Surviving in the Demonic Sect, one begins cultivation by retrieving corpses.

Gu Zhao wasn't in a hurry to collect it; instead, he asked, "Brother Ma, when is lunchtime?"

The corpse retrievers receive one meal during the day, which is served in shifts by the kitchen staff.

The thirty-six rooms in the lower courtyard had long taken care of all the servants' needs, from food and clothing to lodging and transportation.

The stableman quickly calculated, "It'll be another hour or so."

Cen Pan was indeed furious. This morning, not a single floating corpse was retrieved.

The group of corpse retrievers fell silent, none daring to utter a word in reply.

Disrespecting a deacon is a serious offense.

Cen Pan had already reached the Qi Refining Realm, and even if all the people on the boat who were retrieving corpses joined forces, they would still be no match for him.

The difference between cultivating Qi and fetal movement is like heaven and earth, just like the insurmountable chasm between a servant and an outer disciple.

Odd jobs are merely consumables; outer disciples can be considered talents, but only the inner disciples of the Mingyi Sect are worthy of being called Dao talents.

Gu Zhao made up his mind to take advantage of the half hour before dinner to collect the [Pure Yang True Qi].

It's time to serve lunch.

As the large ship docked, groups of corpse retrievers came ashore to eat, their eyes finally showing a glimmer of life.

It seems that corpse retrievers are also people who make a living.

Ma Fang and Gu Zhao disembarked first, where disciples from the kitchen were already waiting on the riverbank.

A fragrant aroma wafts towards you, making your mouth water.

Several wooden barrels were placed on the shore.

Snake soup, stir-fried pork, stewed chicken, rabbit soup, turtle soup, seasonal side dishes... liquor, hot tea...

Gu Zhao already knew that the food served by the corpse retrievers was quite good.

However, the fact that there were more than thirty dishes in a row still surprised me.

However, these are ultimately just ordinary grains, insignificant in the eyes of the demonic sect.

True cultivators eat spiritual grains, drink from immortal springs, and feast on exotic beasts and delicacies.

At this time,

Gu Zhao smelled another scent, unlike the greasy food, it was fresh and had an unparalleled fragrance that made his pores relax.

He looked up and saw that on the other side of the riverbank, there was another table set up in the dining room, where food was served not in rough wooden buckets, but in several exquisite food boxes.

That refreshing fragrance slowly emanates from it.

"Brother Zhao, stop looking. That's the stewards' meal. It's made with spirit rice, and the stir-fries are cooked with spirit oil refined by celestial beasts."

"If you keep looking, you won't even enjoy this good food anymore."

Seeing Gu Zhao's lingering gaze, the stableman said, "Our dozen or so stewards in the Dingzi section of the corpse retrieval room all live carefree and domineering lives."

Gu Zhao looked up and saw Cen Pan, dressed in a black cloak, slowly walking over.

The kitchen staff bowed and stepped forward to serve him rice.

Faced with such delicacies.

Cen Pan seemed to be in a bad mood and wasn't very interested.

Gu Zhao looked at the bowl again, and it didn't seem to smell as good anymore.

He finished his meal quickly, and while the food was being served, he immersed himself in his inner thoughts.

I saw this black gold cauldron again.

This time, without hesitation, I chose to [claim directly].

The large cauldron trembled slightly.

A wisp of pure Yang Qi, like the first rays of dawn, overflowed from the cauldron and slowly drifted into his body, flowing directly into his dantian.

Immediately!

A warm, comforting feeling swept over my limbs and body, expelling all the biting cold I had picked up from the river that morning, which turned into a fine layer of cold sweat that clung to my skin.

It felt like taking a hot shower on a cold winter's day.

I feel so comfortable!

The wisp of pure Yang Qi first settled in the Dantian, and then slowly flowed through the eight extraordinary meridians, nourishing the whole body.

Just a moment later.

Gu Zhao felt his internal energy in his dantian suddenly grow stronger, and his realm, which was originally stable at the second level of fetal movement, broke through and stepped into the third level of fetal movement.

"Phew~"

He exhaled two streams of condensed, frosty white breath from his mouth and nose.

Gu Zhao could not hide his surprise.

This pure Yang Qi, after circulating through the body's microcosmic orbit three times, directly broke through a realm.

At this rate, wouldn't it be incredibly fast to accumulate inner energy and break through barriers in the future?

It should be noted that the internal energy he had previously cultivated through the "Corpse Water Azure Wave Technique" was entirely due to his own forceful circulation of energy throughout his body, flowing through various meridians and acupoints.

With each complete cycle of internal energy circulation, one's inner energy improves slightly, but the path of cultivation is inherently extremely difficult.

It's like pushing a small boat upstream in a turbulent river; you can only make a few trips a day, and it often takes several hours.

But now, this pure yang true qi can circulate on its own, and its speed of circulation is more than seven or eight times faster than when he manually moves the true qi.

Such efficiency, the work done in one day is equivalent to more than seven days of his arduous training.

Although they couldn't compare to the prodigies, they still surprised Gu Zhao.

Legend has it that those born with Daoist potential have their acupoints opened from birth, their eight extraordinary meridians unobstructed, and their true qi can circulate on its own without guidance, directly circulating through the Great Heavenly Circuit.

Even more remarkable are those born with a Daoist body, who step into the realm of Qi Refining in one step, truly deserving to be called the pride of heaven.

Gu Zhao's breakthrough was originally due to being stuck at the second stage of fetal movement for a long time.

Thus, a breakthrough was achieved in one fell swoop.

"Brother Zhao, you... have reached the third stage of fetal movement?"

The stables nearby suddenly cried out in surprise.

Just now, he clearly sensed a faint fluctuation of magical power emanating from Gu Zhao's body, and two wisps of frost-white breath were exhaled from his mouth and nose, which were signs of a breakthrough in his cultivation level.

He only felt it because the two of them were close together; after all, the third stage of fetal movement is really nothing special.

Gu Zhao slowly opened his eyes and smiled slightly: "After being stuck at this level for so many days, I have finally made some progress."

The stable was momentarily stunned.

Gu Zhao was hit by the water monkey earlier, but not only was he unharmed, he even broke through his cultivation level because of it?

A blessing in disguise!

It took him two years to break through the third level of the Stable Master's training, and another two years of wasted effort to barely reach the fifth level.

Gu Zhao's talent is actually on par with his own?

Another genius!

Before he could react, a rapid clanging of wooden clappers came from the boat.

The stableman immediately started cursing: "Hurry up, hurry up! We just caught our breath, and now you're rushing us to finish again like we're dying!"

They dared not delay, and all morning they had not retrieved a single corpse from the boat, and they had no idea what was going on.

Cen Pan's face was as black as the bottom of a pot. "If we can't retrieve it this afternoon!"

"Work ends at 9 PM today!"

Upon hearing this, the faces of all the corpse retrievers turned bitter.

Ma Fang and Gu Zhao boarded the boat and jumped into the water.

"Splash—"

Gu Zhao dived back into the Yinshui River.

I felt a chill all over my body.

Just as he was about to activate the "Corpse Water Azure Wave Scripture," the pure Yang Qi he had just received seemed to have sentience, spontaneously condensing into a thin layer of gas on his body.

Completely different from before!

Even though circulating the "Corpse Water Blue Wave Scripture" had some effect, my chest still felt tight and oppressed, and I had difficulty breathing.

But at this moment!

There was no longer any feeling of coldness seeping into my body; instead of feeling suffocated or stuffy, I felt a faint warmth.

Gu Zhao was both surprised and delighted:

"This pure Yang Qi is so wondrous, truly amazing."

"This is really good stuff; this real Qi has power."

Gu Zhao focused his mind and sensed carefully. The chilling aura that used to penetrate to the bone when he entered the water was now completely unable to seep into his body.

This means that the Yinshui River has caused him no further harm.

He doesn't have to suffer like the stable boy, whose spiritual foundation is constantly being damaged and whose appearance ages prematurely.

Gu Zhao felt a surge of joy in his heart, but his face remained calm and composed, showing no sign of it.

He observed secretly for a while and found that although the pure yang qi could protect him from the invasion of yin water, it had a time limit. He would need to go on the boat to adjust his breathing after about half an hour.

After all, the pure Yang true Qi itself is only in the fetal movement stage and cannot be contained into the body or generated.

Only by going ashore to regulate one's breathing and waiting for the pure Yang Qi to automatically replenish and restore spiritual energy can one recover.

It seems that even though this thing is miraculous, it is not omnipotent.

Even so, it's enough to make any corpse retriever ecstatic.

Gu Zhao secretly estimated the time and dared not linger in the water, lest he attract too much attention.

After waiting for about half an incense stick's time, he pretended to be out of breath and unable to stand, and boarded the corpse retrieval boat.

As soon as Gu Zhao boarded the boat, he heard someone calling out anxiously in the Yinshui River.

"Oh no, more water monkeys!"

Here we go again? They're still chasing and killing us!!