A solution lay right before him, yet it was the one fraught with the greatest risk.
The Mist Secret Realm was soon to manifest not far from Yunqing Pavilion. It was a minor secret realm that only permitted cultivators at the Foundation Establishment stage or below to enter. Generally, such low-level realms contained nothing of great value and were rarely given much thought by the major sects. However, a rumor had spread from an unknown source claiming that an "Exotic Fire" might exist within this particular realm.
Exotic Fires were treasures that one could only encounter by chance and never seek out by force. Rumor had it that a complete Exotic Fire even possessed its own consciousness, making it impossible for a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator to subdue and form a contract with it. Even so, many sects had sent their promising juniors to try their luck, holding onto a sliver of hope.
Duan Mingyu’s Heavenly Yin Physique had been concealed by the Yingyue Sect. He believed his constant internal chill was due to the Ice spiritual root within his dual-root constitution. Thus, he was aiming for this Exotic Fire to neutralize his cold affliction. Zhai Bairong, who had learned of this earlier, could not bear to let him go alone. Despite being at the late stage of Foundation Establishment and close to reaching Core Formation, he had forcibly suppressed his cultivation to accompany Duan Mingyu.
Nie Shiyun recalled the contents of the book, his fingers tapping restlessly on the tabletop, his mind in turmoil.
There was indeed an Exotic Fire in the secret realm, but it was merely a mindless remnant soul of one. Growth had to be taken one step at a time; in the early stages of the story, even a remnant soul was an incredibly rare find. With it, the issues caused by Duan Mingyu’s constitution were indeed temporarily alleviated.
However, what Nie Shiyun was currently concerned with was not the Exotic Fire, but the culprit behind the original host’s death in the book—the Spirit Cleansing Pill.
Capable of washing away one random spiritual root from a multi-root cultivator, the Spirit Cleansing Pill was a peerless treasure—the only way for such cultivators to alter their innate talent. Not only did it require a Nascent Soul stage alchemist to refine, but the Spirit Cleansing Spring required as a raw ingredient had dried up thousands of years ago. Every Spirit Cleansing Pill remaining in the world was one of a kind; they were priceless items with no market value.
In the book, Nie Shiyun, as a Qi Refining cultivator, should never have risked entering the secret realm. But seeing that both Duan Mingyu and Zhai Bairong had slots, his heart was filled with envy and bitterness. He had insisted that Nie Li send him in as well.
To compensate for his son’s shortcomings in cultivation, Nie Li had given him a bag full of talismans and magical treasures. He hoped that if his son encountered a fortuitous opportunity, he might achieve a breakthrough; if not, these expensive armaments would at least ensure his life was not in danger.
Unfortunately, Nie Shiyun had completely failed to understand his father’s painstaking efforts. After entering the secret realm, he acted alone yet ostentatiously, making himself a prime target for others. Even after being attacked several times, he failed to reflect on his behavior, resulting in a massive drain on his resources.
Years passed within the secret realm. By the time Nie Shiyun met Duan Mingyu again, the latter was already accompanied by the second male lead, and they had reaped a bountiful harvest along the way. This had left Nie Shiyun both furious and green with envy.
Later, the group discovered a hidden cave dwelling. The entrance required the simultaneous use of Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth spiritual energy to open, yet only one person could enter. As luck would have it, three men with different spiritual roots were gathered there at the time. Including Duan Mingyu himself, the cave seemed tailor-made for him, and the seal was easily broken. Due to Duan Mingyu’s irresistible charm as the "shou," the men did not argue and trusted him implicitly to enter and retrieve the treasures alone.
What Duan Mingyu obtained then was precisely the Spirit Cleansing Pill.
Being of a naive nature, he generously showed the item to his harem of pursuers after coming out. Since the main love interests all possessed single spiritual roots, the Spirit Cleansing Pill naturally went to Duan Mingyu.
It was at this moment that the gap between a cannon fodder and a main lead became apparent. Although Nie Shiyun admired Duan Mingyu, he cared more about his own future. That night, he coaxed Duan Mingyu into a private meeting, demanding he hand over the Spirit Cleansing Pill. When Duan Mingyu refused, Nie Shiyun, blinded by greed, attempted to take it by force.
Though Duan Mingyu was at the Foundation Establishment stage, combat was not his forte. Just as Nie Shiyun thought he was about to succeed, the third male lead made a grand entrance, performing a classic "hero saves the beauty" act. Nie Shiyun breathed his last then and there. The original host’s life as a cannon fodder ended at that point.
Nie Shiyun estimated that the ending was only two or three years away.
Rather than sitting around waiting for death—worrying outside the secret realm about what other form of disaster might befall him—Nie Shiyun decided to take a gamble. Although being near the protagonist was the most dangerous place to be, his most powerful weapon was information. The details of the original work were etched into his mind, allowing him to react based on that knowledge.
"What? You want to go to the Mist Secret Realm? No! Absolutely not."
Upon hearing that his son wanted to go to the secret realm, Nie Li’s reaction was exactly the same as in the book.
"Most of the disciples sent by the major sects are at the Foundation Establishment stage. If you run into them inside, I fear you'll face more ill than good. This is for your own sake. Wait until you've reached Foundation Establishment; if a secret realm opens then, your father will let you go no matter how many spirit stones it costs!"
Nie Shiyun explained, "I want to take a chance. Living aimlessly like this won't lead to a solution. Will I truly ever see the day I reach Foundation Establishment in this lifetime?"
"Nonsense," Nie Li snapped, though his tone betrayed a lack of confidence even he didn't believe.
It was true. If he stayed obediently at Yunqing Pavilion, his son might be safe, but he would have no future. A Qi Refining cultivator’s lifespan was only about a hundred years, hardly better than a mortal's. To hit a bottleneck in one's early twenties and spend the rest of one's life in mediocrity, only to die unwillingly when one's time was up—what kind of torment would that be for Nie Shiyun?
Nie Shiyun lacked the original host's ability to throw tantrums and shift blame, but he knew better how to persuade Nie Li. "To tell you the truth, because my cultivation is stalled, I often have nightmares. But two days ago, in my sleep, I faintly felt that my opportunity might lie within that Mist Secret Realm."
Nie Li froze for a moment, his eyes widening. "Is what you say true?"
"Naturally. But the feeling is very vague and hard to describe. I wouldn't dare boast about it."
"Silly boy, if the Heavenly Dao is willing to give you an indication, it is already a great blessing. How could it tell you everything plainly? You... you aren't truly deceiving your father, are you?"
Nie Li’s repeated questioning made Nie Shiyun realize just how unreliable a son he was in this "cheap" father's heart.
"Good, good! It seems my son's fate is not yet sealed." Nie Li seemed convinced by Nie Shiyun’s rhetoric, saying "good" several times in a row, his joy evident.
Nie Shiyun felt a complex mix of emotions. Nie Li truly treated him as his own flesh and blood. While he couldn't truly view him as his biological father, he held deep respect for the man.
This trip was a massive gamble against the Heavenly Dao of the original novel. If anything, the Heavenly Dao likely wanted him dead; yet Nie Li believed his son had been blessed by the heavens and would surely find a miracle in the secret realm.
If he succeeded, all would be well. But if he failed to overcome the Heavenly Dao... Nie Shiyun thought of Nie Li waiting outside the realm with a heart full of joy, only to receive news of his son's death. He couldn't imagine the grief.
*All I can do now is make thorough preparations,* Nie Shiyun planned in his heart.
Since arriving in this world, he had lived as an outsider. Looking at Nie Li’s retreating back, Nie Shiyun felt a true sense of belonging to Yunqing Pavilion for the first time.
Settling his mind, the preparation time flew by.
Duan Mingyu, who had commissioned the artifact, was very satisfied when he received the finished treasure from Yunqing Pavilion. Only Nie Shiyun knew that the weapon would soon be of little use to him.
With over half a year left before the secret realm opened, Duan Mingyu and Zhai Bairong returned to the Yingyue Sect first. Nie Shiyun finally breathed a sigh of relief. With those two nearby, he had to be on guard constantly, unable to eat or sleep well—it was a true ordeal.
Knowing his cultivation lagged behind others, Nie Shiyun, like the original host, unhesitatingly accepted the various magical treasures Nie Li prepared for him, along with a thick stack of talismans. Fearing he might run out of spiritual energy when activating the talismans, the pavilion also provided plenty of spirit stones. Nie Shiyun truly felt what it meant to be cherished.
With supplies secured, Nie Shiyun pondered how to open the cave dwelling's five-element seal by himself.
He possessed Water, Fire, and Metal spiritual roots; he only needed to find Wood and Earth. In the cultivation world, where opportunities were paramount, seeking outside partners was the worst possible move. Unless absolutely necessary, Nie Shiyun didn't want to consider it.
He then applied the same vigor he had used for postgraduate entrance exams in his previous life, spending an entire month buried in the study, scouring the pavilion’s ancient texts. Finally, he narrowed it down to two possibilities.
The first was to use magical treasures brimming with Wood and Earth spiritual energy to substitute for a cultivator's spiritual roots. Unfortunately, such treasures could only be driven by Foundation Establishment cultivators. With his current cultivation, he couldn't wield them; this path was a dead end.
The second was to directly use refined cultivator essence. If a cultivator's soul did not immediately dissipate upon death, it could be refined. This essence could directly improve one's cultivation, but it was so pure that cultivators below the Core Formation stage risked exploding if they consumed it. It was essentially a high-level resource.
When he first learned of this, Nie Shiyun felt a wave of revulsion. To put it bluntly, wasn't that just a form of "cremains"?
He made a quiet trip to the black market to inquire. He learned that such items were rare. Many demonic and rogue cultivators who reached Core Formation or even Nascent Soul without a sect to rely on found this essence to be the most suitable cultivation resource. Whether one could snatch it up depended entirely on luck.
Unable to explain why he needed such an item, Nie Shiyun did not tell Nie Li of his plan. He visited the market every few days. Everyone thought he was just as playful as before, but in reality, he was making regular trips to the black market to search for refined essence.
By now, only four months remained before the secret realm opened.
Just as Nie Shiyun was beginning to doubt if he would make it in time, he finally stumbled upon a Wood-attribute refined essence in the black market. Overjoyed and terrified of any mishaps, he bought it immediately.
Even as a "second-generation" cultivator, Nie Shiyun felt the pain of a withered wallet for the first time after paying. This single refined essence cost him five hundred thousand spirit stones—nearly his entire fortune.
To put it in perspective, Nie Li, as the Vice Pavilion Master, rarely took commissions. If he did help someone refine a spiritual tool that required Nascent Soul cultivation to activate, the fee was only about a hundred thousand spirit stones. The talismans and magical tools Nie Shiyun had collected recently were all high-quality for his level, yet the most expensive market price was only a few thousand spirit stones.
It seemed he would have to ask Nie Li for the money for the second essence.
Having no other choice, Nie Shiyun returned to his courtyard with the Wood essence.
He changed out of his traveling clothes and carefully took the Wood essence out of his storage bracelet. He didn't dare wander around with five hundred thousand stones' worth of goods and intended to place it temporarily in his most securely warded "private vault" under his bed.
Perhaps due to nerves, Nie Shiyun’s hand trembled, and the Wood essence accidentally slipped from his fingertips.
Something incredibly bizarre happened. The essence, which should have tumbled onto the floor, vanished into thin air.
In disbelief, Nie Shiyun immediately cast aside his dignity and searched the floor meticulously. But strangely enough, there was no trace of the essence. The situation was so eerie that Nie Shiyun even doubted if he had actually gone out or if it had all been a dream.
*Does the Heavenly Dao truly refuse to leave me even a single chance?* Nie Shiyun asked himself. This time, he was truly filled with despair, nearly on the verge of cursing, "Heavenly Dao, have you no shame?"
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Transmigrated into a Total Shou Novel as a Cannon Fodder, but Ended Up 1v1-ing the Male Lead | Chapter 4 | A Gamble with Fate | Novela.app | Novela.app
