People Were Driven to Desperation

The north wind cut like a blade, whipping up heaps upon heaps of snow.

Winter was a prison; a single drop of water froze into ice.

Amid the vast expanse of white snow, a stretch of lush, verdant bamboo forest grew thick and flourishing. Its blue-green leaves gleamed like jade, radiating a crystal-clear luster. Droplets clinging to them resembled dazzling pearls, each shining with its own brilliance.

Wisps of dreamlike white mist wound through the forest, making the place seem like a land of immortals.

On the forest floor, a four-legged snake-like creature scurried swiftly through the grass, the scales on its back leaving behind a few strange, demonic colors in the air.

Hiss!

A burst of cold air suddenly appeared and landed on the four-legged snake.

The surrounding temperature plummeted. In an instant, the four-legged snake was frozen to the ground, transformed into a lifelike ice sculpture.

"I finally caught the damn little thief that's been sneaking food!"

The bamboo forest stirred, and a youth emerged from within.

He moved with nimble steps and had a sturdy figure straight as a pine. His features were regular, and his eyes resembled a pair of crystal-clear, bottomless pools. He wore a thick cotton-padded jacket, and his face now held an expression of deep relief.

Fang Xi came before the ice sculpture, raised a hand, and weighed the frozen Stone Dragon Lizard in his palm. His expression gradually collapsed, and he muttered nonstop, "What a loss, what a loss!"

"An unranked demonic insect—the Stone Dragon Lizard—is worth one Spirit Crystal. To catch it, I wasted three whole days, not to mention using up an Ice Seal Talisman. Though it's only a First-grade Low-rank talisman, it still costs nearly half a Low-grade Spirit Stone!"

Fang Xi's face was filled with utter gloom.

The so-called "Spirit Crystals" were fragments of spirit stones. Generally speaking, ten Spirit Crystals could be exchanged for one Low-grade Spirit Stone.

This deal was, of course, a losing one.

But he had no choice. He couldn't just leave it alone!

Fang Xi was the spirit farmer of this bamboo forest. Next year's harvest depended entirely on how well these bamboo plants grew, so naturally, he couldn't let the demonic insects ravage them.

Whoosh!

A gust of Cold Wind blew over, making Fang Xi shiver from the cold.

He raised his head and gazed at the sky, where snow had begun falling thick and fast again. He couldn't help wrapping his little cotton-padded jacket tighter around himself and sighing inwardly. Without realizing it, I've already been transmigrated for a year? If I hadn't transmigrated, I never would've believed that cultivators could actually be afraid of the cold...

Yes, Fang Xi was a transmigrator!

His transmigration had been utterly unremarkable, without the slightest special feature. In his previous life, he had worked hard and gotten into university, only to waste away afterward, neglect his studies, fail to find a decent job, and be nagged by his parents into joining the army of civil-service applicants. Then the math problems on the aptitude test had tortured him until he wished he were dead.

Facts had proven that when people were driven to desperation, they still couldn't solve math problems!

Unfortunately, before the civil-service examination results were released, Fang Xi transmigrated right there in the exam hall!

When he opened his eyes, he had arrived in a world where cultivators existed. What was more, he had possessed the body of a youth who was also named Fang Xi.

This youth named Fang Xi had a cultivation of Qi Refining Third Layer. Alone in the world, he was a spirit farmer attached to the Green Bamboo Mountain Market of Yue Kingdom in the Southern Barrens Cultivation World!

Originally, Fang Xi had still been somewhat skeptical about transmigration. But after struggling for several hours, he followed the body's memories and tremblingly released the first Minor Spell of his life. Only then did he finally believe that he had truly grasped supernatural power and become an exalted immortal!

Of course, cultivators were not immortals yet. They still retained aspects of mortals and had to endure heat and cold, the changing seasons, and even birth, aging, illness, and death.

However, Fang Xi also knew from his memories that as a cultivator's power grew and their realm advanced, they truly could extend their lifespan, become immune to every illness, and even achieve genuine immortality.

The best example was the Situ Family, which controlled the Green Bamboo Mountain Market. It was said that the clan possessed more than one Foundation Establishment Great Cultivator!

As Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators, they completely matched the fantasies of mortals. At the very least, their lifespans were doubled, allowing them to live past two hundred years with ease!

Two hundred years! In his previous life, that was enough time to witness the rise and fall of most dynasties.

Thus, Fang Xi chose to inherit everything from the original owner, continue working as a spirit farmer in the market, and begin his own path of cultivation.

At this moment.

Although he had complained bitterly, Fang Xi still carefully put away the Stone Dragon Lizard after grumbling for a while. After all, it was worth a Spirit Crystal!

He had inherited the original owner's savings, and his entire fortune now amounted to only a few dozen Spirit Crystals!

As for the six-tenths of an acre of Jade Green Bamboo Forest under his care, once the bamboo rice matured each year and half was paid in taxes, only a hundred catties remained—about one dan—worth a mere thirty Spirit Crystals...

He worked himself to the bone farming for a year, only to earn three Low-grade Spirit Stones...

"Cultivation is hard. Surviving is even harder!"

Fang Xi sighed, brushed the snowflakes off his body with a wave, and began clearing the weeds from the bamboo forest.

These weeds had also been nourished by Spiritual Energy and had grown extremely tough. If he wasn't careful, they would compete with the Jade Bamboo for nutrients and affect the harvest.

Therefore, to work as a spirit farmer, it was essential to master Minor Spells such as the Spring Wind Rain Technique and the Geng Metal Grass Sword.

Although Fang Xi had inherited the original owner's memories, he still found farm work extremely difficult, and his life was painfully hard.

Qi Refining Third Layer was only the initial realm of the Qi Refining Stage. In the Green Bamboo Mountain Market, mid-stage cultivators above Qi Refining Fourth Layer were not uncommon, and powerful experts above Qi Refining Seventh Layer occasionally appeared. In the Cultivation World, the weak were prey to the strong, and incidents of trickery and plunder were everywhere.

Even the rare tragedies in which high-level demonic cultivators blood-sacrificed everything within a hundred-mile radius to refine powerful spells or even magical treasures had been clearly recorded in books.

Sometimes, Fang Xi even considered abandoning the path of cultivation and returning to the Mortal Kingdom to become a wealthy man, surround himself with wives and concubines, and spend the rest of his life in comfort.

But this thought was quickly discarded.

After all, when it came to enjoyment, even an ancient emperor might not compare to an ordinary modern person.

The only things that could surpass modern people were the allure of the extraordinary and immortality!

Thus, although life was bitter, Fang Xi still gritted his teeth and held on.

The sky was dark as ink.

Fang Xi raised his head and looked at the heavens before starting back toward his residence.

Although the Green Bamboo Mountain Market had a Mountain Protection Array, it usually protected only the market's main street and the surrounding shops to save Spirit Stones. Covering the entire mountain, much less the spirit fields, was out of the question.

Thus, this area was not particularly safe at night.

Although the Situ Family's Enforcement Team patrolled the area, robber cultivators still struck from time to time. Fang Xi naturally wouldn't risk his life.

The spirit farmers' residential district was near the mountaintop market and was also a place the patrol team passed through frequently, making it relatively safe.

Fang Xi maliciously speculated that it was probably because the spirit farmers were all dirt-poor and the robber cultivators didn't think much of them.

After walking uphill for a while, a low, shabby settlement came into view. Each household had staked out its own territory with fences, and the sounds of chickens and dogs carried from one home to another.

Fang Xi couldn't help smiling when he saw it.

He had only taken a few steps when a cultivator who looked like an old farmer passed by and greeted him with a grin. "Little Brother Fang, want to go find somewhere nice to have some fun?"

His face was covered in wrinkles, and when he smiled, two large yellow teeth showed. His aura was actually even weaker than Fang Xi's, hovering around Qi Refining Second Layer.

This was Fang Xi's neighbor, Old Mai Tou.

Fang Xi didn't know the other man's background, but since they saw each other every day, whether looking up or lowering their heads, they had developed some familiarity.

Seeing the expression on his face, Fang Xi immediately knew where he was going.

Even in the shack district, which seemed to have been casually thrown together from wooden boards, there were female cultivators. They didn't farm much, lived relatively comfortable lives, and had their own means of making a living.

Old Mai Tou had farmed for more years than Fang Xi, yet his life was extremely difficult. He had even borrowed Spirit Crystals from Fang Xi before, so where his savings had gone was obvious.

Fang Xi shook his head and refused. "Old Mai Tou, I still have to cultivate tonight..."

In reality, not long after he had first grown familiar with this body, he had gone to the Drunken Immortal Tower in the market. He had spent nearly half his fortune, enjoyed himself for an entire night, and left leaning against the wall...

It had to be said, those little demons who specialized in the Charm Technique truly knew how to wear a man down.

After that, Fang Xi's incarnation here had devoted all his energy to farming. There was no helping it—his purse was empty...

How can I find pretty girls to drink tea with if I don't save money? I don't drink aged tea...

Fang Xi returned to his house and opened the door.

His room was spacious, divided into smaller rooms such as a reception room, bedroom, and cultivation room... Some female cultivators even planted spirit vegetables and raised spirit fowl inside their fences, making the most thorough use of every inch of land.

Fang Xi went to the kitchen, took out some spirit rice mixed with coarse grain, and cooked himself a pot of porridge.

The spirit rice was naturally Jade Bamboo Rice. Each grain resembled emerald jade and carried a delicate fragrance. Even mixed with mortal polished rice and coarse grain, it was still delicious, with a rich and sweet flavor.

What was more, after eating it, aside from warmth in his stomach, a faint current of Spiritual Energy also began to rise.

Seizing this opportunity, Fang Xi immediately went to the cultivation room and secluded himself to painstakingly practice his cultivation art.

Half an hour later, Fang Xi opened his eyes and let out a bitter laugh. "This Evergreen Art is truly difficult. After a year of painstaking cultivation, I've only barely taken control of the original owner's cultivation. I haven't even reached the peak of Qi Refining Third Layer, let alone challenged the bottleneck of the mid-stage of Qi Refining... It's so hard..."

As he sighed, he pricked up his ears to listen to the movements around him, then took out a talisman and pasted it on the wooden wall of the cultivation room.

This was a First-grade Low-rank Protective Talisman. It possessed a certain defensive power, but more importantly, it could isolate sound and Spiritual Energy fluctuations!

As for the divine sense of a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator, although it could not defend against it, the talisman would immediately explode if scanned by divine sense, alerting the cultivator inside.

After finishing all this, the expression on Fang Xi's face returned to calm. He snapped his fingers.

Snap!

In the blink of an eye, he had arrived somewhere else.

Inside, the place was warm as spring and filled with glittering lights. Fine Mind-Calming Incense burned in a Purple Gold Incense Burner.

The soft chair made of Rosewood was comfortable and inviting. Fang Xi immediately sprawled out on it in a lazy slouch.

With a wave of his fingers, an air conditioner made by a cultivator switched on, keeping the room at a pleasant temperature and humidity.

After lying there to his heart's content, Fang Xi casually tossed aside his worn cotton-padded jacket and changed into splendid brocade robes. The youth's handsome, carefree bearing stood out all the more.

He opened the door, and a dazzling ray of sunlight spilled down. The place was unmistakably a grand, wealthy estate.

In the blink of an eye, it seemed he had changed into an entirely different world.

In truth, that was exactly what had happened!

A smile curled at the corner of Fang Xi's lips.

When people were driven to desperation, there was nothing they wouldn't do—including transmigrating!!!

Please add this new book to your collection and recommend it!

Mm, according to the vote at the end of my previous book, the new book will combine cultivation with Infinite Flow...