The Path to Immortality Begins as a Sect's Menial Servant

“You came?”

Li An saw Wang Dazhu and smiled slightly.

“Brother An, I’ve wanted to visit you for a while, but for new disciples, we can only go out freely on the last day of each month. That’s why I just got the chance… Brother An, how’s your health?”

Wang Dazhu looked at him with concern.

Li An sighed. “Sigh, my spirit root is still damaged, but luckily… I managed to reach the First Stage of Qi Refining.”

Wang Dazhu brightened. “That’s great! I knew you weren’t ordinary! …Hmph, during a gathering a few days ago, Zhao Xianchuan said you’d never be able to cultivate…”

“A gathering?”

“Yeah, the group of us who joined the sect together decided to meet on the last day of each month to share experiences and improve together… When I go back next time, I’ll let them know you’ve succeeded in Qi Refining!”

His face showed excitement—clearly, he had probably been mocked about Li An during that gathering.

Now that Li An had entered Qi Refining, he was eager to regain face.

Li An smiled but didn’t say anything.

Even if Wang Dazhu spread the word about his progress, it wouldn’t matter.

Zhao Xianchuan and the others would find out soon enough that Li An’s cultivation would likely never go any further.

Wang Dazhu then eagerly shared how things were going for him in the sect.

Since entering the sect, he and the other registered disciples had been receiving unified training from an Outer Sect Elder, learning breathing techniques and basic skills.

Registered disciples had generous benefits—five spirit stones and ten bags of spirit rice each month.

Wang Dazhu had been training hard, practicing fire-element techniques, and had already reached the First Stage of Qi Refining.

In just two months, he was almost at the peak of the First Stage and ready to move toward the Second.

That’s the benefit of having enough resources.

By contrast, at his current speed, it would take Li An at least a year to reach that point.

“Official disciples are even better. They can take Outer Sect Elders as mentors and receive personal guidance. Just spirit stones alone—they get ten a month. Brother An, I heard Mu Qingwan has already reached the Second Stage of Qi Refining and is being taken very seriously.”

Mu Qingwan, Zhao Xianchuan, Wang Jian, and the other official disciples were living comfortably and had bright futures ahead.

Compared to them, Li An had already fallen far behind the others who entered the sect with him.

“Brother An, I’ve saved up two spirit stones these past two months…”

Wang Dazhu pulled one out and handed it over.

Li An smiled. “No need, Dazhu. I don’t really have much use for spirit stones here. There’ll be a test for registered disciples in three years. The top performers can become official disciples—keep it for that.”

Wang Dazhu grinned. “I’ll listen to you, Brother An. But if you ever need anything, just come find me. Oh right, Brother An, want to come to our next gathering?”

Li An thought for a moment, then said, “Sure.”

…

Around mid-month, Fan Jie finally returned.

This time, he brought back a large batch of bug-killing powder—all the same kind that Wang Zilin had used.

Li An guessed that Fan Jie hadn’t known which formula worked best before, so he was testing them.

Now that he had found the most effective one, he dared to buy it in bulk.

“The first batch of spirit rice will mature in a few days. You must keep the caterpillars under control. If anyone’s field loses yield because of bugs, I won’t let it slide!”

Fan Jie warned coldly.

His gaze passed over Zhang Susu. Her tired and anxious look made a flicker of amusement flash in his eyes.

But when he saw Wang Zilin—who looked even more exhausted—his face showed a hint of disgust.

“Immortal Master,”

Once Zhang Susu and Wang Zilin left, Li An approached Fan Jie on his own.

“What is it?”

Li An respectfully said, “It’s like this: A few days ago, a fellow Immortal from the sect visited me and mentioned he was looking to buy a special kind of spirit food…

Recently, I noticed some of the caterpillars in the field seem to be infused with spirit energy. I was thinking about catching a few and selling them to my friend.

But I didn’t dare act without your permission, so I haven’t told him anything yet.

What do you think, Immortal Master?”

Fan Jie frowned slightly at the words.

“What’s your friend’s name? Is he an official disciple or a registered one?”

He asked for specifics.

“His name is Wang Dazhu. He just joined this year. He’s a registered disciple, but very talented.”

Li An answered.

Fan Jie thought for a while. A registered disciple willing to befriend a Menial Servant?

Still, it made him look at Li An with a bit more importance.

Besides, if word got out that spirit bugs had been born from the spirit rice, someone might investigate…

He softened slightly.

“Those bugs won’t sell for much. You should focus on the rice. Don’t worry—if you do well, I’ll make sure you’re rewarded. I’ll talk to the sect and increase your monthly supplies next month.”

Li An bowed. “Thank you very much, Immortal Master.”

This was exactly what he wanted—to give Fan Jie a warning.

Fan Jie had been exploiting him too much.

Now, Fan Jie would feel more cautious dealing with him.

…

Ten more days passed.

The first batch of spirit rice finally matured and harvest began.

A large amount of rice was collected. Zhang Susu looked at her harvest and burst into tears.

Her field was poor to begin with, and she had worked so hard just to meet the basic requirement. With the bug damage, she still fell short by about 100 kilograms.

Wang Zilin was also mentally shaken. Because he had spent so much time helping Zhang Susu, his own harvest barely passed the standard, earning him only around 5 kilograms of extra rice.

The biggest gain went to Li An—his harvest exceeded the standard by nearly 400 kilograms.

According to the reward rules, he should get about 20 kilograms of extra spirit rice.

That was a huge amount for a Menial Servant.

After all, 50 kilograms of spirit rice could be exchanged for one Low Grade Spirit Stone.

“Zhang Susu—your monthly supplies are entirely withheld. Wang Zilin—no change. Li An—take an extra 20 kilograms of spirit rice.”

Fan Jie announced coldly.

Li An felt a slight surge of joy—his earlier warning had worked.

Fan Jie had taken the 5 kilogram reward that should’ve gone to Wang Zilin, but didn’t touch a single grain of Li An’s.

Both Wang Zilin and Zhang Susu were full of jealousy, but they dared not show it.

Right after that, Fan Jie handed out the monthly goods.

Li An weighed his bag—it no longer held just a third of a spirit stone. It was a full one.

And his supplies were complete.

…

“Brother Li,”

Zhang Susu found Li An, biting her lip. “Could you lend me some spirit rice?”

Her entire monthly supply had been withheld—she didn’t even have enough to eat.

“Sister Susu, I still owe you some rice from before.”

Li An didn’t refuse. He returned everything he had borrowed from her earlier—down to the last grain.

Zhang Susu took the handful of rice but didn’t leave. Her cheeks turned red. “Brother Li… can I borrow a little more?”

That little bit still wasn’t enough for her meals.

“How much do you need?”

“One bag. Just one. I’ll pay you back as soon as I get next month’s supplies.”

Li An shook his head. “Sorry. I can only give you half a bag.”

“My spirit root is still badly damaged—I really need the rice.”

If he didn’t lend at all, she might resent him.

If he gave too much, Fan Jie might get suspicious.

Zhang Susu looked a bit disappointed, but still thanked him. “Okay… half a bag it is. Thank you.”

She took the rice and left.

…

During this time, the first leaf on the Life Seed inside Li An’s body had fully opened. It was about the size of a thumbprint.

With the nourishment from the Life Seed, his spirit root had begun to change slightly.

Still, Li An felt complicated—at this pace, it would probably take another six months just to fully master the First Stage of Qi Refining…

Lack of spirit stones was one reason—but the real reason was that the Life-Nourishing Immortal-Making Technique grew slower than other techniques.

But he wasn’t anxious. He could feel his vitality increasing. In terms of lifespan, he had already gained over a dozen years.

Even if it took him ten years to master the First Stage—it would still be worth it.

He was storing power, growing steadily.

“It’s about time I practiced some attack techniques.”

Li An murmured.

He wanted a steady and safe cultivation path—but the world of cultivation was cruel. Without ways to defend and fight, survival was impossible.

Thankfully, in his past life, he came from a cultivation clan and reached the Core Formation Stage—so he had plenty of techniques stored in his mind.

“For now, the most useful one is Water Arrow Technique!”

Water Arrow Technique was a Low Grade Yellow Tier spell. It condensed moisture in the air into a sharp arrow to kill enemies.

Its power was decent.

More importantly, it shared principles with the Cloud-Walking Rain-Summoning Technique—he could train both together during work.

After dozens of tries, water droplets began to form in front of him. They condensed into a tiny arrow. With a burst of spirit energy, the water arrow shot out, piercing a wooden plank one meter away.

“My spirit root is too weak—it took so many attempts just to get this far.”

“Right now the range is only about 1.5 meters. For real combat use, I’ll need at least ten.”

“Still, the spirit energy cultivated with Life-Nourishing Immortal-Making Technique is purer and more solid—and it recovers quickly. A normal First Stage cultivator could only cast Water Arrow twice before running out. I can do it five times!”

Li An was quite satisfied.

Over the next few days, while performing the Rain-Summoning Technique, he practiced Water Arrow as well.

Its range quickly increased to four meters.

And the Rain-Summoning Technique also became more refined—his rainfall was more evenly spread, and the spirit energy flowed smoothly.

The spirit rice visibly grew better.

…

Meanwhile, the second batch of spirit rice was also harvested.

But the pest problem had gotten worse, and the bug powder was becoming less effective.

The bonus effect from Li An’s Rain Technique was canceled out by the bugs, so his harvest stayed about the same.

Zhang Susu and Wang Zilin did even worse.

After the second harvest, Fan Jie finally decided to rearrange the field assignments.

(End of Chapter)