Chapter 5: Vegetation Leads the Way

The moment Qin Zhen stepped through the barrier, an invisible force pressed head-on against her. The air all around seemed to thicken abruptly, and icy cold breath surged into her body through her nose and mouth, making her chest feel tight and sending a fine, throbbing ache through her meridians.

She staggered back half a step and instinctively grabbed the trunk of a nearby tree. So this is the Cultivation Realm? Qin Zhen closed her eyes, waiting for a long while, but the searing pain she had braced for never came. The strange breath flooding into her made her uncomfortable, but it did not actually harm her meridians. For five full years, she had eaten nothing but spiritual rice and spiritual vegetables every day, and sure enough, her body was already strong enough to withstand the spiritual energy of the Cultivation Realm.

Yet once she had adjusted to the sensation, she quickly noticed another problem. There was no path in sight at all. Towering ancient trees blocked out the sky, and thick vines coiled around one another, nearly sealing off the way ahead entirely. The fallen leaves on the ground had piled up for no one knew how many years, and when she stepped down, they almost reached her ankles.

Qin Zhen looked back, and the barrier was still there behind her. Through that invisible shield, the mountains and forests of the mortal realm were clearly visible, so close she felt she could reach out and touch them. She carved a mark on a nearby tree, then tightened the strap of her bag and set off heading south.

Qin Jia had once mentioned that the Qingyun Sect lay to the south of the barrier. As long as she kept walking south, she would eventually find a place where people lived. The first few days of Qin Zhen's journey were extremely tough. The machete she had brought along could only cut through ordinary weeds. When it came to slightly thicker vines, the blade could not even leave more than a faint white mark on them.

As ​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‍for the long sword Qin Jia had left her, it was so heavy it felt like a solid lump of iron. Without spiritual energy to power it, it was no different from any ordinary iron weapon in the mortal world. Fortunately, this mountain forest had more plants than anywhere else, and unlike the vegetation of the mortal realm, every single plant here looked extraordinarily vibrant.

When Qin Zhen pressed her palm against a tree trunk, she could sense the faint emotions coming from the wood. Some were calm, some were wary, and some would even stretch out their branches and leaves of their own accord when she drew near. She could even sense through the tangled roots beneath the ground where there was water nearby, and where edible fruits grew.

By the seventh day, the dry rations she had brought were almost gone. Following the faint guidance from an old tree, Qin Zhen found a patch of low bushes bearing green berries beside a mountain stream.

She did not pluck them rashly. She rested her fingers on the leaves for a moment, sensing no danger, only then did she pick one, take a careful bite. The flesh was sweet and sour, and after she swallowed it, a faint wisp of warmth slowly spread through her abdomen.

After that, she survived on wild fruits, roots and clear spring water as she traveled. When she encountered vines she could not cut through, she would place one hand on the nearby plants, draw out the thinnest strand of spiritual energy from them, and use that to power her long sword for a short time.

The sword would only glow for a brief moment each time, but that moment was more than enough for her to slice through the vines blocking her way. However, each time she used it, she would be exhausted for a long while, so she would never draw the sword unless it was absolutely necessary.

The mountain forest was not devoid of wild beasts. On the twelfth night, Qin Zhen was jolted awake all of a sudden. Her chest felt tight, and all the plants around her sent her a strong sense of unease. Deep in the darkness, a pair of scarlet eyes could faintly be seen staring at her. Qin Zhen did not move. She slowly tightened her grip on her long sword and pressed her palm against the root of the tree behind her.

A warm current flowed from her palm into the soil. The next moment, the drooping vines nearby silently lifted up, piling layer upon layer in front of her, giving off a rich scent of plants and trees.

The wild beast in the darkness lingered for a long time, but in the end it did not come close. It was not until that dangerous aura had completely faded away that Qin Zhen realized her back was soaked through with cold sweat. The only things she could rely on were these silent plants all around her. Qin Zhen drifted off to sleep again, and when she opened her eyes, she found she was almost completely buried in grass.

"What's going on?"

Last night before she fell asleep, she had clearly cleared the area around her, but after just one night, the grass that had only reached her ankles had now grown as tall as her waist. The slender leaves brushed lightly against her arm, conveying a feeling of affection and joy.

Qin Zhen reached out and touched the grass blades, and the grass immediately scrambled to press toward her palm.

They seemed to love the aura coming from her body. Qin Zhen looked down at her own hand, puzzled.

Since she had entered the Cultivation Realm, her connection with the plants had grown clearer and clearer. Every time she fell asleep, that wisp of warmth inside her body seemed to seep out on its own. The plants of the mortal realm would only become a little more lively after absorbing that warmth, but the vegetation of the Cultivation Realm already contained spiritual energy. Once they received her power, their growth rate would become astonishingly fast.

"Could this really be because of me?"

Qin Zhen was full of questions, but she had no time to delve into them. She gently brushed the grass aside.

"I have to keep going."

The grass blades clung to her clothes' hem reluctantly, and Qin Zhen patted the leaves to soothe them. The grass then slowly loosened, lying flat to both sides to make a narrow path for her.

Qin Zhen froze for a moment. This was the first time plants had responded to her thoughts so clearly. She walked along the path the grass had made for her.

That day, all the plants in the mountain forest seemed to know she was looking for an exit. Vines pulled their branches back of their own accord, and low shrubs parted to both sides. Whenever she walked in the wrong direction, the leaves nearby would send a wave of anxious emotion.

Guided by the plants, her speed increased a great deal. Three days later, the towering ancient trees that had blocked out the sky gradually thinned out, and sunlight spilled down through the gaps in the canopy. Qin Zhen quickened her steps, pushed aside the last patch of shrubs, and the view before her opened up completely.