The Lan Bing caves were called so because of their appearance: cold and filled with spiritual mists, the caves looked like they were carved from blue ice. Though they were solid stone, they glittered transparently, causing warped shadows and reflections to flit this was and that in the corners of one's eyes. Footsteps rang out on the smooth floors like notes on an instrument, and echoed down the halls.
As soon as Lei Ruolan, Qiu Yunru, and that NPC disciple made it to the caves, Lei Ruolan stormed off without a word. Qiu Yunru sighed. The NPC disciple, a young man, apologetically bowed his head and ran off to find another section of the cave--who could blame him? Anyone with half an ounce of brains would run a hundred miles away to avoid getting in the middle of a messy situation like this!
It was true that Qiu Yunru like to be solitary--but to be solitary by choice! Mourning his abandonment, Qiu Yunru set out to find a certain cave.
It was well-known in the Spring Blossoms, Autumn Fruits community that there was always a way to tell which part of a spiritual cave held the thickest spiritual energy: the mists.
The less spiritual energy, the more glittery and thin the mist. The richer the spiritual energy, the more opaque and dull the mists became. It was a strange mechanism that the community had taken a few months to figure out and spread the word on. After all, wouldn't you expect a spiritually rich area to sparkle more? Wasn't it counterintuitive? But what could anyone do? The devs really did just want to make things harder for people for entertainment...
In search of this kind of thick, heavy mist, Qiu Yunru explored the cave for a long time. Winding passageways of glassy rock, large caverns that seemed to hum and glow, small alcoves with glittering walls...it was truly a beautiful place. If something like this had existed back in his past life, he surely would have wanted to come here. It was almost laughable--despite his inability to do intense physical activity, he had always longed to hike and explore natural monuments. It felt strange to wind through these caves now. He felt almost like he was cheating.
Well, he was cheating, in a certain context. No one from this world knew the ins and outs of this game like he did. Of course he had an unnatural advantage!
Eventually, the air started to grow chilly and oppressive. His breaths rose in clouds of white crystals, and the glowing cave walls grew darker and dimmer. The shimmer of the mist snaking through the passageways distinguished. Struggling in the dark, he stumbled into a large cavern.
This was surely it--the most spiritually rich location in the Lan Bing caves. If this wasn't...Well, he really didn't know if he could handle any more than this. He'd probably freeze to death!
He sat down on a slab of glassy blue rock in the center of the cavern. Every shift of his robes echoed all around, giving the impression of whispers. A shiver crawled down his spine. What an oppressive, creepy place...
However, he couldn't spend long considering the eeriness of his surroundings.
Foundation Establishment disciples were slated with two months only for cultivation in seclusion. Though it sounded like a long time, it really wasn't long at all. If he wanted to rapidly increase his cultivation points, he needed to start immediately.
Besides, there was no need to worry about the setting. He was safe--spiritual caves on the grounds of cultivation sects rarely ever had any bosses or other creatures lurking, as they often had been cleared out by the sect masters for safety. Qiu Yunru quickly sat upright and closed his eyes, sinking into meditation.
It was a long time before a cold sensation prickled the back of his neck--cold enough to wake him from his meditative state!
Qiu Yunru opened his eyes. What was this? Had the mist crystallized? Had the cavern grown too cold for his body? Had his skin frozen? Leisurely, he turned around, and promptly shrieked.
"WHAT THE HELL?" He yelped, falling backwards off the platform and hitting his head. After scrambling to his knees and regaining his blurry vision, Qiu Yunru stared in terror at the thing in front of him. Perhaps a better word would be, the corpse:
Floating in the air and seeming to stare right at him was a drowned corpse. He could tell it was drowned by the bloating and sloughing of its skin. The skin was practically falling off this corpse's muscles and bones like clay, hanging in waterlogged flaps. Its hair was wet and dripping, its face white--somehow swollen and gaunt at the same time. It stared at him with two milky white eyes and an open, rotting mouth, head tilted to the side.
Qiu Yunru thought he might throw up. The only reason he didn't was because he was afraid of turning his back to this thing.
Why didn't he just throw up facing it? Well, he was terrified of losing Reputation Points! Who knew how many points he'd lose if a drowned corpse saw him throw up in horror? It wasn't possible to throw up in the base game, so of course he was worried he might be penalized an exorbitant amount! Also, he was, ahem, far too embarrassed.
Qiu Yunru crawled backwards on the cavern floor. He was very slow. Perhaps if he moved slowly enough, this thing wouldn't notice? It seemed to be blind, after all. If he was quiet...
He nearly shrieked again. For every foot he slid backwards, the drowned corpse floated forwards! What the hell was he supposed to do here?! Quest marker, anyone? Quest marker?!
As if answering his cries, a green quest marker appeared in front of him: EASY LEVEL: Learn her story! Good luck :>
Qiu Yunru couldn't care less about that damn smiley face at the end right now. He accepted the quest frantically, his body relaxing a little at the easy level. If it had been a red marker, he would be royally fucked! This thing would probably lunge at him right away and eat him down to the bone!
Now that he was a little calmer, he noticed one or two things about the drowned corpse.
First, it didn't seem to be surrounded by a vengeful energy. Vengeful energy and resentment were the hallmarks of dangerous ghosts and undead. Despite its terrible appearance, this corpse didn't seem to have an intent of violence at all. Second, he noticed what he'd thought before, but hadn't been able to confirm: the corpse was followed by wisps of thick, cold ghost qi. This was a drowned corpse ghost!