A tear escaped from the corner of her eye. Shen Ci felt grateful that she had been reborn, and that her Dantian and Spirit Energy remained intact.
She wiped her eyes, turned around, and hugged the ancient tree tightly with her small frame. Her soft, childlike voice carried a hint of nasality as she said, “Thank you, Uncle Tree. The immortal fruit was painful, but it also helped A-Ci break through.”
The morning breeze rustled through the treetops, shaking a few green leaves onto her shoulders like a gentle response.
“Ouch!”
Shen Ci suddenly covered her head as something hit her with moderate force. Looking down, she saw a snow-white jade pendant lying quietly at her feet.
“A pie falling from the sky?” She blinked and looked up, scanning the surroundings.
After a moment of hesitation, Shen Ci bit her fingertip and tentatively let a drop of blood fall…
The moment the blood droplet landed on the jade pendant, a flash of white light appeared before Shen Ci’s eyes, and her divine sense was abruptly pulled into a space.
She squinted, gradually making out the scene before her—a loft. Standing on her tiptoes, Shen Ci counted with her index finger, “One, two, three, four…”
The loft had seven floors in total.
Upon closer inspection, Shen Ci noticed that each floor contained several faintly glowing squares. Some of these squares had small lock patterns glowing brightly in the center, while others appeared dim and lifeless.
Puzzled, she stepped forward and carefully observed one of the glowing squares. Written on it was a line of small text, which she read aloud softly: “The most delicious dish in the world?”
Dish? A recipe? Shen Ci tentatively tapped the glowing lock with her fingertip—
“Ding!”
A clear, melodious sound rang out as the small square slowly rose, revealing its true contents—a recipe book titled “Spirit Food Heavenly Record.”
Shen Ci’s mouth fell slightly open, both shocked and delighted by this magical scene.
She picked up the recipe book and hugged it close to her chest. Perhaps due to years of hunger, Shen Ci had always been fond of studying food.
In the entire Shangyun Sect, she was the only one deeply interested in Spirit Food. For this, many senior disciples had mocked her for being petty and gluttonous, saying she deserved her stagnant cultivation progress.
But it was only because she had been supplementing Shen Qingyao’s Spirit Energy that her own cultivation had stalled!
Shen Ci shook her head, pushing away those unpleasant memories. She then sat cross-legged on a cloud-patterned stool, eagerly flipping through the “Spirit Food Heavenly Record” with her small hands, her eyes growing brighter with each page.
Why had she never heard of any of these Spirit Foods before?
“Hot pot, milk tea, ice jelly, duck heads, duck wings…”
The enticingly colorful illustrations on the pages made her swallow repeatedly. The hot pot bubbled with a vibrant red broth, the milk tea was topped with snowy foam, and the ice jelly was sprinkled with bright red hawthorn bits…
“Gurgle…”
Shen Ci’s stomach suddenly growled. She swallowed hard again, but after flipping through the entire book, she realized that these mouthwatering delicacies only had pictures and names—not a single word about how to make them.
“Are you kidding me?!” She slammed the book onto the table in frustration, her small face scrunching up like a steamed bun.
Suddenly, an idea struck her. She rushed back to the glowing squares and spotted one with the words “hot pot” written on it. Her eyes lit up, and she quickly tapped to unlock it. Sure enough!
The book she had just seen was merely an introduction—the actual recipes needed to be unlocked one by one.
Shen Ci unlocked all the glowing locks one after another: hot pot, milk tea, ice jelly, and even something she had never heard of called “roses.” To her surprise, among them was a book titled “Illustrated Guide to Basic Talisman Drawing”!
She flipped through the illustrated guide, which was recorded in meticulous detail—almost every brushstroke was annotated with instructions, and there were even some cheat tricks:
Explosive Talismans: Low-grade Yellow Rank, fire attribute.
Puppet Talisman: Can be combined with locust wood dust for doubled effect.
Spirit-Locking Talisman: Cinnabar must be mixed with Spirit Dew to be effective against enemies of higher cultivation levels.
…
Even the Spirit-Locking Talisman, which was nearly lost to time, was included! How was this considered basic?!
But at least she had heard of these talismans before. However…
What in the world was this “Gourmet Talisman”?
She checked the annotation beside it:
Gourmet Talisman: Can verify the grade of all Spirit Food in the pavilion. If the talisman glows with golden light, it indicates top-tier gourmet food—not only delicious but also aids cultivation when consumed.
How miraculous!
Shen Ci’s eyes sparkled as she excitedly stored all these treasures into her storage bag.
She tilted her head and gazed longingly at the higher floors of the pavilion, faintly catching a glimpse of a soft spiritual glow emanating from the sixth floor.
Taking a deep breath, she circulated the Spirit Energy within her body, pushed off with the tips of her toes, and leaped upward—
Thump!
Her forehead collided squarely with an invisible barrier. “Ouch!” she cried out, tumbling backward and landing flat on her back, her little bottom stinging with pain.
“Oww!”
Rubbing her forehead, Shen Ci glared furiously at the empty space in front of her. “Why is there a barrier here?!”
She brushed off her clothes and stood up, casting another covetous glance at the higher floors of the pavilion. Forget it, I’ll figure out how to unlock them slowly.
For now, it was better to leave first. Closing her eyes, Shen Ci tried to extend her divine sense. In the next moment, her figure flickered, and she found herself back in the valley.
Shen Ci hung the jade pendant at her waist, its warm, smooth texture making her eyes curve into crescents.
The little girl suddenly spread her arms and rushed toward the ancient tree, pressing her face against its rough bark and nuzzling it gently. “Uncle Tree! Thank you for giving A-Ci these treasures. A-Ci will cultivate diligently!”
She took a deep breath of the fresh, grassy fragrance, feeling the pent-up frustration she had carried since her rebirth dissipate completely. Hope for this new life filled her heart.
Shen Ci knelt on the ground and solemnly kowtowed three times to the ancient tree. When she lifted her head again, her youthful face was filled with determination. “Uncle Tree, A-Ci must leave the valley now. When I become stronger and have avenged my grievances, A-Ci will return to keep you company.”
With that, she slung her worn-out little sword over her back and began looking around for a way out.
Before reaching the Foundation Establishment stage, cultivators couldn’t practice sword control. With no visible exit in sight, Shen Ci could only grab hold of a vine and slowly, painstakingly climb upward.
Her palms were rubbed raw and red, but she didn’t feel the slightest bit tired, clinging on like a stubborn little monkey.
After what felt like an eternity, Shen Ci finally reached the summit. Bending over to catch her breath, she found it strange—if this were her old body, she would have been exhausted to the point of collapse by now.
But this time…
Was it because of her breakthrough?
Catching her breath, she surveyed her surroundings—thorns and scattered rocks stretched as far as the eye could see. Just as she was about to take a step, she faintly heard cursing voices in the distance:
“Where did that brat run off to?!”
“Son of a b*tch! Too cowardly to face the consequences of his actions!”
Driven by curiosity, Shen Ci headed toward the source of the voices. But after taking only two steps, a grimy hand suddenly clamped over her mouth and dragged her behind a pile of rocks.
“Mmph…!”
“Shh!” a voice whispered close to her ear. “Don’t make a sound, little one!”
Breaking free from the grip, she saw a disheveled boy with a face smudged black and gray. A talisman was stuck comically on his chest, but his eyes shone with an astonishing brightness.
The young man frantically pulled out another identical talisman from his storage bag and slapped it onto Shen Ci’s chest. He immediately crouched down, wrapping his arms tightly around her while nervously staring ahead.
Shen Ci glanced down at the Concealing Qi Talisman on her chest, then looked toward the three cultivators in purple robes in the distance. Their sect uniforms looked somewhat familiar.
After stealing a glance at the young man who was clutching her so tightly, she suddenly understood: So this person had stirred up trouble and was being chased all the way here by them.