The sun rose to the treetops, and its golden radiance pierced through the layers of stacked bamboo leaves, weaving patches of mottled, swaying light and shadow on the forest floor.
"Shasha—"
A gentle breeze mixed with the scent of soil blew slowly through the quiet forest, causing several withered leaves at the tips of the bamboo to compete in their race toward the ground...
"Pa~"
Just then, a crisp sound suddenly shattered the tranquility of the forest.
Deep in the bamboo forest, a youth of about twelve or thirteen sat up from a bluestone with bleary eyes.
In one of his palms, he happened to be clutching a withered yellow bamboo leaf.
"Ah~ I thought it was a mosquito looking for death, but it turns out it was just a bamboo leaf." Looking at the fallen leaf in his palm, Zhang Zhian shook his still somewhat dizzy head.
Dropping the fallen leaf and looking around at this Purple Bamboo Forest—familiar yet also somewhat strange—he suddenly sighed, "So it wasn't a dream after all."
"Do people like to launch surprise attacks so much these days?"
"Luckily, the Sect mission I took this time has no time limit, otherwise..."
Thinking of the sudden event just now, Zhang Zhian couldn't help but shake his head again.
He had previously been searching this Purple Bamboo Forest for the spiritual plant required by the Sect mission he had taken—[purple bamboo fungus]. However, as soon as he entered this bamboo forest, he suddenly felt a wave of dizziness. He only had enough time to find a relatively flat bluestone to lie down on before he abruptly fainted.
During his fainting spell, two distinct sets of memories merged like trickling streams into one.
One was a mundane life of over twenty years in modern society; the chill that suddenly struck as he walked out of the building after his interview seemed as if it had not yet dissipated. The other was twelve years in the cultivation world within this body: Azure Spirit Sect, Outer Sect Disciple, Qi Refining Second Layer, and the earnest instructions of his grandfather before his death.
'I suppose this counts as Reincarnation?' Zhang Zhian thought to himself, 'Though I always feel like I didn't even have time to die in my past life...'
'But the vivid memories of this life are clearly my own personal experiences, just like the previous one.'
'Whatever, what's done is done.'
Stretching and standing up from the large bluestone, Zhang Zhian decided not to think about these things that were destined to have no answer for the time being.
Firstly, in his past life, he was a loner with no attachments; secondly, he had an easygoing personality; and thirdly... which was the most, most, most important point...
The mysteries behind things like world-crossing were clearly not something a commoner from his past life or a Qi Refining Second Layer Cultivator in this life could see through.
Instead of wasting brainpower on things destined to have no result, it was better to live well in the present.
'And this Transmigration and Reincarnation seems pretty good too,' Zhang Zhian thought jokingly to himself. 'After all, this is a world of cultivation. To put it in high-EQ terms, my room for growth is massive.'
'And I'm a Transmigrator... maybe I'm actually the protagonist of a novel?'
'Immortals take turns; today it's my turn...'
After some wild thoughts, Zhang Zhian, having accepted the facts, slowly considered his current situation; he prepared to plan out how he should walk his path for the coming period.
'Tsk~ isn't this just career development?' During his thoughts, he didn't forget to mock himself, 'As expected of me; if I hadn't transmigrated, I would definitely have been an excellent corporate slave...'
——————
Zhang Zhian, only twelve years old, was a completely tender youth.
A year ago, he and his grandfather lived together in a marketplace, depending on each other for survival.
As for his parents...
Perhaps following the fate of "Transmigrators' parents always die," they were killed by a Robber Cultivator shortly after he was born, leaving only the old and the young together.
His grandfather endured the grief and painstakingly raised him until he was eleven...
Until he successfully passed the Azure Spirit Sect Disciple examination; having finally let go of his last worry, his grandfather passed away suddenly that same year.
Thinking of this, Zhang Zhian's eyes dimmed slightly, "Grandfather..."
Shaking his head slightly as if to shake off the sorrow in his heart, he continued his deliberations.
Now, he had been in the Azure Spirit Sect for over a year.
With Fire, Wood, and Water triple-attribute Spiritual Roots, after becoming an Outer Sect Disciple of the Azure Spirit Sect, Zhang Zhian switched his Cultivation Technique to the Sunset Meal Technique under the guidance of the Outer Sect Lecturing Elder.
As it turned out, although switching Techniques took time to learn and master, it was definitely the right choice.
Not long after switching to the Sunset Meal Technique, Zhang Zhian's cultivation broke through from the Qi Refining First Layer to the Second Layer.
By now, he was even not far from the Qi Refining Third Layer Realm.
However, while being a Sect Disciple was much more comfortable than being a Loose Cultivator, it wasn't entirely free from duties.
Except for the initial Cultivation Technique and accompanying Techniques provided for free upon entry, the Azure Spirit Sect required Disciples to exchange for all other resources.
To exchange for resources, there naturally needed to be "currency."
In the Azure Spirit Sect, there were two types of "currency": Spirit Stones and contribution points.
The value of Spirit Stones obviously goes without saying.
As the most widespread general equivalent in the cultivation world, its value was undoubtedly certain.
However, pure Spirit Stones in the Azure Spirit Sect could only be used to exchange for some consumable materials, like Medicinal Pills, Magical Artifacts, and so on.
Even for these materials, only those that weren't so scarce could be exchanged.
Truly precious Medicinal Pills, Magical Artifacts, and even Cultivation Techniques and secrets...
To obtain them, one also needed to consume contribution points.
contribution points are a special "currency" used within the Azure Spirit Sect.
They could only be obtained by completing missions issued at the Sect's Mission Hall.
One could say that for truly valuable resources, the Azure Spirit Sect used a "Spirit Stone + contribution points" exchange model.
'This should also be a means for the Sect to avoid a large outflow of assets.' Having the memories of his past life, Zhang Zhian instantly solved his previous confusion. 'Given the scarcity of many resources in the outside world, simple Spirit Stone exchanges could easily lead to reselling events.'
'For a large Sect like the Azure Spirit Sect, this not only helps maintain stability under its rule but also prevents Disciples from becoming lax about Sect missions...'
Of course, understanding this didn't change his predicament as someone from a Loose Cultivator background—he lacked both contribution points and Spirit Stones.
He couldn't even afford the ordinary Medicinal Pills and Magical Artifacts that could be exchanged with Spirit Stones.
So... the reason he appeared in this Purple Bamboo Forest was not hard to guess.
He was completing a mission taken from the Outer Sect Mission Hall—searching for the spiritual plant [purple bamboo fungus].
This is a Tier 1 Low Grade spiritual plant; though inconspicuous, it is one of the main ingredients for refining the popular Qi Refining stage Medicinal Pill, the [spirit awakening pill].
As everyone knows, for the vast majority of Qi Refining Cultivators, the most troubling problem during the Qi Refining stage is how to improve their Divine Sense.
Often, Qi Refining Cultivators get stuck in a certain Realm because the strength of their Divine Sense cannot keep up with the growth rate of their essence and Qi.
And the [spirit awakening pill] is a Grade 1 Medicinal Pill that can help Qi Refining Cultivators improve their Divine Sense more quickly.
Thus, one can imagine the popularity of this pill.
In fact, precisely because of this popularity...
In today's cultivation world, Spirit Plant Masters have long since overcome the difficulty of artificially cultivating this spiritual plant; all major Sects have large-scale plantations of [purple bamboo fungus].
The Azure Spirit Sect is naturally no exception.
However...
Zhang Zhian had also heard it said that many Alchemists firmly believed wild [purple bamboo fungus] would possess more spirituality than the cultivated kind, giving them a better chance of refining high-grade [spirit awakening pills].
Zhang Zhian didn't know if this was a fact or some kind of cultivation world metaphysics, but...
Searching for wild [purple bamboo fungus] was indeed one of the few permanent missions in the Sect's Mission Hall.
That being said, even though major Sects can artificially Cultivate the [purple bamboo fungus], it doesn't mean the wild version is easy to find.
First, [purple bamboo fungus]—as its name suggests—generally only appears in Purple Bamboo Forests in nature.
Its growth conditions are also very harsh; it only grows after rain when the temperature, humidity, and Spiritual Qi concentration are just right.
Secondly, once grown, it only exists for three days. Once the time limit passes, it dissolves into water.
Only by picking it before then and placing it in a specialized jade box can its storage time be extended.
What's even more troublesome is that the [purple bamboo fungus] is very small, often hidden under dead branches and fallen leaves, and doesn't emit any special scent.
Even its Spiritual Qi fluctuations as a spiritual plant are extremely subtle.
Zhang Zhian heard that the Azure Spirit Sect's Outer Sect Mission Hall once calculated the completion rate for this mission... it was only about thirty percent.
So, in the eyes of the Azure Spirit Sect's Outer Sect Disciples, this mission basically belongs to the category of "relying on luck."
In fact, before Awakening his past life memories, Zhang Zhian chose to take this mission simply because he had been cultivating for a long time and felt like moving around.
He didn't really care whether he could complete the mission.
Of course, if possible, Zhang Zhian naturally hoped to find wild [purple bamboo fungus].
After all, according to the normal laws of supply and demand...
Since wild [purple bamboo fungus] is so hard to find, the rewards for such missions naturally increase accordingly.
Take the mission Zhang Zhian accepted this time, for example.
As long as he can find two wild [purple bamboo fungus], he will receive two whole bottles of [qi gathering pills] as compensation.
And that's not counting the additional contribution point rewards.
For a Medicinal Pill like the [qi gathering pill], which is directly used to assist low-to-mid-stage Qi Refining Cultivators in their practice, a single bottle usually sells for at least ten Spirit Stones.
For a poor person like Zhang Zhian, this was a significant amount of wealth.
'To find wild [purple bamboo fungus]...' The corners of Zhang Zhian's mouth suddenly curled up slightly.
'Originally, it really was just luck, but now, I might just try that.'
'I think this seems... to fit the Opportunity trope, right?'
As he spoke, Zhang Zhian's Divine Sense instantly sank into his Sea of Consciousness, and a cluster of light emitting a seven-colored glow immediately appeared in his perception.
Zhang Zhian's Divine Sense passed through the various colored lights on the outside of this light cluster...
Suddenly, a strange object with several holes, shaped like a heart, emerged in front of his [Divine Sense].
'One, two, three...' Sensing the shape of this strange object, Zhang Zhian's heart couldn't help but stir,'Seven holes, and it's even shaped like a heart...'
'This is simply like the legendary [Seven Apertures Exquisite Heart]?'