The pain in Shén Mu's body was gone.
The cold, the blood, the misery — all of it had melted away, leaving behind an eerie stillness as he floated in a formless void. But unlike the darkness of his reality, this void was warm... luminous even.
Beneath him stretched the very world he had just created.
It was small — no larger than a farming village — nestled between hills, kissed by gentle mist and flowing streams. Everything shimmered with a faint golden aura, like the world was still unfinished, still humming with the energy of its creator.
His energy.
[Soul World "Mu-01" has been successfully anchored to Host's spiritual sea.][Your soul has merged with your created realm. Progress within this world will feed your cultivation potential.][All future creations will draw from your Qi, Spirit, and Will.]
[Initializing Observer Mode...]
The view shifted. No longer floating, he now stood on a cliff overlooking the valley — his valley.
At the base of the hills, beneath the morning fog, they were gathering.
Dozens of tiny glowing figures — the first humans he had created.
They were primitive, barely clothed, and moved with clumsy steps. Yet they carried within them an ethereal spark. Each one glowed faintly, like embers waiting to be stoked into flame.
"…They're alive," he whispered.
He felt their presence — not just with his eyes, but within his soul. Each breath they took reverberated in his chest. Their heartbeat was his heartbeat. Their hunger… his weakness.
He was linked to them.
[New Function Unlocked: Direct Influence][Would you like to shape the will of your people?][Option: Impart Language? Y/N][Option: Impart Fire? Y/N][Option: Impart Basic Tools? Y/N]
Shén Mu hesitated.
He remembered the ridicule of outer disciples, the scorn of elders, the cold of the servant quarters, and the ache of a life unlived. Here, in this soul world… he was not worthless.
He was a god.
"Yes. Give them language… and fire."
A soft hum rippled through the valley.
Below, the humans stopped. One by one, their eyes widened. They began murmuring sounds — guttural, raw… but slowly forming rhythm, structure, meaning. Some screamed. Some laughed. And when one of them scraped two stones together and saw a spark leap out — they gasped in unison.
The first flame was born.
And Shén Mu felt it ignite something inside himself.
[Soul Resonance achieved.][+5 Spiritual Qi][+3 Willpower][Path to Foundation Building: 0.1%]
His breath caught.
This… this was cultivation?
He had read the ancient scrolls discarded by outer sect disciples. He knew that to cultivate was to draw Qi, refine the body, nurture the soul. But no one ever told him that building a world — growing life itself — could be a cultivation path.
Was this a forgotten method? A lost Dao?
[New Trait Discovered: Creator's Root][As your creations evolve, so shall your foundation. Your soul world is your sacred field.]
He sat down at the edge of the cliff, overlooking his people. He watched as they explored the river, learned to rub sticks, used rocks to shape crude blades. One of them caught a fish, another taught a child how to stack stones into shelter.
The world grew, and so did he.
Hours passed — or perhaps days. Time flowed differently here. Yet his body felt no hunger, no pain. Just... calm.
[System Reminder: Your physical body remains in the real world. Estimated time before full disconnection: 1 hour.]
That snapped him back.
"Wait — will I die if I stay here?"
[No. But your body is vulnerable. Host must return soon to prevent external damage.]
He sighed in relief. "So I can come back?"
[Yes. You may enter Observer or Influence mode anytime through meditation. Advanced functions unlock as your cultivation grows.]
Good.
Very good.
He stood up, still watching the tiny people of "Mu-01." They had begun marking the earth with symbols. Some danced around the fire. A child reached out to the sky and whispered… something.
He couldn't hear the words, but he felt them — faith.
They believed in something.
They believed in him.
[New Concept Detected: Worship.][Faith Points: +1][Faith Points can be used to accelerate soul world evolution.]
A smile tugged at the corner of his lips. So this was his path. Not chasing spirit beasts through forests or groveling for scraps from arrogant elders.
He would forge his own path. One soul. One world. One belief at a time.
"System," he said. "Can I create more worlds?"
[Not yet. Current soul capacity: 1/1.][Upgrade required: Foundation Establishment Realm or higher.]
"Then I'll get there."
He meant it.
No more crawling. No more waiting to be noticed.
Let them ignore him. Let them call him weak.
Soon… they would kneel.
Back in the Physical World
Pain returned.
His eyelids fluttered open, lungs sucking in stale air. He lay on the same floor in the servant quarters, back aching, lips dry. But something had changed.
The world felt lighter.
The weight on his soul — gone. In its place was a warmth, faint but steady, like a candle resisting the dark.
He sat up. No cough. No blood.
He reached inward, feeling the space behind his consciousness. And there — a door of light pulsing gently.
Mu-01.
His world. Still there. Still alive.
He smiled.
Then the door burst open.
"Get up, dog!"
A harsh voice. A slap to the face.
It was Li Fan — an outer disciple known for tormenting servants. He stood over Shén Mu with a twisted grin, holding a bucket of half-frozen water.
"Sleeping during morning duty? Looks like you need to be taught your place again!"
He raised the bucket.
Shén Mu stared at him — no fear, no anger. Just silence.
Inside his mind, he was not a slave.
He was the god of a growing world.
The bucket came down.
But Shén Mu raised a hand.
Not to stop it. Not to defend. Just… instinctively.
A faint pulse echoed from his palm.
CRACK—
The bucket shattered. Water hissed as if scalded by invisible fire. Li Fan fell backward, eyes wide.
"Y-You…!"
Shén Mu stood up slowly.
"Tell the other dogs…""…The soul I once crawled with is dead."
"From now on—""—I walk as a creator."