Upon laying eyes on the turtle shell, Chen Mobai felt a slight twinge of pain in the healed wound on his right hand.
This is how it began.
Half a month before, he had just broken through the fifth level of Qi cultivation, and his superstitious mother, elated, brought him to an allegedly mystical temple deep in the mountains of their hometown to light a stick of incense, hoping for his academic success.
Then, out of nowhere, someone had pushed him while he was paying homage, causing him to stumble. To regain his balance, he reached out and grabbed hold of a turtle shell that had been presented before the deity.
That turtle shell, smoked for years and not entirely clean, cut a gash into Chen Mobai's right hand with its sharp edge. An infection soon followed, leaving him too weak to stand and necessitating a two-week hospital stay.
This incident, which had landed her precious son in hospital, naturally angered Chen Mobai's mother. She disputed vigorously with the temple's presiding cultivator monk, hoping to receive a refund of the 188 Good Deed Points she'd donated for the incense.
But the old cultivator monk was not a pushover, or perhaps the temple was genuinely impoverished—to the extent that no matter how much Chen Mobai's mother argued, he adamantly refused the refund and offered just two Evil Warding Talismans in consolation.
In the end, having made his point, the old monk finally conceded a bit.
He allowed the irate Chen Mobai's mother to take away the turtle shell, saying she could burn it to dispel her son's misfortune.
But that turtle shell is still unburnt to this day.
Open fires were forbidden in the city. All unused and discarded resources had to be recycled, then processed in a certain way by an Earth Master before being buried into the ground's Spiritual Pivot. This process helps to maintain the generation and circulation of Spiritual Energy on Earth Elemental Star.
Only organizations and companies with approved permits for alchemy and artifact refining were allowed to start fires.
Feeling exasperated, Chen Mobai, picking up the turtle shell in preparation to toss it in the trash, was hoping that the Earth Master would bury this misbegotten thing the next day.
However, just as his hand touched the turtle shell, a flash of silver light flickered.
Caught off guard, Chen Mobai found himself completely enveloped in sparkling silver light, then fading away within his room.
...
Chen Mobai didn't know how long had passed.
His consciousness gradually returned, and he slowly got up.
Looking around, he realized he was no longer in his room but in a mysterious cave dwelling.
While he had no clue where this cave dwelling was located, Chen Mobai was certain about one thing.
He was now underwater.
Looking up, he only saw vast blueness.
The entire cave dwelling was encased in a thin, transparent semi-ellipsoid barrier. When fish and crabs from all directions swam into the barrier, they were promptly repelled as if coming into contact with a rubber surface.
After waiting for nearly ten minutes with no sign of any senior experts appearing, Chen Mobai slowly turned around to take a closer look.
Upon a detailed examination, he found that it was indeed a small underwater cave dwelling.
The place he stood should be the front hall of the cave dwelling. There were array flags mounted on pedestals on the four corners and the main pedestal behind him, all forming a simple Water Avoidance Array.
Luckily Chen Mobai paid enough attention in his formation studies lectures. He identified this Rank-2 intermediate-grade Array, noting its main functions limited to gathering spirits, keeping water out, concealment, and defense. No offensive capabilities were apparent.
Acting on the knowledge gained from his studies, Chen Mobai cautiously probed the formation. About an hour later, he confirmed its benignness, and only then could he breathe a sigh of relief.
Once he was sure that this cave dwelling was not filled with hidden dangers, he waited another half-hour before finally moving.
The cave dwelling was very small indeed. Apart from this exposed front hall, there were only three side halls.
The central side hall should be the cultivation room. Not knowing if it was occupied, Chen Mobai pulled a 'Wood Armor Talisman' from his pocket and held it tightly. This talisman was his life-saving charm.
The Charm, being intermediate grade of its Rank-1, could block an attack from a sixth-level Qi Cultivator upon activation.
With the talisman at hand, he felt a bit secured.
Chen Mobai then took out a coin, placed it on the ground, and gently rolled it towards the door of the side hall.
Zing!
As the coin rolled in front of the main door, a faint blue electric flash flickered, evaporating the rigid coin into a lump of spiritual mist.
Watching this scene, Chen Mobai couldn't help but feel disheartened.
This one-dollar coin was worth one Good Deed Point.
It was minted from ground spirit stones mixed with other jade mine minerals and metals and infused with a point of spiritual energy value for forgery prevention, serving as the basic unit of currency on Earth.
With his weekly allowance of only five dollars, and the hard-earned money from cutting talisman papers, Chen Mobai barely managed to save eighty good deed points.
Now that he was one coin short, he hesitated.
No sound came from the hall where the prohibition was triggered, making Chen Mobai increasingly impatient. After searching his pockets, he found only another coin for testing and once again painfully rolled it to the side halls.
Zing!
Splash!
The two startlingly different sounds and flashes of light caused Chen Mobai's eyes to widen.
The prohibition at the entrance of the left-side hall was the same as the central hall, prompting the same faint blue electric light that vaporized the coin.
However, the prohibition on the door of the right-side hall was completely different, materialising into a ripple of deep blue water waves, pushing the coin back as if by a ripple.
Chen Mobai sidestepped, giving way to the rolling coin.
Once the coin stopped, he released another coin with precision, confirming there were no residual prohibitive forces on it before collecting it back.
He moved to the door of the right-side hall, carefully tested a few times, confirming that there was no harmful prohibition on it before attempting to break it.
But Chen Mobai had no prohibition-breaking talismans at his disposal, his cultivation technique was merely the Five Element Inner Cultivation taught by schools for foundational learning.
"If only I had bid on that 'Water Sword Talisman' I've been eyeing for a while."
After numerous attempts to break the water wave prohibition on the door, Chen Mobai couldn't help but feel regret. In the shopping cart on the Immortal Gate's virtual market, there were many items he wanted to buy.
Among them was a Water Sword Talisman worth 30 Good Deed Points, a rank-1 intermediate tier talisman, perfect for his Qi cultivation on the fifth layer.
He felt the strength of the water wave prohibition on the door of the side hall; it was somewhat similar to the "Wood Armor Talisman" he possessed. If he slapped a "Water Sword Talisman" on it, it would likely be dealt with easily.
Having exhausted all his knowledge, Chen Mobai was genuinely out of options.
His only option was to return to the central hall and sit on the base of the central array flag where he regained consciousness, starting to meditate to recover the magic power he expended while exploring the water wave prohibition.
"Huh?"
As soon as he meditated, he was shocked to his core. He took out his phone and opened the app to test the concentration of spiritual energy.
[Spiritual Energy Value: 60]
"This place is actually a rank-2 intermediate-grade spirit vein."
Chen Mobai was even more taken aback. This mansion wasn't just a wealthy family's resort but a high-ranking cultivator's dwelling. If the owner saw a stranger here, they wouldn't be amused.
"How did I end up here? … Wait, the turtle shell…"
Chen Mobai remembered the important detail. But he had been all around this mansion, even flipping over the flowers and plants, yet he found no sign of the turtle shell.
"What am I going to tell mom and dad!"
After waiting another hour and checking the time, realizing that his parents would be home soon, Chen Mobai had no choice but to play his last card.
Dial 110.
He hoped that the Law Enforcement Cultivators of the Immortals could track his phone and rescue him from this mysterious mansion.