Chapter 6: The First Trial

Ji Yao could never have imagined that the legendary Immortal-Binding Rope would one day be used as an ordinary piece of cord. If that rope had a soul, it would surely weep!

Carefully, she climbed down to the platform to inspect the few purple ginsengs. According to Situ Jing, even the youngest among them was two hundred years old, while the oldest boasted over nine centuries, with the remaining three ranging from four to eight hundred years.

There had originally been six purple ginsengs here. Unfortunately, the thousand-year-old one had been devoured by the Gale Rabbit, leaving only a few roots buried in the earth. After some thought, Ji Yao decided to place the two-hundred-year-old ginseng into a jade box, while transplanting the other four into her spatial realm to cultivate.

Luckily, the purple ginseng thrived in moist, loose soil. Lacking tools, Ji Yao simply dug them out with her hands, including the roots of the devoured millennial ginseng, and moved them all into her space.

By the time she finished, the day was already waning. Exhausted and covered in mud, Ji Yao dragged herself up the cliff. Situ Jing retracted the Immortal-Binding Rope. Though they had not encountered any large beasts along the way, Ji Yao had no intention of sleeping in the wild.

Retracing her steps, she found a dry, shallow cave. After confirming there was nothing amiss, she entered her space with a single thought.

“Senior Situ, I can’t shake the feeling there’s something odd about this place,” Ji Yao said, having washed and changed, now reclining on the rocking chair in the small courtyard. She thought back over the strange events of the past two days—everything felt uncanny.

‘Tell me your thoughts,’ Situ Jing replied, unsurprised.

“I don’t know where this is, but by common sense, the scarcity of demon beasts here—even the ones that exist aren’t particularly fierce—suggests we aren’t deep in the wilderness. If that’s the case, there should be traces of human activity.

“But then again, if people frequented this area, the low-level demon beasts would be far more wary, and high-quality spiritual herbs that could help beasts ascend wouldn’t still be here for me to pick.

“It’s all contradictory. It’s as if, as if…” Ji Yao searched for the right word.

‘As if this whole area were being kept and raised by someone,’ Situ Jing finished for her.

Ji Yao’s eyes widened in realization and she nodded, about to agree.

Situ Jing’s voice came again: ‘This is the northwest border of the Great Yu Mountain in the Northern Wastes of the Micao Realm. The Great Yu Mountain stretches for hundreds of thousands of miles, but this is merely an unremarkable corner at its edge…’

Only now did Ji Yao realize that the world she inhabited was vaster than she had ever imagined. A mere mortal could spend a lifetime and not traverse one ten-thousandth of this land. The world was divided into five great regions: Central Continent, Southern Marsh, Western Peaks, Northern Wastes, and Eastern Lands. At the far eastern edge lay the boundless Sea of No Regret.

Of these, the Central Continent was the most prosperous, densely populated, and rich in spiritual energy. The Eastern Lands came next, blessed with abundant water energy from the neighboring Sea of No Regret and rare materials not found elsewhere. The Southern Marsh, with its vast forests and secret swamps, was rife with both spiritual treasures and deadly beasts—the domain belonged mainly to demon beasts.

As for the Western Peaks, a forbidden land had emerged there a hundred thousand years ago, gradually turning it into a haven for demonic cultivators. The Northern Wastes was remote, arid, and poor in spiritual energy—often, one could travel for hundreds of miles without encountering another soul, let alone in a resource-poor range like Great Yu Mountain.

‘Beyond the borders of Great Yu Mountain, you’ll find human settlements only after traveling several hundred miles. I am curious, though—how did you end up in that underground cave?’

With those words, the Universe Disk appeared before Ji Yao once more. This time, Situ Jing manifested a silhouette—a formless outline without features. Yet Ji Yao could feel herself being observed, and yet, not observed at all.

She realized immediately that Situ Jing referred to the original owner of this body, but for some reason, it felt as if she meant Ji Yao herself as well.

“There’s a natural maze around that cave. Unless someone is highly skilled in formations, they’d never make it inside. When I hid the Universe Disk in that cave, I set up powerful wards—not even souls or divine senses could enter.”

How was she supposed to know? Being reborn was already absurd enough, let alone being reborn into a world of cultivation and strangeness. Ji Yao had no desire to unravel the story of her predecessor; such backgrounds were undoubtedly thick with melodrama.

Feigning a casual stretch, she sat up straight in the rocking chair, adopting an innocent expression.

“It must be fate! The reason we haven’t encountered any high-level demon beasts is simply because you and the Universe Disk are with me. Those beasts possess a certain intelligence, able to sense danger and avoid it. I just have to use the Universe Disk to release a bit of pressure and they dare not approach.”

Situ Jing seemed to realize she wouldn’t get any clear answers from Ji Yao and summarized with just three words, thereby resolving the confusion of the past two days.

No wonder Situ Jing hadn’t been surprised by Ji Yao’s questions—it was only because Ji Yao had been slow on the uptake. She had thought she’d stumbled on something significant, but clearly, her understanding was still lacking.

Still, when she recalled Situ Jing’s last statement, she wondered: in the future, would she be able to gather spiritual treasures simply by having Situ Jing release her aura? The thought alone thrilled Ji Yao.

Yet Situ Jing, aware of her thoughts, had to douse her excitement.

“Do you think you’re the only one in the world who desires rare treasures? Everyone harbors greed in their hearts. If others discovered you carried the aura of an artifact, what do you think would happen? Besides, truly high-level demon beasts are no different from people. Spiritual treasures can help them ascend as well, and for the chance at immortality, who among them wouldn’t fight with their life?”

With every rhetorical question, Ji Yao’s enthusiasm waned, until at last she felt thoroughly sobered.

In the end, it all came down to this: “One must be strong to forge iron.” Why did she always forget that? She truly needed to experience the world—if she remained in this godforsaken place, she’d either become a savage or her mind would rust, foolishly believing that possessing a treasure made her invincible.

Especially when, at present, she was nothing but an ordinary mortal, surviving on wild herbs! Glancing at the Blessing Grass by the pond, Ji Yao resolved to strive harder—at the very least, she must stop living off grass!

“Senior Situ, may I ask, when is a person able to subsist without eating?” Ji Yao inquired humbly.

“Foundation Establishment. Once you’ve built your foundation, you can absorb spiritual energy directly; as long as there’s spiritual energy, you’ll no longer need to eat or drink,” Situ Jing finally breathed a sigh of relief.

She had worried this girl would not settle her heart. With such spiritual roots, if she didn’t rid herself of restlessness and firm her resolve soon, her path of cultivation would be fraught with difficulty.

“Can I begin cultivating now?” Ji Yao had already learned from Situ Jing that her current body possessed spiritual roots.

Situ Jing raised her arm and pointed lightly at Ji Yao’s brow. A flash of spiritual light entered Ji Yao’s mind, imprinting a cultivation technique within her consciousness.

“Go on. In the study of the bamboo cottage, you’ll find my disciple’s compendium on cultivation and a meridian chart. Once you’re familiar with the flow of spiritual energy, you may begin guiding it into your body.”

Ji Yao bowed deeply to Situ Jing, then turned toward the study.

Standing beneath a tree, Situ Jing stroked the armrest of the rocking chair. Her figure slowly dissolved into a stream of light, fading away with the Universe Disk.

Only a sigh, soft as a whisper, lingered in the bamboo courtyard.

“Ah Heng, thank you. You have my gratitude…”