Chapter 1
Translator: penny
Chapter: 1
Chapter Title: Don't Let My Arm Get Cut Off (1)
There was this xianxia novel named Black and White Immortal Chronicle, inspired by the title of a cooking show where they gathered chefs together.
The story follows a protagonist with no talent—Five Elements Spiritual Root—who stumbles upon a fortuitous encounter called the Dual Fate Scripture, dropped by some upper realm immortal. It transforms his spiritual root, and he grows stronger by accumulating Meritorious Force through good deeds and Karmic Force through evil acts.
Xianxia novels typically treat cultivation itself as the goal, so descriptions of characters spending decades or centuries in secluded training are commonplace—unless they're chasing some opportunity that aids their practice. But Black and White Immortal Chronicle is different.
Thanks to the unique spiritual root created by the Dual Fate Scripture, the protagonist can only cultivate by actively committing good and evil deeds. Unlike typical xianxia leads who get dragged into conflicts through grudges or fortuitous encounters, he's the type who stirs up trouble himself.
Helping the unfortunate to build Meritorious Force is basic, but piling up Karmic Force through all sorts of misdeeds starts small in the early game—like tormenting animals and plants—but later escalates to massive amounts needed for his cultivation.
Xianxia protagonists are often scumbags with rotten personalities from the get-go, and Mun Yoo, the lead of Black and White Immortal Chronicle, is no exception.
But in the Korean webnovel scene, villain protagonists don't sell well, and an unpopular lead tanks sales. So the author got clever.
She surrounded Mun Yoo with enemies, then had him torment them to rack up Karmic Force through his evil deeds. In other words, the novel's premise that the protagonist must commit evil was framed as a satisfying payoff for readers' cathartic urges.
Catharsis-loving readers got their kicks from the protagonist ruthlessly crushing villains and foes, while even those who hated that trope could swallow it as just "his cultivation method." It steadily built a fanbase and ended up as an average hitter among the xianxia novels I'd read.
Why am I rambling about Black and White Immortal Chronicle? Because I've transmigrated into its world.
The character I possessed is Yong Yoo.
As you can guess from the name similar to the protagonist Mun Yoo, this kind of character is usually either the arch-nemesis who opposes the hero throughout the story to drive the plot, or a disposable nobody used briefly to avoid name confusion—then killed off.
And Yong Yoo was the latter.
In the prologue, he bullies the protagonist to build reader sympathy, shows off the cheat-level fortuitous encounter the protagonist obtains, lets the protagonist get sweet revenge to please the audience, and then gets wrapped up in a couple of throwaway lines—never to appear again.
For the record, Yong Yoo gets his arm chopped off by the protagonist, succumbs to a heart demon, causes a huge incident, loses his Inner Disciple status, gets demoted to outer disciple, slaves away at menial sect labor, and dies.
What others might think upon transmigrating into a xianxia world: "Sweet, I'll become a cultivator, get awesome, and live large!"
Who wouldn't want to wield divine powers, achieve immortality, and live for thousands or tens of thousands of years?
I might have too, if not for my sudden death.
I don't know how I died. Literally—one moment I closed my eyes, the next I opened them as Yong Yoo in this world.
My past life's final memory as Kang Young-jun was boarding a flight to Singapore and dozing off... Plane crash, maybe?
Anyway.
Dying so abruptly made me question the point of living thousands or tens of thousands of years.
Wouldn't it be happier and more successful to just live a fun 100 years?
So, as the transmigrator, I have two goals.
One: When I lose to the protagonist, don't let him cut off my arm. Survive intact.
Two: Don't succumb to a heart demon after losing—or if I do, overcome it.
Nail those, and... yeah. Reaching Foundation Establishment Realm should let me live cushy in the mortal world.
Foundation Establishment cultivators are rare even there, so if I pick up a simple attack spell, defense spell, and something flashy to impress mortals, I'll be set.
With those thoughts, I sifted through Yong Yoo's memories.
From a mundane Yong family in the mortal world, Yong Yoo's spiritual root talent was discovered by chance and he was brought into the cultivator's world by a Direct Disciple from High Heaven Sect's Present Music Peak.
Becoming a cultivator at 16, he advanced one layer every decade, reaching Refining Qi Realm layer 3 at age 36.
Not fast for Three Elements Spiritual Root talent, but not slow either.
But his generation in the sect was packed with Single and Two Elements prodigies who leaped multiple layers in a year, hitting Foundation Establishment in under a decade.
Despairing at the talent gap, Yong Yoo lost heart, abandoned diligent cultivation, and turned into a bully tormenting junior brothers and nephews with worse talent to vent his inferiority complex.
"So many talented cultivators in Yong Yoo's generation... Probably to set up allies for the protagonist and some frustrating antagonists?"
For reference, the protagonist Mun Yoo is from the same generation but took 20 years to barely reach Refining Qi layer 2 with his Five Elements Spiritual Root.
Yong Yoo bullied that protagonist relentlessly, and the day before I transmigrated, he got caught tormenting Mun Yoo by a nasty senior brother.
That senior brother, arrogant about reaching Core Formation Realm perfection despite his own Five Elements Spiritual Root, mocked them for wasting time playing around instead of training properly. He egged them on: "If you're gonna fight petty, make it a real Dao Debate."
And so they scheduled one.
Dao Debate is basically a wuxia martial tournament for cultivators.
They call combat with spells and divine powers Dao Combat, and debating through Dao Combat is a Dao Debate.
Theirs is set for 10 months from now.
Doesn't make much sense giving 10 months, but cultivators treat 10 or 20 years as a blink, so 10 months probably feels like scheduling a fight for a few days later.
"Refining Qi lifespan is 150 years, so not exactly a blink... But it's that senior character who set the date."
In-story reason aside, out-of-story it's to give the protagonist time to get his fortuitous encounter and power up.
A few days ago, Mun Yoo got his hands on the mysterious Dual Fate Scripture manual but had no intention of cultivating it—until the Dao Debate forced him to train it to win.
To rapidly reach Refining Qi layer 3 or higher, he'll start accumulating Karmic Force.
Easier than Meritorious Force, natural choice. For the next 10 months, he'll roam the sect mountainside killing bugs.
At Refining Qi stage, the tiny Karmic Force from squashing insects is plenty for cultivation.
"Karmic Force's weakness... Definitely vulnerable to Buddhist methods."
Buddhist powers, auspicious forces that purge evil, can melt away Karmic Force born of sin.
"Since I'm just aiming to avoid losing an arm, any old Buddhist method to build some spirit energy should do?"
With my thoughts sorted, I headed to the scripture pavilion of Present Music Peak, where Yong Yoo belonged.
As an Inner Disciple, access was limited to basic manuals and spells, but I wasn't expecting miracles anyway.
Any random Buddhist method floating around would suffice.
"Senior Brother, got any Buddhist cultivation methods?"
"Huh? Cultivation methods? Buddhist ones at that? At Refining Qi, you should stick to sect basics... Hmm. Think there was one on that shelf over there."
"Thanks, Senior Brother."
Finding it, I noticed the back was raggedly torn off, which puzzled me. Reading my expression, the senior waved it off.
"Our Elder Gung Kyung-seung seized it from an enemy. Rumor is, the guy tore off the latter half in a last desperate act."
Gung Kyung-seung is the elder overseeing Present Music Peak.
"...Got it. I'll memorize and return it."
"Nah, no one's asking for it. Just take it."
Back at Yong Yoo's cave abode, I entered.
Perched on a sheer cliff, the sparse spirit energy and poor location reflected his status perfectly.
I disabled the standard concealment array on all disciples' caves and stepped inside, greeted by a fragrant booze aroma.
"Oh, right... This guy learned to brew Spirit Liquor?"
He'd picked up some Spirit Farming too—a small plot in one corner grew Spirit Crops and Spirit Herbs. Brewed booze from those, huh...
Nice. Booze is great.
I grabbed a gourd bottle from the side and chugged.
"Mm. Mmm. Nice."
Delicious.
Herbal scent? The clear, smooth liquor slid down my throat, then a cool rush bloomed from within, clearing my head from crown to toe in liberating bliss.
"No dying from alcoholism here. Later, I can just booze it up."
Draining one bottle with that thought, I read the cultivation method I'd brought.
"Five Skandhas Enlightenment Art... Hmm. Me reading tough hanja like this."
Being Buddhist, the text was complex and convoluted.
Humans consist of the five skandhas: form, sensation, perception, formations, consciousness. Through seeing, feeling, thinking, acting, and cognizing, we know our existence.
But this 'self' from the skandhas is merely a false construct from external phenomena, lacking true substance.
The skandhas are empty, connected to all, ever-changing. We must not cling to the false self they create but accept the skandhas as they are.
Awakening thus frees us from the suffering false self, attaining the true, independent self liberated from pain.
To that end, one must enlighten the skandhas. For my successors to carry on my awakening and teachings, I leave the Five Skandhas Enlightenment Art.
"..."
Reading it through quietly once, I closed my eyes and reviewed the contents.
Cultivators must have great brains—this thick, intricate book stuck vividly in my mind after one read.
I repeatedly recalled the etched contents, re-read the manual several times until I grasped it fully, then sat to cultivate as instructed.
Sensing the spirit energy flowing through heaven and earth, then my own spiritual root within...
"Huh?"
Something was off.
"Two spiritual roots?"
I had two spiritual roots.