Newcomer Joins

Bai Suzhen's sudden appearance briefly silenced the group.

Xiao Yan was the first to break the silence.

Xiao Yan: Welcome, newcomer!

Xiao Yan: This is the Heavens Chat Group, a place connected to countless worlds across the heavens!

Xiao Yan: Did a panel suddenly appear in your mind? That's the group interface!

White Snake Successor: Countless... worlds?

White Snake Successor: Are you saying that none of you are from my world?

Xiao Yan: That's right! We're from different worlds!

Xiao Yan: Take me, for example. I'm from the world of Battle Through the Heavens, and I'm an alchemist.

Xiao Yan: This is Saiyan Sun Wukong, this is Zhang Sanfeng, True Man of the Wudang Sect, and this is Miss Huang from Peach Blossom Island.

Xiao Yan: @Senior-Year Powerhouse @Immortal, and these two are the most powerful big shots in our group!

White Snake Successor: ...

White Snake Successor: Saiyan? What is a Saiyan? Is he the Great Sage who wreaked havoc in the Heavenly Palace?

Sun Wukong: Huh? What Heavenly Palace? Where is it?!

White Snake Successor: Are you really the Great Sage? The Great Sage of legend was said to have a violent temperament. How could you be so... easygoing?

Sun Wukong: Violent? I'm very well-behaved, so don't go saying things like that!

Sun Wukong: Besides, no one can fight in the group anyway.

Huang Rong: Pfft, Brother Wukong is right. We can only chat in the group. We can't fight.

Huang Rong: Sister Bai, don't be nervous. Everyone here is very nice.

Huang Rong: Especially the Immortal big shot. He's incredibly generous—he sent us a huge red packet as soon as we joined!

White Snake Successor: A red packet?

Xiao Yan: That's right! The kind that can send items!

Xiao Yan: The big shot sent out a wisp of innate spiritual energy. After I absorbed it, I broke through straight to Dou Zhe!

Xiao Yan: Just one wisp of energy!

White Snake Successor: A single wisp of energy could help someone break through?

White Snake Successor: This...

Bai Suzhen seemed stunned and did not speak for quite a while.

Yang Xuan watched the screen and quietly calculated.

Bai Suzhen's reaction was perfectly normal.

Someone suddenly pulled into an unfamiliar environment would instinctively be wary. Xiao Yan and Huang Rong's enthusiastic introductions should have dispelled some of her doubts.

But it still was not enough.

She was no longer afraid, but she did not truly trust the group yet.

At a time like this, someone with more weight needed to speak up.

But it should not be him.

If he stepped forward now, it would seem too deliberate.

Bai Suzhen had to realize for herself who the real pillar of the group was.

Yang Xuan waited patiently.

Sure enough, Huang Rong spoke again.

Huang Rong: Sister Bai, what's your world like?

Huang Rong: Since you're the "White Snake Successor," are you a white snake that cultivated into a spirit?

White Snake Successor: ...Yes.

White Snake Successor: I was originally a white snake beneath Mount Qingcheng. Only after cultivating for a thousand years was I able to take human form.

White Snake Successor: I now live in a house by West Lake.

White Snake Successor: It's just...

Huang Rong: Just what?

White Snake Successor: Lately, I've always felt restless, as though something major is about to happen.

White Snake Successor: But I can't say what it is.

Yang Xuan's heart stirred.

Restless? Something major was about to happen?

Bai Suzhen's timeline should be nearing the point where she met Xu Xian.

Or perhaps Fahai was about to make his appearance?

Either way, it meant Bai Suzhen was currently at a crucial turning point.

Zhang Sanfeng: Fellow Daoist Bai has cultivated for a thousand years, so your spiritual senses must be exceptionally keen. Since you feel restless, something is surely about to happen.

Zhang Sanfeng: I have cultivated for a hundred years and have encountered similar situations. Whenever a breakthrough was imminent or a great calamity approached, my mind would sense it.

White Snake Successor: True Man Zhang, are you saying... I might be about to break through?

Zhang Sanfeng: Not necessarily. Perhaps an opportunity is approaching, or perhaps a tribulation is at hand.

Zhang Sanfeng: Either way, it is always good to be prepared. Perhaps you could ask the group leader or Fellow Daoist Immortal.

Senior-Year Powerhouse: Wait a moment.

The group fell silent for a few breaths.

Then, a script was sent from the account "Senior-Year Powerhouse."

"The Legend of the White Snake"

Senior-Year Powerhouse: This is Miss Bai's fate script. Everyone may read it. After Miss Bai finishes reading, she can ask me any questions she may have.

The group then fell silent for a moment. With the system's infusion, everyone understood the entirety of the story.

On the other side, when Bai Suzhen came into contact with it, she only felt a massive stream of information flood into her mind.

It was scene after vivid scene, complete memory after complete memory, as though she had personally lived through her future life.

After finishing it, she remained unable to recover her senses for a long time.

White Snake Successor: This... Is all of this real?

Senior-Year Powerhouse: This is your original fate script. In your world, if there is no outside interference, these things will happen.

He did not continue.

But Bai Suzhen understood.

The others in the group were also shaken by this fate script.

Xiao Yan: Sister Bai... This...

He wanted to comfort her, but he did not know what to say.

Huang Rong: Sister Bai, this is too unfair! You were only repaying a kindness, only trying to be with the person you loved. Why should you be suppressed for twenty years?

Huang Rong: That Fahai is far too unreasonable! So what if you're a demon? Can demons not have feelings?

Zhang Sanfeng: Miss Huang, please calm down. Buddhism emphasizes severing worldly ties. In Fahai's eyes, a human and a demon falling in love defies the Heavenly Dao. He was not deliberately targeting Fellow Daoist Bai, but...

Huang Rong: But what? He thought he was carrying out Heaven's will? If Heaven itself does not want to interfere, what right does a monk like him have to meddle?

Zhang Sanfeng smiled bitterly and did not argue further.

He had lived for over a hundred years and seen too many people who claimed to be carrying out Heaven's will. They might not necessarily be bad people, but they firmly believed they were right. They believed that different kinds were different, that demons were demons, and that they should not stand as equals with humans.

Such prejudice hurt more than blades or swords.

Sun Wukong: Miss Bai, don't be afraid. What is that Fahai supposed to be? Is he stronger than Elder Kai? I'll punch him to death!

Sun Wukong's words made Bai Suzhen force a small smile, but it quickly faded.

Senior-Year Powerhouse: Everyone, don't get worked up yet. After entering the group, the fate script is no longer fixed.

Senior-Year Powerhouse: If changes can be made along this timeline, fate will change as well.

Xiao Yan: Change it? How?

Senior-Year Powerhouse: For example... what if Bai Suzhen's cultivation surpassed Fahai's long before she encountered him? Could Fahai still suppress her if he wanted to?

The group fell silent for a moment.

Xiao Yan's eyes lit up. That's right! Strength was what truly mattered!

Huang Rong: But what if Fahai calls for help after he loses? The Buddha is behind him, after all.

Zhang Sanfeng: Miss Huang has a point. Buddhism is powerful. If Fellow Daoist Bai causes too much trouble, it may draw even greater trouble.

White Snake Successor: This is all my fault. I do not know any of you, and I should not trouble you all like this.

Huang Rong: Don't say that! Sister Bai, you did nothing wrong! Besides, we're members of the same group!

Huang Rong: The Immortal said it himself: for countless worlds across the heavens to gather in one group, that is fate.

Huang Rong: Since it is fate, shouldn't we help one another?

Xiao Yan: Exactly, Sister Bai. This isn't your fault. The world is at fault!

Xiao Yan: Sister Bai, why don't you ask the 'Immortal' big shot? He'll definitely be able to help you!

Bai Suzhen looked at the warm messages on the screen, and her eyes gradually reddened.

She had cultivated for eighteen hundred years. She had seen the evil in people's hearts and the warmth and coldness of the world. But this was the first time she had encountered strangers willing to help her with all their hearts.

Especially that sentence—"This isn't your fault. The world is at fault."—was like a key that opened some tightly shut door in her heart.

From the day she began cultivating, she had been taught that "demons are demons, people should fear demons, and Heaven should subdue demons."

She had believed this was only natural. She had believed that her very existence was a sin.

But the people in this group told her otherwise.

Demons could repay kindness. Demons could love. Demons also had the right not to be suppressed.

White Snake Successor: Thank you, everyone...

White Snake Successor: I have cultivated for eighteen hundred years, yet I have never felt such warmth.

White Snake Successor: You do not know me, yet you are willing to speak for me and worry about me...

White Snake Successor: I-I don't even know how to repay you...

Huang Rong: Oh, stop talking about repayment!

Huang Rong: Sister Bai, just think of it as gaining a few distant relatives!

Xiao Yan: Exactly! When relatives are in trouble, how can we not help?

Xiao Yan: Although my cultivation is low and I can't be of much help, I can refine medicine for you!

Xiao Yan: Once my alchemy improves, I'll definitely refine the best pills for you!

Sun Wukong: This old Sun can help too! If that Fahai dares bully you, just tell me!

Sun Wukong: This old Sun may not be able to go over there, but I can teach you how to fight!

Zhang Sanfeng: Though I am merely an ordinary mortal, after a hundred years of cultivation, I have gained some insight into the great Dao of heaven and earth.

Zhang Sanfeng: If Fellow Daoist Bai does not mind, I am willing to share some of my understanding.

Bai Suzhen looked at those messages, and at last, she could no longer hold back her tears.

For a thousand years, she had always been alone.

After taking human form, although she lived by West Lake, she rarely interacted with anyone. She had thought she was accustomed to solitude, but only at this moment did she understand.

She had never gotten used to it. She simply had no choice.

Now, she had a choice.

White Snake Successor: Thank you, everyone, truly... I-I'll first read the group announcement and learn the group's rules.

White Snake Successor: I can't keep causing everyone trouble.

Huang Rong: Mm-hmm, go ahead and read it! Ask me if there's anything you don't understand!

Bai Suzhen exited the group chat interface and carefully read through the group announcement.

Check-ins, points, red packets, inviting newcomers... These concepts were all new to her, but they were not difficult to understand.