Neighbors

"This Cultivation Panel is actually a cultivation game I played out of boredom in my previous life. I remember it could only randomly generate one profession, so how could I generate a secondary profession too?"

They said games killed people. Who would have thought that in this life, a game had saved his life and given him hope of surviving?

"According to this world's common knowledge, the Four Arts of Cultivation—Alchemy, Artifact-Refining, Talismans, and Formations—are each vast and boundless disciplines. Even cultivators with long lifespans must devote their entire lives to studying one path, leaving them no time at all to learn the way of spell battles."

"Thus, Grandmasters of the Four Arts are somewhat inferior in spell battles. However, as long as they achieve something in a single craft, they will be supported by sects and well protected. They never need to risk their lives in spell battles."

"With no danger and no shortage of cultivation resources, Grandmasters of the Four Arts hold extremely noble status in the Cultivation World."

"My primary profession is Artifact Refiner. One day, I too will become a respected Artifact-Refining Grandmaster. My secondary profession is Body Cultivator—invincible in close combat, with astonishing defense. It makes up for my shortcomings, so I need no longer worry about preserving my life."

"Still, the path of cultivation is cruel. When one immortal rises, ten thousand immortals fall. I must keep a low profile if I want to go farther. As for this Body Cultivator profession, I should hide it whenever possible. I need to be a qualified sixth."

"I'm merely an Artifact Refiner. I'm not good at spell battles!"

After giving it some thought, Wu Tao made a long-term plan for his future.

Carving a Formation Practice Board just now had drained his mind greatly. Though the system had arrived, Wu Tao had no desire to test it further. His cultivation was still weak; he was not a true immortal. Eating, drinking, relieving himself, and sleeping—none could be skipped.

"I'll sleep first. I'll practice again tomorrow."

After falling into evil possession, Wu Tao could feel his Essence, Qi, and Spirit worsening as time passed.

Early the next morning, while the sky was still dim, Wu Tao got up. Carrying the chamber pot, he went out to the place specially designated for collecting night soil. After emptying it and returning, he had just reached his door when he saw the neighbor next door unlocking her own.

She was a female neighbor, dressed in a light-blue front-opening ru skirt that revealed two arms white as lotus roots. Hearing Wu Tao's footsteps, she instinctively turned to look his way.

Their eyes met. Wu Tao smiled and said hello, "Hello, I moved in yesterday."

The female neighbor's tired face froze. She apparently had not expected Wu Tao to greet her, so she could only nod in response. "Hello!" After replying, she opened her door and went inside.

The brief exchange ended there. Wu Tao did not mind. He stood at the door with the chamber pot for a moment before returning to his room to begin meditating.

The familiar Sanyang Technique flowed through his sea of consciousness. Wu Tao began breathing in and out, painstakingly absorbing the thin spiritual power drifting between heaven and earth.

As for cultivating with spirit stones, he was not wealthy enough for that.

After meditating for two shichen, Wu Tao ended his practice and began cooking.

After eating and resting briefly, Wu Tao took out the Formation Practice Board and prepared to practice.

"With the Artifact Refiner profession's bonus, it shouldn't be so difficult anymore."

Taking a deep breath, Wu Tao adjusted his breathing, cleared his mind, and circulated the Sanyang Technique. He controlled his spiritual power and was about to carve a First-Order Cooling Restriction when inspiration suddenly struck. He stopped. "My way of thinking has fallen into a misunderstanding. Carving restrictions is like doing math problems—I have to learn the formulas before I can solve difficult questions. Right now, I clearly don't understand the Cooling Formation well enough, yet I blindly try to carve it. How could I possibly not fail? Everything must be done step by step. Learn to walk before learning to run."

This sudden flash of inspiration and awakening told Wu Tao that it was precisely the talent bonus of the Artifact Refiner profession.

The original owner's talent had previously been insufficient. He had not even understood such a simple principle.

"First, comprehend it."

Wu Tao set down the Formation Practice Board, took out a book, and began studying the First-Order Level 1 Cooling Restriction.

Perhaps because of the talent bonus, many questions the original owner had never understood suddenly gave Wu Tao a line of thought. That line of thought grew clearer and clearer, and his understanding of the Cooling Formation's structure deepened.

Half a shichen later, Wu Tao stopped studying and prepared to begin carving.

Just as with research in a laboratory, once theoretical knowledge was understood, experiments were needed to verify how far the theoretical results had progressed.

Spiritual power became a blade. A line fell across the Formation Practice Board, twisting and turning as he cautiously carved it bit by bit toward a complete Cooling Formation...

Crack!

The spiritual power snapped, and black smoke rose from the spirit board. Wu Tao rubbed his forehead. Though his mind felt exhausted, his heart was greatly stirred. "My direction was indeed right. This carving failed, but compared to the previous two attempts, it's been an enormous improvement."

"One practice board brought my Cooling Formation carving progress to five percent. The original owner practiced for so many years without ever reaching even one percent."

"The Artifact Refiner profession's talent bonus is terrifying indeed."

"I'll rest and recover my mind, then press on with renewed vigor."

Sure enough, after the second carving, he had produced ten percent of the Cooling Formation. But toward the end, his mental exhaustion became increasingly severe, leaving him feeling utterly drained.

He continued meditating to recover his spiritual power.

Half a shichen later.

The sky had darkened, signaling that the day was about to end.

Wu Tao took out a third Formation Practice Board and prepared for his third carving practice.

Pfft!

Crack!

Just as thirteen percent of the Restriction Runes were about to be completed, Wu Tao's heart jolted. His face darkened, and he spat out a mouthful of blood onto the spirit board. His spiritual power snapped as well, ruining the board.

But Wu Tao had no time to care about the ruined spirit board. Black qi swirled over his face, and he hastily circulated the Sanyang Technique to suppress the evil qi surging through his body.

Only after a long while did Wu Tao's complexion improve somewhat. However, the black mark had expanded again.

Fear lingered in his heart as he said, "I was so focused on practicing restrictions that I forgot I'm someone afflicted by evil possession. Once I expend too much spiritual power and mental energy, the evil qi inside me begins to stir and seizes the chance to strike back."

"From now on, I'll only practice with two spirit boards a day. I still have three months to live—enough time to refine a First-Grade Dharma Robe."

Having made up his mind, Wu Tao felt hunger in his stomach. He hurriedly cooked a simple meal. After eating his fill, drowsiness struck again. Still dressed, he lay down on the wooden bed and unknowingly fell asleep.

He did not know how long he had slept before lewd sounds woke him.

He opened his weary eyes and listened to the creaking next door, along with those enticing cries.

He thought of the female neighbor from that morning. She looked a little over thirty, mature and alluring—just the sort Cao liked most. So she had already become another man's wife, and was now engaged in such pleasant business.

"In the middle of the night... without a Sound-Isolation Formation, how am I supposed to sleep?"

Wu Tao felt exhausted and sleepy, but the sounds from next door kept pouring into his ears, stirring restless thoughts within him.

"There's no Xi'an Meat Lingzhi in this world, so that's hard to resolve. Could it be..." He looked at his hands, but shook his head the next second. "I'm afflicted by evil possession. My essence is precious to begin with—I can't afford to waste it."

He lay back down and continued sleeping!

He slept poorly that night, and when he got up the next day, he was listless.

Rubbing his eyes, Wu Tao picked up the chamber pot to empty the night soil. Just as he opened the door, he heard the neighboring door open as well. Turning his head, he saw the female neighbor sending a tall, middle-aged male cultivator out. He was probably her husband.

The female neighbor turned and saw Wu Tao. Her smile stiffened, and she immediately turned back to shut the door.

Wu Tao did not look again. The female neighbor's husband was so tall that he clearly looked like trouble. If he ran into a bad-tempered cultivator and stirred up trouble for no reason, it would not suit his current development plan.

He hurriedly withdrew his gaze and strode toward the night soil collection site.

After returning, he took a breath of fresh air at the door, then went back inside.

His mind was now focused solely on practicing restrictions, refining a First-Grade Dharma Robe, selling it, buying an Evil-Breaking Talisman, and removing the evil qi from his body.

The day quickly passed. His progress reached eighteen percent on the first practice board, while the second attempt unexpectedly triggered a Lucky Bonus, directly raising his progress to twenty-eight percent.

Wu Tao was both startled and delighted. If he could trigger the Lucky Bonus every time, wouldn't he soon be able to carve a complete Cooling Formation?

Of course, that was only wishful thinking.

He was not European, overflowing with European luck.

The next day, Wu Tao woke with a splitting headache. The neighboring couple had gone at it for more than a shichen again last night, making it impossible for him to sleep at all. His body was already poor due to evil possession, and a lack of sleep made him extremely miserable.

He was deeply anxious and full of anger. He had wanted to knock on their door right then and tell them to keep it down.

But when he thought of that tall male cultivator, his courage immediately deflated, and he endured without saying a word.

How had he become like this now? Poor and timid.

As usual, he opened the door to empty the night soil. When he returned, Wu Tao looked toward next door and froze.

The female neighbor was seeing a short, lean male cultivator out the door.

"Her husband isn't that tall male cultivator?"

"Could she be in that line of work?" Wu Tao hurriedly stopped looking that way and focused on walking, though the thought still flashed through his mind. Then he began letting his imagination run wild again. I didn't understand the market in my previous life. I wonder how they charge?

As Wu Tao was about to return to his room, he heard the female neighbor call out to him. "Fellow Daoist, please wait."

Wu Tao turned to look at her, thinking, Does she want my business? Should I refuse or agree?

A trace of embarrassment flashed over the female neighbor's spring-filled face. She said, "Fellow Daoist, I disturbed you these past two nights. I'm truly sorry. If you don't mind, come in. I'll give you one free time."

"Ah, this..."

Wu Tao was stunned. Was she really so direct? And the words "free" were truly tempting. His heart began to waver, but he quickly firmed his resolve and shook his head. "No, thank you for your kind offer, Fellow Daoist."

The female neighbor's expression dimmed, and she said mournfully, "Fellow Daoist truly does despise our line of work..."

"That's not it."

Wu Tao naturally did not despise her. In this world, it was not illegal, so what right did he have to look down on her? For all he knew, she might earn more than he did. He hurriedly explained, "I'm afflicted by evil possession. My body doesn't allow it!"

At that, the female neighbor's expression brightened. She carefully examined Wu Tao. He was thin, but his features were quite pleasing to the eye. Looking closely, she saw that the area between his brows was somewhat darkened—truly resembling the symptoms of evil possession. She happily said, "So Fellow Daoist doesn't despise me. You're afflicted by evil possession."

Seeing how happy the female neighbor looked, Wu Tao could not help but sneer. "I'm afflicted by evil possession, yet Fellow Daoist seems quite pleased."

The moment he said it, he could not help regretting it. What if he angered her... Sigh, his strength was too weak. He did not even have confidence.

The female neighbor also knew she had said the wrong thing. Her expression changed, revealing sorrow as she timidly said, "No, Fellow Daoist. You're so young, yet you've fallen victim to evil possession. My heart aches for you, which is why my emotions changed so sharply. But one can tell from Fellow Daoist's face that you are someone blessed with good fortune. How about this? After Fellow Daoist drives out the evil, come again. I'll still give you one free time."

That acting was pure green tea. Wu Tao knew his rank was beneath hers, leaving him powerless to trade verbal blows with her. He could only exchange a few polite words, make an excuse about having matters to attend to, and turn back into his room.

New book—please bookmark it! Please recommend it! Please keep reading!