Progress

"Sick or not, money is what really matters." Ning Zheng didn't want to meddle either. As long as tangible benefits were in hand, they could be used for cultivation and getting stronger.

Following the mountain path back home, the sky had already darkened.

Dinner was quite enjoyable, but the River Demon Meat from before was completely finished after these past few days.

"Come on, let's go fishing." Ning Zheng, in a good mood after getting off work, called Ning Jiaojiao after dinner to prepare by the well and fish again.

"There you go."

After baiting the hook, he gently picked up Ning Jiaojiao in a princess carry and tossed her into the well.

With a dong as she hit the water, she began swimming skillfully through the labyrinth of interconnected underground rivers. Occasionally, glowing little fish and luminous stones dotted the surroundings, creating a beautiful scene.

A few minutes later, Ning Jiaojiao sent back a signal.

He pulled the hook!

Ning Jiaojiao had caught four River Demons at once, their eyes dull and vacant, looking utterly silly. Two were clamped onto her hands, two onto her feet, covering her entire body.

"Four of them." Ning Zheng was delighted as he watched from the well's edge. This was the best result he'd gotten in all his years of fishing.

Ning Jiaojiao had also reached the peak of her fishing career.

Ning Zheng found that good luck always brought little surprises—500 Luck Value was no joke.

But this time, Ning Jiaojiao had cried out noticeably louder in the well, and when she was pulled up, her expression was pitiful and aggrieved, clearly not in a great mood.

Still, these were small issues. A little coaxing would fix them.

After removing the large iron hook that had pierced through Ning Jiaojiao's chin from the tension, he took her to the kitchen to process the meat. Checking the time, it was exactly 6:30. In a little while, he could kick those blacksmiths offline.

Daily wages—that was the real life.

Another day of bounty!

He'd promised to guide them for three days as the Old Steward to familiarize them with the process, but now it was done in two—truly a perfect accomplishment.

Ning Zheng figured he'd just go through the motions tomorrow and then wash his hands of it entirely.

Out of sight, out of mind.

Every time he looked at them, he felt they were even more spiritually polluting than the Fellow Villagers at Spirit Manor.

After finishing up, Ning Zheng saw Ning Jiaojiao still looking pitiful and couldn't help but laugh:

"Stop fussing. The New Year's coming soon, and we're both a year older. The Yearly Market opens in a few days—I'll take you then, and you can buy whatever you want."

"Really?" Ning Jiaojiao's eyes lit up.

"Really. I'll give you a hundred Magic Coins," Ning Zheng said. "You can buy to your heart's content."

"Great." Ning Jiaojiao was overjoyed. "I want to buy new clothes, new shoes—red ones."

The villagers here followed the daily routines of their living days, naturally accepting Magic Coins, since even mortals used them as a high-end currency.

Moreover, Magic Coins stored spiritual energy from heaven and earth, which inherently attracted these soul bodies.

After clearing the Mountain Villa's ruins, he wasn't short on money.

He had tens of thousands of Magic Coins on hand—liquid assets the Demon People hadn't yet spent on cultivation resources, now fallen into Ning Zheng's hands.

Of course, the resources weren't limited to just that.

But their lifebound artifacts, pills, and various items had all been exhausted in their frenzied deathmatch, leaving no inheritance for Ning Zheng to claim.

Still, it was a sudden windfall.

After all, Magic Coins had decent purchasing power—a few coins could buy a catty of Spirit Rice.

For some low-level cultivators, having a few dozen Magic Coins in their pocket was already impressive.

A decent low-grade artifact could be bought for a few hundred Magic Coins.

Of course, that didn't include artifacts made of pure Magic Bronze. Even an unprocessed raw Magic Bronze rough—a half-finished piece—could sell for hundreds of Magic Coins alone.

Clearly, Ning Zheng was sitting on a treasure trove!

Now, with this pile of Magic Coins, Ning Zheng could cultivate by absorbing large amounts of spiritual energy. The only problem was he had no way to spend them.

"Almost at the second realm of Five Bodies. Probably tomorrow or the day after."

Back in his room, he silently exhaled a breath of turbid air, sensing his cultivation speed. Lately, it had been quite fast. With good luck, even entering a meditative state came much quicker.

The three essentials for cultivation: Magic Coins in abundance, still lacking a Meat Field and Spirit Rice.

As for Spirit Rice, he'd see if Su Yu Niang could help. If not, he'd save up Luck Value and try to secure a channel to buy Spirit Rice.

But that would cost a lot of Luck Value!

Ning Zheng wanted to save where he could. If his own home could produce it for free, wouldn't that be wonderful?

As for the Meat Field?

That was the most precious resource!

The Five Bodies Realm was about cultivating flesh and blood, requiring massive amounts of qi and blood replenishment.

For now, if Ning Zheng wanted meat, he still had to hunt River Demons.

But this is the lowest grade—the spiritual energy it contains is far too weak to help with cultivation level!

What is a Meat Field?

Demon Beasts above the Great Perfection of Five Bodies Realm begin to achieve the Five Bodies Cycle; after death, their flesh can still bounce and move, with blood and meat multiplying and regenerating.

Erase the consciousness of such a great beast, leaving behind a physical body, dismantle the skeleton, lay the bones flat in the field mud like roots and stems, plant the flesh in the soil, and let it continuously self-proliferate—that is what is called a Meat Field.

To put it more simply:

Their flesh, dense blood vessels, bones, and meridians are spread thinly across the ground like a layer.

Water them regularly, and you can harvest.

But such Meat Fields don't last long; the number of times the flesh can split is limited.

And what about those lively, bouncing pieces of flesh from the Demon People that Ning Zheng cleaned up earlier?

They could indeed be made into a Meat Field.

And more than enough—at their realm, they'd be high-quality Meat Fields!

But that would be a Human Meat Field. Some Demon Cultivators, cackling eerily, call it a Ginseng Field instead. They say when they see other cultivators, they shout: "What a fine ginseng!"

Ning Zheng didn't want to eat that. It was said to carry heavy karmic consequences, and after a while, people who did went mad.

Even though what he had in hand could make several fields, and eating from them daily would be extremely nourishing, allowing his cultivation to skyrocket.

"If I could hunt down a Demon Beast at the Great Perfection of Five Bodies Realm and plant it into a Meat Field, it should last me a long time before drying up. But who am I to even dream of that?"

Ning Zheng sighed, thinking to himself:

"In recent years, this mountain area has seen little activity. The only demon groups I've encountered are the Crows and the River Monster in the well."

"If their beast leader has reached the Great Perfection of Five Bodies Realm, I'd only need to hunt one of them—that would be enough. Plant it in the field, eat one meat dish and a bowl of rice porridge every day. I won't even ask for two dishes and a soup."

Each type of Demon Beast Meat Field has its own characteristics, flavor, and texture.

Some are good for stewing, some for roasting, some nourish blood and qi.

Rare ones even replenish the soul and aid in enlightenment.

Hunting top-tier demon beasts and turning them into Meat Fields is the foundational heritage of many sects and families, and a key method for attracting talent.

If my Mountain Villa had its own Meat Field...

Well.

Those Money Boys wouldn't be able to eat it anyway—they eat dirt.