Chapter 4 - 1: I am a transmigrator with a Ring Grandpa

Mid-April, at the heart of Late Spring. That night, the moon shone brightly, stars sparse in the sky. The youth, Wang Qi, sat meditating in the courtyard under the moonlight. At this moment, as the moon reached its zenith, its pure light bathed the courtyard, revealing its features—a large mansion's backyard, about two hundred square meters in size, neglected and overgrown, where neither pine nor chrysanthemum survived. Freshly turned soil and shallow, narrow trenches, newly dug, could be seen. However, the master of the yard did not dig these for planting flowers. Thanks to the moonlight, one could see a thin layer of vermilion within these trenches, forming a strange pattern, with large pieces of jade at the intersections of the design. This was a Basic Spirit Gathering Array, a classic formation used by low-level cultivators on the Shenzhou Continent, having persisted for seventy thousand years. Not a grand array by any means, but a simple basic one that slightly gathered nature's spiritual energy, adequate for Wang Qi who had just begun to sense such energy. With the effect of the Spirit Gathering Array, Wang Qi could see the surrounding mixed spiritual energy even with his eyes closed. Permanently seizing a strand of this nature's spiritual energy into oneself and refining it into one's own mana was the first step of cultivation, as well as the first step of seizing creation from heaven and earth. Strands and wisps of spiritual energy naturally flowed into Wang Qi. Soon, the concentration of spiritual energy within him reached its peak. Suddenly, Wang Qi's hand mnemonics shifted, he looked upward, opened his mouth wide, and took a deep breath like a toad swallowing the sky. This breath felt like inhaling a pound of chilled strong liquor; though rejuvenating, it spread a different kind of robust power throughout his body! Wang Qi focused his mind as one, trying to control this energy, and leapt up to practice a set of fist techniques as if he had rehearsed it a thousand times before. This was no ordinary fist technique. If used in a brawl, it would likely prove inferior to the rough and tumble street fighters' farming method; yet the youth knew this fist technique was not simply that, but a Guiding Skill, part of Qi Cultivation. The technique not only moved Wang Qi's body but also the spiritual energy drawn inside him. Under the guidance of the fist technique, the energy reluctantly circuited his meridians, slowly transforming in nature. Gradually, the flow of spiritual energy began to obey Wang Qi's command! After completing the set of punches, Wang Qi could command the spiritual energy as if it were his own limb; internally, the energy no longer appeared mixed but pure and dark. This was mana! The realms of cultivation were divided from low to high as Xuanzhao, Enlightenment, Fasting, Qi Cultivation, Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul, Divine Separation, Unification, Mahayana. Among them, Xuanzhao, Enlightenment, and Fasting, collectively called "Spirit Body," constituted changing the foundational body to pave the way for cultivation. In this stage, a cultivator's body gradually strengthens, and if not struck down by blades, one could live up to one hundred twenty years. However, without mana, it would only be considered as holding a trial or demo version of cultivation. The hallmark of the Qi Cultivation Stage was exactly the production of mana. Sensing the appearance of dark energy flows within him, Wang Qi stepped onto the Great Dao of cultivation; longevity awaited. Wang Qi was naturally cheerful. Upon sensing that trace of mana, he showed a hint of excitement and immediately began to manipulate it playfully. However, his expression soured after a short while. At that moment, the jade ring Wang Qi wore vibrated imperceptibly twice, a cold sensation extending from the ring and piercing towards his head. Then, an aged voice finally resonated in his mind, "Mana protects, strength becomes autonomous, stronger than a barbaric bull, faster than a running horse. What dissatisfaction could you still have?" Wang Qi pouted, "Three years of hard cultivation for just this much ability feels like a loss... The amount I spent on medicinal materials and vermilion flowers alone could have bought countless oxen and horses. Moreover, if I utilize mechanical power to harness the flow of water, it would surpass ten bulls." The old man became indignant, "What are you talking about, boy! Can those external forces even be compared to the power of Immortal Dao? Don't forget, every bit of power from Immortal Dao is one's own!" "Every knack in taming livestock and every design of a mechanism comes from accumulated wisdom of predecessors—do you also consider wisdom as an external force?" "What kind of twisted logic is this from you, you boy?" Seeing the attitude of the old man in the ring, Wang Qi said no more and instead lay down on the ground, casually speaking, "It's dull." Could this be the greatest cognitive gap between the civilizations of science and Immortal Dao? The youth thought helplessly. Having transmigrated from Earth to this world for fourteen years, he had already accepted the reality of his transmigration, no longer despairing as he had in his early years. However, his way of thinking from his previous life was somewhat hard to change. In his previous life, Wang Qi came from a place called Earth, an accident causing his soul to transmigrate into the body of a baby in Shenzhou. Wang Qi's current life had not been overly smooth. His father had an innate deficiency and had died early, his mother had died in childbirth, leaving only his grandfather to raise him, who named his grandson "Qi" in light of his life circumstances. The Wang Family was fairly well-off, being landlords, and despite the absence of strong laborers, their daily lives were still comfortable. But without entering the Immortal Dao, one could not escape the final embrace of the earth. Old Man Wang enjoyed a few years of his grandson's company before he passed away peacefully without illness or disaster. However, a turning point occurred on the day Wang Qi's grandfather was buried. While digging the grave for his grandfather, he unearthed a ring—an expected cheat for a transmigrator. That very night, he dreamt he sat opposite a man in a black robe. "You say your name is Zhen Chan, a Sect Leader of an Ancient Great Sect from ancient times, in a disaster that wiped out your sect, both your body and Nascent Soul were destroyed, your Residual Soul hid in this ring, barely surviving. Now you want to take me as your disciple, hoping that one day I can help you reconstruct your body?" Wang Qi asked that question with a face full of disbelief. The black-robed elder was quite pleased with Wang Qi's expression. However, he did not know that what Wang Qi cared about was entirely different from what he was thinking. Damn, isn't the Grandpa Ring one of that standard equipment for transmigrators that had gone out of style in recent years? Which crappy author came up with this plot twist... Those thoughts churned in Wang Qi's mind for a long time. In any case, Wang Qi's journey in seeking immortality had thus begun. At the start of his cultivation, Wang Qi began to suspect that he was the protagonist of some crappy story. The Spirit Body stage was best at discerning human talent. Those with lesser talent needed the aid of elixirs to improve, and if there was no senior to help, it would take decades of persistent effort. But what about Wang Qi? Since he started cultivating, he hadn't ingested a single elixir, yet his cultivation could match those true disciples of the Ancient Great Sect as mentioned by Zhen Chan. Is it not fashionable anymore for a mortal to seek the Immortal Dao? If I inherently have supreme talent and even have a Ring Grandpa, shouldn't there be a fiancée knocking on my door to call off our engagement by now? But considering that my family hadn't prospered for the past eighteen generations, it's unlikely any second-tier family's young miss would be betrothed to me. Childhood engagements? Ha, my absentee mother was a child bride herself, how on Earth could she have friends good enough to barter their offspring's futures together? But no matter how much Wang Qi cynically dismissed his own clichéd and uninspired life, his path to immortality smoothly began. The elder in the ring sighed, "You have peerless talent, why won't you apply yourself?" The elder got a bit angry, "Achieving the Immortal Dao would allow you to live as long as Heaven and Earth, move mountains with one hand, fill seas, and command awe in every gathering. If your nature is compassionate, you could think and transform thousands into Buddha; if you prefer killing, you could slay a man every ten steps and travel a thousand miles leaving no trace. Essentially, the world would be yours to command..." "Tch." The young man scoffed at the elder's words, "I've seen things among your cultivators that you wouldn't believe..." ...Battleships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. C-beams glittering in the darkness near the Star Gate; all these moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain... Wang Qi silently recited lines from "Blade Runner" in his mind. The elder found joy in his indignation instead, "I have scaled the peaks of Kunlun, roamed across Heavenly Horse, descended along the Shuntian River, and ascended up the Great River, even explored the Azure Darkness, and the Nine Netherworld, even ventured into the distant seas. What sights under heaven have I not seen?" How provincial... Wang Qi thought. Is that the equivalent of an Earth person hiking Mount Everest, touring Guilin, cruising down the Yangtze, moving upstream on the Yellow River, then taking a flight and diving into the Mariana Trench? Things anyone with a bit of money and physical strength could enjoy. Old man, you want to discuss knowledge with me? Experience? I've traveled dangerous routes between the farthest planets, witnessed the birth of a black sun, seen all dark energy that exists in reality... Well okay, that's Zeratul from Dark Temple, but I've at least seen the game CG, haven't I? Wang Qi inwardly ranted about memes no one else could understand and eventually found it pointless. He stared blankly at the moon. The elder in the ring sighed seeing Wang Qi like this, "You have unparalleled talent, why don't you make more effort?" "The two words I hate most in my life are 'hard work' and 'cheer on'," Wang Qi said indifferently, "I only want to do what I enjoy. If it wasn't for immortality, I wouldn't bother cultivating." The elder huffed, "You are in your teens; how can you still behave like a child all day just thinking about playing? Besides, what can't you play with once you've raised your level of cultivation?" "You know what I like to play?" Wang Qi retorted. The elder said, "Go on, then tell me. What do you actually like? Aside from making jokes, I haven't seen you show any real interest in anything." Wang Qi paused, looking towards the full moon, lost in thought. "Isn't it obvious?" Finally, looking to the sky, Wang Qi smiled and said, "To live life, isn't it all about seeking a bit of excitement?" —————————————————————— Not far away, a young girl in red was looking in Wang Qi's direction, murmuring softly, "Something unexpected has happened, Senior Brother; a weevil here has advanced to the Qi Cultivation stage." From the void, a man's voice responded, "Be cautious, what you are involved in concerns one of the Great Powers from legends; don't take it lightly." The girl trembled slightly, then spoke, "We're on the same side, right?" "Hard to say." The man paused, then asked, "This weevil you mentioned, what is it?" "What else could it be? A remnant of the Ancient Method." The man pondered for a moment: "Based on your findings... come back first. Let's try a gentler approach."