Endless darkness. Her body seemed to bob up and down in water, unable to grasp anything solid. She was terrified. She wanted to call for her mother, but no sound came out.
Suddenly, her body steadied, and a bright light appeared before her eyes. She hurriedly looked around.
There was nothing. No objects, not even walls—only emptiness and this inexplicable light.
She heard a sigh, faint and eerie, sending shivers down her spine. She started in alarm. "Who? Who's there?"
The voice paused for a moment before speaking. "After so many years, finally a descendant has triggered the restriction. The Plain Maiden Art finally has an inheritor."
The voice was neither near nor far, as if echoing from the void with no tangible source. She searched frantically, which only provoked a light chuckle. "Silly child, you won't find me. I am merely a wisp of Divine Sense sealed within this restriction."
The voice was ethereal yet gentle and beautiful—the voice of a woman, and quite pleasant to the ear.
Mo Tiange stared fearfully into the space, her voice trembling. "You... who are you?"
"Me?" The female voice sighed again, faint and sorrowful. "I am your ancestor. My name is Mo Yaoqing."
Divine Sense... Mo Tiange didn't understand the first part at all, but she understood the latter. Mo Yaoqing was the name inscribed on the spirit tablet she had seen—an ancestor of the Mo family. Did that mean... a ghost?
The thought startled her. After a long pause, she stammered, "Y-you... are you a ghost?" She had once heard the adults in the village say that when people died, they became ghosts.
"A ghost? Heh." The woman laughed softly, then asked seriously, "Do you know that there are cultivators in this world?"
Without waiting for an answer, she continued, muttering to herself, "I suppose you wouldn't know. A child living among mortals, where would you learn such things?" Then she said, "Since you triggered the restriction, it means you've inherited my Pure Yin Constitution and possess a Spirit Root. Let me see what kind of Spirit Root you have."
Suddenly, a wind rose. Mo Tiange was startled, feeling something invisible envelop her body, moving over her. She couldn't move a muscle.
A moment later, the pressure loosened. The female voice sounded surprised and doubtful. "Five Element Spirit Root? And each element equally strong? Could it be you've also inherited that fellow's Hunyuan Spirit Root?"
Mo Tiange didn't understand any of this talk of Five Element Spirit Roots or Hunyuan Spirit Roots. She only felt that since this was a family ancestor, she probably meant no harm. She wasn't an evil ghost, right?
The voice sighed again, faint and sorrowful. "I never imagined a child would inherit both our aptitudes. Truly, it is the will of Heaven. Alas, I don't know if that fellow is even dead. His Hunyuan cultivation method isn't in my possession, so I cannot pass it on to my descendants."
"Child, do you know that if people in this world cultivate the immortal arts, they can gain the ability to fly through the skies and burrow through the earth, and even preserve their youthful appearance?"
Huh? This description... She recalled the book she had seen in the library. The Immortals dwelling on Kunwu Mountain, inhaling morning cloud-dew at dawn and consuming moonlight essence at dusk, capable of ascending to Heaven and descending to Earth, omnipotent.
"You... are you talking about those Immortals on Kunwu Mountain?"
"Oh?" The voice sounded surprised. "You've actually heard of them?"
This ancestral ghost seemed quite amiable towards her, so Mo Tiange grew a little bolder. "I read a book at the school. It said there are Immortals on Kunwu Mountain. They can do anything and live forever without aging."
The female voice laughed again. "Mortals tend to exaggerate, though they aren't far off. If one can achieve the Great Dao, they truly can become omnipotent and immortal. However, few can cultivate to the Nascent Soul stage nowadays. Even with my aptitude back then, I had to exhaust all means and seize opportunities to advance to Nascent Soul. Sadly, I lingered for a thousand years after reaching Nascent Soul, ultimately failing to advance to God Transformation. I could only let my physical body pass away, sealing this wisp of Divine Sense into the jade plaque, waiting for a descendant to trigger the restriction and pass down the cultivation method."
Seeing Mo Tiange's confused expression, she stopped and asked instead, "Child, would you like to be like those Immortals, flying through the skies and burrowing through the earth, capable of anything?"
Mo Tiange blinked. "I... would that mean I could cure my mother's illness? And find my father?"
"Hmm?" The voice was puzzled. "What's wrong with your mother? And where is your father?"
Mo Tiange lowered her head, her voice downcast. "My mother has been sick for a long time, but no one can cure her. The doctor said it's congenital, that she wasn't supposed to live past twenty, and that surviving this long is already a miracle. My father left before I was born. Mother says Father had business to attend to and would come fetch us later, but he never came..."
This wisp of Divine Sense was originally left behind by the Mo family ancestor, Mo Yaoqing, from ages past. Mo Yaoqing had been a Nascent Soul expert in her time. Hearing this, she immediately understood what was wrong with the girl's mother. Thinking that this person must also be her own descendant, she couldn't help but feel sorrowful. "The Pure Yin Body is both a great opportunity and a great calamity. Your mother must have also inherited my Pure Yin Constitution. Unfortunately, she lacks a Spirit Root, destined not to live long. Don't be sad."
Mo Tiange didn't understand what the Pure Yin Body was. Hearing this ancestral ghost say her mother couldn't be saved, even though she had known it all along, her mood sank further. "No matter what, I can't save Mother. That's not being 'capable of anything' at all."
The female voice was choked by this statement and fell silent for a moment before replying, "But if you learn the immortal arts, you can go find your father. Isn't that good?"
"That..." She had never met her father. In truth, she very much wanted to see what he looked like, but she was afraid of hurting her mother's feelings and had never asked.
Before she could answer, the female voice seemed to realize something and immediately spoke with gravity. "I am only a wisp of Divine Sense. Now that the restriction has been lifted, I cannot exist for long. Child, listen to me. You will understand these things when you grow up."
"Thousands of years ago, I was originally a cultivator from Yunzhong—Yunzhong is what Tianji calls 'South of the Mountains.' Cross the Kunwu Mountains and traverse the South Sea, and you'll reach Yunzhong. When I was young, I was discovered to possess a Spirit Root and the rare Pure Yin Constitution, so I was taken in by the righteous Danxia Sect from childhood. With a dual Spirit Root aptitude coupled with the Pure Yin Body, my cultivation progress was no slower than those with single Spirit Roots. I formed my Golden Core by the age of one hundred. I thought my future was limitless, my cultivation assured, unaware that a Nascent Soul grandmaster within the sect had taken a fancy to my constitution the moment I entered the sect, deciding that once I formed my Core, I would be forced into dual cultivation with a junior of his bloodline."
Mo Tiange couldn't understand her words, only sensing her initial tone of reminiscence later turning to anger.
The female voice paused for a while, as if calming her emotions, before continuing. "Later, I escaped the Danxia Sect through immense hardship and became a rogue cultivator. That ordeal taught me to be ruthless. Thereafter, whenever a cultivator coveted me, I would drain all their cultivation power. Thus, I gradually earned a reputation—the Golden Bell Demoness. After I formed my Nascent Soul, I wandered and eventually came to Tianji. Unfortunately, I remained stuck at the mid-stage of Nascent Soul for the rest of my life. I could only let my physical body pass away, sealing this wisp of Divine Sense into the spirit tablet, waiting for a descendant with enough luck to break the restriction and inherit the Plain Maiden Art."
"The Plain Maiden Art is a cultivation method originally housed by my former sect, the Danxia Sect. It can only be cultivated by female cultivators with a Pure Yin Constitution. It's said this art even contains chapters beyond God Transformation. Unfortunately, I only possess the portion up to Nascent Soul. If you achieve success in your cultivation later, you can go to Yunzhong to search for the remaining parts. However," her tone shifted, tinged with regret, "with your Spirit Root, unless you obtain the cultivation method of your other ancestor, I'm afraid your cultivation speed will be too slow to reach Nascent Soul. A Hunyuan Spirit Root, without its specific cultivation method, is nothing but a waste Spirit Root..."
"Before imparting the cultivation method, let me first tell you some common knowledge about cultivation. So-called cultivation is when individuals among mortals who possess Spirit Roots absorb the world's Spiritual Qi, guiding it to circulate through their meridians and store it in their dantian, thereby granting themselves magical power. The cultivation process requires cleansing the meridians and marrow, expelling the impurities of the mortal world from one's body, bringing it infinitely closer to the standard of a true Immortal. Cultivated to the extreme, one can become an Immortal."
"In our realm, cultivation can only reach God Transformation at most. How to break through God Transformation is something no one knows anymore. Should you one day reach Nascent Soul, your knowledge will be no less than mine. So, let me first explain the basics of cultivation. You'll naturally learn the rest as you progress."
"The world we live in is the Mortal Realm, also called the Human World. Our cultivation realms can be divided into five major stages. Absorbing Spiritual Qi into the body and storing it in the dantian is the entry point of cultivation, called Qi Refining. When the Spiritual Qi accumulated in the dantian reaches a certain degree, a transformation occurs, compressing the Qi into spiritual liquid. This is the second realm, Foundation Establishment. After Foundation Establishment, one continues absorbing Spiritual Qi. Once enough spiritual liquid accumulates, it can be further compressed to form a Golden Core. This is the third realm, Core Formation. When Core Formation cultivation reaches its peak, the Spiritual Qi within the body reaches its limit and can no longer increase. Only by merging the Primordial Spirit with the Golden Core to form a Nascent Soul can one advance further. This is Nascent Soul."
"Few in the Human Realm can cultivate to Nascent Soul. Nascent Soul cultivators possess the power to move mountains and drain seas, truly worthy of being called land-bound Immortals. The next realm is called God Transformation, where one refines the Primordial Spirit to its extreme, tempered a thousand times, reaching a state where only artifacts from higher realms can harm it. Since ancient times, those reaching this realm have been as rare as phoenix feathers and qilin horns. Even I remained stuck at the Nascent Soul stage for my entire life, unable to advance further."
Her voice carried a profound sense of melancholy. Even though Mo Tiange didn't fully understand the meaning, she could feel the desolation in her tone.
"If one day you abandon mortal life and step into the cultivation world, remember: not only are the differences between major realms vast, but even the small distinctions between early and late stages within the same realm are significant. Never provoke those with higher cultivation than yourself. The path of cultivation is treacherous. Although cultivators fear the inner demons brought by karma and dare not kill indiscriminately, if driven by sufficient profit, they are capable of anything. Moreover, you possess the Pure Yin Constitution. You must know that female cultivators with a Pure Yin Constitution are once-in-a-millennium treasures. For male cultivators, dual cultivation with them offers immense benefits. Once such a person appears, it will inevitably attract many male cultivators vying to seize them. In the past, I paid an unknown price and exerted great effort to protect myself..."
At this point, the female voice sighed again, seeming much weaker. "I am about to dissipate. Let me pass the cultivation method to you now. Alas, I cannot give you the possessions I accumulated in my lifetime. One can only possess wealth corresponding to one's cultivation level. When you achieve great success in the art, you may go seek my former accumulations."
Mo Tiange was still muddled when suddenly, a sharp pain shot through her mind. Vast amounts of information flooded into her brain.
"Remember, female cultivators with a Pure Yin Body are the most coveted cauldrons for male cultivators. If you cannot conceal your constitution, never step into the cultivation world!"