Du En Slays the Owl

Proficiency Panel.

This appeared after Du En began his cultivation journey.

The numbers under Cultivation Level represent completion, or rather, accumulation.

The numbers under Cultivation Technique have a prefix modifier, indicating the mastery stage, which is proficiency.

Regarding the former, after much exploration and verification, he discovered that under normal circumstances, if he followed the established path, it would take him nearly thirty years to accumulate enough to reach Early Qi Refining at one hundred percent completion.

As for why he already had twelve points after only a month and a half of cultivation, that was thanks to the Consecration.

The Immortal Masters touched my head, then I can be squeezed dry!

After arriving at Southern Migratory Border Town, they received Consecration like an assembly line, directly awakening their Spiritual Roots and Dantian, directly opening up all the meridians in their bodies, and directly becoming Early Qi Refining cultivators. It was more exaggerated than illegal hormone injections in a breeding farm, pure artificial acceleration of growth.

However, when it reached Du En, it was fully absorbed and transformed into the current twelve points of cultivation accumulation.

Returning to the latter, proficiency.

Through practical verification, he found that he could accumulate one point by focusing his mind and circulating his energy ten times, which seemed relatively easy and simple.

But the problem was the mutual influence between body and mind. The daily arduous labor left his body extremely fatigued, indirectly causing his mental state to decline.

Coupled with his poor Spiritual Root and a low-grade Cultivation Technique, the efficiency of absorbing and refining spiritual energy was terrible, which also made cultivation slower and more mentally draining.

As a result, Du En could now only focus his mind and circulate his energy twice after finishing his daily work before returning, accumulating one point every five days.

"However, as long as I return today and circulate my energy twice more, I'll be able to max out the Beginner's Practice of the Yellow Earth Technique, causing it to break through. At that time, the situation should change."

Moreover, today he received an unexpected bonus, profiting from the dead.

Life still held hope.

Du En concealed the panel information, turned around, felt it was about time, and with two swift slaps, woke up the unconscious Wei Ming.

"Since you've rested enough, let's continue working."

Facing the dazed newcomer, Du En's tone was calm and quiet, quickly bringing him back to his senses and reminding him of what had happened before.

"Gag~"

He couldn't help but gag, especially when he smelled the thick cloth covering his face, which was already saturated with odor. It felt like he had fallen into a cesspool of corpses, his face turning completely pale and uncontainable, trembling all over.

However, despite the accelerated growth, he was at least an Early Qi Refining cultivator. His physiological tolerance was stronger than that of ordinary people, and he quickly adapted and calmed down.

"Th-thank you."

Physically, he had calmed down, but mentally, he hadn't.

Like a frost-bitten eggplant, Wei Ming drooped his head, leaned on the tree behind him, and slowly stood up.

"You're welcome, it was just a small effort."

Du En replied casually and walked back to the scene of the severed corpses.

"Um, this..."

Wei Ming subconsciously followed him, trembling and still shaken, taking slow steps.

"Although I'd like to rest a bit longer and let the smell dissipate further, Wei Ming, we must finish this work before nightfall."

This was because the nights in these primitive mountains were much more dangerous than the days. Even though they were close to the border town, Demonic Beasts might be attracted by the foul smell of corpses and come this way.

Furthermore, this desolate burial ground itself seemed strange; no one would want to linger here at night!

Unfortunately, they, the Corpse Buriers, were not allowed to leave unless they finished burying all the corpses transported that morning.

So, they could only continue toiling away amidst the lingering stench.

"I-is that so? Haha, Senior, you're truly amazing, to be able to remain so calm and composed."

Wei Ming's mind was in a mess right now, so there was a hint of sarcastic undertone in his words.

Du En glanced at him slightly, not minding, and calmly replied, "No need to call me Senior, I've only been doing this for about a month and a half longer than you."

"Ah? A-a month and a half?"

Upon hearing this, Wei Ming turned to look at the others.

At this moment, they were also following Du En's lead, abandoning the extended rest they had taken advantage of.

When they looked at Du En, they couldn't help but cast looks of admiration and awe.

As expected of you, steady pace, unwavering gaze, born for this line of work!

The person in question, however, wasn't happy at all about these gazes.

Wei Ming felt his future was bleak.

Because the situation was quite clear, even for him, a newcomer, it was obvious that Du En was the leader here!

So, in terms of seniority, he was the oldest?

If that was the case, and he had only been here for a month and a half, what about the others from the same period or even earlier? It couldn't be that they were lucky enough to find a new job, or more straightforwardly, had already achieved great success, right?

"I'm not the one who's been here the longest among us. The previous longest record was five years, so don't think too many useless thoughts right now. Be smart and adapt quickly from now on."

Du En pulled out a shovel, tossed it back to Wei Ming, who received no comfort from these words, and then pulled out his own shovel.

He pushed the half-rotted corpse with his shovel, leaving a foul stench behind as he moved it into the pit. Turning back, he shoveled the soil mixed with corpse-fluid and semi-liquefied organs back in, filling the hole. At least this way, he thought, the deceased would be buried whole.

The pervasive stench finally began to dissipate, like a tree without roots.

Next, Wei Ming felt a chill run down his spine, while the others were mostly numb.

Without any intention of conversation, they silently continued their work.

By the time the sun began to dip west, they had finally covered the last corpse of the day.

Time to knock off.

At that moment, everyone immediately untied the thick cloth strip that had long since absorbed all sorts of foul odors and was soaked with sweat. They let out long, deep breaths of stale air.

Looking around, exhaustion was evident on every face.

Without further ado, they shouldered their shovels and began the walk back, needing to reach the border town before nightfall.

Their steps were hurried as the forest grew dim.

"Caw~ caw~ caw~"

The cries of the strange owls were particularly unnerving. These carrion birds, drawn by the smell of death, dared not approach the burial ground. Instead, they circled Du En and his group in flocks.

To them, this group was a walking buffet, already well-seasoned by the stench of decay.

"Caw!"

Suddenly, one bold and hungry owl launched a direct attack.

Clang!

A shovel accurately struck its head, startling the flock into scattering rapidly.

Du En swiftly reached out and grabbed the strange owl, which was stunned and momentarily unable to move.

With a snap, he broke its neck, then gave it a shake. He nodded and said, "This bird is quite large. I can't eat it all myself, and I can't keep it for long. Does anyone want some?"

Hearing his question again, and looking at the bizarre-looking strange owl, which weighed over ten pounds, the others unanimously shook their heads vigorously.

Last time they had believed his nonsense, and the meat of this strange owl tasted like rotting corpses. It made them wonder if their brains were rotten too, otherwise why would such fools keep delivering themselves to their doom?

Seeing the seniors' reaction, Wei Ming had initially wondered if this was Du En's secret technique as a "senior," but now he politely declined, quickly backing away and shaking his head.

At the Qi Refining stage, they hadn't yet reached Grain Avoidance. Even those at Peak Qi Refining needed to eat. So, without sufficient food and sustenance, how could they recover from physical fatigue and focus on cultivation?

Du En inwardly shook his head but didn't say anything more.

The group continued their hurried journey, finally emerging from the forest path as night fell and reaching the main road of the border town.