Chapter 19: The Reborn Master Writer 11

Although many myths depict immortals conjuring items out of thin air, such a phenomenon does not actually exist within the cultivation world's system of magic. Rather than true creation, it is more akin to teleportation—rapidly retrieving items from one's storage space. To truly bring something into existence from nothing is a power reserved for the act of creation itself.

Her current ability had evolved into precisely that kind of power. However, because her ability level was still too low, she could only manifest a limited number of items, and they were all mundane objects—even then, many common things remained beyond her reach.

After testing her limits, Mu Yin prepared to enter the wild forest. Once inside, she began to examine the vegetation, noting that the plants here were distinct from those found in the city.

It was not that they had become spiritual plants; even in the cultivation world, where spiritual energy was abundant, not all flora ascended to that state. For some plants, spiritual energy was merely like oxygen—something they absorbed and then released through photosynthesis. Generally, areas with such plants would have higher concentrations of spiritual energy. However, if plants from a post-apocalyptic era that had rarely encountered spiritual energy were suddenly exposed to it, they would invariably mutate.

Consequently, the plants here had almost all mutated, bearing little resemblance to their original forms. The vast majority of these mutations resulted in gigantism; others shifted from non-toxic to poisonous, or vice versa.

Since this area was near the city, the plants had largely been collected, analyzed, and cataloged, leaving Mu Yin with little interest. She gathered a few medicinal herbs and hunted some wild beasts—descendants of the creatures that had survived the initial catastrophe.

The local fauna consisted of harmless animals like wild rabbits and pheasants, all of which had mutated into giants. Gigantism was the most common path of evolution, though it was arguably the most mediocre. Aside from increased size and the corresponding boost in strength, these creatures developed no other special abilities. Truly superior evolution would involve the emergence of supernatural powers.

She skinned a rabbit, built a fire, and set up her tent. Activating an energy shield to deter predators, she prepared her dinner. She had never been fond of boiling rabbit meat—she remembered her family preparing it that way, finding it inexplicably sweet and unappealing. Back home, they preferred to smoke and cure the rabbit meat before stir-frying it with chili, scallions, ginger, and garlic. That was her favorite, though she rarely got to eat it. Her family after her reincarnation had been poor, only buying half a cured rabbit for the holidays. Later, when she was trapped in other dimensions while trying to earn Origin Stones, she had even less access to it. She never learned the craft herself, knowing only the basics of the process, and it seemed she would be unable to enjoy it for some time.

She sliced the rabbit, skewered it with bamboo she had cut earlier, and roasted it over the fire with seasonings. It tasted decent enough. She then used a small pot to brew a chicken soup, pairing it with some compressed rations she had brought along.

In the cultivation world, Mu Yin had actually learned some culinary skills from a master, so even simple ingredients turned out quite delicious. She tucked the leftovers into her storage space. Here, the storage space was functional, though it could only hold and retrieve items native to this world; objects from other realms remained inaccessible. She didn't mind. Apart from her Soul Pearl, most of her essential items—her talismans, brushes, cinnabar, and alchemy furnace—remained in her inventory. These were things she might not be able to acquire in this world, and it was always good to be prepared.

After dinner, Mu Yin went to sleep. With the energy shield active, neither humans nor beasts could intrude, and she enjoyed a peaceful night. The next day, she began trekking toward the unexplored regions. Along the way, she continued her cultivation, as the spiritual energy here was rich, and the flora and fauna provided better nourishment than what she could find in the city.

Her body refinement level improved rapidly. After two months in the wild, she had reached the third rank, significantly increasing her combat prowess. Yet, the dangers of the wilderness grew as she ventured deeper. At night, she dared not sleep too soundly; even with the shield, the scent of her presence began to attract more advanced beasts.

Realizing she could go no further, Mu Yin turned back toward the city. She had not managed to reach the truly untouched wilderness. The dangers were far beyond her expectations, leading her to feel that the people in the city were like flowers kept in a greenhouse. She wondered if they would survive in this world once their energy shields failed. She could only hope they would discover the body-refinement techniques she had left for them. With this thought, she left the forest and returned to the city. Fortunately, they did not demand she travel in a team on her way back, likely realizing that she would find a way around such restrictions.

Once back in the city, she turned on her phone, which she had kept off while in the wild. As expected, she saw numerous missed calls and messages. Moments later, Li Xing’s call came through. "So you finally decided to answer! Where have you been for the past two months? Do you have any idea how worried I was?"

As soon as she picked up, she was met with a roar. She pulled the phone away from her ear, wincing, and only brought it back once the shouting ceased. "I'm fine. I just went on a trip. Didn't I leave you a message?" She had learned her lesson from the last time and had indeed left a note before turning off her phone.

"Don't talk to me about that! Do you need to turn off your phone to go on a trip?" Li Xing was furious. He felt his sister was becoming increasingly rebellious—perhaps her rebellious phase had arrived late?

"Alright, alright. What did you want?" She had checked her logs; her parents had only called a few times, while the majority of the missed calls were from Li Xing.

"Your animation is finished. Do you want to take a look?" Li Xing finally remembered why he was calling. There had been some questions regarding the production, but since he couldn't reach her, the company had asked him to make the executive decisions. Now that it was done, he felt she should see the final product.

"Sure, I'll come to your office tomorrow." Mu Yin hadn't expected it to be completed so quickly, but then she recalled that the animation industry in this world had been developing for over forty years, predating the one from her previous life, so it wasn't that surprising.

"Great. Oh, by the way, we combined your two manga titles into one animation. I wanted to discuss it with you, but I couldn't get through, so I made the call myself. I thought it was a good idea—it creates more episodes and offers two different perspectives, so I gave it the green light." Li Xing explained the decision he had made in her absence.