Chapter 1: 001

This was Wei Mingyi’s second day awake.

Her cheat item had already come online, but her brain hadn’t yet, still seemingly immersed in the drowsy haze of the first ten days.

She vaguely remembered being picked up by the Sect Leader of the Chongyuan Sect and, without quite realizing it, becoming a disciple of the Chongyuan Sect, obligated to repay the life-saving grace with her body. But before she could soberly accept this fact, she was faced with a cruel truth.

The sect she had joined was about to go bankrupt!

Laid out before her were a pile of pots and pans, battered timber, and Daoist scriptures, representing all the assets of the sect. And appearing before her now were the only five remaining members of this sect—six, counting herself.

A Sect Leader, an elder, and their respective disciples.

Plus half an elder—Wu Chongyun, the Shizun who had been temporarily and forcibly assigned to Wei Mingyi.

The reason she was called “half” was because Wei Mingyi wasn’t sure if she was alive or dead. A better phrase to describe her was “mostly dead.”

She sat in a wheelchair, her white hair cascading like a waterfall, with two strands falling over her chest. She wore a lotus-shaped jade crown atop her head and was dressed in a black and white Daoist robe. Her wide sleeves, stirred by the mountain wind, revealed hems embroidered with golden thread forming patterns of sun, moon, and clouds. A spot of cinnabar was affixed between her brows, her long lashes draped low, and her eyes held a world-weary coldness, regarding everything with utter lassitude. In short, her appearance was exactly the type that struck Wei Mingyi’s preferences: sickly, cold and aloof, preferably with a bit of battle damage, and ideally, a fictional 2D character.

Now… this beautiful, cold Shizun was real. Before she could recklessly call her “Big Sister,” this same figure had suddenly become the “aged parent” she had to support.

How could that be allowed? She was a proper person; she wouldn’t commit incest.

“In any case, without Pill Jade to renew the Spirit Vein lease, the sect’s continued existence is pointless. We might as well split the Daoist scriptures and go our separate ways,” Su Xuanjing, the Sect Leader of the Chongyuan Sect, concluded her summary after a sigh.

The dazed Wei Mingyi, under this massive shock, finally felt her mind sharpen. The bits and pieces of information related to this unfamiliar world finally forced their way into her consciousness.

The Chongyuan Sect had a long—alright, it was merely a sect with a twenty-five-year history of Master-Disciple lineage. According to the Sect Leader, her Shizun, the Founding Ancestor, had gone missing fifteen years ago, and since then, the Chongyuan Sect had limped along for fifteen years in shambles.

Those several cloud-shrouded great mountains were the Chongyuan Sect’s property. However, the most crucial asset, the Spirit Vein, was leased from the Lu Clan of Cangwu City. She heard it had originally been Profound Tier, but because the Chongyuan Sect hadn’t paid the annual maintenance Pill Jade, it slowly degraded to Yellow Tier. And now, even the Yellow Tier couldn’t hold on; this leased Spirit Vein was about to expire.

The Lu Clan of Cangwu City actually hoped the Chongyuan Sect would renew the lease. Without Pill Jade, they could mortgage their land and Daoist scriptures. But the Sect Leader had refused.

There was no end in sight to this bitter poverty. Even if they maintained the Spirit Vein now, they’d still have to pay again in the future. Mortgage the land today, and what would they mortgage tomorrow?

After discussing for a while with her sect members, the Sect Leader finally decided to sell the entire sect, split the proceeds, and disband.

Wei Mingyi: “…” She reached up and patted her head. To wake up and face this kind of situation… she’d have been better off staying asleep! Being able to live again was a stroke of good fortune, a reward from the Heavenly Dao for her righteous act, but how could her start be so destitute?

“If any of you wish to join an Aristocratic Family, then feel free to go,” Su Xuanjing added.

Wei Mingyi blinked, catching the keyword “Aristocratic Family.” A messy pile of “knowledge” stored chaotically in her brain proactively surfaced.

This realm was called the “Nine Provinces,” a wicked cultivation world. Only half of the Nine Provinces was habitable; the other half was filled with Wicked Wraiths, an area the Nine Provinces’ Daoists called the “Wild Domain.” In the habitable half, cultivators were the elite among men. But cultivators were also divided into ranks. Those born into Aristocratic Families were above, and those from Master-Disciple lineages were below.

Tens of thousands of years ago, the Heavenly Dao manifested its principles, the Ancient Sages transmitted them, and established the sect of Taiyi. Within the primal chaos of the Wild Domain, they carved out a space where humanity could dwell in peace. The cultivation career flourished, passed down generation after generation… and then this sect fell into cliques and became a shared territory of several families. Ultimately, it simply disbanded entirely, each family splitting off from Taiyi to form independent clans, known as “Aristocratic Families.” The families primarily relied on bloodline transmission, or else took in adopted “sworn sons” everywhere. Aristocratic Families controlled the resources of the Nine Provinces, large and small, and were also ranked. This group constantly squeezed the living space of the Master-Disciple lineages. Thus, thousands of years later, the Master-Disciple lineage became a laughingstock.

Larger sects could still establish themselves in the Nine Provinces. A small sect like the Chongyuan Sect could vanish in the blink of an eye.

“Do you have any other objections?” Su Xuanjing asked again.

Wei Mingyi lowered her head.

Beautiful Shizun in a wheelchair, pots and pans, along with Daoist scriptures titled Six Classics Unrolled · Earth and Daoist True Words · Heaven. In this world, Daoist scriptures, magical artifacts, and elixirs were divided into four ranks: Heaven, Earth, Profound, and Yellow. Heaven-Tier and Earth-Tier items couldn’t even be owned by ordinary Aristocratic Families. Judging by the scriptures, the Chongyuan Sect was incredibly wealthy. How could they be both poor and rich at the same time? What was going on?

Wei Mingyi’s fingers rested on the wheelchair, a strand of wind-lifted white hair catching on her fingertip.

In a daze, she seemed to hear a sentence: “Throw me away.”

Who spoke?

Wei Mingyi looked blankly at Su Xuanjing, whose expression showed no change.

Then she must have been hearing things.

She cleared her throat and asked, “These scriptures—”

“I have calculated it. They suit you. In the entire sect, only you can successfully cultivate them.” Su Xuanjing spoke calmly. The pots and pans had been distributed randomly, but the Daoist scriptures and Wu Chongyun were the optimal path she had deduced through divination.

The new disciple she had picked up was a great person with a kind heart. She would surely take good care of Wu Chongyun.

“No, that’s not it.” Wei Mingyi hesitated for a moment before asking, “Where did they come from?”

Su Xuanjing put her hands behind her back and replied, “Shizun robbed them.”

Wei Mingyi: “…” That Founding Ancestor she had never met could even steal a Heaven-Tier scripture? What level of cultivation must that have required?

Su Xuanjing furrowed her brow. The long wait was making her a bit impatient. “Why hasn’t the buyer arrived yet?” It would be best if this vexing matter were resolved quickly; otherwise, her troubles would just pile up one after another. Shizun had entrusted the sect to her, and yet she had let the Chongyuan Sect fall to this state. She had no face to meet her Shizun.

“Maybe they’re stuck in traffic,” Wei Mingyi said.

She exchanged glances with Su Xuanjing, the only person with the energy to speak. After a brief silence, both their voices spoke simultaneously.

“Something’s wrong.” Su Xuanjing’s expression suddenly changed drastically. The Lu Clan had always wanted to absorb the Chongyuan Sect. If the person she had agreed to meet had not shown up, it was very likely the news had leaked and they had been intercepted by the Lu Clan!

Wei Mingyi also said, “Something’s wrong.” She had felt something was off, and just now she had finally realized what it was. Her cheat item! It was related to land. This was a game she had played in her previous life. When she transmigrated to the Nine Provinces cultivation world, the game system had also transformed into a “Real Estate · Nine Provinces” version, but it was still in an inactive state.

And the activation condition was: owning her first plot of land.

Games usually came with a Novice Gift Pack, and her system was no exception.

She could even click into the Novice Gift Pack and see the Mountain Protection Array and a Spirit Vein inside.

Wasn’t the reason the Sect Leader was selling the land precisely because the leased Spirit Vein had completely dried up and was no longer suitable for cultivation? Then if she received the Novice Gift Pack, wouldn’t she be able to buy the Chongyuan Sect more time? She didn’t want to drag her frail, helpless new Shizun around looking for work everywhere.

“That person has most likely been intercepted by the Lu Clan.” Su Xuanjing’s face was grave. She turned to the azure-robed Daoist beside her and said gently, “Junior Sister, would you go and see what the situation is?”

The azure-robed Daoist was Hua Xiaozhu, the Chongyuan Sect’s alchemist and the pillar of the sect’s economy. Her alchemy skill was neither high nor low, but her combat ability could sink to record lows. After hesitating for a few breaths, she asked, “Senior Sister, must we really sell? Even without a Spirit Vein, it’s not a fatal issue. Our cultivation progress will just be slower, that’s all.”

Su Xuanjing said, “The Lu Clan wants our Chongyuan Sect’s mountain gate. If they would only reclaim the Spirit Vein, that would be fine, but from what I know of the Lu Clan, they won’t let go so easily.”

The Lu Clan were the rulers of Cangwu City. They were a 4th-Rate Clan, subordinate to the 3rd-Rate Feng Clan. Regardless of what rank a family was assigned, they were all within the scope of the Cloud Realm. Currently, the Nine Provinces had Four Great Clans. And as it happened, the Yun Family of the Cloud Realm was one of them. They claimed descent from Ancestor Yun, one of the Ten Shamans of the Ancient Sages. The remaining three families were the Wu Clan of Spirit Mountain, descendants of the Wu Ancestor; the Chen Family of the Shifang Celestial Palace, after Ancestor Dao Gui; and the Yu Clan of Heavenly Evolution Mountain. All these clans had Grotto-Heaven mighty figures presiding over them—a presence utterly remote and distant to the Chongyuan Sect.

Aristocratic Families and Master-Disciple lineages were incompatible. The Lu Clan and the Chongyuan Sect were mortal enemies. In such a situation, a “safe house” was even more needed. Since a senior like Hua Xiaozhu had spoken up, Wei Mingyi, after pondering for a moment, also said: “Sect Leader, maybe selling the land isn’t necessary. I have a way to generate a Spirit Vein!”

She had considered this before speaking. No matter if the people of the Chongyuan Sect were good or bad, as long as the property was transferred to her name, within her safe house, she was the absolute ruler. There was no need to fear the Chongyuan Sect casting her aside. Of course, from the feedback of her cheat item, the members of the Chongyuan Sect were rare good people.

Not to mention Su Xuanjing and the others, even Wu Chongyun, who had remained almost entirely still, looked up at Wei Mingyi at those words.

Wei Mingyi silently hid a single white strand of hair she had pulled from Wu Chongyun’s head in her palm.

Did cultivators still lose hair? Or had her pitiful Shizun’s illness already reached an incurable state?

Surely it wasn’t because she had pulled too hard, was it?

“Is that true?” Su Xuanjing asked, a hint of surprise shining in her eyes.

Wei Mingyi nodded, then added unhurriedly, “As long as the property is transferred to my name.”

The two disciples of the same generation as Wei Mingyi furrowed their brows slightly, but Su Xuanjing’s expression remained unchanged. Without a moment’s hesitation, she said, “Agreed.”

Wei Mingyi found this a little strange.

But on second thought, they had even given her priceless Daoist scriptures—which, if possessed, could get her chopped into mincemeat by evil cultivators—so why would these lands be any different?

However—

Wasn’t the Chongyuan Sect being excessively enthusiastic?

Could it be that she was a destined savior?

Thoughts swirled chaotically, but what came out of Wei Mingyi’s mouth was an unrelated sentence: “What about my Shizun, then?”

Su Xuanjing said, “Still your Shizun.”

Wei Mingyi inexplicably breathed a sigh of relief, but immediately after, a faint melancholy surfaced deep within her.

She subtly lowered her head, gazing at the flawless profile of Wu Chongyun—

The 2D character was appealing, but touching a Shizun? No, that wouldn’t do.