From waterfowl, it began to transform into the Great Sun Golden Crow.

Chapter 1 Wild Animals' Lives Are Like Weeds

Eastern Continent, in the Five Regions Great Mountains

The spiritual energy of this place was incorporated into the core of a secret realm's formation. In this world of cultivation, it is known as the Blessed Land of Dongting.

Outside the blessed land, the sun rises in the east.

Within a pond and river, numerous aquatic creatures lapped against the riverbank, splashing water everywhere. From the inner side of the pavilion in the center of the lake, a gigantic river-swallowing fish leaped high into the air.

It leaps up with a horizontal tail.

This startled the small fish and shrimp along the riverbank, causing them to swim away to the outer edges.

A small waterbird saw its chance and plunged its beak into the shallow water, forming a vise-like shape.

The small fish slid into the belly of the water bird.

"I still can't get used to the strong fishy smell and the earthy smell of mud and sand."

The talking waterbird gazed at its reflection on the lake, its brown feathers somewhat sparse. The three tufts of hair on its head looked like decorations.

Those bird-like eyes stared blankly, like those of a great genius.

Gu Heting was a time traveler from Dongting Lake, but he never expected that he would transmigrate into the body of a water bird.

Waterfowl are also called turtles and ducks.

Fishermen in his hometown often see these birds that dart swiftly across the water.

But this thing has little spirituality; to put it bluntly, it's just dull and dazed.

"This thing looks like an idiot."

This raw fish has a rusty taste.

Gazing at his reflection in the lake, Gu Heting sighed inexplicably. He was, after all, a transmigrator, and for the past three months, Gu Heting had slept among the water plants every day.

When they eat, they pick up a few small fish and shrimp from the shallows.

Raw fish, if not processed, has a very strong earthy taste. Without scallions, ginger, and garlic to remove the fishy smell, he really can't accept it right away.

Gu Heting was not some savage who ate raw meat and drank blood.

He is a junior manager in Shanghai who works 996 (9 am to 9 pm, 6 days a week).

He was abandoned in an orphanage because of a congenital heart condition. Since the orphanage's director, Grandma Gu, had the surname Gu, he changed his surname to the same as hers.

At the age of 28, he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer—the king of cancers.

Just one year later, Gu Heting died in his hospital bed.

"It is easy to follow the will of Heaven, but difficult to understand the destiny of Heaven."

Gu Heting sighed for no apparent reason, feeling that he hadn't had much good fortune in his life. Grandma Gu, the dean, once said that he had little good fortune because of his small earlobes.

When Gu Heting woke up, he had inexplicably transmigrated to this world. He hatched from a bird's egg. To this day, the chick has been alive for more than three months.

"As the old saying goes, being ugly means good fortune. My ghost bird is ugly enough, isn't it? I don't even have earlobes."

Gu Heting, amusing himself, slammed a paw into the mud.

He pinned down a struggling loach and squeezed its head. With a gentle squeeze, the loach split in two.

Soon, Gu Heting gagged for a while, then swallowed the loach.

—hoarse

The earth began to tremble.

"This is"

Gu Heting was surprised; the water surface trembled and rippled intermittently. Soon, the water began to surge and churn, with bubbling sounds constantly rising to the surface.

The enormous river-swallowing fish had half its body above the water.

Why such bad luck? I have to run!

The thought had barely crossed Gu Heting's mind when his bird-like webbed feet touched the water's surface. Gu Heting already realized it was too late to escape.

Before the River Swallowing Fish stood a giant blue-eyed, green-ringed snake.

Two colossal overlords are facing off against each other.

"Oh no, they're about to fight."

The waterbird's feet slapped against the lake's surface. One waterbird darted away swiftly to another location.

The enormous blue-eyed serpent opened its crimson mouth. Two sharp fangs sprayed venom, plunging straight into the belly of the river-swallowing fish.

The river-swallowing fish was not to be outdone; it rolled over and over on its side.

Its enormous body splashed up river water like a mighty tide, wave after wave crashing against the riverbank.

Although Gu Heting was one of the fastest creatures, he was, after all, just a bird. No matter how fast he was, he couldn't outrun Jiang Lang.

The river waves, more than 8 meters high, crashed towards Gu Heting.

Gu Heting was swept to the bottom of the lake by the river waves, occasionally making comical tumbling motions. The pebbles at the bottom of the mud hit his head, leaving him completely dazed.

With a click.

A strong impact struck. Gu Heting felt that his little waterbird body had multiple fractures. Moreover, his head seemed to have been severely cracked from the impact.

Gu Heting, barely breathing, was washed ashore by the last wave.

Can't I even accept the aftermath of a powerful figure's actions?

Is this body still too weak?

He lay quietly on the shore, mouth agape, as if making one last struggle.

"Why? To die like this? Is this what a second chance at life is all about? I want to live. I hate the pain of death. I hate the body collapsing from cancer. I hate living such a pathetic life."

"Heaven gave me a second chance at life, how could I just leave like this? I'm so unwilling to accept it."

The torment and fear of death reminded him of his emaciated self in his previous life, lying on his sickbed.

Gu Heting's beak was broken off. After he was swept into the water, his beak got stuck between the rocks, and the force of the crashing waves caused it to break off completely.

Order

[Like duckweed adrift, like grass in the wind. Living in this bustling world, yet your life is thinner than paper—host, are you content with this?]

A crisp, ethereal mechanical sound echoed in Gu Heting's mind.

The system interface was reflected in his retina.

"Ha, duckweed and weeds? It really is the sum of my two lives. Of course I'm not reconciled."

"But so what? System, you're too late."

Gu Heting's words were barely audible, while the latter part of the system's message kept flashing.

Persistence is key to success in all things; how can a sparrow know the ambition of a swan?

The Phoenix Rebirth System has been activated for you.

[To be tempered amidst a sky full of flames. To be reborn from the ashes.]

This world is a world of cultivation, a blessed land of Dongting Lake. It is filled with rare treasures and countless otherworldly beasts.

[Ten meters ahead of the host, there is a water cloud being swept by a wave.]

【Shuiyunzi: An extremely rare aquatic creature】

[Pure white in color, with a crown resembling that of a loach. Scattered seven-pointed stars on its belly. A top-grade tonic among the various immortal sects.]

Nourishing qi and replenishing blood can help injuries heal.

Please have the host consume it.

Only then is there a glimmer of hope.

"A glimmer of... hope...? It seems... fate hasn't... abandoned me."

At this moment, Gu Heting was already losing consciousness. He had multiple fractures all over his body. He could only crawl on the ground, inch by inch, toward Shui Yunzi's location.

The system had already awakened his intelligence.

Gu Heting noticed a faint spiritual aura emanating from the spot where the Water Cloud Seed was located. The ethereal spiritual aura enveloped the entire Water Cloud Seed.

In his final moments before losing consciousness, he finally crawled to Shuiyunzi's side.

Gu Heting extended his broken beak and slowly tucked it into his stomach. The beak continued to pull Shui Lingzi's body upwards.

The moment it entered his stomach, a strong warm current surged into Gu Heting's chest.

That warmth was like the comfort of a stove for someone frozen in the February wind. The warmth continued to coursing through his body.

A powerful surge of qi and blood repaired his broken body.

An indescribable feeling arose within Gu Heting's body.

Excitement, joy, and even the desire to die. The joy of seeing the light after the clouds have parted.

All of this is transformed into two words at this moment.

--persist in.

After the warmth came exhaustion. In the last moment before closing his eyes, Gu Heting heard the system's notification.

The system is now fully operational.

[Phoenix Rebirth, Resurrection from the Ashes System. Currently being bound.]