Third Person PoV:

 

Location: Outer Peak, Serenity Peak Sect, Mystic Mountains, Azure Kingdom, Primal Cosmic Realm

 

In the quiet embrace of the Mystic Mountains, within the humble expanse of the Primal Cosmic Realm, a young girl, no more than 14 years old, diligently wielded a wooden sword in the serene grounds of the Serenity Peak Sect.

 

Her motions cut through the empty air, a lone figure amidst the forgotten peaks. The girl, Li Xue possessed an ethereal beauty that foreshadows the captivating woman she was destined to become.

 

Large, expressive eyes shimmer with a blend of curiosity and a touch of melancholy, revealing a soul that has experienced more than her youthful appearance suggests.

 

Long, flowing ebony locks cascade down her shoulders, occasionally caught by a gentle breeze that adds a touch of enchantment to her presence. Her skin, porcelain and untouched by the trials of time, exudes a radiant glow that seems to capture the very essence of purity.

 

Despite her youth, there's a grace in the way she carries herself, a natural elegance that hints at the inner strength residing within which could not be hidden by the humble sect garments she was wearing.

 

“…, 998, 999, 1000 phew.” She breathed out a sigh tired from the strenuous exercise. “This is not enough. I must quickly reach sequence-9 and then re-embark on the path of cultivation.”

 

Li Xue had a secret she had not told anyone yet and did not plan on doing so either. She had miraculously regressed to her past younger self from thousands of years in the future due to a mystical object that was beyond her comprehension, obtained from a ruin.

 

This had happened merely a few days prior. At first, she was understandably confused and even felt that perhaps this was an illusion conjured by one of her enemies. This was not a surprising thought as danger lurked everywhere within the infinite realms.

 

Ultimately, she had come to terms with reality with no sign of her previous cultivation attainments. But for every negative, there was obviously a positive. After all, she had obtained an opportunity to avoid mistakes she had made and move towards a better future.

 

Such an opportunity was one that most would not obtain. The spindle-like mystical item which she suspected to have allowed her to have this opportunity was nowhere to be seen.

 

Li Xue might have thought she was hallucinating if not for the symbol left behind on the back of her palm.

 

Staring at the back of her palm as an ethereal and abstract blend of delicate lines formed an intricate, circular pattern, which surfaced as she contemplated its meaning, only for it to disappear moments later.

 

Her thoughts drifted to memories of the past, especially ‘that’ crazy woman who spoke incomprehensible words all the time and chased after her across the higher realms. She referred to Li Xue with terms like ‘protagonist’ and ‘heroine’ and mentioned words such as ‘video game’, ‘webnovel’ or ‘NPC’ .

 

Li Xue still distinctly remembered what the crazy woman had said just prior to her regression while stabbing her sword through Li Xue’s chest:

 

“HoNey, there’s NowHeRe to rUn now. Be obedient and face yOuR PunIshMent! MaYbe I ShOuld cut Off Your leGs so You CaN’T Run, DarliNgGG??Haahhahhaha…” Li Xue just shivered thinking about her.

 

Luckily the ‘cosmic spindle’ as she called it broke at that very instant and when she woke up, she was already in the distant past. Truthfully, Li Xue shouldn’t have been afraid of a few lost limbs.

 

She had long cast off such worries that mortals faced as her cultivation was just one step away from the ‘Temporal Nexus’ realm, the 12^th major realm.

 

Had she ascended to the next realm, perhaps she might have unraveled the mysteries held within the cosmic spindle by having an initial control over temporal powers. That said, she could still now have regressed to her past self as she had.

 

But that crazy woman had somehow come prepared, having sealed her cultivation and captured her finally after chasing her for millennia. Who knows what would have happened after her capture? Thankfully, destiny seemed to be on her side and let her escape.

 

She was sure that the crazy woman was the source of a lot of the misfortune she experienced in the future. Whether the accidents she faced or how her friends and families ‘mysteriously’ disappeared, Li Xue was sure it was due to her.

 

Li Xue would make sure to kill that woman before she even became a threat in this timeline. She had all the knowledge of her future-self backing her in this endeavor. But first she had to get stronger. Strong enough to leave the Primal Cosmic Realm before the ‘cataclysm’ began.

 

The ‘cataclysm’ marked the beginning of the end. A spark that began on this plane of existence that would spread across the multiverse like wildfire. The end of the current cycle and birth of a new one. Only the powerful could be spared.

 

No one knew how or why it occurred. All they knew was that it was an inevitable event that periodically occurred since time immemorial and perhaps even earlier. Some suspected it was caused by the natural degeneration of reality, some suspected it was caused by a secret organization pulling strings from the shadows.

 

Perhaps they were all right. But the powerful, the truly powerful suspected it was caused by ‘Them’. Most don’t even know of ‘Their’ existence, and it is taboo to even try and think about ‘Them’ in too much detail.

 

Even as powerful as she was before her regression, this was a fact that held true. All the false gods trembled in ‘Their’ presence, for they were beyond existence itself.

 

As such, Li Xue was determined to cultivate once more to escape her mortal confines and achieve her huge list of objectives in this timeline. The only bad news was that she was beginning again in the Primal Cosmic Realm! This realm was notorious for being the smallest and weakest across the multiverse.

 

It was a miracle that Li Xue even managed to ascend in her previous lifetime. The realm lacked resources and advanced knowledge of cultivation. The strongest person in the realm could barely destroy a small mountain.

 

If it were not for Li Xue entering the secret domain that would appear ten years from now by luck and obtaining the inheritance in there, she would have been forever stuck in this realm only to be swept away by the cataclysm.

 

Four years was a luxury that Li Xue could not afford knowing the horrific events that would take place starting from the cataclysm. Li Xue’s current self had not even entered the first major realm of cultivation much less having the ability to leave this plane of existence.

 

All she could do currently was train her body to create the perfect foundation for her future cultivation journey. Unless she obtained the inheritance quickly, her future knowledge would become obsolete.

 

She had to obtain a sequence-9 potion as quickly as possible so that she could enter the first major cultivation realm. To be fair, she could start cultivating without the potion as well but this would have caused problems down the line in the future.

 

Li Xue was fine with any sequence potion that could be obtained at this point of time. After all, beggars can’t be choosers.

 

And Li Xue’s current self was poor, a far cry from her future self. As mentioned earlier, the Primal Cosmic Realm was severly lacking in resources. Beyonder ingredients or characteristics for making these potions was immensely expensive.

 

Li Xue preferred not to risk setting up a ritual to gain ‘Their’ favour in order to obtain a sequence-9 potion unless it was a last resort. She was currently an anomaly due to her regression. Getting ‘Their’ attention could lead to hazardous consequences.

 

Even if she did not go insane due to her encounter with ‘Them’, obtaining a sequence potion from them meant dedicating the entirety of her existence to ‘Them’ as she would have to follow ‘Their’ pathway. ‘They’ would then always have an eye on her. It was essentially a contract.

 

“Haa, let’s wait and see what happens…” Li Xue sighed. If she did not know of the future, she could have remained blissfully unaware of the approaching dangers for the remainder of her life. When facing ‘Them’, ignorance was bliss after all.

 

Her current standing in this sect was also problematic. Not only was it one of the weakest sects in this entire plane but Li Xue herself was also at the bottom of the hierarchy. Not to mention her appearance was a magnet attracting troubles her way.

 

Li Xue once again stared at the back of her palm as the enigmatic symbol surfaced once more. Perhaps this symbol was what would allow her to change her fate. At least, that was what she hoped.

 

Just as Li Xue put away her racing thoughts and turned around, a blinding white light swallowed her. Amidst the shock her spirit was experiencing she questioned dumbfounded:

 

‘What happened? Has that crazy woman somehow crossed the river of time with all her strength and attacked me?’ After everything she had experienced, Li Xue’s first reaction to most unfortunate events was linked to that crazy woman.

 

But Li Xue was wrong this time. It was not that crazy woman. What lied before her eyes was a 'cosmic web,' resembling a starry night sky intricately woven into a web-like pattern and illuminated by celestial phenomena.

 

It presented a striking contrast to the vast, boundless whiteness that enveloped it. There was an entity seated on a throne at the center of the web. But before Li Xue could observe this entity, alarms started ringing in her head.

 

‘Don’t look!’ The instinct honed by the experiences prior to her regression warned her not to delve deeper into the mysteries they held. And Li Xue always followed this instinct for it was a cultivator’s innate intuition.

 

Li Xue may have lost her cultivation base, but her intuition would not vanish so easily as it was related to the soul itself. Her soul was still extremely powerful, something a mortal vessel should normally not be able to contain.

 

Her only guess regarding this was that it was the work of the enigmatic symbol at the back of her palm. Regardless, she would not blindly court death when all the signs pointed towards danger. That would be stupidity.

 

The same could be said for the entity enveloped by white in front of her. It seemed that ‘She’ was restraining her power to ensure that Li Xue would not disintegrate this very second.

 

Yes, ‘She’. Li Xue was almost certain that the being before her was one of ‘Them’. It made sense that her cultivator’s intuition was warning her. After all, this being was most likely an outer god. She was also reminded of a phrase she commonly heard before her regression as she whispered:

 

“Do not look directly at god…”