To test the cool new flying sword device, a whole crowd from Huanyu Tower gathered in the square in front of the building. Those who couldn’t go watched eagerly from the floor-to-ceiling windows.
And the reason no one stopped them? Of course, it was because the chief editor himself had rushed to the copyright department out of curiosity after hearing about it.
“This flying device is still in the testing phase. First, step onto it and stabilize your balance. Then, use the control panel to hover at low altitudes…oh fuck!”
The first test pilot widened his eyes in shock as he realized he was actually floating and moving forward, though the speed wasn’t too fast.
Of course, the flying sword had built-in safety features, limiting both speed and height. But when moving across the spacious square, it truly felt like soaring through the air.
The wind rushed past, tousling his hair.
“Wow, it’s really flying!”
“Why does this look so cool?”
Wherever the test pilot went, gasps of awe followed. The excitement created the perfect atmosphere for showcasing the flying sword.
“And it even glows.”
The test pilot glanced at the control panel and pressed the light button, causing the sword’s blade to emit a dazzling glow, leaving a long, shimmering trail in the air.
Once he got the hang of it, he even attempted a mid-air spin. If it detected any risk of overturning, the sword would automatically slow down and stabilize.
“Damn it, please, I’m begging you, let me try it too!”
“If I don’t get to play with this, I won’t be able to sleep tonight.”
The Huanyu Square was practically boiling over with excitement.
After all, looking cool was a lifelong pursuit!
Naturally, the commotion didn’t go unnoticed. Pedestrians nearby spotted the person soaring through the air and slowly widened their eyes.
“Am I dreaming? Or did I stay up too late reading Teacher Fish Soup Noodles’ novel and transmigrated into a book? Someone is really flying on a sword! That’s a real sword!”
A group of students who had just walked out of a nearby store stared in disbelief.
Had they stayed up all night reading novels so much that they were hallucinating?
“They seem to be Huanyu employees. Could it be some kind of new merchandise?”
“I got it! They’re probably running tests! Look, there’s someone who seems like a supervisor standing nearby.”
One of them quickly pieced things together.
Now the only question was, should they post about this online?
If Fish fans found out, the star network would definitely explode.
Meanwhile, Yu Mian’s side was equally lively when he received the sword-shaped flying devices.
Huo Yan and his group happened to drop by, and they quickly discovered that the device allowed two people to hold hands and fly together while maintaining balance.
Yu Mian pursed his lips together, feeling slightly nervous as he carefully adjusted the altitude. It felt somewhat like an aerial skateboard. Although there was a safety system, it still required some skill.
After accelerating, he gradually got used to the feeling of flying and it became more and more exhilarating. Besides, he felt even more at ease as he flew over the surface of the Starry Sky Lake.
Worst case scenario, if he fell, he could just turn into a fish.
As for little guy Huo Yan, he was having the time of his life. He even tried pleading with his parents to let him take it to school the next day.
“If I bring this flying sword to school, everyone will absolutely worship me.”
By then, he would definitely become the boss among bosses.
Huo Yan could even imagine the scene of everyone surrounding him in amazement.
“I think the teacher confiscating it would probably happen even faster.”
Madam Inas mercilessly shattered Huo Yan’s budding “little long aotian protagonist” fantasy.
There was no way the school would allow such a young kid to fly around on a sword. That would be absolute chaos.
“But when it officially goes on sale, it won’t actually cause traffic accidents, right?”
Yu Mian watched the scene unfold, feeling that any book fan would find it hard to resist buying such a glowing sword-flying device.
Wouldn’t the streets and squares be filled with people flying around everywhere?
Cyber cultivation was about to become reality.
And if someone wrote a fantasy novel about Western wizards flying on broomsticks, wouldn’t they end up recreating broomstick flying devices in the interstellar era as well?
Technology truly changed lives.
A few weeks later, when Huanyu announced its latest merchandise collaboration concept, it immediately caused a sensation across half the novel community.
The prequel had only been out for a short time, and they had already turned the sword flying scenes from the book into reality?
[The real question is, who could resist buying this? If you have the guts to tease us with an announcement, then have the guts to drop the purchase link! I’ll buy it right here, right now! O皿O]
[It’s so funny, my paycheck is slipping through my fingers again. First the collectible card blind boxes, now the flying device… Teacher Fish Soup Noodles, you’re the true interstellar wallet thief!]
[Also, I realized this goes perfectly with the ancient Blue Star-style clothing from Bei Xing’s Necklace before. Imagine the flowing robes while flying on a sword, how cool would that be?!]
The product hadn’t even been released yet, but fans were already imagining themselves dressed in ancient attire, flying gracefully on their swords.
And when “The Vast Immortal Path” finally began official serialization, many realized that this cyber-cultivation craze had only just begun.
As for the “transmigration into a novel” plot that many book fans had been looking forward to, it had been discussed countless times by now.
What was it like to accidentally transmigrate into a novel?
And what if one ended up as a cannon fodder character doomed to die?
The prequel was short, yet it planted countless hooks. It really had that “cyber-text opium” feel–everyone felt very uncomfortable without the main story!
“Finally, it’s published! Hurry up!”
When “The Vast Immortal Path” was published at 6 p.m. sharp one evening, excited voices broke out in front of countless light brains. Notifications reminding friends to jump into the novel flooded group chats and platforms.
The prequel of “The Vast Immortal Path” told the story of the original protagonist, Qi Hanzhou, while the main text unfolded from the perspective of another protagonist, Lin Shuyi.
The very first line of the novel made Lu Wei, who had eagerly opened the latest update, ponder deeply for a long time.
[[“The Dao that can be spoken is not the eternal Dao. The name that can be named is not the eternal name. The nameless is the beginning of heaven and earth; the named is the mother of all things…”[Note 1]
Inside the ancient and solemn gates of Qingyan Mountain, a clear and rhythmic voice recited the text.
Lush greenery covered the mountain, with mist curling around it. From time to time, birds perched on branches, tilting their heads to peek into the room before suddenly spreading their wings and flying away, leaving behind only the faint tremble of the branches, a lingering trace of their visit.
“Young Sect Master? Were you secretly reading that storybook from the town below again last night? The master is coming…”
Just as Lin Shuyi rested with his eyes closed, a friend’s voice reached his ears, prompting him to subconsciously open his eyes.
In the next second, he found himself locking gazes with an old man with a stern stern expression.
The old man’s beard was so long it nearly touched the ground, yet strangely, not a single speck of dust clung to it.
Lin Shuyi was momentarily dazed, and he found himself staring in a trance. But because of his elegant and composed features, he instead exuded a temperament that made people unable to look away.
“Young Sect Master, is your health unwell again? Perhaps we should call Divine Physician Gu from the Medicine Valley to check on you.”
The originally stern master subconsciously softened his tone upon seeing him.
‘Young Sect Master?’
Faced with this unfamiliar yet oddly familiar environment, the sight of people meditating and practicing Qigong in the distance, and the scriptures in his hands, Lin Shuyi quickly grasped an astonishing fact.
He had transmigrated into a book?
And not just any book, but “The Vast Immortal Path” which he had stayed up all night reading!
He had become a minor supporting character with the same name and appearance as himself.
Qingyan Mountain’s Miao Xuan Sect was just a small setting in the early chapters of “The Vast Immortal Path”, where the original protagonist, Qi Hanzhou, first embarked on the path of cultivation.
The sect’s primary role was to accept Qi Hanzhou as an outer disciple, tempering his resolve, honing his skills, and officially guiding him into the cultivation world.
As for the elder within the sect who attempted to possess a disciple’s body but was ultimately killed instead, his role was to serve as the protagonist’s first stepping stone…a minor villain package that fueled Qi Hanzhou’s growth.
This event also burdened the young protagonist with the label of “master-slayer”, forcing him to flee while being hunted down, and showing him the cruelty of the cultivation world.
Thus, the novel’s blood-soaked tone was set.
Naturally, the Miao Xuan Sect met a tragic fate. It was annihilated and ultimately reduced to ruins.
At the time, readers had actually found this plot quite satisfying.
After all, while the elder’s scheme was a personal act, Miao Xuan Sect was still somewhat complicit.
Therefore, the sect’s destruction had even been a small climax in the story.
Lin Shuyi remembered getting so excited while reading that part that he had thrown a spaceship gift at the author. Back then, he had no idea the novel would spiral into endless knives and chaos later on.
“But right now, this plot is not looking good… Ahem.”
Lin Shuyi looked at the paper in front of him, where he had hurriedly written down key points from the original novel with a brush.
As he muttered to himself, he suddenly felt a cough coming on.
The identity he had transmigrated into was the only son of the Miao Xuan Sect’s leader and his deceased wife.
He was also a famously sickly young man, nurtured with an excessive amount of the sect’s elixir’s and spiritual pills.
From the author’s perspective, this setup was meant to foreshadow the sect’s inevitable downfall. Their extravagance and dwindling resources hinted at the chaos to come.
