Disciple Who Closes the Door

"You Shi has arrived!"

"Close the gates!"

"..."

Chen Changqing looked up at the sky, watching the sun slowly dip below the horizon; this meant his shift was over for the day—or rather, his gate-closing duties were done.

He walked over, shut the heavy gates, and began heading toward his living quarters.

His residence was not far from this spot; after all, as the Gatekeeping Disciple of the Shushan Outer Court, he had to close the gates on time every day, so he certainly couldn't live too far away.

Thinking of his title, Chen Changqing offered a helpless smile.

He had been in this world for nearly five years now.

Five years ago, Chen Changqing was exploring Shennongjia when he accidentally fell off a cliff; when he woke up, he discovered he had transmigrated.

This was a vast immortal cultivation world where immortals, demons, ghosts, monsters, and buddhas coexisted.

He was lucky enough that when he arrived in this world, he was saved by a passing Shushan elder, who then brought him into Shushan.

The Shushan Holy Land.

It was a presence of holy land status in this world.

After entering the Mount Shu Sect, Chen Changqing began his path of cultivation, but because his innate talent and bone structure were poor, it took him a full year just to break through to the Qi Nourishing Realm.

It was also because of his poor talent that he was assigned to be the "Gatekeeping Disciple."

The title of "Gatekeeping Disciple" usually held a lofty status in major sects.

It represented the very last disciple to be taken under a master's wing.

However, Chen Changqing's title of Gatekeeping Disciple was truly just a disciple who closed the gates.

Before long, Chen Changqing arrived at his living quarters.

"Senior Brother Chen, you're back from closing the gates." From afar, Chen Changqing saw a youth dressed in gray robes walking toward him.

This person was Ran Hua, who lived here with him.

He was responsible for closing the gates, while Ran Hua was responsible for opening them.

"Senior Brother Chen, these are the cultivation resources issued by the Resource Hall this month. The personnel from the Resource Hall came to distribute them, and since you hadn't returned yet, they asked me to pass them on to you."

Ran Hua took a small pouch from his waist and handed it to Chen Changqing. A flash of joy crossed Chen Changqing's eyes as he took it.

It was payday again.

This was the benefit of joining a major sect.

Mount Shu was considered one of the holy lands of immortal cultivation.

Every disciple who entered the sect would receive a certain amount of cultivation resources; naturally, the higher one's cultivation level, the more resources they received.

An Outer Disciple like Chen Changqing could receive one Low-grade Spirit Stone per month.

Spirit Stones were the common currency of this world.

They could be used to assist in cultivation or to purchase other items.

"By the way, Senior Brother Chen, the Outer Sect Competition is in a year. Are you going to participate this time?"

"The Outer Sect Competition!"

Chen Changqing was naturally aware of this. As the saying went, wherever there are people, there is a world of strife.

Mount Shu was no exception.

Although they were all Outer Disciples of Shushan, there was a world of difference in their status.

The Outer Sect Competition was a chance to leap over the dragon gate.

If one could stand out during the competition, they would naturally be valued by the outer sect elders and taken as disciples, or recommended to enter the Shushan Inner Sect for training.

The Inner Sect!

Only then could one be considered a true Shushan Disciple.

Chen Changqing shook his head. With his current strength, participating in the Outer Sect Competition would be like looking for death in a latrine!

One had to know that the disciples capable of participating in the Outer Sect Competition were at least in the Qi Refining Realm, while he was merely in the Qi Nourishing Realm. There were two whole realms separating them.

Qi Nourishing, Body Refining, Qi Refining.

This was the first stage; only by stepping into the Qi Refining Realm could one be qualified to be called a true cultivator.

Without saying anything more, Chen Changqing walked into his room. The room was clean and sparse, containing only a meditation cushion and a bed.

He sat cross-legged.

He took out the Spirit Stone from the pouch.

A surge of spiritual energy instantly filled the entire room.

Chen Changqing circulated his cultivation technique to begin absorbing the spiritual energy radiating from the spirit stone, but before he could even start, a voice rang out in his mind.

"Ding!"

"Energy absorption complete."

"Cultivation Assistance System initializing."

As the voice in his mind faded, Chen Changqing watched as the spirit stone before him crumbled into dust and vanished.

"..."

"What?"

Upon hearing the voice in his head, Chen Changqing was first shocked, then overcome with wild joy.

Holy crap!

A Gold Finger!

As a bookworm well-versed in all sorts of novels, how could he not understand what this voice signified?

When he first arrived in this world, Chen Changqing had naturally fantasized about having a Gold Finger, but no matter how he tried, he never succeeded.

So it was because the absorbed energy hadn't been enough; no wonder Chen Changqing always felt something was off whenever he absorbed spirit stones in the past. One had to know that an average Outer Disciple could step into the Qi Nourishing Realm within a year at most, yet it had taken him a full three years to succeed.

It turned out his talent wasn't poor; it was just that this system had been absorbing the majority of the spiritual energy.

"Ding!"

"Cultivation Assistance System activated."

The voice sounded in his mind once more, and a panel appeared before Chen Changqing's eyes.

Name: Chen Changqing

Age: Eighteen

Identity: Shushan Outer Gatekeeping Disciple

Cultivation: Qi Nourishing Realm

Technique: Basic Body Nourishing Technique

Divine Abilities: None

Treasures: None

Looking at the panel that had appeared, it was a bit too pathetic—it was completely "three-nothings."

"System, what are your functions?"

Chen Changqing asked.

As his voice fell, the panel before him vanished, replaced by a Little Golden Figure sitting cross-legged.

What is this?

Chen Changqing wondered.

'Would you like to enable AFK Cultivation?'

A simple, straightforward prompt appeared.

'Enable.'

Chen Changqing answered subconsciously.

'AFK Cultivation enabled.'

'AFK for one second.'

'One minute.'

'Ten minutes.'

Just like that.

Chen Changqing watched the Little Golden Figure for a full ten minutes, yet he didn't notice the slightest change in himself.

"Forget it, I'll just get some sleep and check it again when I wake up tomorrow." Chen Changqing stopped fretting; he would have plenty of time to study this system later anyway.

And so, the night passed quickly.

The next day.

Noon.

Chen Changqing woke from his slumber.

'Ding!'

'AFK for sixteen hours. Would you like to claim the AFK results?'

Chen Changqing had just sat up when the system's notification chime rang out.

"Claim!"

Chen Changqing replied, not knowing what kind of reward he would receive.

Following his response, he saw a ray of light emerge from the Little Golden Figure and enter his body.

At a speed visible to the naked eye, the essence and energy throughout his entire body rapidly surged and strengthened.

Mid Qi Nourishing.

In just a short moment, Chen Changqing discovered that his cultivation had broken through.

Feeling the power flooding his body, his expression was quite exhilarated; he finally understood the formidable utility of his system.

While others slept, he was cultivating.

While others ate, he was cultivating.

It was truly twenty-four hours of non-stop cultivation without a single moment of pause.

And the best part was that he didn't even have to cultivate himself; this system was truly too satisfying.