Longevity, starting from being a chicken raising servant

Yu Changchun!?

Wang Ba's heart jolted with alarm.

The busyness of recent days and the disappearance of the Chengxian Society had almost made him forget about this person's existence.

However, Old Hou's sudden reminder triggered a flicker of crisis in Wang Ba's heart.

What does it mean not to run around these days?

Could it really be as Senior Brother Zhao Feng said, that something drastic would happen on the day the Sect Master and the others leave the sect?

Thinking of this, he quickly called out to Old Hou and then hurried back to his villa, grabbing a small bucket of Spirit Chicken eggs, and thump, thump, thump, ran down, stuffing them onto Old Hou's cart.

Yet, to Wang Ba's surprise, Old Hou just raised an eyebrow at the cart full of eggs, without any particular reaction.

"Is it too little?"

Wang Ba thought to himself, somewhat dissatisfied, but still said with a smile, "Wait for me, I'll be right back, I didn't grab everything just now, there's still more."

After saying that, he hurried back, twisted two Spirit Chickens from their coop, brought them down, and stuffed them into Old Hou's donkey cart.

He was short on everything now, except for an abundance of Spirit Chickens.

Since only one of the four surrounding markets of the East Saint Sect, the Beisong Market, remained, selling Spirit Chickens had become inconvenient, so for safety reasons, Wang Ba reduced the frequency and number of times he sold them, preferring to let the chickens die of old age on the property.

Upon seeing the two Spirit Chickens on the cart, Old Hou finally showed a hint of a smile, but his tone became different from before:

"Unearned wealth is undeserved, Brother Wang, is there something you need my help with?"

Hearing this tone, Wang Ba's heart tightened instantly!

However, his face showed no change at all, as if he noticed nothing, and he gently rubbed his slightly twisted left pinky finger, revealing an innocent smile:

"Hehe, it's nothing much, I just wanted to know if Manager Yu had anything else entrusted for you to tell me."

"Also, I wanted to ask when I can undergo the Bone Replacement again? If I join the Chengxian Society, are there still bone sources available?"

Old Hou fell into a slight ponder, seeming to contemplate something, then spoke:

"I... Manager Yu didn't have anything specific to entrust, but he did particularly instruct me to tell you that there's no hurry with your Bone Replacement, we can talk about it in a few days."

"In a few days? How many days might that be?"

Wang Ba couldn't help but press for an answer, but seeing Old Hou's wary glance, he quickly explained:

"I'm getting quite anxious waiting, had it not been for Manager Yu saying that I shouldn't undergo another Bone Replacement within a fortnight, I would have considered doing it myself."

"It's just that those Sect Disciples look down on me, I, I..."

Old Hou's gaze then relaxed somewhat, and he could understand the feelings of a menial servant like Wang Ba, he thought for a moment and said, "It will be at least another fortnight, he's been very busy lately and can't find the time to arrange it."

"I see."

Wang Ba's face showed an expression of realization, then he leaned forward, grabbed Old Hou's hands with his own, and pleaded earnestly, "Old Hou, you must remember to say a few good words for me in front of Manager Yu!"

Old Hou immediately stepped back two paces somewhat awkwardly, withdrawing his hand: "Will do, will do, I've got to hurry off now."

With that, he jumped onto the donkey cart and sped away.

After Old Hou left, Wang Ba, who had withdrawn his Yin God Power, saw his smile disappear instantly, and his face turned grave.

"No lifespan!"

"Old Hou, he didn't have any lifespan!"

Just now, he had noticed subtle changes in Old Hou's tone and demeanor.

It wasn't very obvious, but Wang Ba immediately thought of Yu Changchun.

There was a moment when Old Hou's tone sounded extremely similar to Yu Changchun's.

Even though he seemed to realize this and quickly adjusted his behavior, Wang Ba still became suspicious.

He wondered if perhaps Old Hou was actually Yu Changchun in disguise.

With countless spells at a cultivator's disposal, it's not impossible that Yu Changchun would have such an ability.

So, grabbing Old Hou's hand was a bold test.

What he hadn't expected was that when he grasped Old Hou's rough hand, warm and strong, no prompt appeared.

It was like he was holding a piece of Decay Wood.

"Old Hou, he must already be dead!"

Wang Ba came to a chilling conclusion.

Remembering that these past days Old Hou seemed no different than usual, as though he didn't even realize he was dead, Wang Ba felt a cold shiver in his heart.

The Chengxian Society, with such eerie and terrifying methods, could it really be Elder He Lin's doing?

What are they planning?

With the lure of the Bury Bones secret technique, what are they scheming by targeting menial servants?

In a world where cultivators command immense power, Wang Ba couldn't understand why the Chengxian Society would go to such lengths with servants.

Yet, he vaguely sensed that the answer to this question would be revealed soon.

"Don't wander around needlessly these next few days…"

Recalling the 'Old Hou's' seemingly meaningful words, a sense of urgency surged in Wang Ba's heart.

…

Ding 9 Villa.

Wang Ba arrived as expected and busied himself.

Playing the part to the fullest, with his departure from the sect imminently approaching, he didn't want anyone to suspect anything; after all, it was just a few more days of work.

Wang Ba also didn't deliberately use his Yin God Power for disguise.

A cultivator's power and realm are not apparent from their appearance without the use of mana.

Unless there is a significant difference in realms or they possess a special dharma that enables them to discern such things.

But generally, the cultivators in Ding Villa are mostly rejects abandoned by the sect, barely managing their own cultivation, let alone spare the time and energy to practice a spell that's rarely needed.

So in the eyes of the three people in Ding 9 Villa, he was still the lucky menial servant with a decent Strong Body Sutra practice and tough connections.

Senior Brother Shi welcomed Wang Ba warmly; instead of staying in his room to cultivate as before, he came out specifically to work alongside Wang Ba.

Fermenting chicken feed, feeding Extreme Blood Pills, these tasks—He did them even faster than Wang Ba, who frequently handled such chores.

"I am a student of Elder Qian Jun from our Ten Thousand Beasts Room, learning the art of beast taming; all of this is foundational work."

Seeing the astonishment in Wang Ba's eyes, the cultivator surnamed Shi explained with self-pride.

Wang Ba suddenly realized.

Meanwhile, Tao Yi was also feeding chicken feed, and Lin Yu stepped out of her room for the first time, picking up eggs.

This was the first time Wang Ba had seen these three people from Ding 9 Villa working together.

Seeing that the work was almost done, the cultivator surnamed Shi spoke up:

"I received a notification this morning that Junior Brother Zhu and the others have left, and from now on, Ding 10 Villa will be managed by us."

"I'll assign our tasks; let's see if everyone finds them acceptable."

The three of them said nothing, waiting for the cultivator surnamed Shi to make arrangements.

The cultivator surnamed Shi cleared his throat and smiled at Lin Yu:

"Junior Sister Lin, how about you and Junior Brother Tao take charge of Ding 9 Villa together?"

"Him?"

"Her?"

"No way!"

"No way!"

The two glanced at each other and unanimously voiced their strong opposition.

"Senior Brother Shi, I'll work with Wang Ba. These past days, it's been the two of us working together, we're familiar with each other, and we won't cause any delay," Tao Yi said first after glaring at Lin Yu.

Lin Yu bit her lip and hurriedly added, "Senior Brother Shi, I—I'll work with Wang Ba!"

Wang Ba looked at Lin Yu perplexedly.

Tao Yi, however, laughed and said, "You sure have a clever plan, working with Wang Ba means he does all the work while you reap the benefits of the spiritual lineage!"

This statement burst into the open, making Lin Yu's expression suddenly turn cold, and even the cultivator surnamed Shi's face didn't look too good, because he had the same idea.

Lin Yu was so angry that she promptly took off a hairpin from her bun, poured mana into it, causing it to lengthen in the wind, and soon, it aimed at Tao Yi like a magic sword.

"Try saying that again, Tao Yi?"

Tao Yi, targeted by the hairpin, immediately changed his facial expression, not daring to continue speaking, while the cultivator surnamed Shi also looked more serious:

"Junior Sister, don't be impulsive!"

With that, a Leopard-faced Black Mink poked its head out of his sleeve, staring at Lin Yu, its tiny eyes flashing with danger.

"Hmph!"

Sensing the danger from the Leopard-faced Black Mink, Lin Yu huffed angrily, and then resentfully retracted the hairpin.

Seeing this, the cultivator surnamed Shi nodded slightly, pondered, and then said:

"Since that's the case, the three of us will stay at Ding 9 Villa, and Wang Ba will be solely responsible for Ding 10 Villa, to avoid certain idle speculations."

"But that means more hard work for Brother Wang."

Wang Ba quickly bowed in salute, "Immortal, what are you speaking of? This is all part of my duties."

This was the best outcome for him. The spirit chickens of Ding 10 Villa were fewer than those of Ding 9 Villa, so surely there would be less work, and he wouldn't have to worry about being noticed by the other cultivators—this suited Wang Ba just fine.

After the four of them concluded their agreement, Tao Yi found Wang Ba.

Seeing this, Lin Yu hesitated for a moment, then helplessly returned to her room.

"I'm sorry, I originally intended to work with you, but it turned out that I made you do all the work alone," Tao Yi said with a tone full of apology.

Wang Ba felt a bit of reluctance towards Tao Yi, one of the few friends he had in the sect.

Not just because he was going to Ding 10 Villa alone, but also because he would soon be leaving the sect, and most likely, they might never meet again.

Smiling, he bowed and said, "It's okay, I just hope that the next time I see you, you'll already be a Foundation Establishment Master!"

Tao Yi found this statement a bit strange, but a smile still appeared on his face, "Thank you for your kind words, and I also wish you the best in becoming an immortal!"

Wang Ba also smiled and replied, "Best of luck in becoming an immortal!"

Subsequently, Wang Ba was called into the cultivator surnamed Shi's room.

The cultivator surnamed Shi pointed to a bookshelf and said with a smile:

"You can take any books you're interested in from here, but remember to return them. Many of them I've painstakingly hand-copied from my master."

"If you have any doubts, you can also ask me."

Wang Ba thought about it and did indeed have some questions about the cultivation of spirit chickens.

The nurturing of spirit chickens was related to the source of his lifespan, so naturally, he cared deeply about it.

Thinking that he was going to leave soon and such an opportunity might not come again, he straightforwardly asked his questions on the spot.

At first, the cultivator surnamed Shi casually explained some details just to maintain the relationship, but he unexpectedly found that Wang Ba had some novel insights into the nurturing of spirit chickens.

Immediately interested, he had a serious discussion with Wang Ba.

When he heard Wang Ba discussing the phenomena of spirit chicken breakthroughs and presenting concepts such as survival of the fittest, natural selection, and mutations, the cultivator surnamed Shi couldn't help but slam the table in amazement, looking at Wang Ba with renewed respect.

"What you've said, in fact, has long been discussed in the Cultivation World, and there are corresponding explanations, but none have been summarized as concisely as yours."

He then couldn't help but repeatedly sigh:

"What a waste, what a waste that you're just a menial servant, otherwise, our Ten Thousand Beasts Room might have had another outstanding tamer like Patriarch Jiaohu!"

Patriarch Jiaohu was part of the Ten Thousand Beasts Room?

Wang Ba was somewhat taken aback by this revelation.

And the cultivator surnamed Shi also shared a surprising piece of sect history.

"In the past, the founding of East Saint Sect in this location was firmly supported by Patriarch Jiaohu."