Noticing the puzzled look in Liu Tongtong’s eyes, Liu Rui’s face flushed with embarrassment. Quickly, he turned her away and said, "That’s not a tattoo—it’s just a bruise from yesterday’s bump. Now go make breakfast for your brother!"

Liu Tongtong stomped her foot, pouting as she reluctantly headed toward the kitchen, glancing back at him with lingering suspicion.

Since brewing required absolute cleanliness to avoid contaminating the ingredients and equipment, the Liu family’s kitchen was built far from the distillery. Fortunately, their courtyard was spacious enough to accommodate the separation.

Stepping back into the distillery, Liu Rui stared at the circular mark on his chest, now unmistakably matching the intricate patterns he’d seen on the stone bead yesterday.

How had those engravings transferred onto his skin? And where had the bead gone?

He scrutinized the mark, hoping to uncover some clue, when suddenly—

His vision blurred. moment of disorientation later, Liu Rui found himself in a strange, otherworldly place.

The abrupt shift left him momentarily stunned.

Thankfully, having grown up hearing tales of the supernatural in the mountains, he quickly steadied himself and began examining his surroundings.

Above, a dull gray sky arched like a dome, devoid of sun yet suffused with a soft, diffuse light that illuminated everything with eerie clarity.

Beneath his feet stretched a patch of jet-black soil—rich, loamy, and unmistakably fertile. Years of farming experience told him this earth would yield bountiful crops.

The air was still, yet the temperature was perfectly cool, like walking into an air-conditioned room. It was comfortable beyond words.

Nearby, a clear spring bubbled up, its waters so pristine they seemed to glow. The sight alone was enough to make one’s mouth water, tempting him to take a sip.

Beyond this, Liu Rui’s vision ended. Thick, milky fog enveloped everything, obscuring the horizon and blending seamlessly with the domed sky above. The only things visible were the small plot of black soil and the spring at its center.

He took a few steps forward, confirming the ground was solid beneath his feet—not an illusion.

Kneeling by the spring, he cupped his hands and scooped up some water. It was icy cold, cleaner than even the well at home. A single sip sent a jolt of refreshment through him, the taste sweet and clean, leaving him stunned.

The cool water cleared his head, and he pondered: What just happened? This can’t be a dream—the sensations are too real.

Standing, he approached the fog’s edge, reaching out to test its boundaries. As his fingers brushed the mist, it swirled and shifted, forming fleeting shapes before him. But when he tried to step through, an invisible force repelled him, holding him at bay.

The scene before him—a fertile field, a life-giving spring, encircling fog, and a domed sky—formed a self-contained microcosm, painted in the simplest of colors yet exuding profound mystery.

Quiet. Mysterious. That was his first impression.

He was certain now: he had entered some kind of hidden space. But as the initial thrill faded, unease crept in.

The environment is nice… but if I’m stuck here alone, I’ll go mad from the silence before starvation sets in.

Forcing himself to calm down, he focused on finding a way back.

Seated on the cool earth, he replayed every detail of his entrance, searching for clues. Had concentrating on the mark pulled him here? If so, shifting his focus outward should reverse it.

"Concentrate on the outside world… and return?" he murmured, deliberately pulling his thoughts away from the space.

In an instant, the world around him shimmered—

—and he was back in the distillery.

Familiar sights and the faint scent of fermenting rice wine reassured him: this was reality.

Thankfully, no one else was present. A sudden disappearance followed by a reappearance would’ve caused panic—or at least a ghost story.

Staring at the fading mark on his chest, Liu Rui marveled at the stone bead’s transformation. How had something so ordinary become a gateway to another realm?

Fixating on the patterns again, he vanished once more—reappearing in the black-soiled expanse.

Back and forth he went, like a child playing with a new toy, exhilarated by each journey.

After all, he was still just a child—barely seventeen, with most of his peers still enjoying carefree school days. Though he’d spent half a year farming, the wonder of this discovery still sparked his youthful excitement.

Eventually, exhaustion dulled his mind, and the game ended.

Through these trials, he’d learned a few things: Each trip drained his mental energy.

The process of entering and exiting was becoming smoother with practice.

The space’s true nature—its purpose, the fog’s significance, the soil’s properties—remained a mystery.

With each passage, the mark on his chest grew fainter… until it disappeared entirely.

Then, an image formed in his mind: the stone bead’s projection, now accompanied by fragments of information.

From these whispers in his thoughts, Liu Rui pieced together the truth:

This was "Shennong Space"—a relic from antiquity, a divine gift passed down through the ages. By some miracle, his blood had activated it, making it his personal domain.

Its uses were vast… but for now, his mind was too scattered to grasp them all.

One thing was certain: his journey had only just begun.