Chapter 17: A Great Opportunity

Cultivators of the Written and the Martial—this is easy to understand.

Literary and martial arts can be counted as cultivation base.

Poison cultivators and medicine cultivators also count as skills; this is understandable too.

What kind of cultivation are Smoke Cultivators and Alcohol Cultivators?

Li Banfeng asked: “Do smoking and drinking count as cultivation?”

“Of course they are! How could they not be? Whether you smoke or drink, as long as you reach a realm, it’s cultivation!” Qin Xiaopang said proudly. “In our village, Uncle Liu Er drinks five jin of alcohol every day—turns out he’s a Level Two Alcohol Cultivator!”

Ma Wu expressed skepticism: “What does this Uncle Liu Er do for a living? How can he afford to be an Alcohol Cultivator?”

Alcohol Cultivation isn’t something anyone can afford—five jin of alcohol a day? How much money does that take?

Qin Xiaopang retorted: “Uncle Liu Er was a winemaker to begin with!”

Ma Wu remained doubtful: “Even if he was a winemaker, how much wine can he brew in a day? If he drinks five jin himself, does his own production even cover it?”

Li Banfeng thought Ma Wu was being overly literal—what if Uncle Liu Er ran a distillery?

But Ma Wu pressed on: “Alcohol Cultivators are rare—I want to meet this Uncle Liu Er. Where is he?”

Qin Xiaopang puffed out his chest: “Dead.”

Ma Wu frowned: “How did he die? Don’t tell me he drank himself to death!”

An Alcohol Cultivator can’t drown from drunkenness.

Qin Xiaopang scratched his head: “It’s related to drinking, but not exactly from drinking himself to death.

One day, Uncle Liu Er got drunk, jumped into the river, and drowned.”

Ma Wu snorted: “Brother, I’m not doubting you—it’s just that your story makes no sense. How could a Level Two cultivator drown so easily?”

Qin Xiaopang answered seriously: “He wouldn’t have drowned easily. When he jumped in, he swam with great ease—nothing seemed wrong.

The villagers shouted for him to get ashore, warning him the river mouth ahead had strong currents.

Uncle Liu Er said no matter how strong the current, he wasn’t afraid—he’d seen his Ancestor, who changed his Dao Gate and made him a Water Cultivator.”

“Water Cultivator…” Ma Wu rubbed his chin for a long while. “There really is such a Dao Gate, but it’s rare. Did Uncle Liu Er truly become a Water Cultivator?”

“I don’t know,” Qin Xiaopang shook his head. “I don’t believe it, and neither do the villagers.

To prove it to us, he deliberately swam to the deepest, fastest part of the river mouth and dove straight into the riverbed mud. When we pulled him out, his mouth and nose were clogged with silt—he was already dead.”

Ma Wu sighed deeply, as if convinced by Qin Xiaopang’s tale: “Alcohol Cultivation—this Dao Gate is far too dangerous.”

Li Banfeng asked: “How much did Uncle Liu Er drink that day?”

Qin Xiaopang replied: “They said he drank twelve jin.”

No wonder he saw his Ancestor.

“Twelve jin? Can you even drink twelve jin of water?” Li Banfeng genuinely thought it absurd—but then he remembered this fat kid ate twenty jin of rice daily, and he realized this place was absurd by nature.

“Must an Alcohol Cultivator force himself to drink?” Li Banfeng wanted to understand the mechanics better.

“Naturally—you must drink desperately, or how else will you earn time?” Qin Xiaopang stared solemnly at Li Banfeng.

“What do you mean, ‘earn time’?” Li Banfeng still didn’t understand.

The fat kid looked down on Li Banfeng: “How can you know nothing?”

Ma Wu patiently explained to Li Banfeng: “No matter which Dao Gate you enter, once you pass the threshold and gain a level, you must cultivate.

But if you cultivate conventionally, each level-up takes ten years—so from Level One to Two, you need ten years; to reach Level Ten from entry, you need ninety. Can you wait that long?”

Li Banfeng didn’t know how to answer.

He didn’t know how vast the gap between Level One and Two was, or what the gains were, or whether ten years was worth it.

Ma Wu continued: “If you don’t want to wait, you must earn back that time. I don’t know the rules of Alcohol Cultivation, but I’ve seen a Level One Food Cultivator who eats five jin of rice daily—that’s conventional. If he eats less than that, his cultivation regresses.

If he eats ten jin a day, that’s earning time—the extra five jin grants him one extra day of cultivation. If he keeps eating ten jin daily, he’ll reach Level Two in five years!

If he keeps doubling his intake, he won’t need ninety years—he’ll reach Level Ten in just forty-five.”

“What’s the benefit of reaching Level Ten?”

Ma Wu said: “In all of Medicine King Gully, not a single cultivator has ever reached Level Six. If you reach Level Seven, you’re the boss of Medicine King Gully.

Not just Medicine King Gully—even across all Pulu Province, Level Ten cultivators are few and far between. That’s a true regional power!”

Li Banfeng had no interest in being a boss: “By the time you reach Level Ten, you’re seventy or eighty. What difference does it make if you’re a power or not?”

“So what if you’re seventy or eighty?” Ma Wu smiled. “Reaching Level Ten changes your life—your lifespan triples.

If you normally live a hundred years, now you live three hundred. Seventy or eighty, tripled, is just over twenty—perfectly young!”

Reaching Level Ten grants triple lifespan!

The appeal was immense!

Qin Xiaopang slapped his chest: “Since the day I was born, neighbors all said I was blessed—I’ll definitely reach Level Ten!”

Li Banfeng looked at Qin Xiaopang: “So, Brother Qin, you’ll eat five jin of rice every day from now on?”

“After Level Two, that won’t be enough…” Qin Xiaopang looked troubled.

He wasn’t worried he couldn’t eat it—he was worried he couldn’t afford it.

But he’d already made his choice—he knew he had no other talent besides eating.

Li Banfeng asked: “If you reach Level Nine, how many times does your lifespan extend?”

“Level Nine doesn’t extend it!” Ma Wu waved his hand. “Only Level Ten changes fate. Level Nine still has a mortal lifespan. If you don’t reach Level Ten in your lifetime, all your progress is wasted.”

That was harsh—no lifespan extension before Level Ten.

If you cultivate conventionally, reaching Level Nine takes eighty years. Even if you start at ten, you’ll be ninety by the time you reach Level Nine—will you still have strength to push further?

This is why cultivators all strive to earn time, to shorten their cultivation period—they all want to reach Level Ten before they die.

“Is this true for every Dao Gate?”

Ma Wu nodded: “Every Dao Gate is the same. To change fate, you must cultivate fiercely, aiming straight for Level Ten.

Martial cultivators must train desperately; Literary cultivators must study desperately; Food Cultivators must eat desperately; Joy Cultivators must indulge desperately.

Of course, there are shortcuts—herbs, medicinal soups, pills—but those are too expensive and unsustainable.”

Li Banfeng thought a moment and asked: “What about Farming Cultivation?”

Qin Xiaopang blinked: “Why choose Farming Cultivation? Are you just looking for cheap?”

Li Banfeng really was looking for cheap.

He had only two thousand yuan on him—he couldn’t afford medicinal powder.

Monkey Qiu had promised before leaving that he’d pay for the medicine—Li Banfeng could choose any Dao Gate.

But Li Banfeng wasn’t shameless. Two packs of instant noodles had saved his life—that was enough. Why should someone else spend so much on him?

Ma Wu shook his head: “Brother Li, be careful. This isn’t a bargain worth taking. Medicinal powders aren’t valued by quality—they’re all ancestral wisdom. Farming Cultivation powder is cheap because nobody buys it—it’s the hardest Dao Gate.”

“Why’s that?”

Ma Wu said: “I don’t know conditions in other provinces, but surely there are farmers? You know how hard farmers work.

Planting in spring, harvesting in autumn—daily labor is just conventional cultivation.

Searching tirelessly for superior seeds, growing rare flowers and herbs—that’s how you earn time.

Brother Li, imagine when you’re seventy or eighty—can you still farm?

If you suffer wind, flood, drought, or locusts, and your harvest fails, you won’t earn time—and your cultivation may even regress.

If enemies or thieves come to steal, rob, or burn your fields, you might lose everything—this isn’t just lost cultivation, it’s a threat to your life.

Brother Li, this path is too arduous. Be careful—extremely careful!”

Farming Cultivation was out. Ma Wu was right—this path was too hard.

Li Banfeng now understood Joy Cultivation and Food Cultivation.

“Then how does Travel Cultivation work?”

“Just walk around!” Qin Xiaopang answered. “The more places you go, the farther you travel, the faster your cultivation grows and the more time you earn.

People without a fixed home all prefer Travel Cultivation!”

“What about Home Cultivation?”

“Lie in bed at home—the longer you lie there, the faster your cultivation grows!”

Li Banfeng stared: “You can cultivate just by lying in bed?”

“Exactly—that’s why Home Cultivation is expensive!” Qin Xiaopang sighed. “If I’d saved enough money, I’d have chosen Home Cultivation. Ma Wu, you look rich—why didn’t you pick Home Cultivation?”

Ma Wu shook his head: “I can’t stand the boredom. Spending most of the year cooped up in a house—I’d go mad.

Don’t hide it from you two—I love ‘joy’ above all else. Without girls around, I can’t last a day.”

Li Banfeng said: “That’s simple—just bring girls to your house.”

Ma Wu sighed: “It’s not that simple. Home Cultivation works differently from other Dao Gates—your cultivation isn’t earned by yourself alone, but with your Home Spirit.”

“What’s a Home Spirit?” Li Banfeng had heard too many new terms.

This stumped Ma Wu:

“I can’t explain what a Home Spirit is. Home Cultivators rarely show themselves—especially after reaching a level. Few ever see a Home Dweller.

I only know they must buy a good house—not too conspicuous, or people will disturb them; not too isolated, or they’ll lack food and drink.

The house itself must have spiritual energy. Once you nurture that energy fully, it becomes a sentient spirit—that’s the Home Spirit.

What exactly that spirit is, I don’t know. But to advance levels, a Home Cultivator must have a Home Spirit—and that’s an extremely hard barrier.

The Home Spirit has a temperament. If the cultivator pleases it, the Home Spirit grants vast cultivation gains.

If they fail to please it, cultivation stalls. If they anger it, there have even been cases where the Home Spirit killed its master.”

Li Banfeng listened wide-eyed; Qin Xiaopang listened intently. Home Cultivation was indeed a mysterious Dao Gate.

Li Banfeng asked: “Why would a Home Spirit get angry? How could it come to killing its master?”

Ma Wu said: “I’ve only heard of this once—it happened in Medicine King Gully.

A house spirit loves cleanliness; when it encounters something unclean, it tries to clean it up, so house cultivators must regularly maintain their residences.

In Medicine King Gully there was a house cultivator who was extremely filthy—he didn’t bother tidying his house, didn’t wash his face, didn’t bathe, didn’t wash his hair, didn’t launder his clothes, didn’t groom his beard or hair, and was always dirty.

The house spirit endured it, even often washing his clothes, wiping his face, trimming his hair, and tidying him up to make him cleaner.

But this man never repented; not only was he filthy himself, he brought a group of filthy friends to live in the house for many days.

Without the house spirit’s permission, no outsiders may reside in the house. These people turned the residence into a mess. The house spirit grew furious—and one night, it killed the cultivator and all his friends, leaving not one alive!”

Qin Xiaopang shuddered—he was somewhat messy himself: “So what happened to the house spirit afterward?”

“It stayed in the house, becoming a malevolent spirit, and still harms people to this day.”

“Didn’t anyone intervene?”

“Who would? There are countless malevolent spirits—who has the time to care about this?”

…

Listening to Ma Wu and Qin Xiaopang chat, Li Banfeng fell into deep thought.

Which Dao sect should I choose?

Is this important?

It’s very important—for my life.

According to the peddler’s words, if I’m exposed to heavenly light but don’t join a Dao sect, I’ll die without fail.

But if I just pick any Dao sect, won’t that save my life?

Isn’t my purpose here to save others? Is choosing a Dao sect really important?

Of course it is!

How rare is this opportunity!

I’ve angered the people of the Dark Star Bureau—they said they’d kill me. If I want to survive, I must learn real skills to protect myself!

More importantly, there’s the grand dream of reaching the tenth cultivation level!

“Good things are good, bad things are bad—the truth is this simple,” Li Banfeng murmured.

Qin Xiaopang didn’t hear clearly: “Brother Li, what good and bad things are you talking about?”

Li Banfeng didn’t answer.

The matter before me is good—no matter how many extra factors there are, gaining transcendent power and an extended lifespan is good.

Choosing the right Dao sect is even better.

But which Dao sect should I choose?

I know too little about these Dao sects.

“What abilities do cultivators of each sect possess?”

“It’s complicated,” Ma Wu said. “Wu Xiu can fight, Wen Xiu can curse, Lv Xiu can run, Shi Xiu eats and drinks well and has both magic power and strength.”

Qin Xiaopang added: “Huan Xiu can do it ten times a day—that’s nothing!”

Ma Wu smiled: “But that’s not all—Huan Xiu excel at disrupting the mind.”

“What about house cultivators?”

Ma Wu said: “House cultivators are balanced in offense and defense, depending on the house spirit’s nature. Outside the residence, they’re average among peers; inside the residence, they’re invincible among peers—even crossing a level, they still have fighting power!”

House cultivators are that strong?

Should I choose house cultivation?

I can repay Monkey Qiu later—but where else can I find a house like this?

(End of Chapter)