Chapter 2

Qi Ping felt that something was definitely off; he had a strong sense of being in a place where "the clouds are deep and one doesn't know where one is." He couldn't find a way out, and he wasn't even sure where he was.

Although he had a compass, he thought he should be going downhill, heading towards some kind of exit. But despite walking for so long, he still couldn't see any signs of leaving the forest. Qi Ping was on the verge of breaking down. If his phone had a signal, he would have called for help long ago. It would be better to be a foolish hiker than to lose his life.

He didn't know how long he had been walking, but it was already dark. Perhaps the mountains got dark earlier, so he could only struggle through the deep forest, taking one step at a time. Fortunately, he had a flashlight, and he hadn't encountered any wild animals. However, Qi Ping didn't dare to let his guard down; he was worried that he might encounter real danger at any moment.

Suddenly, Qi Ping felt the sky brighten, and he saw hope; there were people, which meant he had found a way out of the mountains!

Excitement and joy... Qi Ping couldn't describe his feelings. Although it was just a simple, ancient-looking bamboo house, it didn't matter. What mattered was that someone lived there!

"Is anyone here? Is anyone here?" Qi Ping's heart was pounding. He felt something was wrong. In this relatively flat area of the small valley, there was a small bamboo house. Even if the transportation in the mountains was inconvenient, so they used local materials, there was no movement at all. The house was dark, and there was no sound around, which was really worrying.

After mustering up the courage, Qi Ping carefully opened the bamboo door and shone his flashlight inside. The next moment, he was completely terrified and fainted. It was too scary!

Qi Ping thought that being a hiker wasn't a problem, but it was crucial not to take risks without any preparation. That would be irresponsible to himself and his family. Now, not only couldn't he find a way out, but he was also almost scared to death. This was too much, and he couldn't accept it.

Although he had worked as an assistant lawyer for two years and had dealt with some scary cases, they were just on paper, and he had no direct experience.

But now, on the ancient-looking bed in the house, there was a skeleton. It was truly terrifying, and he couldn't accept it.

It was already good that he didn't soil himself. Although he fainted, when he woke up, Qi Ping mustered up the courage. Living in such a remote mountain with no one to help or know about it was normal. Even if someone died, no one would know. However, the dead should be respected, and Chinese culture emphasizes the importance of burial. Since he saw it, he had to do something; he couldn't just leave the skeleton sitting there.

So, he respectfully bowed to the unknown deceased and then looked for some tools. The scenery here was beautiful, with an ancient bamboo house, a small stone table, and stone stools in front of it, and even a garden and a pond. But there were no farming tools, and he wondered if they were hidden or if they had rusted away over time.

"Even if this person has been dead for a long time, the iron tools like hoes shouldn't have rusted away completely, right?" Although he was frustrated, Qi Ping could only use his small dagger to cut down a small tree. The tool was not ideal, but he had to make do.

Living in seclusion in the mountains was not easy. The scenery was beautiful, and the air was refreshing, but there was no one around, which was very lonely. It was also inconvenient to be alone and encounter problems.

He dug a hole in the garden, but without proper tools, he could only dig a simple one. The garden was completely overgrown with weeds, but the soil was loose, making it easier to dig. This made Qi Ping feel relieved.

Now he had completed a major task, but he suddenly felt like laughing. If he couldn't find his way out, no one would be there to bury him. This might be the last good deed he would do in his life.

Feeling a bit heavy-hearted, he still had to do what needed to be done. Qi Ping carefully lifted the skeleton from the bed, but he suddenly froze. Next to the skeleton was a small bag with an ancient-looking wooden plaque, which read "To the one with a karmic connection" in traditional Chinese characters.

For now, he had to focus on burying the deceased. After finishing this task, Qi Ping felt relieved and quickly checked the contents of the small bag.

"Am I rich now? Did I really meet a fairy?!" Qi Ping was stunned. Doing good deeds really did bring good rewards. He had jokingly said he was looking for a fairy in the Kunlun Mountains, and it seemed he had really found one.

The deceased was a minor figure from a small sect in the Kunlun Fairyland, just a servant responsible for cultivating medicinal herbs and spiritual beasts. When the fairyland moved, this minor figure was left behind. He couldn't cultivate and was used to the life here, so he died silently, who knows how many years ago.

Qi Ping was truly stunned. There really was a fairyland, and the Kunlun Mountains had at least once been home to some cultivation sects. However, these sects were no longer there, or he, a mortal, wouldn't have been able to enter their territory.

In the small bag, there were some basic cultivation techniques. They weren't powerful enough to move mountains or fly, but they could strengthen the body. More importantly, there were some valuable items, which seemed to be priceless treasures.

Since the sect provided medicinal herbs and spiritual beasts, they needed a better environment for growth. These were some arrays that absorbed the essence of heaven and earth, making the herbs and animals more spiritual. Even if they didn't become spirits, their quality could be improved.

Similar to the Eight Trigram Array, like the legendary Eight Array Diagram of Zhuge Liang, these arrays were used for cultivating herbs and animals.

Although it was a bit difficult to read, Qi Ping could understand the meaning. He could roughly understand a few of the techniques left behind, which were just a few basic ones.

Setting up the array couldn't have any errors and required sufficient materials to ensure its operation.

Jade is a widely popular gemstone, and it has a spirit, especially high-quality jade. The Kunlun Mountains are known for producing the highest quality jade, which has been the main source of jade in the Central Plains since ancient times.

In the small bag, there were a few pieces of jade, including a palm-sized piece of white jade. This was the array's core, the key to its operation. Of course, one piece of jade wasn't enough; a large array required many pieces, not necessarily the highest quality, but they needed to have enough energy. The array would continuously consume the jade's energy, so it needed to be replaced to ensure its operation.

Qi Ping was stunned; he seemed to have hit the jackpot. Not only did he gain these mysterious legacies, but even if their effectiveness was unknown, the white jade alone was a huge windfall. Not just the high-quality, large piece of white jade, but also some smaller pieces of jade, which was a significant gain!

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