Chapter 2
A dark and hazy view emerged in front of Shin Jiao, as a dim light from a strange stone illuminated the whole place. Shin Jiao could now feel the solid ground under his feet, which signified that he was standing on flat ground. He carefully observed the place and noticed a stone bed and a stone table on one side. It seemed that these were the only things in the room. From the light in his surroundings, he could deduce that he was actually in a small cave. Looking at its structure, a scary thought entered his mind: the cave might have been man-made. This grabbed Shin Jiao's attention, and he carefully scrutinized his surroundings, seeming to forget his dilemma or even the situation he was in.
"This... This is too amazing. I... I can't believe that this is possible. The rocks seemed to have been cleanly cut, roughly in just one stroke. And these markings?... Hmm… This is impossible! It can't be… According to these markings… this cave was made by moving this whole lump of land at one go." Shin Jiao muttered to himself, amazed at his findings.
As he turned to see more of the cave, he was dumbfounded and suddenly jumped in fright. Not too far from him, he saw a human skeleton sitting on the ground wearing a robe like those from ancient times. The robe the skeleton was wearing didn't have any hint of damage or even decay. The skeleton itself was still sitting in a lotus position, which made Shin Jiao frown.
"This is too weird… It's like... I'm on a television drama set? But that's impossible… This is clearly a human skeleton, and if I'm not mistaken, he may have been dead for many years now." Shin Jiao muttered.
As a researcher and a former agent, Shin Jiao had the ability to analyze dead bodies even without using instruments. Though not completely accurate, he could still judge that the skeleton may have been dead for around 40 to 50 years.
While in deep thought, his gaze was suddenly attracted to the ring on the skeleton's hand. Then a sudden thought entered his mind. Judging from the clothing of the skeleton, Shin Jiao had a slight idea that he might be in another world. And if he was right, the ring he was seeing right now was a treasure.
"Hmm… This is crazy… I guess I could just try to do an actual experiment and see if what I'm thinking is correct... Hmm... Let's see… If I remember correctly, in ancient times, to activate the power within an artifact, I just had to put a single drop of my blood on it, right?" Shin Jiao muttered to himself as he carefully took the ring and scrutinized it.
"Okay... here goes nothing," he said as his heart began to beat rapidly.
Right now, he feels a little excited and nervous at the same time. He wasn't sure yet what would happen. Though he had brought his laptop, he didn't have any devices to connect to it, like a scanner, to check the ring.
But the thing that made him want to try it out was the idea that he wasn't on Earth anymore.
So, he began to rummage through his bag, trying to find his pocket knife which he always carried. When he found it, he immediately cut a small wound on his index finger and carefully dropped a small amount of blood on the ring's surface.
Plop!
When the falling blood touched the ring, it was suddenly absorbed and immediately vanished. Then a pale green color began to glow from the ring. In his fright, Shin Jiao wanted to let go, but he suddenly found himself losing consciousness. And now he found himself looking at a tiny world with no living creatures in it. It was just like a 3D object in front of a computer screen, where one could navigate the small planet at will.
Then his attention was caught by a small hill made of different items. When he looked at those items, he was dumbfounded. He saw many precious stones, gold coins, a number of weapons and armors, and some other foreign objects which he didn't recognize. There were also a lot of weird-looking stones that comprised almost 50 percent of the stockpile.
"What are these things? Hmm… Well, I guess this proves that I'm truly in a new world. But... how can I get out of this space?" Shin Jiao thought after he finished checking the small world.
Right now, being in a new world made him feel different emotions, like fear of the unknown, curiosity, anxiety, and the feeling of being at a loss, as he didn't know how he could still go back to Earth.
While thinking deeply, he suddenly found his consciousness going out of the ring and into the familiar-looking cave. This situation made him smile as he was suddenly struck with amazement.
But before he could analyze things more deeply, he suddenly noticed a floating figure of a man in front of him, like a ghost. This made him almost jump back in fright, and by instinct, he assumed a fighting stance. Without saying anything, he just stood there with vigilance while observing the floating figure.
The man looked to be around 40-50 years old and seemed to be wearing the same robe as the skeleton sitting in front of him. This made Shin Jiao knit his brow with suspicion. The figure seemed smaller, and his body was transparent, like that of a ghost or a 3D hologram. Due to his curiosity, Shin Jiao couldn't help but unconsciously ask the man.
"Who are you?"
The question was normal as he already had an idea and knew that the man was not real. But from the looks of it, he was curious and had to find out if the thing in front of him was an A.I. or a real ghost.
The man suddenly opened his eyes to look at Shin Jiao and showed a faint smile. Then he suddenly spoke in a low voice, but the voice was not heard by his ears, but by his mind.
"Hello! My name is Gubu… Hahaha… You are a lucky person who will receive my legacy. If you are seeing this, then I'm not in this world anymore, but the portal I made has been completed and was successful... but that portal should have been a doorway for me to escape…" Then the man named Gubu paused as he seemed to be trying to remember something.
Shin Jiao was dumbfounded by the fact that he could understand the man, but of course, this was due to the man speaking directly to his mind. It's like the man knew his own language. After a short moment, Shin Jiao regained his composure and just continued waiting for what the man would say next.
"I… I am a rogue cultivator, and I have traveled to almost all the corners of this huge planet. I have even met other races and other beings… This world is filled with many kinds of races, contrary to what the people in the Cultivation Land know. And there exist different kinds of powers and cultivation energy besides spiritual Qi… This world is truly huge and is divided into many continents. But there are only four known continents which are actually known and named." The man named Gubu said.
"To the far north of the cultivation land, which would take many months to travel via horse. This is a place on the opposite side of the dangerous Daemon forest; there exists the land of the Beast clan, or what we call Beastia. In that land, a race of people called the beast-men lives. They were once ferocious beasts but were able to attain consciousness through the passage of time and evolution…" Gubu said as a picture of a beast-man appeared in front of Shin Jiao's eyes.
"Then to the far west, crossing the vast ocean, exists the land of Magus. If one travels from the cultivation land to the land of Magus by using the fastest sea craft, it would take them years before they can reach that land. When I went there, I found many different races that exist besides humans. And the inhabitants there are using the power of natural energy, which they call mana." Gubu said and then showed Shin Jiao what the people in the land of Magus looked like.
When Shin Jiao saw this, he felt that those people looked very familiar. They were like the people from the old European regions of the Earth. But a hint of excitement was seen in his eyes as he imagined those magi from the games and movies he saw on Earth. But before his mind could think deeply, his thought process was interrupted as Gubu continued talking.
"Then to the east lie the mysterious fog-covered islands. I haven't been there, but I heard that it's a land filled with mysticism and is protected by a deadly, thick dark fog they call Death Haze. Those who have tried to enter and survived tell the tale of many horrors they've encountered inside the death haze. From the stories, many have given up going there, but some still try and never come back." After saying that, Gubu fell silent.
Hearing the story of the man, Shin Jiao now had a vague idea of the new world he was in. This world was just like Earth with its own diverse culture, beliefs, and practices. But it was far bigger and contained energies like Qi and mana in its atmosphere.
This information made Shin Jiao feel a little excited; he now wanted to discover what was outside the cave he was in.
But then something dawned on him, and that was the thought of him surviving in this world as a mortal man.
The man named Gubu, after stopping, continued his explanations.
"The reason why I'm telling you this is because I wanted you to do me a favor. I don't know who you are, but I wanted to tell you my story first." Gubu said as his figure on the hologram suddenly showed a sad expression.
"After a long year of travel, I was able to return to the cultivation land and intended to tell the empire of my findings and adventures, but my excitement died down after telling those people my story. They actually laughed and mocked me. No one, none of them, believed in me. The only thing that they believed was the existence of the Beast clan, as they are the main aggressor and mortal enemy of the cultivators.
But when I told the elders of the Imperial palace that I had traveled the great waters, no one truly believed in my words, as the knowledge of the dangers lying in the waters was etched deeply in them. So, I proudly showed them the vehicle that I have crafted, which made everyone turn silent." Gubu paused as if recalling a very sad thing.
"At that time, I was used to my carefree life and had forgotten that the hearts of some of the cultivators in this land are cruel and evil. And when I saw them eyeing the thing in my hand like bandits, I was awakened by the truth… After I left the palace, many of them chased after me for my artifacts. So, without a choice, I escaped, but I was assaulted on different sides… Although my cultivation level is high, it's not enough to fend off those old monsters." The melancholy in Gubu's eyes showed his regret at what happened at that time.
Shin Jiao suddenly felt sad for the man, as he might have escaped the dangers of his travels and adventures, but because of a moment of neglect, he lost his life.
"Then, I was wounded and didn't have any choice but to hide and make this cave inside the Daemon forest… In my desperation to escape, I decided to try a spell that I learned from one of the books in the land of Magus... It's a high-level gate spell, where a person can travel from one place to another. But since I am not familiar with it, I didn't expect that this gate would consume a lot of my spiritual Qi and natural energy… So to save myself, I have to sacrifice a void stone." After saying that, Gubu took out a black object that was shaped like a weird-looking black stone.
When Shin Jiao saw it, he couldn't help from gasping in disbelief. Because that was the same black stone that he had researched and was very familiar with when he was still on Earth. He could even activate or create that thing, provided there were materials available. With his natural gift, he had already discovered the composition of the object and how it functioned.
"When I activated that gate, I realized there was a mistake when the black stone suddenly disappeared. I guess it was because of my injuries that I wasn't able to create the right gate. But upon checking again, I discovered that it's not actually a gate to this world, but a dimensional gate to another. But I couldn't reverse it anymore as it was already too late… And so I resigned my fate. I don't know what kind of creature will go through this gate, but I know that you're a human, as only humans can access my ring and activate this recording crystal." Gubu said with a smile.
"I may not have any disciples, but I still wanted to pass down the knowledge that I have learned and cultivated. And I chose you to carry out my legacy… You are my only hope so that the skills and abilities I gained would continue on… I am known throughout all the land as the artifact crafter Gubu, and I was hunted for it. So if you decide to learn my skills, please be careful and don't show the artifacts that you've made unless you are confident to face your enemies and are able to annihilate them. Now inside my ring, there are 5 red jade strips which hold all the records of my skills and legacy." Gubu explained.
After hearing this, Shin Jiao looked at the ring with a smile. He was excited as he actually saw those red jade strips. He was also excited because now he could learn cultivation and become a cultivator. So he quickly tried to enter his consciousness inside the ring. But he was dumbfounded as nothing happened. Then everything became clear as Gubu continued his explanation.
"If you are a mere mortal, then you've accessed my ring for the first time when you dropped your blood in it and experienced the way of cultivators. Some of the knowledge of this world, especially the language, may have entered your consciousness after accessing my ring. But since you are unable to wield any type of energy yet, you will be unable to access the ring again… So the only way for you to do so is for you to awaken your own spiritual roots or learn other ways to use the energy of this world. I will show you the two types of energy that I have discovered…" Gubu said as he lifted his hand, and an image of a paper scroll that contained the cultivation land's steps of cultivation appeared.
"This is a cultivator and beast-man cultivation style which has 10 realms and 9 levels or 3 stages each. The realms are called as such: body refining, spirit refining, core-forming, golden core, infant soul, nascent, world nascent, heavenly nascent, saint immortal, and the Deity realm. Everything will start after you open your spiritual roots. If you are unable to open one, then you will just be branded as a mortal." After explaining, Gubu hid the paper scroll and then opened another one.
"In the Magus land, as far as I know, the level of power is a bit simpler. In that land, every single person has the ability to wield mana. This is because it is bestowed upon them since their infancy. So, there is no such thing as a mere mortal in that land, although there are still people who cannot attain a high degree of power, which they call peasants. The Magus land has three classes: warriors, mages, and clerics. And under those classes exist the 10 rankings and titles, each with specified training techniques and a unified skill-learning system, which made their Empire very strong."
After hearing the explanation of Gubu, Shin Jiao recalled some movies from Earth that told about magic and knights. This made him more excited about the prospect of exploring the world and meeting other races.
"On the table are two jade strips. The red one is the basic cultivation technique that can help a person awaken their spiritual roots and start their path to cultivation. The blue one, on the other hand, is the basic absorption of mana, which will guide a person in using mana and magic. It is far simpler, but I have no other information on mana use and magic, as my time in the magus land was short, plus I cannot learn any magic as I cannot use mana that well." Gubu said while pointing his hand at the stone table.
"To learn these things, just put the jade strip on your forehead, and the information will just flow to your mind. It's up to you to choose. If you choose any of these two, you can open my spatial ring, as I have crafted it to do so." Gubu said with a faint smile.
Then all of a sudden, Gubu's image began to flicker and seemed fainter. Shin Jiao somehow expected this since a long time had passed.
Looking at the table, he saw the two jade strips, a blue one and a red one. The blue one had the engraving of "mana" on it. So it meant the other one was for someone to awaken his spiritual roots.
Shin Jiao was in deep thought about what to do, as his choice would have a great impact on his future achievements in cultivation. After some time, he still didn't make his choice, but instead studied the engravings on the jade slips and also began checking the whole cave.
He found a water source and a small hole at the top as an air vent, but no exit. This made him a little worried. He actually noticed the big stone blocking a hole, which could be the only exit and entrance of the cave. But he didn't know how to move it. He tried pushing the huge stone with all his strength, but to no avail.
After carefully checking everything, he sat once more on the ground on the opposite side of Gubu's skeleton remains.
"This guy died many years ago, before I appeared in this place. I can't be sure of the time-space distortion, but, I guess he prepared this for me to inherit his will... Well, thank you, senior, for the gifts." Shin Jiao said as he bowed while cupping his hands towards the skeleton, just like the greetings in those ancient times.
"Maybe I can get out of here if I absorb a jade slip and practice Qi cultivation or mana absorption… But… I'm not sure what to choose though… Hmm…" Shin Jiao once again thought for a while.
Then an idea entered his mind, and he decided to take out his laptop from his bag to do some decoding. While working on his idea, he felt hungry and ate some food that he had brought with him when he was transported to this place.
It took him a couple of hours using the program he had used to decode the runes and characters on the black stone, and now he was able to decrypt the jade slips and miraculously open the contents therein. He then learned from them about spiritual roots, the dantian, meridians, and also the mana channels in the body.