New Life on a Frigid Night

"Qi Deviation... damaged meridians."

Li Ye lay on the narrow bed, and it took him quite a while to barely accept his current situation—after all, refusing to accept it was useless. Was he supposed to die again and see if he could transmigrate back?

That was right. After receiving the memories, he knew that he had transmigrated into the Cultivation World, a world where mighty cultivators could move mountains and fill seas, where Flying Swords roamed freely between heaven and earth.

Yet the original owner of this body had merely been at the very bottom of the Cultivation World. One of the spirit plants he had grown was about to wither, and while circulating his cultivation technique, his state of mind had faltered. The result was Qi Deviation, and he had died on the spot.

According to the lingering memories, what he now had to face was not only a residence with rent soon due, but also a body riddled with holes...

"This really is a nightmare start."

"Cough, cough, cough..."

He barely propped himself up, endured the pain within his body, climbed out of bed, walked to the cabinet, opened its doors, and took out a Storage Pouch embroidered with floral patterns.

"Even someone at the very bottom has an inherited Storage Pouch."

"How strange."

Though Li Ye was somewhat curious, the pain was truly unbearable. He hurriedly extended his Divine Sense inside and saw a space roughly half a room in size. Scattered within were the original owner's possessions—five Spirit Stones, a First Rank, Low Grade magic tool, and a bottle of pills.

His Divine Sense immediately focused on the pills.

"These should be Essence Nourishing Pills, right?"

Unable to wait, he immediately took one out. It was the size of a longan, and without a second thought, he swallowed it.

The pill was slightly bitter and astringent. Though it dissolved upon entering his mouth, he could still sense traces of impurities inside it, spreading through his mouth like sand.

That was simply the quality of low-grade pills. Nothing could be done about it.

Still, the medicinal effect was quite good. After he swallowed it, warm spiritual energy nourished his damaged meridians. Though it had no substantial restorative effect, he at least felt much more comfortable.

"Whew."

He let out a long breath, pushed open the wooden door, and stepped into the courtyard.

The freezing winter wind instantly howled past. Before him lay a small courtyard beneath the bright moonlight, roughly two mu in size. Neatly arranged plants lay buried beneath the snow, making it impossible to tell what they were.

"It's quite pretty."

At the very center of the field stood a well, and around it grew a small ring of listless silver grass.

Those were the "culprits" that had damaged the original owner's meridians while he circulated his cultivation technique...

"Hm?"

Li Ye blinked.

A phantom screen suddenly appeared before his eyes, square and orderly, its edges wreathed in shimmering five-colored radiance—

Name: Silver Moon Grass

Mood: Dejected.

Status: Insufficient vitality; about to wither.

Bindable: A vigorous "fire"-attribute spirit beast.

The contents of the panel were simple enough to take in at a glance, yet his eyes grew brighter and brighter!

Golden Finger!

This had to be his Golden Finger!

"Cough, cough, cough..."

Joy surged into his heart, making him cough several more times.

These Silver Moon Grasses were very special spirit plants. The original owner had spent enormous effort to barely obtain these five plants. Once they matured, they could gather the Great Yin Power of moonlight and condense Moon Nectar Pearls, the primary material for making Moon Dew.

Each Moon Nectar Pearl could sell for around twenty Spirit Stones.

More importantly, it was one of the entrance examinations for a nearby great sect, the Four Seasons Sect!

Only by completing each stage one after another could one join that great sect.

To obtain them, the original owner had practically emptied his home and coffers, pawning every valuable thing he owned. All that remained were an inherited Storage Pouch, a few Spirit Stones, and some pills. That was why he had lost control upon seeing them wither, leading to Qi Deviation.

Judging from the original owner's limited cultivation knowledge, if he wanted to completely eradicate the meridian damage caused by Qi Deviation, it seemed that he truly could only find a way to join the Four Seasons Sect.

In other words, these Silver Moon Grasses were his only hope of turning the tables.

He took a deep breath of the slightly cool moonlit air and forcefully suppressed all the unease and insecurity of suddenly arriving in such a strange world—before transmigrating, he had gone from graduation to daily job interviews, forcibly straightening himself out from being half socially anxious. It was finally useful now.

"For the sake of staying alive."

Li Ye clenched his fists, gathered his entire fortune, then pushed open the gate and left his small courtyard.

The instant he stepped outside, a formation rose from beneath the ground and immediately sealed the courtyard up tight as a drum.

—This was the formation of Returning Shore Market, where he lived. Once rented, it belonged to the resident himself. Unless one possessed a token bound to the resident's aura, it was impossible to lift the formation's cover.

That was one reason why residences in this market were so expensive.

Because it was safe, and discreet.

Other markets simply used a grand formation to cover everything within. Here, however, they handed the formation disc and Formation Flags over to the residents, allowing them to set things up themselves.

Even cultivators with the lowest cultivation had more or less some pride in their hearts.

This market had cleverly shown them a little respect, and in return gained the support of many low- and mid-level cultivators. Residences here even had to be fought over!

As Li Ye walked and thought, he felt that this market truly was clever. If it were him, spending money anywhere was still spending money; he really should choose somewhere that made him feel comfortable.

There was no snow piled up on the road. He walked for a while against the bone-piercing wind and soon left this "residential area," arriving at the market district.

The cold wind around him suddenly died down.

A brightly lit road appeared before him. On both sides grew red trees roughly the height of a person, bearing fruits of all sizes that resembled lanterns.

They gave off warm light in the frigid night, seeming to connect with one another into a formation. Their radiance stretched onward into a brilliant sea of red.

They did not merely illuminate the place—they also drove away the winter night's cold. Though it could not be called as hot as summer, it miraculously carried the mild warmth of spring.

In the market illuminated by little lanterns, people streamed back and forth. The cultivators did not care that it was already past Zi Hour; every one of them remained energetic as they wandered through the market.

Li Ye felt a faint prickling on his skin and gently exhaled. For a cultivator with damaged meridians, warmth in winter was truly wonderful.

Once his body warmed up, his thoughts became more active as well.

I heard Returning Shore Market belongs to the Four Seasons Sect. This sect excels at cultivating all kinds of spirit plants and raising spirit beasts. Could these peculiar little lantern trees also belong to the Four Seasons Sect?

He curiously examined the little trees, and the panel appeared before him as usual—

Name: Lantern Tree

Mood: Elated.

Status: Good.

Hm? There's no binding option? Then what are the conditions for binding?

The instant that question arose, a flash of inspiration crossed his mind, as though he had been enlightened by a splash of nectar—so it required spirit plants or spirit beasts that he had personally grown or raised, or at the very least ones that belonged to him, before binding and symbiosis could take place.

Other spirit beasts or spirit plants would only provide prompts and could not be bound.

If an individual spirit beast or spirit plant had a binding requirement, it could also be bound after the other party agreed, but its effect would not be as powerful as when both sides had binding requirements and formed a symbiosis.

Furthermore, each binding consumed a different amount of Vital Essence depending on its rank and difficulty.

He currently had only 20 points of Vital Essence. To obtain more, he needed to consume spirit plant fruits or spirit beast flesh that possessed vitality.

He found that perfectly normal. Besides, even without such a restriction, he very much wanted to taste the delicious foods unique to the Cultivation World...

If farming was only for selling and not for eating oneself, what would be the point?