134: Chapter 134, the Spiritual Root Entry, is Here.

She turned her head and looked at Mother Lin, who was curled up on the pile of straw beside her.

In the dim prison cell, Qin Qing was sleeping soundly. The True Qi that had poured into her body after the last simulation ended was still nourishing her, her breathing steady and long. The corners of her mouth were even slightly upturned, as if she were having a pleasant dream.

Lin Shuangwan's gaze rested on the new gray hairs at her mother's temples for a long time.

Sixteen years. She had transmigrated into this world for sixteen years, and Qin Qing had never let her go hungry for a single meal.

After her father passed away, the family lost its income. Qin Qing would go out early in the morning to sell breakfast, and upon returning at night, she would still have to sew and wash clothes for others. The chilblains on her hands cracked layer after layer, yet she never once complained.

"Mother." Lin Shuangwan mouthed silently, her voice as light as a wisp of smoke.

Those four tasks were said to be the deepest obsessions of Qin Qing's Soul. Escape to survival, bear children, find Lin Hao, and reunite the family.

Not a single one was for herself. They were all for her and Lin Hao.

Lin Shuangwan took a deep breath, forcefully suppressing the touch of bitterness. She was not a person good at expressing emotions—she hadn't been in her past life, and she wasn't in this one either—but some things didn't need to be said aloud; having them etched into one's bones was enough.

"Except for the second one..." Lin Shuangwan's gaze returned to the panel, and the corners of her mouth twitched. Bear children, men marry when they grow up and women marry when they grow up, find a satisfactory husband, and live a peaceful life. Mother, I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you with this one. But the others, I will definitely accomplish.

Lin Shuangwan steadied her mind and began to analyze the trait attributes in the task rewards one by one.

"Task One, Escape to Survival, basic reward: white trait [Light as a Swallow], Advanced reward: blue trait [Wind Walker]..."

White traits were the lowest Rank and were most likely simple movement technique bonuses. As for the blue [Wind Walker], judging by the name, it should be a higher-tier speed trait, possibly involving Qi acceleration or short-distance teleportation effects. For her current self, it wasn't too scarce, but even a mosquito's leg is still meat.

"Task Two, Bear Children, basic reward: blue trait [Blessed with Many Children]..." Lin Shuangwan's face turned green on the spot.

Blessed with Many Children. What kind of ghost trait is this? Increase fertility? Multiple babies in one birth? Or do the children born have innate talents? Regardless of what it is, it has nothing to do with her. Lin Shuangwan wanted to Cultivate in this life, to achieve longevity, to stand at the Peak of the Heavenly Dao and look down upon all living beings; the only thing she didn't need was to be a reproductive machine for anyone.

"However..." Lin Shuangwan's gaze shifted slightly downward, landing on the Advanced reward. Purple trait [Phoenix Blood].

Phoenix Blood. This name made her heart skip a beat. This world had the setting of the "Classic of Mountains and Seas" exotic beast source fruit, and with the Phoenix being one of the most top-tier existences in mythology, the value of this trait... If it were a talent related to Phoenix Bloodline, its Rank would definitely be more than just purple.

But the problem was, the Advanced reward meant it had to be completed in reality. Find a man in reality to have children with? Lin Shuangwan closed her eyes. If it were in the simulation, it would be easy to say—at worst, she just wouldn't extract the memories after giving birth and pretend it never happened—but in reality... absolutely impossible. She subconsciously touched her flat abdomen and shook her head firmly, completely crossing this option out of her mind.

Next was Task Three. [Fate Task Three: Find Lin Hao]. Lin Shuangwan stared at these four characters, her brows gradually knitting together. Basic reward: purple trait [Alchemy Sage], Advanced reward: golden trait [Avoid Misfortune and Seek Good Fortune].

Purple and golden. This reward gradient was obviously a large step higher than the first two, but if calculated according to the logic that "task difficulty determines reward Rank"... Was the difficulty of "finding Lin Hao" only worth a purple trait? Lin Shuangwan's pupils contracted slightly.

You must know, in the first simulation, Wei Feisen personally admitted to killing Lin Hao. But later, during the interrogation in the third simulation, he flatly denied it, saying he had searched for three months and hadn't found a body. If Lin Hao was truly dead, what did "find" mean? Find the bones? Or resurrect him? Resurrecting a dead person, such a Heaven-Defying act, how could it only be worth a purple trait? Even a golden one wouldn't be enough. Then there was only one possibility left. Lin Hao was not dead.

Lin Shuangwan's eyes suddenly turned cold. If he wasn't dead, why didn't he come back? Not to mention anything else, just take the matter of her and Mother Lin being thrown into prison. Without the appearance of the simulator, the fate of her and her mother—being ravaged by soldiers, sent to the army as forced labor, or sold to some sordid man as a plaything. If Lin Hao was alive but didn't return, then what was he doing?

"Lin Hao." Lin Shuangwan's small face sank completely, a layer of thin frost gathering between her brows, and she muttered indignantly in her heart: "You had better be dead. Don't let me find you. Otherwise, don't even think about keeping that face of yours intact." She cursed this irresponsible, cheap brother of hers in her heart until he was drenched in dog's blood, then took a deep breath and turned her attention to the final task.

Task Four, Reunite the Family. Basic reward: golden trait [Endless Blessings], Advanced reward—random red trait × 1. Red trait. Lin Shuangwan's breathing paused. Red, that was one Rank higher than golden. The System's trait Ranks from low to high were white, blue, purple, golden, and red. As the highest-tier trait, in any case, the value of this thing was unquestionable.

But to complete Task Four, she had to first complete Task Three, and to complete Task Three, she had to first find Lin Hao. And finding Lin Hao was itself a fog of mystery. More importantly, in these four tasks, there was not the thing she wanted most. Spiritual Root. Lin Shuangwan clenched her fists. The Spiritual Root was the greatest chasm on her path to Cultivate; without a Spiritual Root, everything was just a reflection of a flower in a mirror and the moon in the water.

"I hope Wei Feisen has it..." Lin Shuangwan pressed her lips together and tapped her finger on the second bound target. [Target: Wei Feisen]. The moment the panel expanded, three tasks appeared. Not four, only three. Lin Shuangwan's gaze fell on the first one first.

[Fate Task One: Marry Her as Wife]. [Task Description: In this life, he has only one obsession—to possess her. Not as a substitute, not as an illusion, but to truly and genuinely stand by her side, letting the whole world know that she is Wei Feisen's wife. Even if he has to use all sorts of despicable means, even if she hates him to the bone, he will bind her to his side, unswerving until death.]

[Basic Reward (Completed in Simulation): Simulation Count × 1, blue trait [Inferior Grade Spiritual Root (Random Attribute)].] [Advanced Reward (Completed in Reality): Simulation Count × 2, purple trait [Low Grade Spiritual Root (Random Attribute)].]

Lin Shuangwan's eyes lit up instantly. Spiritual Root! It's here, it's here, it's here! Her Spiritual Root had finally arrived! Blue trait Inferior Grade Spiritual Root, purple trait Low Grade Spiritual Root—although the quality wasn't high, it was a Spiritual Root! With a Spiritual Root, she could Cultivate, she could Aperture Opening, she could Qi Refining, and she could Foundation Establishment!

Lin Shuangwan stared fixedly at the panel, the corners of her mouth curling upward uncontrollably. She felt that she looked at Wei Feisen much more favorably now. "Well done, little Wei." Lin Shuangwan gave him a thumbs-up in her heart. "I've decided, I'll spare your life in the next simulation."

However... Her gaze swept back and forth between "Basic Reward" and "Advanced Reward" several times. The basic reward was an Inferior Grade Spiritual Root, which she could get by completing it in the simulation; the Advanced reward was a Low Grade Spiritual Root, which needed to be completed in reality. The difference was one grade.

An Inferior Grade Spiritual Root, as the name implies, is the worst quality of Spiritual Root. According to the records in the qingling notes, Spiritual Roots are divided into five levels: Peak Grade, High Grade, Medium Grade, Low Grade, and Inferior Grade. The higher the quality, the faster the Cultivate speed, and the higher the upper limit one can reach. That Master Qingling, Tao Wuji, relied on the red emperor heart pendant to obtain a Medium Grade Fire Spiritual Root. It was due to its function of increasing Cultivate speed that he lived to two hundred and thirty-eight years old, yet in his entire life, he only barely reached the Peak of the Foundation Establishment.

Inferior Grade Spiritual Root... Lin Shuangwan frowned. An Inferior Grade Spiritual Root meant an extremely slow Cultivate speed and dull Aptitude; it belonged to the lowest level of existence in the Cultivation World. More importantly, don't even think about the Advanced reward. Marry Wei Feisen in reality? Just with a small Low Grade Spiritual Root, he wanted to buy her, Lin Shuangwan's, integrity? That's simply ridiculous, okay. Inferior is Inferior; as long as it can be used, it's fine. Anyway, she had the simulator; if her Aptitude was a bit poor, so be it. Lin Shuangwan decisively nipped this thought in the bud, shifted her gaze downward, and looked at the second task.

[Fate Task Two: Trample Upon Old Humiliation]. [Task Description: In the year she was seventeen, she followed the Immortal and left. Seven years later, she returned. Before she left, she looked back at him once; there was no reluctance in her eyes, only pity. That look, he has remembered for thirty years. He wants to let Jiang Nanqiao see that he, Wei Feisen, is not just one in ten million ordinary people from a land of thin Qi. He wants to personally trample that woman under his feet, make her kneel before him, and admit that she chose the wrong person back then!]

[Basic Reward (Completed in Simulation): Simulation Count × 2, purple trait [Eye of Breaking Law].] [Advanced Reward (Completed in Reality): Simulation Count × 3, golden trait [Seed of Heavenly Fire].]

Jiang Nanqiao. Lin Shuangwan silently recited this name. This must be the "her" that Wei Feisen mentioned before he died—the childhood sweetheart, the girl taken away by the Immortal. A scene involuntarily appeared in her mind: Wei Feisen kneeling on the ground, looking up at his beloved girl flying away with the Immortal without looking back, only glancing back at the very end, her eyes filled with high-and-mighty pity. And then that young man spent thirty years trying to prove himself.

"Tsk." Lin Shuangwan sighed in her heart. Brother, you need to be strong. It's just a green hat, right? No wonder Wei Feisen later became that paranoid and crazy person. Lin Shuangwan looked at the last one.

[Fate Task Three: Eternal Companionship]. [Task Description: He does not want power, he does not want the world, he does not want to Cultivate; he only wants her. Forever and ever to be with her, to watch her smile, to hear her scold him. Even if she never loves him in her entire life, it doesn't matter, as long as she is by his side. He wants to have a son and a daughter with her; the daughter as beautiful as her, the son as capable of fighting as him. He wants to guard her until the end of time, until the stars fall.]

[Basic Reward (Completed in Simulation): Simulation Count × 3, golden trait [Indestructible Dao Heart].] [Advanced Reward (Completed in Reality): Simulation Count × 5, red trait [Longevity].]

Lin Shuangwan looked at that task description and was silent for a long time. Forever and ever to be with her. Even if she never loves him in her entire life, it doesn't matter. "..." She couldn't describe what kind of feeling it was. But soon, rationality overcame that momentary complex emotion. Her gaze landed on the "completion condition," and her brows knitted together.

This task... how to complete it? What does "forever and ever together" mean? Could it be that she has to commit suicide with Wei Feisen? Or grow old together? Or perhaps Cultivate together to achieve Longevity? The conditions were too vague. And this third task was obviously built on the foundation of the first two; you have to marry him first, he has to complete his obsession with Jiang Nanqiao first, and then it might be possible to trigger the condition for "Eternal Companionship." The rewards were indeed ridiculously generous; the golden trait [Indestructible Dao Heart] sounded like a top-tier item just from the name, not to mention that red trait [Longevity]. Since it was a red trait, it could of course just mean living a few decades longer, or maybe it really meant the literal meaning, Longevity... But the completion condition was also ridiculous.

Lin Shuangwan closed the details of this task. She reorganized all the information and quickly locked onto the current optimal solution. Wei Feisen's Task One, complete it in the simulation to obtain an Inferior Grade Spiritual Root. This was her only key to the path of Cultivation.

"Alright." Lin Shuangwan exhaled a breath of turbid air, closed the destiny module panel, and instead tapped on another option. [Trait Draw]. On the panel, that draw opportunity emitting a deep blue glow was floating quietly. [Premium Trait Random Draw Opportunity × 1 (Guaranteed blue or higher quality)].

Lin Shuangwan steadied her mind and tapped with her fingertip. The light suddenly exploded. Blue, purple, golden—three streams of light spun rapidly on the panel, jumping crazily like a turntable. Lin Shuangwan's heart rose to her throat. Blue... purple... blue... purple... The streams of light stopped suddenly. A deep purple brilliance blossomed.

[Congratulations to the host, you have obtained the purple trait—[Fog-Hidden Heavenly Secrets]!] [Trait Effect: The host's Cultivation Realm, aura fluctuations, and destiny trajectory are shrouded by a layer of heavenly mist. Beings whose Cultivation is not more than two major Realms higher than the host cannot use any means to deduce, divine, or probe the host's true Cultivation.]

Lin Shuangwan gasped. A purple trait! And with this kind of effect! She instantly understood the terrifying nature of this trait. What was the most dangerous thing in the Cultivation World? It was revealing wealth, it was being the tallest tree in the forest. A Loose Cultivator without a background, if someone probed their Cultivation depth, they would be fish on a chopping block. And [Fog-Hidden Heavenly Secrets] directly hid her trump cards. Not higher than two major Realms, which meant that if she was in the Opening Aperture Realm, then Cultivators in the Qi Refining Realm and Foundation Establishment Realm could not see through her; if she was in the Qi Refining Realm, even the Purple Mansion Realm could do nothing to her. What was even better was the phrase "destiny trajectory." What did destiny trajectory mean? It meant that those Cultivators who were good at divination and deduction could not use heavenly secrets and numerology to locate her or plot against her. In the Cultivation World, this was simply an invisibility cloak!

"Premium trait, awesome!" Lin Shuangwan shouted in her heart. She now held two purple traits, [Peerless Elegance] and [Fog-Hidden Heavenly Secrets]. One bright, one dark, both offensive and defensive. Calming her violently beating heart, Lin Shuangwan cast her gaze toward her current trait bar.

Three trait slots, currently equipped with: [Peerless Elegance] (purple)—peerless appearance, greatly increased charm, natural affinity with all living beings, with a slight Spiritual power affinity and luck bonus. [Steadfast Heart] (white)—Dao Heart is firm, not disturbed by the outside world, has certain resistance to mental attacks. [Martial Arts Prodigy] (blue)—greatly increased comprehension of martial arts Cultivation Technique.

Lin Shuangwan's gaze swept over the three traits and finally settled on [Martial Arts Prodigy]. This trait had helped her a lot in the previous simulations, allowing her to reach the Earthly Immortal in a very short time. But now, she was about to step onto the path of Cultivation, and the martial arts bonus would become smaller and smaller for her. And the importance of [Fog-Hidden Heavenly Secrets] was far above that of [Martial Arts Prodigy]. Lin Shuangwan did not hesitate. "Martial Arts Prodigy, get lost."