Daoist Lin Jiu

After parting ways with Du Jian, Bai Yu fell into silent thought.

"Immortals? Better not make contact too early."

From the very first day he had transmigrated, he had known that this world had immortal cultivators.

From time to time, cultivators from the major sects would descend upon Li Kingdom and open their gates to take in disciples.

But as an immortal, Bai Yu had no intention of contacting immortal cultivators too soon.

The immortal path was fraught with danger. Who knew what kind of perils he might face?

There were too many forces beyond his control in the immortal path, and accidents were all too likely.

Only after accumulating sufficient strength in the mortal world could he begin to explore the immortal path.

Bai Yu said to Old Mo:

"Old Mo, remember this: the first principle for us immortals is fighting above our level."

"At the very least, one rank above. Two would be even better. If we can leap across an entire major realm, that would be best of all."

"A Third-Rank Martial Artist fights a Second-Rank, a Second-Rank fights a First-Rank, and a master martial artist fights an ordinary martial artist."

"Once we've amassed strength comparable to mid-level cultivators, we'll go explore the immortal path."

Old Mo feigned surprise and barked a few times.

Its meaning was: This brat is terrifying indeed—he has actually comprehended the true essence of the Great Dao of Lying Low.

It bared its teeth and pulled faces for show, making Bai Yu laugh instead.

One man and one dog frolicked and bickered.

Yet on the way back, Bai Yu fell into distress again.

For no other reason than that he was running out of money.

He had already spent quite a bit of the money he had brought from the village.

His monthly wages were only a hundred coins.

Living in Jiang City was no easy task; even a bowl of scallion noodles cost two coins.

He could buy coarse rice and cook for himself, but that was not cheap either.

A pound of coarse rice cost one coin in Peach Blossom Village, but three coins in Jiang City.

Bai Yu's monthly pay was only enough for a few dozen pounds of coarse rice.

With such a large wage shortfall, he could only hope to earn a little extra on the side, through people like Du Jian.

But making money off the dead was something Bai Yu could never quite bring himself to do.

Besides, with Bai Yu's mentality as steady as an old dog's, he also needed to set aside a reserve fund in case of accidents.

Still, making money could not be rushed. He had to take it one step at a time.

Over the following days, Bai Yu handled funerals by day and practiced martial arts by night.

His days were peaceful yet fulfilling.

One evening, Bai Yu swung his blade in the small courtyard.

Under the moonlight, the woodcutter's knife danced, its edge flashing like lightning.

As Bai Yu grew more absorbed, qi coursed through both his arms, and he swept out with a horizontal slash.

The blade flashed like lightning. A log as thick as a fist was severed cleanly at the waist, the cut incomparably smooth.

He exhaled a long breath of stale air, as though something had suddenly dawned on him.

When he checked the panel, Soul Severing Blade had already broken through and risen to Initial Glimpse of the Gate!

With Soul Severing Blade entering the gate, his strength had improved by no small measure.

On a whim, Bai Yu practiced a round of Five Elements Fist as well.

After finishing the set, his entire body felt refreshed and unburdened.

Just then, a voice came from outside the courtyard:

"Little Bai, have you broken through a realm recently?"

Bai Yu turned and saw Daoist Lin Jiu.

"Uncle Jiu, come in and have a seat."

"I did indeed break through to the First-Rank Flesh Refinement Realm recently."

This was precisely the first step of Bai Yu's plan.

First, he would reveal a little of his strength. The identity of a First-Rank Martial Artist would make making money much easier.

Daoist Lin Jiu pushed open the gate, entered, and sat down in a bamboo chair.

Bai Yu hurriedly poured him a cup of tea.

Lin Jiu nodded faintly and said:

"I can tell, Little Bai. You practice martial arts diligently. No wonder you were able to break through."

"However, there is a problem with your fist technique."

Bai Yu was startled and hurriedly asked:

"Uncle Jiu, what problem did you find?"

Lin Jiu said:

"The more you practice this set of punches, the more your qi and blood are depleted."

Bai Yu put on a show of great shock.

"Uncle Jiu, you could even see that? My qi and blood really do grow weaker the more I practice, but I don't know why."

Lin Jiu took a sip of tea and smiled faintly.

"The reason is that your fist technique has only methods for fighting, but no methods for cultivation."

"It is only thanks to your exceptional talent that you were able to enter the Flesh Refinement Realm using this fist technique."

He was right.

If Bai Yu had not possessed the Burial World Record and been able to replenish his qi and blood through funerals,

he might have trained himself into a dried-up corpse by now.

Lin Jiu said solemnly:

"From now on, you must not practice it anymore. If you continue, it will shorten your lifespan."

"Qi and blood are the foundation of a martial artist. Only with abundant qi and blood can one ascend to the next step."

"The more you practice, the more you lose. Not only will advancement become hopeless, but you will also drain your very source."

Bai Yu refilled Lin Jiu's tea and asked:

"Uncle Jiu, if I wish to advance further, how should I solve this problem?"

Lin Jiu said:

"It is not as though there is no solution. Just switch to another cultivation method."

"Looking at your fist technique, its pattern follows the mutual generation of the five elements, making it very similar to a fist technique called Five Spirits Fist."

"If you can obtain Five Spirits Fist, you can directly switch cultivation methods."

Bai Yu's eyes lit up, and he asked again:

"Uncle Jiu, where can I obtain the Five Spirits Fist cultivation method?"

Lin Jiu raised his teacup and blew on it.

"Cultivation methods generally are not passed down to outsiders. Even if some martial arts schools are willing to teach them, the yearly tuition is not cheap."

"But you can try your luck at the Black Market."

"Five Spirits Fist is a Yellow Rank, High Grade cultivation method. Even at the Black Market, it may cost several dozen taels of silver."

Bai Yu felt a little helpless.

Several dozen taels of silver. How long would he have to work himself to the bone on a 996 schedule to save that much?

Still, he could take this chance to learn more from Daoist Lin.

"Uncle Jiu, you mentioned Yellow Rank, High Grade cultivation methods. How exactly are cultivation methods classified?"

Lin Jiu laughed freely and said:

"Whether cultivation methods or martial skills, they are divided into four ranks: heaven, earth, profound, and yellow. Each rank is further divided into high, middle, and low grades."

"The higher the quality of the cultivation method, the faster one cultivates and the stronger one is at the same realm."

Bai Yu nodded thoughtfully and struck while the iron was hot.

"Oh, so that's how it is."

"Then may I ask Uncle Jiu another question? What realms are there for us martial artists?"

Lin Jiu's desire to talk had been stirred, and he began explaining to Bai Yu:

"That is hardly a secret, so I'll tell you about it."

"As far as I knew, martial artists were divided into the Muscle Realm, Qi and Blood Realm, Spirit Transformation Realm, and Astral Fiend Realm. Beyond those were the Martial God and Martial Saint."

"Each realm is further divided into three minor realms. For instance, the Muscle Realm consists of First-Rank Flesh Refinement, Second-Rank Tendon Tempering, and Third-Rank Skin Tempering."

"The Qi and Blood Realm can be divided into Fourth-Rank Meridian Opening, Fifth-Rank Bone Tempering, and Sixth-Rank Viscera Refinement."

"Above the Third Rank, one must circulate qi and blood and condense true qi, so one's qi and blood are of paramount importance."

Lin Jiu set down his teacup, rose, and headed outside as he said:

"Little Bai, sometimes, being able to clearly recognize your own strength is also a good thing."

"Before you obtain a new fist technique, you must not practice again. If you damage the foundation of your qi and blood, it will be difficult to improve in the future."

After seeing Daoist Lin Jiu off, Bai Yu felt an even greater urgency to make money.

Eating, drinking, pissing, and shitting all required money. Replacing his cultivation method with a better one also required money.

A single coin could stump a hero.

Over the next few days, Bai Yu made no rash moves. He still suppressed his urge to make money and slowly integrated himself into the funeral home.

Mangzi, however, felt even more guilty after learning that Bai Yu knew martial arts.

"What the hell have I done? Little Bai knows martial arts and yet didn't hold it against me. What a good person."

Once again, he slapped himself hard across the face.

"I really deserve to die."

Even Wu the Unvirtuous, who came by every few days, began treating Bai Yu with a little more importance.

In the past, he always liked to take out a single coin and have others buy him meat and tea.

Naturally, one coin could not buy much meat, and the servants had to make up the shortfall themselves.

After Bai Yu broke through to First-Rank Flesh Refinement, Wu the Unvirtuous never ordered Bai Yu around that way again.

Before long, Bai Yu had been at the funeral home for over a month.

This day was payday.

Wu the Unvirtuous handed Zhu Tong and the others a hundred coins in wages.

Bai Yu had assumed he would receive a hundred as well, but Wu the Unvirtuous rolled his eyes.

"Newcomers have half their wages withheld for the first six months. Here are your fifty coins."

Bai Yu's heart turned cold.

Well then, his money shortage had become even more severe.

Wu the Unvirtuous patted Zhu Tong on the shoulder and encouraged everyone:

"Work hard, everyone. If you do well, I'll find you a sister-in-law next year."

"As long as you work hard enough, I'll be able to upgrade to a new mount."

Bai Yu was speechless.

Sure enough, there were only mistaken names, never mistaken nicknames.

Wu the Unvirtuous was truly unvirtuous enough to smoke.

After Wu the Unvirtuous left, Mangzi spat hard.

"Pah, what the hell is that thing?"

"If I become a wandering martial arts hero, I'll be the first to take that dog's life."

Bai Yu smiled helplessly.

"No matter what, we have our wages now. We can have a good meal."

Zhu Tong shook his head.

"Have them? Little Bai, you're too naive. We have them, but not completely."

Just then, a rough voice rang out from outside:

"Funeral home! Time to pay this month's protection fee."