When the new disciples first entered the World in a Basin, the people of Shuling Mountain would flock to watch the spectacle whenever they had time. However, as time passed, fewer disciples came to gawk.
Apart from Cai Xing, the senior disciple responsible for guidance who would occasionally come to check on the situation, only a handful of food enthusiasts would come to watch Xin Xiu cook and feast their eyes. After all, they were still cultivators, and their main occupation was cultivation, not watching reality shows.
As the one-year term was nearing its end and the new disciples in the World in a Basin were about to emerge, people's interest was rekindled. More people started coming to watch again, like a group of office workers meeting at a pub after work to chat and relieve stress.
"Look, they're at it again," chuckled a senior disciple, resting his chin on his hand as he peered into the large jade basin, pointing at the children inside.
Cai Xing and two others, unfazed by the sight, merely sighed, "They really never stop, do they?"
These nine children who had spent a year in the World in a Basin were no longer the same as they were a year ago. Back then, they were naive and unsophisticated, screaming at the sight of an enlarged firefly. But now, following their eldest and second eldest, they had been up mountains and down rivers, catching crayfish and chasing large birds, turning the World in a Basin upside down. Even the youngest child had toughened up considerably and cried less.
Recently, they had been trying to leave the World in a Basin on their own initiative. This idea was first proposed by Xin Xiu, and Cai Xing thought this little junior sister really had some interesting ideas.
It's worth noting that when he was in their position, Cai Xing had obediently stayed in the World in a Basin for a year as instructed by his guiding senior, never thinking about leaving that world on his own. At most, he had buried all the blacksmithing tools and iron blocks in the mud mountain to create difficulties for future disciples.
But this junior sister Xin Xiu not only dared to think but also dared to act.
She first made a large balloon to fly into the sky, but abandoned the idea due to insufficient wind in the World in a Basin. Then she tried using fire under the balloon to fly, but failed when the balloon was burned by the heat. Now she was thinking of training a bird to carry them into the sky, just like he had done.
Of course, this attempt failed as well. Cai Xing crossed his arms smugly, "They're not even as big as the bird themselves, yet they want to train it. That bird is just an ordinary bird in the World in a Basin, it can't understand human speech. How could it compare to my spirit bird, Little Jade?"
"It's amusing to watch, isn't it? Our junior disciples are so adorable. Even if they don't succeed, their efforts are praiseworthy," Senior Yu Feng waved his fan.
Cai Xing eyed him warily, "Don't you dare help them blow that 'big balloon' up."
Yu Feng shook his fan, "You misunderstand me, junior brother. I'm not the type of good person who likes to help others. I just want to watch some interesting drama. It's a pity that there's less than a month left of the one-year term. Once our junior brothers and sisters grow up, they won't be this amusing anymore. We should cherish these moments while we can."
None of the senior brothers and sisters outside the World in a Basin believed that the children could leave on their own. They just took it as a joke to laugh about.
That day, Xin Xiu made a large pot of meat floss using bird meat. The large bird they had caught earlier to attempt flying couldn't cooperate with them at all, and it was troublesome to keep, so it ended up as their meal.
The Second was a bit regretful at first, but after tasting the delicious meat floss, he no longer felt sorry. He chewed with his cheeks puffed out and gave a thumbs up to show his respect to the eldest.
This gesture was something they had learned from Xin Xiu. She occasionally had some habits that were different from theirs, and because they admired their eldest, they all followed suit. How much they actually learned was up for debate.
There were no four seasons in the World in a Basin; the temperature remained consistently warm. Lotus flowers were always in bloom, and various fruit trees were always bearing fruit. Even someone who couldn't do anything wouldn't starve here. In the mortal world, such a place might be called a "paradise on earth." With Xin Xiu here, their days were even more carefree.
It was nice here, but Xin Xiu always wanted to leave and see the outside world.
If she didn't know there was a world beyond this one, she wouldn't have thought about leaving. But once she knew, she was determined to go out and see it for herself. The younger ones were very cooperative, always joining her in various attempts.
"Failure is the mother of success," Xin Xiu said, holding a small cucumber and taking a bite with a crunch. She chatted with her younger brothers and sisters, "It means that when you fail, don't get discouraged. Curse it out with a 'damn it,' then keep going, and you'll succeed."
The Second, ever the bootlicker, immediately slapped his thigh with his remaining arm, creating the effect of applause. "The eldest's words are so wise!"
Xin Xiu broke off a piece of cucumber and gave it to him, then continued, "When you want to do something, you can't give up easily. If you stop trying just because you encounter some difficulties or failures, wouldn't that be a waste of time? You might as well lie down and be a salted fish from the start."
The Third, a young girl who was a different type of sycophant from the Second, took Xin Xiu's words as gospel. She nodded seriously, "Sister is right. We can't give up easily. It doesn't matter if we fail once, twice, or three times. We can keep trying a fourth time, a fifth time, and keep going until we succeed!"
Xin Xiu nodded approvingly. Wasn't this the lesson from the elementary school text about Edison's experiments with the light bulb? But as she nodded, she suddenly changed her tone: "But Third, what sister wants to say today is the principle of 'three times is enough.'"
"The number three is very special," she held up three fingers. "For many things, if you try three times and still don't see hope for success, you can consider giving up. Not giving up is often called being stubborn. In such situations, there's a one in a thousand chance of a genius succeeding, but most people will be among the remaining 999 failures. So cutting your losses in time is what smart people should do."
She then pointed at the Fifth, "Geniuses shouldn't learn my twisted logic. I'm not a genius, so I can't teach geniuses."
The Fifth was used to her casually joking with him in these casual chats and just smiled shyly without saying anything.
The Fourth was confused by her roundabout explanation. "So, eldest, what are you trying to say? Are you saying we've failed three times, so we should give up on trying to ascend?"
Xin Xiu replied, "Of course not. Geniuses can keep trying, ordinary people can give up after three unsuccessful attempts, but for people like me who aren't geniuses but aren't ordinary either, we can try one more time. So, tomorrow we'll make our final attempt to ascend."
Hearing this, the children started discussing again. When a group of children get together, there are always endless questions, enough to fill a 20-centimeter thick book of a million 'whys'.
"Eldest, do you have a new method to ascend? What is it this time?"
"I thought the 'big balloon' from last time was pretty good. If the wind was a bit stronger, we could fly higher. Are we going to make an even bigger 'balloon'?"
"Big sister wouldn't use an old method. She must have thought of a new way, right, big sister?"
"That senior sister who came to eat last time said we only have a month left before we go out. Can we figure out a way to get out in this month?"
"Since we'll be able to get out soon anyway, why are we still trying various methods to get out on our own? Wouldn't it be better to just wait?" The Fourth didn't quite understand.
Xin Xiu spoke seriously, "Fourth, you should know that in the future, many things you want to do will seem meaningless to others. But whether it's meaningful or not isn't important. As long as it interests you, that's enough."
This theory of hers had once been criticized by her father as the talk of someone with too much time on their hands.
The Seventh, swaying her chubby body, ran to Xin Xiu's side and tugged at her arm. "Eldest, just tell us, what new method have you thought of?"
Xin Xiu smiled mysteriously, "Do you remember the magic bean story I told you?" This was where she found her inspiration.
The Seventh: "I remember, I remember! It's about the bean that grew so tall, all the way up to the sky... Oh, are we going to climb a magic beanstalk to the sky? But we don't have magic beans."
Xin Xiu hugged her, giggling and whispering, "We don't, but the immortals do."
A while ago, when the white-bearded old immortal Jing Chengzi secretly came to enjoy some spicy boiled fish, he had a bit too much to drink. Xin Xiu seized this opportunity to inquire if he had any magical plants. The tipsy old immortal showed her, and Xin Xiu traded some fish for two seeds.
These seeds had been nurtured by The Fifth all along. He stored green spiritual energy in them daily, waiting for the accumulation to complete. Once these two seeds were planted, they would instantly break through the soil and grow tall. As for whether they could grow tall enough to let them ascend to the heavens, Xin Xiu wasn't certain. But that was the fun of it - the uncertainty of the attempt.
The Fifth was also good at keeping secrets. When Xin Xiu asked for his help, he worked silently without breathing a word to anyone.
"Senior Sister Gui Xin came in a few days ago, and I learned from her that our senior brothers outside aren't watching us every moment," Xin Xiu explained, drawing on the ground with a tree branch. "They'll be listening to some elder's lecture these two days, so they definitely won't be around today and tomorrow. We'll take this chance to sneak out. Of course, that's assuming the seeds can grow tall enough for us to climb out."
"As expected of our leader, you've had it all planned out," The Second sincerely applauded her with his foot this time.
Xin Xiu struck a pose of mutual flattery, "Oh, you're too kind. As a leader, I don't fight battles I'm not prepared for. If we want to achieve great things, we'll need to rely on your strength tomorrow, Second."
She put her arm around The Second's neck, "I'll go up first tomorrow. The Third, Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth can follow, but The Seventh, Old Eighth, and Old Ninth probably won't be able to climb up. They'll be left behind, and you'll be at the very end, responsible for wrapping things up. If we manage to get up, we'll pull you all up afterwards. Your task of bringing up the rear is quite important."
The Second wasn't like the other naive children. He understood that she was considering his single arm, which made climbing difficult, and was also mindful of his pride. He smiled and responded, "I'll make sure to complete the mission!"
"Good, then everyone should rest well tonight and conserve your energy. Tomorrow will be our final attempt - it's all or nothing!"
The seeds swindled from Jing Chengzi had been nurtured by The Fifth until they glowed. After he carefully planted them, they grew with the wind. Everyone watched in excitement as they grew taller and taller.
Xin Xiu stood to the side with her arms crossed, thinking, "Could my luck really be this good this time? Did I actually succeed by chance?"
The others looked at their leader's inscrutable expression with great admiration. Indeed, the leader was right - when she said it would work, it did!
What kept growing towards the sky didn't look much like a vine, but rather like a tree reaching to the heavens. Xin Xiu's physical condition had improved significantly over the past year, possibly due to living in this place and eating unusual food. She felt her body had become much lighter and stronger. Facing such a tree, she didn't feel intimidated at all. After tying on a safety rope, she began to climb.
The Third and the others, with ropes tied around their waists, followed her up. The dense, sturdy leaves provided platforms for them to rest. As they climbed tirelessly upward, The Fourth, with less endurance, was already lying on a leaf panting heavily. However, seeing The Fifth and even The Sixth, a girl, climb past him, the young master couldn't help but wipe the sweat from his brow and continue climbing, unwilling to be outdone.
Xin Xiu was the first to reach the dome. Looking down, she realized this "sky" wasn't as high as she had initially thought. With a heart full of curiosity, she touched the "sky."
Suddenly, a hand appeared at the edge of the great jade basin in the Cloud Pavilion, followed by Xin Xiu's head popping out. She lay on the edge of the jade basin, peering at the empty Cloud Pavilion, and let out a "wow" before jumping out of the basin and turning back to look.
The world they had lived in for the past year was like a miniature landscape, all contained within this great jade basin. The vast lotus pond and lake were just a small patch, the large orchard that took a day to walk through was like a patch of grass, the tall mud mountain had become a small mound, and the people inside were like tiny ants.
She laughed and began to pull hard on the rope around her waist.
One by one, with pushing and pulling, they all climbed out of the jade basin.
Standing together in the Cloud Pavilion, they were once again filled with the same amazement they had felt a year ago when they first arrived in the World in a Basin.
"This... this is truly a realm of immortals..." The Fourth couldn't help but say in a trembling voice.
The Cloud Pavilion lived up to its name - a white jade pavilion amidst the clouds. Apart from this pavilion, there was only a sea of flowing clouds all around. The Cloud Pavilion seemed to be hidden within the cloud layers, where the four directions of heaven and earth lost their meaning. As far as the eye could see, there was only a misty haze and brilliant light. The light came from an unknown source but was everywhere. Looking up, there was no sky; looking down, there was no ground.
While the others remained in place, not daring to step forward, Xin Xiu had already found the path - a small road hidden in the clouds, connected by circular white jade stones.
"Come quickly, let's go find the 'immortals'!" Xin Xiu waved away the white clouds and beckoned to them. And just like many times before, the others followed her footsteps without hesitation.
