I Have A Cultivation World Chapter 3 - 3 Water Mansion_1

Upon spotting the turtle shell, Chen Mobai felt a sharp, familiar throb in the recently closed wound on his right hand.

Everything had started with that object.

Two weeks prior, right after he successfully reached the fifth level of Qi cultivation, his mother—a woman of great superstition—had been overjoyed. To celebrate, she dragged him to a supposedly ancient and powerful temple nestled deep in their ancestral mountains to burn incense, praying for his success in his upcoming exams.

While he was paying his respects, an unexpected shove from behind sent him stumbling. Reaching out instinctively to steady himself, his hand clamped down on a turtle shell that sat as an offering before the statue of a deity.

The shell was grimy from years of incense smoke, but its edges remained lethally sharp, slicing a deep gash into Chen Mobai’s palm. The wound became severely infected, leaving him bedridden and requiring a fourteen-day hospital stay.

Understandably, his mother was furious that her son had ended up in a hospital bed. She engaged in a fierce dispute with the temple’s head cultivator monk, demanding a full refund of the 188 Good Deed Points she had contributed as an offering.

The elderly cultivator monk was stubborn, or perhaps the temple was simply that broke. No matter how much she yelled, he refused to return the points, offering only two Evil Warding Talismans as a meager peace offering.

Eventually, the old monk grew tired of the confrontation and made a final concession.

He permitted Chen Mobai’s mother to take the offending turtle shell, suggesting she incinerate it to burn away her son’s bad luck.

To this day, however, the shell remained intact.

Open flames were strictly regulated in the city. Any discarded items or spiritual resources had to be turned over for recycling and treated by an Earth Master before being returned to the ground’s Spiritual Pivot. This cycle was essential for sustaining the Spiritual Energy flow on Earth Elemental Star.

Only licensed organizations and specialized firms with permits for artifact refining or alchemy were legally allowed to ignite fires.

Frustrated, Chen Mobai grabbed the turtle shell, intending to dump it in the bin so the Earth Master could take it away the following morning.

But the moment his skin brushed against the shell, a brilliant flash of silver erupted.

Before he could react, Chen Mobai was swallowed by a shimmering silver radiance, vanishing instantly from his bedroom.

…

Chen Mobai lost all track of time.

As his mind slowly cleared, he pushed himself up from the ground.

Surveying his surroundings, he realized he was no longer at home. Instead, he found himself inside a strange, secluded cave dwelling.

Though its location was a mystery, one fact was immediately obvious to him.

He was currently deep beneath the water.

Above him, there was nothing but an endless expanse of deep blue.

The entire dwelling was protected by a translucent, dome-like barrier. He watched as fish and crabs swam toward him, only to be gently bounced away by the barrier, as if they had hit a wall of soft rubber.

He waited for ten minutes, bracing for an encounter with some powerful senior expert, but no one appeared. Finally, Chen Mobai turned to inspect the area more closely.

A thorough look confirmed that this was a modest underwater cave dwelling.

He appeared to be standing in the entrance hall. Array flags were positioned on pedestals at the four corners, with a primary pedestal behind him, all working together to maintain a Water Avoidance Array.

Fortunately, Chen Mobai had been a diligent student in his formation classes. He recognized the setup as a Rank-2 intermediate-grade Array. Its primary roles were Spirit gathering, water exclusion, stealth, and basic defense. It didn't seem to have any lethal traps.

Relying on his academic training, he carefully tested the boundaries of the formation. After an hour of cautious probing, he determined it wasn't hostile and finally let out a breath of relief.

Convinced that the immediate area was safe, he waited another thirty minutes before venturing further.

The dwelling was quite compact. Aside from the hall where he stood, there were only three side chambers.

The middle chamber was likely the cultivation room. Uncertain if someone was inside, Chen Mobai reached into his pocket and gripped a ‘Wood Armor Talisman.’ This was his ultimate insurance policy.

As a Rank-1 intermediate-grade charm, it could withstand a direct strike from a cultivator at the sixth level of Qi cultivation once triggered.

Holding the talisman gave him a much-needed sense of security.

He pulled a coin from his pocket, set it on the floor, and gave it a gentle flick toward the chamber door.

Zing!

The moment the coin reached the entrance, a spark of blue electricity flashed, instantly vaporizing the metal into a cloud of spiritual mist.

Chen Mobai’s heart sank at the sight.

That single coin represented one Good Deed Point.

These coins were crafted from powdered spirit stones, jade ores, and metals, infused with a specific value of spiritual energy to prevent counterfeiting. They were the standard currency on Earth.

With a weekly allowance of only five dollars and the meager income he earned from cutting talisman paper, Chen Mobai had only managed to save eighty points in total.

Losing even one made him hesitate.

The room remained silent after the ward was triggered, increasing his anxiety. He dug through his pockets, found another test coin, and reluctantly rolled it toward the other side rooms.

Zing!

Splash!

The two distinct sounds and visual reactions made Chen Mobai’s eyes go wide.

The ward on the left-side door was identical to the center one, turning his coin into vapor with blue electricity.

However, the right-side door reacted differently. A wave of deep blue light rippled across the entrance, gently pushing the coin back toward him like a tide.

Chen Mobai stepped aside as the coin rolled past.

Once it stopped, he sent another coin forward to ensure no lingering energy remained before retrieving his money.

He approached the right-side door and performed several more tests. Confirming the ward was non-lethal, he began trying to find a way through.

Unfortunately, he didn't have any specialized talismans for breaking wards. His own cultivation technique was just the basic Five Element Inner Cultivation taught in public schools.

“I really should have bought that ‘Water Sword Talisman’ when I had the chance,” he muttered.

After several failed attempts to bypass the water ripple barrier, he felt a wave of regret. He had a long list of items saved in his Immortal Gate virtual shopping cart.

The Water Sword Talisman cost 30 Good Deed Points and was a Rank-1 intermediate-tier item—perfect for a fifth-layer Qi cultivation user like him.

The barrier on the door felt similar in strength to his Wood Armor Talisman. If he had a Water Sword Talisman, he likely could have pierced through it easily.

Having tried everything he knew, Chen Mobai was at a dead end.

His only choice was to return to the center of the hall, near the main array flag where he had first arrived. He sat down to meditate, hoping to replenish the magic power he had wasted on the door.

“What?”

The moment he began his cultivation, he was stunned. He quickly pulled out his phone and opened an app designed to measure spiritual density.

[Spiritual Energy Value: 60]

“This place is built on a Rank-2 intermediate-grade spirit vein!”

Chen Mobai was shocked. This wasn't just some minor retreat; it was the residence of a high-level cultivator. If the master of the house returned to find an intruder, the consequences would be dire.

“How did I get here? ... Right, the turtle shell…”

He remembered the catalyst. He searched the entire mansion again, even checking among the decorative plants, but the shell was nowhere to be found.

“What am I going to tell my parents?”

He waited another hour. Knowing his parents would be home shortly, Chen Mobai realized he had to use his last resort.

He dialed 110.

He could only hope the Law Enforcement Cultivators of the Immortal Gate could track his signal and pull him out of this strange underwater mansion.