After leaving the Dharma Transmission Tower.
A multitude of Corpse Buriers gathered together, each with a look of satisfaction and anticipation on their faces.
The hardships and weariness of being in the Land of Death for the past two days, surrounded by blood, Yin energy, and broken corpses, were all wiped away at this moment.
Many people even began to feel lucky for choosing to be Corpse Buriers instead of spending their lives as mundane servants.
However, Wen Jiu noticed.
When others saw the Yinzhou Corpse Refining Record in his hand, a hint of contempt flickered in their eyes.
As if they found it disdainful.
Seeing this, Wen Jiu quietly tucked the Yinzhou Corpse Refining Record into his bosom and silently followed the crowd out of the Market.
Whether he could become an Apprentice Disciple.
In Wen Jiu's view, it wasn't important now.
What mattered most at the moment was increasing strength. If he couldn't become an Apprentice Disciple of Deadman Peak, then he would seek other avenues.
There were always ways.
As for leaving Deadman Peak to become a Loose Cultivator.
Wen Jiu wasn't that foolish.
Having a backer.
Having a group.
Why become a Loose Cultivator?
He would rather remain a Corpse Burier than be a Loose Cultivator.
Moreover, seeing how these Qi Refining Cultivators despised the Heterodox Dao, Wen Jiu felt that being a Loose Cultivator might be a bit risky.
What if the so-called "Righteous Path" came to attack him?
...
At nightfall.
After having a bowl of plain noodles for hunger at a market near his place, Wen Jiu hurried home.
He set about practicing the cultivation technique from the Yinzhou Corpse Refining Record—the Yinzhou Corpse Nourishing Technique.
Strictly speaking, the Yinzhou Corpse Nourishing Technique was also a Qi Cultivation Technique. It could lead to the Qi Cultivation Realm, but it required not normal Spiritual Qi, but rather Yin Spirit energy absorbed in a Yin place, at a Yin time.
Which was a mix of Yin energy and Spiritual Qi.
These were not difficult matters.
After all, the Land of Death was nearby.
It's worth mentioning that the first page of the Yinzhou Corpse Nourishing Technique contained a warning written in blood by the author—do not rush, haste makes waste. If you only seek quick cultivation, you will be harmed by Yin Spirit energy, reducing your lifespan!
This was the only aspect of the Yinzhou Corpse Nourishing Technique that required attention.
Seeing this, Wen Jiu understood even more clearly why the white-haired elder said no one would choose him as an Apprentice Disciple.
But as a Corpse Nurturer, Wen Jiu wasn't affected by death energy, Yin energy, or corpse energy; they would instead become his nourishment.
So Wen Jiu wasn't worried about this at all.
Suddenly.
A pop-up window appeared.
[Yinzhou Corpse Nourishing Technique]
[Grade: Qi Cultivation Technique (Two layers total, can be cultivated to Qi Cultivation Second Layer)]
[Do you wish to cultivate?]
"Yes!"
Wen Jiu rejoiced.
Does being able to choose directly to cultivate mean he wouldn't have to select a Yin place or a Yin time?
In the next moment.
His personal information panel followed and popped up.
[Wen Jiu]
[Age: Twenty-three]
[Lifespan: 23/73]
[Realm: None]
[Technique: Yinzhou Corpse Nourishing Technique (First layer 0/1000)]+
[Level 1 Corpse Nurturer (0/100)]
[Secret Technique: Mutated Corpse]
[Corpse—Mutating (0/100)]+
[Death energy remaining: 8]
[Corpse energy remaining: 8]
"Yinzhou Corpse Nourishing Technique and the mutating corpse both have a plus sign."
Upon discovering this, Wen Jiu tried clicking on the plus sign for the Yinzhou Corpse Nourishing Technique.
[Technique: Yinzhou Corpse Nourishing Technique Beginner (1/1000)]+
[Death energy remaining: 7]
"It can actually use death energy to directly enhance the Yinzhou Corpse Nourishing Technique." Wen Jiu rejoiced, and then added the remaining seven points.
When the experience value of the Yinzhou Corpse Nourishing Technique Beginner reached 7 points, Wen Jiu immediately felt a few strands of moving energy appear within his abdomen's Dantian, but it was rather cold, presumably the Yin Spirit energy mentioned by the Corpse Nourishing Technique.
"When the Dantian starts to store Yin Spirit energy, it means the beginning of cultivation!" Wen Jiu smiled again, "If accumulating 1000 experience points would mean entering the Qi Cultivation First Layer?"
If so.
This would be too fast.
Since these eight points of death energy were obtained from burying corpses in the Land of Death for eight hours yesterday.
Even though today he didn't work a full eight hours.
He still worked for six hours.
If considering six points of death energy per day, wouldn't this mean it would only take a hundred and sixty-six days to reach the Qi Cultivation First Layer?
As far as he knew, to reach the Qi Cultivation First Layer, a normal cultivator would need about a year.
Only those with extremely high potential could shorten that time a bit.
No wonder it's the Heterodox Dao.
So fast!
Immediately after, Wen Jiu also added eight points of corpse energy to the Mutated Corpse.
[Corpse—Mutating (8/100)]+
If 100 fills up would mean a successful mutation, then it would take less than ten days for him to become a genuine Corpse Nurturer!
...
Very quickly.
Midnight arrived.
[Daily Settlement Panel Lv1 (3/100)]
[Daily settlement!]
[Burying corpses in the Land of Death for six hours, constantly ingesting corpse energy and death energy, panel experience +1, corpse energy +6, death energy +6]
[Nurturing corpses in an Extremely Yin Land for eight hours, panel experience +1, corpse mutation experience +6, Corpse Nurturer experience +1]
What Wen Jiu hadn't expected was that after the daily settlement, the mutation experience of the corpse directly reached 14.
And he still had 6 points of death energy remaining.
"Burying corpses in the Land of Death can obtain death energy, and nurturing corpses in an Extremely Yin Land can gain experience. With this double enhancement, does it mean that in just five days the corpse could transform into a White Rigid Corpse!" Thinking of this, Wen Jiu was overjoyed.
Although the White Rigid Corpse has many fears and an unclear strength, this level of efficiency was truly astonishing.
Is this what the Heterodox Dao is?
Truly fast.
With such efficiency, an early death seems quite normal.
Luckily he had passive immunity as a Corpse Nurturer, protecting him from erosion by Yin energy, death energy, and corpse energy.
...
The next morning.
As dawn barely broke, the door was knocked on again.
"It's me!"
It was the voice of his sister, Wen Ya.
Wen Jiu quickly got up to open the door.
When he opened the door, he saw his sister again carrying a large bowl, still covered with a lotus leaf, but this time the lotus leaf seemed a bit unable to cover it, bulging with an extra hint of meat aroma.
The meat aroma was peculiar.
Very unusual.
At least it wasn't in Wen Jiu's memory.
Wen Ya cheerfully uncovered the lotus leaf while saying, "Hurry up and eat, today we have meat... Let me tell you, this is Demon Beast Flesh, greatly nourishing, it strengthens the body and speeds up cultivation. In this first year, we surely can't compete for the top three, but we strive not to fall behind!"
"Sister, Demon Beast Flesh must be more expensive than Spirit Rice, right?" In his memory, there was no information about Demon Beast Flesh.
But not only does it strengthen the body, it also speeds up cultivation; just for these two reasons, it should be more expensive than inferior Spirit Rice.
In Wen Jiu's view, obtaining something requires giving something in return.
For a bowl of Spirit Rice and a piece of Demon Beast Flesh, what did this sister have to sacrifice?
Was she really just a maid?
Wen Ya shook her head, seeming reluctant to elaborate, "A little more expensive… Hurry and eat, because later you'll have to go to work again."
"Sister, if you don't tell me, I won't eat." Wen Jiu's attitude was firm.
Seeing his resolve, Wen Ya had no choice but to shake her head, "Don't worry about me, being a servant like me, with no guarantees for tomorrow and no prospects for rise in a lifetime, having an Immortal Steward take interest is already the best outcome… Plus, I can still often bring you food, to nurse your body, and after a few days, when that Immortal Steward returns, maybe he could even help you get the identity of an Apprentice Disciple."
Upon hearing this.
Wen Jiu understood.
Not a maid.
More likely a concubine or something similar.
Seeing his sister still smiling, Wen Jiu's heart suddenly ached, and he decided not to delve deeper after much consideration.
He asked just one question, "Sister, who is that person?"
Since things had come to this.
They couldn't be changed.
He at least needed to know who that person was.
So he could inquire privately later on, if a concubine so be it, as a servant, becoming a concubine to an Immortal Steward was indeed an excellent path, this wasn't the Blue Star, where people talk about love or no love.
But if an elder cultivator sought a furnace...