Jiang Chen sat down cross-legged right where he was. After calming his mind, he managed to accept that a mysterious entity called the System seemed to have appeared in his head.
[Would you like to open the Courtyard Starter Pack?]
Suddenly, a prompt popped up in Jiang Chen's mind.
"Yes." Jiang Chen clicked casually and helplessly.
An extremely simple yet elegant courtyard appeared out of thin air right before his eyes.
In the center of the courtyard lay a clear, small pond, looking like a mirror that reflected the beauty of the blue sky and white clouds. Inside the pond, a few small golden fish swam about joyfully, darting through the water like streaks of golden lightning.
By the pond, a willow tree stood gracefully with swaying branches and leaves. A compact bird's nest was half-hidden among the willow branches, home to a pitch-black crow perched on the bough, adding a touch of vitality to the tranquil courtyard.
On the ground, a large rooster was resting lazily inside its coop, lying quietly as if enjoying the peaceful time. Its feathers were full and glossy, and its red comb gleamed brightly in the sunlight, looking exceptionally majestic.
At the very back of the courtyard stood a small thatched cottage, rustic and cozy. The thatch on the roof swayed gently in the breeze, making a soft rustling sound.
The entire courtyard was brimming with the breath of life, every corner exuding peace and harmony, making one feel as if they had stepped into a paradise away from the world.
Isn't this precisely the courtyard he had always wanted?
Seeing the scenery before him, a look of satisfaction appeared in Jiang Chen's eyes.
Then, with a thought, an interface appeared in his mind.
Host: Jiang Chen
Domain Level: 1
Domain Effect: Invincible within the domain
Domain Range: 100-meter radius
Domain Experience: 0
"Invincible within the domain? Doesn't this mean I don't need to cultivate at all? Within this domain, even a Great Emperor is no match for me!!!" Thinking of this, Jiang Chen couldn't help feeling a surge of excitement.
"Wait, hold on. Why is the domain range only 100 meters?"
At such a short distance, let alone leaving the Jiang Family, he couldn't even get out of the Divine Emperor Palace.
Jiang Chen couldn't help but complain inwardly. Unfortunately, no matter how much he muttered to himself, the System inside him made no response at all.
"Sigh, this young master thought that after ten years of seclusion, I could finally come out and enjoy life, but instead I get hit with a harsh reality." Jiang Chen looked up at the sky, feeling that he had no choice but to accept his fate.
"Forget it, I might as well see what surprises this courtyard has in store~"
Utterly helpless, Jiang Chen turned and walked into the courtyard. Perhaps because he currently possessed no cultivation base, he failed to notice the unusual anomalies of this courtyard.
"Huh? There are even animals kept here. Goldfish, a crow, and a big rooster. Looks like I'll have to bring Old Huang over later. I'm sure it'll be thrilled to see so many companions."
Jiang Chen walked over to the chicken coop, squatted down, and quietly watched the dozing rooster. At that moment, a phantom image of a phoenix seemed to flash across Jiang Chen's mind.
"Huh, strange. Was that just an illusion a moment ago? How was this rooster raised? It feels a bit different from ordinary roosters; its feathers seem much more vibrant." With that thought, Jiang Chen reached out and stroked the rooster's feathers.
The dozing rooster abruptly opened its eyes and stared at the person before it.
"Strange, why does Master look younger?" The rooster looked at the somewhat familiar face, didn't think too much of it, and closed its eyes again.
Seeing that the rooster ignored him, Jiang Chen stood up and walked over to the edge of the pond. The small goldfish in the pond spotted Jiang Chen, quickly swam over, and poked their heads out of the water.
"Hahaha, you little fish are quite interesting. Do you recognize me?" Without overthinking it, Jiang Chen took some snacks from his storage ring, broke them into pieces, and sprinkled them over the pond.
Upon seeing this, the goldfish swiftly gobbled them up. Jiang Chen watched them happily for a moment, then turned and walked toward the thatched cottage.
Inside the thatched cottage were simply a bed, a wooden table, and a few stools. Next to them stood a pile of firewood and a kitchen stove, while the rest was completely empty.
"This is way too crude. It looks like I'll have to move some things over here later, otherwise I won't even have a cup to drink water with~" Looking at the sparse interior of the thatched cottage, Jiang Chen let out a long sigh.
It seemed the thatched cottage possessed some kind of magical charm; no sooner had Jiang Chen stepped inside than he began to feel drowsy. He lay down on the bed and slowly drifted off to sleep.
At that very moment, the animals in the courtyard suddenly began to speak.
"Do you guys feel like Master has gotten much younger?" the big rooster in the coop asked first.
"Indeed, in the past, Master wouldn't casually toss those snacks to us like that," the small goldfish in the pond chimed in.
"Do you think it's possible that Master hasn't recovered his memories yet after his reincarnation this time?" a crow on the willow tree said calmly. If anyone were to look at the crow right now, they would notice that it actually had three legs.
"That damned dog went out to find Master before, and who knows where it ran off to~" A black ant crawled out from a small mound nearby and said calmly.
"Alright, alright, stop casually discussing matters related to Master~~" The willow tree by the pond, which had been silent all this while, suddenly interrupted.
Hearing what the willow tree said, the other animals in the courtyard fell silent one by one.
Eventually, Jiang Chen gradually grew accustomed to this kind of life. It wasn't that he hadn't tried to continue cultivating; rather, he discovered that every time he finished cultivating, his cultivation base would be directly absorbed by the System. Later on, Jiang Chen simply gave up on cultivation altogether and settled into this plain and ordinary routine.
Yet Jiang Chen himself failed to notice that although he no longer cultivated, the Dao Rhyme on him seemed to grow even richer, making his already handsome appearance even more otherworldly and immortal-like.
Precisely because of this, Jiang Chen's mother, Ji Ruxue, never once suspected that her son couldn't cultivate. And the elders of the Jiang Family who occasionally visited the Divine Emperor Palace also failed to notice anything unusual about Jiang Chen.
Every day, Jiang Chen would wake up, water the flowers, feed the chickens, and sit by the pond to watch the goldfish. Occasionally, he would encounter tasks issued by the System, but they were always simple chores like weeding or hoeing the ground.
However, every time Jiang Chen completed a task, this eccentric System would reward him with ordinary daily items, such as an axe, a teacup, a broom, or even a kitchen knife for chopping meat and a millstone for grinding grain.
Still, Jiang Chen wasn't without gains. He finally figured out what being "invincible within the domain" meant. He secretly took out a sacred artifact to test it out and easily crushed it to pieces barehanded right there in the courtyard, leaving Jiang Chen utterly speechless with shock for quite some time.