I Outworked the Entire Cultivation World

Chapter 601: Chapter 549: Yuebai’s Diary

[Gengxu, Year of the Dog, Ninth Day of the First Lunar Month]

Today, I arrived at the Nine Rivers Realm, a place with abundant rivers and rich water vapor, where many cultivate the Water Technique. Various aquatic magical beasts are everywhere, and the workshops and cities are all built along the rivers.

Furthermore, there are giant tower ships that serve as markets, fully equipped with various facilities and shops. They drift along the water, allowing one to travel through the entire Nine Rivers Basin in three years.

The war of the Ziwei Star Alliance hasn’t affected this place. All I see is a peaceful scene.

Having escaped from the battlefield not long ago, this serene setting feels almost dreamlike to me.

I should find a place to write a letter to everyone to assure them of my safety, especially Anan.

*

[Gengxu, Year of the Dog, Twentieth Day of the First Lunar Month]

After wandering a few days, I finally chose to settle in Tianya City, the largest city in the Jiuxiao River Basin. Jiuxiao River is the last of the Nine Rivers, located in the easternmost part of the Nine Rivers Realm, a place where loose cultivators gather, with no strong powers around.

After selling a batch of Taixuan Gold for spirit stones, I rented a river-bottom cave mansion.

This cave mansion is located under the Jiuxiao River, with the riverbed like a mountain range. Using an array, cave mansions are set up in different parts of the riverbed. The environment is tranquil, with abundant Water Spirit Energy, and most importantly, it’s well hidden.

I chose the most remote cave mansion, with no one living nearby.

After using the array plate given by Uncle Fuyi to completely seal the cave, I was finally able to calm my mind and plan the things I needed to do next.

The first task, of course, is to reforge the White Dragon Spear. Now that I have Ten Thousand Years Cold Stalactite, Taixuan Pure Gold, Divine Tree Branch, and Candle Dragon Essence Blood ready.

However, this task cannot be rushed. I still need to refine some things with Taixuan Pure Gold, familiarizing myself with its properties to improve the success rate of artifact refining.

In addition, I absorbed too much demonic Qi and muddy Qi outside Songfeng City in the Heavenly Spear Realm. These have been integrated into my spine but have yet to be fully digested, requiring me to diligently cultivate for a period to harmonize my internal energy.

Jixiang is the same, it has eaten too much and cannot easily digest it. It’s still bloated in the Lotus Platform Cave Heaven, with a hard belly, and it refuses to regurgitate it.

Speaking of which, Jixiang’s belly is indeed formidable. Ordinary things would be corroded when touched by muddy Qi, but Jixiang is unharmed, just having difficulty digesting it.

I don’t know if it’s the effect of the improved "Heaven-Swallowing Skill" or the last Tai Chi Yin Yang Thunder Body Refining technique during my tribulation crossing.

Moreover, when it chewed on the Dragon Prison Nail, it also swallowed some of Ao Juan’s blood; perhaps it’s due to multiple factors. I’m not Yun Shang, I can’t figure it out immediately.

Bai Jiuyou cursed as he pressed on Jixiang’s belly, using Chaos Qi to guide the muddy Qi out of its body.

Then... Jixiang excreted an enormous pile of feces as big as a house!

As a result, the entire Lotus Platform Cave Heaven was filled with a foul stench, making the environment quite harsh.

After feeling relieved, Jixiang’s size returned to normal, and its aura surpassed its former state. It returned to its mouse nest to carry on with its closed-door training, whereby it should improve significantly this time.

Bai Jiuyou and I sectioned off a spot in the most remote part of the Lotus Platform Cave Heaven, temporarily placing Jixiang’s feces and the Black Armor Bee Swarm there, sealing it with a great array.

The Black Armor Bee Swarm has also mutated. After I retrieved them, they remained restless due to the influence of the muddy Qi, and within the Lotus Platform Cave Heaven, they actually started slaughtering and devouring each other.

Originally, there were two queen bees, and the number of the swarm far exceeded a million, but now only one queen bee and fewer than a hundred remain.

However, these hundred Black Armor Bees, along with the queen bee, have all cocooned in Jixiang’s gigantic feces, showing signs of progression. Perhaps once they emerge, they will become even stronger.

*

[Xinhai, Year of the Pig, Eighth Day of the Third Lunar Month]

After a brief period of meditation, a year has swiftly passed, and I hadn’t felt the time slipping by, as if it was just a moment to me.

Indeed, the higher one’s cultivation, the less aware they are of time.

I have only digested about thirty percent of the absorbed demonic Qi and muddy Qi, mainly because the muddy Qi is difficult to purge, consuming a lot of time. If I didn’t have the Chaos Qi inside me, I’d be at a total loss with the muddy Qi.

Even my original Immortal Ganoderma Bloodline couldn’t purify the muddy Qi, not to mention the small amount of Green Lotus Qi I managed to absorb from the Green Jade Bamboo Flute. It’s a pity it’s too little.

In this world, every force has its counter. The Green Lotus Clan is indeed the nemesis of muddy Qi.

Transforming muddy Qi into Chaos Qi still requires a corresponding amount of various Spiritual and Demon Energies. Only after achieving a certain balance can the transformation be done.

I still can’t grasp the amount and degree of this balance.

The reason I awoke from meditation today is that my spiritual energy reserve was exhausted—I was hungry.

Time to head out and do good deeds!

*

[Xinhai, Year of the Pig, Sixteenth Day of the Fourth Lunar Month]

Returned from performing heroic deeds, only somewhat satisfied.

Indeed, it requires a varied diet to smoothly convert into Chaos Qi, but currently, my cultivation consumes more than what I take in.

The Chaos Qi in the Lotus Platform Cave Heaven is running low, probably only enough to sustain my cultivation to Mid-Stage Nascent Soul.

The bounty tasks in Tianya City are too scarce; my three puppet avatars managed to clear them all within a month.

Several bounties had demonic heads that escaped too far, possibly no longer in the Nine Rivers Realm, making them temporarily unachievable. Plus, some seemed like revenge quests, so I didn’t get involved.

As True Monarch Wangshu, I’m a righteous Nascent Soul True Monarch. I’ll switch to my Chenzhou Wanderer identity next time for another round of investigations.

I’m so hungry!

The man I saw in the dream of the Taixuan Stele was sketched and inquired about at the Star Alliance station in Tianya City, but to no avail.

Hopefully, this guy is dead; otherwise, if I capture him, I’ll make his life miserable!

I’ve thoroughly studied the Taixuan Stele and confirmed it’s a counterfeit. The materials used in the stele aren’t of the right age, and the runes used in the array are mostly modern, not ancient runes.

The Floating Life Illusion Dream Array inside is very complex, with over seventy layers. The skill and capability of the person who arrayed it nearly match Uncle Fuyi.

I sense something in the center of the array, which is also the core supporting the entire illusion. I must dismantle the array layer by layer to locate it.

Still very hungry, craving for something substantial.

Forget it, I’ll just return to eat some Taixuan Gold; after all, I’ve dug a lot.

Once fed, I’ll continue refining armor with Taixuan Pure Gold for Jixiang and the little ones, and also transform the Dragon Armor Puppet Soldiers using Taixuan Pure Gold.

*

[Xinhai, Year of the Pig, Seventeenth Day of the Fifth Lunar Month]

Tried an attempt today, and indeed, I encountered Anan in the dream realm.

This time, without any external foes, we sat down for a good chat. She’s been challenging various sword cultivators in the Shaking Light Realm, facing numerous hardships and gaining quite a few enemies, often pursued, yet she doesn’t mind the struggle.

She told me her Sword Heart is becoming more pure, and she relishes living life on the edge like this. A day without unsheathing her sword makes her uneasy.

She also mentioned that the True Martial Immortal Sect sent people to the Ziwei Star Alliance, and Xie Jingshan was among them. She saw Xie Jingshan in a dream a few days ago and found him to be vastly different from before.

He talks less and has become more mature and steady.

The war in the Ziwei Star Alliance is tense as human clan cultivators strive to reclaim the lost Heavenly Spear Realm, but the Demon Clan remains stubbornly fortified, leaving humans in a very passive position.

Our pursuits of the Dao differ, and we’ve already started on different paths. Anan and I can only pray for Xie Jingshan’s safety.

Awakening from the dream felt unsettling, so I went out to perform more heroic deeds!

*

[Renzi, Year of the Rat, Third Day of the Eighth Lunar Month]

A year and more in closed-door training, only to be awoken by hunger!

The Taixuan Gold is nearly consumed, but the progress in cultivation is rapid.

With a long life span now, progressing in cultivation cannot be rushed; it requires solid, steady steps.

The main issue is that my Divine Soul’s strength is seriously lagging behind. The further I cultivate, the more fatigued I become. Hence, I’ll have to pause cultivation for a while to figure out a solution to this problem.

There are only eleven layers left of the array in the Taixuan Stele to dismantle; Jixiang is still in closed training, and the Black Armor Bee Swarm hasn’t emerged from their cocoons yet. Bai Jiuyou is fully dedicated to raising the Little Thunder Roar Lieque; its Core Formation tribulation is near at hand.

Too hungry, I must go out and perform heroic deeds.

*

[Renzi, Year of the Rat, Eleventh Day of the Tenth Lunar Month]

Tianya City is no longer suitable; it’s too peaceful, and there aren’t even a few insignificant thieves to be found.

The plan for performing heroic deeds is on hold!

I’ve prepared everything and can start reforging the White Dragon Spear at any time.

But before that, I need to protect Little Thunder Roar Lieque during its core formation.

It’s time to leave this dreary place of Tianya City!

I’ve heard that upstream of the Jiuxiao River, in the Eight Immortals River Basin, there are the Eight Great Families with intricate relationships and it’s not very peaceful.

Among them is the Zhuge Family, skilled in Puppetry Path, worth a visit.

Hopefully, I can find a way to modify the core mechanism of the puppet avatars!