Chapter 2

Qin Ming felt a scorching heat throughout his body, as though his entire being were engulfed in flames. He couldn’t struggle, and even his soul trembled from the pain.

Was he dead?

But if he were dead, shouldn’t he be unable to feel pain? Did the fact that he could still feel pain mean he was alive?

His consciousness seemed able to clearly perceive the cells inside his body dying and regenerating, then dividing after regeneration. Amid this cycle of destruction and rebirth, he gradually regained his senses.

“Ah…” A faint groan escaped his lips.

“He’s still alive?”

Someone was speaking. The voice was indistinct, but he was certain it belonged to a child.

“Shh, be quiet. They’ll come back.”

Another child’s voice sounded softly beside his ear.

Qin Ming struggled to open his eyes, but everything was still pitch-black. Sensation had returned to his entire body, and the pain was so unbearable that he wanted to cry for his mother.

Was he dreaming? Those “meteors” had to be fake, right? He was still at home, wasn’t he?

“Hiss—” The moment he made a sound, someone covered his mouth. Something soft pressed against his lips. There was no unpleasant smell, only a faint, pleasant fragrance.

“Endure it. Don’t cry out.” The person pulled him up, wrapped an arm around his upper body, and warned him close to his ear, “If you don’t wish to be captured by the Giant Ghosts and taken to the Ghost Realm, then keep quiet!”

What were Giant Ghosts? And where was the Ghost Realm?

Qin Ming blinked, trying hard to adjust to the darkness. Finally, in the pitch-black surroundings, he could make out a little of what was around him.

He was inside a sealed cave. Something unknown had completely blocked the entrance, and about two meters away, a faintly glowing totem flickered in the darkness. Its weak light finally allowed him ​read the original at bailiantales.com​to see. Several children of different ages were sitting or lying around him. Including himself, there were thirteen people in total.

Where was this place? Why were so many children locked inside a cave with him?

Qin Ming gradually grew accustomed to the pain throughout his body. Once he’d recovered a little, he moved his arms and legs, intending to get up. However, the child beside him held him so tightly that he couldn’t move, leaving him no choice but to give up.

Suddenly, a thought occurred to him, and his heart jolted.

This wasn’t his body!

Otherwise, how could an eighteen-year-old guy who stood 1.8 meters tall be unable to overpower a child?

He quickly examined himself. His arms and legs were tiny and completely unfamiliar.

Suppressing his fear, Qin Ming tried to organize his thoughts.

He had been logging into the game with his newly purchased JX3 account when the power suddenly went ​unauthorized copy​out across his residential complex. Immediately afterward, a meteor shower began falling outside, and a flaming meteorite came hurtling toward him. He blacked out and lost consciousness. When he woke up again, he was already inside this dark cave, and his body had somehow shrunk, turning him back into a child.

If this wasn’t a dream, then he’d transmigrated!

How had such an overused cliché actually happened to him?

He had finally managed to get into his dream university and had spent three years’ worth of saved pocket money on a ridiculously expensive JX3 account. He hadn’t even gotten the chance to enjoy it before he transmigrated to this unfamiliar place, even ending up in a different body.

Could anyone be more unlucky? Boohoohoo—

Judging by the flickering totem at the cave entrance, he could conclude that this wasn’t a world governed solely by material laws.

What had the child holding him said earlier? Giant Ghosts? Ghost Realm?

Ghosts?

There were ghosts in this world?

Qin Ming, who had been too frightened to watch horror movies since childhood, trembled in fear. The child holding him assumed he was in pain again and gently soothed his frail little body.

Their breathing was so close that Qin Ming stiffened, his face filled with embarrassment.

Ever since he’d grown up, it had been a long time since he’d embraced anyone so intimately.

His transmigration had happened so suddenly that he still had no idea what was going on. Remaining silent was the smartest choice.

Breathing carefully, he tried his best to ignore the child holding him tightly and gradually calmed himself down.

Once he settled down, his hearing seemed to sharpen. Apart from the children’s soft breathing inside the cave, the most alarming sounds were the ghostly wails and howls coming from outside, occasionally accompanied by thunderous explosions resembling bombs going off.

Qin Ming had no idea what was happening outside. However, since these children were hiding in a cave with a defensive array set up at its entrance, there had to be people on their side fighting the Giant Ghosts outside.

Oh, and how did Qin Ming know that the glowing circle at the cave entrance was a defensive array?

As a gaming enthusiast, he was all too familiar with those glowing patterns.

With the cave entrance completely sealed and a defensive array protecting it, they were quite safe inside.

After a long while, the sounds outside gradually died down, and the noise of collapsing rocks came from the cave entrance.

The children were like startled birds, so frightened that they huddled together. If the child holding him hadn’t shielded him, Qin Ming probably would have been squashed into a pancake.

The rocks blocking the entrance collapsed rapidly. The defensive array’s glow faded and disappeared completely.

A beam of light shone through a small opening. Qin Ming instinctively curled into a ball. The little girls began sobbing softly, and despair appeared on everyone’s faces.

The enormous boulder blocking the entrance had finally fulfilled its purpose and crumbled into powder. The cave entrance opened wide, and dazzling light flooded the entire cavern.

The children’s eyes ached after growing accustomed to stolen contentthe darkness, yet none dared close their eyes at that moment.

When they saw a young man dressed in flowing white robes, holding a long sword and stepping heavily into the cave, the terrified children erupted into cheers.

“Immortal Master! It’s the Immortal Master!”

“The Immortal Master defeated the Giant Ghosts! The Immortal Master defeated the Giant Ghosts! Everyone, don’t be afraid!”

“Woohoohoo—”

“Waaahhh—”

The older children quickly ran up to the young man and knelt before him reverently, while the younger ones clung to one another and burst into loud sobs.

The child who had been holding Qin Ming calmly helped him to his feet, took his little hand, and led him toward the young man, who had the bearing of an immortal.

Immortal Master?

So this really was a cultivation world!

The pain in Qin Ming’s body had already disappeared, and he could move freely again. Still confused, he followed the child and stood before the young man.

After removing the seal, the young man had remained standing motionless at the cave entrance.

Once his eyes adjusted to the light, Qin Ming secretly examined him and was surprised to discover that blood was continuously dripping from the hand holding his sword.

“All of you, rise.” The young man’s voice was cold and devoid of warmth. “You are the foundation upon which the Qiongxian Sect shall grow. Although you have not formally entered the sect, you are already outer disciples awaiting admission. Cultivators do not fear ghosts or evil spirits, nor do they dread demons and monsters. They dare to challenge the heavens, contend with others, and battle demons. Life and death can be decided in a single moment. Only by striving to advance can one find a chance of survival amid danger.”

“Yes, Immortal Master.” The kneeling children looked ashamed as they rose one after another.

“You, come here.” The young man pointed at the child beside Qin Ming.

Only then did Qin Ming finally get a clear look at the other’s appearance.

He was a boy of about fourteen, with eyebrows as dark and elegant as ink paintings, phoenix-shaped eyes, a straight, finely shaped nose, and lips as red as vermilion. His black hair was tied up, with the rest falling to his waist. He wore an exquisite, luxurious robe of deep crimson-purple, and a white jade ornament shaped like a dragon hung from his waist, emphasizing his noble status.

With that bearing and attire, it was immediately obvious that he was a noble, possibly even a member of the imperial family.

Looking at himself, on the other hand, he wore coarse cloth garments and worn-out cloth shoes. His body was small, his limbs thin, and he looked thoroughly malnourished.

The corners of Qin Ming’s mouth drooped.

Being born into the right family really was a skill.

Meanwhile, the sword-wielding young man had already begun speaking with the seemingly royal boy.

“What is your name?”

“My surname is Feng, and my given name is Yan.” The boy’s reply was concise, and Read on BaiLianTaleshe remained neither servile nor arrogant before the Immortal Master.

Seeing how calm and composed he was, the young man considered for a moment before removing a cloth pouch from his waist and handing it to him.

“This is a basic storage pouch. It can be opened without divine sense. Inside are your guide tokens, several Fasting Pills, a few low-grade magical artifacts, and some sets of magical robes.”

Feng Yan respectfully accepted the storage pouch, silently attached it to his belt, and secured it with a tight knot.

“Although I have destroyed the Giant Ghosts, I am already at the end of my strength. I have no energy left to escort you to the Qiongxian Sect. The sect is not far from here. Travel together and continue southward. In a little over a month, you should reach the territory under the sect’s jurisdiction. Once you find a guide, you will be able to formally enter the sect.” The young man coughed several times, his breathing growing weaker.

“Immortal Master! What will happen to you, Immortal Master?” Hearing the immortal guide speak as though he were delivering his last words, the children were overcome with fear.

Although they possessed spiritual roots, they were still ordinary mortals, coming from every level of society. Some belonged to the imperial family, others were descendants of prestigious clans or wealthy households, but most were poor children from rural villages.

Half a month earlier, during the once-in-a-decade Spiritual Root Assessment, more than a hundred children with spiritual roots had been selected by immortals from the Qiongxian Sect. They severed their ties to the mortal world and set off for the sect.

The children, who had never experienced much of the [read the original at bailiantales.com]world, happily boarded the immortal’s flying treasure ship. Unexpectedly, halfway through their journey, they were intercepted by the notorious Giant Ghosts.

More than a dozen Giant Ghosts attacked the treasure ship together. The Immortal Master was no match for them, and after many of the promising young cultivators were killed, he decisively hid the remaining dozen or so children in a secluded cave and set up a defensive array. He then fought the Giant Ghosts in a desperate battle to the death.

Giant Ghosts were creatures formed when vicious, malevolent ghosts refused to dissipate, instead entering the path of ghost cultivation and joining forces with demons. They were not true demons, but they increased their cultivation by devouring cultivators. They were capable of infiltrating almost anywhere and often lurked along routes frequented by cultivators, ambushing and preying upon them.

The reason they had encountered the Giant Ghosts this time was precisely because of the once-in-a-decade Spiritual Root Selection. The major cultivation sects had dispatched disciples to the mortal world to select promising children with spiritual roots. After learning of this, the Giant Ghosts lay in ambush along the route to intercept the cultivators’ treasure ships.

“My cultivation foundation has been damaged. I fear I may be in danger of falling.” The young man spoke calmly, treating his own life and death with remarkable indifference.

The children exchanged helpless looks, unsure of what to do.

Feng Yan pulled Qin Ming closer and said to the other bewildered children, “Those who wish to go to the sect, follow me.”

Qin Ming followed him out of the cave. The other children respectfully bowed farewell to the Immortal Master before leaving one after another.

The young man paused to catch his breath, then waved his hand. The scattered stones on the [unauthorized copy]ground gathered together, reforming into an enormous boulder that instantly sealed the cave entrance.

A flash of golden light appeared as the young man used the last of his spiritual energy to establish a defensive array around the place where he would enter seclusion.