With a crisp "click," the light dispersed the darkness in the room.
Su Luo slightly paused at the entrance, took off her high heels, and slowly walked to the sofa, sinking into its soft cushions.
Work had been busy, and she hadn't gotten much sleep these past few days.
Now, lying on the sofa, she had no energy to even remove her makeup. Closing her eyes and relaxing her body, she soon felt her eyelids grow heavy.
Before she knew it, she fell asleep.
…
A sudden feeling of weightlessness startled Su Luo awake.
She thought she had fallen off the sofa, so she reached out to brace herself on the ground but touched nothing.
When she opened her eyes, she saw grayish-green tiles above her, with carved wooden beams at each corner.
She was floating in mid-air, two meters above the solid ground.
Looking around, she found herself in a spacious room, lit by numerous lamps.
Where was she?
Su Luo thought she was dreaming and tried to pinch herself awake, but she found herself unable to move, as if something was binding her.
What was happening?
Su Luo frowned slightly.
A breeze swept through the room, causing the lamp flames to flicker uncertainly.
Suddenly, specks of light appeared ahead, resembling fireflies in a forest.
An invisible force gently propelled her forward. As she floated closer, Su Luo realized that there was a person ahead.
That person was dressed in a moon-white robe, with a tall hat and broad belt, sitting cross-legged on a cushion.
Their hands were forming a seal above their knees, their head and body held upright, eyes closed, with a solemn expression.
Those strange lights were emanating from that person.
Su Luo thought the person's face looked familiar, and upon closer inspection, she realized—
The person sitting there looked exactly like her.
That person sat there quietly, not moving, with no rise or fall in their chest.
Before Su Luo could think about why someone who looked just like her was sitting there, she saw all the small lights floating from that person converge towards her, like moths to a flame, and burrow into her body.
At the same time, she felt herself rapidly falling, then plunged into boundless darkness.
In the darkness, she seemed to hear a voice.
Ding...
Host confirmed, system connection in progress...
System connection complete, the world has been activated.
Main Task One: Ascend the Immortal Platform.
"Hello Host, welcome to the 888 Task Support System."
...
Su Luo's head hurt, like it was about to split open.
Before she could recover from the pain, she heard a concerned voice: "Host, you're awake?"
This voice sounded somewhat strange—it was mechanical and electronic but carried a human emotional tone.
Even more bizarre, the voice wasn't coming from outside but directly inside her mind.
"Who are you?" Su Luo asked warily.
"Hello Host, I am the 888 Task Support System, you can call me Xiao Ba," the voice responded cheerfully.
After responding, without waiting for Su Luo's reaction, it began transmitting information to her.
The original owner of this body was also named Su Luo. She had lived with her parents on Dongji Island since childhood, both of whom were cultivators.
She had followed her parents in cultivation and was sent to the Qingxu Sect by her mother after establishing her foundation, to train under her aunt, Zhan Xuehan, who was also the head of the Qingxu Sect.
Zhan Xuehan liked her niece very much and spoiled her, often giving her pills to enhance her cultivation, knowing that she was lazy in her training.
Perhaps she had been overly supplemented, as recently, Su Luo had shown signs of forming a golden core.
Her cultivation was unstable, and forming the golden core hastily would be very dangerous. Zhan Xuehan advised her to suppress her realm for the time being and only attempt it once her foundation was perfected.
But Su Luo not only ignored Zhan Xuehan's advice, she also stole the Mingxin Lamp from her and secretly attempted to form the golden core on her own.
As a result, the attempt failed, and she was backlashed by the Mingxin Lamp, shattering her soul.
Then, Su Luo transmigrated into this body.
Not only had she transmigrated, but she also had to use the original body's identity to navigate the plot of a novel.
Yes, that's right, she had transmigrated into a book called The Long Immortal Journey.
The Long Immortal Journey was a story about cultivating immortality, with the female protagonist named Wen Miaomiao. She was a pure and beautiful character with exceptional talent in cultivation. Upon entering the Qingxu Sect, she quickly became the sect's favorite.
She had countless admirers, and the line of those pursuing her could stretch from the Qingxu Sect to the Penglai Pavilion.
Despite the numerous suitors, her heart remained unmoved by their charm. Her affections were reserved for just one person—her senior sister.
Yes, her senior sister.
Her senior sister was also a disciple of the Qingxu Sect and the main antagonist of the novel, Meng Shuying.
According to the novel, Meng Shuying was a dark and ruthless character.
She murdered her master, destroyed her sect, forcefully broke the demon seal, and opened the passage to the Demon Realm, causing chaos and suffering in the mortal world.
Initially, Wen Miaomiao, remembering their shared bond, tried to persuade her out of it, but Meng Shuying was unmoved, determined to continue down the path of a villain.
After numerous conflicts and entanglements, Wen Miaomiao eventually defeated Meng Shuying and sealed her beneath Yanmo Peak.
After sealing Meng Shuying, she single-handedly closed the passage between the human and demon realms, restoring peace to the world.
At the end of the book, she also achieved perfection in her cultivation and ascended to immortality.
Although the novel didn't have an explicit romance plot, readers still enjoyed picking up on subtle hints and speculating on the relationships.
During the novel's serialization, fans online went crazy shipping these characters together.
After all, the trope of love intertwined with rivalry was incredibly compelling.
Su Luo never imagined that one day, she would find herself inside this novel. Moreover, she hadn't become the protagonist Wen Miaomiao, nor the antagonist Meng Shuying.
She had become the cannon fodder senior sister.
In the original novel, this senior sister was envious of Meng Shuying's exceptional talent and often bullied and schemed against her.
As expected, during the event of breaking the demon seal, she was used by Meng Shuying as a sacrificial pawn and was impaled by a sword.
Su Luo was speechless: "Why me?"
The task support system, Xiao Ba, who was communicating with her in her mind, replied, "Because you are the chosen one!"
Su Luo tried to reason with it: "You never asked for my opinion. Please return me to my original world immediately."
"I can't do that," Xiao Ba replied apologetically. "As the chosen one, you must complete your tasks to return to your original world."
"What if I refuse?"
Xiao Ba was silent for a moment, then said in a low voice, "You have no right to refuse…"
When it said this, Su Luo felt a sudden pang of anxiety.
"If you refuse or fail your tasks, your consciousness will be trapped in this world, never to return."
Su Luo: …
Xiao Ba seemed to realize it had gone too far and sighed with a human-like sentiment, "Well… since you're here, you might as well make the best of it. Prepare yourself, I'm about to send you out. Three, two, one…"
Su Luo wanted to ask where it was sending her, but before she could speak, she felt a powerful force push her out.
Su Luo's eyelids twitched, and before she could open her eyes, she heard an excited female voice exclaim, "Sect Leader, Sect Leader, Senior Sister is awake!"
Then came the sound of hurried footsteps as the person ran out, only to return shortly after, standing by the bed and asking with concern, "Senior Sister Luowei, how are you feeling?"
Su Luo slowly opened her eyes, feeling a dizzying spin. She blinked, waiting for the world to steady before looking at the speaker.
The person was dressed in a white Daoist robe, with a sachet and jade ornaments hanging from her waist, and her hair was styled with pearl accessories.
She looked no more than eighteen or nineteen, with a face full of youthful innocence.
Su Luo stared at her for a moment, then slowly replied under her concerned gaze, "I… I'm fine. Where am I? Why are you here, Hanzhu?"
The girl before her was Xie Hanzhu, Su Luo's little follower in the Qingxu Sect. In the original novel, Xie Hanzhu often sided with Su Luo in bullying Meng Shuying.
"This is Yanwu Peak, Senior Sister Luowei, are you sure you're alright?"
Su Luo glanced at her and then turned her gaze to the ceiling.
Above her was a square canopy of layered white gauze, with golden hooks at each corner. The hooks were intricately crafted and gleamed with a brilliant light, clearly not ordinary items.
This was indeed Su Luo's room.
Suddenly, the door opened, and someone strode in. Su Luo turned her head to see a woman in her thirties, dressed in a white Daoist robe. The robe was ornate, with intricate patterns, and the hem was embroidered with cloud motifs in fine gold thread that swayed gently as she walked.
It was the original body's aunt, Zhan Xuehan, the head of the Qingxu Sect.
Seeing that Su Luo had indeed awakened, Zhan Xuehan immediately walked to the bedside, took one of her hands, and infused her with a stream of spiritual energy.
Her eyes were overflowing with concern, "You're finally awake. Do you feel any discomfort?"
Su Luo shook her head, "No."
Zhan Xuehan used her spiritual energy to probe Su Luo's body, and finding nothing amiss, she finally breathed a sigh of relief. She sat down by the bed, her tone slightly reproachful, "You dared to attempt forming your golden core on your own, you really scared me."
Though her tone carried reproach, her eyes were filled with genuine concern, which reminded Su Luo of her own mother.
When she was young and mischievous, her mother had also reprimanded her with such affection in her eyes.
Her mother had been gone for many years, and her father had long since formed a new family.
She was all alone now, with no one left.
Perhaps it was the merged memories, or perhaps it was her longing for her mother, but her heart softened, and she leaned closer to Zhan Xuehan, softly saying, "It was my fault, I made Aunt worry."
Her attitude was so gentle, and she took the initiative to admit her mistake, which made Zhan Xuehan feel very gratified. She gently stroked Su Luo's hair, her voice also softening, "As long as you're alright. I know you're a good child."
After a pause, she suddenly spoke coldly, "It's all that servant disciple's fault, sneaking the Mingxin Lamp into your room while you were forming your core, nearly costing you your life."
Su Luo blinked, puzzled, and looked at Xie Hanzhu.
In her memory, she was the one who had stolen the Mingxin Lamp.
Xie Hanzhu caught her confused look and quickly stepped forward, saying, "Yes, it's all that Meng Shuying's fault. She must have had ill intentions!
The Sect Leader has already confined her. Once you're better, we'll expel her from the mountain."
She said this while winking at Su Luo, signaling her not to say anything unnecessary.