Shuqi did not know if anyone else in this world had bound themselves to a System just like she had, nor whether their Systems were anything like hers, or if hers was entirely one of a kind. In any case, it was all too much to put into words—being a little kid was so hard. With *This and That About Cultivation Basics* in her left hand and the Marrow Cleansing Pill in her right, she pondered for half a day before finally deciding to choose the path of apprenticeship and immortal cultivation, all in pursuit of eternal life. She had to secure a bright future for Gouzi.
Having made up her mind, Shuqi stopped hesitating. She whipped up a simple meal for herself, ate, and then opened up *This and That About Cultivation Basics*.
This was the Cultivation Continent, and she was currently in the mortal realm. Once every hundred years, cultivators from the Cultivation World would come down to recruit disciples. Only those possessing Spirit Roots and aptitude could practice cultivation. There were many types of Spirit Roots, each divided into different grades, and those with special constitutions were especially favored by major sects.
...
After finishing the book, Shuqi fell into a long silence. Small as she was, she truly had not expected that the so-called *This and That About Cultivation Basics* would literally consist of just this and that—a book so perfunctory that a single page flip made everything clear at a glance, boiled down to a single sentence. At the end, there was even a postscript that read: "Want to know more? Go cultivate immortality!"
Ah, well... this was hard to comment on, completely unexpected.
Meanwhile.
After disappearing, Xitong did not go to rest as she had claimed. First, she made a trip up Tianyu Mountain by herself, then returned to her own quarters to lie flat and wait for nightfall. Once the deep night brought absolute silence, she would strike and stir up some trouble.
With the moon hanging high in the middle of the sky, Tianyu Village was wrapped in stillness, broken only by the occasional chirping of insects. There were no other sounds, and the villagers had basically all fallen fast asleep. At that moment, a snow-white spirit darted out from the gloom and headed straight for the brick-tile house at the east end of the village with the red lanterns hanging outside.
Guided by the panel's prompts, Xitong quickly found the house where the village chief lived. She lazily raised a hand, and instantly the area where she stood fell into a state of absolute stillness. Before a cry could escape the village chief's lips, he saw his old partner standing right beside him, pointing forward with a look of sheer terror, frozen and unmoving. In the direction she was pointing, a Qingyi woman was sitting lazily on a chair, yawning and looking at him with a faint gaze. That chair—well, the village chief looked closer—seemed to be made of huanghuali wood, and the carvings on it were exceptionally exquisite; it certainly wasn't from his house. Meeting her gaze, the village chief involuntarily shivered. "Who are you?"
Yet Xitong did not reply. A mere mortal was not worthy of knowing her name. Xitong simply watched him coldly, radiating chill. The village chief went numb—numb from the cold. Reason told him this person was not to be trifled with. "I wonder what brings the young lady here so late at night?" The village chief's voice trembled slightly, thinking to himself that he didn't know if this being was human or ghost, but calling her "young lady" could never be wrong.
"Where are Granny Yu's things?"
A cold, ethereal voice devoid of the slightest trace of warmth sent a shiver through the village chief, making his heart race with panic. "Wh-what Granny Yu? I don't know what you're talking about." Terrified as he was, the village chief stubbornly denied it.
Yet Xitong clearly had no patience left. She scratched her ear, ruthlessly cutting the village chief off: "The jade pendant!" With that, she stared fixedly at him. "Don't make me say it a second time, or do you want Granny Yu to come and get it from you herself? Hmm?" The drawn-out ending sounded lazy, yet all the more terrifying.
Seeing that the other party still hadn't moved, Xitong muttered, "Ugh, how annoying. Do you really have to make me do it myself?"
With a cold face, her pitch-black eyes suddenly turned blood-red as she stared at the village chief. Within moments, the old village chief was reduced to the state of a mindless marionette. In a daze, he walked to the back corner of the house and began digging into the earth with his bare hands.
"See, obedient now," Shuqi sighed.
Just as Xitong was growing drowsy, the emotionless digging machine—the village chief—held out a dug-up cloth bundle and handed it right before her eyes.
Xitong unwrapped the cloth bundle and saw a Blue and White Jade Pendant inside, its luster oily and smooth with a hint of ink-black at the center. Under the dim yellow light, it cast a faint white glow—at a glance, it was clearly a good item. She looked up at the village chief. At that moment, he had not yet recovered his wits and still wore that dazed expression. Xitong felt a wave of ungrounded disgust and muttered under her breath, "Didn't see much of a backbone, but your appetite sure is big. How dare you pocket Granny Yu's things? If only I could keep you like this forever."
Forget it, better to avoid unnecessary trouble than to invite it. Reluctantly, she undid the binding spell on him, sprinkled a handful of memory-erasing powder, and vanished in a flash.
Of all this, Shuqi remained completely oblivious. At that very moment, she was staring blankly at the Marrow Cleansing Pill in her hand.