Luo Zheng slowly lost consciousness as his body sank deeper into the river. Cold water filled his ears. Darkness swallowed his sight.
He didn't know how much time passed.
When he opened his eyes again, he felt hard ground under his body.
He was lying on the river bank.
Luo Zheng stared at the sky for a long time. His mind was blank.
There was no one around. Only the sound of flowing water and wind moving the grass.
I'm alive…
He didn't know how he was saved. He didn't know if the river carried him here or if someone helped him. But at least, he survived — even though he didn't know how to swim.
His whole body felt heavy. He tried to move his arm but failed.
Tired… too tired…
Every bone felt broken.
So he stopped moving.
Luo Zheng closed his eyes again and decided to rest. In his mind, the same question kept repeating again and again.
"Why does calamity keep following me?
Every time I survive, another danger appears."
This time, he made a decision.
"I won't move until I recover."
He sat quietly and entered meditation.
Four hours later
Luo Zheng slowly opened his eyes.
His face was still pale, and his body was weak, but he had recovered a little spiritual energy. The extreme tiredness was not fully gone, but at least he could move now.
He stood up with difficulty.
His condition was actually worse than before. Hunger burned his stomach. His throat felt dry.
"I need food… and shelter."
He looked around and decided to move.
He started walking along the river bank, then slowly turned toward the forest nearby. There was no road. No path. Only dense trees and tall grass.
Every step was difficult.
He clearly knew the danger.
This forest may have wolves… or other beast-type monsters.
But he had no choice.
"If I don't find a village soon, I will die from hunger."
So he clenched his teeth and continued forward.
Branches scratched his clothes. Thorns cut his skin. He had to use his hands to open a path as he walked deeper into the forest.
He walked slowly… carefully… listening to every sound.
Meanwhile — High Heaven Pavilion
Inside a quiet cultivation room, Xia Ning Chang sat cross-legged.
Her face was calm, but her heart was full of determination.
After the incident of Yang Kai's death, she had begged her master to revive him. Her master did not refuse, but he told her the truth.
"At my current strength," he said,
"I cannot revive him."
Because Xia Ning Chang continued asking again and again, her master finally revealed many secrets to her.
He told her about the Upper World.
About stronger cultivators.
About how small this world really was.
This world's people lived in darkness.
They didn't know how huge the universe was.
Xia Ning Chang was no exception.
But after knowing all this, her heart was deeply shaken.
So this world is only… this small.
That day onward, she threw herself into cultivation completely.
No distraction.
No hesitation.
She trained her martial skills again and again. She refined her True Qi. She pushed her limits every single day.
Sweat soaked her clothes.
Her mind stayed clear.
Suddenly—
A bright spiritual light burst out from her body.
The air in the room trembled.
Spiritual energy rushed toward her from all directions, swirling like a storm.
Xia Ning Chang's aura kept rising.
Then—
Boom.
Her cultivation broke through.
She opened her eyes slowly.
She had entered the Separation and Reunion stage—
the 4th stage of cultivation.
Her breathing was steady.
Her eyes were firm.
At this moment, she didn't know—
Far away, at the edge of a dangerous forest,
Luo Zheng was still struggling to survive.
And fate was quietly moving again.
Back to Luo Zheng
Luo Zheng had already walked inside the forest for two hours.
His legs felt like they were filled with stones.
Hunger burned his stomach like fire. His mouth was dry, and his breathing was heavy.
The injuries on his body had not recovered at all. Every step caused pain to spread through his muscles and bones, making him even weaker.
"I can't go on…"
His vision started to blur.
Just when he thought he would fall at any moment—
A face suddenly appeared in front of him.
It was a girl.
She had blue eyes, clear and bright. She wore ordinary villager clothes, simple and clean. But her beauty was completely out of place in this forest.
She was not less beautiful than a celestial fairy.
If she had been born into a high-class family, she would surely become one of the top beauties of the Great Han Dynasty.
Luo Zheng froze for a moment.
His heart skipped a beat.
But his body could no longer hold on.
His legs gave up.
Before falling unconscious, he forced out a few words,
"Who… are you…?"
Then his world turned black.
The girl was around fifteen years old.
When Luo Zheng collapsed, she panicked.
For a moment, she thought he had died.
She quickly rushed to him, knelt down, and placed her fingers near his nose. When she felt his weak breathing, she finally let out a breath of relief.
"He's alive…"
With great effort, she dragged him toward the village.
Luckily, the villagers were kind-hearted people. When they saw Luo Zheng's condition, they did not hesitate. They helped carry him inside and treated his injuries as best as they could.
Few days later — inside the village
Luo Zheng slowly recovered.
He was now sitting inside the village master's house.
This was a small village, completely made of mortals. Most villagers had tried cultivating when they were young but failed at very early stages.
Even the village master himself was only at the Body Tempering 8th Stage.
Several village elders were present.
Luo Zheng stood up and bowed slightly.
"Thank you for saving my life," he said sincerely.
Then he took out a spirit stone and placed it on the table.
"As a token of gratitude," Luo Zheng said,
"I wish to offer this spirit stone to the village master."
The room became silent.
The elders looked at the stone with confusion.
None of them were above Body Tempering 7th Stage. They could not sense the Qi inside it at all. To them, it looked like an ordinary stone.
But the village master's face changed.
His eyes widened.
He could clearly feel the pure spiritual energy contained inside it.
This kind of energy… did not exist naturally in this small world.
The village master hurriedly waved his hands.
"Esteemed guest," he said nervously,
"we cannot accept such a valuable item."
He showed deep respect.
Since the day Luo Zheng woke up, the villagers already knew — this young man was a high-level cultivator.
Even though they saved his life, they did not dare to act casually.
They knew clearly.
If Luo Zheng wanted, he could kill everyone in the village within minutes. No one here could stop him.
That was why they treated him with full respect.
But Luo Zheng shook his head.
"You must accept it," he said calmly.
"This spirit stone will help you break through to Body Tempering 9th Stage instantly."
He looked directly at the village master.
"I heard that your cultivation stopped at Body Tempering 8th Stage since you were twenty years old. If I am not wrong, your current age should be around forty-eight."
The village master's body trembled.
Luo Zheng continued,
"You had no breakthrough for so many years, yet you still protected this village."
"If anything happens to you, the village will become weak."
"By strengthening you, I am helping the entire village."
"So don't refuse."
This was Luo Zheng's last spirit stone.
All his other spirit stones had already been used up during fighting and escaping.
In the capital city, this single stone could be sold for nearly three thousand gold coins — a huge fortune in this small world.
This was not the Tong Xuan Realm, where spirit stones naturally appeared.
Here, they were extremely rare.
Luo Zheng also knew he couldn't give them any part of his inheritance.
These low-level cultivators wouldn't be able to handle it. If word spread, they would be killed by others who desired such treasures.
After saying all this, Luo Zheng stood up.
"I should take my leave," he said.
"It has already been almost six days since I stayed in this village."
Then he paused.
"Where is the girl who brought me here?"
"I haven't met her yet."
His eyes moved around the room.
That blue-eyed face appeared again in his mind.