The immediate sensation was not pain, but a profound *emptiness*. Luo Feng’s last conscious memory was the dull thud of his head against the steering wheel, the screech of tires, and then... nothing. Now, a low, guttural growl vibrated through the earth beneath him, a sound utterly alien to the urban soundscape he knew. He tried to open his eyes, but gritty dust seemed to have cemented his eyelids shut. A taste like iron and damp soil coated his tongue.A wave of nausea, sharp and debilitating, seized him. He coughed, a dry, ragged sound that scraped against his throat, tasting of ash. Slowly, agonizingly, his eyelids peeled apart. Above him, a canopy of towering trees, their leaves a shade of violet he had never witnessed, formed a fractured mosaic against a sky that bled from deep indigo to bruised purple. No city lights, no familiar star constellations, only an oppressive, verdant ceiling.Panic, cold and suffocating, began to curl in his stomach. This wasn't a hospital. This wasn't even a familiar forest trail from his weekend hikes. The air was thick with the scent of unfamiliar flora, a potent mix of something sweet and something acrid, like burnt herbs. The ground beneath him was not asphalt or soft grass, but rough, jagged rocks interspersed with stubborn, thorny bushes. He pushed himself up, every muscle protesting with a dull ache, his limbs feeling strangely lighter, yet weaker.He looked down at himself. The worn t-shirt and jeans he remembered wearing were gone, replaced by coarse, ill-fitting garments made of a thick, animal hide-like material. They reeked faintly of sweat and something wild. His hands, though still his own, were covered in calluses he didn't recall, and dirt was ingrained beneath his nails. A flicker of recognition, a brief, terrifying jolt, pulsed through his mind – fragmented images of a boy, younger than him, struggling through dense undergrowth, foraging for roots, fear etched into his crude features.“What… where am I?” he rasped, his voice sounding thin and unfamiliar. The question echoed back, swallowed by the vast, indifferent wilderness. The growl came again, closer this time, and a shadow, swift and dark, flitted through the violet canopy above, too large to be any bird he knew.Despair, sharp and immediate, threatened to consume him. He was lost, utterly alone, in a world that felt fundamentally hostile. Was this a dream? A hallucination brought on by trauma? He pinched himself, hard. The pain, a sharp sting that bloomed on his arm, was undeniably real.Just as the crushing weight of his predicament began to settle, a soft, ethereal chime resonated not in his ears, but directly within the confines of his mind. It was a sound both ancient and futuristic, a melody of crystal and silicon.A translucent blue panel shimmered into existence before his eyes, its edges glowing softly. He blinked, expecting it to vanish, but it remained, hovering just inches from his face. Text, in elegant, archaic script, scrolled across its surface, yet he understood it with startling clarity, as if the meaning were being directly imprinted onto his consciousness.`[Supreme Cultivation System Activated]``Host: Luo Feng``Realm: Unranked (Mortal)``Cultivation Base: None``Qi: 0 / 100``Attributes:``Strength: 5 (Mortal Average: 10)``Agility: 4 (Mortal Average: 10)``Endurance: 6 (Mortal Average: 10)``Spirit: 8 (Mortal Average: 10)``System Functions:``[Cultivate (Cost: Gold)]``[Shop (Cost: Gold)]``[Inventory]``[Missions]`Luo Feng stared, his mind struggling to process the information. Supreme Cultivation System? Cultivation? Gold? It was like something out of the web novels he used to read on his commute, but terrifyingly real. He wasn't just transmigrated; he was in a *cultivation* world, and he had a cheat system.“Is this… real?” he whispered, reaching out a trembling finger. His finger passed through the ethereal screen without resistance, yet the text remained perfectly legible.Another chime. A new message appeared:`[Welcome, Host. The Supreme Cultivation System is now bound. Your previous existence has been severed. You are now irrevocably part of The Nine Heaven Realm.]``[Objective: Ascend. The System grants accelerated cultivation in exchange for worldly resources. Accumulate 'Gold' to strengthen your cultivation base and explore the vast potential of this world.]`A cold dread seeped into Luo Feng’s bones, replacing the initial panic with a more profound, existential fear. His life on Earth, his family, his friends, his career – all severed. He was truly alone, a gentle soul flung into a world that, by the system’s own implication, was dangerous and demanded power.His eyes fell upon the `[Cultivate (Cost: Gold)]` option. He mentally 'selected' it, and the screen shifted.`[Cultivate Qi: 10 Qi for 100 Gold]``[Current Gold: 0]``[Insufficient Funds]`Luo Feng let out a hollow laugh, a sound devoid of humor. Zero gold. The system, his supposed cheat, was useless without currency, and he was stranded in a primal forest wearing rags, likely on the brink of starvation. His attributes were below average for a 'mortal' in this world. He was weaker than the average person here, yet he possessed a system that demanded wealth to gain strength. It was a cruel irony.He slumped back against the rough tree trunk, the sharp bark digging into his thin frame. The fragmented memories of the previous owner of this body coalesced, painful and vivid. A boy named Luo Feng, an orphan, scratching out a meager existence on the fringes of a small, isolated village. His memories were of constant hunger, cold, and the back-breaking labor of gathering firewood or digging for tubers, always wary of the predatory creatures that roamed the wilds. This Luo Feng had died, perhaps of exhaustion or exposure, and Luo Feng from Earth had simply... replaced him."So, I'm Luo Feng now," he murmured, testing the name on his tongue. It felt strange, foreign, yet resonated with a faint, sorrowful echo from the borrowed memories.The sun, or whatever celestial body illuminated this realm, began to dip below the towering tree line, casting long, menacing shadows. The growls from the forest intensified, accompanied by clicks and hisses. He couldn't afford to despair. He needed to *move*. He needed food, water, shelter, and, somehow, *gold*.His gaze swept across the immediate vicinity. Thorny bushes, gnarled roots, stones – nothing that remotely resembled currency. He remembered the previous Luo Feng's desperate foraging. He started to mimic the movements, scanning the undergrowth with newfound intensity.After what felt like hours, his stomach cramping with hunger, he found it. Tucked beneath a cluster of jagged rocks, a small patch of plants with deep red, almost black berries. They weren't familiar, but a faint, pleasant aroma emanated from them, and a tiny, almost imperceptible shimmer, like heat haze, rose from the patch.He cautiously approached. The previous Luo Feng's memories supplied a snippet: *Crimsonwort berries. Rare in this area. Good for vitality, fetches a small price from passing merchants if you're lucky. Dangerous to pick without protection.*Dangerous. Of course. This world was dangerous. But the berries felt like his only chance. He carefully plucked a few, wincing as thorns pricked his fingers. The shimmer intensified slightly as he held them. Spiritual energy? Could these be his first 'resources'?His mind went back to the system. `[Cultivate (Cost: Gold)]`. He didn't have gold. But what if these berries could be *converted*? Or traded?A thought struck him. If the previous Luo Feng knew these were valuable, perhaps he had accumulated a few, stashed away? He frantically searched the small area around where he had awoken, following the vague impulse from the fragmented memories. Under a loose stone, near the base of the ancient, violet-leafed tree, his fingers brushed against something hard and metallic.He pulled it out. A small, tarnished leather pouch. His heart hammered. He untied the drawstring with fumbling fingers. Inside, glinting dully in the fading light, were three small, irregularly shaped coins. They weren't gold, not in the Earth sense. They were a dull, coppery bronze, etched with symbols he didn't understand.`[Copper Coin (x3)]`His system registered them instantly, not as 'Gold' but as 'Copper'. Another chime.`[Discovered Local Currency: Copper Coins]``[Conversion Rate: 1000 Copper = 1 Gold]`Luo Feng stared at the three copper coins in his palm. Three. One thousand copper for one gold. He needed one hundred gold for a single cultivation boost of 10 Qi. That meant 100,000 copper coins.His gentle, Earth-nurtured spirit felt a new kind of weariness. He had three copper coins. He was poorer than he had ever been, even in the borrowed memories of the orphan Luo Feng. But he had currency. He had a goal.He looked at the system panel again, then at the three coins. He mentally 'selected' the `[Cultivate]` function, then hesitated. These three coins, could they even do anything? No, not according to the system's listed costs. But what if there was something *smaller*?He tapped on the `[Cultivate]` option again, this time with a silent plea.`[Available Options for Current Funds (3 Copper):]``[Cultivate Qi: Insufficient Funds]``[Purchase Basic Sustenance (1 Copper/serving): Replenishes minor hunger/thirst. Duration: 2 hours]``[Purchase Basic Health Potion (3 Copper/dose): Heals minor cuts/fatigue.]`A surge of mixed relief and dismay washed over him. He couldn’t cultivate. Not yet. But he could survive. He could heal. This wasn’t a cheat to make him instantly powerful, it was a cheat to help him *exist* in a world where simply existing was a struggle.He had just enough for a single serving of basic sustenance or a health potion. His cuts were minor. But the gnawing hunger in his belly was profound. Without hesitation, he mentally chose `[Purchase Basic Sustenance]`.One of the copper coins vanished from his pouch. In its place, in his hand, a small, fragrant, roasted root appeared. It was warm, steaming slightly, and smelled heavenly. He bit into it. The taste was earthy, slightly sweet, and unbelievably satisfying. A wave of warmth spread through his body, chasing away the gnawing hunger and the pervasive chill.The system chimed.`[Luo Feng has consumed Basic Sustenance.]``[Hunger: Relieved]``[Thirst: Relieved]``[Energy: +5 (Temporary)]`As the last bite vanished, a strange sense of clarity settled over him. His mind, dulled by fear and hunger, felt sharper. This world was brutal. Survival was a daily battle. But he had a lifeline, however meager. He had a goal: to earn enough 'gold' to truly utilize this system, to gain power, to survive, and perhaps, to find a way back, or at least a way to understand why he was here.He had two copper coins left. The stars, bright and numerous beyond anything he had seen on Earth, began to pepper the indigo sky. The growls from the forest felt less threatening now that his stomach was full, but the danger remained. He needed shelter. And he needed more copper. A lot more.His gentle nature had just received its first brutal lesson in the Nine Heaven Realm. He looked down at his calloused hands, then at the two remaining copper coins. The path ahead was long, fraught with peril, and paved with coin.

Chapter 1: A Glimmer in the Wilds