Su Xiaomeng was lying flat on the stone bench as she gazed at the blue sky with a blank look. Her hands dangled beside her and grazed the spiritual grass below. The bamboo shoots tilted under the gust of cool wind blowing through the garden, giving her ample shade but clouding her vision. Her yellow dress, as well as her black hair, fluttered under the tranquil atmosphere.
Xiaomeng tightly placed her hands on her stomach as she felt a sudden flutter. Yet she was not able to cover the small gurgling sound bursting forth. Her cheeks went beet red. Maybe she was the only Nascent Soul cultivator in the world who was still unable to control her hunger.
The soft sound of porcelain clashing with stone came from beside her. Turning her head, she saw her mother, Su Yulan, arranging the dishes on the black stone table with care. Her flowing black hair braided in several places perfectly complemented her white dress. Her attention to detail was evident as she adjusted the cutlery at the slightest sign of it being out of order.
"What are you looking at?" Su Yulan asked gently, her attention still focused on the task at hand.
Gazing at her mother, the seemingly teenage girl answered, "How long will it take for father to bring out the main dish?"
"You won't have to wait much longer, my little pea!" A boisterous voice rang out from inside. A scholarly man wearing a blue robe came out from inside, carrying a large golden pot filled with meatballs and thick broth. He set it down carefully on the table and gestured for Su Xiaomeng to come for a hug.
Quickly getting to her feet, Su Xiaomeng ran towards her father. Just as she reached his embrace, she sidestepped and avoided the large hug. Taking her place on the table, she looked at the frozen back, "Father, why aren't you sitting yet?"
Su Wenhao snapped out of his reverie and, turning his head, gazed at his young daughter. Where is the little girl who used to promise that she would marry me when she grew up?
Watching the father and daughter's early afternoon antics, a soft smile graced Su Yulan's lips. "Sit down dear. The food will get cold soon."
Su Wenhao, the obedient husband, quickly sat at the table, his face full of smiles once again. In no time the family had started eating with relish. "The lion's head meatballs taste exactly as I remember from Grandmother's home!" Xiaomeng exclaimed, taking a large bite of the meatball in her bowl.
"Of course they taste the same," Su Wenhao said proudly. "I learned the special recipe from her just to make sure my little pea would enjoy it."
"Father!" Su Xiaomeng's face flushed slightly. She said in a dissatisfied tone, "I am already forty-seven years old and a proud Nascent Soul cultivator, so stop treating me like a little child."
"Isn't that still considered wet behind the ears here in the upper realm?" Su Wenhao looked utterly innocent while saying this.
"You!" Su Xiaomeng decided to ignore him and continue her meal in silence. Seeing his daughter's cheeks puff out like a little squirrel as she ate, Su Wenhao stopped his teasing. Su Yulan just watched in silence, her eyes curving like a crescent moon.
After downing a few more juicy meatballs, Xiaomeng heard her mother's voice. "Yesterday you mentioned something about closed-door cultivation."
Xiaomeng's chopsticks stopped moving as she looked at her mother. Swallowing the food still in her mouth, she took a sip of the spirit water from the glass beside her. Feeling her throat relax, she slowly replied, "After recently breaking through to the Nascent Soul realm, I feel that my cultivation has stagnated. To remedy it, I was thinking of going into closed-door cultivation."
Su Wenhao also stopped eating. The realization that he would not see his daughter for several months or even years hit him. "No!" He slammed his hands on the table. The mother and daughter gave him a bewildered look. "We can just buy more cultivation resources and pills to supplement your growth. Although we're not too rich, we're not poor either."
Su Wenhao's family was a distant branch of the Su clan in the upper realm. Even with distant relations, they still had several perks compared to normal people. They earned enough to cover their basic cultivation and living expenses, but not enough to afford any luxuries. They owned a small floating island inhabited by a few hundred low-level cultivators. These cultivators grew and sold spirit herbs, and as the landlord, the Su family received a small share. Although it wasn't much, it kept their lives comfortable.
Su Xiaomeng's mouth slightly opened at her father's reaction. Regaining her composure she said, "Father, there's no need. Everyone has to go into closed-door cultivation at some point. I'm just starting early." Getting up from her place and hugging her father, she continued, "Besides, I need to practice my alchemy. I'm close to another breakthrough and just lacking insight. Maybe during this closed-door cultivation, I'll find it. You wouldn't want your lovely daughter to miss such an opportunity, would you?" Her tone turned slightly coaxing.
Seeing the pleading look on his daughter's face, Su Wenhao finally sat down. The bright mood had grown somber so Su Yulan interjected, "Let's not get so worked up. She'll be out in a few days at best. Just look at how she's devouring your cooking dear. She'll miss it and come back for it as soon as possible." Hearing his wife's words, Su Wenhao's gloom lifted. Such a simple man, Su Yulan thought. But she was the one who fell for that simplicity.
Soon, the meal ended, and the family discussed the closed-door cultivation. "So which cave are you going into?" Su Wenhao asked.
"The one Grandmother used last time she visited," Su Xiaomeng replied. Su Wenhao nodded at this choice. It was the best and most well-maintained cultivation cave on their small island. The cave sat near a small spiritual vein, which meant the spiritual energy inside was denser and more stable than elsewhere. The grandmother had chosen it for that very reason. Over the years, she had added several array formations to keep the spiritual energy from escaping and formed a small blessed cultivation abode.
Finishing the meal, Su Xiaomeng rushed to her room. She had already packed her belongings several days ago. Her storage ring held everything she might need: changes of clothes, some spirit stones, a few pills her mother had given her for emergencies, and a small teapot that kept water warm through a minor formation carved into its base. She had packed carefully, knowing she might be inside for a while longer than her parents expected.
Xiaomeng's parents accompanied her to the cave at the island's center, where the spiritual energy was most abundant. The path they walked wound through a small grove of bamboo, then opened onto a flat stone platform. Beyond it was a small hillside, a small rock covered entrance visible at its base even from such a distance.
Standing in front of the entrance, Su Wenhao glanced at Su Yulan from the corner of his eye, then quickly brought out some of his hidden stash of spirit candies and handed them to Xiaomeng when his wife wasn't looking. Xiaomeng took the small packet and hid it in her storage ring without a word. However, this bold action did not escape Su Yulan's eyes. She secretly watched this event from the side but said nothing. She had known about his candy stash for quite some time now.
It was a small thing, but it made Su Wenhao happy to think he was getting away with it, and Su Yulan decided not to spoil his fun.
Turning her head, Su Yulan gazed at her daughter and produced a small golden mirror. Images of Xiaomeng's childhood floated within its surface, changing from time to time: the family picnicking by the lake, her grandmother teaching her to identify herbs, the first time she failed at alchemy and was covered in black soot. The mirror was a common but precious memory artifact that stored moments and let them play back like looking through a window into the past.
"If you can't bear the loneliness, you can find comfort in this," Su Yulan said in a caring manner. "But if it becomes too much, you can always come back to us. There's no shame in that."
Xiaomeng nodded and took the mirror. She placed it in her storage ring, right beside the candies. Then she hugged her mother and father, holding each for a moment longer than usual. Walking a few steps, she stood at the entrance of the abode. Extending her hand, she felt the rough structure of the stone as she injected spiritual energy into it. The sound of gears turning could be heard as the stone moved aside. Waving her goodbye, she entered the cave.
The stone door slid shut behind Xiaomeng with a soft grinding sound, sealing itself with a quiet hum. She stood in darkness for a moment, letting her eyes adjust, then activated the array at the side of the entrance. Golden light unfurled in the small pathways carved into the walls as the formation came to life. She felt the cave lock itself away from any prying spiritual senses. No one outside would be able to perceive what happened within. Feeling the connection to the cave cut off, her parents turned and walked back towards their home. Neither spoke much on the return journey.
Alone inside the cave, Su Xiaomeng's curious eyes moved all around. Except for the small light from the array formation, everything was dark. She imbued spiritual energy into her eyes and was finally able to see her surroundings clearly. The space was simple but comfortable: a stone bed with a thin mattress, a small desk and chair carved from the same rock, shelves built into the walls holding a few empty jars and a kettle. A small stream of water trickled down one wall into a basin before disappearing through a drain. The spiritual energy here was noticeably thicker than outside. She could feel it pressing against her skin, seeping into her pores with every breath.
Xiaomeng sat cross-legged on the bed and took out the spirit candies her father had given her. She ate them slowly, savoring each piece. The sweetness spread across her tongue. Once cultivators formed their golden core, they no longer needed food. But her family still liked to eat together. Partly because food still tasted good, and partly because it gave them an excuse to sit together and talk. After savoring a few pieces, she wrapped the remaining in the packet and put it away. No need to worry about it going bad in the storage ring.
Xiaomeng folded her hands into a meditative posture, closed her eyes, and directed her senses inward towards her sea of consciousness. It stretched before her like an endless sky. Floating islands of various sizes drifted in the misty world. Some were large and solid, others were smaller and still forming. At the edge of the largest island, near where the mist grew thick and uncertain, stood an ancient-looking wooden door.
Red, blue, and gold threads swirled across its surface in patterns that seemed to move when Xiaomeng wasn't looking directly at them. She didn't know where it came from or who its previous owner was. Yet it had always been with her since her birth, and she had not been able to use it until now.
When Xiaomeng had told her parents about it, they had scanned her sea of consciousness. However, they were not able to find it. Their senses passed through it as if it were out of their plane of existence. To spare them any further worry, she stopped mentioning it after that. For years, she simply ignored its presence, pretending it wasn't there. At first, she had feared it. But when she formed her Nascent Soul, through some mysterious method, the knowledge about the door imprinted itself in her mind.
She learned that this door was a doorway that connected to the three thousand lower realms that existed beneath the upper realm where she lived. These were places where cultivation was harder, spiritual energy scarcer, and the peak of power far lower than anything here. But they were also very vast and had different cultures, filled with things she had not seen before.
Xiaomeng's parents wouldn't let her roam outside the island. They always said it was too dangerous for someone at her level to travel around. So, the real purpose of this closed-door cultivation session was to test the door and experience the world outside.
From what Xiaomeng knew through the knowledge, with her current cultivation she could only send her soul through the door. Still, her soul's safety was guaranteed. No matter what happened on the other side, she would not be permanently harmed. At worst, she would be thrown back into her body and wake up with a headache.
Taking a deep breath, Xiaomeng steadied herself and extended her spiritual sense toward the door. For a moment, nothing happened. Then the door caught hold of her senses and began to pull. It wasn't painful, but felt very surreal. Dizziness washed over her, thick and disorienting. At first, she lost the senses in her legs, followed by her hands, and finally her whole body followed behind. Then everything went dark.
Xiaomeng's soul detached from her body and entered the opened wooden door. After the soul passed through, the door lightly closed behind. Then a silver light spread from it and enveloped Xiaomeng's body, keeping it safe for the soul to come back to.