The moment the red eyes flickered from the shadows, Lianhua's heart slammed against her chest. Even with the heavy snake coiled at her feet and the protection of the system's invisibility, her instincts screamed danger.
The cave trembled slightly. A low growl rippled through the air.
[Warning: Low-level Guardian Beast detected. Rank: Earth Grade, Sub-type: Deceiver Bat-Tiger.]
"That's a mouthful," Lianhua muttered. "Why does it have a name like a bootleg Pokémon?"
[This creature pretends to be a higher-ranked guardian beast to scare off intruders. However, it does have moderate strength. Be careful, Host.]
"I thought we were invisible?"
[Invisibility doesn't work on beast senses. You're invisible to humans, not monsters.]
"Of course! Because that would make my life too easy!"
The beast stepped out from the shadows. It had the head of a bat, jagged ears twitching, the thick muscular body of a tiger, and a split tail crackling faintly with energy.
"Oh fuck. That thing's real ugly."
The Yínyǎn Tengshe hissed lowly, ready to strike, but Lianhua raised a hand.
"I got this."
The snake tilted its head in surprise.
So did the system.
[Host? You are a level 2 spiritual farmer. That is a combat-type beast.]
She cracked her knuckles. "System, be a dear and record this. I want to remember how badass I am."
The bat-tiger snarled and lunged.
Lianhua moved.
Fast.
Too fast.
She flipped sideways, narrowly dodging the beast's claws. Her body twisted midair with a fluid grace she didn't know she had, and she landed softly behind the beast.
[...Host. Did you just somersault over a tiger-bat with assassin-level precision?]
"I—I think I did!" she gasped, half-giggling. "Did you see that?! I look like a damn catwoman in a fantasy robe!"
[Host… have you fought before?]
"I don't think so? Not that I remember!"
The system was silent.
Even the Yínyǎn Tengshe stared at her, eyes wide and gleaming.
The beast turned to face her again, but she was already sprinting—her feet light, her reflexes honed, as if she'd trained her whole life. She ducked under another claw swipe, slid across the rocky floor, sprang to her feet, and launched upward, landing directly on the creature's back.
With a fluid motion, she summoned the rusty farming sickle from her storage space, twirled it in her hand, and plunged it into the base of the creature's skull.
The bat-tiger roared once—shaking the entire chamber—and then dropped dead.
Silence.
Lianhua stood over the beast, panting softly, sickle in hand.
"Did... did I just kill that thing in ten seconds?"
[Seven seconds and thirteen milliseconds.]
"I'll take it!"
She wiped her face with her sleeve and bent to inspect the body. The moment her hand touched it, the creature's corpse shimmered with blue light… and disappeared.
"WHAT."
[That… was unexpected.]
Even the snake made a surprised noise, flicking its tongue toward the vanishing light.
"System! I was supposed to loot that!"
[It seems this beast was a disguised spiritual projection. It was likely generated by the presence of the crystal. Once defeated, it returned to its source.]
"Wait. You're saying it wasn't even real-real?!"
[Real enough to kill you.]
"Helpful."
But Lianhua didn't have time to complain.
The rumbling from earlier must've echoed through the cave system, because the sound of fast-approaching footsteps reached her ears—multiple people.
The cultivators.
"Shit."
She turned toward the glowing golden crystal lodged between the rocks. It pulsed with strange energy—almost like it was calling to her.
"I won't make it in time to grab it and leave…"
[Host. Wave your hand. Quickly.]
"What?"
[Wave. Your. Hand.]
She didn't ask further.
With a dramatic flourish, she waved her hand toward the crystal.
The moment her palm passed through the air, every crystal in the chamber blinked once—and then vanished.
Every.
Single.
One.
"What the hell?! Where did they go?!"
[Into your farming system inventory. Safely stored.]
"…Hah! I love you, System."
[I know.]
But that wasn't all.
A wave of heat surged up from beneath her feet. The air warped. Space itself distorted.
"What now?!"
[Auto-extraction initiated. Host and bound spiritual entity will now be teleported to safety.]
"Wait, wait! Bound what?!"
But before she could finish, the cave twisted. The world spun like a kaleidoscope. The Yínyǎn Tengshe hissed, wrapping tightly around her as light swallowed them whole.
Meanwhile, not far behind—
Zhao Feiyan and her team burst into the now-empty chamber, swords drawn.
"Search the area!" she barked. "It's here—I can feel it!"
But the cave was still. No beast. No crystals. Not even a footprint.
Just a lingering heat and faint traces of spatial fluctuation.
Feiyan's expression twisted into rage.
"They got here first…"
"Senior Sister… someone beat us to it?"
She clenched her fists.
"No. She beat me to it. That woman—whoever she is—she'll pay. I will find the Yínyǎn Tengshe. And I will claim its blood if it's the last thing I do."
Her gaze lingered on the faint shimmer in the air—where Lianhua had vanished just moments before.
Back in the hidden farming dimension...
Lianhua stumbled as her feet touched solid ground again. She looked around.
She wasn't in the cave anymore.
Nope.
Now she stood in the middle of a glowing field of rice… except the rice shimmered with spiritual energy. The air here was thick with power.
And beside her, the Yínyǎn Tengshe slithered into a coil and stared at her, blinking slowly.
"Uh… what just happened?"
[Welcome, Host. You've unlocked the first core field of the Spiritual Farming Realm.]
She blinked.
"Wait. This is… mine?"
[Yours to build, cultivate, and grow. The crystals you collected will nourish this space and awaken more system features.]
"…So I got teleported to a private spiritual farm realm with a snake scarf and assassin powers?"
[Correct.]
Lianhua dropped to her knees, laughing.
"This transmigration is finally starting to pay off!"
The snake blinked again.
Then, for the first time, it purred.
Lianhua smiled as she entered the private spiritual farm realm, a faint shimmer of satisfaction dancing on her face. It was tranquil here—soothing winds, distant mountains, and rows of shimmering soil that hummed with potential. The system's ding echoed in her ears.
[DING! HOST LEVEL HAS RISEN TO LEVEL 2.]
She opened the system interface with a flick of her hand, and it displayed her updated stats. Still, many quests remained incomplete—her first planting mission, proper harvesting, initiating trade—but at least now she had access to basic farming tools and the ability to cultivate spiritual crops.
"System, gimme my reward for dealing with that huge snake bastard. Don't tell me it's just another seed."
[DING! CONGRATULATIONS, HOST. REWARD: Yínyǎn Tengshe—Bound Spiritual Beast.]
Lianhua paused. Her smile froze.
"FUCK YOU SYSTEM."
[Language, Host.]
She sighed dramatically and flopped onto the grass under one of the illusory peach trees in the realm. "So you're telling me I risked my life, almost had my ass bitten by a giant oversized lizard, and all I get is that cold-eyed snake?"
[Not just any cold-eyed snake. That is a rare spiritual beast, one that chose you as its companion. Be proud.]
The snake was coiled beside her, its silver eyes half-lidded as if bored. When it noticed her glance, it flicked its tongue and turned its head away.
"Tsundere snake," Lianhua muttered, then sighed again. "I need to go back to the mountain. But this time, just drop me at the foot of it. I'm tired. I need food. I need a bath. And probably a therapist."
[Transferring Host to Mountain Foot in 3… 2… 1…]
A flash of light. A whoosh.
Lianhua blinked and found herself standing under the familiar overgrowth near the base of Huai Mountain, close to the small path leading into Ping Village. The sun was dipping, but it wasn't quite evening yet. Perfect timing. She tightened her grip on her foraged basket, now filled with two snowroot herbs, some glowing moss, and a couple of small wild medicinal plants from the cave.
"Let's make money," she muttered.
As she approached the village edge, a sudden shrill sound met her ears. A child was crying—loud, guttural wails punctuated by the slaps of a cane. An elderly woman, hunched and scowling, was dragging the child along by the arm while scolding him.
"You useless boy! You let the chicken out again! That's our only meat for the season!"
The child sobbed, but the villagers paid no mind. Everyone was busy: carrying water, tending goats, preparing bundles of firewood. Life in the rural lands of Ping was always in motion—if you stopped, you'd starve.
"Excuse me, grandma," Lianhua asked softly, approaching the elder woman.
The woman stopped, eyeing Lianhua up and down, particularly noting her unfamiliar clothes and dusty face.
"Eh? What do you want, girl?"
"Is there a shop here where I can sell herbs?"
The old woman jerked her thumb over her shoulder. "Down that alley, third house on the left. Look for Old Man Xu. He's half-blind but still greedy."
"Thank you!"
Carrying her basket with care, Lianhua hurried through the alley and found the herbalist's shop, which was little more than a stall with drying roots and bottles hung around the wooden doorway. A wrinkled man with a white beard and ink-stained fingers was grinding something in a stone mortar.
"Herbs?" he asked before she could speak.
"Yes," she replied, opening her basket slightly to show him the contents.
He examined them with squinted eyes, muttering, then paused when he reached the two snowroot herbs. His brows raised sharply.
"Where did you get this?"
"Up the mountain," she said vaguely. "Are they good?"
"Good? Girl, these are rare. Very rare. Medicinal and spiritual value both. I'll give you twenty copper coins for the two."
Lianhua narrowed her eyes. "I think it's worth more."
The man scowled, then sighed. "Fine. Thirty. That's the best I can do today."
"Deal."
She left the shop a few minutes later, pouch a little heavier, and heart slightly lighter. Thirty copper coins wasn't a fortune, but in Ping Village, that was at least two weeks of decent meals. Now, it was time to fulfill her last promise of the day.
"Let's get some groceries."
She made her way toward the small market square, where a few vendors still lingered with their produce. She bought half a kilo of rice, some dried tofu, two small salted fish, and a bundle of spring onions. With the remaining coins, she bought a small lotus pastry for her grandmother—soft and sweet, just how she liked it.
As she turned to leave, the sky darkened just slightly, shadows stretching.
Then—
[DING. SYSTEM ALERT: UNUSUAL ENERGY SIGNATURE DETECTED.]
Lianhua froze. "Eh?"
She turned slowly. A cloaked figure was watching her from the edge of the market. Tall. Still. Face hidden in shadow. When her eyes met his, the system pinged again.
[WARNING. DANGEROUS ENTITY DETECTED. SYSTEM SHIELD ACTIVATING TEMPORARILY.]
The snake on her shoulder stirred suddenly, hissing lowly.
The figure didn't move. Then, with a flick of his sleeve, he turned and vanished into the alley.
Lianhua stood there, holding her rice, tofu, and pastry, completely dumbfounded.
"System?"
[…Host. You should go home now.]