I opened my eyes.
Every inch of my body throbbed with pain.
It would have been easier to find a place that didn't hurt than one that did.
The stench of blood hung heavily in the air, and a crimson mist swallowed my vision, making it impossible to see even what lay directly in front of me.
"I... I..."
My body lay sprawled on the ground, completely unresponsive.
A splitting headache struck, and with it came a flood of unfamiliar memories crashing into my mind like waves.
The memories of Lee Seo-hee, a modern-day graduate student.
And the memories of the person who originally owned this body.
"The barrier won't hold any longer!"
"You have to decide now! We don't have much time left!"
From beyond the crimson fog came a presence that sounded like the roar of a beast.
The earth trembled, and the sealing formations engraved into the ground began to crack one by one.
"At this rate, the Blood Soul Asura's seal will break!"
"This barrier... it can never be closed unless someone stays behind!"
"We have to choose who remains!"
Everyone's gazes darted between the blood-red formation and the ominous presence of the Blood Soul Asura awakening behind it.
Then those gazes settled on Yu Yeon-seo and Yang Jahan.
"I'll stay behind."
"…Yeon-seo."
"Jahan. Please live enough for both of us."
The moment Yu Yeon-seo's hand touched the core of the seal, a brilliant light erupted.
A vibration powerful enough to tear apart souls engulfed the entire space.
"I will never forget this choice for as long as I live. I'll survive—for your sake as well."
Yu Yeon-seo's sacrifice activated the Soul-Sealing Heavenly Formation, successfully sealing away the Blood Soul Asura.
But this story...
It was merely the opening chapter of the xianxia novel Chronicles of Heavenly Fate Cultivation.
The novel followed its protagonist, Yang Jahan, as he became a cultivator and grew stronger.
Cultivators were beings who pursued immortality and the Dao, endlessly training in hopes of becoming immortals.
Yu Yeon-seo died before Yang Jahan even began his cultivation journey, sacrificing herself as the seal's offering against the calamity known as the Blood Soul Asura.
After her death, Yang Jahan barely escaped and was rescued by a cultivator from the prestigious Mugeuk Mystic Sect, beginning his path as a cultivator.
Why? Why of all people?
Even if I had to transmigrate, did it really have to be into a character who was already dying?
No.
I wanted to live.
I didn't want to die like this.
Why me?
Out of everyone, why Yu Yeon-seo?
"Don't... want to die!"
I could feel death creeping through my body.
Crawling across the blood-soaked dirt, I dragged myself forward.
Suddenly—
A crimson glow flickered in the darkness between the canyon walls.
That's...
Like someone possessed, I staggered toward it.
A patch of crimson moss.
Without thinking, I stuffed it into my mouth and chewed.
Crunch.
"Aaaahhhhhh!"
Pain exploded through me.
It felt as though my soul was being torn apart.
Bloody tears streamed down my face as I collapsed to the ground.
That was my first memory after becoming Yu Yeon-seo.
Located at the far edge of the Xian Empire, Spirit Death Valley was a forbidden land.
Legend said that during the ancient war between immortals and demons, a Divine Demon had breathed upon the region, turning it into a wasteland where no living creature could survive.
When rumors spread that the valley's deathly energy had begun raging out of control, Baek Unjin, the youngest elder of the Cheongwoo Immortal Sect, hurried there alongside his senior brothers.
The place was saturated with yin energy.
Occasionally, ghost spirits were even born there.
"To think the Blood Soul Asura actually awakened!"
After reading the lingering energies of the land, Baek Unjin quickly understood what had happened.
The area around the seal was littered with the corpses of cultivators who had died brutal deaths.
At first glance, there appeared to be no survivors.
Then—
"That..."
In the distance, he spotted a child no older than twelve lying motionless on the ground.
"Senior Brother Baek? What is it?"
"She's alive."
"...What?"
"That child is still alive!"
Baek Unjin rushed over and checked her condition.
His expression darkened.
Her state was catastrophic.
Every meridian in her body had been ravaged.
Yin energy had shredded her blood vessels and spiritual channels beyond recognition.
She could stop breathing at any moment.
Baek Unjin gazed down at the child sorrowfully.
If he had arrived even half an hour earlier, perhaps she wouldn't have become a sacrificial offering.
Just as he was about to infuse her with spiritual energy to ease her passing—
Grab.
A small, blood-covered hand seized the edge of his robe.
The grip was impossibly strong for someone on death's doorstep.
"Want... to... live..."
The child's body went limp the moment she finished speaking.
Her breathing grew fainter and fainter.
Another cultivator, having returned from inspecting the seal, clicked his tongue.
"It seems a group of low-level cultivators used the child's soul as a sacrifice to seal the ghost spirit."
Not only that cultivator, but the others from Baek Unjin's sect urged him to give up.
Yet even now, the child refused to release his robe.
Baek Unjin reached into his sleeve and withdrew a pill.
The crowd gasped.
"B-Baek Cultivator! Have you lost your mind?!"
"You're going to waste something that precious on a dying child?"
"If you're just going to throw it away, sell it to me instead!"
It was the Hwanwon Jinyeong Pill, one of the Twelve Supreme Spiritual Medicines—something most cultivators would never see even once in their lifetime.
"Silence."
Baek Unjin's voice turned cold.
"It belongs to me. How I use it is my decision."
Ignoring everyone's protests, he crushed the pill and carefully poured it into the child's mouth.
"If you want to live, then swallow."
At those words, the child gathered every last shred of strength and forced herself to swallow the medicine.
The shattered soul within her slowly began to mend.
And as it healed, her internal injuries gradually started recovering as well.
Chirp, chirp.
I opened my eyes.
An unfamiliar room greeted me.
"Where am I this time?"
I was certain I had been dying.
Yet now I was lying beneath warm blankets.
I vaguely remembered hearing someone's voice before losing consciousness.
"Did you want to live?"
"Yes... I want to live."
Something had definitely been placed in my mouth afterward.
And before that...
Wait.
Who was that person?
No matter how hard I tried to remember, the image remained blurry, like grasping at clouds.
Pulling the blanket over my head, I thought about it for a long while.
Nothing came to mind.
"I can't remember!"
Kicking the blanket away in frustration, I sat upright.
Then—
Ah!
Long hair.
Blue robes.
Tall.
Elegant features.
"That's him!"
"..."
"...Huh?"
I froze.
The handsome man I had just pointed at was standing right in front of the door.
Blink.
Blink.
We stared at each other.
When he smiled gently at me, the tension in my body eased on its own and I plopped back onto the floor.
He's handsome.
No, wait—that wasn't the point!
Who even are you?!
"How are you feeling?"
"..."
"Are you too shocked to speak?"
"No. Um... who are you?"
My head felt completely empty.
If this wasn't a dream, then I really had entered Chronicles of Heavenly Fate Cultivation.
The man stepped closer, still smiling.
Pat.
A warm hand rested gently atop my head.
"When asking someone who they are, it is polite to introduce yourself first."
"I-I'm Yu Yeon-seo."
"Do you remember anything else?"
As his hand withdrew, I shook my head vigorously.
It wasn't that I remembered nothing.
The memories of my previous life were useless.
And Yu Yeon-seo's memories weren't much better.
All she remembered was joining a third-rate cultivation sect, passing through Spirit Death Valley, and nearly dying after becoming a sacrifice when the Blood Soul Asura awakened.
Clutching the man's sleeve tightly, I shook my head again.
"No."
"..."
"Other than my name, I don't remember anything."
Chronicles of Heavenly Fate Cultivation was a ruthless novel where cultivators would do anything to become stronger.
Even Yang Jahan eventually became cold-blooded after Yu Yeon-seo's death.
I was grateful to this man for saving me.
But trust was another matter.
Reading about ruthless survival was entertaining.
Living through it was not.
"I see."
"Sorry."
"Why are you apologizing? After everything you've endured, it's perfectly understandable."
"Then... if you saved me... who are you?"
"My name is Baek Unjin."
Baek Unjin.
That name sounded familiar.
Wait.
Baek Unjin?!
The novel featured the Eight Great Orthodox Sects, the most powerful cultivation factions in the world.
Baek Unjin was one of the leading figures of the Cheongwoo Immortal Sect, serving as a celestial instructor and reaching the Nascent Soul Realm at an unbelievably young age.
Compared to the Cheongwoo Sect, the Honghwa Sect Yu Yeon-seo had belonged to was little more than a collapsing roadside shack.
Meeting someone like Baek Unjin in person was nearly impossible.
In other words—
I had been saved by someone extraordinary.
As I sat there staring blankly, unsure what to say, Baek Unjin lowered himself until our eyes were level.
Wasn't he supposed to be cold and ruthless in the novel?
The man before me didn't seem that way at all.
While I was absentmindedly admiring his face—
"I can see you're still confused, so I'll be direct."
His gentle gaze met mine.
"Would you like to become my disciple and cultivate under the Cheongwoo Immortal Sect?"
