Bursting through the familiar yet dilapidated mountain gate, Jiang Ling made a beeline for the Sect Master's Hall.
He set Jincancan down on a tattered rush cushion lined with a bit of hay. Without even pausing to catch his breath, he immediately pulled the formation disk—radiating an aura of ancient weight—out of his system storage.
Neither gold nor jade, the disk was a deep imperial yellow, covered in countless dizzyingly intricate runes. Faint dragon patterns coiled across its surface, exuding a majestic pressure that seemed capable of holding mountains and rivers in check.
Merely clutching it in his hand filled Jiang Ling with a reassuring sense of power.
"Treasure! Everything depends on you now!"
Following the simple activation method the system had implanted in his mind, Jiang Ling slammed the disk hard against the stone floor at the center of the hall.
Hum!!!
A deep, resonant hum, as if rising from the very bowels of the earth, exploded outward from Jiang Ling in an instant, sweeping across the entire peak of Primordial Beginning Mountain.
The mountain beneath his feet shook violently!
An immense, boundless power—vast and ancient beyond description—suddenly stirred, like a dragon that had slumbered for ten thousand ages awakening with a roar.
An invisible wave rippled outward, washing over the hall's crumbling walls, the desolate training grounds, the overgrown back hills…
In the blink of an eye, the entire mountain peak was shrouded in a thin, almost transparent veil of imperial yellow light!
The light shimmered, with faint dragon phantoms winding and twisting across its surface, emanating an aura of invulnerable, eternal might.
The air atop the peak seemed to solidify, growing thick and heavy with suppressed energy.
The faint roars of beasts from outside were instantly muffled by more than half, leaving only a comforting silence in their wake.
The Nine Heavens Earth Dragon Guarding Array—activated!
An unprecedented sense of security surged over Jiang Ling like a warm tide, yanking him back from the abyss of despair.
"Hahaha! It worked! My precious disciple, you're truly my lucky star!"
Looking at Jincancan, who was staring up at him with wide, clueless eyes, Jiang Ling grinned from ear to ear.
"Cheep?"
A flicker of shock crossed Jincancan's glazed eyes.
If it wasn't mistaken… that was a celestial array?!
How could a celestial array possibly exist in the mortal realm?
Had it messed up its nirvana ritual, slept too long, and somehow stumbled into the immortal realm by accident?
Jiang Ling paid no heed to his disciple's bizarre reaction.
He laughed until his sides hurt, then collapsed onto the ground, savoring this rare moment of peace.
But the moment was shattered by a loud, rumbling growl from his stomach.
Hungry!
Starving, in fact!
The earlier terror and mad dash had drained every last ounce of his strength.
He glanced down at Jincancan, who was looking equally listless on the cushion, its tiny belly sunken in, its black bean eyes fixed on him (in truth, filled with utter disbelief).
"Tsk, almost forgot my promise of 'endless food'…"
Jiang Ling let out a bitter chuckle and struggled to his feet.
On his very first day as a master, he couldn't very well let his founding disciple starve to death, could he?
Besides, this little chick was his savior!
Bending down, he reached into the tattered inner lining of his servant's robe with incomparable solemnity, and after digging around for a good while, pulled out a few dried, rock-hard grains of brown rice.
These precious grains were his last resort—something he'd saved to suck on when hunger became truly unbearable, just to stay alive.
Holding them as if they were rare immortal pills, Jiang Ling offered them reverently to the chick. His voice, heavy with supreme dignity and boundless hope, rang out:
"Disciple! These are a few morsels of Dao Foundation Essence, condensed by your master using supreme immortal power, forged from the essence of heaven and earth, the spirit of the sun and moon! Today, I bestow them upon you, to help you lay the unshakable foundation of your path to immortality! Eat them!"
Jincancan stared at the few stale-smelling grains of brown rice, its tiny eyes filled with unbridled disgust.
Dao Foundation Essence, my foot! Does this mortal really think I'm blind?
But a sharp pang of hunger shot through its empty belly. After a moment's hesitation, it leaned forward and pecked at the grains with its soft yellow beak.
The rice disappeared into its mouth in the blink of an eye.
[Ding! Detected host gifting item to disciple: 5 grains of brown rice.]
[Ten-Thousandfold Reimbursement Triggered! Reward: 500 jin of Low-Grade Spiritual Rice. Deposited into system storage!]
Jiang Ling's consciousness dove straight into his system space.
There, in the corner of the once-empty void, stood five bulging sacks!
Each sack exuded a rich, fresh aroma of rice—far more fragrant than any ordinary grain.
The Ten-Thousandfold Reimbursement was real!
"Hahahaha! I, Jiang Ling, am truly destined for immortality! My good disciple, I swear I'll lead you to attain eternal life! Hahaha!"
Unable to contain his joy any longer, Jiang Ling shot to his feet, planted one hand on his hip, stroked his chin (as if he had a long beard to stroke), and let out a triumphant roar at the newly risen stars and moon.
He turned to look at Jincancan, who was still pecking at the crumbs of brown rice on the cushion, his eyes blazing with fiery enthusiasm.
This wasn't just a chick!
This was a golden rooster that laid golden eggs!
No—far more precious than a golden egg-laying rooster! A thousand times more precious! A ten-thousand times more precious!
"Slow down, disciple! Eat as much as you want! There's plenty more where that came from! Always will be!"
Gently scooping Jincancan up in his hands, Jiang Ling brushed all the remaining rice crumbs into a relatively clean chipped bowl. Then, he darted a hand into the system space and grabbed a handful of gleaming, jade-like Low-Grade Spiritual Rice, placing it in another bowl and pushing it toward Jincancan.
"Here, try this! A rare delicacy your master just acquired!"
Jincancan's eyes lit up. It hopped over to the bowl of spiritual rice, sniffed it with its tiny nose, and its black bean eyes sparkled with delight!
Without a second thought, it abandoned the brown rice crumbs and dove headfirst into the spiritual rice, pecking away at a furious pace. Its tiny body trembled slightly with joy, its fluffy yellow down seeming to grow even brighter and softer in the process.
Watching Jincancan feast so happily made Jiang Ling's stomach growl louder than ever.
He quickly built a small fire, found a cracked earthen jar to use as a pot, carefully measured out half a bowl of the Low-Grade Spiritual Rice, added some mountain spring water, and set about making porridge.
As the spiritual rice hit the boiling water, steam billowed upward, carrying with it a rich, ethereal aroma of rice and spiritual energy that seemed to breathe new life into the dilapidated hall.
Jiang Ling inhaled the scent greedily, feeling his exhausted body perk up instantly.
The porridge was ready in no time—thick, creamy, and shimmering with faint spiritual light.
Too hungry to wait for it to cool, he took a huge mouthful, slurping it down noisily.
The warm porridge slid down his throat, and a pure, gentle stream of energy spread instantly through his limbs and bones, nourishing his parched meridians and weary body.
"Amazing! Truly amazing!"
Jiang Ling was so moved, he nearly cried.
In eight hundred years of life, had he ever tasted food infused with such pure spiritual energy?
No! He'd survived on nothing but sheer grit and perseverance!
...
Sated and refreshed, Jiang Ling's eyes sparkled with excitement as he looked at Jincancan, brimming with eager anticipation.
"Disciple! Drink some water!"
He filled a chipped bowl with plain mountain spring water and held it out to Jincancan.
The chick dipped its head and took a few sips.
[Ding! Detected host gifting item to personal disciple 'Jincancan': 1 bowl of Mortal-Grade Mountain Spring Water.]
[Ten-Thousandfold Reimbursement Triggered!]
[Reimbursement Successful! Congratulations, host! You have obtained: 1 Low-Grade Spiritual Spring (located at the back hills of the sect, producing 100 jin of spiritual spring water daily)!]
A faint gurgling sound of running water drifted over from the back hills, accompanied by a crisp, sweet scent tinged with a hint of spiritual energy.
Jiang Ling whooped with joy. "Again! Disciple, eat some vegetables!"
He ran outside the hall, plucked a few relatively fresh wild vegetable leaves, and brought them back to Jincancan.
The chick pecked at the leaves with obvious distaste.
[Ding! Detected host gifting item to personal disciple 'Jincancan': 3 Mortal-Grade Wild Vegetable Leaves.]
[Ten-Thousandfold Reimbursement Triggered!]
[Reimbursement Successful! Congratulations, host! You have obtained: 10 seeds of Low-Grade Spiritual Vegetable — Jade Green Cabbage!]
Staring at the ten jade-green seeds, pulsing with spiritual energy, sitting in his system space, Jiang Ling's grin stretched so wide, it almost split his face in two.
In his mind's eye, he could already see the future of his sect: fields upon fields of spiritual crops, endless supplies of spiritual rice and vegetables stretching as far as the eye could see!