Chapter 26

Chapter 26

"The game has been successfully connected.

When Wen Jueqian opened his eyes again, he found himself in a whole new world.

As the massive array shattered, the player didn't head to work like usual, but instead went back to his rented apartment.

The door closed behind him, shutting out the noise and screams from the outside world.

Then the player collapsed onto the bed, his body wracked with intense pain, like destruction followed by reconstruction.

He knew his body was going through earth-shattering changes.

In his hazy state of mind, he asked himself:

Soar with the wind, or sink into the abyss?

That kind of ordinary life—one you could see the end of at a glance, so repetitive it numbed the mind—he'd had more than enough of it.

Once he made his decision, the last shred of his consciousness sank into darkness.

In the chaos, only one sentence was seared deep into his soul:

"Man follows Earth, Earth follows Heaven, Heaven follows Dao, Dao follows Nature."

The power rampaging through his body seemed to finally find its proper path of circulation.

Then, the very essence of the player's being changed.

When the cutscene ended, Wen Jueqian had full control of his body again.

The rented apartment looked incredibly realistic.

Dust was clearly visible in the sunlight streaming through the blinds, the fine grain of the wooden floor, even the complex smells in the air—all of it flooded his senses at once.

This was the real deal—full-immersion simulation with all five senses.

His gaze drifted to the lower right corner.

"Open character panel."

A scroll-like interface floated silently.

"Character Status":

Name: Wen Xianyin

Realm: Mortal

Spiritual Root: Low-grade Water Spiritual Root (Inactive)

Cultivation Technique: None

Spell: None

Status: Mildly fatigued

At the same time, a quest notification popped up.

"Beginner Guide Quest (I): Awakening of the Spiritual Root"

Quest Description: Complete 'Guiding Qi into the Body' and step through the gateway to cultivation.

Quest Objective: Complete your first conscious act of guiding qi into your body.

Quest Reward: Unlock the 'Cultivate' function, opening the path to advancing your realm.

Wen Jueqian's mind stirred slightly, and he selected "Yes."

In cultivation mode, sparse points of light—representing spiritual energy—began to appear in the air. Cultivation meant focusing your mind to capture spiritual energy.

After successfully capturing one spiritual energy point—"

"System Notification": Qi guiding successful! Congratulations on officially embarking on the path of the Dao and becoming a first-level Qi Refinement cultivator!

"System Notification": 'Cultivate' function unlocked. You can now meditate in safe zones to slowly increase your cultivation base.

Wen Jueqian sat down right there and activated the cultivation function.

After capturing spiritual energy points for a while, Wen Jueqian stopped and opened the updated character panel.

His realm was now Qi Refinement Level 1 at 10%, with new sections for cultivation techniques and spells added.

A stream of new system notifications followed:

"Regional Event/Emergency Quest: Mutated Spirit Plant on the Loose"

Quest Description: The resurgence of spiritual energy has caused plants to change in unpredictable ways. The poplar tree outside your apartment building has violently mutated under excessive spiritual energy, transforming into an aggressive 'Shadow Treant.' Its roots are spreading downward, posing a serious threat to the residents of the building. Please deal with it right away!

Quest Objective: Defeat or drive off the mutated 'Shadow Treant (Lv.1).'

Difficulty: Normal

Quest Rewards: 50 EXP, Spirit Stones ×5, Basic Spell Jade Slip ×1, Community Contribution Points +10.

Special Note: It's recommended to master a basic spell before heading out. During the newbie protection period, death penalties are reduced.

He opened the beginner quest guide.

Beginner Guide: Seek the path of cultivation. Great power requires knowledge and techniques to guide it. In your own home, there may be cultivation-related clues you've never noticed before.

For fun, this clue appears randomly—it could be at the bottom of a cup or on a piece of torn cloth.

Wen Jueqian immediately sprang into action and started searching.

To enhance the game's realism, there was no one-click explore function. *Floating Life Realm* required players to physically interact with the environment.

Finally, among his parents' keepsakes, he found a thread-bound ancient book.

"System Notification": Unknown ancient book discovered. Would you like to appraise it?

He selected "Yes."

"Appraisal successful." Obtained: Cold Spring Qi-Guiding Art (Qi Refinement Volume · Incomplete)

Description: An ancient

water-attributed basic qi cultivation method. Many pages are damaged or missing, preserving only the techniques for the first three levels of the Qi Refinement stage, along with two basic spells.

Learn the "Cold Spring Spirit Guidance Art (Qi Refining Chapter · Incomplete)"?

Select: Learn.

"System Notification": Basic cultivation method "Cold Spring Spirit Guidance Art" acquired. Efficiency of cultivating water-type spiritual energy slightly increased.

"System Notification": Basic spells "Water Arrow Art" and "Water Shield Art" unlocked. Check the spell interface for details and practice.

He immediately opened the spell interface. Two icons lit up, with brief descriptions and spiritual power costs.

Level 1 Water Arrow Art condenses water spiritual power into a high-speed arrow, costing 2 spiritual power.

Level 1 Water Shield Art condenses a shield in front of you or at a designated spot, absorbing a set amount of damage. Costs 3 spiritual power.

At Qi Refining Layer 1, he only has 10 spiritual power points, so he must be cautious.

The learning process completed instantly.

After he successfully learned and used the skill, a crystal-clear water arrow, with a faint whistle, struck the opposite wall, leaving a small, damp dent.

"System Notification": Successfully cast 'Water Arrow Art (L.1)', proficiency +1.

He practiced several times, popping a few Qi Recovery Pills in between, until his proficiency was maxed out.

After taking another Qi Recovery Pill, his status was fully restored. Wen Jueqian left to fight monsters.

The once-ordinary poplar tree was now unrecognizable. The trunk had swollen to several times its original size, the bark had turned dark green, and an unknown viscous liquid was seeping out. Two eye-like spots on the trunk were now staring at Wen Jueqian.

"Shadow Tree Man L.2 (ordinary plant mutated by spiritual energy)"

Status: Alert

As Wen Jueqian entered its attack range, tentacles made of roots and shadows lashed out fiercely!

He was ready and dodged to the side.

The tentacles struck the spot where he had just been standing with a dull, heavy thud.

Wen Jueqian was pleased with how realistic it felt.

He steadied himself, aimed at the tree man's eyes, and focused to cast Water Arrow Art.

The water arrow flew wide.

The combat system in Fusheng Realm is designed with complex interactions. Players have to aim, but targets are constantly moving, and different attacks trigger different reactions.

The stray water arrow barely scratched the tree man but enraged it.

More shadow tentacles lashed out from all sides.

"System Notification": You have been attacked by the Shadow Tree Man. HP -8, movement speed reduced by 10% for 3 seconds. Current HP: 92/100.

Although the game suppressed the pain, staying on the defensive would only drain him further.

"Water Shield Art!"

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Several tentacles slammed into the water shield with dull thuds. The shield was nearly spent and about to break.

While the tree man focused its attacks on the shield, Wen Jueqian seized the chance to line up a shot.

There it was—an opening.

He cast Water Arrow Art again, aiming for the tree man's eyes.

This time, it struck true.

The Shadow Tree Man stiffened for a moment and dimmed.

"System Notification": Critical hit! Bonus damage dealt! Shadow Tree Man's HP has dropped significantly!

A good opportunity. Wen Jueqian's spirits lifted, and he gathered his power to cast Water Arrow Art again.

The water arrow hit the same injured eye once more.

The tree trunk started shaking violently, then split apart.

"System Notification": Successfully defeated Shadow Tree Man L.1. Rewards sent to your inventory.

Afterward, Wen Jueqian went through the beginner quests one by one.

"System Notification": Congratulations on advancing to Qi Refining Layer 2! Max spiritual power increased to 20, max HP increased to 120.

"System Notification": Congratulations on advancing to Qi Refining Layer 3! Max spiritual power increased to 40, max HP increased to 140.

It wasn't until he'd finished all the beginner quests that Wen Jueqian logged out.

"Mr. Wen, how was it?" As soon as he came out, the designer who made the tutorial level came over to ask about his experience.

Wen Jueqian nodded: "This version's way better than the last one. The tutorial pacing is smoother, and the combat feedback feels more realistic."

The designer let out a relieved breath and smiled.

Wen Jueqian didn't say much more and got up to leave the testing area. Being plugged in for over seven hours had left his body somewhat fatigued.

Back in his office, he lay down on the sofa for ten minutes before recovering.

But he couldn't go home to rest yet—tonight he had a dinner meeting with Chuxing's higher-ups.

While he was testing the beginner level, Qi Yi had also secured a contract with a top live-streaming platform, for the pre-launch promotion of Fusheng Realm and future live-streaming collaborations.

==========Author's Note:==========

"Man models himself on Earth, Earth on Heaven, Heaven on the Dao, and the Dao on what is natural." — Tao Te Ching

All future game chapters will include this note.