Chapter 1 When a Man Is Pushed to the Brink
Chapter 1 When a Man Is Pushed to the Brink
The north wind cut like a knife, whipping up drifts of snow.
The harsh winter was a veritable prison, water freezing the instant it dripped.
Amidst the vast expanse of white snow, a patch of emerald green bamboo forest, however, grew lush and verdant. Its green bamboo leaves were like jadeite, glowing with a delicate, translucent luster, and upon them, drops of water resembled brilliant pearls, each one shimmering with light.
Wisps of dreamlike, ethereal white mist swirled around, making the place appear as if a celestial realm.
On the ground of the bamboo forest, a lizard-like creature scurried quickly through the grass, the scales on its back leaving behind traces of an eerie, vibrant color in the air.
Swoosh!
A burst of cold air suddenly appeared, landing on the lizard.
The surrounding temperature plummeted, and the lizard was instantly frozen to the ground, transforming into a lifelike ice sculpture.
The bamboo forest stirred, and from it emerged a young man.
His steps were nimble, his figure tall and straight as a pine, his features regular, and his eyes like a clear, bottomless pool. He wore a thick padded jacket, and at that moment, his face bore a hint of relief.
Fang Xi arrived before the ice sculpture, raised his hand and weighed the frozen lizard in his grasp. His face gradually fell, and he muttered incessantly, "What a loss! What a loss!"
"An unranked demonic insect—a Stone Dragon Lizard. It's only worth one Spirit Crystal, and to catch it, I not only wasted three days, but also used up a 'Cold Ice Talisman'! Although this talisman is only a low-grade first-order, it still costs a small half of a Spirit Stone!"
On Fang Xi's face, there was a fullness of utter vexation.
The so-called 'Spirit Crystal' is a fragment of a Spirit Stone. Generally speaking, ten Spirit Crystals can only be exchanged for one low-grade Spirit Stone.
This business was clearly a losing venture.
Yet, he couldn't afford not to do it!
Because Fang Xi was a Spirit Farmer of this bamboo forest, next year's harvest depended entirely on the growth of this bamboo, and naturally, he couldn't let this demonic insect ruin it.
Whoosh!
A gust of cold wind blew, making Fang Xi shiver coldly.
He looked up at the swirling, snow-falling sky, and couldn't help but pull his small padded jacket tighter around him. He sighed inwardly: "Unknowingly, a year has passed since I transmigrated? If I hadn't transmigrated, I wouldn't have believed it—that cultivators could actually be afraid of the cold. . ."
Yes, Fang Xi was a transmigrator!
His transmigration was, to speak of it, rather ordinary, with nothing particularly special about it. In his previous life, he had worked diligently, but after getting into university, he became thoroughly decadent, neglected his studies, and couldn't find a good job. After graduation, his parents constantly lectured him, pushing him into the vast army of civil service exam takers, and then the math questions on the civil service aptitude test made him wish he were dead.
Facts proved that even when a person is pushed to the brink, math problems still can't be solved!
Unfortunately, before the civil service exam results came out, Fang Xi transmigrated right there in the examination hall!
The moment he opened his eyes, he found himself in this world where cultivators existed, and what's more, he had possessed the body of a young man also named Fang Xi.
This young man named Fang Xi had a third-level Qi Refinement cultivation, was all alone in the world, and was a Spirit Farmer reliant on the Green Bamboo Mountain market town in Yue State, part of the South Barrens Cultivation World!
Originally, Fang Xi was still somewhat incredulous about the transmigration, but after toiling for several hours, when, following his body's memories, he tremblingly unleashed his first small spell ever, he finally became convinced that he truly possessed supernatural power and had become a lofty immortal!
Of course, cultivators were not yet true immortals; they still retained elements of mortals, having to experience the changing seasons and even birth, old age, sickness, and death.
However, Fang Xi also knew from his memories that with the growth of a cultivator's cultivation base and the rise of their realm, they could indeed extend their lifespan, become immune to all illnesses, and even achieve true eternal life.
The best example was the Situ Clan that controlled the Green Bamboo Mountain market town. It was said that there was more than one 'Foundation Establishment Grand Cultivator' within their clan!
As Foundation Establishment cultivators, they perfectly fit the mortals' imagination; at the very least, their lifespan was doubled, allowing them to easily live for over two hundred years!
Two hundred years! In his previous life, that was enough time to witness the rise and fall of most dynasties.
Therefore, Fang Xi chose to inherit everything of the original host, continued to be a Spirit Farmer in the market town, and began his path of cultivation.
At this moment.
Although he was quite disdainful in his words, after complaining for a while, Fang Xi still carefully put away the Stone Dragon Lizard. After all, it was still one Spirit Crystal!
He had inherited the original host's savings, and his entire fortune now amounted to only a few dozen Spirit Crystals!
As for the 'Emerald Green Bamboo Forest' under his care, which measured six fen of land, each year when the bamboo rice matured, after paying half of the taxes, only a hundred jin remained, which was about one dan, only worth thirty Spirit Crystals. . .
Toiling painstakingly for a year cultivating the land, for an income of three low-grade Spirit Stones. . .
"Sigh, cultivation is hard, but survival is even harder!"
Fang Xi sighed, waved his hand, flicking off the snowflakes on his body, and began clearing the weeds in the bamboo forest.
These weeds had also been nourished by spiritual energy and grew exceptionally tough. If one wasn't careful, they would compete with the Emerald Jade Bamboo for nutrients, affecting the harvest.
Therefore, to be a Spirit Farmer, minor spells like the Spring Wind Transforming Rain Art and the Geng Metal Grass-Reaping Sword still had to be proficiently mastered.
Although Fang Xi had inherited the original host's memories, the farm work was still very difficult for him, and his life was also quite painful.
Third-level Qi Refinement was only an early stage realm within Qi Refinement. In Green Bamboo Mountain market town, mid-stage cultivators (above fourth-level Qi Refinement) were not uncommon, and occasionally, grand masters (above seventh-level Qi Refinement) would appear. Moreover, in the cultivation world, the strong preyed on the weak, and cunning schemes and forceful seizures were rampant.
Even high-level demonic cultivators, in order to forge powerful spells or even spirit artifacts, would perform blood sacrifices, creating massacres within a hundred li radius—such tragedies, though extremely rare, were clearly recorded in books.
Sometimes, Fang Xi even thought of abandoning the path of cultivation, returning to a mortal kingdom to become a wealthy old man with a multitude of wives and concubines, and live out the rest of his remaining life comfortably.
But soon, this thought was discarded by him.
After all, in terms of enjoyment, even ancient emperors might not compare to an ordinary modern person.
What could surpass modern people was only the allure of the supernatural and longevity!
Therefore, although life was very bitter, Fang Xi still gritted his teeth and endured.
...
The sky was as gloomy as ink.
Fang Xi looked up, glanced at the sky, and began to hurry towards his residence.
Although Green Bamboo Mountain market town had a mountain-protecting grand array, ordinarily, to save Spirit Stones, it usually only protected the main street of the market town and the surrounding shops. As for covering the entire mountain, let alone the spirit field area, that was out of the question.
Therefore, this area was not very safe at night.
Although the Situ Clan had patrol teams enforcing the law, incidents of bandit cultivators committing crimes still occurred from time to time. Fang Xi naturally wouldn't risk his small life.
The residential area for Spirit Farmers was close to the market town at the mountain peak, and was also a place frequently patrolled, so it was relatively safe.
Fang Xi maliciously speculated that it was probably because Spirit Farmers like himself were dirt poor, and bandit cultivators wouldn't bother with them.
After walking uphill for a while, a cluster of low-lying shanties appeared in his sight. Each household had fenced off its area with a hedge, where the sounds of chickens and dogs mingled, creating a sense of rustic familiarity.
Seeing this, Fang Xi couldn't help but reveal a trace of a smile on his face.
He had barely walked two steps when an elderly farmer-like cultivator passed by and greeted him with a smile: "Little Brother Fang, fancy going somewhere nice to have some fun?"
His face was full of wrinkles, and when he smiled, he revealed two large yellow teeth. His aura was surprisingly even lower than Fang Xi's, around second-level Qi Refinement.
This was Fang Xi's neighbor, Old Mai Tou.
Fang Xi didn't know his background, but seeing him every day, they had developed a degree of acquaintance.
Upon seeing the other's expression at this moment, he immediately knew where the other was going.
In this shanty town, seemingly haphazardly built from wooden planks, there were also female cultivators. They didn't really farm, and their lives were relatively more comfortable, having their own means of livelihood.
Old Mai Tou had been farming for longer than Fang Xi, but his life was very difficult, and he had even borrowed Spirit Crystals before. It was obvious where his savings had gone.
Fang Xi shook his head, refusing him: "Old Mai Tou, I still need to cultivate tonight. . ."
In reality, shortly after getting familiar with this body, he had visited the 'Drunken Immortal Pavilion' in the market town once, spent a small portion of his fortune, enjoyed himself to the fullest for a night, and emerged supporting himself against a wall. . .
It had to be said, those little temptresses who specialized in charm arts were indeed quite draining.
From then on, Fang Xi, in this world, devoted all his energy to farming. There was no other way, his purse was empty. . .
'If I don't save money, how can I find young ladies to 'taste tea' with? I don't drink stale tea. . . '
Fang Xi returned to his dwelling and opened the door.
His room was quite large, divided into smaller rooms such as a living room, bedroom, and cultivation chamber. Some female cultivators would even plant spirit vegetables or raise spirit birds within their hedges, making full use of the land to the extreme.
Fang Xi went to the kitchen, took out some spirit rice mixed with coarse grains, and boiled a pot of porridge for himself.
The spirit rice was, naturally, 'Jade Green Bamboo Rice', each grain like jadeite, emitting a light fragrance. Even mixed with mortal fine rice and coarse grains, it was still delicious, with a very sweet and pleasant taste.
Especially after eating, besides a feeling of warmth in his stomach, a faint wisp of spiritual energy would also rise.
Seizing this opportune moment, Fang Xi immediately went to his cultivation chamber and diligently practiced his cultivation technique in seclusion.
Half an hour later, Fang Xi opened his eyes and let out a wry laugh: "This 'Evergreen Art' is truly difficult. After a year of arduous cultivation, I've only barely managed to control the original host's cultivation base. I haven't even glimpsed the peak of third-level Qi Refinement, let alone breaking through the bottleneck to mid-stage Qi Refinement. . . It's so hard. . ."
As he sighed, he perked up his ears, listening to the sounds around him. Then he took out a talisman and pasted it onto the wooden wall of the cultivation chamber.
This was a low-grade first-order 'Protective Talisman', possessing a certain defensive power. Most importantly, it could isolate sound and spiritual energy fluctuations.
As for Foundation Establishment stage Divine Consciousness, although it couldn't defend against it, if it was scanned by Divine Consciousness, it would immediately explode, alerting the cultivator.
After doing all this, Fang Xi's expression returned to calm, and he snapped his fingers.
Snap!
In the blink of an eye, he had already arrived at another location.
Inside the room, the scene was one of dazzling lights and flowing wine, warm as spring. In a purple-gold incense burner, premium soothing incense burned.
A comfortable soft chair made of red sandalwood was inviting. Fang Xi immediately went over and settled into a 'Ge You slouch' posture.
As he waved his hand, a cultivator-made air conditioner activated, keeping the room at a consistently comfortable temperature and humidity.
After lounging sufficiently, Fang Xi casually tossed aside his worn padded jacket and changed into a set of splendid silk robes, which further accentuated the young man's elegant demeanor and unrestrained charm.
He opened the door, and a dazzling ray of sunlight shone down, revealing that he was in a truly grand and wealthy manor.
In a blink, it seemed as if he had switched to a different world.
Indeed, that was precisely the case!
A faint smile curved Fang Xi's lips.
When a man is pushed to the brink, he can do anything—including transmigrating! ! !
Please collect and recommend this new book!
Well, according to the votes of the readers at the end of the previous book, this new book is a cultivation novel with an infinite flow setting. . .
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