Only After Ascending Did I Realize My Boyfriend is an Immortal Emperor

Bu Xingjin, a former office worker, dies in a car accident and is reincarnated as an ordinary weed in a cultivation world. Bound to a minimal system that tracks his level, cultivation, and quality, he discovers that his experience points accumulate only when exposed to sunlight. After three days of idling, he reaches Level 1 and chooses a tenfold experience speed boost. He soon notices a withered small tree nearby, Qing Yan, which radiates a faint spirituality despite its dead appearance. Bu Xingjin levels up again, selecting low-grade spiritual soil to accelerate his growth, but his progress is halted by a severe storm and flash flood.

The flood is stopped by Li Fengshi, a disciple of the Heavenly Illumination Sect, who uses a magical gourd to absorb the water. Li Fengshi’s junior sister, Zhong Wenxin, discovers Bu Xingjin has gained intelligence and grants him a drop of spiritual marrow, which upgrades his soil to mid-grade and provides a massive cultivation boost. She also waters Qing Yan. Shortly after, Lu Xunwen, another disciple from the same sect, crashes into the area while being hunted by a green-robed cultivator. Mortally wounded and poisoned, Lu Xunwen removes a tree trunk crushing Bu Xingjin and gifts him a piece of Earth Essence before dying. This item upgrades the soil to top-grade, allowing Bu Xingjin to rapidly level up to Level 12.

At Level 10, Bu Xingjin attracts a heavenly lightning tribulation, which he survives due to his body tempering rewards. His quality improves from inferior to substandard, granting him passive cultivation growth. He obtains a Quarterly Time Acceleration Card and a backpack, significantly speeding his progression. Deciding to leave his current location, he uses a ten-day Human Form Experience Card to take human shape. He persuades Qing Yan to shrink and accompany him as a portable bonsai. His goal is to deliver news of Lu Xunwen’s death to the Heavenly Illumination Sect.

Upon entering human form, Bu Xingjin finds that his appearance frightens locals, who mistake him for a monster. After several failed attempts to ask for directions, he is captured by Shi Linchao, an overseer at the Dark Stone Mine, a facility belonging to the Heavenly Illumination Sect. Bu Xingjin is forced into slavery alongside four other captives: two human rogue cultivators, a rabbit spirit named Bai Ye, and an elderly dog spirit. The miners wear restrictive bracelets and are subjected to harsh labor under the threat of whips. Bu Xingjin conceals Qing Yan in his arms and opens his system panel to assess his options, realizing he must find a way to escape the mine while fulfilling his promise to the deceased cultivator.