Scooping water, splashing it out, the spray scattered like rain, falling evenly on the vegetable patch in the yard.
Spiritual energy surged, and a mysterious spiritual charm gathered in the heavens and earth, drifting with the water droplets.
The fruits and vegetables filling the courtyard were nourished, undergoing a wondrous transformation and beginning to nurture wisps of vital essence.
Ji Mo tightly clutched the gourd ladle for watering, watching the movements in the vegetable garden, his face a mixture of trepidation and anticipation.
"Ding..."
"Planting skill advanced successfully, skill perfected."
"Congratulations to the host for obtaining the title of Shennong."
"Learning knows no bounds, may the host never forget their original intention, never tire of learning, and continue to strive. The next perfected skill advancement will bring a mysterious grand prize!"
A white light flashed across Ji Mo's body, and the system's voice slowly sounded in his mind.
"That's it? Nothing else?"
"I don't want any damn title, I just want to cultivate..."
Ji Mo's eyes turned red, his mouth twitching, and he finally couldn't bear it any longer, smashing the gourd ladle in his hand into pieces.
"Go to hell with your original intention, you dog system. For eight years, you've been tricking me for eight years. I quit..."
Ji Mo felt no excitement from receiving the reward, but rather filled with anger.
This was because the reward was still not the cultivation he most longed for.
Boom!
Thunder appeared out of nowhere and struck Ji Mo's head.
Instantly, Ji Mo's hair exploded, and his clean-cut face turned as black as the bottom of a pot.
Electric arcs coursed through him, and his whole body trembled like a sieve.
System warning!
This time it was light. Recalling how he had defied the system before and suffered punishment from the Nine Heavens Divine Thunder, the feeling was unbearable.
Gritting his teeth, Ji Mo dared not speak despite his anger.
Similarly, obtaining a system, why did others use it to rise against the wind, soar to the heavens, sweep away all enemies, and become incredibly cool and domineering?
But what about himself?
Farming, blacksmithing, chopping wood, playing the zither, chess, calligraphy, painting...
A pile of useless life skills were cultivated to the extreme with the system's enhancement.
Yet, when it came to cultivation, it remained a blank slate.
No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't cultivate, and he couldn't feel the existence of spiritual energy in the world at all. How infuriating was that?
He had transmigrated to this world for a full eight years.
At first, he harbored dreams, hoping to use the system to make a name for himself, then venture into the martial world, gain fame, win a beautiful wife, and reach the pinnacle of life.
But the result? Year after year, he had cultivated countless skills to perfection, yet he remained a mortal.
The dog system was a cheat!
"It seems I am destined for a life of mediocrity, ultimately a person who cannot cultivate."
Ji Mo sighed softly, feeling the world's immense malice towards him, an outsider, and a sense of powerlessness.
Life had to go on; if you didn't accept it, you'd get struck.
Compromise was the only way to survive.
Ji Mo tidied his mood, pulled out a few large cabbages, and continued practicing the next skill, raising fish.
He walked to the pond behind the house and tore the cabbages into pieces, scattering them into the water.
For some reason today, the entire pond of golden carp seemed ravenous, surging and constantly devouring the cabbage leaves Ji Mo scattered.
Streams of golden light flickered incessantly. After eating the cabbage, these fish seemed to have undergone significant changes. Their bodies became slender, their heads ferocious, and they occasionally leaped out of the water, as if about to ascend.
"Holy crap, are they going to become spirits?"
Ji Mo exclaimed.
The spiritual energy in this world was abundant, and the phenomenon of all things gaining sentience and transforming into spirits was very common.
But Ji Mo didn't realize that the scene before him was actually a higher level of life...
Super evolution!
Even fish could cultivate, which was undoubtedly a direct slap in the face. Ji Mo became even more depressed.
This was unbearable. He would cook them tonight.
"Spicy chopped fish head, West Lake sweet and sour fish, Hengxian sashimi, iron pot stewed big fish..."
Ji Mo recalled the hundred ways he knew to eat fish, and his mouth began to water.
The entire pond of golden carp, which had already transformed into dragon fish, heard this and was so frightened that they returned to their normal state, hiding at the bottom of the pond, not daring to even bubble.
"It's good that you know your place. If you cause trouble again, the iron pot will serve."
Ji Mo nodded, quite satisfied, and then his attention was drawn to a moving white shadow in the distance.
"That's a cultivator using divine abilities to travel!"
Ji Mo focused his gaze and his face lit up with excitement, his eyes shining.
It was a young female cultivator, dressed in white, her figure like a startled swan, as fast as the wind. As she flew, the hem of her skirt fluttered, appearing otherworldly and transcendent.
Her movement technique was elegant and pleasing to the eye, causing Ji Mo to lose himself, his eyes filled with envy and longing.
The white figure moved rapidly, continuously approaching Ji Mo's direction.
At this moment, Lin Zihan's heart was filled with anxiety. A fine layer of sweat beaded on her smooth forehead, and her beautiful face was full of indignation.
Her breathing was chaotic, her spiritual energy almost depleted, and there were bloodstains at the corner of her mouth. Her white skirt was covered in traces of battle.
"I must quickly return to the Brahma Sect to report to the Sect Master. The Heavenly Wolf Gang has betrayed us and joined our sworn enemy, the Profound Water Pavilion. The sect must prepare early, otherwise, there might be a risk of annihilation."
"And that Heavenly Wolf Gang's senior disciple brother, Ma Peng, who outwardly appeared a gentleman but was inwardly lewd and filthy, actually intended to drug me and take my purity. Such a shameless scoundrel, I will not rest until he is dealt with."
Having been schemed against by a villain, Lin Zihan fought her way out, sustaining serious injuries, and was sustained only by a thread of hatred until now.
Seeing that she was about to return to the sect's territory, her tense mood relaxed slightly.
"This is a humble abode, yet my virtue is fragrant!"
Passing by Ji Mo's courtyard, Lin Zihan inadvertently glanced at the couplet at the door and her delicate body trembled, her face filled with shock.
The calligraphy was vigorous and powerful, the brushstrokes sharp and unparalleled, exuding a righteous aura that almost caused Lin Zihan's Dao heart to falter.
"Whose calligraphy is this, that it contains the righteous energy of heaven and earth!"
Could it be that a Confucian master had traveled here?
If she could find a powerful Confucian to help, the sect's crisis might be resolved.
Lin Zihan's heart was filled with wild joy, as if she saw a glimmer of hope for the sect.
But then, her heart plummeted to the bottom.
Because she saw by the thatched hut, an ugly monster as black as charcoal staring at her with a lecherous gaze. What was even more disgusting was that the fellow's mouth was actually...
Drooling!
She had thought a great scholar resided here, but it turned out to be a lewd pervert.
Moreover, the other party was not a master, but just an ordinary person.
Such a drop in expectations almost made Lin Zihan vomit blood.
Ji Mo never imagined that by some twist of fate, he would become a lecher in the eyes of others.
"Pah, men are indeed not good things, disgusting!"
As the daughter of the Brahma Sect Master, her status was noble. No man dared to stare at her so openly, which made Lin Zihan extremely ashamed and angry.
And her previous experiences made her detest men even more.
If the other party were a cultivator, given her temperament, she would have drawn her sword long ago. But the other party was just a mortal, leaving her with nowhere to vent her anger.
"Miss, why are you scolding me for no reason?"
Ji Mo felt it was inexplicable.
Are cultivators so great? I'm just staying in my own yard, who did I offend?
Lin Zihan let out a cold snort, losing interest in staying any longer, and turned to leave.
"Miss, I see you have great misfortune..."
Ji Mo noticed that Lin Zihan's forehead was dark, and her destiny palace was dim. Out of good intentions, he wanted to remind her.
Misfortune!
Great chest?
Lin Zihan heard this, instinctively glanced down, and was furious, "You scoundrel, you're seeking death."
Immediately, she leaped into the air and struck Ji Mo with a palm.
At the doorway.
The door god painting that Ji Mo had drawn sensed the killing intent, and its originally closed eyes suddenly opened, as if it were about to come alive.
A mysterious aura flowed, and a vast pressure surged towards Lin Zihan like a tidal wave.
"Pfft..."
Lin Zihan, who was already seriously injured, had no power to resist and was sent flying backward.