When "God" Decides To Start Over

In front of the jade bottle were three jade bowls, also one white, one red, and one black.

"Sorry for the disturbance, Master Eight told me to use the gemstone to exchange for a bowl of water?" Li Xiu stood at the door, repeating this several times, but the red-dressed woman behind the bead curtain in the inner room didn't say a word, sitting there with her eyes closed, as if she hadn't heard, and didn't even open her eyes.

Li Xiu frowned slightly, and directly walked into the room. As he stepped inside, the room didn't change at all, yet Li Xiu felt something different, but he couldn't pinpoint exactly what was different.

The wooden door behind him closed automatically. Li Xiu didn't mind and continued to observe the things in the room, trying to figure out where his feeling of difference came from.

"Who has come?" Just a moment ago, he had called out so many times outside, and the red-dressed woman seemed not to hear. Now with just one more step into the room, not only did the red-dressed woman open her eyes, but she also took the initiative to ask.

"Could it be true, just as the eighth building said, that there's a gap between inside and outside, and people inside can neither hear nor see anything outside?" Li Xiu listened intently, indeed unable to hear any outside sound. His heart was even more amazed as he pushed the door, but it didn't budge—it wouldn't open.

"Master Eight told me to exchange this box of rubies for a bowl of water." Li Xiu opened the box in his hand and presented the rubies inside towards the red-dressed woman.

"Which bowl of water do you want to exchange for?" the red-dressed woman asked.

Li Xiu was slightly taken aback. Master Eight only told him to exchange for a bowl of water, but didn't specify which bowl.

Li Xiu thought for a moment, realizing it wouldn't be useful to go back and ask Master Eight. If it was something important, Master Eight would have surely told him which bowl to exchange for.

Since Master Eight didn't say, it was either to deliberately make things difficult for Li Xiu, or he didn't know either. So asking again would have no meaning, plus the door couldn't be opened, there was no way out.

"Which bowl of water can I exchange?" Li Xiu asked.

"You can exchange for any bowl you like, but you must first drink the water in the other two bowls to take the one you want," the red-dressed woman said with a smile.

"What will happen if I drink the water in the bowls?" Li Xiu asked tentatively, not holding out much hope, guessing the red-dressed woman wouldn't tell him.

Surprisingly, the red-dressed woman actually explained, "The water in the white jade bowl is called Celestial Mandate, the water in the black jade bowl is called Predestined, the water in the red jade bowl is called Persona. If you drink just one bowl, each provides a great benefit. If you drink all three, there will be a major transformation. But if you only drink two, then it's hard to say."

"In what way is it hard to say?" Li Xiu asked.

"If you drink Celestial Mandate and Predestined, then it's fated and predetermined, losing the chance to change your destiny, and your future achievements will halt here," the red-dressed woman explained further, perhaps fearing Li Xiu wouldn't understand. "It means your body will be set, and no matter how you cultivate, you can't evolve further."

Pausing for a moment, the red-dressed woman continued, "If you drink Celestial Mandate and Persona, then your persona is determined by destiny, and can only leave it to fate, future achievements, good or bad, rely solely on a gamble with luck."

"What if I drink Predestined and Persona?" Li Xiu asked.

"Your persona will be predetermined, and external forces won't change you anymore. It means that even the rarest treasures can't change your body, and you can only rely on hard cultivation to gain a little," the red-dressed woman smiled, asking, "Which two bowls do you want to drink?"

"Can I drink all three bowls?" Li Xiu asked.

"Of course, but that little Master Eight has been trapped here for decades, longing day and night to escape. Without that bowl of water, he can't leave. If you drink all three bowls, he will definitely fight you to the death once you leave," the red-dressed woman said.

Li Xiu pondered silently, "If I only drink two bowls of water, from the red-dressed woman's words, there will be three outcomes. Either my status will be fixed, hard to advance further in rank. Or leave it to fate, random rank improvement, but still can't advance further in the future. The last one is that I can't use external items anymore, meaning, I can't use demon cores or gemstones to enhance my rank and abilities anymore in the future. These three paths are dead ends; none of them will be easy."

"Is there truly such magical water in this world?" Li Xiu asked incredulously.

"If you don't believe it, you might as well try," the red-dressed woman laughed.

Of course Li Xiu wouldn't try it carelessly, so he could only ask again, "If that's the case, then I won't exchange for it."

"Once you've entered this room, you can't leave without drinking the water in the bowl. If you're willing to stay here and take my place, guarding this place for me, I would be most delighted," the red-dressed woman said with a smile.

"How can a wooden house trap you?" Li Xiu asked.

The red-dressed woman looked at Li Xiu with a half-smile, "You have a way with words; you wanted to say how could this mere wooden house trap you, but it came out as if it could trap me. You're a likable young person. Since I don't quite dislike you, I'll give you a few hints. The one who built this house is a person of great destiny. To change the world is just a fleeting thought. If you want to leave this house, you better drink the water in the bowls. It's better to offend little Master Eight than to touch this wooden house, anger its mistress, and find the vast world unable to accommodate you. Look at that little Master Eight, after all, he is a Super Spirit Tester, yet he obediently stays inside, not daring to step outside."