Within the expanse of a dark, empty void, Li Yao's eyes flustered open as he floated weightlessly in the vast void.
"W-what?"
It didn't take him long to realize he was no longer bound to the physical plane—at least, not his soul. His body, untethered and unaware, continued its silent plunge into the endless abyss below.
"Am I dead? No, that's right, so this is the Null Zone? It's exactly as I envisioned it."
The Null Zone was an astral plane beyond the domain of space and time, a realm of boundless emptiness where the laws governing the space-time continuum simply ceased to exist.
Due to its devastating nature, being capable of consuming anything that crossed its threshold, Li Wei's immortality was no exception to it's wrath.
Because of its unique nature, it came to be known as the Detention Zone—a forsaken realm where the most dangerous mages and criminals were exiled. A place of no return.
Li Yao could feel the Null Zone's influence creeping in, its void gnawing at his soul like a ravenous predator. But he remained unfazed, it no longer mattered to him if he lived or died, one thing was for certain, he knew he could finally rest.
However, just before his soul could fully succumb to the Null Zone's consuming force, a strange sensation stirred within him. It was as if his soul, instead of unraveling, was coming back to life, slowly regenerating, as though he was healing from wounds inflicted by some unseen hands.
His chest burned with a great heat, growing stronger by the second like it was about to burst from the inside.
It was the most sacred relic of the Flameblood Clan, something he had consumed before setting out on his path of revenge.
It acted as a barrier against external forces, preventing his soul from succumbing to the influence of the Null Zone.
"I see, this relic is far stronger than I initially imagined." He placed a hand over his chest, feeling the Heavenly Divine Pearl's power surging within him, but one problem still remained.
With the Heavenly Divine Pearl constantly shielding his soul against the influence of the Null Zone, it meant that till he found a way out of it, he'd be stuck in the Null Zone for eternity.
"An eternity of peace doesn't sound like a bad idea, however it's too far stretched." He closed his eyes and placed his hand on his chest.
With a gentle hum, he merged his own magic with the power of the Heavenly Divine Pearl. Once the fusion was complete, he drew a deep breath, steadying himself before harnessing the immense energy that rested in the Heavenly Divine Pearl in his chest.
A blinding light erupted, piercing through the void with Li Yao at its center. And as it's brilliance slowly faded, he was gone.
..
Not long after, his eyes fluttered open, and he found himself staring up at the sky. The distant roar of a nearby waterfall filled the air, and towering mountain peaks rose all around him.
"Where am I?" He muttered softly, slowly pushing himself upright. But before he could fully rise to his feet, sharp pain flared through different parts of his body, forcing him to stagger.
"AAARGH!" He collapsed to his back, unable to withstand the searing pain. Glancing down, he quickly examined himself and found that he was clothed in a white kimono that was torn and soaked, stained with blood and muddy water.
He also noticed several cuts scattered across his body, some shallow, others deep and jagged.
He glanced at the towering peaks hat surrounded him. "Did I fall from the mountain tops? No, that doesn't explain the cuts and bruises all over my body."
"Well, it doesn't matter now does it." He took a deep breath, steadying himself as he tried to summon enough magic to accelerate his healing.
After several attempts, he paused, stunned by the outcome. He couldn't feel or channel a trace of magic, it was as if magic had never existed to begin with.
"I can't heal my injuries?" As he glanced down at his battered form, something felt deeply wrong. His arms were noticeably smaller and thinner than before, far from the bulky frame he once knew.
The truth hit him, he was in a completely different body.
"I transmigrated?" His last moments in the Null Zone came back to him, he fully maximized his magical power as well as the power of the Heavenly Divine Pearl. It was undoubtedly the cause of the transmigration.
"Did I exhaust both during the transmigration?" His gaze swept across the hills and the vast landscape beyond. Whether his magical power was drained or not, he couldn't sense a trace of magic in the air, none at all.
"Hm?" It was in that fleeting moment, that he realized that he was clutching a strange object in his hand.
"What is this strange object? Was it always here?" The object took the shape of a beetle, adorned with intricate markings and etched with patterns that looked almost futuristic.
Without warning, the futuristic beetle bit into his palm, drawing a sharp cry of pain from his lips.
A few seconds later, just as the sting began to fade, it suddenly detonated in a flash of light, scorching his skin and leaving a scorched mark where it had been.
"Young Master!"
As a distant voice called out a strange title, his vision blurred, and a wave of weakness washed over him. Blood loss dulled his senses, and soon he could no longer feel his limbs. loss and he lost feeling in his limbs.
Unable to heal himself, he fell victim to the frailty of his new form and succumbed to blood loss as darkness closed in around him.
"He's over here! Quickly!"
"D-damn..." Just before everything faded to black, he caught a glimpse of two men rushing toward him.
[Ding!]
[The Nano bots has successfully circulated your nervous system.]
'Huh?' He thought as his consciousness slowly faded away.
[Nano bots has been linked successfully.]
'What is this voice I'm hearing?'
[Registering user.... Number 36.]
[Ding!]
[The Nano Cultivation System is now operational!]