The mountains stood tall and jagged, cloaked in drifting immortal mist.
At the grand gate, carved in bold calligraphy, were four striking characters: “Xihe Sacred Ground.” The strokes were ancient and fierce, exuding authority.
Beyond the gate, the plaza swelled with people as far as the eye could see. Only those with keen spiritual sight could faintly catch a glimpse of the ethereal figures at the elevated platform ahead.
“The first—Rebecca Stewart!”
An elder’s voice, deep and rough, rang out straight into everyone's ears, regardless of distance.
A hush fell.
Rebecca Stewart.
The supposed eldest daughter of the Stewart clan.
The Xuanmeng Realm was riddled with countless clans and sects, each frog-marching for dominance. But none held more weight than “One Saint, One Sect, Ten Gates.”
At their lead stood the Xihe Sacred Ground—an immortal legacy, untouched by time, lord over all.
Clans dreamed of sending their best blood to Xihe. It wasn’t just about cultivation—the resources here were unmatched. A single bit of favor from a future powerhouse disciple could shift the fate of an entire bloodline.
Only families with backing from an Immortal Elder could rise to prominence—and everyone knew it.
But cultivation was never kind. The road to immortality was full of dead ends.
To make it into Xihe? Slim odds.
Most came to try their luck, knowing full well they’d go home empty-handed.
Were it not for the spatial formations on the plaza, this flood of people could’ve filled entire cities.
Before the standard testing began, everyone’s attention was on the entrance trials for those already disciples.
To be called first by an elder? That meant Rebecca Stewart was a cut above the rest.
The crowd buzzed.
“Whole family's lucky if just one gets in... She was born into the Sacred Ground!”
“Born there isn’t enough. Have you seen her talent? Ruthless stuff."
"You mean because she's a Tianling root? Twelve years old and already at Innate Stage?"
"You're joking! That’s something old man Xihe himself only pulled off in his thirties..."
“Yeah, but Xihe Ancestor walked the path as a regular mortal—some say he reached divinity in one night..."
“Still, with Rebecca, a lot of it’s the clan's doing. Word is, their old ancestor’s not long for this world. Stewart clan bet everything on her hard."
“Makes sense. If they didn’t, they’d lose status fast. But with her leading, they’ve still got breath left.”
Gasps echoed through the crowd.
Among the noise, a dainty girl cast a sidelong glance, gaze frosty.
Rebecca Stewart? Just a fraud living someone else’s life.
Truth would shatter the illusion soon enough.
And when that moment came? These bootlickers would be the first to turn on her.
…
At the edge of a high platform, where disciples gathered, silence pressed heavy.
“Senior sister?”
“Junior sister!”
“My lady!”
A sharp elbow nudged Rebecca out of her daze. She blinked, meeting the curious stares of the young nobles standing beside her—all dressed in brocade robes, all wondering what the hell she was doing spacing out like that.
One elder turned, mild-eyed, and said, “Girl, what’re you waitin' for—get up there.”
Rebecca nodded ever so slightly, her expression unreadable.
She stepped forward with calm, silent resolve.She really was just banking on that pretty face of hers. Otherwise, anyone could’ve seen through her—those eyes held no pride or aloofness at all, just pure confusion. Lost, completely lost.
Rebecca Stewart’s head felt like it was about to split open. The memories of this body were crashing into her own at a speed that felt like they didn’t give a damn whether she lived or died.
She’d actually landed inside that novel she’d read. Worse—she’d become the villain who shared her name.
“Rebecca Stewart,” eldest daughter of the Stewart clan, one of the four major immortal sect families. A genius that drew eyes wherever she went, hailed as the one destined to bring glory to the already powerful clan.
Too bad the truth was something else entirely—she wasn’t even a real Stewart. Everything she's got, she owed to the name alone.
According to the plot, she'd already been chosen by Xihe Sanctuary as the next Saintess. On this path, if she reached elder-level strength, even the revelation of her true origins would’ve become just a minor scandal.
But then, the real daughter of the Stewart clan—Sophia Stewart—was about to return. And once she did, the truth would explode.
Rebecca was a fraud. Her heavenly root was fake. She went behind the clan’s back to break off her engagement with the Langley family. Two-faced to the core.
More than that, she'd intercepted a life-risking letter sent by Sophia’s old servant that was meant to reconnect her with the Stewart clan. Burned it without a second thought, just to keep Sophia from coming home.
Once Sophia made it back, things only got worse. Rebecca schemed, sabotaged, did everything she could to ruin her.
And when Ethan Langley—Rebecca’s ex-fiancé—started showing signs of regaining his talent, and grew close to Sophia, Rebecca actually tried to re-establish the engagement. Tried every trick in the book. It was disgusting.
…
Right now, Rebecca was stuck between laughing and crying.
The crying part? She really did die. Now stuck in some mystical world where anything could happen, most likely including a gruesome end.
But the laugh? Hell, she died already. Every extra day’s a bonus.
Compared to fighting for scraps in a doomsday wasteland, this world—where cultivators had absurdly long lifespans and resources were everywhere—was practically a luxury inn.
Back there, even slaying zombies and climbing to the top didn’t mean anything—you were still starving, still exhausted, and couldn’t even see the damn sky. Here? Every stretch of land looked like a painting. If she had no ambitions, she could just wander around sightseeing forever.
Why bother with power struggles? She could mind her own business, raise a few spirit pets, plant some herbs, take it easy. No risk of mutant monsters leaping out at her from the shadows.
It was like flipping from nightmare mode to storybook easy setting.
Only problem?
The story hadn't reached the core conflict yet, but Rebecca had already pissed off everyone she shouldn’t have.
That letter Sophia sent? Burned. The engagement with Ethan? Already cut off.
Truth be told, if she were in charge back then, she'd have broken it off too. But the novel-original’s way of doing it? Pure provocation.
Intercepting Sophia’s letter had already twisted her fate. Then she secretly sent a servant to the crumbling Langley household and slapped Ethan with a cold-blooded rejection—that was a stomp straight on his pride.
And the Langleys didn’t even try to salvage it. Took the insult straight to the face.
If things stayed there, maybe it could've been passed off as a squabble between young folks. But Rebecca took it a step further. She went public the moment the engagement was broken, blowing the whole matter wide open.
The entire Xuanmeng Realm laughed.
The Stewart clan got branded untrustworthy. The Langley clan? Mocked for their fall—once great, now just a shadow. People scoffed at that former prodigy with a broken spirit root. Called it pathetic how he aimed for the Stewart clan and got left in the dust.
That kind of humiliation? Ethan would never forget it.
And he'd know exactly who to blame.
