I'm a Transmigrator, and I Have a Ring Grandpa

In mid-April, the season of late spring. That night, the moon was bright and the stars were few.

The young man, Wang Qi, was meditating in the courtyard by moonlight.

At this time, the moon was high in the sky, and its bright moonlight spilled into the courtyard, illuminating the scene. This was the backyard of a large mansion, about ten square meters, but it was neglected, with overgrown paths and no pine or chrysanthemum in sight. There was some freshly turned soil on the ground, and shallow trenches about an inch wide had clearly just been dug. However, the owner of the courtyard was not digging the soil to plant flowers. In the moonlight, one could see a thin layer of cinnabar within the trenches, and the entire trench formed a bizarre pattern. At the intersections of the pattern, there were even large pieces of jade.

This was a basic Gathering Spirit Array, a common formation for low-level cultivators on the Divine Continent, a classic model that had been in use for seventy thousand years. However, it was not an extraordinary formation, but a simple beginner's array that could slightly gather spiritual energy from heaven and earth. For Wang Qi, who had just begun to sense the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, it was just enough.

Due to the effect of the Gathering Spirit Array, Wang Qi could see the chaotic spiritual energy around him with his eyes closed.

To permanently absorb a trace of spiritual energy into oneself and refine it into one's own Magical Power was the first step of cultivation, and also the first step in defying the natural order.

Traces of spiritual energy naturally flowed into Wang Qi's body. Before long, the concentration of spiritual energy in Wang Qi's body reached its peak.

Suddenly, Wang Qi's hand seals changed, he tilted his head back, opened his mouth wide, and with a deep breath, he was like a toad swallowing the sky. This breath was like swallowing a pound of iced strong liquor, cool and refreshing, yet with another mellow power spreading throughout his body! Wang Qi focused his mind, attempting to control this spiritual energy, and at the same time, he leaped up, performing a set of boxing moves as if he had practiced them thousands of times.

This boxing was no ordinary boxing. If used for fighting or brawling, it would probably be inferior to the crude moves of a ruffian farmer, but the young man knew that this style of boxing was less a boxing technique and more a guiding art, a method of Qi Refining.

The boxing not only moved Wang Qi's entire body but also the spiritual energy introduced into his body. Driven by the boxing, the spiritual energy reluctantly circulated through Wang Qi's meridians, its nature gradually transforming. Gradually, the flow of spiritual energy began to obey Wang Qi's command!

After completing the set of boxing moves, Wang Qi could command the spiritual energy as if it were an extension of his own arm. In his internal vision, the spiritual energy was no longer chaotic in color but was a pure, transparent black.

This was Magical Power!

The cultivation realms, from low to high, were: Whirlwind Illumination, Opening Light, Grain Abstinence, Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul, Spirit Severing, Integrated Body, and Mahayana.

Among them, the three realms of Whirlwind Illumination, Opening Light, and Grain Abstinence were collectively called the "Spiritual Body," a step to change the foundation of the body and pave the way for cultivation. At this stage, the cultivator's physique gradually strengthened, and they could live up to one hundred and twenty years if they did not fall victim to war. However, without Magical Power, it could only be considered an experiential or trial version of cultivation.

The mark of the Qi Refining stage was the cultivation of Magical Power. Wang Qi sensed the black airflow appearing in his body in his internal vision, which signified that he had embarked on the great path of cultivation, and longevity was within reach.

Wang Qi was originally a cheerful person. After sensing that wisp of Magical Power in his body, he showed a hint of excitement and immediately began to play with that power. However, after a moment, his expression turned to one of disdain.

At this moment, a jade ring on Wang Qi's finger vibrated almost imperceptibly twice. A cold sensation extended from the ring, piercing towards his head. Then, an ancient voice echoed in his mind: "With Magical Power protection, your strength is self-contained, capable of matching a wild ox, and your speed can rival a galloping horse. Do you have any complaints?"

Wang Qi pouted, "Three years of bitter cultivation, and this is all I get? I feel like I've been cheated... The money I spent on medicinal herbs and cinnabar could have bought so many oxen and horses. Besides, if we used mechanical power to draw water, ten oxen wouldn't be as good."

The old man roared, "What nonsense are you spouting, kid! Can those external forces be compared to the immortal path? Don't forget that every bit of power on the immortal path is your own!"

"Every trick in taming livestock, and every mechanical design, is the accumulation of past wisdom. Can wisdom also be considered an external force?"

"Where do you get so many twisted arguments, kid?"

Seeing the old man in the ring's attitude, Wang Qi said nothing more. Instead, he lay on the ground and casually remarked, "Boring."

This was perhaps the greatest cognitive gap between technological civilization and immortal civilization?

The young man thought with some helplessness.

He had transmigrated from Earth to this world fourteen years ago and had long accepted the fact of transmigration, no longer despairing as he had in the first few years. However, his way of thinking from his previous life was still difficult to change.

Wang Qi's previous life was from a place called Earth. Due to a minor accident, his soul transmigrated into the body of an infant on the Divine Continent. Wang Qi's current life had not been smooth. His father had been born with a weak constitution and had passed away early, while his mother had died in childbirth. He had been raised entirely by his grandfather. His grandfather, feeling for his grandson's plight, had given him the name "Qi." The Wang family was a landlord family with considerable wealth. Although the family lacked a strong laborer, their lives were still comfortable. However, without entering the path of immortality, one would eventually turn to dust. Old Man Wang had enjoyed a few years of father-son affection with his grandson before passing away peacefully.

However, the turning point came on the day of Wang Qi's grandfather's burial. While digging the grave for his grandfather, he had actually dug up a ring from the soil—the cheat that a transmigrator like Wang Qi should have.

That night, he had a dream. In his dream, he sat opposite a black-robed old man.

"You say your name is Zhen Chanzi, that you were the sect leader of an ancient sect, that in a catastrophe that wiped out your sect, your body and Nascent Soul were destroyed, and your remnant soul hid in this ring, barely surviving. Now you want to take me as a disciple, hoping that one day I can help you rebuild your body?"

When Wang Qi asked this question, he looked incredulous. The black-robed old man was very pleased with Wang Qi's expression. However, he didn't know that what Wang Qi cared about was completely different from what he thought.

Holy crap, isn't this a standard accessory for transmigrators, the old man in the ring? I thought that wasn't popular anymore in recent years. What kind of cliché plot is this designed by some failed author...

These words had been churning in Wang Qi's mind for a long time.

In short, Wang Qi's path to seeking immortality began just like this.

From the beginning of his cultivation, Wang Qi had a slight suspicion that he was the protagonist of a failed work. The Spiritual Body stage was the most effective for discerning human talent. Those with mediocre talent needed the help of elixirs to improve, while others, without the guidance of elders, would have to spend decades of painstaking effort.

But Wang Qi? He had never taken a single elixir since he started cultivating, yet his cultivation level could rival that of a true disciple of an ancient sect mentioned by Zhen Chanzi.

Is the mortal cultivation flow no longer popular? If my talent is heaven-defying and I have an old man in a ring, then by now, a fiancée should have shown up to break off our engagement! But the Wang family hasn't been prosperous for eighteen generations, so it's unlikely any second-rate family with some status would have betrothed their young lady to me. A marriage arranged in the womb? Heh, my mother, whom I never met, was a child bride bought by my father. How could there be any good friends who could conspire to sell off the future of their descendants?

But regardless of how Wang Qi complained inwardly about his cliché and unoriginal life, his path of cultivation began smoothly.

The old man in the ring sighed, "You have peerless talent, yet why are you so unwilling to work hard?"

The old man was slightly annoyed, "To achieve immortality, you can live as long as heaven and earth, move mountains and fill seas with a single hand, gain the admiration of thousands when you appear in public. If you are naturally compassionate and kind, you can save countless lives with a single thought; if you are bloodthirsty, you can kill ten men in ten steps and leave no trace for a thousand miles. In short, you can roam freely between heaven and earth..."

"Tch." The young man scoffed at the old man's words, "I've seen things your cultivators couldn't possibly believe..."

... Battleships burning on the edge of Orion; C-beams glittering in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate, all those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain... Wang Qi silently recited the lines from Blade Runner in his mind.

The old man, amused, retorted, "I have ascended Kunlun, visited Tianma, traveled down the Shun River and then upstream against the current, entered the Azure Nether, dived into the Nine Nether, and even ventured to the outer seas. What sight in this world have I not seen?"

What a provincial statement... Wang Qi thought. This is equivalent to an Earthling climbing Mount Everest, swimming in Guilin, traveling down the Yangtze River and then upstream against the Yellow River, followed by a plane ride and a dive into the Mariana Trench? Things that can be done with a little money and physical strength.

Old man, you want to talk to me about knowledge? You want to talk to me about experience? I have ventured between the farthest planets, I have witnessed the birth of black suns, I have seen all the dark energy that exists in the real world... Okay, that's Zeratul from StarCraft, but at least I've seen game CGs, right?

Wang Qi inwardly spat out a torrent of incomprehensible memes. Soon, he found it tiresome and stared blankly at the moon.

Seeing Wang Qi's demeanor, the old man in the ring sighed, "You have peerless talent, yet why are you so unwilling to work hard?"

"The two words I hate most in my life are 'effort' and 'come on'," Wang Qi said faintly. "I only want to do what I like. If it weren't for the promise of eternal life, I wouldn't bother cultivating."

The old man snorted, "You're already a teenager, why are you still like a child, thinking only of playing all day? Besides, once your cultivation is high, what can't you play with?"

Wang Qi retorted, "Do you know what I like to play?"

The old man said, "Tell me, what exactly do you like? Besides joking around, I haven't seen you have any hobbies."

Wang Qi was taken aback by the question. He looked at the full moon, lost in thought.

"Does that even need asking?" he finally said, looking up at the sky with a smile. "Isn't life all about living it to the fullest?"

Not far away, a young woman in red was looking in Wang Qi's direction. She spoke softly, "An unexpected situation. There's a worm here that has advanced to Qi Refining, Senior Brother."

A man's voice echoed from the void. "Be careful. What you're doing now involves a legendary mighty figure. Don't be careless."

The young woman shivered slightly, then asked, "Are we on the same side?"

"Hard to say." The man paused, then asked, "What do you mean by 'worm'?"

"What else could it be? A remnant of the ancient ways."

The man pondered for a moment. "Based on your findings... come back first. We'll switch to a gentler approach."