[Ding! Smash a bird's nest with Chaos Azure Stone. Experience +1. Congratulations, Host, you've comprehended the Essence of Time!]
[Ding! Water the Hollow Willow (overwatered). Experience +1. Congratulations, Host, you've comprehended the Essence of Space!]
[Ding! Get through the dead of winter without long underwear, relying solely on your righteous spirit. Experience +1. Congratulations, Host, you've comprehended the Essence of Immortal Dao!]
[Ding! All skills have reached their limits. Congratulations, Host, on achieving the Founding of All Heavens!]
Hearing the system's prompt, Jiang Ping let out a long breath.
This was the Primordial World, where Golden Immortals were a dime a dozen and Great Encompassment Golden Immortals roamed everywhere.
Every day, several streaks of light flashed across the sky, and the awe-inspiring pressure of powerful beings would suddenly dissipate without warning.
As a chubby shut-in who'd transmigrated here, Jiang Ping had no special skills to rely on, so he didn't dare take even half a step beyond his little courtyard.
Fortunately, he had a system.
Although its creator seemed like a lifestyle gamer who specialized in all sorts of miscellaneous subjects.
Jiang Ping had searched the library from top to bottom without finding even half a cultivation manual. Instead, it was stuffed with all kinds of oddball reference books, like Guide to Scientific Fruit Tree Cultivation, Ten Days to Master Gomoku, Practical Handbook of Water and Fertilizer Integration for Grain Crops, and Postpartum Care for Sows.
But he firmly believed these skills were all meant to lay the groundwork for cultivating immortality!
As long as he persevered, he'd surely become someone who could punch Hongjun, kick Rahu, blow away the Twelve Ancestral Witches with a sneeze, and send Di Jun and the Eastern Emperor tumbling with a wave of his hand!
What did it matter if he had an ordinary body, blocked meridians, and useless spiritual roots?
At last, after moving mountains and valleys and raising dust in the East Sea,
Jiang Ping had mastered all the theoretical knowledge in the system's database before going bald!
Now he could finally start cultivating, right?
What tempting rewards would the system offer?
A top-tier cultivation technique?
A supreme immortal artifact?
Or an Innate Saint Body that came with no cultivation bottlenecks?
Jiang Ping rubbed his hands together in anticipation.
[Ding! All of the Host's skills have reached the pinnacle of perfection. The system can no longer provide any benefits and will now dissolve its bond with the Host.
May the Host enjoy peace, happiness, and smooth sailing for the rest of his life!]
This system sure knew how to talk. Jiang Ping scratched his head.
When his girlfriend had broken up with him, she'd said the same thing... Huh?
Huh!
Don't! Wait... wait!
[Bond dissolved successfully!]
???
"It's over. It's all over..."
He'd thought that, according to the laws of transmigration, as long as he had a system, he'd be the chosen one of the Primordial World!
But now...
"This damn system!" Jiang Ping cursed through gritted teeth.
So you were just afraid I'd starve to death in the Primordial World, and that's why you taught me how to provide for myself?!
Sigh, I'd once dreamed of roaming the world with a sword at my side, but reality had forced me to abandon the plan!
Forget it. The Primordial World was so dangerous. He'd just stay cooped up in this little courtyard for the rest of his life, eating his fill and waiting to die!
At least he wouldn't starve.
Glancing at the wheel hanging beneath the eaves, Jiang Ping got to his feet and ambled over.
It was feeding time again.
Jiang Ping thought for a moment, picked out a few fruits from the baskets stacked in the corner, and got busy, clattering away.
"Dinner time—"
At his shout, the quiet little courtyard immediately sprang to life.
A Little Kitten dropped from the roof with a "thump."
Two fluffy chicks appeared from who knew where.
A silly dog came racing back down the slope planted with peach trees, tongue hanging out.
A plump pufferfish poked its head out from under the thick lotus leaves in the pond.
All creatures in the courtyard were equal. They ate whatever was available.
Watching them gobble their food, Jiang Ping felt a wave of emotion.
The Primordial World wasn't so bad after all. He had plenty to eat and wear, and both a cat and a dog. He could call himself a winner in life.
He was only missing a wife. Then the two of them could live shamelessly happy lives, have a few kids, and everything would be perfect.
After sitting by the lotus pond to bask in the sun for a while, Jiang Ping yawned and waved his hand. "All right, break it up. I'm going to take a nap. You lot keep an eye on the house for me. If anyone acts up, we'll tie them up and throw them outside for the great demons to snack on."
At his words, the little creatures shuddered, their fluff standing on end.
The two chicks' nicknames were the Heng Ha Generals. Their little eyes darted about, and they were clever as could be. They trotted over and crouched on either side of the threshold like a pair of door gods.
The kitten darted up a tree and surveyed the distance from on high, its expression solemn.
The silly dog rolled over on the spot and sprawled carelessly in the middle of the courtyard, wagging its tail ingratiatingly.
Jiang Ping laughed. These little ones really were quite clever. It was a shame they couldn't talk.
He reached out and poked the little head sticking out of the pond. The pufferfish puffed itself up into a ball as if it were angry.
"You're probably the first pufferfish ever born in the Primordial World. Ugly, greedy, and bad-tempered. You're lucky I found you; otherwise, some creature would've eaten you like a gummy candy ages ago!"
As he spoke, Jiang Ping couldn't resist poking it a few more times.
The pufferfish had had enough. It blew a string of bubbles and sank out of sight.
Jiang Ping ambled into the house. Before long, snores drifted out.
The courtyard returned to quiet.
At the same moment the system left Jiang Ping,
at the Purple Sky Palace,
Hongjun, seated upon his cloud bed, sensed a change in the Primordial World. His eyes twitched slightly.
"The Great Dao is formless, and the workings of fate are inscrutable. How interesting, how interesting!
"Let me merge with the Heavenly Dao first, then I'll investigate."
At the Demon Clan Heavenly Court,
Di Jun and the Eastern Emperor felt their hearts tremble. The Three-legged Golden Crows were exceptionally sensitive to the presence of their own kind.
"Several auras of powerful demon cultivators have appeared out of nowhere in Ancient Kunlun. We should go and investigate."
In Kunlun, Nuwa looked uncertain.
Why had a strange little courtyard appeared for no reason near my abode?
And why could I detect no information about it?
How bizarre. What kind of divine being could it be?
Before you continue