Ning Ming's fleshy palm split open and the black stone sank into the crevice.
A previously unfelt excitement rushed to his mind, accompanied by pain!
In that moment, Ning Ming felt as if he had inhaled cocaine - first came an electric shock-like stimulation, then his entire body broke into a cold sweat and lost sensation.
What was happening? Where was he? No...who was he?
No!
My god! What was this?
At this time, Ning Ming's pupils shook rapidly, filled with darkness. But from the depths of the darkness, hundreds of thousands of rays of light were born, like a kaleidoscope, revealing an extremely splendid scene.
Boom! Boom! Boom...
In his chest, his heart beat violently, like a water pump, pumping blood throughout his body, affecting his brain.
Thump -
Finally, Ning Ming could not withstand it all and completely lost consciousness, falling down on the grass.
"Brother?"
Almost at the same time, his sister's worried call came over.
"It's just dealing with a corpse, how could you pass out?"
Village chief Old Man Li and Lin Zuodao were also startled, eyes wide open, no one had expected this scene.
...
...
In a hazy consciousness, an annoyingly bright white light shone.
Ning Ming uncomfortably raised his arm to shield his eyes.
Suddenly,
Ning Ming was terrified, his heart racing wildly as he opened his eyes completely.
Under the bright sunshine,
in the distance were continuous green hills, against a background of azure blue sky that comforted the heart.
Next to him,
a middle-aged man was lying in the grass, a blade of grass in his mouth, "Awake?"
"Uncle Lin?"
Ning Ming was stunned on the spot.
Lin Zuodao glanced at Ning Ming and suddenly chuckled, "Seeing your clueless look, it was just killing a few people, did you think you could cultivate?"
Hearing this, Ning Ming was silent for a moment, then shook his head vigorously.
The night...the cultivators...the taboos...the black stone...
There seemed to be many fragments in his brain that gradually formed a complete picture.
Soon, Ning Ming finally remembered everything that had happened last night.
Then...
His heart rate immediately accelerated again.
Ning Ming quickly looked at his own hands.
Shockingly, the flesh of his palms was delicate and smooth, completely without scars!
What about that black stone? Could it have really entered my body just like that?
Ning Ming's face was full of bewilderment.
"Stop looking,"
Lin Zuodao suddenly said,
"Old Man Li and I have seen it already. You're fine, just frightened last night."
Ning Ming was silent, not elaborating on anything.
Next moment, a peculiar smile appeared on Lin Zuodao's face, "Let me come clean, I'm actually not an ordinary person."
His features were rugged, with thick eyebrows, and eyes flashing with intelligence. Especially with a grin that revealed a mouth full of bright white teeth that easily drew attention.
"Oh," was Ning Ming's very indifferent reaction.
Lin Zuodao was quite surprised and continued, "I'm a cultivator, a cultivator of a very high realm."
Ning Ming just "oh"-ed again.
Lin Zuodao's eyes widened in surprise and he stared at Ning Ming intently, "Have I frightened you silly? I'm a cultivator, a very strong cultivator!"
Ning Ming said, "Uncle Lin, you've said that once already."
Suddenly, inexplicable anger rose in Lin Zuodao.
Was this kid pretending? Or pretending?
He looked at Ning Ming for a moment, then chuckled, "No worries, I know this is hard to believe for you. After all, everyday your Uncle Lin farms in the fields, and when I get home, I still get yelled at by the old mother tiger, looking useless on a daily basis. I know it's hard for you to accept this fact all of a sudden..."
Listening to these words, Ning Ming thought about it and did not reveal the truth.
"Whether you believe it or not,"
Lin Zuodao looked at Ning Ming and said,
"The point is, are you really sure? Even going through what happened last night, do you still want to cultivate?"
Hearing this, Ning Ming thought back to everything that had happened last night.
Those cultivators who had become monsters, the various taboos of cultivation, the appalling deformities...
Finally, Ning Ming took a deep breath and nodded firmly, "Yes, I want to cultivate!"
"Ai~"
Unexpectedly, Lin Zuodao seemed very disappointed, "When I first met you boy, I was thinking of making you my son-in-law for my Xiao Ying. Turns out you're not an honest man either."
Pfft -
Hearing this, Ning Ming almost choked.
What did "honest man's personality" mean?
Xiao Ying was the blind little girl from the beginning. At that time the little girl had tugged at Ning Ming's clothes, reluctant for him to leave the village.
"Uncle Lin, Xiao Ying is only seven years old now!"
Ning Ming exclaimed in shock,
"Also, when I first arrived in the village, wasn't she not even born yet?"
"What's wrong with Xiao Ying being seven? By the time you turn eighteen, won't she be thirteen?"
Lin Zuodao went on, "I got someone to calculate that my bloodline was fated to end with me. I won't be able to have any sons in this lifetime..."
"So what?"
Saying that, Lin Zuodao glared at Ning Ming, "I, Lin Zuodao, see good potential in you. To become my son-in-law, how could I mistreat you?"
Ning Ming didn't care too much though.
Ning Lame definitely wasn't his biological parents anyway, and over the years Lin Zuodao could be considered a foster father to him.
Ning Ming said, "Then Uncle Lin, tell me the truth, just what is your cultivation level?"
"Asking that is like asking your father-in-law how much money is in his house."
Lin Zuodao glanced at Ning Ming, "As expected, a crafty little man. If you don't like Xiao Ying, I wouldn't be bothered to interact with you."
Hearing this, Ning Ming was amused and exasperated.
How could he like that little girl? He was like the older brother of the village's children, only seeing her as a little sister to take care of.
"What a pity for my Xiao Ying...she'll never find another boy in this village worthy of her! Life's damn unfair!"
Lin Zuodao cursed and complained, leaving Ning Ming utterly speechless, not knowing how to respond at all.
"Alright, enough of that."
Next moment, Lin Zuodao patted his legs and stood up, "You should have gone to Old Man Li's house last night. Who knew you'd faint. Come with me now."
Hearing this, only then was Ning Ming excited.
The cultivation he had always dreamed about could finally begin properly.
As for what sights awaited him in this bizarre world of cultivation, that was still unknown.
...
Old Man Li's house was located at the end of the village, amidst a bamboo grove.
And Old Man Li could be considered the most mysterious figure in the village.
Even though Ning Ming had grown up knowing him, he still knew very little about Old Man Li.
Old Man Li had only revealed some of his temperament when Ning Lame first entered the village. And no matter whether it was Lin Zuodao or the other villagers, they had always treated him with high respect.
It was said that Old Man Li was actually the first to enter the Desolate Village.
At this moment, Ning Ming and Lin Zuodao arrived at Old Man Li's house.
Opening the gate, Old Man Li was watering a peach tree.
Seeing Ning Ming and the other two,
Old Man Li put down what he was doing, lifted his pipe, and started puffing out clouds of smoke.
Next moment,
Old Man Li looked deeply at Ning Ming, "Since you've made up your mind, then Ning, before you start cultivating, there's something I should tell you. Ning Lame had left some things for you back then, about your origins. There is a place in this world that truly belongs to you."
Hearing this, Ning Ming was astonished, not knowing what to think.
A place in this world that truly belonged to him? What did that mean? His parents?
To Ning Ming, the Desolate Village was his home.
Beside them, Lin Zuodao exclaimed in surprise, "How did I not know this? This boy was supposed to become my son-in-law! After Ning Lame died, I took care of him for over ten years!"
"Don't interrupt!"
Old Man Li scolded Lin Zuodao, then continued, "My original plan was to tell Ning when he turned sixteen. But this child is precocious. It'd be better for him to understand earlier rather than finding out later."
Ning Ming listened attentively, only asking after a long pause, "What kind of things are they?"
"Wait until you've found your Destiny Star, then I'll say. Otherwise, it's hard to tell if that will be good or bad."
Saying so, Old Man Li took a puff from his pipe and finally asked a question, "You saw the freakish appearance of those cultivators last night too. Ning, have you watched the stars at night before?"
【Prologue: The Beginning of It All – Use holy water to heal the saintess tainted by demonic energy, then converse with her.】 Shen Nian stared at his older sister sipping yogurt, lost in thought. So you’re telling me my sister is the saintess, and yogurt is the holy water? 【Main Quest 1: Brave Youth, Become an Adventurer! Reward: Rookie Adventurer Title.】 【Side Quest 1: Find the Adorable Kitty! Reward: 1000 Gold Coins.】 Shen Nian: "Wait, I’m a high school senior here—did some guy who got isekai’d accidentally bind his system to me?" Hold on, completing quests gives gold rewards? Titles even boost stats? Is this for real? (A lighthearted, absurd campus comedy—not a revenge power fantasy.)
ine. During your journey, you save an abandoned baby girl and become her elder brother】 【You rely on each other, becoming each other's support】 【At the end of the simulation, you shield the now-grown girl with your life, sacrificing yourself to block numerous demonic cultivators. You die, and the light in the girl's eyes fades】 …… 【Second Simulation: You are transported to a world where steam and magic coexist】 【You immerse yourself in the study of magic, obsessed with its research. One day, while out, you encounter a half-blooded demon girl wandering the streets. You take her in as your student】 【You teach the demoness what it means to be human, show her the beauty of the world, and nurture her into a miracle that surpasses even the gods】 【At the end of the simulation, you die of old age in front of the nearly immortal demoness due to your mortal lifespan】 …… One simulation after another, one encounter after another. Xu Xi suddenly felt something was off: "Wait, you said you're coming to the real world to find me?"
grated, and just when he finally managed to get into an elite academy, he discovered that he actually had a system, and the way to earn rewards was extremely ridiculous. So for the sake of rewards, he had no choice but to start acting ridiculous as well. Su Cheng: "It's nothing but system quests after all." But later, what confused Su Cheng was that while he was already quite ridiculous, he never expected those serious characters to gradually become ridiculous too. And the way they looked at him became increasingly strange... (This synopsis doesn't do it justice, please read the full story)
mance] After transmigrating for eighteen years, Lin Qi lived as an utterly ordinary herbalist in the countryside. One day, he kindly brought home a sickly, beautiful girl covered in blood. They married in a flash and began their blissful, intimate life together. Right then, his long-delayed system finally activated. [Warning! Host detected in contact with the "Crimson Calamity," the world-ending witch!] Lin Qi looked at the adorable wife currently curled in his arms, who couldn't even open a jar lid and trembled at the sight of a mouse. Lin Qi: "System, are you insane? This is clearly just a weak and delicate sickly girl!" Thus, Lin Qi treated the system as a "Contrast System," where taking care of his wife made him stronger. Combing his wife's hair rewarded him with [Free Attribute Points]. Taking his wife out for sunshine rewarded him with [Forbidden Spell: Arcane Explosion]. Lin Qi: "This soft life tastes so good!" ... Yet, in the eyes of outsiders: The strongest Beastkin Assassin: "That man dissected a Beast King with a common skinning knife! That was a show of force towards the powerful!" The Holy Son of the Radiant Church: "I infiltrated his home as a tutor, but he had me babysit the children... He must have seen through my disguise!" The World-Ending Witch, Felucia: "I hid all the way in the countryside. How is it that the husband I married on a whim is stronger than I was at my peak?"
