Chapter 2: The Bitter Transmigrator And The Artificially Unintelligent System
Upon transmigrating and realizing he possessed a system, Shen Yuan was very pleased.
He had no attachments or regrets to his previous life, and even after transmigrating, there was nothing to lament. Whereas the new world he now found himself in, although seemingly peaceful on the outside, but has a chaotic history filled with numerous myths and legends in reality.
If he could embark on the path of cultivation in this life with the hope of attaining immortality, wouldn't that be more interesting than his previously uneventful life?
Moreover, Shen Yuan had the assistance of a system, a trademark of a protagonist. Although he didn't consider himself a chosen one, he was confident that, with the help of the system, he could leave a mark on this world.
However, the novice guidance period still hasn't ended,` yet the events that just unfolded have dealt a heavy blow to Shen Yuan.
Following the guidance of the system, he searched for a secluded sect, only to discover that the sect has been gone for over ten thousand years. What should have been a straightforward novice mission has spiralled uncontrollably into a unexpectedly chaotic situation. And Shen Yuan's cultivation path had just started!
Of course, if he had only failed to join the sect, that would be totally acceptable. After all, Shen Yuan's greatest reliance was the Ascension System. Losing the sect would only mean losing a backer, so long as the system was intact, everything would be fine.
However, the current issue was this:
Novice Guidance: Use the Ascension Token to join the Fallen Cloud Sect in the Cloud Mist Mountains and obtain the "Purple Cloud Qi Refinement Technique."
On the system interface, the novice guidance was still prominently displayed in bright red, marked as incomplete.
"System, what's the deal with this novice guidance? The sect has been gone for ten thousand years. Where do you expect me to complete the novice guidance mission?"
The system interface blurred as if experiencing lag, and after a while, a string of text finally appeared.
System: The host can use the Ascension Token to join the Fallen Cloud Sect and complete the novice guidance mission.
Shen Yuan's eye twitched as a sense of powerlessness washed over him.
He had been in contact with the Ascension System for about half a year, and during this time, Shen Yuan had come to realize that the Ascension System lacked any intelligence. It operated entirely based on some predetermined logic.
However, it wasn't as if all hope was lost.
Although the benefits from the secluded sect were gone, as long as he could still obtain the "Purple Cloud Qi Refinement Technique," Shen Yuan could continue cultivating on his own. The only consequence would be a slightly slower progression.
After organizing his thoughts, Shen Yuan tried another method.
"If the novice guidance mission can't be completed, where else can I obtain the follow-up cultivation technique?"
System: The host can complete main quests and side quests first.
Shen Yuan's eyes lit up as he quickly inquired, "How do I complete the main quests and side quests?"
System: Please complete the novice guidance and join the sect to unlock main and side quests.
"I shouldn't have expected anything from this artificially unintelligent system."
Shen Yuan's face darkened, muttering under his breath.
With the novice guidance unexpectedly blocked in this manner, Shen Yuan had no choice but to place his hopes on the hidden treasures within the Fallen Cloud Sect's blessed land.
For a sect to produce an earthly immortal capable of leading the ascension of the whole sect, there should be some foundation and inheritance left within the Fallen Cloud Sect. If he were to explore the place, he might discover some qi transformation cultivation techniques.
Then Shen Yuan wouldn't have to rely on the artificially unintelligent system; he could just continue his cultivation on his own.
With this in mind, Shen Yuan shouldered his backpack and took large strides, crossing the barrier of the blessed land before him.
Although his feet were on solid ground, the spatial changes he experienced while crossing the barrier still gave Shen Yuan a dizzying sensation, as if the world before him had overturned at that moment. If Shen Yuan hadn't embarked on the path of cultivation, making his body several times more resilient than an ordinary person's, standing steady at this moment would have been difficult.
After standing in place and waiting for the discomfort to disappear, Shen Yuan began to truly assess the heavenly paradise before him.
The blessed land was a realm of its own, but there was no sun. The broken sky above was illuminated only by white light within the heavenly paradise.
The heavenly paradise's main body, a magnificent mountain peak, soared up to the clouds. However, it looked as if an immense force had forcibly snapped the colossal mountain peak vertically into two halves, forming a scar that continued on to create a vast chasm sinking deep into the earth.
Shen Yuan wandered through the ruins of pavilions and towers, surrounded by the scent of decay. What met his eyes was a desolate silence, with not a single corpse or piece of clothing in sight.
Pushing open a wooden door, on a dilapidated attic desk, remained a wine jug and a dust-covered jade cup. The heavenly paradise had preserved them in their original state, so even over millennia, Shen Yuan was able to see that, just moments before the catastrophe, someone had still been enjoying wine at the table. Yet, as the disaster unfolded, it seemed as if an invisible force had wiped everyone away.
Shen Yuan felt an inexplicable chill and dared not touch the silverware recklessly. Instead, he quickened his pace to search for useful books.
However, as he delved deeper into his search, a greater mystery unfolded before Shen Yuan's eyes.
Within the entire blessed land, all books related to cultivation had their inscriptions erased, leaving only blank pages.
Whether it be golden paper and silver scripts, stone inscriptions, or even legendary consciousness jade slips, everything had been completely wiped clean.
Shen Yuan spent a full day searching the entire heavenly paradise, only finding a few books resembling diaries and a golden scroll enshrined in a grand hall.
Due to a sense of unease he felt in the empty and silent heavenly paradise, after concluding his search, Shen Yuan did not linger but instead left the blessed land and temporarily settled in a tent outside.
Seated by a campfire that drew in insects and small animals, a few wild cats and squirrels curiously observed Shen Yuan from the surrounding trees.
After flipping through the diaries, Shen Yuan was grateful for having delved into the ancient texts of this world during the past few months of interacting with the artificially unintelligent system. It was thanks to this that he was barely able to understand the contents of these diaries.
The diaries mostly originated from former disciples of the Fallen Cloud Sect, specifically those from the lowest tier.
The contents of the diaries mainly revolved around daily experiences, such as a certain senior brother making significant progress in his cultivation and becoming a true disciple; or an expression of admiration for a senior sister. Some entries mentioned the writer's unfortunate defeat against a formidable opponent in a major competition in the sect.
The only potentially useful information was some tips for minor spells, but there was still no substantial content related to cultivation.
With his remaining expectations, Shen Yuan turned to the beautifully crafted golden scroll.
However, upon seeing its contents, Shen Yuan's anticipation turned into disappointment. The scroll did not contain any cultivation techniques; instead, it listed individual names.
Relying on his recent accumulation of knowledge of ancient characters from the diaries, Shen Yuan uncertainly deciphered the few words at the top of the scroll.
"The Sect Leader's Registry?"
As Shen Yuan's gaze reached the end, he suddenly discovered that a space where a name should have been written was now blank, just like the erased cultivation content.
Shen Yuan sighed deeply, his face filled with disappointment.
Failing to find any cultivation content in the ruins of the Fallen Cloud Sect marked the end of his journey through the Cloud Mist Mountains.
"It seems I'll have to return for now and explore other avenues to find subsequent techniques. At least, relying on this artificially unintelligent system is out of the question."
With this thought, Shen Yuan initially considered throwing the diaries and scrolls into the campfire but eventually decided against it. The items left behind by the Fallen Cloud Sect thousands of years ago could be considered antiques. Although their origin must be kept secret, keeping them as a collection does not seem to be a bad choice.
Chen Yuan observed the blank space at the end of the golden scroll, whimsically picking up a small piece of charcoal from the campfire. Using the charcoal as a makeshift pen, he wrote his name on the scroll.
"Even though the Fallen Cloud Sect has been destroyed, there's no harm in leaving my name behind as the sect leader, right?"
The charcoal, not completely burnt, cracked into pieces as he wrote, leaving irregular and distorted characters on the scroll, resembling scars on a pristine exam paper, destroying the ancient and elegant beauty of the golden scroll.
At that moment, a familiar voice suddenly echoed in Shen Yuan's ears.
System: After enduring hardships and fighting through thousands of trials, the host has secured a place in the "Masters' List". Nobody in the Ancestral Hall, Elders' Palace, or the True Disciple Hall opposes.
System: Congratulations to the host on becoming the current sect master of the Fallen Cloud Sect, unlocking hidden achievement: "Master of a Sect". Reward: Earthly Demon Art-Hutian!
System: The host has successfully joined the Fallen Cloud sect as its sect master, completing the novice guide. Reward: "Purple Cloud Qi Refinement Technique".
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
FluffyRice
FluffyRice I hate the translations for dongtian so much. What do you mean immortal realm? That's an entirely different thing! There are so many translations for just one word, and they are all somewhat wrong.
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