Zanxing

Chapter 2 - Crossing Over (2)

The cave was very dry.

A snail was slowly crawling along the cave wall, leaving behind a damp trail. When she touched its antennae with her finger, the snail retracted into its shell and became motionless.

Yang Zhanxing withdrew her hand and looked at the dark cave, sighing silently.

After five consecutive nights of working overtime, she was exhausted. She had bought a boxed meal from the convenience store downstairs but fell asleep before she could eat it. When she woke up, she found herself in this strange place, and it was hard to articulate how she felt at that moment.

Just as she opened her eyes, she saw a large, dark figure coming straight at her from the water. Instinctively, she pushed the girl beside her away, but she heard someone call out the girl's name, "Yunxin," and perhaps her own name, "Miss Yang."

She was just an ordinary wage earner, hardly someone worthy of being called "Miss."

She didn't know how long she had been lost in thought until she caught sight of the jade pendant at her waist, which had the two characters "Zanxing" inscribed on it. A vague suspicion began to form in her mind: perhaps she had crossed over into a novel called "At the Summit of the Nine Heavens," a story about cultivation and leveling up.

As a diligent worker, Yang Zhanxing's only hobby was reading online literature. Among these, stories about cultivation were her favorite, often stretching into the tens of millions of words, providing ample entertainment. Over the years, she had read no fewer than fifty such novels. The plots were often similar, revolving around themes like "Thirty years in the east, thirty years in the west; don't underestimate the young," or "retirement and face-slapping." She could recite the clichés by heart, sometimes mixing up the plots. Why was she so sure this book was At the Summit of the Nine Heavens? It might have something to do with the name "Yang Zanxing."

"Yang Zanxing" was the name of a supporting female character in "At the Summit of the Nine Heavens," a character who shared her name but tragically met her demise just a few chapters in, killed by the male lead. From start to finish, her character was barely described, serving only as a stepping stone for the male lead's rise.

What a tragedy.

If she remembered correctly, at this point in the original story, "Miss Yang" was envious of Liu Yunxin for winning the favor of her fiancé, Wang Shao. Taking advantage of Mu Chengxiao's battle with the demon beast "Yu'," she attempted to kill Liu Yunxin by pushing her into the water. To save his childhood friend Liu Yunxin, Mu Chengxiao jumped in after her, only to be swept away into a cave by the demon aura, where he found a magical treasure, leveled up underwater, and eventually defeated the beast "Yu'" before returning to the surface.

Upon returning, the first thing Mu Chengxiao did was kill "Miss Yang" in front of everyone, establishing a deadly feud with Wang Shao. This initiated his "I'm the protagonist; I'll face-slap anyone who crosses me" phase.

Although the plot was clichéd, it was logical and coherent. However, the Yang Zanxing who had crossed over found herself in a twist of fate: she had instinctively pushed Liu Yunxin away when the demon beast "Yu'" attacked, leading to her own fall into the water and the cave.

Yang Zhanxing stood up and looked around. This was a very dark cave, with only a faint light shining from above, appearing quite distant. She yelled twice, but her voice barely traveled halfway before it seemed snuffed out like a flame extinguished by a finger.

There was no one around, not even an animal—only a snail huddled in its shell. She pried the snail from the wall and, mustering her courage, walked a short distance forward.

The ground was soft, covered in dry white sand, resembling a desert. Despite having fallen into the water, there wasn't a drop of it in this underwater cave; such an illogical situation could only happen in a cultivation novel. But at this rate, if she didn't find an exit soon, she would die of thirst!

How did the male lead find the exit after obtaining his magical treasure? The magical treasure... right, where was it?

That treasure was like a game buff, a cheat that would make villains and cannon fodder weep with despair!

Just as Yang Zanxing thought of this, she suddenly felt a sharp pain in her fingertip. Looking down, illuminated by the faint light from above, she saw that the flower-shell snail she had been holding had somehow crawled onto her fingertip, and a drop of red was oozing out.

Bleeding? Yang Zanxing was astonished.

Would a snail even draw blood if it bit someone? What kind of nonsensical setting was this?

In the next moment, the ground beneath her feet shook violently, and chunks of the cave wall began to crumble. Yang Zanxing covered her head and crouched down, searching for a place to hide when suddenly, a strange light burst forth from her palm. Unlike the dim light above, this one was dazzlingly bright, momentarily feeling like she was being burned by fire.

The light emanated from the flower-shell snail.

The snail, no bigger than a fingernail, gradually blurred, transforming into a transparent orb amid the expanding light. The orb seemed alive, drawing in the blood that flowed from her finger and staining the orb red.

After what felt like an eternity, the shaking stopped, and the light faded.

Yang Zanxing steadied herself and gazed at the red orb in her palm.

The orb was roughly the size of a marble, cool to the touch, resembling glass. At first glance, it appeared red, but upon closer inspection, one could see a flame flickering within it, burning steadily as if it would never extinguish.

"Xiao Yuan Pearl..." Zhanxing murmured.

In the original story, this orb was the male lead Mu Chengxiao's magical treasure. The Xiao Yuan Pearl was omnipotent, capable of sensing magical artifacts, enhancing cultivation, shortening leveling time, and even healing wounds at critical moments—an essential item for ranking up. Because of this pearl, Mu Chengxiao, who had been deemed "useless," surged in power before the Taiyan Sect's selection competition, rising from Qi Refining directly to Foundation Establishment, and later to early Golden Core stage, gaining recognition and redemption.

Now, Liu Yunxin was in danger, and it was she who was saving the day. She had fallen into the water, and been swept into the cave, and now she was the one to obtain the Xiao Yuan Pearl.

"So, the plot has changed?" Yang Zanxing pondered aloud.

As soon as she voiced this thought, the Xiao Yuan Pearl in her hand suddenly transformed into a red mist and, with a swift motion, darted into her body.