From then on, every ten days, Fang Huai kept watch around the Cultivation Room, paying attention to the tags of disciples coming and going.
Whenever he spotted a Qi Refining disciple with the [Spirit Absorption] tag, he borrowed that tag and gave them a bottle of Killing Intent as payment.
One day, just as he was sucking on Poison Heart Grass, his legs numb from crouching for so long, he spotted a familiar face.
The Qi Refining Second Layer disciple who had hollered about reporting him to the sect had come to cultivate again.
He grabbed a passing caretaker servant and stuck his nose in the air.
"Deduct sixty Contribution Points and find me the Cultivation Room with the richest spiritual energy and the best feng shui. If you dare try to fool me, I'll make you regret it!"
His voice rang out so loudly that it seemed he wanted everyone to hear.
Everyone gave him sidelong looks, but Fang Huai was filled with admiration.
This was a paragon for people like them, the attitude every cultivator ought to have! Who cared whether others sneered or mocked? As long as you had skin as thick as a shoe sole and made yourself comfortable, that was all that mattered!
After praising him, Fang Huai borrowed the other man's six-hour tag.
For the next three months, Fang Huai repeated this cycle. Finally, when he circulated the Hundred Sha Technique again, his cultivation progress reached one hundred.
[Hundred Sha Technique (Incomplete) Beginner: 100/100]
Yet though the progress was full, there seemed to be an invisible barrier between Beginner and Qi Refining. No matter how hard he tried, he always felt that something was missing.
What, exactly, was the problem?
Fang Huai racked his brains, but couldn't figure it out. His face clouded with worry. Just as he was growing restless, he heard a disciple's loud shout from the hall.
"Bring out the food! I'm in a good mood today. I'm drinking until I drop!"
A servant disciple seemed to have come into money and ordered a table full of delicacies. The most eye-catching were Clear Wine brewed from Red Mountain Fruit and spicy rabbit heads.
In a daze, Fang Huai understood. If there was nothing wrong with his cultivation method, then the problem lay with his Dao Heart.
Though he had entered the world of cultivation, he was still one step short of becoming a true cultivator.
Since he was still a mere mortal, he would use a mortal's way to solve his Dao Heart problem!
A few days later, Fang Huai stood at the entrance to Miasma Valley, holding a bag containing a jug of Clear Wine and several pounds of rabbit meat.
Just then, he happened to see Liu Xiange returning to the valley. Fang Huai hurriedly waved to her.
Liu Xiange saw the bag in his hand, and a smile appeared in her eyes. "Senior Brother, don't tell me you've been waiting for me on purpose?"
Fang Huai didn't hide it. "My Dao Heart's been troubled, and I'd like to invite Junior Sister to share a few drinks with me. Would you do me the honor?"
Liu Xiange smiled. "Why not?"
They stayed up all night, and his Dao Heart was clear.
With his Dao Heart clear, Fang Huai immediately bathed and changed before heading to the Cultivation Room.
At that moment, his eyes were half-closed and his expression serene. He didn't deliberately breathe in Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi, but simply followed his heart, gradually entering a state of emptiness.
Spiritual energy flowed through his meridians, gathered in his Dantian, condensed and compressed, then surged out, washing through every meridian in his body.
At last, once the final blockage had cleared, Fang Huai opened his eyes and exhaled a breath of stale air.
[Fang Huai] [First Layer of Qi Refining] [Clear Mind (White)][Imminent Death] [Remaining Points: 7] [Hundred Sha Technique (Incomplete) First Layer: 0/100] [Body Forging Technique Beginner: 67/100]
"It worked!"
Though the Imminent Death tag still hung over him, he couldn't suppress the joy in his heart.
Breaking through to the First Layer of Qi Refining meant he had truly set foot on the path of cultivation. He was no longer a servant at the mercy of others. From now on, he could rely on his own strength to contend with the heartless Heavenly Dao for his share of fortune!
He stretched his limbs, feeling the spiritual energy gathered in his Dantian suddenly surge through every corner of his body.
The next moment, blackish-brown, sticky filth seeped from his skin, and a pungent stench filled the room.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Just then, someone pounded hard on the door. The caretaker servant called out, "Your time's up. Hurry and come out!"
When the door opened, the caretaker servant covered his nose and looked disgusted. "Why does it stink so badly? Don't tell me you did your business in there."
As he spoke, he looked up at Fang Huai.
A glimmer of spiritual light flashed through Fang Huai's eyes, and his mind was clear. The servant disciple was instantly struck with terror and fell to his knees.
"Junior Brother, you... Congratulations, Senior Brother, on achieving great success in Qi Refining!"
Fang Huai crouched down, lifted the servant's chin, then smeared the filth across his face.
"It's freezing cold, and my nose isn't working. I can't smell myself. Were you just saying I stink?"
"You smell wonderful, Senior Brother! You smell so good! My nose is the problem. Please spare me, Senior Brother!"
The caretaker servant's heart pounded wildly. To prove that Fang Huai really did smell good, he even smeared the filth into his mouth.
He fought down the churning in his stomach, his face full of flattery.
Breaking through to the First Layer of Qi Refining meant he was about to become an Outer Disciple.
The Corpse Sha Sect had a strict hierarchy. Its rules stated that if a servant disrespected an Outer Disciple, the Outer Disciple could kill them on the spot.
As for why stewards dared to stand up to Outer Disciples, it was simply because stewards were also in the Qi Refining Stage—and at the Third Layer, at that.
Kneeling on the ground, the servant was overwhelmed with despair. He wished he could slap himself hard across the face. How could he have failed to recognize the stench of the filth expelled during cultivation?
Fang Huai had no intention of making things difficult for him. He tossed him a few Miasma-Clearing Pills and said, "Prepare a suitable set of clothes and heat a barrel of water. Deduct whatever Contribution Points it costs."
He had already established his authority; now he had to show kindness too.
Though he wouldn't come here as often from now on, Liu Xiange and the others were still servants and would need this man to look after them.
The caretaker servant stared at the pills in his hand, unable to believe it. Tears of gratitude welled in his eyes.
Fang Huai tossed the Snake Bone Grass into the tub and leaned against its edge, pondering his current situation.
In Servant Valley, he could act as he pleased because the people there had no backing and couldn't take revenge later. But once he entered the Outer Sect, things would be different.
The disciples there either had some real ability or were backed by a Lineage or an elder. Offending even one of them could bring endless trouble.
From now on, he could no longer act on a whim as he did now. He had to proceed cautiously at every step and keep his wits about him.
As he thought, the old scars on his body fell away along with the filth as he washed.
He looked at his reflection in the water. His features were lively, and he had a rather handsome, refined appearance.
But suddenly, a sharp pain and a scratching sensation came from his heart again.
Fang Huai was puzzled. By rights, after entering the Qi Refining Stage, the spiritual energy should have washed away and healed the illnesses and flaws in his body. Why was this stabbing pain back?
"After entering Qi Refining, I can see inside my meridians and organs. I'll find out what's wrong with my body!"
He closed his eyes and focused his mind. His vision passed through his muscles and blood vessels, examining every organ in his body.
A dozen breaths later, Fang Huai opened his eyes, his expression shifting between light and shadow.
A black beetle was perched on his heart.
[Corpse Meteor Insect] [???] [Poison-Devouring Sha-Suppressing (Black)][Undying and Indestructible] [Poison-Devouring Sha-Suppressing: It likes to eat poisonous things and can suppress Poison Sha] [Undying and Indestructible: Ordinary forces in this world can scarcely wipe it out completely]
No wonder his heart had always felt strange, and he'd inexplicably developed a taste for Poisonous Grass.
He had thought it was a problem with his mind, but now it seemed the Corpse Meteor Insect was affecting him.
Even the system couldn't identify its rank. That showed just how extraordinary this insect was.
Fortunately, the Corpse Meteor Insect looked dead and was usually dormant. It only scratched at Fang Huai to remind him to eat poisonous things.
"If it's not a blessing, it's a curse; if it's a curse, there's no escaping it." Fang Huai frowned, trying to figure out when he'd picked up this thing.
After thinking it over, he could only come up with one possibility—
The insect was poison-devouring and loved poisonous things. Perhaps, when he had nearly died from the spider's venom, it had found an opportunity to burrow into his body.
Thinking about it now, it was probably thanks to this insect that he had escaped the Black Death Spider's venom and Liu Wu's arrow poison.
Though the Corpse Meteor Insect in his heart was a hidden danger, it had also saved his life twice. At that thought, Fang Huai let go of his worry. So what if he had to eat more Poisonous Grass to feed it?
Trading an unusual appetite for a way to stay alive was a bargain beyond compare!
He just had to keep the secret of the strange insect inside him buried deep in his heart. If anyone with ill intentions found out, they would surely kill him and take the insect.
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