Stealthily cultivating in the chaotic world of demons and martial artists
Chapter 924 - 780 Land

Chapter 924: Chapter 780 Land

That night.

The moon was bright and the stars sparse; crows cried in the empty sky.

"Another lifetime of vicissitudes..."

Fang Xi lifted his head, looking at the bright moon in the sky, aware that he had changed worlds.

This place was no longer theland of the seventh day and ninth month in the Earth Immortal Realm, but one of the small worlds under the jurisdiction of that Medium Thousand Worlds!

Clad in a Taoist robe, he held a half-piece of grey-black inkstone, ready to promptly return should anything go awry.

’After all, it’s the Lower Realm... Could there be interface power suppressing, or even forcing ascension?’

But at this moment, Fang Xi felt little pressure from the world’s barriers.

He could only hear the mountain spring’s slow trickle, sounding like pearls falling onto a jade plate.

Occasional chirps and calls of insects and birds carried the charm of the mountains and wilds.

"Five Elements Spell..."

He formed a seal with one hand, and a stubborn flame flickered a few times atop his palm before finally extinguishing.

"It’s not that it can’t be used, but it seems some modifications are necessary..."

"For Cultivators below the Returning to Emptiness stage, this world isn’t very friendly."

Fang Xi released his Divine Consciousness, sensing the differences of this world.

In the three thousand small worlds under the jurisdiction of the Earth Immortal Realm, Five Elements Spells are universally applicable without any hindrance, and their origins can all be found in the Earth Immortal Realm, which could be described as different paths leading to the same destination.

However, although this small world appears quite similar to those others, Fang Xi was certain that if Qi Refining or Foundation Establishment Cultivators were to come here, they might lose most of their magic power and become ’mundane’ without anything at all.

Arriving at the Core Formation and Nascent Soul stages, things would be slightly better, for the bodies of Immortal Cultivators, tempered by spiritual energy through countless trials, were no joke.

But for Transcendent God-stage Cultivators, it was a huge pitfall!

"The Heavenly and Earthly Spiritual Power of this world seems difficult to harness..."

"Fortunately, after Returning to Emptiness, it is no longer about harnessing Heavenly and Earthly Spiritual Power, but Heaven and Earth Primordial Energy!"

A thought crossed Fang Xi’s mind, and a cloud covered the moon. A gust of wind arose, followed by a light drizzle.

Commanding the wind and summoning the rain!

For a Returning to Emptiness Cultivator skilled in manipulating Heaven and Earth Primordial Energy, this was hardly anything special—after all, he was already in the late stage of Returning to Emptiness...

Among these raindrops, there seemed to be a vitality that was hard to describe.

On the patch of yellow soil where he stood, innumerable wild grasses grew wildly, reaching waist-high in the blink of an eye.

Blooms of unknown flowers opened, vying with each other for splendor.

For high-level Immortal Cultivators, a mere display of skill could appear miraculous!

Suddenly, Fang Xi seemed to sense something and formed a seal with his hand.

A layer of black mist flashed by, and his figure vanished.

A moment later.

A yellow earthen radiance flickered on the ground, and a small figure emerged through Earth Escape.

With white beard fluttering, holding a peach wood staff, and dressed like a wealthy commoner, with a forehead like a longevity peach.

The figure looked around with a face full of shock and confusion, "Spiritual rain? Which Dragon King has passed by... Alas, with such mighty deities, a trivial, unimpressive Earth God like me shouldn’t even gaze upon them..."

This old man was only the size of a palm, and after casting a spell, he collected a few seeds and fruits soaked with spiritual energy, then disappeared in a flash of light.

From beginning to end, he did not realize that Fang Xi was standing beside him, watching with interest.

"What is this... a mystical creature?"

Of course, Fang Xi couldn’t understand the other’s language, but he had firmly memorized it.

Once he learned the local language, he would be able to clearly understand what this little creature was saying.

"A creature naturally adept in Earth Escape Skills... No, this isn’t a fluctuation of magic power... but another power system?"

Fang Xi took a step forward, seemingly shrinking the earth to an inch underfoot, following the creature.

The creature’s innate Earth Escape Skills could hardly escape his sight.

It wasn’t long before a mountain village came into view for Fang Xi.

Outside the village flowed a river like a jade belt, meandering around the village.

At this deep hour of the night, amongst the hundred or so households, apart from the crowing of cocks and barking of dogs, it was utterly silent.

The little creature entered a low temple at the edge of the village.

The Temple was four-square but built extremely tiny, smaller even than a dog kennel.

In front of the temple stood a clay incense burner, already half-broken, with a few offering dishes placed beside it.

Fang Xi watched this scene and couldn’t help but freeze: "So it isn’t an Earth Escape mystical creature, but... an Earth God?"

Although the Cultivation World had no notion of ghosts or terrestrial deities, His first life was filled with many such tales.

"It seems that what I felt earlier wasn’t a fluctuation of magic power, but... Divine Power? Gods of the Eastern lands? I wonder if there’s something like the Western deities as well, how interesting..."

A smile of interest appeared at the corner of Fang Xi’s mouth.

...

Bai Gan Village.

Most of the villagers here bore the surnames Bai and Gan, where chickens and dogs could be heard from every household, and a spread of houses stretched on.

Gan Yu, with a bundle of firewood on her back, pushed open the gate of her family’s fence.

Underneath the thatched cottage, the elderly mother revealed a smile, "Yu has returned, the porridge is already served..."

"Mother, have you eaten?"

Gan Yu put down the firewood, scooped up a ladle of water with a gourd dipper, and gulped it down, hoping to suppress the hunger gnawing at his heart.

However, he drank too much water and felt some sloshing in his stomach as he walked, which was very uncomfortable.

"I’ve already eaten."

Gan Yu’s mother sat on the steps, trying to mend clothes in the daylight.

The woman, who was not yet forty years old, was already hunchbacked, with frost at her temples and her clothes full of patches.

Gan Yu entered the room, seeing that there was still half a bowl of porridge on the wooden table, mixed with some cassava roots, clumped together.

At this sight, his eyes reddened, knowing his elderly mother had only drunk a bit of the porridge soup and had saved the solid bits for him.

He hurriedly said, "Child is not hungry, I already picked a few fruits to eat on the way..."

"At this time of the year, where are there any wild fruits? My son still needs to study and prepare for exams after working in the fields. If you become a Taoist Child, you’ll have half an official status, and I will be able to live comfortably..."

Gan Yu’s mother nagged on and on, her demeanor unlike that of an ordinary peasant woman.

The Gan family had virtue in their ancestry, having produced a County Chief once, but later got involved in a major case, stripped of their Taoist status, yet several Taoism Scriptures were passed down in the family.

In Gan Yu’s branch of the family, they had also raised a scholar who almost passed the Jinshi exams!

Unfortunately, he was too frail and died suddenly at the examination, leading to the decline of this branch.

Now, Gan Yu’s mother could not forget, hoping that Gan Yu would follow in his late father’s footsteps and pass the Exam for Adolescents!

Gan Yu wiped away tears, not eating the porridge, and just busied himself with chores.

After finishing the chores, he went to the inner room and took out a Taoism Scripture from a parcel of coarse cloth, flipping through it carefully.

Although the book was very old, it had been kept intact by its previous owners who cherished literature.

While reading, Gan Yu’s thoughts fell like raindrops into the lake of his heart.

The Taoist Court governed with the Taoism Scriptures as the basis for examination.

The first step was the county exam; those who passed were called ’Scholars’, also known as ’Taoist Child’, considered half-entered into the Taoist fold, possessing half an official status that commanded respect in the countryside.

After passing as a Taoist Child, one could then take the provincial exam; passing that would make one a ’Jurist’, which meant selecting talents for the ’Taoist Court’.

After becoming a Jurist, the next step was the ’Jinshi’ exam, held every three years in the capital city. Those who passed were called ’Jinshi’, meaning ’Scholars advancing into Taoism’!

With that step taken, one officially entered the Taoist fold and could serve as a government official or take office in the Taoist Court. The future would be limitless.

However, the Taoism Scripture, with its thirty-six volumes, contained profound meanings in every phrase. Even a lifelong scholar might not thoroughly grasp its contents.

How difficult would it be to pass the Exam for Adolescents?

"The Taoism Scripture has thirty-six volumes, and our family only has six volumes..."

Gan Yu pondered silently, "Although the Exam for Adolescents is the simplest, one must still recite the Taoism Scripture fluently to have any chance of passing..."

In truth, his family only had one volume of the Taoism Scripture; they managed to compile six volumes by borrowing and transcribing from others in the village.

But the remaining thirty volumes were closely guarded secrets of other families, and without going to the private schools in the county town or reading borrowed copies from wealthy families, it would be nearly impossible to complete the set.

After all, the thirty-six volumes of the Taoism Scripture were the only ladder to advancement in this world!

On the road to Green Cloud, naturally, the fewer competitors, the better.

For the sons of poor commoners who wished to study and advance, the first obstacle faced was this formidable barrier.

Gan Yu sighed, stepped out of the house, only to see his elderly mother pushing a basket toward him, filled to the brim with eggs: "My child... a ’Mr. Fang’ has recently moved into the village, he appears to be a man of learning with a trunk full of books. You might visit him..."

"Mother..."

Gan Yu was moved, realizing that his mother had been keeping this in mind; the basket in his hand felt as if it weighed a thousand catties.

This basket of eggs represented a significant portion of his family’s assets.

However, he said with determination, "Yes, child will go now..."

"Wait, there’s no rush, eat your porridge first..."

...

Gan Yu, carrying a bamboo basket covered with indigo coarse cloth, walked along the village’s flagstone path.

It wasn’t long before he arrived at a household.

This family resided in a corner of the village, appearing tranquil and quiet, its courtyard enclosed by a fence, with not a chicken in sight, but rather a peach tree planted.

At that moment, a man in a blue robe sat beneath the peach tree, engrossed in reading.

"Gan Yu pays respect to Mr. Fang..."

Gan Yu gave a bow, his mind recalling the rumors about Mr. Fang.

Mr. Fang was a teacher by trade, naturally inclined towards reading, yet unlucky in examinations. Later, the Bai family invited him to be a private tutor, specifically to teach their children.

Although several households in the village bore the surname Bai, only the largest landowning Bai family could afford to hire a teacher.

It was rumored that when Mr. Fang arrived, he brought an entire trunk of books, clearly a learned and cultured man.

Little did they know...

At that time, Fang Xi was just learning to speak and began to recognize characters...

"Ah, it’s Yu..."

Fang Xi set aside his book, giving a slight smile, "Since you’ve come, why stand on ceremony?"

Being new to the place, he did not wish to stir up trouble and decided to gather some local books. After that, he moved into the small village once overseen by the Earth God, settling down under a simple pretext.

The old master of the Bai family had only met him once by the roadside and was immediately spellbound by a minor enchantment cast by Fang Xi, who was then promptly regarded as a profound scholar and hired as a private tutor. The old master even took pains to arrange a residence for him.