On the back mountain, atop Yinyue Peak.
Dark clouds rolled in, thunder cracking through the sky.
Talia Emerson, a spiritual cultivator with dual water and wood roots from the Wenti Sect of Cangxuan Realm, had been tending to spirit plants here for a century—finally, the moment to break through had arrived.
But she hadn’t expected the lightning tribulation during her core formation to be so brutal. Her body was torn apart by strikes, her soul shattered into pieces.
In the haze of pain and chaos, right before her death, flashes of scenes surged into her mind—both familiar and strange.
A tangle of cars crashed together, some flipped, others barely holding on.
Screeching metal, jarring pain, cries for help.
Gas slowly spreading along a cracked bridge, overturning vehicles everywhere.
People outside banging on car windows in panic, her vision stained red with blood—she couldn’t move, couldn’t speak.
“Hello? 911? There’s been a major pile-up on Ninghai Bridge—”
“Boom!”
“Get the driver out first—he’s still breathing—”
“This girl’s leg is stuck—someone help—”
“Hurry! Gas is leaking—it’s gonna blow!”
Talia stared at the chaotic scene, completely disoriented. Was this… a heart devil illusion?
Yet one particular girl in the car somehow tugged at her very soul.
The girl’s head was bleeding heavily, eyes fluttering shut. Her spiritual glow had almost completely faded—it was clear her soul was on the verge of dispersing.
Next thing she knew, something pulled at Talia’s scattered soul, dragging it downward.
In the fog of confusion, a pale girl with deep, dark eyes looked right at her, a flicker of relief and warmth in her gaze.
“You’re back,” she said softly.
What… what did that mean?
Talia wanted to ask, but before she could, that girl’s spirit rushed into her shattered soul, fusing into one with overwhelming force.
Past life and present merged in an instant.
She remembered.
This wasn’t some illusion conjured by a heart devil.
She was actually back—back at the exact moment she died in a car accident in her previous life.
This was who she’d always been—Talia Emerson. She’d died in a pile-up, then lost all memories, ending up in Cangxuan Realm, clawing her way up from a dirt-poor village girl to a sect cultivator.
Over a hundred years of non-stop cultivation, all just to survive in a dangerous, spirit-hungry world...
And now—here she was again. Back in her original life.
She was Talia Emerson.
— —
But the car crash was violent beyond belief. Her body screamed with pain, the same fate that had claimed her before pressing in again.
No... not this time!
Gritting her teeth, she drew in what little spiritual energy the environment had left, forcing it to repair her shattered insides.
It was barely a trickle, but it managed to circulate through her, slowly patching up the broken organs and bones.
With blood still clouding her vision, she fought to open her eyes—and saw a face.
A man’s face, impossibly close. Sharp features, jaw tight with strain, dark brown eyes filled with urgency. His thick lashes were impossibly defined, and a tiny mole on his brow stood out with perfect precision.
He was gritting his teeth hard, but still forced out some words:
"Don’t be scared. I’m going to get you out."
Behind him, someone shouted hoarsely, "Hurry up! It’s on fire—it’s catching!"
"Hang in there!" the man growled under his breath. Sweat rolled down his face, dripping onto hers.
He was pulling her forward with increasing urgency. Pain wracked her entire being—every bone, every nerve screaming. Her soul seemed to be anchoring tighter and tighter into her body, refusing to be pulled away again.
Then—
"Boom!"
A terrified scream nearby pierced the air just before the explosion hit.
Her body was flung outward, too heavy to feel.
She blacked out.
— —
When she came to, three heads popped into view beside her bed. The one in front belonged to a middle-aged man with thinning hair but sharp, clear eyes.
"How are you feeling now?" he asked gently.
Her gaze dropped to the name tag on his chest.
A remarkably vivid ID photo.
Ning State First People's Hospital
Attending Physician: Ethan BennettShe stared blankly at the sign, old memories flooding her mind. In this moment, she was both Talia Emerson the cultivator, and Talia Emerson the ordinary girl.
After over a hundred years and a fused soul, she'd finally come back.
The sharp smell of disinfectant filled every corner of the hospital. The air barely had any spiritual energy, thin like threads. She focused, quietly reciting her cultivation method. After a good while, only two wisps of spiritual energy sluggishly drifted over.
She let out a quiet breath—at least she could still cultivate.
As long as she could cultivate, she had a way to survive. After all, she’d been growing spirit plants for over a century—feeding herself wouldn’t be a problem.
Seeing the doctor waiting for her response, Talia opened her mouth, her voice a bit rusty:
"I'm... okay, I guess."
To the left, a well-behaved intern handed over the case file, while the attending doctor, clearly just promoted recently, scribbled across the pages like he was doodling ancient runes. His smile, though, was ridiculously friendly:
"Looks like you’re in luck! You’ve got nothing major except a small bump on the head—might be a mild concussion. But everything else? Totally fine!"
"Just stay here for observation for another day or two, and you’re good to go."
"But, the accident scene was a mess. Your phone took damage too and couldn’t be turned on. And since your injuries weren’t life-threatening, we haven’t contacted any family yet."
Family...
Three familiar, honest-looking faces flashed through Talia’s mind.
She rubbed her head instinctively, the violent crash still vivid in her memory. Then she quickly asked,
"I remember… someone pulled me out of the car. Do you know what happened to him?"
In her past life, she’d blacked out the instant the crash happened—she had no idea if anyone had even tried to help her then.
But now...
The doctor hesitated. "Eighteen people from the crash were brought to our hospital. Firefighters mentioned a young guy pulled you out, right?"
Talia nodded.
"He’s... stable. He’s from out of town. His family already came and transferred him to a top-tier hospital."
She let out a soft sigh of relief.
"Do you have his—or his family’s—contact info? I’d really like to thank him in person."
Saving her life wasn’t a small favor. It meant everything, whether for the 23-year-old Talia or the seasoned cultivator she’d become. Even in Cangxuan Realm, this wasn’t a debt you could just ignore.
But the doctor shook his head. "He helped several others, too. When his family came, they insisted there was no need to thank him, and didn’t leave any contact info."
"Do you know which hospital he was transferred to?"
"Yeah, the Ren’ai Hospital in the Capital."
Talia gave a small nod and didn’t press further.
She thought—right now, she wasn’t fully settled in this world. Once she got her spiritual energy under control, maybe she could do a proper divination and find out where he is.
…
Once the doctors had all shuffled out, the stuffy hospital air was getting to her. The place was obviously not great for cultivating—total spiritual desert.
On reflex, she checked under her pillow—it was empty.
Makes sense. Her bag probably went up in flames during the crash, along with everything else.
She gingerly reached out, opened the drawer by the bed, and sure enough—there it was, a phone with a cracked screen.
Most of the screen was shattered. After sitting in the drawer overnight, maybe it cooled down or reset or whatever, but somehow, she managed to get it to power on.
Once on, the interface showed a green app icon with a glaring red “99+” on the corner—impossible to ignore.
Beside it, a blue one beeped and buzzed repeatedly, driving her nuts.
Instantly, Talia was filled with a strong sense of dread.
Her sixth sense—from all those years of cultivation—was practically screaming.
Yeah… that’s definitely bad news. Better not open it.
Anyway, priorities: she hadn’t touched a phone in over a century. Time to play around with it.
She scrolled down with her finger and somehow tapped into an app with a music note icon.
“TikTunes—Enjoy Your Life!”
Talia: …
Well, since it's open... might as well take a peek.
