Chapter 1: A Plot Falling from the Sky

Amidst the purple aura, Wang Liang felt as if he were wandering through a celestial river of stars, when a system prompt chimed softly in his ear.

“Would you like to activate: Azure Ox Nose Ring?”

“Yes!”

“Please choose a keyword to initiate: Westward Journey, Pacify the Hu, Enlightenment.”

“Westward Journey!”

“The Azure Ox Nose Ring can accommodate five people. Would you like to bring additional players?”

“No!”

Wang Liang didn’t even need to respond; all he had to do was watch attentively.

With each prompt, the scene before him shifted, revealing a strange continent divided by vast seas into four great lands. The western continent was shrouded in a miasma of妖气—malevolent energy—yet also bathed in the glow of Buddhist light. The land was barren, dotted with numerous kingdoms, presenting a paradoxical beauty of opposition.

At the continent’s heart stood a Taoist temple. Behind it grew a modest tree, its canopy lush and green. Nestled amid the leaves were cherubic infants, each perfectly formed with tiny limbs and a small stem at their tails, hanging from the branches. Their hands and feet fluttered, their heads bobbing as if stirred by the wind, which seemed to carry faint sounds.

Though unfamiliar with such a sight, Wang Liang instinctively exclaimed, “Ginseng Fruit!”

In the next instant, the scene shifted again, and Wang Liang’s gaze moved from the western continent to the east.

There, a battlefield unfolded—a vast army encircling a modest city. Wang Liang’s keen eye discerned roughly four hundred thousand soldiers surrounding a city with no more than nine thousand inhabitants.

Such a conflict was a foregone conclusion; the massive army was certain to triumph without question.

Within that army, Wang Liang even spotted towering half-giants and a great pack of intelligent beasts. To lose with such overwhelming force would be utterly disgraceful.

He was about to voice his thoughts when a historical memory surfaced—this battle had indeed been recorded in history. Could this be a reenactment of that war?

His heart stirred as he fixed his gaze on every minute shift below.

Suddenly, the air around him grew warm. Looking up, Wang Liang realized he had transformed into a meteor hurtling from the sky, destined for the encampment of the four hundred thousand-strong army.

Around him swirled meteors of similar size, each radiating immense destructive power. He was certain that if these meteors struck the camp, the army would be obliterated.

Yet then, a voice echoed from the heavens: “Get down!”

The sky darkened briefly, then brightened again, revealing a gigantic flaming palm descending from above, clutching a colossal ape and heading westward.

The gust generated by the giant hand deflected the falling meteors, diverting them all into a nearby small city instead of the military camp.

Amidst the roar, a line of text composed of dust and earth flickered before Wang Liang’s eyes.

[300 years later…]

[Welcome to the game!]

[You have received the main quest: Ginseng Fruit.]

[Quest Description: You have entered this game with a purpose—to obtain a single Ginseng Fruit. Head westward to the Five Villas Temple on Longevity Mountain and seek the fruit.]

[Note: The master of the Five Villas Temple on Longevity Mountain, Zhenyuan Daxian, is above level 120. Do not attempt to seize the Ginseng Fruit by force; completing the quest peacefully is your only option.]

[Quest Requirement: Consume one Ginseng Fruit.]

[Side Quests: Not activated.]

[Faction Quests: Not activated.]

[Hints: You can achieve the following milestones within this world and its extensions.]

[Summoner: Summon and command the Earth and Mountain gods 30 times.]

[Dao Cultivator: Learn three types of Taoist magic native to this world.]

[Scholar: Read 10 different books.]

[Demon Slayer II: Kill three demons or evil spirits above level 20.]

[Manifest Divine Power: Display Taoist magic before others, resolve affairs, and earn renown as a cultivator.]

[...]

[Warning 1: There is no time limit in this game, but death means permanent departure from this world. Leave swiftly if danger arises.]

[Warning 2: There are three hidden storylines of varying difficulty. Do not activate any of these hidden lines—they lead to death!]

As the messages vanished, only the words “will die” remained glaring before Wang Liang.

When the dust settled, he realized something heavy pressed down upon him. Looking up, he saw he had been buried underground, his head barely breaking the surface.

He had no time to survey his surroundings; he struggled desperately to free himself.

But such a feat was far from easy.

Wang Liang wasn’t newly buried; the firmness of the earth indicated he had been trapped here for centuries, the soil hardened like solid rock.

After twisting and turning fruitlessly, he realized brute force would not suffice.

He reflected on his abilities. His learned scripture, the Tai Xuan Classic, was ill-suited for this predicament. Instead, his earliest acquisition—the Innate Cosmos Technique—might serve him well now.

Drawing a deep breath, Wang Liang employed the boundless and unpredictable methods of the Innate Cosmos Technique to alter his body’s structure.

This technique compressed his bones tightly, akin to a yogi who could fold a towering man of six feet into a bottle.

Wang Liang didn’t need such an extreme feat—he only needed to create some space inside the earth around him.

Sure enough, as he shifted, his legs gained mobility.

Planting his feet firmly underground, he used the newly made space to lift his hands upward.

Once he reached this point, Wang Liang summoned all his strength. The immense power of the cosmos lifted him upward.

He felt as if bearing a mountain on his back, but he knew this was his sole chance to escape.

If he wished to taste the Ginseng Fruit rather than become one himself, he had to overcome this trial.

As he exerted upward force, he breathed deeply, his muscles heating, aching, then searing with pain, yet he ignored it all and pressed on.

At last, a thought flickered in his mind. With a twist of his waist, a crack echoed beside his ear.

His body relaxed suddenly, and the soil pressing down on him exploded outward.

Emerging from the earth, Wang Liang collapsed outside the large pit he had forged, panting heavily.

Two messages appeared before him, stirring a faint hope within his heart.

[Ding! In the face of danger, you have unleashed your potential. Your Innate Cosmos Technique has advanced from beginner to mastery level.]

[Ding! Your inadvertent exertion has combined the Boundless and Unpredictable Cosmos skills, producing a new technique. You may name it yourself!]