Zhāng Wújì steps into the green chamber and stops short. Rows of ancient herb beds glow like breathing embers, and every pulse of qi makes the air taste sharp and sweet.
At the center, a stone pedestal waits beside a narrow socket in the floor. The dark wooden key grows warm in his hand, as if answering the garden itself.
Xùn
Use the key. The formation is failing, and the beds will die without a steady anchor.
Zhāng Wújì
This place is the road to strength.
He lowers the key into the socket. The chamber shudders once, then the herb beds brighten in a slow ring, their qi smoothing from erratic flickers into an even rhythm.
Xùn
Good. The garden recognizes care. Now it will answer to you.
A hidden path of light threads through the soil between the beds, leading deeper into the inheritance. The first true gate to its techniques is open at last.
✓ Quest Accepted
Stabilize the garden's protective formation
“I shall examine the glowing herbs to see if they can aid my cultivation.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Reasoning, rolled +1)
Zhāng Wújì rises and follows the light-thread between the beds. The glow has settled into a calm pulse, and the herbs no longer shiver under the qi.
Zhāng Wújì
The formations are steady. These plants hold dense spiritual force.
He leans closer, studying leaf color, stem veins, and the faint pressure each patch gives off. Several sprouts answer his gaze with a clear, nourishing warmth.
A few leaves carry a purity that could help his cultivation, while others seem suited for healing or tempering the body. None look wasted or ordinary.
Xùn
Good. Read the garden first, and it will not mislead you.
At the far end of the chamber, the path of light widens toward a deeper gate. The herb beds remain calm, open to harvest, as the inheritance waits for his next choice.
Quest Complete
Stabilize the garden's protective formation