Within the Morgue, Wang Ping opened his eyes once again.
“Dead again, huh.”
Amidst his sigh, Wang Ping subconsciously touched his neck. Only after confirming his head was still attached did he breathe a sigh of relief. After all, the memory of that previous experience was a bit too vivid.
“My death probably won’t be discovered too quickly.”
“After all, I sealed the quiet room beforehand. For a short time, outsiders will only assume I am in closed-door cultivation. This also preserves the opportunity for me to resurrect and return.”
Simply put, during his next resurrection, he wouldn’t need to spend fortune to exchange for a new identity; he could just continue using his original one. Under these circumstances, as long as his death wasn’t witnessed, it would be entirely unnoticed. No one would know he had resurrected once, and he could save his fortune for future use.
“After all, the identity of a Gilded Cavalry Guard is quite good.”
“Especially since I seem to have caught the eye of the Imperial Retainers Hall. To access higher-level martial arts in the future, I must try my best to maintain this identity.”
And before that happens…
At this thought, Wang Ping shifted his gaze to the towering book before him. There, the scripture scroll of the 【Otherworldly Heavenly Demon】 was emanating a faint glow.
“I can time it right and take a trip to the immortal sect first.”
He had just died. If he resurrected immediately, there was a high chance of drawing a second wave of attacks if discovered. It would be better to delay and lay low for a while.
This was the perfect opportunity to head to the immortal sect and develop a bit.
If he could learn immortal sect spiritual arts like 【Qi Ward】 and 【Spirit Snatching】 again, he would have much more confidence upon returning to Great Shun.
Thinking of this, Wang Ping walked toward the towering book.
【Owned Identity: Six Desires Heavenly Demon King】
【Select this identity?】
“No.”
Wang Ping shook his head decisively. Heaven knows if the 【Six Desires Heavenly Demon Banner】 was still in the hands of that Qi Refiner. He wasn’t about to gamble his little life on it.
He’d better just roll a random new identity to start.
At least judging by his previous two experiences, the 【Otherworldly Heavenly Demon】’s random identity had a pity system; it was highly unlikely to drop him into an instant-death scenario.
The next second, Wang Ping stepped forward.
Clang!
The golden, illusory light was the same as before. Wang Ping’s body and consciousness sank into it successively. He felt drowsy, and an unknown amount of time passed before he gradually woke up.
What greeted his eyes was an unfamiliar ceiling.
Wang Ping looked around and found himself sitting upright on a meditation cushion. Before him sat an incense burner, with three sticks of long incense wafting blue smoke.
“Is this… a cave dwelling?”
Wang Ping was instantly energized. Chores disciples of the immortal sects weren’t worthy of having cave dwellings. To have one’s own cave dwelling, one had to be at least an official disciple!
Did he hit the jackpot this time?
At this thought, Wang Ping immediately circulated his spiritual sense to inspect himself. Then, his freshly raised hopes sank right back down, and a helpless, bitter smile formed on his face.
The good news was, this time he had a spirit root.
The bad news was, it was a Flawed Spirit Root—a dime-a-dozen commodity that could be artificially cultivated by the immortal sect. His aptitude hadn’t been altered in the slightest.
Right at that moment, a splitting headache swept over him.
“Ugh…”
Wang Ping forcefully pressed his glabella, a look of surprise surfacing in his eyes. This was because the background memories accompanying this new identity far exceeded the previous ones.
…
Pingjiang Zi was a rogue cultivator.
As one of the immortal sect’s billions of rogue cultivators, he had no Daoist registry to his name. Without being recorded in a Daoist registry, he couldn’t even be considered an outer sect disciple within the immortal sect.
Therefore, like other rogue cultivators, he could only linger around the grotto-heavens and blessed lands governed by the immortal sect, running himself ragged every day just to earn spiritual coins for cultivation and living expenses. However, even so, compared to those chores disciples, and the countless Lishi and Cauldrons, his life was already considered very good.
At least, that was what his parents had always said.
Like many rogue cultivators, Pingjiang Zi’s father was a Divine General. It was a high-tier position among the immortal sect’s Lishi, boasting combat prowess no less than a first-stage Tribulation Transcendence cultivator.
His mother was a used-up Cauldron.
After being phased out, his mother was assigned to his father to breed the next generation of Lishi. This was a new regulation introduced by the immortal sect three thousand four hundred years ago.
The goal was to cut costs and increase efficiency.
After all, compared to wasting time forging Lishi, natural birth had almost zero cost. Furthermore, the Lishi born from the union of a Divine General and a Cauldron were of high quality.
The so-called “replacing forging with birthing solves two problems at once” was exactly this.
In addition to this, the Divine General and Cauldron acting as parents would strive hard to nurture the next generation, thereby stimulating consumption and the circulation of spiritual coins within the immortal sect.
Normally, if nothing unexpected happened, Pingjiang Zi would have entered the cultivation pipeline right after birth. Then, like many children born to Divine General and Cauldron families, he would enter the Lishi cultivation process, serving the immortal sect in the future—until the day he was born, which his parents described like this:
“I was a one-in-a-million miracle.”
Because Pingjiang Zi, who was originally born to be a Lishi, miraculously possessed a spirit root. Even if it was only a Flawed Spirit Root, it meant he could cultivate.
In other words, he had the hope of becoming a cultivator.
From that day on, his father and mother, who used to argue frequently, stopped fighting. They both began striving toward a common goal.
Supporting Pingjiang Zi’s immortal cultivation.
To this end, his Divine General father worked even harder, proactively applying to join dangerous secret realm explorations. His mother poured all her love and energy into the family.
As for Pingjiang Zi, he was a “genius” envied by countless children since he was young—because he could cultivate immortality. He also understood very early on how hard-won all of this was. He studied hard and sensibly, sacrificing almost all his leisure time, and finally passed the immortal sect’s assessment at the age of eighteen.
From then on, he became a rogue cultivator.
Not only was he taught immortal methods, but as long as he could fully cultivate through the first stage of Tribulation Transcendence in the future, he could be officially recorded in the Daoist registry and become a true outer sect disciple.
The future seemed bright.
Pingjiang Zi still remembered his high spirits back then. Like a newborn calf unafraid of tigers, he was determined to carve out his own broad, immortal path within the immortal sect.
Until a day three years later.
Bad news arrived regarding his Divine General father. During an Immortal-Brahma Sword Duel, the inner sect disciple he followed was defeated by a monk from the Brahma Kingdom, resulting in his Divine General father being severely injured as well.
Shortly after, his Divine General father was declared scrapped.
Unable to handle his original work, his scrapped Divine General father could only take on Lishi jobs he previously looked down upon, causing the family’s income to plummet.
Under these circumstances, they naturally couldn’t afford to support Pingjiang Zi’s continued cultivation. Thus, the twenty-one-year-old Pingjiang Zi voluntarily paused his cultivation and went to a blessed land governed by the immortal sect to find suitable work. Fortunately, his aptitude was indeed quite good. Although he didn’t earn many spiritual coins, it was barely enough to get by.
“I should say, fate favored me.”
A few years later, Pingjiang Zi encountered an excellent opportunity. The immortal sect’s newly promoted true legacy disciple, Senior Sister You Xuexin, was soliciting spiritual coins from rogue cultivators.
This was a privilege exclusive to true legacy disciples.
Rogue cultivators lent spiritual coins to true legacy disciples in exchange for various quotas under the true legacy disciple’s command. This included many jobs that rogue cultivators dreamed of.
Unlike those veteran true legacies, Senior Sister You had just been promoted. She had a large number of quotas available. Although the asking price was high, there was no need to queue. Basically, as long as you bought it, you could cash it in immediately. Therefore, in response to her call, rogue cultivators eagerly responded, and Pingjiang Zi was no exception.
He was determined to seize this serendipity.
However, he soon crashed into the most common, easiest to encounter, yet hardest to cross chasm on the path of immortal cultivation for every immortal sect cultivator:
“I didn’t have enough money.”
Pingjiang Zi found an excellent job. The spirtual coin compensation was high, and it perfectly aligned with the cultivation method he practiced, allowing him to balance both cultivation and work.
The only problem was, the asking price was also high.
After thinking it over repeatedly, Pingjiang Zi confessed to his parents and chose to give up, not wanting to force the issue.
“However, the day after that.”
“I returned from working at a blessed land. My parents, who usually came out to greet me, didn’t appear. Only my mother stood alone at the door.”
“In her hands was a massive stack of spiritual coins.”
“Only later did I find out that my father had sold his hands, his feet, his head, his torso, his five viscera, his six bowels, his weapons, and his spiritual power—he sold all of it.”
Although the former Divine General was scrapped, his material components were still very valuable. His father had found a friend still in active service and secured the absolute highest “friendship price”… Thus, when Pingjiang Zi returned home, he saw his father, reduced to a mere wisp of a lonely soul, smiling at him. His voice was full of joy:
“Don’t worry, Ping’er. Our family has money now.”
Everything that followed seemed a matter of course. After paying the required amount of spiritual coins in full, Pingjiang Zi smoothly passed Senior Sister You’s recommendation and secured the job.
He became a member of the blessed land, 【Soul-Descending Abode】.
The job involved crafting and selling the 【Soul-Descending Abode】’s signature Soul-Descending Straw Men and Soul-Summoning Talisman Papers. It was a three-shift rotation, and when trading volume was high, overtime was required.
This was an incredibly precious job.
Because whether it was the Soul-Summoning Talisman Papers or the Soul-Descending Straw Men, neither was difficult to craft, but they consumed a massive amount of energy. It wasn’t worth a true legacy disciple’s time to invest in it.
So it needed to be outsourced.
Since this was a long-term demand, there was no need to worry about job security. Thus, Pingjiang Zi began a peaceful life of leaving early and returning late every day.
“Life slowly got better too.”
“My job was stable and related to souls. I custom-ordered the best Soul-Guarding Talisman Paper for my father, and I even took out a mortgage to buy a new cave dwelling.”
“The only slight pity was that the workload at the 【Soul-Descending Abode】 was heavier than I imagined. I truly couldn’t balance both cultivation and work. I had to give up cultivation and focus most of my energy on work. My cultivation hasn’t increased in many years… but actually, it doesn’t matter.”
The voice in his memory grew exhausted and detached.
The high-spirited youth had, at some unknown point, become ordinary. White hairs had appeared at his temples, and his brow was perpetually furrowed.
Before long, ten, twenty years passed.
The youth was still clinging to his job at the 【Soul-Descending Abode】. It was more than enough to support his family, but his cultivation remained stagnant.
Reaching the completion of the first stage of Tribulation Transcendence felt hopelessly out of reach.
He could see the end of his future at a single glance.
“Actually, I also thought about venturing into a 【Secret Realm】 to see if I could advance further… but after careful consideration, I didn’t dare take action.”
Because he was the pillar of the family.
His father was reduced to a mere soul, and his mother had no ability to work. He couldn’t afford a single mishap, nor bear the slightest risk. He didn’t even dare seek a Dao companion.
Because he resided on the Blissful Immortal Peak, the rules between Dao companions were different from other immortal peaks. Simply put, after both parties signed a spiritual contract, they had to compete in dual cultivation while living together. Whoever lost would be squeezed dry until death by their Dao companion, becoming resources for the other’s cultivation.
After a Dao companion died, the other party automatically became single again.
And could find another one.
Therefore, on the Blissful Immortal Peak, when encountering a cultivator whose background couldn’t be seen through, one would generally check their divorce records. The number of divorces was used to judge their cultivation.
Practice showed this was incredibly accurate.
Occasionally, when alone at home late at night, Pingjiang Zi couldn’t help but curse loudly, saying these rules weren’t for finding a Dao companion, but for signing a life-and-death contract.
However, rules were rules.
He couldn’t change the immortal sect’s rules, so the only thing he could do was simply not look for a Dao companion, work hard, and live his own little life well.
Yet time never stands still.
As the years passed, what had to come eventually came—his Divine General father’s soul reached its limit. The Soul-Guarding Talisman Paper could no longer sustain its existence.
And Pingjiang Zi couldn’t procure a higher-grade talisman paper.
His father was dying.
Shortly after, his mother’s lifespan also approached its end. After all, as a used-up Cauldron, her body was already depleted. Living this long was already very good.
The next second, the memory image froze in front of a bed.
Pingjiang Zi knelt before the bed, weeping with snot and tears. The father and mother on the bed, however, wore smiles. They took his hands, their eyes full of earnest expectation.
“Child, don’t cry.”
“You have already done very well. Who knows how many people envy our family. You are our pride. It’s just a pity… we didn’t get to hold a grandson…”
Pingjiang Zi forced a smile and agreed to everything.
After his parents passed away, his life became even more monotonous. He commuted between his cave dwelling and the 【Soul-Descending Abode】 every day, living a respectable life envied by many rogue cultivators.
He had a cave dwelling, and even a low-grade flying spiritual artifact.
He even found a Dao companion.
Although he had to take on a sizable mortgage for these three things, living every day as if walking on thin ice, he believed it was all worth it.
Because this was what his parents expected.
This was his happiness.
“I’m sorry, you’re fired.”
A heavy sound shook the entire torrent of memory, causing Wang Ping—who was almost completely immersed in this perspective—to grunt muffledly. Fresh blood slowly trickled from his nose.
The cause was a 【Soul-Descending Straw Man】 he had sold. Not long ago, he received a complaint stating there was a quality issue—it failed to successfully curse a mortal target to death, severely damaging the reputation of the 【Soul-Descending Abode】. Therefore, the Master of the abode decided to fire him to avoid tarnishing their reputation.
However, this was wrong.
“I didn’t craft that 【Soul-Descending Straw Man】! You crafted it, Master, and handed it to me to sell, didn’t you? If there’s a quality issue, it’s not my…”
“So what?”
In the face of Pingjiang Zi’s questioning, the Master of the Soul-Descending Abode remained entirely unmoved: “The achievements of a lower cultivator are the merits of a superior immortal. The mistakes of a superior immortal are the responsibility of a lower cultivator.”
“Failing to spot the flaws in my crafting and directly selling it—that is your fault.”
“Regardless, leave your post tomorrow.”
This became the final straw that broke the youth. At the very end of his memory, he returned to his cave dwelling in a daze, sat upright on his meditation cushion, and closed his eyes.
Pingjiang Zi fell asleep and never woke up.
Then, Wang Ping awoke.
(End of Chapter)