China had indeed become a spiritual haven admired by ordinary people across the world. The main draw was the abundance of artisanal cultivation techniques and the wealth of learning resources. The government even offered free introductory courses.
But spiritual energy was scarce and cultivators plentiful. The state had no intention of welcoming mass immigration.
Old Master Zhao often said he was disappointed in his children, yet when they returned, he was still happy.
It was easy to leave. Coming back was another matter.
Song Miaozhu checked the contribution point requirement for re-immigration. For overseas Chinese wanting to return, the cost was enormous—especially if they brought their entire family. And these points had to be earned through service, not purchased with yuan.
She had no idea how long it would take Old Master Zhao to gather that many points. Even with enough contribution points, one still had to pass an eligibility assessment. After reviewing everything, Song Miaozhu shook her head. Their chances of returning were slim.
She hadn't expected her first venture into someone else's dream to reveal such gossip. It was amusing, yes, but not something she intended to waste more time on. She stored the Dream-Bridge Paper into the Ghost Shop warehouse. No more dream hopping—her nights were better spent elsewhere.
In fact, she hadn't even attended class in the underworld last night.
Now that she had reached Second Rank of the Blue Spirit stage, she was finally approaching the threshold to attempt crafting a Paper House Spirit Dwelling.
Once she succeeded with that, she could start exploring other creations from the Secret Art of Paper Crafting: the Mind-Bewildering Grass Array, Sky-Circling Paper Crane Formation, Earth Meridian Blue Lotus Talisman, Flowlight Paper Lanterns, Bamboo Horse Boundary Marker, Thousand-Mile Windchime, Koi-Wave Barrier, Paper Shield Peach Talismans, and even the Seasonal Cycle Flags—all techniques used for staking spiritual territory.
Song Miaozhu had long been captivated. She had flipped through those pages countless times.
Unfortunately, her cultivation and paper crafting skills were still lacking.
Among all the secret arts, the Paper House Spirit Dwelling was the one closest to her current level.
So now, she planned to cultivate while simultaneously preparing the outer structure of her Spirit Dwelling in advance.
This particular dwelling was a growth-type spiritual construct. Its design was inspired by the ghost dwellings found in the underworld.
A Spirit Dwelling housed a spirit guardian. Without an invitation, outsiders could not find the house, no matter how close they came.
A paper house could only birth a house spirit once it had been spiritually activated.
As the spirit grew stronger, its protection radius expanded. At that point, it could "devour" other paper houses to expand its dwelling's footprint.
The activation ritual for the spirit guardian was the heart of the Paper House Spirit Dwelling. It required a significant amount of spiritual energy to succeed.
Song Miaozhu wasn't ready for that yet. But she could begin preparing the paper houses that the spirit would rely on. She had already spent over a year learning under ghost instructors who specialized in crafting dollhouses and paper homes. Her skills were no longer shabby.
A newborn spirit was weak and could only guard a single-room structure.
So she started with a small house: one door, one window.
But that was just the beginning. Every stage of the spirit's growth would require new paper houses, each larger and more complex. She decided to model the first batch after her family's old ancestral home—those classic white walls and green tiled roofs. That would be her blueprint.
A single-room starter, a main hall with three rooms on the first floor, another set on the second floor, an airy attic above, side wings, and finally, a broad courtyard.
All in all, six distinct phases of architectural growth.
As the house spirit matured, it could expand the structure's size without changing its layout. In such cases, it wouldn't need to devour new paper houses.
But it could also consume different styles of homes.
These paper structures were like clothes for the house spirit. If it was strong enough, it could resize them at will or even change into a new style altogether. Of course Song Miaozhu wouldn't pass up the chance to let her spirit guardian "change outfits."
She had to craft several grand mansions in different styles.
Huizhou courtyard homes, northern official residences, Suzhou garden villas, Shanxi merchant compounds, American Tudor estates, Renaissance mansions, European classical palaces—she collected all kinds of architectural data from the internet. She even planned to make a magical castle inspired by an old fantasy movie.
With bamboo strips and colored paper in hand, so long as she had the will to study and practice, she could bring her dream home to life.
Each house also had to be customized internally to suit her living needs.
By the time she finished drafting the blueprints, she had already advanced to Third Rank of the Blue Spirit stage. And that wasn't even counting the furnishings, which all had to be crafted in paper as well. It was a massive undertaking. But the idea of owning a sentient home—and being able to switch its style at will—was far too thrilling.
The ancestral-style house was the easiest and fastest to complete. By the time she reached Fifth Rank of Blue Spirit, she had finished all six stages of that structure: from the single-room unit to the full courtyard compound. She stored them carefully on the ghost wood shelves in the warehouse.
As for the single-room starter homes, she made several copies in case her first attempts at spiritual activation failed. After taking some time to replicate her family's familiar furniture in paper form, she finally stepped into Sixth Rank of Blue Spirit.
With that milestone, she was ready to attempt the spirit activation ritual.
Her first few tries were rough. She failed three times, burning through three small paper houses.
On the fourth attempt, she succeeded.
The small structure, barely larger than her palm, gave off a gentle spiritual glow. She could already sense a connection forming between herself and the house.
A basic version of the Paper House Spirit Dwelling was complete.
Even though she already knew what functions it had, she still held up the Spirit-Reflecting Bronze Mirror to assess it:
"A growth-type house spirit. Can manifest a Spirit Dwelling based on recorded paper house and furniture templates for habitation. Currently able to manifest a one-room structure of 30 square meters with a height of 2.5 meters. Without an invitation, even someone standing directly in front of it will be unable to find the entrance. As the spirit grows, it can manifest larger dwellings and remodel interiors based on available templates. Placement of the Spirit Dwelling must be chosen carefully. Once established, it cannot be moved."
Just as the Secret Art of Paper Crafting described.
In the beginning, the dwelling was a humble 30-square-meter room.
Song Miaozhu already had a location in mind.
It would go on Xiaozhu Mountain.
She had bought the entire area. Full ownership, permanently hers.
But right now, the spirit was still too weak, and the house too small. Moving it there would only complicate things and make training more difficult.
So for now, she chose not to let it manifest. It would stay with her, easier to raise that way.