Chapter 2: The Root Beneath the Rain
The rain came softly that evening.
It wasn't the kind of thunderous downpour that frightened livestock or forced the children indoors. It was gentle—almost reverent—like the heavens themselves were weeping silently over the valley.
The paddies of Green Mist Village shimmered under the drizzle, each drop tracing ripples across the waterlogged terraces where spirit rice now slept beneath the soil.
Li Yuan sat alone on the edge of the southern field, under the sloped roof of a wooden tool shed. A firefly flickered past, casting momentary sparks of green in the twilight haze.
The wooden hoe leaned against his shoulder, muddy and still warm from the day's work. He hadn't moved for hours.
In his hand rested a small, glowing seed—the tenth spirit rice seed.
> "Just one more…" he murmured.
But he hesitated.
The voice—that voice—and the panel had not reappeared since midday. And yet, the words still echoed in his chest:
> "Xiao Tianmie."
It wasn't just a name. It was a force. A pressure. A memory trying to bloom where no seed had been planted.
> Who was that? No...
Who was I?
---
Flashback: The First Nine Seeds
Earlier that day, after the strange encounter with the glowing interface, Li Yuan had buried the first nine seeds one by one.
And with each seed planted, something inside him stirred.
The wind moved differently. The birds grew silent when he passed. The water in the field reflected not just his face—but stars. Strange constellations he had never seen before, dancing behind his eyes.
He didn't feel stronger—no sudden burst of power or divine awakening.
But he felt watched. Not by the villagers. Not even by the sky.
But by something beneath the earth.
> "It's like the soil itself remembers me…"
---
The Final Seed
Now, as he sat staring at the tenth and final seed, the rain falling gently on his hat, the moment stretched into something sacred.
> Plant this seed… and everything changes, he thought.
Not because the system told him.
But because he felt it.
With steady fingers, he dug a small hole in the soft, wet mud. He placed the seed gently inside—no chanting, no incantation, no dramatic energy surge.
Just a farmer planting rice.
He covered it slowly and stood up.
Silence.
Nothing happened.
> "Maybe I imagined it all…"
He turned to leave.
> [DING!]
> [Quest Complete – 10/10 Spirit Rice Seeds Planted]
[Reward Unlocked: Spiritual Root – Level 1]
[Bonus Trait Detected: Divine Soil Affinity – Passive Awakening Triggered]
[Analyzing Bloodline… Accessing Suppressed Data… WARNING!]
[Multiversal Echo Detected. Shielding Host Consciousness…]
---
The Vision
The world melted.
Li Yuan staggered as light exploded behind his eyes. He fell to his knees, his fingers digging into the mud to hold onto reality.
Suddenly, he was no longer in Green Mist Valley.
He stood atop a shattered battlefield that stretched across a night sky. Broken stars drifted in the air like ash. Mountains floated upside-down. Thunder roared silently. Time felt frozen.
In front of him stood a man.
Tall. Barefoot. Clad in tattered robes made of starlight and soil. His hair whipped in a wind that didn't blow. His back was turned. He held a hoe, but it was etched with glowing runes of power older than creation.
And then... he spoke.
> "I told them to leave me alone," the man said. His voice was tired, ancient.
"But they couldn't resist. They always come for the seed before it grows."
He turned—and it was Li Yuan's face.
But older. Colder. Infinitely deeper.
> "You are me… before peace."
Li Yuan tried to speak, but the vision shattered like glass.
---
Awakening
He gasped awake, soaked not just from rain, but from sweat. He coughed once—then doubled over as pain surged through his chest.
A golden light burst out from his navel, a warm, burning swirl of energy rising from his core. His body lifted inches off the muddy ground, glowing symbols spinning around him like orbiting leaves.
Then it stopped. The light faded. His body dropped.
He collapsed into the mud, breathing hard.
> [Spiritual Root Awakened: Tier – Bronze Grade]
[Elemental Alignment: Earth/Wood Hybrid]
[Trait Acquired: Crop Resonance – The stronger your harvest, the stronger your body becomes.]
[New System Function Unlocked: Seed Menu]
---
System Interface: Seed Menu
A new screen appeared before him.
---
> 📦 SEED MENU [Level 1 Unlocked]
Spirit Rice: 10/10 Planted ✅
Healing Herb Seed: Locked (Requires Spiritual Root Rank 2)
Blood Bamboo Sapling: Locked (Requires Quest Completion)
??? Seed: Sealed – Multiversal Access Required ❌
Passive Boost: +10% Qi absorption in farmland. +1 Constitution per harvest cycle.
---
Li Yuan stared, blinking.
> "All of this… just from planting rice?"
He looked around.
The rain had stopped.
The stars above shimmered more clearly than ever before—one of them pulsing faintly… in rhythm with his own breath.
> "What am I becoming?" he whispered.
---
Meanwhile… Far Across the Realm
On a snowy peak in the far north, a cloaked figure stirred from meditation.
A bird of glass and flame landed on their shoulder, whispering only one word into their ear:
> "Xiao Tianmie…"
The figure stood. Their breath crystallized in the air.
> "So… he reincarnated after all."
---
Back in Green Mist
Granny Xue, in her small hut lit by a single lantern, looked up from her herbal stew.
The fire cracked once—turning green for the briefest second.
She stared toward the fields.
> "He planted the tenth seed…"
Then she smiled. But her smile held fear.
> "May the heavens forgive us for what's about to grow."