Unconventional [Rebirth] - Chapter 2

Scattered cranes flew through the air, their clear calls echoing. The surrounding mountains were magnificent and majestic, looking like a graceful dragon lying at rest, appearing and disappearing within the misty clouds.

Lush, green bamboo forests, powerful and clear flowing streams, and rustic, elegant wooden buildings…

Jiang Rui looked at the scene before him, a celestial realm that seemed to have come to life from a master’s ink wash painting. He found it hard to believe. However, he quickly calmed down. If he could have memories from his past life, then what was in front of him wasn’t so hard to accept.

“You’ve come…”

A serene and ethereal voice broke Jiang Rui’s appreciation of the beautiful scenery.

Jiang Rui cautiously looked around but found no one.

The voice seemed to know his every move and even his thoughts. It continued, “I cannot form a physical body yet. Bringing you back to life took a lot of my energy.”

Upon hearing this, Jiang Rui’s face changed. “Bringing me back to life?” He had thought that it was just a dream—a premonition—or that the person in the dream was simply a past version of himself. Now, hearing this voice say “brought back to life,” his heart was shocked. Did this mean that everything in the dream had actually been his own experience?

Jiang Rui’s face turned incredibly grim.

“Who are you?” Jiang Rui wouldn’t trust something of unknown origin that was hiding its true identity.

Jiang Rui thought back on the voice. Although it was extremely ethereal, it was also dry and hoarse. It didn’t sound old, and he couldn’t tell if it was a man, a woman, a person, or… something else entirely.

“I am this Myriad Profound Secret Realm before you. You can call me Myriad Profound. I have not had a master for thousands of years, until I met you. The cultivation of this world is in decline, and your spiritual bones are extremely rare, even in other cultivation realms. This is why your blood could make me recognize you as my master. But I was too weak at the time to let you into the Secret Realm. When I truly woke up, you were in great trouble, and I couldn’t save you in time. I could only reverse time to bring you back to life…” Myriad Profound seemed to have more to say but suddenly fell silent.

After listening, Jiang Rui felt either he was insane or the world was.

His head was buzzing. Thankfully, the Secret Realm was speaking in a simple dialect, so he could at least understand it.

“I can only communicate with you through consciousness right now. To transmit sound through speech or to form a body, you will need to practice diligently. I will naturally grow stronger as my master does.”

Jiang Rui waved his hand. “Let’s talk about that later. Right now, I need to calm down and process what you’ve said. By the way, how do I get out?”

“You are my master, so this place exists because of you. If you want to leave, you can leave.”

…In other words, all he had to do was think about it.

Jiang Rui followed the instructions and with a slight shift of thought, he was back in his room, in the exact spot he had been standing when he entered the space.

It seemed that the space always returned him to where he entered.

It was now the middle of the night, and the chirping of the insects outside had become much softer.

Jiang Rui couldn’t sleep, as he kept overthinking what Myriad Profound had told him. He suddenly heard his parents arguing in their room.

After a moment’s thought, Jiang Rui put on his sandals and carefully walked to his parents’ door.

He Fulan’s voice sounded particularly angry. “Jiang, you and I both know exactly how much spare money our family has. You’ve earned a lot of money at the brickyard over the years, but do I need to name who got most of it? The money I’ve earned from mending clothes is all for my son. He’ll need to go to high school and then college, which will cost a lot. You want to use the money for our son’s education to pay off your brother’s debts? I’m telling you clearly right now, you can forget about it!”

Jiang Jianjun was also annoyed. “What are you talking about? If the money is gone, we can earn more. The debt collectors are now harassing Mom and Dad at their home. Can we just watch them drive our parents to their death?”

“Whoever owes the debt should pay it. In any case, don’t even think about using my son’s school money!”

Jiang Jianjun had only one son, whom he loved deeply. But his own mother was crying and pleading with him for money to save her youngest son. How could he just stand by and do nothing? His troublesome younger brother, Jiang Jianlin, had disappeared without a trace. What could he do if he couldn’t find him? Go and pressure his pregnant sister-in-law? Or make his second brother, Jianheng, who could barely make ends meet, sell everything he had?

Thinking of this, Jiang Jianjun couldn’t help but punch the bed frame. His mother had always favored the youngest. He and his second brother, Jianheng, were always put to the side. Only when the youngest was in trouble or had no money would their mother think of him and his second brother. For so many years, she had spoiled the youngest, to the point that he was no longer a decent person. With his wife pregnant at home, he had somehow racked up a debt of over ten thousand yuan in the city.

Jiang Jianjun resented his younger brother, but his resentment was useless. He still had to deal with this matter.

A feeling of helplessness washed over Jiang Jianjun. For years, any small or big problem in the family came to him. Even with his capable wife, he was exhausted. He was only in his thirties but looked as if he was in his forties.

The couple argued for a long time, neither convincing the other, and both feeling torn.

“So what do you suggest we do?” Jiang Jianjun finally threw the question back at He Fulan. He knew his wife was tough on the outside but soft on the inside. She would never genuinely stand by and watch her parents-in-law suffer or let the debt collectors bully her pregnant sister-in-law.

He Fulan fell silent. She hated Jiang Jianlin with all her heart, but she also felt a sense of sadness. Her son was so smart; every teacher praised his grades. He was sensible and obedient and always made her proud. If he got into high school and college in the future, how could they, as his parents, face him if they couldn’t even pay for his education?

“We can contribute the money,” He Fulan said, wiping away her tears, her voice cold.

Jiang Jianjun’s heart leaped with joy.

He Fulan continued, “But we can’t pay for all of it. For a debt of over ten thousand yuan, we can contribute a maximum of five thousand. Not a penny more! Don’t tell me you don’t know that your parents have a sum of money saved up to give to the grandchild still in your sister-in-law’s womb.”

Jiang Jianjun went silent. He knew his mother had money, but with her personality, she wouldn’t easily give it up.

However, he also knew that for his wife to take even a portion of their son’s education fund to pay off his useless brother’s debt was her biggest compromise. If he pushed her any further, she would rather take their child and go back to her family than get involved in this matter.

Jiang Rui, having heard enough, returned to his room.

He had some memory of the family borrowing money to pay off his uncle Jiang Jianlin’s debt. But he remembered that in the end, they paid the entire debt of more than ten thousand yuan for his uncle. And even after all that, his grandmother still didn’t appreciate it, thinking they were stingy and didn’t sincerely want to help. As for his uncle, Jiang Jianlin, he was a pure, ungrateful scoundrel. He even blamed Jiang Jianjun for giving him the money too late, which made him suffer while he was in hiding.

In reality, his uncle’s family was not as helpless as his parents thought. His aunt, Li Xiuzhi, ran a small convenience store in town and had a good amount of money. The Li family had several sons, but Li Xiuzhi was their only daughter, and they would not let anything bad happen to her. And his uncle wouldn’t have dared to get into so much debt without having at least some money himself. It wasn’t overestimating the family to say that they could have put their heads together and paid off the debt themselves. There was absolutely no need for his parents to take out the hard-earned money they had saved from the little they had.

This time, Jiang Rui would not let his parents pay off the debt for that ungrateful family. But they needed money themselves. He thought of countless ways to make money, but most required a large capital or were things he was too young to do. After tossing and turning in bed for a while, his heart stirred, and he entered the space.

“Myriad Profound?”

“Master, I’m here. Have you figured things out?”

Jiang Rui suddenly remembered what Myriad Profound had told him about cultivation. He immediately said, “Let’s not talk about anything else for now. Do you have any quick ways to make money?” He knew too little about this Secret Realm. Even if he wanted to use it, he had to find a way.

“…”

Myriad Profound was silent for a while before finally saying with a hint of helplessness, “Although I’ve only just reawakened, I have learned a bit about the outside world. Taking things from the Secret Realm would attract too much attention. I have two simple ways. First, on the mountain next to the wooden building, there is a Spiritual Jade Tree on the summit. If you cut into the bark, you can get its Jade Tree Sap, which can turn ordinary stones into jade. The closer the sap is to the roots, the better the quality of the jade. You can sell jade for money. Second, all the soil in the Secret Realm is spiritual soil. The soil near the wooden building is the best, it is top-grade Profound Soil. Any plants, flowers, or fruits grown in it will have a strong spiritual aura, which is very beneficial to ordinary people. I know that things in the outside world lack spiritual energy, so you can use this to find a way to make money. But you must never take the plants, flowers, or fruits from the Secret Realm outside; they don’t exist in the outside world and will bring you trouble.”

Jiang Rui was surprised by what he heard, but his face remained impassive.

Myriad Profound added, “The Secret Realm has many other benefits. Although the spiritual energy is not as rich as it was thousands of years ago, it’s still much better than most blessed lands and spiritual mountains in other cultivation realms. Once you have achieved success in cultivation, the Secret Realm will naturally evolve, and then…”

Jiang Rui listened to Myriad Profound’s grand promises. He still had some doubts about this Secret Realm. A pie that fell from the sky was tempting, but it also made one wary.

“How do I get the Jade Tree Sap?” Jiang Rui asked.

Myriad Profound said, “The bark of the Jade Tree is tough. You need to have a Foundation Establishment level of cultivation to break through it.”

Jiang Rui immediately lost interest.

Myriad Profound continued, “The Jade Tree Sap can do more than just turn stones into jade. It has many wonderful uses. If a cultivator drinks it, their cultivation will progress with twice the speed and half the effort. Although mortals cannot drink it, wearing jade imbued with Jade Tree Sap for a long time can cure all illnesses, ward off evil, keep you looking young, and prolong your life…”

Jiang Rui suddenly remembered his mother, who would get cancer and die young in the future. Even with all his abilities, he couldn’t change the natural course of human life, but this spiritual jade might be the only hope to save his mother. He began to waver.

Myriad Profound seemed to sense Jiang Rui’s hesitation and threw out two jade slips out of thin air.

“If Master wishes to cultivate, why not try these two cultivation methods? One is the Heart Cultivation Method: Vein Breath and Spirit Condensation and the other is the Combat Sword Technique: Spirit Condensation Sword Style. It is best to practice both together. Just place the jade slip against your forehead and, with a calm mind, resonate with it to open it.”

Jiang Rui glanced at the jade slips, hesitated for a while, and then opened them as Myriad Profound instructed. He knew he had to cultivate to save his mother, but making money was also an urgent matter.