Chapter 1: Chapter 1: A New Life on a Cold Night
"Deviated cultivation... meridians damaged."
Li Ye lay on the narrow bed, indeed taking quite a while to reluctantly accept his current predicament—after all, there was no use in not accepting it, could he die again to see if he could transmigrate back?
That’s right, after gaining the memories, he knew he had transmigrated into the Cultivation Realm, where great cultivators could move mountains and fill seas, a realm where flying swords roamed the heavens and earth.
The original owner was a Loose Cultivator in Huiya Marketplace.
Because the Spirit Plants he painstakingly acquired were about to wither, combined with excessive mental strain, he made a mistake while operating his cultivation technique and damaged his meridians. After struggling for several days, he still died.
Based on the residual memories, he now had to face not only a home with rent due soon but also a body riddled with problems...
"This is truly a nightmare start."
"Can’t there be something easier?"
"Cough, cough, cough..."
He barely propped up his body, endured the pain within, got out of bed, went to the cabinet, opened the door, and took out a Storage Pouch embroidered with floral patterns.
"There’s actually an ancestral Storage Pouch in the lowest level."
"How strange."
Li Ye was somewhat curious, but the pain was truly unbearable, so he quickly used his Divine Sense to explore it.
Inside, there was enough space for about half a room, scattered with the original owner’s belongings—five Spirit Stones, a First Tier Lower Grade Magical Artifact, and a bottle of Pills.
His Divine Sense immediately focused on the Pills.
"This should be the Nourishing Essence Pill."
He couldn’t wait and immediately took out the Pill, a dragon-eye-sized one, and swallowed it without thinking.
The Pill was somewhat bitter, though it melted upon entering the mouth, it felt like there were some impurities, like sand, spreading in his mouth.
This was the quality of low-tier Pills, unavoidable. It seemed to be something the original owner acquired before coming to Huiya Marketplace.
However, the medicinal effect was not bad. After consuming it, the warm Spiritual Qi nourished his damaged meridians. Although there was no substantial repairing effect, it was quite comfortable nonetheless.
"Phew."
He let out a long breath, pushed open the wooden door, and stepped into the courtyard.
The cold wind of the winter night instantly howled past, revealing a small courtyard under the bright moonlight, roughly two acres in size, with neatly arranged plants buried in snow, making it hard to tell what they were.
"Quite nice looking."
At the very center of the field, there was a well, around which was planted a small circle of withering silver grass.
That was the "culprit" that caused the original owner to damage his meridians while operating his cultivation technique...
"Hmm."
Li Ye blinked.
A phantom light curtain suddenly appeared in front of him, square, yet the edges were suffused with five-colored shimmering light—
[Name]: Silver Moon Grass
[Mood]: Depressed.
[Status]: Vitality insufficient, about to wither.
[Can Bind]: Spirit Beast with abundant "Fire" attribute vitality.
The content on the panel was simple, readable at a glance, yet it made his eyes gradually light up!
Golden Finger!
This must be his Golden Finger!
"Cough, cough, cough..."
Joy surged in his heart, making him couldn’t help but cough a few more times.
These Silver Moon Grasses were very special Spirit Plants, obtained only after the original owner put in a lot of effort to barely get five.
Once they mature, they could gather the Power of the Great Yin of moonlight, condensing into the main material for making "Moonlight Dew"—the Moon Liquid Pearl.
Each Moon Liquid Pearl could sell for about twenty Spirit Stones.
More importantly, it was one of the entry assessments of a nearby great sect, the Four Seasons Sect!
One could only proceed step by step to join that great sect.
To obtain them, the original owner practically went bankrupt.
Pawning everything of value, leaving only an ancestral Storage Pouch and some Spirit Stones and Pills, so seeing them wither made his mentality collapse, leading to deviated cultivation.
From the original owner’s limited cultivation knowledge, if he wanted to completely eradicate the meridian damage caused by deviated cultivation, it seemed he would really have to find a way to join that Four Seasons Sect.
In other words, this Silver Moon Grass was his only hope of turning the tables.
He took a deep breath of the cool air of the moonlit night, suppressing all the unease and insecurity of suddenly arriving in such a strange world
—Before transmigrating, from graduation to daily job interviews, he had forcibly corrected himself from being an introvert, now it was finally useful.
"For survival."
Li Ye clenched his fists, packed all his belongings, and then pushed the door to leave his small courtyard.
At the moment of stepping out, an array rising from the ground immediately enveloped the courtyard tightly.
—This was the array of the "Huiya Marketplace" where he lived, belonging to the resident themselves while living there, unless the token bound with their aura was held, the array’s cover could not be removed.
This point was highly appreciated and loved by cultivators.
Other marketplaces directly enveloped you within with a Grand Array, while here, the Array Plate and Array Flag were handed to you, allowing you to set it up yourself.
Even cultivators with very low cultivation had some pride in their hearts.
This marketplace wisely gave some respect, gaining the support of many mid to low-tier cultivators, making the residences here even need to be scrambled for!
As Li Ye thought while walking, he also found that this marketplace was indeed very clever.
If it were him, spending money would be spending money anywhere, so he should indeed find a place that made him feel comfortable to live.
There was no snow accumulation on the road, he walked for a while, braving the piercing cold wind, soon walking out of the "residential area" and arriving at the marketplace area.
The cold wind around suddenly stopped.
A bright road appeared in front of him, with roughly people-height red trees growing on either side, bearing large and small fruit-like lanterns.
They emitted a warm light in the cold night, seemingly connecting to form an array, extending into a stretch of red brilliance.
Not only did they illuminate here, but they also dispelled the cold of the winter night, although not as hot as summer, it miraculously had the warmness of spring.
The marketplace illuminated by small lanterns was bustling, cultivators didn’t care even though the time had long passed midnight, still energetically strolling through the market.
Li Ye felt a slight tingling on his skin, gently exhaled. For a cultivator with damaged meridians, the warmth of winter was exceedingly beautiful.
With his body warm, his thoughts became active.
’I heard Huiya Marketplace is the territory of the Four Seasons Sect, this sect is adept at cultivating various spirit plants and rearing spirit beasts, could these peculiar lantern trees also belong to the Four Seasons Sect?’
He curiously glanced at those small trees, and the panel appeared as usual—
[Name]: Lantern Tree
[Mood]: Elated.
[Status]: Good.
’Hmm? No binding? What are the conditions for binding?’
As soon as his doubt arose, a flash of insight crossed his mind, like enlightenment.
—It turned out to require being planted or reared by himself, at least belonging to his spirit plants or spirit beasts to conduct binding symbiosis.
Other spirit beasts or spirit plants, although would provide a prompt of what could be bound, could not be bound directly.
In other words, the panel showing [Can Bind] something was to let him see, and consider whether to spend the cost to buy.
Individual spirit beasts or spirit plants if have binding needs, after mutual consent could also bind, but not as strong in effect as both having binding needs for symbiosis.
Additionally, each binding requires different quantities of "Vital Essence" based on level and difficulty.
The panel indicated he currently had only 20 points of Vital Essence.
To acquire more, he would need to consume spirited fruit or the flesh of spirit beasts rich in vitality.
He found this quite normal, and even without this restriction, he would still want to taste the delicacies only available in the Cultivation Realm...
If farming couldn’t let yourself eat, just to sell, what’s the point?