Chapter 004
Chapter 4: Unspoken Nurture
Jade Void City.
Having just broken through to the golden core stage without yet mastering sword flight, Shi Zi Chu could only use a teleportation talisman. She appeared at the city gate and walked inward.
Inside the storage ring that Xing Lan had given her, there were many resources—spirit stones, magic artifacts, talismans, spirit pills, and even several simple dresses suited for traveling. Among all these resources, the most notable was the entire bottle of sixth rank rejuvenation pills.
She had only just given away one rejuvenation pill when she received an entire bottle—ten pills in total! Shi Zi Chu didn’t know how Xing Lan treated other personal disciples, but as for her, Xing Lan had always been generous… no, wait!
Something seemed to occur to her, and Shi Zi Chu narrowed her eyes.
In her previous life, her soul had been trapped by that wretched system, and she could only helplessly watch as it manipulated her body into all sorts of mischief, leading her to her own demise.
Once, the female villain system had controlled her body to try to seduce Xing Lan, but as the system intended, Xing Lan remained unmoved and punished her harshly. Yet, when she took matters into her own hands and drugged him, she succeeded?
Could it be… Xing Lan had seen through her?
This was not something she could easily ask about. Suppressing her thoughts, Shi Zi Chu walked into the Hundred Treasures Pavilion.
The pavilion was bustling with activity, but as Shi Zi Chu entered, the room fell silent for a moment. Awed gazes and quiet gasps followed.
Her flawless porcelain-like skin and striking features stood out even in a world full of beautiful women. Her eyes, clear and sparkling like peach blossoms, glimmered with an alluring charm, especially with the slight upturn at the corners. The white, neat cross-collared dress she wore emphasized her slender, tall figure, and the jade pendant at her waist along with the disciple token of Jade Void Sect added to her elegance. Her long hair, cascading like a waterfall, was loosely styled with a few simple pins.
In a world brimming with beauty, Shi Zi Chu’s radiance still managed to astonish all who saw her.
As Shi Zi Chu followed a maid to the second floor to shop, whispers filled the hall below.
“Where did this beauty come from?”
“Did you see her disciple token? That’s the personal disciple token of Rising Succession Peak at Jade Void Sect. She must be Shi Zi Chu.”
“Shi Zi Chu? She’s infamous!”
“Looking at her face, I think there’s more to the story.”
“She must have her reasons!”
…
Not long after, Shi Zi Chu returned with her purchases.
As many people gazed after her elegant figure, entranced, she left Jade Void City without lingering. Using another teleportation talisman, she arrived at the Celestial Grace Mountain Range.
Recalling the plot points that the female villain system had shared with her, Shi Zi Chu began her search with purpose.
Two days later, she finally found the entrance to the cave, almost hidden by thick vines.
This was the place where Chu Zhi Rou had separated from her senior brothers while fleeing danger during her trials.
It was here that Chu Zhi Rou had accidentally discovered a spatial storage ring!
The countless heavenly treasures inside that ring not only helped Chu Zhi Rou win over the favored sons of heaven but also solved many of her cultivation needs along the way. Heavenly treasures had no owner—whoever found them first could claim them as their own!
Without hesitation, Shi Zi Chu parted the vines and stepped inside.
The cave was dark, and she carefully made her way down the tunnel.
After about an hour, the passage opened up into a large cavern. Inside, several old wooden boxes were scattered about. Cautious, Shi Zi Chu formed a hand seal, sending a stream of water to lift the boxes.
Once she confirmed there was no danger, she approached and began searching.
The system had once boastfully described Chu Zhi Rou’s legendary life, but it had glossed over the details of this golden finger, leaving Shi Zi Chu unsure of what it truly entailed.
After rummaging for about a quarter of an hour, she felt something ancient—a finely crafted silver ring—inside a decrepit box.
Her slender fingers, soft and pale, held the dusty ring, and for a moment, a look of hesitation crossed her beautiful face.
This… was simple. So simple, in fact, that it seemed completely unremarkable.
Could it be a fake?
After some contemplation, Shi Zi Chu pressed a drop of blood onto the ring.
In the next moment, a flash of white light burst forth.
When the light faded, Shi Zi Chu was no longer in the cavern.
A thick spiritual energy surrounded her, forming a light mist. Ahead of her, a spirit spring bubbled with clear water, and the ground was scattered with colorful spirit stones.
This… was it an artifact?!
A spatial storage ring capable of holding living creatures could only belong to an artifact!
Shi Zi Chu’s pupils contracted as she sensed a deep connection between herself and this space!
Her astonishment soon turned to fiery determination.
No wonder the female villain system had said this spatial storage ring was Chu Zhi Rou’s greatest golden finger!
“Master.” The artifact spirit, sensing Shi Zi Chu’s preferences, transformed into a fluffy white cat.
Shi Zi Chu extended her hand, and the white cat obediently floated into her arms.
In that moment, Shi Zi Chu upgraded her previous soul contract to a master-servant soul contract.
The soul contract engraved deep into her soul, and Shi Zi Chu nodded with satisfaction.
From then on, this spatial storage ring would forever belong to Shi Zi Chu!
“I feel an unusual power from the master.” Through the master-servant soul contract, the white cat sensed a powerful force within Shi Zi Chu’s spiritual sense.
The soft, cute voice of the white cat became serious. “This power is unknown, I suggest the master refine and absorb it.”
Shi Zi Chu pulled out the light orb from her spiritual sense and held the essence of the female villain system.
Hearing the system cry out in protest, Shi Zi Chu spoke calmly, “Xue Gu, do you have a way to soul contract it, to enslave it?”
This system knew far too much; she needed its knowledge to locate the heavenly treasures to help her grow stronger!
Xue Gu, now named, happily mewed. “I have a way to soul contract it. Once I do, it won’t betray the master!”
“Good.”
Xue Gu leapt from Shi Zi Chu’s arms.
White light flared, and the system, attempting to resist the master-servant soul contract, failed!
With the contract sealed, the light orb was forcibly transformed into a small dog.
Shi Zi Chu felt the master-servant soul contract form between her and the female villain system.
She was the master, and the system was the servant.
After kicking the little dog away, Shi Zi Chu, holding Xue Gu, began to explore the space.
The white cat, nestled in her arms, began to introduce the space.
Several pavilions stood within this space, each housing cultivation methods, magic artifacts, spirit pills, and talismans.
Shi Zi Chu walked toward the nearest pavilion, stepping over the spirit stones scattered on the ground.
As she approached, the heavy doors slowly opened.
Inside, shelves filled with cultivation methods greeted her.
“Master, this is where the cultivation methods are stored, across three floors,” Xue Gu explained. “The first floor contains heaven-ranked methods, the second floor contains immortal-ranked methods, and the third floor contains god-ranked methods.”
Cultivation methods were ranked by Yellow, Xuan, Earth, Heaven, Immortal, and God. The higher the rank, the rarer the method.
The first floor alone contained several thousand books, and these were all heaven-ranked methods?!
Heaven-ranked cultivation methods were priceless—rumor had it that a single book could fetch tens of millions of spirit stones at an auction.
Shi Zi Chu gasped.
This wasn’t even a case of getting rich overnight!
Xue Gu’s soft voice rang out. “Master can go up and take a look. There are a few god-ranked water element techniques on the third floor suitable for you.”
Shi Zi Chu nodded.
Water element cultivators were often treated as furnace cauldrons, and many talents in this path perished before they could fully mature, which meant there were few great powers among water element cultivators. As a result, water element techniques were much rarer than those of other elements.
Even Xing Lan had only managed to acquire an Earth-ranked water technique.
Now, this spatial storage ring had solved her urgent need for a good cultivation method.
Shi Zi Chu ascended to the third floor and quickly selected a technique titled Silent Nourishment from the shelf.
This technique required a powerful spiritual sense and soul sea, making it tailor-made for Shi Zi Chu!