"From this day forward, your surname is Jiang, and your given name is Yue."
"In life, you belong to the Jiang Family. In death, your soul belongs to the Jiang Family."
An indifferent voice resounded through heaven and earth.
Ahead, several towering mountains tens of thousands of feet tall floated in midair. Their peaks were majestic, their ancient vines gnarled and powerful, as though they had existed since the creation of heaven and earth, radiating an ancient, timeworn aura.
That utterly indifferent voice had come from one of the mountains on the floating island.
After speaking, its owner fell silent, and the entire Divine Island returned to stillness.
Only after the aura that oppressed heaven and earth had completely faded did Luo Yue quietly breathe a sigh of relief.
Although the speaker had remained on the Divine Island without showing himself, his cold, domineering gaze had scrutinized her with terrifying sharpness. She had genuinely feared that the old monster living in seclusion there would notice something.
Now it seemed no one had discovered anything unusual about her recent transmigration...
If even someone with such terrifying cultivation could not detect that she was an impostor who had crossed worlds and taken another's nest like a cuckoo, then at least she would not have to worry about being exposed for a long time to come.
Behind her, a young man in cloud-patterned robes saw her relief and shook his head with a smile, thinking:
She's still just a little girl, after all. Even with the legendary Divine King Body, she's bound to be nervous when acknowledging her ancestors and returning to her family for the first time.
Still, seeing the little girl regain her calm, impassive expression, he felt that even if she was merely pretending to be composed, her maturity already far surpassed that of many children her age.
"Come along. It's time to take you to meet the Sacred Lord."
The Cloud-Robed Young Man spoke.
Luo Yue obediently followed him. He carried her through the air to another Divine Island nearby, then led her into a grand, ancient hall.
Looking at the magnificent ancient buildings all around her, Luo Yue was overwhelmed with awe.
Rosy clouds rose, colorful mist flowed, and towering mountains hung in the sky, as though they would never sink.
On some Divine Islands, silver waterfalls plunged tens of thousands of feet like celestial rivers hanging upside down. On other floating islands, dark, ominous clouds wreathed the mountains, whose imposing, somber bulk radiated an oppressive aura.
And all this was merely the tip of the iceberg...
Reading descriptions in books had never allowed her to truly imagine it. Only by standing here and seeing those towering mountains floating in the air with her own eyes could she grasp how absurd these sights were.
This simply defied science...
When she first arrived in this world, Luo Yue had not even realized she had transmigrated.
She had merely assumed she had eaten too many mushrooms the night before. Her first suspicion was that she was hallucinating, and she had thought nothing of it...
After all, how could people fly around in the sky, or mountains float in the air?
Eating mushrooms until I transmigrated to another world and changed sex-I must be the only person under heaven to manage that, Luo Yue thought silently.
There was one thing she could not understand, though.
She had clearly made sure all the mushrooms were nonpoisonous. Had she failed to cook them thoroughly?
That was a question worth pondering.
While her mind wandered, Luo Yue's feet had already followed the Cloud-Robed Young Man into a great hall, where she met the so-called Jiang Family Sacred Lord.
He was a middle-aged man wearing a black robe with broad sleeves, seated high in the hall. His physique was imposing, his presence as deep as an abyss. One glance was enough to tell that he had long occupied a position of authority.
Luo Yue's heart, which had only just settled, felt weighed down again. The middle-aged man's presence was no less formidable than that of the man on the other Divine Island. They were essentially on the same level.
Just as Luo Yue raised her hands to bow in greeting, the middle-aged man vanished from his seat in the center of the hall. He appeared beside her as though he had teleported, then reached out and seized her wrist.
Everything happened too quickly. By the time she reacted, he already had her wrist in his grip.
Luo Yue's little face tightened, and a barely perceptible flicker passed through the depths of her ice-blue eyes.
She desperately summoned the original owner's meager cultivation, circulating it according to the methods in the girl's memories, while frantically hypnotizing herself: I'm a seven-year-old girl... I'm a seven-year-old girl... I'm a little ice queen with an expressionless face... I'm a little ice queen with an expressionless face...
At this point, all she could do was pray desperately and try her best not to break character.
"Excellent. Her life divine wheel resembles a vast sea of stars! Innate divine blood, golden muscles and jade bones, and divine blood capable of suppressing countless evil forces. This is undoubtedly the Divine King Body!"
"How many years has it been since such an extraordinary constitution last appeared? Heaven truly favors our Jiang Family."
The Jiang Family Sacred Lord nodded slightly, full of praise.
Seeing that even his personal examination had failed to uncover her greatest secret, Luo Yue finally relaxed completely.
"Don't be nervous. You're Xiao Qing's daughter, and the blood of our Jiang Family flows through your veins. Here in the Jiang Family, no one can bully you."
"I assume you've just met my elder brother on the Divine Mountain. Your mother is his granddaughter through his direct line. That makes me your great-granduncle," the Jiang Family Sacred Lord said.
"Great-granduncle."
Luo Yue knew exactly what to do. She immediately played the good girl and called out in a clear, sweet voice.
Ugh.
Although calling him that made her feel deeply awkward, there was nothing she could do. Her current identity was that of a seven-year-old girl.
Under these circumstances, she naturally had to make the most of the only advantage she had left: her age.
"Good!"
Hearing her call him great-granduncle, the Jiang Family Sacred Lord smiled heartily, then continued:
"I've heard about what happened to your father's family. There's no rush. Stay here tonight, and tomorrow morning I'll send someone to take you to the Luo Family."
"Wei, take her down."
With that, the Jiang Family Sacred Lord vanished from the hall. He intended to share this happy news with the old monsters cultivating in seclusion within the family.
At first, everyone had assumed this was merely an ordinary case of a lost Jiang Family descendant returning, and no one had paid it much attention. Only after learning that the returning child possessed the Divine King Body had they been overcome with joy.
"Come along, little girl. I'll take you to your quarters first. Those relatives from your father's family have been temporarily accommodated there as well," the Cloud-Robed Young Man said.
At that, Luo Yue could not help looking up at the Cloud-Robed Young Man who had been guiding her all this time.
What had the Jiang Family Sacred Lord called him just now?
Luo Yue really wanted to ask whether his family also lived in Tianshui.
But she only muttered the question inwardly. After all, plenty of people shared the same name, and here, on the far side of the starry sky, a hundred and eight thousand miles from Earth, it was even less remarkable.
Ahead, a tremendous silver waterfall poured down from a floating island, fully eight hundred feet wide and several thousand feet high, its end nowhere in sight.
It was like a celestial river pouring backward. Any closer, and the crashing of the torrent into the enormous pool would have been enough to deafen an ordinary person.
"Little Yue, you're back! How did it go? No one made things difficult for you, did they?"
The Cloud-Robed Young Man carried Luo Yue down onto the Divine Island. The moment they landed, a beautiful woman dressed in green hurried over to her.
Before Luo Yue could answer, the Cloud-Robed Young Man beside her frowned and gave a cold snort, clearly displeased by what the woman had said.
"That is no concern of outsiders like you. Jiang Yue is now the divine maiden of the Jiang Family, personally appointed by our Sacred Lord. No one here can bully her," the Cloud-Robed Young Man said coldly, his tone utterly discourteous.
Seeing his icy attitude, the woman in green realized she might have misspoken and hastily tried to remedy it. "Brother Jiang Wei, you misunderstand."
"Of course I trust the Jiang Family to cherish Yue. But she's so young, and she's suddenly experienced such upheaval, then returned to her ancestral family. I was afraid she might feel anxious, so I couldn't help asking."
Perhaps because she needed something from them, the woman in green adopted a very humble manner.
At her explanation, the Cloud-Robed Young Man's expression eased slightly, but his tone remained distant. "Our family will take every care of Jiang Yue. Her future also concerns the Jiang Family's glory. Outsiders need not worry."
"Her quarters are ready. Since you belong to the Luo Family, you may stay here for one night. Arrangements will be made tomorrow. If there is nothing else, you should all retire."
He deliberately stressed the name "Jiang Yue," emphasizing both that Luo Yue now bore the surname Jiang and that the woman in green was an outsider.
After speaking, he stopped looking at the woman and turned to Luo Yue, his tone softening a little. "Little Yue, your bedchamber is in the residence ahead. It's quiet and secluded. I'll take you there."
Luo Yue could clearly feel the woman in green, who was holding her hand, stiffen at the words "Jiang Yue." She seemed to want to say something more, but ultimately swallowed it under the Cloud-Robed Young Man's invisible pressure.
From beginning to end, Luo Yue said nothing.
After all, it was better to speak less and do less at a time like this. She was avoiding contact with "familiar faces" close to the original owner as much as possible, lest she give herself away.
Besides, the original owner had always been cold and taciturn. Even if she said nothing, no one would notice anything unusual.
Still, judging by the Cloud-Robed Young Man's harsh attitude toward the woman in green, he clearly looked down on the Luo Family from the bottom of his heart.
It seemed those relatives from her father's family were not particularly welcome in the Jiang Family...
Luo Yue's thoughts raced, but her expression remained unchanged as she followed Jiang Wei toward a separate residence.
Built against the mountainside, the residence featured carved beams and painted pillars, with spiritual energy drifting through it like mist. Its furnishings were simple, antique, and elegant. When she opened the window, the roaring silver waterfall, like a celestial river pouring backward, sounded even clearer. Moisture swept against her face, carrying refreshing, cool spiritual energy, and the scenery was breathtakingly magnificent.
"Rest here for now. Everything you need has been provided. I'll come for you tomorrow between seven and nine in the morning."
Jiang Wei escorted her to the door, left her with those instructions, then turned and departed. His figure soon vanished into the swirling clouds and mist.
At last, she was alone.
Luo Yue stepped into the room and decisively shut the door, muffling some of the roaring water.
She walked to the window and gazed at the wonders outside, things no human effort could have created-the floating Divine Islands, the celestial river hanging upside down, and the somber mountains in the distance shrouded in ominous clouds. A powerful sense of unreality rose within her again.
"From now on... I really can't go eating mushrooms indiscriminately..."
The little girl looked up at the moon, feeling rather melancholy.
To think that an archaeologist who had roamed the underground world for years had been brought low by a couple of mushrooms.