First Time

Yan Jue had never imagined the male lead of a harem novel could be this shameless.

Even worse, this body still retained some of the original owner’s habits. It had actually been desperate for the male lead’s attention!

Chu Fu’s movements looked absurdly practiced. As expected of the big male lead in a harem novel, he slowly undid his sash; his outer robe slid off, revealing the snow-white undergarment beneath.

Yan Jue used every ounce of strength she had and lashed out with her sleeve, slamming her palm into the male lead’s chest.

Chu Fu’s face instantly turned livid. His body shot backward; he actually flew a full zhang away and crashed hard into the wall behind him.

Clutching his chest, Chu Fu coughed violently and even spat out a mouthful of blood.

Yan Jue: “……”

Yan Jue stared at her own palm in disbelief. Only then did she belatedly realize that she had transmigrated into an immortal cultivation novel.

She was now an outer disciple of Watercloud Sect in the early Foundation Establishment Realm, and also a fox spirit who had just taken human form. Her cultivation far surpassed the male lead’s; she was no longer the frail woman who couldn’t even lift a hand to do anything.

Chu Fu frowned, his face ashen. “Yan Jue, have you lost your mind!”

As soon as he finished speaking, Yan Jue cursed him out without mercy. “I should be asking you that. Who told you to come into my room without permission?”

Chu Fu seemed to hear something extremely amusing. He suddenly laughed.

Yan Jue was so baffled by his laughter that she wondered if she had said something wrong.

Chu Fu took a step forward and gently drew her into his arms. “Senior Sister, you even gave me the key the day before yesterday. What are you saying now? I know you’re angry, but I was cultivating this morning too, so I couldn’t keep you company. My talent isn’t as good as yours; I have to work twice as hard to catch up to you.”

There were many disciples on Five Dragons Mountain. If they were roughly the same age, those with higher cultivation were called Senior Sister.

But Chu Fu had red lips and white teeth; when he said the words “Senior Sister,” they came out especially soft, and Yan Jue’s skin crawled.

Keep that sort of line for the female lead.

Yan Jue raised her hand, grabbed Chu Fu by the collar, and threw him out the door; then she slammed it shut behind him.

At last the room was quiet. Yan Jue sat on the bed and took a deep breath.

She knew very well that the male lead would not actually be that gentle with her, a cannon-fodder side character.

He was only after her yin essence!

She might not count for much, but this body’s yin essence was an invaluable tool for male cultivators to raise their cultivation.

In the original novel, the male lead had only been a nobody at the Qi Refining stage. It was only by stumbling across an opportunity like her that he leaped from Qi Refining all the way to the Illumination Stage, entered the inner sect three years ahead of time, and became Five Dragons Sect’s newly risen genius disciple.

Chu Fu was also very clever; throughout the novel, there were quite a few arcs where he advanced by relying on women.

Besides her yin essence, the female lead Qi Xianqing’s Immortal Spirit Physique also played an indispensable role in the male lead’s rapid rise.

The more Yan Jue thought about it, the darker her expression became. Whatever else happened, from now on she had to stay far away from the male and female leads; finding a chance to sneak down the mountain and escape was the real priority.

After making a short-term plan, Yan Jue burrowed into the blankets. The moment she closed her eyes, she suddenly sensed that something was off.

A scorching heat spread through her chest. She retched once, then suddenly felt everything around her growing larger and larger.

Then the blanket swallowed her whole.

Yan Jue opened her eyes in terror and looked down at her own furry paws.

“……”

The original owner’s true form was a fox demon who had infiltrated Five Dragons Mountain.

Human by day; fox by night.

Perfectly normal.

Because it was the first day after transmigration, Yan Jue hadn’t slept well at all; before dawn the next day, she was already awake.

Instinctively, she looked down and discovered that her hands were still a pair of furry paws.

Yan Jue jumped down from the bed and raised her head to look at herself in the bronze mirror.

It was a bright-red fox, with a first-rate appearance that was almost too beautiful to seem real.

Its narrow fox eyes were amber like apricots; the fur was vivid red, but the belly was pure white, like a white lotus blooming in flames.

The tips of its ears were a deep, concentrated black.

Yan Jue jumped onto the windowsill and watched a strand of golden morning light slowly emerge from the mountain opposite. She had meant to frown, but instead she slowly wrinkled her nose.

A burning pain throbbed on her shoulder.

Last night she had slapped the male lead’s chest with her palm.

The mess scattered all over the room was silent proof.

She really had transmigrated into a book.

She had transmigrated into an extremely brutal cultivation world.

Yan Jue sat on the windowsill for a long time before finally waiting for the first ray of sunlight on the horizon to gradually turn into brilliant gold.

At last, she had turned back into human form.

Yan Jue looked at herself in the mirror and let out a breath of relief.

Still beautiful. Those narrow eyes were still bewitching, as if veiled in a layer of alluring mist.

After washing up, Yan Jue relied on her memory and took the Qiankun bag left behind by the original owner before leaving the room.

She hurried down Five Dragons Mountain, crossed the dense pine forest, then followed the steep blue-stone steps downhill.

Nothing had happened yet. If she didn’t run now, when would she ever run!!!

And then Yan Jue was blocked at the foot of the mountain.

She leaped forward, just about to step out of the mountain gates, when a scorching heat suddenly flared from her chest. Yan Jue retreated sharply and looked up at the sky.

On the long chain bridge beyond the mountain gate, there seemed to be a faint golden barrier floating in the air!

Could it be that Five Dragons Mountain wasn’t the kind of place people could just leave whenever they wanted?!

Yan Jue tried for a while at the foot of the mountain, but each time she was repelled by that inexplicable golden barrier.

On her sixth failed attempt, after she was thrown back again, Yan Jue held her aching arm and realized that this really wasn’t a place she could just walk out of.

She returned to the mountain in defeat, carrying her belongings.

...

From her memory of the novel, the original owner and the male lead lived together within Watercloud Sect, which had the fewest disciples and relatively more abundant resources per person.

Because there were so few disciples, the dormitories were not in short supply; every disciple could have a little wooden house to live in.

There were also many empty rooms in the mountain. Changing dorms was naturally not difficult.

Since the original owner had even given the key to her room to the male lead, Yan Jue felt that her first priority was to move.

Yan Jue found the Watercloud Sect residence and chose a wooden house built in an out-of-the-way bamboo grove as her new dormitory.

While moving, Yan Jue sorted through the original owner’s belongings.

The original owner had come up the mountain only to accompany the male lead, Chu Fu, so she didn’t have much in the way of possessions.

Yan Jue only found a pale pink storage pouch containing a dozen or so low-grade Spirit Stones.

Not even a single magic treasure.

One word: poor.

Looking at the somewhat crude and desolate room, Yan Jue sighed a little to herself.

The original owner had belonged to the Ghost Mansion Fox Clan and had been pampered at home as if she were priceless. Who would have thought that once she arrived at Five Dragons Mountain, she would get this kind of treatment?

All for a man.

How stupid.

Yan Jue carried her small bundle to the new place. Just after she had packed up her things and stepped outside, someone tapped her on the shoulder.

Yan Jue turned around warily and found a face with a slight baby fat looking back at her.

The girl stood behind her, blinking as she looked at her. Then her eyes widened in disbelief.

“Ahhhhhhhh, I’m not seeing things, right? You’re the junior sister Yan Jue who challenged Lord Meng Heng one-on-one, fought a Foundation Establishment battle as a beginner, and then got pinned to the ground and beaten by Senior Sister?”

Yan Jue stared at those cute apricot eyes and suddenly felt the wound on her shoulder start to ache again. “……” Heh, that’s me.

Yan Jue smiled. “How does Senior Sister know me?”

The girl grinned. “Who on all of Five Dragons Mountain doesn’t know you? Junior Sister became famous overnight yesterday.”

Yan Jue: “……”

After talking with Yan Jue for a while, the slightly baby-faced girl introduced herself as Du Ying; she was Yan Jue’s new neighbor.

Du Ying: “Sigh, I was actually looking forward to seeing you at the summit meet with Senior Sister. Who knew you’d go straight to challenge her yesterday? You really are impatient...”

So the matter of the original owner and Qi Xianqing fighting over Chu Fu had already spread across the entire mountain.

Yan Jue was silent for a moment, then decided to ask her properly what the original owner had done before.

Since she couldn’t get out anyway, learning more about her own ridiculous deeds couldn’t hurt.

On a bright, sunny afternoon, Du Ying was sitting cross-legged in front of her wooden house, meditating and cultivating in quiet stillness, when a gust of wind suddenly surged before her.

She opened her eyes in surprise and saw her new neighbor Yan Jue standing before her, smiling as she asked, “Senior Sister Du, the reason I went to challenge Senior Sister Qi yesterday was that I’d had a little too much to drink and wasn’t thinking clearly. As for what else I said to Senior Sister Qi... I don’t really remember...”

Du Ying was very enthusiastic in explaining things to her. “Our Thunderflame Sect’s Senior Sister Qi is the undisputed Senior Sister, Lord Meng Heng by title. She’s already at the peak of the Illumination Stage! That day in the dining hall, you publicly said you’d settle things with Senior Sister at the Five-Dragon Summit. We’ve all been so excited... Foundation Establishment versus Illumination... tsk, tsk, tsk. We were all hoping you’d pull off a reversal; that kind of thing could make the Immortal Gazette in a heartbeat.”

Yan Jue broke out in a sweat. This original owner was only a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator, yet she had the guts to challenge the female lead Qi Xianqing, who was in the late Illumination Stage. This was truly...

Du Ying’s words reminded Yan Jue of her current predicament.

The Five-Dragon Summit was approaching.

Like all cultivation novels, Five Dragons Mountain also held a summit meeting similar to a martial competition.

The Five-Dragon Summit was a grand event held once every three years on Five Dragons Mountain. When the time came, disciples from every peak would have the chance to meet on the arena stage, and the contest was usually fierce.

The ultimate winner would receive an unexpected reward.

The rewards were mostly magical instruments or extremely precious heavenly materials and earthly treasures.

And Lord Meng Heng Qi Xianqing had been the winner of the summit three years ago; she was unquestionably Five Dragons Sect’s new-generation genius.

The reward Qi Xianqing had received was the life-bound magical sword she used now: Zhuying.

However, none of that had anything to do with a little waste like her.

What sent chills down Yan Jue’s spine was the time of death for the cannon-fodder female supporting character who shared her name in the original novel.

It was right on the night before the Five-Dragon Summit; her demon aura leaked, Lord Meng Heng Qi Xianqing discovered her trail, and she died under... that Zhuying sword, which could cut down every filthy thing in the world.

Yan Jue said politely, “Thank you for explaining, Senior Sister.”

Du Ying laughed. “Hahaha, it’s fine, it’s fine. I’m still waiting for you to give me more entertainment material.”

Yan Jue: “……”

Although she and Du Ying got along quite well, Yan Jue still hadn’t forgotten the short-term goal she had set for herself yesterday. “May I ask, Senior Sister, can one come and go from Five Dragons Mountain freely?”

The situation was urgent; she absolutely had to find a chance to run down the mountain.

Du Ying blinked. “You want to leave the mountain? Have you finished the beginner tasks?”

Yan Jue raised a brow. “Beginner tasks?”

Although she had read the original novel, she wasn’t very clear on some of its settings.

After Du Ying explained it to her, Yan Jue learned that Five Dragons Mountain had a peak called Buzhou Peak, and on Buzhou Peak there was a place called the Administrative Hall.

Five Dragons Sect disciples who wanted to go down the mountain for training had to go to the Administrative Hall to receive something called a “token”; it was a wooden plaque inscribed with a task. Only then could they go down the mountain to uphold justice and slay demons.

Du Ying: “Recently the Demonic Cult outside the mountain has been getting more and more rampant. The Sect Master set down a very strict restriction at the foot of the mountain ten years ago. Before disciples below the Illumination Stage leave the mountain, they must first complete the three beginner tasks issued by the Administrative Hall; you can think of it as an assessment.

“Only after successfully completing the beginner tasks and obtaining an identity badge can you be sure of your own safety and freely enter and leave Five Dragons Mountain.”

-

After thanking Du Ying, Yan Jue headed to the Administrative Hall.

The mountain scenery in the afternoon was beautiful.

A light breeze passed by; mist drifted among the lush green mountains.

But Yan Jue was in no mood to appreciate any of it.

According to Du Ying, this world had three major forces: demons, yao, and humans.

Demons, yao, and human cultivators were irreconcilable enemies, and in recent years, the former two had only become stronger and stronger.

At the foot of Five Dragons Mountain there was a powerful restriction. Any disciple without an identity badge who tried to leave by force would be marked.

If one were marked, then no matter how far they fled, they could be found by the disciples of the Enforcement Hall. Once captured, they would be treated as a suspect for colluding with demons and monsters, which would be extremely troublesome.

If she wanted to leave the mountain without anyone noticing, the only way was to finish the three “beginner tasks” assigned by the Administrative Hall and obtain an identity badge.

Actually, life on Five Dragons Mountain was very leisurely. It wouldn’t be impossible to just stay there and be a salted fish, but Yan Jue understood her own identity very clearly.

She really did not want to be run through by the female lead’s sword.

Life was beautiful; she didn’t want to die.

Finish the beginner tasks as fast as possible; then immediately head down the mountain.

The Five-Dragon Summit was supposed to be in August next year.

She still had nine months. Time was tight.

The moment Yan Jue stepped into the Administrative Hall, she saw a junior sister not far away in a jade-green daoist robe suddenly turn around and sweep her a glance, then grab the person beside her and move several zhang away.

Whispers rose all around her.

“Isn’t that the one who’s always with Senior Brother Chu..."

“So disgusting. Her cultivation is bad, yet she keeps clinging to Senior Brother Chu everywhere, trying to ruin the feelings between Senior Sister and Senior Brother Chu!”

“You think it’s bad enough that she’s obsessed with Senior Brother Chu? She’s also tripped up Senior Sister over and over again. A few days ago she even challenged Senior Sister to a duel and made all kinds of childish trouble. It’s only because Senior Sister has a good temper.”

“How is Senior Sister a good temper? She just couldn’t be bothered to argue with her!”

Without realizing it, Yan Jue had become the center of discussion among all the disciples in the Administrative Hall.

She could only pretend not to hear and keep a smile on her face as she approached the counter.

A row of brown wooden plaques hung in front of the counter; words had been carved into each of them.

These were task plaques, also known as “tokens.”

Looking at them, Yan Jue suddenly felt a surge of excitement, as if she were seeing the classic image of cultivation practitioners going down the mountain to uphold justice.

She explained her purpose to the elder. “Hello, I’m here to take a beginner task.”

The elder looked troubled. “I’m sorry, but it’s already almost the end of the year. Beginner tasks for Foundation Establishment cultivators are very popular, and they’ve basically all been taken.”

Yan Jue: “Huh?”

Seeing her disappointed expression, the elder pondered for a moment before saying, “But there is one task here that hasn’t been chosen yet. If fellow Daoist doesn’t mind, you can give it a try.”

The elder opened a drawer, took out a wooden plaque, and handed it over.

Yan Jue frowned as she looked at it. A few large words were written on the plaque.

- Qingye Town

Drunken Spring Pavilion; serial murder case.

Perpetrator: mortal, early to mid Qi Refining stage.

Task difficulty rating: level E.

Five Dragons Sect divided task difficulty into A, B, C, D, and E; A was the hardest, while E was the easiest.

Beginner tasks only included E and D level assignments.

Yan Jue was stunned. “But this task is so simple. Why hasn’t anyone picked it?”

The elder said awkwardly, “Maybe because it’s too simple. Everyone feels like there’s no challenge. After all, these beginner tasks are just for getting started, but everyone still wants to pick the harder ones to train themselves; that gives them a higher starting point too.”

“..."

Wasn’t that exactly what she wanted!

Yan Jue was instantly struck by inspiration. Then she heard the elder say, “Fellow Daoist should note the time limit on the task token. Starting from the moment you leave the mountain, this token is valid for one month. If you fail to complete the task within the required time, you must spend the following six months in secluded reflection and will not be allowed to take any other tasks.”

Yan Jue nodded, took the task plaque, stuffed it into her bag, and was just about to leave when suddenly a scream rang out: “Lord Meng Heng is here!!!”

Lord Meng Heng; Qi Xianqing.

In an instant, the entire crowd around her began to stir.

Yan Jue was startled and followed the flow of people.

This couldn’t be this unlucky.

She took a few steps forward, then immediately stopped.

To keep her hate value from getting too high and ending in a miserable death, she absolutely had to work hard to reduce her sense of presence in front of the female lead for now.

There was nothing she could do about the things the original owner had already done, but she definitely couldn’t keep building more resentment now.

Qi Xianqing was far too famous on Five Dragons Mountain. Disciples from all five sects worshipped her; in an instant, everyone was rushing toward the entrance, packing the small doorway so tightly that not even a drop of water could leak through.

Yan Jue was silent for a few seconds, then expressionlessly headed for the back door.

Compared to the front, the back of the Administrative Hall was much more open and empty; the pale green gauze curtains hanging down fluttered in the wind, dreamlike and hazy.

Yan Jue’s steps grew faster and faster when she suddenly heard a panicked voice from behind her. “Hey, that junior sister! Wait...”

Yan Jue froze and turned back. Not looking ahead, she smashed hard into a soft embrace the next second.

A faint fragrance rose like mist at the tip of her nose; she suddenly felt a piercing killing intent. If she had been a fox right now, all the fur on her body would have exploded on the spot.

Yan Jue looked up and met Qi Xianqing’s cold, indifferent face.