William knew what he was looking at, the spot where he had sat to gather enough experience points to advance multiple minor realms, but that couldn’t be right. He could only have this kind of view if he was inside the trench itself.

The last thing he remembered was the sheer panic that registered when he realized he was forcefully being put to sleep. That happened near the edge of the oasis.

He was no longer at the edge of the oasis.

William slowly sat up and looked around, his mind still a little slow from whatever caused him to be moved here. A chill ran through his body when he fully took in his surroundings.

It was beautiful, with the abundant corals and schools of fish around him, but he would have preferred to view this from the outside. It wasn’t necessary to get such a close view since he was more than satisfied with seeing it above the trench.

William especially didn’t want this closer look after how he was dropped into the trench without his knowing. On top of that, he was somehow in a bubble that was keeping the water from touching him, and he was terrified of trying to pop it.

Assuming that William was free to swim out of the trench without some sort of barrier blocking him, which he honestly doubted since none of the aquatic life here tried to leave, it would take him around thirty seconds to escape.

If the concentration of Qi was too much for William and his health started to take a dive, there was no way he could last for that long. He slowly got to his feet, making sure he wouldn’t do something like accidentally rocket up by standing up too fast.

That was successful, but William had already moved on, frowning at the sandy floor. He didn’t remember seeing anything resembling a lakebed when he had got a peek into the trench from above. In fact, he knew there wasn’t one since he could still remember the shocked amazement at seeing how deep it was.

“What the hell is going on?” William muttered to himself, obviously not expecting a reply.

“You are required to cleanse the spirit beasts that have been contaminated.”

It took everything he had to not squeal like a surprised child. Though he couldn’t stop himself from flinching dangerously close to the wall of the bubble. If he thought that was the end, seeing who spoke to him was more shocking than her voice inches away from his ear.

“Greetings, Visitor. I welcome all cultivators to use the Oasis of Respite, but there is a price to be paid for using its services. Please eliminate the spirit beasts contaminated by the impurity you have shed. This will allow future visitors to benefit from the Oasis and keep the balance.”

William blinked stupidly at her, vaguely registering that she didn’t have the basic system status almost everyone was given. She was like Fatty Xu.

Thinking of Fatty Xu and this woman as similar was an insult to her physical appearance, but for once, William wasn’t stunned by her looks. That wasn’t to say she didn’t embody all those flowery words that could be said about her beauty, but there was something else about her that he was focused on.

She had the features of a Westerner, blonde hair and blue eyes, the most stereotypical combination to exist.

“I detect three beasts that have been contaminated, all in the first section. I sense that you are in the fifth level of Qi Gathering. You will be given time to acclimate to your new surroundings. Please return to this safe zone for recuperation before the limit.”

William gained a growing, unsettling sensation about the woman the more he stared at her. She seemed more like a doll saying prerecorded phrases than a human. He had no proof to have that feeling except for the discomfort of feeling the uncanny valley.

“You may leave the safe zone at any time.”

William stared, waiting for her to continue, but when she simply met his eyes with a blank expression, he decided to speak up himself. “What should I prioritize my attention on the most?”

“I sense that you are in the fifth level of Qi Gathering. You will be given time to acclimate to your new surroundings. Please return to this safe zone for recuperation before the limit.”

William couldn’t have got a surer clue that this woman wasn’t truly alive. It was likely some sort of artificial intelligence, or whatever the equivalent was in this world. His thoughts immediately returned to Fatty Xu, making William wonder if he was the same.

“If you have no other questions, please exit the safe zone.”

He had plenty of questions, but William’s mind kept returning to the woman’s Western looks. If this had been a real person, he might have hesitated to even mention it, but since she was some sort of puppet, he was far more willing.

“Are you based on a woman from Earth?” William asked bluntly, slightly disappointed when she kept staring at him with an unchanged expression.

However, that didn’t last long. William thought he saw a spark return in those blue eyes, but unfortunately, he couldn’t be sure since he was kneeling on the floor from a sudden pressure that slammed into his body.

[-200 HP]

William could hear his bones creaking as it felt like they were slowly being compressed into dust. He could see the alerts of his health dropping steadily, but he could do nothing about it.

[-200 HP]

It wasn’t like he had forgotten the numerous Vitality Restoration Pills in the spatial stone. He had been desperately trying to take them out to extend his life, but it felt like he had lost total control over his Qi.

[-200 HP]

William could usually impose his will over his spiritual energy quickly, but right now, it felt like trying to catch a falling boulder as a normal human. All his attempts were ripped to shreds before he could even grasp a wisp of Qi.

[-200 HP]

He felt the water crash into his body, indicating that the bubble had finally broken by whatever was putting so much pressure on him. William was thankful that hadn’t been accompanied by further depletion of his health.

[-200 HP]

He knew he was on his last gasp and wondered what made him open his mouth to ask that question. So what if she had Western looks? So what if she was from Earth?

To become a cultivator in the higher realm, William knew it was likely that any attachment to their old world would have been either stripped away or diminished to a point where it was of no consequence.

He had been trying his best to hold on to his old life, but even though it had only been several months since his arrival to this world, William knew he was failing.

It was a little slip up here and there, along with the empty attempts to seem like someone who cared about morals, like his stupid self-promise to give Gold to the workers at The Garden that had been with Cao Rui.

As if that pittance would excuse his inaction when Cao Rui was slaughtered before him. William knew that Lan Yin would have given his words some weight, even if she might have proceeded to kill Cao Rui anyway. She didn’t think highly of him at that point in time, but Elder Huang had been supporting him, so it made him somewhat of a factor.

The moment William purposely blinded himself to Cao Rui’s fate, he slowly started to change.

“Interesting. I didn’t expect someone like you to survive. You have been jumping into one lucky situation after another without much effort on your part.”

William blinked, realizing the pressure had disappeared, and he was standing on his feet like nothing happened. The bubble hadn’t popped like he thought it had, so he immediately thought it had been fixed by the woman staring at him with an amused smile. However, a quick look at his health made another theory possible.

Health: 1300/1400

Maybe it was all an illusion?

There was one issue with that. The illusion that trapped William within the forest couldn’t replicate his system messages. The moment it tried, it failed horribly and the illusion broke.

However, everything had been displayed perfectly this time. It did bring up a ridiculous thought, but that couldn’t be true. She had long since ascended.

“An unmotivated office worker somehow getting this far,” The woman chuckled, “But with whom you have been associating since you arrived, it shouldn’t surprise me that their destiny has been unintentionally helping you.”

The sudden knowledge the woman had about him made William suspect this was indeed the woman that should have ascended long ago. Plus, the sudden replay of his thoughts about Cao Rui suddenly made sense.

William had a feeling he was forced to think about it for some reason.

“Are you Daoist Chen’s master?” William had to ask. There was no way he could stay quiet when his job in the past life was casually mentioned.

“Hmm,” The woman nodded casually, “I never thought what I created would end in the hands of someone from Earth. It was supposed to adapt to best fit whoever Little Chen found worthy. I didn’t imagine it would take this long."

She paused, looking a little remorseful before changing the subject. "The souls of people from our world are perfect nourishment for the demonic cultivators on this plane, but we wither quickly after summoning. The will I infused into the system must have helped to stabilize your soul. Even then, you were exceedingly lucky.”

William nodded dumbly, still stuck on her confirmation that she was Daoist Chen’s master.

“Senior, I thought you already ascended?”

“Senior?” She laughed and shook her head, “I know your thoughts, William. Forget the formalities for now. Though if you called me that in front of my disciples, they would skin you alive for the disrespect. They always did insist on making everyone recite my titles.”

“… Sorry, it’s become a habit,” William said sheepishly as he observed the fondness on her face, a sense of homesickness slamming into him after hearing someone else call him by his true name. Even after all this time, being called Wei Liang was still unnatural.

“Adapting to a new world is good,” She waved him off, “But you went a little too far, don’t you think? You abandoned your name far too quickly. I certainly never let anyone call me anything but Sophia, even at the start.”

William shrugged helplessly as he tried to think if Sophia was a common name during his time on Earth. He wasn’t sure when she had existed there, and knowing that might help him get an idea without asking her the question directly.

“No matter. We have more pressing matters to discuss. This incarnation will be exhausted in a few minutes.”