Portable Space

She looked over the parchment again. There was no explanation inside about being able to absorb all kinds of spiritual energy, but as she stepped into the first layer of Qi Condensation, the characters on the parchment seemed to have become much clearer.

As she looked closely, those characters swirled in her mind, gradually forming a phantom image. The phantom seemed to be explaining them, and she instantly understood its contents.

A look of joy involuntarily appeared on her face, and she gripped the parchment tightly, filled with a trace of excitement.

However, if she encountered unfamiliar runes again in the future, she would not be able to instantly understand their meaning; she would still need to study them systematically.

Still, she would at least be able to understand some common runes.

She folded the parchment and put it away. After all, this was the first opportunity she had obtained since arriving in this strange place, and it had officially set her on the path of cultivation. It naturally held extraordinary significance.

It was just that her spiritual roots were mixed. She had no idea how far she would be able to cultivate.

Sighing, she tilted her head at a forty-five-degree angle and looked up at the sky.

Looking at the harsh sunlight filtering through the gaps in the leaves, she slightly raised her hand to block it, a trace of soft green light lingering on her fingertips.

Suddenly, a mole on the back of her hand flashed a few times in the sunlight. She blinked and brought her hand closer to her eyes to look closely. Had her eyes played tricks on her just now?

She seemed to have seen the mole flash a few times. With a look of confusion, she couldn't help but raise her other hand to rub it gently. When had this mole grown on her hand?

Was there something different about it? She put her hand under the sunlight again, but the mole remained completely still. Suddenly, a spark of inspiration struck her, and a green glow gradually emerged from her hand.

As the light tightly enveloped her hand, the mole on it gradually turned red. With a sharp pang of pain, Jiang Lu suddenly vanished from the spot.

Opening her eyes, she found herself in another space. The space was vast and boundless, with no end in sight, yet there was absolutely nothing there; it was completely empty.

Turning around, she saw a courtyard behind her. Stunned for a moment, she hesitated briefly before stepping forward. The moment the tip of her foot touched the restriction on the courtyard gate, something seemed to ripple above the courtyard.

Pushing the gate open, she saw a small spring in the courtyard, with a stone table and two stone stools beside it.

Seeing this, although she wondered why the courtyard only contained these few things, she still walked inside.

The moment she stepped inside, the courtyard vanished.

The entire space was empty except for the spring, the stone table, and the stone stools. Without a second thought, she spotted something on the table and immediately walked over.

Only then did she realize what this place was.

This was a spatial fragment. After a great world perished for some reason, some fragments carrying the world's consciousness would drift to various places. If a spatial master obtained one, they could fashion it into a pocket dimension.

The storage rings, storage bracelets, or storage bags commonly used by cultivators all contained the energy of these spatial fragments.

When she traveled through time and space, she had come into contact with this spatial fragment by pure chance. Perhaps due to the space-time travel, or perhaps because of her soul, the spatial fragment had fused directly into her soul, forming a mole on her hand.

She looked at her hand. Perhaps the reason she had been able to survive the transmigration to this place was thanks to this spatial fragment.

The requirement to open the space was to inject spiritual energy into it. Just now, she had injected her spiritual energy and successfully opened it.

Looking down, she saw that the mole on her hand had indeed completely disappeared.

The space was completely bound to her soul. From now on, as long as her soul was not destroyed, she could enter the space at any time.

The spatial fragment itself was a remnant of a perished consciousness, and all living beings within it had vanished along with it. However, it carried the world's consciousness, which had converted its last bit of energy into the current state of this space.

Looking at the desolation around her, she did not feel disappointed. Given how precious spatial fragments were, she had already gotten an incredible bargain. Moreover, being able to enter it at any time undoubtedly provided her with a safety guarantee.

However, the principle that possessing a treasure invites disaster was etched into her bones. If she wanted to enter the space, she had to be extremely cautious.

Placing the parchment on the table, she exited the space with a mere thought.

Then, frowning slightly, she looked around. Staring at her hands, she felt that her aura had changed compared to before she entered the space.

Furthermore, she seemed to possess a certain perception—a so-called sixth sense—that seemed to be related to this. Although she didn't know what use it had yet, it was entirely beneficial to her.

Cultivators who had stepped into the Qi Condensation stage generally no longer consumed mortal food, as it contained too many impurities that would affect their cultivation. However, now that she had relaxed, she couldn't help but feel a bit hungry.

She now possessed spiritual energy. Even though she was only at the first layer of Qi Condensation, it would be enough to ensure she wouldn't starve in the future.

This dense forest was located on the outskirts of Xijiang City, where spiritual energy was sparse. Naturally, there were no high-tier demon beasts here. Walking through the forest, she didn't need to worry too much, as long as she remained cautious.

However, although she had now entered the Qi Condensation stage, she lacked a mental cultivation method, battle techniques, and magical artifacts. Her path of cultivation was long and arduous.

As Jiang Lu walked, she observed her surroundings. Suddenly, she heard a loud shout in the distance, and her footsteps ground to a halt.

Quickly ducking out of sight behind a tree trunk, she peered through the cover of the bushes and saw a battle between a person and a beast in the distance.

She was somewhat shocked that she could see so clearly from such a distance and even hear the finer sounds. This was the benefit of cultivation.

Looking closely, the two sides seemed to be evenly matched, neither able to suppress the other.

Suddenly, her ears twitched. She turned slightly to look in another direction; something was approaching from there.

Looking at the towering tree trunks, she pursed her lips and carefully climbed up without making a sound. Just as she squatted on a branch, she spotted the creature approaching from the other direction.

It was another demon beast. From its appearance, it was of the same species as the one engaged in the fight.

The fighting demon beast turned its blood-red eyes toward the newcomer and let out a roar, “Awooo—”

The other demon beast's fur immediately bristled, a clear sign of combat readiness.

Seeing this, the cultivator's hands trembled. He was only at the second layer of Qi Condensation, and the previous fight had already consumed a lot of his spiritual energy. Now that another one had arrived—and it looked significantly stronger than the first—he stood absolutely no chance of winning.

Stumbling slightly, he unleashed a wave of red spiritual energy toward the fighting demon beast, then spun around to flee.

The demon beast leaped aside to dodge the attack, bared its fangs, and lunged at him.

Seeing this, the other demon beast immediately gave chase. Unable to escape, he was swiftly bitten through the neck by the second demon beast, his body instantly going limp.

Just when Jiang Lu thought they were about to leave, the other demon beast opened its jaws, bit off the items he was wearing, and tossed them aside.

They then flung the corpse to the ground, crouched down, and began to feed, blood pooling all over the ground.

Her eyes widened, and she immediately turned her head away. Her pupils contracted, and her body trembled slightly, but she held onto the tree branch tightly and bit her lip, not daring to make a sound.

Her eyes slowly turned red, and two streams of tears slipped down her cheeks, dripping down.