Chapter 1: The Immortal Cultivation Family Simulator
Year 3014.
The premier cultivation academy of Huaxia California.
On the way home from school, unlike the students who soared through the sky on flying swords, Li Xiang’s ring shifted, and suddenly a sports car appeared on the boulevard.
“Hey, underage and already racing cars—no worries about traffic jams after school.”
He pressed the token against the sports car’s steering wheel, starting the engine and heading home. “What a magical world.”
Even after three years since his transmigration, Li Xiang still marveled at the wonders of this world.
In fact, a thousand years ago, this world was much like the Blue Planet where he once lived.
But with the resurgence of spiritual energy, the world transformed into a fusion of technology and cultivation. The ancient and venerable civilization of Huaxia naturally became the sole nation on Earth, ushering in a new era.
Everyone cultivated in pursuit of immortality, and in a short time, Huaxia even ventured into interstellar travel.
“Look, isn’t that the young master from the Li family?”
“He’s driving his magical artifact again. I heard crafting that artifact drained a fortune in spirit stones—at least three low-grade spirit stones every day just going to and from school. Must be nice to have money.”
“Hmph, what’s there to be proud of? He’s just like us with an ordinary mixed spiritual root, right? I heard the Li family kicked him out. The other young masters say he’s a disgrace to the Li clan!”
“...”
Along the roadside, many students couldn’t afford flying swords or magical artifacts.
Li Xiang, flaunting his spirit stone-consuming sports car through the streets, naturally became the center of attention.
Listening to the gossip, Li Xiang showed no annoyance.
He put on sunglasses and glanced at the rearview mirror, catching several students whispering enviously. One hand gripped the wheel, while the other extended out the window, flipping them the middle finger before revving the engine and speeding away.
Arguing with them was a waste of time—he’d rather get home and play games.
...
Soon, Li Xiang finished buying groceries and drove back to Jixian Manor. The elderly guardian of the high-level dwelling array was eating a hearty meal of grains and gnawing on a chicken leg. Upon hearing the engine, he set down his bowl and warmly opened the array for Li Xiang.
“Young Master Li, coming all the way back from grocery shopping? Don’t the advanced fasting pills taste good enough?”
“Uncle Chen,” Li Xiang smiled in reply, “No matter how advanced those fasting pills are, they taste like chewing on wax. No matter how much I cultivate, I can’t torture my taste buds. Otherwise, what’s the point of cultivation?”
Chen’s eyes brightened at this, giving a thumbs-up with deep agreement. “Well said! These days, eating fasting pills for purity of body is nonsense. Without a broad mind, what’s the use of pursuing immortality?”
“Alright, Uncle Chen, I’m off to cook now.”
Li Xiang drove into the villa area. Passing by, he greeted some middle-aged men and women, or ancient elders who had lived for who knows how many years, all smiling warmly in return.
The cultivators of Jixian Manor were different from those students.
Long years had made them more worldly wise, and they never looked down on Li Xiang’s youth or his rumored mixed spiritual root aptitude. They responded with genuine warmth, knowing full well that those who lived here were no ordinary people.
The villas were no different from ordinary mansions but often concealed wondrous secret realms.
His own dwelling—Jixian Manor No. 1—was at the very end of the estate.
Just as Li Xiang’s car pulled up, a celestial maiden appeared in sight. Dressed in a white maid uniform, the slender legs beneath her apron were impossibly alluring, and her charming face framed by straight bangs and long side locks captivated the eye.
Though he had lived with this puppet for three years, Li Xiang still nearly lost himself in those downcast, seemingly smiling eyes.
“Welcome home, Master,” her voice was like a clear spring, instantly melting away the day’s frustrations.
“Yuexian, take the car back to the garage.”
Li Xiang tossed her a set of keys. “The groceries are in the front trunk—there’s quite a lot today. You can cook and bring it to my room. I plan to spend the next couple of days gaming.”
“Yes, Master.”
Yuexian nodded. As Li Xiang stepped toward the villa door, she added, “By the way, Master, your family’s spirit stone stipend for this month hasn’t arrived yet. Our account is running low. Should I contact them?”
Even Li Xiang didn’t know the exact level of this puppet. From the day he was born, Yuexian had cared for every aspect of his life, far exceeding the capabilities of the advanced AI he’d known in his previous life.
...
“Not arrived yet?”
Li Xiang frowned. “Call and urge them. Start with Old Ghost—he’s one of our own. Let’s see what’s going on.”
“Yes, Master.”
Upon hearing Yuexian’s reply, Li Xiang didn’t worry and returned to his room.
Across California, many cultivation clans thrived, and the Li family was definitely among the top. Yet Li Xiang knew little about them. Whether because of his poor aptitude or his missing parents and strained family ties, he had lived in Jixian Manor since birth, raised by Yuexian.
He had met the Li family fewer times than he had spent with the uncles and aunts at Jixian Manor.
As a direct bloodline of the clan, though not raised by them, he still received substantial monthly pocket money for daily expenses.
He had heard from senior clan members that his parents had made great contributions to the Li family.
As long as the Li family endured, his lineage would be eternally supported.
So Li Xiang never worried about his livelihood.
Back in his room, he sat before the computer, lost in thought.
“Looks like this life is just about coasting along.”
He smiled and powered on the computer.
This life was the dream he had longed for—being a ‘rich heir’ meant no worries about food or clothing. He was content with the status quo; as long as he didn’t tempt fate, his life would be enviable.
He had even planned a simple, carefree future.
“Although...”
Li Xiang paused, thinking of the great masters in this world whose lives were epic, able to gaze upon the vast cosmos. Yet he could only remain within Jixian Manor his whole life.
“I guess I’m greedy after all.”
Li Xiang chuckled at himself.
This world had cultivation but also games—ways for idle people like him to pass the time.
Most were VR games designed to improve cultivators’ reflexes, a kind of modern popularization.
But Li Xiang preferred traditional games from his past life, like the old-school ones still played with a mouse. VR games tended to be too violent and repetitive.
He opened some ancient games Yuexian had painstakingly acquired from antique markets—thousand-year-old programs copied from old computers, just like his own ancient machine.
He looked around but didn’t immediately click on a game; most he had already played to boredom.
Then he browsed through the folders, hoping to find something forgotten.
Suddenly, a game file caught his eye.
“Cultivation Family Simulator? Is it a management game?”
Curious for a new experience, Li Xiang launched it.
The screen loaded swiftly.
The art style was quaint and rustic—retro even by the standards of his past life.
A landscape painting appeared gradually, revealing a small wooden hut.
A young man arranged ancestral tablets before a bronze censer, burning incense.
[On this day, your only surviving descendant, a slave with no surname, is paying respects to you. He only heard from others that worshipping ancestors will bring blessings.]
[Please establish a family name for this rising—or fading—clan.]
[___ Family]
“Pfft.”
Li Xiang almost spat out his drink. Was the starting point really this miserable? Only one person in the entire clan record???
Still, he followed the prompt and typed in “Li Family.”
After entering the surname, the game interface began to change, but remained simple as ever.
Li Xiang glanced around.
On the left was a “Time Speed” slider set to one hour per year—real time.
“No pause option?”
He checked; apparently, the game only paused during ancestor worship or special events, with the worship lasting five minutes before auto-cancellation.
This was the first ancestral worship in the game’s tutorial.
The ancestral tablet for the Li family suddenly displayed a large “Li” character, seemingly materializing from nowhere.
The sole descendant beheld the change, with a large caption overhead:
“The ancestral spirit has manifested! I am Li! I finally have a family name—hahaha!”
Watching the joyous NPC, Li Xiang didn’t know whether to laugh or feel moved. After all, he couldn’t truly empathize with a game character.
Meanwhile, on the right side of the screen, a large black panel appeared with a line of text:
[Your descendant senses your presence and is ecstatic. He names himself Li Dalong.]
[Ancestral incense +1]
In the member list, Li Xiang even saw the clan genealogy:
[First generation member: Li Dalong]
He could view Li Dalong’s personal information—an utterly ordinary man.
“So this Cultivation Family Simulator means I can only watch my clan grow?”
Li Xiang still didn’t quite understand the game.
[Your descendant is performing ancestor worship, held once every ten years.]
[Offering: a pile of yellow paper burned into ashes.]
[Do you want to place the offering?]
“What’s the use of that?”
Though there was no equipment inventory visible, Li Xiang clicked “No.”
[You canceled the offering.]
A gust of wind blew, scattering the ashes of the burned yellow paper.
But the clan’s only descendant panicked.
“Ancestor, please don’t be angry! Your unfilial descendant was useless and failed to offer an offering that would please you!”
[Do you wish to bestow a blessing upon your descendant during this worship?]
Li Xiang stared at the screen, frozen. His hand holding the drink trembled mid-air, his eyes widening, mouth agape.
Not because of the game visuals, but because—
An incense burner that shouldn’t exist had appeared on the cluttered desk beside his computer.
Li Xiang could even smell the faint smoke of recently burned yellow paper from the censer!
This incense burner was identical to the one he had just seen on the altar in the game.
“I... what the hell???”