Chapter 2: Three Jade Spirit Realm

Pan Yun retracted her gaze; the qi in her Upper Dantian, already scarce, had dwindled to a single thread—enough to let her move freely, but not enough to sustain a single technique.

This was her first time stepping outside her home, and in this nearly "naked cultivation" state, Pan Yun felt profoundly unsafe.

She hesitated a moment, then finally reached out mentally to that presence: 【Who are you?】

A mechanical voice sounded: 【I am the System. Congratulations—you've been chosen by me. As long as you obey and strive in your cultivation, I will help you reach the pinnacle of life.】

Pan Yun sneered inwardly, but revealed nothing on her face or in her mind; she asked: 【What can I do for you?】

【You need do nothing. Just strive in your cultivation. First, find a blessed land rich in spiritual energy—only then can you cultivate with half the effort and double the results.】

Pan Yun lowered her eyes and said: 【My family is in peril. I fear I cannot cultivate in peace. Can you help me rescue them? Once my family's crisis is resolved, I will go with you to seek a blessed land and cultivate.】

The mechanical voice remained emotionless: 【A cultivator must cleanse the heart and suppress desires. Your lifelong frailty proves your bond with family is shallow. You've already repaid your debt by removing one calamity from them. Now, sever ties and live in mutual peace.】

Seeing it wouldn't act unless it saw a rabbit, Pan Yun, having suppressed her rage for too long, finally snapped and cursed in her mind: 【Fuck your grandfather's legs!】

【Why was I frail and sickly? Isn't it because of you? I was born with memories—I began cultivating the moment I left the womb. All my primordial qi was refined, and where did the essence go? It was all swallowed by you, you bastard!】

【Don't think I didn't know it was you these past eight years just because you stayed silent. Pretending to be a System, even refusing to give yourself a name—you can't even fake it right. You think I'm a fool, easy to trick into obediently following you? Don't forget: in my last life, I was your researcher!】

The thing in her mind went momentarily stunned; once it realized it had been deceived and insulted, it flailed inwardly: 【You knew I was the Spirit Realm all along?】

Pan Yun blinked, frowning: 【What Spirit Realm? Aren't you the Bai Yu Lotus Lamp?】

【Don't call me that disgusting name! I am the Three Jade Spirit Realm! You stupid humans, seeing three jade pieces connected, you call me a lamp? Lamp your grandmother's lamp!】

Pan Yun: 【If a spirit-born entity is this crude, why did you name yourself Spirit Realm?】

【You became human too—weren't you crude?】 it shot back, sneering: 【You humans studied me for over a decade and still didn't understand what I'm for.】

Pan Yun: 【Aren't you just a storage device? The lotus petals store information—I know the National Museum and research institutes uploaded everything: astronomy, geography, encyclopedias—all recorded in you. Aside from storage, what else can you do? Oh, now you've added one more: you can store physical objects too.】

In her past life, she was born in the 26th century, after the Fifth World War. Earth lay in ruins, population decimated, countless traditions lost to war and time. Then, a strange energy emerged.

Not only did humans gain power and change, adapting to survive this harsh world, but plants and animals also absorbed this energy, exhibiting ancestral regression.

This regression wasn't toward the recent 23rd or 21st centuries—it was a return to the savage world described in ancient texts, acquiring strange powers. The world called this phenomenon Spiritual Energy Rebirth.

She was born in the first generation after peace. Her grandparents and parents had fought in the World War and perished battling the aberrations. She was raised by the state.

Her talent lay in her heart: she could communicate with all things in the world, and her eyes could see the truth beneath illusions, similar to the legendary Seven-Orifice Luminous Heart. But she had only five orifices—her ability far weaker than the full seven. Her teacher said that with diligent cultivation, she might one day grow into a Seven-Orifice Heart, capable of piercing all illusions and deceptions—the perfect candidate to study ancient relics like the Bai Yu Lotus Lamp.

But before she could grow into a Seven-Orifice Heart, the research institute exploded with a bang. Her body instantly turned to smoke; her soul was seized by something and hurled through a spacetime tunnel torn open by the blast, arriving in this parallel world, reborn anew.

She was born with memories. She had no desire to form deep ties with this world's family. She was a twenty-year-old graduate student—easily immune to sentiment.

But… her parents and brothers in this world treated her too well. Waaah…

Her father, when returning from work, would carefully lift her onto his neck to ride. Her eldest brother saved his pocket money to buy her all kinds of things. Her second brother would sneak her onto the rooftop to watch the streets below, then take her punishment when caught…

Not to mention her gentle, thoughtful mother—across both her past and present lives, she had met only one person as kind, gentle, and considerate as her.

Fatherly love, maternal love, brotherly love—she had all of it in this life. But it was too short.

Thinking of this, Pan Yun grew angrier, gritting her teeth: 【I don't care if you're a Spirit Realm, a lamp, or a storage device—you've been stealing my spiritual power all this time, ruining my cultivation. When my father was in trouble, I couldn't help him at all. You owe me!】

【Even if I didn't consume your spiritual power and you became strong, what could you do under imperial authority?】 the Three Jade Spirit Realm said. 【Do you think no one knows your father is innocent? The Emperor and Wang Zhen demand his death—can he live? The Emperor and Wang Zhen demand he take the blame—can he refuse?】

The Three Jade Spirit Realm spoke coldly: 【This isn't the 26th century. This isn't a rule-of-law society. Your individual strength counts for little here.】

Pan Yun's chest heaved, then she calmed, speaking coolly: 【I don't care what others think or do. I'm saving my father and my brothers. Just say yes or no.】

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The Three Jade Spirit Realm replied coldly: 【I can't.】

Hearing this, Pan Yun sneered, closed her eyes, and adjusted her breathing. This time, she did not refine essence or spiritual energy—she entered meditation.

Her entry into meditation was swift. In moments, her spirit sank into her body, and in an instant, she stood within her own Upper Palace of Clarity, facing a lotus-shaped treasure.

It was pure white, three petal-shaped pieces of jade fused together, each petal the size of a palm, clustered like a lotus blossom.

The Spirit Realm, curled within the jade pieces, stared blankly at Pan Yun, who had suddenly appeared before it.

Pan Yun looked at it with a half-smile: 【Surprised?】

【I cultivated for eight years and achieved nothing. Every bit of spiritual energy I refined vanished the moment it passed through my Upper Palace of Clarity. Even a fool would know something's wrong with it. Do you think I spent eight years with no preparation?】

The Three Jade Spirit Realm had no reply. Its inner emotions were complex—it had chosen this person herself, yet her extraordinary talent filled it with both pride and fury.

(End of Chapter)