Mo Dao Zu Shi: Astray

The Path of Cultivation, Part One

It was early in the morning after the Lunar New Year ended.

Pan Chun lay in bed, unable to sleep, and stared at the ceiling, still processing the total mindfuckery she went through the previous night. - Not only was I transported to an entirely different universe, but I was transported into the world of a danmei xianxia novel! Shit!

That made things, to put it simply, a lot more fucking complicated than it needed to be.

What? Did the universe or some cosmic power expect her to use her foreknowledge to change the novel's plot? Was that why she was here?

What could I even do anyway? I'm not in any of the major cultivation sects, let alone any sect at all. The characters wouldn't spare me a glance. I'm not even from this world. I'm just a stranger here. An intruder. 

It's none of my business anyway. 

As for the dark ritual that brought her here, how did it even transport her from an entirely different universe in the first place? Usually in this type of scenario, the person either transmigrates into a new body or dies and gets reincarnated. But here she was, in her original body, but much younger. What was powerful enough to do that?

The forbidden ritual wasn't the same one that Mo Xuanyu conducted to resurrect Wei Wuxian at the cost of his soul. There was an array drawn in blood, sure, but Mo Xuanyu didn't use captured demons in a spirit-trapping pouch. His body was still intact for Wei Wuxian's soul to inhabit. As for the mystery cultivator, both their soul and body had been consumed. Most importantly, Pan Chun wasn't dead.

Definitely. Not. Dead.

What was the purpose of the ritual? Why did this cultivator decide to go through with it? They must've carried out this dark ritual near a remote village like Xuhou to avoid any investigation from the sects.

Pan Heng had explained that it was as good as impossible to identify the culprit since the number of sects in existence was endless. But this was her closest, probably only lead in finding a way home.

Ugh. So much to think about.

Pan Chun grabbed a notebook and a writing brush. She needed to devise a plan. And record the plot of Mo Dao Zu Shi, just in case.

She'd have to jot down her notes in English. No telling if someone might get a little too curious for their own good and snoop through her notes. She'll just have to make them think it's gibberish.

Pan Chun sighed deeply. Time to pull her thoughts together and write.

Ok. Everything before the Sunshot Campaign only involved the cultivation sects. Nothing to do with a small rural village like Xuhou. She was totally safe.

Then there's the Sunshot Campaign itself, which Pan Chun hoped wouldn't reach Xuhou. If Wen cultivators somehow ended up near Xuhou, they'd ransack the place. Then they'd attract the attention of the cultivators from the other Great Sects, bringing them here to cause more damage with their fighting. She might even be killed in the crossfire if she wasn't careful, even with Pan Heng around. Not to mention, Wei Wuxian would probably show up to get rid of the Wens and add their corpses to his army. If news ever reached Xuhou that the Wens were approaching, she and the other villagers better evacuate before the bloodshed began.

Everything post-Sunshot Campaign was political strife within the sects, including Nie Mingjue's murder case, the resurrection of Wei Wuxian, and the fallout of Jin Guangyao's personal ambitions. All of which had nothing to do with the peasantry.

Wow, that merchant was right. Whatever mess the cultivators made was theirs to deal with. It was like the cultivators enacted a soap opera that the common folk just shook their heads and rolled their eyes at.