Portable Space

She flipped through the parchment again. There was no explanation that it could absorb all kinds of spiritual energy; it was simply that after entering the Qi Refinement First Layer, the characters on the parchment seemed much clearer.

As she studied them carefully, the characters circled within her mind, gradually forming phantom images. The phantoms seemed to be explaining something, and in an instant, she understood their meaning.

A look of delight rose to her face. She gripped the parchment tightly with both hands, faint excitement stirring within her.

Still, if she encountered unfamiliar runes again in the future, she would not be able to understand their meaning instantly. She would still need systematic study.

But if they were ordinary runes, she could understand them.

She folded up the parchment and put it away. After all, it was the first fortuitous opportunity she had gained after arriving in this strange place, and it had even allowed her to formally step onto the path of cultivation. Naturally, it held extraordinary significance.

It was only that her Spiritual Roots were mixed. She did not know how far she could cultivate.

She sighed, raised her head at a forty-five-degree angle, and gazed up at the sky.

Looking at the dazzling sunlight filtering through the gaps between the leaves, she raised a hand slightly to block it. Her fingertips carried a faint, gentle green glow.

Suddenly, the mole on the back of her hand flickered several times beneath the sunlight. She blinked and brought her hand close to her eyes, examining it carefully. Had her eyes just played tricks on her?

She seemed to have seen the mole flicker a few times. Confusion entered her expression, and she could not help rubbing it lightly with her other hand. When had this mole appeared on her hand?

Could it be different somehow? She placed her hand beneath the sunlight again, only to see that the mole remained completely motionless. Then inspiration struck, and a green radiance gradually appeared over her hand.

As the light tightly enveloped her hand, the mole slowly turned red. A sharp pain suddenly shot through her, and Jiang Lu vanished from where she stood.

When she opened her eyes, she found herself in another space. It was vast and boundless, with no end in sight, yet there was nothing within it at all—utterly empty.

She turned around and saw a courtyard behind her. She froze briefly, hesitated for a moment, then stepped inside. When her toes touched the restriction at the courtyard gate, something above the courtyard seemed to sway.

Pushing open the door, she saw a small spring in the courtyard, with a stone table and two stone stools beside it.

Though puzzled as to why there was nothing else within the courtyard, she still walked in.

The instant she entered, the courtyard disappeared.

Other than the spring, stone table, and stone stools, the entire space was empty. Without further thought, she caught sight of something on the table and immediately walked over.

Only then did she learn what this place was.

This was a Space Fragment. After a great world perished for some reason, fragments of its World Consciousness would scatter everywhere. If a spatial mage acquired one, they could turn it into a space.

The storage rings, storage bracelets, and storage bags commonly used by cultivators all contained the energy of such Space Fragments.

When she had traveled through time and space, she had come into contact with this Space Fragment by chance. Perhaps due to time and space itself, perhaps because of her soul, the Space Fragment had directly fused with her soul and formed a mole on her hand.

Looking at her hand, she realized that perhaps this Space Fragment had played a part in allowing her to survive and travel here.

The condition for opening the space was to infuse it with spiritual power. She had just done so, and had successfully opened the space.

Looking down, she saw that the mole on her hand had indeed vanished completely.

The space was completely bound to her soul. So long as her soul remained intact, she would be able to enter it at any time in the future.

A Space Fragment was originally the consciousness of a perished world. All living beings within it had vanished together, but it carried the World Consciousness, which had transformed its last trace of energy into the space's current form.

Looking at the desolation around her, she did not feel disappointed. Given the rarity of Space Fragments, she had already stumbled upon an enormous bargain. What was more, she could enter it whenever she wished. Without a doubt, it gave her a layer of protection.

Still, the principle that possessing a jade ring brought guilt was carved into her bones. If she entered the space, she would have to be extremely careful.

She placed the parchment on the table, and with a thought, she left the space.

Then she frowned slightly and looked around. After coming out of the space, she felt that the aura surrounding her body had changed compared to before.

And she seemed to possess some kind of perception—the so-called sixth sense—which appeared to be related to this. Though she did not know its use, it would bring her nothing but benefits.

Cultivators who had entered the Qi Refinement stage generally no longer ate mortal food. It contained too many impurities and would affect cultivation. Still, now that she had relaxed, her mouth could not help feeling hungry.

Now that she had spiritual power, even if she was only at the Qi Refinement First Layer, it would be enough to ensure that she would not go hungry in the future.

This dense forest lay on the outskirts beyond West River City. Spiritual energy was thin here, and naturally there were no high-level demonic beasts. As she walked through the forest, she did not need to worry too much, so long as she remained cautious.

Though she had entered the Qi Refinement stage, she had no cultivation method, no martial technique, and no magical artifact. The road of immortality was long and burdensome.

As Jiang Lu walked, she observed her surroundings. Suddenly, she heard an angry shout in the distance, and her steps halted.

Her body swiftly darted into hiding. Shielded by a tree trunk and concealed by bushes, she saw a battle between a man and a beast in the distance.

At that moment, she was shocked that she could see so clearly from such a great distance and even hear the finer sounds. This was the benefit cultivation brought.

Looking carefully, it seemed that the two sides were evenly matched. Neither had managed to suppress the other.

Suddenly, her ear twitched. She turned slightly and looked in another direction. Something was coming from there.

She looked at the towering tree trunk, pressed her lips together, and carefully climbed up without making the slightest sound. Just as she crouched on the branch, she saw what had come from the other direction.

It was another demonic beast. From its appearance, it was of the same kind as the beast fighting below.

The battling demonic beast stared at the newcomer with scarlet eyes and let out a roar.

"Awoo—"

The fur on the other demonic beast immediately stood on end. It was a sign of battle.

Seeing this, the cultivator's hand trembled slightly. He was only at the Qi Refinement Second Layer. The earlier fight had already consumed much of his spiritual power, and now another beast had appeared—one that seemed far stronger than the first. He had no chance of winning.

His legs staggered. He flung a streak of red spiritual power at the beast he had been fighting, then turned and fled.

The demonic beast leaped aside and dodged the attack. Then it bared its fangs, lowered its body, and lunged at him.

The other demonic beast saw this and immediately gave chase. He could not escape, and the second beast swiftly bit down on his neck. His body went limp in an instant.

Just as Jiang Lu thought they would leave, the other demonic beast opened its mouth, bit off the items he wore, and tossed them aside.

Then it flung the corpse to the ground. The two beasts lay down and began to divide the flesh between them, blood flowing everywhere.

Her eyes widened, and she immediately turned her head away. Her pupils contracted slightly and her body trembled, but she gripped the tree trunk tightly, biting down on her lips and not daring to make a sound.

Her eyes slowly reddened. Two streams of tears slid down her cheeks and fell.