Emerald Cloud Peak.
His residence.
Clutching two handfuls of chili peppers, Chen Yu was about to begin cultivating.
"The road to immortality has always been a difficult one."
"Whew-"
He took a deep breath.
Chen Yu picked up a chili pepper and stuffed it into his mouth.
Chew, chew, chew.
Instantly, a fierce spiciness exploded in his mouth. Not long after he swallowed, his entire stomach started burning.
"Hiss... hah, now!"
Chen Yu hurriedly cradled Ah Zhen in both hands, assuming the fire-embracing posture.
It was burning.
It was burning!
It felt as though a ball of fire were blazing inside his body!
Starting from his dantian, Chen Yu guided the fiery Spiritual Power through his body, slowly circulating it along the pathways prescribed by the True Essence Profound Canon...
[Cultivating...] [Experience: +0.00025...] [Experience: +0.00025...]
More than ten minutes later.
The chili pepper's heat gradually faded.
"Crunch."
"Chew, chew, chew..."
"Hiss... I'm burning up!"
[Cultivating...] [Experience: +0.00025...] [Experience: +0.00025...]
Spiciness was a form of pain.
The more he ate, the more his body adapted.
And so, Chen Yu's dose gradually increased from a single chili pepper at the start to two, then three...
Fortunately, they were nothing rare. For just one point, he could take unlimited quantities from the dining hall for an entire year.
Using chili peppers to cultivate the Flame-Transforming Art was indeed much more comfortable than cultivating under a blanket.
The only drawback was that...
These things burned at both ends.
Still...
It wasn't a big problem.
He would gradually get used to it.
Time passed.
Evening arrived.
[Name: Chen Yu.] [Age: 18.] [Level: fourth layer of Qi Refining (49/50).] [Spiritual root: false spiritual root.] [Martial skills: none.] [Cultivation arts: True Essence Profound Canon, Flame-Transforming Art.] [Currently available experience points: 6.]
Looking at the panel...
Chen Yu fell into thought.
"I'm using Ah Zhen to cultivate in both cases, so why did I earn 0.001 experience per second when cultivating the True Essence Profound Canon before, but only 0.00025 now? Just a quarter of what I used to get?"
Logically, if the source of Spiritual Power remained unchanged, the rate of experience gain should remain unchanged as well.
Reaching the peak of the fifth layer of Qi Refining required sixty points. In the same amount of time, he could previously have earned 240 experience points!
"240 points?"
A flash of inspiration struck Chen Yu.
He did some calculations.
"Cultivating from the Qi Refining First Layer to the peak of the Fifth Layer of Qi Refining takes 210 experience points in total..."
"Could I think of it this way?"
"When cultivating an art of another attribute, it's effectively like starting from the Qi Refining First Layer again. As for the thirty-point difference, is that because there's less elemental Spiritual Power than ordinary Spiritual Power?"
That made sense.
Chen Yu nodded.
Looking at the six experience points available, he didn't rush to add them to his level.
He opened the window and saw the brilliant sunset clouds outside.
It was mealtime.
He needed to eat something else to cushion his stomach and keep his bowels from running wild.
Besides, he was out of chili peppers and needed to restock at the dining hall.
As usual...
After straightening his robes and making sure nothing about his appearance violated any rules, Chen Yu left his room.
Once outside, he turned to glance at his neighbor's residence.
The doors and windows were still tightly shut.
What a strange person.
That was Chen Yu's private assessment.
He had cultivated all day without hearing a single sound of the door opening or closing next door. And in all this time, he had never seen his neighbor come out for a meal.
You don't eat or drink, or even go to the toilet...?
Wait!
Chen Yu suddenly shuddered.
Could she be a female ghost?
A chill crept up his back.
Chen Yu stopped that line of thought and hurried toward the bustling plaza halfway up the mountain, taking three steps in the space of two.
When he arrived, he saw a large crowd gathered around the mission board.
There was always a crowd around the mission board, so that wasn't unusual. Today, however, the crowd seemed particularly large.
And among them, Chen Yu spotted a familiar figure, slender of limb yet generously endowed.
He grew a little curious.
So Chen Yu went over as well.
"Senior Sister Lü."
Lü Yanyan was studying the mission board when she suddenly heard someone call her from behind. She turned and smiled when she saw Chen Yu.
She corrected him:
"It's Senior Sister Yanyan."
"All right." Chen Yu nodded, then pointed at the crowd in front of them and at the mission board. "Senior Sister Lü, what's going on?"
At that, Lü Yanyan rolled her eyes helplessly and shrugged. "As expected, the sect issued a mission recruiting ten outer disciples to explore the Immortal Ruins on Little Bamboo Peak. The reward is 150 points."
150 points?
Whoa!
That's a big job.
"But however many points you get, you need to live long enough to spend them." Lü Yanyan glanced at the mission board.
"True." Chen Yu nodded. "Over thirty disciples just died on Little Bamboo Peak last night. I doubt anyone will take this mission."
"They will," Lü Yanyan said. "There are always people crushed breathless by their loans. Besides, these are Immortal Ruins... if they survive and gain a fortuitous opportunity instead, they might just change their fate."
Just as their conversation reached that point, voices suddenly came from up ahead.
"I'm forty-eight this year, at the fifth layer of Qi Refining. If I don't stake my life on one last gamble, this is probably all I'll ever amount to! I'll take this mission!"
"I'll take it too!"
"Ah... count me in as well."
Amid the crowd...
Three Emerald Cloud Peak disciples accepted the mission.
For every mission issued by the sect, a jade slip was placed beside the mission notice. Pressing one's token against it counted as accepting the mission.
After these three accepted it, the jade slip on the mission board immediately shattered.
"That makes ten," Lü Yanyan said.
Up ahead...
Amid the crowd.
The three who had accepted the mission exchanged cupped-hand salutes, intending to help one another after entering the Immortal Ruins and improve their chances of survival.
Some had hesitated while places remained, afraid of this and that, only to look instantly chagrined when the jade slip shattered, regretting that they hadn't accepted the mission sooner.
Chen Yu sighed inwardly.
He knew those three might not truly want to take the mission. They had simply been driven to a dead end and had no other choice. Even knowing they would most likely die, they still wanted to gamble on that elusive sliver of hope.
As for those now regretting their hesitation, even if given another chance, they probably still wouldn't take it.
Other people's cultivation was limited by their spirit embryos and comprehension. His wasn't.
Whatever the circumstances, he only needed to find a way to earn experience steadily and safely, and infinite possibilities would naturally open up before him.
Thus, Immortal Ruins like these, where survival was a one-in-ten chance-or perhaps no chance at all-held little appeal for Chen Yu. After standing by the mission board for a while, he said goodbye to Senior Sister Lü Yanyan and headed for the dining hall.
After eating, he went to ask the senior brother who worked in the dining hall for some more chili peppers.
Chen Yu returned to his residence.
When he returned...
His neighbor's doors and windows were still tightly shut, without a sound from inside.
A chill ran down Chen Yu's back.
He hurried into his room.
He sat cross-legged on the bed.
Taking out Ah Zhen, he tossed a chili pepper into his mouth.
Chew, chew, chew.
"Hiss, hah... I'm burning up!"
[Cultivating...] [Experience: +0.00025...] [Experience: +0.00025...]