Mo Zhen had a miserable life. I realized that after dying and waking up in his body, inheriting all of his memories.
The constant hatred from his family was hard to stomach. Worse still, Mo Zhen had two incredibly talented siblings who completely overshadowed him.
Born with a shattered spiritual root—that was the fate I had to take on.
Few people in the family ever liked him. Only his grandfather still cared enough to keep him around, but his word wasn't enough.
How did the original Mo Zhen died? Poisoned by someone. He didn't find out who the culprit was. And I wasn't planning on doing that either.
Two days after I took over Mo Zhen's body, I was expelled from the family—and cast out of the village. Left to wander the forest alone.
My siblings said goodbye with tears in their eyes. I cried too.
Mo Linhua, my sister, always looked out for me. Mo Chenyu, my older brother, treated me kindly as well.
The problem was our parents, our uncles, even our cousins. They all hated me. And in the end, I was thrown out.
Mo Chenyu, the eldest son, was gifted and poised to lead the clan. Meanwhile I was the middle child—with no spiritual root. A complete disgrace.
After Linhua was born, things got even worse. And now it had reached a breaking point—I'd been expelled.
They gave me just a little food, some water, a small dagger, and, of course, the clothes on my back.
But the worst part wasn't being kicked out of the clan. It was being banned from the village itself.
My family practically ran the place, and with their influence, the rest of the villagers turned against me too.
No one was allowed to help me.
I went to one of the houses, hoping to beg for a little extra food before leaving.
The man opened the door—giving me a fleeting moment of hope—only to punch me in the stomach and shove me into the mud.
"Get out of here, scum. Even your family doesn't want you—why should I help?"
That was the kind of treatment I got. I was furious at what I was going through. My life on Earth hadn't been great—but somehow, this was even worse.
It was impossible to stay in the village. I had to leave.
The road leading out was simple—just dirt. A place completely isolated from the rest of the world.
Maybe that's why cultivators were so rare there. And yet, strangely enough, both my siblings and two of my friends had talent for cultivation.
Cultivators were supposed to be rare, but during my lifetime, a bunch had appeared. It felt like the universe was trying to rub it in.
I wasn't born without a spiritual root—I had one. But it was damaged.
Honestly, it was better to have none at all than a broken one. At least then people wouldn't hold onto false hope. For a moment, my family thought I might actually be worth something. They were wrong.
After walking for a few hours, I stopped to drink some water. I opened the leather backpack and pulled out a bamboo flask.
The water tasted great. I only sipped a little, trying to ration it. My future was uncertain. I had no idea how much longer I'd survive.
Would they ever regret kicking me out like that? That thought lingered in my mind more often than I cared to admit.
Not that I cared all that much. I was in a new world now—a vast one begging to be explored. Cultivation! It all sounded so magical, but I knew damn well how hard, dangerous, and often boring it could be.
I didn't want that life. All I really wanted was enough power to defend myself against weak cultivators or ordinary people—and maybe extend my lifespan a bit. That was my dream.
The only problem? My spiritual roots were damaged.
How was I supposed to fix that? Even if everyone said it was impossible, I'd read enough cultivation novels in my previous life to know better. There was always a way. I just had to find mine.
But first—before chasing dreams—I had to survive. I needed shelter.
Thanks to Mo Zhen's memories, I had a basic sense of the region's layout. There was nothing close by. The next village or city was far from the one I'd been cast out of.
This would be a long journey. My first goal was to find a place safe enough to spend the night.
It was late afternoon when I was thrown out, so daylight was already running low.
I headed into the forest. It was dark, damp from recent rain, and cold. And worst of all—there was that gnawing feeling that something was watching me. The constant fear of a spiritual beast striking from the shadows.
Luckily, I knew the region well. Spiritual beasts were extremely rare in this area. The chances of running into a mundane animal were far greater—but even one of those could kill me right now.
I pushed through the forest, brushing aside vegetation as I went. A small dagger was all I had to cut through the vines.
It was exhausting. But after about half an hour, I found it—a small cave.
It wasn't deep. Through the entrance, I could already see the back wall.
No signs of animals or spiritual beasts. Not when I arrived, at least.
I stepped closer and checked for any traces inside. No leftover food, no footprints. Looked safe. I decided this would be my home for the night.
Before anything else, I needed a fire. The cold would creep in fast, especially sleeping in a place like this.
Fire also kept animals away. I'd only be in trouble if a spiritual beast showed up by chance.
I built a fire pit from stones I gathered from the cave and nearby, using sticks and dry plants as fuel.
The worst part was creating sparks by friction. If I had even a basic fire cultivation technique, this would've been easy. Too bad I was useless.
After more than half an hour of rubbing sticks together, I finally got a flame. The heat hugging my fingers was a small comfort.
I warmed my hands and took in the moment. But when I looked deeper into the cave, something caught my eye.
Lit by the firelight, the cave revealed a hidden secret.
A bone.
It was large—either from a big animal or, more likely, a spiritual beast. That much was obvious.
I picked it up and decided to bury it.
If it was a spiritual beast's bone, the lingering Qi might attract others. Burying it might help mask it. No guarantees—but I wasn't venturing into a pitch-dark forest to throw it away. I'd bury it, and leave in the morning.
I dug a small hole with my bare hands, buried the bone, and covered it up.
That's when something truly bizarre happened.
Just like in the novels I used to read—a System notification appeared:
[Beast Gardener System Activated]
[Cultivate spiritual beasts like spirit herbs. Grow them. Absorb them. Increase your cultivation and unlock new techniques]
[Unknown Bone Planted]
[Time until spiritual beast hatchling emerges: 7 days]
I stood there, staring—completely stunned. I couldn't believe what I was seeing.