Qin Haoxuan heard Undying Witch Demon's well-intentioned reminder and glanced at his bloated, ugly face a few more times, yet still could not make out anything. This sort of old devil had lived for who knew how many years; with age came cunning. He could not even see through Gu Yunzi, much less this one. He stopped dwelling on it and prepared to continue wandering through Immortal-Slaying Poison Valley, trying his luck to see whether he could find any more heavenly treasures. If he were fortunate enough to obtain a magic treasure he could use for protection, that would be even better. As a battlefield from the Immortal-Demon War, Immortal-Slaying Poison Valley contained countless lost spiritual arts, magic treasures, and various medicinal pills. Picking up even one of them would be of tremendous use to someone with such shallow cultivation as himself.
Last time, he had only managed to walk a little over a hundred steps in Immortal-Slaying Poison Valley. This time, after changing directions and walking around ten steps, he suddenly keenly sensed a faint pulse of spiritual energy in the distance!
In a place like Immortal-Slaying Poison Valley, where poisonous miasma ran rampant, all spiritual energy was suppressed beyond movement. Though that pulse of spiritual energy in the distance was faint, the fact that it could reach over a hundred steps away beneath such terrifying poison suppression was already extraordinary. He simply did not know whether it was a spiritual art, a magic treasure, a medicinal pill, or some rare heavenly treasure like the One-Leaf Golden Lotus.
Qin Haoxuan's heart hammered as he strode more than a hundred steps in that direction. Yet under the enormous pressure, he found that he could no longer advance even half a step.
It seemed that because he had not entered Little Snake's body these past few days, he had made no progress whatsoever in resisting Immortal-Slaying Poison Valley's pressure. Even if it meant sleeping through class every day, he would still have to set aside a fixed amount of time each day to enter Little Snake's body. Otherwise, Immortal-Slaying Poison Valley was so vast, and all the good things lay in its depths. If every step was a struggle for him, how could he explore the valley?
After wandering around other areas of Immortal-Slaying Poison Valley for a while, Qin Haoxuan found nothing apart from that faint pulse of spiritual energy. It seemed the good things truly were deeper inside. Without further hesitation, he left Immortal-Slaying Poison Valley and returned to Spirit Field Valley to continue cultivating.
Watching Qin Haoxuan's departing back, a trace of venomous delight flashed across Undying Witch Demon's lips. He muttered to himself, "It seems quite a few people have their eyes on this fellow. What a pity that the so-called Corpse Refining Great Method of a third-rate sect like the Heavenly Corpse Sect can never be mentioned in the same breath as my Heaven-Stealing Great Method, fused with the Great Dao Heart Seed Demon Technique. That little snake must also have some suspicions about me, but it does not matter. What he cultivates is the genuine Great Dao Heart Seed Demon Technique. Once it is fused with the Heaven-Stealing Great Method, the higher his cultivation becomes, the easier it will be for me to seize his body! If he keeps taking those Corrosion Pills every day, not only will he avoid poisoning himself, he will instead become nourishment for my demon seed, allowing him to grow ever faster. Then I can seize his shell all the sooner!"
As he spoke, Undying Witch Demon looked upon the dark, desolate Immortal-Slaying Poison Valley, and hope arose in his heart for no reason at all. The faster Qin Haoxuan grew, the sooner he could leave this cursed place that had trapped him for thousands of years!
"Once I emerge from the mountains, the world of immortal cultivation should become properly lively!" Undying Witch Demon let out a sinister cackle, only to tug at his injuries and grimace in pain. Sharp light flickered repeatedly in his eyes. "Little Snake, Little Snake, grow quickly! Grow quickly!"
After returning, Qin Haoxuan went once more to the thicket where he had cultivated the night before, but no matter what he did, he could not calm his mind.
Gu Yunzi was a high-ranking figure in the sect, powerful and influential, and he styled himself as righteous, yet he had used such venomous means to harm Qin Haoxuan in order to satisfy his selfish desires. That old devil did not look like a righteous man no matter how one viewed him, and what he had told Qin Haoxuan might not all have been true.
Undying Witch Demon had stayed for many years in that hellish place, Immortal-Slaying Poison Valley. Could that old devil truly be willing to remain trapped in the valley and await death? Judging by his dying-lamp-in-the-wind appearance, he clearly could not hold on much longer. Had he never considered leaving the valley? Or finding some way to use Qin Haoxuan to leave Immortal-Slaying Poison Valley?
Qin Haoxuan thought it over and over, yet could not reach any conclusion. The only thing he could do now was work hard to increase his strength. Only when his own strength had risen enough for him to protect himself could he survive in this cultivation world where danger lurked everywhere and every step concealed a trap.
Leaving the Primordial Sect was utterly impossible. According to sect rules... anyone who left the Primordial Sect without permission would be captured by the pursuit team and turned into an idiot. With his cultivation, there was even less chance he could evade the mountain-guarding formation's detection. Rumor had it that even the Primordial Sect's Dharma Protectors found it difficult to avoid the mountain-guarding formation's detection.
Now, his only path was to live carefully, one step at a time, cultivate diligently, raise his cultivation, and preserve himself.
The remaining medicinal power of the One-Leaf Golden Lotus in Qin Haoxuan's body began to grow restless and hot again, forcing him to stop his wild thoughts and enter meditation to cultivate.
After absorbing spiritual energy for an entire night to neutralize the medicinal power within his body and pour it into his immortal seed, Qin Haoxuan opened his eyes at first light on the following day. To his surprise, he discovered that the golden radiance in his mind, perhaps his divine consciousness, seemed to have grown a tiny bit thicker than yesterday.
What was going on?
Qin Haoxuan was delighted, yet also somewhat doubtful. He knew absolutely nothing about cultivating divine consciousness. Meditation like this merely absorbed spiritual energy and poured it into the immortal seed; it could not cultivate divine consciousness at all.
Could it have been the result of possessing Little Snake last night?
The more Qin Haoxuan thought about it, the more certain he became. Only immortal cultivators at the Immortal Infant Dao Bone realm could cultivate divine consciousness, yet he was merely an ordinary mortal. He must have inadvertently cultivated divine consciousness. As long as he entered Little Snake's body, he could train his divine consciousness, while others could not. That was why his divine consciousness was exceptionally powerful!
Although he had figured out why his divine consciousness was so powerful, waves of drowsiness also came crashing in at just the right time. Could possessing Little Snake consume divine consciousness, leaving him extremely sleepy the next day? Qin Haoxuan straightened his clothes and, without even having breakfast, rushed directly toward the classroom.
Elder Chu's lesson today concerned Feng Shui.
Feng Shui was also a relatively important supplementary subject. It taught about mountains, rivers, and geography. Immortal cultivators had to learn how to read mountains and waters in order to locate genuine Spirit Lands.
Many Spirit Lands rich in spiritual energy hid themselves without revealing any trace. Some places that appeared on the surface to be barren mountains and treacherous waters were actually top-grade Spirit Lands. To uncover such places, one needed Feng Shui knowledge.
Spirit Lands contained relatively abundant spiritual energy beneath the ground, and their quality was distinguished according to the concentration of underground spiritual energy. Medicinal herbs planted on a Spirit Land yielded better harvests than those planted in ordinary soil. Some immortal cultivators even built shelters atop top-grade Spirit Lands and used them as places for cultivation.
Of course, the Feng Shui knowledge Elder Chu taught in class was only the most basic material. It could not locate Spirit Lands suitable for cultivation, but it was more than enough to find a patch in Spirit Field Valley for planting medicinal herbs.
This concerned the choice of Spirit Land and the harvest for the coming year. Once the sect cut off their food supplies, they would also have to pay sect contributions. If they chose a good Spirit Land, none of this would be a problem. But if they chose poorly, then over the coming year they would not only go hungry, but might even face the danger of being expelled from the sect.
Therefore, everyone, Qin Haoxuan included, listened with rapt attention. Yet beneath the repeated assaults of sleepiness, Qin Haoxuan was defeated in the end. After having Xu Yu take notes for him, he lay on the desk and fell into a deep snoring sleep again.
Fortunately, Xu Yu was already used to taking notes for Qin Haoxuan, while Elder Chu was also accustomed to having such an oddball student, one who either slept or meditated during class.
Accompanied by Qin Haoxuan's snores, the entire morning slipped away like running water. Elder Chu could not be bothered to wake him. Instead, he looked at the soundly sleeping Qin Haoxuan with malicious delight filling his heart. Sleep, sleep. By this afternoon, you'll know!
The afternoon lesson was not held in the classroom. Elder Chu brought the new disciples to a vast stretch of farmland. These fields were divided into neat, orderly tofu-block plots of one mu each. They were all unused, and some were even overgrown with weeds.
Pointing at the fields, Elder Chu said, "Now is the time for you to put what you have learned into practice. These are fields specially reserved for you. Once the sect cuts off your food supplies, both your food and your sect contributions must be dug out of this land. Of course, these farmlands vary greatly in quality. There are even a few decent Spirit Fields among them. You may now choose for yourselves."
After speaking, Elder Chu deliberately cast Qin Haoxuan a look of malicious delight. Among these five hundred fields, there are only a handful of Spirit Lands, and only around fifty middling fields that can leave even a slight surplus after paying sect contributions! If you did not listen in class, forget finding the best Spirit Lands among these five hundred fields—even finding a few middling fields will be difficult. The rest are all inferior fields. Plant medicinal herbs in those inferior fields, and after paying sect contributions, you'll have to tighten your belt just to get by. With the appetite of a rice bucket like you, you'll starve to death after paying your contributions.
"Begin!"
At Elder Chu's command, the two hundred new disciples, including Zhang Kuang and Li Jing, swiftly rushed into the five hundred fields and put the morning's lessons into practice. Zhang Kuang and Li Jing in particular were preparing to select superior Spirit Lands.
Qin Haoxuan, who had spent the entire morning dozing off, had not even had time to read his notes when Elder Chu dragged him here in the afternoon to choose a field. He inwardly cried out in alarm. Having completely missed the morning lesson, he had no idea where to begin when faced with this vast expanse of fields. This concerned the sect contributions and food supplies for the coming year!
Seeing Qin Haoxuan at a loss, it was not just Elder Chu whose face uncontrollably revealed malicious delight. Zhang Kuang, Zhang Yang, and the others even laughed aloud one after another, waiting to see Qin Haoxuan's miserable fate. Even those from Li Jing's camp could not help crying out in delight within their hearts.
Sensing Qin Haoxuan's embarrassment, the considerate Xu Yu walked over to him and said, "Brother Haoxuan, don't worry. I'll help you find one."
The moment Xu Yu's words fell, disdainful eye-rolls immediately flew toward Qin Haoxuan.
"A freeloader is indeed a freeloader. He makes a girl do everything for him. He truly has no shame."
A weak-seed disciple muttered quietly in envy and jealousy. He was quite far from Qin Haoxuan and thought Qin Haoxuan could not hear him, so he dared to mutter like that. Yet the moment he finished speaking, he sensed a furious figure approaching. Those standing between him and that figure scattered as if they had seen a plague.
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