Chapter 13: Legacy? Trial?

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While inside the secret realm, Luo Cheng pondered for a long time before barely managing to match the last two conditions for inheriting this cave abode to himself.

—must possess a firm will.

This was probably referring to the test of him being absorbed into this space, suspended midair for an entire week without being able to move, yet still remaining rational and calm, right? Although there were some coincidences involved, Luo Cheng’s own mental fortitude had certainly played a role. At the very least, he had not despaired during this time, nor had he broken down crying, thrown a tantrum, or fallen into complete hopelessness.

The last condition—a strong physical constitution.

This was the one that Luo Cheng had struggled the most to understand at first. He had undergone some body tempering, practiced a basic fist technique, and engaged in various fitness exercises, but those were just the most basic routines, and he had stopped after graduation. Saying that he was relatively healthy and in his prime was fine, but for a test meant for inheritors of a legacy, wasn’t his physical condition somewhat lacking?

It wasn’t until he subconsciously felt thirsty, lightly squeezed the water pouch in his mouth, and took a sip that he suddenly realized. Was this so-called "strong physical constitution" referring to the fact that he hadn’t eaten or drunk anything for a whole week yet wasn’t half-dead from starvation? And this space had simply misunderstood??

If that was really the case, then taking the stomach-filling pill with long-lasting effects in advance, along with keeping a water pouch in his mouth... was simply a stroke of genius! 

Not only had it saved his life, but it also earned him a legacy. If the rogue cultivators outside learned about this, they would surely gang up on him and give him a good beating just to vent their frustration.

While these thoughts flashed through his mind, only a minute or two had passed in the outside world. After carefully putting the letter away on the low table for now, he held the Qiankun bag in both hands—the one placed at the center. Judging by its design, it was from the first batch of Qiankun bags obtained by cultivators from various secret realms, cave dwellings, and spatial fragments after the revival of spiritual energy.

If Luo Cheng were a cultivator, he could have simply extended his divine sense into the bag to open it after passing the trial of this secret realm. However, he wasn’t. And since this cave dwelling was a special inheritance site, there was another way to unlock the Qiankun bag.

He carefully examined the patterns and colors on its surface. Thanks to the protection of the cave dwelling and the continuous presence of spiritual energy over these ten thousand years, the Qiankun bag’s color was still vibrant, without any signs of aging. Moreover, it lacked the features that some cultivator streamers had previously explained. Which were traps left by ancient demonic cultivators to deceive people. Only after confirming its safety did Luo Cheng retrieve a small box from his own Qiankun bag in his pocket. Opening it, he took out a blood extraction kit.

The box contained tools commonly used in emergency medical care: lancets, alcohol swabs, and other essentials. Luo Cheng had bought it in advance before leaving his hometown. Once again, he had to thank the enthusiastic netizens who loves adventure. 

He was also grateful for the legacy of modern society before the revival of spiritual energy. Concepts like convenient first-aid kits and survival packs had been seamlessly integrated into the cultivation world after the spiritual energy revival, providing both cultivators and people who love to explore with more accessible and practical tools to use.

Using a lancet, he lightly pricked the tip of his left ring finger as instructed in the letter, squeezing out a drop of deep red blood and letting it fall onto a pattern on the front of the Qiankun bag. The moment the blood made contact with the pattern, Luo Cheng felt a brief wave of dizziness, and then he instinctively knew that he had established a connection with the Qiankun bag. Only then did he pick up an alcohol wipe from the side to clean the bloodstain on his fingertip, pressing down on the wound firmly. After that, he methodically disposing of the used items, storing them back into the emergency kit, and placing it back inside his Qiankun bag.

After ensuring that the wound had mostly healed, he picked up the Qiankun bag, closed his eyes slightly, and sensed the space within. What delighted him was that this Qiankun bag was far larger than the one he originally owned, which was only meant for ordinary people!

The Qiankun bag contained an internal space roughly measured at five meters by five meters by five meters, giving it a total volume of one hundred twenty-five cubic meters. It far exceeded his original Qiankun bag, which had only ten cubic meters. Now, even some of the large furniture pieces he previously couldn't carry with him, as well as the backpack he had been forced to wear on this trip, could all be stored inside.

At this moment, the Qiankun bag was, of course, not empty. Luo Cheng saw an entire row of neatly arranged rectangular boxes inside. Upon taking a closer "look," he realized that each box had the name of a medicinal herb written on it.

His heart skipped a beat. He immediately selected one, placed it on the table in front of him, pulled open the drawer, and raised his eyebrows high in surprise.

Luo Cheng had read quite a few novels before. After the revival of spiritual energy, almost all the popular novels on the internet were fantasy and cultivation-themed, with only a few stories set in the pre-revival, non-spiritual world. Among these fantasy books, the most popular genre in Huaxia was, of course, Eastern cultivation, with spiritual settings and other unconventional cultivation systems being secondary.

Moreover, many cultivators' personal experiences were widely shared online. The most commonly described scenario was having incredible luck and picking up an ancient Qiankun bag, only to discover that all clothing and herbal medicines inside would crumble to dust upon touch. Only spirit stones, gold, silver, jewels, treasure-infused pills, various talismans with treasure energy, and cultivation manuals remained intact.

So when Luo Cheng first saw the medicine names written on these rectangular boxes, he thought he would open them only to find dried herbs so fragile they would turn to dust with a single gust of wind. But unexpectedly—the medicinal ingredients inside were perfectly preserved?!

The medicine name on the box he was holding was one he had never heard of before. After confirming that the contents were intact, he quickly closed it and took out another box to check.

One after another.

What surprised Luo Cheng was that all the medicinal ingredients in these boxes—whether dried, still retaining some moisture, or even relatively fresh—were perfectly preserved! Not a single box had any issues!!

Although he didn’t recognize most of the herbs inside, he still knew that medicinal ingredients that had retained their potency after being stored for so long would be worth an enormous fortune if taken outside! Not to mention the long rectangular boxes themselves, since they could preserve the medicinal properties inside without dissipating, it was clear that these boxes were extremely valuable as well!

One of the biggest reasons why cultivation was so financially demanding was the need to spend vast sums on various medicinal ingredients and the raw materials required for refining different things.

This was no longer the early days of the spiritual energy revival. Back then, when spiritual energy had just returned, the world was filled with spiritual energy. Even those with ordinary talent could cultivate far faster than later generations, as long as they were willing to work hard and could step onto the path.

Of course, when it came to the mid-stage of cultivation, where one’s heart and mind were tested, the difficulty remained the same—whether five hundred years ago or five hundred years later.

Therefore, in the present day, cultivators not only need to find places where spiritual energy is still relatively abundant but also require spirit stones and various medicinal herbs that assist in cultivation.

Even if the herbs in Luo Cheng’s Qiankun bag weren’t the mainstream ones used by cultivators today, they were definitely not ordinary. Selling just a portion of them would be enough to support his cultivation for quite some time.

Of course, since these herbs appeared inside this Qiankun bag, they were certainly related to the inheritance Luo Cheng was about to receive. Unless he had lost his mind, there was no way he would consider selling them now.

After inspecting the medicinal herbs, Luo Cheng calmed himself and looked at the several cloth bags stacked beside the boxes. He picked up the topmost one, placed it on the low table, and opened it. The moment he did, he found himself momentarily breathless. This bag, which was only around fifteen or sixteen centimeters in size, was filled with spirit stones!

Spirit stones also had different grades, but at the moment, Luo Cheng had no way to go online and verify their rank. However, judging by appearance alone, the spirit stones in his hands were noticeably larger and darker in color than the two first-grade spirit stones that had come as a bonus when he purchased his portable house!

Taking out all the stacked bags from the Qiankun bag, Luo Cheng quickly counted them. There were a total of five bags. Among them, three contained spirit stones identical to the first bag he had checked. But the spirit stones inside were purer and darker in color than first-grade spirit stones. The other two bags held smaller spirit stones, but surprisingly, their purity and color were even higher and deeper than those in the first three bags, suggesting they were of a higher grade.

Each of the three bags contained about thirty spirit stones, while the other two had slightly more, with at most around forty each.

For Luo Cheng, this was a huge fortune! With these spirit stones, he could fully sustain his cultivation and meditation for several years in a city lacking spiritual energy while freely using all sorts of electrical appliances.

Letting out a deep breath, Luo Cheng, who usually maintained a blank expression and rarely showed any emotion, couldn’t help but smile. No wonder cultivators would fight to the death the moment they heard about a secret realm appearing. If one could gain such treasures from these places, it was truly a path to fortune!

At this moment, Luo Cheng had no idea that the ancient cultivator who had originally left behind this cave dwelling and inheritance hadn’t intended for these five bags of spirit stones to be a generous gift for future successors. Rather, they had deliberately left only five small bags, fearing that too much wealth would make the inheritor complacent.

This was meant to teach future generations that cultivation was not easy, that they needed to explore the world on their own, rely on their own efforts, and understand the hardships of the path. What Luo Cheng imagined was completely off the mark. After all, how could that ancient powerhouse have predicted that their successor would end up so impoverished, lacking even a few proper spirit stones?