Wen Jue hastily recalled his divine essence, returning to the Immortal Restraint Prison where he stood alone.

Only upon reentering the darkness did his raging emotions begin to subside.

“Why can only he not see it?”

Recalling Qin Zhou’s words, Wen Jue found it laughable. He tightened his grip on the chains binding him, anger gathering in his eyes.

The illusion on his face originated from one person.

It dated back over nine thousand years, to when Wen Jue was still a young lad.

Around ten years old, the orphaned Wen Jue had fled famine. But refugees were barred from the city. Left with no choice, he ventured into the mountains, seeking sustenance.

Exhaustion overtook him, and he collapsed unconscious in the woods.

He expected to become forest prey, yet someone found him and brought him back.

When Wen Jue opened his eyes, he saw a face veiled in white mist. Yet the man was dressed in fine brocade and silk—clearly the son of a wealthy family.

After eating his fill, the timid boy looked up at him, though he couldn’t see the man’s features through the mist.

“Will you come with me?” the man asked.

Follow him… at least I won’t starve. Little Wen Jue timidly nodded.

And so, the man who found him brought him back to the village.

A ramshackle village with nothing but a few thatched cottages.

“What… should I call you?”

The man replied, “Village Chief. This place is called Zhutian Small Village. You are my first villager. From now on, you shall be called Lu Yi.”

Little Wen Jue couldn’t understand why there was such a thing as a “first villager.” Did that mean no one lived here before he arrived?

Unable to figure it out, he simply stopped thinking about it.

Wen Jue only remembered that from that day onward, his life changed. He met the Village Chief, gained a new name, no longer worried about making ends meet, and never went hungry again.

Wen Jue always remembered the Village Chief as his benefactor. Even though he had never seen the Village Chief’s true face beneath the white mist.

…Even when that person vanished, he still hadn’t seen his features.

For nearly ten thousand years afterward, he never ceased searching for that person. Yet, not knowing his face, he couldn’t even produce a portrait.

Later, Wen Jue became renowned in the cultivation world. No one was unaware of who he was; no one failed to recognize his face.

But despite this, that person still hadn’t returned. Though he knew Wen Jue was searching for him, he never showed himself.

Wen Jue made countless efforts, yet all proved futile. Finally, after the passage of eons, Wen Jue came to understand one thing.

That person had abandoned him.

In a fit of defiance, Wen Jue swore an oath to the Dao of Heaven—

“He who forsakes me shall never behold half my countenance.”

Mid-curse, his eyes reddened as he amended it—

“He who abandons me shall see my visage not once, and his bloodline shall suffer generations of calamity.”

Even then, Wen Jue clung to a hope—

If someone truly unable to see his face appeared in the future, perhaps then he could learn that person’s whereabouts.

And now, someone who couldn’t see his face had truly appeared.

He wasn’t even affected by the barrier.

Not only that, but he possessed exceptional talent in alchemy. Even if Qin Zhou wasn’t the old man himself, he must be a descendant of the old man’s bloodline.

Wen Jue’s eyes were bloodshot.

So.

How could he have fled in panic? He should have seized Qin Zhou by the throat and interrogated him thoroughly until he revealed that person’s whereabouts.

How could he have… fled in panic?

Wen Jue extended both hands and slowly covered his face.

Unlike the sensation of that hand covering his face, this hand felt warmer, gentler.

As if, after ten thousand years, someone still called his name—

“Lu Yi.”

━━ 🐈‍⬛ ━━

Days passed, and Wen Jue never reappeared before Qin Zhou.

Qin Zhou was also busy.

The negotiations with the Yaoyue Sect went smoothly. The Qin family’s pill business in the provincial capital would receive the Yaoyue Sect’s support. The price was that from now on, when the Qin family sold pills to the Yaoyue Sect, they would receive priority discounts.

He Wenfeng made no counterproposals. Rare elixirs were coveted by every sect, and establishing a long-term relationship with the Qin family was advantageous. Only the specifics, such as the quantity of elixirs to be purchased, required He Wenfeng to return to his sect for consultation and reporting before a final decision could be made.

Before departing, He Wenfeng plucked up the courage to ask Qin Zhou if he had any interest in joining a cultivation sect.

He knew full well that Qin Zhou had failed the talent assessment last time. Qin Haishan had repeatedly approached him about this matter, hoping to secure Qin Zhou a spot as a cultivation sect disciple.

He Wenfeng had refused back then, yet now he was rushing to ask. Times change.

Qin Zhou declined without hesitation.

He had no desire to join a sect.

No one understood cultivation advancement better than he did. Joining a sect would only bring constant constraints.

After He Wenfeng departed Ping City, Qin Zhou returned to his village.

The Spirit Marrow given by Wen Jue differed from spirit stones.

Spirit stones, the universal currency of the cultivation world, functioned as containers for spiritual energy. The essence of heaven and earth was condensed within these small stones, providing sustenance for cultivators to absorb and refine. They were also widely used in alchemy, artifact forging, and numerous other applications.

Spirit marrow was different.

If spirit stones were containers, spirit marrow was the core.

Spirit Marrows felt more like a concentrated mass of celestial and terrestrial spiritual energy. Who knew how many years it had taken, nurtured in spirit-rich lands, to condense into such a core?

Simply holding it in his hand, he could feel an unceasing flow of spiritual energy surging forth.

If anything could restore the spiritual vitality of a land, it was undoubtedly Spirit Marrow.

Qin Zhou was no novice. In his previous gaming world, spirit essences were rare, but not unheard of.

Now, however, even he couldn’t say for certain if they were easy to find.

At least in the present Lower Realm, they were beyond his wildest dreams.

Among the myriad spirit treasures in the world, all are categorized as common, fine, rare, precious, or supreme. The Spirit Marrow before him was no exception.

The ten pieces Wen Jue had found weren’t top-grade, but they were still above rare.

He had clearly mentioned that the depletion of spiritual energy had led to dried-up wells and barren fields, and it would only be a matter of days…

Who treated him well and who treated him poorly—Qin Zhou had always known this as clearly as a mirror.

“Next time, I’ll bring him better Core Stabilizing Pills.”

With that, Qin Zhou picked up the Spirit Marrow. A thread of spiritual energy poured in, shattering its core as a burst of luminous radiance scattered outward. The spiritual energy released by the essence was entirely contained within the barrier Wen Jue had previously set up, not a single thread escaping.

In an instant, countless streams of spiritual energy, like rainbow-colored lights, enveloped the entire mountain peak.

As far as the eye could see, saplings sprouted tender buds, and new flowers bloomed across the fields.

Springs welled up in the mountains, and with spring’s arrival, all things came to life.

The once barren, parched fields, nourished by the spiritual energy, seemed to have regained their vitality. The young sprouts of the Spirit Heart Fruit planted earlier, like well-fed infants, pushed through the soil once more. Their tips were a tender green, shrouded in spiritual energy.

Spring flourished everywhere. This mountain even resembled the landscape Qin Zhou first encountered when he began playing the game.

【Ding! Small Mountain Village level has been reactivated】

Suddenly, dialogue boxes appeared one after another in Qin Zhou’s field of vision.

【Spirit Field Portal has been reactivated】

【Spirit Spring Well Reactivated】

【‘Heavenly Village’ Character Registry Reactivated, Summoning Function Reactivated】

Qin Zhou froze. Summoning function reactivated? Then…

He immediately pulled out the Character Registry from his Cosmos Bag.

Page One.

Villager: Lu Yi

Qin Zhou stared intently.

【This Character Cannot Be Summoned】

…The function was reactivated, yet he still couldn’t be summoned?

This time, he didn’t pause. He flipped further.

The summon buttons—several of them were actually lit!

Ten thousand years had passed. Were any of his villagers still alive? Qin Zhou couldn’t help but feel astonished. But this was the world of cultivators. Perhaps normal notions of lifespan didn’t apply here.

Then he’d try.

[Should ‘Villager-Lu Shisi’ be teleported here to cultivate the land? (Small Village Level is currently 1; only one villager can be summoned)]

[Yes]

A surge of spiritual energy rippled, and above the spirit field, a vortex of energy suddenly materialized.

In less than two seconds, Qin Zhou felt the surrounding spiritual energy begin to compress and contract, space itself starting to tear.

Something was coming.

Immediately after, a figure abruptly appeared from the vortex’s center. A burst of radiant light followed, accompanied by a thunderous crash—

The Blue-Robed Immortal Lord landed.

“What dares ambush this Immortal Lord?” The Blue-Robed Immortal Lord scrambled up from the field, his angry shout cut short as a bolt of thunder struck directly above his head—

The Blue-Robed Immortal Lord paled in shock and scrambled out of the way.

Heaven’s Path, why strike him? He hadn’t reached the tribulation stage yet!

Suddenly, his divine sense swept out. The Blue-robed Immortal Lord’s expression turned serious as he fixed his gaze on the brocade-clad young master standing five meters away at the edge of the field.

The brocade-clad young master was around twenty, reasonably handsome, and clearly at the second stage of Qi Cultivation. Hmm, he couldn’t possibly be the one who ambushed him.

But…

This was strange. Truly strange.

Their gazes locked.

The Blue-robed Immortal Lord spoke first: “You…”

“Shisi.”

The Blue-robed Immortal Lord shuddered. Those two syllables carried a primal, binding force. Merely hearing them through his ears felt like his soul was being pulled taut, sending a chill down his spine.

He knew exactly what this was.

The power of a word imbued with the Heavenly Dao’s sanction.

He had been raised and nurtured by his benefactor, who also bestowed his name. The name Lu Shisi—a name sanctioned by the Heavenly Dao.

The feeling of being bound by the power of a word—it had been nearly ten thousand years since the Blue-robed Immortal Lord had last experienced it.

The Blue-Robed Immortal Lord fixed his gaze on the brocade-clad young master before him, a possibility dawning in his mind. Could it be…

Hesitation and wariness crept into his voice: “Are you… The Village Chief?”

The words left his lips, yet Lu Shisi doubted it could be true.

After all… the Village Chief had vanished millennia ago. His sudden reappearance couldn’t possibly be embodied by a young man at the second stage of Qi Cultivation…

Lu Shisi waited for his answer, but Qin Zhou merely tossed him a hoe.

Blue-Robed Immortal Lord:?

What does this mean?

“Dig the ground,” Qin Zhou said.

The words had barely left his mouth when Lu Shisi felt his soul being pulled taut once more.

Even with his current cultivation, he found himself powerless against this spell-bound command. Lu Shisi frowned.

Seeing him unmoving, Qin Zhou explained, “The spirit field has just been nourished by the Spirit Marrow. This is the optimal time for tilling.”

Lu Shisi: …

Oh no, this really seems to be the Village Chief!

Gotta make every second count to fix up that godforsaken plot!

But Lu Shisi still didn’t move. He felt the urgent matter now shouldn’t be him explaining where he’d been all these years!?

Full of doubts, just as Shisi was about to ask, he heard Qin Zhou say—

“We’ll talk while we hoe. Just one hoe—if you don’t move, hand it back.”

Lu Shisi desperately wanted to toss the hoe back.

But glancing up, he caught sight of the thunderclouds of Heaven’s Will still hanging overhead.

Disobedience seemed to invite a strike.

Shisi felt like crying: “No, Village Chief. I’ll do it.”