Cultivating immortality relies on spatial abilities; defying fate to become the protagonist.

Chapter 17 Underground Space
Gu Shihan and Xing Bai quickly went inside, and the door closed again without making a sound.

Inside the door was a very large space, estimated to be no less than a thousand square meters, which appeared quite spacious.

"Hanhan has a faint spiritual aura. It seems that the Liu family is indeed extraordinary. There must be someone in the family who cultivates immortality."

Gu Shihan looked around. There weren't many things in the space, only seven jade boxes and a jade shelf. On the shelf were dozens of jade bottles, hundreds of jade boxes, a few books, and a pile of jade slips.

"Hanhan, we've struck it rich! Here are spirit stones: four boxes of low-grade, two boxes of mid-grade, two boxes of high-grade, and one box of top-grade! The Liu family really is a family of cultivators!" Xingbai shouted joyfully in the underground space.

"Alas! What kind of family of cultivators are they? They're all just ordinary mortals!" A sigh, a hollow male voice, rang in the ears of the man and the beast.

"Who?! Come out! Stop playing tricks!" Gu Shihan shouted sternly.

"Young friend, you've trespassed into this forbidden area and are quite impolite? However, anyone who can enter this place must be capable of cultivation. Hmm, Qi Refining Level 7, not bad, not bad. You're the first person I've seen here with spiritual roots who can cultivate. Whose family are you from?"

Gu Shihan felt a gust of wind swirl around her a few times, and then a blurry figure appeared in front of her.

This phantom looked more solid than the one in the cave, and one could vaguely make out its facial features.

"You??? Your surname is Gu?" Gu Shihan asked.

"How did you know?!" The phantom was stunned, remaining in the air for a long time before coming to its senses.

“A few days ago, I entered a cave in the Canaan Mountains. The owner of the cave was also surnamed Gu and came from the spirit world. He told me that his brother had fallen down with him.”

"What? Where is he? Young friend, take me to see him! If you take me to see him, everything here is yours! He might be my brother!" The phantom said excitedly.

"Senior, are you really from the Spirit Realm? But that senior has long since perished! Only a wisp of his soul remained, and he was too weak to survive long before he vanished. These are his ashes!"

Gu Shihan took out a jade box, opened it, placed it on the ground, and silently stepped back a little.

The phantom rushed towards the jade box and began to sob. After a moment, the phantom looked up at Shi Han and asked, "Are you a descendant of the Gu family?"

"There should be some connection. That senior had me do a bloodline test, and there was activity in my bloodline plate! He said I'm a descendant of the Gu family. My mother is a descendant of the Liu family, which is why I found the Liu family's ancestral land, wanting to see why the Liu family was wiped out?" Gu Shihan answered honestly.

"The Liu family?! Yes, the Liu family! What has become of the Liu family?" Gu Shihan glanced at the illusory senior and whispered, "The Liu family was wiped out by the Western Jin royal family more than ten years ago!"

"The entire clan was wiped out!" The phantom trembled, only calming down after a dozen breaths. It looked at Shi Han and asked, "Then how did you escape this calamity?"

“Me??? I heard that my mother disappeared a month before the massacre of our family, so I avoided it!” Gu Shihan replied.

"That's wonderful! I, Gu Yanli, have an heir! Child, I am from the Gu family of the Spirit Realm. The Gu family is a first-class family in the Spirit Realm, with top-notch strength and background."

"But our branch has been in a vulnerable position ever since my grandfather and father tragically died. We were eventually hunted down and somehow ended up in the lower realm... Well! What's past is past. What I want to say is, once you go to the Spirit Realm, don't go to the Gu family. I'm just a soul now and can't help you much. Take everything here; I'll die without regrets." "Ancestor... Ancestor, you've been in here for hundreds of years? Haven't you thought about getting out?" Gu Shihan asked, looking around.

"Leave? If I leave, I will dissipate. To wait for my blood relatives, I, the ancestor, imprisoned myself here. Today, I can finally leave in peace. Heaven is still merciful, allowing my wish to come true before I dissipate!" the illusory figure said with some emotion.

"Ancestor, can you reincarnate and start over after leaving this place?" Gu Shihan asked with hope in her eyes.

"No, it's impossible. I've been dead for hundreds of years, and the chance of reincarnation and cultivation is gone, unless I possess another body and am reborn."

"But seizing another's body and being reborn is too against the natural order and will be detrimental to future cultivation. Besides, I would never stoop to doing that. Good child, just live well!" the illusory figure said calmly.

"Hanhan, you can let your ancestor enter the Soul Pearl, and then find him a body when you go to the Spirit Realm! Besides, he can guide you in cultivation, which is better than figuring it out on your own," Xingbai transmitted his voice.

"Xingbai, you want me to find someone to possess his body? No way!" Gu Shihan was startled.

Gu Shihan didn't consider herself a good person, because she was still somewhat cruel and bloodthirsty at heart, but she couldn't bring herself to kill someone without a reason.

"Hanhan, I didn't say to find living people to kill. Just find those who have just died. You have the Spirit Spring, right? They are your ancestors in terms of bloodline, aren't they?" Xingbai said seriously.

"That seems to make sense! Let me ask the ancestor if he's willing!" Gu Shihan nodded, finding some merit in the idea.

Gu Shihan pondered for a moment, then looked at the illusory figure and said, "Ancestor, I have a Soul Nourishing Pearl here. Would you be willing to enter and cultivate your soul? Perhaps we can find you a body in the Spirit Realm so you can start cultivating again. Would you be willing?"

"The Soul-Nourishing Pearl? It belongs to my brother, right? I remember he obtained one by chance. In that case, I'll go inside to recuperate. I'm really worried about letting a child like you venture into the Spirit Realm. As for finding a body, if we find one, it's fate; if not, there's no need to force it." The illusory figure sighed and said slowly.

The phantom body trembled and transformed into a stream of light, entering the Soul Nourishing Pearl. Gu Shihan then collected everything from the underground space and quickly left the Western Jin Imperial City.

Before they had gone far, a loud bang came from the Liu residence; it turned out that the underground space had collapsed.

Gu Shihan returned to the cave in the Canaan Mountains. She planned to cultivate there for a while before looking for a way to leave.

Time flies like an arrow, and three years have passed in the blink of an eye, thanks to the abundance of spirit stones.

Although the spiritual energy in this world is thin, with the support of the spirit-gathering array and spirit stones, Gu Shihan's cultivation level has improved rapidly, and she has already reached the Great Perfection of Qi Refining.

"Xiao Han, your comprehension and aptitude are both excellent. Your talent in formations is even stronger than your great-uncle's. You have truly inherited his skills." Gu Yanli floated out from the Soul Pearl.

With the nourishment of the Soul Bead, Gu Yanli's soul was no longer so weak. Of course, Gu Shihan also gave him a few Soul Stones from the Moon Bracelet.

He paid special attention to Gu Shihan's cultivation. Gu Yanli was proficient in talisman making and alchemy, and he taught Gu Shihan everything he knew.

(End of this chapter)