Chapter 61: Independent Cultivator

"Well... this is certainly something." In the quiet cave dwelling, Wang Ping pressed his fingers against his brow. It took him a long while to collect himself and pull away from the massive flood of memories belonging to his new host, Pingjiangzi.

This had never happened before.

The memories accompanying his previous identities had always been mere background settings, stripped to the absolute bare minimum. They had never been strong enough to shake his sense of self.

This time, however, Pingjiangzi's memories ran deep. While the finer details remained blurry, the mental images of crucial turning points in his life—and the intense emotions attached to them—felt incredibly real. They were so vivid that Wang Ping had been completely immersed in them before he could snap out of it.

"Is it because... my status is higher now?"

Wang Ping fell deep in thought. Compared to being a strongman or a menial laborer, his new status as an independent cultivator in the Immortal Gate had undoubtedly crossed a certain threshold.

Consequently, the details of his background had multiplied.

This led to a rather troubling thought: the mighty power of the Taiping Sutra was perhaps not infinite. Or, at the very least, it faced restrictions within the Immortal Gate.

'Back in Great Shun, the Taiping Sutra could unconditionally provide a new identity for me, even something as high-ranking as a Gold-Bearing Brocade Guard. But here in the Immortal Gate, once an identity crosses a certain threshold, the sutra is forced to fabricate far more background details.'

'If it didn't... would the Immortal Gate notice?'

'If that is true...'

Wang Ping swallowed hard at the thought, then pushed the speculation aside. Given his current strength, overthinking such things was pointless.

He was here now; he had to make the best of it.

For now, the only real plan was to increase his strength as quickly as possible.

Wang Ping quickly adjusted his mindset. With his worries set aside, a surge of joy took over, for the value of these new memories was immeasurable.

"An orthodox cultivation method!"

Sifting through the torrent of memories, he uncovered Pingjiangzi's life experiences as an independent cultivator—including the exact Immortal Gate cultivation method he had practiced.

It was called the Three Corpses and Nine Worms Tribulation-Resolving Secret Record.

This was an incredibly common technique among the Immortal Gate's independent cultivators, virtually found on every street corner. As the name implied, it allowed a cultivator to shed their mortal body and undergo a complete rebirth by eradicating the three corpses and nine worms residing within them.

If cultivated to full mastery, one would acquire all four defining traits of the Tribulation Transcending First Layer.

It sounded rather unimpressive—complete mastery only brought a person to the Tribulation Transcending First Layer. However, out of the millions of independent cultivators within the Immortal Gate, only a few hundred had ever actually reached that point.

Pingjiangzi had spent half his life practicing this art, yet he had only barely unlocked Telepathic Spiritual Perception and achieved a Flawless True Body. This put him at the exact same level as Wang Ping, who had been cultivating for less than a year. Part of the blame lay in Pingjiangzi's grueling work schedule as an adult, which left him little time to train, but the fundamental issue remained: the method was simply too difficult.

'No wonder so many people fought over the Life-Stealing Thief...'

Wang Ping recalled his previous stint in the Immortal Gate. It made perfect sense now why the Life-Stealing Thief was strictly forbidden from being taught.

If everyone practiced the Life-Stealing Thief, the consequences would be catastrophic.

No one would bother putting in an honest day's work. They would constantly obsess over rapid cultivation gains, slaughtering one another until the entire social order of the Immortal Gate collapsed.

Then again...

'What is the true cost?'

Wang Ping wasn't letting the incredible convenience of the Life-Stealing Thief cloud his judgment. A shortcut this immense had to harbor an equally immense hidden danger.

'Unfortunately, this thing has already embedded itself deep into my soul sea.'

This was the harsh reality of starting from nothing. Sometimes you recognized a piece of poisoned bait for what it was, but in order to scrape together your starting capital, you had to swallow it anyway.

Wang Ping sighed and turned his attention to the Three Corpses and Nine Worms Tribulation-Resolving Secret Record. Compared to the Life-Stealing Thief, this cultivation method was undoubtedly much cruder—only a step above the Six Desire Heavens Sovereign Attainment Method. Yet, operating from a higher vantage point, Wang Ping grasped the new technique at a terrifying speed.

"The three corpses and nine worms entwine the human body."

"The three corpses govern the mortal frame's three desires: the upper corpse rules greed, the middle corpse rules gluttony, and the lower corpse rules lust. Once the three corpses are severed and cast out, the three desires vanish, bringing one ever closer to the Dao."

"The nine worms dwell within the nine orifices. They are the Subjugation, the Dragon, the Flesh, the White, the Red, the Diaphragm, the Lung, the Stomach, and the Dung worms. They are the root of all earthly ailments."

"Sever the three corpses, and one's true nature attains perfection."

"Exterminate the nine worms, and one's vitality reaches fulfillment."

Sitting on his meditation cushion, Wang Ping marveled, "Cultivating both mind and vitality... If one can achieve a state where form and spirit are exquisitely refined, the Human Tribulation of the Tribulation Transcending First Layer will be successfully crossed."

Once that happened, one could become an outer sect disciple.

"As expected of the Immortal Gate," Wang Ping mused in surprise. "Though grueling to practice, the underlying principles of this Three Corpses and Nine Worms Tribulation-Resolving Secret Record are actually quite profound."

It was balanced and harmonious, perfectly aligned with the natural flow of the Dao.

If someone could actually overcome its punishing difficulty, cultivate it to complete mastery, and cross the Human Tribulation, their sheer talent for cultivation would be undeniable.

According to Pingjiangzi's memories, there were records of independent cultivators with defective spiritual roots who relied entirely on their staggering comprehension to master this technique in just two and a half years, safely crossing the Human Tribulation.

The day they succeeded, their breakthrough even alerted a few Qi Refining practitioners.

Afterward, that unparalleled genius among the independent cultivators was granted an exception and accepted as a disciple into the Protector Courtyard, one of the sect's Three Great Academies. From there, they ascended to another realm, leaving their old life completely behind.

A thrill of excitement ran through Wang Ping.

'I wonder how my own talent measures up?'

Wasting no time, he crossed his legs and slipped into a deep meditative trance. Following the secret record, he attempted to visualize the three corpses and nine worms within his soul sea.

This process reinforced his belief that his transmigration was not a simple possession of someone else's body.

'The Pingjiangzi in these memories had studied the Three Corpses and Nine Worms Tribulation-Resolving Secret Record ages ago. Yet, his memories of practicing it are incredibly vague.'

'More than that, my current physical body shows zero signs of practicing cultivation methods. Instead, it is tempered by the Thirteen Grand Protectors Hard Qigong. I've retained all of my original cultivation base. Rather than taking over Pingjiangzi's body, it's more like I simply inherited his identity.'

Because of this, his practice of the Immortal Gate's cultivation methods had to begin entirely from scratch.

This was vastly different from his time as a strongman.

He suspected the difference lay in the fact that strongmen were merely tools manufactured by the Immortal Gate, whereas Pingjiangzi was a real person. Naturally, the mechanics of assuming their lives differed.

'Still, I'm not the clueless cultivation novice I used to be.'

Wang Ping brimmed with confidence. He had mastered two spells and successfully forged both his Telepathic Spiritual Perception and his Flawless True Body. He now possessed a solid foundation of cultivation knowledge.

'How hard could a common independent cultivator's manual really be?'

—Three days later.

"Taiping Sutra!"

Wang Ping entered the Great Peace Mortuary without a shred of hesitation. He focused his consciousness onto a promise worth a thousand gold, unleashing his matchless talent for taking on mystical loans.

The very next second, as the scroll's glow dimmed, a torrential flood of knowledge and profound insight erupted from the depths of his mind, rushing forth like a geyser.

Soon after, deep shadows began swirling around his body. Within the darkness writhed countless pale, fat worms the size of human heads, crawling chaotically to form a nauseating sea of insects. Deep beneath the writhing mass, three blurred silhouettes sat perfectly still with their legs crossed.

"Huu... Haa!"

Wang Ping took a sharp, deep breath, inhaling the surrounding shadows entirely. He then exhaled forcefully, expelling a billowing cloud of black smoke that scattered into the air, carrying with it the shrill wails of ghosts.

In that instant, an immense wave of physical and mental relief washed over him.

This rhythmic breathing cycle was the true essence of the Three Corpses and Nine Worms Tribulation-Resolving Secret Record: inhaling the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, and exhaling the foul toxins of the nine worms, thereby cleansing one's mortal flesh.

Throughout this process, the three desires governed by the three corpses would continually generate vile, distracting thoughts to bombard his soul sea and disrupt his breathing rhythm. If his rhythm faltered even slightly, the three corpses would exploit the opening. But if he maintained control, the three corpses would be suppressed, refining his spiritual sense and willpower in the forge of temptation.

Right at that moment.

Outside his cave, the defensive formation chimed in warning. A leisurely voice drifted in right after. "I am Qingyuan of the Heaven and Earth Pavilion. Might Fellow Daoist Pingjiangzi be home?"

"Heaven and Earth Pavilion..."

Wang Ping, having fully absorbed Pingjiangzi's identity, realized instantly what this meant. "A debt collector? But that doesn't make sense, it's far too early..."

His guard raised, Wang Ping walked out of his cave.

Waiting outside was a familiar figure. The man was tall and spindly with a long, horse-like face; when he smiled, his eyes squeezed shut into narrow slits.

'It's one of the lackeys who delivered the goods to Daoist Nun You...'

Two lifetimes ago, during his stint as an Immortal Gate strongman, Wang Ping had witnessed two sect disciples making a delivery to Daoist Nun You, only to be ruthlessly extorted by her.

The man standing before him was one of those two.

'The Heaven and Earth Pavilion is a syndicate established by one of the sect's true transmission disciples. There are plenty of similar factions entrenched within the Immortal Gate, it's an incredibly common sight.'

As the saying went: where there is a sect, there are always internal factions; a sect without factions would truly be bizarre.

Dragging up Pingjiangzi's impressions of the Heaven and Earth Pavilion, Wang Ping forced a polite smile. "Ah, Fellow Daoist Qingyuan."

"To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Heh."

Qingyuan beamed with an affable expression. "Well, I recently heard that you've departed from the Soul-Falling Studio. Naturally, I grew a bit concerned about the Dharma Covenant on your cave dwelling."

Wang Ping's smile vanished. The memories snapped into place—when Pingjiangzi had taken out a mortgage for this very cave dwelling, he had used the Heaven and Earth Pavilion as a broker. The initial down payment had been vastly cheaper than the sect's official channels, but the trade-off was a staggering interest rate.

"It isn't time for my repayment yet."

Wang Ping said coldly, "I've paid this month's principal and interest in full. Even if you want to press me for the debt, you shouldn't be knocking on my door until next month."

"You misunderstand me, friend."

Qingyuan's pleasant expression didn't waver. "I haven't come to collect your debt. I'm just planning ahead. I want to recommend you for a brand-new position at one of the sect's blessed lands."

"This way, you can get back to work immediately and secure the funds for your upcoming payments without missing a beat in your cultivation. As for me, I'll earn a tidy commission for the successful recommendation. It's a win-win situation for both of us—why would you refuse?"

'Yeah, right.'

Wang Ping maintained a completely neutral expression and simply asked, "And what is the exact dharma currency salary for this position? Is it the same as the Soul-Falling Studio?"

"Ah, it'll certainly be a bit lower."

Qingyuan shook his head and offered a sympathetic sigh. "After all, you were fired from the Soul-Falling Studio for a disciplinary breach. With that on your record, your next employer will naturally suppress your wages."

Of course they would.

Not only would they suppress his wages, they would squeeze him down to the exact fraction of a coin where he could barely cover his mortgage payments, leaving him unable to sustain his daily life—forcing him to take out even more loans just to survive.

That way, his debt would never shrink.

It would only snowball.

He would end up just like countless other independent cultivators: crushed beneath a mountain of debt, working himself to the bone until he died, never actually paying off the loan.

And the moment he died, the Heaven and Earth Pavilion would swoop in, completely legally, and repossess the cave dwelling he had bled his whole life to keep—only to flip it and sell it to the next miserable independent cultivator. This vicious cycle was an open secret, yet no one had the power to resist it. They could only bear the yoke in silence.

'Fucking animals!'

Wang Ping cursed viciously in his mind. What kind of heartless bastard had designed this system of sustainably draining the blood from their own people?

"Anyway, please give it some serious thought."

Qingyuan wasn't bothered by 'Pingjiangzi' staring at the ground in dark silence. Chuckling, he pulled out a slip of talisman paper.

"I'll take my leave now. When you make your decision, simply send me a transmission."

With those parting words, Qingyuan triggered his movement technique, soaring away as a streak of light.

Wang Ping watched the man vanish into the distance before glancing down at the talisman in his hand.

Stamped clearly upon the paper was an emblem and three characters: Essence-Nourishing Ridge. It was a blessed land within the Immortal Gate solely dedicated to refining human furnaces.

'They want my new job to be acting as a furnace for the female cultivators at the Essence-Nourishing Ridge?'

...Maybe I should do a trial period just to see?

"Sss!"

Wang Ping inhaled sharply. 'Damn it, that's the lower corpse acting up! The avatar of lust is actually trying to corrupt my Dao heart and shatter my willpower!'

Alarmed, he hurriedly inhaled and exhaled spiritual energy to suppress the vile desires of the three corpses. It took a while to fully purge the lustful thoughts. Once his mind was clear, he took another hard look at Pingjiangzi's life situation and came to a grim conclusion. 'He's done for. Pingjiangzi might be breathing, but he's already a dead man walking.'

The only difference was whether he died sooner or later.

'Rather than wasting my time suffering as human livestock for the Immortal Gate, I'd be better off dying early. Once the Outer Heavenly Demon finishes its cooldown, I can just transmigrate back to the Great Shun Dynasty.'

Back in Longxing County, at least he had the capital to put up a real fight.

With that decided, Wang Ping's mind had already shifted to studying his enemies in Great Shun.

But right at that moment, a graceful figure emerged from one of the cave dwelling's inner meditation rooms. She was a beautiful woman, bearing a sweet, gentle smile on her face.

"...Yuerou?"

Wang Ping turned around. This woman was the dao companion Pingjiangzi had taken after the death of his parents. That said, both of them had grueling work schedules, leaving them physically separated for most of their relationship.

However, in a single glance, Wang Ping noticed something horribly wrong. According to Pingjiangzi's memories, Fairy Yuerou was an independent cultivator just like him—an ordinary woman devoted entirely to the Immortal Dao. She had no interest in dual cultivation arts and no history of divorce. Pingjiangzi had only formed a dao companion bond with her after numerous deep, earnest conversations.

No matter how he looked at it, there should have been no problems.

Yet the very instant he locked eyes with Fairy Yuerou, a sharp throb pierced the space between Wang Ping's brows. It had absolutely nothing to do with his cultivation base, his spiritual sense, or his cultivation methods.

It was his Divine Intent as a martial artist.

The instinct of a martial artist—the ability to perceive hidden threats and avoid them without seeing or hearing them—was automatically warning him. His Divine Intent was screaming that the woman standing right in front of him was dangerous enough to threaten his life!

A moment later, she spoke.

"Pingjiang, you don't want to lose your job and have your cave dwelling and magical artifacts repossessed, do you?"

The graceful female cultivator's voice was soft and sweet, but her words were incredibly sinister. "Since things have come to this, why don't you try your hand at... becoming a bandit cultivator?"