Strange Tales and Amazing Events (Part Two)
Lin Shi found herself on the vast grassland. She watched as the mindless animals, such as cattle, sheep, tigers, and leopards, passed by her, while she herself walked slowly forward without looking to the side.
Lin Shi didn't use her divine sense to explore ahead. Her gaze followed, and as far as the eye could see, the undulating green waves of grass stretched to the horizon, merging seamlessly with the azure sky, making the boundary between heaven and earth almost indistinguishable. A gentle breeze stirred, and the lush green blades danced joyfully, wave after wave, like ocean waves, or a group of green-clad sprites frolicking freely. Hidden among the ordinary green grass, a verdant grass spirit loudly berated its equally verdant companion, accusing it of "neglecting cultivation and being utterly stupid." They didn't even notice the cultivator passing by.
Lin Shi quietly walked past the arguing grass spirit couple. Beneath her feet was thick, springy grass, and her nostrils were filled with the fresh, unique scent of grass, mingled with the fragrance of earth and the faint sweetness of wildflowers. Colorful wildflowers were scattered among the grass, some as red as fire, some as pink as the sunset, some as white as snow, and some as purple as brocade. Some bloomed in clusters, vying for attention, while others stood alone, proudly independent. A wildflower spirit, possessing sentience, mingled among the mindless wildflowers, shamelessly rolling its eyes and muttering complaints, "So crowded!"
Not far away, a winding stream flowed quietly. The water was crystal clear, and through the surface, one could clearly see the smooth pebbles on the bottom and several small fish swimming freely. The little fish spirit, who had gained sentience, deliberately bumped away its mindless fellow fish, but the mindless fish, with their bright black eyes, swam back without hesitation, returning to the little fish spirit's side. They nuzzled its body with their gills, managing to make the little fish's eyes go from rolling back in surprise to smiling.
Lush aquatic plants grew along the riverbank, swaying gracefully in the wind. A sentient aquatic plant spirit loudly mocked the little fish spirit, calling it a "proud little sick fish!" As soon as the aquatic plant spirit finished speaking, the little fish spirit leaped out of the water, trying to bite the aquatic plant spirit's leaves. Once it bit into a leaf, it wouldn't let go, prompting the aquatic plant spirit to hurl insults for a long time.
Lin Shi continued along the winding path, regardless of day or night. Gradually, the ground beneath her feet became hard and rough, and the vegetation grew sparser and shorter. She traversed the vast grassland in no time and entered the Gobi Desert. All she could see were exposed rocks and jagged cliffs. A howling wind whipped up clouds of yellow sand, which slammed against the spiritual energy shield surrounding her, only to slide off in vain. A group of sand beasts huddled behind large rocks, trembling and pleading with the human cultivator not to discover them and to leave quickly.
Lin Shi continued her trek, feeling the intense heat of the air, and then an endless desert came into view. Golden sand dunes stretched endlessly, reflecting a dazzling light under the sun, making it difficult to open one's eyes. A gust of wind swept in, swirling sand and dust, and then Lin Shi swiftly used her spiritual power to wrap a rabbit spirit into a dumpling and grasp it in her hand. The rabbit spirit's eyes immediately turned red, and tears streamed down its face like rain.
Lin Shi raised an eyebrow, put the rabbit spirit in her hand on the ground, and then watched its body slowly grow larger, eventually turning into a handsome young man sitting on the ground with naked clothes, staring at her with bloodshot eyes.
"You're hurting me!" the rabbit-spirit boy complained in a clear, youthful voice. Tears were still streaming down his cheeks, forming a string of pearls.
"Sorry! I was a little too rough." Lin Shi apologized immediately, with a faint smile in her eyes. She bent down and handed a healing and pain-relieving pill to the boy sitting on the ground, but kept her gaze fixed on his eyes to avoid looking where she shouldn't.
"I forgive you!" Upon hearing this, the rabbit spirit boy stopped crying. He took the pill, curiously put it in his mouth, and after a moment let out a "Huh?" and his eyes lit up. He suddenly sat up. After he stood up, he was covered by an exquisite white robe.
The rabbit spirit asked with bright eyes, "Would you like to come to my cave? You can teach me alchemy and give me cultivation techniques, and I'll exchange them for useful cultivation materials for you." He gently tugged at Lin Shi's sleeve and shook it. He appeared to be a very young and inexperienced rabbit spirit boy.
Lin Shi glanced at the rabbit spirit boy, who was shorter than her, tugging at her sleeve, raised an eyebrow, and tentatively asked, "Aren't you worried that I'll kill you later and take your treasure?"
Upon hearing this, the rabbit spirit boy raised his chin, looked directly at Lin Shi, and said proudly and confidently, "Don't be afraid. My elders are all Golden Core cultivators, and they are all nearby. If you kill me, you won't escape. Even if my elders can't kill you, the Heavenly Dao of our small world will kill you."
Lin Shi nodded and said, "Alright, then I'll come and bother you at your cave for a few days!"
Lin Shi then followed the rabbit spirit boy back to his cave for a few days, where he exchanged a large amount of rare cultivation resources before setting off again to continue his journey.
Lin Shi traveled across the desert for several more days until one day she suddenly saw a patch of green ahead. As she approached, she discovered it was an oasis. In the center of the oasis was a large lake. Lush trees and vegetation surrounded a crystal-clear lake, its surface shimmering and reflecting the blue sky, white clouds, and verdant foliage. Along the lake's edge, colorful flowers bloomed in profusion, swaying in the breeze and attracting bees, butterflies, and birds to dance among the blossoms.
"Who goes there?" Before Lin Shi even got close to the lake, the lake-guarding grass and the lake-guarding beast, which had come to possess sentience, shouted and attempted to attack.
Lin Shi stopped in time and said, "I'm just a cultivator passing by. I'd like to stay by the lake for a few days before leaving."
Seeing that Lin Shi possessed no murderous aura, the lake-protecting grass and beasts allowed her to approach the lakeside, where she stayed for several days. Lin Shi learned that the willow and poplar spirits by the lake were Golden Core stage music cultivators, skilled in various musical instruments and possessing vast knowledge. The pink-clad peach blossom spirit enjoyed playing a disappearing act, appearing and disappearing from a branch, and lured passing cultivators into pretending to be in love with them, often slapping any who tried to take the act seriously to the ground. The black fish spirit in the lake was honest, but was rumored to be a troublemaker who ate people and caused chaos. The mermaid, who wept tears that turned into pearls to repay her benefactors, liked to exchange cultivation resources with cultivators from other races, but if the other party took even a little more, she would slap them and rob them of all their possessions.
The most interesting and noisy creature was the carp spirit in the lake.
"Carp spirit, do you need to leap over the Dragon Gate?" Lin Shi squatted by the lake, looking at the carp spirit in the water who was watching her, and asked curiously.
"What is leaping over the dragon gate?" the carp spirit asked softly in a sweet, girlish voice, spitting out bubbles from its mouth.
"There is a legend in the mortal world that if a carp can leap over the Dragon Gate, it will transform into a real dragon."
"Mortals are all idiots! I'm a carp, not a dragon, how can I transform? We're different species, how can I transform? Even if I wanted to transform, I could only become human at most, and I would have to cultivate for many, many years. How could I possibly become a dragon?" When the carp spirit was asked about the "carp leaping over the dragon gate," her gentle girl's voice turned into a volatile adult female voice, frantically complaining and insulting.
Lin Shi listened quietly to the carp spirit's rant until she finished venting.
After the carp spirit finished her rant, she remained quiet for a while, then gazed intently at Lin Shi's beautiful reflection in the water with her small eyes. She couldn't help but sigh, "Lin Shi, you're quite different from other human cultivators and demons! You don't kill indiscriminately, you listen to me attentively, and chatting with you is very interesting. If only you could stay in the Lie Tian Small World!" After she finished speaking, she gave Lin Shi a few scales that she had shed herself and that could be used for refining weapons.
Lin Shi accepted the scales from the carp spirit, said "thank you," and then rummaged through her storage ring for a suitable gift for the little carp spirit. Hesitating among several gifts, she displayed them all to the carp spirit, letting her choose an equivalent return gift, thus resolving their karmic ties promptly and without any debts owed to each other.
The carp spirit selected its favorite gift from the displayed offerings, then returned to the water, its bright black eyes gazing quietly at Lin Shi. The other spirits by the lake had already exchanged cultivation resources with Lin Shi.
Seeing that the carp spirit was staring intently at him, Lin Shi couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong?"
The carp spirit replied somewhat dejectedly, "The Heavenly Dao of our small world will perish in a few decades. Why don't you stay in the Lie Tian Small World and see if there's a chance to compete for the old Heavenly Dao and become the new Heavenly Dao of our small world? That way, you can directly join the ranks of immortals, obtain godhood, and avoid continuing on the arduous path of cultivation!"
Hearing this, Lin Shi became genuinely curious. She asked, "Why do you think I have a chance to become the new Heavenly Dao of the Lie Tian Minor World?"
The carp spirit tilted its head slightly and said innocently, "Because your soul is white with golden light of merit, and you have already successfully passed many, many of the fifty levels of cultivation."
The content of the fifty levels of cultivation flashed through Lin Shi's mind in an instant.
Lin Shi frowned slightly, but then relaxed. She calmly replied, "But many cultivators have already passed most of the fifty stages of cultivation. I have nothing special about me."
Seeing Lin Shi's skeptical look, the carp spirit also became a little doubtful, but she quickly gave up on her doubts. She said, "Then I don't know, but that's what our racial talent and intuition tell me. You have the potential to become the new Heavenly Dao of our small world."
Lin Shi stopped worrying about it. She said, "Perhaps." But she knew in her heart that this was unlikely to happen. Deep down, she still hoped to return to the Yuan Shu Realm, then strive to ascend to the Hong Chuan Realm, and finally, she wanted to ascend to the Zhong Tian Realm.
In the following days, Lin Shi bid farewell to the spirits near the oasis lake and headed towards the ocean. During her journey, she also found a secluded cave and learned how to transform the small spiritual realm into the shape of a painting or a mirror. She also learned how to refine various new formations and mirror-shaped magical artifacts, such as the Immortal Autumn Water Mirror, and so on.
Lin Shi's state of mind has also improved a lot. The only golden core in his dantian has also improved his cultivation to the perfect stage. He can advance to the Nascent Soul stage at any time and ascend to the upper realm.
Lin Shi realized that everything in the world has its own laws, and one should not easily go against them! If one insists on taking a challenge, one will face a cruel test. Just like a cultivator who advances to the next level of cultivation usually faces the baptism of lightning tribulation.
The Heavenly Tribulation is first and foremost a check by the Heavenly Dao on those who "break the rules," namely, cultivators. Mortals, through cultivation, absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, reversing the natural order of life and death (such as prolonging life, increasing power, and seeking immortality), essentially challenging the laws of Heaven. The Heavenly Dao uses the Heavenly Tribulation to judge those cultivators who seek immortality, informing them that any acquisition of power beyond the mortal realm requires paying an equivalent price of risk. Furthermore, the intensity of the Heavenly Tribulation is directly related to the karma accumulated by the cultivator. Cultivators who indiscriminately kill the innocent, plunder resources, and stray from their true nature, even if they reach a certain level, will incur more severe divine retribution; conversely, those who care for all living beings and accumulate virtue, while experiencing the same trials, may find it easier to escape danger due to the blessings of their merits. This proves that spiritual energy itself is neither good nor evil, but the user determines whether it will develop in a good or evil direction, and the Heavenly Dao plays the role of judge in this process.
The tribulation of heavenly lightning is both a test and a punishment, as well as a gift. The excruciating pain and rebirth that a mortal body must endure when facing the bombardment of heavenly lightning is a dual tempering of body and spirit. While the external lightning tears at the meridians and scorches the flesh, it also forces the cultivator to mobilize all their potential to repair the wounds and rebuild life. Meanwhile, the internal fear, obsessions, and distracting thoughts, teetering on the brink of life and death, force the cultivator to grow stronger and more resolute. If the cultivator's will is not firm enough, even if the physical body withstands the tempering of the tribulation of heavenly lightning, the primordial spirit may perish due to the collapse of the Dao heart. The chaotic energy and Yin-Yang power contained in heavenly lightning are rare treasures. Only by letting go of resistance and accepting the impact with an open mind can one use the power of heaven and earth to achieve sublimation and attain the goal of immortality.
As Lin Shi walked, he was lost in thought, and soon he arrived at the seaside of the Lie Tian Small World.
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