After leaving the Dharma Transmission Tower.
The many corpse buriers gathered together, every one of them wearing a satisfied, expectant smile.
The hardship and exhaustion of spending the past two days in the Death Ground, keeping company with blood-soaked mud, Yin Qi, and Corpse Remnants, had all been swept away in that moment.
Quite a few even began to feel glad they had chosen to become corpse buriers instead of spending their whole lives as mortal servants.
But Wen Jiu noticed something.
When the others saw the Yin Province Corpse Refining Record in his hand, a hint of disdain glimmered in their eyes.
As if they found it distasteful.
Seeing this, Wen Jiu quietly tucked the Yin Province Corpse Refining Record into his robe, then left the marketplace in silence with the others.
Whether he could become an Apprentice Disciple—
Wen Jiu didn't think that mattered much for now.
The most important thing was to improve his strength. If he really couldn't become an Apprentice Disciple of Corpse Peak, he could find another way.
There was always a way.
As for leaving Corpse Peak to become a Rogue Cultivator—
Wen Jiu wasn't that stupid.
He had backing.
He had a group to rely on.
Why become a Rogue Cultivator?
He'd rather work as a corpse burier forever than become a Rogue Cultivator.
Besides, seeing how these Qi Refining cultivators looked down on the Unorthodox Path, Wen Jiu figured being a Rogue Cultivator might be pretty dangerous.
What if some so-called "Righteous Path" people showed up and decided to take him out?
Night fell.
After hurrying to eat a bowl of plain noodles at the market near his home, Wen Jiu rushed back.
He set about practicing the cultivation method in the Yin Province Corpse Refining Record—the Yin Province Corpse Nurturing Art.
Strictly speaking, the Yin Province Corpse Nurturing Art was also a Qi Refining Method. It could likewise lead one into the Qi Refining realm, but instead of ordinary Spiritual Qi, it required absorbing Yin Spirit Qi in a yin place, at a yin hour.
In other words, something made up of Yin Qi mixed with Spiritual Qi.
None of that was difficult.
After all, the Death Ground was right next door.
One thing worth mentioning was that the first page of the Yin Province Corpse Nurturing Art contained a warning written in the author's blood: "Do not be impatient. Haste makes waste. If you pursue rapid cultivation blindly, the Yin Spirit Qi will harm you and shorten your lifespan!"
That was the only thing one needed to be careful about when practicing the Yin Province Corpse Nurturing Art.
Seeing this, Wen Jiu understood even better why the White-Haired Elder had said no one would choose him as an Apprentice Disciple.
But as a Corpse Nurturer, Wen Jiu's passive ability meant he wasn't eroded by Death Qi, Yin Qi, or Corpse Qi. Instead, they became nourishment for him.
So Wen Jiu wasn't worried about that at all.
Suddenly.
A pop-up window appeared.
[Yin Province Corpse Nurturing Art] [Grade: Qi Refining Cultivation Method (two layers in total, can be cultivated up to Qi Refining Second Layer)] [Begin cultivation?]
"Yes!"
Wen Jiu was delighted.
If he could choose to cultivate it directly, did that mean he didn't need to find a yin place or wait for a yin hour?
The next moment.
His personal status panel appeared as well.
[Wen Jiu] [Age: 23] [Lifespan: 23/73] [Realm: None] [Technique: Yin Province Corpse Nurturing Art (First Layer 0/1000)]+ [Lv1 Corpse Nurturer (0/100)] [Secret Art: Mutate Corpse] [Corpse—Mutating (0/100)]+ [Death Qi Remaining: 8] [Corpse Qi Remaining: 8]
"The Yin Province Corpse Nurturing Art and the mutating corpse both have a plus sign."
After noticing this, Wen Jiu tried clicking the plus sign beside the Yin Province Corpse Nurturing Art.
[Technique: Yin Province Corpse Nurturing Art—Initiated (1/1000)]+ [Death Qi Remaining: 7]
"I can actually use Death Qi to improve the Yin Province Corpse Nurturing Art." Wen Jiu was delighted, then added all seven remaining points.
When the experience value for the initiated Yin Province Corpse Nurturing Art reached seven, Wen Jiu immediately felt a few threads of flowing qi appear in the dantian in his abdomen. They were rather cold; they had to be the Yin Spirit Qi mentioned in the art.
"When Yin Spirit Qi begins to gather in the dantian, that means cultivation has begun!" Wen Jiu smiled again. "If I fill up all 1,000 experience points, will I reach Qi Refining Layer One?"
If so—
That was far too fast.
Those eight points of Death Qi came from yesterday's settlement for burying corpses in the Death Ground for eight shichen.
He hadn't worked a full eight shichen today.
But he'd still worked six.
If he gained six points of Death Qi a day, wouldn't that mean he could reach Qi Refining Layer One in just 166 days?
As far as he knew, even an ordinary cultivator needed about a year to reach Qi Refining Layer One.
Only those with exceptionally strong aptitude could shorten the time.
The Unorthodox Path really lived up to its name.
It was fast!
Next, Wen Jiu added the eight points of Corpse Qi to Mutate Corpse.
[Corpse—Mutating (8/100)]+
If it succeeded once the bar reached 100, then in less than ten days he could become a true Corpse Nurturer!
Before long.
Midnight arrived.
[Daily Settlement Panel Lv1 (3/100)] [Daily settlement!] [Burying corpses in the Death Ground for six shichen, continuously absorbing Corpse Qi and Death Qi: panel experience +1, Corpse Qi +6, Death Qi +6] [Nurturing corpses on Extreme Yin Ground for eight shichen: panel experience +1, Dead Body Mutation experience +6, Corpse Nurturer experience +1]
To Wen Jiu's surprise, after the daily settlement, the corpse's mutation experience had shot straight up to 14.
And he still had 6 Death Qi left over.
"Burying corpses in the Death Ground gives me Death Qi, while nurturing corpses on Extreme Yin Ground gives me experience. With both adding up, won't the corpse turn into a White Zombie in just five days?" At the thought, Wen Jiu was overjoyed.
White Zombies might have plenty to fear, and their strength was unknown, but this efficiency was truly astonishing.
Was this the Unorthodox Path?
So fast.
At this rate, it was no wonder people died young.
Thank goodness his Corpse Nurturer passive made him immune to the erosion of Yin Qi, Death Qi, and Corpse Qi.
Early the next morning.
The sky had just begun to pale when someone knocked on the door again.
"It's me!"
It was his older sister Wen Ya.
Wen Jiu hurriedly got up and opened the door.
As soon as it opened, he saw his sister holding a large bowl, still covered with a lotus leaf. But this time, the leaf looked like it could barely cover the contents. Something bulged beneath it, and besides the Spirit Rice, there was a hint of meaty aroma.
The aroma was strange.
Very unusual.
At least, it wasn't one Wen Jiu remembered.
Wen Ya lifted the lotus leaf with a beaming smile and said, "Hurry up and eat. There's meat today... Let me tell you, it's demon beast meat. It's incredibly nourishing, strengthens the body, and can even speed up cultivation. We definitely won't be able to compete for that top three this first year, but let's at least make sure we don't fall behind!"
"Sis, demon beast meat must be more expensive than Spirit Rice, right?" He had no memories of demon beast meat.
But it didn't just strengthen the body; it also sped up cultivation. For those two reasons alone, it had to be more expensive than inferior Spirit Rice.
Wen Jiu figured that if you received something, you had to give something in return.
For this bowl of Spirit Rice and piece of demon beast meat, what had his sister given up?
Had she really become a maid?
Wen Ya shook her head, seeming unwilling to say more. "Just a little more expensive... Hurry and eat, or you'll have to go back to work soon."
"Sis, if you don't tell me, I won't eat." Wen Jiu was adamant.
Wen Ya saw his expression and shook her head helplessly. "It's fine. Don't worry about me. Servants like me can lose our jobs at any moment, and there's no chance of getting ahead in this life. Being noticed by an Immortal Official is already the best outcome... Besides, I can still bring you food now and then to build up your strength. Once that Immortal Official returns in a few days, he might even be able to help you get the status of an Apprentice Disciple."
At that,—
Wen Jiu understood.
She wasn't a maid.
She was probably something like a concubine.
Wen Jiu looked at his sister, who was still smiling, and suddenly felt a pang of heartache. After weighing it over and over, he decided not to press her further.
He asked just one question. "Sis, who is that man?"
Since things had come to this—
There was no changing them.
At the very least, he needed to know who the man was.
That way, he could discreetly ask around later. If she was a concubine, then as a servant, becoming an Immortal Official's concubine was indeed a pretty good way out. It wasn't Blue Star; there was no point talking about love or anything like that.
But if an old cultivator was looking for a Cultivation Cauldron...
Before you continue