Chapter 1: Picking up a broken basin

"You're called He Pingsheng? How old are you?"

In a dark, great hall that looked like a ruined temple, a man with his upper body bare looked at the youth before him, who was less than five feet tall, and asked in a rough voice.

The youth replied respectfully and with extreme caution: "Replying to Zhang Laoda, I am fourteen years old this year!"

"What kind of Linggen?" Zhang Laoda asked again, looking indifferent.

He Pingsheng said: "It is a Five-Element Linggen!"

Upon hearing it was a Five-Element Linggen, Zhang Laoda immediately revealed a satisfied smile, then said while mocking: "So it's a money-wasting item, hahaha..."

"Hahahaha..."

The group of men around him, all reeking of sweat, laughed heartily.

These laughs merged into one, shaking the dust on the rafters so that it fell down in a rustle.

Opposite, Zhang Laoda's smile stopped, and the laughter of the group around him stopped immediately after, just like marionettes.

"Slap..." Zhang Laoda's dark, oil-stained hand patted He Pingsheng's thin shoulder, saying: "That thing you call Uncle Jiang has some friendship with me; he pleaded with me, which is why I was willing to take you in!"

"You're fourteen, not young anymore. From today on, the job of carrying water on this Xiuzhu Shanfeng will be your responsibility!"

"But there is one thing you must remember for me: the masters and young ladies on this Xiuzhu Shanfeng are immortals who can fly and burrow; each one is incomparably noble. You must be respectful when you see them. If you make them unhappy, your life will be hard to guarantee!"

He Pingsheng's heart tightened, and he quickly said: "Yes!"

Zhang Laoda continued: "On Xiuzhu Shanfeng, there are two places that need water. One is the cave dwellings of the various masters!"

"The other place is the cafeteria for us handymen!"

"The water consumption is not small. You must get up before dawn every day to start carrying water, and you can only stop at night. You are not allowed to rest for even a moment in between!"

"Otherwise, this water-carrying job won't be finished!"

"Did you remember?" Zhang Laoda barked.

He Pingsheng nodded: "Remembered!"

"Old San, take him to familiarize himself, don't delay tomorrow's work, otherwise if the masters punish us, no one can afford it!"

Then a thin, tall middle-aged man stood up, took He Pingsheng out of this dark, gloomy hall, and walked outside.

He Pingsheng!

Fourteen years old!

Born in the Outer Sect of the Tai Xu Men, his parents were both Outer Sect disciples of the Tai Xu Men.

Unfortunately, when he, He Pingsheng, was eight years old, his father He Sanjie went out to seek opportunities and was killed by a demonic beast. In less than a month, his mother also died inexplicably, and then a group of Tai Xu Men cultivators broke into their home and looted all the cultivation resources left behind by his parents.

From then on, He Pingsheng lived with his father's good friend, Jiang Jian.

At nine years old, He Pingsheng's Linggen awakened.

At the Tai Xu Men's Awakening Assembly, he awakened a Five-Element Linggen complete with Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth!

He had a Linggen, but this kind of Linggen was the hardest to cultivate.

In the words of the Cultivation World, this Linggen is a "money-wasting item."

It requires countless resources to pile up.

Let's put it this way: the resources needed to cultivate one Five-Element Linggen can often cultivate ten or even dozens of single-Linggen cultivators.

None of the elders and disciples of the Tai Xu Men were willing to take him as a disciple. In the end, He Pingsheng didn't even have the qualifications to enter the Outer Sect.

Recently, because Jiang Jian had no hope for the Way and was getting old, he prepared to abandon the Way and return to the fields, go home to marry and have children to continue the ancestral bloodline, and could no longer look after the descendant of his old friend. He could only recommend He Pingsheng to the handyman class of the Inner Sect's Xiuzhu Peak to be a handyman disciple.

The so-called handyman disciple, as the name implies, is for doing odd jobs and manual labor.

The Cultivation World is not entirely made of immortals; even immortals have to eat, drink, and defecate. Especially those Qi Refining Stage disciples who cannot yet Grain Grain Bigu, so people for daily service are indispensable.

On the various main peaks of the Tai Xu Men, there are handyman classes responsible for the hygiene, food, running errands, and various other tasks of each peak. Subdivided, there are no less than dozens of types.

And among all the work, the water-carrying job is the heaviest.

After all, there are many people on the entire mountain peak, consuming countless water every day.

Moreover, carrying water requires going to the mountain spring at the back of the mountain. Although it is only two li back and forth, the road is uneven and rugged.

The reason He Pingsheng chose to come here to suffer is because he still had a glimmer of hope for the Great Dao of Immortality.

Although he is a handyman disciple, he is close to the immortals on Xiuzhu Peak. Being close means there is a chance. If the opportunity is sufficient, it is not impossible to obtain one or two methods for cultivating and realizing the Way, and from then on step onto the path of immortality. Wouldn't that be wonderful?

It was with this dream that he let Jiang Jian recommend him to Xiuzhu Shanfeng.

As for suffering?

He wasn't born with a silver spoon in his mouth; in this world, where is there a life without suffering?

That Han Old San took He Pingsheng for a tour around Xiuzhu Shanfeng and showed him two huge water vats.

He Pingsheng's daily task is to fill these water vats.

And to fill these two large water vats, he must run to the back of the mountain at least twenty times.

For a fourteen-year-old youth, this is undoubtedly a huge challenge.

"This is your room!" Han Old San finally brought He Pingsheng to a courtyard.

This courtyard has six or seven houses.

Handyman disciples each have a separate room.

After He Pingsheng took the key and the iron lock and opened it, the room was empty. Not to mention there were no daily necessities, there wasn't even the most basic quilt.

Fortunately, it is summer now, so he won't freeze at night without a quilt.

There was an iron bowl.

"The front is the cafeteria!" Han Old San said: "Just go to eat on time every day. If you are late, it will be gone..."

After saying the last sentence, Han Old San left here in a hurry as if he had something to do.

He Pingsheng looked around the house and saw nothing again.

So he raised his hand to lock the door, picked up two water buckets, and headed to the back of the mountain.

By logic, he could go to carry water tomorrow.

But everything is prepared if anticipated, and ruined if not. If he really waited until tomorrow to carry water and encountered a situation, there would be no room for maneuver. So He Pingsheng went over in advance, partly to familiarize himself with the road, and partly to see how long it would take him to fill the two vats of water.

A clear stream flowed from the peak of the mountain behind, turning into a waterfall that fell onto a giant rock, splashing snow-white water.

This waterfall is not big, only one foot wide, but it flows endlessly. This amount of water is enough to supply the entire mountain peak.

Under the giant rock, the waterfall formed a clear, shallow pool.

The water was clear to the bottom, and one could even see the sand and stones at the bottom.

He Pingsheng took the two large buckets, filled them with clear water, and then carried them on his shoulders and walked back.

The two buckets of water were very heavy, almost making him unable to breathe.

The two-li mountain road took a full quarter of an hour.

According to this speed, he could carry water at most two to three times in one hour. Twenty trips back and forth would take at least seven or eight hours.

In order to make tomorrow's work easier, He Pingsheng came to the water's edge again after carrying it once.

He decided to carry at least five times today, so he wouldn't have to work so hard tomorrow!

Once!

Twice!

Three times!

The night grew deeper.

When He Pingsheng came to the water's edge to fetch water for the fifth time, he suddenly discovered something flickering with a faint light at the bottom of the water!

"This is..."

He Pingsheng took a deep breath and stepped forward, discovering that there was actually an old, broken pottery basin lying at the bottom of the clear water not far away.

This pottery basin was dark and happened to reflect a ray of moonlight.

"Hi..." He Pingsheng touched the sweat on his forehead and said: "I thought it was some treasure, it turns out to be a broken basin!"

"However, this broken basin has some uses. Let's take it back first; it's just right for washing clothes and face!" ===== CHAPTER 2 =====