Mysterious Space

Chapter 4: Mysterious Space

A quarter of an hour later, Shi Yue descended near a green palace dozens of feet tall.

Above the palace gate, a plaque bore three golden characters—"Deacon Hall"—written in a bold, flowing script. Spiritual light rippled across its surface; it was clearly a magic tool.

The Deacon Hall had three floors. The first handled various sect affairs and assigned tasks to Qi Refining Stage disciples. The second was for accepting and posting bounty missions to earn Contribution Points and Spirit Stones. The third allowed one to exchange Contribution Points for Cultivation Resources—magic tools, pills, Talismans, and more were all available, as long as you had enough Contribution Points. Anything could be exchanged, including Foundation Establishment Pills.

The hall was half an acre in size. Behind a long green stone counter stood a gaunt Middle-aged Man. Before him, two Qi Refining Stage disciples listened respectfully as he spoke.

"Alright, consider this task barely completed. But the spirit herbs you handed in are of mediocre quality, so I'll have to deduct five Spirit Stones. Any objections?" the Middle-aged Man said flatly.

"No objections, no objections." Though inwardly furious, the two disciples forced smiles onto their faces.

"Hmm, here are thirty Spirit Stones." The Middle-aged Man nodded, took out thirty Spirit Stones, and placed them on the counter.

The two disciples pocketed the Spirit Stones and quickly left.

Seeing this, Shi Yue hurried forward, forcing a smile onto his face. "Steward Wang."

"Hmph, don't try to cozy up to me. Hand over the goods!" The Middle-aged Man snorted coldly.

"Goods? Steward Wang, you haven't assigned me this month's task yet!" Shi Yue was taken aback.

"Who says I didn't assign you a task? I told you to pick five Purple Sandalwood Flowers with ten years of age. Did you do it or not?" The Middle-aged Man said with some displeasure.

"Pick five Purple Sandalwood Flowers with ten years of age? Wasn't that last month's task?" Shi Yue muttered under his breath.

Though his voice was low, the Middle-aged Man still heard him. Raising an eyebrow, he shot Shi Yue a glare and said coldly:

"Are you still asleep? Last month, I told you to pick ten Moon-Gazing Grasses with ten years of age. It's almost the end of the month. If you still haven't picked five Purple Sandalwood Flowers with ten years of age, you won't get a single Spirit Stone."

Hearing this, Shi Yue frowned deeply. He had clearly spent ten days in the Mysterious Space, yet only one day had passed outside. Could it be that time in the Mysterious Space flowed ten times faster than the outside world?

At this thought, Shi Yue's breathing quickened. If he could enter and leave the Mysterious Space freely and cultivate inside, wouldn't his cultivation advance rapidly?

After a moment's deliberation, Shi Yue turned and walked out of the Deacon Hall, then flew back to his dwelling on his magic tool.

Shi Yue sat cross-legged on the Stone Bed, holding the blue Pearl and staring at it without pause.

Since staying ten days inside the blue Pearl's internal space meant only one day passed outside, Shi Yue no longer feared being trapped inside.

After storing the clay pot in his Storage Bag, he channeled his spiritual power into the blue Pearl.

A dazzling blue light flared up, forcing Shi Yue to close his eyes.

When he opened them again, he found himself standing before a crude Stone House. In front of the house lay three acres of empty Spirit Field. He had entered the Mysterious Space once more.

Seeing this, Shi Yue's face lit up with joy. With this treasure, he might be able to reach the Foundation Establishment Realm within his lifetime.

With that thought, Shi Yue was about to sit down and cultivate when his gaze swept over the empty Spirit Field, and a bold idea struck him.

Since time in this space flowed ten times faster than outside, wouldn't the spirit grain planted here also grow ten times faster?

Shi Yue thought it over carefully and decided to give it a try.

With a flip of his palm, a Silver Hoe as tall as a man appeared in his hand. Spiritual light rippled across its surface; it was clearly a magic tool.

The soil of the Spirit Field was no ordinary dirt—it was extremely hard. An ordinary hoe couldn't even scratch it; only a magic tool could break it.

Shi Yue stepped into the Spirit Field, raised the hoe with both hands, and brought it down hard.

"Pfft."

The Silver Hoe struck the ground with a dull thud, turning up a layer of purplish-red soil.

Shi Yue took a deep breath, lifted the hoe again, and brought it down once more...

Two hours later, he sat in front of the Stone House, panting heavily, his face drenched in sweat.

Looking at the acre of Spirit Field he had turned over, a smile of exhaustion crept onto his face.

After resting until his strength had mostly recovered, he took a Blue Leather Pouch from his Storage Bag.

He opened the pouch and pulled out a handful of small yellow grains, scattering them evenly over the field. By the time the acre of Spirit Field was sown with Spirit Rice Seed, the pouch was empty.

Shi Yue began to chant under his breath, and a large amount of blue light materialized around him out of thin air.

After a moment, his chanting ceased. He pointed a finger at the sky above the Spirit Field.

The blue light, as if guided, surged toward the area above the field, converging into a massive White Cloud Mass that hung over the sown acre.

"Fall." With a low shout, Shi Yue formed a Hand Seal and struck it toward the White Cloud Mass.

The White Cloud Mass churned and roiled, and then raindrops poured down from it in a torrent, blanketing the entire acre of Spirit Field.

A remarkable sight followed. As the rain continued to fall, green Spirit Rice seedlings sprouted from the soil below, growing until they reached a foot in height before stopping.

Seeing this, Shi Yue nodded. He withdrew his Hand Seal, the rain stopped, and the White Cloud Mass dissipated.

Growing spirit grain or spirit herbs in the sect's Spirit Fields required paying rent and guarding against theft. Here, there was no rent to pay, and no need for theft prevention.

Shi Yue gazed at the green Spirit Rice seedlings in the field, and a sense of pride welled up from within.

Spirit Fields never lie—one reaps what one sows. With timely watering, an acre of Spirit Rice should yield over a hundred catties of Spirit Rice.

At the thought of a mountain of Spirit Rice, a smile spread across Shi Yue's face.

"If only I could get out, I could go to the Deacon Hall and buy other spirit grain seeds to plant," Shi Yue thought to himself as he looked at the two empty acres of Spirit Field.

The moment this thought flashed through his mind, his vision blurred, and he found himself back in the Stone House.

Gazing at the familiar surroundings, Shi Yue's face lit up with wild joy.

"Could it be... I can freely enter the internal space of the Pearl now?" After calming his mind, Shi Yue murmured to himself.

Hesitating briefly, he channeled spiritual power into the blue Pearl. With a flash of blue light, Shi Yue abruptly appeared in the Mysterious Space.

His expression shifted, and the thought of leaving crossed his mind. In an instant, he was back in the Stone House.

At this, Shi Yue was overjoyed. It seemed his earlier approach had been correct—after blood-bonding, he could freely enter and exit the internal space of the blue Pearl.

Shi Yue noticed that the sky had already darkened. By now, the Deacon Hall was closed, so he would have to go tomorrow.

He sat cross-legged on the Stone Bed, silently reciting the cultivation mantra for the second layer of the Great Void Art, absorbing spiritual energy.

For now, he was only at the second layer of Qi Refining—there was no reason to slack off. Innate talent may be lacking, but diligence in training could make up for it. That was Shi Yue's motto.