Having lived in the cultivation world for over a thousand years—almost as long as all the worlds Xu Zifan had transmigrated to combined—the impact on him was immense. Returning to the void, he saw many unorganized beast pelts, spirit stones, spirit fruits, and other odds and ends, still somewhat bewildered. Had he really just left that world like that?
He clenched his fist, feeling no trace of cultivation; he had returned to being an ordinary person. He sat cross-legged in the center of the space, staring blankly at the pile of things for a while, then began to organize them bit by bit. He had left all the magical treasures at the Hehuan Sect; he only brought his own Xuan Iron Fan, which he was used to and kept as a weapon. The most precious things he had obtained in this world were probably all the books and cultivation techniques recorded by Shao Hua, which he could refer to at any time.
While organizing his storage ring, Xu Zifan found some of Shi Yunxuan's clothes, daily necessities, and a portrait. He paused, unfolded the portrait, and saw the smiling woman in it. Suddenly, he felt a profound emptiness. She was the woman who had stood beside him for over a thousand years; he had grown accustomed to having her in his life, yet now they were worlds apart. The void had severed his connection with that world; Shi Yunxuan would be reincarnated there, while he would journey to the next world.
He had previously advised Shi Yunxuan that those who live and remember the past are always the ones who suffer the most; the dead feel nothing, and naturally feel no resentment, regret, pain, or sorrow. He had experienced this many times before; they were all gone, and only he remembered the past. Sometimes he would slumber in his reverie, sometimes he would busy himself with other things, but time always heals all wounds. Once he was determined to move forward, he always tried his best to let go of the pain of separation, adjust his mindset, and only then could he begin a new life and get rid of negative emotions.
This lifetime has been far too long; perhaps he needs even more time to adjust his mindset.
He looked at the painting for a while longer, then found an open space and set it on fire. He then put all of Shi Yunxuan's belongings into it little by little, burning them to ashes.
[Shaohua: Don't you want to leave something behind as a memento?]
Xu Zifan shook his head. "That's meaningless." He said as he put things into the fire. "The reason I was chosen to be a dimensional messenger was because I knew how to survive. If you lose someone important, face the pain, let it go, and that's how you live a good life. Dwelling on it too much will only turn you into a walking corpse, and then you won't be able to continue traversing."
[Shaohua: You have no weaknesses.]
Xu Zifan remained silent. He didn't know if he had any weaknesses; he only knew that some things had to be let go, and everyone else had let go as well. There was no point in him dwelling on it alone. It wasn't about betraying anyone; he had done right by everyone around him. It's like the saying goes: "What's the use of mourning your parents after they've died if you weren't filial when they were alive?"
He treated them well while they were alive, and his conscience is clear, so there's no need for him to wallow in grief. For a dimensional messenger, the most important things are always the present and the future. Perhaps one day in the future he will be bound by something, and then he will be no different from an ordinary person, unable to remain a dimensional messenger or travel through time anymore.
After burning Shi Yunxuan's belongings, Xu Zifan leisurely tidied up the space, chatting with Shaohua from time to time and looking at the various novels and movies Shaohua had stored, thus pulling his thoughts away from the world of cultivation. Although he was alone in the space, he wasn't bored at all. Feeling that he had regained his youthful spirit, he simply headed to the next world. Finding things to do might make it easier to let go of the previous world than staying alone, just like traveling; being in unfamiliar environments often helps one cast aside worries and sorrows, something he had done before.
When Xu Zifan opened his eyes this time, he was startled. He was lying in the forest, and standing next to him was a two-meter-tall tiger!
Xu Zifan immediately took out the Xuan Iron Fan from his spatial storage, pressed the switch, and scrambled to his feet, running backward. Poisoned golden needles shot out, all piercing the tiger's body. The tiger roared and pounced on him, the sound deafening. Xu Zifan quickly rolled to the side and then saw the tiger fall heavily to the ground, transforming into a man wearing an animal skin skirt!
Xu Zifan stared wide-eyed in astonishment, looking around. The trees were thick and tall, seemingly magnified several times over. The flowers, plants, and trees were all unfamiliar, even the birds were strange. He frowned, looking at the man on the ground, quickly processing his memories.
The original owner's memories flooded back, causing Xu Zifan to swear, a rare occurrence for him. He hurriedly took out a Soul-Returning Pill and gave it to the man, then pulled out all the golden needles and threw them into his spatial storage.
This is the world of beastmen, those who can transform into both human and animal forms are called beastmen. Beastmen are generally tall; for example, the tiger tribe to which the original owner belonged had members who were two meters tall in both human and animal forms, powerful, robust, and intimidating. Other tribes include snake tribes, fox tribes, and mermaid tribes. Whether there are any other tribes is unknown; the original owner had only seen these tribes in tribal trade.
This world resembles an ancient wilderness, where orcs live by hunting and occasionally gather wild fruits. They can eat raw meat, and they also eat cooked meat, but the cooked meat is always the simplest kind, far from delicious. Each race here lives in a tribe, managed by a chieftain. The high shaman is responsible for some mystical matters and medical skills, of course, only simple and not very effective ones.
The tribe was a cluster of wooden huts, without walls, where people kept warm by fires. Every winter, they worried about food, and when they encountered enemies, they would only fight head-on, resulting in heavy casualties each time. If they contracted some kind of infectious disease, it was considered a blessing if half of them died. They would believe it was a punishment from the beast god, and that those who died from the infection had committed a sin, which was extremely ignorant.
But none of this bothered Xu Zifan enough; the reason he swore was because of this world.
There are no women in this world; those men who cannot transform into beast form are females, and he is currently a female! This is even more bizarre than a pure yang body!
The original owner of this body was a man who had transmigrated. He was initially quite happy to have transmigrated, thinking that no one would look at him with strange eyes anymore, and he could finally find a boyfriend. And he did find one—the man who had been poisoned unconscious by Xu Zifan, Bai Yi, the young chieftain of the Tiger Clan. Bai Yi had found him in the forest and taken him back to the tribe. He was more handsome than the other females, so Bai Yi became closer to him, showing him everything about the tribe, and naturally, they became close.
The original owner had many novel modern ideas, and at least the meat he made was delicious. His suggestions to raise some pig-like Lulu beasts and to modify the wooden house by adding beams helped the tribe. The chieftain and the high shaman welcomed him, and many beastmen thought he was capable and began to pursue him. Only the females rejected him, feeling that he had made a big splash as soon as he arrived and attracted the attention of so many beastmen, so they disliked him.
As a result, the original owner only knew how to offer suggestions but didn't know how to actually do them. He didn't know what to feed the Lulu beasts or what to do when they got sick, and neither did anyone else. A good thing turned into a bad one. He saw someone injured and wanted to offer advice to the High Priest, but he didn't understand medicine and couldn't explain it clearly, so the High Priest wouldn't accept it. He wasn't even as strong as the other females, and he was clumsy and easily tired when gathering wild fruits. In just over a month, everyone's impression of him changed from intelligent and capable to weak, a burden, and incapable of doing anything right.
The beastmen who had been pursuing him shifted their attention, and Bai Yi stopped seeking him out every day. The original owner noticed that one of the females who usually teased him was growing closer to Bai Yi, and couldn't help but confront him, asking if he had changed his mind. Bai Yi replied that as the young chieftain, he had to marry the most outstanding female. Their conversation wasn't very discreet, and other females overheard it, quickly spreading throughout the tribe. Some females who disliked him mocked him, and the chieftain, seeing this, spoke to him, asking his age and explaining that tribespeople had to marry at twenty, and if they didn't have a suitable partner, they would be directly matched with a beastman.
The original owner was struck dumb, unable to bear the world any longer, and ran away alone. Little did he know the forest was extremely dangerous; he suffered numerous injuries along the way, utterly exhausted. Reaching the place where he had been found, he couldn't find his way back and lost all will to live. But he was still unwilling to give up. His purpose in summoning the dimensional messenger was to have the messenger replace him and become a revered female, making those who mocked and looked down on him regret their actions.
Xu Zifan sat on the ground, looking at the still-unconscious beastman, feeling somewhat weary. What kind of bizarre world was this? Men could actually transform into animals—weren't they high-level demonic beasts? They just didn't possess that much power. And these men, treated as females, could actually give birth—what kind of freak was that?
If he were transmigrated into an orc, that would be fine. Becoming a majestic beast would be quite interesting; he could accept it in a second. Maybe he could even compete for a tribal chieftainship and unify the continent. But why was he transmigrated into a female?! What the hell?! He's a total straight man!
He immediately felt that coming to this world would definitely help him shift his focus and let go of the previous world. After all, he had to protect his chastity at all times, and the thought of it made him want to curse again. He stroked his chin and thought seriously for a moment, finally making up his mind. He decided to become a high shaman and declare that he would serve the beast god for life. That way, the chieftain wouldn't match him with a beastman again, right? He hoped that all the high shaman's mystical talk was fake, otherwise it would be troublesome if he wasn't chosen.
But is there a mission to make those who mocked the original owner regret it? If he protects and helps them, who would regret it? This mission needs careful planning; it's not as simple as just performing well.
Just as Xu Zifan was thinking, Bai Yi woke up. Upon seeing Xu Zifan, he immediately stood up with a cold expression, "What did you use to attack me just now? Who exactly are you?"
Xu Zifan also stood up. He was shorter and thinner than Bai Yi, but his face darkened and he exuded an aura that held its own against Bai Yi. He said coldly, "I did nothing. I just kept praying to the Beast God to save me."
Bai Yi's expression changed, and anger appeared on his face. "You mean the Beast God punished me? How could that be? You must have done something!"
Xu Zifan raised his hands, showing him that he had nothing but a thin set of clothes. "If you have any questions, you can ask the Beast God. Now go back to the tribe."
"Didn't you run away and not want to go back?" Bai Yi squinted at him suspiciously.
Xu Zifan said calmly, "I've figured it out. You're not worth me doing this for."