Chapter 3

"Xia Gui Feng, are you heading down to town?"

"Hm?"

One of the senior members of the kitchen, Kong Tu Ye, who was now a member of the outer sect, notices Ye Gui Feng preparing to head down to town.

"Yes."

"Be careful. There have been some sightings of...

"Those from the demonic sects."

"Uh? How did they get into town?"

"No idea. Well, security's gotten tighter, so it should be fine. But just because it has doesn't mean you can let your guard down."

"Then you should be careful as well."

The senior nods as he reaches into his storage bag to pull out a bottle of pills, which he passes to Ye Gui Feng.

"Senior Brother Kong, you really shouldn't give me these. They would be better off in your hands."

As Ye Gui Feng sees no hope in increasing his cultivation base, he feels bad taking these pills from his former senior in the kitchen workplace.

"Nonsense. Everyone misses you in the outer sect. You need to quickly catch up."

Not taking a no for an answer, Rong Lu hastily leaves, forcing Ye Gui Feng to accept the pill bottle.

"_Sigh_ I really don't want to let them down..."

Many of his former seniors and juniors would often come to visit him, bringing Ye Gui Feng such pills that they had saved up over the past few weeks. However, this only makes Ye Gui Feng feel increasingly guilty about not raising his cultivation base despite receiving so much help.

With a heavy heart, Ye Gui Feng sighs and heads to town.

Once in town...

"Ye Gui Feng, take these cabbages."

"Ye Gui Feng, here's some surplus meat."

"Ye Gui Feng, come here."

The marketplace is as bustling as usual as Ye Gui Feng walks about. Every time a shopkeeper sees him, they would openly give him freebies.

This is the place where Ye Gui Feng feels most welcomed.

"Thank you," Ye Gui Feng says, thanking each of the shopkeepers for their generosity. In the past, he had tried to refuse, but he has come to discover that they wouldn't take no for an answer, so he can only gratefully accept them each time he visits.

"They all treat me so nicely. This really does make me feel better about myself."

Ye Gui Feng feels himself to be somewhat pathetic for being so easily touched by this as he makes his way to the biggest butcher in town.

"Uncle, I've come to order some beef for the kitchen staff."

"Oh? I figured as much. You haven't visited in too long - over two months."

"It's been somewhat busy... But then again, I really don't have much of an excuse to forget about coming here."

The ordering and scheduling of delivery for the meat ingredients are quickly settled, as the manager has already prepared the items in advance, anticipating Ye Gui Feng's visit.

With the ordering and scheduling settled, Ye Gui Feng had some free time to walk around town.

"_Sigh_ I feel like I need to do some soul searching."

Perhaps Ye Gui Feng's decision to join the Seven Rivers Sect had been a rash one, as he had found no success in his cultivation. Throughout his time in the Seven Rivers Sect, he had only been stuck working in the kitchen for well over ten years.

When the villagers of Ye Gui Feng's hometown had sent him off, they had encouraged him greatly and given him their blessings. If he went back there now, like this, Ye Gui Feng would truly be making himself a laughingstock.

"No, no, I won't go back. Even if life is rough here, I still want to continue."

"Psst. Hey, come over here."

As Ye Gui Feng continues to walk down the streets of the town, a figure dressed in dark robes waves towards him with their hand in the shape of a cat's paw.

"Hm?"

Turning his head towards the direction of a narrow alleyway, Ye Gui Feng walks towards the suspicious individual. Their appearance gives off a shady and tacky vibe.

With their face covered up by the hood of their dark robe, it's impossible to tell what kind of expression they're making.

"Judging by the badge on your chest, you must be a disciple of the Seven Rivers Sect."

"I'm not sure if I count as a disciple, considering how I'm working in the kitchen... Do you know how unfair the world of cultivation is? If you're lacking talent, you cannot hope to become immortal. Within this world, the strong feed on the weak."

"Yes, yes, I know this truth more than anyone else," Ye Gui Feng said, his voice laced with despair. "I'm a talentless piece of trash who couldn't even reach the first level of Qi Condensation after three whole years of hard work, and has been stuck at the 0.5th level since then."

No one was more aware of this harsh reality than Ye Gui Feng, who had lived in this world for 15 years. The sad truth was so tragic that Ye Gui Feng couldn't help but shed tears of self-pity as he took over the conversation to share his story.

Ye Gui Feng shared his entire life story of being a talentless disciple of the Seven Rivers Sect, staring up at the clear heavens.

Unbeknownst to Ye Gui Feng, the old man beneath his hood had his eyes flashing upon hearing that this boy had a cultivation base of only the 0.5th level of Qi Condensation.

As Ye Gui Feng's narrative continued to grow in length, the shady old man in dark robes seemed to have become speechless, listening intently to Ye Gui Feng while nodding his head every now and then.

Upon Ye Gui Feng finishing his story:

"Since you already know all this, I shall give this to you for the price of four spirit stones.

The shady person hands Ye Gui Feng a thin booklet. There is no title on it, but judging by the special papers used to construct it, this is clearly a cultivation manual.

"_Sigh_ Fine, four spirit stones? Do you truly believe someone working in the kitchen would have such a fortune? You must be underestimating my level of poverty."

Since there was truly nothing Ye Gui Feng could boast about, he might as well boast about his expertise in poverty. Poverty was surely one of his specialties. After working for so long in the kitchen, Ye Gui Feng had never made a single spirit stone to show for his efforts.

"Ah, my life is really filled with misery, isn't it? God is dead and has completely forsaken me."

The old man, seeing that Ye Gui Feng's words were probably true, coughed before continuing to speak.

"Ahem... Very well, consider it a freebie."

"Wait, just who are you?"

"Oh, I am merely a kindhearted traveler who offers free blessings to aspiring youths who wish for immortality."

"No, no, no matter how you try to make yourself sound virtuous, you're clearly suspicious. Don't tell me you're a demon -

"Goodbye!"

From within the robes of the suspicious person, a metal sphere falls, and upon hitting the ground, _Pooooooof!!!_ it explodes to release a dense smoke cloud that causes everyone around the area to cough.

"He was a demonic cultivator, dammit! If I had reported him, I would have gotten a few spirit stones!"