Boundless emptiness, darkness enveloped, silence and stillness, only a trace of consciousness gradually awakened.
“Where is this place, it's so dark, huh, why can't I move, no, I was just taking a nap, uh...”
Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through his head, then drowned his consciousness, but he quickly regained awareness.
“Mu Shen, Lin Mu, this guy is really unlucky.”
At that moment, as he thought this, he turned around, and couldn't help but be stunned, no way, how could this be?
“I've transmigrated, transmigrated into Lin Mu who's in a coffin, also known as Tian Jiang Mu Shen, this?”
He was dumbfounded, at this moment he was truly bewildered. Was this a butterfly dream by Zhuang Zhou, or was Zhuang Zhou dreaming of a butterfly?
Unable to distinguish between these, he fell into silence.
When he awakened again, he was completely awake, the past was still the past, this life remained this life, this was not a dream.
“This life is not yesterday, the dream is over and has become reality. Unexpectedly, I transmigrated into this tragic character. This Ciheng is truly terrible.”
Thoughts swirled, yet he had to face the reality, he couldn't go back, this life was Mu Shen, Tian Jiang Mu Shen.
“Right, I am now Mu Shen, but I don't want to repeat the tragic path. There are so many scheming villains in Ciheng. If I'm not strong enough, I'll definitely be killed by them. Although the original body was very strong, he still ended tragically, schemed against so clearly.”
At this moment, Mu Shen was a brand new Mu Shen, the past and present were completely different.
He knew the plot of Mu Shen's life, he didn't want to follow the same path. It wasn't impossible, but he would still be forced to take this path.
Looking at the current Ciheng under Heavenly Mandate, even though he had regained consciousness, he was unable to escape the confines of the coffin lid. How ironic was this.
After struggling several times, he realized that he ultimately needed to follow Mu Shen's original rhythm. He was now the new Mu Shen, but that didn't mean he could defy his own jie shu (calamity or karmic retribution) or script.
To break this Heavenly Mandate script, he needed immense strength, absolute strength that defied heaven.
This way, even if he couldn't defeat the strong enemies, they wouldn't be able to kill him. This was the first priority.
Although Mu Shen wouldn't have any formidable enemies in the initial stage after his birth, there would be various schemes and plots. Yet, he was ultimately defeated by them, which was a terrible situation.
Even as a transmigrator, he considered himself only average in wisdom. Or, perhaps he was more inclined to believe that in the face of absolute strength, all schemes and tricks are mere clouds. This was his mentality. But the key was, even though he inherited everything from the original Mu Shen, that was all he had. It was difficult to escape the script of Ciheng's Heavenly Mandate, this was truly the most unfortunate aspect.
“Troublesome, right, as a transmigrator, isn't there any benefit, any cheat? ”
Mu Shen pondered in thought, he had given up on the fantasy of returning. But a cheat, shouldn't that be standard equipment for a transmigrator? Otherwise, wouldn't it force him to follow the same unchanging results?
After all, he knew that even if he changed some things, the Ciheng Righteous Path wasn't very friendly to those from other realms. Even if he joined the Ciheng Righteous Path, he would have to make sacrifices repeatedly, one after another, perhaps only to be remembered with fondness.
He was Tian Jiang Mu Shen, the lord of a realm, how could he accept that?
Although he had replaced the original body, the pride and integrity remained in his heart, unchanged.
Time passed in silence, he was somewhat despairing. Could it be that he didn't have the standard equipment?
Loss, helplessness, despair, waves of negative emotions surged.
After an unknown amount of time, he resigned himself: “Fine, I'm just a replacement in this afterlife, but no matter what, I have to try. Even though I can't move, can I still cultivate, circulate my internal energy? It's better than remaining stagnant like this.”
He decisively chose to save himself. Since external help was out of the question, he wanted to desperately save himself.
He couldn't move in the coffin, but his internal energy was still there. Coupled with his clear consciousness, he wanted to gain more strength. This way, he would have a chance in the future, he wouldn't let any threat affect him.
He had absorbed all of the original body's memories, naturally including his internal energy techniques.
He worked hard, he kept working hard, his consciousness was fully focused on his internal energy, diligently pushing it forward.
His initially lifeless internal energy was completely still, but the strength of his consciousness, along with his intense desire to survive, refused to give up.
Once, twice, three times…
After an unknown number of attempts, a shift finally appeared.
That's right, the internal energy that had been motionless, heavy as lead and mercury, now shifted.
“There's hope, work hard, keep working hard.”
With his consciousness constantly bursting forth, the internal energy finally began to move. Though slow, even slower than an ant crawling, it was still a victory.
Because he saw something that hadn't been there before, something he now had.
“Come on, don't give up, don't give up.”
His internal energy revived, driving and shifting, inch by inch. It was like the source of a stream, exerting force. The spring had emerged, the brook had begun to form, determined to become even stronger, ultimately evolving into a large river, even a vast ocean.
With unwavering will, he didn't even know how long he had been pushing, he only knew to keep moving forward, constantly moving forward.
He wanted to change his destiny, break free from the so-called Heavenly Mandate, and become stronger. Only by persevering, only by becoming stronger.
He didn't know what the future held, but he knew that if he didn't strive, if he didn't work hard, no matter how much he daydreamed, it would be impossible to change the future. Everything depended on him.
As for the original body's karma, he naturally accepted it. After all, if he didn't, others wouldn't believe him, especially that Yama.
Devious and cunning, he would never let Mu Shen have a peaceful life.
Don't forget, there were also the Tian Di Bi (Heaven and Earth Scorpions). These two were equally cunning, otherwise, how could they have reduced Mu Shen to this state.
“My fate is in my hands, not in the heavens. Since I'm here now, I will become the most powerful existence. I will not allow failure, I will not allow it.”
He roared in his heart, his consciousness even more intense. He would not fail, he would succeed. As long as he was strong enough, anything was possible.
What was Ciheng's Heavenly Mandate? He would break it, he vowed to break it.
In that roar, his internal energy unknowingly completed a full cycle, and his entire body trembled.
A voice reached him, leaving him stunned.
“Ding, congratulations host for completing one cycle of internal energy circulation, receiving a ten thousandfold return.”
“Ding, ten thousandfold cultivation return system loaded. Hope the host enjoys the game.”
In an instant, the effect of ten thousandfold was infused into his body, equivalent to completing ten thousand cycles. His internal energy increased by an unknown amount. But according to the original body's memories, one cycle normally took one to two hours. Now, with a ten thousandfold return, how much time had passed?
For a moment, he was speechless.