "Revert to Root, Return to Origin." This pearl was born before heaven and earth, capable of refining all energy back into the most fundamental "Origin Qi." This "Origin Qi" could then manifest into myriad things, truly miraculous.

"In martial arts terms, it means I can convert any foreign internal energy into primal energy, and then simulate any martial arts technique in the world? But I don't know a single martial art..."

To simulate a specific energy or magic power, one naturally had to obtain the corresponding method first.

Fang Xing shook his head. "The second major function is the 'transmigration' that brought me out of danger, which can also be called 'Omnipresence.' But for now, I can only shuttle back and forth between this patch of water and the place I came from... I suppose it's like having an extra portal?"

"As for the third major function, it is the Dao-Born Pearl's inherent immunity to heavenly calculations, divination, and the like... known as 'As If in the Calculation'!"

The so-called "As If in the Calculation" meant that the Dao-Born Pearl could "weave" a layer of false fate and identity information for him, allowing him to blend in and deceive those who would calculate his destiny.

If he were merely "outside the calculation," he would just be an inanimate object. But as the master, Fang Xing would inevitably become an information black hole. It might not be obvious at first, but with repeated interactions with cultivators, he would eventually reveal his flaws amidst a pile of anomalous data.

This "As If in the Calculation" was different; the woven false destiny would provide a "reasonable explanation" to any diviner.

"Good! With this divine object, it is enough to protect my path to immortality!"

Fang Xing opened his eyes, his expression invigorated, only to see a few seagulls flying over his head.

He didn't mind, and began trying to tread water, learning to swim while checking his surroundings. "The water is salty, could this be the ocean? I wonder if there are any islands nearby, or if any ships pass by?"

As for dangers like sharks or exhaustion? Fang Xing wasn't too panicked; he could return to that ditch where he fell at any moment.

Half a day later.

Fang Xing began to feel tired. He looked at the sun's position, squinted, and suddenly his expression changed.

In the distance, on the surface of the sea, trident-like ripples appeared, and faint gray dorsal fins could be seen.

Huge shadows were moving rapidly beneath the water.

"Bad luck, time to blink."

Fang Xing's heart stirred, and his figure vanished in an instant.

Boom!

In a trance, Fang Xing seemed to witness the birth and death of the universe, the opening of the world...

Infinite chaotic currents churned, clouds steamed and mists glowed. The Dao produced One, One produced Two, Two produced Three, and Three produced all things...

Flowers, birds, insects, fish, and the myriad states of the human world...

"Is this... the feeling of 'Omnipresence'?"

The Dao-Born Pearl appeared before Fang Xing's eyes again, with clear and murky energies faintly churning, appearing like a gateway.

Ancient Shu Land.

The mountain gully.

The dawn was faint.

With a flash of light, Fang Xing's figure emerged. As for those refugees, they had naturally long since departed.

"Huff... huff... well worth the effort of holding on for half a day."

Fang Xing looked at the sky and calculated, "The flow of time between the two worlds should be roughly the same, right?"

He looked at his damp clothes and couldn't help but offer a wry smile. He found an open space and began to build a fire to dry them.

After all, this was ancient times; catching a cold was no joke. He had just seen quite a few clansmen die of illness.

"Hmm?"

While tidying up, Fang Xing touched the Immortal Calendar at his chest and let out a groan of misery.

Opening it, he saw that this already incomplete calendar had been soaked for half a day and was mostly ruined. Only some blurry, indistinct characters could barely be made out.

"First month, [Void Sun] as Year Guardian... third day, Dark Star crosses the sky, avoid drawing talismans, refining pills..."

"Third month [Tail Fire], eighth month [Ghost Metal]?"

Fang Xing sorted through the readable information and sighed again. "How come there's no secret script or hidden layer even after it got soaked? So the ancients didn't deceive me? No, the ancients were definitely lying to me..."

As for the few [Year Guardians] he could see, they gave him a bit more understanding of this world.

"It seems... these great beings are closely linked to human daily production, sacrificial activities, and even the paths of mountains and rivers, the movement of the sun, moon, and stars, and the changes of all natural things? To be recorded in this way—what kind of great power is this?"

"And, it seems related to some ancient knowledge I've studied... The Twenty-Eight Mansions? Or the Twelve Zodiacs?"

"Sigh... unfortunately, I haven't even entered the gate of cultivation; how could I possibly know the secrets within?"

After some contemplation, Fang Xing began to think about his future.

"As I am now, I am too weak..."

He possessed a great treasure but lacked the power to guard it, like a child holding gold in a busy market.

"I definitely can't go back to that refugee group... Go to the county town or the prefectural city alone? Too many people, too many eyes, it's not conducive to transmigration. If I'm seen, I'm done for..."

"So... why not just stay in the wilderness for a while, explore that other world, and strive to gain some self-preservation power first?"

"Anyway, that side is the ocean. Where there is seawater, there is salt; supplies won't be a problem. Is this wilderness survival?"

"I also have to build a raft; being soaked by seawater all the time is no way to live. While I'm at it, I'll learn to swim."

Fang Xing gritted his teeth, then paused. "I seem to have forgotten someone... Forget it, Uncle, look after yourself. If something happens to you, I will definitely avenge you, but I won't change my surname or break family ties for my own sake..."

Three days later.

Outside the cave.

The aroma of roasted meat wafted through the air. On the fire, several tree branches were skewered with grilled fish.

Fang Xing turned them from time to time, sprinkling on white salt.

A moment later, he opened his mouth wide, took a bite, and frowned. "A bit burnt... and without other seasonings, the taste is very average... this level doesn't compare to any street stall's grilled fish from my past life, sigh..."

After forcing himself to fill his stomach, he returned to the cave, blocked the entrance, and with a thought, the world shifted instantly.

In the blink of an eye, he was on a wooden raft.

The raft was faintly damp, and the dark clouds in the sky were gradually dispersing; it was clear a storm had just passed.

"The ocean is truly fickle. Fortunately, my little raft of friendship didn't capsize."

Fang Xing patted his raft with satisfaction and drifted with the waves.

He looked into the distance, where the sea met the sky, and his expression showed some anxiety. "I overestimated myself, thinking that watching a few seasons of wilderness survival meant I could become a wilderness lord... as it turns out, I couldn't even stand being a savage for a few days. Two more days! If I don't see hope in two days, I'll have to go check out a nearby city..."

Perhaps the heavens were not unkind to him after all. Half an hour later, Fang Xing stared at a black line emerging in the distance, a look of joyful surprise on his face: "An island?!"

Jade Island.

In the coastal waters, Old Man Cha was taking his granddaughter, Zhu'er, to sail their small boat out to sea.

The sea was dangerous, and venturing too far from shore meant risking encounters with demon beasts. His family couldn't afford a large ship capable of cleaving through waves; what they called a boat was, in truth, nothing more than a small sampan. They dared only to drift in the waters near the island, as any longer voyage could easily result in a wrecked vessel and lost lives.

Old Man Cha tidied his fishing nets while exhorting his granddaughter, "We're running low on grain at home, so try to haul in plenty of sea-grain later... I've even brought along the ancestral Red Dragon Wood fishing rod this time, perhaps we'll manage to hook a Treasure Fish..."

Watching his granddaughter, barely ten years of age, busy herself, he harbored a flicker of hope: In just over three months, the Azure Sea Sect will arrive to test for talent. Perhaps Zhu'er truly has a destiny with the immortals... Even if she lacks the affinity, eating a Treasure Fish can still lay a foundation of vital energy, enough to become a martial master or a strongman...

In the overseas cultivation world, islands were sparse and produce was meager. While cultivators naturally had spirit rice, commoners had no choice but to rely on the sea for their survival.

Fortunately, commoners were the foundation of the cultivators, and with their vast numbers, cultivation prodigies would inevitably emerge from among them. Thus, great spirit-planters had specially cultivated unique types of seaweed and kelp; once the fishermen caught them and dried them in the sun, they served as grain.

Old Man Cha's children had died long ago, leaving him with only his granddaughter, whom he treasured above all else. His greatest wish now was to pave a smooth path for her future.

Just then, as Old Man Cha prepared to cast his line, he suddenly rubbed his eyes, as if he had seen something drifting across the surface of the sea.

Once it drew closer, he realized it was a youth clinging to a wooden plank.

"This is... a shipwreck?"

Old Man Cha hurriedly steered his boat closer. After taking a careful look and spotting the coarse linen clothes on the boy, he breathed a silent sigh of relief and shouted, "Hey, lad, are you still alive?"

Fang Qing had abandoned his raft as soon as he spotted the island, choosing to splash about while clutching a wooden plank. Sure enough, it wasn't long before he saw a fishing boat approach, the old man aboard calling out to him.

"Eh?"

He blinked, discovering that he could actually understand a few of the words.

Normally, arriving in an alien world meant a total language barrier, yet he found this old man's tongue somewhat similar to the Ba language.

Could it be...

Fang Qing's heart stirred, and he shouted back, "I'm still breathing!"