Courtyard House: Time Traveler Not Yet a Ghost

The day He Damin left the valley, it was just dawn, with a damp, chilly mist in the air. Chen Xueru stood by the pomegranate tree at the courtyard gate, which had only been planted a few years ago. A few withered leaves, blown down by the wind the night before, still clung to its branches. She wasn't wearing her usual light blue cotton dress, but had changed into a faded gray cotton garment, her hair simply tied up with a wooden hairpin.

"I won't see you off." Her voice was a little hoarse, as if it had been soaked by the morning dew. "If I see you off... I can't help myself if I do." She turned her face away halfway through her sentence, looking at the bamboo grove outside the courtyard wall where new shoots had just sprouted, with glistening dewdrops still clinging to the bamboo tips.

He Damin was wearing a slightly worn blue Taoist robe and carrying a bulging canvas bag containing a few changes of clothes and pancakes that Chen Xueru had made overnight. He walked over and gently hugged her. Her shoulders were a little stiff, and through the coarse cloth of her clothes, he could feel the shape of her spine. "I'll be back soon," he said softly, with a deliberate air of relaxation.

Chen Xueru didn't respond, but simply raised her hand and wiped her eyes with her sleeve. He Damin released her, took two steps back, and smiled: "Let's go." Then he turned around, lightly touched the ground with his feet, and his figure floated up, like a leaf being swept up by the wind, flying towards the distant, misty mountain pass.

Chen Xueru stood there, her hands gripping the hem of her dress tightly, her knuckles white. A morning breeze blew, ruffling the stray hairs on her forehead and scattering the last withered leaf from the pomegranate tree. She watched the green figure grow smaller and smaller until it was swallowed by the surging sea of ​​clouds, disappearing completely. The sun slowly climbed over the mountain, its golden light bathing her and stretching her shadow long, long, all the way to the flagstone path at the courtyard gate. She stood there for so long, until the sun was halfway up the sky, until her stomach growled with hunger, until the birds in the bamboo grove had changed their songs several times.

"Madam, the sun is already high in the sky," Xiaohua said timidly as she approached, carrying a steaming bowl of millet porridge. She was no longer the skinny little girl she used to be; she had grown considerably taller, wore two braids, and had a youthful blush on her face. She was now at the sixth level of Qi Refining, the highest-ranking among the children He Damin had taken away, and Chen Xueru's most capable assistant.

Chen Xueru finally snapped out of her daze, blinked, and felt a little soreness in her eyes. She took the bowl of porridge, finding it warm to the touch. "Xiaohua, your master... he said he'll be back soon."

Xiaohua handed her the chopsticks and asked softly, "How long is 'soon'?"

Chen Xueru scooped up a spoonful of porridge, blew on it, and the steam blurred her vision. "Three hundred years."

"Pfft—" Xiao Hua almost spat out the porridge she had just drunk. She stared at Chen Xueru with her mouth agape and wide eyes, speechless for a long time. Three hundred years? She was only sixteen years old this year. Three hundred years later... she wouldn't even know where her bones would be.

He Damin's first stop was the Qingyun Sect. The mountain gate was still the same as he remembered, with a winding bluestone path leading up, ancient pines standing tall on both sides, and clouds and mist swirling around it. He had learned alchemy here back then, transforming from a clueless novice who couldn't even recognize all the herbs into a Pill Emperor. But alchemy was only a small part of the myriad arts of cultivation. He remembered clearly that there were also weapon crafting, formations, talismans, spiritual plants, beast taming, divination, restrictions, mechanisms, puppets... dozens of other skills awaited him to learn. He wasn't in a hurry; cultivation was about defying fate, and he had plenty of time.

For weapon crafting, he went to the Canglang Holy Land. That place was located in the far north, where snow fell year-round. Its mountain gate was forged from massive amounts of black iron, resembling a lurking black beast from afar. The weapon crafting tradition of the Canglang Holy Land was recognized as top-tier throughout the Xuan Tian Continent. He Damin suppressed his cultivation to the Golden Core stage, used an alias, and, carrying a few low-grade spirit stones, went to participate in the Holy Land's weapon crafting hall selection.

On the day of the selection, the square was packed with people, all eager to enter the world's number one weapon-forging sect. When it was He Damin's turn, the examiner, seeing his mediocre cultivation and ordinary attire, tossed him a piece of stubborn iron and told him to forge a dagger within an incense stick's time. Those around him scoffed; the iron was riddled with impurities, and it wouldn't even be able to forge a decent shape in a day, let alone an incense stick's time.

He Damin paid no heed, taking the stubborn iron and tossing it into the nearby furnace with his bare hands. Without any tools, he stirred and hammered it in the raging flames. In the firelight, his hands moved so fast they were mere afterimages; the iron seemed to melt into soft clay in his hands, impurities being forced out little by little, emitting a sizzling sound. Before an incense stick had even burned out, a gleaming dagger, with faint dragon patterns flowing across its surface, was tossed onto the stone table in front of the examiner, its hilt still warm from his hands.

The examiner was stunned, his eyes widening like saucers. He picked up the dagger and examined it from all angles, muttering, "Impossible...this is impossible...quenched thirteen times, forged nine hundred and ninety-nine times, and it even has a dragon pattern...this craftsmanship is no less than that of the head of the hall!"

And so, He Damin entered the Weapon Forging Hall. His talent once again amazed everyone. In less than three years, he became the most outstanding disciple of the Weapon Forging Hall, and even the Hall Master often sought him out to discuss his insights. Ten years later, he became a Grandmaster of Weapon Forging, capable of forging magical treasures imbued with weapon spirits. Thirty years later, he became a Saint Master of Weapon Forging, and the weapons he personally crafted could trigger extraordinary phenomena in heaven and earth. Fifty years later, when he forged the "Sky-Splitting Sword" that could cleave space, the entire Canglang Holy Land was shaken. The Sect Master personally stepped forward, bestowing upon him the title of Imperial Master of Weapon Forging and granting him a Xuan Iron Token engraved with the character "Emperor".

On the day he left, the elders of the Canglang Holy Land all came to see him off, each holding his hand, reluctant to let go. He Damin smiled, cupped his hands in greeting, tucked the token into his pocket, and turned to walk into the swirling snow. His canvas bag was much bulging than when he arrived, filled with refining tips and samples of various rare ores.

He went to the Azure Lotus Holy Land to study array formations. That place was located in the water towns of Jiangnan, its gate hidden beneath a vast lotus pond, visible only at specific times. The Azure Lotus Holy Land's array formation tradition was said to be unparalleled, capable of trapping even Nascent Soul stage cultivators to death within its arrays. This time, He Damin had learned his lesson; he concealed his identity, disguising himself as a fleeing rogue cultivator, and infiltrated the Array Academy as a menial worker.

Formations are more difficult than alchemy and weapon crafting. They require not only powerful divine sense and true essence, but also an understanding of the laws of heaven and earth. He Damin started by learning the most basic "Spirit Gathering Formation," drawing formation patterns on the ground stroke by stroke and carving the formation eyes with talismans and inscriptions one by one. He often drew for a whole day and night, forgetting to eat and sleep. He drew and erased the formation patterns on the ground, then drew them again, until every stroke was accurate and every formation eye could draw upon the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.

Once, in order to study a fragment of the "Immortal Slaughtering Sword Formation" passed down from ancient times, he stayed in the library for three whole months. When he came out, his hair and beard had grown out of shape, and he smelled musty. He was almost kicked out by the gatekeeper disciples because they mistook him for a beggar. In this way, he slowly devoured and comprehended the formations, from simple defensive and offensive formations to complex trapping and teleportation formations, and finally to the legendary Heaven-Reaching Formation and World-Destroying Formation.

A hundred years later, when he single-handedly set up the legendary "Zhou Tian Xing Dou Grand Array" on the Trial Peak of the Azure Lotus Holy Land, drawing upon the power of the celestial stars, the entire Azure Lotus Holy Land was in an uproar. On that day, countless elders flew through the air, gazing at the massive array that enveloped the entire mountain peak, tears streaming down their faces with excitement. They knew that another Imperial Tutor had emerged in the art of array formations.

For talismans, he went to the Alliance of Loose Cultivators. That place had no fixed gate, its members were scattered throughout the land, a diverse mix of all sorts of people. He Damin, carrying his canvas bag, began his travels. He went to mortal realms where spiritual energy was scarce, seeking guidance from old Taoist priests who drew talismans at street stalls; he went to the Hundred Thousand Mountains, teeming with demonic beasts, to visit talisman cultivators who lived in seclusion in caves; he even went to the edge of the Demon Realm, exchanging talisman-related insights with some demonic cultivators.

He traveled for over thirty years, his footsteps covering dozens of countries, and visited hundreds of talisman masters. He learned to draw yellow talismans to exorcise ghosts, to draw blood talismans to kill enemies, to draw sound transmission talismans to send messages over long distances, and to draw substitute talismans to take the blame for others. Once, in order to obtain a genuine "lightning-summoning talisman" that had been lost for a long time, he guarded an ancient tomb for three whole years, outwitting and fighting against countless tomb raiders and zombies, and almost lost his life in the end.

When he successfully drew the last "Heaven and Earth Rebirth Talisman" and activated the power of reincarnation, he knew that he had reached the level of an Imperial Tutor in the art of talismans. He carefully put all the talisman paper, cinnabar, wolf-hair brushes, and his insights into talisman arrays that he had figured out over the years into his canvas bag.

For spiritual plants, he went to the Valley of Ten Thousand Herbs. That place was the largest spiritual herb cultivation base on the Xuan Tian Continent. The valley master was an ancient tree demon who had lived for tens of thousands of years, and his true form was a giant ginseng fruit tree. When He Damin found the valley master, the old tree demon was lying in a medicinal field, basking in the sun. The wrinkles on his trunk were more numerous than those of a centenarian, and several rosy ginseng fruits hung from his branches, swaying back and forth like chubby babies.

"Little fellow, you want to learn about spiritual plants?" The old tree spirit's voice rustled, like the wind blowing through the leaves.

"Yes, senior." He Damin bowed respectfully.

The old tree spirit opened its cloudy eyes, stared at him for a long time, and suddenly laughed: "Interesting little fellow, you have the scent of grass and trees about you. Alright, you can stay in the valley, water and fertilize me, and I'll teach you."

He Damin settled down in the Valley of Ten Thousand Herbs. His daily work consisted of watering, fertilizing, and weeding the spiritual herbs. The spiritual herbs in the Valley of Ten Thousand Herbs were incredibly diverse; some needed morning dew, some needed diluted demon beast blood, and some needed the sound of a zither to grow. He Damin studied diligently, recording the characteristics of each herb in his notebook: when it would flower, when it would bear fruit, when it needed pest control, and when it needed to undergo tribulation. He remembered everything clearly.

He learned the cultivation, grafting, improvement, and hybridization of spiritual herbs from the old tree spirit. He grafted ordinary green spirit grass and fire lotus to cultivate the "Blazing Flame Grass," which could automatically breathe fire; he hybridized ice ginseng and snow lotus to create the "Frosty Heart," capable of instantly freezing thousands of miles. Fifty years later, when he cultivated the "Nine-Turn Resurrection Grass," capable of reviving the dead and healing the wounded, the old tree spirit patted him on the shoulder and laughed heartily: "Little fellow, you are more capable than this old bone of mine! The title of Imperial Teacher of Spiritual Plants belongs to no one but you!"

He tamed beasts and went to the Monster Forest. That place was one of the most dangerous places on the Xuan Tian Continent, teeming with monsters, and high-level monsters appeared one after another. He remembered that when he left Earth, he had thrown that little Japanese kid named Ito Sai into the Monster Forest of this world. He wondered how he was doing now.

He found a cave on the edge of the Monster Forest and settled down, concealing the entrance with an array to make it difficult to be discovered. His daily routine consisted of observing the habits of the monsters—how they hunted, how they reproduced, and how they communicated. He witnessed wolf packs hunting, giant pythons molting, and phoenixes undergoing rebirth. He even imitated the monsters' cries, trying to communicate with them.

Once, he encountered a wounded seventh-tier demon tiger, barely alive, with a poisoned arrow lodged in its leg. He Damin hesitated for a moment, then stepped forward, using his alchemy skills to detoxify it and his spiritual plant magic to heal its wound. When the demon tiger awoke, it didn't attack him; instead, it nuzzled his hand, as if expressing gratitude. Later, this demon tiger became his guide in the Demon Beast Forest, leading him to many places inaccessible to ordinary people.

Fifty years later, He Damin was able to communicate with most high-level demonic beasts and even command them to do simple tasks. Deep in the forest, he saw Ito Sai in the distance. That guy had evolved into a seventh-tier demonic emperor, his true form a giant black snake, coiled atop a mountain, commanding countless demonic beasts. He Damin shook his head, not wanting to disturb him, packed his things, and left the demonic beast forest.

Divination, incantations, mechanisms, puppets... one subject after another, He Damin absorbed knowledge like a parched sponge. With each new subject, he recorded his insights, compiled them into teaching materials, and stored them in his mysterious Yin-Yang space. These materials included thick manuscripts, drawings filled with patterns, and various models he made himself. He thought that when he returned in the future, these would be the most precious treasure of the He family's descendants.

Over the past three hundred years, He Damin would occasionally return to the valley. Each time he went back, he would find earth-shattering changes. The courtyard grew larger each time, the houses multiplied, and the population increased. Some of the children Chen Xueru had adopted from outside had grown up and had their own children; their children had children of their own. In three hundred years, the He family had grown from just a few people into a vast clan.

"Brother Damin, you've lost weight again." Chen Xueru would say this every time she saw him. There were a few gray hairs in her hair and a few fine lines at the corners of her eyes, but her eyes were still bright.