All Mystical Miracles in Hand, Spirited Journey to Jiangdong (Part 1)

The Ancient Miracle Fungus exists even on Earth. It's not a plant, animal, or fungus—it's a mysterious lifeform that defies definition. It doesn't produce seeds, has no gender, and nobody knows how it reproduces or where it comes from. Also called Fleshcap Miracle, legend says it can restore flesh to bone and turn black hair white. It's a naturally occurring wonder drug, and in this world, its mysteries run even deeper.

From the outside, this statue gives off zero signs of life, no matter how you check. But when Jill Young's spirit dove in, she realized the statue was actually alive. It doesn't move, drink, eat, or think—just sits there like any old rock. But it's alive because it absorbs the essence of heaven and earth, and drinks in the sun and moon's magic instead of water.

In a fleeting moment, Jill Young saw a series of visions.

A tiny Ancient Miracle Fungus, origins unknown, growing naturally in a mystical cave beneath Cang Mountain and Erhai Lake, where the eight trigrams align and treasures are hard to find. It absorbed the wonders of the world, evolving over ten thousand years. With each millennium, it transformed—red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet, black, and white—changing color every thousand years.

After ten thousand years, its surface finally looked just like any ordinary rock. This was its return to simplicity, a sign that its spirit was beginning to form. But this little cave was no grand universe—despite its perfect eight trigrams, it couldn't provide enough energy for further growth. Maybe it was coincidence, or maybe fate itself won't let anything break certain cosmic limits.

So, for hundreds more years, the Ancient Miracle Fungus neither lived nor died, neither pure nor impure, unable to transform again. By the rules of heaven and earth, maybe after who knows how many ages, it would wither away and become just a regular chunk of flesh.

But about a hundred years ago, everything changed. Someone hacked open the mountain and discovered this naturally perfect eight-trigram cave. He poured all his knowledge into it, setting up formations that fused human martial arts with the land's energies. The tiny cave suddenly became its own universe.

Using formations as the engine and the Beiming Divine Skill as the method, the flow of energy ramped up like crazy. For a century, the Ancient Miracle Fungus absorbed and released energy, evolving nonstop with the rhythm of the formations. Its bland, featureless shape slowly morphed toward a human form. No outside force carved it—this was pure natural evolution.

And the shape it evolved toward? It was modeled after the man who set up the formations in the first place.

But this wasn't about memory or intelligence. The Ancient Miracle Fungus had a hint of spirit, but it was still as clueless as a Xuan Divine Weapon embryo—no self-awareness, no thoughts. It only started to resemble that man because he once cut off a piece of his spirit and left it inside the millennia-old fungus.

Another century passed, and today, finally, someone else visited the lonely core of the Ancient Miracle Fungus...

A flash of vast memories, gone in an instant, but didn't shake her true self. When Jill Young opened her eyes, she found herself in a strange place, facing a strange person.

She was in a sinkhole, surrounded by sheer cliffs at least a hundred meters high. Huge rocks gleamed like mirrors, and beside them, a lake mirrored everything. If someone danced across the lake wielding a sword, they'd leave a mark on the stone like a fairy reflected in water. And on that mirror-like lake, there really was someone.

This person looked about thirty, his back to Jill Young, skinny and scholarly. He stood on the surface of the lake, quietly staring at a statue in the center. The statue was carved from flawless white jade, its face lifelike and beautiful—almost real. It floated on the lake too, like some kind of water fairy. The water didn't ripple at all, perfectly flat, like a scene out of a bizarre sci-fi movie. Anyone who stumbled into this would totally freak out.

But Jill Young? She'd seen weirder stuff.

Auric Relic, Quantum Network, and the mindscape Jill's teacher formed after mastering spiritual cultivation—putting all these together, Jill would have to be clueless not to figure out what's going on.

Her mental power surged like a tidal wave, boosting her core consciousness and letting her flex more abilities in this spiritual world. She snapped her eyes open—like opening a third eye—and instantly saw through all illusions. Then she called out to the guy on the lake: "Hey, you dragged me in here, but you just stand there posing and don't say a word. What's your deal, huh?"

The guy on the lake clearly didn't expect that reaction. His back twitched, and he asked, a bit puzzled: "Miss, aren't you scared?"

"This spiritual world can't trap me, stump me, or kill me. I come and go as I please, so what's there to be scared of?" Jill didn't move her feet, but instantly appeared on the lake, walking on water like it was solid ground. She looked around: "So this is under the Jade Mirror of Mount Immeasurable—the place where you got the Beiming Divine Skill and Lingbo Weibu?"

"That's right." The guy on the lake still didn't turn around. "Looks like you know my life story pretty well."

"Hey, you're already a legend—who doesn't know you? You've got a great-great-something-grandson who's spent his whole life bawling to learn just one of your moves." Jill smirked. "Poor kid, not the sharpest, but if your Duan Family wants a comeback, he's probably your only hope."

"So it's true—my Duan Clan really has hit rock bottom." In the spirit world, lying is tough, so he believed Jill. Still facing away, he sighed: "A hundred years of chaos, and even the wisest king can't stop the tide—kingdoms fall, families break..."

"Seriously, can you talk to me face-to-face? What's with the mysterious back-to-the-audience act?"

"Uh..." His back twitched again, like he couldn't keep up with Jill's logic. After a moment, he sighed, "Alright, but don't freak out."

With a sigh, he slowly turned around. The motion was so clear, even a regular person could see every detail—his ears, jawline, cheek, nose bridge... But when he finally faced her, he had no facial features!

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Well, not exactly featureless—he looked like the Faceless Emperor from old comedies: his features were just a blur. Like a statue whose face hasn't been carved yet—some bumps for a nose, a hint of a jaw, but no eyes, nose, or mouth. Just standing there on the lake, he was creepier than any haunted graveyard. And he looked a lot like the statue Jill saw outside.

Jill, though, wasn't fazed. She just stared at him for a few seconds, then nodded: "Yep, your spiritual level's way too low, and that leftover wisp of thought is so weak you can't even form a proper face."

"Miss, your spiritual cultivation is nearly saintly—you saw through this illusion in a flash. I'm nowhere near your level." He didn't have a mouth, but in this world, you don't need one to talk. "The Ancient Miracle Fungus, after millennia, becomes the Divine Life Core. Without the Divine Life Core's power to stabilize spirit and nurture souls, my remnant thought wouldn't have lasted a second in this world."

Jill's eyes flashed gold as she looked all around, spotting more interesting stuff. She grinned, "This Divine Life Core is wild! So many mysteries. If I hadn't shown up, give it another hundred years and maybe you'd pop out of that thing like the Monkey King from a rock—wouldn't that be a rebirth?"

In Daoist cultivation, there's a path for the 'Yin Spirit'—after death, the spirit can hang around, hop into a womb, and get a second shot at life. That's called rebirth by borrowing a body. The Divine Life Core is a one-of-a-kind miracle, probably never to be found again. It has a hint of spirit but no real mind yet. If someone left their consciousness here and let it merge, after one last transformation, they might really pop out like the Monkey King—born straight from the world itself.

"I'm not sure who this 'Monkey King' is, but my soul's so busted that even with all the Divine Life Core's magic, there's no way I'm coming back to life." He gave a self-deprecating laugh, then grew serious, "The human heart is flawed. Unless you're a truly enlightened saint, even if your spirit hitches a ride in the Core, you'll just rot away before it's born. My obsession lingers here for one last thing."

He suddenly raised his hand. In this dreamlike world, his fingers were the only thing super clear, sharp enough to slice reality. "Since you're here, you must know the whole story. I have just one request—take my Six Sword Strikes, and pass them on to the Duan Family."

"Deal." Jill nodded, then shrugged. "One sheep, two sheep—either way, I'm always helping people finish their last wishes. Saving a life is supposed to be worth a seven-story pagoda, right? I can't build seven, but I've got at least six by now."

"Ha! Exactly!" He laughed heartily, then suddenly stepped forward. With a flick of his finger, the whole mindscape blurred, leaving only a razor-sharp streak: "Take my Six Meridian Sword!"

Back in the real world, the crew just saw their boss touch the statue, then suddenly close her eyes and go still. Her breathing was faint but steady, like she'd dozed off standing up.

"Boss?!" The crew freaked out, thinking something went wrong with their leader.

"Don't bother her," Joan waved them off. "She's just gotten a stroke of good luck—she'll wake up soon."

Hearing that, everyone relaxed and went back to their own business. Some studied secret manuals, some wandered the maze, hoping to learn something new. The crew was all about self-improvement—this kind of go-getter energy is what really powers a group. Joan watched them, face blank but eyes full of pride.

"Boss," Simone sidled up and whispered, "I'm not trying to stir up trouble, but there's something that's been bugging me for a while."

"Speak."

"From what I see, the two leaders have faced trials, challenges, and luck—all priceless treasures. But whether it's fortune or hardship, Wu Zhengfeng always seems to leave it for the chief. I just don't get it—why doesn't Wu Zhengfeng fight for herself?"

In her world, forget sisterly love—even real siblings or brothers would battle for a chance like this. If you had to, you'd draw swords and fight to the death. In her Jianghu, there's no friendship, only strength. Forget magical treasures—even gold and silver could turn family against each other.

And now, the Freewind Sect and No One Under Heaven are stuck in the middle—unclear ranks, fuzzy power. Two bosses at once: 'Chief' and 'Boss.' So who do you listen to? You can't have two suns in the sky, two rulers in the land. If Simone were in Wu Zhengfeng's shoes, with someone like Jill Young as her junior, she'd be losing sleep, terrified of a coup or getting stabbed in the middle of the night.

But Wu Zhengfeng only ever plays guardian, never fights for herself. That doesn't match her reputation or the stories the crew heard about her 'Elder Tong' personality.

Wu Zhengfeng used to be ruthless—never backed down from a fight.

Normally, you'd never ask this—it's just asking for trouble. But Simone couldn't hold it in any longer. She was on the verge of a breakthrough and needed her mind clear. So, in a burst of emotion, she blurted it out.

Faced with this tough question, Wu Zhengfeng instinctively glanced at Jill Young and smiled. Her face was childlike, but her smile stunned Simone: "You wouldn't understand. I won't compete with her."

You wouldn't understand... Those words lingered, leaving Simone dazed. She was about to ask more, but saw Wu Zhengfeng sense something and look toward the center: "Oh, looks like it worked."

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Just as Joan finished speaking, there was a loud crack—the statue's face split open. The crack ran down its length, like a divine axe splitting chaos, or a creature breaking out of an egg. With a thunderous roar, pure elemental energy burst out from the statue, and in a hail of stone fragments, it exploded like a bomb.

Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet—layer after layer of stone shell shattered like eggshells. Endless elemental energy surged out, pure and untainted, but wild as a tidal wave. The walls of the Eight Trigrams Maze cracked under the pressure, the whole microcosm collapsing like the end of the world.

The crew was stunned by the rush of energy, struggling to hold themselves together. Elemental energy is usually a blessing, but this flood was so intense, even their inner strength felt sluggish.

Joan frowned, then flicked her sleeve—her own inner strength burst forth, pure yang and unstoppable.

Simone had crossed worlds for ages, but this was her first time seeing Wu Zhengfeng unleash her power. At Saint-level, she's a cut above even the best. Of the Four Sword Saints, except for the special case of the Void Saint, any one of them could humble a king. Even someone as tough as Wind Supreme wouldn't dare take risks against a Sword Saint.

Simone stared in awe. Joan's small frame radiated a primal force. With a sweep of her sleeve, she trapped the wild energy like it was nothing. Her jade-white fingers squeezed, and with a couple of crisp snaps, she compressed all the energy in the air into a single ball in her palm.

She lifted her hand, and with a boom, the stray energy shot up to the dome like a cannonball. The energy burst through the crack, soaring skyward, like a dragon returning to the sea—rejoining the world.

Dust and debris rained down from the dome.

The Eight Trigrams Maze walls crumbled, collapsing into rubble.

At the heart of the maze, Jill Young had already opened her eyes. The elemental energy blast hadn't hurt her at all. She grinned with excitement, pumped her fist—obviously she'd inherited some awesome martial arts. But then her face twisted, half laughing, half crying, as she pointed at something: "Uh... this..."

The nine-meter-tall statue was now only human-sized. After the stone shell blew away, what remained was a lifelike, full-scale statue—not Dennis Duan, but the Peach Bandit! The crew was dumbstruck, staring in disbelief.

The Peach Bandit immediately threw up his hands: "Don't ask me! I have no idea what's going on!"