thefictionvixens Chapter 1 Mortal Servants of a Cultivation Family
Chapter 1 Mortal Servants of a Cultivation Family
Chapter 1 Mortal Servants of a Cultivation Family
The Great Green Cultivation Realm, Qi Kingdom.
The Li family is a family that cultivates immortality.
"You five are tasked with dissecting this Xuan Shui Turtle today. You need to collect the blood, meat, and shell separately and hand them over to the management office by the end of Wei Shi (1-3 PM)."
Among the five servants standing in a row, Chen Yi stared blankly at the monster before him.
The black-shelled turtle, as big as a millstone, has sharp bone spikes comparable to black iron, a ferocious head covered with blue scales, gaping fangs, and bony armor and sharp claws.
Where did I go? Is this still Earth?
He was filled with fear.
Soon, after a brief search of his predecessor's memories, he became even more desperate.
Chen Yi, 33 years old, without spiritual roots, was a mortal servant in a cultivation family. He died from years of chores and was corrupted by demonic power.
His soul transmigrated and took over this body.
For those without spiritual roots, the demonic power of the cultivation world is like a deadly poison that mortals cannot neutralize.
Even spiritual energy is like a hundred-year-old ginseng. Taking a bite occasionally is a great tonic, but if you take it every day, its medicinal power will forcibly accelerate the functioning of the internal organs, just like making a yellow ox run wildly like a spirited horse for many years, which will inevitably overdraw its life.
As mortal servants of immortal cultivation families, they are unable to absorb spiritual energy and convert it into magical power to nourish themselves, resulting in a mortality rate as high as 80%.
Servant-like people at the lowest level are expendable and are replaced every year.
"Old Chen, what are you waiting for? Get started!"
A young man in his early twenties shouted at Chen Yi. He was the most robust of the five and was the leader.
Chen Yi was the oldest, and having dealt with demonic beasts for many years, he had been corrupted by demonic energy and was already depleted.
He was thin and emaciated, with a sallow complexion and wrinkles that made him look over fifty. His large eye bags made him look like a man who had suffered from kidney deficiency for twenty years.
Reprimanded by the young man, Chen Yi mechanically stepped forward and grabbed one of the Xuan Shui Turtle's feet. Although he had carefully avoided the spikes, the bony armor on it still hurt painfully.
He felt an icy chill emanating from the tortoise claws, which made his entire right arm almost numb.
"hurry up!"
The five men lifted the Xuan Shui Turtle and placed it on the worktable. Under the young man's direction, they bled it, skinned it, removed its shell, separated its bones, and removed its flesh.
The five people worked all day.
Chen Yi was completely dazed throughout the entire process; every part of the Xuan Shui Turtle caused him harm.
Although the burly young man had handled the core of the Xuan Shui Turtle, the icy cold of the turtle bones and the corrosive effects on the flesh left Chen Yi's arms covered in sores.
In his previous life, Chen Yi was a frail scholar, pampered from childhood. He graduated from university, became a lowly employee at a company, went on blind dates, got married, had children, endured beatings from his boss at work, and took care of his kids after get off work.
Approaching forty, having lived half a lifetime like an ordinary person, he has never even been in a fight.
So, upon arriving here, their very first day involved dealing with such terrifying monsters.
How am I supposed to survive?
He only knows some basic knowledge of report making and math and physics. What use is he in a place like this?
Who says time travelers are destined to rise to power?
Not to mention that he has no spiritual root and cannot cultivate immortality, given his current physical condition and daily work, he will die a second time in just a few days.
No part of his arms was in good condition; he had backaches, chest tightness, shortness of breath, a sallow complexion, and a dazed state of mind; he also had an indelible fishy odor.
Chen Yi sat blankly on his bed in the dormitory, feeling utterly hopeless.
"Old Chen, the usual routine, huh? You're not paying your regular wages today, so how about you go have some fun at the half-closed door?"
Inside the dormitory, the burly young man spoke to Chen Yi.
Old Chen? Are you talking about me?
Chen Yi stared blankly at the other person, then at his own withered hands, and silently accepted the title.
The original owner was a lecher, or rather, not a lecher. In this environment, apart from the opportunity to go to the half-closed door every few days, his life was meaningless.
Alcohol was too expensive, he hadn't achieved anything in martial arts, and he wasn't interested in gambling, so all he could do was find women to relieve his frustrations.
This is the entirety of their lives after work, for these mortal servants.
Wait, practicing martial arts?
Chen Yi scanned the original owner's memories. From those distant recollections, he discovered that the original owner seemed to have considerable talent in martial arts and qi cultivation in his youth, reaching the level of a second-rate martial artist at a young age. Otherwise, he wouldn't have lived to his thirties.
However, he later discovered that mortal martial arts could not withstand the erosion of demonic beasts. After realizing there was no hope, the original owner stopped practicing martial arts long ago. Before he was thirty, his vital energy was completely depleted, and he died a few years later.
No, I can't die like this.
Even if I can't cultivate immortality, I still need to pick up the martial arts of mortals first.
I have to survive!
"Captain Hao, I won't go through the half-closed door. I need my allowance for today. I want some Qi and Blood Pills so I can try to pick up the stance training again."
Upon hearing this, the burly young man Hao Youren frowned and said, "What's the use of taking Qi and Blood Pills at your age?"
Didn't you say that you always got the chance to half-close the door when it was our turn? Are you no longer capable of doing that?
"Alright, Old Zhang, go ahead."
Male servants did hard labor, while female servants were responsible for bearing children. If one day she could give birth to a child with spiritual roots, she could retire and die peacefully.
High-ranking male servants could marry and have their own children, and had the opportunity to improve their social standing through their offspring.
The lowest-ranking male servants were required to partially open each room's door every five days; this was a mandatory task, and they had to pay their allowance to do so. After all, not everyone had this privilege.
Chen Yi had previously taken advantage of his seniority and shamelessly seized all the power in their room, since he had given up on cultivation anyway.
However, that was his previous form. Chen Yi will not go there again. His essence and blood are the source of his body. If he continues to consume them, he will really die.
He needs to strengthen his body and recover his health before discussing anything else.
"I'm only 33 years old, seven years younger than before I transmigrated, so why do I look like a wretched old man? I refuse to believe I can't be saved!"
Chen Yi took a Qi and Blood Pill, broke the seal, and swallowed it according to his memory. A pungent, spicy smell wafted up from it.
The medicine turned into a warm current in his stomach. Chen Yi assumed the starting stance of a martial arts exercise and tried to mobilize the qi and blood in his body, but he found that the medicine could not flow to his dantian at all. Instead, it leaked out through his riddled meridians.
After a long while, Chen Yi slumped down, his hands hanging limply. He hadn't even finished half of his health-preserving stance exercise.
"Old Chen, just accept your fate. I've already told you, giving you the Qi and Blood Pills would be a waste. Your body is like a leaky bellows now; no medicine can absorb it anymore."
While you can still move, I think you should go and mess around with the half-closed door for a few more days.
"I haven't used the opportunity the captain gave me yet. If you want to go, I'll let you have it. Just give me the Qi and Blood Pills for tomorrow, and I'll go next door to have a couple of rounds."
The 30-year-old man, whom the captain called Old Zhang, said to Chen Yi.
Chen Yi looked around, feeling lost and helpless, even with his experience from two lifetimes.
"No, I have to try again."
Ignoring Lao Zhang's teasing, Chen Yi stood in front of his bed in the dilapidated wooden dormitory and once again assumed the stance for stance training.
This time, he reduced the strict requirements on the circulation of qi and blood, treating himself as a complete novice, practicing stance training slowly and carefully using only physical movements.
Half an hour later,
He barely managed to complete the eighteen movements of the health-preserving standing meditation.
An extremely faint surge of vital energy was generated within the body.
[Detection indicates the host is practicing martial arts.]
[Foreign energy detected in the body.]
[Analyzing... Water spirit energy composition: 95%; plant and wood spirit energy composition: 3%]
[Attempting to devour.]
[Devouring begins: 1%]
[The devouring process was incomplete]
A series of prompts flashed through Chen Yi's mind and then disappeared.
"Hmm? A cheat code?"
Chen Yi's heart was pounding!
Although the message indicated that the task was not yet complete, it did not dampen Chen Yi's excitement, after all, he had completed one percent!
The 1% of spiritual power he absorbed clearly gave his blood and qi a significant boost in water-elemental vitality.
In that instant, Chen Yi felt as if his body was no longer so weak and frail!
(End of this chapter)