The novel didn't mention how Zhao Tianyun activated the Void Bracelet, leaving Lie Zhanfeng with nothing but guesswork. This omission was frustrating, especially now, when his body was screaming for rest and his patience was wearing thin.
He tried every method that came to mind—holding the bracelet tightly, meditating while wearing it, even whispering nonsensical words of "activation" as if he were a magician. Of course, none of it worked.
Lie Zhanfeng slumped against the cold wall of the cave, his fingers tracing the smooth surface of the bracelet. "Of course, it's not that easy. I should've known," he muttered under his breath, his tone half resigned, half annoyed.
After a moment of hesitation, he resolved to try the one method he had been avoiding—blood. It was painful and crude, but at this point, he was desperate.
With a grimace, Lie Zhanfeng unsheathed a small dagger he had pilfered earlier. "Here goes nothing," he said, pressing the blade against his thumb. Blood welled up instantly, warm and red, and he let a single drop fall onto the bracelet.
The moment the blood touched the silver band, it was as if the bracelet had come alive. It emitted a faint glow and then began to draw his blood with alarming intensity.
"What the—?!" Lie Zhanfeng tried to pull his hand away, but it was too late. The bracelet clamped onto his wrist with an invisible force, its glow growing brighter as it greedily absorbed his blood. His vision blurred, and a strange, oppressive force pressed down on his body.
His knees buckled, and the last thing he saw before everything went dark was the eerie shimmer of the bracelet.
---
When Lie Zhanfeng opened his eyes, the world around him had changed entirely. He blinked a few times, disoriented, as he tried to piece together what had happened.
The air here was different—crisp and fresh, though it lacked the damp, earthy scent of the cave. He was standing in a vast, open space surrounded by endless fields. In the distance, there was a bamboo house, and nearby, a crystal-clear spring bubbled gently.
Lie Zhanfeng rubbed his temples and muttered, "I actually did it…" His lips curved into a triumphant grin, though the expression quickly faded as his stomach growled loudly. The hunger and fatigue he'd been enduring for days suddenly hit him like a hammer.
Stumbling toward the spring, he crouched down and scooped up the cool water with his hands. The moment he drank, a soothing warmth spread through his body, washing away his exhaustion and hunger like magic.
"This is the good stuff," he murmured, drinking greedily. Each gulp seemed to renew his strength, and for the first time in days, he felt alive. He splashed some water on his face and leaned back, marveling at the miraculous spring. "No wonder this thing was hidden away."
---
Lie Zhanfeng sat by the spring for a while, gathering his thoughts. He had succeeded in entering the space, but this was only the beginning. He hadn't forgotten his true purpose—finding a way to cultivate.
The bamboo house caught his eye, and he stood up, brushing the dirt off his tattered clothes. He approached the house cautiously, pushing the wooden door open with a creak. Inside, he found a single large room filled with shelves upon shelves of books.
"Jackpot," he said, his voice filled with awe. He stepped inside, running his fingers along the spines of the books. Most were thick, with titles etched in gold or silver. One caught his attention: Encyclopedia of Spiritual Flora: Comprehensive Guide to Rare Plants.
Curiosity got the better of him, and he pulled the book off the shelf. Flipping through the pages, he saw detailed illustrations and descriptions of plants he'd never heard of before. He paused at an entry about the Morningdew Turnip, its properties sounding almost too good to be true.
"So, even cultivators snack on this," he mused, a smirk tugging at his lips.
He was so engrossed in the book that he didn't notice the faint hum coming from the far corner of the room. Suddenly, a book shot off the shelf and flew toward him like a bird of prey.
"What the—?!" Lie Zhanfeng tried to duck, but the book struck him squarely on the forehead before vanishing into thin air.
He clutched his head, groaning in pain. "Was that necessary?!"
Before he could recover, a torrent of information flooded his mind. It was as if someone had opened the floodgates of his brain, and he was helpless to stop the rush. Images, symbols, and words appeared in his mind, arranging themselves into something coherent.
The title of the book echoed in his thoughts: Heavenly Book of Intangible.
Lie Zhanfeng frowned. "Heavenly? Sounds pretentious."
The information he received explained the name's irony. The Heavenly Book of Intangible wasn't under the Heavenly Dao's control, as the "Intangible" implied. It was made for those with the Primordial Tyrant Body—a rare and powerful physique.
This physique was both a blessing and a curse. It attracted immense luck and opportunities, but its defiance of the Heavenly Dao also brought endless misfortune. To survive, one had to endure constant challenges and push beyond ordinary limits.
Lie Zhanfeng's expression darkened as he processed this revelation. The original owner of this body had been a nobody, ridiculed and discarded. Yet, he had possessed such a powerful physique.
"Talk about rotten luck," he muttered. "The heavens really screwed you over, huh?"
His sympathy for the original owner was short-lived, as a sharp, searing pain shot through his body. He collapsed to the floor, writhing as the agony intensified. It felt as if his bones were being crushed and reshaped, over and over again.
Sweat drenched his face, and his vision blurred from the intensity of the pain. Lie Zhanfeng gritted his teeth, his nails digging into the wooden floor.
Amid the torment, a voice seemed to echo in his mind: Run the technique.
He hesitated for a moment, then steeled his resolve. Gritting his teeth, he sat up and began to circulate the technique according to the instructions burned into his mind.
The pain didn't subside—in fact, it grew worse. His bones felt like they were shattering and reassembling repeatedly, and every muscle in his body screamed in protest.
"Damn it," he growled through clenched teeth. "If this is what it takes… then bring it on!"
Lie Zhanfeng's determination burned brightly despite the agony. He knew that if he wanted to survive and thrive in this world, he couldn't afford to falter now.
And so, he continued to endure, his resolve as unyielding as steel.