My Journey to Immortality Begins with Hunting-Chapter 649 - Li Yuan and Ah Ting - Part 1

Li Yuan thought for a moment, then decided he'd be reborn from water.

The reason was simple. He had a vague feeling that the world was once again slipping into chaos. Being reborn in water might help him avoid getting tangled up in all the messy nonsense on land.

Besides, he was curious what it would be like to come into the world from a different place this time.

With a flicker of intent, he focused his thoughts on a region he vaguely remembered Herderton. The image was hazy, but he could still distinguish land from water.

He picked out a lake, at least, he hoped it was a lake, and began the process of rebirth.

Those who are born through Celestial Transformation were nourished by nature itself, conceived between Heaven and Earth.

They appeared to have no parents, but in truth, the Heavens were their mother, the Earth their father.

Li Yuan had long suspected that within the Six Paths, there was an upper and lower division. Celestials clearly belonged to the upper paths, true anomalies, or perhaps one could call them a higher life form.

This first time being reborn, Li Yuan treated it as an experiment. He wanted to get a feel for it.

˙·٠✧🐗➶➴🏹✧٠·˙

Stellar Sea Province.

Shooting Star Lake was a newly formed lake, born of a flood that had rushed in from the west.

The lake teemed with a jumble of fish, but since it had no connection to the sea, no large sea beasts had made their way in.

All in all, the lake's ecosystem was relatively normal. At least for now, it was calm and peaceful.

At this moment, dusk had settled over Shooting Star Lake, the sunset painting the surface in rippling hues of gold and indigo.

Across the glimmering red waters, a fishing boat was heading home.

Suddenly, a fisherman cried out with delight, “Got one! I got one!!”

In his net flopped a fish about the size of a child’s arm, black-bodied with red fins, still wriggling and full of fight. It was a black rainbow fish, swept downstream from who-knew-where.

Its meat was famously tender and delicious. Ever since the local authorities had once offered it as tribute and received praise, it had become a yearly offering.

But the black rainbow fish was a predator and highly poisonous. One bite wouldn’t kill a person on the spot, but within an hour or so, they'd be done for.

Even so, the officials declared that catching and turning in these fish could earn tax reductions, even full exemptions.

And so, the fishermen staked their lives on it, chasing across the misty lake, hoping to trade danger for a lighter tax burden.

Many lost their lives to the fish’s venom.

And no matter how many black rainbow fish they caught, not a single one ever ended up on their own dinner tables.

Now, after his initial joy faded, the fisherman’s face settled into weariness and resignation. He carefully stored the fish away like a prized treasure, then flinched and placed it aside, clearly afraid of it.

A dazed little girl toddled over, curious and peeking in.

The fisherman swatted her hand away, snapping, “Don’t look! What if it bites you?”

The girl scampered off again and crouched by the edge of the boat.

She wore a patched-up dress and straw sandals on her feet.

The fishing boat rocked with the waves, making it hard to stand. But the little girl didn’t seem to mind. It was as if she was born to be on water, balanced, steady, like it came naturally to her.

In the glowing lake of sunset, her face reflected in the water, calm and unreadable.

Of course, on a four-year-old, that kind of expression usually just looked adorably blank.

Shadows rippled beneath the surface. Suddenly, the girl straightened up and spun around, probably wanting to catch a glimpse of a waterbird. But she turned too fast, tangled up her feet, and went down flat on the deck with a smack.

From the front of the boat, the fisherman called out, “Ah Ting, you alright?”

“I’m fine,” the little girl replied quietly. Then she was off again, scuttling to the other side of the boat where she crouched, chin in her hands, watching the birds play in the sunset.

There was a light in her eyes, half wonder, half daze.

That curiosity was natural, the kind all children had when they looked at the world.

But the blankness...that was the kind that came from staring too long at something, like her mind had wandered off and forgotten to come back.

The boat drifted on, cutting a path through the crimson water, slowly fading into the distance.

Beneath the boat, far below in the heart of the lake, something strange was beginning to take shape within a tangled nest of water grass.

The water there grew exceptionally clear, pure even, a stark contrast to the rest of the lakebed.

Some fish, curious, swam over, but couldn’t get in. It was as if that space between the weeds had become a world of its own, sealed and sacred.

˙·٠✧🐗➶➴🏹✧٠·˙

Just like that, three years passed in a blink.

During those years, the vague outline nestled among the grass slowly took form.

And by the following spring, it was fully shaped.

It was a boy, or something that looked like one. He seemed about five years old, soft and rosy-cheeked, cute in a way that could only exist in dreams. But born underwater, he was clearly no ordinary human.

Li Yuan looked around, then down at his own pink little hands, splashing absentmindedly in the water.

WHOOSH! He shot forward like a fish, propelled by the water as if it were air, gliding effortlessly like a bird in flight.

The feeling was incredible.

He darted back and forth through the lake, swimming simply for the joy of it.

And he could afford to be this carefree because he had the stats to back it up.

He glanced at his current status.

Two lines of information hovered beside him.

6~8

96k~4.5mil (0:00)

The first line reflected his present body, corresponding to the 6~8. Not a huge number, but compared to the lake’s usual range of 0~1, it gave him a decent sense of safety.

The second line belonged to his original body, and the 0:00 in parentheses was likely some kind of countdown or timer.

He could access the power of his true form at any time. But this world had no spiritual energy to speak of, so if his real body descended here, the cost would be astronomical.

Such terrifying consumption would clearly take a long time to recover from. Only after a slow and steady replenishment could he draw upon it again.

That was likely the reason for the countdown.

But...what if I only tapped a little of it? If I just used a small portion, maybe it wouldn’t take as long to recover.

Li Yuan swam to a large, slippery rock on the lakebed, crusted with snails and tangled with weeds. He perched on it, resting his chin on his hands, deep in thought.

Thanks to being reborn in water, good swimmer didn’t even begin to describe his ability. He could breathe through his skin now, absorbing the scarce oxygen dissolved in the lake with ease.

He gazed up through the water at the shaft of sunlight filtering down from above, lost in thought.

He’d always assumed the Life Star Art was just a way to link himself to the Ancestral Land. But now it seemed like more than that. Though he’d made a connection, he hadn’t actually gained full control over it.

If he had, he’d be able to wield its forces freely. The Ancestral Land, after all, birthed Yin and Yang and nurtured all things. His combat power of 4.5 million might seem immense, but compared to the full might of the Ancestral Land, it was probably nothing more than a speck of dust.

If he truly commanded the Ancestral Land, even if this world had reached the end of its spiritual energy era, he could still burn power recklessly. He could have his true body appear whenever he pleased, without worrying about consumption.

But that wasn’t the reality.

Then a thought struck him. Back then, whether it was Polaris or the Northern Dipper, their situation had probably been the same as his now. They had some level of access, certain permissions, so to speak, but not total control.

That was why they fought. To seize the Ancestral Land completely.

And now...it was his turn.

But Polaris, Northern Dipper, Southern Dipper, and Valley Obscura were four starkin locked in battle, competing fiercely.

Li Yuan was just one.

Wait, no. There’s still that hidden figure in the background. If he’s also a starkin, then this is just another round in the same game of cosmic power struggles. I’ve merely taken Polaris and the Southern Dipper’s place at the board of a new world.

But the world itself has changed. Back in their day, the land still pulsed with Yin and Yang. Now, it’s all gone. And beyond that, our methods are different.

Polaris had merged with the ancient ghost street, becoming one with the Underworld. The Northern Dipper had manipulated the mortal world from afar using a jade husk.

However, Li Yuan could now enter the world directly through Celestial Transformation. He could also summon his true body at will.

Whether that was a blessing or a curse, he couldn’t say.

Still, one thing was clear. In this new era, he had become the one pulling the strings behind the scenes, just like Polaris and the Northern Dipper had in his own time.

Li Yuan shook his head, brushing the tangle of thoughts aside. One step at a time. You eat a meal one bite at a time, and you walk a road one foot in front of the other.

The most urgent task was to learn everything he could about this new world. To find out if there really was someone lurking in the shadows.

And most of all, to find his family again.

Li Yuan leapt off the stone in the center of the lake just as his stomach let out a loud grumble. He was hungry.

With a flick of his limbs, he shot through the water like a darting fish. Moments later, he surfaced with a plump-headed fish wriggling in his arms. He had no idea what kind it was.

The fish squirmed violently, so he bit off its head in a few quick chomps.

Raw and cold as it was, he didn’t seem to mind. It wasn’t exactly delicious, but not unbearable either. He swallowed, and his stomach didn’t protest in the slightest.

The fish’s skull, for all its resistance, was no match for his teeth. Curious, he ran a finger along them. They weren’t sharp like a predator’s. They didn’t look like it, but they were definitely tougher than ordinary human teeth.

Clearly, a celestial wasn’t human. Both his digestive system and bite force were far beyond normal.

He devoured the fish down to the bones, but the spines poked at him, so he spat those out.

Satisfied and full, he settled back onto the lakebed. A glance downward revealed that his little Li Yuan was just...out there, on full display.

He wasn’t wearing any clothes.

Oddly, he didn’t feel cold at all.

So apparently, his resistance to cold had also evolved beyond human norms.

Li Yuan looked around, left and right, then decided it was time to find some shelter. After all, he’d just arrived in a new place. He needed a roof over his head.

He swam around. There were plenty of muddy pits and hollows, but nothing that felt suitable, no decent rock caves fit for living.

So he decided to build one himself.

He scavenged large stones from around the lake and carried them to a calm stretch of the lakebed. There, he stacked and arranged them into a small den, then crawled inside.

That would do. Home, sweet home.

After all the effort, fatigue hit him like a wave.

He lay down in his fully submerged little shelter and fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

When he woke refreshed and rested, he didn’t immediately swim to the surface or go exploring. Instead, he began testing his strength.

BOOM! BAM! CRASH! He punched through the water with swift, powerful blows. Despite the pressure at this depth, his strikes packed real force, enough that, with a burst of speed, he could shatter rocks underwater.

That combat power of 6~8 was starting to feel pretty dominant in this environment.

He pulled up his status window again.

If he remembered correctly, a tiger in the wild scored somewhere around 5~8.

In this mundane world, one without supernatural beings, his strength made him the undisputed king of the water. At the very least, he was on par with a great white shark.

After finishing his underwater workout, Li Yuan glanced up at the shimmering surface and saw clear skies. He steadied himself in the water and began testing the power of the word, Dusk.

Back when the world first began to change, he’d used that single word to kill the Celestial Sovereign and Northern DIpper.

It might very well be part of the new world's heavenly seal, and he was ready to see what it could do now.

Li Yuan focused his mind, summoning the image of the character for Dusk in his thoughts.

Back then, the moment he visualized it, the power would surge forth immediately, like speaking a command and having the laws of the universe obey it.

But now? Nothing.

He tried writing it out, tracing the character mentally, still no reaction.

He took a deeper breath, reaching inward, trying to sense the presence of the heavenly seal. It wasn’t gone. No, it was still there. He could feel it. The word Dusk was close, almost like it still belonged to him.

But the path to it was missing. The steps that once led him to that power had vanished.

At the dawn of this new world, when everything was still incomplete, I could wield it freely, he thought.

Now, the power’s still there, but with the heavens more fully formed, it’s no longer something I can just call on at will.

Still, he wasn’t ready to give up. He remembered the breathing technique from the Human Emperor’s Martial Canon. That might help.

So, he set himself a small goal. Explore the new world’s laws of power.