Chapter 23: But You Are Already the Finest of the Human World

【Reincarnation ended.】

【Your life was magnificent, and you spent your entire existence pursuing a life with no regrets in your heart.】

【Born into a prestigious martial arts family, you received an excellent education, and your outstanding talent helped you become a leader among your generation.】

【By your twenties, your name already shook the mountains and rivers of Northern Wei.】

【When your father and mentor, Gu Zhangqing, went missing, you decided to set out to find his whereabouts; your temperament dictated the trajectory of your life.】

【In Guanzhong, you found the companion of your life, Yin Jiujiu, and she thus became the romantic fate of your life.】

【In this reincarnation, you slew a total of 238 demons and evil spirits, eliminated harm for the people over a thousand times; not only were you active in dealing with demons and evil spirits, but you also helped the people improve their lives, and the Shushan you founded became a pillar of the righteous path.】

【You walked straight and sat upright, recognizing only the rules you set for yourself.】

【In this reincarnation, you acquired over twenty-nine types of esoteric Technique Formulas, nineteen of which were created by yourself, which witnessed your comprehension of the Dao.】

【The most powerful esoteric Technique Formula you possessed was—Drawing Up an Agreement with Heaven.】

【It became a legend in the mortal world, considered by later generations to be a forbidden esoteric technique that is difficult to trace.】

【You unlocked a total of three cards, which are "Near the Monarch, Fear of Intimacy · Yin Jiujiu", "Shushan Dao Venerable · Gu Jiangming", and "Peerless Elegance · Gu Jiangming".】

【These three cards recorded your heart-fluttering moments and iconic scenes.】

【They have been recorded into your save file.】

【On the path of cultivation, you reached the pinnacle of the current era, and the Merit you accumulated was enough to cause a dynasty to collapse.】

【The evaluation of you by outsiders is—the righteous yet evil Shushan Dao Venerable.】

【Yet you had a clear understanding of the so-called righteous path and the so-called evil path, never caring about the criticisms from the outside world, only practicing the ideals you set for this life with unwavering determination.】

【Your reputation is that of a legendary figure of the age; whether they were cultivators or common folk in the wilderness, most had heard the name of the Shushan Dao Venerable.】

【Even after countless years pass, there will still be some who remember your name.】

【At the same time, in this reincarnation, your relationship with your romantic fate, Yin Jiujiu, was the most intimate.】

【Wang Qinghe and Xu Qingyun were the people who recognized your stance the most, aside from Yin Jiujiu.】

【Please remember these passersby who might have been insignificant in your life but whom you can recall when looking back.】

【Let me tell you a hidden storyline: Wang Qinghe actually did not die, but after she recovered from her severe injuries and wanted to go back to find you again, the first thing she saw was the lazy smile you showed to Yin Jiujiu, and she ultimately chose to leave you of her own accord.】

【Your life had one and only one romantic fate (Dao partner), but it was always accompanied by a secret admirer.】

【She would ignore any stance or principle and, after seeing you for the first time, would silently support you forever.】

【This is a hidden law under this rule.】

【Regrettably, her life was destined to be a passerby in yours.】

【Through the accumulation of multiple evaluations, reputation, Merit, and so on from this reincarnation, your final evaluation is—Perfect.】

【You are the last glimmer of light that can truly touch Heaven and Earth after the gods disappeared.】

【In the name of Shushan, you created an era that belonged uniquely to you.】

【Even though you were still a mortal, a drop in the ocean compared to Heaven and Earth, unable to shake it in the slightest, you... are already the finest of the human world.】

【To respect your personal rights, this reincarnation has retained your initialized physical state.】

【At the same time, please name your save file for this time.】

Gu Jiangming thought for a moment, but still put down the originally planned three characters: Wine Sword Immortal.

In fact, in this save file, Gu Jiangming still held something back; what he was truly formidable at was sword technique.

It was just that there was no opportunity to use it in the end.

Gu Jiangming expressed deep regret.

Moreover, in this reincarnation, Gu Jiangming was able to possess various miscellaneous esoteric techniques so smoothly, all thanks to 【Never Drunk After a Thousand Cups】.

The special effect of this 【Never Drunk After a Thousand Cups】 was tested out by Gu Jiangming.

When drinking, comprehending the Great Dao, including practicing various esoteric techniques, would lead to some accidents, and he would inexplicably comprehend some things.

Gu Jiangming was in the habit of stacking various items to slay evil-minded demons and spirits at the time, and as a result, he tested out this effect.

But the prerequisite is that 【Never Drunk After a Thousand Cups】 must be present at the same time as 【Heart of an Innocent Child】 to trigger this linkage effect.

Before 【Heart of an Innocent Child】, Gu Jiangming did not trigger the comprehension effect so frequently; it was the bonus from 【Heart of an Innocent Child】 that created the grand occasion of having an endless stream of esoteric techniques in his hands later on.

So, overall, the importance and priority of 【Heart of an Innocent Child】 are higher than 【Never Drunk After a Thousand Cups】.

Gu Jiangming felt that this 【Mie Changsheng】 was completely like an immersive game.

And the kind of pitfall game that only lets you play but gives no rewards!

And these game companies are somewhat ruthless.

They insist on making you do some kind of linkage, and then they increase the intensity.

A single word entry placed there looks very weak.

Isn't this just pure baiting for microtransactions?

Even after transmigrating here, he still has to continue being tortured like this?

The attribute of this golden finger regarding microtransactions is written all over its face.

No wonder in the previous so many reincarnations, Gu Jiangming did nothing but die.

If he can't draw a good starting character, he is just sitting in jail!

【Reincarnation ended, save file has been saved.】

【In this reincarnation, you obtained a total of three reincarnation word entries; based on the perfect rating obtained in this round, one word entry will be randomly drawn for you to keep permanently to deal with the next reincarnation.】

【The reincarnation word entries you obtained have entered the prize pool.】

【They are—Never Drunk After a Thousand Cups, Heart of an Innocent Child, Ganjing Liluo.】

"Never Drunk After a Thousand Cups and Heart of an Innocent Child, the probability of getting two out of three is still quite high." Gu Jiangming felt that if he hit either one, he would have a great advantage in subsequent reincarnations.

【Congratulations on retaining the word entry—Heart of an Innocent Child (Golden Word).】

Sweat dripped down.

Three draws, two hits, and one Ganjing Liluo as the guaranteed minimum—that was a total loss.

It wasn't that Gu Jiangming couldn't accept this trait, but when it came to the lottery, he felt somewhat disappointed compared to the other two.

Fortunately, he got 【Pure Heart】, which was the trait Gu Jiangming found most acceptable.

"In subsequent Reincarnation cycles, I must try my best to prune ordinary traits to avoid polluting the trait pool; otherwise, there is a high risk of failing to secure the reward for retaining traits at the settlement screen."

Lying on the bed, Gu Jiangming prepared to end today's struggle, closing his eyes to get some good rest.

Meanwhile, in the outside world, earth-shattering changes were taking place.

Deep in the mountains of Chuanshu, thousands of miles away, a towering peak that had once been vibrant suddenly became shrouded in dark clouds, as if it had been isolated and sealed off from the rest of the world.

Across the entire land, cultivators of the Human Race hurried along their paths; because a massive amount of heritage had been lost during the Shushan Incident several hundred years ago, the archives, esoteric arts, and secret techniques of various sects had vanished, making the path of cultivation increasingly arduous.

In an unknown village, an old man wearing a bamboo hat held a sword engraved with the two characters "Shushan" and looked into the distance; he slightly lowered his hat, thrust his sword into the throat of the evil demon before him, and sheathed it with effortless grace.

Immediately after, he simply said, "Shushan's Xu Qingyun."

Meanwhile, inside a dilapidated temple in Guanzhong, Jiu Jiu braced one hand on the ground while gently stroking her head; she had already set up a barrier around the entire temple in advance.

【To respect your personal rights, this Reincarnation cycle has preserved your initial physical state.】

【Congratulations on successfully changing history that had already occurred.】

【Note: Due to the excessive memory capacity of this Reincarnation save file, merging the memories will cause side effects such as dizziness.】

【Please choose carefully whether to merge the memories.】

【At the same time, you will receive one opportunity to alter the save file; please explore how to use it yourself.】

Jiu Jiu looked at the prompts and thought nothing of it, but she hadn't expected that when she chose to merge, the stinging pain would penetrate to her very marrow; her entire brain felt as if it were exploding, flooded with a massive amount of memories.

When she regained her clarity and consciousness, a cute, porcelain-like little girl had appeared beside Jiu Jiu, along with some information that Jiu Jiu found difficult to comprehend.

"Mother, where are we going?"

This left Jiu Jiu in a momentary daze; she leaned forward slightly and embraced her daughter.

On the other side of the ocean, wave after wave crashed against a wooden hut by the shore.

"A-are we not dead yet?"

A voice like a whisper slowly echoed from the depths of the seabed.

Following that, raging waves surged up.

"My Mana... why is my Mana so thin..."

As the words fell, she felt her body become incomparably drowsy and weak; the exhaustion welling up in her heart caused her to close her eyes once more.

(End of chapter)