Chapter 1: After the Master Left, I Became a Down-and-Out Rogue Cultivator

Huangshi Mountain Range, Qingyun Street.

A three-room thatched cottage. In the main room, there was only one desk and one meditation cushion; two pieces of wood were placed against the wall to serve as stools.

There was a spider web in the corner, and a brown spider was crawling on it, adding a touch of life to the room.

"May the Supreme Heavenly Venerable protect me!"

Lou Qinghe sat in the middle of the meditation cushion in the main room, shaking a bamboo fortune-telling cylinder in his hand. A single stick fell to the ground, and on it was written the word "Ominous."

"A sign of great misfortune; not suitable for going out."

Lou Qinghe solemnly picked up the stick from the ground, then picked up the brush beside him and wrote in the diary on the desk: Twenty-seventh year of Tianyuan, first day of the second month, a sign of great misfortune, avoid going out, stay at home... (the whole sentence was crossed out).

Finally, Lou Qinghe wrote "Same as above" in the diary, then collapsed onto the bed, staring blankly at the roof beam and saying, "In this broken world, living one more day is a profit..."

Seven years ago, Lou Qinghe transmigrated into this world.

He did not act like his predecessors; instead, he perfectly integrated into this world, becoming a well-known local hooligan in Qinghe Village, stealing chickens and dogs every day, or flirting with women.

As for how Lou Qinghe was able to embark on the path of immortality, it was due to immense luck.

It was raining heavily that day.

Lou Qinghe's father unexpectedly discovered a severely injured, unconscious woman in the rice field and hurriedly carried her home.

But when Lou Qinghe saw the woman's face, he was stunned by her beauty.

How could there be such a beautiful woman in this world!?

Later, from the woman's clothing, accessories, and the precious sword she held tightly in her hand, Lou Qinghe guessed that she might be the cultivator he had been searching for. His heart was immediately filled with excitement, and he began to scheme.

It turned out that this woman's background was extraordinary; she was Zhai Nanfang, an elder of the Taiyi Sect in the Chu State. She not only possessed a beauty that could topple cities and captivate the masses, but she was also exceptionally talented and the youngest elder of the Taiyi Sect, a figure without peer in the cultivation world of the Chu State at the time.

Soon, under Lou Qinghe's ulteriorly motivated care, Zhai Nanfang's health gradually improved.

Originally, she intended to leave a few pills as a token of gratitude, but Lou Qinghe suddenly knelt down and begged Zhai Nanfang to take him as her disciple.

Zhai Nanfang was startled and shook her head repeatedly, saying that his affinity for immortality was shallow, and she was unwilling to take him as a disciple.

To put it bluntly, it was because Lou Qinghe's spirit root was too poor, and she did not look favorably upon his aptitude.

But how could Lou Qinghe give up the opportunity for immortality right in front of him? In the end, by being thick-skinned and leveraging the favor of saving her life, Zhai Nanfang was forced to accept this nominal disciple.

Subsequently, Lou Qinghe followed Zhai Nanfang to the Taiyi Sect to cultivate.

Things are unpredictable.

Unexpectedly, less than a year after Lou Qinghe began his cultivation, strange entities invaded the Taiyi Sect. Coupled with other sects secretly kicking them while they were down, a traitor appeared within the sect and opened the mountain-protecting array.

That day, the mountain gate of the Taiyi Sect was a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, the earth shook, and the sounds of slaughter echoed for miles. The final result was that all the sect members scattered and fled, and that was when Lou Qinghe became separated from Zhai Nanfang.

"... Talking about protecting me, it was clearly to get rid of me."

Thinking of the scene seven years ago, Lou Qinghe looked up and said, "Five years have passed, and I don't know if Master is eating well or sleeping well... or if she's dead or alive."

As he spoke, he tried hard to squeeze out two tears.

Ever since he was separated from Zhai Nanfang, his miserable wandering life had just begun, and he had escaped death three or four times.

When he was at the Taiyi Sect, Zhai Nanfang was Lou Qinghe's greatest reliance. Now that he had lost his master, how could he stand tall?

It was not that Lou Qinghe had never thought of looking for Zhai Nanfang, but low-level cultivators like him lacked information and it was difficult to get accurate news.

And outside the safety zone, it was full of crises. Every time he left the outskirts of the safety zone for less than a few dozen miles, he almost lost his life. How could he have the ability to cross the vast forbidden zone?

Heartbroken, Lou Qinghe simply gave up searching and drifted to Qingyun Street in Huangshi City a year ago.

Qingyun Street, once the dojo of the Qingyun Sect, was now a gathering place for low-level rogue cultivators in Huangshi City.

"Knock, knock!"

Just as Lou Qinghe was feeling drowsy, a crisp knock sounded on the broken door.

"Is Fellow Daoist Shengkui there?"

"Coming, coming."

Lou Qinghe's face darkened as he quickly got up and walked over, thinking to himself, "Damn Zhai Nanfang, giving me such an ugly Daoist name."

As the broken door opened, what came into view was a surging bosom.

Lou Qinghe quickly focused his eyes and saw a female cultivator wearing a white Daoist robe. Her appearance could not be called stunning, but her features were very delicate and pleasing, making one's eyes light up.

"You are?"

Lou Qinghe had no chance to know this female cultivator, but the few followers behind her looked very familiar.

The woman performed a Daoist salute and said, "I am Xu Ying. Xu Yuan is my older brother. Today, I am collecting the hygiene fee on his behalf."

According to her brother Xu Yuan's usual description, the Fellow Daoist Shengkui in front of her was a gentle and polite cultivator, so this was the first place she came to.

"So that's how it is."

Lou Qinghe hurriedly returned a Daoist salute and said, "Fellow Daoist, you are too polite. I will get it for you now."

So it was someone from the Xu Family.

It was called a hygiene fee, but in reality, it was just a protection fee.

Ever since the world changed, cultivation had become increasingly difficult. Everywhere was filled with demons, ghosts, and monsters. The safety zones where cultivators gathered were full of murderous intent, and the forbidden zones were almost uninhabited and extremely dangerous.

Cultivation was no longer free and unrestrained, but like walking on thin ice and dancing on the tip of a knife.

Safety had become an especially important guarantee.

And the Xu Family was responsible for the security and management of Qingyun Street.

Lou Qinghe went to the bedroom and, feeling a pang of pain, took out the last three low-grade spirit stones and quickly came to the door. "Fellow Daoist, this is the hygiene fee for three months. Please take it."

Xu Ying glanced at them and said unhurriedly, "I'm really sorry, but this time our Xu Family needs to collect the hygiene fee for half a year."

"Half a year?" Lou Qinghe was stunned.

"That's right, I hope Fellow Daoist will be understanding." Xu Ying performed another Daoist salute.

Just as Lou Qinghe was about to speak, he saw the four or five followers behind Xu Ying and swallowed the words in his stomach. "Okay, I understand."

Seeing this scene, Xu Ying was very satisfied.

This Shengkui was indeed a person who knew his place and knew when to advance or retreat.

Subsequently, Lou Qinghe returned to the bed in his bedroom and took out a wooden square box, which contained only one low-grade spirit stone, half a bag of spirit sand, and four or five herbs.

"Each of these herbs is worth one low-grade spirit stone, used to pay the rent..."

Lou Qinghe pondered for a moment, then glanced at the two magical artifacts beside him.

A cauldron and an iron sword. The pill furnace was a high-grade first-grade item, which was given to him by Zhai Nanfang, and he had carried it with him no matter what for the past few years.

As for the iron sword, it was only a low-grade first-grade item, which had not been used for a long time and was now even damaged.

"I probably won't need this iron sword in the future."

Lou Qinghe felt desolate, then picked up the iron sword and walked out. "Fellow Daoist Xu, my pockets are empty. I wonder if this magical artifact can be used to offset some spirit stones?"

"Using a magical artifact to offset spirit stones? I heard that Fellow Daoist Shengkui is an alchemist, so how could you be short of spirit stones?"

Xu Ying looked at Lou Qinghe in surprise, picked up the iron sword to look at it, and shook her head. "A damaged low-grade first-grade magical artifact can only be used as auxiliary material for re-smelting. It's worth at most five low-grade spirit stones."

Lou Qinghe knew that the woman in front of him was offering a fair price, so he nodded and said, "Okay, then I will give you one more low-grade spirit stone."

Xu Ying nodded slightly, accepted the iron sword, and returned two low-grade spirit stones to Lou Qinghe. Then she cupped her hands. "Thank you, Fellow Daoist Shengkui. I won't disturb you any further."

Watching Xu Ying take her followers to the next house, Lou Qinghe closed the door and looked at the three low-grade spirit stones and a few herbs in his box, remaining silent.

This time, the Xu Family came to ask for money, and this posture clearly meant "courtesy first, force later."

There are ways to be decent, and there are ways to be indecent.

Sure enough, intense arguments soon came from afar, but eventually, the voices gradually died down.

After all, the Xu Family was a cultivator family and had a token issued by Huangshi City, managing the immortal registration and security of Qingyun Street, so they still had the final say in this small territory.

The six-month hygiene fee made Lou Qinghe's already not-so-wealthy life even worse.

"How should I live the coming days? If there are no spirit stones, I won't be able to pay the hygiene fee again, and I will starve to death sooner or later."

Lou Qinghe went to the kitchen and looked at the bottom of the rice jar, feeling worried.

This was the lowest-quality low-grade first-grade spirit rice, and even if he skipped two meals every three days, he could only eat for half a month.

In his previous life, he was just a corporate slave, but at least there was no danger to his life.

In this dangerous world, even if you are a dog for others, you have to put your head on your belt, and there is no way to survive.

"The remaining herbs are my only assets. The failure rate of alchemy is too high. Not to mention earning spirit stones, I can't even get my capital back..."

Lou Qinghe sighed deeply, feeling that this cultivation world was really too hard to survive in.

And refining pills and talismans not only requires skill and aptitude but also requires years of using materials to feed and cultivate experience, only then can one earn spirit stones.

Therefore, refining pills and talismans at the beginning is a losing business with huge consumption, and most of them are cultivated by families and sects.

Zhai Nanfang was "free-range" with Lou Qinghe, and she was very stingy, so there were not many cultivation resources... Lou Qinghe's alchemy was in a state of "not full, not even half-full."

"Hidden value reached 100%, trigger condition."

Suddenly, a voice sounded, and a light screen and dense characters appeared before Lou Qinghe's eyes.

Name: Lou Qinghe.

Lifespan: 27/67

Cultivation: Qi Refining Second Layer (3456/3600).

Spirit Root: Middle-low grade Fire Spirit Root.

Shangqing Taixu Art (First Layer 26/100): Running one cycle can expand one point of origin spirit Qi (Hidden value currently 100%, current success rate 100%).

Huiqi Pill LV1 (3/10): Refining requires consuming a large amount of spirit Qi and energy (Hidden value currently 100%, current refining success rate 100%).

Healing Pill LV1 (1/10): Refining requires consuming a large amount of spirit Qi and energy (Hidden value currently 100%, current refining success rate 100%).

Alienation Degree: 23%. (The higher the alienation degree, the easier it is to alienate, and the direction of alienation is unknown.)

Hidden Value: 100%. (The higher the hidden value, the higher the success rate.)

Seeing this, Lou Qinghe's mouth opened wide, and he said, "I've transmigrated for decades, and my golden finger has only just arrived?"

Then, thinking of something, Lou Qinghe hurriedly looked around.

Immediately, he saw the spider web in the corner. A cold light flashed in his eyes, and with a "swish," an egg-sized fireball flew out, directly engulfing and burning the spider web and the spider to ashes.

"I'm sorry, you knew too much."

"..." ===== CHAPTER 2 =====