Cultivation begins with alchemy and collecting runes.

Inside the No. 996 underground fire room at Danding Gate in Shanyangfang Market.

"A lowly servant in the Alchemy Sect, whose furnace exploded during alchemy, severing his meridians and causing him to awaken his past life's wisdom?"

"Didn't I lose my job after graduating from university and, unable to find work in the job market, plan to go back home and farm?"

Li Xiuyuan had a splitting headache. He got up from the stone floor, the erysipelas coiling around his arms like venomous snakes, terrifying and chilling.

Memories flooded back like a tide: "Wang Daniu borrowed ten spirit stones, gambled everything, failed ten times in a row, and finally suffered a stroke from anger..."

The letter on the wooden table was starkly written: "Xiuyuan, your alchemy has failed, and our niece's path to immortality is now hopeless..."

A disciple of the Dan Ding Sect walked past the gate, caught a glimpse of Li Xiuyuan's miserable state, shook his head simply, sneered, and left—there were at least nine hundred, if not a thousand, of these menial laborers in the market who dared to attempt alchemy to defy fate.

……

"Cough cough cough..."

Li Xiuyuan struggled to support his weakened body, enduring the excruciating pain caused by the ruptured meridians throughout his body.

He regained his senses, rummaged through a black cloth bag at his waist, pulled out a yellowish-brown medicine bottle, and took out a pale blue pill.

He focused his divine sense on it, "Nourishing Essence Pill."

The most commonly used healing medicine among low-level cultivators in the market.

He bought it from a rogue cultivator in the market in his previous life for a spirit stone.

He swallowed the pill without hesitation.

The pill was somewhat bitter, but it melted in the mouth and left a slightly sweet aftertaste as it flowed into the body.

Although it was a low-grade elixir, fortunately, its healing effects were still present.

After swallowing it, the mild medicinal properties made the several torn meridians feel much better.

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh!"

With a long sigh of relief, the pain brought Li Xiuyuan to the realization that he had entered the world of cultivation.

In his previous life, he was sold into the "Dan Ding Sect" by human traffickers and had been a servant for ten years.

Most alchemy errand boys are those who run errands and do odd jobs for alchemists who have just entered the ranks.

Many more were coerced and lured into becoming "test subjects" for the alchemists within the sect.

They couldn't bear to discard the pills that failed to be refined or had poor efficacy.

He then had his servants test the medicine on themselves to determine its suitability, so that it wouldn't cause illness when sold to others at a low price.

The original owner was unwilling to remain subservient to others, so he spent the spirit stones he had accumulated over the years to buy medicine and refine pills.

However, due to his status as a menial servant, and the lack of other available personnel, he had no choice but to test the medicine himself.

In just six months, he was plagued by erysipelas and fire poison, and his lifespan was rapidly depleted.

Having already exhausted his family fortune, he was unwilling to die and perish, so he borrowed ten spirit stones from his friend Wang Daniu to purchase spiritual medicine.

He planned to start refining pills again, making one last gamble in an attempt to defy fate.

[Cultivation Skill: Abstinence Elixir (Beginner) 10/50]

[Grain-Breaking Pill [White Rune]: Mixed Mana (Refinable)]

"I found this jade talisman along with this alchemy furnace in the abandoned alchemy room, how did it become my cheat code?"

He looked at the panel and pondered it over and over again.

"This is the system from a certain online novel platform!"

Li Xiuyuan quickly learned the panel's function: he could accumulate proficiency in his cultivation techniques, methods, and spells.

Each time your proficiency increases, you will receive rune rewards, which will benefit you.

"Cultivation techniques will not regress; isn't that proof enough for a certain point to last forever?"

Li Xiuyuan was surprised by the domineering nature of the proficiency panel.

It is generally acknowledged in this world that to learn the various arts of cultivation, one must have talent, a lineage, a teacher to guide them, and spend a great deal of time studying and researching before achieving any success.

Qi Refining cultivators have a lifespan of no more than 120 years. Even if they spend their entire lives, they would find it difficult to learn a skill to the second level, which is the Foundation Establishment cultivator level.

But Li Xiuyuan is different. As long as he keeps accumulating proficiency, he can easily achieve a leap in skill level.

Achieving a high level of proficiency in one or several skills can far surpass others and save them a lot of time.

Li Xiuyuan suppressed the pounding in his heart, but couldn't suppress the smile on his face.

He took a deep breath, scooped up a handful of cold water, and vigorously rubbed his face, which had turned sallow from the heat of the stove.

The cold water brought his feverish head back to its senses.

"Do not be complacent. This is only the first step on the path to immortality. In the future, attaining immortality will no longer be a distant dream."

"I am afflicted with elixir poisoning and have only six months left to live. I will first refine elixirs to earn spirit stones to pay the rent for my cave dwelling and the corvée labor, so that I will not be forcibly conscripted to the front lines to reclaim wasteland."

Located on the outermost edge of the Ten Thousand Demon Mountains, Shanyang Market is one of the thousands of independent cultivator strongholds opened up to plunder the unique treasures of the demon race.

As far as he knew, of every ten people who went to the front lines in the wilderness, fewer than three would return alive.

Besides the rampant monsters on the front lines of the wilderness, there are also demonic cultivators and treacherous cultivators who kill and plunder.

For the sake of safety, very few people in the market resisted the corvée tax and the rent for the cave dwellings.

Li Xiuyuan took a deep breath, suppressing the pent-up frustration and insecurity in his heart.

"I want to cultivate immortality! I want to live forever! I want to live a carefree and unrestrained life!"

Li Xiuyuan picked up the shattered bronze alchemy furnace in the distance and left the Earth Fire Room with a normal expression.

As he walked along the main road in the outer city, he bumped into a bald old man in a hunting jacket and short coat. The old man immediately beamed with joy when he saw Li Xiuyuan.

He strode forward, grabbed Li Xiuyuan's sleeve tightly, and whispered.

"Fellow Daoist Li, you are now imprisoned. Although I am but a humble man, I dare not forget your great kindness. Please do not refuse this small token of my appreciation."

Huang Dali, his yellowed front teeth revealing a warm and sincere smile, pulled a black cloth bag from his pocket and stuffed it into Li Xiuyuan's arms.

Five years ago, he and his grandson fled here and encountered a robbery on the way. At the critical moment of life and death, Li Xiuyuan came to their aid.

After that, Li Xiuyuan provided relief to the grandfather and grandson on several occasions, which enabled them to settle down in the market.

"Thank you for your kindness, Fellow Daoist Huang. Xiu Yuan is grateful."

Li Xiuyuan initially wanted to refuse, but then he thought about it and realized that he still had sect corvée labor and cave rent to pay with spirit stones, so he stopped refusing and accepted the spirit stones.

He weighed the five spirit stones carefully and felt a warmth in his heart, saying, "Thank you for your help, fellow Daoist. I will remember it forever."

Five spirit stones are equivalent to half a year's salary at the Dan Ding Sect.

This is the money that Old Man Huang and his grandson risked their lives to kill the demon; it feels heavy in their hands!

……

Back in front of the courtyard that resembled an ordinary farmhouse, he stepped through the gate and immediately activated the protective array that came with him.

He scanned the area with his divine sense and confirmed that no one was watching.

He then entered the bedroom, sat cross-legged on the wooden bed, and activated his divine sense on the control panel.

The white rune symbolizing 'mixed magic' vanished instantly.

next moment.

A surge of magical power emerged from Li Xiuyuan's dantian, and he realized that this was the power of the runes he had just refined.

He circulated his energy according to the "Minor Forging and Refining Fire Technique," patiently refining it into fire-based magical power.

"Described as mixed magical power, its purity is no less than that of spiritual energy purified by a low-grade spirit-gathering array worth a hundred spirit stones!"

Half an hour later.

Li Xiuyuan felt a surge of joy as he sensed the changes within his dantian.

"My Qi Sea power has increased by three strands, far exceeding what I gained from three months of arduous cultivation!"

This is no less valuable than a Qi-Nourishing Pill worth a spirit stone inside the sect.

He discovered through internal vision that the section on the practice method had changed.

[Realm: Qi Refining Level 2: 81/100]

【Cultivation Technique: Minor Forging Yuan Fire Refining Technique - Entering the Inner Chamber: 81/100】

"If I get a few more runes like this, I can break through to the third level of Qi Refining!"