The Neighbor

"This Cultivation Panel is actually a cultivation game I used to play out of boredom in my past life. I remember it only being able to generate one random profession, so how am I able to generate a secondary profession?"

They say games ruin lives, but unexpectedly, in this life, it was a game that saved his life and gave him hope for survival.

"According to the common sense of this world, the Four Arts of Cultivation—Alchemy, Artifact-Refining, Talismans, and Formations—are each a vast and profound skill. Even with their long lifespans, cultivators must exhaust their entire lives to master just one, leaving them no time to study the path of Spell Battle."

"Therefore, in terms of Spell Battle, Grandmasters of the Four Arts are slightly inferior. However, as long as one achieves something in a single skill, they will be venerated and well-protected by their sect, never needing to risk their lives in Spell Battle."

"Without danger and with no worries about cultivation resources, the status of a Grandmaster of the Four Arts is extremely prestigious in the world of Cultivation."

"My primary profession is Artifact Refiner; one day in the future, I will also become a prestigious Grandmaster of Artifact-Refining. My secondary profession is Body Cultivator—invincible in close combat with astonishing defense. It covers my weaknesses, leaving me with no more worries when it comes to self-preservation."

"However, the path of Cultivation is cruel; when one succeeds, ten thousand fall. I must keep a low profile to go further. As for the Body Cultivator profession, I will avoid exposing it as much as possible. I must be a qualified 'hidden expert'."

"I am just an Artifact Refiner; I'm not good at Spell Battle!"

After some thought, Wu Tao made a long-term development plan.

Carving the Formation Practice Board earlier had been mentally exhausting. Even with the system's arrival, Wu Tao had no heart to experiment. His current cultivation level was low, and he was not a true immortal; he still needed to eat, drink, defecate, urinate, and sleep.

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

Since being possessed, Wu Tao could feel his vitality and spirit deteriorating as time passed.

Early the next morning, while the sky was still dim, Wu Tao got up. He carried the Huzi, went out the door, and headed to the designated night soil collection point. After returning and finishing his business, he had just reached his doorway when he saw his neighbor unlocking her door.

It was a female neighbor wearing a light blue cross-collar blouse and skirt, revealing two arms as white as lotus roots. The neighbor heard Wu Tao's footsteps and subconsciously turned to look in his direction.

As their eyes met, Wu Tao offered a smile and greeted her, "Hello, I moved in yesterday."

The tired face of the female neighbor froze. She didn't seem to expect Wu Tao to greet her, so she could only nod in response, "Hello!" After responding, she opened her door and went inside.

The brief interaction ended there. Wu Tao didn't mind; he stood at the door with the Huzi for a moment before returning to his room to begin meditating.

The familiar Sanyang Technique circulated through his mind. Wu Tao began to breathe and inhale, struggling to absorb the thin spiritual energy drifting between heaven and earth.

As for using Spirit Stones to cultivate, he wasn't wealthy enough for that.

After meditating for two hours, Wu Tao stopped and began to cook.

After eating and resting for a while, Wu Tao took out the Formation Practice Board, preparing to practice.

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

Taking a deep breath, Wu Tao adjusted his breathing, cleared his mind, and circulated the Sanyang Technique. Just as he was about to control his Spiritual Power to carve a First-Grade Cooling Formation, he suddenly had a flash of insight and stopped. "My way of thinking has fallen into a trap. Carving formations is just like solving math problems; I must learn the formulas to solve the difficult ones. My understanding of the Cooling Formation is clearly insufficient, so how could I not fail by carving it blindly? Everything should be done one step at a time. Learn to walk before learning to run."

Wu Tao knew that this flash of insight and sudden realization was the talent bonus from the Artifact Refiner profession.

The previous owner of this body lacked talent and didn't even understand such a simple truth.

"Study first."

Wu Tao put down the practice formation board, took out the book, and began to study the First-Order Level 1 Cooling Restriction.

Perhaps due to the talent bonus, many questions the original owner had failed to understand suddenly became clear. His train of thought grew sharper, and the composition of the Cooling Formation became increasingly distinct.

Half an hour later, Wu Tao stopped his study and prepared to begin practicing the carving.

Just like conducting research in a laboratory, once the theoretical knowledge was understood, it had to be verified through experiments to see how far the theoretical results had progressed.

Spiritual Power acted like a blade. On the practice board, a line fell, twisting and turning, as he carefully carved bit by bit toward the completion of the Cooling Formation...

"Snap!"

The Spiritual Power broke, and black smoke rose from the formation board. Wu Tao rubbed his forehead. Although he felt mentally exhausted, his heart was extremely invigorated. "My direction is definitely correct. Although this attempt failed, it is a huge improvement compared to the previous two."

"With just one practice board, I reached five percent completion on the Cooling Formation. You have to realize, the original owner hadn't even reached one percent progress after practicing for so many years."

"The talent bonus for the Artifact Refiner profession is truly terrifying."

"Rest for a bit, recover my mental energy, and then keep at it."

Sure enough, upon finishing the second carving, he managed to complete ten percent of the Cooling Formation. However, as he progressed further, the mental drain increased, leaving him with a feeling of being completely drained.

He continued to meditate to recover his Spiritual Power.

Half an hour later.

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

Wu Tao took out a third formation practice board, preparing for his third carving session.

"Pfft!"

"Snap!"

Just as he was about to complete thirteen percent of the restriction runes, Wu Tao felt a jolt in his heart. His face darkened, and he spat out a mouthful of blood onto the board. His Spiritual Power snapped, and the board was ruined.

But at this moment, Wu Tao couldn't care about the ruined board. With black mist swirling across his face, he hurriedly circulated the Sanyang Technique to suppress the evil qi rampaging within his body.

After a long while, Wu Tao's complexion improved slightly, though the black mark had expanded once more.

He felt a lingering fear in his heart. I was so focused on practicing the formation that I forgot I am someone afflicted by evil. When Spiritual Power and mental energy are over-expended, the evil qi in my body stirs and takes the opportunity to strike back.

"From now on, I will only practice on two boards a day. With three months of life left, that is enough for me to refine a First-Grade Dharma Robe."

Having made up his mind, Wu Tao felt hunger in his stomach. He hurriedly cooked a meal and ate simply. After he was full, drowsiness washed over him again. He lay down on the wooden bed in his clothes and fell asleep without realizing it.

He did not know how long he had slept before Wu Tao was awakened by a faint, seductive sound.

He opened his sleepy eyes, listening to the creaking sounds and the seductive moans coming from next door.

The image of the female neighbor from that morning surfaced in his mind. She was in her early thirties, charming and graceful—the type Cao would favor most. It turned out she was a married woman, and she was currently busy with her husband.

It's the middle of the night... without a Sound-Isolation Formation, how am I supposed to sleep?

Wu Tao felt exhausted and drowsy, but as the sounds from next door continued to drift into his ears, he couldn't help but feel his mind wandering.

There is no Xi'an Meat Lingzhi in this world, so it's hard to resolve. Could it be... He looked at his own hands, but shook his head a second later. I am a man afflicted by evil; my vital essence is precious, and I cannot afford to waste it.

He lay back down and continued to try to sleep.

He didn't sleep well, which left him feeling listless when he woke up the next day.

Wu Tao rubbed his eyes and picked up the Huzi to go empty the night soil. Just as he opened the door, he heard the sound of the door next door opening. He turned his head and saw the female neighbor seeing a tall, middle-aged male cultivator out; it must have been her husband.

The female neighbor turned her head and saw Wu Tao. Her smile froze, and she turned around to close her door.

Wu Tao didn't look again. The female neighbor's husband was so tall and imposing that he looked like someone not to be trifled with. If he happened to run into a cultivator with a bad temper, it would only invite unnecessary trouble, which didn't fit his current development plan.

Hastily withdrawing his gaze, Wu Tao walked quickly toward the night soil collection point.

After returning, he took a breath of fresh air at his doorway and went back inside.

His only focus now was practicing restrictions and refining a First-Grade Dharma Robe to sell, so he could buy an Evil-Breaking Talisman and purge the Evil Qi from his body.

The day passed quickly. His progress on the first practice spirit board reached eighteen percent, and the second time, he unexpectedly triggered a luck bonus, which pushed the progress directly to twenty-eight percent.

Wu Tao was pleasantly surprised. If he could trigger a luck bonus every time, wouldn't he be able to carve a complete Cooling Formation very soon?

Of course, that was just wishful thinking.

He wasn't exactly the luckiest person in the world.

The next day, Wu Tao woke up with a splitting headache. The couple next door had been at it for over two hours again last night, making it impossible for him to sleep. He was already in poor health due to the evil affliction, and the lack of sleep made him feel extremely miserable.

He felt anxious and irritable, wanting to knock on their door right then and there to tell them to keep it down.

But thinking of that tall male cultivator, he immediately lost his nerve and kept his peace.

How did I become like this? So poor and so cowardly.

He opened the door to empty the night soil as usual. Upon returning, Wu Tao looked toward the neighbor's place and was stunned.

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

Wasn't her husband that tall male cultivator?

Could it be that she is... in that line of work? Wu Tao hurriedly stopped looking and focused on walking, though he couldn't help but let the thought cross his mind. He let his imagination run wild: I didn't understand the market in my past life; I wonder how they charge?

Thinking this, Wu Tao was about to return to his room when he heard his female neighbor call out to him, "Fellow Daoist, please stay a moment."

Wu Tao turned his head to look at her, thinking to himself, Is she trying to solicit my business? Should I refuse or agree?

A hint of embarrassment flashed across the female neighbor's amorous face as she said, "Fellow Daoist, I've disturbed you these past two nights, and I'm truly sorry. If you don't mind, come inside; I'll give you a free session."

"Ah, this..."

Wu Tao was stunned. Was she really being this direct? Moreover, the word "free" was genuinely tempting. His heart began to waver, but he quickly steeled his resolve, shook his head, and said, "No, thank you for your kind offer, Fellow Daoist."

The female neighbor's expression dimmed, and she said sorrowfully, "So, Fellow Daoist really does look down on those of us in this line of work..."

"That's not it."

Wu Tao certainly didn't look down on her. In this world, as long as it wasn't illegal, he had no right to judge; for all he knew, she earned more than he did. He hurriedly explained, "I've been afflicted by an evil spirit; my body won't allow it!"

Upon hearing this, the female neighbor's expression brightened. She studied Wu Tao carefully, thinking that while the man before her was a bit thin, his features were quite pleasing to the eye. Looking closely, his forehead did indeed have a dark tinge, truly resembling the symptoms of being afflicted by an evil spirit. She then said happily, "So it turns out you don't look down on me, but are just afflicted by an evil spirit."

Watching the happy female neighbor, Wu Tao couldn't help but sneer, "I'm afflicted by an evil spirit, yet you seem quite happy about it, Fellow Daoist."

As soon as he said it, he couldn't help but regret it. What if he offended her? Sigh, my strength is low, and I don't even have the confidence to speak up.

The female neighbor also realized she had misspoken. She pulled back her expression, put on a mournful look, and said weakly, "That's not it. You are so young, yet you've been afflicted by an evil spirit; I feel distressed for you, which is why my emotions were so volatile. However, one look at your face tells me you are a person of good fortune. How about this: come back after you've exorcised the evil spirit, and I'll still give you a free session."

This acting—she was a total green tea. Wu Tao felt his own level was no match for hers. Lacking the energy to engage in a verbal spar, he offered a polite excuse and turned to head back into his room.

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